Sorry this was a bit late being posted.  Technical difficulties!

Welcome Spring

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness   and praise spring up before all nations

Song:
Sweet Jesus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6gPrD2R6O0

Hymn writers have been moved by scripture to create beautiful hymns. Many years ago my parents turned the grounds around their house in to a Biblical garden and opened it to the public, and to Church groups. They were part of a local horticultural gardening club linked to the R. H. S. The money they raised by donations went to the Bible Society. My late father had printed a guide with scripture to lead them around the trees, flowers, and plants. They were taking bookings all summer long.

The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian organisation with charity status whose purpose is to make Gods Word available throughout the world. Founded by William Wilberforce.

The purpose is to   distribute, translate, advocate, literacy , engagement, and production of Holy Bibles.

William Wilberforce, born 24 August 1759 and died 29 July 1833, was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Yorkshire (1784–1812).

I felt inspired by the lovely warm weather we are having and the new spring flowers growing, The birds and building nests and to know all this was created by God. How much we have taken all this for granted year upon year. But with the Covid 19 Virus and the way it quickly spread, has slowed the world down, It has given us time to think, to help our neighbours, it has given us time to value life. And time to ponder the foolish things we have done. A hymn came to my mind. Dear lord and Father of mankind forgive our foolish ways.

Dear lord and Father of mankind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y47vEE1zbDE

Psalm 103. The Living bible

  I bless the holy name of God with all my heart.  Yes, I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me.

 He forgives all my sins. He heals me.  He ransoms me from hell. He surrounds me with loving-kindness and tender mercies.  He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!  He gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. 7He revealed his will and nature to Moses and the people of Israel.  He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love.  He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. 

 He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins,  for his mercy toward those who fear and honour him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.  He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.  He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.  For he knows we are but dust  and that our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers,  blown by the wind and gone forever.  But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who reverence him; his salvation is to children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant and remember to obey him! The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything there is.  Bless the Lord, you mighty angels of his who carry out his orders, listening for each of his commands. Yes, bless the Lord, you armies of his angels who serve him constantly.  Let everything everywhere bless the Lord. And how I bless him too!

Isaiah 40:8 

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

While you listen to the link below Take time, thank God for all the things we have taken for granted. The fact that we can hear and smell the beauty around us. Help us to cherish the use of our senses give thanks to God with a loving heart for he first loved us and this love will never cease. For He created us in his own image. Also Ask God to forgive any guilt that you have carried with you for too long, as him to heal you and bring you His peace

The gentle breeze (You may listen and watch while you pray.) stop this when you are ready.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-1Ug5tCA6I

Jesus cleansed/washed us from our sins, metaphorically speaking.

Hyssop has healing and cleansing proprieties and was used used through out history and still is today

Come and sprinkle me with hyssop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xThETOzmkTs

Psalm 51:7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

HYSSOP

Luke 12 : 22 – 31 Do Not Worry

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life ? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

The lily of the valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS6KMx_0NDQ

Seek ye first the kingdom of God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFxZeY2D5tc

This week ask of God what he wants you to do. Seek His guidance.

Praise His righteousness ask Him to be close to you. His kingdom is at hand, He will never fail you, Do not look for the wealth of this world you can not take with you when you die. James 1:9-11 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

The psalmist wrote As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. Gods love is the richest treasure that you can have. Look at the beauty around you, it is His creation. You can not buy the air, the Granger of mountaintops. The power of the rivers or the sounds of nature these are Gods free gifts. So it is good to give Him thanks, even the trees wave there branches and clap their hands.

Isaiah 55 the message

1-5 “Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come anyway—buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money—everything’s free! Why do you spend your money on junk food,  your hard-earned cash on cotton candy? Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,  fill yourself with only the finest. Pay attention, come close now,  listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words. I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,    the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love. I set him up as a witness to the nations,  made him a prince and leader of the nations, And now I’m doing it to you:  You’ll summon nations you’ve never heard of, and nations who’ve never heard of you will come running to you Because of me, your God,   because The Holy of Israel has honoured you.” 6-7 Seek God while he’s here to be found, pray to him while he’s close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way of life  and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful,  come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness. 8-11 “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
 God’s Decree.“For as the sky soars high above earth,  so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies  and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,  producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth  not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them 12-13 “So you’ll go out in joy, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life. The mountains and hills will lead the parade,  bursting with song. All the trees of the forest will join the procession,  exuberant with applause. No more thistles, but giant sequoias,   no more thorn bushes, but stately pines—Monuments to me, to God,  living and lasting evidence of God.”

