Canvey Methodist Church Sunday Service - 30th August 2020
Dear friends
I hope that you are all well. I am really looking forward to seeing you all again next Sunday, September 6th, for our first Sunday Service back together again in the Church at 10.30am. Our good friend, Rev Peter Perowne will be leading this service. All has been put into place to ensure our safety with building deep cleaning completed, chairs spaced out and sanitising hand gel all in place for us to use upon entry and exit. As when shopping, we will need to wear facemasks and although the service will include songs and hymns, current safety precautions mean that we cannot join in with the singing. What we can do though is to worship God together and to share in Christian fellowship. Entry into the church will be via the side car park double doors and exit will be via the foyer double doors. Hoping to see you then. Today's service is again a shared one with other circuit churches. I trust that you will be encouraged by all that has been prepared.
God Bless
Colin
Today's Service as link and text below.
1. Welcome and Introduction - Colin
Good Morning and welcome to this service on Sunday 30th August 2020. I am Pastor Colin Turner, Minister of Canvey Island Methodist Church, part of the Southend and Leigh Circuit of the Methodist Church. During the Month of August, Pastor Steve Mayo, Rev Dr Calvin Samuel and myself have been working together to bring these YouTube reflections on the book of Acts to you. This morning we continue our journey through its pages into the events of chapter.
2. Call to Worship. Colin
Our Call to Worship this morning is from Psalm 113- A Psalm of Praise.
Call to Worship - Psalm 113- Colin
Psalm 113.
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. 2 Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. 4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 8 he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children.Praise the Lord.
3. We sing our opening Hymn of Praise, “Lord I lift your name on high- This was written in 1989 by Rick Founds, a Christian singer and songwriter based in fallbrook, California in the USA.
4. “ Lord I lift your name on high”.
Lord, I lift Your name on high, Lord, I love to sing Your praises, I'm so glad You're in my life, I'm so glad You came to save us
You came from heaven to earth, To show the way. From the earth to the cross, My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave, From the grave to the sky, Lord, I lift Your name on high
Lord, I lift Your name on high, Lord, I love to sing Your praises, I'm so glad You're in my life
I'm so glad You came to save us
You came from heaven to earth, To show the way, From the earth to the cross, My debt to pay
From the cross to the grave, From the grave to the sky,Lord, I lift Your name on high
Rick Founds - 1989.
5. Prayers of Praise, Adoration, Thanksgiving and Confession: A meditation on Psalm 113. As we come to offer our prayers of Praise, Thanksgiving and Confession I invite you to respond using the words in yellow which appear on your screen, or the text in bold type, if you’re listening on audio and working from a hard copy.
6. Let Us Pray:
Almighty God, we praise you for another new day, that in your grace, your love comes to each of us new every morning. We come as your children to praise your holy name and to give thanks to you for all your name means to us.
Lord of Hosts always with us. All: We praise Your holy name.
You are “Elohim”(eloheem), God of power and might, You are Yahweh, the one and only God, El Elyon, the Lord who is exalted over all the nations, whose glory is all around us and above the heavens. Lord of Hosts always with us. All: We praise Your holy name.
When we feel insignificant and passed over, you remind us that you are “ El Roi”(R.O.I),The God Who Sees, who holds us, chases after us, and, in loving kindness, cares for us.
Lord of Hosts always with us. All: We praise Your holy name.
When we are overwhelmed and troubled by worries and are overshadowed by towering problems, you come alongside us as “El Shaddai(Shaddi), “God Almighty”, the all-powerful Mighty One, as “Yahweh Nissi’ (Nissy) our “Banner”, protector and deliverer. Who indeed is like the Lord our God, stooping down to lift the needy from the ash heap.
Lord of Hosts always with us. All: We praise Your holy name.
We praise you Loving Lord that when we are in need, anxious or frightened, we know you as Yahweh Yireh(Yiret), our provider, as “Abba Father”, one who is totally loving and who can be completely trusted. Lord of Hosts always with us. All: We praise Your holy name.
Loving Father, when we are sick in body, mind or spirit, or anxious because of the cares of life, we praise you that you are Jehovah Rapha (Rapher), the Lord who heals, that you are Yahweh Shalom(Shalome), the Lord who brings peace. Lord of Hosts always with us.
All: We praise Your holy name.
A prayer of confession:
Lord, thank you that you are always ready to forgive us even when we do not feel we deserve it.
