Cruden Parish Church
10.00am, Sunday 4 October 2020
‘Sitting on the dyke’
CALL TO WORSHIP
Come, let’s praise God together!
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s tell stories of God’s power and majesty,
his mighty acts throughout history:
for God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s remember the compassion he has shown toward us;
his mercy and unfailing love, generation after generation:
for God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s pass these stories along to our children and grandchildren,
so that they, too, may come to know and love our God.
For God is great, and worthy of our praise!
Let’s worship God together!
CH4 31: I waited patiently for God (Psalm 40:1-4)
I waited patiently for God,
for God to hear my prayer,
and God bent down to where I sank
and listened to me there.
God raised me from a miry pit,
from mud and sinking sand,
and set my feet upon a rock
where I can firmly stand.
And on my lips a song was put,
a new song to the Lord.
Many will marvel, open-eyed,
and put their trust in God.
Great wonders you have done, O Lord,
all purposed for our good.
Unable every one to name,
I bow in gratitude.
John L Bell
©1998 WGRG, Iona Community
PRAYER
Most Gracious God
we greet you once again in this sacred space.
We have come because we need to be reminded
of your love for us and your expectations for how we should live.
So we come in prayer
and listen for your Word to speak to our hearts
and reveal again what you want of us.
We are all too aware of our failures as followers of Jesus.
When we have forgotten you,
Lord, have mercy.
When we have failed to speak words of love,.
Lord, have mercy.
When we have neglected the need of another person,
Lord, have mercy.
[A moment of silence]
God’s gracious forgiveness is yours, in Jesus Christ.
Sisters and Brothers,
your sins are forgiven;
be at peace.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
you will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Bible Reading
Matthew 20:1-16
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Sermon: ‘Sitting on the dyke’
Prayer
God we ask you to show us the way we must travel.
You know what is best for us
and you have a rightful claim upon our lives.
We are ready to follow you in the ways of Your kingdom.
May our lives be useful for you.
Use us, God!
Use even us, just as we are!
Amen
CHURCH NEWS
[The Church New is printed at the end of this order of service]
Prayers of Intercession
God, so often we see others as more fortunate than ourselves,
as getting more for what they do,
as more loved.
Teach us, God,
how your love is much more than just fair.
Teach us how it is a special caring for each and every one of us,
A perfect fit for our own size and shape.
and is completely unearned.
We thank you for that,
we thank you for providing for us,
we thank you for calling us to labour in your vineyard.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Thank you, God,
for always giving us much, much more than we can earn or ever deserve.
It is so different to our often calculated way of doing business with one another,
your love towards us seems reckless, extravagant, and unbelievable gracious.
Forgive us when we consider all of this is our right rather than your gift.
Forgive us too for when we have resented the love you show towards others
who have not served you as long as we have,
for when we have been angry because you have brought joy to others
whom we think greater sinners than we are,
for when we have measured our worth
rather than rejoiced in your mercy.
Lord hear our prayer.
You call us to work in your vineyard—
to reach out to others in your name
and bring your healing word, your gentle touch, your embracing love to them.
Help us to be good workers—
ones that seek the lost in the market places and village squares;
ones who are unafraid to see in a stranger the image of Christ,
and in a sinner a brother or sister for whom he died and rose again.
Give us power as individuals and as a church
to be the kind of ambassadors
who know you and do your will,
so that in meeting us, people meet you.
Lord hear our prayer...
At this time of year we thank you for crops being safely gathered in,
Whether it be tatties, grain, fruit or vegetables.
As Sean runs a virtual Marathon today we remember the work of Christian Aid, supporting people in places where crops are not so plentiful as we enjoy.
We pray for those in our land who have to take weighty decisions
that affect the lives of all,
especially when there is no right decision, but always a balance.
So we ask for your guidance and help for our politicians, at local and national level.
We pray for our church leaders who have been meeting in General Assembly this weekend, trying to discern how we can be an effective church in Scotland. We pray for those who have to make hard decisions that they might have a clear vision of what is your way for the future.
.
We pray for our family and our friends,
at these times when we cannot visit;
for our church, our community, and our world.
when life is so radically different.
We remember students who are trying to study while so restricted
and Covid spreads though the places where they live.
Indeed we pray for all who are suffering under the burden of this infection which can seize hold of a young student, an elderly granny or a president.
For people known to us who are in special need today whom we picture in our minds in a moment of silence…………………………………………………..
Lord, hear our prayers, spoken and unspoken.
All these things we pray in the name of Christ Jesus,
the joy of heaven to earth come down;
he who is our life and our hope, our peace
and our rock and our refuge.
Amen.
CH4 500: Lord of creation to you be all praise!
Lord of creation, to you be all praise!
Most mighty your working, most wondrous your ways!
Your glory and might are beyond us to tell,
and yet in the heart of the humble you dwell.
Lord of all power, I give you my will,
in joyful obedience your tasks to fulfill.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song;
and, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.
Lord of all wisdom, I give you my mind,
rich truth that surpasses man's knowledge to find.
What eye has not seen and what ear has not heard
is taught by your Spirit and shines from your Word.
Lord of all bounty, I give you my heart;
I praise and adore you for all you impart;
your love to inspire me, your counsel to guide,
your presence to cheer me, whatever betide.
Lord of all being, I give you my all;
if ever I disown you, I stumble and fall;
but, sworn in glad service your word to obey,
I walk in your freedom to the end of the way.
John Copley Winslow (1882-1974)
Blessing
Go out from here
as workers in God’s upside-down kingdom,
where the last are first and the first are last,
where needs are met in miraculous ways,
and there is grace enough for all!
And may the blessing of God,
the love of Jesus Christ,
and the presence of the Holy Spirit
surround you and sustain you in the coming days.
Amen.
Scottish Charity number SC 011353
Cruden Parish Church CCL licence No 17874
Streaming licence number 1606813
CHURCH NEWS
Pastoral Care
The latest Covid-19 guidelines include restrictions on visiting people in their homes. However, this does not affect pastoral visits by the minister or representative of the church where the purpose is to offer pastoral care or a religious rite (Home Communion, prayer etc.). However, these visits can only take place by invitation. For more information or to request a pastoral visit, please contact Sean, Tel.07791 755976.
Walking for Health and Well-being
The group meets this Tuesday at 10.30 am outside the St Olaf Hotel, Cruden Bay. Everybody welcome. (This is a permitted activity under the current Covid-19 rules and has become an officially recognised ‘Health Walk.’)
Worship
we meet every Sunday at 10.00 am. In order to provide a safe environment, we are strictly following the appropriate rules and guidance, including social distancing. Members and visitors are asked to reserve seating by contacting Robert Esson either by phone on 01779 813049 or by email at robertesson@btinternet.com before 7.00pm on the Saturday evening prior to the service.
Facebook
Our morning service will be broadcast live via the Church Facebook Page. In order to follow the service, you may have to reload the page just before the broadcast begins at 10.00 am.