REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY Cathedral Church Service 8 November 2020

[Music] [Applause] says [Applause] is [Applause] is at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1918 after 1600 days of continuous warfare in western europe the guns fell silent armistice the peace had been purchased at a great cost australia had sent 330 000 men into battle they were almost all volunteers they represented nearly 7 of the total population of our young federation more than 60 000 gave up their lives and those who returned came home bearing scars in body and mind that would demand a toll for a generation they and their families continued to pay the price of peace long after the war had ceased on remembrance sunday we remember and give thanks for them their sacrifice their loyalty and their courage we remember that war is hell and peace is precious and we look forward to to a day when war will be no more jesus resurrection from the dead is the guarantee of the day of god's triumph over war and death and the promise of a peace that will last forever so we proclaim jesus christ lord of lords and prince of peace hear the word of the lord the law will go out from zion the word of the lord from jerusalem he will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree and no one will make them afraid for the lord almighty has spoken the prayer for the fallen o lord lover of souls who through the mouth of your prophet of old has declared that all souls are yours we thank you for the brave and faithful dead who have laid down their lives in war for the devotion and courage of those who have fallen in the cause of freedom grant us say to follow their good example in faithfulness and endurance even unto death that we may be found worthy of the crown of everlasting life through the merits of jesus christ our savior amen um me is [Music] oh [Music] is is [Music] yes is [Music] [Applause] [Music] we come to a time of confession the bible tells us not to hide our sins from god our heavenly father but to confess them with a repentant and obedient heart so that we may be forgiven through his boundless goodness and mercy we ought to admit our sins to god at all times and especially when we come together to give thanks for the benefits we've received from him to offer the praise that is due to him to hear his holy word and to ask him to supply whatever we need so let us approach the throne of our gracious god with a true heart in full assurance of faith and pray together merciful father we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep we have followed too much the schemes and desires of our own hearts and have broken your holy laws we have left undone what we ought to have done and we have done what we ought not to have done yet good lord have mercy on us restore those who repent according to the promises declared to us through your son jesus christ grant merciful father for his sake that from now on we may live godly and obedient lives to the glory of your holy name amen and scripture encourages us in this way god desires that no one should perish but that all should turn to christ and live we confess our sins in response to his call god pardons those who humbly repent and truly believe the gospel therefore we have peace with god through jesus christ our lord amen they shall grow not old as we that are left grow old age shall not weary them nor the years condemn at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them lest we forget right [Music] uh [Music] ah [Music] bye [Music] uh ah [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] is [Music] yes [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Applause] [Music] hey foreign [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] um [Music] yes [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is sleep foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] as we come to hear scripture read and preached let's pray to ask god to make us ready to hear him thank you father that all scripture is god breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training in righteousness open our hearts to receive your word that we may know you better and be thoroughly equipped for every good work through your son jesus christ our lord amen i'm reading today from the bible the second book in the bible exodus chapter 16 verses 10 to 32. while aaron was speaking to the whole israelite community they looked toward the desert and there was the glory of the lord appearing in the cloud the lord said to moses i've heard the grumbling of the israelites tell them at twilight you will eat meat and in the morning you will be filled with bread then you will know that i am the lord your god that evening quail came and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp when the jew was gone thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor when the israelites saw it they said to each other what is it for they did not know what it was moses said to them it is the bread the lord has given you to eat this is what the lord has commanded everyone is together as much as they need take an oma for each person you have in your tent the israelites did as they were told some gathered much some little and when they measured it by the oma the one who gathered much did not have too much and the one who gathered little did not have too little everyone had gathered just as much as they needed then moses said to them no one is to keep any of it until morning however some of them paid no attention to moses they kept part of it until morning but it was full of maggots and began to smell so moses was angry with them each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed and when the sun grew hot it melted away on the sixth day they gathered twice as much two omas for each person and the leaders of the community came and reported this to moses he said to them this is what the lord commanded tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest a holy sabbath to the lord so bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil save whatever is left and keep it until morning so they saved it until morning as moses commanded and it did not stink or get maggots in it eater today moses said because today is a sabbath to the lord you will not find any of it on the ground today six days you are to gather it but on the seventh day the sabbath there will not be any nevertheless some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it but they found none then the lord