Call to Worship and Opening Sentence

God who is the ground of hope, fill you with joy and peace as you lead the life of faith until, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you overflow with hope.
(Romans 15:13)

HYMN 132 Immortal Invisible God only Wise

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

Loving God, thank you for bringing us together for worship today. Thank you for the beauty of this church and for all the people who have worshipped here over the years that makes this sanctuary a place where we can experience love, joy and peace.
God of all time and space,
You were with Your people of the Old and New Testament.
You are with us now.
You have promised to be with us until the end of time.
We give You thanks,
that in Your presence we are not alone.
Your love has held us from before we were born,.
Your grace has infiltrated our lives, never letting us go
Your hope leads us on, encouraging us to find You
in new and ever surprising ways.
We confess that sometimes we lose faith and trust.
We look at our lives and our world
and do not like what we see.
We are impatient, ungrateful and sometimes angry.
and we question the meaning of life.

In this time of worship,
remind us of Your promise never to forsake us.
Help us to trust Your promise that You will be with us.
Teach us again about your mighty power and your unfailing love.
In Jesus Christ, you revealed your salvation in all the world, which gives us confidence of the heavenly world to come.
Through your Holy Spirit, you give us love, joy and peace.

Keep us firm in faith, that we may serve and praise you all our days.
But gracious Lord, so often we fail to do and say what you have taught us to do and say, so forgive us for getting things wrong –
sometimes we know we are selfish or unhelpful to others, so hear us now as we pray to you in silence with penitent hearts as we seek your forgiveness

……. SILENCE

As we worship you again this day forgiving God, we gladly say together the prayer that your Son and our saviour taught us to say, by saying:

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,

Amen

Introduction to readings:
Our Old Testament Reading is from Judges 4: 1-7.

The book of Judges probably comes to us from a series of songs, poems and stories about the history of Israel and the ‘heroes of the faith’, known as the judges, one of whom is Deborah the Prophetess.

The book was probably written in about 550 BC when the Jews were in exile and covers the period between Joshua and King Saul that is about 1300 years to 1051BC

Very little is known about Deborah. However in today’s reading her role is to motivate Barak, the military leader of the Israelites, to attack a much stronger force led by a ‘superior-enemy’, Sisera. The passage reveals Deborah’s role and Barak wins the battle, against the odds.

The story lends itself to a consideration of what can be achieved with God’s help.

The gospel lesson is from Matthew 25: 14-30 and is the parable of the three servants, often known as the Parable of the Talents. It makes it clear that God expects us to use whatever talent and energy we have in His service.

The three servants had different talents, but they are expected to use them fruitfully and not waste that which has been given to them.

Let’s hear the Word of God now.

Judges 4: 1-7 (Good News Translation)

After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned against the Lord again. So the Lord let them be conquered by Jabin, a Canaanite king who ruled in the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles.Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he ruled the people of Israel with cruelty and violence for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.

⁴ Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time.She would sit under a certain palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would go there for her decisions.One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam from the city of Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given you this command: ‘Take ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor. I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, to fight you at the Kishon River. He will have his chariots and soldiers, but I will give you victory over him.’”

New Testament Reading: Matthew 25: 14-30 The Parable of the Three Servants

“At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip. The servant who had received five thousand coins went at once and invested his money and earned another five thousand. In the same way the servant who had received two thousand coins earned another two thousand.

But the servant who had received one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.

The servant who had received five thousand coins came in and handed over the other five thousand. ‘You gave me five thousand coins, sir,’ he said. ‘Look! Here are another five thousand that I have earned.’ ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’

Then the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said, ‘You gave me two thousand coins, sir. Look! Here are another two thousand that I have earned.’ ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’

Then the servant who had received one thousand coins came in and said, ‘Sir, I know you are a hard man; you reap harvests where you did not plant, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you.’ ‘You bad and lazy servant!’ his master said. ‘You knew, did you, that I reap harvests where I did not plant, and gather crops where I did not scatter seed? Well, then, you should have deposited my money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. Now, take the money away from him and give it to the one who has ten thousand coins.

