Sunday 1st August 202

 BURTON JOYCE 

COMMUNITY CHURCH

with Nottingham North East Circuit

Sunday 1 August 2021 

Welcome to today’s act of worship, prepared by Deacon Jenny Jones. It is part of a series based on a new resource A Methodist Way of Life which we hope you find helpful even if you are not a Methodist. Hymns: Songs of Fellowship (SoF)

Let us start with a moment of silence, stilling our minds and bodies, to listen for the small, quiet voice of God speaking into our hearts. 

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts 

The whole earth is full of God’s glory 

Let’s sing SoF 183 

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty

Today, I am using short pieces from the Psalms as our prayers. 

Let us pray

Loving Lord, teach me according to your constant love, and teach me your commands. I am your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know your teachings. Amen. [Psalm 119: 124-125] 

You have done many things for us, O Lord our God; there is no one like you! You have many wonderful plans for us. Amen. [40: 5] 

I pray to you, O Lord. You hear my voice in the morning. At sunrise I offer my prayer and wait for your answer. Amen [5: 3] 

To start this series on The Methodist Way of Life, we are going to explore the Worship section which involves three commitments: 

As far as we are able, with God’s help: 

1.   we will pray daily 

2.   we will worship with others regularly 

3.   we will look and listen for God in Scripture, and the world. 

The first one asks us to pray daily. We breathe in and out all day long. Without breathing we cannot live. Prayer similarly is an essential, involuntary, part of daily life. It is an unburdening. It is about being in God’s presence and being open to his calling. 

Read Proverbs 8:32-36 

These words tell us about the happiness we find listening, watching and waiting daily for God. Prayer is not about a formal set of words in a particular place. It is for the tough times as well as the good times. Jesus turned to God when times were hard. He tells us to pray ‘Give us each day’, to go back daily to ask for the things we need.

Prayer invites us to lay down our burdens and to ask for help. It is an opportunity to be in God’s presence and to receive his love and to show our love as we listen to God. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out; again and again. Imagine prayer being that instinctive.

I thank you, O Lord, among the nations. I will praise you among the peoples. Your constant love reaches the heavens; your faithfulness touches the skies. Show your greatness in the sky, O God and your glory over all the earth. Amen. Psalm 57:9 

Let us sing SoF 1067 

To be in your presence (This is my desire)

Our second commitment is to worship with others regularly. 

O Lord, I will always sing of your constant love; I will proclaim your faithfulness for ever. I know that your love will last for all time, that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.Amen [89: 1-2] 

Read Colossians 3:15-17 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts 

What is worship? There are so many different styles of worship in different churches around the world. Some are short acts of worship; others much longer. Some say worship of God is a private matter, but our commitment here is to worship God with others regularly. Each part of that commitment is important: 

·  to worship 

·  with others 

·  regularly 

Worship is about bringing God our adoration and praise for the truth revealed to us in Jesus Christ and made real for us by the Holy Spirit. It is about being transformed by the grace and power of God. Wherever we go to worship, God is there before us and whatever group of Christians we join is there by the grace of Jesus Christ who has called them to be his disciples. We follow the example of Christians who from the time of the early church have found fellowship and God’s blessing when they come together in praise. 

The pandemic has brought home to us how important worshipping with others is in sustaining our faith journey. We have missed the familiar routine but we have also recognised how many of those in our churches who because of health issues, work commitments or other reasons cannot attend church regularly. Let’s think creatively about how we might use new patterns of worship so that we can together fulfil this commitment to praise God with other regularly. 

Worship includes all of our devotions – prayer, scripture, interaction with others, our response and how we take our worship beyond our church buildings. Scripture reminds us that we are not alone: ‘All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name’ (Psalm 66: 4) and at college the back of the chapel door reminded us that ‘You are now entering a place of worship’ as you left the building! It is in our togetherness that we flourish.

Read Romans 12: 4-5 For, as in one body, we have many members

As a member of the Methodist Diaconal Order, I am expected to live by a Rule of Life, which is not that different from The Methodist Way of Life. At first, I was not drawn to what I thought of as a set of rules but, as I have lived with them now for 14 years, I have appreciated that they give me freedom and strong foundations on which to live my life and journey with God. I have learned to love them. The rhythms of prayer, worship, scripture, service, rest and learning allow for a re-balancing of the demands of our lives in the world.

This ties into the third commitment: 

We will look and listen for God in Scripture, and in the world.

Some of us find God more easily in the beauty of creation; others find God more easily through Scripture. When we read the Bible, we want to encounter God and be transformed as in Isaiah 55 (do look it up). Can we seek God in the Bible and the world in the way shown in Isaiah’s vision? Bible study can be a joy and each one of us will have wildly different experiences of encountering God. The Bible is a library of stories of people’s encounters with God. By reading them and understanding their context helps us look for God in the world. So often we forget to look for God in unexpected places. 

Reading the Scriptures helps us to understand how God works in the lives of people. God calls the most unexpected people to do his work. The Bible is the Living Word because, despite being ancient texts, the encounters show us the way to meet God in our lives today. Amen

Let’s sing this lovely hymn by Frances Ridley Havergal 

[Hymns & Psalms 553; Rejoice & Sing 613]

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of your tone.
As you have sought, so let me seek
Your erring children, lost and lone.

Oh, lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wand'ring and the wav'ring feet.
Oh, feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Your hungry ones with manna sweet.

Oh, teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious truths which you impart.
And wing my words that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.

Oh, fill me with your fullness, Lord,
Until my very hearts o'erflows
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Your love to tell, your praise to show.

Oh, use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as you will, and when, and where
Until your blessed face I see,
Your rest, your joy, your glory share.

We pray

Teach me what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully. Teach me to serve you with complete devotion. Amen [86: 11] 

Your constant love is better than life itself, and so I will praise you.
I will give you thanks as long as I live; I will raise my hands to you in prayer. My soul will feast and be satisfied, and I will sing glad songs of praise to you. Amen [63: 3-5]

Blessing

May the Lord bless you this week and forevermore. Amen