Daily Devotions – Caversham Park URC https://cpurc.org.uk One in Christ Jesus, engaged in God's Mission, empowered by the spirit. 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Saturday 4 March 2023
 
St Matthew 18: 1 – 9

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’  He called a child, whom he put among them,  and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes! ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Reflection

Years ago I created a painting called Striving for Righteousness.  A man sits in an ancient church, staring into a hand held mirror.  The other side of the mirror, a stained-glass window lets light shine on the man’s face, but it doesn’t get through the mirror.  Beside the man, on a table at the end of the pew, sits an offertory bowl holding the man’s cut off hand.  Oddly, the man isn’t in agony, but looks hard at the mirror as if to say, “Well I’ve done it. Am I good enough now?”  Occasionally seeing these moments literally throws a very different light on a Jesus tirade.

This story is in the midst of dialogues about Jesus’ identity, relationship in the Trinity, what it means to understand people’s relationship to God, and the depth and strength of God’s forgiveness.  In this moment, Jesus is calling people to step back from their acquired bias, exceptionalism and greed. Before they’d learned to be selfish or afraid, they were trusting, as children are before they learn otherwise.  Jesus is asking us not to do dramatic things, but to breathe and renew our childhood trust – and to not stop others trying to do the same.  We can let go of stumbling blocks and put our trust where it is safe – in God, seen in Jesus’ example of inclusive love, growing in us by the Holy Spirit.

This is no easy ask for many of us who’ve had our trust injured or been misled to put our trust in the norms of the cultures in which we live. It’s hard work letting go of all that learning to allow our trust to be revived and focussed in God. But it’s worth a try. It’s more effective and less painful than picking away at sins. Rich new life awaits.
 
Prayer

God of all forgiveness,
We can so often know why you shouldn’t love us.
We can name our sins speedily.
If you could truly see us, your love would not shine our way.
Forgive these misconceptions. 
Forgive us for the arrogance that we could know better than you.
Gently urge us to trust you and to receive your life.
Gently urge us to trust those whom you give us to trust.
You are our eternal joy-giving Love.
Alleluia, Amen!

 

 

 

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The Rev’d Elizabeth Gray-King, North Western Synod Pastor, St Columba’s URC Oxford

 

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]]> URC Daily Devotion  3 March 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/03/03/urc-daily-devotion-3-march-2023/ Fri, 03 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotion-3-march-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion  3 March 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; 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Friday 3 March 2023
 

St Matthew 17: 22 – 27
 
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed. When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’  When Peter said, ‘From others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free.  However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.’

Reflection

After the first time I heard this story I went fishing with my grandad. I checked the mouth of the first fish I caught. No coin!  Over the years the fishing in those lakes became worse. Summers would go by where I didn’t catch a single fish. Sitting in tackle shops, many blamed it on overfishing by commercial fleets. While no one was literally pulling coins out of fish’s mouths, those fleets were harvesting fish to make money that fed and sheltered working people’s families. Others blamed the decline on invasive species and pollution. It turns out that it was all of the above. As the fish became sparse, big fleets disappeared. Fewer tourists came. The tackle shops closed. Fewer coins circulated.

When Jesus proclaimed that he would be killed by human hands, he was telling his friends that a gift of God—indeed, God’s very self—would be killed by the cycle of violence that dominated human life. This distressed them, but they knew he spoke truth. We know it, too: that cycle of violence continues today. Our acts of even passive-seeming violence, such as environmental degradation, destroy rich gifts that God has given us which, with good stewardship, can feed and house families and communities. 

Jesus reminds Peter that violence will always be the way of earthly kings (or rulers). They, like the collectors of the Temple tax, have little interest in having a relationship with people or how they steward resources. They just want the coins. But we, who live and move in this world, can have a relationship with Jesus and a creation which provides more than enough resources for all. And we know that even if the rulers try to compel us to destroy it all for coin, there will be a resurrection. Thanks be to God for that. 

Prayer

God, help us not to see people or creation as things from which we extract for gain. 
Save us from co-option in that which destroys creation. 
Help us to see how God’s resurrection gift of life can be found in relationship the way Jesus is in relationship with us, as he was with his disciples. Amen. 

 

 

 

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Today’s writer

The Rev’d Ryan Sirmons, North West & Central Newcastle upon Tyne Pastorate

 

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]]> URC Daily Devotion 2 March 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/03/02/urc-daily-devotion-2-march-2023/ Thu, 02 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotion2-march-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion 2 March 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; 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Thursday 2 March 2023
 

St Matthew 17: 14 – 20
 
When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’  He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’

Reflection

Summit fever is a real condition, and it can apply to any situation where enormous time and resources have been spent on achieving a goal that you grow mentally or physically ill.  An experienced sherpa for climbers to Mount Everest says: “Most people don’t die on the way up the mountain or even at the summit. They die on the way down.” This is because most climbers don’t know how to conserve energy; there is much more energy needed on the way down than the journey to the summit.
 
