Fruits of the Spirit – Patience
Service Sheet (pdf)
Call to Worship
We wait for you, Spirit of God (From ‘The Weaver, the Word and Wisdom’ by Michaela Youngson)
Spirit of God,
Breathing, blazing, blessing,
Inspire our worship,
Ignite our passion,
Inform our action
We wait for you, Spirit of God.
This service is week 4 in the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ series of services at Baildon Methodist Church. When I asked colleagues at work what came to mind when I said today’s theme, without exception they all came up with this: play first 11 seconds of (Take That – Patience).
I will wait for you (Psalm 130) – Shane & Shane
We dedicate our gifts of time, money and talents for use in your service, remembering that everything first came from you and that all we are doing is offering it back to you. We pray for the work of SolarAid (Baildon’s nominated charity this month) using the power of light to combat poverty and climate change in Africa. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Spirit of God,
Breathing, blazing, blessing,
Inspire our worship,
Ignite our passion,
Inform our action
We wait for you, Spirit of God.
Spirit of God,
Dancing, delighting, descending,
Move through our lives,
Melt our hearts,
Motivate our loving.
We wait for you, Spirit of God.
Spirit of God,
Opening, offering, outpouring,
Reveal truth to us,
Renew our faith,
Refine our discipleship.
We wait for you, Spirit of God.
Dancing, delighting, descending,
Move through our lives,
Melt our hearts,
Motivate our loving.
We wait for you, Spirit of God.
Spirit of God,
Opening, offering, outpouring,
Reveal truth to us,
Renew our faith,
Refine our discipleship.
We wait for you, Spirit of God.
Song
The Spirit lives to set us free StF397
The image that comes immediately to my mind is the card game and memories of spending many hours playing it as a child. More recently, I find myself saying continually saying ‘patience’ to sixth form students as we deal with slow wifi whilst completing university application forms. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘patience’? Can you think of any examples in the last week when you’ve had to show patience? If there are people with you, can you share your examples?
Lord, help us to be patient
For the times we fail to look for you in creation
Lord, help us to be patient
When we don’t listen
Lord, help us to be patient
For despairing when life seems so hard
Lord, help us to be patient
When we don’t take time to call a friend
Lord, help us to be patient
When we have sought the familiar rather than looking forward to new challenges
Lord, help us to be patient
Holy Spirit, we pray that you will fill us today and cause your fruit to ripen in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Amen
The bible is full of examples of people who had to be patient. One of these lived in the land of Uz and his name was Job. He worshipped God and was faithful to him. He even offered regular sacrifices on behalf of his children just in case they had inadvertently offended the Lord. Hear what happened when God held Job up as his good and faithful servant but Satan claimed that Job was only faithful because everything was going well in his life.
Prayer of confession
We confess that we are often in a hurryLord, help us to be patient
For the times we fail to look for you in creation
Lord, help us to be patient
When we don’t listen
Lord, help us to be patient
For despairing when life seems so hard
Lord, help us to be patient
When we don’t take time to call a friend
Lord, help us to be patient
When we have sought the familiar rather than looking forward to new challenges
Lord, help us to be patient
Holy Spirit, we pray that you will fill us today and cause your fruit to ripen in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Amen
The bible is full of examples of people who had to be patient. One of these lived in the land of Uz and his name was Job. He worshipped God and was faithful to him. He even offered regular sacrifices on behalf of his children just in case they had inadvertently offended the Lord. Hear what happened when God held Job up as his good and faithful servant but Satan claimed that Job was only faithful because everything was going well in his life.
Reading
Job 1: 13-22
God took this as evidence that he had been right in his initial assessment of Job’s character but Satan again argued, saying that afflicting Job with a devasting skin disease would surely reveal his true colours. However, despite having painful sores all over his body, Job refused to blame God saying, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” Throughout his suffering, Job went through a series of emotions, from depression and self-pity to anger but his faith in God did not waver. He asked that age-old question, “Why?” Why is life so unfair? Why did God cause him to suffer? He was innocent, had always followed all the rules and didn’t deserve to go through this torment. Chapters 3-37 give us insight into Job’s predicament and show the inability of his three friends to provide comfort to him before God eventually answers Job with wonderful poetry and imagery (chapters 38-41). Chapter 42: Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted…Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know…My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
Job prayed for his friends and God made him prosperous again, blessing the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.
