{"id":3626,"date":"2020-10-30T13:37:33","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T02:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=3626"},"modified":"2023-03-06T12:36:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T01:36:12","slug":"sunday-sermon-01-11-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=3626","title":{"rendered":"Lamb of God on the Throne in Heaven."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><i>Hymn suggestions<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 132: Holy, holy, holy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 59: All people that on earth do dwell<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 474: Here in this place<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 103: A mighty fortress is our God<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 470: Rejoice in God\u2019s saints, today and all days<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 455: For all the saints, who from their labours rest<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 233: I will sing the wondrous story<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 215: You servants of God, your Master proclaim<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>TIS 456: Your hand, O God, has guided<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><i>Prayers of Adoration, Thanksgiving and Confession<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Holy God, we gather with the saints in heaven to offer praise and worship to you, the creator and redeemer of us all.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Christ, who suffered, and rose victorious, understands not only our joys but our heartache, our tears.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>You are worshipped and adored by all the hosts of heaven; we join out thanks and praise with their song:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We join with prophets, and apostles, saints, and martyrs, they sing to you in heaven, we sing to you on earth.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>O God we thank you for the cloud of witnesses who make the mysterious heaven a home for our hearts.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We thank you for the reformers of the church, including Martin Luther.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We remember those whom we have loved.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We give thanks for their devotion, love and example.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We thank you God for the saints who have gone before us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>O God, you have equipped us with the spirit of love and power so that we, too, may live out our lives here on earth, fulfilling our potential, doing your will.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>But we confess that at times our lives do not express our sainthood.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Forgive us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Forgive us for the times when we have been hostile and unforgiving,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>When we have been critical and selfish,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>When we wish to receive rather than to give,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>To accuse rather than excuse.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Forgive us all that is past;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>And grant that we may serve you in newness of life,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>To the glory of your name.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>And in a time of silence, we remember other things for which we seek forgiveness.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>(silence)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>God is love.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Through Christ our sins are forgiven<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>(thanks be to God).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Take hold of this forgiveness, and live your life in the power of the Holy Spirit.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Amen<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><i>Bible Readings<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Rev 7: 9-17<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Psalm 34: 1-10, 22<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>1 John 3: 1-3<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthew 5: 1-12<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><i>Sermon<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018\u2026for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>(Rev 7:17)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John\u2019s vision of the Lamb of God on the throne in heaven.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Magnificent.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>This Sunday falls on All Saint\u2019s Day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>November 1, All Saint\u2019s Day, follows on from October 31, Halloween.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Halloween: a festival which is becoming more popular in our cities.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The house at the end of our block has been dressed up with decorations for the past month.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Halloween: the eve of \u2018All Hallows\u2019, which means \u2018All Saints.\u2019 (\u2018Hallow\u2019 means \u2018holy\u2019\/\u2018to be revered\u2019\/\u2018holy person, or saint\u2019)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If we were meeting in church, I would conduct something to honour the saints in the past, and the saints (the people within the congregation and within our families) who have died during the year<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>BUT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>we are still in lockdown, so I thought I would consider, for part of the sermon, Halloween: its origins, and consider how, as Christians, we should or shouldn\u2019t celebrate.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Should we just ignore it?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Understanding its historical roots is the first step.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is an old celebration, pre-dating Christianity, going back to the druids.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was held on the last day of October in honour of the son god and to mark the beginning of the Celtic new year.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The eve of the new year was a time for fortune telling, the appearance of ghosts and a variety of other supernatural happenings.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The high point of the ceremony was a solemn ritual conducted around the roaring flames of a giant fire.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The druids believed that the lord of death sent out evil spirits to roam the earth and attack humans on this night.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>With the coming of long, dark, winter nights, these spirits persecuted and frightened humans.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The only hope of escape was to come up with some type of disguise.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>So people wore masks and costumes to confuse and protect themselves from the evil spirits.