Circuit Service – 21st January 2024
Worship at home
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 21/01/2024
Revd Daniel Yovan
Hymn 545 Be thou my vision O lord of my heart
So let us praise God, saying: Glory to you, Father, for you reveal yourself in your creation and call all people to live in your presence.
Glory to you, Christ Jesus, for you give yourself entirely to each one of us and invite us to do the same.
Glory to you, Holy Spirit, for you gather us together in love and unity.
Glory to you, God of love, in whom we are created, redeemed and made one.
Amen.
Praise and Thanksgiving
Let us turn our hearts to God in praise:
Praise to you Lord for you have poured out your love into our hearts so that we never lose hope
Lord, we praise you.
By your love you free our lives from fear and dress our wounded and injured hearts.
Lord, we praise you.
For all who sow seeds of compassion and love for their neighbours around the world.
Lord, we praise you.
Eternal God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus your Son, the Redeemer of all creation.
Lord, we thank you.
The grace that renews and the blossoming of faith, hope and love.
Lord, we thank you.
For the faith we received from the apostles, for Jesus’ prayer for unity and for the gift of the Good News of salvation.
Lord, we thank you.
Gracious God, for the generosity of your love for all people, a love so perfect, it is beyond
our comprehension.
Lord, we adore you
For sending your Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. Lord, we adore you.
For continuing to fill our lives with your love through the Holy Spirit. Lord, we adore you.
Prayers of Confession
We come before you, O God, to confess our sins: By seeking happiness without God and ignoring the command to love, we have turned from our neighbour. Our selfishness and desire to possess and control separate us from God.
Silence
Merciful God: forgive and heal us. When we disregard the humanity of others and build walls of division, we sow seeds of hatred and violence, abandoning the Lord’s command to love.
Silence
When our lack of compassion hardens our hearts, we no longer see Jesus in those different from ourselves.
Silence
Merciful God: forgive and heal us. When we fail to open our hearts and minds to God’s infinite and unconditional love, the world is darkened by selfishness, violence, and indifference.
Silence
Merciful God: forgive and heal us. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and transform us by your Holy Spirit.
Holy God! Holy and Strong! Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us!
Hymn 663 I, the Lord of sea and sky.
Intercession
I would like to encourage you to spend some time in silence to pray for the needs of the world.
Let us pray for the peace of this troubled world…….
We bring Christians around the world…specially those persecuted Christians……
Pray for the leaders of the nations around the world…..for God’s wisdom to prevail.
Pray for UK and its leaders……
The Lord’s prayer
Please read Titus 2: 1-14.
Sermon.
People flocked to hear this well-educated, intelligent man. Paul filled with the Spirit of God preached the good news of Jesus Christ and established churches throughout the Roman empire. As churches grew Paul understood the need to train local Pastors to lead the congregations. Paul trained young leaders and urged them to centre their lives and preaching on the Word of God (2 Timothy 3: 16,17) and train others to carry on the ministry (2 Timothy 2:2). Titus was a Greek believer. Taught and nurtured by Paul, he stood before the leaders of the church in Jerusalem as a living example of what Christ was doing among the Gentiles (Galatians 2: 1-3). Like Timothy he was one of Paul’s companions and closest friends. Later he became Paul’s special ambassador (2 Corinthians 7:5-16) and eventually the overseer of the churches on Crete (Titus 1:5). Slowly and carefully, Paul developed Titus into a mature Christian and a responsible leader. The letter to Titus was a step in this discipleship process. As with Timothy, Paul told Titus how to organise and lead Churches.
In the first chapter of Titus Paul talks about appointing the right leaders to lead the congregation and rebuking those who fail to do good. In the second chapter we pick up Paul’s instructions for right living in the Church, doing good for the sake of the gospel. Paul demands a righteous living from the follower of Jesus Christ in order their preaching would be attractive. He was telling Titus basically, “Practice what you preach”. In this letter Paul is asking them to live a life of godliness so that the message of the gospel would be attractive. We try to attract people with various activities in the church. Here Paul is saying make the gospel attractive by living a life transformed by the Grace of God. Grace of God is a recurring theme in Paul’s letters….apart from the book of Romans he begins and ends all his letters with the Grace of God.
What is this Grace?
As we know grace means unmerited favour ….favour of God to those who do not deserve. To live a godly life in an ungodly society Titus and his congregation were in need of God’s grace. The society Paul has in mind was Cretans. This society was corrupt…People were lazy, lying and stealing. So the task here for Titus is to teach and train his congregation to live a life worthy of their calling, honest, hardworking and respectful. Even if you are working as a slave do not steal or lie, but work honestly to make the gospel attractive. Even if you are not treated fairly you do the work you have agreed to do. Because this is what God wants you to do. In order to do that you need God’s grace. Here I am not saying that we should not fight against injustice. Paul’s focus here is a transformation in the life of a believer.
Titus 2: 11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,[a] 12 training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour,[b] Jesus Christ. 14 He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
In this passage we see that God’s grace is fulfilling two roles. Grace of God works as a restraining force and enabling power. God’s grace restrains us from going in the wrong direction, giving into our worldly passions and it helps us to say no to the ungodly activities. The grace of God enables and empowers us to do the good work God has called us to do. Because we have been save by grace to do good works. So, let us follow God faithfully and do the good works by the Grace of God. Amen.
Hymn 566 Take my life and let it be.
| 1 Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.2 Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of thy love; take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for thee. 3 Take my voice, and let me sing |
4 Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold; take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.5 Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine; take my heart — it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne. 6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879) |
Blessing:
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