You shall go out with Joy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unWnWSgoSt0

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
God Bless Susannah V

Second Sunday after Easter

 

Second Sunday after Easter 2021

Song: Come on and celebrate

Come on and Celebrate - YouTube

John 20: 19 – 29

Song: Up from the grave he arose

Quarantine Virtual Hymn Sing - Low in the Grave He Lay - YouTube

John 21: 1-14

Song: He lives!

He Lives! (I Serve A Risen Saviour) - YouTube

As we go through our lives, there are often “milestone” events; things which are very important and have a shaping effect on the way we live. These events can be of many varieties, and the importance of an event can vary for different people.

Once the event over, people often talk about “getting back to normal”. The event then remains as a part of their history, something to talk about and perhaps to act as dating references when talking about other things.

Some events have an especially strong impact on people. After such events there is no possibility of going back, everything has changed.

Some years ago I knew a man who had lost his wife. He attempted to do the things that had always had been done, but was unequal to the task. One of the things which his late wife had done was attend to the Christmas cards and presents, but he made a mess of this, to his embarrassment. Later on, in conversation with his sister-in-law, he was talking about this, only for her to say “Well it would have never have happened if Ruby had been alive!” His response was to say “Many things would have been different if Ruby had been alive.” After such an event, there was no “going back to normal”, everything had changed.

Often when people retire they have thoughts of retiring to somewhere that they have lived in the past. Whenever I have such thoughts, I then pause and consider that the town would not be what it was like when I lived there; the people would not be the same as when I lived there, those that are still there would be much older, and many of the others would have moved away. It is not “going back” to when I lived there, or to where I lived. It is not the same place and time.

In the musical West Side Story, there is an exchange between Doc and Action:

Doc : Why, when I was your age...

Action : When you was my age? When my old man was my age, when my brother was my age... You was never my age, none of ya! And the sooner you creeps get hip to that, the sooner you'll dig us!

“You was never my age”, times have changed, the world has moved on. Me as a teenager is not the same as you as a teenager. You don’t know what it is like to be a teenager in the modern world.

Jesus’ life and death was one of those “no going back” events. And yet, the disciples tried to “go back to normal”. They went fishing at Galilee. This was what they knew, what was familiar. Jesus appeared and they realised that they could not just carry on as before. His actions reminded them of the events of his ministry, and how he had changed things.

Jesus came to change the world, there was no going back, only forwards. Jesus came to turn the world upside down, or as an author put it “to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable.”

The past year has been an event from which there can be no “going back to normal”. We will talking about this year for a long time. The world has changed as a result of the covid19 pandemic.

As a church we need to realise that we cannot just go back to doing everything the same way as we have always done, If we try to, the risen Lord will appear to us and say that we need to find new ways of doing things, we must go forward in His service.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus ~ Cedarmont Kids ~ lyric video - YouTube 

Prayer:

O Lord All The World Belongs To You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJMaNZ84xsw

Low Sunday

Sing to the mountains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zacE5ZIkcSE

1 Chronicles 16

31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

33 Let the trees of the forest sing,

let them sing for joy before the Lord,

for he comes to judge the earth.

34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Saviour;

gather us and deliver us from the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name,

and glory in your praise.”

36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

Alive, alive alive for ever more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSbvIAu1qJA

John 20: 24 – 30

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus which means twin, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 

25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe  that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

“My Lord and my God”

Sons and Daughters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff-L7HstdlI

I have often thought that Thomas may have misunderstood. How would you have felt? First Your best friend had the most horrid death, murdered by the authorities, then they started looking for the followers. Thomas thought his mates were trying to tease him by saying they had seen their Lord alive and well. He was in emotional turmoil. Then he spoke out, saying he would not be taken in by them; he did not believe them. Because of the threat from the Romans, the Followers had locked them selves in the room. Thomas knew if he left the room with his friends, would put himself and them in danger. When all of a sudden, Christ stood among them. No wonder the first word Christ says to them is “peace be with you.” In other words do not panic, its only me. Can you imagine knowing someone you had just buried a week ago, suddenly standing next to you? It would be disturbing.

