Island Bay Presbyterian Church

The Prodigal Son Series

Sermon Apr 22^nd – Prodigal Son 1, The Younger Son

(Link to the main source for this sermon at the bottom of the page)

Preaching from Rev 5:1-10 and Lk 15:11-32

 Today, if you haven’t picked it up already, I’m doing the first of 3 sermons on the parable of the Prodigal Son. This was the reading a few weeks ago when Amber and I were in New Plymouth for WOMAD.
 I did regret missing out on preaching on this, ‘cos this is a great story – Charles Dickens called it the greatest story ever told. And many theologians regard this parable as summarizing the whole gospel in one passage. So, when I saw the Sunday School doing their play re-enacting the Prodigal Son on Palm Sunday, something stirred within me and I felt it was right to spend a bit of time looking at this pearl among parables.

 The parable of the Prodigal Son is also called the parable of the Lost Son, and comes after 2 other parables – the one about the lost sheep, and the one about the lost coin. Because of that some people call this chapter the ‘lost and found deptartment’ of Luke’s gospel.
 Before we look at it it’s important to put it into context though…

 Verses 1-2 of chpt 15 start with a familiar scene – Jesus having a meal with sinners and tax collectors, and the Pharisees criticizing him for doing so.
 Putting this into our modern context, perhaps we could imagine a Sunday afternoon, and Jesus is down the road at the Isobar pub – having a meal with some notorious local sinners like say… an MP, the local prostitute, someone from the IRD, and a few of those annoying kids who go round tagging garages and kicking off people’s wing mirrors.
 (I’ve never eaten at the Isobar myself, but I hear they do good, cheap Sunday lunches.)
 But then, some Christians walk past. Now these aren’t Christians like me, or us… these are self-righteous, self-satisfied Christians. A completely different kind of Christian to us in this room!

 And lo! They spy Jesus’ donkey tied up outside the pub. Horrified that Jesus would be in such a place, they rush in to confront him. Once inside they see and smell the alcohol, see the pool tables and the pokey machines, all the TVs showing sport and the TAB stations. And there is Jesus, hanging out, watching rugby, throwing some darts, having a good time with these unsavoury characters.
 So, they confront Jesus – “Jesus, what are you doing in such a place? What are you doing eating, drinking and spending time with sinners like this?”
 Jesus knows their hearts, so he invites them to buy a juice, sit down, and he tells them a story.

 Once upon a time, there was a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.  One sheep ran away and the shepherd left the ninety-nine and went and found the one. And there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who truly comes to their senses, than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to repent – or who don’t see their own sinfulness. Do you understand this story?”  Jesus asks…
 No. These righteous people didn’t understand his story at all. The modern day Pharisees don’t get it.

 So, Jesus tells them another story…
 “Once there was a woman who had ten very valuable coins. She lost one coin and she swept the house inside and out until she found that one lost coin.  And she was so happy when she found that one coin. There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who come to their senses and then is found by God than over nine self righteous people who aren’t lost – or who don’t think they’re lost. Do you get it?”
 No, still don’t get it.

 OK, one more story, the parable of the Prodigal Son which we heard earlier. Will they get it this time? Who knows?
 This parable is very simple, but also very complex at the same time. What does it have to say to us?

 As most of you know there are 3 main characters in this story – the younger, prodigal son; the father; and the older son. Today I want to look at the younger son.
 I find him a very believable character.
 He’s a human being like you and me, a common and ordinary person who wanted his independence. Who wanted his freedom. Who wanted to be able to do what he wanted to do, and not to have to listen to his father and older brother tell him what is right and wrong all the time! (as a youngest son I can relate to that!) He didn’t want to live in the father’s house; he had come to take for granted his father’s love and protection. He wanted to go out and make it on his own, using his father’s inheritance.
 Now, the big problem with that was you didn’t get your father’s inheritance until your father died – so to ask for his inheritance so brazenly was the same as saying “I wish you were dead” to his father’s face. And then he acts as if his father was dead, cutting himself off from his family by going and living as far away as possible.

