Sunday Worship 22nd December

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'.

If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "How Far is it to Bethlehem"

Today's Gospel

Luke 1:39-45(46-55)                       Mary visits Elizabeth

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

[And Mary said,

"My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever."]

Reflection

Last week I talked a lot about joy and this week we continue that theme as we wait impatiently for the imminent coming of Jesus. 

In the gospel, we hear first of Elizabeth’s joy. She is overjoyed because she was very old and despite being righteous in God’s eyes, she had remained childless. This was deemed to be shameful in the Jewish culture if the time – yet, now in her old age, she was miraculously, by God’s grace, expecting a child. 

Mary, having been told by the Angel Gabriel that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant, decides without hesitation to go and visit her. 

Despite her teenage youth, the dangers of travel and the distance, (some four days away),  Mary had no hesitation in setting off to visit Elizabeth to share in her joy and help in the last months of her pregnancy. 

When Mary greets Elizabeth, Luke tells us that the baby in her womb, who is John the Baptist,  also leapt for joy as well. 

 

Luke then says that Elizabeth, filled with Holy Spirit, also becomes aware that Mary is with child and moreover, recognises that Mary is not carrying just any child - she is carrying the Holy Son of God.

Elizabeth is filled with awe and joy as she realises how blessed they both are. Mary’s response is the wonderful rejoicing in the words of her song which we now use as the Gospel Canticle or Magnificat.

There is so much joy as together, both women recognise this tremendous honour and rejoice at the role they have been given to play in God’s plan. It’s probably one of the most touching scenes in Luke’s gospel.

Their story is also significant in testifying to the unwavering faith that both women had in God. Both of them had reason to be totally fearful of the people in their society. Elizabeth an aged yet childless woman suddenly becoming pregnant would have been subject to scorn and suspicion. Mary, a very young teenager who was unmarried and pregnant would have been disgraced, accused of adultery and could even have been stoned.  

But instead, what we see in them is absolute faith and trust in God and what he calls them to do. A faith that doesn’t fill them with despair, but leaves them overflowing with joy and thanksgiving.

 

In our lives, we too may be called to make sacrifices or do things that we are not comfortable with for the sake of our faith. Albeit, that might be relatively small things, but you never know if some of us may be called upon put ourselves in harm’s way or risk persecution as we stand up for what we believe in. I would like to hope that we would show the same level of strength and joy as Mary and Elizabeth as we face whatever lies ahead.

           Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

You sent your servant Mary with our Lord Jesus,

and filled Elizabeth with your Spirit so that she could recognise who He was.

Help us to open our eyes and recognise where you are at work in the world and in our lives,

and rejoice with praise at your presence every day.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Tell Out My Soul"

Notices

Tuesday is Christmas Eve, and we have our lovely Nativity and Crib Service with Sunday School at St Thomas’ at 5 pm. Everyone is invited to come and join us. 

Then at 11.30 pm we celebrate the First Communion of Christmas at St Thomas’. This service will be led by Archdeacon Karen Smeeton, who many of you will remember as a young curate in our parish in the early 2000s.

Our Christmas Morning Eucharist is at St Agnes’ at 9.15 am. Anyone who wishes to attend this service but would struggle to get there please let us know and we can arrange a lift for you. 

There will be no Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion or Worship for all Generations this week or next, and on Sunday the 29th December there will be a Parish Eucharist at St Thomas’ at 11 am, with no service at St Agnes’ on that day.

For all attending services at St Thomas’ Church, please wrap up warmly because the main heating system has failed. For smaller services we will worship in the Community Room as we do on Tuesday mornings, because that space is on a separate heating system. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone in Leesfield Parish,

Sunday Worship 15th December

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Third Sunday of Advent. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'.

If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

Today's Gospel

Luke 3:7-18             John the Baptist Prepares the Way

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptised, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptise you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Reflection

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday.  Gaudete comes from the Latin word for Rejoice. 

For me, that means the feeling of joy and expectation as we get nearer and nearer to Christmas Day and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It signals a move from solemn reflection to celebration and expectation.

Some of us no doubt are already beginning to feel a sense of anticipation as we look forward to all the festive activities that will happen – getting  together with friends and family, exchanging presents and cards and sharing various forms of hospitality.

On the other hand, some of us may be feeling stressed at everything that needs to be done in such a short space of time. 

The pressures of work, where deadlines and tasks still have to be met before the holidays.

And in the midst of that, as if we didn’t have enough to do, there are so many extra things that appear in diaries at this time of year -  Carol concerts, taking the kids to parties or going to our own works party - and there’s always so much to plan! 