Perhaps this is what the disciples are experiencing.  I sometimes wonder if the disciples who had gone up with Jesus had time to tell the others what they had just seen.  About 30 years later Peter would reminisce about the transfiguration in his epistle; but right now, perhaps they were all still trying to process the experience.  I can attest to that: some pastoral situations that clergy and laypeople encounter can blow our minds and overwhelm us, no matter how much “religion” we have in us.
 
Perhaps the worried father of the epileptic child was expecting too much from the disciples, believing they could do what Jesus could do. We can all attest to that too, as the Church too often fails to live up to Jesus’ reputation.
 
It’s a powerful moment to process – the disciple’s trip back to reality. The whole story comes with a staggering life lesson. There are some who think that their spiritual experience warrants their authority. However, any religious experience that has no interest in reaching people and building community is, as Jesus articulates, not driven by faith.
 
Some use religious experience as an attempt to capture God, even hold God hostage. But God is always moving, so whatever we bottle up about God will always be surpassed by the new thing God is doing. True faith doesn’t merely believe but believes enough to act, to bear witness, to get angry at injustice and imagine justice.
 
Prayer

God give us enough energy to use our experience with You in the world. May our encounters with you never blind and deafen us to the needs in the valley. Amen.

 

 

 

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Today’s writer

The Rev’d  William Young, pastor Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ, Washington DC

 

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]]> Weekly Intercessions, Worship Notes and Some Prayer Resources https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/03/01/weekly-intercessions-worship-notes-and-some-prayer-resources/ Wed, 01 Mar 2023 13:49:46 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/weekly-intercessions-worship-notes-and-some-prayer-resources [Read more...]]]> Weekly Intercessions, Worship Notes and Some Prayer Resources p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; 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Intercessions, Notes and more Resources…

Dear Friends,

this week’s prayers of intercession have been written by the Rev’d Helen Everard, Minister of Fleet URC in Hampshire.  You can download them here.  

If you’ve not seen the March worship notes you can find them here.  This week’s are up and are useful to help as you plan worship and look at two of Sunday’s readings: Genesis 12:1-4a (the call of Abram) and  St John 3:1-17  (the story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night, in secret).  We consider how we help people who have responded to God’s call become part of the Church.  In the Early Church the process lasted two years (!) and candidates for membership had to leave the service half way through as they weren’t allowed to receive Communion until they’d been baptised.  They were taught the faith and had to show they’d left pagan beliefs and practices behind.  Whilst not suggesting we follow that practice we wonder if we could learn from the Early Church’s critique of their society, their understanding that conversion wasn’t just an intellectual thing but a profound radical change of life, and high value they attached to Communion.  We ponder what our congregations might look like if we critiqued society more closely, expected a radical change of life and valued Communion more profoundly whilst, at the same time, guard against a tendency to become sect-like.  The notes, as normal, contain everything you need to build a service and contain a rite for Holy Communion.

Some time ago we built a page on the URC website offering different prayers for the seasons of the Church’s year but it’s been rather dormant.  I’ve now started to add a range of prayers used by Daily Devotion service leaders over the last three years.  I’ve completed the Lent and Palm Sunday sections and, over the next few weeks, will add Holy Week, Easter and Pentecost.  You can have a look at what’s already been loaded here.  Please do feel free to use anything that’s helpful to you in either public or private worship.

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship

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]]> URC Daily Devotion 1 March 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/03/01/urc-daily-devotion-1-march-2023/ Wed, 01 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotion1-march-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion 1 March 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; 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Wednesday 1 March 2023
 

St Matthew 17: 1 – 13
 
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.  Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’  While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’  When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.  But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’  And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’  And the disciples asked him, ‘Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ He replied, ‘Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things;  but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.’  Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Reflection

There is little quite like the experience of climbing a hill or a mountain on a clear day and experiencing an awe-inspiring view of a world that really does seem to be at one’s feet.  My experience living on the edge of the Highlands of Scotland is of being able to see other mountains as far as one’s eye can see.  On other days the uplands of the world can be enveloped in mist with a cairn or an Ordnance Survey triangulation pillar the only sight to see.  Venturing into the hills can be a very different experience too depending on the season and the time of day.  It is a curious juxtaposition to be on a fell top in a snowstorm remembering that the last time one was there was at the height of summer.  