Jesus talks with Thomas then shows his hands and side and asks him to feel the scars. By getting Thomas to touch him shows that Jesus was not a ghost or spirit but real flesh and bones and this is when Thomas announces “My Lord and my God!”

So today we can take Christ’s words to our hearts “blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed.” We believe because he lives within in our hearts. John Wesley stated at his conversion I felt my heart strangely warmed.

I was once asked what Jesus felt like? I turned to the person and ask her have you ever had a cuddle that made you feel special and warm she replayed “yes when my boy friend hugs and kisses me”

Well Jesus gives you a hug on the inside that makes you feel warm and safe. When you ask Christ into your life, ask him to heal your wounds, comfort your pain,

and warm your heart with his love and peace.

POEM

St Thomas. The Apostle

We do not know… how can we know the way?”

Courageous master of the awkward question,

You spoke the words the others dared not say

And cut through their evasion and abstraction.

Oh doubting Thomas, father of my faith,

You put your finger on the nub of things

We cannot love some disembodied wraith,

But flesh and blood must be our king of kings.

Your teaching is to touch, embrace, anoint,

Feel after Him and find Him in the flesh.

Because He loved your awkward counter-point

The Word has heard and granted you your wish.

Oh place my hands with yours, help me divine

The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine.

By Malcolm Guite

I serve a risen Saviour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcfRlAsBB8

The Pauses in the Lords Prayer are so you can think about the words.

Let us Pray

Lord Jesus I have never seen you, I believe that you are the Holy one, the Son of the Living God. You asked us to call God Almighty Father. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I exalt you, I praise your name and lift my voice in worship. For you are my God, my Saviour, and Lord. Fill me with your hallowed presence that I know your love and peace. Unite me with my Christian friends as I say the Prayer that you taught your disciples.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, 
thy kingdom come,  thy will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Pause...
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our trespasses, 

as we forgive those who trespass against us. 
Pause...
And lead us not into temptation,  but deliver us from evil. 
Pause...
For thine is the kingdom,  the power, and the glory, 
for ever and ever. Amen.

Fill me now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UKYbE3_Fug.

There is about 1000 years between David and Jesus, although Jesus is of Davids line.

And In this psalm the words to Thomas’s are echoed “You are my Lord;

let us echo the same words today Lord you are My God.

Psalm 16 written by King David

1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

2I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

3I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.

8I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful   one see decay.

11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

You are My Lord

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4YFS0w_vPA

Blessing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUtll3mNj5U

God Bless You Susannah

Easter Day. Sunday April 4th.

 

Easter virtual Service. 2021.

You may wish to share in the Holy Communion which is part of this on line service.

Please prepare your self a very small drink of juice, water, or wine and a small piece of bread or biscuit that you can break in to two pieces, before joining in this Easter morning Celebration.

Welcome; Happy Easter

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed, Hallelujah.

Christ the Lord is risen to day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djU28gx40dU

Bible reading from Luke chapter 24: 1 – 35

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

We welcome glad Easter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vth0r2qHKA

On the Road to Emmaus

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles  from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

19 “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

This is to listen to and to take communion

Break thou the bread of life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPGiVA731lM

Say as you listen either aloud or in you heart:

Lord God take me as I am, wash me from my guilt and sin.

Thank you for loving me.

I break this bread in remembrance of your Son Lord Jesus,

As I eat may your holy spirit link me with all who eat and share with me.

Eat ……. pause in silent prayer.

Thank you Lord God for through the blood of your son my sins are for given.

Blessed Father As I drink may your holy spirit link me with all who sup with me.

Fill me and them with your love and peace Drink……. pause in silent prayer,

Thank you Father God, for you have fed us with this sacrament uniting us with Jesus and giving us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet prepared for people. Amen

Risen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSdw0pblPqs

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

He Lives He lives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v3yiZav_8M

Benediction

With our eyes we see the meaning of Easter.

With our ears we hear His Word

with our hands we show His care

with our hearts we feel His compassion

with our souls we know His presence

with our lives we share the Easter story.

Amen.

He Arose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGNCIL4uIqY

Amen.

God Bless. Susannah.

The Below Link is a powerful Good Friday to Easter short musical film.

You may find it emotional. NOT suitable for young children.

please watch it first, before deciding if you want your child / children to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6PKpywdaLM