For those times when we may have heard your word but then have gone off on our own track, not wanting to see your path, especially when it looked to be rough and stony. Forgive us Lord
All: And set us on your path
Lord, for those times when we may have wanted the world and in pursuing this, did not give much thought to our souls. Forgive us Lord. All: And help us to take up our cross.
Lord, we acknowledge before you the times when we were a stumbling block, both to others and to ourselves; times when we could have been a help to the faith of others, but instead have looked for complications instead of just following you.
Forgive us Lord. All: And help us to follow you. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen .The Lord's Prayer:
The Lord's Prayer- Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
7. Introduction to Acts 19:1-20.
Last week, In our journey through the Acts of the Apostles, we left Paul and Silas in the Roman City of Philippi. From there they continued on in their preaching tour of Macedonia, firstly visiting Berea ( where Silas and Timothy stayed on to continue encouraging the new believers), with Paul travelling on alone to Athens and then on to Corinth. It is here where we now join him as we listen to the Bible readings for this week from Acts Chapter 19.
The first of these is from Acts Chapter 19:1-20 which is read to us by Sue Howett from our Canvey Island Church and then the second account from Acts 19:21-40 and this is brought to us by Carole Glendenning of our Rochford Church. Our sermon this week will follow and is to be brought to us by Rev Dr Calvin Samuel. Thankyou Sue, Carole and Calvin.
8. Acts 19:1-20. New International Version. Paul in Ephesus- Sue Howett.
19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?”. They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”. “John’s baptism,” they replied.4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. 11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Footnotes: a.Acts 19:2 Or after. b.Acts 19:6 Or other languages. c.Acts 19:19 A drachma was a silver coin worth about a day’s wages.
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9. Acts 19:21-40. New International Version. Carole Glendenning
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided[a] to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” 22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer. The Riot in Ephesus- 23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theatre. 32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.”
Footnotes. a.Acts 19:21 Or decided in the Spirit
10. Sermon – Rev Dr Calvin Samuel
Last week we heard how Paul and Silas went to Philippi and Thessalonica in Acts 16 and 17 facing hardship and persecution there. So what happened next? They fled persecution in Thessalonica for Beroea, and then Athens. Paul preached rather unsuccessfully in Athens in the Areopogus and then moved on to Corinth where he met greater success and founded a church there. Hence our New Testament Letters to the Corinthians. After some years in Corinth he went to Ephesus. Paul in this period sounds increasingly like a Methodist minister. No sooner do you get used to them than they move to the next appointment.In Ephesus Paul came across disciples already there who only knew of the baptism of John the Baptist. So when Paul asked these disciples whether they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, their response was we’ve not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.That could be the response of so many contemporary Christian couldn’t it? Too many of us operate as though the power of the Holy Spirit is something that’s on the very periphery of our experience. The Pentecostals are into that. We’re Methodists! We’re Baptists! We’re Anglicans! We’re URC. We’re not so sure we’re into that kind of thing.Paul was having none of it. They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. And he did all this for around twelve people. That was the nucleus of the Ephesian Church. Not all churches need to be large to have an effect.Paul spent the next few years in that place and God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and evil spirits came out of them. That’s extraordinary isn’t it? We know of the woman with the issue of blood who touched the clothes of Jesus and she was instantly healed. But Jesus was still wearing those clothes at the time. Here we’re told of fabric that had touched Paul’s skin being used to heal the sick and even to exorcise demonic spirits. That is extraordinary.Enter the seven sons of Sceva. They already had a reputation for being exorcists. Whether the reputation was deserved or not is unclear. But on hearing of Paul’s extraordinary success they thought they could copy him: “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” We’ve no idea whether it worked in some cases. It may well have done. But one day an evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” And the demon possessed man so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.I really like this story. Sometimes when we other people appear successful we think to ourselves, if we can just use their formula, do what they are doing, if we can find the right words, the right music, the right approach, the right strategy, we can have some of their success. But Paul’s success came not from the right strategy. Rather it was because God was doing something extraordinary in that place and chose to work through Paul.The big challenge for us as churches who want to grow, who want to share with others something of the God we know and the faith we hold dear, is that we are often more inclined to search for the winning strategy, and I’m a strategist so I fall into the category, than we are inclined to search for the God who might choose to work through us.At this point everything is going incredibly well. So well in fact that Paul decides that he’s accomplished about all that he can accomplish where