INTRODUCTION
God declares:
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
HYMN: StF 378 “Father of Everlasting Grace”
1 Father of everlasting grace,
your goodness and your truth we praise,
your goodness and your truth we prove;
you have, in honour of your Son,
the gift unspeakable sent down,
the Spirit of life, and power, and love.
2 Send us the Spirit of your Son,
to make the depths of Godhead known,
to make us share the life divine;
send him the sprinkled blood to apply,
send him our souls to sanctify,
to bless and seal us with this sign.
3 So shall we pray, and never cease,
so shall we thankfully confess
your wisdom, truth, and power, and love,
with joy unspeakable adore,
and bless and praise you evermore,
and serve you as your hosts above:
4 Till, added to that heavenly choir,
we raise our songs of triumph higher,
and praise you with a bolder voice,
out-soar the first-born seraph's flight,
and sing, with all our friends in light,
with everlasting love rejoice.
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 378
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pur4FbNuW0U
OPENING PRAYERS
Adoration
O God, beyond the reach of all thought,
we turn to you with finite minds.
Out of the vastness of eternity
we listen for the intimacy of your voice.
Though you are beyond all imagination
we long to gaze on your beauty.
In perfect silence
the heart of your divinity
speaks to the heart of our humanity,
love to love,
wounds to wounds.
Beyond the curving of space,
beyond the barrier of sound,
we encounter in your stillness
the centre of all our being.
O Glory beyond all brightness,
O Love beyond all telling,
O Wisdom beyond all words,
we praise you
we bless you
we worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God,
Forever and ever. Amen.
Confession
Gracious and Holy God,
we confess that we have sinned
against you and against our neighbour.
Your Spirit gives light,
but we have preferred darkness;
your Spirit gives wisdom,
but we have been foolish;
your Spirit gives power,
but we have trusted in our own strength.
For the sake of Jesus Christ your Son,
forgive our sins,
and enable us by your Spirit
to serve you in joyful obedience,
to the glory of your name, Amen.
There is now no condemnation
for those who live in union with Christ Jesus;
for the law of the Spirit of life
has set us free from the law of sin and death.
Amen. Thanks be to God.
READINGS:
Acts 2: 1-12
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
John 7: 37-39
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
HYMN: StF 372 “Come Down O Love Divine”
1 Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
2 O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes, in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
3 Let holy charity
mine outward vesture be,
and lowliness become mine inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart,
which takes the humbler part,
and o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
4 And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till he become the place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.
Bianco da Siena (d. 1434)
translated by Richard Frederick Littledale (1833–1890)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 372
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HPKL1wOVXk
SERMON
Today is the Day of Pentest, when Christians all over the world remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to those first Christians in Jerusalem. Yet whenever I talk to sisters and brothers in Christ, I find confusion about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity.
Who is the Holy Spirit? What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit? Why did Jesus promise and God send the Holy Spirit?
In our readings today we are giving three pictures of the Holy Spirit; as wind, as fire and as water. They are all images that help us understand the Holy Spirit.
We read in Acts 2, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
About twelve years ago Sue and I decided to take our daughter Alice to Euro Disney, which very unfortunately involved flying. I don’t like flying. At all. Not one bit. I was not a happy chap. I drove to Liverpool airport trembling like a leaf. I left part of my full English breakfast at the airport uneaten. As I walked out on the tarmac to the plane, I looked up at that great multi tonne construction and wondered not only how it would get of the ground but whether it would actually stay in the sky until it was time to land.
I sat in my seat, apparently white as a sheet, as the plane taxied to the runway and gripped my seat arms as it accelerated. Then the plane lifted into the air and my fear vanished, because I at last understood how planes work. The engines power them forward so quickly that the air rushes under the wings and lifts and supports the plane.
That is one of the things the Holy Spirit does. The Spirit lifts us up and gives us support as we try to live as Christian disciples. In Johns gospel the Spirit is called our Counsellor and our Helper; on who comes alongside us when we are beyond our own strength, when we need support and help.
The wind gives us another image of the Holy Spirit. Above Oswaldtwistle on the moors there are some wind turbines than generate electricity, that provide power. As well as supporting us the Holy Spirit empowers us to live as the people of God.
“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” What does it mean to us to say that the Holy Spirit is like fire?