 Now, this story is not primarily about losing your life to alcohol or drugs. Most of the sermons, skits or even movies I’ve seen about this parable tend to focus on that, but that is not the purpose of this story. That’s quite a narrow way to read it.
 My understanding is this: most of us as human beings, we take the inheritance that God has given to us. We take our free will, our brains, our personality, our bodies, the limited resources of this planet; we take what God has given us and say, “God, I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. I don’t want to live in your house or under your guidance. I want to be free, I’m going to go and live my life as if you don’t exist.” And so we take what God has gifted us, and we go and live as far away from God as possible, as if God was dead.
 That’s what I think this story is about.

 But, there is hope in this story. Eventually, when we come to a point of crisis we realise how good we had it. Our eyes are opened and we come to see the love and care that our father offers us, and finally, we come to our senses and we come home to God.[1]

 There are lots of parties in this chapter!
 When the shepherd found his lost sheep he called together all his neighbours and friends and had a party. When the woman found her coin she did the same. And, when the lost son returns home there’s a huge feast then as well!
 Now, getting as far away from parties as it’s possible to get… Most of you will have heard and been shocked by the news of the latest school shooting in America this week. 32 people dead, murdered in cold blood, un-armed and trapped in their classrooms. How could that happen?
 The man who did this was a lost, broken soul. He was obviously at the lowest of the low; but, instead of coming to his senses and returning to the love of the father like the Prodigal son does, he exploded in anger and violence and carnage. Why? Why did he turn to violence instead of turning to the love of the God who created him?

 There are many possible answers.
- These days most people haven’t been raised in their father’s house, have never been taught about God’s love for them, that God is there waiting for them, and so they have nothing to return to. But then, it seems this shooter’s family were church-goers. He did have some church background so what went wrong?
- Maybe he had been taught that God is a God of anger that rejects sinners, rather than the God of love that the Bible and today’s parable teaches us about?
- Maybe he had tried to return to the father but had found his way barred by some older sons who judged him for his lifestyle and wouldn’t let him in?
- There is also talk that he had an illness. So, maybe he wasn’t in control of what he did.

 Who knows?

 But we are different. We know!
 We were lost but now are found. We have experienced the love and forgiveness of the Father. We still have our down times and our times of crisis – times when we’re angry or depressed – but we also have God’s word and the message of hope there, which was expressed in both today’s readings – our parable as well as the first reading from chpt 5 of Revelation.

 That was a vision scene and began with the words… Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a lamb, looking as if it had been slain…”

 This is our almighty, powerful God; the conquering one; the Lion of Judah! This, a lamb who was slain. Powerful, but power used through love as sacrifice. Jesus came to preach and live peace and love, not hatred and violence. And he calls us to follow him.
 The shooting in America is at the extreme end of things, but it put things back into focus for me. We live in a world soaked in violence, soaked in pain, soaked in hatred. Be we, as Christians; as disciples of Christ, the Lion of Judah, the lamb who was slain; we are called to be different. We are called to be light in this dark world, to proclaim the gospel of peace and love.
 We are called to be peace makers, to oppose violence as much as we can. To show the world that God’s way is the way of peace and sacrifice. And we are called to let people know that they have a creator who loves them…

 There are so many prodigal sons and daughters out there, in places of crisis and despair, who weren’t brought up in their father’s house, who don’t know that God loves them and died for them – who cannot return because they have nowhere to return to. So, it’s up to us as we meet people in despair, to gently let them know – God’s there, God made you, God loves you; and God would find you, welcome you back with open arms and throw you a party if you would just open your inner eyes and look.
 For, God rejoices more over one sinner who repents – who seeks God’s forgiveness and turns to God’s way of peace and love –, than over 99 righteous people who don’t need to repent.

 So now, what about us? We’ve heard Jesus’ 3 stories, do we now understand?

 

 

Sermon Apr 29 – Prodigal Son 2

(Kenneth Bailey quotes from Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, Eerdmans 1983)

 Preaching from Lk 15 and Rev 7:7-17

  This week we’re looking at the parable of the Prodigal Son again. Last week I preached about the younger son, this week we’re looking at the father, and next week we’ll explore the older son.

 First, a reminder of the context for this parable: as usual, Jesus was hanging around disreputable places, hanging out with some sinners and tax collectors – when some irate, self-righteous religious types spotted him. They confronted him and questioned him – “how dare you eat with such people?!?” … to which Jesus responded with 3 parables.