Longing for Light StF 706
God took this as evidence that he had been right in his initial assessment of Job’s character but Satan again argued, saying that afflicting Job with a devasting skin disease would surely reveal his true colours. However, despite having painful sores all over his body, Job refused to blame God saying, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” Throughout his suffering, Job went through a series of emotions, from depression and self-pity to anger but his faith in God did not waver. He asked that age-old question, “Why?” Why is life so unfair? Why did God cause him to suffer? He was innocent, had always followed all the rules and didn’t deserve to go through this torment. Chapters 3-37 give us insight into Job’s predicament and show the inability of his three friends to provide comfort to him before God eventually answers Job with wonderful poetry and imagery (chapters 38-41). Chapter 42: Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted…Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know…My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
Job prayed for his friends and God made him prosperous again, blessing the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.
Song
Our next song celebrates that Christ can lighten our darkness, that when things seem bleak, Jesus can save us and that we are encouraged to provide help for others who are strugglingLonging for Light StF 706
Reading
James 5: 7-11
What does this passage have to say to us who are 2000 years closer to the second-coming than the recipients of James’ letter?
With next day or even same day delivery, digital downloads, information at our fingertips or as the result of a simple question to Alexa or Siri, I think it is harder for us to be patient. We don’t have much opportunity to experience the waiting described like the farmer, reliant on time passing for crops to ripen and for the rains to come twice a year. Therefore, when we do experience delay or setback, we can find ourselves struggling. Twice, James tells us to ‘be patient’. What does this mean? Patience can be defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset1. The Greek word used in James’ letter is ‘makrothumio’: long suffering or long temper. Being Christian doesn’t mean that we won’t ever have to face situations that are difficult and test us. In fact, there are warnings throughout the Old and New Testaments that following Jesus can lead to persecution. Just like Job, there are going to be times when we ask “Why?”, “Why is this happening?” and it can seem difficult to accept that a loving God can allow his children to suffer. Patience is only necessary in the face of opposition2 and seeking patience is like being in a battle. The Lord is arming us for the fight: being Christian means that we have the Spirit’s help to accept unfortunate circumstances gracefully while having faith that we will ultimately find resolution in God. This week we held a special church council to discuss whether Baildon Methodist Church should approve its premises for same sex marriages to take place: an example of patience on the part of many within the church who recognise that the love of God is present within the love of human beings who are drawn to each other and who enter freely into some form of life-enhancing committed relationship with each other. Being able to celebrate that the love of God is present in these circumstances and to allow the couple themselves to publicly do so through being married is the resolution of a long battle for some3.
The second time James instructs us to ‘Be patient’ includes the phrase ‘stand firm’ or, in other translations, ‘strengthen your hearts’. There are a couple of ways of interpreting this. Let your faith be firm and unwavering, staying Jesus-shaped even as trials come your way4. Suffering can cause people to turn away from their faith, whereas, for others, it is a prompt to turn to God. It can also be read as an instruction for the church family, to support others who are going through tough times, to help them wait patiently for resolution: you may be able to think of occasions when people have supported you. Across the circuit there are many examples of the church family helping each other and their communities with prayers, food, lifts, visits, church cafés, toy services, foodbanks, donating money to charity and much, much more. Groups like Shipley Christians Together making up food parcels and delivering them over the Christmas period also show how support is given to individuals and families who are struggling.
James’ next instruction is “Don’t grumble against each other, friends, or you will be judged”.
Am I setting an example of waiting quietly, or do I make sure everybody knows I’m not happy? Moaning about what is happening to you, complaining about what further suffering may occur, vowing revenge on those who’ve caused you problems or being resentful of those who are not going through the same issues as you will not help. Holding onto resentment and feelings of ill-usage is not healthy and praying for the Spirit to help you be patient is a way of focusing on the end of the current trial and looking forward to God’s compassion and mercy.
