Sunday 25th July 2021

Burton Joyce

COMMUNITY CHURCH 

with the 

Nottingham North East Circuit  

Sunday 25th July 2021 

Welcome to today’s act of worship, prepared by Deacon Jenny Jones 

Adapted for Burton Joyce Community Church by Phil Colbourn 

Hymns from Songs of Fellowship (SoF)

We start with a moment of silence, to set our hearts & minds on Jesus 

Call to worship from Psalm 145

The LORD is good to all, his compassion is over all that he has made 

Our first hymn lifts my heart. Occasionally, I arrive at church tired and moody and, to be honest, I do not want to be there, but this hymn always lifts me out of the doldrums and reminds me of what God has done and is doing for me. I hope that, if you are feeling down today, this hymn will remind you of the blessings God has poured out for us. If you are feeling joyous, let the words express your praise to God. 

Hymn SoF 147 

Great is thy faithfulness 

Let us bring to God our Prayers of Adoration 

Holy God, you have done wonderful things, a merciful God with power to save, lifting us from our self-made shackles, releasing us to live life in all its fulness, showing the world the way of love. 

Shout praise to God, everyone! 

Gracious God, you draw us into fellowship, showing the way of steadfast love and faithfulness, straightening out the crooked ways, 

giving us new songs to sing. 

Shout praise to God, everyone! Sing a new song! 

Sustaining God, you have given us a brand-new vision, writing hope on our hearts and lips, drawing us into your way of love, justice and mercy, accompanying us in our dance of joy.
Shout praise to God, everyone! Sing a new song! Amen! 

Our Bible reading comes from Psalm 145: 8-21 

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

Reflection

Like anyone else training for ministry, I had to undergo a number of placements in various locations. The aim was to work alongside other Deacons to experience the work and to see how I reacted in certain situations, using what I had been taught in the classroom in ‘real’ life. I had one placement at the University of Hertfordshire, two with churches, and a life- changing couple of weeks at Belmarsh Prison. 

Until then, I had never been in a prison. I had not spent weeks getting authority to enter the establishment nor undergone physical searches required every time you enter or leave; nor known the claustrophobic atmosphere or noise levels: every sense and emotion are bombarded. And yet I found God moving and transforming lives, including mine. 

As part of her work, the Deacon who was one of the chaplains at the prison ran a creative writing group. Many of those attending had no interested in writing (all they wanted was time away from their cells and to earn points from the activities), but I was astonished by some of the work produced. Two pieces stick in my mind. The first line of one was, ‘My gun was fun’. It told his story of how his gun initially brought him self-worth, respect and material goods but then stopped being his friend. It destroyed his relationships, made him afraid as others got guns and threatened him, and led to prison sentences. The poem ended with the gun becoming his enemy when he shot and killed a former friend. He was now serving a life sentence. The piece was raw with emotions and when he read it there was a stunned silence as other reflected their own experiences with guns. 

The second piece was from the most beautiful-looking Muslim man I think I have ever seen. He had written a piece for his twin two-year old boys about his God. I remember listening in awe as he described God in words and phrases that I could only imagine using. The piece was beautiful and summed up many of my feelings about my God and I remember wishing I could express my love for God in such an eloquent way. It was only later, when I was with the chaplain, that I learnt that this wordsmith was a terrorist and that in ‘serving’ his God he had committed multiple murders. My experience of Muslims is that they are peaceful people and, while I understand radicalisation, I was devastated to find that the words had come from a person who had committed such atrocities. 

As part of my preparation, I had reflected on the term Imago Dei – that we are made in the image of God – and I was now challenged as to whether I could really embrace that concept.  But God takes our doubts and, if we allow him, shows us how he transforms lives. My daily Bible reading later that week was Psalm 145 where David expresses the wonders of the Lord in exquisite language. The words just pour out. Each line is an expression of the nature of God. Words bubble over conveying the goodness and mercy, love and faithfulness, splendour and authority of God. They gush like a waterfall: a torrent of the riches and blessings that God pours on us. 

And yet these words were written by David. A king who had so many flaws and failings. He committed adultery; ordered the murder of his lover’s husband; he didn’t condemn his son’s incestuous rape. Other failings can perhaps be overlooked in the context of the times, but David - warrior, king, composer, conqueror, unifier, organiser - was a flawed human being. And yet God used him. David had a heart for God and God had a heart for David. In the words of 1 Samuel 16:7:

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 

What did God see in David’s heart that covered all the weaknesses? 