It is perhaps no surprise that Jesus takes some of his friends up a high mountain to a place where they might already expect to have some sort of powerful personal experience to confront them with an even more striking moment.  In this story we are told of experiences of both being dazzled and in thick cloud.  Mountain weather can change quickly but not usually in the instant as is described here.  The story reminds us too how close the boundary can be between being amazed and being terrified.  One minute feeling wowed and next cowering on the ground.  

I wonder how the disciples who joined Jesus on the mountaintop processed their emotional and spiritual whiplash?  They journeyed down knowing that their friend Jesus was someone amazing.  In the gospels this event marks the transition point between Jesus’ teaching ministry and his journey to the events of Easter in Jerusalem.  I wonder how the memory of this day comforted and nourished Jesus’ friends as they journeyed with him to the cross and beyond?  

Prayer

Transfigured One, 
illumine us as we journey with you
towards Jerusalem through Lent.  

We ask that we might have 
our own dazzling experiences 
of life and faith.  
Dazzle us, 
catch us unaware, 
surprise us 
again and anew 
with the light of your Gospel.  
Amen.  

 

 

 

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The Rev’d Sarah Moore, Transition Champion, National Synod of Scotland 

 

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]]> URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 28 February 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/02/28/urc-daily-devotion-tuesday-28-february-2023/ Tue, 28 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotiontuesday-28-february-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 28 February 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; 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28 February 2023
 
St Matthew 16: 21 – 28

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.  For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.  Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

Reflection

‘…it is not enough to dream of a world transformed under the narrow set of parameters out of which we all tend to operate. Dreaming of this world will require that our imaginations expand beyond the calculus of power and influence within which we now function….You do not understand Christ till you understand His Cross.… It is only by understanding it that we escape from religion with no mind, and from religion which is all mind, from pietism with its lack of critical judgement, and from rationalism with its lack of everything else” (PT Forsyth The cruciality of the Cross)

Peter operated within the parameters of his Jewish faith which did not include the Messiah suffering and dying on a Roman form of execution ie the Cross. As spokesman for the disciples we can assume the others thought the same. Peter could not countenance his beloved Master willingly travelling towards Jerusalem, suffering and death, any more than a similar journey being undertaken by the disciples. Jesus’ sharp rebuke to Peter must have shocked them all. The disciples are not just to be witnesses of Jesus’ suffering but participants in it. They don’t just get to tell about it. They will actually live through Jesus’ suffering in their own bodies. It’s all so much to absorb, that I wonder if they took in Jesus’ promise of God’s reward.

We operate within the parameters of our faith. Do our dreams of a transformed world include the necessity of suffering for our faith? How different is our reaction from that of Jesus’ disciples when faced with the reality that we too are called not just to be witnesses but participants in Christ’s body here on earth? What part are you and I, members of Christ’s church, prepared to play in God’s continuing work?

Prayer
 
Gracious God
we thank you for members of Christ’s church
who witness to his presence daily
through word and deed,
undeterred by the cost.
Help us to be your people
not just in word,
but also in deed.
Let your Spirit strengthen us
in times of suffering and trial,
so that we prove good disciples
of the one who suffered, died,
and rose again for us,
your well beloved Son
Amen

 

 

 

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Today’s writer

The Revd John A Young, retired minister of National Synod of Scotland, member Giffnock URC

 

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]]> URC Daily Devotion Monday 27 February 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/02/27/urc-daily-devotion-monday-27-february-2023/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotionmonday-27-february-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion Monday 27 February 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; 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27 February 2023
 
St Matthew 16: 1 – 20

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.  He answered them, ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.”  And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.’ Then he left them and went away. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.  Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’  They said to one another, ‘It is because we have brought no bread.’  And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, ‘You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread?  Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?  Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?  How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!’  Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’  And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’  He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’  Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Reflection

Jesus had mentioned “the sign of Jonah” before and had explained that just as Jonah was in a big fish, he will be in the earth for three days (Matthew 12:40).  However the Gospel of Luke explains the sign as having to do with Jonah being sent to Nineveh and Jesus being sent to this generation (Luke 11:30).  So is this “sign” about Jesus’ resurrection or our repentance?  The book of Jonah is not about Jonah’s death and resurrection.  The focus is on a prophet who knows scripture well, but fails to understand God’s will and rebels against God. God sent Jonah to call “those people” to repentance, and Jonah did not want to do it.  Even in the end of the story, Jonah is sulking because “those people” responded favourably to God’s love and weren’t suffering.  “Salvation belongs to the LORD” indeed (Jonah 2:9b).

