Worship at Home
Worship for the Week Beginning 10th October 2021
To listen to the sermon and a hymn dial
01604 266000.
Sunday 10th October
Local Preacher Angela McNally has prepared this week’s message
This short act of worship is for use from home. Please use this service whenever you like during the week.
Pause to settle yourself in God’s presence, knowing that other people are sharing in worship with you.
Download other Resources
© ROOTS for Churches Ltd www.rootsontheweb.com. Reproduced with permission.
Call to Worship:
O Lord, you have always been our home.
Fill us each day with your constant love,
so that we may sing and be glad all our life.
StF 489 All I once held dear
All I once held dear, built my life upon
all this world reveres, and wars to own
all I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this.
Knowing You, Jesus
knowing you,
there is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best
you’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord.
Now my heart’s desire is to know you more,
to be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn,
all-surpassing gift of righteousness.
Refrain
Oh, to know the power of your risen life
and to know you in your sufferings,
To become like you in your death, my Lord
so with you to live and never die.
Prayers of praise, adoration & repentance
Dear Lord, heavenly Father, we come before you to worship and praise you, and as we set aside this time to be with you, feeling you are near, we bring to mind with joy all that you are to us, and we are to you. You have given us so much in our lives and we offer thanks to you for all the many blessings you have given us, especially the most precious of gifts, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus.
Help us to remember with gratitude that sacrifice, and in remembering help us to always feel the love you have for each and every one of us.
As we offer you our praise and thanks it is with sorrow that we bow our heads to confess the times when we have let you down. Times when we have said, done or thought unkind things. Help us merciful Father to think before we speak, before we act.
Help us to control our emotions and to be kinder and more thoughtful, and worthy of the name Christian. In the name of Jesus we offer these our prayers.
AMEN.
The rich and the kingdom of God
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
18 ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good – except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.”
20 ‘Teacher,’ he declared, ‘all these I have kept since I was a boy.’
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, ‘Who then can be saved?’
27 Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’
28 Then Peter spoke up, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’
29 ‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – along with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’
I am sure that like me there are times when you find Jesus teaching difficult to understand in relation to our present time, and this story of the rich, young man is no exception.
The first thing we need to understand is that the reference to eternal life is not one that is gained after we die.
Jesus clarified this by speaking of the life of the Age to come. A life that can be lived by first throwing off anything that is surplus to requirements, anything that is holding us back. The young man in this story, although seemingly a good living young man, was not prepared to give anything up – especially his wealth.
You may at this point be asking – I try to live by the commandments, and I certainly love God, so what else is there? You may ever have sympathy for Peter who said to Jesus, ‘We’ve left everything and followed you’. So again the question – what else is there?
We can do no worse than to look at John Wesley’s sermons, and in particular the sermon entitled The Almost Christian. Not the easiest of reads, and one which may need more than one reading to get your head around, but let us look at what Mr. Wesley says:-
The almost-Christian is honest, truthful, charitable, devout, sincere, generous and tries to follow Christian principles in living. He goes on to ask what else is needed, bearing in mind that we love the Lord our God, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The answer:-
To be IN LOVE with God.
Not long after I read this sermon I was listening on the radio to the testimony of another rich, young man.
In his case though he used his wealth through charitable work, helping those in need.
However, he said that although he came to know and love the Lord, it wasn’t until he fell in Love with God that he felt truly fulfilled.
This testimony, together with the words of John Wesley, is that the love we have for our God must fill our hearts, our souls, our emotions, our personalities. A love that needs to be all consuming, and guiding us in all we do in our daily lives. And referring here again to Jesus words to the young man, if there is anything in our lives preventing this we need to let it go.
We need frequently to show God , and to tell Him, that we love Him, that He is everything to us, and then everything else – who we are, what we are, how we live our lives, -will all fall into place.
John Wesley encourages in his sermon that we all be not almost Christians, but all-together Christians. Made so by the peace we find through God, strengthened by His grace, mercy and love. By his power, and the faith we have in Him, we pray that this may be so.
Prayers of intercession:
Dear Lord, merciful God, we bring to you our prayers for all people everywhere. We pray for those who do not know the love that can be shared through knowing you.
We hold before you all who are lost and in fear – those without a country, livelihood, security, homes, the comfort of warmth and food. Things which we take for granted.
We pray for those who are in dark places. Those who are suffering because of physical and mental poor health. Those who are suffering loss. Those who are mourning a loss.
Quietly now we think of those we know, and those we do not. We bring to mind now anything we have seen this week which have touched us and need our prayers. (Our time of quiet prayer).
Comforting God wrap your tender, loving arms around this damaged world of ours, & may we be open to ways we can help by caring, showing and loving those in distress. In the name of Jesus who taught us when we pray to say:
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
StF 243: A rich, young man came seeking
A rich young man came seeking –
God’s kingdom was his aim,
The law had been his guidebook.
His life was free from blame.
But Jesus asked the courage
to give his wealth away.
The young man turned in sorrow,
That price he would not pay.
The rich men’s gifts were lavish
and made for public show.
The widow’s gift was humble
and only God would know,
in giving to the Temple,
although her coins were small,
her gift had so much meaning
because she gave her all.
One boy bought loaves and fishes,
no other food was there,
but Jesus fed the thousands
and still had bread to spare.
The miracle of plenty
soon spread beyond that place
The miracle of plenty
soon spread beyond that place.
That simple gift was offered,
then multiplied by grace.
Closing prayer:
Come from the North. Come from the South, Come from the East. Come from the West. Come, you who are first and you who are last, come as you are, come whoever you are, come however you’re feeling, and come with whatever you have. For all are welcome in the kingdom of God.
AMEN.
Service prepared by Angela McNally
Webpage: Paul Deakin