(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 Baildon Methodist Church led by Mervyn Fleckne one of our Circuit Local Preachers and Lay Pastor at Baildon Methodist Church.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Our first job this morning is to welcome Matt into membership of this church. We also welcome his wife, Claire, and their children Ruby, Kitty, and Ned. This gives us all a chance to renew our vows of loyalty to the Christian faith which we profess.
But first a hymn by John Keble 1792-1866, who gave his name to Keble College Oxford, His ministry was at a time of huge changes in our country, prompted by revolution and fear of revolution. He wrote the most popular book of Christian verse in the whole Victorian era; it ran to 158 editions.
Song – StF 137 – New every morning is the love
THE DECLARATION – Mervyn
Sisters and brothers, by grace, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we become God’s people, the Church.
As members of the Church we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our communal effort to become more Jesus-Shaped people, so that we may work together to honour God’s creation and to care for God’s people throughout the world.
Let us pray.
Living God,
may all who are reborn in Christ be sustained by the Holy Spirit, that through lives of faith the power of love may be known and your creation honoured; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE REQUEST FOR CONFIRMATION
DAWN brings Matt to the front and introduces him to God’s people
Mervyn says to Matt
God offers you the gifts of his grace and has constantly been at work in your life already. In this moment God offers to strengthen you by his Spirit and invites you to respond.
Matt: I thank God, and ask to be confirmed in my membership of the body of Christ.
THE AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Mervyn says to Matt and DAWN
Do you turn away from evil and all that denies God?
Matt and DAWN: By the grace of God, I do.
Mervyn says to Matt and DAWN
Do you turn to God,
trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and in the Holy Spirit as Helper and Guide?
Matt and DAWN:By the grace of God, I do.
The people stand.
Mervyn says to everyone present:
We rejoice that Matt has asked to become a member of this church, and of the world-wide church of God. We are not alone, we live in God’s world. Let us repeat together this expression of Christian faith.
Mervyn and People
We believe in God, the origin of good, in whose image we are all made.
We believe in Jesus Christ, who taught us redeeming love.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God.
THE CONFIRMATION
The people remain standing. Matt kneels
Mervyn extending his hands towards Matt, says:
By your power and grace, Lord, strengthen this, your servantMatt that he may live as a faithfuldisciple of Jesus Christ. Increase in him your gifts of grace,
and fill him with your Holy Spirit: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding; the Spirit of discernment and inner strength; the Spirit of knowledge, holiness, and awe.
Mervyn lays his hand upon Matt’s head, saying:
Lord, confirm your servant Matt, by your Holy Spirit
that he may continue yours for ever. Amen.
THE RECEPTION AND WELCOME
Matt stands. Mervyn says to him:Matt, we receive and welcome you as a member of the Methodist Church, and of the church in this place.
Mervyn and DAWN extend the hand of fellowship to Matt
Matt’s PROMISES Mervyn says to Matt
Matt, I ask you now to respond to God’s love and grace by making these promises:
Will you commit yourself to the Christian life of worship and service, and be open to the renewing power of God?
Matt: With God’s help I will.
Mervyn says to Matt:
Will you seek the strength of God’s Spirit as you
accept the cost of following Jesus Christ in your daily life?
Matt: With God’s help I will.
Mervyn says to Matt
Will you witness, by word and deed, to the good news of God in Christ?
Matt: With God’s help I will.
THE PROMISE OF THE PEOPLE
Mervyn says to the people:
Members of the body of Christ, we rejoice that Matt, has made the decision to join our church and to continue as a member of the Body of Christ. We are the body of Christ in this place. Matt will, of course, observe our example of Christian life and service. Will you so maintain the Church’s life of worship and service that he may grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord?
Answer: With God’s help we will.
The people sit.
Mervyn says:
Let us pray.
Come with us, Lord Jesus; Fill us with your Spirit; Shape us to your likeness; Use us to enfold with love our needy world.
Amen.