So when Jesus speaks of “the sign of Jonah”, he may be referring to his own death and resurrection (as in Matthew 12), but he may also be talking about God blessing people whom we would actively seek to exclude from “our” churches and community spaces as in Luke 11.  In Matthew 16:17, when Peter is called the “son of Jonah,” maybe we are given a little clue by Jesus as to what Peter’s ministry will be like?  Peter – the one reluctant to accept Gentiles, but realises the Holy Spirit of God has different plans (Acts 10). 

The teaching of the sign-seeking, religious authorities then is the unwillingness or inability to see God at work and to follow God’s lead.  Even though they knew scripture, they struggled to see what God was doing through Jesus.  Like Jonah, being able to quote scripture doesn’t matter, if one fails to listen and follow God.  This “yeast” is what Jesus tells his disciples to avoid.
 
Prayer
God, as we read your Word, help us to know Your heart better.  Draw us closer to You and to Your priorities.  Help us to live and serve together in the community that You are creating.  Amen.  

 

 

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Today’s writer

The Rev’d Angela Rigby, Minister serving Christ Church URC Tonbridge, St Johns Hill URC Sevenoaks, and Christ Church URC Sevenoaks 

Copyright

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Order of Service

Below you will find the Order of Service, prayers, hymns and sermon for today’s service.   You can either simply read this or you can
 

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Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Church
for Sunday 26 February 2023

 
Today’s service is led by The Revd Dr Elizabeth Welch
 
Call to Worship
 

 
Let us worship God, who, at the beginning, freely offered the gift of creation and who calls us to care for this gift. Let us worship Jesus, who struggled in the wilderness and offered himself for us on the cross, before rising to new life, in which we are invited to share. Let us worship the Holy Spirit, poured out on God’s people, leading us to follow in God’s way and giving us strength for wherever the journey takes us. 
 
Hymn    Lead Us Heavenly Father Lead us
James Edmeston (1821) Public Domain  BBC Songs of Praise
 
Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us o’er the world’s tempestuous sea;
guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us, for we have no help but thee;
yet possessing every blessing, if our God our Father be.
 
Saviour, breathe forgiveness o’er us: all our weakness thou dost know;
thou didst tread this earth before us, thou didst feel its keenest woe;
lone and dreary, faint and weary, through the desert thou didst go

 

Spirit of our God, descending, fill our hearts with heavenly joy,
love with every passion blending, pleasure that can never cloy:
thus provided, pardoned, guided, nothing can our peace destroy.
 
Prayer of Adoration 
 
Loving God, you brought the world into being. We praise you for your gift of creation, given as a blessing for all time.
 
Gracious God, you offered the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, to be one of us, wrestling like us, and yet opening the door to your gift of new life, even in the heart of suffering. We praise you for what you offer us in Jesus.
 
Holy God, in your Spirit, you lead us on the journey you have in store for us, sometimes a journey of struggle and wrestling, and at other times a journey of healing and joy. We praise you that you are with us, in difficulties and in rejoicing.
But as we come before you, we are also aware of our own shortcomings. We turn to our prayer of confession.
 
Prayer of Confession 
 
We aware of all that you offer us and we see ourselves as we are:
a mixture
–      of hope and despair, 
–      of joy and sadness, 
–      of love and hatred, 
–      of self-giving and self-seeking
 
Forgive us when we have neglected your gift of creation.  Forgive us when we have gone astray and not let your love flourish within us.   Forgive us when we have given into temptation rather than wrestling with it.  Forgive us when we have wanted to put you to the test, instead of placing our trust in you. Forgive us for when we avoid difficult issues or forget to love our enemies.
 
A moment of silence for reflection on what we regret in our own lives.
 
Words of forgiveness
 
God says, See, I am making all things new.                 Rev 21.5
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.         2 Cor 5.17
In Christ God was reconciling the world..                      2 Cor 5.19
Through Christ your sins are forgiven.
Amen.  
Thanks be to God.
 
Introduction to Theme 
 
Today’s the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is the time we observe in memory of Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness, being tested. Today we begin our journey, in Jesus’ footsteps, following in his way, travelling into the wilderness, looking at what the temptations can mean for us.  Lent is traditionally a time of giving up something for 40 days. However, we only need to do this 6 days a week, as Sundays are not included, as these are always the day for remembering the resurrection!
 
In Lent we can give something up – eating or drinking or a particular activity. Or we can take something up – e.g. working with the poor and the homeless, or spending more time in daily prayer and Bible study. 
 
·     Have any of you resolved to give up something? Can you name this?
·     Have any of you thought about taking up something? Can you name this?
 
Most of all Lent is about reflecting on where God is taking us in our journey of faith, and what we’re tempted to do or not do.
 
·     How often do you wrestle with particular temptations? Can you describe this?
·     Are they easy or difficult to resist? Can you describe this?
 
