Virtual Worship - 18 October 2020

Jesus Shaped People - Week 7

Service sheet (pdf)

Welcome:

Hello and welcome to today’s worship from Baildon Methodist Church in the Bradford North circuit. My name is Claire Nott and I’m one of the members at Baildon Methodist Church. Helping me in today’s service are Reverend Canon Gordon Dey, Abbie Nott and Reverend Vicky Atkins, Chaplain at Woodhouse Grove School. This is the seventh and final service in a series where we’ve been exploring Luke’s account of the final journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, and its impact on his disciples. Over the next 45 minutes we’ll be reviewing the messages we’ve heard over the last six weeks and considering the impact on our lives and churches, particularly in this time of Covid-19.

Call to worship

Our call to worship today is taken from Colossians chapter 3: 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Song

Our first hymn reflects these words, as we acknowledge our desire to be more like Jesus. It is Graham Kendrick’s song “Knowing you, Jesus”, STF 489.

Talk 1:

I have here a selection of objects to represent the messages we’ve heard over the last six weeks. Take a look – do any of them bring the five key priorities of the teaching of Jesus to mind?

Walking boots: 

In Week 1, introducing this Jesus-shaped series of services, Mervyn Flecknoe talked about footpaths and how every person who walks a path makes it easier for those who follow. He said the same is true of our Jesus-shaped adventure – the more of us who pursue it, demonstrating lives of honesty, courage, service and selflessness the more the children of our community will see and take note so our living will not be in vain. The boots also represent Jesus journeying to Jerusalem. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, we’ve seen that this journey was undertaken in the company of friends, family and others including people wanting to be healed. Jesus knew what lay ahead of him but he wasn’t alone on the journey.

Badge and Hat: 

Week 2 saw the creative talents of several of our church families bring to life the emphasis Jesus placed on meeting the needs of those who live on the edge of society, those who are marginalised. The story of ‘Edgar and the sausage inspector’, about a rat preying on those weaker than himself until someone stands up to him, reminds us to not only not take advantage of those over whom we have power but to also seek out ways in which we can make a difference with those in our community who are excluded. Removing the hat and the badge demonstrates the need to put aside our privilege in order to support others.

Toy sheep and coins:

The sheep and coins were vital elements in the readings in Week 3 where Nick Blundellexplained how Jesus used story-telling to teach his disciples, in this case about a fact of life familiar to all of us, that of losing things and the joy of finding them again. Jesus teaches his disciples to see loss as gain: whenever things seem most bleak, we must remember that God’s love can find us and enable us to face new loss with confidence.

P-plate and football:

Week 4 of JSP saw Peter Jackson exploring the importance of Building Teams in Jesus’ ministry. The P-plate represents Jesus throwing his disciples in at the deep end to continue his ministry without him: once you’ve passed your test, the first time of driving a car alone without the instructor, a parent or dual controls to take over if things go wrong. Nothing prepares you for that moment. Peter also reminisced about his school day when people picked teams for football, each captain picking the strongest members in turn. But Jesus isn’t like that. He picks the unlikeliest people and then equips them for the job he wants them to do. Similarly, he selects us, challenges us, stretches us but also equips us for the work he wants us to do whether that is at church, in our neighbourhood or at work. We are those unlikely people he wants on his team, the living stones on which the church is built. It may feel like being thrown in at the deep end but all we have to do is seek, ask, knock and the door will be open to us.

Image of person walking on bleak hillside: 

I mentioned earlier that Jesus wasn’t alone on his final journey to Jerusalem. He had family, friends and crowds accompanying him along the way. However, there were times when he wanted to be alone, to communicate in prayer with his father, to give him strength and courage for what lay ahead. Ruth Kerr focused on prayer in Week 5, encouraging us to think more carefully about the structure of the Lord’s Prayer but also emphasising the need to pray with sincerity, to take it seriously, acknowledging our frailty and need for God, to ask for the Spirit’s support, to pray for those requiring help and to be persistent in prayer. The value and importance of praying as a community was also emphasised.

Statue of Liberty:

Week 6 Jonathan and Sean Hayes looked at Jesus’ role as a prophet, with its links back to the three callings of the ancient prophets. The first to convince people to learn from the faults of the past, the second to provide assurance that things can get better and the third to offer glimpses of the better world to which they could aspire. Through Jesus’ storytelling and actions we see him challenging the mistreatment of the vulnerable and the misuse of resources and standing up to those in power. We also see him offering reassurance to his disciples and good news for all. His death on the cross at the end of that journey to Jerusalem provides us all with a future.

