Week beginning 25th July 2021

Today was a great day. We resumed regular worship at chapel after a break of over 16 months. This is most of the service at chapel this morning.

Opening Hymn:

And are we yet alive? MHB 709

(We specifically referenced verse 3)

We sang this hymn to the tune “Cranbrook”

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (Cranbrook) - YouTube

1 And are we yet alive,
And see each other's face?
Glory and praise to Jesus give
For His redeeming grace.

2 Preserved by power divine
To full salvation here,
Again in Jesus' praise we join,
And in His sight appear.

3 What troubles have we seen,
What conflicts have we passed,
Fightings without, and fears within,
Since we assembled last.

4 But out of all the Lord
Hath brought us by His love;
And still He doth His help afford,
And hides our life above.

5 Then let us make our boast
Of His redeeming power,
Which saves us to the uttermost,
Till we can sin no more.

6 Let us take up the cross
Till we the crown obtain;
And gladly reckon all things loss,
So we may Jesus gain.

Charles Wesley 1707 - 1788

Bible reading Psalm 23. Taken from the Authorised Version.

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

We are meeting to celebrate an important step on our journey, the return of at least some of our freedoms, in particular the ability to meet together to worship God. It is right that we celebrate this, and give thanks to God for our safe deliverance from at least some of our problems.

But of course, some have less to give thanks for, and we also need to remember their situations and needs.

How often have we heard recently something like “we are living in strange times”? Certainly, I cannot ever remember living through a time like this. Restrictions on what we can and cannot do; where we can and cannot go; how we can travel, and in some cases being unable to travel. Being unable to meet together for worship for months at a time. I have never been so long without being able to go to church in my life.

These recent months have brought out the best in some people; community spirit, volunteering, helping: and the worst in others; argumentative behaviour, refusal to follow rules “you can’t make me……”: tale-telling and selfrighteousness.

For many, these have been very difficult times from a mental health point of view. Those of us who can only stand so much of our own company have at times been in a very dark place. Some people have fallen victim to “cabin fever”. Of course, others have lost loved ones in trying circumstances, and been unable to meet to say goodbye.

Personally my dark time came fairly early in the first lockdown. Having survived a heart attack in December of the previous year, I was on my journey of rehabilitation. The realisation that I was not immediately going to drop dead without warning had only come on me gradually. Suddenly, I was faced with a small, but statistically significant, chance that I might contract a fatal illness and become another statistic. I’m sure that many people faced similar fears through this period.

Truly, for many people this was “the valley of the shadow of death”. But, we can have the assurance that, just as God is with us in the good times, the things for which we give thanks, so he is with us in the bad times as well. He has, and will enable us to meet the “the valley of the shadow of death” with his presence, just as we meet the “green pastures”.

The world will never be the same. Many of us will have started something new during the last 18 months, which we have never done before; There were various things which congregation members had started for the first time, including: writing poetry, joining a gym and origami There is no “undo” button on actions such as these, they are now a part of our journey, the world will never be the same. God is with us in this part of our lives as well. We are not “going back” to normality. We are going on. The church may have to adapt what we do, and how we do it. We need to ask how this aspect of our lives has changed.

What shall we offer our good Lord? MHB 784

#9 - Virtual Choir - What shall we offer our Good Lord - YouTube

The notices were read and the offering received

The sands of time are sinking MHB 637

The Sands of Time Are Sinking --Together for the Gospel III [Live] - YouTube

Our hymn book only had the first four verses.

Have you had time on your hands.? We often hear children say “I’m bored”

I have been travelling on trains quite a lot. The journey could be very tedious, but I have found looking at the route and landscape I can work out where steam trains took water and where the coal waggons empted. How the old line cut through the undergrowth and also old platforms that have been left to decay, how time has changed things I find fascinating, there are quite a few aspects of time in the Bible.

starting with Genesis 8:22. “As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

and in the 2^nd book of Peter Chapter 3 verse 8.he writes “ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

It is only mankind that has made time run like clock work we know that a minute is a unit of time measurement that is equal to 60 seconds 60 minutes of an hour. And there are 24 hours in a day. There are also different types of calendars years such as the common calendar with a leap year. Also there is the Gregorian, and Julian. These calendars have a different number of days depending on the time the earth takes to make a single rotation around the sun.