Fire is destructive. We burn things when we want to get rid of them. Shredded documents can, in theory, be reconstructed with a lot of time, patience and Sellotape, but if we burn sensitive papers they are destroyed forever, becoming nothing more than ashes.
But fire is also purifying, burning away the rubbish and yet leaving what is pure and good. In Revelation 3:18, for example, we read, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich.” A refiner’s fire purifies. It melts down the bar of gold and separates out the impurities that ruin its value, burns them up, and leaves the gold intact.
Both refining and destruction give us a sense of one way in which the Holy Spirit works in our lives. The Spirit, with our co-operation, takes all that is within us that is God opposing and God denying, all that is selfish, and helps to burn it away so that we gradually become the people God created us to be. The fire of the Holy Spirit refines our personalities and characters, making us more Christlike.
We can understand the fire of the Spirit in another sense too. Last Sunday was Aldersgate Sunday when we remembered John Wesley’s heart being “strangely warmed” when he came to an assurance of his personal salvation through Jesus Christ.
That’s a very 18th century way of saying that his heart was on fire for Jesus. The Spirit fills us with fire, with passion for following Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, with fire to proclaim the fantastic Good News of Jesus. Are you on fire for Jesus through the Spirit? Do you have a passion for Jesus that burns within you? That passion is the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within you!
Finally, we come to our gospel reading and another image of the Holy Spirit. We read, “ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit.”
The image of the Holy Spirit as water. Water is absolutely essential for life. Without water we would die. We need water, we cannot live without it.
As Christian disciples we cannot truly live without the water of the Holy Spirit flowing through us, permeating every part of us, giving us that spiritual lie that is so much an essential part of our humanity. We simply cannot be Christians, we cannot serve God faithfully, we cannot live Christian lives without the Holy Spirit surrounding us, supporting us and filling us with life and power and fire.
On Ascension Day the first disciples were told by Jesus, “Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
Those first disciples needed the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives if they were to serve Jesus, and so do we, his disciples today. If we are indeed Christians then the Holy Spirit is within us, uplifting us, empowering us, refining us, firing us up for God and filling us with life.
PRAYERS OF CONCERN
Gracious God,
whose Spirit helps us in our weakness
and guides us in our prayers,
we pray for the Church and for the world
in the name of Jesus Christ.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Renew the life and faith of the Church;
strengthen our witness;
and make us one in Christ.
Grant that we and all who confess that Christ is Lord
may be faithful in your service
and filled with the Spirit,
that the world may be turned to you.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Guide the nations
in the ways of justice, liberty and peace;
and help them to seek
the unity and welfare of all people.
Help us to co-operate as a human race
in tackling the scourge of the Coronavirus.
Give to all in authority
wisdom to know and strength to do what is right.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Comfort those in sorrow;
heal the sick in body or in mind
and deliver the oppressed.
Grant us compassion for all who suffer,
and help us so to carry one another’s burdens
that we may fulfil the law of Christ.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Receive our thanks and praise
for all who have served you faithfully here on earth,
and especially those who have revealed to us
your grace in Christ.
May we and all your people
share the life and joy of your Kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
HYMN: StF 370 “Breathe On Me Breath of God”
1 Breathe on me, Breath of God;
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.
2 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will,
to do and to endure.
3 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.
4 Breathe on me, Breath of God;
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
of thine eternity.
Edwin Hatch (1835–1889)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 370
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmkzSjs9eAw
PRAYER
Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit on the disciples
with the wind from heaven and with tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
send us out in the power of the same Spirit
to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
BLESSING
The Spirit of truth lead us into all truth,
give us grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
and to proclaim the works and word of God:
And the blessing of God,
Spirit, Son and Father,
remain with us always.
Amen.
Sunday, 31 May 2020
Sunday, 24 May 2020
Aldersgate Sunday Service 24th May 2020
ALDERSGATE SUNDAY SERVICE 2020
INTRODUCTION:
Today is Aldersgate Sunday, when we remember the evangelical conversion of John Wesley, human founder of the Methodist Church. This service very much focuses on that Aldersgate theme and is intended for those who will be unable to access our Circuit Zoom Service. The opening prayers and sermon are different from the Zoom service, but everything else is the same.
We begin by hearing what are, to many Methodists, some very familiar words.
