Sunday 11th October 2020

Sunday 11th October 2020

BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

A short service for use at home: 

Sunday 11th October 2020 

The hymns are chosen mostly from the church hymnbook 

Songs of Fellowship 

If you don't have a copy of the hymnbook at home, you can often find a video of the hymn on Youtube with the words displayed on video. Also, you can find the Bible readings online at several websites. Search for the specific chapter and verse (e.g. Exodus16, 1-15)

Prepared for Burton Joyce Community Church by Phil Colbourn. Prayers adapted from the Iona Abbey Worship Book. Spend a short time with God as we share in this time of worship. 

WELCOME

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 597. 

When morning gilds the skies

PRAYER AND PRAISE

Thanks be to you, O Christ, 

for the many gifts you have bestowed upon us

Each day & each night, each sea & land, 

each weather fair, each calm, each wild

Each day we remember your mercy. 

Each day we praise your name.

Everything we have comes from you. 

Each day we glory in your grace. Amen

CONFESSION

Creator of the cosmos, of eternity and time: 

Be with us in these times

Saviour of the world, healer of the nations: 

Be with us in these our places

Forgive us our neglect and abuse of your precious world

Breath of all living things: 

Breathe into us your life, your love & mercy. Amen

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 804. 

I lift my eyes

READING: GENESIS 1: 6-25

Climate & biodiversity

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 208. 

If I were a butterfly

REFLECTION

Last week was the beginning, Day 0ne in the Genesis story, and this week, we watch as the earth is formed, clothed and populated: Days Two to Five. On Day Two, the atmosphere gathers and the hydrological cycle kick-starts the climate. Plants begin to grow on Day Three and on Day Four (in an apparent diversion) the Cosmos comes into view before, finally, on Day Five, animals appear. 

I have been working on a website for the Climate Action & Biodiversity Group. You may remember how the group started after a talk on Extinction Rebellion at the church back in January. We had one meeting in February before Coronavirus struck. But the issues have not gone away. The Climate is in disarray because of all the carbon dioxide we release from our industrialised society. Wildlife is threatened by the continual clearance of forests and the loss of wild places. Even here in Burton Joyce we farm, build and mow, and places for the riches of God’s good creation diminish and disappear. What can we do? In Christ, God is rebooting creation and as Christians, we are involved. We have a responsibility as representatives of God’s new creation. Hope for the planet rests with us. 

It is our calling to live as God’s people in God’s world, a world remade, rescued and restored. Creation is longing for the children of God to stand up and be counted (Romans 8) but what does this mean in practice? How do we live now? 

The rich diversity of the earth and its intricate balance is our testimony. Look at the lilies of the field. Look at the sparrows. These tell us all we need to know. So, let’s do all we can to celebrate & honour God’s world in our everyday lives.

Why does the cosmos only appear on Day Four? Perhaps it is because those plants, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, have cleared the air sufficiently for the stars and planets now to be seen for the first time. Amen.

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 645. 

All creatures of our God and king

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS 

O Christ of the distant star and the running stream:

Kindle within our hearts 

a flame of love for neighbour, foe and friend

O Christ of the poor: 

Kindle within our hearts a flame of love …

O Christ of the forest floor and the ocean shore: 

Kindle within …

O Christ of the tree and flower, insect and elephant: 

Kindle …

O Christ of the hurt and weary, the weak and wounded: 

Kindle …

There is no star, no stream, no flower 

that does not proclaim your glory

O Christ, Word, Light, Life, Love and Joy, 

lend us your creative power

May truth & love lead us together 

in harmony and peace. Amen

We say The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father 

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 112. 

For the beauty of the earth

CLOSING PRAYERS 

The deep peace of the running wave and the deep peace of the flowing air, the deep peace of the quiet earth and the shining stars, the deep peace of tree and bird, the deep peace of the Son of Peace be with you now and always. Amen

And may the blessing of our God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon us,remain with us & keep all we love & long for, now, this day and for ever. Amen. 

 

Alternative worship

Alternative worship

Just a reminder that there are plenty of alternatives online when it comes to worship during a pandemic. We may not be able to meet in the church building but, virtually, we can join up with people when ever we want to both local and national and, for that matter, international. Online, we can go anywhere in the world.

Here are some suggestions.

Local

Methodist Circuit 

On Facebook: “Nottingham North East Circuit”

On YouTube: “Nottingham North East Circuit”

https://www.nnemethodist.org.uk/

To listen to the latest service on the phone, see below*

URC Synod

On Facebook: “URC East Midlands Synod”

https://www.urc5.org.uk/

St Andrews with Castlegate, Nottingham

St Helen’s, Burton Joyce, Reverend Anna Alls

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RevdAnna/videos/

https://www.facebook.com/RevdAnna/

Southwell Minster

https://www.southwellminster.org/theme/worship-online/

National

Online resources 

There are many excellent collections, for example:

• All Souls, Langham Place: YouTube, Facebook  
• https://www.allsouls.org/
• St Martins in the Field: 
• https://stmartins.digital/
• Central Hall, Westminster: 
• https://methodist-central-hall.org.uk/

(But note, other churches are available!)

