Sunday Worship
Welcome to our Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 18th Sunday after Trinity, and the feast of St Michael and All Angels. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Morning has Broken"
Today's Bible Reading
Revelation 12:7-12 Michael and the Dragon
War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Reflection
Today we celebrate the feast of Michael and All Angels. Michael along with Gabriel and Raphael are the three named biblical angels, depicted as the beloved messengers of God.
Michael, which means 'who is like God?', is described as protector of Israel and leader of the armies of God and is perhaps best known as the slayer of the dragon in the passage above from the Revelation to John. He is thus regarded as the protector of Christians from the devil, particularly those at the hour of death.
The excerpt from Revelation is on the face of it, a description of the battle between good and evil. Up to this point. Satan has been able to come and go to heaven as he pleases. He is depicted as a red dragon with seven heads each with ten horns, [Revelation 12: 3], but we know that Satan has many guises and will come with his angels and demons to tempt us to do wrong and disobey God’s commandments.
We must never underestimate the cunning and power of the Satan. We know of his cunning from the very beginning of the Bible where, as the serpent, he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden which led to the downfall of mankind. This is referred to in verse 9 where he is described as the serpent and deceiver of the whole world.
He was a powerful angel and manipulator. So much so that prior to the war with Michael’s angels, we are told that with his dragon’s tail he swept a third of the stars from the sky, [Revelations 12:4]. This refers to him persuading a third of the angels in heaven to support him and follow him. These are the same angels that are cast down alongside him.
Satan thought he could challenge God, and he accused God’s people of sin, and thereby thought he could defame what God had created.
It is important to note that whilst we sometimes think of Satan as the counterpart of God, he is not and never can be, because God has no equal. If anything, Michael, who is described as an archangel is Satan’s counterpart who is sent by God to fight the battle which ultimately leads to Satan being banished, thrown down from heaven.
That is of course not good news for us, because as we know, Satan is still free to deceive and corrupt us here on earth. But there is the wonderful Good News of Jesus, and as Christians we can have faith in his redeeming love and his sacrifice to atone for all our sins. Satan has been conquered by the blood of the Lamb.
We have a loving Lord who came among us and who continues to intercede on our behalf as our advocate in heaven.
The reality is that we all make a mess of things every day. We act selfishly, tell lies, believe other people’s lies, take advantage of situations when we know we shouldn’t, or cause hurt to others, even if it is unintentional.
So what should we do about it? Let Satan persuade us that we are not fit Christians or believe that we are now unacceptable in God’s sight?
As Christians we need to have faith and hope and trust in the Lamb of God and his love for us. We need to face up to what we have done wrong, admit our sins and say we are sorry. Because we have faith that by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross he was able to bear all our sins so we need no longer be accused by the devil and judged by God.
As Saint Paul says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" (Romans 8:1).
As believers we also have a responsibility to fight the devil when we see him at work in others and conquer him through word of our testimony in Christ, [verse 11]. That is we can share the good news that by turning to Christ they can be forgiven and have a place in God’s kingdom. Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the salvation, strength, and security I have received from the Lord Jesus Christ,
and for the victory He won for me through His blood.
Thank You that through Him, I can overcome any obstacle in my life, to Your praise and glory
Amen
Our final hymn today is "Ye Holy Angels Bright"
Notices
Next Sunday is our Parish Harvest Festival, and we have just the one service in our parish at 11 am at St Thomas' Church. Please see the poster below for details -