said to moses how long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions bear in mind that the lord has given you the sabbath that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day no one is to go out so the people rested on the seventh day the people of israel called the bread manna it was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey moses said this is what the lord has commanded take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come so they can see the bread i gave you to eat in the wilderness when i brought you up out of egypt this is the word of the lord thanks be to god our next bible reading is from the book of matthew chapter 6 verses 5 to 14 and 25 to 34 and when you pray do not be like the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others truly i tell you they have received their reward in full but when you pray go into your room close the door and pray to your father who is unseen then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans for they think they will be heard because of their many words do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him this then is how you should pray our father in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one for if you forgive other people when they sin against you your heavenly father will also forgive you therefore i tell you do not worry about your life what you will eat or drink or about your body what you will wear is not life more than food and a body more than clothes look at the birds of the air they do not sew or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not much more valuable than they can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life and why do you worry about clothes see how the flowers of the field grow they do not labor or spin yet i tell you that that not even solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these if that is how god clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire will he not much more clothe you you of little faith so do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble of its own this is the word of the lord thanks be to god for most of you as you watch this today is remembrance sunday a day we remember in our prayers and give thanks for those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us and also for those who continue to do so in so many places around the world we know that in the trenches of flanders in world war one where anzacs fought they heard they heard welsh singers famously sing and joined by germans in the opposing trenches the hymn guide me o thy great redeemer and in that hymn you may know there's a famous line i am weak but thou art mighty hold me with thy powerful hand bread from heaven it must have been such an encouragement at such a wretchedly awful time and the image is a powerful one in the bible isn't it of bread from heaven and bread is universal as an image and the real thing and importantly it's a source of nourishment security and you can find bread at the finest feasts and the most humble of tables our economies around the world are defined by how long the line is in front of a bread shop it's simple to make bread isn't it wheat or barley and water and yet despite its simplicity it's profoundly complex and it gives life nourishment and it's the picture here that jesus uses to define and to describe how we pray to ourselves this week we continue our sermon series looking at the lord's prayer and today we look at that verse give us today our daily bread through these chapters you'll know that jesus has been teaching his closest followers what it looks like to follow him and here in the sixth chapter jesus looks at how the society around them how they prayed and how their prayers were characterized in one of two ways either prayers were either hypocritical and showy or secondly they were mechanical and procedural and you can see what's wrong with both those models can't you so jesus says this then is how you should pray and over the last three weeks we've seen the first three statements and we've noticed they are all concerned with god's glory and then in verse 11 this verse prayer makes a big direction change we move from praying for god's affairs to ours and i want us to look at this verse under three broad points the past the present and the future the past the present the future to our first point the past and this is really important because when jesus teaches us to pray prayer isn't new it doesn't come out of the blue in fact the bible is packed with prayers and importantly god responding nor by the way is this prayer to be understood in a vacuum that is god the father isn't unknown to us nor does he come without a past this prayer has a rich foundation of god providing without a doubt those listening to jesus would have been very familiar with moses leading god's people out of slavery in fact these chapters are shot through with the exodus story and i can't help but think that in the background is god's generous provision of bread from heaven of course you remember the story from exodus 16 of god's people who woke every morning to bread on the ground and they could take enough bread for just one day you'll remember they weren't to stock up for a rainy day were they nor were they even to take bread for two days but bred for today why because for forty years they'd go to sleep every single night trusting and depending that god every single day that he would meet their needs it was literally day by day living depending trusting god to supply and by the way this wasn't a once off continued all the way through the bible god continued to be generous and faithful providing all through the history of israel the psalmist could say the eyes of all lord look to you and you give them their food at the proper time god's track record in the past was just another reason he could be trusted in the present which is my second point jesus calls us to ask and trust our heavenly father today with everything that we need and it's as simple as that i think give us today our daily bread a few things to say at this point first essentially i'm certain that this is prayer this is a prayer asking god to supply for us what we need each day importantly not what we want and not even what we think we need key to prayer is trusting god trusting god to supply what we need just like an infant is dependent on their parent but secondly it's worth noticing the words daily bread have caused some confusion for one it seemed really out of place to