Call to Worship
Awesome God, by your word heaven and earth came into being. By your spirit we are all sustained. In this moment we come to worship and give glory.
Hymn 449 Singing the Faith
Lord of creation, to you be all praise! Most mighty your working, most wondrous your ways! Your glory and might are beyond us to tell, and yet in the heart of the humble you dwell.
Lord of all power, I give you my will, in joyful obedience your tasks to fulfil. Your bondage is freedom; your service is song; and, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.
Lord of all wisdom, I give you my mind, rich truth that surpasses my knowledge to find; what eye has not seen and what ear has not heard is taught by your spirit and shines from your word.
Lord of all bounty I give you my heart; I praise and adore you for all you impart, your love to inspire me, your counsel to guide, your presence to shield me, whatever betide.
Lord of all being, I give you my all; if I should disown you, I stumble and fall; but, led in your service your word to obey, I’ll Walk in you freedom to the end of the way.
Prayer
Almighty God, help us to recognise your voice and presence with us in these moments.
Help us to focus on what is important to you and give you the glory.
Amen
Bible Readings
Matt 13:24-30,36-43
Isaiah 44:6-8
The Lord, not idols
6 ‘This is what the Lord says –
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come –
yes, let them foretell what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.’
Romans 8:12-25
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Present suffering and future glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Reflection:
The reading from Matthew that the lectionary gives us this week follows closely on from the parable of the Sower. Jesus has told parables that the disciples find difficult to understand and they ask him to explain. The parable of the wheat and the weeds, sounds, on the surface, like a retelling of the story of the Sower. However, there is something fundamentally different; Jesus is asking people to think about how complex it is to live in a world where there are unhelpful, difficult circumstances and people who live alongside us. Jesus tells his disciples that his parables are difficult to understand, but we still need to use our minds to attempt to find the best way to live in these circumstances. The servants in the parable want to pull up the weeds, get rid of the “problem”, but there are unintended consequences and God is saying there is a need to wait and live alongside the “weeds”.
This parable is about waiting and waiting is what we find most difficult. The farmer and his servants are having to wait for the wheat and weeds to grow, the birds are having to wait for the tiny mustard seed to grow into a tree they can nest in. Jesus would have been aware of the revolutionary groups of his day saying that they wanted to fight the Romans. However, Jesus is saying that is not how the Kingdom of God works. There is a note of patience at the heart of this parable; not just the patience of the servants, but the patience of God, waiting for the time when the harvest is ready. Some Jewish scholars in Jesus’ time also thought that God might be delaying his judgement, so that more people could be saved.
This thinking is shared by Paul. In Romans 8 he is trying to help the early church understand that being a Christian is not a simple fix for all our problems, we have to live with them, pray for help, encourage each other and hold onto the knowledge that we are children of God, siblings in Christ.
Isaiah reminds us, from deep in history, that trust in God is a foundation of faith. There are no other gods, idols are useless, but we do not need to be afraid.
The hymn that I have chosen for you below is not only a great piece of poetry from Graham Maule and John Bell, but also reflects the message of Jesus in his parables. We need to change our thinking about the world and other people and put Gods priorities front and centre in our lives.
Prayer:
From Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord. Happy are those whose strength is in you, for a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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.
StF 673 - Will you come and follow me
Will you come and follow me, if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind, if I but call your name? Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same? Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare? Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you love the “you” you hide if I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to reshape the world around through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show. Thus, I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
Prayer
We pray, Gracious God for the world we live in, that we might be ready to be agents of change in an increasingly fractious and divided world. There is war and famine, disease and distress; these we hold in our mind in silence, asking your spirit to move in the lives of people who create these problems and those who are suffering.
A time of silence is held
As we reflect, may we hold in mind situations and people we know; families who may be bereaved or facing great challenge. We pray for those choosing to help others, often at risk to their own lives. We think of the International Search and Rescue teams helping in Venezuela. We pray for those miraculously rescued from the earthquakes’ destruction, for those still missing and for the huge number grieving loved ones.
At a time of heat we remember the world you created, how its warming climate is having many impacts on all parts of the natural world. We ask that you help us to see the best ways to show our love for creation and you,
Amen