Let us journey together into the wilderness, trusting in God’s presence with us.
 
Hymn    Praying and Fasting and Giving
Elizabeth Welch m Rod Boucher 2009 London UK  Performed by Rod Boucher
 
Praying and fasting and giving
in Lent this gives meaning to living.
 
Help us to pray, everyday, 
Jesus please show us
your wilderness way.
Help us to pray, everyday, 
show us your wilderness way – please.
 
Help us to fast, so we can last, 
Jesus please keep us
faith-full to the Cross.
Help us to fast, so we can last, 
keep us faith-full to the Cross – please.

 

Help us to give, all that we live,
Jesus please teach us
your generous love.
Help us to give, all that we live,
teach us your generous love – please.
  
Readings:    

Genesis 2.15-17; 3.1-7
 
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’
 
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’  The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;  but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.”’  But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die;  for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
 
Psalm 32 
 
Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away.
You bless them by saying, “You told me your sins, without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.”
 
Before I confessed my sins,
my bones felt limp, and I groaned all day long.
Night and day your hand weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone as in the summer heat.
 
 So I confessed my sins and told them all to you.
I said, “I’ll tell the Lord each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me and took away my guilt.
 
We worship you, Lord, and we should always pray
whenever we find out that we have sinned. 
Then we won’t be swept away by a raging flood.
You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble, and you put songs in my heart
because you have saved me.
 
You said to me, “I will point out the road that you should follow.
I will be your teacher and watch over you.
Don’t be stupid like horses and mules
hat must be led with ropes to make them obey.”
 
All kinds of troubles will strike the wicked,
but your kindness shields those who trust you, Lord.
And so your good people should celebrate and shout.
 
Romans 5.12-19
 
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned —  sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.
 
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.  If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
 
Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.  For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
 
St Matthew 4.1-11
 
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’  But he answered, ‘It is written,
 
“One does not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’
 
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,  saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
 
“He will command his angels concerning you”,
and “On their hands they will bear you up, 
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’
 
Jesus said to him, 
‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’
 
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, 
 
‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, 
and serve only him.”’
 
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Hymn    Forty days and Forty Nights
© George Hunt Smyttan 1822-1870  BBC Songs of Praise
 

Forty days and forty nights
Thou was fasting in the wild;
forty days and forty nights
tempted, and yet undefiled.
 
Let us thine endurance share,
and awhile from joys abstain
with thee watching unto prayer,
strong with thee to suffer pain?
 
Then if Satan vexing sore,
flesh or spirit should assail,
thou his vanquisher before,
grant we may not faint nor fail!
 
Keep, O keep us, Saviour dear,
ever constant by thy side,
that with thee we may appear
At th’eternal Eastertide.

 

Sermon
 
 In our readings at the beginning of Lent, we are taken back to the beginning of creation, and to the origins of the story of God’s world. This is not just a good world in which all things are lovingly made in God’s image, but also as a world in which, from the beginning, there exists the reality of sin and disobedience and evil.

The story of the serpent and the temptation of the woman and the man is not so much a rational explanation of the origins of evil, as a story told of the reality of the results of disobedience. God asked one thing of his created beings – that they not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  But God had also given people the freedom to choose. And as soon as the possibility of choice popped up, people gave in to temptation and did what God, their Creator, had asked them not to do.  From the beginning of time, people wanted to be like God, to be at the centre of the universe.
 
The reading from Romans points to the wrestling that goes on in the life of faith.
 
Over the centuries people have struggled to make sense of the ultimate questions of good and evil.  Why do bad things happen, the question is asked, especially when bad things happen to good people?  If God is good, why did he make a world in which things go wrong?  If God is all-powerful, why can’t he just put an end to mishaps and disasters?
 
In the early centuries of the church, there was a greater acceptance that this world contained both good and evil, and that we were each caught up in the struggle between good and evil.  There was a greater sense of the otherness of God, who was both mighty and mysterious and whom people couldn’t just pin down.
 
Today there’s an expectation that everything should be immediately perfect, and if it’s not so, the question is raised as to why we should go on believing in God.  And it’s usually those in our society who have least to do with the church who would argue this line most strongly. Our culture is one of material success – in which money and fame are the two key players. God’s call to be on the side of creation, of the poor and the oppressed, is too often sat lightly too.
 
In the church we are not immune from the wrestling that takes place about the role of good and evil in our lives and the life of the world. We are not immune from the struggles with temptation, as seen at the beginning of creation and in the life of Jesus.
 
Jesus’ humanity is shown in his own wrestling..  Was he the Son of God? And if he was, couldn’t he just put the world right at a stroke?
 
