(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) or Mission Praise (MP) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Calverley Methodist Church led by Jackie Marshall one of our Circuit Local Preachers.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Call to Worship
A very warm welcome to worship! I am Jackie Marshall, one of the Local Preachers, and the service this Sunday is shared with our friends at Calverley Methodist Church, so let’s join with them in Spirit to praise God.
Our call to worship is based on verses from Psalm 24.
The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it,
the world, and all who live on it.
For he built it on ocean foundations,
and laid it out on river girders.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city!,
Wake up, you sleeyphead people!
The King of glory is ready to enter.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty –
He is the King of glory.
Song – StF 82 – O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Opening Prayer:
Let’s come to God in prayer together.
Creator God,
Heavenly Father,
Loving Lord,
King of Glory,
You are all these things and unimaginably more.
Forgive us for the times when we forget,
when we try to limit you and make you in our image,
when we take your generous gifts for granted,
when we ignore or dilute your commands
in following our own selfish interests.
Silence
We ask your blessing on our service this morning.
Open our eyes, our ears, our minds and our hearts
to the presence of your own Spirit here with us.
May we clearly hear your voice
and know your Peace and joy
as we offer you our worship
in the precious name of Jesus.
Amen
Take Me To Your Leader!
This morning, we are going to be thinking about leaders and, in a moment, we are going to look at passages from the Bible about two very different kings. But first, let’s concentrate on contemporary leaders. Do you remember when in the old comic strips and corny science fiction films, newly arrived aliens would always descend from their flying saucer and say “Take me to your leader”?
So, let’s imagine a shiny flying saucer has just landed in the car park at Calverley and some alien beings have come into the service. We’ll have to assume that they can speak English – or at least that Google Translate is up to the job – so they can ask to be taken to our leader.
What would we do? Who would we consider taking them to – after we’ve offered them a nice cup of tea and a biscuit, of course, being good Methodists. Who do we follow? The truth is we have lots of leaders these days, don’t we? There are many people and institutions that potentially have some degree of authority or influence over our daily lives. For example, think of political leaders, church leaders, medical professionals, teachers. Then there are our families, friends – and pets! And what about less obvious but potentially powerful influencers such as television broadcasters, news reporters and social media bloggers and vloggers?
Spend a few minutes thinking about the people who have leadership roles in your life – and people to whom you might be considered a leader.
Now we read about the conduct of a very famous leader at a landmark event in the history of God’s people.
Reading:
Song – MP 558 – Praise Him on the trumpet
We move around a thousand years forward in history to hear from St John about another leader – this time the infamous King Herod Antipas.
Reading:
Compare and Contrast: Both were kings, but David and Herod Antipas could not have been more different. David was anointed by the prophet Samuel when just a shepherd boy, chosen by God to, in time, become the strong ruler over a reunited kingdom encompassing both Judah and Israel. In the passage we heard, David celebrates the entry of the Ark of the Covenant into his new capital city of Jerusalem, symbolising the presence and ultimate authority of God. David is praising God wholeheartedly, joyfully and unselfconsciously, obviously not caring what anyone, not even a royal princess, thinks of him.
In contrast, Herod Antipas was a puppet king of the Roman Emperor, ruling with limited authority over just two politically unstable territories, Galilee and Perea, after the kingdom of his deceased father, Herod the Great, was divided up. Deadly intrigue and family infighting had plagued the succession, made worse when Herod Antipas fell in love with his half-brother’s wife, Herodias, and the pair plotted to marry, against Jewish law. Although Herod Antipas had, by all accounts, little respect for Jewish tradition or for God, John the Baptist had obviously made an impression on him. But instead of properly listening to John, Herod responds by imprisoning him and then, because of his fear of how he, Herod, would appear to others, allows himself to be manoeuvred by Herodias into executing John. In his politically insecure position, he feels driven to keep up a facade of despotic authority, despite his pangs of conscience.
Going back to David, it is interesting that, despite being for the most part a devout, faithful follower of God and a great king, his best remembered act of disobedience was also to fall in love with someone else’s wife, Bathsheba, then to compound his law breaking by arranging for her husband to be killed in battle. Even one of the most revered of human rulers showed himself to be exactly that – human. And it’s worth remembering that we are told in 1 Samuel 8 that God interpreted the desire of the Israelites to have a human king as a rejection of his, God’s, kingship and he warned them of the consequences of relying on a human leader.
In our next Bible reading we learn that God had had an entirely different kind of leader in mind, right from the very beginning.
Reading:
We reflect on the nature of Jesus, our true leader, as we read, sing or watch the video of our next hymn,
Song – StF 362 – Meekness and majesty
Different Kind of King, Different Kingdom: It was some four hundred years after the reign of King David that the prophet Jeremiah foretold a time when God would start afresh, putting his law of love into the minds and writing it on the hearts of his people (Jeremiah 31:31-33). Then came Jesus, both to show us and teach us what that would mean in practical terms, and to make a new relationship possible by wiping away the consequences of our human imperfections, enabling us to be reconciled with our perfect God. His kingly authority and leadership are not enforced by external, legalistic compulsion, but by the internal promptings, guidance, encouragement and power of his indwelling Spirit within each one of us.
God’s kingdom is firstly one of hearts and minds but, crucially, the external world changes when people then live out his values in their daily lives.
Spend a few minutes imagining a world where everyone really did love their neighbour…
Let’s remind ourselves of those kingdom values as we join in
Song – StF 255 – The kingdom of God
Time of Prayer, Lord’s Prayer:
Let’s pray together
We pray for all political leaders, for governments elected by the people
and those imposed on them by tradition or armed force.
May all governments serve their people with wisdom, justice and compassion.
King of kings, Lord of Lords;
Help us follow and serve you
We pray for all secular leaders, for all those in charge of others,
for leaders of industry, business and banking, for trades union leaders.
May they be people of integrity, fair-minded, honest and caring.
King of kings, Lord of Lords;
Help us follow and serve you
We pray for all who affect our opinions and attitudes, for teachers and lecturers,
for journalists and broadcasters, for trendsetters and social media influencers.
May they be knowledgeable, truthful and balanced.
King of kings, Lord of Lords;
Help us follow and serve you
We pray for all those who care for us, for medical professionals,
for social and care workers, for emergency service personnel.
May they be responsible, kind and supportive.
King of kings, Lord of Lords;
Help us follow and serve you
We pray for all church leaders, for ministers, preachers and teachers,
for all who lead worship, for stewards and administrators.
May they serve God and his world with humility, love and understanding.
King of kings, Lord of Lords;
Help us follow and serve you
Our King of kings, trusting in you, we bring before you now the people and situations known to each of us that lie heavy on our hearts this morning.
Silence
We offer these and all our prayers through the name of Jesus, our loving Lord and Leader, as we pray together the prayer he continues to teach his followers;
Our Father who art in heaven…Amen
Our final hymn looks forward to the time when Jesus returns and God’s kingdom is fully come,
Song – StF 185 – Sing we the King
Blessing:
Let your Peace rule in our hearts, O Lord
that we may delight in your strength,
rejoice in your grace
and find our fulfilment in your will;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen Matthew Henry (1662 – 1714)
