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"

 

Sunday Worship 31st August

 Sunday Worship

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

Our first hymn this morning is "In Christ Alone"

Today's Gospel

Luke 14:1,7-14               Humility and Hospitality

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Reflection

We pick up this week, where we left off last week. 

This time, Jesus is not teaching in the synagogue but has been invited to a Sabbath meal with the leader of the Pharisees and other important guests. We are told that they were closely watching Him.

The setting of the scene reminded me of a movie where a well to do young man falls in love with a beautiful young lady who is quite poor and, for want of a better phrase, is unsophisticated. Inevitably the time comes when he invites her to dinner with his parents. The situation that unfolds is extremely uncomfortable as every action she takes, how she eats and everything she says is deeply scrutinised. 

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you have felt, ‘under the microscope’? Maybe at a job interview or a new member of a club?

I mentioned last week how important Sabbath meals were in the Jewish community and so tensions would have been quite high. The religious parties were no doubt keen to delve into Jesus’ views quite deeply and see if they could trip Him up especially with regards to observance of their laws. In verses 2-6, (not included above), Jesus confounds them when He again cures a person on the Sabbath. He again challenges their views about where Scripture says you cannot heal on the Sabbath and is met with silence. They are still struggling with His compassionate approach of following the heart and spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law.

By observing the way people were behaving, Jesus is able to interpret  their behaviour in terms of the societal norms. Amongst those invited to the meal there are clearly differing levels of status and seniority. This is not a situation where all are treated equally – it is a power driven situation where people are competing for favour or recognition. In modern society, one might compare it to the clamour for political or celebrity status.

In His first example, Jesus reminds us that people will think more of us when we are humble and do not assume privilege or prestige. In fact we do well to consider that many may have a totally contradictory view of us depending how we behave. To quote an Oldam colloquialism, we might be seen as ‘having a shilling on ourselves’. In other words, other people may have a much lower opinion of us than we have of ourselves.

In the second example Jesus exposes the motivation that dictate our actions. It is good to show hospitality but we need to be welcoming to everyone – not just those who are capable of and willing to reciprocate.  It’s a bit like the ‘Scrooge’ approach of giving Christmas presents, where the value of what he gives is proportional to what he thinks he will get back in return.

 

What does mean for us our community and our churches in Lees? 

How much do we think about how we are serving others? I have no doubt we will consider this in more detail next week when we look at generosity but there are some things that do not require money.

Do we think about how we treat others and are more concerned about how they see us? Who are the ‘others’? Non-Christians, newcomers, those we don’t normally associate with, the poor and vulnerable living rough only a mile away? 

Are we creating a welcoming space for everyone and anyone, or do we instinctively still tend to lean towards people of a similar social standing? As Christians, are we emulating Jesus by creating a welcoming space where healing and authentic connection can thrive? – If not, what more can we do to genuinely be a church where everyone can be welcomed to a place at the table.                                                              Paul 

Our Prayers

Gracious Father, Your Son Jesus Christ,

Showed by His teaching and examples

how to be compassionate and caring to everyone.

Let us demonstrate a willingness to embrace 

those we feel challenged by or don’t understand.

Help us to reflect on how we can embody Jesus’ love 

in our own lives and communities, 

making room at our tables for everyone. 

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Meekness and Majesty"