Shore Edg

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come before the Lord and listen.

Do not be afraid, but do not be cowardly either.

Let us seek God’s grace to be faithful and firm,

in search of truth and unity – for that is our calling.

StF 20 Be still, For the presence of the Lord.

A GATHERING PRAYER

Lord God, as we gather today,

help us to see the strength and unity in our church fellowship,

to think about things that might strengthen it further,

and to recognise things that might damage it.

Amen.

A PRAYER OF ADORATION

Holy God,

we reach out to you in thankfulness knowing that you will bless us

with stability in turmoil, courage in conflict, and grace in unity.

May we both challenge and change those things in ourselves,

in our church, our community, and our world, that dishonour your

love for us and spoil our relationships with one another, so that.

we may grow in the likeness of your Son and bring peace. where

there is brokenness – to your glory.

Amen.

A PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of truth and integrity,

we ask your forgiveness for the times,

when we avoid conflict to preserve popularity

and to avoid being challenged or criticised.

Free us from fear and enable us to do conflict well.

We are sorry when we don’t listen to those around us,

when they challenge our actions, our words, our complacency.

Free us from pride and enable us to do conflict well.

We are sorry when, as a church, we collude with that which is wrong,

and compromise when we should convict or speak out.

Free us from falsehood and enable us to do conflict well.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

God of peace, your forgiveness makes us one and cleanses us

from all our mistakes, wiping away our excuses, our justifications,

our grudges, our mistakes. Thank you for the cross of Christ,

through which hope, reconciliation, and new beginnings flourish,

and help us to be brave in our communications, wise in our,

discernment and faithful to you.

Amen.

StF 83 Praise my soul. The King of Heaven

READING

Romans 13: 8-14

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

An Urgent Appeal

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 18: 15-20

If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

StF 503 Love Divine all love Excelling.

SERMON

When the great nineteenth-century Spanish General, Ramon Narvaez, lay dying in Madrid, a priest was called in to give him last rites. "Have you forgiven your enemies?" the padre asked.

"Father," confessed Narvaez, "I have no enemies. I shot them all."`

What one thing could you do that would make the biggest difference in your life and in the world around you?

Some say praying and reading the Bible every day would make the biggest difference.

Some say working for world peace would make the biggest difference. Some say doing a kind deed every day would make the biggest difference.

Although all these things are important, I am sure that the one thing each of us could do that would make the biggest difference to us and to the world around us is to rebuild a broken relationship.

It’s been said that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship, and there is a great deal of truth in these words. Today’s Gospel Readings Matthew 18:15-20) are all about relationships, particularly our relationships with each other.

we are called to be in a relationship with each other, and if we do this, we will find our Churches thrive, because the people in our Church are much more than associates, they are our brothers and sisters, and because of this it will inevitably lead to some conflicts.

But these relationships are very important. they’re not the only reason that Christianity is described as a relationship. It’s because, at the heart of our faith is our belief that the one who created us, and everything that is, wants to have a real, life-giving, loving relationship with us.

The heart of our faith is not a set of teachings and beliefs about God. Its not a set of rules to follow to please God. It is a relationship with God. A relationship that is made possible by the gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ; and this relationship is made alive in our us through our faith.

It is the most important relationship we will ever have, our relationship with God. But a close second is our relationship with each other.

Think of what Jesus said about the greatest commandment: It is to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbour as our self.

So today, I thought I would spend some time looking at these relationships, looking at them in order of importance. I want to start with our relationship with God.

The most important relationship is without a doubt our relationship with God.

We were created by God, and created to be in relationship with God, and, as St. Augustine once said, our hearts are restless until they rest in God.

If our relationship with God is not healthy, all our other relationships will suffer. I think a lot of the problems in our world all the wars and conflicts these days might be because this relationship between us and God is not healthy.

But God has a plan to restore and and reconcile this primary relationship.

That’s why Jesus came, right? To bring us back into a relationship with God. Because sin had damaged that relationship. Our sin, brought into the world through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, but kept in the world through the sin of every following generation, which damaged that most important relationship of all. So, what did God do? Rather than give up on that relationship, God set about fixing it. God’s only Son was sent, to take our sins to the cross and to restore our relationship with our heavenly Father.

It is a gift we call grace. But a relationship takes two. Grace describes God’s action and reminds us that it is a free gift. But faith describes our response.

Faith describes our part in that relationship. We receive this gift in faith, trusting God’s promise to us. But what does it mean to be saved? Firstly, it means to have our relationship with our Creator restored. Christianity is about that relationship.

But we can’t stop there. Because before Jesus went to the cross to restore our relationship with God, he was busy working on another very important relationship:

Our relationship with each other. He called disciples – not just to follow him – but to gather, together, to become a community, and to form a church.

It was very important to Jesus that his followers stay connected, that they become a community of believers. A community that cares for one another, and prays for one another, and shares our gifts with each other, and with the world around us, and grows in our faith and discipleship with one another.

This was so important to Jesus that he made an amazing promise in today’s Gospel Reading: Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, he said, I am among them.

