Sunday service for 9th August

 Sunday service for 9th August

BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Working with Nottingham North East Circuit of the Methodist Church 

Sunday 9 August 2020 

This short act of worship has been prepared by local preacher Phil Colbourn 

Loving God, we come to you here in our homes but together in spirit, and greet you with adoration and thanks for your love. Amen

Psalm 105 tells the story of the people of God & their escape from Egypt

Oh, give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; 

make known his deeds among the peoples! Hallelujah!

We sing (Songs of Fellowship 895) Lord, I come to you

Prayers 

Lord, we come to you knowing our own frailty but also your glory

We grieve over the state of our world and our own shortcomings but we rejoice in your loving-kindness and your faithfulness and thank you for your love. We rejoice in your eternal goodness and once again we praise you: Creator, Almighty, Father, Lord of life. Amen

Confession 

Lord, when we see ourselves in the light of your love, we can see how much we lack that love ourselves. Forgive us. Renew us & remake us, so that we are kind &full of compassion. We are so gratefuil that you do not abandon us but search us out & lift us up & bring us home. Amen

Reading
Genesis 37, 1-4, 12-28

Joseph’s brothers sell him to Midianite traders who take him to Egypt.

Hymn (Songs of Fellowship 89) Faithful One

Reflection 

Joseph was a dream child. Rachel’s boy. Jacob’s favourite. Joseph was a dreamer and his father loved him: Joseph, and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. But Joseph really got on people’s nerves. So annoying! Which view of Joseph is correct? Did the sun shine out of him or was he a pest?

Think about Jesus. He never puts a foot wrong. He knows better than anyone else, even his elders and betters; at the age of twelve! He must have been *so* annoying! He could even walk on water! 

But God says: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” You can almost hear Jacob saying the same to Joseph. So, who is right? And if God is right, what is the matter with everybody else - Joseph’s brothers and the scribes & Pharisees, the High Priest & the rest who were annoyed by Jesus?

Perhaps, when all is said and done, God can be a very annoying person.

Perhaps we find it all too threatening? God can disturb our sense of who we think we are, undermine our basic assumptions, and challenge our rights & privileges. So, we say to God: “We are who we are. Don’t mess with us.” But God says to us: “I am who I am.”

Joseph comes to his brothers, wearing his coat, his head full of dreams and they get rid of him. Jesus comes, walking on water, stilling the storm. What do we do? Let’s leap out of the boat like Peter and go to Jesus, sink if we have to, but welcome Christ with open arms. He is Lord, the Lord Almighty. God comes to us trailing clouds of glory. God, this God, is our eternal home. 

Take time to be still for a moment 

We sing (Songs of Fellowship 1030) The Lord’s my shepherd

Intercession 

Annoying and Redeeming God, help us.

Your love is eternal, your joy all embracing.

Your peace is a healing touch.

Generous God, we pray for the exploited and powerless.

For good government and for people who care. 

For the sick and the bereaved. For families in difficult circumstances.

Finally, we pray for each other and our own needs. Amen. 

Together we pray the Lord’s Prayer 

(Songs of Fellowship 192) How lovely on the mountains (Our God reigns)

We bless one another 

God of Jacob and Joseph, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, go with us; comfort and strengthen us on the way, in trouble and in joy;

and may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

be with us and remain with us now, today, and every day. Amen. 

Sunday service for 2nd August

Sunday service for 2nd August 

BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Service for Sunday 2^nd August 2020

This short act of worship has been prepared by Deacon Helen Snowball.  Spend a few moments with God, knowing that other people are sharing this act of worship with you

Our first hymn is from SoF 377 Love Divine, all loves excelling

Time for some prayers͙: Gracious and Loving God, We praise your name, for all your blessings to us, for your grace and mercy. The world is your creation, and all that is in it. For rushing streams, majestic mountains, and crashing seas, we give you thanks.  For all the creatures and birds, the flowers and trees, we give you thanks. For all the times you have guided us, loved us when we have not been worthy, nurtured us when we have been hurt, we give you thanks. When we fail, we let ourselves and you down. When we speak words that do not honour you, we are sorry. When we do not speak out against injustice, we are sorry.  When we do not put you at the centre of our lives, we are sorry.  Because of your love for us, we can be confident of your forgiveness.  We are loved and cherished by you, and we give you thanks that we are washed clean, and able to begin afresh. Thank you, for your gracious, pure and ceaseless love.  Amen.

