Week beginning 22nd January

 

Song: There is a redeemer

There Is A Redeemer - The Worship Collection - YouTube

Reading: Matthew’s gospel, chapter 25, verses 31 to 46

Song: Purify my heart

Purify My Heart, Let Me be as Gold - The Worship Collection - YouTube

Prayer:

Let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ for all those who need our compassion and care, for all those who commit themselves to the poorest and for those who are afraid to be involved. Let us say:

Lord, make us serve you in people.

For all who have lost their way in life we cry out to you to make the Church welcome them and give them you and your Good News to live for, we pray:

Lord, make us serve you in people.

With all people driven from their homes, with the many victims of war and civil strife, with all strangers living in foreign lands, we cry out that people may be hospitable to them, and so we pray:

Lord, make us serve you in people.

With all those who hunger for food, who thirst for justice, who crave for human dignity, we cry out that we may hear your voice in them, and so we pray:

Lord, make us serve you in people.

With all those who care for the sick and the handicapped, with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, midwives, we cry out that we may recognize you in those who need affectionate, loving care. And so we pray:

Lord, make us serve you in people.

With all those who are imprisoned because of their convictions, with all those who are persecuted; who are prisoners of their hatred, their greed or their failings, we ask you to free them, and so we pray:

Lord, make us serve you in people.

The voices that cry out to us, the eyes that plead with us, may we recognize you in them, Lord, and love you in them. Be near to us, now and for ever. Amen.

re-worship.blogspot.com

Song: Come thou fount of every blessing.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing | Christmas Lyric Video | Reawaken Hymns - YouTube

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Do you like to be in control of matters? Or are you happy to go with the flow? Most of us like to be in charge, to have things sorted out. Take skiing. When the snow is fresh. When the wind is behind us, and the slope is not too extreme, swooping down the hill in long swooping curves is enjoyable.

But, if you are below a thundering avalanche, all sense of calm command will soon disappear.

In a similar way, this lovely pastoral story of sheep and goats being sorted, could lull us to sleep, as traditionally counting sheep will. However, if we look at the whole story, this is more of a thundering avalanche.

As far as the bible is concerned, this could be the wake-up call to end all wake-up calls. This is the final event, not in any one person’s life, but of the whole planet. As the pub landlords used to shout at the end of the day “Time gentlemen please”

There are three thoughts from this passage: The return of the king; The sheep and the goats; the application to today.

Some time ago, is summer It was noon. The conservatory was filled with a strange orange light. The whole sky had turned orange. A neighbour was heard to mutter “Is it the end of the world?” Jesus was certainly talking about the end of the world as we know it. He’s focussing on the time we would call The Return of the King. The end of time event when the King comes to rule in his kingdom.

There is a twist in the tale.

The only easy way to tell a sheep from a goat is that a sheep’s tail hangs down, and a goats tale points up. The twist is the tale is almost as if to say “Did you get it?”

The story begins “When the king comes is all his glory” This is not talking about Christ and the baby in the manger. When the King comes in glory, This will be awesome. It will be fearful and final.

He goes on to say “All the nations will be gathered before him” Not just you and I, not just a few of us, or a big crowd or city. The whole world gathered before the King on his throne.

This is when all our plans, pension funds, car maintenance plans, and travel documents are finally done with. This is the point when we are sorted out into just two groups, whether you are president or pauper.

A shepherd was asked how a shepherd sees sheep and goats. He expressed the opinion that sheep are not clever, where goats are. Chalk and cheese, couldn’t be more different. They can be kept together, but at the end of the day, they are usually put into two separate pens to avoid trouble.

Although we see sheep as similar, a good shepherd can tell them apart, they have different faces. This is a king who knows everything about us.

In this modern digital age, when there is a vast archive stored about each one of us, it is perhaps not too difficult to believe that The King could know everything about us from birth to now.

And how will the sheep and goats be separated? Here is where we approach the twist.

Verses 34, 37 and 40 tell us.

It can look like we are going to be judged purely on how we perform in this life, and it is to be a severe separation as verses 41 and 45 indicate. This is serious stuff. It one of the scariest stories in the bible.