Song – StF 462 – Come with me, come wander, come welcome the world
Lectionary Readings 1 read by Matt:
What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretence. Tell your neighbour the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. …
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you… Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Reflection 1
Riots have raged across Britain, fanned by attention-hungry politicians and cowardly social media influencers. We easily forget that we live in a low-crime and socially tolerant nation compared even with a few years ago, but increasingly peaceful compared with times further in the past. Undoubtedly, the rioters were getting a kick out of damage to property, they gained a feeling of power over others as they terrify passers-by and vulnerable asylum seekers, they felt a part of a movement, maybe for the first time in their lives. How sad. Our police, ordinary people doing an extraordinary job to keep the peace, reviled on all sides, compromised by rogue members of their own force, face danger for us every day, putting themselves on the line for us. How should we respond?
- We, of course, have never acted on misinformation. Or have we?
- We, of course, have never vilified any group of people, tarring them all with the same brush. Or have we?
- We, of course, have never acted in anger in any situation. Or have we?
- We, of course, have never gone along with a crowd and acted in a way that we subsequently regret. Or have we?
Are we perhaps just a bit too human inside that respectable veneer?
- Have we ever spread information of whose provenance we were not certain?
- Have we ever taken sides in order to be popular?
- Have we ever regarded this yard of land as in some way “ours” and not “Theirs”?
I am sure that I have alluded before to that wonderful film “Crocodile Dundee”, in which Paul Hogan refers to the debate about who owns some piece of Australia, the oldest continental surface on the Earth. He says: “its like two fleas arguing which of them owns the dog”. I leave that with you.
When we think about anger, the tragic expression of an unmet need, we would do well to go back to St Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians and, in particular, to his emphasis on:
- Truth,
- Righteousness,
- Peace,
- Faith,
- Salvation,
and especially his point that confessing these is useless unless we work hard to apply them in our lives. It is like saying: “I am going to stop biting my nails” and then continuing to do it when we are not thinking about it. St Paul instructs the Ephesians that prayer is essential in this process.
We have to stop and think in the presence of God.
We have to consider the life, teaching and example of Jesus, and express gratitude for his sacrifice, and indeed to express gratitude for all the blessings of this life.
We have to put ourselves into the situation of others and try to understand them.
We have to dedicate ourselves to truth, in as far as we can discern it, whether it be the truth about immigration, about climate change, about our own selfishness in claiming for our exclusive use the riches which others won for us.
We have to run on faith and believe in salvation, not just for ourselves, but for criminals and victims everywhere.
Our third hymn was written by Alan Gaunt who was, until recently, Congregational minister in Windermere where Fred Kaan often worshipped. He translated hymns from Latin, German, French, Greek and Danish. But professed to be no sort of a linguist.
Song – StF – 359 Lord Christ we praise your sacrifice
Gospel reading: Matthew 5:21-26 from The Message read by Matt
This reading could have been written just last week with reference to the misuse of social media “You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
“Or say you’re out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don’t lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you’re likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won’t get out without a stiff fine.
Reflection 2
Jesus appears to tell us that making up a quarrel is more important than worship, it has to come first. It is not quite as simple as that though. It is clear that the act of approaching worship is also the act of reviewing our lives and discovering that something must be done first, before we can worship with a clear conscience. Jesus states clearly that thinking and speaking anger is just as bad as acting anger out, and smashing something up.
Michaela Youngson was President of the Methodist Conference 2018-19, in the time leading up to Covid. You might hear her on Pause for Thought on Radio 2. She wrote our fourth hymn…
Song – StF 399 – When deep despair casts out all light
Prayer Time
O Suffering God,
we long for a place of healing,
a place where children can dance without fear,
a place where the refugee is safe,
a place where diversity and difference are welcomed,
a place where Muslims can declare your greatness,
a place where strangers are welcomed,
a place where terror is no more.
We long for peace O God for those frightened by intimidation,
especially those who have fled here for safety
only to be met by hostility and murderous rage.
We long for grace for wounded police officers,
and wisdom for our political leaders
that they learn when to speak and when to remain silent,
and we long for astute perception for judges and magistrates as justice is given.
Remind us O God, that there is a place where healing, justice and renewal are found and that we must work for it now. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Song – StF 477 – Teach me to dance to the beat of your heart.
Blessing