Our reading is from the gospel of John 6, 1-15

Reflection: It’s not always good to share – if you‘ve got germs, keep them to yourself!  Bad news, about redundancy or closures is something we don’t want to share either!   Mostly, though, it is good to share, things like good news, sweets, chocolate - and the young boy that the disciple Andrew had found knew that. He saw a need.  He didn’t have much, but the very least he could do was share what he had with Jesus. Picture this: we know there are 5000 men here, but women and children are not counted. So we can probably double the figure to 10,000 at the very least. Imagine Jesus sitting quietly with his friends when this huge crowd of people comes towards him. Imagine that view coming towards you, like a wave of people – young men, old men, women and children, fishermen, bakers, carpenters.  Perhaps a few will be wealthy, but most will be poor.  Maybe some are ill and hoping for healing. There is now a small football stadium sized crowd of people approaching Jesus, but he doesn’t turn them away. As usual, he has compassion for them. 

There is a need for food, everyone is hungry, so Jesus tells the disciples:  feed them!  Philip is from the area, he knows that there isn’t a Sainsbury’s nearby, and anyway it would take six month’s wages to feed this crowd. He feels the situation is hopeless, thinking logically, thinking only of what he himself can do.  Andrew is a little more proactive. He comes across the youth somehow, and he takes him to Jesus. Andrew can’t fix it, but he knows a man who can!  Only the evangelist John mentions the boy, clearly like his using of the disciples names he felt it was a significant detail. This miracle could not have happened without Andrew and the boy.

Perhaps John thought the significance of the boy was the fact that he gave up all he had, or that Andrew introduced him to Christ. Without knowing what Jesus would do, the boy willingly goes with Andrew, with his lunch at the ready. We know that this large crowd has followed Jesus because of the miracles and healings they have seen, but I doubt anyone thought much could be done to feed this crowd with five loaves and two fish. Still, he goes to Jesus. Handing his food over, I wonder if he said “It’s not much, but you can have it, it’s all I have”.   How often do we say that to God?  It’s all that I have - giving everything we have over to him and trusting that we can do what is needed.  Perhaps we assume that, even with God, we are inadequate, we’re not enough. Do our feelings of inadequacy prevent us from acting?  Perhaps we don’t trust God enough to get us through difficult situations.  If God has asked us to do something, he must think we can actually do it.

We must never think that what we have is not enough for him to use.  Whatever we have, gifts, time, best intentions, give them to Christ - he’ll know how best to use them.  He’ll know how we can be used to help others to share his Good News and our resources. . God has always known what he wants from us - and he has always known what we can do.  He would never expect more from us than we can deliver.

Whatever little you may think you may have, hand it to Christ, and he will do remarkable things with it.  Amen.

Let’s sing number 72 from SoF, Come let us sing of a wonderful love

Prayers of Intercession:  

We pray for all those affected by Covid 19;  we pray for NHS and key workers.  

We pray for Governments and world leaders.

We pray for the sick and for the bereaved.  

We pray for our friends and our families, near and far.                     

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Our final hymn is SoF 457  O worship the Lord

Blessing

May you always know the blessings of God in your life.   May you feel his loving presence surrounding you and yours.  May you always feel the light of Christ in your heart.    Amen             

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

 

A Short Service for Sunday 12th July 2020

A Short Service for Sunday 12th July 2020

BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

Sunday 12 July 2020                                                    

working with Nottingham North East Circuit of the Methodist Church

This short act of worship has been adapted from one prepared by Deacon Helen Snowball for you to use at home. Spend a few moments with God, knowing that other people are sharing this act of worship with you 

Let us pray:

Creator God, we come in adoration to worship & praise you. God of love & wisdom, although we are apart, we are together in our love of you. Amen. 

Psalm 119 v 105-112 

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path … 

111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; the joy of my heart. 

