Dear Friends,

Happy Sunday! I hope this finds you all well.

I’m not sure when many of you read this worship offering from me, but whenever it is I hope that it is a peaceful and uplifting time with the Lord. To offer our homes to the Lord, making him welcome, reminds me of Mary and Martha. They made Jesus at ease, even though each of the sisters had a different way of being with him. We are the same. Each of us has our own way of welcoming Jesus into our lives, just like them.

Martha was busy making everywhere shiny and clean, while Mary chose to sit and listen. I’m a bit of both of them, you are probably the same, and, of course, that doesn’t matter – we just have to be ourselves.

We are the family of God, each of us different, each of us special, and that’s all that matters.

Much love always, and many blessings for you and your families.

Julie Ann

julieannheath@pottersmaze.co.uk

07801 467348

 

A Time of Worship

Let us begin by singing.

Hymn: St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

All creatures of our God and King,

lift up your voice and with us sing

hallelujah, hallelujah!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam:

O praise Him, O praise Him,

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

 

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship Him in humbleness,

O praise Him, hallelujah!

Praise, praise the Father,

Praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three-in-One:

O praise Him, O praise Him,

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

 

You may like to use these words:

 

See what love the Father has given us

that we should be called the children of God.

 

You are my sons and daughters:

this day I begotten you.

See what love the Father has given us.

 

As many as received him,

to them he gave power to become the children of God.

See what love the Father has given us.

 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit.

See what love the Father has given us

That we should be called the children of God.

 

A hymn asking for forgiveness and peace:

Hymn: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92)

 

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,

forgive our foolish ways;

re-clothe us in our rightful mind;

in purer lives Thy service find,

in deeper reverence, praise.

 

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,

till all our strivings cease;

take from our souls the strain and stress,

and let our ordered lives confess

the beauty of Thy peace.

 

Bible Reading: Matthew 11: 25-28

At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son choses to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

Hymn: Martin Rinkart (1586-1649)

Now thank we all our God,

with hearts, and hands, and voices;

who wondrous things hath done,

in whom His world rejoices;

Who, from our mothers’ arms,

hath blest us on our way

with countless gifts of love,

and still is ours today.

 

All praise and thanks to God

the Father now be given,

the Son, and Him who reigns

with Them in highest heaven;

the one eternal God,

whom heaven and earth adore;

for thus it was, is now,

and shall be evermore.

 

Bible Reading: Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

 

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he that made us, and we are his,

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name.

 

For the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

 

A Reflection.

We keep missing each other don’t we? We know wherever we may be God is with us, but we are not with each other in the usual way. Whether it be Easter, Mothering Sunday or Fathers’ day, or any other occasion when we celebrate together, we are limited, and have to work within certain guidelines. We could choose to be down about this, and that would be understandable, or we could take a moment to look back at our memories we hold that make us smile, and we, importantly, we can also make plans for future events and celebrations.

I was thinking back to the Christmas lunch I came to last December with many of you. The food was outstanding, and the atmosphere was lively and fun. I still have the photographs of your Harvest offering! Wow that was amazing! The knitted Biblical scenes at the Art festival - I loved them! The gift of the knitted garland which I received from you hangs on the back of our front door – a floral circle of love. So many wonderful occasions, so many great memories, and what a legacy! They are just a few of my memories of our Church family, which I feel very much a part of. There will be many more to come, and I for one can’t wait.

Then we have our own family memories, and families are all so different, but it is shared love, in my opinion, that creates a family. A couple of years ago I, being bossy as usual, organised my family to have some professional photographs taken. The twelve of us arrived at the photography studio in Derby feeling a little nervous and camera shy, but we had no need to worry. Our photographer made us feel relaxed and welcome, and her photographs captured us all in a very natural way, she even charmed my Dad – which is not an easy thing to do. I can’t help but smile when I look at the images, and remember that day when a rubber chicken, making a very unexpected noise when squeezed, was used to make us all giggle, instead of saying the word ‘cheese.’

You all will have special memories just like mine, and they bring us great joy when we remember them.

Sadly memories are not always good. Sadness, regret, and pain can play their part too, that’s part of life, and we deal with them as best we can. We lose loved ones, we are separated from others, we say things that maybe we shouldn’t – and we get hurt! Tears can be the silent, painful, memories that run down our face when we least expect them.

I chose the readings today because they give me a sense of optimism.  

We can take comfort from Jesus’ words. If we are suffering we can go to Him. If we are missing someone we can be reassured that He understands. If we are hurting we can go to Him, knowing that He feels our pain.

‘I am gentle and humble in heart.’ Jesus says, ‘Come to me.’

There is a phrase that people use when they are saying goodbye, ‘Missing you already!’

Jesus misses us every day, so let’s not forget to answer His call. Amen.

 

Prayers

Let us now have a time of prayer.

Lord’s Prayer.

This is a special prayer for Father’s Day you may wish to use:

Heavenly Father,

you entrusted your Son Jesus,

the child of Mary,

to the care of Joseph, an earthly father.

Bless all fathers

as they care for their families.

Give them strength and wisdom,

tenderness and patience,

support them in the work they have to do,

protecting those who look to them,

as we look to you for love and salvation,

through Jesus Christ our rock and defender.

Amen.

 

Hymn: Bind us together, Lord. Bob Gillman

 

Bind us together, Lord

Bind us together

With cords that cannot be broken;

Bind us together,

Bind us together, Lord,

Bind us together,

O bind us together with love.

There is only one God,

there is only one King,

there is only one body –

that is why we sing:

Bind us together, Lord

Bind us together

With cords that cannot be broken;

Bind us together,

Bind us together, Lord,

Bind us together,

O bind us together with love.

 

You are the family of God,

You are the promise divine,

You are God’s chosen desire,

You are the glorious new wine.

Bind us together, Lord

Bind us together

With cords that cannot be broken;

Bind us together,

Bind us together, Lord,

Bind us together,

O bind us together with love.

 

A prayer you may like to finish with:

In darkness and in light,

In trouble and in joy,

Help us, heavenly Father,

To trust your love,

To serve your purpose,

And to praise your name;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Grace

 

©Church of England New patterns for worship

©Mission Praise