Proper 16 (4)

Come, let us keep a time of quiet together. (finger on lips) In the quiet, let us listen to our breathing. (hand on chest, breathe in and out three times) Often, we take for granted the air that keeps us alive, but now it reminds us (hands to the head) that everyday God’s Spirit strengthens us (raise arms in ‘strongman’ pose) and brings us new life (move hands in and place across heart).

HYMN

Come now is the time to Worship

GATHERING PRAYER

Here in this place, we gather to worship God. For here, our time together is linked to eternity; our worship renews the holiness within us and around us. Let us praise the giver of all good things. To God be all praise! Amen.

As we gather here in your house, O God, we close our eyes a moment to shut out all distractions; for you are the reason we are here, and it is your presence we seek. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Father, we confess that we often love your house more than we love you. We look at the cross and have pride in the building; We are moved in wonder at the music we hear and enjoy. We are comforted by familiar furnishings. Forgive us, Lord, for being distracted by these things. We confess also that we so often forget you during the week, as if you are only to be found here, on this day. Forgive us the vanity of thinking that we can build a house to contain you, to capture your presence for our convenience. We set aside our admiration of human-made glories, and seek to concentrate our hearts and minds only on you. Amen.

Living, loving God, you forgive us when we love bricks and mortar more than you. You forgive us when we forget why we come here. Thank you for this divine forgiveness of our human failings. 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 that trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

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

Forever and ever Amen.

HYMN

And can it be

Offering

Video

READING 1 (June)

1 Kings 8: 22-30, 41-43

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, “There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.” Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.

‘But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Have regard to your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there”, that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays towards this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling-place; heed and forgive.

‘Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name —for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays towards this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.

READING 2 (Jean)

John 6: 56-69

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

The Words of Eternal Life

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So, Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’

HYMN

Here is love vast as the ocean

SERMON

When Karon and I are away in a city that has a cathedral, we always go in to explore, we once went to Coventry Cathedral built after the old one was bombed during the second world war, it has an amazing stained glass window, but outside are the ruins of the old Cathedral which part of it still there and is very poignant. The tower is still there against all odds.

Some time ago we visited Buckfast Abbey, we really felt God’s presence we had a great visit, a few years later we went with friend and revisited the abbey what a disappointment it seemed to have changed to a moneymaking place.

There are lots of impressive, splendid buildings like York Cathedral with its great archways.

They are built with a passion to emulate another place a place of God, and I sometimes think of the builders working with a skill far beyond anything I could have, even in the places you don’t really see the workmanship is excellent.

All these building were created to take us out of the normal push and shove of life, and take us to somewhere more spiritual.

The Old Testament reading describes a historical moment for Israel. Solomon dedicates the Temple, fulfilling God’s promise to David and to the chosen people with a God-given purpose. That purpose was to show the creator God to those around.

A holy place for a holy people dedicating the newly built Temple, a permanent and elaborately decorated a dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant.

Time stopped. Even traditions ceased and the cloud that had led them through the wilderness enveloped everyone with God’s presence (1 Kings 8:10-11).

Have you ever walked into a church and been stopped in your tracks by something you saw, heard, smelled or felt? You may be thinking incense and sacred music, I remember many years ago visiting Bolton Abbey I noticed as I left the road and walked down into the valley, a silence surrounded me even though the road is very nearby the traffic noise disappeared, it perhaps helped as I seemed to be the only one around. And in the silence, I felt God’s presence in that place.

In the abbey ruin they had monastic chants playing, I don’t know about you, but I feel in those places you can sense the prayers that have penetrated the very walls.

It’s a reminder that wherever we are we need to prepare our hearts for worship, by stilling ourselves and knowing that God is present. Breathing slowly, contemplating listening to reflective quiet music can all aid our preparation for prayer. To bring stillness and to know that God is present.

When the temple was completed, Solmon prayed the prayer of dedication that we heard today, it seems to show how the priests’ instructions and guidelines were set aside when God shows up. The temple where God is, is open to all people not just the Israelites. But anyone seeking after God.

If we looked at the whole narrative of the construction and instructions of how the Temple was to be built, it seems every single detail was important and done with great care.

God fills the Temple with a cloud. Solomon asks God to honour the covenant made with his father.

This week, I want to look at what makes spaces special and holy for God.

As we look around at this Church it may not be elaborate like the gothic cathedrals, but we can reflect on our own worship space and how it helps us to know and experience God’s presence with us here today.

We may ask the question does God dwell here, as a visitor I can tell you God does indeed dwell here.

Solomon includes foreigners and strangers in his prayer of dedication.

What are God’s promises?

God’s promise to the Israelites is that he would be with them as long as they kept God central to their lives, which of causes we know that soon after Soloman they didn’t which led to the destruction of the Temple.

And what about the Christian world today?

We as a nation have allowed the day, we called holy to be just another day, days where sports activities have taken place of Church activities.

But should we despair? Is the world lost?

Remember there was always a remnant of believers from the chosen people even when the people were dispersed, to the Christians today who can feel as though they are on their own, out of step with today’s world.

But no matter what we see around us we can hold onto the faith we have, in our God.

Because after many, many nations have rulers and controlled this world over time have disappeared, God’s promise to be with us till the end of time still remains.

Does this dedicated church building carry a promise?

This Church I believe is working for the Kingdom, staying rooted in the love of God open to all and as a consequence there is growth.

The truth is in the end it’s the congregation not the building that is the temple that God calls home.

We are all called to be disciples of Jesus, Jesus the giver of eternal life and the Holy Spirit lives within those who follow him.

In our new testament reading this morning we find Jesus speaking again about bread!

Firstly, we had Jesus feeds the 5000, then the people follow in the hope for more free food,

Jesus instead of providing food now begins to teach them notice he begins this in the synagogue. So, his audience would have been Jewish.

Why were the words he spoke made the people found to hard a teaching and many followers left.

Are there some words that Jesus spoke that you find hard to take.

If we look at the two sets of disciples the ones who stayed and those who left, what was it that caused this, this morning’s reading is known as the first of the seven “I am” statements from John’s Gospel.

The thing was that a lot of followers saw Jesus as the great speaker, the great healer, a great prophet.

When Jesus states “I am” he is basically claiming to be God, this is to much for some and they leave.

Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’

What a declaration ask yourself “where can I go” where can we go if we don’t have Christ in our lives.

I had a call from a friend who said he may not be able to make bible study because the water had been turned off. Isn’t it funny often we don’t really realise what we have until we lose it. We are so used to turning on a tap and water pours out, when we turn it and nothing comes out, we feel lost, how do we satisfy our thirst, how do we clean ourselves?

Isn’t that just like Jesus the water of life, many have turned of this water of life and are determined to turn it off for those around them.

The role of this Church, and this congregation, is to remind those outside that they are welcome here to meet with God and their hunger and thirst can be sated.

HYMN

Come people risen King

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION (Malcolm)

Father, we praise you for giving us this special place in which to gather. But, most of all, we praise you for your presence and that of other people. Thank you for bringing us together within these hallowed walls. We bow in gratitude for the grace that nurtures our fellowship, as in community with one another and communion with you, we hear your Word, and learn more about your love. All praise and thanks be to the One whose dearest wish is to find a place in our hearts for himself. Amen.