TAVISTOCK METHODIST CIRCUIT SERVICE ‘AT HOME’ FOR SUNDAY 29 AUGUST, 2021

(Prepared By Graham Skedgell)

“How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the Lord.”
Psalm 84, verses 1 and 2

HYMN

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
With gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
Kneel and adore him: the Lord is his Name!

Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness,
High on his heart he will bear it for thee,
And comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness,
Guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.

Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
Of the poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine;
For truth in its beauty, and love in its tenderness,
These are the offerings to lay on his shrine.

These, though we bring them in trembling and fearfulness,
He will accept for the Name that is dear;
Mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness,
Trust for our trembling and hope for our fear.

PRAYER
Father, as we come once more into your presence,
We acknowledge you to be the Lord of life; the creator of all things; the giver of all good gifts.
We come through no merit of our own, but because you have called us to come, just as we are.
As we kneel before you, we lay down everything that would keep us from worshipping you, and we ask you to draw us ever closer to you, in true humility.
We seek your love. We seek your comfort. We seek your guidance, as we live life day by day. Come to us, Lord, we pray.
And in the time we now spend in worship, may your Spirit lead us into your truth.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN

THE LORD’S PRAYER

BIBLE READING:
Please read James chapter 1, verses 17-27
You might like to read this from different versions of the Bible, and compare them.

HYMN

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul

Chorus:
It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet,
Though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control
That Christ has regarded
My helpless estate
And has shed His own blood for my soul

Chorus

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul!

Chorus

And Lord, haste the day
when my faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound,
And the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul!

Chorus

REFLECTION
“Every good and perfect gift is from above”
The letter of James is only a short letter, but it contains a lot to get our teeth into. The section we’re looking at today begins with a wonderful statement that every good gift comes from God. In some versions of the Bible, the word gift occurs twice, and reads: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” This is because in the language in which it was originally written, two different words are in fact used, both of which have been translated into English simply as gift.

The first occurrence concerns the act of giving: the second concerns the gift itself. When taken together, they give clear expression to God’s generosity of heart in giving, and his extravagance shown in the gift itself. That gift, says James, is “birth through the word of truth”, which is the gospel. James is reminding his readers, as I am trying to remind you now, that our birth into a God-centred life comes from “the Father of the heavenly lights”, who is the giver of all that is good; the giver of every good and perfect gift.

And as if that wasn’t enough to be thankful for, he goes on to point out that God “does not change like shifting shadows.” It’s a phrase echoed in the words of the well known hymn ‘Great is Thy faithfulness’, which says, “there is no shadow of turning with Thee.” In times when nothing seems to be certain, and everything around us seems to be changing, it’s reassuring to remind ourselves that the giver of every good and perfect gift never changes.

How we use the gift of new life is at the heart of the rest of this passage. James says we need to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Really? Yes, really. Something for all of us to think about. I wonder if I am “quick to listen”. I wonder if I am “slow to speak. I wonder if I am “slow to become angry.”

If we’re serious about living the life God has given us, James says that we need to “get rid of all moral filth, and the evil that is so prevalent,” and “humbly accept the word planted in us, which can save us.” This calls for much more than a quick whizz around with a spiritual cleaner, or even a more thorough ‘deep clean.’ It goes to the heart. It penetrates our very being. it is radical, because it requires a commitment of the will.

But even that is not enough, because James goes on to urge his readers not merely to simply “listen to the word, and so deceive ourselves.” But to “Do what it says.” On reading those words I was reminded of a neighbour of ours, when I was growing up, who was going through difficult times, and finding it hard to make ends meet. On one occasion, I remember her saying, “I don’t need your sympathy. I need your help.” Something that has stayed with me ever since. Because it’s not enough to be aware of the needs of other people, we need to do something about it.

It’s easy to sit and listen to (or read) sermons week after week, and say, “That was a good  message.” but do nothing about it. James says, “Do what it says.” Of course this begs the question, “What is it that we should do? As if anticipating the question, James refers to two things we should do. “look after orphans and widows in their distress” and “keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

And yes, we need to do both, whilst holding them in tension. Because if in doing the first, we wear ourselves out, and neglect our own spiritual health and well-being, what good is that? On the other hand, if we look after of ourselves, but do not care for the marginalised in society, what good is that? We need to do both.

