Sunday Worship 21st April

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. 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 can find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "As we are Gathered, Jesus is Here"

Today's Gospel

1 John 10: 11-18 The Good Shepherd

 “I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep.  When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 

The hired man runs away because he is only a hired man and does not care about the sheep. 

I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. 

There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

“The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again. 

No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do.”

Reflection

If you were asked to describe a shepherd, I wonder what image might come into your minds eye?

Maybe you would think of a middle aged man in  green wax jacket and flat cap or a young man in jeans and a woolly jumper like the characters on Emmerdale. In the fields near where I live, I sometimes see a lady shepherd covered in tattoos, wearing a baseball cap and riding a quad bike. Perhaps some of you would picture a man in a long robe with a belt around the waist and shepherds crook in his hand. 

This is a sort of stereotypical image that I suspect most people associate with Jesus. 

However, the reality would have been somewhat different. The life of a shepherd would have been hard and rugged. They would have been out all night and day for weeks at a time and unable to go to the Temple to worship. 

Most of the grazing would be in harsh and dirty areas of the wilderness, in all weathers and conditions. So they certainly wouldn’t be wearing pristine white robes. 

Shepherds were considered to be unclean, low class and not the kind of folk you would want to associate with. 

You might wonder then why Jesus would choose to describe himself as a shepherd when those around him were debating whether He was the Son of God. 

If we look at the prophet Ezekiel, Jesus is making a direct comparison to where Ezekiel describes God’s promises to search for, look after, rescue, gather, and pasture the sheep in good grazing land. God says, “You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD”.

Therefore, by describing Himself as a shepherd, Jesus is also reminding us of God’s love and commitment to us, His beloved people. 

So, Jesus is not afraid to describe himself as a shepherd and moreover a shepherd who is committed, loyal and willing to sacrifice Himself for us. And He doesn’t just say it once, He repeatedly tells us that He is the Good Shepherd and each time He stresses a deeper level of His commitment to us.

In this short passage he tells us four times that He is willing to die for us.

 

Jesus isn’t just any old shepherd, He is the Good Shepherd. The one who is fully committed and willing to go the extra mile. 

I wonder how many of you have seen people at work who are not fully committed. Perhaps you’ve heard someone remark, “that’s above my pay grade” as an excuse to avoid doing something important. Or maybe they have an attitude of superiority and say something like, ‘’it’s not my job to clean up the mess”. That’s the attitude of the hired hand. 

In a previous job when I was a project manager, we often had tough deadlines to meet and at times the company would hire in contractors or consultants, often at really expensive rates of pay. They would come in, roll their sleeves up and get stuck in. But it was only when they left that we would realise that whilst they appeared to be totally committed and doing a great job, they had cut corners. 

Quite often they failed to document what they had done, so if something went wrong after they’d left, there was no way of working out how to fix things without going right back to the beginning. Often causing significant extra cost and delays and inconvenience for those who were impacted by whatever had gone wrong. 

There’s a pithy American phrase, ‘to have no skin in the game’. It describes an attitude where someone who doesn’t have to pick up the pieces afterwards if something goes wrong, doesn’t show the same level of diligence as someone who does have to sort out things that go wrong. It describes the attitude of the hired hand. 

But Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He is not the hired hand. 

But Jesus doesn’t just look out for the few. He knows each of us deeply and calls us by name. He asks for us listen to His voice and to follow Him. He is always looking to bring in others from outside the flock and He wants us to bring others into the fold who haven’t yet heard His wonderful Good News. 

Interestingly, today is Vocation Sunday. A day to reflect, thank God, and celebrate what God has called each of us to do as we follow Jesus as members of His flock. For most, that doesn’t mean training to become a lay or ordained minister. Rather it’s how, in our daily lives, we can repay with thankfulness and love what Jesus has done for us. How we help one another.

As we follow Jesus, we are not called to be passive sheep. We are called to be active disciples showing God’s love to others in our everyday life at work or school, or even in the pub and local shop.

 

In the reading from Acts 4 8-12, we hear how Peter, who had previously denied knowing Jesus three times, stood up to the leaders and elders and told how he and John had healed the lame man through the power of the risen Jesus. He was no longer scared and running away; he was no longer like a hired hand in the face of a wolf.  

