Melton Team Parish Vicar's Reflective Worship

Welcome to a time of Reflective Worship

Today we come to God as we are: seeking to meet with Him. We bring to God our sorrows and our joys, our stress and struggles: seeking God’s transforming love. We come to God to worship Him in spirit and in truth: trusting the promise that God will meet with those who seek Him.

Opening Prayer

Merciful God, teach us to be faithful in change and uncertainty, that trusting in Your word and obeying Your will we may enter the unfailing joy of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(CofE Common Worship Alternative Collect for Bible Sunday)

We say sorry to God and receive His forgiveness

Lord, You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68^f). Forgive us when we fail to believe and trust in You. Lord, have mercy.

Lord, Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Forgive us when we turn away from following Your Way. Christ, have mercy.

Lord, Your word is Good News for all people (Matthew 28:19^f). Forgive us when we don’t share Your word with others. Lord, have mercy.

Lord, speak into our lives now Your word of pardon and peace. May You grant us time for amendment of life, and the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let's say or sing prayerfully...

Speak O Lord, as we come to You
to receive the food of Your holy word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
that the light of Christ might be seen today
in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfil in us
all Your purposes, for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
in the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
let their truth prevail over unbelief.

 Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
that will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
and by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
as the earth is filled with Your glory.

Keith Getty (b.1974) and Stuart Townend (b.1963) © 2005 Thankyou Music/admin. by worshiptogether. com songs excluding UK & Europe, admin. by Kingswaysongs, a division of D C Cook www.kingswayworship.co.uk 

Speak O Lord, as we come to You - Getty & Townend - recorded remotely by a soloist from St Martin’s Voices in their home, & edited together

Bible Reading

As we prepare to hear and reflect upon God's word to us today, we pause to pray:

Lord, thank You for Your word to us in Holy Scripture. May we hear and respond to it in the power of Your Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Matthew chapter 24 verses 30 - 35

Jesus said: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

For the word of the Lord: thanks be to God.

Reflection

As the great Scottish novelist, historian and poet, Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), lay dying, he turned to his friend and son-in-law, John Lockhart, and asked him, “Will you read to me from the Book?’ Lockhart was puzzled as to which of his many books his father-in-law meant, so he asked him, “Which book?” “Which book?” replied Walter Scott; “There is but one book; bring the Bible”. In his last moments on earth, Scott was comforted and encouraged by what God had to say to him, through his most valuable possession: the Bible.

Bible Sunday is the day when many churches celebrate the gift of Scripture to us - the Holy Bible - upon which the social and moral foundations of western civilisation were built. Five hundred years ago, men and women gave their lives to translate and distribute the Bible in our nation. Now it is available in over four hundred languages worldwide. Yet here in the UK, maybe we take the availability of the Bible for granted. We have Bibles in our homes that lie on shelves gathering dust; while there are Christians in countries like North Korea, Somalia and Iran who are literally dying to have access to even a few pages of a Bible. Bible Sunday is here to remind us to listen more carefully to God speaking to us through Holy Scripture and to apply what we hear to our daily lives.

As we seek to do this, we can be encouraged by our sister and brother Christians in other places where life is even more of a daily struggle than it is for most of us. Some of you will be aware of the Bible Society - an organisation that for over 200 years has been working all around the world to help people engage with God’s word in Scripture, so that lives can change for good. Here’s just one example among very many that you can find on Bible Society’s website:

Mu Weixu is a 33-year-old preacher who lives in a mountainous area of Yunnan province in China. He was facing many challenges even before the coronavirus outbreak. For him, responding to the call to serve Christ as a poor preacher living in a rural area meant giving up his farming income to go out and preach the gospel. Mu also has a wife and new-born baby son to support. When Covid-19 started spreading, the mountains that preachers like Mu had to climb to continue their God-given mission suddenly got much bigger. The suspension of all church meetings during the lockdown meant the income of preachers like Mu evaporated. These situations can lead to rural preachers abandoning much-needed ministries in order to survive. And in China there is already a huge shortage of trained pastors, with just one trained leader for every 6,700 Christians.

Mu admits he was tempted to quit to seek a better-paid job in the city, especially after the birth of his baby. But he kept going, lifted up by the generosity, both in donations and in prayer, of Christians thousands of miles away in England and Wales. Mu wanted to share his gratitude. He said, ‘I am thankful for your support, for now I can visit more brothers and sisters, and travel far to preach God’s word. What’s more, the needs of our baby can be taken care of now. This has strengthened my faith to know that God will always provide for me as I serve him faithfully!’

