Today’s service is based on material used by Rev Phil Drake at Baildon as part of their themed series on the ‘The Gospel According to St Paul’ with readings taken from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.
Call to worship (from Galatians 5.1):
For freedom Christ has set us free
To proclaim Good News Christ has set us free
To bring freedom to others Christ has set us free
Hymns and Psalms 699/Singing the Faith 449/Mission Praise 440
Lord of creation, to you be all praise
A prayer of confession
Father God, you are the one who leads us from darkness into light,
from captivity into freedom, from anxiety into peace, from despair into joy.
Yet we long to break free, choosing independence,
convinced of our own wisdom, forgetful of your love and grace.
Forgive our rebelliousness, embrace us once again in your loving arms
and enable us to follow you in worship and grateful service this and every day.
[Pause]
Gracious God, we hear your words to us – ‘you are forgiven and set free’.
Thank you for all you have done for us and accepting us just as we are.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
[Prayer by John Birch, downloaded from theworshipcloud.com]
Introducing the theme of freedom:
During the Second World War, when much of Europe was living under Nazi tyranny, President Roosevelt gave a speech in which he set out four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom from want (poverty), freedom from fear, and freedom of worship. In response, the artist Norman Rockwell produced pictorial versions of these four freedoms. Look at these paintings set out below (pictures downloaded from Wikicommons, no attribution necessary). Can you tell which painting relates to which freedom?
These pictures may look a bit twee or nostalgic today, but ask yourself, ‘What freedoms do I value in my life at the present time and why?’
Bible reading: Galatians 5.1,13-21.
5 1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(New International Version, downloaded from biblegateway.com)
Singing the Faith 397/Mission Praise 664 The Spirit lives to set us free
Alternatively, you could watch this video:
‘Freedom is coming’ (Hillsong) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXBSTZtMBxI
To think about:
In their introduction to the Methodist Prayer Handbook a few years ago, Roger Walton and Rachel Lampard (then serving as the President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference) reflected on these four freedoms:
So many people do not share in such freedoms. Today they will fear the knock on the door, struggle to feed their children, seek shelter from the falling bombs. A lack of freedom takes other insidious forms too; people find themselves bound or enslaved by abusive relationships, racism, addiction, materialism, selfishness or sin.
The cry for freedom is both personal and universal – and is a cry which is heard and echoed in Christ. The freedoms which Jesus longs for us to have are not just heavenly aspirations. In the prayer which he taught his disciples he said, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus broke forever the barrier between God’s will on earth and heaven, and lets God’s freedoms flood into the messy, war-torn, unhappy corners of the world. What a challenge we have then, to share those freedoms, the personal and the universal, as God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
To pray about:
Give thanks to God for those freedoms you enjoy and share with loved ones.
Pray for all those who lack freedom today: the victims of war, hunger, and persecution.
Pray for those who are trapped in abusive relationships, or who are victims of discrimination.
Pray for those who are not free to enjoy worship in the way that you do.
Gather up your prayers as you share in the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
To challenge you to action:
Consider the verse of this hymn by John Campbell:
God in Christ, you’ve won us freedom,
setting each believer free;
you have conquered every demon,
that might stop me being me.
Help us live as freedom’s people,
confident, alive and strong,
living freedom with your blessing,
sharing hope, resisting wrong.
For St Paul, in his teaching, freedom in Christ was not permission to do as you would wish, rather it was freedom to serve Christ. Christ sets us free so that we might live for him! Freedom is not an excuse for self-indulgence but rather motivation to love our neighbour. Sometimes, we need to restrict our freedoms in order that we might be of service to others. This is especially true when our attitudes and behaviours bring hurt or harm to others.
Take time to reflect on your own attitudes and behaviour. We may not fully relate to the list that Paul gives in Galatians 5.19-21, but what things might we need to give up or change in order that we might truly serve Christ?
To finish:
Hymns and Psalms 774/Singing the Faith 410 Lord, your church on earth is seeking
Or join in with this video, ‘Freedom is coming’ (Anders Nyberg) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llW4RP6okn0
Closing prayer:
Let us pray
Lord of the journey, release me from false attachments to this world;
Free me from the places and habits I cling to.
Make me ready to put my hand
To whatever service you ask of me,
And to follow you even to persecution
Just as you strode on to Jerusalem. Amen