Is Jesus saying that each of us will be judged only on what we have done? Is he saying that we should give money to the poor?; visit the sick?; help the prisoners? If this is the case, how money do we have to give?: how many sick do we need to visit?; how much time do we need to spend visiting prisoners? The story does sound like this, but a wider reading suggest that this is not actually what it is saying.

There is a second possible misunderstanding. Whilst Jesus may be saying that we will not be judged on our actions alone, he is not saying that they don’t matter.

We can do wonderful things, we can give to charities; but we can’t buy a place in the sheep pen!

This is the U.S.P. of Christianity. This separates us from other religions. We are nor saved by our good deeds. So what are we saved by? After all, sheep might not be clever, but we all want to be in the sheep pen, don’t we?

How does the King separate the sheep from the goats? Remember, in Jesus’ day it was the son who sits at the father’s right hand. It’s the son who inherits the whole estate.

In verse 34, the King says “Come you who are blessed by my father, and take your inheritance. So he is addressing those on his right as if they were family, sons and inheritors.”

In verse 40 he says “whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.” What does he mean by “brothers of mine” It is clear that he is not referring to his siblings from Nazareth. This crowd are his spiritual brothers. They have been adopted into the family of the King by adoption.

The sorting into these two groups is done by the very precise measure. Are you in the King’s family or not? It’s a simple decision. Are you in or out? It’s binary. There is no halfway house.

How we treat each other is indicative of whether we are in the family of the King or not.

In the western world, we, as Christians, can feel a little marginalised, the targets of ridicule. But in other places, Christians are in prison, refugees and destitute. How we care for our brothers and sisters tells where you stand.

Do you know Jesus personally? Are you confident of who you are?, that you are his brother or sister?

Are you spending time developing that relationship? Spending time listening to him?

If you don’t know Jesus personally talk to someone now, talk to Jesus.

Find out how you can become a son or daughter of the heavenly father and inherit a kingdom that is beyond your wildest dreams.

Song: To God be the glory,

To God be the glory - YouTube

The Wise Men

 Reading: Psalm 100:

Song: As with gladness men of old

As With Gladness Men of Old ~ The London Fox Singers ~ lyric video - YouTube

Prayers:

Reading: Isaiah, chapter 55: verses 6 to 13

Song: The love of God comes close

474 The love of God comes close - YouTube

Reading: Matthew’s gospel, chapter 2: verses 1 to 12

Song: Look to the skies

Look to the skies - YouTube

Reading: Matthew’s gospel, chapter 2: verses 13 – 23

Do you ever make a journey so many times that you joke that the car knows the way? Certainly, one day, Susannah set off from home to meet me at our shop. In due course she arrived at our shop. Unfortunately, she had omitted to realise that we had recently moved shop, and duly arrived at the wrong shop. A few weeks previously, she would have been right, but this time she was on her own! Whether it was the car knowing its own way, or a lapse of concentration I leave it up to you to decide!!

Recently, we have been driving to Harrogate and Leeds a lot. Most of you know that Jamie works in Harrogate, and that there have been an assortment of strikes on the railway. This means, that on strike weeks, we take him to work and pick him up, two round trips per day. We have joked that the car will be able to find its own way soon.

In the case of my great grandfather this was not a joke. He was a milkman in the village where he lived. There is a family story that the round included a visit to the local pub, and that nit was a good job that the horse knew the way home, as he was never in a state to find it for himself!

Apparently, now cars can be equipped with “Intelligent Navigation”. The latest advert I have seen seems to suggest that it can learn! It brings to mind the computer from “2001 a Space Odyssey” When this computer, called Hal, was being awkward, it would say something like “I’m afraid I cannot let you do that Dave”

The intelligent, learning car is something to look forward to.

In an attempt to reduce the mileage, we arranged to meet him in the morning in Leeds. The new government scheme which caps single bus journeys to £2-00, instead of the usual £7-50, meant that it was now economic to travel by bus. A convenient landmark was chosen, and even though he was travelling to Leeds by bus, we chose Leeds railway station. An easy place to find, or so I thought.