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Around the world people inherited similar traditions:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-in Mexico and Peru people place food and drink on the graves of deceased relatives during their \u2018Days of the Dead\u2019 celebration.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-Hindus celebrate a festival of the dead called \u2018Durga.\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-Ancient Egyptians designated November 17 as the day of the dead.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-the Romans held a similar festival, in honour of Pomona, their goddess of the orchard.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>So what, IF ANY, is the Christian significance of this celebration?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As I mentioned earlier, \u2018Hallow\u2019 comes from the word \u2018holy.\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>(The Lord\u2019s Prayer: \u2018hallowed be your name\u2026\u2019)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-to make holy, to set apart, to honour as sacred\u2026to \u2018hallow\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Halloween means the \u2018eve of All Hallow\u2019s Day\u2019 which is All Saint\u2019s Day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Throughout church history, Christian people have chosen to celebrate this season is a different way.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As early as the fourth century, Christian festivals were held in honour of \u2018all the saints.\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In 615 AD the Pope reclaimed the pagan temple of the Pantheon in Rome as a church, and dedicated it to all the martyrs.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The date was May 13<sup>th<\/sup>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>By the 7<sup>th<\/sup> century the festival of All Saint\u2019s Day had been established as a Christian celebration, and observed in May.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>But-it was becoming such a popular celebration-with very large crowds-that food was in short supply.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>So in 844 AD Pope Gregory IV moved the feast from May to November 1<sup>st<\/sup>, because the autumn harvest provided a better food supply.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was called \u2018All Hallow\u2019s Day\u2019 and the evening before the celebration was called \u2018All Hallow\u2019s Eve.\u2019 (\u2018Halloween\u2019is a contraction of \u2018All Hallow\u2019s Evening\u2019)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>By medieval times, the celebration of All Hallows Eve had blended Christian and ancient pagan practices.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-large fire<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>&#8211; masked dancers, called \u2018mummers\u2019 danced around the fire in silence.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-special foods were prepared.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Children wearing masks went from door to door \u2018souling\u2019- they begged for \u2018soul cakes\u2019 which were flat, oval shortbread biscuits, or little buns filled with currants and spices.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>If there were none, tricks were played on the guilty parties.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Does this all sound familiar?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Various vegetables were hollowed out and a face cut into it, and a candle placed inside.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>These were called jack-o-lanterns, from an Irish legend about an old stingy man called Jack.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When he died he was not permitted into either heaven or hell, and was forced to wander the earth, carrying a lantern.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Children began to carry these Jack-o-lantern lights to frighten away evil spirits.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When pumpkins were discovered in America, these were ideal for carving.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>So-scary costumes were worn, jack-o-lanterns carried, special food requested, special games played, trick or treats carried out<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>SO<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A mixture of druid superstitions and paganism and Christianity.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What do we as Christians do with these activities these days?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>I have some problems with the whole affair<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-we urge children not to talk to strangers-then we encourage them to knock on stranger\u2019s doors<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>I see it as organised begging.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-in a world were 2\/3rds suffer from poverty , malnutrition, and polluted water supplies-we do not need to encourage children to ask for lollies.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>BUT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>If a celebration like this is not going to go away<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What can we\u2013as Christians-do?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We speak of it-BECAUSE it is linked to All Saint\u2019s Day, All Hallow\u2019s Day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Pagan ways give way to the joy of the Resurrection and the reality of Eternal Life.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Now, let\u2019s consider All Saint\u2019s Day; in the past the church would have be filled with people.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Wouldn\u2019t that be a good time for a protest?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>And that is what happened, because on October 31<sup>st<\/sup>, 1517, on All Hallow\u2019s Eve (or Halloween), Martin Luther posted his 95 theses of protest (hence \u2018Protestantism\u2019-protest) to the Archbishop of Mainz, under whose authority indulgences were sold, and to the doors of All Saints\u2019Church, Wittenberg (though some scholars say he didn\u2019t do this until mid-November), knowing that the next day, these would be noticed when the crowds came to church (it was a time for the buying of indulgences; a practice that Luther detested-the idea that clergy could sell certificates to reduce punishment in purgatory for sins, and a time when holy relics in the church went on display).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>So\u2026Halloween, All Hallow\u2019s Eve, was the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Public holidays.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For the Grand Final, for a horse race, for a \u2018thank you\u2019 day.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>On October 31, 2017, on the 500<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the Reformation, it was a public holiday throughout Germany.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Could we see that happening here?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We are protestants, protesters!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>This means that Protestants can celebrate October 31 NOT as Halloween in the pagan and now commercial sense (ie consuming vast quantities of sugar, dressing up) but as Reformation Day, and then the next day as All Saint\u2019s Day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>On All Saint\u2019s Day, we commemorate with joy the saints, men and women, who have gone to heaven and are now rejoicing with God forever.