Family Worship
Andy Beard
Luke 5:1-11 Family Worship Ideas

an old sermon on I Cor.11 & Communion

In today’s sermon we’re thinking about Communion. This isn’t the first time we’ve considered this glorious sacrament, and it’s place in our life as a Church together.

There is also a sermon in the MIE membership series, which can be found under media / previous talks, or here:

https://www.mie.org.uk/mie-membership

And don’t forget to have a look at our series in Matthew’s Gospel, particularly Matt.26, where Jesus institutes the Lord’s supper. There is also a series of articles I wrote a few years ago about Communion, when we were thinking about including children. They can be accessed here:

https://www.mie.org.uk/childrens-communion

And here is a sermon I preached a while ago on Acts 2:42, and I Cor.11:17 ff.

Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs..?

So, we are told (commanded?) that authentic Christian worship includes our reciting and singing of Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (or, songs from the Spirit. see Eph.5:19 & Col.3:16). At the risk of being anachronistic, it seems that we are pretty committed the third (spiritual songs), open to the second (hymns), but distinctly - dare I say strangely - reticent about the first (psalms). Apart from a handful of songs based on Psalms (e.g. The Lord’s my Shepherd (Townend); Give thanks to the LORD, our God and King etc.) and a few of the hymns we sing (e.g. Glorious things of thee are spoken), my sense is that Psalmody is generally notable by its absence. We periodically recite Psalms together in our evening service, but even that is a long way from the old BCP lectionary that would have us read through the entire book of Psalms every month! Reading some Psalms in the last couple of days in our Bible Read Through, I began to wonder why the reciting and singing of Psalms in our corporate worship has fallen into disuse? What might it sound like if we consciously re-integrated it into our worship? I guess there are the historic metric settings, but it turns out there is a bit of a renaissance of psalm singing going on these days. Here are a couple of options. The first is part of the Psalms-project and you can track down a lot of their work on Youtube. The second is more obviously congregational! There are also more settings of Psalms on the Church’s Spotify play-list: scroll down to the bottom of the MIE web-page, and click on the green circle with three arcs in it (the Spotify logo) - though you’ll need to set up an account to listen.

It's Sunday

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 17

45.Q.

How does Christ's resurrection benefit us?

A.First,by his resurrection he has overcome death,so that he could make us share in the righteousness which he had obtained for us by his death. 1 Second,by his power we too are raised up to a new life. 2 Third,Christ's resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious resurrection. 3

It’s Saturday

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 22

57.Q.

What comfort does the resurrection of the body offer you?

A.Not only shall my soul after this life immediately be taken up to Christ, my Head, 1 but also this my flesh, raised by the power of Christ,shall be reunited with my soul and made like Christ's glorious body. 2

58.Q.

What comfort do you receive from the article about the life everlasting?

A.Since I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, 1I shall after this life possess perfect blessedness,such as no eye has seen,nor ear heard,nor the heart of man conceived a blessedness in which to praise God forever. 2

It's Friday (see the video at the end)

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 16

40.Q.

Why was it necessary for Christ to humble himself even unto death?

A.Because of the justice and truth of God 1 satisfaction for our sins could be made in no other way than by the death of the Son of God. 2

41.Q.

Why was he buried?

A.His burial testifiedthat he had really died. 1

42.Q.

Since Christ has died for us,why do we still have to die?

A.Our death is not a payment for our sins,but it puts an end to sin and is an entrance into eternal life. 1

43.Q.

What further benefit do we receive from Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross?

A.Through Christ's death our old nature is crucified,put to death,and buried with him, 1 so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer reign in us, 2 but that we may offer ourselves to him as a sacrifice of thankfulness. 3

Prayer during Lockdown

The final ‘installment’ of ideas on how to pray for the situation we find ourselves in. How can we pray for protection?

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-15).

  • That God would heal the elderly and vulnerable who have contracted the virus

  • That there would be adequate medical and personal care for all who are affected

  • For the friends and family of those who are ill, that they would be comforted and enabled to care for those who are sick

  • That God’s mighty hand would be shown through the slowing down and eradication of the virus

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.”

(Psalm 91:1-3)

these articles have been taken from ‘Prayer Guide for Coronavirus’, posted on the Christian Concern for our Nation website on 17th March, 2020.

Judges 17-21 (part 3 of 4)

Are we basically good? Well, when you see what happens when you take away the Law, the question gets easier to answer! Or perhaps, take a look at Article 9 of the Church of England… ‘in his own nature [humanity] is predisposed to evil, the sinful nature always desiring to behave in a manner contrary to the Spirit’.