God is patient with us, even when we’re impatient with him. We don’t always listen to what we are being called to do but God is persistent, patient and willing to keep asking. God calls us to be patient and provides us with the Spirit to help us persevere. There are many things that we need to learn to be more patient with. However, there are some which demand impatience and a need for action: dealing with injustice, supporting those who are struggling, recognising that the Spirit is with us, every moment of every day. Job is used in James’ letter as an example of patience; a more up-to-date reference could be Desmond Tutu, whose death was announced on Boxing Day. He was 17 when the apartheid regime came to power in South Africa and, over the next 40 years, he became increasingly influential in the liberation struggle. Initially, he wanted to just focus on his ministry within the church but later realised that he needed to become more politically aware in order to speak truth to power. On his retirement as archbishop, Nelson Mandela said of Desmond Tutu at a service of thanksgiving: “His joy in our diversity and his spirit of forgiveness are as much part of his immeasurable contribution to our nation as his passion for justice and his solidarity with the poor.” In the service notes for this series of services, there are readings I haven’t used today (2 Peter 1: 5-9, Romans 5: 3-5 and 1 Thessalonians 1: 2-6); in two of them there is reference to ‘passionate patience’ and, for me, Desmond Tutu epitomises this phrase. Combining prayer with action, he helped bring about the post-apartheid ‘rainbow nation’ and led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to allow South Africa to acknowledge atrocities and to move on.5
Tutu published several books during his life and in ‘God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time’, he wrote: "It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul." 6. James 5: 11: ‘As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered’ – it may not seem like it at the time but, trusting in God’s Spirit to provide us with patience, we will have the strength to persevere in whatever situation we find ourselves in.
Heaven shall not wait StF 701
Sermon
‘Be patient, friends, until the Lord’s coming.’ When James wrote his letter, probably in the second half of the first century, there was a widespread belief that the second-coming of Christ was imminent and that judgement would soon take place. On one level, you can read these 5 verses in this light: ‘Be patient until the Lord’s coming… be patient and stand firm because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door!’ Throughout the Old and New Testaments, harvest is used to represent God’s judgement so even James’ technique of using an everyday action to illustrate his message could refer to the end of the world.What does this passage have to say to us who are 2000 years closer to the second-coming than the recipients of James’ letter?
With next day or even same day delivery, digital downloads, information at our fingertips or as the result of a simple question to Alexa or Siri, I think it is harder for us to be patient. We don’t have much opportunity to experience the waiting described like the farmer, reliant on time passing for crops to ripen and for the rains to come twice a year. Therefore, when we do experience delay or setback, we can find ourselves struggling. Twice, James tells us to ‘be patient’. What does this mean? Patience can be defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset1. The Greek word used in James’ letter is ‘makrothumio’: long suffering or long temper. Being Christian doesn’t mean that we won’t ever have to face situations that are difficult and test us. In fact, there are warnings throughout the Old and New Testaments that following Jesus can lead to persecution. Just like Job, there are going to be times when we ask “Why?”, “Why is this happening?” and it can seem difficult to accept that a loving God can allow his children to suffer. Patience is only necessary in the face of opposition2 and seeking patience is like being in a battle. The Lord is arming us for the fight: being Christian means that we have the Spirit’s help to accept unfortunate circumstances gracefully while having faith that we will ultimately find resolution in God. This week we held a special church council to discuss whether Baildon Methodist Church should approve its premises for same sex marriages to take place: an example of patience on the part of many within the church who recognise that the love of God is present within the love of human beings who are drawn to each other and who enter freely into some form of life-enhancing committed relationship with each other. Being able to celebrate that the love of God is present in these circumstances and to allow the couple themselves to publicly do so through being married is the resolution of a long battle for some3.
The second time James instructs us to ‘Be patient’ includes the phrase ‘stand firm’ or, in other translations, ‘strengthen your hearts’. There are a couple of ways of interpreting this. Let your faith be firm and unwavering, staying Jesus-shaped even as trials come your way4. Suffering can cause people to turn away from their faith, whereas, for others, it is a prompt to turn to God. It can also be read as an instruction for the church family, to support others who are going through tough times, to help them wait patiently for resolution: you may be able to think of occasions when people have supported you. Across the circuit there are many examples of the church family helping each other and their communities with prayers, food, lifts, visits, church cafés, toy services, foodbanks, donating money to charity and much, much more. Groups like Shipley Christians Together making up food parcels and delivering them over the Christmas period also show how support is given to individuals and families who are struggling.
James’ next instruction is “Don’t grumble against each other, friends, or you will be judged”.
Am I setting an example of waiting quietly, or do I make sure everybody knows I’m not happy? Moaning about what is happening to you, complaining about what further suffering may occur, vowing revenge on those who’ve caused you problems or being resentful of those who are not going through the same issues as you will not help. Holding onto resentment and feelings of ill-usage is not healthy and praying for the Spirit to help you be patient is a way of focusing on the end of the current trial and looking forward to God’s compassion and mercy.
