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Worship Notes for November released
Worship Notes for November released
(and a reminder about October’s!)
Dear Friends,
We have now loaded up the Worship Notes for November and I thought I’d remind you of October’s material.
You can find the Worship Notes by going to the URC website urc.org.uk then going to Your Faith and then clicking on Prayer and Worship. Worship Notes are one of the options to choose from.
The October material has been up for some time; we start with a service I lead for St Francis’ day which marks the end of Creationtide. Lindsey Sanderson looks at Challenge Poverty week on 13th, Jonnie Hill explores suffering in Job on 20th, and Mark Rogers looks at the story of Bartimaeus on 27th October.
In November I lead worship on 3rd exploring themes around All Saints’ and All Souls’ day which will have fallen just before, I lead worship again on 17th to mark Safeguarding Sunday. Retired minister Lance Stone leads worship for Remembrance Sunday and Nicky Gilbert, a minister in Wessex, leads worship for Christ the King on 24th November.
The Worship Notes contain all that is needed to build a service with a range of prayers, hymn suggestions, and notes on the readings which could be built into a sermon as well as an all age activity. If you wish to see the full text of the services that have been prepared you can click here where we store the material in a variety of formats, including PowerPoint, for churches to download and use as pulpit supply material. We will be sending November’s pulpit supply material out later to those who have signed up to receive it ahead of time.
With every good wish
Andy
The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 24 September 2024
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URC Daily Devotion Monday 23 September 2024
Genesis 3:17-19
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return”.
Genesis 4: 2-8
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast. If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it”. Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Reflection
It’s fair to say that we are neither biologically nor behaviourally as God intended us to be. The Fall from grace was swift and precipitous as the two readings illustrate. Human suffering arises because our bodies are mortal and fail. Suffering is also experienced by millions each day through humanity’s continuing failure to follow Christ teaching as we fail to love our neighbour as we love ourself: war, genocide, murder, famine, loneliness, exploitation, climate crisis all arise from an absence of love for our neighbour.
Individuals suffer both physically and emotionally as our bodies fail. Medical advances together with the unequal distribution of wealth now allows the privileged few to continue to live into old age relatively pain free and comfortable. Whether a disease, injury or medical condition is terminal, life-threatening or life limiting will depend on where in the world you live, and how wealthy you are. But wherever we live and regardless of your wealth, as our bodies fail we suffer. As Christians, we do not suffer alone, nor is our suffering unnoticed. Christ shares our pain, anguish, sorrow and in doing so speaks to us and gives us direction and hope.
Prayer
O Jesus,
please be in the hearts and lives of all who suffer.
Bring healing to those enduring pain.
Bring value to those who are disregarded.
Bring joy to those in great sorrow.
Bring hope to those that have nothing to live for.
Bring provision to those who hunger.
Bring shelter to the homeless.
Bring community to the lonely.
Please use and prompt me to be your hands of love across a suffering world.
Amen
Sunday Worship 22 September 2024
Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Church
for Sunday 22 September 2024
for Sunday 22 September 2024
Today’s service is led by the Revd Nigel Uden
Welcome
Hello, my name is Nigel Uden and I’m recording this service for 22nd September 2024 in Downing Place United Reformed Church in Cambridge. I’m privileged to be the minister here and at Fulwood URC a few miles to the east of this city. A warm welcome.
Opening Words
May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
Jude 2
Like many seeking wisdom, consolation or hope,
perhaps we sometimes echo Samuel and say,
‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’
I Samuel 3.9
At such a time, may we also hear an echo of Isaiah:
And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left,
your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way (hodos); walk in it.”
Isaiah 30.21
Prayer of Approach
Gracious God,
awaken us from sleep
that we may worship you
in Spirit and in truth;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen
Hymn Christ is Made the Sure Foundation
Latin, 7th cent. tr. J. M. Neale (1818-66) altd. Public domain. Sung by the choir and people of North Stoneham and Bassett Parish Church and used with their kind permission.
Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and comer-stone,
chosen of the Lord and precious, binding all the Church in one;
holy Zion’s help for ever, and her confidence alone.
All that dedicated city, dearly loved of God on high,
in exultant jubilation pours perpetual melody;
God, the One in Three, adoring in glad hymns eternally.
