Worship at home for week commencing Sunday, 1 November 2026 by Ron Mapplebeck

(with thanks to Vine at Home for the free use of their material)

Hymn: H&P  724/STF  244- Blest are the pure in heart

Prayers:

Holy God, Prince of Peace, Spirit of stillness, I come to you now in prayer and worship. Bless this time, that I may come to know more of your grace at work in the world, more of your love for me, more of your desire for peace for all people. Bless the time that follows this one, as I take this aspect of worship with me into my daily life. Help me to see opportunities to share your love with those around me, this and every day, Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus, we confess to you the times when we don't practise what we preach, when we burden others and do nothing to help, when we parade our good works in public and try to hide our bad works. Forgive us, we pray, and help us to change, recognising that we all are children of the same Heavenly Father. Keep us humble as you were humble. For your name's sake. 

Amen.

We pray for people we know and for world situations for which we have concern. Be with all whom we love today. 

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer:

Reading:Matthew 5:1-12

Hymn:H&P 238/STF 350 – I cannot tell, why he whom angels worship

Message:

This Sunday, on All Saints’ Day, we remember the saints. Perhaps that word immediately brings particular images to mind: people in stained-glass windows, famous Christians from centuries ago, people whose faith seems extraordinary, courageous and perhaps slightly beyond anything we could imagine for ourselves. But then we hear Jesus' word: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”; “Blessed are those who mourn.”;  “Blessed are the meek.”;  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”; “Blessed are the merciful.” Perhaps that is a good place to begin: remembering that saints are not people who escaped being human, they are people who discovered something of God within the messiness of being human. Saints have doubts, struggles, tiredness, they make mistakes, grieve, get things badly wrong. And yet, through their lives, something of God's love became visible. Does that change the way you think about the saints you have known personally? You’ve probably encountered some people whose names will never appear in a history book but whose lives quietly shaped yours. Those people who showed us kindness when we needed it, who listened without judging, who stood alongside someone others had abandoned, whose generosity was never announced. Perhaps these are saints as well: ordinary people through whom extraordinary grace occasionally shines.

The Beatitudes tell us something about the kind of holiness Jesus values: “Blessed are those who mourn.” Today that may feel particularly important. For some of us, remembering saints means remembering people we miss, people whose voices we can still hear, people whose absence remains painfully present. Jesus doesn't tell those who mourn to hurry up and feel better. He reminds us: if that is you, you are blessed. God is making God’s self known even amongst grief, tears and pain. Our grief is not evidence that our faith has failed. Perhaps the most surprising thing about All Saints’ Day is that it isn't only about remembering saints who have gone before us. It is also about asking: ‘What kind of saint am I becoming?’Because the Beatitudes are not qualifications for an elite group of Christians, they are an invitation to all of us. You don't need to perform miracles. You don't need perfect theology. You don't need unwavering faith. You don't need your life completely sorted out. You simply need to keep allowing God's love to shape you, to guide you, to invite you to discover what is yours to do in the mission of God. Today, may you know that you stand amongst the saints of today and of years gone by: the famous ones and the ones known only to those who they lived alongside. You, like them, are unfinished, imperfect, still learning what it means to follow Jesus. Blessed are the saints who have gone before us. Blessed are the saints quietly walking beside us. And blessed are we, as we continue becoming the people God calls us to be. 

Amen.

Hymn: H&P 814/STF  745 – For all the saints who from their labours rest