(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Thackley Methodist Church and led by Stuart Ayrton one of our circuit Local Preachers.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Call to worship
God is a God of the Law. God is a God of grace. God sets us boundaries. God gives us life.
God is right and true. God is loving and kind
Song – Stf 351 – In Christ alone
Prayers
Jesus, you call us to accept your yoke that is easy, and your burden that is light
Show us your ways and keep us from burdening ourselves or others with things that are not from you. We do not come here to God’s house because we have to, but because we want to. Jesus has invited us, And we have accepted with joy and thanksgiving. We come to learn of God’s love and the life Jesus offers, so that we may live and love better day by day, following Him, living his way.
God, you are the source of creation, the giver of life. Christ, you are the one who embodies the freedom God offers, embracing life as it should be lived. Holy Spirit, you are the inspiration and motivation to live The kingdom life here and now.
Lord, we confess that we sometimes see religion as a rule book; Especially for others, when we expect them to behave as we think they should. Forgive us when we live as inmates of an institution, rather than children of your open and welcoming Church.
We confess that we are often blind to the life Jesus revealed, failing to recognise his revolutionary ways; for he didn’t behave as people thought he should, but turned the world upside down with his lifestyle choices. He lived simply, freely, with compassion and forgiveness, fulfilling the essence of grace rather than the letter of the Law. We are sorry for the yoke with which we burden ourselves and others, And we turn to Jesus as our example and guide. Although we mistake your ways, O God, being rigid instead of righteous, steeped in rules and regulations rather than love and light, yet still you forgive us and lead us, by Christ’s example, to a life of freedom and grace.
Thank you, God, and to you be all the glory for this blessed forgiveness that frees us to live and love in the liberty of your kingdom life.
Amen.
Song – StF 247 – I danced in the morning
Reading Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Meditation Faith is fine, but religion is rubbish! Faith is fine, but religion is rubbish!
A bit harsh perhaps, but that’s how many people feel. And can we blame them? They look at some of the things that are happening in the so-called name of religion and are shocked at the violence, the hatred, the prejudice and the practices that are demonstrated. And in the face of such atrocities it can be difficult to get the same kind of publicity for the good and valuable things that are done by people of faith. People do seem to notice wickedness more readily than they notice goodness. Yet our behaviour in the church doesn’t always help to change this attitude. When petty squabbles divide a congregation, or feuds and grudges are held for far too long, or there is a conflict about styles of worship, seating arrangements – or even the colour of the cups in the kitchen, then we may excuse ourselves by believing that this is natural human behaviour. But, in the meantime, we may have lost those who have been disillusioned by this un-Christian attitude and have left the church behind for ever. Jesus knew (and knows) all about this. It happened in his day too. John the Baptist was deemed to be crazy because of his fasting and fiery preaching; Jesus was condemned for feasting and the company he often kept. As he said, “you can’t win!” But for those who were weary and worn and felt like giving up on faith altogether, he offered a solution. “Come to me and I will give you rest. Learn to do things my way – gently, humbly and with grace – then you will find the rest and refreshment you need from the turmoil of aggression, even among the people of faith.” Are you tired and worn out, especially with the church and its people? “Come to me,” says Jesus.
Song – StF 248 – I heard the voice of Jesus say come unto me and rest
Sermon Jesus notes that both he and John the Baptist failed to meet people’s expectations. Jesus thanks God that the point of his ministry has been revealed to the simple rather than the wise, and calls on people to learn from him how to live.
This week we examine Jesus’ invitation to lay down our burdens and take on his way of life instead. Religious leaders in Jesus’ time had many rules for people to follow and you would be excluded from worship if you missed any. Jesus offers a far more grace-filled way for us to follow.
This week we explore the contrast between rules and the way of life Jesus reveals.
Jesus has been visited by messengers from John the Baptist and has praised his forerunner; he then offers an almost parabolic assessment of the audience that has critiqued the ministry of both men. He likens them to children playing music – happy tunes did not get the crowd dancing; dirges did not make people mourn. In short, this crowd accused both Jesus and John (no doubt egged on by their religious and community leaders) of not being what they expected. John was demonic and deranged; Jesus was a drunk and a glutton. Jesus suggests that both he and John should be judged on what they have actually done.
Then the lectionary skips to a moment when we get a glimpse of Jesus’ inner life with God before he turns back to the crowd and says: Whatever your assessment of me is, you need to know that all I do and say comes out of my relationship with the Father.