The plan was simple; Take our usual way up the motorway, come off the M621 at junction 4, travel into the city centre and look for signs to the railway station. Easy. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for a start, the total absence of signs to the railway station! What we did find, frequently was a sign which said “City Square closed” City Square is where the station can be found. This sign was followed by “Find alternative route”, without any suggestion as to where the alternative might be. We went round the “City Loop” several times, and could even see where we knew the station to be, but could not get to it. We knew that there was a drop off and collect point, but getting to it was another matter entirely. We did not have an intelligent navigation system. Fortunately, we did have an intelligent co-driver. I suggested that we stop at an easily identifiable landmark, Leeds Minster, and ring Jamie asking him to walk to us. Problem solved, at least for that day.

Once we got home, it seemed reasonable to us that it must be possible to access the pick up point at the station by car. So we engaged the services of Google maps, and sought counsel. A map was duly drawn for us, and direction issued. The results were not what we expected

We had to stay on the motorway for another 3 junctions and come off at 2A. This meant that we had to drive past Leeds in order to come from the other side. This proved to be easy, and is now how we find Jamie at the station.

The wise men did not have the advantages (and dubious advantages) of modern technology, and one-way systems.

They set off on a journey without knowing where they were going; the camels, or whatever they travelled with, did not have sat-nav, auto-pilot, or intelligent navigation. They had never been before, and so did not have the advantage of knowing the route.

However, they did know why they were travelling. They were coming to see a new king born in Judea.

Lacking the advantages of modern technology, they applied their learning to logic, rather like we did when looking for Leeds Railway Station, and went to where they thought it was reasonable for the new king to be. And, just like us, found that logic was wanting. Just as we did not find a station, they did not find a new king.

They had to discover that

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.

Just like we had to discover that our way was not the right way into Leeds.

Discovering the right way is something that we need to be aware of. Isaiah urges us to;

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.

We need to seek the Lord, where he is, where he is near, not where we think he ought to be! Nor even where think that it is logical that he should be!!

Service can be a difficult idea to get hold of. It is easy to assume that we know better than the one who leads, such as Sergeant Wilson in Dad’s Army, with his regular question “Is that wise sir?”. We can try to avoid service by using logic, and saying that we are not suited to what we are asked to do, that we lack the skills, or experience.

But, just like the wise men, we need to accept that God know best, that our ways are not His ways.

Song: You shall go out with joy

11. You shall go out with joy: Written by Stuart Dauermann – YouTube

Covenant Sunday

 There is an opportunity for you to share in Holy Communion please prepare with a small drink and a piece of bread or biscuit before participating this time of worship.

Prayer. Mighty God, Holy and strong I give you all praise and glory
it is good that I can come before you bless me and others who are participating in this time of worship unite us together through the power of your Holy Spirit that we may feel your presence with in our hearts Amen.

Our first song is: Standing on the promises of God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56e3XFRtmY8

The first Bible reading is taken from the book of Psalms, Number 25, verses 4 – 11

4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. 5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long. 6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.11 For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Prayer of confession

Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; As Noah was led to build an ark and the magi were led by the light of a star me we led by the Light of the Christ child. Father God forgive us we pray and fill us with your light and lead us and fill our hearts with heavenly joy. Amen

Our next song is: Lead us heavenly Father lead us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGsvbqErM2A

Our second Bible reading is taken from Genesis chapter 9 verses 8 - 17

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you  and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.  I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:  I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”  So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.” A covenant means a sacred agreement or

mutual promise between God and a person or a group of people. So it is by our faith

can stand on the promise of God.

Our third bible reading is taken from Jeremiah Chapter 31 verses 31–34

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the cov`enant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.34 No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The next song is: wise men seeking Jesus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM-HzKUEvyY

Our fourth Bible reading is St. Matthew Gospel chapter 2 verses 1 – 12

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[ from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,  are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared . 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Our next song is: We three kings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNBbCkDMSLw

In the bible readings this morning, three things stand out; lets look first at Noah, an obedient man carries out what God asked of him. And God gave Noah a binding contract a covenant never to flood the whole world again. Six months ago I saw a double rainbow in the sky over Bolton. This is a reminder to us, and to God, of his Promise. Only God knows why Bolton needed a double rainbow, maybe it’s all the rain they get in Lancashire.