And for some people, Christmas is a time of financial worry, especially for those who struggle to make ends meet at the best of times. 

But no matter how busy and stressed we find ourselves, we still need to find time to be joyful.  

Paul calls us to rejoice and says: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  He then comforts us when he says, 

Rejoice and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4],

How positive and spiritually uplifting is that - as we prepare to ready our hearts for the coming of Jesus?  In this short passage, Paul calls us to rejoice no less than 3 times.

By repeating the call to rejoice, it is almost like Paul is turning up the volume knob to make sure we haven’t missed the message. The joy he advocates is not simply happiness because we’ve enjoyed something  or because something good has happened to us – It’s a special kind of joy; it’s joy in the knowledge of the peace of God shown to us in Jesus Christ.

In the gospel passage Luke tells us about John the Baptist exhorting the good news to the people.  

I have to admit that at first reading the theme of joy didn’t immediately jump out at me. 

He starts off by addressing them as “You brood of vipers!”  

He goes on to talk about the axe that is waiting to chop down those who don’t bear fruit and sorting the wheat from the chaff before burning the chaff in unquenchable fire! 

Wow, pretty strong stuff or what? 

Sounds like we are all doomed, because the reality is, we all fall short of the glory of God and all sin at times. [Romans 3:23]

But for me this is not a message about judgement and punishment -  it’s about repentance and hope and joy. Hope that we can be saved when we recognise what we have done wrong, and when we are genuinely sorry in our hearts. Joy that we have the opportunity to change our ways and be forgiven. 

That’s probably why there were thousands of people at the River Jordan flocking to hear what John had to say and to be baptised. Some of them mistakenly thought that it was some easy way to avoid any kind of judgment or punishment. 

They were sinners and were hoping for a quick fix that would absolve them of all their bad ways and cost nothing.

But of course that’s not what repentance is about. John tells them that in order to truly repent they also need to change their ways – that what repenting is – not just feeling bad and saying sorry, but it’s about committing to change our ways and stopping behaving sinfully.

When the crowds asked, “What should we do?” , They were asking, how do we bear the good fruit that  John had been telling them about. 

 

In response John doesn’t ask them to do momentous or impossible things. 

He doesn’t tell the tax collector to resign his job and sell everything he has,  He tells him to stop cheating the people and asking for more than what is prescribed. He’s saying, ‘change your ways’.

To the soldiers, who had been bullying people and abusing their power, he doesn’t say pack in your job and give everything you have away. - He tells them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”  He’s saying ‘change your ways’.

And to everyone, he tells them how they can bear good fruit by loving one another, being generous and showing hospitality. 

“Whoever has two cloaks, should share with the person who has none. 

And whoever has food should do likewise.”

Righteousness can begin by doing small, virtuous things. But also doing them diligently, and with a positive attitude. Repeated, small good deeds pave the way for righteousness and joyful hearts. The joy of God’s ways comes when we help others and respect them.

If we were to ask John the Baptist, “What should I do to bear good fruit? What might he say? 

He would no doubt ask us to look closely at ourselves and examine what we might need to be sorry for in our hearts.

Do we always look for the good in others? Do we bear grudges? Have we taken advantage of a situation when we knew it was wrong? Are we as generous as we could be, or do we just share what we can easily afford with no real impact on ourselves?

When we live out our faith with a generosity of heart we create more space for joy in our heart. 

Sometimes though,  that can be hard, especially with people we dislike or those we don’t know. 

But that’s OK because we have help. 

We have help in the shape of Jesus, who came to give everything he had for those in need. 

The same Jesus who didn’t reject and punish the tax collectors and sinners, but welcomed them and shared food with them and showed them how to love one another.  The same Jesus who invited a tax collector to be a disciple. 

When we genuinely say sorry and ask for help to change, Jesus is there for us, willing to forgive us and send the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love – a love that is capable of spilling out with joy to others.

Advent joy springs from the realisation that the presence of Jesus in our lives can transform us for the better when we let him into our hearts, turn our back to sinful ways and follow Him.

As Jesus told us, there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need to repent. [Luke 15:7]

So I hope, on this Gaudete Sunday, all our hearts are filled joy as we prepare in our own ways for the coming of our Lord Jesus.                                      Paul

Our Prayers

Loving Father,

We thank you for the gift of joy in our hearts

As we look to the coming of you Holy Son.

Grant us wisdom to look at ourselves 

and to see where we can be more like Him,

and give us determination to change our ways 

where we need to. 

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Make Way!"

Notices

Our traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols is at 6.30 pm this evening at St Thomas’, followed by seasonal refreshments and the Christmas Hamper raffle draw. Please wrap up warmly for this service, as the main heating system has failed.