 The first was the parable of the shepherd who had 100 sheep. He lost one so left the 99 to search for it, and when he found it he had a big party – for there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need to repent (or who think they don’t need to repent).
 The next story was the parable of the woman who had 10 valuable coins but who lost one. She searched and searched until she found it, and then she had a big party - for there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who is found by God than over 9 righteous people who weren’t lost (or who don’t think they’re lost).
 And then lastly, Jesus tells today’s parable, the parable of the Prodigal Son. This story again ends with a big party – for the son who was dead comes back to life, the son who was lost is found.

 Now I think it’s pretty obvious that the father in this story is being likened to God – not least because “Father” is one of the many names the Bible uses for God. But still, it’s important to start by saying that at its core this is a human story about a human father. This father isn’t God, but in many ways he is like God, especially in the love he shows to both his sons.

 The parable begins with the younger son coming to the father and saying “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.”

 One of my heroes when I was studying theology was an American called Kenneth Bailey. He went out to Egypt as a Presbyterian missionary in 1955 and quickly came to realise that the culture in which he lived was very similar to the culture in which Jesus lived, and told his parables. When I heard him speak in Auckland he said the village he ended up in was so isolated from the modern world that most of the people there had never even seen a wheel!
 So, he began 40 years of going from village to village around the Middle East, telling Jesus’ parables to these very traditional people, and listening to their responses. And this is what he writes about their reactions to the Prodigal Son…

 “For over 15 years I have been asking people from all walks of life from Morocco to India, and from Turkey to the Sudan about the implications of a son’s request for his inheritance while his father is still living. The answer has almost emphatically been the same...

 “Has anyone ever made such a request in your village?”
 “Never!”
  “Could anyone ever make such a request?”
  “Impossible!”
 “If anyone ever did, what would happen?”
 “His father would beat him of course!”
 “Why?”
 “This request means – he wants his father to die!”

 It seems that in the culture of Jesus’ time (2,000 yrs ago), a father could allocate an inheritance before he died, but that was just to show who was going to get what. The father still maintained control over the inheritance until the day he died. For the son to ask for full control over his inheritance now, before his father died, was a major insult – the equivalent of saying “I wish you were dead!”
 On top of that, this prodigal son cuts himself off from his father by moving to a distant country. Young people do this all the time these days – I did it myself going on my OE for 3 and a bit years. But in those days your obligation was to your family. Both scripture and culture commanded that children stay near their parents so they could support them in their old age. This is another insult from the son, and another and even stronger way of saying “I want nothing to do with you, I wish you were dead.”
 And then, on top of that again, he sells the land he was given! This was a big no-no. The Israelites were similar to Maori in their relationship to land. It was sacred, given to them by God, part of their tribal inheritance and part of their core identity. No-one sold land except in special circumstances!
 So, yet again this son does a deeply offensive thing.

 When I imagined this parable, I used to picture this rich father living on his land in a mansion. Out on an estate somewhere, quite far from the village, surrounded by wheat feilds.
 But, apparently it wasn’t like that. The rich did live in big houses, but it seems that they lived in the middle of the village, and everyone else lived around them. After all, if you’ve met a Middle-easterner, they tend to be real extroverts – they like having neighbours! Living alone in the middle of the country-side would be purgatory for them! They are not at all like reserved Englishmen or NZ-ers who value privacy.
 Also, this rich father probably employed half the town. The story tells us that he was a fair employer, so he was probably greatly respected in his community as well.

 Because of how close together everyone lived, pretty soon the whole town would’ve known about the great insult this younger son had offered to his father, and everyone would’ve been waiting for the son to be punished as was his due. But, no punishment came! Loving, graciously and patiently, the father forgives the insult, and gives the son what he wants. This is unheard of, crazy behaviour!
 The outrage of the town can be inferred in that it only takes the son a few days to sell up all he has and move on. Normally selling land would take months with all the bargaining and haggling that went on – but not this time! The son is in a serious hurry to get out of there!

 Our story then leaves the father and follows the son, as he ventures off to his distant country, and there wastes all his money. Eventually he gets to the lowest of the low, and, facing death from starvation he comes to his senses. He decides to repent, return to his father, and try to get a job as one of his father’s labourers. But, this is a very selfish repentance. It doesn’t come from regret for how he treated his father, or even a love for his father – it’s primarily driven by a fear of death and the fact that he has no-where else to go!
 The father doesn’t seem to care about the motive though. While the son is still far off, the father sees him, runs out to him, embraces him, dresses him in his own cloak and ring, and organises a big party for him! Again the father does some profoundly abnormal things!