Matthew writes of Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  It wasn’t just his own volition that was taking him into the desert; it was part of God’s purposes that he endure this time of testing.  For forty days and forty nights he prepared himself. There’s a parallel between the Israelites being in the wilderness for forty years, a time of temptation in which they often gave in, and Jesus, fasting for forty days and then being tempted and being able to resist the tempter. 
 
Lent is a time for our renewal and self-examination, focussing on where we are with God and what God is looking to from us.
 
We do this through journeying with Jesus as he begins his journey to the cross.
 
Our self-examination isn’t about navel-gazing, but about seeing ourselves in the light of Christ.
 
Lent is a six week journey, in which we put a particular emphasis on praying, on giving to others, on seeing what we can do without.
 
We look back in particular to the journey of Jesus.
 
There’s a debate that goes on – was he really 40 days and 40 nights without anything to eat and drink? It talks about him fasting – but doesn’t actually say whether that meant no food or just a limited amount of food. It doesn’t refer to refraining from drinking. 
 
This journey was not a journey Jesus chose. It’s one he was led into – by the Holy Spirit. In Mark’s Gospel, it even says that he was driven into the wilderness, not by some whim or fancy, wanting to spend a few days away from it all, but by the Holy Spirit.
 
For Jesus, it was a journey of testing – what did it mean to be the Son of God?
 
The three temptations lead us into seeing who Jesus is for us, and help us to enter into our own time of self-examination as we look at the ways in which we are tempted.
 
We can look at the way we’re each tempted in different ways, depending on the kind of people we are. E.g. some of us like lives full of activity and are tempted to be too busy; others like a slow pace and are tempted to put things off until another day.
 
Starting with Jesus at the beginning of Lent prepares us to travel on with our Lord to the cross.
 
There’s a particular thread which runs through the temptations – the thread of power.
 
Each temptation opens up a different aspect of power and the way in which power can be used or misused. And in opening up different aspects of power, the temptations point us both to our inner struggles with power and take us to the kind of God in whom we can place our trust.
 
The first temptation is about bread. The devil says to Jesus ‘turn this stone to bread’.
 
Jesus was hungry, after fasting for forty days. There would have been a real temptation to feed himself. But the temptation was wider than this. Why not feed the world? Wouldn’t it have been an instant success story if Jesus had been able to provide bread for everybody at the drop of a hat? Doesn’t God want people to be fed?
 
We see here the invidious nature of temptations. We’re most tempted by those things which would seem to have a good outcome. Wouldn’t it be great if we could feed the world, just like that?
 
Jesus’ response is both about his own self and about the life he’s bringing for the world. Bread wouldn’t be sufficient to feed him. Feeding is about body and mind and spirit, not just one of these.
If he were only to offer the world bread, and not the nourishment of the spirit, he would be buying into a materialist agenda which ends up making us all consumers rather than persons.
 
Being offered bread, and offering bread to others, is a big attraction, but it’s only part of the story. God engages the whole person, not just part of the person. Jesus quotes the Hebrew Scriptures ‘One does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’. 
 
The second temptation is again about power – the power of putting God to the test.
 
If I were to fantasise, I could see Jesus thinking ‘yes, I am the Son of God, why shouldn’t I just leap off the Temple? Then everyone will know who I am and what power I have.’
 
One of the curious aspects of faith in our present day is the tension between people wanting God to act and being disappointed when God doesn’t act in ways they think God should. It can be a real temptation to think ‘if only God would do what I want’. And ‘if he’s a God that cares, shouldn’t he respond to my needs?’
 
One of the commentators wrote ‘God’s all-encompassing care is not a commodity to be gained by human beings through wheedling’
 
Walking the Lenten journey is about putting our needs in the context of God purposes. The relationship we have with God is not about us testing God, but about God testing us. Can we trust enough in God that we don’t need to worry about leaping off high buildings to prove God?
 
The third temptation is even more clearly about power – power over the nations of the world. Jesus could have thought – isn’t this what I’ve come for? If at a stroke, the nations are mine, I won’t need to do any more. But the Gospel refers to the way it was the devil who was offering him this power, on the basis of Jesus submitting to the devil’s reign. The cost of this route would be the taking away of the nations from God and condemning them to a life of darkness and evil.
 
Jesus’ responds ‘worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’
 
The challenge is both personal and political.
 
On a personal level, the key question is ‘who do I worship?’ ‘Who is at the centre of my life?’ ‘What are my main priorities?’ 
 
