Sunday Worship 28th September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. 

If you are unable to attend our services in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "From Heaven You Came, Helpless Babe"

Today's Gospel

Luke 16:19-31     The Rich Man and Lazarus

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 

The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 

He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 

Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 

He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Reflection

Today is ‘Back to church Sunday’.

A day when people have been encouraged to bring someone along to church who may not have been to church for a while or maybe even years. Perhaps even to encourage someone to come to church for the very first time.

As I was looking at various materials in preparation for this sermon, I came across an article that made me really sit up and think about why we come to church. Why do we bother?

 

It was a story about a region in a part of the world where people are persecuted for being a Christian. It’s a place where expressing your Christian faith would mean that your family would disown you. You would be shunned by others in the community or locked up. In some cases you could even be killed. 

And there was an image of a man who had had both his legs amputated and he was sitting on the hot sandy ground.  “The article described how it was an image of the man on his way to church. And how it takes him many hours to get there as he sits on the sand and pushes with the stumps of his legs, making it a foot or so at a time, repeating the process over and over until he gets there.” It was a story of faith and determination. Of courage and resilience in the face of adversity and prejudice. 

Whether you’ve already decided to follow Jesus or are still uncertain, you may still be wondering – ‘what is church all about?’

Let’s start by debunking a myth. ‘All people that go to church know loads about God and Jesus and read the Bible all the time.’ When we come to church, we might like to think that people who’ve been coming for any length of time, will have mastered the mysteries of God and the Bible. We might expect that folk who come regularly will be able to show us how easy it can be love one another just as Jesus did - and have all the answers to our struggles in life and faith. We might expect that everyone is fully committed to living a fully Christan life. The reality is that the local church can be complicated, and include people who are hard to like or seem unlovable.  But we are all God’s family. When we come to church, we are saying that we are coming together to be part of the Body of Christ.

 

The church is God’s gift to us because he loves us so much. God wants us love Him back - and when we  come to His church, we are doing just that.  Jesus went to church and regularly attended and preached in the synagogues. Paul tells us in Colossians 1:18  - Christ has set Himself as the head of the church. If we love Jesus, shouldn’t we want to be where He is?

When we come to church we can’t help but absorb the power of God’s love – it seeps into us and we unconsciously soak it up like a sponge. Whether we like it or not, we become better people – we begin to think like Jesus did, to show more respect for one another. Unlike the rich man in today’s Gospel, we have another opportunity to reflect on God’s word and live more righteous lives. 

But here’s an interesting thought! Have you ever considered that coming to church may be good for your physical well-being and health as well as your spiritual health?

Studies have shown that church-goers have healthier lives. When we embrace Jesus and have faith in God we can feel less anxious and worried. That’s not to say we expect God to wave a magic wand and cure us of all our ills,  but when we focus on Jesus and pray to God  we have hope. When we feel His love surrounding us we have comfort and feel less stressed. 

Many people experience positive effects from companionship – finding friendship and joy as we unite in the Body of Christ. Church can be good for our health because it gives us an opportunity to share life’s ups and downs with one another, to feel good and share in other people’s joy and to encourage and support those who need our help and prayers. 

Finally we come to church to worship and give thanks to God for all He does for us -  as Isaiah says,  (Isaiah 41:21) we were made to worship. 

We come to pray and sing and be near to God. We come to learn more about God because the more we know about Him the more we love Him and can be like Him.

We come because we want to be part of the living, breathing body of Christ who sacrificed everything so that we might find eternal life through Him.

            Paul

Our Prayers

Lord, we give you thanks for all who do the work of your church, here and around the world. 

We give thanks for those who have inspired and encouraged us, and pray that we may in turn encourage other in discipleship. 

Lord, on this Back to Church Sunday, we pray for all who have worshipped in our churches in the past, and who are no longer able to join us.

Help us to share your love across our parish and beyond. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "O Jesus I Have Promised" 

Notices

Next Sunday is our Parish Harvest Festival, and we will have just one service in the parish, 11.00 am at St Thomas'. Please see the poster below for details.

Sunday Worship 21st September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. 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 "New Every Morning is the Love"

Today's Gospel

Matthew 9:9–13     The Calling of Matthew

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

Reflection

This week we celebrate Saint Matthew the Evangelist, so called because he wrote the Gospel according to Matthew. 

As I initially thought about Matthew I realised that I didn’t know an awful lot about him. 