For to every person who has something, even more will be given, and he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing, even the little that he has will be taken away from him. As for this useless servant—throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his teeth.’

CH4 HYMN 502: Take my life, Lord, let it be

Reflection: Matthew 25: 14-30

I imagine many of you know the Parable of the Talents sometimes called the Parable of the Three Servants, but let’s recap on the story and see if God speaks to us afresh today.

A wealthy landowner is ready to go on a long journey. Before he left, he entrusted various amounts of money to his servants. He gave five thousand coins to one, two thousand to another, and one thousand to another – each according to his ability.

When the landowner returned from his travels, he called the servants to give an account of what they had done with the money. The first two put had invested wisely and as a result, they doubled the original investment.

The third buried his money in the ground. The landowner was furious: “At least you could have deposited in the bank where it would have gained interest,” he said.

In a fit of anger, he took back the one thousand coins and gave it to the servant who now had ten thousand coins. As for the one-thousand-coin man, the landowner told his servants to cast him into outer darkness, where men weep and gnash their teeth.

That’s the story, and the lesson that follows is sometimes summarised like this:
Use whatever talent you have, however much or little, to the best of your ability to the glory of God.

That is one of the messages of the Parable of the Talents. But let’s take a closer look at this one-thousand-coin man. He might be like you and me.

First, he didn’t do anything wrong.
In fact, knowing what we know about Jewish law in Jesus’ day, he did the most prudent thing he could do – he buried it in the ground because that was the safest option.

So, if he didn’t do anything wrong, is it not harsh that he was thrown into the darkness given that he acted responsibly in keeping with the custom of his day?
His failure was he wasted this opportunity – he had the opportunity to do something to make a difference, but he played it safe.
That’s the reason for the landowner’s condemnation – not that he did something wrong, but that he didn’t do anything at all.

Why not, – because of fear.

He was afraid of incurring the wrath of the landowner. Here’s what the servant said:

‘Sir, I know you are a hard man; you reap harvests where you did not plant, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground’ (verses 24 & 25a)

The servant was afraid of his master, and his fear led to the paralysis of mind. And so, the question that arises for us is: what are we afraid of?

Fear affects people of every age and walk of life.
What are you afraid of? What keeps you from taking a chance to make a positive difference to someone or to your church?

Are you afraid that, if you venture out of your comfort zone, all will go wrong? A lot of people are afraid of failure.
Surprisingly some people are afraid of success. Often a successful man or woman has less free time, less freedom, greater responsibilities and more stress.
A common fear is about our health. We fear getting sick or being diagnosed with a crippling, even terminal illness such as Covid 19.
There are lots of things – both real and imagined – to be afraid of.

The question is what are you afraid of? Naming your fears is the first step to overcoming them.

And the second step is turning your worries over to God.

The point is, with God on our side, we have nothing to fear.
We are free to live without worrying about failing in life because we have the assurance of God’s sustaining grace and love.In today’s Old Testament reading, Deborah tells Barak:

God will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, to fight you at the Kishon River. He will have his chariots and soldiers, but God will give you victory over him. (Judges 4: 7)

And that is what happened. The story lends itself to a consideration of what can be achieved with God’s help…. even when the odds are against you.

Food for thought for each of us at the personal level perhaps? What is God calling you to do?

But also consider this:

As a church family in this parish church, God has given you some very committed Christians with considerable talent and abilities. God has blessed you with assets and resources. God has given you the freedom to use them any way you see fit to build up this church family here and across our city and nation. And, if that weren’t enough, God has promised to be with you and watch over you.

What are you going to do with the talent, and resources in this church family?

Are we going to sit back and let the coronavirus pandemic overwhelm us and just let the church fade away?

We need new members, worshippers and supporters of our Parish Churches. How are we going to make these relationships?

