19:42 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
A beautiful day. Although we are not allowed flowers in church because it is Lent, the church yard is full of the glory of our Lord, with a lot of help from the church yard working group who were hard at it yesterday.
Fr Chris preached around the gospel speaking of the many ways in which we can pray. There is no fixed way to do it. Be happy with God and speak to him however feels best to you.
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
Philippians 3:4b-14
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:
circumcised on the eighth day,
a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church;
as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had,
these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
More than that,
I regard everything as loss
because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things,
and I regard them as rubbish,
in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,
but one that comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God based on faith.
I want to know Christ
and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this
or have already reached the goal;
but I press on to make it my own,
because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own;
but this one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on towards the goal
for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
John 12:1-8
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
the home of Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
There they gave a dinner for him.
Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,
anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples
(the one who was about to betray him), said,
‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii
and the money given to the poor?’
(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief;
he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)
Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone.
She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you,
but you do not always have me.’
30 March 2025
Joshua 5:9-12
A reading from the book of Joshua.
After the Israelites had crossed over the Jordan river,
The Lord said to Joshua,
‘Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.’
And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.
While the Israelites were encamped in Gilgal
they kept the passover
in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month
in the plains of Jericho.
On the day after the passover, on that very day,
they ate the produce of the land,
unleavened cakes and parched grain.
The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land,
and the Israelites no longer had manna;
they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;
even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,
we know him no longer in that way.
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
everything old has passed away;
see, everything has become new!
All this is from God,
who reconciled us to himself through Christ,
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,
not counting their trespasses against them,
and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
since God is making his appeal through us;
we entreat you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-33
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
All the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus.
And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying,
‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
So he told them this parable:
‘There was a man who had two sons.
The younger of them said to his father,
“Father, give me the share of the property
that will belong to me.”
So he divided his property between them.
A few days later the younger son gathered all he had
and travelled to a distant country,
and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
When he had spent everything,
a severe famine took place throughout that country,
and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out
to one of the citizens of that country,
who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
He would gladly have filled himself
with the pods that the pigs were eating;
and no one gave him anything.
But when he came to himself he said,
“How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare,
but here I am dying of hunger!
I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son;
treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ”
So he set off and went to his father.
But while he was still far off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion;
he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
Then the son said to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
But the father said to his slaves,
“Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
And get the fatted calf and kill it,
and let us eat and celebrate;
for this son of mine was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found!”
And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field;
and when he came and approached the house,
he heard music and dancing.
He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
He replied, “Your brother has come,
and your father has killed the fatted calf,
because he has got him back safe and sound.”
Then he became angry and refused to go in.
His father came out and began to plead with him.
But he answered his father,
“Listen! For all these years
I have been working like a slave for you,
and I have never disobeyed your command;
yet you have never given me even a young goat
so that I might celebrate with my friends.
But when this son of yours came back,
who has devoured your property with prostitutes,
you killed the fatted calf for him!”
Then the father said to him,
“Son, you are always with me,
and all that is mine is yours.
But we had to celebrate and rejoice,
because this brother of yours was dead
and has come to life;
he was lost and has been found.” ’
23 March 2025
Isaiah 55:1-9
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The Lord says this:
Everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
I do not want you to be unaware,
brothers and sisters,
that our ancestors were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea,
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
and all ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink.
For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them,
and the rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them,
and they were struck down in the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us,
so that we might not desire evil as they did.
Do not become idolaters as some of them did;
as it is written,
‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’
We must not indulge in sexual immorality
as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did,
and were destroyed by serpents.
And do not complain as some of them did,
and were destroyed by the destroyer.
These things happened to them to serve as an example,
and they were written down to instruct us,
on whom the ends of the ages have come.
So if you think you are standing,
watch out that you do not fall.
No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.
God is faithful,
and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength,
but with the testing he will also provide the way out
so that you may be able to endure it.
Luke 13:1-9
Hear the ospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
There were some present who told him about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
No, I tell you;
but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.
Or those eighteen who were killed
when the tower of Siloam fell on them—
do you think that they were worse offenders
than all the others living in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you;
but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’
Then he told this parable:
‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;
and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.
So he said to the gardener, “See here!
For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree,
and still I find none.
Cut it down!
Why should it be wasting the soil?”
He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year,
until I dig round it and put manure on it.
If it bears fruit next year, well and good;
but if not, you can cut it down.” ’
16 March 2025
The third Sunday of March so our service in Church was Mattins, while the Crafty Communion was held in the Church Hall.
The choir sang 'Lead me Lord' by Charles Wesley as the anthem. As it was lent the csnticles were the Venite, the Benedicite and the Jubilate
There was coffee after the service.
We are re doing the Electoral Roll. Every 5 years we have to re enter everyone on the roll. There are forms at the back of the church .and an envelope to return them to. If you live in SIdlesham and are baptised you can be on the roll. If you live outside Sidlesham but worship regularly you can also be on the roll. This gives you the right to vote at the Annual eeting, and serve on the PCC.