Aldersgate Reading
In October 1735 the brothers John and Charles Wesley went to Georgia in America. John went as a missionary to the colony, and Charles served as Secretary to the Governor.
Their time in Georgia proved to be far from happy. By 1738 the Wesley brothers had returned to London both disillusioned and downhearted. They saw something in the hearts of the Moravian Christians they’d met there which they thought they didn’t have. So they longed for a deeper experience of faith and forgiveness – they struggled for some time to find it. Nevertheless, the penny was to drop for them, and their lives were to be transformed: Charles first, and then we read from John’s journal what was to happen to him on the 24th May 1738, in the month before his 35th birthday. We hear the words of John Wesley,
Their time in Georgia proved to be far from happy. By 1738 the Wesley brothers had returned to London both disillusioned and downhearted. They saw something in the hearts of the Moravian Christians they’d met there which they thought they didn’t have. So they longed for a deeper experience of faith and forgiveness – they struggled for some time to find it. Nevertheless, the penny was to drop for them, and their lives were to be transformed: Charles first, and then we read from John’s journal what was to happen to him on the 24th May 1738, in the month before his 35th birthday. We hear the words of John Wesley,
‘In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans.
About a quarter before nine, while (the leader) was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.
I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.’
About a quarter before nine, while (the leader) was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.
I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.’
John’s life was transformed – and Charles experienced something similar. Despite being devout Christians and coming from a clerical family, their faith previously lacked assurance. John felt he had been struggling to save his own soul.
HYMN: Singing the Faith 340 “Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim”
1 Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim,
and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name all-victorious of Jesus extol;
his kingdom is glorious, and rules over all.
and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name all-victorious of Jesus extol;
his kingdom is glorious, and rules over all.
2 God ruleth on high, almighty to save;
and still he is nigh, his presence we have;
the great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus our King.
and still he is nigh, his presence we have;
the great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus our King.
3 ‘Salvation to God who sits on the throne!'
Let all cry aloud, and honour the Son;
the praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces, and worship the Lamb.
Let all cry aloud, and honour the Son;
the praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces, and worship the Lamb.
4 Then let us adore, and give him his right;
all glory and power, all wisdom and might,
all honour and blessing, with angels above,
and thanks never-ceasing, and infinite love.
all glory and power, all wisdom and might,
all honour and blessing, with angels above,
and thanks never-ceasing, and infinite love.
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 340
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 340
PRAYERS:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
to you be all praise and glory!
There is none like you.
You are the giver of life and hope,
and so we worship You.
We thank you that you have invited all people to be part of your community of love, and entrusted us to be your channels of grace, life and healing in the world.
Forgive us when we fail to listen to your voice.
Forgive when our hearts are cold and hard.
Forgive us when we have not loved you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Forgive us when we fall short of the best we could be - hurting You, others, and ourselves by our words and actions.
Your Word reminds us that ‘while we were yet helpless, Christ died for the ungodly’,
may we hear Jesus’ gracious words,
“Your sins are forgiven.”
We open our hearts and minds, so Your Spirit may speak to us afresh, and we may be better able to live for you in the coming week.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
to you be all praise and glory!
There is none like you.
You are the giver of life and hope,
and so we worship You.
We thank you that you have invited all people to be part of your community of love, and entrusted us to be your channels of grace, life and healing in the world.
Forgive us when we fail to listen to your voice.
Forgive when our hearts are cold and hard.
Forgive us when we have not loved you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Forgive us when we fall short of the best we could be - hurting You, others, and ourselves by our words and actions.
Your Word reminds us that ‘while we were yet helpless, Christ died for the ungodly’,
may we hear Jesus’ gracious words,
“Your sins are forgiven.”
We open our hearts and minds, so Your Spirit may speak to us afresh, and we may be better able to live for you in the coming week.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
READINGS:
Romans 5: 1-11
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we] boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
HYMN: Singing the Faith 666 ‘Master speak! Thy Servant Heareth”
1 Master, speak! Thy servant heareth,
waiting for thy gracious word,
longing for thy voice that cheereth;
Master, let it now be heard.
I am listening, Lord, for thee;
what hast thou to say to me?
waiting for thy gracious word,
longing for thy voice that cheereth;
Master, let it now be heard.
