10 Predictions for 2013

1: The euro crises will rumble on but slowly resolve it self

2: The US / EU grip on international organisations will be further weakened

3: The EU will go into a recession reducing the most of the Euro

4: EU leaders with threaten exit but not do anything

5: Japan’s economy will continue to stagnate

6: China will increase her economic influence in the US and EU

7: More talk but no action on Syria

8: Coalition will threaten to split but remain together

9: UK sluggish recovery will continue

10: Basically 2012 mark 2 

Reporting service

Order of service for Reported service

Call to worship: Psalm 22: 3-5

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

    you are the one Israel praises.[]

4 In you our ancestors put their trust;

    they trusted and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried out and were saved;

    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Hymn: StF 351: In Christ alone

All age address: Have you ever been really ill?

·         Ask them what their parents do to look after them when they’re sick

·         How much better it is to be well

·         God – sent Jesus to heal the sick (all of us)

Hymn: StF 635: My Troubled soul, why so weighed down

Dismissal

Collective Psalm 22: 22,24,26-31

22 I will declare your name to my people;

    in the assembly I will praise you.

24 For he has not despised or scorned

    the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

    but has listened to his cry for help.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek the Lord will praise him—

    may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth

    will remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

    will bow down before him,

28 for dominion belongs to the Lord

    and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—

    those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30 Posterity will serve him;

    future generations will be told about the Lord.

31 They will proclaim his righteousness,

    declaring to a people yet unborn:

    He has done it!

Prayer of adoration / thanksgiving

Hymn  287: When I survey the wondrous cross

Reading: Mark 15: 33-38

Reading: Mark 2: 13-17

Reading: Mark 8:34-38

Sermon:

·         We are all sick

·         We all feel forsaken by God

·         Jesus knows our pains

·         He heals the sick

·         Cross is strength not suffering

Hymn: Old rugged cross

Collective Psalm 22: 1-2, 6-11, 19

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from saving me,

    so far from my cries of anguish?

2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

    by night, but I find no rest.[b]

6 But I am a worm and not a man,

    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,

    “let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

    since he delights in him.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;

    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.

10 From birth I was cast on you;

    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,

    for trouble is near

    and there is no one to help.

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.

    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.

Prayers of confession / forgiveness

Prayers of intercession

Lord's prayer

Offertory

Hymn: 345: And can it be

Dismal

Oos 23122012

Order of service for December 23rd, Caversham heights, 10.30am

Call to worship: Titus 3 4-7

Advent liturgy

Hymn: H&P 232 Tell me the old, old story

Prayer of adoration

All age address: what is your favourite story?

·         This is a story of salvation

·         Birth of gods kingdom on earth

Prayer of thanksgiving

Hymn StF 627: Everyone needs compassion

Short welcome for peace candle: Isaiah 9: 6-7

Peace candle lit

Dismissal

Reading Luke 2 4-20 (can be done in two parts)

Prayers of confession / forgiveness

Hymn: StF 202 Hark the herald-angels sing

Sermon: true story of Christmas

Prayers for the coming of the kingdom

Hymn StF 216 See him lying on a bed of straw

Prayers for the housebound

Prayers of intercession

Lord's prayer
Offertory

Hymn: H&P 135 Go tell in on the Mountain
Dismal 

Harvest

What does harvest mean to you? (Symon)

Ask people about what the harvest means to them?

In the Psalm we were given a picture of God as gardener

He fills the rivers with waters

Blesses the its valleys and trees

And blesses it with his love and mercy

But there is one fruit it does not mention and that id the fristfruit

When I think of harvest I think of this

Luke 13:34

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

We our also a creation of God

We our his first fruit

It is hard to think of us as fruit I know

But it is for us all other creation was formed

It is to keep us that God blesses the harvest

And just as we gather the fruits we grow

So God will gather us in

So when I think of the harvest I think of the day when God shall call me home

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

How do we offer back to God? (Symon)

In accordance with are reading we have:

Come from the world God made for us

We have marked the wonders of God

We have given thanks that ours is a land of milk and honey

And we have rejoice in all the good things

but what our we to give him?

I am reminded of a Christmas song: In the bleak midwinter

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Fruit and vegetable our all well and good

Our time and money are better still

But what God really wants is You

You are his harvest

You his chosen person

Yes I know no of you think worth of it

Hardly the best of humanity

Hardly blessed in his sight

If I am fruit I am bruised and a bit mouldy

but so much dose he love you

That he causes the rivers to flow

He causes the sun to shine

And he even sent his first fruit

His own son

To call you home

So when you think God has forgotten all about you

Come be part of the harvest

And he shall rise you to be the first fruit

Why I support austerity

I recently attended my local preacher meeting, during which there is always an update on the church who is hosting it. This particular church had started providing emergency food aid (in partnership with others) to those in need in there local area. I was a little surprised, as the area in which this church stood, was not deprived or disadvantaged. It was a small town in south East England and food aid was required.