I wonder, if like me, you sometimes beat yourself up that you are not good enough for God; that you don’t do enough kingdom work; that your prayer life isn’t as good as others; that you’ve done things that don’t honour God; that you make promises to God and fail to keep them. Sometimes, I feel I must be a huge disappointment to God. At those times God comes and surrounds us in the embrace of his grace and the Holy Spirit prompts us to remember how God’s love has been shown to us in practice. The story of God throughout history reminds us that God will never leave us, but instead sent his Son to reveal more about this love, manifest on the cross when Jesus took all our sins. He redeemed us – the good, the bad and the ugly. 

At Belmarsh Prison, I realised needed to be less judgemental. Justice has to be done for crimes committed but, in that situation, God needs people who listen, to hear the stories that led to their incarceration; to offer love (not sentimentality), encouragement and hope in something different. To use opportunities to tell people about Jesus in relevant ways – not to radicalise or manipulate them – but to reveal goodness and joy, mercy and compassion. Those lessons transformed me and my approach to ministry. Our faith can help us build relationships, break down the barriers that keep others from encountering God and reveal the glory of God’s kingdom to those around us. 

Forgiving is hard. Some crimes seem too atrocious to forgive, but if we believe in the cross and God’s forgiveness, we should try to forgive and, in that action, we might restore their relationship with God and who knows where that might lead. Let’s not imagine our God is too small to do amazing things in people’s lives. Amen

During July the Samaritans have their annual awareness campaign. Most of you know that the Samaritans provide emotional support for people; you may not know they respond every day to 10,000 people. 

Today, in our Prayers of Intercession, will focus on their work. 

Gracious God, we all know times of despair with mental health; finance; health or tragedy. We lift before you now all who find life hard to bear; who wonder if there is any purpose, or if anyone will miss them if they disappear. We pray that they reach out, that their cries are met with kindness & compassion. 

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayers 

We pray for all volunteers in support services, especially today for the Samaritans. May they know your peace as they deal with distressing situations and may their words bring strength to those in need. 

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayers 

We pray for families affected by suicide, left in an agony of confusion and regret, having been unaware of the desperation their loved one was experiencing. Bring your peace to their lives and homes. 

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayers 

Lord, stir up in us hearts of kindness and compassion so that we can offer hope to those in dark places. We offer up all our prayers in your precious and holy name. Amen

The Lord’s Prayer 

Our final hymn SoF 1412 

Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us 

A Blessing 

May the love of God surround you, surprise you and sustain you, this day and for evermore. Amen

Sunday 18th July 2021

 BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

with Nottingham North East Circuit 

Sunday 18th July 2021 

An act of worship prepared by Rev John Wiseman. Adapted by Phil Colbourn for BJCC. Hymns from Songs of Fellowship (SoF)

 

 The Olympics begin at the end of the week and this informs our theme today: Running to win

Let’s begin by singing together: SoF 28 As we are gathered 

Opening prayer: Psalm 40 I waited patiently for the LORD

Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 

Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 

[If you can, watch this Youtube clip from the film Chariots of Fire about the Olympic dreams of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddle. 

Note the references to honouring God with our sporting talents. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyltmUR3MU ]

Today’s message 

I have to admit that the slogan of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ‘United by Emotion’ leaves me feeling rather flat. I much prefer the one used for London 2012, ‘Inspire a Generation’; the main thrust of London’s bid to host the games being the legacy it was going to hand on and its attempts to inspire a generation. But which generation? 

Is it the next generation? Our children, youngsters, grand-children? 

Or is our generation? No matter how old or young you happen to be. 

It is important to look after our bodies, not just for the first 40 years but for as long as we live. We may not be able to do the things we did when we were younger, but if we don’t use it, we will lose it. 

What about our spiritual health? If our bodies are temple, a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor 6:19) then, surely, we should try to maintain that temple in good shape spiritually, working to build up our spiritual speed, endurance, balance, flexibility, poise, strength, stamina, and motivation 

For athletes competing in the Olympics, their moment in the spotlight whether it is the 2 hours taken to complete the marathon or the 9.63 seconds required to run the 100 meters is often the culmination of many years work. Because for anyone to win an Olympic medal it requires years if not a lifetime of training. It is through training that you not only become good at what you do but become better than everyone else. 

When Daly Thompson, twice winner of the gold medal for the decathlon was asked why he went training on Christmas day, he replied: Because my competitors don’t. In his book “Bounce”, former British no 1 table tennis player Matthew Syed, suggests it takes over 10,000 hours of totally focussed and dedicated training for an individual to become an expert in their chosen field. And it is not the moments of success that make an athlete stronger but the moments of failure, the moments when things do not go right. 

