A gathering prayer:
God of amazing boundless grace, we come together to praise you. God of inexhaustible compassion, we come together to pray to you.
God of perfect justice, we come together to be guided by you.
Amen.
StF 272 From heaven you came, helpless babe
From Heaven, you came helpless babe
Entered our world, your glory veiled
Not to be served but to serve
And give your life that we might live
This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King
There in the garden of tears
My heavy load he chose to bear
His heart with sorrow was torn
“Yet not My will but Yours”, He said.
This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King
Come see His Hands and His feet
The scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered.
This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King
So, let us learn how to serve
And in our lives enthrone Him
Each other’s needs to prefer
For it is Christ we’re serving.
This is our God, The Servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to The Servant King
Bible Readings
Jonah 3:10-4:11
Jonah’s anger at the Lord’s compassion
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’
4 But the Lord replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’
5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’
9 But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’
‘It is,’ he said. ‘And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.’
10 But the Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left – and also many animals?’
Psalm 145:1-8
Psalm 145
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty –
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works –
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
Philippians 1:21-30
Life worthy of the gospel
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Matthew 20:1-16
The parable of the workers in the vineyard
20 ‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 ‘About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the market-place doing nothing. 4 He told them, “You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” 5 So they went.
‘He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?”
7 ‘“Because no one has hired us,” they answered.
‘He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard.”
8 ‘When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”
9 ‘The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 “These who were hired last worked only one hour,” they said, “and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”
13 ‘But he answered one of them, “I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”
16 ‘So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’
A prayer of praise and thanksgiving
All seeing God,
as the landowner gave work to all those who needed it,
so you give grace and we thank you,
so you give strength and we thank you,
so you give hope and we thank you,
so you give purpose and we thank you,
so you give life and we thank you.
We thank you for all your love and care for every single one of us.
In Jesus’ name, we thank you.
Amen.
Prayers of intercession
Eternal, ever-living, ever-present God,
in the struggles and joys of this day, we pray:
for those who are overburdened, weighed down, demoralised, fearful or desolate because of what life has thrown at them.
For those engulfed in pain and anguish, facing illness and death.
For those troubled in mind and spirit, who find no peace or calm.
For those alone and lonely, without friend or comfort.
For those frightened and bewildered, who see no direction or purpose in their lives.
Eternal, ever-living God, bless them all in this and every hour, in this and every step of life’s journey.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
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.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Time to reflect:
In Matthew 20 we read about the parable of the owner of the vineyard who hires workers and pays each of them for their work.
A problem came when each worker who was hired at different times of the day, were paid the same amount, a Denarius. The workers who started early expected to be paid more that those who had started later in the day
and an argument broke out and some grumbled. The owner of the vineyard says to one worker ‘Didn’t you agree to work for a Denarius and ‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
The Methodist way of life identifies hospitality and generosity as practices that express learning and caring.
Generosity is a basic Christian practice and recently I have been reflecting about the increases in the mortgage rates and am aware of many who are finding it hard to budget or facing a challenge to make choices about what food they can buy, due to price increases. Many of us in the church of a certain age will remember the mortgage rates being 15% in the 1980’s and finances were tight. Around this time, I recall arriving home one day and someone had very kindly done some grocery shopping and left it on the back door handle just when we needed it to feed our young children.
Over the years we have been blessed with so much and it is important that we can bless others when we are able. The work of a ‘Foodbank’ has been instrumental in helping families survive in the cost-of-living crisis and many Churches run ‘Foodbanks’ or support their local foodbank. At my previous Church we had a foodbank and a clothing bank for adults and children, and working with the local council we were able to connect with a national clothing retailer. The outcome of this was that we were able to help clothe people in need across the town of Lowestoft, as we were given a large lorry container full of new clothing.
There are many ways we can help in our communities; some of the town centre churches have joined together to help litter pick in the local community. The generosity of Northampton Methodist Church has been shown over the years by giving to various charities including, All we can, Action for Children, Methodist Homes and many other charities too.
As we look together towards the future of the Northampton Methodist Church how can we be hospitable and generous and share ways in which we can show the community we care?
This parable of the vineyard manager who was generous towards all his workers may surprise us. Today’s reflection reminds me of the words of a theologian called Tom Wright who says, ‘In reality, God is out in the marketplace, looking for the people everybody else tried to ignore, welcoming them on the same terms, surprising them (and everybody else) with generous Grace’.
StF 55 – Immortal, invisible, God only wise
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most Blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might thy justice like mountains high soaring above. thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most Blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
A sending out prayer:
God, send us out as workers in your vineyard,
to do whatever you call us to do, to do it fairly and without favour, so that all may share in your harvest of generosity.
Amen.
