Remembrance Sunday 8th November 2020
Complete Service.
1)Notices and Welcome -
2) Call to Worship - Lamentations 3 v21-23 -
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
3) STF 83: Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven. CCl Licence No: 425086
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyRIVbdsi4c
Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven; To His feet thy tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Evermore His praises sing: Praise Him, praise Him, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King.
Praise Him for His grace and favour, To our fathers in distress; Praise Him still the same as ever, Slow to chide, and swift to bless. Praise Him, praise Him, alleluia! Glorious in His faithfulness.
Fatherlike He tends and spares us, Well our feeble frame He knows; In His hands He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes. Praise Him, praise Him, alleluia! Widely yet His mercy flows.
Angels, help us to adore Him, Ye behold Him face to face; Sun and moon, bow down before Him; Dwellers all in time and space, Praise Him, praise Him, alleluia! Praise with us the God
4) Prayers of Adoration, Praise, Confession, Lord's Prayer.
Lord God on this Remembrance Sunday, we bring you our praise and thanks for your constant care and love for us. We praise you for the seasons, for the beauty of the autumn leaves and for your promise that as long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. We stand in awe of your greatness and of your infinite creativity. Our words are inadequate to describe you. We come now to confess our sins. The times when we have let you down, done the things we ought not to do and left undone the things we should.We bring before you in a moment of silence our own personal confessions. We hear the words of grace: our sins are forgiven.Thanks you Jesus.
The Lords 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, the power and the glory,Forever and ever Amen.
5) Gospel: John 15v9-17.
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
6) 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. New International Version. Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
7) STF 745 - For all the Saints. CCl Licence No: 425086.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OaBgaMcOvM
For all the saints who from their labours rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed,
thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might; thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light. Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 O blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Alleluia! Alleluia!
4 But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day; the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on his way. Alleluia! Alleluia!

8) Sermon: What do you think love is?
In the English language we just have the one word when it comes to talking about love. And very often when the subject of love comes up it is romantic love that springs immediately to mind. When such love first strikes, feelings can be really intense. All that fills the mind are thoughts and images of the other person and we can't wait to be back in their company. Yet such romantic feelings can be ephemeral and they can disappear as fast as they came. As we get to know the person it becomes clear that they may not be Mr or Miss right. But if its real love then feelings develop into something much more long-lasting and commitment forms and remains. For true love is bigger than one word. In the greek language there are 4 words to describe true love. Eros (romantic love), Phileo (friendship, enjoyment, fondness), Storge (family loyalty), and Agape (Unconditional love with stickability).
In the Bible, 1Corinthians13:4-8; perhaps gives the best definition of love that exists- 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
We get a further clue as to the nature of true love from the life and teachings of Jesus. In the gospel of John v 15 Jesus told his disciples "As the Fathe.r has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love".
Jesus definitively demonstrateddivine agape love, not only to his disciples but to all those that he met and encountered. His love was selfless, proactive, patient, generous, kind, forgiving, sacrificial, committed, And it took him to the cross as a final crescendo of kingdom clashing, despair smashing, and life liberating sacrificial love for all and anyone who dares to embrace His life affirming invitation to know him now.
To us who remember the sacrifice of others today on Armistice Sunday, Jesus repeats his call of love to us also, " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other".
The work of love is not yet finished. There is still more to do and the promise of Jesus is that in God's hands our lives will grow fruits of the Spirit that will equip us in this task.
At the place of loss and death that Remembrance Sunday brings to mind, it is this power of true divine love that promises to win and transform the day. It is this divine love that brings the powerful surging light of hope and assurance that death is not the end. It draws back the curtain of uncertainties and doubts onto the vista of a brighter heavenly perspective that beckons us on to complete our God given tasks of love until such time as the Lord calls each of us home to himself. St Paul assured his listeners in Thessalonica that Jesus can be trusted,
"1 Thessalonians 4:V14 reminds us For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that G will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him".
A Prayer: Almighty God, as we give thanks for all who have loved and sacrificed in the past, we offer our lives and continued service both in the present and in the future to you. Please fill our lives with your agape love and grow in us the fruit of your spirit. In Jesus Name. Amen.
9) What is at the heart of love Clip: Walter Young - 1.49
"This is the bible that my Father took to war. It is tattered, well used, and it was presented to him by his church just before he enlisted. And I can only think that this bible helped him tremendously in times of enormous danger, stres when he perhaps got away to a quiet time from the front for a while when he would take it out. It encouraged him and renewed his strength; certainly spiritual strength. It opens so easily at Romans chapter 12 (I'm sure he read lots of other parts) but Romans 12 is very poignant in the fact that it talks about our attitude to enemies. And he did not want to hurt or kill anyone but I suppose he had to in the course of his duty, but in that chapter we read that "If thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Dad always regarded the Bible as the most important thing for us to learn our Chistian faith. And therefore for me as a child it became part of my life; that this was a book that I should treasure and read and study. And the fact that it meant so much to him, when I discovered it, made it all the more important to me. I mean, I admire him tremendously really and I don't think I could ever have one through what he went through; (We say that but I suppose that, when it comes to it, we all do extraordinary things just as he did. But the sort of man he was; he certainly was not a fighting man, and admire him, for all he went through".
10) S of F 329: Let there be love shared among us. CCl Licence No: 425086 2.36m
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEuS7Ut7kqI
Let There Be Love Shared Among Us, Let There Be Love In Our Eyes, May Now Your Love Sweep This Nation, Cause Us Oh Lord To Arise.