* Nottingham North East Methodist Circuit phone-in services

 

Worship & services for October 2020

 Worship & services for October 2020

Burton Joyce Community Church

Worship & prayer while the church building is closed

BBC Radio 

Daily Service: Radio 4 at 9.45am only on LW / DAB / internet (NOT on FM)

Sunday worship: Radio 4 at 8.10am on Sunday morning on FM / DAB / internet

Choral evensong: Radio 3, Wednesday at 3.30pm, repeated Sunday at 3pm

BBC television 

Songs of Praise: BBC1 at 1.15pm* on Sunday afternoon (*times vary)

Methodist Circuit 

On Facebook: “Nottingham North East Circuit”

Webpage: “Nottingham North East Circuit”

URC Synod

On Facebook: “URC East Midlands Synod”

St Helen’s, Burton Joyce, Reverend Anna Alls

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RevdAnna/videos/

Online resources There are many excellent collections, for example:

All Souls, Langham Place: YouTube, Facebook & https://www.allsouls.org/

St Martins in the Field: https://stmartins.digital/

Central Hall, Westminster: https://methodist-central-hall.org.uk/

 

Sunday worship for BJCC for October 2020

During October we are celebrating "Creation-tide"

Date in October	Bible reading	Topic	Songs of Fellowship	One of the hymns from the service
4	Genesis 1  1-5	Creation	1200	Christ whose glory fills the skies
11	Genesis 1 6-25	Climate & Biodiversity	597	When morning gilds the skies
18	Deuteronomy 16, 9-17	Harvest	75	Come, ye thankful people, come
25	Genesis 9 8-19	One World Week	122	From the sun’s rising

 

Harvest Thanksgiving

Harvest Thanksgiving

We celebrate Harvest Festival this year on Sunday 18th October 2020. 

Of course, we will not be in the church building but we can all create our own harvest table at home and we can all make donations to the charities we support. 

There is more information about the charities & making donations on the Monthly News page

The five charities we are supporting at harvest this year are:

Emmanuel House - Homeless support, Nottingham

The Friary - Homeless support, West Bridgford

Framework - Homeless, street support & housing, Nottingham

Water Aid - International development

All We Can - International development

 

It's October! Service for Sunday 4th October 2020

It's October! 

Service for Sunday 4th October 2020 

BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

A short service for use at home: Sunday 4th October 2020 

Prepared for Burton Joyce Community Church by Phil Colbourn. Prayers adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book. Spend a  short time with God as we share in this time of worship together. 

WELCOME

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 234. 

Immortal, invisible, God only wise

PRAYER AND PRAISE

Let all creation bless the Lord: Praise & exalt our God for ever

Bless the Lord, you heavens: Praise & exalt our God for ever

Bless the Lord, all dwellers on the earth: Praise & exalt our God for ever

Bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord: Praise & exalt our God for ever. Amen

CONFESSION

God of all mercy, in that we have sinned and fallen short of your glory,

Both in our dealings with others and our dealings with you,

In what we have done and in what we have failed to do,

Forgive us all that is past and raise us to new life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 821. 

Into the darkness

READING: GENESIS 1: 1-5

Creation

REFLECTION

In one sense, Creation is just the beginning. But in another, it is everything! Many churches keep “Creation-tide” in September but keeping Creation-tide this month fits with our Harvest Festival which we will keep on October 18^th.

Whatever your view of Creation in Genesis, it is a powerful story and one that reveals a perceptive understanding of the world around us. Let’s look at these opening verses. The earth is empty, a wet, dark place. God’s spirit is hovering, or brooding, over the waters. In contemporary cosmological terms, the Big Bang is behind us and we are suspended in that moment when we don’t know what will happen next (so a wet, dark earth may be a bit premature) but wait: 

“Orchestra! Lights! Beginners!” God speaks and the play begins!

Pause a moment: 

Electromagnetic energy, subatomic particles, quarks, bosons, photons, galaxies, star systems & planets spring out of the imagination of God. 

Be amazed! This is only the beginning. The stuff of dreams. 

Pause. Let there be light!

For Christians, of course, Jesus is both the Word of God – the speaking – and the Light of the World – the spoken, and it is through Jesus that we come to God. God speaks Jesus into our lives and new creation begins. 

It is perhaps too easy for us to reach for a set of “spiritual” answers and to think we know what it all means but, I wonder, if Jesus is the Light, what does that tell us about God?

Thou whose almighty word chaos and darkness heard and took their flight… Move on the waters’ face bearing the lamp of grace and in earth’s darkest place: Let there be Light! 

Beware, chaos and darkness! God speaks! 