go from asking god grand and lofty requests hallowing his name the kingdom of god and then to some it appeared that we sort of slipped in something personal and inappropriate out of place and so for a long time the history in the history of the church bread was translated holy communion which ultimately depersonalized prayer but you'll know if you've read any of the bible asking for our needs is actually consistent with how god has revealed himself a god who cares personally for us we've entire books the psalms for one are laden with deeply personal prayers and requests and you know we're so thankful for the reformers calvin and luther especially who were pioneers who knew their bibles and they corrected for us that view martin luther said in verse 11 he said our daily bread encompasses everything that is necessary for the preservation of this life food a healthy body good weather house a home wife and husband children good governance and peace the point is instead of constricting and narrowing what our daily bread is it's meant to be expansive generous it's why when we pray pray prayers are vast are they not in their scope and for those of you who love words and their meanings an interesting thing here jesus uses a really unusual word to give us what i consider 4k clarity the word daily as in daily bread it's a unique greek word it can't be found anywhere in the bible or greek literature for that matter and the best way that we can describe it is that it means today or the coming day it's almost as if jesus is really zeroing down the parameters and the time frame he goes out of his way to use a word so there's no mistaking the point what we're praying for is today jesus means for us to have a 24-hour window in mind and i think the reason is that jesus is reminding us that the christian life is day by day by day living trusting god there's never a moment or a time where we graduate from not needing god or for others our faith can sometimes be only for trying times can't it like medicine in the cupboard waiting for emergencies jesus has on view kingdom living for his followers that's perpetual ongoing and while we have this short time frame in mind if you know anything about jesus his life his ministry and importantly his death and resurrection you'll know that it was all geared towards securing our future and that's where our final point number three takes us today god in christ has dealt with our future while jesus teaches us to pray for today it's all with the spectacular backdrop knowing that our eternal future has been secured in jesus death the apostle peter said this in his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade this inheritance is kept in heaven for you you see friends we pray for now because jesus has dealt with the future hasn't he and how has that been won for us through god's generous grace the free gift of redemption which is why it's worth noticing that when we pray we ask god for his generosity give us today our daily bread by the way we're not asking for a contribution but jesus teaches us to use the word give give us and i don't think they're random words we need god to generously give to us what we need and what we don't deserve friends a couple of quick points of encouragement first this prayer is about the big and the small there aren't limits or caveats as to what we pray for i know a lady who every day lives in chronic pain awful and debilitating and we were chatting and she told me that she never actually paid praise for the pain she said because it's so constant so regular it's always there and surely she said prayer is for the big stuff the irregular the freak emergencies i think and i told her her daily pain is absolutely what these words of jesus are about our daily bread our daily needs and more than that if we're praying for our daily bread it presupposes prayer will be a necessity like breathing oxygen for some of us praying in the morning our prayer may literally be for food to eat for others it might be for the pain to go away rest from anxiety and depression work to earn money to sustain ourselves and families those of us who are grieving it might be for peace healing from a terrible disease friends prayer is a gift from god to you so that you can live day by day with god and not alone in this world friends there is lots to be worried about i noticed in the news in the lead up to the u.s election shops in cities all over the united states were boarding up their shop fronts like in a war expecting trouble fearful with terrorism in our streets not even safe in churches anymore and that's not taking into account our own personal lives is it where we're affected by disease and betrayal estrangement in our own families covert 19 jesus knew the people he was talking to and he knows us and he offers us another way in verse 33 jesus will say which is tied to this prayer jesus says seek first the kingdom of god you know friends one of the things that ministers can do at times when they preach is to take something very simple and exciting and joyful and overdo it make jesus into theology and make everything technical and boy i hope i haven't done that today but if the lord's prayer teaches us anything it's this our father who is in heaven whose name is to be hallowed and we pray for his kingdom to come he is deeply and intimately interested in you and i and he asks you to trust him for your personal daily intimate and even monday needs you may not have friends or hundreds of followers on social media you may not have a father or a husband who loved you children who honor you colleagues who respect you friends who call you but god through his son reminds you your father in heaven is ready to hear your needs and provide big and small last year i went to the sydney writers festival one of my absolute favorite authors had come to sydney to speak and i loved to the event all of his books so that i might get him to sign them there was an area after uh he's speaking to line up for a meet and greet and i remember at that meet and greet i was the only person in his line so i thought this is great we can have a chat i can tell him some of the things i love about his writing but boy i was so wrong he couldn't wait to get away maybe he was tired just wanted to get back to his hotel it long flight i'd paid money to hear him i'd listened attentively to everything uh he said and i'd certainly read all of his books i waited in line i showed how interested i was in him and he couldn't wait to get away