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Some people say that the ghosts-and-souls theme of Halloween is very appropriate for the eve of All Saint\u2019s Day-for Satan is angry thinking about all those saints who slipped through his clutches!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We celebrate Christ, the Light of the world-who has already won the victory over darkness.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In honour of the living God, we give thanks for God\u2019s gift of light, sun and warmth.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As Christians, we believe in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Christians down the ages have risked their lives for this truth.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>All Hallows Day-All Saints\u2019 Day- was designed to remember the lives of well-known believers and those close to us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is a celebration of all the saints.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-a time when we remember not only those great believers of the past, our Christian heroes and martyrs, but also loved one and friends who have served Christ and are now in heaven.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It\u2019s worth noting that in the Roman Catholic tradition, All Saint\u2019s Day is followed by All Soul\u2019s Day- a day when Christians pray for the dead.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-similar to All Saints, but with a slightly different focus.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A final word about \u2018the communion of saints\u2019.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We say this in the Apostle\u2019s Creed.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What does it mean?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It certainly is important for All Saint\u2019s Day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The word \u2018communion\u2019 means any partnership, any fellowship, any experience in which people come together.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Togetherness, fellowship.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A word that is also used for fellowship with God.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Saints: not only the famous examples, the ones depicted on stained glass windows-the ones of holiness and piety,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>but they are members of the church<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>those who have dedicated their lives to Christ-with all their very human faults and failings.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>They are not so much the people who are different, as they are the people who with the help of Jesus Christ are trying to be different and to be Christ-like.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The foundation of the union between Christian and Christian is Jesus Christ, and therefore that union cannot be removed by death.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Charles Wesley wrote:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018One family we dwell in him,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>One Church, above, beneath,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>though now divided by the stream,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>the narrow stream of death.\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We believe that we have fellowship and communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We believe that we can be conscious of the power of heaven around us and above us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We believe that we have the fellowship with all the members of the Church on earth, and that the fellowship is inclusive-for all<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>and we believe that we have fellowship with those who have departed this life to be with God.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We march, with the saints of all times and places.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We do not walk the path of discipleship alone.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A great multitude walks with us<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-encourages us, urges us on.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We are also to bear witness to the Light of the World<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>For All Saints Day-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.\u2019 (John 1:5)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Amen<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><i>Prayer of the People<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We pray for the world,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>for those affected by Covid-19, and for their families, friends, and health professionals.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We pray for others who are ill, or burdened by life.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We continue to pray for the people of France, targeted again by a terrorist attack, in a church in Nice.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As we pray today, on All Saint\u2019s Day, we remember those 3 victims, who were martyred.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>May your peace, which is strongly and deeper than any earthly peace, enter the hearts of those who are grieving, and those who are shocked by this barbaric incident.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We pray for peace makers, and for those involved in keeping the peace.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We pray for the upcoming US Presidential election; may wisdom, justice, and compassion prevail.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We continue to pray for those in our own church communities, in our own families and suburbs, and country, who need our prayers.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In a time of silence, we bring them to you.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>(silence)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In the words our Saviour taught us, we are confident when we pray to say:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018Our Father in heaven\u2026\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Amen<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><i>Blessing<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u2018Grant that I may not pray with my mouth alone; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart.\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>-Martin Luther<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>My God\u2019s love fall soft upon your heads and upon your hearts.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>May you see the many blessings from God during the coming week.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>May Christ be your constant, unseen companion, His Spirit bringing you peace, easing any fear.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Amen<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bible Readings: <\/p>\n<p>Rev 7: 9-17, <\/p>\n<p>Psalm 34: 1-10, 22, <\/p>\n<p>1 John 3: 1-3 &#038;<\/p>\n<p>Matthew 5: 1-12<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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