Phoning people, meeting for coffee one to one, praying for them…. inviting them to coffee get-togethers and quizzes using computer conference facilities. It is indeed hard but not impossible when God helps us as he will surely do when we pray for his help.

The pandemic has given us the opportunity to restructure the church and grow our church families again……that is what the message of the Parable of the talents is about for us today.

Conclusion

Finding hope in Christ in the face of some very bleak situations can be a profound demonstration of God’s power against the odds. The fact that no matter what happens, we are not alone – we always have God with us…..and nothing can separate us from God:

Paul wrote in Romans 8:38 & 39

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So what are we afraid of in building up our church family again here and throughout our country?

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Loving Lord,
We thank you for our talents.
The gifts You have given us
The people You have made us.
Knowing that You accept us and love us,
even when we fail you.

Use our lives to build Your people.
Use Your people to build a better world
Use this world to show the beauty of life with You.

When we get complacent or downhearted
teach us to count our blessings.
When we count our blessings,
teach us to pray for those who need Your blessing.

We continue to pray for our church family.
For all who serve you faithfully here.
We pray for our minister Alex as he fulfils his many duties and ministry.
We pray for our elders and all the leaders of this church that they will continue to manage our finances, property and administration in these changing times.

We ask you to bless our offerings today and those given through the banking system to build up the church here and in the wider world.
May you encourage us all to be joyful givers of our time, talent and resources.

We give thanks for all our church family whether they read this service on-line or are here today. We pray for all those known to us in silence who need your comforting presence and healing power…Silence

We pray for people everywhere throughout your world.
So many people suffering the great loss of life from war, famine, strife and now from the coronavirus pandemic.
Bring the nations together to overcome all these problems
and give all people peace in their souls.

May our hearts and arms be opened to you and to one another.
May our imagination be filled with Spirit inspired creativity
To become the church, you mean us to be tomorrow
To become the church, you call us to be today.
To become the church, you have been planning to build since yesterday.

For these prayers and all the unspoken prayers of our hearts, we pray though your son and our saviour Jesus Christ,
Amen.

CH4 517: Fight the good fight with all your might

Benediction
Let us go from this place
with hearts that grow in hope,
with lives that shine Christ’s light.
Let us go to serve,
to reconcile, to bring peace,
and to stand united
as people of the light.

And now may the peace of God, which is beyond all understanding, guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

And the blessing of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit be with you this day and evermore.

Amen

Acknowledgements:

Holy Bible, Good News Bible Translation
Church of Scotland weekly worship
The Gospel of Matthew – The Bible Speaks Today –
Michael Green/John Stott

Call to Worship
We are met this day
to glorify God whose power sustains the world;
to remember with thanksgiving
those who lived and died
in the service of our country;
and to ask for God’s help and blessing,
that we may be worthy of their sacrifice
each day of our life.

God is our refuge and our stronghold,
a timely help in trouble.
(Psalm 46: 1)

HYMN 161 O God our help in ages past

Prayer
Eternal God,
you are the shepherd of our souls,
the giver of life everlasting.

On this day
when we commemorate and commend to you
those who lived and died
in the service of others,
we are glad to remember
that your purposes for us are good,
that you gave Jesus Christ
for the life of the world,
and that you lead us by his Holy Spirit
into the paths of righteousness and peace.

Merciful and faithful God,
your purpose is to fold both earth and heaven
in a single peace.
With sorrow we confess
that in our hearts we keep alive
the passions and pride
that lead to hatred and to war.
We are not worthy of your love,
nor of the sacrifice made by others on our behalf.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Almighty God,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and keep us in life eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God of unbounded grace,
you declared your reconciling love and power
in the death and resurrection
of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Teach us, who live only in your forgiveness,
to forgive one another.
Heal our divisions,
cast out our fears,
renew our faith in your unchanging purpose
of goodwill and peace on earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Act of Remembrance
Let us remember the kindness of God,
and his favour to us in our time of need.