So let us pray that we, like Peter, may be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of the risen Jesus and welcome others to His flock.      Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father, thank You that sent your Son Jesus to be the Good Shepherd

and that He knows each of us that are the sheep of His pasture.

Thank You that in Your grace, Jesus sacrificed his life for us and was raised from the dead.

We pray that you will give us wisdom and confidence to follow Him as true disciples.

AMEN.

Today's final hymn is "Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep"

Notices

Our Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be on Sunday 5th May, immediately after a 10 am Parish Eucharist here at St Thomas’. There will be no service at St Agnes’ on that day. This is where we review the reports from the previous year and elect our new Churchwardens and Parish Officers for the coming year. There are several vacancies for PCC members and also a Churchwarden, so if you are interested in any of these (or other) posts in the Parish please collect nomination forms from the back of church.

Sunday Worship 14th April

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Third Sunday of Easter. 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 can find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "In Christ Alone"

Today's Gospel

1 John 3: 1-7 Children of God

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Reflection

In this extract from John’s first letter, there are two powerful phrases that jumped out at me.

The first is:  ‘No one who abides in him sins’.  That’s pretty scary at first glance. I think we all have to admit that we are not perfect. We all have our ‘off days’ and some days are worse than others. We all recognise that we sin from time to time. 

It’s perhaps easy to say that, ‘it’s in our nature; everybody tells a lie at times or cheats at something. When we do, we may try to make ourselves feel better by telling ourselves things like, ‘it was justified because….’ , or ‘Well no one got hurt because of what I did, so what’s the problem?’

But John is not saying we can never sin and he is not saying that as soon as we sin we are damned because we have let Satan take advantage of us. Rather, he is saying that our focus needs to be on being Christlike. 

Of course that means truly saying sorry when we have fallen short of expectations, and it also means we should look for righteous things to do. The more good things we do, the more we abide in Christ.

Here are a couple of examples: When was the last time you were praying or in church and it crossed your mind to do something wrong or dishonest? Or, if you are reading a piece of scripture, would you ever consider jealous or vengeful thoughts or actions? Hopefully not.

The reverse is also true, if you are feeling unrighteous and make time for Jesus, then you will find yourself being guided back along the right path and wanting to express your regret for your sins. 

I have to confess, a few hours before writing this I had been really angry about something. It doesn’t matter what it was, but it took quite a while to get my head back in gear, to calm down and pray and let Jesus do his stuff. It would’ve been impossible to begin to write this reflection whilst being even remotely angry. The reality is, the more we do to abide in Jesus, the more we become righteous. 

Which brings me nicely to the second phrase that struck me, ‘See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.’  That is how God see us - His beloved children. That is why He sent His son to die for the forgiveness of all our sins. The more times we do what we know is right, the more we abide in Jesus and live up to what it means to be a child of God.        Paul

Our Prayers

Loving Father,

Thank you that love each and every one of us as your children.

Help us to live our lives by following the example of your Son Jesus,

So that when He is revealed, we will be like him, 

and all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "I Danced in the Morning (Lord of the Dance)"

Generosity in Leesfield Parish

 GENEROSITY IN LEESFIELD PARISH

From the 25th February to the 3rd March we had a week of special services and events to celebrate and encourage thanksgiving and generosity here in Leesfield Parish. Everyone was involved, including our Worship for all Generations family and our Sunday School. Throughout the week we explored ways in which we can all help to keep our churches and schools growing, thriving and reaching out into our community. You can find out more below - 

OUR PARISH VISION 

“To grow as disciples of Christ and to share God’s love across the parish and beyond”

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO RUN A PARISH?

Prayer and Faith – which we have in abundance in our churches and schools.

These are the firm foundations upon which we build our service to God here in this place.

Without them, everything we do is in vain.

Money – which maybe we don’t have quite so much of. 

It costs almost £1,000 per week to run our churches and everything we do in Leesfield Parish. We don’t receive any outside funding – All our income comes from donations and fundraising by our own congregation members.

The largest item of expenditure is our Parish Share, which pays towards the cost of clergy, training and all the support which we receive from the Diocese of Manchester. Below you can watch a really helpful YouTube video which explains Parish Share in detail -

Because our income is always lower than our costs, we rely heavily on unpaid Volunteers helping with administration, maintenance and fundraising.

People – of all ages, from all backgrounds, and with many different gifts. 