he is in Western Asia, and he sets his sight on Rome, the capital of the Empire, the centre of power and influence. If he can establish a church here, then the gospel can reach to the ends of the earth. Let me remind you that in Acts 1.8, just before his ascension, Jesus tells his disciples: ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Paul can see how he might just get there.But then just when everything looks like it’s going well everything goes very wrong. If you read to the end of the book you discover that Paul does eventually go to Rome but not at all in the way he planned; not in triumph but in trouble, he arrives not in glory but in gaol. And the chain of events that leads to that outcome begins right here in Ephesus with a riot.Like many acts of civil disobedience, the root cause is economic. When large numbers of people turned to Christianity from idol worship demand for the silver shines of Greek Gods inevitably began to fall. The silversmiths worked out that if Christianity spread much further in Asia, they’d all be out of a job. So, they rioted. But they didn’t say ‘These Christians are ruining our jobs!’ They’re much cleverer than that. They say, ‘We’re Ephesians! Our God is Artemis. That Christian God is a foreign God!’ The uproar was so great that Paul ultimately left Ephesus.Never underestimate the pushback you will receive for doing good. Because doing good inevitably works against the interests of people with power somewhere. And they’re not going to take that lying down. Moreover, doing good is a spiritual undertaking. So, the pushback we encounter comes not only from vested interests of people in power, but also from principalities and powers.But as we will see in the long run even when things go badly wrong even then God is able to use our disasters for God’s glory. That’s one of the great things about the story of Paul. He’s far from perfect but he is used by God.That sounds like it would be a great mission statement for a church or individual: We don’t want to be perfect, we just want to be used for God’s perfect will. Amen.
11. Hymn: I will offer up my life
I will offer up my life, In spirit and truth, Pouring out the oil of love, As my worship to You, In surrender I must give my every part; Lord, receive the sacrifice, Of a broken heart, Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring, To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King? Saviour, what can be said, what can be sung, As a praise of Your name, For the things You have done? Oh my words could not tell, not even in part, Of the debt of love that is owed, By this thankful heart, You deserve my every breath, For You've paid the great cost; Giving up Your life to death, Even death on a cross, You took all my shame away, There defeated my sin, Opened up the gates of heaven, And have beckoned me in, Songwriters: WILLIE JAMES WILLIAMS
12. Intercessory Prayers –
My thanks to Calvin for bringing God's word to us today. As we offer our prayers for others and ourselves, let us first pause in silence to invite the Holy Spirit to speak and apply His word to our hearts and lives.
Holy Spirit, speak to us in the silence, we pray, as we bow before you; bring our lives fully into the orbit of your love and grace.
(Silence)
Lord we are your messengers of the good news of Jesus today. May we know your prompting to know when to speak and when to act; May we know your power and direction in how to offer love and care in your name to those we encounter in the week ahead.
Almighty God, as your children born in today’s world, we lift its peoples to you. For those who are burdened with responsibilities of government and decision making;
For those who are ill and troubled;
For the many affected by Corona Virus, and of loved ones snatched away out of sight and touch;
For those who are bereaved and mourning loss;
For Medical and Care Staff providing treatment and respite for patients;
For Researchers and Scientists as new frontiers of treatment are explored;
For relief workers in Lebanon following the terrible explosion there;
For those in the USA participating in its election preparations;
For all affected by recent storms, rain and flooding.
For all working for justice amongst people and the care of the vulnerable.
For those working to care for the world and its delicate interdependencies,
For those we love and whose names we bring before you now.
Lord please save, renew, bless, heal, challenge, empower, strengthen, fill and grant assurance of your grace, love and care, to all we pray. In your mercy please Hear our prayer
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
13) Our final hymn affirms the authority of God to change the world and, indeed us for the better; to bring salvation by grace to all who respond to His call. All hail the power of Jesus’ name was written in 1780 by Edward Perronet, an intimate associate of the Wesleys. We join with Myriads of others as we sing its triumphant refrain, “and crown him lord of all”.
14). All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
1 All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all!
2 You seed of Israel's chosen race, you ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all!
3. Hail him, the heir of a David’s line, whom David, Lord did call, the God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown him Lord of all.
4 Let every kindred, every tribe, on this terrestrial ball, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all.
5 Oh, that with all the sacred throng, we at his feet may fall! join in the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
Edward Perronet - 1780
17. Thanks & Benediction.
My grateful thanks to Sue Howett and to Carole Glendenning for bringing us today’s Bible Readings, to the Rev Dr Calvin Samuel for bringing us the sermon and to you all for joining in this act of worship today.
18. Benediction.
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen
Goodbye and may God bless you in the week ahead.