To this temple where we call thee, come, O Lord of Hosts, today;
with thy wonted loving-kindness hear thy servants as they pray;
and thy fullest benediction shed within its walls alway.
Here vouchsafe to all thy servants what they ask of thee to gain,
what they gain from thee for ever with the blessed to retain,
and hereafter in thy glory evermore with thee to reign.
Laud and honour to the Father, laud and honour to the Son,
laud and honour to the Spirit, every Three and ever and One,
consubstantial, co-eternal, while unending ages run.
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Creator God, you are source, guide, and goal of all that is
and we praise you.
Carpenter God, you are way, truth and life
and we praise you.
Companion God, you offer faith, hope and love
and we praise you.
We know and are sorry that we have
too glibly spoken of you
forgetting that you are the one without whom we would not be.
We know and are sorry that we have
too rarely walked in your way, grappled with your truth
or made known your life in us.
We know and are sorry that we have
too cautiously entertained the Holy Spirit,
and thus been shallow in faith, hesitant in hope and half-hearted in love.
By your grace
Creator, remake us,
Carpenter, refashion us,
Companion renew us,
through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Hymn It is a Thing Most Wonderful
W. W. How (1823-97) altd. Public Domain. BBC Songs of Praise
It is a thing most wonderful,
almost too wonderful to be,
that God’s own Son should come from heaven
and die to save a child like me.
And yet I know that it is true;
he came to this poor world below,
And wept, & toiled, & mourned, & died,
only because he loved me so.
I sometimes think about the cross
and shut my eyes, and try to see
the cruel nails and crown of thorns,
and Jesus crucified for me.
It is most wonderful to know
his love for me so free and sure;
but still more wonderful to see
my love for him so faint and poor;
And yet I want to love thee, Lord;
O light the flame within my heart,
and I will love thee more and more,
until I see thee as thou art.
Reading St Mark 9.30-37
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
Reading St Luke 24.13-35
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah[e] should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Hymn O Thou Who Camest
Charles Wesley (1707-88) Public Domain sung by Joy and Ruth Everingham and used with their kind permission.
O thou who camest from above,
the pure celestial fire to impart,
kindle a flame of sacred love
on the mean altar of my heart.
There let it for thy glory burn
with inextinguishable blaze;
and trembling to its source return,
in humble prayer & fervent praise.
Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire
to work & speak & think for thee;
still let me guard the holy fire,
and still stir up thy gift in me:
Ready for all thy perfect will,
my acts of faith and love repeat,
till death thine endless mercies seal,
and make my sacrifice complete.
Sermon
In the Bible, we often join Jesus and the disciples ‘on the way’. Frequently they are going somewhere. In today’s Gospel passage, they are out and about around Galilee, and in but a little while they will be setting off for the decisive walk from Jericho to Jerusalem, with the events of Holy Week and Easter.
I find myself ‘on the way’ all the time. Sometimes literal journeys, perhaps long-distance ones to see family, or en route to a much-anticipated holiday. Then there are the far shorter trips, like a walk along the banks of the Cam, just a cock’s stride from our home. On that way, there’s much to cherish, and in particular the heron who lives there and timidly rises up from the undergrowth as I draw too near for its comfort. I also recall the newly hatched family of cygnets who were being marshalled – not entirely successfully – by their parents one morning last May.
Other journeys are quite different though. Many of us know what it is like to be
- on the way through the seemingly endless and tortuous processes required when amending a charity’s constitution or adding a signatory to a bank account;
- on the way of discernment as local churches wonder what, under God’s good hand, their future should be;
- on the way towards retirement, with all its known and unknown unknowns;
- on the way along the sobering path into dementia;
- on the way round the sharp corner we call death.
They are all journeys, and few of us will be unfamiliar with some or even all of them, plus a whole lot more.
When we read St Mark telling of the disciples being ‘on the way’, it’s the translation of a word that is frequently used in the Bible. This word, derived from ‘hodos’, often means simply road or pathway. So, there’s the Ethiopian in Acts 8: after being captivated by the prophecy of Isaiah – ‘he was led like a sheep to the slaughter’ – and then baptised, they go ‘on their way rejoicing’. Hodos can also refer to being guided ‘on the way’ as Paul says God and Jesus helped him get to the church in Thessalonica. (I Thessalonians 3.11).