There are lots of people engaged in keeping our churches growing and thriving. Some of them you see every week at our services, helping to make everything run smoothly. There also others who are far less visible, but who are working quietly in the background in leadership, administrative, finance, maintenance  and communications roles.

Most of our volunteers have several different roles in our churches and schools, which puts them under a lot of pressure, so we are looking for additional helpers to share the workload. 

WHAT NEXT?

When you're next in church, meet the people who do some of the jobs in our parish – seen and unseen, find out what they do – how much time it takes and how often they do it.

Ask them how they became involved in the first place and what training and encouragement they received.

Take a look at the response form below, and think about what you and your family might want to help with. Some of the roles don't even exist yet - they are things we would love to do here in Leesfield Parish, but haven't yet got the volunteers we need to take them further.

You can hear from some of the people already volunteering in key roles in parishes around Manchester Diocese in this inspiring video -

There is much more information and description of individual roles on the Church Officers page of the Diocesan website, just click here - Church Officers Manchester Diocese 

Training and support is available from Manchester Diocese, Oldham and Ashton Deanery and our own parish.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS - WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU SOON! 

Sunday Worship 7th April

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday of Easter. Our Church Services today are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am 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 "God Forgave My Sin (Freely, Freely)"

Today's Gospel

John 20: 19-31 Jesus Appears to His Disciples

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Reflection

As we begin this week’s Gospel reading we are still on Easter Day. Mary has told the disciples that that she saw Jesus alive earlier in the morning but nonetheless they are keeping their heads down, frightened of the reactions of the Jews. So they lock themselves away in a room, probably talking about the sad events of the last few days and still mourning the death of their beloved Jesus.

 

Then suddenly, He is with them in their midst. No one knows how he entered the locked room - but this is Jesus, so anything is possible. He greets them with the Jewish greeting ‘Shalom’, which means Peace be with you. It would be nice to think that the disciples were immediately overjoyed but that is not what is described here. Even though they have heard the miraculous news that Jesus has been seen alive, they are still doubtful, and Luke tells us that they were frightened and they thought Jesus was a ghost before He showed them his wounds. Mark goes one stage further and says that Jesus rebuked the eleven for their stubborn refusal to believe.

For this reason I have real sympathy for St. Thomas, (our patron Saint), who is also overcome with both wonder and disbelief. It is perhaps unfair, that many refer to him as ‘doubting Thomas’, because his initial doubt was no different to the other disciples. However, unlike the rest, Thomas’s reaction when he recognised Jesus is to worship and give praise to God. His faith is totally renewed, and out of his initial reservations have emerged a far stronger faith and commitment to Jesus the Lord. 

What does this mean for us? As Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls us all to believe in Him.

 

We are truly blessed, even though we have not physically witnessed Jesus first-hand, we can feel His presence in our lives and believe in Him. Because we believe, we too can share the good news.     Paul

Our Prayers

Most merciful Father,

We thank you that by the power of the Holy Spirit,

We can believe and trust in your Son, our risen Christ

To transform our lives into His likeness

and like St. Thomas, worship your infinite glory.  

Amen

Our final hymn today is "Lift High the Cross"

Notices

We are now approaching the date of our Annual Parochial Church Meeting, which is where we review the reports from the previous year and elect our new Churchwardens and Parish Officers for the coming year. The Electoral Roll is now open for new additions, which is really important for the smooth running of the meeting. If you are not registered on the roll, you will not be able to vote at the meeting, stand for election to any posts, or nominate candidates. There is a list of members in each church, so please check whether you are registered, and complete the application form to be included.

Sunday Worship 31st March

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Easter Sunday. Today we have just one service, a Parish Eucharist at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, led by Bishop Mark.

If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel, a reflection and prayers below, along with a couple of hymns.

Our first hymn this morning is "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"

Today's Gospel

John 20:1-18 The Empty Tomb

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Reflection

“Woman, why are you weeping?” 

Mary is asked this twice in close succession. 

I wonder what I might have replied in Mary’s place. Think about the emotions that Mary must have experienced in the last few days. From the ups and downs at the trial of Jesus, with Pilate wanting to release Jesus but then the crowds and Pharisees insisting that He be put to death. 

Then the anguish and trauma of His death. Not any execution but the harrowing and undignified suffering of being publicly tortured and killed by crucifixion. 

Then, the realisation that Jesus is dead. Jesus the one she and so many others had believed was the Messiah, come to save the world. 

