Sunday Worship 29th September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to our Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the 18th Sunday after Trinity, and the feast of St Michael and All Angels. 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 "Morning has Broken"

Today's Bible Reading

Revelation 12:7-12 Michael and the Dragon

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,

“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,

for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,

for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.

Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Reflection

Today we celebrate the feast of Michael and All Angels. Michael along with Gabriel and Raphael are the three named biblical angels, depicted as the beloved messengers of God. 

Michael, which means 'who is like God?', is described as protector of Israel and leader of the armies of God and is perhaps best known as the slayer of the dragon in the  passage above from the Revelation to John. He is thus regarded as the protector of Christians from the devil, particularly those at the hour of death. 

The excerpt from Revelation is on the face of it, a description of the battle between good and evil. Up to this point. Satan has been able to come and go to heaven as he pleases. He is depicted as a red dragon with seven heads each with ten horns, [Revelation 12: 3], but we know that Satan has many guises and will come with his angels and demons to tempt us to do wrong and disobey God’s commandments. 

We must never underestimate the cunning and power of the Satan. We know of his cunning from the very beginning of the Bible where, as the serpent, he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden which led to the downfall of mankind. This is referred to in verse 9 where he is described as the serpent and deceiver of the whole world. 

He was a powerful angel and manipulator. So much so that prior to the war with Michael’s angels, we are told that with his dragon’s tail he swept a third of the stars from the sky, [Revelations 12:4].  This refers to him persuading a third of the angels in heaven to support him and follow him. These are the same angels that are cast down alongside him. 

Satan thought he could challenge God, and he accused God’s people of sin, and thereby thought he could defame what God had created. 

It is important to note that whilst we sometimes think of Satan as the counterpart of God, he is not and never can be, because God has no equal. If anything, Michael, who is described as an archangel is Satan’s counterpart who is sent by God to fight the battle which ultimately leads to Satan being banished, thrown down from heaven.

  

That is of course not good news for us, because as we know, Satan is still free to deceive and corrupt us here on earth. But there is the wonderful Good News of Jesus, and as Christians we can have faith in his redeeming love and his sacrifice to atone for all our sins. Satan has been conquered by the blood of the Lamb. 

We have a loving Lord who came among us and who continues to intercede on our behalf as our advocate in heaven. 

The reality is that we all make a mess of things every day. We act selfishly, tell lies, believe other people’s lies, take advantage of situations when we know we shouldn’t, or cause hurt to others, even if it is unintentional.

So what should we do about it? Let Satan persuade us that we are not fit Christians or believe that we are now unacceptable in God’s sight? 

As Christians we need to have faith and hope and trust in the Lamb of God and his love for us. We need to face up to what we have done wrong, admit our sins and say we are sorry. Because we have faith that by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross he was able to bear all our sins so we need no longer be accused by the devil and judged by God.

 

As Saint Paul says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" (Romans 8:1).

As believers we also have a responsibility to fight the devil when we see him at work in others and conquer him through word of our testimony in Christ, [verse 11]. That is we can share the good news that by turning to Christ they can be forgiven and have a place in God’s kingdom.           Paul

Our Prayers

Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for the salvation, strength, and security I have received from the Lord Jesus Christ, 

and for the victory He won for me through His blood. 

Thank You that through Him, I can overcome any obstacle in my life, to Your praise and glory

Amen

Our final hymn today is "Ye Holy Angels Bright"

Notices

Next Sunday is our Parish Harvest Festival, and we have just the one service in our parish at 11 am at St Thomas' Church. Please see the poster below for details -

Sunday Worship 22nd September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Our Sunday services this week 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 at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "New Every Morning is the Love"

Today's Bible Reading

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Two Kinds of Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Reflection

We continue looking at James’ epistle. I have to say I like James, he is clear and succinct as well as being pragmatic and a realist. 

Today we look at the subject of wisdom. James considers aspects of our wisdom and what Godly wisdom looks like. 

Let’s start by thinking about ‘our’ wisdom. If you were to try and decide what attributes make someone wise, where would you start? Maybe, think about people you know or those around you. 