Having reminded ourselves of the messages from the last six weeks, what are we going to do with what we’ve heard?

Abbie will now read Luke chapter 18 verses 18-34 following which Gordon Dey will reflect on what we’ve learned over the last few weeks.

Reading: 

Luke 18:18-34

18 One day one of the local officials asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?”
19-20 Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good—only God. You know the commandments, don’t you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honour your father and mother.”
21 He said, “I’ve kept them all for as long as I can remember.”
22 When Jesus heard that, he said, “Then there’s only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23 This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.
24-25 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God’s kingdom? I’d say it’s easier to thread a camel through a needle’s eye than get a rich person into God’s kingdom.”
26 “Then who has any chance at all?” the others asked.
27 “No chance at all,” Jesus said, “if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”
28 Peter tried to regain some initiative: “We left everything we owned and followed you, didn’t we?”
29-30 “Yes,” said Jesus, “and you won’t regret it. No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children—whatever—will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!”
31-34 Then Jesus took the Twelve off to the side and said, “Listen carefully. We’re on our way up to Jerusalem. Everything written in the Prophets about the Son of Man will take place. He will be handed over to the Romans, jeered at, made sport of, and spit on. Then, after giving him the third degree, they will kill him. In three days he will rise, alive.” But they didn’t get it, could make neither heads nor tails of what he was talking about.¬¬

Talk 2:

Gordon Dey – reflections on Luke 18: 18-34

Hello. I’m Gordon Dey from Jesus Shaped People and thanks ever so for inviting me to contribute today. It’s been lovely to enjoy such inspiring and creative worship over recent weeks. What a treat we’ve had: super teaching, lively drama, fab worship songs, some rich times of prayer. I’m delighted that Jesus-Shaped People has been a tool for this. The range and age of people taking part has been fab too and reflected well the diversity and community life of Jesus and his disciples. We’ve gained a better grasp of their life together, as they journeyed from Galilee to Jerusalem. 

In 10 unique chapters of Luke’s Gospel, we’ve seen Jesus remain faithful to the core features of his earlier ministry, by the sea of Galilee: the same values, the same priorities, the same challenges have been crystal clear as Jesus approached the final stage of his ministry in Jerusalem. For the disciples the journey was vital. Jesus was conscious of what lay ahead and was determined to prepare them well for when he would no longer be physically present with them. They needed to have his mission, his method and his message reinforced. 

Each week we’ve explored 5 key themes JSP suggests give us a summary of these things. The disciples gained much from that journey but there was much to do before they would be ready for their new role. This is so apparent in the bible reading we’ve had today. Some weeks ago, Nick Blundell reminded us that Jesus often taught in response to questions and that his response often brought surprises and challenges. That was certainly true of Jesus’s encounter with a powerful young man. The man’s search for eternal life led to Jesus inviting him to “Follow me”. All he needed to do was relinquish his wealth. If eternal life was so important to him, why would that be so difficult? And this proved too demanding. Jesus used the opportunity to yet again highlight the seductive power of wealth and prosperity. His own simplistic life and consistency of teaching that you cannot serve God and money had been a constant feature, especially in Luke’s Gospel. But even now, his disciples struggled to grasp and apply this. The unlearning they needed to do to fully own the ‘upside down, inside out’ gospel of the Kingdom of God was still a work in progress. Finally, when Jesus reminds them of all that lies ahead in Jerusalem, they fail to grasp this too. Both these essential gospel truths were the surprises of that day, but they had a way to go before they could become real. 

Seven weeks ago, I quoted the testimony of Jim Fleming, a Christian minister and missionary, killed shortly after relating this. He said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” It is this core truth the disciples still had to own fully. They were not just on a journey to Jerusalem, they were on a spiritual journey. Together and individually, they were being reshaped for all that they were called to be and to do. In our story today, we see that it was a work in progress. Their grasp of it became real as the resurrection life of Jesus changed from being a promise to becoming a reality. That reshaping became something Jesus was doing in them by his spirit and they realised the truth, “I am with you always to the close of the age.” Later still we see the scale of that reshaping. Stephen cries out as he is stoned to death, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” and Paul declares “I treat everything as garbage for the sake of knowing Christ my Lord.” 

We continue now on our journey and it’s also a work in progress. I hope these weeks have given new impetus for it but there’s more to do. Perhaps, Jesus Shaped People can continue to be a tool for this. We describe it as a whole church discipleship adventure. Do get in touch if you’d like to benefit more. What really matters is our growing love for him and our longing to be like him. If this has been reawakened for you, stay alert and stay on board, it’s so apparent that our world desperately needs all that he has to offer. But I wonder what we and our churches have to unlearn first. God Bless.