These few verses of Scripture challenge me. Perhaps they challenge you too. If so, let’s resolve to put what we have read into practice. Let’s “Do what it says.” And then in God’s strength, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we’ll be amazed at what he can do in us and through us. “Every good and perfect gift is from above”
AMEN

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Father, with so many things to pray about, we focus our minds today on just these three.
We pray for the situation in Afghanistan.
We lay before you the people of that country,
Those who have stayed, and those who have been forced to flee;
Those living with terror, who fear for their lives, and for the future;
Those who will never be able to live life in the way they hoped.
We bring this before you. And we pray that peace may yet prevail.

We pray too for our own land, and for all those
Whose lives have been affected by the pandemic.
For those who have lost loved ones.
For those who have lost their health and strength.
And for those who seek to bring healing to broken lives.
May they know the touch of your hand upon them, whether in hospital or at home.

And we pray that in the coming days,
We may truly be people who are
Quick to listen; slow to speak; and slow to become angry.

And may we be people who not only listen to your word, but do what it says.
These prayers we bring through Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN

HYMN

God’s Spirit is in my heart,
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do,
What I have to do.

He has sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free

And go tell everyone the news that Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that God’s Kingdom has come.

Just as the Father sent me,
So I’m sending you out to be
My witnesses throughout the world,
The whole of the world.
Don’t worry what you have to say,
Don’t worry because on that day
God’s Spirit will speak in your heart,
Will speak in your heart.

AND A FINAL BLESSING
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine on you
And be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you
And give you peace. AMEN

(Prepared by Jo Milner)

Opening Prayer:
Loving Heavenly Father, we may not be able today to join with our brothers and sisters in the faith to worship, pray and hear Your Word physically, but here in our homes we join together in heart and mind to lift up Your name in our spirits, knowing that You are with us in all of our locations as You are the Omnipresent God and we are Your body scattered throughout the world.

We ask you now to quieten our hearts, concentrate our thoughts as we expectantly read this service today. May Your Holy Spirit enlighten us, encourage us and challenge us to grow in You and to share Your Truth with those who we do meet or have some form of contact with during the coming week so that Your Light will shine forth and chase away all forms of darkness, bringing hope help and healing to our homes and neighbourhoods.

In Jesus’ precious name we pray.
Amen.

Let us now sing our first hymn: Come let us join our cheerful songs by Isaac Watts. We may think we are singing a solo but there could well be, as the song says, ten thousand thousand tongues of angels joyfully praising the Lord with us!!

Come, let us join our cheerful songs
With angels round the throne;
Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,
But all their joys are one.

“Worthy is the Lamb” they cried
“Who died and now is praised”
“Worthy so” our hearts reply
To Him by whom we’re saved

Let all who dwell above the sky,
And air, and earth, and seas,
Unite to lift your glories high,
And speak your endless praise.

All creation joins in one
To bless the holy name
Of him that sits upon the throne,
And to adore the Lamb.

Jesus, worthy to receive
Blessings, more than we can give.
Jesus, worthy to receive
Blessings, more than we can give.

We say the Lord’s Prayer

Today’s reading is John 6:51-58

Reflection
Eating and Drinking the Lord Jesus
In the traditional Roman Catholic Mass, they believe in what is called Transubstantiation whereby they say that the wafer used becomes, at the ringing of a bell, the actual physical body of Christ and also at the ringing of a bell the wine becomes His actual blood. Thus, making possible the priestly ‘sacrifice’ of the mass.

For this to be true it means that Christ, in order to forgive sins, must needs be sacrificed by the priests on a daily basis. However, Romans 6:10 says that Christ died “once and for all” and that “For the death that He died, He died unto sin once: but the life that He lives He lives unto God’ and Hebrews 6:4-6 says that it is simply not possible to keep putting Christ on the cross.

In the sixteenth century in England during the reign of Queen Mary the first, many died at the stake for denying this doctrine of transubstantiation. In Foxes Book of Martyrs, we can read the famous accounts of the trail and executions of clergymen Ridley, Latimer, and former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer. Nicholas Ridley who helped shape the 1549 Prayer Book, along with Latimer were arrested in 1553 and taken before a papal commission where they were eventually condemned as heretics to be burnt at the stake. Just before the fire was lit Latimer was heard to say to Ridley; “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man (be courageous). We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, as I trust shall never be put out.”* Thomas Cranmer faced a similar fate soon after.

