(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 Thornton Methodist Church and led by Brian Gamble one of our Circuit Local Preachers.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
As we prepare for worship let’s be aware of God’s presence. Surrounding us, loving us, cuddling us as his child. So we’ll begin with a hymn which expresses God’s love for us.
Song – StF 440 – Amazing grace
Prayers
Lord we are utterly amazed and overwhelmed by your power and authority. You are the glorious sovereign of this vast universe and your glory knows no bounds. As we praise you and rejoice in the wonders of the world that you have made we feel compelled to lift our voices in joyful thanks.
In grace you hold us when we are in danger of falling and you love us when we fall. You pick us up so that, in Christ, we can begin all over again. You have written a new song of joy in our hearts Lord, may your Holy Spirit empower us so that the song we sing will reverberate throughout the world and that all creation can join in the hymn of praise.
Lord we confess that too often we fail to say thank you and appear to take your blessings for granted. We confess that we are part of a selfish generation, that we know our rights but too often neglect our responsibilities. We have all that we need, more than we deserve, but still want more.
We confess that our greed and indifference are harming the world you gave us and that our lifestyles show our ingratitude. Cleanse our hearts, Lord, renew the very centre of our being, transform our attitudes and values. Take us and make us whole. Amen.
Now we have a hymn which introduces the scriptures
Song – StF 463 – Deep in the shadows of the past
Readings
Let’s sing about the invisible God who is always close to us
Song – StF 394 – Spirit of God
The story of Zacchaeus is very familiar. Many of us will remember singing about him in Sunday School. For some reason he was desperate to see Jesus. He was prepared to go to any lengths, even to look foolish, so he could just see Jesus. We can only speculate why it was so important to him but it worked out better than expected because not only did he see Jesus, he actually met and spent time with him.
Today the gospel is linked with other scripture which is about attitude and so places a different emphasis on the story. Yes, Jesus is a friend but we mustn’t forget that he is the son of God. The true response to meeting Jesus should be worship. To acknowledge his worth. Isaiah challenged the people about their attitude to worship. He said that worship had become ritualistic, it was all about the actions rather than the meaning.
One purpose of scripture is to raise questions, to make us think. So I invite you to think about your attitude to worship. Why do you want to join in church services? What do you see as true worship? The fact is that everyone worships. God is Spirit and he created us as spiritual creatures. To worship is part of our human need so why is it so difficult sometimes to worship God.
Isaiah painted a picture of what God doesn’t want. So let’s think about some things that keep us from true worship. First we can’t worship truly if we follow other gods. In the Commandments given to Moses, God said, ”You shall not make for yourself an idol for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”. Despite this, much of the world today worship false gods.
St Paul begins his letter to the Romans with a fierce indictment of worldly behaviour and the consequences. It’s a long section but the first two chapters of Romans are useful reading. So if we don’t worship God we must worship something else, false gods, money, lifestyle, food. We can’t worship truly if we follow other gods. Also we can’t worship truly if we worship the wrong thing.
When God revealed himself to the nation of Israel there were manifestations of his glory and power, the pillars of fire and cloud, the miracles, His glory reflected in the face of Moses, but God was not embodied in any distinct form. So when they made the golden calf and worshipped it and sacrificed to it God was angry because He is a jealous God and he threatened to wipe them all off the face of the earth. But Moses appealed to God’s mercy and He relented. Take care because idolatry doesn’t begin with the sculptors hammer, it starts in the mind, trying to put God in some form which we can understand and control.
If you think of God as an old man with a long beard that too is idolatry. So how should we visualise God? The answer is that we can’t. God is spirit and can’t be put into any solid form. We can’t worship truly if we’re worshiping the wrong thing. Then we can’t worship truly if we worship in the wrong way. Worship must be first and always to please God.
There is always a temptation to design worship which will please the congregation. There’s nothing wrong with that but it mustn’t be taken too far and it must be secondary. God made us for worship. We can’t worship truly if we worship in the wrong style.
Finally we can’t worship truly if we come with the wrong attitude. You probably don’t follow other gods. You may not use idols in your worship. But if we come out of habit. If it’s what we always do on Sunday morning, then worship can become routine and it’s easy to forget our true purpose.
On Sunday I wear my best suit because that’s how I was brought up. Whilst God might appreciate that, it’s what’s inside that matters. This is what Isaiah told his people all that time ago. As we prepare to worship we should be filled with awe and reverence ready to give the best of all we have and are. This applies at home just as much as in church. We can’t worship truly if we come with the wrong attitude.
These are the things we have to avoid, false gods, the wrong form, the wrong style, the wrong attitude. God doesn’t hold back. He expects a lot from us. In fact he expects everything. The very best that we can do in all aspects of our life and this includes worship.
Can you be a Zacchaeus? Are you prepared to go to any lengths to meet Jesus? Will you accept that to most people you will look silly? God is the only one who matters. Give him the glory!
Here’s a song which reminds us that we are God’s creation, made for his pleasure.
Song – StF 477 – Teach me to dance to the beat of your heart
Now we come to our time of prayer for the world. I invite you to make your own prayers for the world. Bring your concerns for world, country and community and lay them at Christ’s feet. Include the Lord’s Prayer.
Our final hymn give us reassurance of God’s love and constancy.
Song – StF 51 – Great is thy faithfulness
May God’s word feed you and his Spirit lead you into the week to come.