112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. 

Songs of Fellowship 51 Breathe on me, Breath of God

Prayers 

We lift our hearts in worship to you, Lord, and bless your Holy name.

Your Word lights our way across the rough & stony ground. 

We reach out for your hand. 

Lead us to firmer ground where we can rest in safety. Amen

Lord, we are truly blessed: 

Set us free in Christ to live life in all its fullness. Amen

Reading: Romans 8 v 1-11
1 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus … 

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 

Reflection

There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Being in Christ is like being in a team - Team Christ! - and that brings with it a certain amount of responsibility. A team works together for the benefit of everyone and, in Christ, that means everyone not just our Christian friends. But you’ve done that, haven’t you? You’ve all been looking after each other, phoning each other, checking; supporting, as far as you can, people in need. 

Teresa of Avila said: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, the feet, the eyes; you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” 

This means that, together, we are to be as Christ on earth. It’s a tough ask, but we have his Spirit to help. Paul writes that those in Christ walk in the Spirit. The Spirit guides, leads and encourages us. The Spirit of Christ is alive in us. This is the way to live a good life, a Team Christ life.

 

I’m not sure I always live by the Spirit. No condemnation doesn’t mean we never do anything wrong. I know I fail when I think I can do it all on my own, or I’m in a bad mood, feeling selfish or just thoughtless. But Christ doesn’t give up on us and leave. Christ stays with us: abiding in us, renewing us and filling us to overflowing; strengthening, nurturing & guiding. When we feel tired or alone, we can be renewed and strengthened when we seek Christ because his Spirit is with us; he is for us, and he will always help us. 

 

Being under no condemnation, we know comfort & courage: we have comfort to share & courage to speak out; courage to live by what we believe & to stand up for what is right, as Jesus did. We are Christ’s hands and feet. Is there something he wants us to do or say, or to be thinking about? Are we ready to act as Christ here & now, in Nottingham? 

We’re all God’s got! Amen

Songs of Fellowship 21 And can it be

My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine ...

Prayers of Intercession 

We pray for family and friends and for all key workers.
We pray for people with no food or clean water & people in war zones.
We pray for the lonely, afraid or depressed and, finally, for ourselves. 

Lord’s Prayer 

Songs of Fellowship 1555 The Spirit lives to set us free

Walk, walk in the light.

Blessing

May the God of eternity surround you.
May his Son, Christ Jesus, live in your heart
May the Spirit of God guide you and give you strength
May the peace of our Triune God comfort you now and evermore. Amen. 

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

 

Phil Colbourn / Deacon Helen Snowball 

Easter reflection

Easter Reflection

Here is a helpful reflection from the Church of England in their Easter Pilgrim series of daily reflections, which is on the theme of last Sunday's service

The Bread of Life

 You can listen to, or read, the reflection HERE

A short service for Palm Sunday

A short service for Palm Sunday

Sunday 5th April 2020
(Hymn numbers refer to Songs of Fellowship) 

Psalm 118
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures for ever.

Hymn 485 Ride on, ride on in majesty 
(or 627 Hosanna to the Son of David)

Pray
Gracious God,
Your love endures forever.
Whatever happens, you are always right here for us, close at hand, within calling distance.
Thank you 

Read Matthew 21, v1-11
Jesus rides into Jerusalem

This story puts me in mind of two distinct groups of people.
They are Extinction Rebellion (XR) and the NHS volunteers in this covid-19 crisis.

1. Like NHS volunteers and staff, Jesus makes a selfless, eyes-wide-open, courageous, self-sacrificial choice. Despite the risk, he goes.
2. If you think the XR folk are radical and extreme, they have nothing on this story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. It is an action aimed at changing the world. And it does.

When danger threatens, do I run away or go to help? I'm in awe of people like the White Helmets rescuers in Syria and Medicins sans Frontieres, and RNLI lifeboat crew.

Reflect  
Take a moment to reflect on today's reading in Matthew 21. What is Jesus doing?