Let us remember the courage,
devotion to duty,
and the self-sacrifice
of the men and women in our armed forces;
the toil, endurance, and suffering
of those who were not in uniform;
the support of those who sent us help from afar,
or came and stood by our side.

Let us remember those
who were wounded in the fight;
those who perished in air-raids at home;
those who fell in battle,
and are buried at sea
or in some corner of a foreign field;
and especially those
whom we have known and loved,
whose place is for ever in our hearts.

Let us remember those who were our enemies,
whose homes and hearts are as bereft as ours,
whose dead lie also
in a living tomb of everlasting remembrance.

Let us remember those who came back;
those whose lives still bear the scars of war;
those who lost sight or limbs or reason;
those who lost faith in God
and hope for humanity.

Let us remember the continuing grace of God,
whose love holds all souls in life,
and to whom none is dead
but all are alive for ever.

The Tryst
‘They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning,
We will remember them.’

Two minutes silence is observed

Prayer
In memory of those who died,
may we be better men and women;
and in gratitude to God,
may we live as those who are not their own
but who are bought with a price.
Amen.

HYMN 706 For the healing of the nations

Scripture:
John 15:9-17
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Reflection
I think most men of my generation, and many of others, will have grown up reading such things as the ‘Warlord’ comic, or ‘Commando’ magazine; we also grew up with a diet of war films, many of which were from an earlier generation. The majority of these productions focussed on the Second World War; the majority also made it clear who were deemed to be on the side of good, and who were not. It was a simplistic approach that satisfied people and reinforced their often long-held beliefs. The truth, though, is rarely such a simple affair. I recently was introduced to the following story, again set during the last world war. I don’t usually bother with war stories however I think this one is worth telling.

The raid had gone badly. The plane was now on its own. One of the crew was dead, the remaining nine were either wounded or badly shaken up. The pilot, a mere twenty years old, was somehow holding on. The fuselage was literally shot to pieces; significant gaps could be seen. Three of the four engines had now failed. They were in German airspace and hundreds of miles from home, and safety. In some ways it was a miracle that they were still airborne. The aircraft, and American B-17, was usually referred to as a ‘Flying Fortress’ … it was now little more than flying scrap.

Common sense should have led the pilot, Charlie Brown, to order his crew to bail out. Most likely they would survive, albeit as prisoners of war. Yet something in the pilot made him determined to head for home. Ahead they could see the coast and the North Sea. It would take a few hours, but something gave him hope that they could make it across the water to the east of England where their home had been for the last year. It was then that their hearts fell. The speck in the distance was getting larger, and closer. It was a German fighter plane, and it was on an intercept course.

The German pilot was something of a hero. At twenty-eight Franz Stigler was still relatively young but his combat experience from the outset of the war had made him a veteran. Not only that but he had been decorated for his flying and his bravery. This was a fighter that would not miss his target. He approached the crippled bomber from the rear; this was normal practice as there were fewer guns pointing that way. Yet there was no defensive fire. As he drew closer he was almost in disbelief at what he saw. He could see the rear gunner was dead, yet he also saw the other crew members huddling together and tending to their wounded comrades. Stigler’s orders were simple … shoot it down.

Something inside the fighter pilot ‘clicked’. Hi earliest experiences of combat had involved flying with an older pilot, who was from a different school of thought that that which prevailed at the time; he had said to Stigler, “You shoot at a machine, not a man. You score “victories”, not “kills”. But what could he do? There was no obvious answer. He brought his fighter alongside the bomber. Frantically he gestured to the American pilot to follow his lead; the bomber held its course. The bomber was now near the coast and would soon encounter anti-aircraft batteries who would have no hesitation in shooting it down. Stigler then took a gamble. He was not going to let the plane escape, but rather he would help it to safety. He tried to nudge the plane towards neutral Sweden but the stubborn American held his course. Stigler took another gamble; he flew alongside as if on escort duty, hoping the guns below would leave them alone. It worked.