 1. The fact that he sees the son while he’s still far off indicates that he’d never stopped looking for him. Perhaps he spent each day scanning the horizon, yearning for his child to come home.
 2. He runs – a majorly uncool thing for a rich and powerful man to do! Slaves and poor people ran. This father is willing to humiliate himself out of love for his son.
 3. The son would’ve had to have walked through the fields and then the village in order to get to his father. Everyone there knew who he was, everyone despised him for what he’d done – he had brought shame on this community, and now he was returning as a failure and a beggar. A mob would’ve gathered as soon as they saw him, they would’ve mocked him and insulted him and spat on him. But, they don’t get a chance. The father runs and gets there first, he embraces his child and clothes him… no-one would dare mock him now. The father has humiliated himself to spare his son humiliation.
 4. When the community would again expect punishment, the father doesn’t give the son a chance to repent or fully explain himself. His love and acceptance is total and unconditional; he welcomes him back and restores him to his place as a son without punishing him.

 As I said in the beginning of this sermon, this is a story about a human father, not about God – but that in the example of this father we can see the character of God at work, especially in his love for his sons. This comes across in several ways in this parable.

 A) Like this father, God doesn’t try to beat us into following God’s ways. God gives us free will and lets us use our inheritance as we choose – regardless of the destruction it might bring upon ourselves. We see this at work in the world all around us all the time.
 B) I’m sure we’ve all hurt and insulted God unintentionally (or even intentionally) at some time in our lives. God loves this world and must feel great pain at the way it often rejects or even mocks its creator. Some see disasters like the Boxing Day Tsunami as God reacting, punishing the world for that rejection – but I personally find that view of God very hard to see in the teachings of Christ and especially in this parable. The father in this parable endures these insults with great patience.
 C) Also, like God, this father never stops searching for us, yearning for our return.
 D) As Christians we know that in Christ and his crucifixion, God was willing to suffer pain and humiliation for our sake. Indeed, Jesus was willing to take our punishment and humiliation on himself. The prodigal’s father mirrors that by shaming himself and running out to his son before he reaches the town – saving him from the mockery and the insults that would inevitably have come.
 E) Lastly, several places in the Bible talk about God’s judgment, but not this story. At several places in this parable punishment of the son was expected by society – but was not forthcoming – and I do think this reveals the core nature of God to us.

 “Our God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.”

 This quote appears in the Bible many times, and is reinforced by Jesus’ teachings. God is less trigger-happy with the smiting thing than we’ve often been brought up to think! Love, not punishment is God’s preferred way.
 But, how does that make us feel?

 If the man who stole Norman’s wallet from church a few weeks ago ever came back here I’m sure we’d welcome him, but not unconditionally! I’m sure we’d put him on probation – make sure he was watched at all times and even demand that he replaced what he took. We wouldn’t all rush up to him, give him a hug and a kiss and put on a special morning tea for him!
 But this is how God is portrayed as behaving in this parable, and do we like that about God? At times would we prefer a bit of divine wrath raining down on the neighbourhood to forgiveness?

 At this point in the story the father slaughters the fatted calf. A calf was too big for one family to eat alone, and meat quickly went off in that hot climate – so the whole village would’ve been invited to this feast. Imagine that! Being invited to a party for this son: the one who had insulted his father to his face; shamed the whole community; wasted his money and land in sinful living; and who had returned home as a failure. This son deserved a beating not a party!

 I wonder how many people accepted their invitation to that party?

 And how about us? Would we have gone then? And if God did the same thing today, would we go now?

 

 

Sermon May 6^th – Prodigal 3

(Kenneth Bailey quotes from Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, Eerdmans 1983) 

 Preaching from Psalm 148 and Lk 15

 

 This morning we’re taking our third and final look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. We’ve already looked at the younger brother and the father, and so today we come to examine the older brother.

