SUNDAY 05 JULY 2020:                   REV. ANDREW DART

We are now working towards the re-opening of our Churches but because of all that needs to be done and the restrictions still in place, we are aiming for September.  If Church Trustees feel confident in opening before then, that is good, but we want every Church to be Covid safe before we invite our Congregations back.   Until then, we continue to worship together but in our own homes.   A version of the following Service can be found on the Circuit website: www.lambethmethodistcircuit.org.uk and a recorded Service will be available on the Southwark and Deptford Circuit website from 10.30 a.m. on Sunday www.southwarkanddeptfordcircuit.org.uk.

OPENING PRAYER
Jesus, I come to you to celebrate your love and to receive your word.

You taught that we must worship God in Spirit.  I long to worship with your people, but I know you are with me, in these difficult times.  Amen.

HYMN                  Love divine, all loves excelling (Singing the Faith No 503)
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation,
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation,
perfectly restored in thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise!
                                       Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

PRAYER
Let us pray together
Lord God, I am in wonder at the world you have created and the life you have given me. I thank you for that gift of life and the joy of sharing my life with others.

I have not always lived my life as you would wish.  Yet, even as I confess this to you, I know your forgiveness by the suffering and death of your Son, Jesus Christ, my Saviour.  Amen.

TODAY’S LETTER TO AN EARLY CHURCH
Romans 7. 15-25a
I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.  But in fact, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.  I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So, I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30
But to what will I compare this generation?  It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,  “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;    we wailed, and you did not mourn.”   For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’

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 chooses 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.’

TIME TO REFLECT
Jesus’ says that He is offering a new way to God.  Like the old way, it aims for salvation, but He offers us strength and comfort on our path to God.

He calls us to accept the need for forgiveness, and the salvation He offers to us.
Then we can receive the Spirit to follow God’s way with the knowledge of His Love.

Jesus says people criticise Him for not conforming to their expectations.  Those who fear His message point to how He lives His life, as they had done regarding John the Baptist.

If, through our calling, we receive or fear such criticism, we must rise above it.  Seeing others, we should look to what their words and actions mean for us, rather than judging their outward appearance.

It is reported that when Sydney Carter wrote the well-known hymn “Lord of the Dance” he expected the Church to dislike it because it was different.  Happily it was accepted, perhaps not as quickly as it deserved, and is now a familiar celebration of Jesus’ life. 

Jesus speaks of the word of God being hidden from the wise, of those who allow wisdom or knowledge to hide the love of God, and who see the detail of the Law as overriding God’s calling that we should love God and our neighbour. 

In the tale of the ‘Good Samaritan’ it was a priest and a Levite (someone who would assist the priest in the Temple), who would know the Law, who walked by.

In writing to the Romans, Paul speaks of the conflict between following the Law and accepting the call of Jesus.

This does not mean that we can disregard the Law.  Indeed, often the Law shows us how to love our neighbour, but the love God shows us is not following a set of rules but a supreme act of love through suffering.  Our call to respond should also be through Love.

All this is through God’s love for us, shown in the grace we are offered when he sent His Son to die for our forgiveness and salvation.

Take a time to sit quietly

A TIME OF PRAYER
I thank you Lord for the gift of your Son: for His life, His sufferings and death and for His Resurrection and Ascension, for the witness, salvation and hope He gives.

I thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit to those who have come to you, and especially for the gift of that Spirit in your Church.

I rejoice in the work and witness of your Church and pray that it may continue to strive to fulfil your work and proclaim your Love.

I pray for the needs of the world, thinking especially at this time of those affected by the Coronavirus, but remembering too all who suffer including those whose plight seemingly goes unnoticed. Be with all those suffering in any way. Especially be with …………… (people known to me)

Be with those whose lives impact others: leaders in government, or the workplace, health care workers, teachers, emergency workers and all those on whom people depend. Grant them the wisdom and the strength to know and to follow your way.

Lord, I commend all men, women, and children to your unfailing love through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Amen 

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father……

HYMN                  “Lord of the Dance” StF  no 247
I danced in the morning
when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon
and the stars and the sun;
and I came down from heaven
and I danced on the earth,
at Bethlehem I had my birth.

'Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance.' said he,
and I'll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I'll lead you all in the Dance,' said he.

I danced for the scribe
and the pharisee
but they would not dance
and they wouldn't follow me;
I danced for the fishermen,
for James and John;
they came with me
and the Dance went on.

I danced on the Sabbath
and I cured the lame:
the holy people
said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped
and they hung me on high,
and they left me there
on a Cross to die.

I danced on a Friday
when the sky turned black;
it's hard to dance
with the devil on your back.
They buried my body
and they thought I'd gone;
but I am the Dance
and I still go on.

They cut me down
and I leapt up high;
I am the life
that will never, never die;
I'll live in you
if you'll live in me;
I am the Lord
of the Dance, said he.
                             Sydney Carter (1915-2004)

A PRAYER OF BLESSING
May the blessing of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest and remain with each of us sharing His worship today and always.
                                                                                  Original Materials by Ralph Frankland