It has been estimated by her coach that the Japanese Olympic and world figure skating champion Shizuka Akinawa fell over 20,000 times during her transformation from also-ran to champion. The moral of her story is that it is through falling on your backside 20,000 times that a really great performance finally emerges. Practice and repetition don’t always mean perfection but it certainly means getting better at something. 

Hands up how many people have looked at a particular passage in the Bible and not understand what it means? No one becomes an expert in the Bible the first time they read it, the 2nd, or the 20th time. More often than not the penny does not drop all at once; 2000 years of Christian theology do not become crystal clear in the space of a 20-minute sermon. Our faith can at times be difficult, confusing, hard work, but with a decent training programme we can all slowly but surely progress from also-rans to champions. 

We can all make - as described by the British track cycling team - marginal gains; slight sometimes imperceptible improvements in how we understand and then live out our faith, until others are impelled to ask what is it that we have in our lives that makes us different. 

For any athlete, one of the most important things they are concerned with is nutrition, getting enough of the right type of food into their bodies and avoiding ingesting an enormous variety of things which may look appealing but which will simply not aid their performance. 

Nicola Adams, the first British women to win a gold medal in boxing celebrated by having a night out at Nando’s...something she probably hasn’t been able to do in the build up to her event. But having seen all her hard work pay-off, who would begrudge her that indulgence? 

What about us? Where do we get our spiritual food? Is it just from our church services on a Sunday? Is it from Songs of Praise? Services on the radio? Thought for the Day? Daily reflections or Bible reading plans? Weekly or monthly church magazines? The Methodist Prayer handbook? Regular Bible studies or one of the fellowship groups? You might gain your spiritual nutrition by meeting other Christians in other places. Where, how and how often are we getting spiritual food, so that as followers of Jesus we can perform to our best? 

Behind every athlete, whether they win or lose, is the support of a team helping and assisting them. Their success had been built on the many and varied members of their back up team working together all with the same aim. Teamwork is important and every member of is as important as the next. Even Jesus felt the need to have a support team. He chose people of different talents, abilities, gifts and graces to work alongside him during his ministry, each one fitting together to make up the complete jigsaw that Jesus knew was possible. Note too that whenever he sends the disciples out, he does not send them out alone but in two’s, in teams to work and learn together. 

And Paul is a great one for working alongside others. He links up with Barnabus, with John Mark, with Timothy, with Silas and on and on and on. Being a team player sometimes may mean taking turns at standing in the spotlight and working away in the shadows unnoticed. Being part of a team means putting the wishes of others above yours, it means giving someone else at opportunity often at your expense. 

Being part of a team means being prepared to make sacrifices for the others, like in cycling road race events, where members of the team who have a slight chance of winning, sacrificing it to give another team member, who has a better chance, the opportunity to win. 

I do not think you can be a Christian on your own Being a Christian is about being part of a team. It is about relationships: relationships with God and with each other. It is about being part of Team JC. 

And finally, once the games are over, there is the inevitable ‘what happens now?’ For some it will be the end of the road. They retire from their sport, taking the qualities and attributes that made them formidable athletes into their new lives. Others, after a short well-earned rest, but not resting on their laurels, will set new goals; setting their sight on the next competition; the next Olympic Games. 

My final thought for this morning is this: What about this team? What about this family of faith, this Circuit, our individual churches, as we slowly but surely establish new patterns of worship and fellowship? What are our training plans? How will we be nourished and nourish each other? How can we work together as a team to ensure that any goals we set have the best chance of being attained? 

Are we happy to just be part of the also-rans or can we really set our focus on going for the prize that really matters! Amen

Let’s raise our voices as we sing: SoF 902 Lord of all hopefulness

Intercessions: 

Pray for people competing in the Olympics from next Friday 

Pray for people training for the Paralympics in August. 

We pray we can accept victory and defeat with grace and humility 

We pray for level playing-fields for everyone in health and education, equality, justice and inclusion 

We pray for people whose strength is failing, for people who struggle to receive daily bread, for people who do not feel part of any team and for people whose hopes and dreams are constantly dashed. 

Finally, we share the prayer Jesus taught his first team: Our Father

Our final hymn: SoF 107 Fight the good fight with all thy might

A Blessing: 

The God of grace be with you as you run the race together. Amen

Sunday 11th July 2021

Burton Joyce 

COMMUNITY CHURCH

with Nottingham North East Circuit 

Sunday 11 July 2021 

This short act of worship has been prepared for you by Deacon Helen Snowball to use at home and edited by Phil Colbourn. Spend a few moments with God, knowing that other people are sharing this act of worship with you. Hymns are from Songs of Fellowship (SoF).