Matthew obviously had a prominent role to play in writing his version of the Gospel but apart from that there is very little written about him. The other Gospels of Mark, Luke and John only briefly mention him and in two of the Gospels he is referred to as Levi. In the book of Acts Matthew is mentioned in passing as one of the disciples. In fact there are only seven mentions of Matthew in the entire bible and four of these are the parallel accounts of Jesus calling him in the other versions of the Gospel.

But his calling is of great significance. One of the few facts we know is that Matthew was a tax collector. As I’ve mentioned many times before, tax collectors for the Romans Empire were reviled and despised by everyone. They were considered to be the epitome of the concept of sin; they were traitors to the rest of the Jews, as well as crooks and swindlers. 

What is also of note is the how Matthew responds to Jesus’ call to follow Him…. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. [Matt. 9:9]

What I find astounding is the fact that Matthew seems to drop everything and follow. He doesn’t know who Jesus is and has never met Him before. And yet without hesitation or a second thought, Matthew simply gets up and leaves everything behind including a booth full of money. 

In an instant, Matthew’s life would be changed radically and in just one verse of the Bible we witness this massive transformation. 

I wonder what was going through Matthew’s mind. Perhaps deep down he was unhappy with his life. Maybe deep down he was ashamed and disgusted with what he had become and even despised himself for cheating and taking advantage of his fellow Jews. Did he regret getting rich at the cost of exploiting the poor? 

I like to believe that he immediately recognised that Jesus had the power to transform him and make him worthy. He was able to see that Jesus could  remove the hollowness of who he was as he chose to walk a path of obedience as a disciple.

We simply don’t know Matthew’s motivation for making this life changing decision – but I am confident that the Holy Spirit has the power to transform each of us - to change our lives for the better and to change who we are deep down. 

When we spend more time in prayer and follow Jesus, he will enrich our lives and we will be blessed by God.

When we read about the calling of St. Matthew we are experiencing one of Jesus’ most powerful examples of the forgiveness of God. Matthew was so full of sin but Jesus showed him love and knew his willingness to change. He accepted Matthew for who he was and who he was capable of becoming.

We too are capable of great good and leading good lives. God loves us and sees the potential in every one of us, and because He loves us so much, He wants us to be the best we can be. God wants us to repent of our sins and follow Jesus. 

In his own words Matthew is telling us that we can also respond to the call of Jesus, by being obedient to God and merciful to one another. By showing mercy to each other, we can put our sins behind us and play our part in building God’s kingdom right here in our own community.  

When we set out to follow Jesus we need to do so without doubt or reservation, because Jesus is telling us that He comes to save us, He invites us to follow Him, because He welcomes sinners and wants us to be restored.           Paul

Our Prayers

Loving Father

We thank you that Jesus shows us the way.

That He is always there for us,

 teaching us how to live righteous lives.

We pray that we will put our lives in His hands,

So we may be healed and changed by Him. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "When I Needed a Neighbour"

Notices

We have a really busy week this week in Leesfield Parish - please see the posters below

Sunday Worship 14th September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. 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 "On a Hill Far Away (The Old Rugged Cross)"

Today's Gospel

John 12:27–36    Jesus Speaks About His Death

 “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”*

The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 

He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 

Jesus said to them, “The light is in you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

Reflection

Today, we are taking a detour from the Gospel of Luke as we celebrate Holy Cross Day. 

As you read the passage above, what thoughts go through your head? Perhaps you can try to put yourself in Jesus’s shoes – He knows what destiny lies ahead. That He is going to be killed in Jerusalem. Not only that, He knows what kind of death that is going to be. An excruciatingly tortuous, painful and drawn out death on the Cross. 

This takes place at the beginning of Holy Week just after Palm Sunday where He was welcomed with rapture as the Messiah. Therefore, not only is Jesus aware what lies ahead, He also knows that it is imminent. 

For an instant, in the opening line, it seems as though Jesus might be having second thoughts – and who wouldn’t? However we need to appreciate that in coming to earth Jesus gave up His divine nature and became one of us, fully human.

 

As St. Paul tells us – “though he was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God … but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness.”  [Philippians 2:6–7]

Jesus wasn’t like Superman, a being from another planet who had super powers and was impervious to pain and suffering, He was fully human and as such had emotions and fears, and as we see, He could experience doubt and anxiety and fear. 

Yet, despite this momentary doubt, He almost instantly affirms His commitment to meet His destiny. He decides He is not going to be side-tracked from His mission to bring salvation to all who turn to Him. 

