Week beginning 18th February

Hymn: God of grace and glory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSOvpH6FgUE

Prayer

Lord creator God pour your spirit into our lives; may we feel the peace of your presence.

Lord, living God grant to us your wisdom and courage in our Christian witness.

Lord, Loving God may we not anger you, nor bring you shame, may we never use your name in vain. May we never fail others or fail you keep us free from temptation. Grant us wisdom and courage to ever serve you our only creator living Loving Lord Amen

HYMN: Who Can Sound The Depths of Sorrow 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88VCX7bqKJo

Genesis 3:1 -24

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden  9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,“Cursed are you above all livestock   and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly   and you will eat dust  all the days of your life.15 And I will put enmity(deep rooted hatred) between you and the woman,  and between your offspring and hers; he will crush  your head,  and you will strike his heel.”16 To the woman he said,“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;   with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband,   and he will rule over you.”17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’“Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil you will eat food from it    all the days of your life.18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,   and you will eat the plants of the field.19 By the sweat of your brow   you will eat your food until you return to the ground,  since from it you were taken; for dust you are  and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Hymn: What a friend we have in Jesus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwi_qKVI8lQ

Since the Garden, God has been calling to us, “Where are you?”

Since the Garden, humans have been hiding in shame. Let’s stop hiding and bring our sins to light.

Prayer of Confession

Our God, you created the world and called it good.

You created man and woman in your image and called them very good.

But we have been deceived by half-truths and false promises.

We have tasted temptation and it is bitter in our mouths.

We thought our desire for forbidden fruit would bring us wisdom,

but it brought us only the curse of pain and death. Please cover us in your love.

Take away our sin. In the stillness we lay before you those things we have not done and should have done, the things we have left undone. the hurtful things we have said and done.

In your mercy, forgive us and restore our relationship with you, O Lord our God. Amen

Prayers of intercession

In February 2022 , when war in Ukraine began, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York wrote a prayer for the country and its people:

A Prayer for Ukraine

God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen

Archbishop Justin Welby. Archbishop Stephen Cottrell

Heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ has promised that you will hear us when we ask in faith: receive the prayers we offer. 
We pray for Christians throughout the World, especially where there is suffering, danger  and persecution; Lord,  hear our prayer.

We pray for all the peoples of the world and their leaders; countries in crisis; those countries where there are conflicts, Countries affected by acts of terrorism. Countries ruled by corrupt and brutal leaders, Countries where people are starving. Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for own leaders, at both National and Local level, those who administer our laws; the emergency services, all those who work in hospitals, care homes and the medical profession, all those who are caring for people who need help and friendship in their lives, We pray for those who have responsibility for the welfare of others.

We pray for our local community, for those who are sick, those who are suffering, those who grieve. We pray for the distressed, the lonely, the homeless, the unloved, the unemployed, We pray for those in need of a friend, those wanting someone to reach out to them with a caring and loving hand. We commend to your keeping, Father, ourselves and each other, our families, our neighbours, and our friends. Enable us by your Spirit to live in love for you and for one another. Help us all to reflect your love in the way we treat other people, so that your love spreads throughout the world.  Amen

In Deuteronomy chapter 8 Moses said from verse 1 to 3

1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Hymn: Lead us heavenly Father lead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpkEeXWtWg0

Matthew 4:1-11

1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted  by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Hymn. Forty days and forty nights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N29ZnwU4LM

What sorts of things are we tempted by? When I was diagnosed with diabetics I was given a booklet of how to control it, there were things I can eat and the amounts, and the consequences of making my sugar levels spike or plummet. It is very tempting to eat the wrong things because they are sweet.

When a student was training for the priesthood the Bishop talked about temptation the student boosted that he was never tempted and he could always do the right thing. Later that term he was invited to the bishops house for tea a great spread had been laid out. The bishop explained that he had an important phone call to make but to tuck in with the instructions “you can eat anything on the table but do not lift the cover off the cheese cover in the middle”. The young man took a plate and filled it with food, but after fifteen minutes the bishop had still not returned, the dish in the middle of the table was causing him a problem, after another five minutes the student could not resist taking a peak he only lifted the lid a small amount and to his horror a mouse ran out from under it. At that very moment the bishop returned and smiled at the embarrassed youth then talked with him about Adam and Eve’s temptation of not eating the forbidden fruit we read the out come to that earlier, And Christ's temptation and how Jesus answered Satan. We must remember that the devil is very active today he will do every thing he can to stop you from following Jesus and worshipping God. Therefore seek Christ, let him into your heart. God loves you, You are forgiven through the grace of Christ. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit that he may live within you His power will prompt, comfort, and strengthen you. Each day walk with him and pray to him.

In doing so your faith in Him will grow. May God bless you with His love. Amen

And as Jesus taught his disciples we now join with our brothers and sisters through the world

in saying the Lords Prayer (this is the prayer we use in our Church but please use the version

you would usually use

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.

Lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 4:12-17

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali 14 to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah:15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,  the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles 16 the people living in darkness  have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Hymn. Seek the first the kingdom of God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBpM9IcBts

Benediction

May the God of peace who raised Christ from the dead Strengthen your inner being for every good work. And may the blessing of God Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit Rest upon you and dwell within you This day and evermore. Amen.