Lent is about reflecting on the grace and mercy of God as these touch our lives. In the tradition of observing Lent, each Sunday is free from what observance we might take up. And that’s so that we can keep reminding ourselves that the road we follow is not only to the cross and to death. When we follow in Jesus’ way, we know we are walking to the resurrection and the promise of new life. So we continue, through Lent, celebrating each week the day of resurrection.
 
On a political level, the question in the 3rd temptation is about the way God exercises power. God’s power isn’t imposed on the world, forcing people to do what God wants. God’s power comes out of the relationship that is built with God’s people, through worship and service. 
 
In God’s world there aren’t easy options and quick fixes. There’s a long, slow steady work of building the kingdom. This work can go through many ups and downs and face many setbacks. For this work to move forward, it needs people who choose to live in God’s way, people who can resist the temptation for short term gain, in favour of a long term commitment to the one from whom real life comes.
 
Let us travel this Lent journey, in the sure trust in the God who is with us in settled places and on our travels into the unknown.
 
Let us take time again to see our own lives in the light of Christ’s life. Let us take the risk of travelling with Jesus to his lonely destination of the cross. Let us travel confidently, for we already know the life that is beyond death.
 
Hymn    Will You Come And Follow Me?
Graham Maule | John L. Bell © 1987 WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland (Admin. by Wild Goose Resource Group) CCLI Licence No. 1064776 Sung by Joy Everingham and used with her kind permission
 

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known?
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

Will you love the “you” you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I’ll go where Your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
 
Prayers of Intercession
 
Loving God, help us to walk unafraid into the places of wilderness in our lives. Give us the strength to struggle with what tempts us and leads us away from following your path to life. May we discern this Lent what to take up and what to give up.
 
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
 
Gracious God, we pray for your church, that we may resist the temptation to be popular, and rise to the calling of being faithful, whatever difficulties and challenges we may face along the way.
 
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
 
Creator God, we give thanks for the gift of your created world. May we care for creation and for all those affected by hunger and floods and other misuses of this gifts of this earth. Grant wisdom to our leaders to bring about change and climate justice.
 
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
 
Peace-making God, we pray for this troubled world, and those who are suffering through injustice, abuse and oppression. We pray for all who govern, that they may have the gift of wisdom and discernment for all the peoples within their care. We pray for places of war, that there may be peace.
 
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
 
Merciful God, we pray for those we know personally who are suffering, in body or mind or spirit. Come with your Holy Spirit and your gift of healing to those who we name in the silence before you.
 
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
 
Eternal God, we remember those who have died, giving thanks for their lives, and we pray for all those who mourn their loss, that they may be comforted.
 
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
 
Loving and merciful God, we give you thanks that you hear our prayers, both spoken and unspoken. Receive now all that we have offered in words and silence, that it may be your will that is done, and your kingdom that comes.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen
 
Offertory Prayer
 
We offer to you ourselves and all that we have.
We give you thanks that you pour out your gifts on us, 
even in our times of struggle and difficulty.
Help us to give us freely to you and the work of your kingdom, 
as you have given to us.
We dedicate these gifts of money 
as a token of the dedication of our lives.
Receive what we offer and all that we have, 
and bless us in your service.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
  
Hymn    Do Not Be Afraid For I Have Redeemed You
Gerard Markland © 1978 Kevin Mayhew Ltd CCLI Licence No. 1064776
sung by Justin Stretch from St Laurence’s Church, Chorley and used with his kind permission.
 
Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you,
I have called you by your name; you are mine.
 

When you walk through 
the waters I’ll be with you
you will never sink 
beneath the waves.
 
When the fire is burning 
all around you,
you will never be consumed 
by the flames.
 
When the fear of loneliness 
is looming, 
then remember 
I am at your side.
 
When you dwell
in the exile of the stranger,
remember you are 
precious in my eyes.
 
You are mine, O my child; 
I am your Father,
and I love you 
with a perfect love.

Blessing
 
Go, ready to face the wilderness.
Go, with the strength to resist temptation.
Go, to live in the way that God opens up.
Go, knowing that God is present each day and surrounds you with love.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
Father and Creator, 
Son and Redeemer, 
Spirit and Sustainer,
rest upon each one of you, now and always. Amen.
 
This material is only for use in local churches not for posting to websites or any other use.  Local churches must have copyright licences to allow the printing and projection of words for hymns.

 

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]]> URC Daily Devotion Sunday 26 February 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/02/26/urc-daily-devotion-sunday-26-february-2023/ Sun, 26 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotionsunday-26-february-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion Sunday 26 February 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; 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26 February 2023
 
Psalm 124

Our help is in the name of God the LORD;
the one who made the heavens with a word;
Creator of the world, each living thing.
Come, bless the LORD, lift up your hearts and sing:
“Our help is in the name of God the LORD.”