In this moment of hesitation we see vulnerability in Jesus’ humanity. He is clearly troubled to the core of His soul. So what does He do? He talks to God. He bares His soul and tells God just how anxious He is. Surely, there’s a lesson in this for us. If Jesus needed to turn to the Father in times of need, then we too can do the same when we are faced with difficult challenges or decisions in our lives.

When we make time to share whatever is in our hearts with God, and take our fears and troubles to Him, we are opening our relationship with God to enable a deeper connection and spiritual understanding with Him. 

In this story. Jesus reminds us that it’s OK to be frightened or uncertain sometimes – it’s human. Being scared of what lies ahead is not a sign of weakness – it’s human.

But Jesus also shows us that we sometimes need to stand back from our worries and look at the bigger picture.  Picking up our own cross sometimes means taking the option that isn’t the most obvious and may cause us some short term pain. 

Talking with God also means listening to what He wants us to do. When Jesus reflected on what lay ahead, He could see that in God’s greater plan, His personal suffering on the Cross was the only way that our sins could be atoned for. Putting aside His fears, Jesus could see that what He was being asked to do as part of God’s plan was essential for humanity. 

In this vulnerable moment, Jesus battled with His human emotions and anxiety and  chose to trust in God - to submit to God’s will and his plan and to put His misgivings aside for the greater good. That is the essence of true faith – when we allow ourselves to put others first even if it causes us personal grief then we too can demonstrate that we are willing to pick up the cross. 

As we navigate the winding journey and the ups and downs of our lives, let us look at this powerful example of how Jesus faced into His fears. Let His example of faith give us hope and assurance that we too can lean on God to point us in the right direction.     Paul   

Our Prayers

Father God ,

We ask you to let us see the light of your son Jesus.

That we may be led by His most precious light

Out of darkness and into the ways of

goodness and righteousness

So that we may become children of light.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "What a Friend we Have in Jesus"

Notices

Special Notice – For anyone who wasn’t in church last Sunday to hear the announcement, we are pleased to say that we will have a Curate in Charge before Advent this year.

Revd Kirsten Stott is coming to us from St Luke’s Heywood and St John’s Hopwood, and will be serving the remainder of her curacy at St John’s Hey and Leesfield under the supervision of her Training Priest, Revd Kirsty Screeton.

When Kirsten’s training is complete, expected during Spring 2026, the Bishop will formally ‘sign off’ her Curacy, and she will then be able to apply for the role of Incumbent.

If we, St John’s and Kirsten are all happy to proceed at that time, there will be a formal interview for the role of Incumbent of both parishes, and if successful, Kirsten would then become our Vicar.

With only one ordained priest across the two parishes, three churches and four schools, there will, inevitably, be some alterations to worship patterns in both Leesfield and St John’s. We are currently working with St John’s, with guidance from Area Dean Daniel and Archdeacon Karen, on what this might look like.

Please hold Revd Kirsten and both parishes in your prayers as we jointly discern how best to serve God and our communities over the coming years.

Sunday Worship 7th September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 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 "Give Thanks, with a Grateful Heart"

Today's Gospel

Luke 14:25-33                   The Cost of Discipleship

Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 

Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

Reflection

This week the church looks at ‘thankfulness and generosity’ – and we explore the cost of discipleship. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus says that if we are serious about following Him, then we should pick up our cross and give up all our possessions. 

Well I don’t know about you but that sounds like a pretty big ask. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to be simply be thanked once in a while just for coming to church?

Well, personally, I am thankful that we are here – but I think we are here not because we want to be thanked but because we are thankful to Jesus. Because we love Him and genuinely want to follow Him and grow as His disciples. We’ve a lot to be thankful for. 

We should be thankful because God the Father gave his only Son Jesus, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Because Jesus loves us and is always there for us. Because God lavishes His grace upon us. 

It’s right to be thankful to God. It’s right to want to follow Jesus – and in today’s gospel passage Jesus encourages us to do just that. But it also comes with a message that’s uncomfortable to hear. 

One of the challenges in the teachings of Jesus is that sometimes there are hard things to hear and get our heads around. 

  

It’s not just the easy things that Jesus teaches, but also the hard things, too - and today just happens to be one of those hard teachings from Jesus. Jesus doesn’t always sugar coat the message. 

Let’s go back to that scary bit about giving up all our possessions: In the original Greek translation, Jesus talks about renouncing all our possessions, not giving them up altogether.