Then his tone seems to soften. Looking at the crowd he sees people being dragged from pillar to post by all kinds of poor leadership; in particular, he sees them weighed down by the expectations of their leaders and calls them to himself because he will give them refreshment, rest, life, adventure, and company. Here Jesus is offering peace and the kind of leadership that will result in the formation of a community where all are looked after and all will find fulfilment. There are political overtones to words that we often apply only to our personal lives. Jesus is telling the crowd they have been badly led and, as a result of that, they are burdened with impossible expectations and unending conflicts. He is offering the peace and rest from all that strife that the prophets longed for. But Jesus is not offering a withdrawal from life. Rather, he is inviting us to be yoked to him as he brings the rule of God into the world. He is inviting us into partnership in the fulfilment of God’s plans and purposes. What is wonderful is that this yoke is not ill-fitting, it doesn’t weigh heavy or dig into our shoulders. Rather it is light and tailor-made to fit each one of us who answers his call. Jesus is not just offering a spirituality that will help us navigate a hostile world; he is offering us a role in changing that world to fit the values of his kingdom: a truly fulfilling life for each one of us.
Those contemplating holidays at this time of the year may be thinking about how great it will be to get away from the stresses of everyday life, to go to a place where we can unwind, chill out, kick back and do what we like for a couple of weeks. How does that compare with what Jesus offers in terms of rest, recovery, and a relationship that might offer some of what we try to get away for, all year round? ‘Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.’
Life is full of pressures – work, family, running a home. And often church adds to those pressures – being on rotas, running home groups, trying to be what we think God wants us to be. Romans 7 and Matthew 11 can help us to reflect on what it is that Jesus offers as he calls us to himself – something other than the stresses of church life and trying to live up to an image of myself that is unrealistic.
If two people are challenged to run to the door and back but, before they start, one is asked to wear a rucksack containing several very heavy books or similar, is the race fair? Is it sensible? (You could act this out!) Jesus invites everyone who is ‘heavy-laden’ to look to him for rest. How much of our lives are run carrying extra weight that we do not need – e.g. trying to meet other people’s expectations, or buying or doing things that (we are told) mean a better life? Jesus says that his yoke is easy, his burden light: if we feel weighed down, it is worth asking what we are carrying that God is not asking us to bear.
Song – StF 251 – Jesus Christ is waiting
Players of Intercession
Almighty God, you have called us and blessed us, led us and guided us, you have shown us so much love, care and commitment that now in this moment, in this place we bring too you our concerns and our fears for others in need, in pain, in trauma.
For those caught up in the riots in France; those who have jumped on the back of any band waggon to cause a riot and damage and harm, that seems to have little to do with the death of a young man last week, that reality may dawn, peace be forged and scars healed.
For the long running, on-going, hard to understand tensions between Israel and Palestine. So many with entrenched views that pass from one generation to the next. May those who suffer find some semblance of peace amid the chaos, some chink of light in the darkness of despair, someone who cares in the midst of those who seek to harm.
For the counter offensive underway in Ukraine, for the fighters and those who stay at home, wondering and worrying, for those who live beyond the violence and feel guilty that they can do little more to help. For those unwillingly caught up in such tragedy in both Ukraine and Russia. For those from other countries who try to broker peace and understanding Especially those in the recent conflict in Iran and the middle-east.
For asylum seekers as they travel, as they arrive, as they seek to understand the systems and the countries they journey through, as they live with uncertainty and waiting and fear for the future. May they find help, care, support, worth and justice.
For the frail, due to illness or old age. For the neglected and unloved. For the lonely and confused. For the ill and the dying.
For churches as they face the future of decreasing membership in so many places, as they face decreasing financial resources, as they face clergy spread more thinly and members having less time with caring responsibilities for the young or the old and rising retirement ages for so many, facing so many added pressures to comply with so many rules and regulations and guidelines.
For youngsters as term ends, new challenges, classes, schools to be encountered as old ones are left behind. For those moving from school to Uni or college and those moving from education to employment.
For those we know and love who are struggling to make sense of their lives, through financial pressures, illness or age, family strife or rifts.
Almighty God, bless us;
And bless those for whom we pray.
Lead us, Almighty God, to be the best we can be to those we meet along life’s way, to give of what we can, of ourselves and of our means, if only a cup of cold water, bless them and us.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Song – StF 556 – Just as I am without one plea
Blessing The wisdom of God will guide us; the words of Jesus will teach us and the power of the Spirit will strengthen us as we seek to do the work of God in the world. Amen
