BURTON JOYCE
COMMUNITY CHURCH
with Nottingham North East Circuit, Methodist Church
SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER 2021
Prepared by Colin Wignall, adapted by Phil Colbourn
Hymns Songs of Fellowship (SoF)
Opening words: PSALM 34:8&9
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, for those who fear him lack nothing.
1st Hymn SoF 147: Great is Thy Faithfulness
Prayers:
God of unimaginable love, we give you thanks and praise -
For the love that welcomes the unlovely,
for the love that pardons the unworthy,
for the love that knows no limit,
we give you thanks and praise.
In the love that inspires our worship,
in the love of which we would learn more,
in the love we share in our caring,
we give you thanks and praise.
As your love in us serves our neighbour,
as your love tells its story through us,
as your love calls us your people,
we give you thanks and praise
God the rock
God our rock, hold us in this chaos.
Christ our king, calm us in this storm.
Holy Spirit, intercede for us.
Be merciful, God of Grace.
Be our rock,
Hold us in the chaos of this hard hour.
Be our Light
Calm us in the midst of distressing storms.
Be our calm
Intervene, and intercede.
We need you now, most merciful God. Amen
2nd Hymn: SoF 415 O God, our help in ages past
1st Reading: Amos 5:21-24
Prayer: Where is our Faithfulness?
Father, we confess our shortcomings: thoughts, actions, deeds which have not reflected your love
All: Jesus, Lord of Love have mercy on us
Father, our lives are often too busy that we are not still: we spend so little time with others. Forgive our self-importance.
All: Jesus, Lord of Love have mercy on us
Father, in a world that needs to know your love forgive us when impatience, tiredness, selfishness or insensitivity make it difficult for others to see your love through our lives
All: Jesus, Servant of all have mercy on us
In silence, let us consider the needs of friends and families; the tensions, the harsh words spoken in haste, the good deed not done, the love not shown.
(Silence)
Let us also think about the needs of the Church around the world.
(Silence)
Father teach us to be faithful
All: God of family, God of Love, forgive us for those times when we have forgotten how much we are loved by you, and our role in your family. Forgive us when we take family for granted Amen
2nd Reading: Mark 10:46-52
Sermon: Compassion with Integrity
Read Mark 6:32-34
Compassion
Commitment
Consideration
How often do you get home at the end of a busy day and think I’d like just to sit down and have some time to myself? Maybe the day has been hectic, you’ve been wound up by things around you. There might not be the opportunity at that point but it is good to ensure that at some point we do rest. That is taking care of ourselves.
Jesus recognised this which is why he took the disciples off to have some time out of the fast lane. He knew that they could not just keep on going, going, going. He knew they didn’t run on Duracell batteries even though they had to be ever-ready. We don’t need to beat ourselves up when we cannot take on endless responsibilities. Yes, we are called to show compassion but that needs to begin with ourselves. Self-awareness enables us to know when to stop and take a rest so that we don’t end up feeling that it’s something else that we have not managed.
Elijah had had a stressful time so angels took care of him (read about it in 1 Kings chapters 18/19) God did not demand more prayer or action but just let him ‘be’. Let’s not pretend to be superhuman but let’s be aware of God’s love and compassion. When it says “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) remember that if we can’t love ourselves then we’ll make a poor show of loving others. We are called to love our neighbour (hospitality or food provision) but showing ourselves love can be more difficult.
In Mark 10, we read about Bartimaeus. He knew what Jesus was capable of so he cried out despite those around him telling him to be quiet. Jesus responded with compassion as he had in Mark 6 with crowds following them when they got away for rest.
However long or brief our time apart is we can rely on God to give us the energy to respond to each challenge with compassion. That is our commitment. Let’s think about situations which show commitment.
Often Fire Fighters are needed to respond to a series of situations during the day but they need to return to base after each time to get refreshed. Like them, we can be ready to respond to whatever happens because we are refreshed by spending time with God. A strong base of prayer, self-knowledge and compassion enables generosity of spirit. If we care for ourselves then we’ll be able to be hospitable and generous to those around us. That is our commitment because our compassion is balanced and renewed by time spent with God.
As we learn more about our faith, we are enabled by the Spirit to do greater things. Let’s be aware of the places and possibilities for practising generosity for showing hospitality.
Having learned how to care for ourselves we will be more able to take care of others then our actions will speak louder than our words.
3rd Hymn SoF 1346 In Christ alone, my hope is found
Prayers: Compassion
Lord we know that nothing escapes your attention but sometimes we close our minds, eyes and ears
• To mangled bodies of the victims of warfare;
• To swollen bellies and stick like limbs of the unfed;
• To babies whimpering at empty breasts;
• To bereaved folk gathered around an open grave;
• To the complicated issues of aid and intervention:
Teach us to respond with compassion. Open our minds, eyes and ears to such suffering that our response might be generous
We pray for a suffering world:
Where there is war: we pray for peace
Where there is fear: we pray for reassurance
Where there is injustice: we pray for fairness
Where there is sickness: we pray for healing
Where there is inequality: we pray for justice
We pray for people in this country, in countries far away, people we know and those known only to God.
We pray for those we know, who have lost loved ones and have not been with them at the end.
We pray for people whom we know who are suffering Amen
4th Hymn SoF 1237 Forth in Thy Name O Lord I Go
Blessing
Draw aside with God. Go out into the world with God. And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be upon you now and at all times and in all places throughout the coming days. Amen
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