Today’s Gospel Reading

So, today we are gathering – in whatever way that we can – to be the church, and to celebrate his presence among us. And churches around the world are doing just that.

But, unfortunately, churches around the globe are doing something else, too: They are arguing and disagreeing with each other. And church members are not all getting along with one another; and are even hurting one another through their words and actions.

This is not just happening in churches. It is happening in schools and workplaces, and in families, too. But it is particularly painful when it happens in churches, the last place where we would expect it.

Jesus knew that this would happen to his church. Church, after all, is a community of people who by very nature are sinners. And that’s why he offers this teaching in today’s Gospel Reading. He offers advice to all who are in a difficult relationship.

But before I get to his advice, I want to point out a very important difference between our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other. In our relationship with God, Jesus heals it by dying for us.

He acts on behalf of his heavenly Father to restore that relationship, and then invites us into that relationship.

But what about our relationship with each other? Jesus takes another approach there. Because it is not really his problem to solve. It’s not his relationship. So, what he does is give us advice. He gives us advice, and then he makes us a promise. So, let’s look at his advice.

He starts with my favourite. He says:

When another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.

This is the first step to dealing with conflict in the church, or anywhere. And it is a wonderful first step! And it is as simple and as complicated as it sounds.

When someone sins against you, go and talk to them, one-on-one. Don’t ignore the disagreement.

Easy, isn’t it? the issue we face is this.

The need to go in person. A lot of us will do almost anything to avoid conflict. We will run from it, pout about it, pretend it’s not there. But that doesn’t settle anything.

We may be tempted to send a letter or an e-mail.” Communication is much more than getting something off our chests in the middle of the night without time to even think about it.

Remember the delete key on your computer is there for a reason. Maybe we need to use it every chance that you can.

The truth is we can’t expect someone else to deal with it. Don’t hope that it will just go away.

Don’t get angry at someone else. Don’t internalise it.

Don’t do all those things that you and I are so tempted to do, because at the time they seem easier than dealing with the disagreement head on. Instead, go and talk with the person, one-on-one. Tell them of your hurt. Share with them what you are feeling.

Take a chance and speak with the person no matter how hard this may feel. But do it when the two of you are alone.

When the two of you are alone. Imagine if we all did this faithfully. What a difference this one thing would make in our relationships!

But of course, it won’t always work. The person who hurt us won’t always listen to us. That’s true, unfortunately. If that happens, Jesus says:

If you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

If sharing with them did not work, it is time to ask for help. This is not the first step, but it is the next, and important step, to take when conflict exists. Ask for help. Keep looking for ways to bring about reconciliation and healing. If we can’t do it ourselves, don’t be afraid to reach out to someone for help. But it must be done in love.

Sometimes forgiving can be extremely hard. As C.S. Lewis wrote: ‘Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.’

Closing

This is how Jesus teaches us to deal with conflict. But along with this teaching, he offers us a promise.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.

MATTHEW 18:20

Jesus promises to be with us, whenever we try and be reconciled in Christ.

When we gather in His name, when we pray in His name, when we seek to be reconciled in His name, He promises to be with us. Why? Because more than anything, Jesus wants all our relationships to be healthy and whole.

Our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other.

Jesus went to the cross to have our sins forgiven, and to have our relationship with God reconciled and restored. But he also went to the cross to keep his promise to be with us always, and particularly when we seek reconciliation with our brother or sister in Christ.

And this promise is not just something to be believed. It is a relationship to be enjoyed. A relationship that is at the heart of this wonderful thing we call, Christianity.

There is nothing more important to God than our relationship with him and with one another. So let us tend to both relationships faithfully. To the glory of God. Amen

OFFERING DURING HYMN

StF 36 There’s a quiet understanding.

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION

A prayer of praise and thanksgiving

God of integrity and wisdom,

you are the source of peace and the healer of conflicts,

within ourselves and our families,

within our community and our country,

within the nations of the world,

so, we praise you for caring when we hurt one another,

for grieving when we are divided,

for rejoicing when we are reconciled to one another and to you,

and for inspiring us to be the best we can be.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Prayers of intercession

Eternal, ever-living God,

we pray for those who this day need our prayers:

those we see around us…

those we have left at home…

family and friends near and far…

strangers and communities, we will never meet or know,

but whose peril we hear of and see on our screens…

those whose life is ebbing away,

consumed by old age, frailty, illness, or neglect…

those who grieve deeply for lives and loves lost…

those who cause grief and chaos in society,

and who live seemingly with different values from ours,

for them and their victims and their families…

those who are forgotten, unnoticed, unloved, unmissed…

Lord God, in your abundance of mercy,

hear these and all our prayers.

Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

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 trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

For ever and ever Amen.

StF 254 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

BLESSING

God of peace,

we pray for peace throughout the world.

Send us out as peacemakers,

people who help to set things right where there is

disagreement,

who try to resolve conflict.

Show us the way of peace in our own lives,

and in our homes and places of learning,

in our streets and throughout our community.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.