Online worship: Sunday 19 July 2020

 

Welcome! Please click on the play button (the triangle) in the sound file above to listen to Sunday worship from St Andrew’s and St George’s West in Edinburgh.

You can download a PDF of the Order of Service here or just follow it below. 

 

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

 

Preparing for Worship

We start from where we are
on this journey of becoming
our calling, God-given and God-accepted:

a field of weeds and wheat
growing in us together
(God will do and does the harvesting).

Let the hand of God
be seen at work already
in our harvest.

Andrew King

 

Welcome

 

Call to Worship       (Spill the Beans)

 

Church buildings, sacred spaces, gather us together.
Together (in isolation) we gather as one, though physically apart.
God be with us in our houses and homes, just as God is with us in our churches and cathedrals.
Come. Let us worship as God’s scattered community.
As the farmer scatters the seed, may the fruits of the Spirit be plentiful among us, wherever we may be.

 

Opening Hymn 97:     O God, you search me and you know me

O God, you search me, and you know me.
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.
When I walk or lie down, you are before me:
ever the maker and keeper of my days.

You know my resting and my rising,
You discern my purpose from afar.
and with love everlasting, you besiege me:
In every moment of life or death, you are.

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord,
you have known its meaning through and through.
You are with me beyond my understanding:
God of my present, my past and future, too.

Although your Spirit is upon me,
still I search for shelter from your light.
There is nowhere on Earth I can escape you:
even the darkness is radiant in your sight.

For you created me and shaped me,
gave me life within my mother’s womb.
For the wonder of who I am, I praise you:
Safe in your hands, all creation is made new.

Bernadette Farrell (from Psalm 139)

 

Opening Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Creator God, you are the source of all that is:
the life in every living thing:
We come to you today, to open ourselves up to your transforming love and grace.
We open our eyes and look at the ripening harvest of our lives.
What shoots of new growth can we see?
What is there in us that is stronger and healthier than it was before?
We give thanks to you for every growth in grace, every kindness shown; every struggle overcome.
As we look deeper, are there weeds of tiredness or frustration, thorns of envy or of fear that threaten to choke the life of the kingdom, growing in us?
We acknowledge before you, the dangers that we face.
We confess the temptations that have drawn us.

Forgive us, we pray.
Help us not to feed these weeds with our time or water them with our attention, but to trust you to deal with them, when the time is right.

We thank you for every glimpse of your love we see breaking into our world.
For every seed of life that you have planted.
We thank you for the experiences and people who have influenced and shaped our lives for the good; people who by their presence helped us feel closer to you and to each other.
As we grieve the passing of members of our community in recent weeks and months, we know that the gifts and graces they offered us are not lost to us, rather they now lie planted within our own lives.

Lord of all life, may the seeds of your kingdom continue to grow in us, and be allowed to flourish, that we may share with all your faithful people in the joy of the harvest feast.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us in the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and forever.  Amen

 

New Testament Reading:    Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NRSV)

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

He [Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”…

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

 

Anthem:   Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
and grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years
bright shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
than when we’ve first begun.

Text: John Newton (1725 – 1807)

Music: Scottish traditional melody arr. Andrew Carvel

 

Reflection

 

Hymn 166:     Lord of all hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
be there at our labours and give us, we pray,
your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace.
be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Text: Jan Struther (1901-1953)

 

Prayers of Intercession

Dear Lord, we pray today for all those who have been adversely affected by coronavirus.

We pray for those who are unwell, who are struggling to recover from illness, and those who have not been able to recover.  We pray for all those who care for the unwell and all those who have lost loved ones. And especially we thank you for all those who have recovered and are now able to resume their lives.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Lord, we pray for all those who have lost a positive self-image as a result of losing their jobs.  Help us to support all those we know who need encouragement just now – those who are lonely, those who have financial worries and those who cannot see the way ahead. And help us to allow others to give us support at times when we are in need of it.  We thank you for the blessings of friendship and community, and we pray that we may always strive to bring people together, to counter loneliness and to reach out to those who are in need of fellowship.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Almighty Father, please govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, help those who have to make difficult decisions every day in government, and enable our leaders to work well together for the common good.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Heavenly Father, we pray for all refugees, that the desperate may find new hope, and lives and families torn apart be restored. And we hold before you those who are homeless. Draw near and comfort them in spirit and bless those who work to provide them with shelter, food and friendship.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Living God, we give thanks for all the good things that we have seen grow in the course of our lives, for difficult times which have helped us to understand the difficulties that other people face, for losses which have helped us to understand others better, for hard questions that have led us more deeply into the mystery of our faith.

Lord, graciously hear us.

We give thanks for farmers and fishing crews; for all who grow food, and catch it, prepare it, transport it, market and sell it, so that we can have enough to eat, and help us never to take what they do for granted.

We give thanks for those who sow seeds of faith, of hope and of imagination, when those gifts are in short supply. May their work bear a rich harvest.

We give thanks for those who cheer us by believing in us, for those who make us laugh and help us to smile at ourselves. And we give thanks for those who pray for us, especially when we have forgotten how to pray for ourselves.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Gracious God, we pray for the church of Jesus Christ, charged with representing him in the world, and with tending the fragile seeds of his kingdom. Help us not to be distracted by the weeds which may grow amongst the sprouting corn, but to focus on the fresh, green shoots of new life. May we not choke that life with negative thoughts, but always nurture it with love and hope. Keep us faithful in our planting, our watering, and our waiting for the rich harvest that is your glory and your gift.

All this we pray in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

 

Benediction

The Sower, God, spreads the seed in the fertile soil of creation.
May God’s Spirit feed you this week and beyond.
May the earth be full of God’s glory.
May all the earth know of God’s love.

 

Sung Blessing:      The Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make his face to shine upon you
And be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you
And give you peace.

 

 

 

Minister: Rosie Magee
Director of Music: Brigitte Harris
Reader: David Dow
Prayers of Intercession: Selda Dow
Choir of St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church
Vocal ensemble:  Eleanor Cozens, Eleanor Wilson, Caitlin McGillivray,
Drew Crichton, Andrew Carvel
Piano: Eleanor Cozens
Communications: Alison Bruce and Susan McLarty
Service edited by Andrew Carvel

Photograph: Pixabay
Hymns used under licence from CCLI 247862
Streaming licence 351013

St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church of Scotland Edinburgh. Charity SC008990

www.edinburghnewtownchurch.org.uk