I am listening, Lord, for thee;
what hast thou to say to me?
2 Speak to me by name, O Master,
let me know it is to me;
speak, that I may follow faster,
with a step more firm and free,
where the Shepherd leads the flock
in the shadow of the rock.
let me know it is to me;
speak, that I may follow faster,
with a step more firm and free,
where the Shepherd leads the flock
in the shadow of the rock.
3 Master, speak! Though least and lowest,
let me not unheard depart;
Master, speak! For O thou knowest
all the yearning of my heart,
knowest all its truest need;
speak, and make me blest indeed.
let me not unheard depart;
Master, speak! For O thou knowest
all the yearning of my heart,
knowest all its truest need;
speak, and make me blest indeed.
4 Master, speak: and make me ready,
when thy voice is truly heard,
with obedience glad and steady
still to follow every word.
I am listening, Lord, for thee;
Master, speak! O speak to me!
when thy voice is truly heard,
with obedience glad and steady
still to follow every word.
I am listening, Lord, for thee;
Master, speak! O speak to me!
Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 66
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 66
SERMON:
I guess that Aldersgate Sunday is the nearest that Methodism ever comes to celebrating a saints day, as we remember the two brothers who found Methodism, John and Charles Wesley.
I began our service this morning by reading the account of John Wesley’s spiritual experience at a society in Aldersgate Street on 24th May 1738. Some have called that experience Wesley’s conversion, although I’m not so much sure it was a conversion as a coming to a fresh realisation of the true meaning of the gospel and an experience of the power of the Holy Spirit, of God’s closeness and love.
John Wesley wrote, “I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.’
This realisation completely transformed John Wesley and his ministry. He felt an assurance that he had indeed been saved from eternal death by faith in Jesus; and it is an assurance that can be experienced by each one of us in this church today.
In our passage from Romans we read, “But God has shown us how much he loves us – it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.”
The Cross of Christ is the supreme demonstration of God’s love for us. We human beings did nothing whatsoever to deserve the cross; it is God’s free offering to us. There is nothing at all we can do to earn our salvation and the promise of eternal life, nothing at all. It doesn’t matter what rules we follow, it doesn’t matter how many charitable deeds we do, it doesn’t matter how good we are; we can do nothing to earn our salvation; it is a free gift from a loving God.
This side of heaven we may never fully understand what God did for us in Jesus on the cross. There are many theories from learned theologians about exactly how Jesus death on the cross saved us from the consequences of our sins and when I was training to be a Methodist Minister I had to read about more than a few of them, some are very simple and some very complex. Yet at the end of it all a simple and profound truth hit me, Christ died on the cross and, as a result, anybody who confesses and repents of their sin and acknowledges Jesus as Saviour and Lord is restored to a right relationship with God and has the assurance of eternal life.
Salvation is the free gift of a loving God to his children and there is nothing we can do to earn that salvation, yet there is something that we must do to claim it for ourselves. We claim that salvation and the forgiveness that it by confession and repentance. Repentance isn’t just feeling a bit guilty or sorry for our sin, repentance means turning around and going the other way. If sin is a failure to love God then if we repent we do the opposite, we give our loving God the love he deserves. We do that by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We do that by worshipping him, not only in church with our brothers and sisters in Christ but in the way we live our lives as lives filled with love.
Christianity isn’t about rules, regulations and laws; that was Judaism. Christianity is simply about love. It is about loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and loving our neighbour as ourselves. It we let love be our sole motivation we don’t need long lists of rules and regulations because living a life of self-sacrificial love, the same kind of love that sent Christ to the cross, means that we will be living as God wants us to live.
Many sermons I’ve heard over the years have ended with exhortations to live better lives, to attend worship more often, to read our Bibles more or to pray more. I’m not going to ask you to do any of that today. All I’m going to challenge us to do is to love as God wants us to love, by loving God first, others second and ourselves last of all.
God, in his love, sent his only Son Jesus to die on the cross so that we might receive forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life. He loved us so much that he stretched out his arms and died.
John Wesley understood this, and as a result wrote, “I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
It is my prayer that each one of us reading this today could echo those words of Wesley, because they are true in our own lives and hearts.
PRAYERS:
Loving Heavenly Father,
we bring you our prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May your Holy Spirit guide us as we pray.
we bring you our prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May your Holy Spirit guide us as we pray.