More metaphorically, however, hodos can mean ‘a way of proceeding’. Remember how, in I Corinthians 12, Paul tells of the Holy Spirit’s work, bringing his point to a climax with ‘and yet I will show you the most excellent way’ (12.31), that hodos leading into his paean to love. (13.1-13)
Hodos comes right at the beginning of Mark, as well, when we learn of John the Baptist ‘preparing the way for the Lord’ (1.3).
So, being ‘on the way’ is a profound thing, albeit never more so than as Jesus makes his way into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday – the way to the cross and the empty tomb; the way of dying and undying love.
The Acts of the Apostles says that early in the life of The Church, followers of Jesus were known as people of The Way. Again it’s that word hodos. So it is that as Paul is in Ephesus his opponents ‘publicly maligned the Way’ (19.9), and in Caesarea, Paul admits to Governor Felix that he worships God … ‘as a follower of the Way.’ (24.14)
Do we see our Christian life as being followers of the Way? And if we do, how do we travel along the Way with a sense of progress and of getting somewhere?
Well, there is another use of hodos that comes in one of St Luke’s post-resurrection narratives – that exquisitely wrought account of two followers of Jesus disconsolately walking to Emmaus on Easter evening, when someone drew near to them and engaged them in deedy conversation. Looking back on it, they ask, ‘‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ And ‘road’ there is this word hodos.
But it was no ordinary road that they found themselves trudging along. Nor was it any ordinary fellow traveller. This was a hodos with a difference; their companion himself something of a hodos.
As he drew alongside the two who were talking with each other, he was a stranger. ‘They were kept from recognising him.’ Maybe we’ve all struck up conversation with a person we aren’t familiar with:
- a street dweller, begging more for a chat than for loose change;
- someone at the bus stop waiting for the Number 2 that never comes and at risk of missing an exam;
- or the anxious soul beside us in the hospital waiting room, waiting like us for results they know they won’t find cheering.
Encounters on the way with a stranger can be so precious in mutual support and embodying real community.
Moreover, simply because they were willing to chat ‘on the way’, the Emmaus Two began to learn things. The stranger understood something of their story. And not only so. ‘He explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.’ (24.27) The stranger became a teacher.
How much there is to learn from the chance encounter somewhere like an airport departure lounge, or meeting up on a hike, or queuing together at the supermarket checkout. I recall learning about music, about history, about God – and less fruitfully abut football – from various unexpected dialogues unconstrained by rush, but sitting or walking side by side without the intimidating eye-balling of facing each other.
On the way to Emmaus, stranger became teacher. Then, gradually some sense of connection developed. Indeed, reaching their destination they were reluctant to part company. ‘Come in for a meal’, they said. If Caravaggio is to be believed, it was a roast chicken dinner. So their fellowship intensified. The teacher becomes a friend.
There is something ever so precious about learning from each other. Adventuring along the way of faith together can be profoundly and mutually enriching. It doesn’t leave us where it finds us. We engage at a level that gradually deepens and we, like the Emmaus Two find the flames of friendship being kindled. If we weren’t ‘on the way’ it wouldn’t happen. That’s what engenders the sharing, the growing trust and the respect that are the very essence of friendship. Of course, all this journey from Jesus being stranger to friend may happen in an evening, but for many of us it’s more of a lifetime’s pilgrimage, with many a diversion, as well as some deeply moving homecomings.
And then as they break bread (and chew chicken) together, the journey is completed. ‘Were not our hearts burning within us?’ Their journey reaches a revelation.
On this hodos to Emmaus, Jesus is revealed as the hodos to God. Yes, that’s the very word we find when in John 14 Jesus is summed as being the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the way, the path, the access to God. ‘If we have seen him we have seen the Father’, Jesus says to Philip (John 14.9) Stranger, Teacher, Friend, Saviour.
It goes without saying that the life of the Christian Church in twenty-first century western Europe is challenging. It can sometimes feel as if we have ‘lost our way’. Might there be in the way that Jesus meets the Emmaus Two on their way a pointer to how we can be caught up throughout our lives in discovering Jesus as our way into walking with God?
