Virtual Worship - 17 October 2021

Service Sheet (pdf)

Welcome to worship today with the Bradford North Methodist Circuit. In today’s service, Jesus’ teaching about greatness in the kingdom of God gives us the opportunity to explore working our place in his community. As it says in a favourite hymn of mine: ‘Teach us to serve without pride or pretension, Lord, in your kingdom, whatever our place.’

Call to worship:

God our creator, we are made in your image,
create and reshape us anew for your purposes.
God our sustainer, who sent your Son Jesus to be our servant,
by your grace, forgive us where we have hurt your world.
God our guide and inspiration, open our hearts to receive your wisdom,
inspire and direct us – in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Song

We either listen to or sing along with our opening song, From heaven you came (The servant King) (Singing the Faith 272, Mission Praise 162)

Opening prayers

We join together in prayer as we offer our praise and make our confession:

God of community, you look down from heaven
on your children on earth, and are overcome with love.
Love that reaches out to touch even the most faraway soul.
God the Father, who made all creation,
and shares all good gifts with us. We adore you.
God the Son, just as you walked on earth with your friends,
you are always here with us. We adore you.
God the Spirit, though we don’t see you,
we know you are deep within our hearts.
You make sense of our place in your world. We adore you. Amen.

Lord, sometimes we have very set ideas about communities.
The ones we belong to. The ones we aspire to. The ones we
stay away from. Help us to see as you do: you love every
member of every community, for we are all one in you. Forgive us
when we look down on others, or consider our way alone to
be the right one. Help us to work together with you for good,
putting ourselves aside and others always first. Amen.

God sees our hearts as we turn to him to seek forgiveness.
He doesn’t want us to fight for preference
but to grow ever closer to him through pure and simple love.
As we come to him, acknowledging that we don’t always get it right,
he freely and abundantly pardons us.
Thank you, most gracious God. Amen.

Bible reading:

In the gospel reading for today, we hear a question of Jesus:
‘What do you require of me?’ or in different words ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’
Here in this service, now at this time, Jesus puts that question to each one of us:

‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ What are we open to receive from Jesus, here and now? What need do we bring with us that Jesus can answer; what do we require of him today as he says to us: What is it you want me to do for you?

It’s not a rhetorical question; it’s a real question. What response are you coming up with to that wonderful question from the Lord who can meet all our needs. We hold this question in our minds and hearts as we are drawn into a consideration of the message of the scriptures.

Mark 10:32-45

32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; 34 they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’ 35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ 36 And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ 37 And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ 38 But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ 39 They replied, ‘We are able.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ 41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’

Comment 1: Suffering

‘What is it that you want me to do for you? James and John heard Jesus ask that question, but they misunderstood it. They were expecting that Jesus would do whatever they wanted. And what they wanted from him was glory – the places of honour next to Jesus when he is enthroned in his Kingdom. You see, James and John wanted to be more important than anybody else – even than the other disciples. And that really got the other ten disciples going. But were they indignant because of the outrageous demands of James and John? Or was it because they themselves were just as full of their own self-interest as their two friends? Or were they upset because James and John had stolen a march on them, and got in first with what they really wanted for themselves. I’m sure we would like to think that we are not full of any similar claims to self-importance – wouldn’t we? Jesus tackles such self-interest in two ways in his conversation with James, John and the other disciples. The first is to talk about suffering. Jesus had already been speaking about his own suffering, whilst on the road to Jerusalem, in his prediction about what would happen to him when he got there. For whatever reason, James and John put all that aside – they were only interested in the end bit and the promise of glory. They failed to see that the glory only came through the way of self-giving that Jesus was to undergo. So Jesus brought up the subject of suffering once more with comments that point us towards the cup of suffering that Jesus would refuse to put to aside during his agonies in the garden of Gethsemane; and also remind us of the baptism at the start of his ministry that set him on the road to suffering in the first place. As Christians, we are not immune from times of suffering; it is a part of the Christian life, as indeed it is a part of everybody’s life as we experience the hardships and the heartaches of human living. God does not will suffering upon us, but our Christian commitment requires that we face up to suffering when it comes our way, and our faith in God holds the promise of overcoming that suffering. James and John demanded a place next to Jesus in his glory, forgetting that they must also seek a place beside him in his suffering. James and John had been at Jesus’ side throughout his ministry, from receiving their call as fishermen. Mark in his gospel makes a particular point of noting how James and John were at Jesus’ side in his mission amongst the people and at his transfiguration on the mountain. But when it came to Jesus’ time of suffering and to his death on a cross, James and John, like the other disciples, abandoned Jesus. On the hill of crucifixion, the two people closest to Jesus on the cross were two other suffering individuals on crosses of their own. What is it that you require of me? says Jesus. And we might answer, ‘Simply, that we should find you next to us, even and especially in our suffering.’

