Printed Service for
 Sunday 5th February 2023
Children of Salt and Light
Prepared by Rev. Jo Jacobs

CALL TO WORSHIP

‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’
We come to worship:
Responding to God’s call, Ready to learn God’s wisdom,
Ready to be sent back into the world as salt and light

HYMN STF 134 Christ whose glory fills the skies
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Christ, whose glory fills the skies
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near,
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see,
Till Thou inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day

Words Charles Wesley
Music Henry Thomas Smart

PRAYER

Lord, you placed us in the world to be its salt. Give us the vision to preserve the good of your creation, and give us the courage to be the salt in the wounds of the world, to cleanse corruption and injustice, to bring healing and relief to those who suffer.

We give thanks for all who live by the sharp light of your kingdom. All who have the foolishness to believe that we can change what the world says is impossible; all who engage in the long struggle against injustice and do not give up. All who work for change with perseverance and creativity. We give thanks for these people and we honour them. Through them your light shines like the dawn. Through them your healing springs up quickly.

READING   Isaiah 58: 6 – 9

HYMN STF706   Longing for light
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Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts
Shine through the darkness
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today

Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice.

Christ, be our light! ….

Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.

Christ, be our light! ….

Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.

Christ, be our light! ….

Many the gifts, many the people, 
many the hearts that yearn to belong. 
Let us be servants to one another, 
making your kingdom come. 

Christ, be our light! ….

Song by Bernadette Farrell

READING   Matthew 5: 13 – 20

REFLECTION ‘Children of Salt and Light’

Salt and light are everyday commodities, and whilst electricity is more expensive these days, it is like salt, readily available. Whilst salt and light are not especially precious or sought after, Jesus uses them as illustrations of how we need to be in the world, as if they are.. He tells his disciples, and us, as he continues to preach the Sermon on the Mount that we are as precious, valuable and necessary as the salt of the earth.

Who do you know that you could describe as ‘salt of the earth’ Why would you describe them that way? What qualities do they have, and what difference do they make to the world?

Who do you know who shines a light in dark places? Where does that light come from? How is that light expressed, and what difference does it make in the darkness?

Thinking of ourselves, do we bring out the flavours of God in the world around us? Do we make a difference to others by our thoughtfulness, generosity, helpfulness and love, and the way in which we share our faith?

Are we marching in the light of God as eagerly as we sing the words? Do we bring a ray of Christ’s light into dark places?

Can we live as children of salt and light – the taste of God in a bland world, the light of Christ in a dark world?

God, forgive us and restore us as the salt of the earth,

to add excitement and vision, inclusion and flavour,

and to live every moment as salt and light in your world.

Amen.

HYMN STF 504 May the mind of Christ my Saviour
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May the mind of Christ, my Saviour,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me,
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

Katie Barclay Wilkinson

PRAYERS

Creator God, may we hear the restless whisper of your love, that will not leave us in peace until every yoke is broken, the bonds of injustice are loosened, and your light shines like the dawn. And when we feel that our actions make no difference, remind us that you do not work by armies or kings or princes, but through ordinary people bringing the flavour of God to the world, and the vulnerability of love. Help us to see the world through a lens of hope and grace, to be the light that exposes the stains of corruption, to break open the systems of injustice with startling glimpses of heaven. Redeemer Christ, bearer of our pain;

You opened your arms to the world’s agony. Help us to enter into the suffering of the world, that the world may be shaped by the salt of our tears, by the sweat of our labours, and by the cost of our living.

Amen.

HYMN STF 707 Make me a channel of your peace
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Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord
And where there is doubt true faith in You

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness only light
And where there’s sadness ever joy

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It is in giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we are born to eternal life

BLESSING. The blessing of God almighty, the love of Jesus Christ his Son, and our Saviour, and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, be with you, and those you love, this day, and forever more.

Amen.