They didn’t even have time to bury Him properly and placed His body temporarily in a tomb. So here is Mary, at the crack of dawn, filled with despair and feeling racked with remorse and ‘hopelessness’, coming to finish embalming the body of her Lord. 

Next, to make matters worse, she arrives at the tomb and the body of her beloved Jesus is gone. Perhaps it’s grave robbers, come to steal the expensive spices and linen that the body was wrapped in? But wait, this doesn’t make any sense, all those things are still here, only the body is gone. Perhaps some of those nasty leaders from the temple have stolen and disposed of the body. This is just awful, what on earth will happen next? 

No wonder Mary is crying her eyes out. She feels things are well and truly hopeless. She must have been in a place where all her hopes and expectations have been destroyed. Because that’s what the meaning of hopeless really means, devoid of hope. 

Everything she had ‘hoped’ for was now gone and now even Jesus’ body was gone too. Her whole life has been turned upside down. The only small piece of hope that she had was that someone might tell her where the body was so that she could finish tending to the corpse and give Jesus a proper and dignified burial. It’s no wonder Mary was a mess that morning.

Then here is Jesus, asking, “Woman, why are you weeping?”  In my imagination these words are said with total love and compassion. This was the same Jesus who had recently wept when he saw the grief of Lazarus’ family. This is the Jesus that knows what is in all our hearts. Gentle and merciful Jesus, full of empathy. 

Part of the mystery of this encounter is that Mary has no idea that it is Jesus. Some people think it is because it was not yet daylight, whilst others suggest it is because Mary’s eyes are obscured by endless crying. Many believe that Jesus blocked her eyes similar to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. We only know that she did not recognise Jesus until her spoke her name, ‘Mary’.

Then just like Jesus does, he turns everything back upside down. In that instant Mary’s whole world was changed; all the despair and heartache was turned into insurmountable joy as she recognised the miracle of the risen saviour. The wonder that God has raised Jesus from the dead and her eyes were truly opened to see His power and glory. The Son of God who was fulfilling His promise to save her from her sins. 

But it doesn’t end there, because the most glorious news is that Jesus died and was raised again to redeem the whole world for all of time. He is alive and willing to be with us when our lives feel like a mess and we too feel ‘hopeless’. So when things seem bad, remember Jesus will be there with you in his understated way, and He will whisper and call you by your name. He wants to ask you "why are you weeping?"

Like Mary and disciples on the road to Emmaus, listen and feel the presence of the risen Lord when you need Him most. Let Jesus reassure us that he is alive and with us for eternity.

Happy Easter!

Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father,

Fill our hearts and minds with the joy of Easter.

Let us feel your loving presence

as we celebrate Jesus’s victory over death.

Loving Father, 

At this most sacred and Holy time

may the glory of Jesus’s resurrection

remind us that with You, 

nothing is impossible or without hope. 

In Jesus name we pray

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Thine be the Glory"

Sunday Worship 24th March

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Palm Sunday. Our Church Services today are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. if you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resorces below to worship from home.

Our first hymn this morning is "Ride On, Ride On, in Majesty"

Today's Gospel

 John 12:12-16 Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.

Reflection

Here we are at last! The forty days of Lent are over and we look towards the tumultuous events of Holy Week that will culminate with Christ’s death on the Cross and His glorious resurrection. But before all that, we read about Jesus’ triumphant entry in Jerusalem on His way from Bethany after He raised Lazarus from the dead. 

Many of the people present were not there to see Jesus but there for the great feast of The Passover, a major religious festival of thanksgiving for the Jewish people. However, there were also plenty of people who had come especially to see Jesus because they had heard of the miracles that Jesus had performed and listened to His teachings. So, by the time He arrived, word had got around and the atmosphere was fervent with excitement as people looked for the coming of the Messiah. Someone who would overthrow the Romans, and bring peace and redemption to the people of Israel. Someone who would bring justice, reconciliation and freedom to the people who had been exiled and oppressed for long. 

They longed so much for change and so as they waved their palm branches, they shouted and screamed, ‘Hosanna, Hosanna’, which means ‘save us’. But of course, Jesus is not a leader who brandishes a sword and leads an army of warriors to slay the enemy. Rather, He is a leader who shows us how we need to make change happen through love and compassion for one another.  That can be hard for many, because whilst following Jesus will undoubtedly bring positive changes to our lives and make us feel better, it also comes with a challenge. It is hard sometimes to love those who might do us harm or disrespect us. It not always easy to give what we have to those who have less, and maybe we justify that by telling ourselves we have what we have because we have earned it. Why should we give money or other things away? 