Song: 

Once again (Singing the Faith 274, Mission Praise 995) or from Hymns and Psalms 532 Lord Christ, we praise your sacrifice

Comment 2: Service

The second matter that Jesus talks to his disciples about, alongside suffering, is service: ‘whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant.’ When Jesus called James and John, they were in their father’s fishing boat with their hired servants. From that point, instead of having other people at their service, they were to become servants of the gospel, living their lives as servants of others. Following and leading are intimately connected, but different activities. To follow is to go after, taking your lead from someone else. To lead is to set the direction and expect others to join with you in the task or journey. Both are very important. Today most people find following difficult – think about how often we question those who would lead: Why? Where are we going? Is this the right way? James and John aspire to leadership and status, but they are challenged by Jesus whose leadership is all about following, that is to say following God’s way and doing what God asks. How can we learn more effectively to be servants of God?

James and John had to give up their power and control over others in order to live out their calling as followers of Christ. The kingdom of God is a very different world to one where rulers and tyrants lord it over others. It is a world where we must learn to serve one another – we must serve one another because in so doing we serve the Christ who came to serve us. To receive from him, that we might give of ourselves to others. Jesus asks us: What do you require from me? To receive of your grace as you meet us in the love of God and in the presence of others. Learning the lesson of service helps us to take up our place amongst God’s people, and in the community of the church.

A new community garden

As an example of service and of the church coming alongside those who suffer in our community, on Saturday 18th September, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Bev Mullaney opened the new Community Memorial Garden for Undercliffe. The garden was built on land next to St Andrew’s Methodist Church, as the initiative of the church, with support in the construction from the Local Authority Parks Department, and financial assistance from the Council and local businesses in Undercliffe. The garden has been designed as a lasting memorial to all those who have lost their lives as a consequence of the pandemic. Three thousand bulbs were planted, which will hopefully produce a display of colour in the springtime. Benches are being added to the area so that it might be a place of quiet reflection and remembering for local people.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession

We join together in prayer with our thanksgiving and intercession:
Thank you, Lord God, that in your kingdom things are wonderfully topsy turvy,
and we are all in this together.
Thank you that to do your will we must become servants, and we are all in this together.
Thank you that when we follow Jesus, however little we think we have to offer, we can all minister to each other, and we are all in this together.
Thank you that you know what we need.
You came to earth to serve and build up your followers, and we are all in this together.
We thank you for all who minister in and beyond the church community, for all who help us to find our place in your community, and that we are all in this together. Amen.

Lord, we pray for those who have given their lives to serve –
whether on far-off mission fields or just around the corner
pouring out love and compassion on those you have placed in their care and into their lives;
may they know your strength, especially when they are weary or overwhelmed.
Be their refuge, O God, and give them all they need for each day.

Lord, we pray for those who, in their vocations and workplaces,
are in a position of caring for others in tangible ways –
looking after the sick and the lonely, providing housing or advice,
being at the other end of a phone, transporting those who cannot get around easily.
We thank you for them, and ask your blessing on them.
May they be provided with the resources to do their jobs well.
And we pray that those who are in supervisory positions might
have wisdom and awareness of the needs of those who work for them.

Lord, we pray for ourselves, that you may lead us in our own service of others, reminding us of the deep motivation of Christ’s love, and giving us a heart for your world.
In Jesus’ name we pray. 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.

Song

We join in with a final song before we go our separate ways, Community of Christ (Singing the Faith 681) or from Hymns and Psalms 804, The church of Christ in every age

Thank you for being a part of this act of worship.

We end the service now with words of blessing:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all forever more. Amen.

Acknowledgments: Prayers taken from Roots resources, copyright Roots For Churches Ltd. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.