Would you start by looking at people who have a degree or a PhD? Is learning and qualifications a pre-requisite for wisdom?

Perhaps you might consider someone who holds a senior position in a business a wise person; a company director or Chief Executive Officer. But is experience in business a reasonable measure of wisdom? After all there are many businesses that fail and go into liquidation.

Maybe you would consider your local vicar or more senior church leaders as a source of wisdom. Perhaps it would be wise for me not to comment on that!

Then some of us might make the judgement that there is no substitute for age and experience and look to the elder members of community. There is an adage -  ‘with great age comes great wisdom’. So does that suggest we can rely on the amount of grey hair, (or lack of hair), as an indicator of wisdom?  I am also reminded of another saying, ‘….there’s no fool like an old fool.’

James, gives us a clear pointer to the source of wisdom – Godly wisdom which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. James is showing us characteristics of God’s wisdom that we are to demonstrate to one another. But he is more helpful because he points out the aspects of human nature that have to be avoided and which might trap and lead away from a path of righteousness. He describes the behaviours that take us down a path of dissatisfaction and cause enmity or unrest with others.

If we look at the alternative readings for today, we are, not surprisingly, directed to extracts from Solomon and the Book of Proverbs. 

The prologue to Proverbs opens by describing itself as instruction“ for learning about wisdom and instruction,  for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence… “

In other words, it offers insight to the reader about life if they pursue wisdom by fearing and obeying the Lord. 

The book of proverbs might be considered as a hand book for how to live well in the world and relate to one another in numerous kinds of situations. It is a book of very short sayings providing guidance on all manner and aspects of life. Most of the sayings directly contrast wise and foolish behaviour – or to put it another way, like James, it shows us what ‘wise’, good behaviour looks like as opposed to ‘foolish’, bad behaviour. 

It personifies Wisdom as a woman persuading us to follow her path and outlines a long list of the characteristic behaviours that typify a person of wisdom. We are warned not to be tempted to follow the call to Folly, [which is also described as a woman], who is trying to tempt us to foolish and sinful ways which must be avoided at all costs.

It is largely comprised of the sayings of Solomon who was considered to be one of the widest people ever. You may recall  in 1 Kings 3: 5-15, the Lord asked the young king what gift he could give him, and Solomon asked for an understanding and discerning mind to govern his people.

God was pleased with him and gave Solomon a wise and discerning mind; like no one before him or after him has had. Many, therefore, see Proverbs as the manual for leading a righteous and wise life in a Godly manner.

So the wise person is a person who follows the road to righteousness, rather than selfishness or personal ambition at the expense of others. In today’s Gospel reading, [Mark 9:30-37],  we see how even the disciples could be distracted by ambition as they argued about who would be the greatest among them after Jesus left. We can see the seeds of argument and dispute obscuring the wisdom of Jesus. 

Jesus uses the example of an innocent child who has nothing in order to demonstrate the need for self-sacrifice and to put everyone else first, ahead of our personal goals. We need to think about the impact we have on the lives of everyone, especially the vulnerable, in every aspect of how we live our lives; including how we eat, what we wear, how we travel, how we spend our money and what we say or do. We need to look for the wisdom of God to guide us.               Paul

Our Prayers

Loving Father, 

Grant me the gift of wisdom in my daily decisions to discern and do your will.

Guide my thoughts, words, and actions, 

and let your Holy Spirit show me the path of righteousness.

Lord I pray that you help me to remember 

to put You and everyone else ahead of myself,

as our saviour Jesus Christ commanded us to do.  

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Praise and Thanksgiving"

Notices

This coming Saturday, the 28th September, is the crowning of our new Harvest Queen, Amelia. Please see the poster below for details -

  

Sunday Worship 15th September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. Our Sunday services this week are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. If you are unabe to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "As the Deer Pants for the Water"

Today's Bible Reading

James 3: 1-12                  Taming the Tongue

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Reflection

Last week we looked at James message that actions speak louder than words. However, we see in the part of his epistle a very cautionary warning about the power and impact that our words can have on others and indeed our own lives.