When evil seems to have the upper hand,
call on God’s name: the LORD, the great “I AM.”
When troubles rise and all around gives way,
remember God stays with us night and day.’
Our help is in the name of God the LORD.

Praise God the LORD who hears the captives’ prayer;
like bird escaping from the fowler’s snare,
we are set free; our praises now ascend:
“Blessed by the LORD: Creator, Saviour, Friend.
Our help is in the name of God the LORD.”

Martin Tel © 2011 Faith Alive Christian Resources
CCLI licence number 1064776
You can hear the tune, Old 124th, here https://hymnary.org/media/fetch/205222

Reflection

Psalm 124, as is generally understood, is one of the psalms which pilgrims sang on their way to the Jerusalem temple for one of the great religious festivals.  And as they did, they cast their minds back to some terrible time in the past when they were threatened with doom-laden chaos – recalling how God was there for them through it all.  Then, with heart-felt praise, they blessed God who rescued them.   

There is a similar sense of praise and blessing in Martin Tel’s version of the psalm.  He divides the words into three sections rather than two.  Now God is evoked at the beginning rather than the end as the creator of heaven and earth.  In the second verse, he is hailed as our saviour, always with us in the most difficult of circumstances, and finally he is praised as our friend, who hears our prayer and sets us free.    Coursing through the verses is a sense of divine mystery – the attributes are not allowed to become too familiar – this is the great “I am,” God for ever and God with us, and the emphasis is on trust and. hope for the future.

This is proclaimed and sealed in the repeated words “Our help is in the name of God the Lord,” words which we latter-day pilgrims often affirm in our services of worship.  For we too remember the ways in which God has blessed us in the past, how through Jesus Christ our Saviour he continues to deliver us from the chaos of our lives and set us free.  And in joy, praise and thanksgiving, we in our turn bless God.

Prayer

Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Gracious God, we thank you, 
that you extend your grace to us,
calling us to a life of gratitude,
calling us to service in your Kingdom.
We bless you, and praise your holy name.
Amen.

 

 

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Today’s writer

The Rev’d Fleur Houston, retired minister, member of Macclesfield and Bollington United Reformed Church

 

 

Copyright

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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]]> URC Daily Devotion Saturday 25 February 2023 https://cpurc.org.uk/2023/02/25/urc-daily-devotion-saturday-25-february-2023/ Sat, 25 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://mailchi.mp/urc/urc-daily-devotionsaturday-25-february-2023 [Read more...]]]> URC Daily Devotion Saturday 25 February 2023 p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; 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Daily Devotions from the URC

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25 February 2023
 
 St Matthew 15: 29 – 39

After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’  The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’  Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’  Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground,  he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.  Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.  After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Reflection

‘How many loaves have you?’  Jesus has spent time healing the crowds, but he sees they have other needs.  They are hungry.  He asks the disciples, ‘What can you do to help these people?’  

The disciples may be a bit surprised.  Perhaps they think, ‘Hmm, we only brought enough for our dinner!’  Someone thinks quickly, adding what they have together, and answers Jesus, ‘Seven loaves and a few SMALL fish.’  Translation:  ‘Really, we don’t have much, Lord, this is ALL we have to offer.’

It’s enough for Jesus.  He somehow gets the attention of the crowd, orders them to sit (imagine a wave of thousands of people slowly sitting down) and offers the food.  It’s enough for everyone.

Corporately, we have lurched from one crisis to another in the last three years.  Personally, we may be facing a crisis.  If this is the case, we may feel we have nothing left to give.  ‘I can barely make it through the day, what can I do for someone else?’  In addition, as churches, our resources may be fewer than they were 3 or 13 years ago.  We are older; we are tired.  We have less money in our savings. ‘What can we do for someone else?’

Maybe this is how the disciples felt.  ‘Jesus does such an amazing job, what can we offer in the midst of these healing moments?’  Jesus simply asks them to see the needs of the crowd, look at what they have and offer it with thankful hearts.

We are faced with crowds in need. What are we doing in response? We have buildings which we can open to offer people warm spaces and safe gatherings.  We have an extra few cans in our shopping carts for the food bank.  What else do we have, that we perhaps take for granted, that we can share? 

Prayer

Living Lord, we thank you for the healing you bring to the life of the world.  For those who dedicate their lives to bring healing through medicine, for the carers who work in homes and care homes, we thank you.  Give us wisdom to see into our own lives and offer what we can, however simple, to provide for the needs of your people.  Amen.

 

 

 

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Today’s writer

The Rev’d Martha McInnes, Minister, Cardiff and Penarth Pastorate 

Copyright

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Copyright © 2023 United Reformed Church, All rights reserved.

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