Song

Thank you Gordon. Our second song isn’t in Singing the Faith but the words are in the printed material accompanying this service and will be on the screen in the video. As you sing it, hum it or listen to it, reflect on the relevance of the words to becoming Jesus-shaped people and a Jesus-shaped church: Spirit of Heaven, Christ in Me by Stuart Townend.

Spirit of heaven, flood over me,
Forming Christ in all that I do;
Turn every sinful desire in me
Into holy passion for You.
O Spirit of God, come down;
Let mercy and grace abound.
My passionate prayer shall be:
Christ in me.

Spirit of beauty and holiness,
Come refine with fire from above,
Till I am cast in Your righteousness,
And I love the things that You love.
Breathe Your forgiveness when darkness falls
And my heart is heavy with sin;
Fill me with faith for the higher cause
Of the ceaseless praise of the King.

Talk 3: 

My grandma passed away in August and the last conversation my daughters and I had with her was about names. Both my girls have always been called by shortened versions of their full names, Abbie in place of Abigail and Ellie instead of Eleanor, and my grandma, christened Marjorie Jane, was always known as Jean. She commented on how few people actually like the name they are given. It caused me to reflect on the identity we choose for ourselves rather than that placed upon us and the opportunities we have been given over this Jesus-shaped people series of services to think about our own priorities and whether they align with those of Jesus. 

In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul urges people to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. The last seven months have drastically changed the way we live and the way we worship but have also given us many opportunities. People are seeking a message and turning to God; virtual church services are allowing the Gospel to be spread further than before. The pandemic has shown that our previous way of worship was excluding those who couldn’t get to physical church. We need to add to our current offering and digital church may be a way forward. It’s too soon for discussions of the ‘new normal’ as we head into autumn and winter of continuing restrictions and a resurgence of infections. However, it is the perfect time to enact Toni Morrison’s advice to ‘Dream a little before we think’, to develop a vision of what church can be in order to further the 5 key priorities of people, team-building, teaching, prayer and prophetic challenge. Time to work on the big picture and pray before tackling the details. This is the time to be curious, to ask “What if…?“ and “Why not…?”, then to develop conviction about our plans before having the courage to put them into place. I look forward to seeing where this journey leads us.

Before Reverend Vicky Atkins leads us in a time of prayer, Chris Flecknoe will tell us about a practical way we can support our local community over the next week.

Prayers of Intercession

 Reverend Vicky Atkins

God of love, we turn to you in prayer,
Confident that you are with us and with all people in every moment.

We stand before you as people of hope, trusting in your care and protection and ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

May your faithful love support us and soothe the anxiety of our hearts.

In this time of COVID-19, we pray loving God that we can take our lived experiences and the things we have learnt and discovered and use them to enable us to share your love with empathy, grace and compassion.

As your people help us to be calm when we are uncertain.

When information comes – from all sides, correct and not, help us to discern.

When fear makes it hard to breathe, and anxiety seems to be the order of the day, slow us down.

Help us to reach out with our hearts, when we can’t touch with our hands.

Help us to be socially connected, when we have to be socially distant.

Help us to love as perfectly as we can, knowing that ‘perfect love casts out all fear.’

Gracious God help us to use what we have learnt during this pandemic to be agents for change. The prophetic challenge is evident; we must listen to nature, as we celebrate the cleaning of the air and water whilst traffic stood still.

We must listen to the deepest needs of humanity and celebrate unknown neighbours getting to know one another over garden hedges.

Let the good that comes out of this challenging time be our renewed commitment to be good stewards of our earth and good neighbours to one another,

Let this time, for working differently nurture within us and the teams around us a creative spirit, energised by the need to worship, to serve, and to be in communion with one another. Let the things that have begun, gradually grow, finding new and collaborative ways to come together in spirit and in solidarity.

Grant us faith to know you are with us during these trying times, a gentle and accessible presence in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty.

Call us to profound trust in your faithful presence,
You, the God who does not abandon.
We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer 

Song:

Our final song is another from Graham Kendrick, number 477 in STF, Teach me to dance to the beat of your heart.

Thank you to all who have helped in today’s worship: Abbie, Gordon and Vicky and also to Ashley for putting the virtual service together. I am going to end the service with a short prayer before we bless each other with the words of The Grace.

Come with us, Lord Jesus;
Fill us with your spirit;
Shape us to your likeness;
Use us to enfold with love our needy world.

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.