We use calendars and diaries to remember and record important moments in time like birthdays and medical appointments and Sundays to keep them holy.

As a child one church that my dad preached at used an hour time glass. I must admit it kept my Dad focussed on the importance of the message. He told us that the timer ran out as he was saying the grace. This hour glass captivated me, At my high school the science lab. had one that sat on the windowsill. Sir gave as the opportunity to make one.

An hour glass is an ancient way of measuring time. Some are still use today to time eggs. Who has an egg timer ? I have. I love to tip it up to watch the sand fall so much better than a ticking ringer. As a child I had a game called  Boggle. Does anyone remember it ? It  is a timed word game where players attempt to find as many connected words as possible from the face up letters resting in a 25 cube grid. When the timer runs out, players compare their list of words and remove any shared words. It can still be bought today.

There is a saying you may have heard or used

“Time and tide wait for no man.”  It is a proverb which has found its way through history albeit with uncertain provenance.  The list of authors who may have penned it include St. Marher in 1225, Geoffrey Chaucer in 1368, later by Charles Dickens plus many more over the years

The notion of 'tide' being beyond man's control brings up images of the King Canute story. He demonstrated to his courtiers the limits of a king's power by failing to make the sea obey his command. That literal interpretation of 'tide' in 'time and tide' is what is now usually understood, but that wasn't what was meant in the original version of the expression. 'Tide' didn't refer to the contemporary meaning of the word, that is, the rising and falling of the sea, but to a period of time. When this phrase was coined tide meant a season, or a time, or a while. The word is still with us in that sense in 'good tidings', which refers to a good event or occasion and Whitsuntide, noontide etc.

Today we have made time to come together Jonathan and myself have taken time in planning for this service. God has given us time therefore we should us it wisely In the book of Jeremiah chapter 29 verses 11-12 he writes

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Prayer

Lord help us to take time to be holy,
we come together to learn of about your love for us
there are many to day that are weak, frail and isolated, Lord strengthen them may they know your comfort and peace
Lord God the world rushes on; help us to spend time in secret with you Lord
Help us to be more like you son that through our conduct others will see His likeness Lord help us to take time to be holy, be our guide may we never get ahead of you that we lose our way or so far behind that we give up.
Lord In our joy or in our sorrow, may we follow you and trust in you word
Lord help us to take time to be holy, fill our souls with your peace may
each thought and each motive be beneath your control.
Lead us by your spirit to fountains of love, that we may soon be fitted
for your service above. Amen.

Take time to be holy MP 625

Take Time to be Holy - YouTube

Ecclesiastes 3 : 1 – 14 New International Version

1 There is a time for everything,   and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2   a time to be born and a time to die,   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3   a time to kill and a time to heal,   a time to tear down and a time to build,
4   a time to weep and a time to laugh,   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5   a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,  a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6   a time to search and a time to give up,  a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7   a time to tear and a time to mend,  a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8   a time to love and a time to hate,  a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil?

10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the human heart;

yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure for ever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

There Is A Time
By Walter E. Isenhour

There is a time to work and play, A time to eat and sleep;
A time to study and to pray, A time to laugh and week;
A time for fellowship that's sweet, A time for sacred song;
But never is there time to treat A human being wrong.

There is a time to lift men up And help them on life's road;
A time to drain their bitter cup And share their heavy load;
A time to bless them with our grace And boost them all along;
But never is there time and place To treat our fellows wrong.

There is a time to help men seek Our God who saves the soul;
A time to show them that the meek Shall reach life's highest goal;
A time to help them turn aside And leave the wicked throng;
But never did our God provide A time to treat men wrong

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. these words still speaks to us today

As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.  For he says,

“In the time of my favour I heard you,  and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.

Luke recorded the Acts of the apostles in chapter 1 verses 1 – 8 he writes to Theophilus

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with  the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Go forth and tell, MP 178

Go Forth And Tell! (Tune: Woodlands) - YouTube

Lord, you have been our dwelling place  throughout all generations.

Before the mountains were born  or you brought forth the whole world,   from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Benediction:

May God fill you with His love

may Jesus bless you with His Grace

May the Holy Spirit enfold you with peace.

Amen