On this Day Of Remembrance, we will remember and never forget.
Let us begin by singing; Dear Lord and Father
Here are a few scripture readings for us on this Day Of Remembrance
Psalm 46.1
God is our refuge and strength;
a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 121.1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills –
from whence will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Lamentations 3.21-23
This I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning.
Isaiah 40.31
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew
their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary
they shall walk and not faint.
Micah 6.8
What does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
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If you would like to enter into a two minute silence, please click on the next slide
Prayer for Remembrance Day
Let us pray for all who suffer because of conflict, and ask that God may give us peace:
for the service men and women who have died in the violence of war, each one remembered by and known to God; may God give peace.
For those who love them in death as in life, offering the distress of our grief and the sadness of our loss; may God give peace.
For all members of the armed forces who are in danger this day, remembering family, friends and all who pray for their safe return; may God give peace.
For civilian women, children and men whose lives are disfigured by war or terror, calling to mind in penitence the anger and hatreds of humanity; may God give peace.
For peacemakers and peacekeepers, who seek to keep this world secure and free; may God give peace.
For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership, political, military and religious; asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve in the search for reconciliation and peace; may God give peace.
O God of truth and justice, we hold before you those whose memory we cherish, and those whose names we will never know. Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm. As we honour the past, may we put our faith in your future; for you are the source of life and hope, now and for ever. Amen.
Before we share together in the Lord's prayer, please take time for your personal prayers.
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.
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Let us sing: O God Our Help In Ages Past.
Remembrance
Remembrance Sunday is an important event in the church calendar because it helps us to not forget why we have the freedom that we enjoy today. It reminds us of the peace we have experienced here was not bought cheaply. Remembrance Sunday is more than a reminder of those who died in the First and Second World Wars it is also a reminder of those who have lost their lives in other conflicts like the Falklands War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine and many other conflicts. Remembrance Sunday is set aside to remember those who have given their lives for the freedom of others. Today we pause to remember the fallen and to say “Thank you” for their sacrifice so we can live in peace.
What and why do we need to remember? We remember the reality of what happened. We remember the dedication of those who fought and died. Remembering should stir within us a sense of gratitude and appreciation. Remembering the commitment and sacrifice of others should also strengthen our own resolve to do our part in serving God and to bring hope to this dark world. Our hope comes from being in a real relationship with Jesus who has conquered the power of sin and death.
If we are in Christ, if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour, we have no need to fear our past, our present or our future. We are secure in Him, He is with us, Jesus is our certain hope and He brings light into our darkest hours. When we are discouraged by circumstances and situations, Jesus loves you and He is your certain hope.
Listen to the words of Jesus recorded in John 15:9-13,
‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: love each other.
Jesus loved us enough to go to the cross. Jesus died so that we might live. Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we could be saved. Jesus paid the price for our freedom from Sin, death and fear. Jesus died for all who place their trust in Him, no greater love can be shown to us. In a way Jesus expects us to die for Him if we are His friend, not a physical death, but by putting to death our sinful nature so that we can become closer to Him.
On this day of remembrance we also need to remember what Jesus did for us. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Throughout scripture, God’s people are instructed to stop and remember what He has done for us. Listen to the opening verses of Psalm 105,
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. Sing to Him; yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds. Exult in His holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord. Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him. Remember the wonders He has performed, His miracles, and the rulings He has given. He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. He always stands by His covenant—the commitment He made to a thousand generations.
Psalm 105 is a song of remembrance of God’s goodness to His beloved ones. It traces His direction, provision and protection through their history and the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. For us as believers today, we can look back over history and how God has been active. God has been and continues to be, at work in the daily lives of His people.
Let me ask you, how often do you take the time to remember what God has done in your life? How often do you just pause and thank Him for His presence and provision in your life? There is a natural progression in what happens when we pause — when we make time to remember. It’s important that we take the time to thank Him for what He has done.
Do you find yourself breaking into songs of worship and praise as you rejoice in His goodness to you? Or do you only sing when in church? What about when you are at home? Or in the car? Or walking around the supermarket doing your shopping? How often do you take the opportunity to tell others what God has done in your own life?
Maybe you will talk with a few Christian friends. Maybe there have even been times when you have come forward and given a testimony about what God has done in your life. But what about to those who do not know Jesus? Do you tell them what God has done and is doing in your life? Are you telling them about the difference God has made in your life? Are you telling them about the difference God could make in their lives?
All of us have many things to be thankful for. All of us have experienced the love, mercy and grace of God at work in our own lives. All of us should be willing to tell others about His greatness. Maybe if we took more time to remember how God has had His hand upon our lives, then telling others about His love and goodness would come a little more naturally to us. Perhaps the key for us is not just being able to rejoice in what God has done in the past, we can also remember that in Jesus our future is also secure.
Jesus is the promised Messiah. Jesus willingly left the glory of Heaven to come on a rescue mission to save us. Jesus came because of His love for us. Jesus came to restore our relationship with God the Father.
Jesus was incarnated into this world to do more than teach us and tell us how we should live - He came to die on the cross so that by the shedding of His own blood we could be forgiven. The perfect one died for the imperfect, me. The shedding of His blood washed away my sins. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to pay the price for the sins of everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. When Jesus rose from the grave, He conquered death, He conquered hell, He conquered the grave. Then He ascended into Heaven and He has gone to prepare a place for those who believe and trust in Him as Saviour. And one day He is coming back.
Today remember His sacrificial love for you has saved you. Remember you are set free from the burden of worry, anxiety, fear and pain. Remember that you are now a forgiven child of God. Remember that by trusting in Him and Him alone you can be victorious in all that you do. Remember God has a perfect plan for your life. Remember, even when life is tough and things don’t make sense to you, remember that God is in control.
Remember the words of Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic. For the Lord your God will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Remember God is with you. He is always with you, there is no place that we can go to escape His loving presence! God is not far off; He is always near to each of us. In Psalm 139 King David declares there is absolutely no place he could go to escape the presence of God.
Please read with me this beautiful Psalm. Psalm 139
1You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.
If David goes to heaven, God is there. If David descended into the earth, God is there. David goes on to say that wherever he goes, the hand of the Lord will lead him and hold him. That is an amazing promise we need to remember - Wherever we go, God goes with us!
God knows everything. Remember there is no question God cannot answer, there is no problem that can confuse God. God is never surprised. He’s never shocked. God never says, “I didn’t expect that to happen”. These verses tell us the truth that God does know everything about us, we cannot hide our heart, our motivation or our motives from Him.
Remember, God knows everything and He sees deep into our hearts. God is familiar with all our ways. Remember He knows where we are, He knows what we are doing, He knows why we choose to do what we do. Remember He knows all our habits, both the good habits and the bad. Remember He knows our areas of strength and our areas of weakness better than we know them ourselves. Remember that God knows the exact you and he still loves you. And I say amen to that. God knows me and loves me and gave His Son for me. Hallelujah,
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As we come to the end of our worship, let us remember what Jesus did on Calvary. And what he did was, "Written In Red."
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
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