Give Us A Fresh Understanding Of Brotherly Love That Is Real, Let There Be Love Shared Among Us, Let There Be Love.

Let There Be Love Shared Among Us, Let There Be Love In Our Eyes,
May Now Your Love Sweep This Nation, Cause Us Oh Lord To Arise.

Give Us A Fresh Understanding Of Brotherly Love That Is Real,
Let There Be Love Shared Among Us, Let There Be Love. [2]
13) Prayers for others . Annette 5,49m
Intercessions for Remembrance Sunday
We shall remember them.
Let us pray to Our Lord
Father we pray for those all over the world who today remember and their remembering is filled with a great sense of loss:
For people of every nation who have lost home and family and friends in hostilities and for those whose lives have been wrecked by war and terrorist attack.
Father we pray for those for whom today is a special day of remembering:
For those who will be remembering those who fought with them who never returned:
For those who returned with their minds damaged by what they had witnessed, their bodies broken by what they had suffered, and their lives wrecked by what they had been through.
May they know the love of God which can make them whole.
Father we pray for those who remember with sadness those they have loved and are with them no more. For those who feel a great emptiness within. Dear Lord may they remember the happy times they once shared with those they have lost. May the love of Christ wipe away their tears.
There is still much suffering in the world at this time of the Corona virus. We pray for those who have to make almost impossible decisions at times of crisis. For those who carry a heavy burden of responsibility for others and those who are weighed down by the pressure it brings.
We pray for doctors, nurses and carers and all with responsibility for the health and safety of others..
We pray for your guidance for those in positions of leadership in government, trying to decide what to do for the good of our health and our financial situations. We all think we know what to do but when we feel like judging the decisions they make, let us stop and pray to You for Your guidance to lead them, as only You can know what are the just decisions. We pray also for those in leadership in the community and in the church, let us pray for them, too, together with those with the responsibility for caring for the hungry, the starving, those with no hope and no homes.
Father we pray for those who work for peace and on this Remembrance Sunday we pray urgently for the peace of the world: for those who are genuinely working for peace and those who are seeking to build bridges of hope; we also pray for those who resist all attempts to end conflicts, and all those who reject all efforts at reconciliation.
On this Remembrance Sunday we pray that the Holy Spirit may work in all our hearts and wills to give us a new longing to live at peace with each other.
We pray for the needs of our fellowship who have asked for prayers. For those who are trying to cope with the loss of a loved one, give them peace Dear Lord. We have several people who have been touched by cancer in one way or another. Give them the strength that they need to cope with their treatment and the peace that only You can give to see them through for whatever You hold in store for them. We pray also for those are awaiting diagnosis, worrying times, but we are confident that You will be with them, to comfort them and show them the way. We pray for those with other illnesses not associated with the virus and we are conscious that many have had their vital treatment delayed. We put all these people who have requested prayers in your hands and pray that You will be with them guiding them through. Let us pray for all of our fellowship and our families. We pray that You may bless them all with good health, physically,mentally and emotionally, but most of all we pray for Your blessing on their spiritual health. Develop their relationship with you that they may grow in their faith. Reveal to them your grace that they feel able to respond and serve You as You deserve.
We praise You for the power of the Holy Spirit who softens hard hearts, opens closed minds and brings peace, joy and reconciliation where none seemed possible.
May every day be lived to Your Praise and Glory.
We ask all this Through Jesus Christ Our Lord
Amen
11) Clip / 2 Minutes Silence https://youtu.be/ahaB53lT2ak
12) Remembrance Ode -
Minister: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.
All: We will remember them
We will sing our final hymn together, Shine Jesus Shine.
14) STF 59: Lord the light of your love CCl Licence No: 425086
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3iB30gCqAc
Lord the light of Your love is shining, In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us, Set us free by the truth You now bring us
Shine on me, Shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine , Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river flow, Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your Word, Lord And let there be light

Lord, I come into Your awesome presence, From the shadows into Your radiance
By the blood I may enter Your brightness, Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, Shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine , Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, Set our hearts on fire, Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy, Send forth Your Word, Lord And let there be light
Shine, Jesus, shine , Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, Set our hearts on fire, Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy, Send forth Your Word, Lord And let there be light
16) Prayer of Dedication and Benediction
As we put aside our offerings for the work of God in our Church and Circuit, we dedicate both these gifts and those of the fruits in our lives to your greater service Lord God. Accept and use all we pray for your greater glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore, Amen.