Tomorrow at 6 pm we will be meeting at St Thomas’ to go Carolling around the village, and collecting money for the Booth Centre. This is really appreciated by people of all ages where we visit - especially those who are not able to get to a church service during Christmas. Families are especially welcome, and the children love the singing and collecting, so please do come and join us – the more the merrier!

The Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion is at 10 am at St Thomas’, and Worship for all Generations is at 6.30 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday at St Agnes’. 

Next Sunday’s Services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. 

All of the Christmas Services and Events are on the blue poster below.

Sunday Worship 8th December

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the First Sunday of Advent. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.00 at St Thomas'.

If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "Wait for the Lord (Taize)"

Today's Gospel

Luke 3:1-6      The Proclamation of John the Baptist 

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Reflection

Last week, we looked at how Advent tells us as much about the second coming of the Lord as well as His first coming two millennia ago. 

This week we focus on the role of John the Baptist who had a very specific role - to point to the first coming of Jesus. 

John is heralding the importance of someone significant coming, the Messiah and the Son of God.  

Advent is a busy time, as the church prepares to celebrate the birth of Christ with endless activities such as carol concerts, Christingles, Advent services and myriad other events.

In our homes there is also an endless list of things to do as we prepare for get-togethers with relatives and friends, preparing food, buying and wrapping presents, sending cards, going to Christmas parties with friends or work colleagues and what seems like never ending amounts of cleaning and cooking.

It perhaps feels like there are two distinct lists of things to focus on. Things we need to do at church and things we need to do to meet the expectations of everyone around us. No wonder it so stressful and hectic!

But amidst all this palaver and commotion how are we personally and spiritually preparing for Jesus?

 

We read that the voice of God came to John the Baptist in the wilderness and immediately he began travelling around preparing the way for Jesus. So where is our equivalent of the wilderness, that time or space where we can make time to listen to that still small voice calling us to prepare for Jesus.

A voice that shows us how to prepare for Jesus in our hearts.

 

I don’t expect God to talk to me in a burning bush like he did to Moses, or the belly of a big fish like Jonah, but I can say with confidence that I’m sure He talks to us all in one way or another. 

  

We just need to find a little bit of ‘God time’ to let Him into our lives and listen to what He is saying to us. 

So, how do we even begin to think about preparing our hearts for Jesus? What valleys do we need to fill and roads do we need to make straight to prepare the way for Jesus in our heart?

We are shown the way by John - we can repent and ask forgiveness. 

We can prepare our hearts for Jesus through meditation and self-examination and thinking about how we live our lives. What value we put on things that are important to us and others not only at Christmas but all the time. 

We can look honestly at how we might do things differently going forward and then promise to change and stick to it. That’s what repentance really means, it’s not just saying sorry but also making a change for the better. Advent is the church’s New Year and, I suggest, a much better time to think about resolutions to make life changes than the 1st January. 

If you are thinking about how to prepare your heart for Jesus, the person who died for us all to be redeemed, perhaps think about what you might get Him for a present this Christmas. 

Pray to Him more regularly, point others to the good news of the gospel, make time to listen quietly and let the Holy Spirit help you to build a stronger relationship with Him who loves you.

Instead of an Advent calendar this year, why not buy yourself a few tea-lights and set aside time each day in Advent to light one and spend a few moments alone in His presence. Pray that He will speak in your mind and show you the straight path He wants you to take each day.

Paul

Our Prayers

Merciful God, 

who sent your servant John and the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: 

Give us grace to heed their warnings 

and repent of our sins, 

And help us to prepare our hearts

as we await the coming of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "On Jordans Bank the Baptist's Cry"

Notices

This afternoon, our family Christingle Service will be at St Thomas’ at 3 pm. All are most welcome – please bring your own orange.

Churches Together Advent Praise is at Zion Methodist Church at 2.30 pm. Come and join our friends from the Christian churches in our area.

The Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion is at 10 am at St Thomas’, and Worship for all Generations is at 6.30 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday at St Agnes’.

 

Next Sunday’s Services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. Then in the afternoon, Worship for all Generations Christmas Party is at 1 pm at St Agnes’ (tickets £3 from Neil).

 

Our traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols is at 6.30 pm next Sunday at St Thomas’, followed by seasonal refreshments.

On Monday the 16th December we will be meeting at 6 pm at St Thomas’ to go Carolling around the village, and collecting money for the Booth Centre. Everyone is welcome to join us – the more the merrier!

Details of all the Christmas Services and Events are on the blue poster below.