I dare to believe that it remains as full of potential as ever it has. We may not encounter the stranger/teacher/friend/Saviour in either the way or the order that Cleopas and their partner do. No, as each of us is different so our way into fellowship with God will vary. Nonetheless, I suspect we each have
- periods of disconsolate despair;
- seasons of careful listening and fascinated learning;
- experiences of that friendship with Jesus which makes us marvel how ‘it is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be, that God’s own Son should come from heaven and die to save a child like me’;
- and the aha moments that find us with the Thomas who is told Jesus is the way, and just days later can murmur ‘My Lord and my God.’
Whatever it is that challenges local churches and denominations at this time, I cannot avoid the conclusion that alongside the arduous trek towards justice and peace, and the search for contemporary ways of authentically being The Church, there remains the commitment to accompany one another on the Way, there to find that the one who walks the Way to Calvary and beyond is beside us, unsurprised when we treat him as a stranger, available whenever we look to him for teaching, faithful as we reach out to him for friendship, and joyous as we own him as Lord, until he brings us the journey’s culmination and takes us home.
May it be so. And thanks be to God. Amen
Hymn The Church of Christ
F. Pratt Green (1903-2000) © 1971 Hope Publishing Co sung by members of Saint Peter’s Choir New York City OneLicence # A-734713
The Church of Christ, in every age beset by change but Spirit-led,
must claim and test its heritage and keep on rising from the dead.
Across the world, across the street, the victims of injustice cry
for shelter and for bread to eat, and never live until they die.
Then let the Servant Church arise, a caring Church, that longs to be
a partner in Christ’s sacrifice, and clothed in Christ’s humanity.
For he alone, whose blood was shed, can cure the fever in our blood,
& teach us how to share our bread and feed the starving multitude.
We have no mission but to serve, in full obedience to our Lord;
to care for all, without reserve, and spread his liberating Word.
Statement of Faith
We believe in God,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
who lives in our hearts through faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who strengthens us with power from on high.
We believe in God,
three in one and one in three. Amen.
Offertory Prayer
God, we bring our gifts of money and with them we offer ourselves –
all that we have and are.
We bring them not to buy your love, nor to earn your forgiveness,
less still to deserve your grace, but as a thank offering,
and a sign of our commitment to answer your love with our love,
in the church and in the world, through Jesus Christ, Amen
Prayers
Let us pray.
Gracious God, our companion on the Way,
whose Spirit helps us in our weakness and guides us in our prayers,
we pray for the Church and for the world in the name of Jesus Christ.
We pray for the church throughout the world,
its unity and sense of purpose as it serves God’s mission.
Renew the faith and life of the Church,
strengthen its witness; and make us one in Christ.
Grant that we and all who confess Jesus as our Saviour
may be faithful in service and filled with his Spirit,
and that the world may be turned to him.
We pray for the nations of the world,
for our own country, and for all seeking reconciliation
Guide the nations in the way of justice, liberty and peace;
and help them to seek the unity and welfare of humanity.
Give to all in authority
wisdom to know and strength to do what is right.
We pray for people who are sick and suffering,
for victims of injustice, and for people who are lonely and bereaved
Comfort those in sorrow, heal the sick in body or in mind;
and deliver the oppressed.
Give us active sympathy for all who suffer and help us
so to bear the burdens of others that we may fulfil the law of Christ.
We pray for our families, friends and neighbours
and for people we know who need our prayers.
Keep us and our loved ones united in loyalty and love,
and always in your care;
and may our friends and neighbours, and all for whom we pray,
receive the help they need, and live in peace.
We remember those who have died.
Eternal God, accept our thanks and praise
for all who have served you faithfully here on earth,
and especially for those dear to our own hearts.
May we and all your people,
past, present and to come,
share the life and joy of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn Thine Be the Glory
Edmond Louis Budry. (1854-1932) tr. Richard Birch Hoyle (1875-1939) Public Domain
Courtesy of St Andrew’s Cathedral & Choir, Sydney, Australia
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won;
angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won!
Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting:
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won!
No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;
life is naught without thee: aid us in our strife;
make us more than conquerors, through thy deathless love;
bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son;
endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won!
Blessing
Bless to us, O God, the earth beneath our feet.
Bless to us, O God, the path whereon we go:
we on your path, you in our steps.
God, be with us in every valley;
Jesus be with us on every hill;
Holy Spirit, be with us on every stream, every cliff edge,
every green pasture, every moor and meadow,
in the crest of the waves on the sea.