God is patient with us, even when we’re impatient with him. We don’t always listen to what we are being called to do but God is persistent, patient and willing to keep asking. God calls us to be patient and provides us with the Spirit to help us persevere. There are many things that we need to learn to be more patient with. However, there are some which demand impatience and a need for action: dealing with injustice, supporting those who are struggling, recognising that the Spirit is with us, every moment of every day. Job is used in James’ letter as an example of patience; a more up-to-date reference could be Desmond Tutu, whose death was announced on Boxing Day. He was 17 when the apartheid regime came to power in South Africa and, over the next 40 years, he became increasingly influential in the liberation struggle. Initially, he wanted to just focus on his ministry within the church but later realised that he needed to become more politically aware in order to speak truth to power. On his retirement as archbishop, Nelson Mandela said of Desmond Tutu at a service of thanksgiving: “His joy in our diversity and his spirit of forgiveness are as much part of his immeasurable contribution to our nation as his passion for justice and his solidarity with the poor.” In the service notes for this series of services, there are readings I haven’t used today (2 Peter 1: 5-9, Romans 5: 3-5 and 1 Thessalonians 1: 2-6); in two of them there is reference to ‘passionate patience’ and, for me, Desmond Tutu epitomises this phrase. Combining prayer with action, he helped bring about the post-apartheid ‘rainbow nation’ and led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to allow South Africa to acknowledge atrocities and to move on.5
Tutu published several books during his life and in ‘God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time’, he wrote: "It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul." 6. James 5: 11: ‘As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered’ – it may not seem like it at the time but, trusting in God’s Spirit to provide us with patience, we will have the strength to persevere in whatever situation we find ourselves in.
References:
- https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/patience-is-a-virtue-6-ways-to-grow-in-this-fruit-of-the-spirit.html (accessed 21/12/21)
- https://thelife.com/practicing-patience-when-god-has-you-waiting (accessed 21/12/21)
- https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/21969/conf-2021-59-marriage-and-relationships-provisional-resolutions-updated.pdf#page=24, accessed 28/12/2021
- Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, Matthew Henry, 1706
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/26/the-most-rev-desmond-tutu-obituary, accessed 28/12/2021
- https://news.sky.com/story/desmond-tutu-10-famous-quotes-from-south-africas-archbishop-12503958, accessed 28/12/2021
Song
Our next song by John Bell and Graham Maule reminds us to be Jesus-shaped, to follow his example and take action – the tune may be unfamiliar to you but, hopefully, you’ll pick it up after a couple of verses.Heaven shall not wait StF 701
Prayers of Intercession:
For our prayers of intercession, I encourage you to come forward if you feel able to, to pick a stone and write the first name or initials of someone you know who is in a dark place or is struggling to be patient with a particular situation at this time. You may want to write the name of a country, an organisation or group of people. Please place the stone in the dark tent then take a stone out of the darkness to pray for the person or people written on it before placing it in the bowl of water which symbolises the living water that Christ gives and patience, the fruit of the Spirit. Whilst we pray, a song will be playing, called ‘I will wait for you’ which is based on the words of Psalm 130 – if you’d prefer to listen to this and pray where you are, that’s absolutely fine.I will wait for you (Psalm 130) – Shane & Shane
Prayer
Loving, patient God, we commit all our prayers to your mercy and ask that your Spirit works in the hearts of the individuals and situations we’ve brought before you. Help us to be open to ways in which we can be your hands and bring about your kingdom on earth. Amen.We dedicate our gifts of time, money and talents for use in your service, remembering that everything first came from you and that all we are doing is offering it back to you. We pray for the work of SolarAid (Baildon’s nominated charity this month) using the power of light to combat poverty and climate change in Africa. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Song
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life? StF645
We say together:
Come with us, Lord Jesus;
Fill us with your Spirit;
Shape us to your likeness;
Use us to enfold with love our needy world. Amen
Prayer:
God of patience, we thank you for your patience with us, and we dedicate our lives to the patient pursuit of making this world a better place. AmenWe say together:
Come with us, Lord Jesus;
Fill us with your Spirit;
Shape us to your likeness;
Use us to enfold with love our needy world. Amen
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