(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 and led by Mervyn Flecknoe 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
Call to worship
“Don’t abuse or take advantage of strangers;
you, remember, were once strangers in Egypt”
Song – StF 681 – Community of Christ
This is written by Dr Murray, who is a New Zealander, but has been honoured world-wide for her contributions to sacred song writing.
1 Corinthians 14:20-25 taken from The Message
Reflection 1
St Paul encourages us to practice just plain speaking
but that’s a problem, don’t you think?
A nod is only as good as a wink
if you are one of the crowd;
outsiders are not allowed.
We are mostly too proud to explain.
I hear commentaries on football matches
that might just as well be dispatches
from foreign Attaches.
It drives me insane.
Consider all the shrieking at insider jokes
by Guides, whilst they are wreaking
havoc on a campsite
and giving their leaders migraines;~
Or the in-crowd of well-dressed light opera fans
Discussing one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s; or
Campers endlessly discussing motor caravans;
Nicknames for venues of sports events;
As for restaurant menus! To all intents
They are written to obscure
the contents of the meal.
Its just not real communication.
The specialised names we use, unite us.
Our use of them shows membership.
Others use them to exclude us,
rather than to invite us.
The same with churches and Christians everywhere.
Through every prayer our language lurches
from one scriptural reference,
(That we cannot share,
and usually from the King James version)
to another, God save me brother, it’s
enough to smother the enthusiasm of any novice
who hasn’t time or inclination for immersion
in our cosy world of obscure assertion.
And don’t get me started on Hosannah,
or drinking blood and eating flesh.
It nips right into the bud that might have blossomed
to refresh our dwindling congregation.
When Jesus tried to tell eternal truths,
He used stories that related to
the day-to-day lives his listeners
were living through.
How have we gone so wrong?
Song – StF 678 – Come all who look to Christ today.
Written by Richard. G. Jones, Author of only six hymns probably because he was too busy being Principal of Hartley Victoria College, Manchester, 1973-82 and then President of The Methodist Conference, 1988-89
Second Lesson
Reflection 2
Well, I don’t know nothing about Aaron’s beard,
how long or lovely it appeared
when doused in flowing oil;
Whether it fetched the maidens,
or did they perhaps recoil
from one they otherwise revered?
But Brothers and Sisters getting along,
I understand that; it’s good.|
Although sisters sometimes need to belong
to something sisterly, especially when the brothers
can’t make the transition,
can’t see the wood between the trees of tradition
and expect that they are owed
a degree of submission
from the better dressed and more productive sex;
regarding mankind as something like the apex
Of God’s creation.
Cooperation, when it happens, allows us to achieve
so much more than we would have believed
on our own, however skilled we are.
It’s scary though.
We have to give control to others.
Even if we are old enough to be their mothers,
and know how things are done round here.
We must stop being so cavalier;
We must try to engineer
newcomers to interfere
With our usual way of doing things;
and changing habits to which we cling,
even though we feel the sting
of loosening the apron strings.
Isolation is a terrible, life destroying thing.
Like a hedgehog caught in the headlights’ sting.
Safe inside its prickly defensive ring
from the approaching juggernaut
And death.
We all need people around us
if we are to survive the crush
and the despairing rush
of overwhelming problems.
A problem shared is a problem shattered,
and makes for a life restored, because it mattered.
But sharing life and tasks and love
requires compromise, giving way;
Listening, while others have their say;
Smiling even tho you feel bad, to shed a ray
of light and gaiety;
Abandoning dignity and pride
so those with demons gnawing their insides
might join us for the ride.
Those of us who are most able
must work to bring the others to the table,
to share the feast that God provides
when Jesus in our hearts resides.
Song – StF 680 – Come, Host of heaven’s high dwelling place
Third Lesson
Reflection 3
Jesus’ last words there sounded like a question:
If you don’t forgive, what are your options?
How do you deal with someone’s confession
if your friend has committed an indiscretion?
Or were his words a suggestion?
That we realise the futility of holding a grudge
or often just fudge the situation;
pretending a lie, with all that implies,
by not talking to each other.
Is that any way to treat a brother?
Anyway, who made me the judge?
Or did his words imply a choice?
You can give a voice to forgiveness,
or live poorly and live less;
lives filled with resentment,
rather than with contentment
at a relationship enhanced;
A fellow sinner given a chance.
If we are to work together,
Whatever may be the weather,
to achieve more than we could do solo,
we have to say more than just “hello”.
We have to yoke together like the oxen.
Forgiveness and understanding
can release those toxins
of bad blood between God’s children
and help us all to grow.
Song – StF 691 – What shall our greeting be, sign of our unity?
Prayers
First, Lord, we confess that we have taken the easy option too often in our dealings with other people.
We have sought the company of our comfortable friends rather than looking out for the friendless.
We have allowed pride to stand in the way of apology, valuing being right rather than being loving.
We have given mainly where we have an expectation of receiving.
So, Lord, we sink our pride and ask for your forgiveness, expecting that this will mean we have to ask the forgiveness of those whom we have unwittingly offended.
Secondly, Lord, we offer thanks, and think that we should do so more often, even, perhaps constantly, for all the goodness that we find in life; goodness denied to those who, through no fault of their own, are homeless refugees the world over.
Please allow our gratitude to persuade us that we could manage with less, with less food, with less comfort, less entertainment, fewer new clothes.
Please allow gratitude to surface in our lives as spoken appreciation to those who render services to us: drivers, vendors, cleaners, health workers.
Finally, Lord, we ask you to help us tune our ears and our minds to be sensitive to what we hear and observe, so that we may find out where our talents and resources can best be used next.
The Lord’s prayer
Song – StF 690 – The church’s one foundation
Written by Samuel John Stone towards the end of the 19C. His time was spent in ministering to the poor and underprivileged populace in the East End of London, where it was said “he created a beautiful place of worship for the humble folk, and made it a centre of light in the dark places.”
Let us close saying the Grace together:
May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God
And the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Be with us, and remain with us, always.