Every time we rest and every time we wake up;
God be with us every step we take. Amen
URC Daily Devotion Saturday 21st September 2024
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Reflection
‘Every member a minister’ was the tagline of the Presbyterian church where I served as an intern in Seattle, USA.
Every Church member, indeed every disciple of Jesus, is called to serve / minister, but as Paul reminded the community in Corinth, we are each equipped to serve in different ways for the common good. Yet each variety of service, shape of ministry, is a manifestation of God’s Spirit within us. I believe it is helpful to understand that being a disciple of Jesus is a constant journey of discovering how we are called to minister/serve for the common good in the evolving context of our lives and world.
One specific form of service asked of us as tutors in the Scottish College is to journey with students through their initial formal formation to become Ministers of Word and Sacraments, supporting them to discover and enable the manifestation of God’s Spirit within them. This service is a delight, a puzzle, and a revelation. The delight is in seeing potential, ability and confidence growing in students. The puzzle is working out how to best unlock the potential, ability and confidence within each student. The revelation is in catching glimpses of how the Spirit is moving and potentially shaping the Church in ways which are new and unfamiliar.
Whatever title or shape our ministry/service takes as disciples of Jesus, it is a lifelong daily journey of discovery with delights, puzzles and revelations, as the Spirit manifests itself in us for the common good of the world.
“ Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth, but yours.” (Teresa of Avila)
Prayer
Holy One,
in the variety of tasks, roles and duties ahead of me today,
I offer to you the work of my hands, my feet, my eyes
to share in the work of your Body to grow your Realm of Love throughout the Earth.
Amen
URC Daily Devotion Friday 20th September 2024
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.
Reflection
Ministry is my calling; it allows me to contribute to the world according to the Gospel’s teachings. Ministry helps me to understand peoples’ spiritual and social needs in different contexts, so I can serve them as a church minister and pastor.
I have experienced following my faith in an Islamic society where Christians are a tiny minority and suffer because of their beliefs, and in the UK where church congregations are rapidly declining, church buildings are converted into pubs, and Christians face pressure from society. Moreover, because of changing social realities many people live in isolation and loneliness, and suffer because of poverty as the social fabric is becoming weak. In that context, Luke 4:18 is my guiding principle. My call is to suffer with communities who have less hope and joy in their lives.
Suffering as a Christian, in and outside the UK, has meant my faith is my main identity. It empowers me to interact and engage with people inside and outside a church. For me, the Good News comprises three things for my ministry: serving marginalised communities, enabling interfaith work, and most importantly, witnessing to my faith. I call this faith in action.
As a minister, I will serve church communities, but, at the same time, I must also be a witness of Jesus Christ in a society where many people are still waiting to hear healing, compassion, and hope which is the Gospel message. As a minister, I will seek God’s guidance and blessing to bring eternal and external peace to those who need care and comfort in their lives.
Moreover, my ministry would be to serve a church congregation as a minister, taking Sunday services, presiding at the Sacraments, providing social care, listening to people with love and making connections with communities around about. Through this, I want the people to feel the Church’s presence meaningfully as individuals and as a community.
Prayer
God of life and love,
thank you for giving us the privilege of prayer
as a means of sharing your Kingdom’s purposes.
Guide us, so we should recognise the responsibility of your calling.
Help us to spread the Gospel to all,
living as faithful disciples.
Lord, we bring before you places
where people suffer because of poverty and injustice;
make us the voice of the voiceless,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
URC Daily Devotion Thursday 19th September 2024
St Mark 6:1-6
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
Reflection
As an NSM4 student, this passage is often quoted to me – usually somewhat negatively: the challenge of ministering to those who know you well, have seen you grow up, have seen you at your lowest. They know your family: watched you deal with a teenager investigating alcohol, sexuality and mental health and have their own view on how you managed (or didn’t). Seems there is ‘nothing new under the sun’ as Jesus faced similar prejudices, and it restricted his power there.
This passage is a reminder that small-minded people can bring you down, stifle what you offer, and they judge according to their narrow standards. Jesus was a great teacher and healer, but even he could not change the preconceived ideas of someone they thought they knew: they were blind to what Jesus offered, thus restricting him.
And it was not just the community, but family too. Mary knew he was special, but did she not share this? Was it simply extended family and cultural expectations that limited things? Jesus was surprised by their reaction: had he really not considered this? It seems he too was still learning.
