Sunday 30th August 2020
This short act of worship has been prepared for you to use whilst we are unable to use Methodist Church premises. If you are well enough why not spend a few moments with God, knowing that other people are sharing this act of worship with you.
Opening Prayer
Lord, I draw near with faith. Open my eyes to see and ears to hear what you have for me, today and every day. Amen
Hymn: StF 608 All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhE-MoyghuI
All praise to our redeeming Lord,
who joins us by his grace,
and bids us, each to each restored,
together seek his face.
He bids us build each other up;
and, gathered into one,
to our high calling's glorious hope
we hand in hand go on.
The gift which he on one bestows,
we all delight to prove;
the grace through every vessel flows,
in purest streams of love.
E'en now we think and speak the same,
and cordially agree;
concentred all, through Jesu's name,
in perfect harmony.
We all partake the joy of one,
the common peace we feel,
a peace to sensual minds unknown,
a joy unspeakable.
And if our fellowship below
in Jesus be so sweet,
what heights of rapture shall we know
when round his throne we meet!
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
A Time of Prayer
Lord God, we pray to you, as Father Son and Holy Spirit, to praise you, For You are our God. We pray to thank you for all that You have done for us, for you are always there. We pray to You as our God, who made the world, died for us, rose again to show us the way to heaven, and lives in us all. We bring before you the burden of all the sins we have committed, and we say Lord God, we are sorry for them. We know that such is your Love, we are forgiven our sins. Thanks be to you, Our God, Amen
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 3:1-15
New Testament Reading: Romans 12:9-21
Time to Reflect
How often have we heard the story of the burning bush? Perhaps you first heard it at school or in Sunday School. Many of us certainly knew the basic plot as soon as we saw the heading. Yet, when we read it now, in these difficult times, perhaps it is the assurance God hears our sufferings that is what we need most from this reading, rather than a familiar story. If on our next walk outside we saw what Moses did, and heard a similar promise, would we rejoice? Yet, God is telling us to do that, without flames amidst our shrubbery.
The reading from Romans tells us, Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. In difficult moments, that is enough, to ask of someone that get through these times. What is astonishing is, it can be sufficient if we will let it be. Not that we are ever alone.
Listening to what God tells us in our despair is often the hardest thing. Why did God have to burn a bush so that it would keep burning until Moses noticed it? Moses was in the depths of despair. We don’t like to listen in our despair to anything of hope. Much of the duty of a Christian is to help one another out of the wallowing. To share our own grief’s lessons with those who are in the midst of learning them. We should weep with those who weep, yes, and yet, more than this, we should pass the tissues and try and help them through.
At present, we are much minded to think of all that is wrong in our lives, of those dear to us being taken from us, or at risk of so being. Take thought though of all that is not awful even in our present miseries. For there is more goodness on show than at that burning bush each and every day, if we would but see it. It may be hard to see, yet that is why God gives us such lights. If we light a candle in a dark room, an experiment I recommend, you will marvel at how much such a small light can reveal. So how much more can a burning bush light up? Yet more than this, the light of God is alive in every Christian this very day, and it burns even brighter than the sun itself.
If you doubt this, take the Romans passage, and think of examples you have seen of each verse, one or two a day this week. You will soon see much light, more than comes in at your windows in the bright summer days.
Do not let the evil that sits in the world overpower you. Leave such to the Lord, He will deal with the evil people, turning them to good. Focus instead on the good you can do. For if we all do what good we can, that is quite enough to make the world a very different place. If we dwell on evil, we will be overwhelmed. Yet instead of decrying all that is wrong, let us concentrate on doing good. If we spend our time doing our bit of Good, we do far more than all the handwringing in history ever accomplished. Do not let yourself think yourself weak, you have prayer, you have the good you can do for others with your God-given abilities. That is quite enough to overcome a lot of evil for other folk, if you would but set to it with a will. Thus, the True Christian does not just hold to what is good in theory. We do good. For are we not True Christians, all of us?
Take a time to sit quietly
A time of prayer
Gracious God, we bring before you our prayers for the world
We pray for all those who lack physical things, food, shelter, water, and all of life’s necessities.
We pray for those who mourn, and those who ail. Lord, for those we may help, may our hands work quickly, and for those we personally cannot help, we pray for the hands that will.
We pray for all those who work to provide care and help to others. Lord bless them and keep them from tiredness and error, and those they care for, keep them from despair. We bring the names of those known to us before you…
We pray for all in spiritual distress, who struggle to hear your message, or to come to you in prayer. Lord, help them to heed.
We pray for ourselves. Strengthen us to come through renewed in faith in certainty.
We pray for our land and nation. Lord, help us all to endure, to do our duty and to serve you faithfully. May our land be brightened by the Light of Lord as we leave these times behind.
Lord, we ask these things, knowing that when we pray, wherever we pray, you hear our prayers. Thanks be unto you, Father Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
The Lord’s Prayer Our Father ……
Hymn: Listen to May the Mind of Christ my Saviour(StF 504) https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/worship/singing-the-faith-plus/hymns/may-the-mind-of-christ-my-saviour-stf-504/
May the mind of Christ my Saviour
live in me from day to day,
by his love and power controlling all I do or say.
May the word of God dwell richly
in my heart from hour to hour,
so that all may see I triumph
only through his power.
May the peace of God my Father
rule my life in everything,
that I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing.
May the love of Jesus fill me,
as the waters fill the sea;
him exalting, self forgetting - this is victory.
May I run the race before me,
strong and brave to face the foe,
looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.
Katie Barclay Wilkinson (1859-1928)
A prayer of blessing
Lord, as we go forth, may we see all the things you long for us to notice. May we be your people in all we do and say. Amen
Original Materials by Thomas Smith
All Hymns reproduced under CCLi 1144191.