The Call to Worship Hugh led our Worship today and called us to
spend time with God.
Hymn TiS 526 “Lord Jesus
Christ, You have come to us””
Patrick Appleford wrote the words for this hymn
especially for Holy Communion. The
simple message of the birth of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection is told
with a positive promise of the power that will come into our lives if we follow
His commands - and walk in the path of the Living Lord”. While working in the Docklands in East London in the 1950s Patrick Appleford strived to
write in such a way as to bring the Gospel message to troubled young people who
had become estranged from the traditional paths of “the Church”.
Prayer of Adoration
and Confession: From the moment we
awake to face the day ahead, you are with us, through good times and bad, Your presence enough for our needs.
Every
day we will praise you; And extol your
name for ever
Through the hours of the day, in our travels and work, you are with us
always. In decisions we make, even in
mistakes we make, your wisdom is enough for our needs.
Every
day we will praise you; And extol your name for ever
As we lay down to rest at the end of the day, you are with us, as we lay
our fears at your feet, Your peace is enough for our needs.
Every
day we will praise you; And extol your name for ever - Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord God, your love for humankind
present in the beginning of all things, extends throughout history and touches
even my life. Your love sees failings
and forgives. Your love feels pain and
wipes away our tears. Your love knows
grief and comforts the sorrowful. Your
love sees sin and still loves the sinner.
Forgive us when we fail to live lives that reflect your love. Forgive us the many times when we take for
granted all that you have done for us. Transform
us through your Spirit and empower us to serve you and serve those around you this
day and all days. We ask it in your
Son’s name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Offering / Prayer: With our offering we thanked God for all we have been given and for time, place, people and church in our lives.
Men’s Choir:
“A Wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord”
Malcolm, Grahame, Stephen and Hugh sang in such perfect harmony, with expert
sensitive piano accompaniment from Mavis; that I wished that they could keep on
singing. This is another one of the
8,000 hymns written by Fanny Crosby who we mentioned two weeks ago (Blog 22nd
June).
Hymn TiS 491 "Father welcomes all His children"
Robin Mann, who
wrote this hymn, is an Australian writer of modern hymns and songs and he and
his wife Dorothy call themselves “down-to-earth” and “commonplace” Christians”.
They are both musicians and work to motivate and inspire worship and meditation
in many countries.
Bible Reading
Read for us by Jack. “Miserable
creature that I am, who is there to rescue me out of this body doomed to death?” God alone through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Thanks be to God! (Romans)
“How can I describe this generation?
They are like children sitting in the market place and shouting at each other.” (Matthew)
Announcements:
Reflection:
“My
yoke is easy and my burden is light”
Hugh explained that the people of the New Testament times would have
understood the world of agriculture and the idea of a yoke which was used for
oxen to plough or for humans to carry heavy loads. “They
would have been able to tangibly imagine the yoke of the oxen carrying a plow
through a field. They could also remember the feeling of the wood digging into
their back as they carried heavy objects or buckets of water.”
The Jewish people of the day studied the Scriptures avidly and followed
the plethora of laws and rules for their religion. Their relationship with God was defined by
these rules, yet Hugh told us that all these learned men with their rules and
studying of all the religious laws; “totally
got it wrong”. He went on to remind
us; “We follow Christ not because he established
a new religion, but because He promised to be with us in our entire lives. What
more guarantee would you need in this short life in such an uncertain world?”
He went on to say: “In today’s
reading from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus still calls us to follow him. And He also
calls us to take His yoke. Think about
it for a moment. When you have taken His
yoke, it will never ever be possible for you to proceed or advance all by
yourself. Once you are under His yoke,
you have to walk right next to Him at all times regardless.”
What an idea to consider. If being
a Christian is simply “following Christ, who knows us best, loves us most, and
died for us and lived again for all of us”, we should surely eagerly accept the
conclusion of Hugh’s thoughtful reflection.
Christianity is a way of life. Our
religion is all about our relationship with Christ. And following Christ is the best and surest
way to keep up our relationship with Him.
Take His yoke and walk with him side by side, whatever comes in your way,
wherever He leads you.
Of course, there will be rough roads
ahead of you sometimes. There will be a storm coming some other time. There
will be sometimes steep slopes awaiting you, and some of them might look never
ending. But count on me, friends. You
will end up being just fine. Your life will be Just Fine. Because… Christ will be always, virtually always with
you.
I could not help thinking of the
words of that often quoted poem, “Footprints in the Sand”. I am sure my path “through the sand of life”
has many single sets of footprints – thank God!
Remember the reassurance of the final verse?
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child. I love you,
and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering.
When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.
and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering.
When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.
Prayers of the People: Pat led our prayers for the people this
morning. She spoke of the blessings we
enjoy - like warm houses, security, health services and so much more. She commended to God in prayer - all who are
willing to move from these kinds of blessings and go out of their comfort zone
to bring help and Your love to the people of the world who are
“overlooked”. Pat also prayed for the
people known to the Marsden
Road Church
Communion Hymn TiS 511 “Let
us break bread together”
There are many different variations
of this African American spiritual which probably dates back to the eighteenth
century; although the tradition of singing it at communion services is said to
have begun after the American Civil War. This hymn always suggests that we could adore
and praise God with much more abandonment than we of Anglo-Saxon heritage
usually allow ourselves to practice.
After the Passing of the Peace the table was prepared and the bread
and wine were blessed by Hugh for the people to come forward to receive
Communion after the traditional words about the first communion meal and the
proclamation of our Faith:
Christ
has died: Christ is risen: Christ will come again.
Prayer after
Communion:
We thank you that you have fed
us with this holy bread and wine, the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ
our Savior. We now become members of His
Body, and
thus His agents in this world. Lord our
Father, Bless us so we will be a blessing to many people around us. Help us to live your Kingdom life, so they
will get to know you better through us.
In Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Hymn TiS 659 "The Lord is my Shepherd"
The Benediction & Blessing We were
sent out by Hugh with the comforting words: “The
grace of Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you and go with you this day and all the days ahead.” Amen.
Retiring hymn: “May
the feet of God walk with you”
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