Pray
Lord Jesus, you went all the way for us. It is difficult to take in. So often we fail because our love does not stretch far enough! Forgive us. Thank you for your love and understanding, your forgiveness and your patience

Pray for:
people and governments
communities, families and friends
God's people here and all around the world

Hymn 411 O for a heart to praise my God

In conclusion, let's share together in the Lord's Prayer
(You can find the Lord's Prayer on the Virtual Church page of this website)  

Jesus says: I Am the Light

Jesus says: I am the light of the world

What did he mean?
In what sense is Jesus the Light of the World?

These questions take us to the heart of the Christian message. 

On one level it is very simple: If you are in the dark, switch the light on. 

As the days draw in at this time of the year, I find myself reaching for the light switch earlier and earlier in the day. When I go out in the car, the lights come on automatically. To speak of light presumes darkness. 

Jesus recognises that we often find ourselves in the dark or, at least, we feel as though we are in the dark. Often we don't know what to do for the best. We blunder around 'in the dark' making things worse rather than better. 

Into this 'dark', Jesus comes as 'the light'. 

Reach out for the switch: Let there be light!

Light, of course, shows things up. It shows how things are. This can be uncomfortable, even embarrassing and it is probably one of the reasons we avoid getting too close. If Jesus shows us up for what we are and shows what a mess we've made of things, we don't want to know.

Don't worry. He knows. He wants to help. 

Turning on the light is the first step in clearing up the mess and it is good to have someone helping who knows what they're about. The good news is that God knows what life is like and wants to help. It really is as simple as that.

Reach out.

And ... Light!

A prayer

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world
Shine in our lives
Help us clear up the mess
And keep on shining and keep on helping
Keep us close to you
Stay close to us now and every day. Amen

The Ghost of Christmas Past

So, that's it; done and dusted for another year. Take down the lights and put the decorations away in the attic, dispose of the tree. Now, it's just the long, dark haul to Easter and Spring.

But, hey! Not so fast. Today is Epiphany, the day the Wise Men came to Jesus. It is not quite all over yet. 

Why did they come? Because they saw the star in the east and, travelling west following the star, they came eventually to the place where Jesus was, as the Good Book says.

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.   TS Eliot. The Journey of the Magi

And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect

Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.    UA Fanthorpe. BC - AD

That's it: 'straight into the kingdom of heaven'. The Wise Men came to see Jesus and they were changed for ever. 

It can be the same for us. 

Here's the secret: keep Christmas inside you, store it up where nobody else can see, put it in the attic of your heart and - this is the paradox - everybody will know, everybody will see, because your live will be changed for ever from within, imperceptively, unmistakably. That's what the kingdom of heaven does for you. Remember Scrooge?

"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?" asked Scrooge.
"I am."
The voice was soft and gentle. Singularly low, as if instead of being so close beside him, it were at a distance.
"Who, and what are you?" Scrooge demanded.
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Long Past?" inquired Scrooge: observant of its dwarfish stature.
"No. Your past."

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany. Come to Jesus with the Magi. Be changed.

 You can find more about Epiphany here and here

Advent

It is Advent

Traditionally, today, 1st December, is the day we open the first door on the Advent Calendar. What is behind the first door? These days it is probably a chocolate, which is OK. Chocolate is good. But it's not the whole story. In fact, it's not the story at all.

The story of Advent is about waiting, looking forward, expecting, hoping.

• Waiting for God to come into our lives 
• Looking forward to seeing things put right
• Expecting something wonderful
• Hoping for something good

 And of course, ultimately, we are waiting, hoping and looking forward to Christmas. 

Christmas is a celebration of all the above. It all happened when Jesus came. 

He came that first time as a tiny baby, of course, but he still comes to those who wait and hope. He comes as a friend and he comes as someone who understands.

In the Old Testament, Isaiah says:

A shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse
and, from that rootstock, a branch will grow and bear fruit. 

The picture is of a vine in a vineyard. It has been pruned hard but when the time is right - in the spring or after the first rains - it will start to grow again and, in time, it will bear fruit and, in time, those grapes will yield juice and wine.

The "stump of Jesse" is Jesus. 

Jesus says: I am the vine. You are the branches

That is worth waiting for and we can experience it, every day, in our own lives