Out to sea the planes went their separate ways. The bomber struggled onward losing both speed and altitude but somehow made it back to England. Stigler returned to base to ‘face the music’. The ground crews would have seen him and reported what they saw to his commanding officer. He could be shot. Yet no report was made.

Safe in England, the American crew made their reports but these didn’t chime with the needs of wartime propaganda. The men were sworn to secrecy, and the reports filed away. Stigler returned to his squadron. Both men served out the remainder of the war.

It is now 1985 and Charlie Brown finally tells his story to a friend. Several retellings later it is published in a journal for veteran German airmen. In Vancouver, Canada, a now seventy year-old former fighter pilot opens his latest copy of the same journal and sees the story … his story. Franz Stigler was alive and well living in Canada since shortly after the end of the war. Eventually the two men spoke on the phone before an emotional and tear-filled meeting. Over the coming years the pair would travel to various air shows and veterans gatherings to share their story. This was their act to try and create a better world. The story comes to an end in an eight-month period in 2008 when both men died.

As a Hollywood film this may not quite work; it is a little far-fetched, a little too good to be true. But this is not fiction; these events happened. This is history.

This true story serves to remind us that even in the depths of the horrors of war that grace and mercy can sometimes be seen offering hope to those caught up in the midst of it. It serves to remind us that we do not need to abandon our humanity even as others around us may choose to. We can opt to choose the path of Christ and reach out to our enemies, whether real or perceived. We can choose to stand up and, as Jesus commanded, love our neighbour as ourself.
Amen.

Prayers:
God of power and love.
bless our country and commonwealth.
Give wisdom and strength to the Queen,
govern those who make the laws,
guide those who direct our common life,
and grant that together we may fulfil our service
for the welfare of the whole people
and for your praise and glory.

Bless all members of the armed forces.
Defend them in danger.
Give them courage to meet
all occasions with discipline and loyalty.
So may they serve
the cause of justice and peace,
to the honour of your name.

Bless our young people.
May they never see the flames of war,
or know the depths of cruelty
to which men and women can sink.
Grant that in their generation
they may be faithful soldiers
and servants of Jesus Christ.

Bless our friends
and those who were our enemies,
who suffered or are still suffering from war.
Grant that your love
may reach out to the wounded,
the disabled, the mentally distressed,
and those whose faith has been shaken
by what they have seen and endured.
Comfort all who mourn the death of loved ones,
and all who this day
miss the comradeship of friends.

Bless those who are homeless,
those who are refugees,
those who are hungry,
those who have lost their livelihood or security.
Help us to pledge ourselves
to comfort, support, and encourage others,
that all may live in a world
where evil and poverty are done away
and where human life
reflects the radiance of your kingdom.

Bless those in authority in every land,
and give them wisdom to know
and courage to do what is right.
Encourage those who work for peace,
who strive to improve international relations,
who seek new ways of reconciling
people of different race, colour, and creed.

Bless your Church throughout the world.
By your Holy Spirit,
draw the scattered flock of Christ
into a visible unity,
and make your Church
a sign of hope to our divided world.
Grant that we who bear your Son’s name
may be instruments of your peace,
bringing peace to our homes,
our nation, and our world.

And now, rejoicing in the communion of saints,
we remember those whom you have gathered
from the storm of war
into the peace of your presence,
and give you thanks
for those whom we have known,
whose memory we treasure.
May the example of their devotion inspire us,
that we may be taught to live
by those who learned to die.
And at the last, grant that we,
being faithful till death,
may receive with them
the crown of life that never fades;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

HYMN 704 I vow to thee my country

National Anthem

Benediction:
God grant to the living, grace;
to the departed, rest;
to the Church, the Queen, the Commonwealth,
and all people,
peace and concord;
and to us and all his servants
life everlasting.

And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
Amen.

Acknowledgments:
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayers and Act of Remembrance taken from the Church of Scotland Book of Common Order (1994)