In today’s reading from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”. The 18^th century philosopher and critic of Christianity, Voltaire, said, “Within a hundred years the Bible will be obsolete and will have gone out of circulation altogether”. A hundred years later the Bible was more popular than ever. Voltaire’s own house in Paris was converted into a Bible factory, churning out Bibles by the hour! Attacks on the Bible are nothing new; but God’s word is indestructible and eternal.

Perhaps you’ve come across the tongue-twister: “Beware beautifully bound Bibles balancing on bending bookshelves”? Try saying that really quickly several times! The Bible was not given simply to increase our knowledge; it was given to change our lives, but that’s unlikely to happen if we just allow our copy of the Bible to gather dust on a bookshelf. Some books inform, and even reform. The Bible transforms.

Actor David Suchet - now Sir David - well-known for his title role in Poirot - tells how, while staying in an American hotel, he had an impulsive desire to read the Bible. When he found one, he started to read the New Testament and there, he says, “I suddenly discovered the way of life that should be followed”. Having himself experienced a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ through Scripture, Suchet has recorded the entire Bible - available on CD and via the App store. This has become my favourite audio version of the Bible.

In whatever way we choose to access Scripture, what matters is that you and I receive God’s word regularly, allowing our lives to be shaped by it. Then we shall keep growing as disciples of Jesus Christ and become more Christ-like as His Holy Spirit brings God’s living word alive in us.

Let's pray...

First we pray with the Collect:

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, through patience, and the comfort of Your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life,
which You have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession:

Lord, speak to Your Church: Your words of encouragement and challenge to all Your people here and around the world. Especially we pray for Bishops Martyn and Guli and everyone in this Diocese of Leicester, that as we seek to be Shaped by God Together we may be true to Holy Scripture and faithful in proclaiming the Gospel by what we do as well as what we say. Lord, thank You for Your word: help us to live by it.

Lord, speak to those in authority: Your words of wisdom and guidance to the leaders of this and every nation - especially as they struggle to deal with the dire consequences of both climate change and the Covid pandemic for health and livelihoods, education and employment. Influence their decisions by Your Holy Spirit that they may uphold truth and justice and genuinely seek the common good of all creation. Lord, thank You for Your word: help us to live by it.

Lord, speak to those in despair or distress, those weighed down by worry or sickness of body, mind or spirit: Your words of healing, wholeness, and hope. Especially we pray now in a moment of silence for those in our thoughts who need Your divine comfort today…   And we pray too for all who work to bring relief to the suffering, including key workers at the forefront of the battle with the second wave of coronavirus. Lord, thank You for Your word: help us to live by it.

Lord, speak to those who mourn the loss of loved ones and friends: Your words of peace and promise of eternal life in Christ. We remember before You those whom we have loved and lost whose memory we treasure…   And we pray that all who weep tears of bereavement may know Your presence with them in their grief…    May we continue to be inspired by the example of those who have lived and died following the Way of Jesus the living Word. Lord, thank You for Your word: help us to live by it.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours now and for ever. Amen.

Let's sing or say prayerfully...

Lord, Thy word abideth,
and our footsteps guideth;
who its truth believeth
light and joy receiveth.

When our foes are near us,
then Thy word doth cheer us,
word of consolation,
message of salvation.

When the storms are o'er us,
and dark clouds before us,
then its light directeth,
and our way protecteth.

Who can tell the pleasure,
who recount the treasure,
by Thy word imparted
to the simple-hearted?

Word of mercy, giving
succour to the living;
word of life, supplying
comfort to the dying.

O that we discerning
its most holy learning,
Lord, may love and fear Thee,
evermore be near Thee.

Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)

Lord, Thy word abideth - sung by St Martin’s Voices

Closing Prayer

Faithful One, Whose Word is life: Come to us day by day with the saving power of Your Spirit to free our praise, inspire our prayer, and shape our lives for the Kingdom of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Conclusion

Hear the teaching of Jesus: â€˜Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it’.  (Luke 11:28)

Let us go now to do God’s will...

The Revd Dr Mary Barr Melton Mowbray Team Vicar

Watch a 3 minute film about Bible Society's work