 I sometimes feel sorry for the older brother, he gets a bit of a bad wrap – a bit similar to Martha in other parts of the gospel. But, the more I’ve read this parable, the more I’ve come to the conclusion that this is Jesus’ intention.
 The younger brother leaves the scene, he is reconciled with his father and doesn’t appear again after that. So, the structure of the story, ending with the father and the older brother talking in the darkness… it does seem designed to keep our minds on this brother once we’ve stopped reading.
 Again, the context of the parable is important here. Jesus tells this story after being criticised by Pharisees for eating with sinners. It’s easy to see the sinners as a type of younger son – they have rejected God and Jewish society, behaving in various immoral ways; BUT, they’ve come to Jesus to listen to him and eat with him – this shows a desire to be reconciled with their heavenly father. The Pharisees in contrast, they’ve followed the rules, they haven’t run away from home. Also, like the older brother in the parable, they desire to keep the sinners excluded, they want them to be punished – they don’t think they should be invited to dinner.

 But then, we need to remember that our faith isn’t about finding the speck in our neighbour’s eye, it’s about recognizing the log in our own eye.

 The more I’ve studied this parable the more I agree with Chesterton – that yes, perhaps this is the greatest story ever told. It’s brilliantly crafted, giving me a picture of Jesus that, as well as being God – as well as being a moral and spiritual giant – that he was also a person of intellectual genius.

 The parable comes in two halves – the first half about the younger son, the second half about the older son. But, the second half never finishes, there is no conclusion. What happens? Does he go in or not?
 I think this is designed to keep us thinking, and designed to put ourselves in the place of the older brother. It’s not about the speck in our neighbour’s eye (“Yeah, I reckon so-and-so’s an older brother through and through!”), no, it’s about the log in our own eye. Are we like the older brother at all? How would we have reacted? And the question we ended last week’s sermon with – would we have gone to that party?

 So, where did the older brother go wrong?

 1. The first issue is, where was he at the beginning of this story? Why does he only appear at the end? What was he doing when he brother was behaving disgracefully and insulting his father, why didn’t he try to intervene? This indicates that he had a level of bitterness or hardness of heart towards his brother right from the beginning.

 2. And this comes to fruition when he does finally appear and refuse to go into the party being held to welcome his brother home. The whole town would’ve been invited to this celebration, and as the eldest son he would’ve had a place of honour. But no, he throws a tantrum and refuses to go in! Even in European culture this would be pretty embarrassing, but in the Middle East this humiliation would probably be magnified 10 times! He is publicly disrespecting and dishonouring his father, he’s making a family disagreement public knowledge. In a very similar way to the younger son at the beginning of the story, this son too is publicly insulting and shaming his father.

 3. Despite this, the father reacts the same way to his eldest son as he did to his youngest son. Earlier he shamed himself by running out to the prodigal son, so as to spare him the ridicule of the town. Now, he also goes out to this son.
 He is the father, he is the boss, he is a rich and powerful man – he is to be respected and obeyed! He should just order his son to come in and punish him later for his insolence. But again, he doesn’t. He showed grace to the younger son, now he shows grace to the older one. He humbles himself in front of the community and goes out to plead for his son to come in. However, while the prodigal was overwhelmed by his father’s act of grace, and submitted to it in silence – the older brother ignores it and keeps complaining.

 4. What comes out from his complaining is very revealing, and makes him once again look quite similar to his brother.
 He had followed the rules! He’d stayed home with his father when his brother had wandered off; also, Jesus tells us that the father divided the property between the 2 sons, so everything that the younger son hadn’t lost did officially belong to him – although, he had followed custom and hadn’t sought to get control over it. At that time fathers could divide up an inheritance before they died, but it was given in name only, the father still controlled it until the day they died.
 This is what is grating for this son. Anything now spent on his brother is coming out of his inheritance! And this is the significance about his complaint about not even being given a goat…

 Kenneth Bailey explains the undertones going on in this conversation.

 Older son – “You never gave me a kid!”
 Father – “All that I have is yours.”
 Older son – “Yes, but I don’t have the right of disposition. I own everything but I still can’t slaughter a goat to have a feast with my friends.”
 Father – “Oh, I see, you also want me gone.”

 The older son also wanted his father dead. He wasn’t too different to his brother after all.

 5. On top of this he rejects relationship. First, he doesn’t call his father “father” like he should – he just says “Listen!” And then he keeps saying “Your son” instead of “my brother.” The father responds by calling him “son,” and keeps saying “this brother of yours” to remind him of the relationship.