Secondly, Jeremiah. A prophet who was guided by God, he had faithfully proclaimed God's message of coming destruction to Judah for forty years. Now all his warnings and predictions were coming true. Babylon had laid siege to Jerusalem. The fall of the city was imminent. You would think after proclaiming a message that was being fulfilled before their very eyes that people would start to believe Jeremiah. But Jeremiah's message only hardened the hearts of the people. They kept shouting at him with verbal abuse, physically beating him leaving him for dead. But Jeremiah kept getting back up. He prevailed despite suffering, to be faithful to God's orders. Jeremiah persevered in obedience. He allowed himself to be led by God, and was obedient.

Thirdly, The Magi. We do not know how many there. They were strangers in a foreign land, they may have spoken in their native tongue and other languages, possibly Greek and Latin, remember nobles and kings would have come for advice. So Herod secretly met with them, He did not want his advisers to know that he was seeking their knowledge. We think of three wise men because of the three gifts that had brought. The one thing that gets over looked in this narrative is they were guided By God. they were given a sign, a star to follow. Today there is a lot of light pollution, it is hard to see all the stars. Back them and in some very rural areas of the Britain the stars are bright, there are around 200 billion trillion of them, but it is still possible on a very dark clear night to see around a two thousand. The Magi are to be guided by a special star that led to Bethlehem.

What does it take to be a guide? I was a girl Guide when in uniform I was expected to set an example for other girls who would in turn like to join. Part of being a guide was to lend a hand, to be of use in the Church, Community and school. Part of promise I made when I enrolled as a guide back in 1969 was to my duty to God in other words to be obedient to the will of God. To serve the queen.

Have you ever been round a museum, An old house, Or even on a holiday trip? There may be a tour guide, that person has to have have knowledge. But they need to have people who are willing to listen to and follow them them. you may need to follow safety guide lines.

When assembling flat pack furniture there is a guide to show which bits go where.

(But it never says what to do with the bits left over:)

To be The guide, that person takes the lead.

Guide dogs lead their charge safely, the person has to have great faith in the dog.

When Learning to ride a horse It is led by another either on foot or by rider with a lead rein.

Some Church ministers wear Dog collars, a symbol of their obedience to being led by God.

The magi were astrologers magicians kings and nobles. They would want to know the future. In some cultures they were thought of as priests, the Gifts they brought told of the life, death, and eternal life of the baby Jesus, they bowed down and worshipped Him. These men, who themselves were revered by others, recognised this little child as King. God can and does move in mysterious ways. He never does what we quite expect, when Jesus came the Jewish the people were looking for a king who would lead them and get rid of the Romans. The Jewish authorities would not recognise Jesus as the messiah, he was not what they were looking for.

Jesus was obedient to God in every aspect. God wants us to put our faith in Jesus, to follow Him, learn from Him and to share His love with others. God promised eternal life through Jesus. Jesus asked to remembered by sharing in holy Communion, giving us foretaste of the heavenly banquet prepared for all people.

When we had a pet shop an old person had a dog and she was complaining that it was pulling so my husband offered to take it for a walk. What the lady really meant was it was not willing to walk and she was having to pull it. The dog was reluctant to walk with Jonathan as well, but it walked much better with neither having to be dragged or pulling ahead when he smelt the doggie treats. Unlike the dog, God does not bribe us, He waits until we are willing to be led. If you are ready to renew your promise to follow God, or feel you would like to give your life to him then read this next prayer then join in the next hymn.

Do not worry if you do not feel ready It will be here when you are.

I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; Put me to doing; put me to suffering; Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, Exalted for you, or brought low for you; Let me be full, let me be empty; Let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Our next song is: Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine also known as the covenant hymn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak2usFe_PSo

Our last Bible reading is from the Gospel of St.Matthew Chapter 26: verses 26 - 29

26 While they (the disciples ) were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then Jesus took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying,“Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Act of communion.

Pause. Ask Jesus to come close to you and enter into you life. Eat, Pause Drink.

Prayer.

Thank you Lord that you have fed me with this sacrament and given me a taste of the banquet prepared for all people. Amen.

The last song is: Take my life and let it be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf11rReeWIs

Blessing

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Listen to or sing along, O Jesus I have promised

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNz-33V1V8A

If you do not have a Bible and would like one (in English) please contact us on the blog.

Any other language Bible let us know and we will do our best for you it may take a little time. God Bless Susannah.