20 July 2025
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
Amos 8:1-12
A reading from the book of the Prophet Amos.
This is what the Lord God showed me—
a basket of summer fruit.
2He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’
And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’
Then the Lord said to me,
‘The endc has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by.
The songs of the templed shall become wailings on that day,’ says the Lord God;
‘the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place.
Be silent!’
Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
and practise deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again,
like the Nile of Egypt?
On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins,
and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.
The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east; they shall run to and fro,
seeking the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
Colossians 1:15-28
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—
all things have been created through him and for him.
He himself is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have first place in everything.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of his cross.
And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death,
so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—
provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith,
without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard,
which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.
I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh
I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions
for the sake of his body, that is, the church.
I became its servant
according to God’s commission that was given to me for you,
to make the word of God fully known,
the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages
and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.
To them God chose to make known
how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
It is he whom we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom,
so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Luke 10:38-42
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Now as Jsus and his disciples went on their way,
he entered a certain village,
where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
She had a sister named Mary,
who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
But Martha was distracted by her many tasks;
so she came to him and asked,
‘Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?
Tell her then to help me.’
But the Lord answered her,
‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
there is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part,
which will not be taken away from her.’
13 July 2025
A beautiful sunny day (again) but it does show the church at its best.
Fr Chris and Carolyn were absent as they are running the family camping experience over the weekend. Fr Roger stood in and caused a few chuckles during his homily when he preached on gospel reading about the good Samaritan. There were only three children in the Sunday School, (were all the rest camping with Fr Chris) but produced excellent work. It is so large I had to take three separate photographs so you can see the detail. Because it is also Sea Sunday, the choir sang "Crossing The Bar".
A reading from the book of the prophet Amos.
This is what he showed me:
the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line,
with a plumb-line in his hand.
And the Lord said to me,
‘Amos, what do you see?’
And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’
Then the Lord said,
‘See, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel,
sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying,
‘Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel;
the land is not able to bear all his words.
For thus Amos has said,
“Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile away from his land.” ’
And Amaziah said to Amos,
‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah,
earn your bread there, and prophesy there;
but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary,
and it is a temple of the kingdom.’
Then Amos answered Amaziah,
‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son;
but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore trees,
and the Lord took me from following the flock,
and the Lord said to me,
“Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
‘Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, “Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.”
Therefore, thus says the Lord:
“Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be parcelled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.” ’
Colossians 1:1-14
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of the love that you have for all the saints,
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth,
the gospel that has come to you.
Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world,
so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it
and truly comprehended the grace of God.
This you learned from Epaphras,
our beloved fellow-servant.
He is a faithful minister of Christ on yourc behalf,
and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
For this reason, since the day we heard it,
we have not ceased praying for you
and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him,
as you bear fruit in every good work
and as you grow in the knowledge of God.
May you be made strong
with all the strength that comes from his glorious power,
and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
giving thanks to the Father,
who has enablede youf to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
He has rescued us from the power of darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 10:25-37
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus.
‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
He said to him, ‘What is written in the law?
What do you read there?’
He answered,
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your strength,
and with all your mind;
and your neighbour as yourself.’
And he said to him,
‘You have given the right answer;
do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus,
‘And who is my neighbour?’
Jesus replied,
‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and fell into the hands of robbers,
who stripped him, beat him, and went away,
leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road;
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,
passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan while travelling came near him;
and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
having poured oil and wine on them.
Then he put him on his own animal,
brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
The next day he took out two denarii,
gave them to the innkeeper, and said,
“Take care of him;
and when I come back,
I will repay you whatever more you spend.”
Which of these three, do you think,
was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’
He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
06 July 2025
The church was still full of flowers from the wedding on Saturday. Rather than the sermon in the middle of the service, Fr Chris robed in front of the altar and explained the meaning of each piece of his liturgical garb, along with the accompanying prayer. As he fitted his microphone, he told us there was no prayer for that, but I am sure something could be put together about "speaking the Lord's word truthfully". Not many of us knew the names of the mostly hidden pieces of vestments, I only knew of the stole and chasuble. (I once made matching stoles and chasubles for a friend when he got his first church). An interesting start to our service.
A reading form the book of Kings.
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram,
was a great man and in high favour with his master,
because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram.
The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.
Now the Arameans on one of their raids
had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel,
and she served Naaman’s wife.
She said to her mistress,
‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!
He would cure him of his leprosy.’
So Naamanc went in
and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said.
And the king of Aram said,
‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’
He went, taking with him ten talents of silver,
six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments.
He brought the letter to the king of Israel,
which read, ‘When this letter reaches you,
know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman,
that you may cure him of his leprosy.’
When the king of Israel read the letter,
he tore his clothes and said,
‘Am I God, to give death or life,
that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?
Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’
But when Elisha the man of God
heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes,
he sent a message to the king,
‘Why have you torn your clothes?
Let him come to me,
that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’
So Naaman came with his horses and chariots,
and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house.
Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying,
‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times,
and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’
But Naaman became angry and went away, saying,
‘I thought that for me he would surely come out,
and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God,
and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!
Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’
He turned and went away in a rage.
But his servants approached and said to him,
‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult,
would you not have done it?
How much more, when all he said to you was,
“Wash, and be clean”?’
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan,
according to the word of the man of God;
his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy,
and he was clean.
Galatians 6:1-16
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians.
My friends,
if anyone is detected in a transgression,
you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.
Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.
Bear one another’s burdens,
and in this way you will fulfilb the law of Christ.
For if those who are nothing think they are something,
they deceive themselves.
All must test their own work;
then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work,
will become a cause for pride.
For all must carry their own loads.
Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.
Do not be deceived;
God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.
If you sow to your own flesh,
you will reap corruption from the flesh;
but if you sow to the Spirit,
you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,
for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
So then, whenever we have an opportunity,
let us work for the good of all,
and especially for those of the family of faith.
See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!
It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh
that try to compel you to be circumcised—
only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law,
but they want you to be circumcised
so that they may boast about your flesh.
May I never boast of anything
except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whichc the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything;
but a new creation is everything!
As for those who will follow this rule—
peace be upon them, and mercy,
and upon the Israel of God.
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ acording to Luke.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others
and sent them on ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place where he himself intended to go.
He said to them,
‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest
to send out labourers into his harvest.
Go on your way.
See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals;
and greet no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter,
first say, “Peace to this house!”
And if anyone is there who shares in peace,
your peace will rest on that person;
but if not, it will return to you.
Remain in the same house,
eating and drinking whatever they provide,
for the labourer deserves to be paid.
Do not move about from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you,
eat what is set before you;
cure the sick who are there, and say to them,
“The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
But whenever you enter a town
and they do not welcome you,
go out into its streets and say,
“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet,
we wipe off in protest against you.
Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”
‘Whoever listens to you listens to me,
and whoe rejects you rejects me,
and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’
The seventy returned with joy, saying,
‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’
He said to them,
‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.
See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy;
and nothing will hurt you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this,
that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’
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