I am sure when we look around the world, many of us hope and pray for transformation; an end to war, poverty and suffering and so many other bad things. Our challenge is not to work miracles but to do what we can to help one another and not be tempted in our frailty and weakness to stay with the status quo where we feel comfortable. Jesus wants us to be resilient and follow him, not be tempted to follow the crowd and do ‘U-turn’ like the crowds in Jerusalem did when faced with uncertainty.  As we begin this Holy Week, we should recall that Jesus knew exactly what lay ahead – pain, suffering, abuse, mockery and finally death. But He chose to face it all and stand up for love and grace on our behalf. He was willing to put His life on the line for each of us. As we head through the week, perhaps we might reflect on how we might stay the course and follow Jesus who has prepared the way for those willing to follow Him.      Paul

Our Prayers

Loving Father, thank you for the grace and love of your Son,

who gave His life that we might be saved.

Give us hearts of kindness, love and gentleness that we may follow Him, 

to live together in your love and shine as lights in the darkness to reveal your glory. 

AMEN

Today's final hymn is "Make Way!"

Notices

Below is a list of our Church Services for Holy Week. We also have our usual Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and special Holy Week Worship for all Generations at 6.30 pm at St Agnes' on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. We hope that you will be able to journey through Holy Week with us.

Sunday Worship 17th March

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Our Church Services to day are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find material below to worship from home.

Our first hymn this morning is "Just as I am, Without One Plea"

Today's Gospel

John 8:1-11       The Adulterous Woman

….. but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Reflection

In our modern day and age how big a deal does society think adultery is? What are your thoughts? Of course it is morally wrong and can be deeply hurtful and to a loving partner, sometimes leading to unrecoverable damage to relationships and families. 

But in Jesus’ time it was a much greater deal, right up there with idolatry and murder; it was a capital crime punishable by death. So this was a big deal. 

John tells us that this was a trap set for Jesus by the Pharisees. They knew that he was a friend of sinners and associated himself with those on the margins rather than the well-to-do and privileged. He proclaimed a message of forgiveness, but if he declared that the woman should be set free then the pharisees would challenge that he was breaking the law of Moses. They would undermine Him and humiliate Him.

Whilst we know little about the woman, her background, age, previous relationships or indeed if she is married; all we are told is that she was ‘caught in the act of adultery’.

For many scholars, there is a view that because the whole thing was an intentional set up, the woman is as much a victim as a sinner. One key question people often ask is, what about the man in all of this? Was He not as guilty? Some would argue that he is more so, as he would have been expected, as a man, to have more spiritual accountability and leadership in God’s eyes. Perhaps he had been set free as a collaborator in the plot. But he too should have been brought for punishment? According to the law: ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbour—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. [Leviticus 20:10]. 

The answer is, we do not know? however it increases the speculation that all of this was an elaborate set up. 

That said, the woman does not deny her sins. Neither does she attempt to justify her sins by making excuses saying that there are extenuating circumstances; perhaps a bad upbringing or that she has been abused by her husband, maybe he also had affairs. She just accepts that she has sinned and despite her embarrassment, it seem she is willing to accept the judgement of her accusers.

But what about the Pharisees? Jesus could clearly see through their plan and evil intent to malign His reputation. Moreover, they were willing to publicly humiliate the woman and have her executed to achieve their malicious agenda. They did not care at all for the woman. 

Who was the greater sinner? The adulterous woman, or the Pharisees who were eager to point the finger at others, knowing they too were guilty of sin. For some, it is easier to highlight the wrongdoings of others than to look in the mirror and examine our own shortcomings and failings. 

It is easier to expose and condemn others than to expose our own weaknesses. To say, perhaps we have done bad things, but others have done worse. Does that make our sins any less in the eyes of God? Does pointing the finger in any excuse reduce the impact of our sin in God’s eyes? No.

There are times when I read a bible passage and just itch to know more and this is one of them. John says, “Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.” He then stands up and after saying, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”. He writes more and then they all leave. Wouldn’t you just love to know what Jesus was writing? Maybe he was writing a list of the sins of the accusers, or writing down the Ten Commandments or other laws from the Old Testament. Unfortunately, we don’t know, but it is clear that it struck ‘close to home’ with the religious leaders. John also mentions that the older ones were the first to leave – this might leave us to conclude that they had biggest burden of sin.