Psalm 24 

The earth is the Lord’s and all that’s upon it 

SoF 40 Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here

Prayers of Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving. 

On our journey of faith, you are with us as we walk, encouraging, teaching, lifting us when we stumble, guiding us along the road. On mountaintop, resting for a while, you draw nearer still and stir us with quietness. For such experiences, we bring you our praise, and ask that on our journey you lead us not only in green pastures, but to higher ground as well, where we might rest and be refreshed. 

Lord God, in your presence, we are aware of our sin, our pride, our selfishness and lack of humility, the desire to go our way not yours. 

You lavished on us the riches of your grace and we have squandered this precious gift, for temporary gain. Forgive us. Renew our faith that our lives bring glory to your name not tears to your eyes.
© John Birch Prayers of ACT 

God has heard our confession, loves us still and, through Christ, offers healing and a new beginning. 

Hear then, Christ’s gracious words: “Your sins are forgiven.” 

Amen. Thanks be to God. 

Thank you, Lord, for reminding us, as we sing and recite liturgy, that your servant David raised his voice and lifted his hands and danced before you, worshipping with body, soul and spirit. Free us Lord, just a little, to express more openly, the gratitude in our hearts. Amen

Reading Ephesians 1:3-14 

We sing again, SoF 1202 Come down, O Love divine!

Reflection 

This piece of writing from Paul is a glorious stream of praise, written in one continuous declaration, with no punctuation, just gushing forth from Paul as though he couldn’t vent his prayer quickly enough. His scribe must have had a hard time keeping up. 

Various commentators have tried to find metaphors to describe this stream of praise – my favourite from William Hendrickson says this ‘... it is a snowball tumbling down a mountain picking up volume as it descends.’ It’s like Paul has become overcome with his emotions, he just has to try to explain the greatness of God’s blessings on us. This is pure praise and worship and expressing love for Christ. 

I want to think about how much this resonates with us?

Does this feel like an experience that you have felt? 

Verse 3 contains the words ‘...Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who grants us every spiritual blessing.’ Let’s think about these two phrases. Firstly, ‘Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed one.’ Father is problematic for some people, those who haven’t had a good relationship with their human father, but Jesus spoke to and about his Father in heaven, and he made it known that they had a good relationship, and he encourages us to nurture that relationship too. When we say ‘Our Father in heaven...’ it is not the same as speaking about a parent. God is so far above that. Father of Jesus yes, Father of all of us. God is the perfect Father, not the one we would prefer not to think about because of a painful relationship. No, this Father in God is perfect, he loves us, he forgives us, he offers hope and trust, and will never ever hurt us or turn away. Think for a moment about what God as Father means to you. 

The second part to think about is this ‘...grants us every blessing.’ 

We often turn to God less in thanksgiving, than we do in intercession, when we are praying for a situation, a country, our family or friends, or ourselves. And yet, we have so many blessings, as this part of the verse says God grants us every blessing. Every blessing. Take a moment to think about the blessings in your life, the times when you have felt Christ close to you, the times when you can give praise to God for something, maybe something large, or maybe something small, like refreshing rain, or a glorious sunset, or the fact that you live in a country where the health service is free. 

Next, verse 4 says: ‘God chose us to be in a relationship with Him.’ 

I think that’s pretty special, don’t you? God chose us – he wants to be in a relationship with us, individually, so that we can get to know God in return and have a relationship with him. Do you feel like you have a relationship with God? Or is it a one-way conversation when you pray? Do you remember to stop and listen, to see what guidance you might be receiving? Do you remember to thank God for what he’s done? In any relationship there needs to be listening and empathy with one another, we know we need to care about each other, to think about each other’s needs – why would we treat God any differently? 

Then, ‘Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvellous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved’. These are the words from verse 6 – God is worthy of our praise. He is merciful and marvellous. This says it all doesn’t it? 

He is merciful, we are forgiven and loved, we are his precious creation. And he is marvellous – marvellous in his grace, in his creation, in his love for us. I mean, what could we possibly do to deserve this sort of love? Nothing. We just get it because God loves us, just because he does, because God is love. Can you appreciate that level of love, and are you able to reciprocate? Are you able to thank God for all the blessings you receive from God? 

Finally, the passage ends with ‘To God be all praise and glory!’ 

These are the sentiments that Paul has been trying to express, with the limits of language he has tried to convey his feelings of love for God - the God who gives us everything, loves us, forgives us, and blesses us in every way. I’d invite you to pray to God this day, ‘To God be all praise and glory!’ and thank him for every single blessing we have.