how different it is with god despite his unbelievable status in heaven king eternal immortal ruler sovereign potentate god is eager to hear our needs and to provide for them and so we pray [Music] is [Music] hey foreign [Music] um [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] shall we pray together our lord and heavenly father your word reminds us that you are the lord of heaven and earth and all creation is dependent upon you and your goodness thank you that we can bring to you both the big things that are so very obviously beyond our control and also the smaller things our daily needs where we are just as dependent upon you to care for us thank you that over all the years of our lives you have given us each day our daily bread when there has been plenty and when there has been little you have still cared for us we can continue in confidence because you see what we need and you are interested in the details of our lives as well as our larger dreams and plans we praise you as the god who sees and provides for his people we thank you most of all for all your blessings which are ours in jesus christ thank you that you chose us before the foundation of the world that you predestined us for adoption as your sons and daughters through jesus christ that you redeemed us forgave us and lavished upon us the riches of your grace every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is ours in christ jesus we can call jesus lord and call you our father because of the work of your spirit within us and so once again we want to give you both the thanks and the praise that is your jew we bring before you the coronavirus pandemic and pray that you might soon bring it to an end we pray especially for those countries who are suffering severely we think of the us india brazil russia france spain argentina colombia and the uk each with over a million cases and together with over 738 000 deaths please give wisdom to their leaders and medical experts as we pray for those in our own country would they know the right course of action to take in order to bring the level of infection down to manageable levels and to bring an end to the deaths from this plague in our own land would you further reduce the number of cases of the virus and allow our borders to open again and families to be reunited would you especially give skill knowledge and wisdom to those medical experts who are labouring to find a vaccine for this disease so that soon there might be effective medical protection for all and especially the most vulnerable in our society father your word tells us to pray for our leaders we know the real and burdensome authority they exercise and we pray that they might do so in a way that brings the most amount of good for the most people in their land and around the world in the wake of the u.s election which has further exposed a divided nation which has wandered from its christian roots we pray for such a work of your spirit in the lives of men and women that peace and tranquility might be spread wide we long to see this powerful and influential country once more identified by others as the land of the free we pray for the relieving of real racial tensions for respect of those with differing opinions from different backgrounds and holding different beliefs we pray for a renewed determination to protect and guard all life including unborn life and we pray for the rule of law and the impartial administration of justice however this election is finally decided would you heal divisions and bring health to the nation of america on this remembrance sunday we remember those who have fought in various wars to protect our freedom and to oppose tyranny barbarism and the cruel silencing of dissent we thank you for those who have been willing to serve in our defence services and for those who in the course of their duties sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of real lasting and just peace we pray for the families of fallen servicemen in all the wars of the 20th century and now the 21st century would you sustain them in hope provide their earthly needs and comfort their grieving hearts please keep the world from descending once again into war give skill to diplomats and politicians so that there might be a genuine concern for mutual welfare and respect we thank you lord for those you have placed in spiritual leadership over us we thank you for our archbishop glenn davies our regional bishop michael stead our dean konishka rafal and all the staff of our cathedral please give them wisdom and discernment love and compassion integrity of life and truthfulness of speech and use them to see the cause of jesus christ advanced in our city and across our land we pray for christian ministry to the indigenous people of our land would you provide them with the resources they need the gentle patience and compassion that is vital a clarity of thought and a determination to pursue both justice and mercy forgiveness and repentance we pray for those who belong to the gadigal people of the aurora nation who are the traditional custodians of this land would you provide their daily bread and bring many to faith in jesus christ lastly we pray for ourselves father for our discipleship as followers of the lord jesus christ would you keep us in your word and at prayer encouraging and using our gifts to build up one another would you work in us so that we are characterized by love and by light as you are day by day would you conform us to the image of your son so that we might bring you great glory and testify to our needy world of its only hope father would you hear our prayers for they are prayed in the name of your son jesus christ and for his glory amen [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] right [Music] oh [Music] me i'm so glad you could join us today would you join me now in praying father take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of your spirit and in the name of your son jesus christ our lord amen and now may the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit amen [Music] um you

Channel: St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney

Views: 6,022

Rating: 4.9626169 out of 5

Keywords: REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 8th November, remembrance sunday, st andrew's cathedral sydney, choir, ross cobb, kanishka raffel, chris allan, Canon Christopher Allan, dean raffel

Id: HOdI9_CIlcg

Length: 54min 12sec (3252 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 07 2020