 

He is not literally saying pack up everything you’ve got and take it all to the charity shop. Empty the fridge and give everything to the local foodbank. Sell your house and your car and donate all your money to good causes.

By telling us to renounce our possessions,  He is telling us to look at our priorities. And to get our priorities right – to put following Him before our personal ambitions – Jesus is telling us that following Him isn’t something that we can do by half measures – we have to be all in, and put Jesus before everything else in our lives. 

Following Jesus is a way of life - a commitment where we put Jesus first as our top priority. To put God first and foremost above friends, family and possessions.

 

Our first priority has to be to follow His example, to glorify God and give Him the thanks He deserves, and the second priority is to look after one another. 

Today Jesus is telling us bluntly, that if we are to follow Him, then we can only do that when we put God and others first. 

And we can only do that if we de-prioritise our fixation on material things, spending nearly all our time and money doing things primarily for ourselves and our families.  

 

Ok, that’s maybe not as bad as saying sell everything you have and give it away, but it’s still a pretty tough message, So why do we find giving meaningfully so hard to do?

I suggest there are two key reasons:  – 

Firstly - greed. The more we have, the more we want. We can live relatively comfortable lives compared to many in the world but we are persuaded by advertising and consumerism to think it’s better to have more. A voice in our head that says, I’ve worked hard for what I’ve got, why shouldn’t I reap the benefit and indulge myself. Why shouldn’t I have that extra holiday or the newer gadgets and phones, even though there is nothing wrong with the ones we have. Why shouldn’t I buy some nice new clothes even though my wardrobe is bursting to the limits?

But, if we think this is the right way to live our lives, then we have totally missed the point. We are just paying lip-service to living a Christian life. We are forgetting that everything we have is ours by the grace of God.

The second barrier to giving is about insecurity and fear. Will we have enough to put the kids through college? Or plan for a good retirement or what if I lose my job? That’s a harder concern to answer. Do we want security? Of course we do. 

But is the security we seek to be found in wealth and a good lifestyle, or is it in Jesus? Those who put their faith in money think along the lines of, the more I give away the less I will have left for me. Those who put their faith and trust in Jesus believe that the more we give away, the more God will provide for us. And I firmly believe that God will. 

God might not provide what we think we want. It might not be unlimited wealth or the best of health, but we can trust that God will provide what He knows we need and He will do it cheerfully. And that is what Jesus wants us to do also.

In 2 Corinthians 9:7. St. Paul says:

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

If you’re still not convinced, look at it this way: 

Think about how you feel when you see your children unwrapping presents on their birthday? They are full of glee and excitement and it warms your heart with joy and happiness. 

And you’re cheerful and happy even though you might have spent far more than you planned to and had to sacrifice spending on something you wanted for yourself. -  

It’s easy in this case to see the joy of our children benefiting bringing us happiness. 

And when we are happy because we have given generously, then Jesus is happy too, He is happy for us.

 

Isn’t that a good feeling? To know that Jesus is happy for us.

Similarly, when we give to others, the people or organisations we give to are blessed and enriched by our action. When we give generously and cheerfully we glorify God and in turn we too are enriched and blessed in the eyes of God. When we give generously we are being thankful to God for all He has done for us.  Thankfulness and generosity go hand in hand. 

In our parish we are facing a stark future, with a meagre income from regular giving being far less than what we need to cover the cost of utilities, maintenance and the parish share. That is before we consider how we are going to raise the £50,000 needed to repair the heating and the costs of fixing the leaking porch at St. Agnes. And as new people replace the older members of the congregation we need them to volunteer to help with the routine tasks of running the services. So let us all prayerfully think about what we might give to keep the church going.

It's always hard to talk about generosity and giving, and whilst Jesus does not pull His punches about the commitment He expects from those who follow Him; He’s not trying to load us with guilt. He actually wants to make us happy and free. He doesn't want us to be generous so he can make us miserable. Instead, He wants to give us more joy, more contentment and to be more enriched in who we are. 

As we strive to build our relationship with Jesus, let’s embrace those challenges, and rejoice in our sacrifices, and feel how happy He wants us to be. And let’s not forget, the ultimate reward for following Jesus is far greater than the cost.  Paul 

Our Prayers

 Almighty Father, we thank you for the many blessings you give us.

We pray that we may be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit,

To follow Jesus as His disciples.

We pray for the future of churches in Lees.

Help show us the way to give more generously and cheerfully

knowing that we are blessing others and you with every act of kindness.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Will You Come and Follow Me"