 6. This flows into my last (and I think most important) point of all – his wrong understanding of sin.
 The prodigal son recognised that he was a sinner, when he got home he said to his father “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” He seems to have associated sin with failure though - the losing of his land and money. So, he’s got a plan! He’ll get a job, save some money, do some deals… but, then he meets his father!
 He quickly realises that his father isn’t interested in the cash, he doesn’t care that he’s a failure. What he cares about is their relationship. He wants his child back – he wants a son, not an employee! He wants to restore their parent-child relationship.
 The prodigal doesn’t have a plan for this! There is nothing he can do to put this right, so he quietly submits to the grace and forgiveness of the father, and his restoration to the place of a son.

 The older son is slightly different. He doesn’t understand sin as failure, but, like the Pharisees, he sees sin as not following the law – as breaking the rules! He followed the rules! He stayed home, he never asked for control over his inheritance. It doesn’t matter to him that he secretly resents his father, hates his brother and wishes they were both dead. It doesn’t matter to him that although he is physically present that his heart is in a distant country.
 No, his focus is on outward appearance and the letter of the law…

 But, that isn’t the father’s concern. Again, the father’s concern is for relationship – “Son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours.”

 The son’s complaint says it all – “All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.”
 He wants payment from his father, not love. He obeys out of hope of reward, not out of affection. Deep down he sees himself as an employee, not a child.

 Is it the same with us?

 I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and I hope for eternal life with my God. But, is that why I’m a Christian? Out of the fear of eternal punishment or in the hope of future blessing? If that is our motivation for following Christ, then we might not be so different from this elder son.
 God doesn’t want employees! God wants children - sons and daughters. Jesus doesn’t want Christians who follow him out of duty or out of hope of payment, but out of love.

 God wants to love us and be loved by us. God wants a relationship with us. This is what defines sin for a Christian, this is what the gospel is all about – grace not law – an open heart and a living relationship with our Creator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

☺ Soon we’ll come to celebrate communion, remembering God’s sacrificial love for us and the lengths to which God is willing to go to re-establish a relationship with us.

 Do we see anything of ourselves in this older son?

 Are we hard-hearted? Do we harbour resentment and bitterness toward people who have sinned against us, or people we just don’t particularly like? Would we rather see God reject certain people, than be reconciled to them? I know I do sometimes. If so, come to the table, confess your sins and repent, asking God to fill your heart with love.

 

 Also, do we see ourselves as God’s employees rather than God’s children? Are we more focused on reward than relationship? If so, come to the table this morning; allow God to embrace you and overwhelm you with grace and forgiveness; ask God to change your heart and help you accept your place as sons and daughters of your Creator.

 

 Sometimes at this church we come forward to take communion, sometimes we bring it to you in your seats. Today we’ll bring it to you as a symbol of the God who takes the initiative and comes running out to meet us.

 

 

☺ Let us pause a moment to meditate on these things, and to prepare our hearts as we come to take communion….

 

 

 We will now take up the offering…

 

 “Loving God. You who runs to us with open arms. We offer ourselves afresh to you this morning – our hopes, our failures; our money, our talents and our prayers. Take these things, bless them and use them we pray, that this world might be a better place. Amen.”

 

☺ The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you!

 

☺ Take a moment to extend a sign of peace to your neighbours. And while you do can those helping serve communion please come forward…

 

☺ “Take our bread” (x2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

☺ The Lord is here
God’s Spirit is with us

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to offer thanks and praise

 

☺ It is right to praise you, forgiver of the sinful, welcomer of the broken. And so we do praise you as we remember that, on the night before he died… (p.422)

 

☺ Therefore we praise God now together saying:

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
Your death we show forth;
Your resurrection we proclaim;
Your coming we await.

Amen! Come Lord Jesus.

 The gifts of God for the people of God!

 Take and eat…

 

☺ (Dave Dobbyn…) distribution

 

☺ The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.

The cup of blessing for which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ.

We who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.

We are all the children of God.

 

 

 

☺ Servers may return to their seats…

 We now conclude our service by singing #138 in WOV – omitting verse 2

 

☺ Go now to love and be loved by your God, and to love others as Christ loved you.

 And as you go…