A reading from the book of Genesis.
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,
‘Do not be afraid, Abram,
I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great.’
But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me,
for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’
And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring,
and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’
But the word of the Lord came to him,
‘This man shall not be your heir;
no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’
He brought him outside and said,
‘Look towards heaven and count the stars,
if you are able to count them.’
Then he said to him,
‘So shall your descendants be.’
And he believed the Lord;
and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Then he said to him,
‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, t
o give you this land to possess.’
But he said,
‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’
He said to him,
‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old,
a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’
He brought him all these and cut them in two,
laying each half over against the other;
but he did not cut the birds in two.
And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses,
Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram,
and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
When the sun had gone down and it was dark,
a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
‘To your descendants I give this land,
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
Philippians 3:17-4:1
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philiippians.
Brothers and sisters,
join in imitating me,
and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.
For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ;
I have often told you of them,
and now I tell you even with tears.
Their end is destruction; their god is the belly;
and their glory is in their shame;
their minds are set on earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will transform the body of our humiliation
so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,
by the power that also enables him
to make all things subject to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown,
stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
Luke 13:31-35
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him,
‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’
He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me,
“Listen,
I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I finish my work.
Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way,
because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.”
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
How often have I desired to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
and you were not willing!
See, your house is left to you.
And I tell you,
you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’
09 March 2025
The first Sunday in Lent was a Parish Eucharist. The children left for their own session in the Parish Rooms, and the congregation continued with the service.
We are singing a new setting for Lent, the Downside Service. This helps to make our Lenten services different from those of other parts of the Church Year.
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| The children share their work with the congreation |
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| Father Chris keeps a lighted candle on the alter to remind us the children are still with us |
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
Moses spoke to the peopple saying:
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you
as an inheritance to possess,
and you possess it, and settle in it,
you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground,
which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you,
and you shall put it in a basket
and go to the place
that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
You shall go to the priest
who is in office at that time, and say to him,
‘Today I declare to the Lord your God
that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’
When the priest takes the basket from your hand
and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God,
you shall make this response before the Lord your God:
‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor;
he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number,
and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.
When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us,
by imposing hard labour on us,
we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors;
the Lord heard our voice
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
The Lord brought us out of Egypt
with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;
and he brought us into this place and gave us this land,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground
that you, O Lord, have given me.’
You shall set it down before the Lord your God
and bow down before the Lord your God.
Then you, together with the Levites
and the aliens who reside among you, s
hall celebrate with all the bounty
that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
Romans 10:8b-13
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
What does scripture say?
‘The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart’
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The scripture says,
‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all
and is generous to all who call on him.
For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Luke 4:1-13
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. H
e ate nothing at all during those days,
and when they were over, he was famished.
The devil said to him,
‘If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’
Jesus answered him,
‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’
Then the devil led him up
and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
And the devil said to him,
‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority;
for it has been given over to me,
and I give it to anyone I please.
If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’
Jesus answered him,
‘It is written,
“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ’
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem,
and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him,
‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you”,
and “On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus answered him, ‘It is said,
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’
When the devil had finished every test,
he departed from him until an opportune time.
05 March 2025
Our Ash Wednesday Eucharist and imposition of ashes was in the evening. The Church was bare of any flowers or ornamentation, as is appropriate for the beginning of Lent. The Eucharist was celebrated by Father Chris and the congregation came forward to receive the sign of the cross in ash on the forehead as a sign that we mortals 'are dust and to dust we must return.'
The Choir sang ' Turn Thy f
ace from my Sins' Setting by Attwood as the anthem.
ace from my Sins' Setting by Attwood as the anthem.
Father Chris wished us a Holy Lent as we left.
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practised righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgements,
they delight to draw near to God.
‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,
and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt,
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
We entreat you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
As we work together with him,
we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.
For the Lord says,
‘At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you.’
See, now is the acceptable time;
see, now is the day of salvation!
We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way,
so that no fault may be found with our ministry,
but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way:
through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,
beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger;
by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit,
genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God;
with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;
in honour and dishonour, in ill repute and good repute.
We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
as unknown, and yet are well known;
as dying, and see—we are alive;
as punished, and yet not killed;
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
as poor, yet making many rich;
as having nothing,
and yet possessing everything.
John 8:1-11
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Early in the morning he came again to the temple.
All the people came to him
and he sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery;
and making her stand before all of them,
they said to Jesus,
‘Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.
Now what do you say?’
They said this to test Jesus,
so that they might have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down
and wrote with his finger on the ground.
When they kept on questioning him,
he straightened up and said to them,
‘Let anyone among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.’
And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
When they heard it, they went away,
one by one, beginning with the elders;
and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
Jesus straightened up and said to her,
‘Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?’
She said, ‘No one, sir.’
And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you.
Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’
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