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
thankful for your love.
We pray today for your created world,
for people and situations we know about through the media or through our own relationships, thinking especially of the family and friends of Aya from our ARC Community.
We pray for ourselves, as we seek to live out our lives faithfully, graciously, and compassionately
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
for people and situations we know about through the media or through our own relationships, thinking especially of the family and friends of Aya from our ARC Community.
We pray for ourselves, as we seek to live out our lives faithfully, graciously, and compassionately
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
We pray for the church, giving thanks for those working alongside the marginalised, persecuted and dispossessed people groups around the world.
As churches and church leaders continue to find ways to work together and to share Good News and grace throughout the world, we pray for greater opportunities for collaboration and community engagement during the current crisis and as we go forwards.
As we remember John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience, we pray for a deeper call to mission to be felt and expressed by your Church. We pray especially for people who are living out their faith in their day to day lives: at work, with family and friends, and in local community groups. Warm our hearts that we too may take opportunities to change the world.
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
As churches and church leaders continue to find ways to work together and to share Good News and grace throughout the world, we pray for greater opportunities for collaboration and community engagement during the current crisis and as we go forwards.
As we remember John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience, we pray for a deeper call to mission to be felt and expressed by your Church. We pray especially for people who are living out their faith in their day to day lives: at work, with family and friends, and in local community groups. Warm our hearts that we too may take opportunities to change the world.
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
We pray for people known to us, who are struggling to cope with life, relationships, hurts and doubts; especially those who are ill, in pain, frightened or angry.
Heal those who are sick in body, mind and spirit,
Equip those who work with the sick and dying,
By your Holy Spirit, draw alongside those who care for their loved ones, enabling them to know that they too are loved, precious, needed and trusted – amidst and despite the struggles they face.
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
We pray for ourselves,
Asking for a blessed assurance of your love and grace throughout this week,
Help us to recognise that we are loved, precious, needed and trusted children of God.
In turn, help us to act upon those moments where we might be able to make a difference to the world through what we say, what we do, and who we are as followers of Jesus.
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
Receive our prayers in Jesus’ name, who taught us when we pray to say…
Our Father….
Asking for a blessed assurance of your love and grace throughout this week,
Help us to recognise that we are loved, precious, needed and trusted children of God.
In turn, help us to act upon those moments where we might be able to make a difference to the world through what we say, what we do, and who we are as followers of Jesus.
We offer the prayers of our broken hearts,
thankful for your love.
Receive our prayers in Jesus’ name, who taught us when we pray to say…
Our Father….
HYMN: Singing the Faith 345 “And Can It Be?”
1 And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
an interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
2 'Tis mystery all: the Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
let angel minds enquire no more.
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
let angel minds enquire no more.
3 He left his Father's throne above —
so free, so infinite his grace —
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
for, O my God, it found out me!
so free, so infinite his grace —
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
for, O my God, it found out me!
4 Long my imprisoned spirit lay
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray —
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light,
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray —
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light,
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
5 No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ, my own.
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ, my own.
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 345
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 345
PRAYER:
Almighty God, as you kindled the flame of sacred love in the heart of your servant John Wesley, so we pray that your love will burn within us and illuminate our minds: Grant to us, we pray, such a warming of our hearts, that we, being set afire by holy love, may spread its flame to the uttermost parts of the earth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
BLESSING:
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Be with us now and for evermore. Amen.
BLESSING:
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Be with us now and for evermore. Amen.
Thursday, 21 May 2020
Sermon for Ascension Day 2020
SERMON
I think it’s fair to say that the Ascension of Jesus somehow gets lost between the excitement of his resurrection on Easter Day and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. It isn’t a church festival often celebrated in Methodism at all, in my experience, and that is a great shame.
I’ve spoken to many Methodists over the years who don’t celebrate Ascension Day and the main reason many give is that they don’t really understand its significant, they don’t really understand why its important and why we should celebrate it.
The first significance of the Ascension of Jesus is that it clearly marked an ending. New Testament scholar William Barclay comments, “The day when their faith was faith in a flesh and blood person, and when it depended on the presence of that person’s flesh and blood were over. Now they were linked to someone who was forever independent of space and time.”