In John chapter 6 Jesus had performed the amazing miracle of feeding 5,000 people with 5 small loaves and two fish. The crowds demanded that to prove Himself as God’s Messiah He must provide them evermore with magical food. Jesus knew their hearts and upset their devious demands with a contra demand: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you.” What did Jesus mean?

He certainly wasn’t saying that they should become cannibals or that He should be daily sacrificed, but that they should surrender their lives to His Lordship and live by His Words alone. (Mat.4:4)

The Communion service was instituted by Jesus Himself at the Last Supper. We are instructed by Him to take part in this as often as we meet in remembrance of Him and what He suffered for us (Luke 22:19)

By reading other scriptures such as the writings of the Apostle Paul we see that it is us who are instructed to ‘die daily’ (1 Corinthians 15:31) and to ‘put to death the works of the flesh’ (Romans 8:13). Every day we must take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). We are to feed every day on His Word as our daily bread and to be prepared to drink the cup of suffering which He drank for us (Mat. 20:22,23).

In the Old Testament it was required that the priest must keep the fire on the sacrificial altar burning and it must never be put out (Leviticus 6:12). Every morning firewood had to be placed on the altar. In like manner we, the followers of Jesus, keep our faith in Him alive and full of passion by daily coming to the cross confessing our shortcomings to Him and daily reading His word. The more wood on the fire the brighter the light and the stronger the heat. The more we come to Him the stronger witnesses we are and the more like Him we become.

Like in the days of Cranmer, Ridely and Latimer there can still be heresy and wrong teaching going around and like in the days of Jesus there are people are looking for an easier way to come to Him than through repentance at the foot of the cross and daily dying to self.

But as a poem by Amy Carmichael says:

There is no life except by death
No vision but by faith.
And that eternal Passion saith:
‘Be emptied of glory and right and name.’

May we as Latimer said to Ridley ‘be of good comfort, play the man’/woman (be courageous) and ask God, through our lain down lives, to ‘light a candle so great’ to our generation that will shine for Him and never be put out.!!

Our next hymn is by John Bunyan written as he was imprisoned in Bedford jail for his faith taken from his famous work “The Pilgrims Progress”.

1 He who would valiant be
‘gainst all disaster,
let him in constancy
follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement
shall make him once relent
his first avowed intent
to be a pilgrim.

2 Who so beset him round
with dismal stories,
do but themselves confound—
his strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might,
though he with giants fights;
he will make good his right
to be a pilgrim.

3 Since, Lord, Thou dost defend
us with Thy Spirit,
we know we at the end
shall life inherit.
Then, fancies, flee away!
I’ll fear not what men say,
I’ll labour night and day
to be a pilgrim.

Prayers
Thank you, Father, for sending Your Son Jesus to be the Eternal Sacrifice for all our wrong doings. Thank you that He died once and for all the sins of the world and that whoever comes to Him through faith can find forgiveness and healing. Thank You that He sits at Your right hand and will one day come to take us home with Him in Your house where we will dwell with You and all the saints forever.

We come to you now and lift before You our brothers and sisters in the faith who are suffering for Your name’s sake. We are aware that there are many places in the world where like Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer of our country all those years ago, are right now being persecuted and even killed because of their love for Your Son Jesus in places like Nigeria, China and Afghanistan especially we pray for Your loving presence to surround them and through their suffering please set a fire going in those lands bringing many lost people into Your Kingdom.

We pray also for our nation and ask forgiveness for its turning away from Your Word and following sinful ways that lead to the break down of society through the use of drugs alcohol and other destructive lifestyles. We ask You to raise up people, including ourselves who You will equip to be salt and light to this generation in our land and who are willing to follow Jesus the Lamb wherever He leads at whatever the cost.

We now bring to you our personal concerns and thank you that we can be sure that you care about the smallest details of our lives and have great purposes for eachand every one of us.

We ask all these things in the precious name of the Lord Jesus,
Amen

Our final Hymn

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction, grace bestoweth:
And O what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house for ever.

Blessing
The blessing of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, remain with us always.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!!

You can view or download a PDF file of the “At Home” service, prepared by David Norman – click here>