So why do I support the policy causing this food aid?

Firstly I must admit that this is the outcome I would expect. Food scarcity is always the outcome of increased global consumption and local recession. In a time of resource constraint I would expect those in the worse economic position too feel it more then those with greater accesses to resources.

This is not to blame those forced by forces far beyond them. To say that before the crash the country, the household and the individual overspent. If a person who is employed lives in debt they will be utterly destitute if they should loose there job. This is the situation many people have found themselves in.

One of the causes of this overspend is of course the fall in real terms wages but a vain attempt attempt to maintain current living standards. I often compare this to a impoverished Emperor , who is fooled into thinking thin air is the most fashionable robes and then buys them. He is foolish twice, once to buy thin air and the second time to use money better used else where (in paying of his debt perhaps).

We could argue who fault all of this is but we our faced with it none the less. Both the nation and the individual overspent and massively and for very little tangible outcomes. I concede there was useful spending as well for example new hospitals and school buildings. I however submit a new hospital operates just as well if not designed by an award winning architect. It was exactly this vane spending to which I refer. Infrastructure spending is one thing but no nation is enriched by modern, initiative buildings just functional ones.

So we our left with no money to spend. We have rather pleasant looking but empty visitor centres and people starving because they themselves lived of debt in the good times and I support the policy effectively pulling the plug on all the spending that partially supported this?

Yes and Yes again

One of the first effect of the global melt down was for good or ill the fortunes of Britain where held by the dreaded rating agencies. Effectively, Britain is owned not by its people but its debt holders and if the APR (Bond yields) where to raise too far BANG! At best ,massive devaluation of sterling (which would massively increase the cost of imports) and at worse Bankruptcy and who would be able to bail out the UK? Who?

So why not increase our tax take to pay off our debts and build some more pleasing ornate buildings? Why not? The required businesses people and investors we so desperately need would simply leave. We our beggars, not masters, we need them far more then they need us. Oh we could threaten to freeze them out of the UK but such an anti business anti free market move would end any chance of recovery and make Ukplc UK on the Volga.

No the bitter pill is this, without the ability to borrow more money for fear of the credit ratings and without the ability to tax people more without causing a flight of international capital we are ensnared. We must cut expenditure and do what ever private capital wishes in order to get there money voluntarily. I would say that there are far better target for cuts then the poor but they our either protected by government or by the electoral will of the people. No we must cut spending and pay off our debts, like those who our blessed to still have a job.

The UK must look beyond the EU for trading opportunities, shaking hands with anyone willing to spend a few pennies in the UK. Indeed placating Latin America with over various issues would be a good start. We our beggars remember and it is time we acted like them. Oh and by the way I know dealing with murders and corrupted people is not easy but neither is seeing people beg for emergency baskets.  

Prayers of confession and forgivness 2nd sep

Prayers of confession (based on Psalm 15)



Lord forgive us that are walk has not been blameless
Lord forgive us for when we have not done what is righteous,



When we have failed to speaks the truth from their heart;
When our tongues have utters slander,



Forgive us for when we have wronged our neighbours
Forgive us for when we have casts no slur on others;



Lord we admit we have not keeps an oath
Lord we admit we have been shaken.



We have not kept your lord
We have no kept you gospel in our hearts



For all of this we seek your mercy
For all of us we seek your grace in our hearts 

Prayers of forgiveness:

Lord we know you forgive us always

Lord we know you'll give us grace always

You made your word flesh when we would not hear it

You showed us your grace when we would not see it

You set up your camp in our hearts when we needed it

You forgive us though we did not deserve it.

Lord your will is we spread the gospel of forgiveness

Lord you will is we spread the law of love

In this we are joined in salvation with your son

In the great act of scarifies we are forgiven though your son

Prayer of adoration

Listen! Look! Here the Lord comes, leaping across the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the lord;

my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.

You have exchanged the laws of man for your love

You have clean our souls from the stains of sin

You have anointed our lips with your grace

You have made us blessed you forever.

Lord you have erected your camp in my heart

Lord your is the cause of truth, humility and justice;

Lord your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

Lord your saving word has redeemed the world

Lord when I speak with you the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart are pleasing in your sight,