God says: “Let there be Jesus!” and there is Light! 

God sees and it is good. 

Let's spend a few moments absorbing the enormity of it all. Allow the reality of Creation to expand and enlarge our vision of God and our grasp on what our faith might mean in the here and now. 

Creator of Light, let the new day of Jesus dawn in our lives. Amen.

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 393. 

Morning has broken

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS 

We pray 

For the hungry and the overfed

For the mourners and the mockers

For the victims and the oppressors

For the peacemakers and the warmongers

For the unemployed and the overworked

For the weak and the strong

We pray for ourselves and the people and situations on our hearts 

May truth & love lead us together in harmony and peace. Amen

 

Finally, we say The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father 

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 1200. 

Christ whose glory fills the skies

CLOSING PRAYERS 

In darkness & in light, in trouble & in joy, help us, Heavenly Father, to trust your love, serve your purpose & praise your name, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

May the blessing of our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon us and remain with us, and with all we love & long for, this day and for ever. Amen. 

A short service for Sunday 27th September 2020

 A short service for Sunday 27th September 2020

BURTON JOYCE COMMUNITY CHURCH

A short service for use at home 

Sunday 27th September 2020 

Prepared for Burton Joyce Community Church by Phil Colbourn  

The hymns are chosen mostly from the church hymnbook Songs of Fellowship 

If you don't have a copy of the hymnbook at home, you can often find a video of the hymn on Youtube with the words displayed on video. Also, you can find the Bible readings online at several websites, just search for the specific chapter and verse (e.g. Exodus16, 1-15)

Spend a few moments with God knowing that others share in this time of worship with you. 

WELCOME

Our first hymn is a well-known hymn of praise

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 466 

Praise, my soul, the king of heaven

PRAYER AND PRAISE

Praise God for a love that hears and understands

Praise God for the dawn of light from the darkness

Praise God for a surrounding with glory and grace

Praise God for the provision of all that is good. Amen

CONFESSION

We confess, O Lord, our lack of confidence [Silence]

We confess, O Lord, our failure to understand [Silence]

Blessed be God Almighty, Creator & Lord of all!

You give us life and you give us love

You give us your self in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ 

And so, we thank you with our lives. Amen

As we continue reading in Exodus, we pray that we too can learn to walk with God day by day

Our next hymn puts it very well

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 261 

I want to walk with Jesus Christ

READING: EXODUS 17: 1-7

Water from the rock

REFLECTION

In this is our last look at Exodus this month, we have come to Meribah. 

It is not so much that they are grumbling but that their grumbling shows they do not understand. This incident is picked up in Psalm 95 among other places in the Old Testament and in Hebrews 3 & 4, with other reflections throughout the New Testament. It is key to our own walk with God, so let’s consider it carefully. (Why not check those two passages of scripture and take a few moments to think about what they say.)

The children of Israel are in the desert and have no water; they are worrying about their physical well-being, understandably. We would too, but this is the fourth time that an undercurrent of dissatisfaction has surfaced since Passover night and it shows that they still don’t get it. They don’t understand what is going on and they don’t know God well enough to feel safe. They lack confidence in God.

I am reminded of an old hymn but it is not in Songs of Fellowship so here are a few of the verses. Let’s spend a few moments reflecting on them:

Through the night of doubt and sorrow 

onward goes the pilgrim band

Singing songs of expectation, 

marching to the promised land

One the object of our journey, 

one the faith which never tires

One the earnest looking forward, 

one the hope our God inspires

One the light of God’s own presence 

o’er his ransomed people shed

Chasing far the gloom and terror, 

brightening all the path we tread

One the gladness of rejoicing 

on the far eternal shore

Where the one almighty Father 

reigns in love for evermore.

Perhaps the lesson of Meribah is that we need to see God’s bigger picture. In Ephesians 1 & 2, Paul tries to put it all into words although it is beyond words. He prays, as he writes, that his fellow Christians understand what God is doing which is nothing short of creating a whole new world order & us as part of it.

We may be hungry, thirsty, tired and fed up; we may not understand what God is doing but we can trust God all the way. This month we have learnt that God hears & answers prayer, rescues his people and protects and provides for them time after time. We can trust God. Be encouraged. God is doing a new thing. Amen

Our next hymn picks up the theme of walking with God

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 1229 

Father, hear the prayer we offer

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS 

We pray for... 

People in the news this week

Our local community and church family
Those dear to us and those known to us

Ourselves, that we keep going and keep singing songs of expectation

And, finally, let’s join in The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father 

In our final hymn, we affirm that, although we do not always understand, we do trust God for the future

HYMN: Songs of Fellowship 205 

I cannot tell

CLOSING PRAYERS 

O Lord, we are a motley band of refugees trekking through unknown country, so lead us on, we pray, and open our eyes to see your glory. Amen

And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us on our journey and with all those whom we love, today and always. Amen.