KILRENNY PARISH CHURCH

contact: Corinne

tele: 311408

corinne@peddies.com

 

Kilrenny Church website

https://e-voice.org.uk/kilrenny/

 

Order of Service for Sunday 7^th February 2021

Online worship

The You Tube link is: https://youtu.be/Vm1fzzzIRPg. 

 

Welcome

Welcome to worship with the community of Kilrenny Parish Church. We may not be able to worship in the Church building at this time, but we can still come together as a worshiping community to give thanks and praise God.

 

Call to Worship

Let us come to worship God.

 

Lord Jesus, you call us to be your people in this place. Give us a sense of your power in our lives, your love in our hearts, and your joy in all we do. Join with us now as we worship you this day.

Amen.

 

Hymn CH 352                        O for a thousand tongues to sing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O9kw3cILpg

 

 

 

 

 

Opening Prayer & Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray:

Lord God,

High in the heavens, yet kneeling at our feet,

Let us sing praises loudly, let us pray quietly,

Let us listen attentively, let us act presently.

Let our words praise You,

Let our actions praise You,

Living, loving, eternal God.

 

As we draw near to You, may we find that You

Already are on Your way to meet us,

And more than halfway.

Bridging sin-gulfs, breaking sin-walls,

Your sparkling, irresistible love wins through.

Let us praise Your Holy Name!

 

Searching God,

Into every dark place,

Into every hard heart,

Into every narrow mind,

Into every shut mouth,

Into every closed eye,

Come with healing light to open up

And reveal to us not only Who You are,

But what Your love might be,

In us, through us, or even despite us.

Forgive us for choosing bleakness instead of blessedness.

Into our wintry worlds let the smell of summer come;

Let this be, in our lives, God’s February,

Redolent of new life, new light, new beginning, new hope.

 

May God, in infinite mercy, shine healing light

Upon all your living, that the life you live

May be a life lived to God’s glory, each day, each night.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

And now, we join our voices together in the Prayer Jesus taught us:

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 debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever

Amen.

 

 

Reading: St Mark 1: 29 - 39

Jesus and his disciples, including James and John, left the synagogue and went straight to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and as soon as Jesus arrived, he was told about her. He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to wait on them.

After the sun had set and evening had come, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had demons. All the people of the town gathered in front of the house. Jesus healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases and drove out many demons. He would not let the demons say anything, because they knew who he was.

Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed. But Simon and his companions went out searching for him, and when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus answered, “We must go on to the other villages around here. I have to preach in them also, because that is why I came.”

So he travelled all over Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons.

Amen. The word of God for the people of God.

 

 

Hymn CH 718                        We cannot measure how you heal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exr0oxZwZKA

 

 

 

Reflection: “Healing & Prayer”

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in your sight Lord, amen.

 

Our journey through Mark’s Gospel continues today with Jesus healing and teaching all over Galilee. I’ve spoken of the sense of purpose, energy and action that the writer of Mark gives to his telling of Jesus’ ministry. You can hear it in today’s reading: it picks up from the healing in the synagogue from last week’s reading. We are told: ‘Jesus and his disciples, including James and John, left the synagogue and went straight to the home of Simon and Andrew’.

 

We don’t know if Jesus knew that Simon’s Mother-in-Law was ill, or if it had come on her that day, but He didn’t hesitate to go to her and offer her comfort and healing. This was a healing done in private, no great flourishes or dramatic acts of power, just a simple act of listening, observing and acting quietly.

 

Of course, word had got round about the events in the synagogue and it didn’t take long for people to come flocking to Simon and Andrew’s house seeking healing for themselves and their family. Being the Sabbath, no one could travel until after sunset when the Sabbath officially ended, which is why that detail is included. No doubt that meant Jesus was keep on the go until the early hours of the morning.

 

Anyone who has ever preached in Church or spoken in public at any event will know that afterwards, all you want to do is slump in the chair and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet as the adrenaline washes out of your body. But for Jesus, that was just the start of His day. He taught in the synagogue, healed a man in need there, then healed Simon’s mother-in-law then, within a matter of hours he was healing anyone who came to Him.

 

Eventually, all who needed Him had been seen, the crowds disappeared, and the household would have settled down. When everyone woke the next morning, there was no sign of Jesus. You can imagine the panic that gripped them: where was He? What could have happened? So the disciples started searching the area. When they found Jesus in a lonely place, they didn’t really understand His need to be alone. Yesterday had been exciting for them, finding themselves at the centre of the action. Then it looked like just as their journey had begun, they thought it had all become too much and Jesus had left them.

 

Little could they have known then that the reason Jesus was able to expend so much energy healing and teaching was that He then re-energised Himself through prayer with His Father in heaven. He didn’t have to go far away to pray, but He did need somewhere that ensured He wouldn’t be disturbed to allow Him time to rest properly: not with sleep alone but with that confirmation from God that He was doing the right things.

 

 

So often in life, we set out on a path that promises so much, but we run out of energy too soon. Our plans come unstuck because we don’t spend enough time with God in prayer. We begin with great intentions, but then we get bogged down in details, or we lose sight of the big picture and we forget to return to God seeking His support and advice.

 

The lesson of today’s reading is that life is full of action and activity, but if it is not grounded in prayer and time spent with God, then it is never going to succeed as we hoped. This lesson is even more important for us as a Church, especially at a time when we are experiencing so much change and struggling to be heard over the clamour of the world.

 

Now we need to spend time listening to the voice of God, asking Him what direction He wants us to take, accepting that at times we will have to give up some precious traditions or long-held views, in order to do His work.

 

I don’t know what that means for any of us, but if we do nothing else during this time of restriction, then time spent with God in prayer will be time well spent to discern His plan for us as individuals, for us as a Church in Kilrenny, in the new Presbytery of Fife, and the worldwide Church.

 

None of us know what the future holds, but if we live with God as a real presence in our lives, then whatever happens next will be part of His great plan.

Amen.

 

Prayers of Intercession

Blessed are you Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

You have made us

And in you we live and move and have our being.

In you we rejoice.

In you is the fulness of life.

 

We give thanks for the wonders and the beauty of creation.

May we delight in your world as you delight in it.

May your Church show a great love and care for the world –

As you love and care for it.

We pray for all who do not know

Of your love or your presence.

We ask you to bless all who preach the word.

Silence

Lord of Love,

In you we live and move and have our being.

 

We pray for all who teach us

To respect and love your world.

Bless all who work in conservation

And in protecting the resources of the earth.

Help us to enjoy the world and delight in it

With artists and musicians and all craftspeople.

Silence

Lord of love,

In you we live and move and have being.

 

God, we thank you for your presence

In our homes and communities,

In our schools and in our work.

Bless our loved ones

And all who have enriched our lives by their goodness.

 

God, we ask your presence to bring comfort and hope

To all who are struggling at this time because of the pandemic.

We remember those injured in accidents or acts of violence,

Those who are ill

And all who are in hospital.

 

And now, in the silence of our hearts we remember all those we know of in need of your comfort, care and compassion       

Lord of love,

In you we live and move and have our being.

You give life and light;

In you life and light are eternal.

May all our loved ones departed and all the saints

Rejoice in the fulness of eternal light and love.

Silence

Merciful Father,

Accept these prayers

for the sake of your Son,

our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

Hymn CH 363                        We have a gospel to proclaim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5wWRYq57EM

 

Blessing

Deep peace of the running wave to you.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

Deep peace of the infinite peace to you

These things we ask in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  

Amen