My calling is clearly NSM4 – to return to minister in my ‘hometown’. But I was not born there: my congregation have not seen my full Christian development and thankfully missed some of the ‘lows’ along the way. But they know my family: my husband and daughter are not Christians and we are not a ‘typical’ family (I work while my husband manages the household). They recognise that I bring a varied spiritual, theological and practical experience and that my day-job helps keep a balance between spiritual and earthly. We should never allow the views of others to turn us aside from a calling we are sure is from God.
Prayer
You call us to serve in many ways. Help us to follow Jesus’ example, recognising that even he faced challenges. Show us how to serve you and grant us the strength to follow that calling, knowing it is from you. Help us to ignore what others say and to avoid being narrow- minded ourselves. Guide us to offer encouragement to others so we can all grow closer to what you want us to be.
URC Daily Devotion Wednesday 18th September 2024
1 Peter 4:10-11
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Reflection “Using our gifts”
Being a stay-at-home mum for the best part of thirty years, I know first-hand how easy it is to lose confidence in ourselves, to keep things as they are and not to step outside of our comfort zones. When someone says, “You’ve got a gift, you should be exploring it”, you dismiss it. Your life is too busy, you don’t have the time and even if you did, you don’t have the skills, or the qualifications required. Our minds and our ears are not open to hearing. Perhaps that’s why we don’t hear God’s call.
But unlike human voices, God is both patient and persistent and never gives up on calling us until we answer and respond. Having answered that call and begin training for ministry I am both nervous and excited. As I leave my comfort zone of the last three decades stepping into unknown territory, I am confident now that I do have gifts to share.
Being a parent has taught me how to love unconditionally, to have patience, to listen, to have empathy, to be non-judgemental, to be both consistent and flexible, to support, to be their voice and to be a good role model. God has given me these skills and gifts so that I may serve others. God has always known how and where and when I would use them.
God gives us all the gifts we need, and will continue to call on us guiding, and strengthening us as we put them to use but as I often said to my children when they were small, “we need to have our listening ears on!”
Prayer
Lord,
help us to listen for and to hear your call in our lives clearly.
Take our insecurities and give us courage and confidence to see our potential as you do.
Help us to recognise the gifts and skills you have given us, and to find opportunities to use and develop them.
Help us to serve others, to transform your world and build your Kingdom.
Amen.
URC Daily Devotion 17 September 2024
Ephesians 4: 6-8, 11-16 (Good News Translation)
Each one of us has received a special gift in proportion to what Christ has given. As the scripture says: “When he went up to the very heights, he took many captives with him; he gave gifts to people.” It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. And so, we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ’s full stature. Then we shall no longer be children, carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind of the teaching of deceitful people, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent. Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head. Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So, when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.
Reflection
“Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition,” shouts Michael Palin, resplendent in his nice red uniform, in one of Monty Python’s classic comedy sketches. In a similar way, few of us expect to discern a call to ordained ministry. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised though. Paul tells the Ephesians that Jesus gives gifts to prepare all God’s people for service. Today, his list might include Elders and deacons, Ministers of the Word and Sacraments and Church Related Community Workers, Assembly Accredited Lay Preachers and Lay Pioneers as well as Locally Recognised Worship Leaders.
For me, discerning that call to ordained ministry took time, and meant listening to the Holy Spirit speaking through other people as much as hearing her whisper in my ear. I first tested that call at an inquirers’ conference in 2010 – while I discerned a call to preaching and worship leading, I discerned pastoral care wasn’t my calling. Instead, I returned to lay preaching. As demand for pulpit supply soared post-lockdown, my minister suggested inquiring again. I changed my prayer – instead of asking “God, please guide me”, I said, “Right God, I’m yours, do with me what you will”.
Bang. The next words I read were newly-revised descriptions for non-stipendiary ministry. The URC has provided opportunities to use the gifts given by God for service in various forms of non-stipendiary service without forcing a square peg into a round hole.
Testing that call with Minister and Congregation, Moderator and Synod, and the General Assembly’s Assessment Board was both affirming and terrifying. As the first of my four years begins, I await God continuing to shape my calling.
Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition, but perhaps we should all expect God’s diverse commission.
Prayer
Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in endless praise.
Take my will and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.
Rejoice & Sing, #371, Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)