Hi All!
It’s great to be with you this morning, having been – in my case, not just for the first time in a long time, but actually for the first time full stop, in most cases – in many of our beautiful churches this week, as we’ve been able to open them for times of private prayer. I have really valued these quiet times in God’s presence, praying to Him and waiting on Him. I hope that those of you who have, like me, gone to pray, have found it a real pleasure to be back in our buildings, even if still under very restricted circumstances.
It’s been a real pleasure to bump into some of you there (still socially distanced, of course!), as you have been into the churches to pray too. We’ll continue to open each church at the same times each week until further notice – see the blog post of June 14th for details of which church is open when. Thank you so much to all of our Wardens for making this possible – it is hugely appreciated by me and by our Cranmer Group church family.
We continue our preaching following the Lectionary, in Paul’s Letter to the Romans, chapter 6, verses 1-11: “Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ!”
Do watch the video here at 9.30AM on Sunday 21st, and then, as usual, join us here on Zoom (Meeting ID: 864 0083 1074; Password: 549794) from 10.15AM for a catch-up with all your Cranmer Group friends.
Our worship this morning is, as usual, led by Deb and Deborah – thank you both. Our hymns today are:
O For a Heart to Praise My God
O for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free;
A heart that always feels thy blood
So freely shed for me.
A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
My dear Redeemer’s throne;
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.
A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true, and clean,
Which neither life nor death can part
From him that dwells within.
A heart in every thought renewed,
And full of love divine;
Perfect and right and pure and good –
A copy, Lord, of thine.
Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart,
Come quickly from above;
Write thy new name upon my heart,
Thy new best name of Love.
Charles Wesley
Lord, for the Years
Lord, for the years
Your love has kept and guided,
Urged and inspired us,
Cheered us on our way,
Sought us and saved us,
Pardoned and provided:
Lord of the years,
We bring our thanks today.
Lord, for that word,
The word of life which fires us,
Speaks to our hearts
And sets our souls ablaze,
Teaches and trains,
Rebukes us and inspires us:
Lord of the word,
Receive your people’s praise.
Lord, for our land
In this our generation,
Spirits oppressed by
Pleasure, wealth and care:
For young and old,
For commonwealth and nation,
Lord of our land,
Be pleased to hear our prayer.
Lord, of our world
Where men disown and doubt you,
Loveless in strength,
And comfortless in pain,
Hungry and helpless,
Lost indeed without you;
Lord of the world,
We pray that Christ may reign.
Lord, of ourselves,
In living power remake us
Self on the cross
And Christ upon the throne,
Past put behind us,
For the future take us;
Lord of our lives,
To live for Christ alone.
Timothy Dudley-Smith
As usual, if you’d prefer to read rather than listen to the podcast, the sermon transcript, reading and prayers can be downloaded here:
To join Morning Prayer on Zoom, Wednesdays & Fridays 9.00-9.30AM, click here (meeting ID: 873 3636 1158; Password: 629570).
And if you cannot make it to our churches for private prayer, do keep joining us for our online prayer gatherings:
To join Evening Prayer on Zoom, Thursdays 8.00-8.30PM, click here (meeting ID: 873 3636 1158; Password: 629570).
Best wishes, and God bless,
Rev. Tim Chambers
Vicar
The Cranmer Group
E-mail: curate@stgilesparish.com
Mobile: 07946 526569