The Ascension clearly marked the end of Jesus’ physical earthly mission. No longer would they be able to see him in the same way and touch him in the same way as they saw and touched each other. They would still feel his presence, but in a new way.
Jesus had done what he’d set out to do during his brief life on earth. He’d live a life of self giving love. He had taught us how to live. He had suffered untold agonies and give his life on the cross for us. Then he had risen from death to assure us of our own eternal life.
His physically embodied earthly ministry was done. Now it was up to others to take up that ministry.
The Ascension also marked a beginning, a beginning of a new kind of life and a new way of living: a life of faith centred on the risen and ascended Jesus.
The Ascension marks the beginning of the Christian Church, which continues to this day.
The Ascension marks the beginning of life in the Holy Spirit. In John’s gospel Jesus tells his first disciples, “Unless I go away the Holy Spirit will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.”
Jesus’ ascension meant the Holy Spirit would come to those disciples on the day of Pentecost, just as he comes to each one of us who are Christ’s faithful disciples today.
Because of Jesus’ ascension the Holy Spirit literally lives within us. Paul wrote that we are each temples of the Holy Spirit, who helps us, empowers us and guides us as we try to live as Christian disciples
The third significant thing about the Ascension of Jesus is that it marked the certainty of a friend on earth and in Heaven. William Barclay comments, “his Ascension gave the disciples the certainty that they had a friend, not only on earth, but in heaven. Surely it is the most priceless thing of all to know and to feel that in heaven there awaits us that self-same Jesus who on earth was wondrous kind. To die is not to go out into the dark; it is to go to him.”
Jesus in heaven in the same as Jesus on earth: Jesus is still fully human and fully divine. It wasn’t just Jesus spirit that ascended to heaven, it was his physically resurrected body as well. Jesus rose physically from the dead in a transformed resurrect human body and he ascended physically to heaven. Jesus still has his physical body in heaven. He is fully human and fully God.
We call Jesus Lord and Saviour and he is, but he is also our friend. Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servant, 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.”
We not only have our Ascended Lord and Saviour in Heaven; we have a friend in heaven too; the most faithful friend we will ever have.
Jesus’ Ascension should be as important to us as Christian disciples as his Crucifixion and Resurrection.
It is important because it marked the end of his earthly ministry.
It is important because it marked a new beginning in the life of faith in the one true God.
It is important because it means that Jesus is in heaven, forever fully human and fully God, our friend who we know is waiting to welcome us to our eternal life with him.
Saturday, 9 May 2020
Worship for Sunday 10th May
INTRODUCTION
Welcome in the name of our Lord Jesus to morning worship for this 5th Sunday of Easter. We will be following the Lectionary gospel reading for this Sunday with our theme being trusting in the promises of Jesus.
HYMN: Singing the Faith 11
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee:
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee:
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.
though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!Reginald Heber (1783–1826) (alt.)
Based on Revelation 4:8-11, Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 11
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!Reginald Heber (1783–1826) (alt.)
Based on Revelation 4:8-11, Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 11
PRAYERS
Praise be to you, O God,
the maker of the universe,
by whose wisdom we are created and sustained.
the maker of the universe,
by whose wisdom we are created and sustained.
Praise be to you, O God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whose love we are redeemed and forgiven.
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whose love we are redeemed and forgiven.
Praise to you, O God,
the source of all holiness,
by whose Spirit we are made whole
and brought to perfection.
the source of all holiness,
by whose Spirit we are made whole
and brought to perfection.
Praise be to you, O God,
Source of all being,
Eternal Word and Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be forever. Amen.
Source of all being,
Eternal Word and Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be forever. Amen.
Loving God,
we have sinned against you
in what we have thought, said and done.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry
and turn away from what is wrong.
God of truth be merciful to us
as we claim your promised forgiveness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
we have sinned against you
in what we have thought, said and done.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry
and turn away from what is wrong.
God of truth be merciful to us
as we claim your promised forgiveness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
READING
John 14: 1-7
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
HYMN: Singing the Faith 403
“God is Love. His the Care.”
“God is Love. His the Care.”
God is love: his the care,
tending each, everywhere.
God is love — all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that we all might know him:
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good!
God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
tending each, everywhere.
God is love — all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that we all might know him:
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good!