Have a read through again of today’s passage, maybe try to write your own expression of praise. Try writing it like Paul has, without punctuation, without pause, just let the words flow, let your praise pour forth in thanksgiving of the grace that we receive, which pours forth from our great, gracious and loving God. Amen. 

Prayers of Intercession 

Lord God, we pray that our lives may be upright and holy; that our church communities shine with goodness and love, humility and truth. We pray that all are strengthened through your merciful forgiveness. 

Holy God, scatter all darkness and bathe our world in light. 

Lord God, we pray that many may be empowered to recognise evil and fight against it. To discern your warnings and speak them out. To notice the sparks of love and goodness and celebrate them. 

Holy God, scatter all darkness and bathe our world in your light. 

Lord God we pray that our households and neighbourhoods, our places of work and leisure, may be arenas of praise and thankfulness. 

Not only in comfortable times but in disturbed and difficult times. 

Holy God, scatter all darkness and bathe our world in light. 

Lord God, we pray for those in prison for those leading cruel and violent lives. For all victims of oppression or abuse. For all who suffer mental anguish of physical pain. 

Holy God, scatter all darkness and bathe our world in your light. 

Lord God we pray for those who have died, that they, and we in our turn, may be given merciful judgment through Jesus our Saviour and brought into the unquenchable light of heaven. 

Holy God, scatter all darkness and bathe our world in light. 

Lord God, we pray for our families and friends, for those ill, grieving, lonely or struggling with life at the moment, and we ask for your love to surround them. 

Merciful Father, accept these prayers. through your son, Our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen. 

The Lord’s Prayer 

Our final hymn SoF 21 And can it be that I should gain

Blessing 

May you know the love of God, the presence of Christ and the strength of the Holy Spirit and be surrounded by peace and joy. 

Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ.
Amen. 

Sunday 4th July 2021

 BURTON JOYCE 

COMMUNITY CHURCH

Sunday 4th July 2021 

Prepared by Phil Colbourn. 

Hymns in Songs of Fellowship (SoF) 

Call to worship Psalm 48 

SoF 1483: One more step along the world I go 

Opening prayer 

Lord, our God, we bless you with our whole heart. You are above all joy, above all peace, above and beyond all love. All goodness comes together in you and we praise your name. We thank and adore you. Hear us as we pray. Speak to us. Be with us. In Jesus name, Amen

Let’s share the prayer Jesus taught us: Our Father …

Bible reading 2 Corinthians 12:9 

SoF 533: The King of love my shepherd is 

Reflection Troubled times

If you are an American, today is Independence Day.

On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution that "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, ..." 

The Declaration of Independence was approved on 4^th July 1776.

Those were troubled times. There was a war on. And in some ways the readings set for today from both the Old and New Testaments reflect the same kinds of dis-ease and disturbance. 

In 2 Samuel 5, David is embroiled in the anarchy following the death of Saul. He tries to establish a new way of doing things (a “new normal”) but people go on doing things in the same bad old way.

In Mark 6 Jesus visits his home town and gets a dusty reception. So, he “shakes the dust off his feet” and redoubles his efforts elsewhere.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells a story of a vision someone had (most likely Paul himself) and shares about some of his personal troubles. He has, he says, “a thorn in the flesh” but one thing overrides all the difficulty: (verse 9) God says “My grace is sufficient for you”.

I don’t know how many of us have visions but I’m sure we all have “thorns in the flesh”, those physical ailments that inhibit or hurt us. Things don’t always go our way. People misunderstand us and we often mistake God’s intentions. Trouble and grief come.

We all need to hear God say: “My grace is sufficient for you.”

I’m reminded of the vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 where, by the river of grace that flows from the “throne” of God, are trees whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. Both David in his day and Jesus, the Son of David, introduce a “new normal” or a “new, and better, different”. Perhaps we can catch something of the vision; see something of God’s new, and different, Kin-dom. Amen.

Hymn SoF 120: From heaven you came 

 

Intercession

Father, we pray for those in need.

For those on our minds and in our hearts.

For our neighbourhood and local community.

For those in positions of power and responsibility.

For those who live out your grace in humble obedience.

For ourselves, that we may take the next step along the way. 

Silence 

Hear our prayers for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Hymn SoF 297: Jesus, lover of my soul

Closing prayers

Thank you, Father, for your love that, in Jesus, brings in your new way of doing things. Thank you for the grace which is sufficient and more than sufficient. May we catch and live in your vision. Amen.

Blessing 

The blessing of God, who makes all things new and gives grace upon grace and love beyond love, be upon you and remain with you, and with all you love, this day and all the days of your life. Amen.