We are then left in that intimate moment where Jesus is alone with adulterous woman and we see Jesus doing what He does best. He treats her with compassion and dignity. He knows that she is aware of her wrongdoing and is sorry for what she has done. So Jesus shows His grace and forgiveness. Unlike the pharisees, who only had the power to condemn the woman, Jesus has the power to give her hope and set her on a new path. To wipe the slate clean and give her new direction and purpose by putting her sin behind her. To become a new person.

We too have the opportunity to put our sins behind us and become new people with a better outlook on life. To do that, we must first take the time to reflect on our lives and what where we have sinned. We have to be honest and admit our wrongs and bring them to Jesus in prayer. Because through God’s grace we can have a wonderful future if we come to Christ and trust him as our Lord and Savior: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [John 3:17].

Paul

Our Prayers

Most merciful Father, 

We pray for honesty and integrity,

to examine our lives and hold before you where we have gone astray.

That by your loving grace, You will lead us to foot of Jesus

Who has the power to forgive, and renew us

And lead us to better life.

AMEN

Today's final hymn is "At The Name Of Jesus"

Notices

Next week is Palm Sunday, so please see the poster below for details of all our Church Services during Holy Week and Easter.

Sunday Worship 10th March

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which is also Mothering Sunday. Our Church Services today are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'.

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

Our first hymn this morning is "I Cannot Tell Why He, Whom Angels Worship"

Today's Gospel

John 3:14-21 God So Loved The World…….

Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Reflection

Today’s gospel passage contains probably the most well-known bible verse in the world.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life”.

I’m sure if you look around you will see it on bookmarks, necklaces and car stickers. I remember once seeing it sprayed as graffiti on a wall in Glasgow, although to be honest, I’m not sure a message as powerful as this should be considered as ‘graffiti’.

These wonderful words from John are so totally nourishing to followers of Christ. They provide inspiration and encouragement to raise us all up, whatever troubles we may face. The words remind us that God unconditionally loves everyone in the world.

 

It is sometimes easy to overlook the opening verse, where Jesus talks about a serpent in the wilderness. But this goes to the heart of His message. Jesus is referring to the time when the Israelites were ungrateful in the wilderness and spoke against both God and Moses. God then sent a plague of poisonous snakes which killed many of them. After praying to God, Moses was told to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole. Then when anyone who had been bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake on the pole was saved and they lived. (Numbers 21:4-9).

Jesus was using this image to foretell His death, where He would be lifted on the cross. Moreover, He was making it clear that everyone who looks on Him in faith will receive eternal life. That was not just a message for those who were physically around to witness His crucifixion, but applies to us all today. We too are called to turn to the light of Christ, believe in Him and follow Him in our deeds, then we will have eternal life. 

Let’s look once more about verse 16: 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

More than anything, this articulates God’s wonderful plan for the world. He loved his creation and mankind so much that He gave the most extravagant gift to us that we could possibly imagine. He gave His one and only Son to demonstrate His love and to rescue us. 

So what does God want in return for this most generous gift? It’s simple, God doesn’t ask for anything but for us to have faith and believe in His Son Christ. That’s about us genuinely wanting to make Jesus part of our lives, longing to be in his presence and experience his light and love!

We are all sinners in some way or another - that is sadly in our nature. But that’s the whole point of God sending Jesus to save us from our sins by His death on the cross. Because when we, as people who have sinned, believe in Jesus and trust that He died in our place, we are saved by Him. We need to embrace that God’s love for us is immeasurable and that when we look for the ‘light’ that is Jesus and yearn to open our hearts and minds to Him we will be saved and feel the reality of Jesus’ presence. 

We are now half way though Lent and whilst we face the solemnity of Holy Week on the horizon, I think it is reassuring to have this reading today which brings us back to the overriding message of the Gospel. 

GOD LOVES US ALL

Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for your love. 

We marvel that you loved us enough to send Jesus,

We are so grateful that as we open our lives to you,

You pour your love into our hearts.

Help us to experience your love today and every day

AMEN

Today's final hymn is "Longing for Light, We Wait in Darkness (Christ Be Our Light)"