God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
None can see God above;
neighbours here we can love;
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
sisters all, and brothers:
neighbours here we can love;
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
sisters all, and brothers:
Jesus came, lived and died
for our sake, crucified,
rose again, glorified;
he was born to save us
by the truth he gave us:
for our sake, crucified,
rose again, glorified;
he was born to save us
by the truth he gave us:
To our Lord praise we sing —
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty:
Percy Dearmer (1867–1936). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 403
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty:
Percy Dearmer (1867–1936). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 403
REFLECTION
I have been preaching for a number of years now, but even after all the sermons I’ve prepared and all the Bible Studies I’ve been to and led; after all the sermons and reflections I’ve heard by great preachers, I never fail to be amazed and astounded by the Scriptures.
Every time I read a passage in the Bible it speaks to me in a new way. I hope it is the same for you. Every time I come to a passage that I’m going to preach from it reveals not only new truths but often things that are relevant to things going on in our lives right now. The Scriptures are not ordinary human words, they are living words from the living God that speak to us across time and space. The same is true of our gospel reading for today.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that many of us have hearts that are troubled. The hearts of Jesus’ first disciples were troubled because Jesus had told them he was going somewhere they couldn’t immediately follow. New Testament scholar Bruce Milne expresses it this way, “Jesus has informed them he is about to leave them. Their whole world had been so wrapped up in Jesus over the last few years that the prospect of his departure must have been devastating.”
Many of us have troubled hearts: troubled because we fear losing our own lives or of losing those close to us and troubled because somebody we know has died in recent weeks.
This is a passage from Scripture that helps us face our fears of death and is sometimes used in funeral services.
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms.”
Some translations have many tents, or many dwelling places and the King James version has “many mansions”. As I sometimes say at funerals when I preach on this passage, I’m hoping for a mansion. But the type of dwelling doesn’t matter, it’s the word “many” that’s important. This word suggests that in heaven there is room for all. A house on earth can become overcrowded, a bed and breakfast in Blackpool can have a sign in the window reading “No Vacancies” and a hotel can be full. As Mary and Joseph discovered, there is sometimes no room at the inn. There is room for everybody in heaven and there will never be a “No Vacancies” sign on the pearly gates. Heaven is as wide as the heart of God. There is room for all. Jesus was, in effect, saying to his friends, “Don’t worry. People may shut you out, but the gates of heaven will always be open to you.”
Jesus continues, “if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” This doesn’t mean, of course, that Jesus is acting as some sort of heavenly chambermaid, making the beds and cleaning the bathroom. He means that he is going ahead of us to prepare the way by dying on the cross so that we can know our sins are forgiven and we will receive eternal life in heaven. We are welcomed into heaven by Jesus who went there ahead of us.
There are more words of reassurance from Jesus. “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” This is a great truth stated very simply. We do not know what heaven will be like. Even the description of the new heaven and earth given in Revelation gives us only a very vague idea. I guess we all have our different hopes about what heaven will be like and our own ideas. It’s natural for us to wonder and speculate. This passage tells us very simply that heaven is where Jesus is. That’s all we need to know.
Think about when you are in love with somebody. You are almost obsessed with them. You want to spend as much time as possible with them. We only feel truly and completely alive when we are with them. It’s the same with Jesus if we are truly his disciples. At the moment, in this life on earth, our contact with Jesus is kind of ephemeral: we can know his presence very intensely sometimes, but the spiritual highs and the feelings of euphoria don’t last. When we are in heaven that’s how we’ll feel the whole time because we will be with Jesus.
Then Jesus gives some more words of reassurance; in what has become one of the best-known verses in the Bible. In answer to Thomas’ question “how can we know the way?” Jesus replies, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
But what do these words actually mean?
“I am the way.” Suppose you are in a strange town and ask for directions. You are given a set of complicated lefts and rights with a few unfamiliar landmarks thrown in. You try to follow them but inevitably get lost. What if the person you ask says, “I’ll take you there” and walks with you to your destination? You cannot get lost. This is what Jesus does for us. He doesn’t just tell us how we should live, he takes us by the hand and walks with us through our lives; he strengthens and supports us with every step we take on the journey of life. Jesus doesn’t just tell us our way, he is the Way.
“I am the truth.” The truth Jesus is referring to here is moral truth. A person’s character doesn’t much affect their teaching of geography or astronomy. But if a person teaches moral truth their character is vitally important. Personal integrity is vital, an understanding often summed up in the phrase “practice what you preach.”
There is only one person who has ever done that, Jesus of Nazareth. You see moral truth cannot be taught by words alone, it is taught by example as well. Nobody has ever perfectly practiced what they preached, nobody except Jesus. To quote William Barclay again, “The tremendous thing about Jesus is not that the statement of moral perfection finds its peak in him, although that is true; it is that the fact of moral perfection finds its realisation in him.”
“I am the life.” What is it we are ultimately looking for in this life on earth? I think most people would say we are looking to live life well; we are looking for a good life. Jesus shows us a life that is worth living. Being a disciple of Jesus gives us a life worth living. Life with Jesus is a life worth living: it is real life and true life.
Finally, Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Jesus is saying that he is the way to God because in Jesus, in his life, his words and actions, we see what God is really like. That’s what Jesus means when he says “If you really know me you will know my Father as well.” In Jesus and Jesus alone we see what God is really like. Jesus is the only way to know God because he is God as well as human. Only Jesus can really and truly show God to us and to know this and believe this is to truly come to the Father in a unique way.
Many of us have troubled hearts: troubled because we fear losing our own lives or of losing those close to us and troubled because somebody we know has died in recent weeks. Jesus words in this passage give us reason to calm those troubled hearts. Faith in Jesus means trusting that his words are true and living our lives according to that truth. If we truly believe in Jesus, in his promises to be with us always in this life and the next, if we believe his words that he is indeed “the way and the truth and the life” then there is no need for our hearts to be troubled and afraid.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus; but to trust and obey.”
PRAYERS
Loving and eternal God,
through the resurrection of your Son,
help us to face the future
with courage and assurance,
knowing that nothing in life or death
can ever part us from your love for us.
through the resurrection of your Son,
help us to face the future
with courage and assurance,
knowing that nothing in life or death
can ever part us from your love for us.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
Help us to be positive about the future of our churches,
trusting in you to guide in in the way forward
and for the resources we will need,
knowing that your church is the Body of Christ on earth
and the gates of hell cannot stand against it.
trusting in you to guide in in the way forward
and for the resources we will need,
knowing that your church is the Body of Christ on earth
and the gates of hell cannot stand against it.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
Help us to be positive about the future of our world,
the world you created and care for still.
Give wisdom to our leaders in this time of crisis,
and help us all to work towards a more equal,
caring and loving society.
Give wisdom to our leaders in this time of crisis,
and help us all to work towards a more equal,
caring and loving society.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
Help us to trust you with those who are sick,
at home, in care homes or in hospital.
We place them into your care,
knowing that your loving arms
will be wrapped round them,
your healing hands upon them
and your love filling them.
at home, in care homes or in hospital.
We place them into your care,
knowing that your loving arms
will be wrapped round them,
your healing hands upon them
and your love filling them.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
We commend to you those who have passed
from this life to the next,
thinking especially of those who have
helped to bring us closer to Christ.
from this life to the next,
thinking especially of those who have
helped to bring us closer to Christ.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
We bring all our prayers to you
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us when we pray to say:
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us when we pray to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven……
HYMN: Singing the Faith 563
“O Jesus I Have Promised”
“O Jesus I Have Promised”
O Jesus, I have promised
to serve you to the end;
Lord, be forever near me,
my master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
if you are by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if you will be my guide.
to serve you to the end;
Lord, be forever near me,
my master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
if you are by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if you will be my guide.
O let me feel you near me;
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me, and within;
but, Jesus, now draw nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me, and within;
but, Jesus, now draw nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.
O let me hear you speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
Lord, speak, and make me listen,
O guardian of my soul.
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
Lord, speak, and make me listen,
O guardian of my soul.
O Jesus, you have promised
to all who follow you,
that where you are in glory
your servant shall be too;
and, Jesus, I have promised
to serve you to the end;
O give me grace to follow
my master and my friend.
John Ernest Bode (1816–1874). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 563
to all who follow you,
that where you are in glory
your servant shall be too;
and, Jesus, I have promised
to serve you to the end;
O give me grace to follow
my master and my friend.
John Ernest Bode (1816–1874). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 563
BLESSING
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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