 

We can I am sure all recall times when we have said something that we regret and wish we had never said. Whether that is something said in the heat of the moment or where we have passed an opinion based on misinformation that has turned out to be wrong.  

We have many sayings such as, ”to put your foot in your mouth” or ‘’I opened my mouth and spoke before I put my brain in gear”. A more modern idiom is, “oops did I say that out loud”. Unfortunately, these often seem to be used to trivialise something we have said that may be inappropriate.

 

In verse 2, James says, "For all of us make many mistakes..". Whilst this is an acknowledgement that none of us are perfect, it does not in any way excuse or absolve us from the responsibility we all have to take care before we say things.

In today’s age I would suggest that also includes what we might share on social media which has far wider implications that what might be said amongst a small gathering or a conversation with a friend. 

James uses the analogies of a horse’s bit being used to steer a mighty and powerful horse, and also a rudder being used to steer a huge ship weighing tons. In both cases something disproportionately small has a huge impact on the direction of the thing it is steering.

In the same way, our tongue is a relatively small part of our body but can have significant ramifications for our whole lives. How we use our words, (spoken or written), can steer the direction of our lives and lead us astray from the straight path. 

As Jesus said in the Gospel passage we read a few weeks ago, “it is what comes out that defiles us. For it is from within, from the human heart”, [Mark 7:20-21]. 

What we say reflects on how people perceive who we really are deep down. The opinions and views we articulate shape how others see us. Saying the wrong thing, whether deliberately or because we are just mindlessly repeating someone else’s views opens up a window on our character. 

What we say can impact our jobs, our career advancement, and our standing and respect in the community. Like a small rudder can steer a massive ship, what we say with our small tongue can have a massive effect on friendships, relationships, even church and group fellowships.  

James goes on to warn that what we say, whether intentionally or not, can have far reaching consequences beyond our imagination; like a raging forest fire started by a single discarded match. We saw a real example of this with the recent riots started by a single individual putting misinformation on the internet and letting it be stoked by others. 

Of course it’s not all bad news. How we use our tongue can be a blessing. We can use it as Jesus used his tongue to comfort troubled sinners and to bring them a word of peace and forgiveness and refreshment. We can use it to build bridges between enemies and strive for peace and justice. We can reach out and support those who are despairing and low, as Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11: 28-30].

Last but not least, we can use our tongue to pray and worship God our Father, and spread the Good News of his kingdom. Let us remember that what we say is a measure of how we walk with God.          Paul

Our Prayers

Merciful Father, 

Set a watch before my mouth, and guard the door of my lips. Keep me from saying words that later need recalling. 

Lord, help me to control my tongue, 

to keep it from uttering wrong and hurtful things.

Forgive me for the times I have done that.

Lord, help me to use my tongue to speak good and helpful things. 

For that is your will for me

Amen

Our final hymn today is "O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing"

Sunday Worship 8th September

 Sunday Worship

Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. Our Sunday services this week are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes’ and 11 am at St Thomas’. If you are unabe to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.

Our first hymn this morning is "From Heaven You Came (Servant King)"

Today's Bible Reading

James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17 Warning against Partiality

My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality. For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,  and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,”  have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?  But you have dishonoured the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

 If you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Reflection

A phrase that comes to mind when I read this passage was, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’

James gives us the example of the man in his finery and rings and juxtaposes this with the poor person in filthy clothes.

 

It is useful to understand that in first century Roman times, the vast majority of the people would have been considered poor, and all of their earnings would have gone towards sustaining day to day living. Only a handful of people were considered wealthy, and one of the ways this was demonstrated was the wearing of rings to signify wealth. Indeed some moderately wealthy people went as far as to hire rings in order to make it appear that they were more wealthy than they actually were. 

On the face of it, it might look like the message here is that wealthy people should not look down on the poor. Whilst that is certainly true, we should consider that nearly all the people who were reading or listening to James were those who were considered poor. 

With that in mind, the message also shows us that it is just as bad for the poor to show favouritism to the rich as it is for the rich to look down on or ignore the poor. Discrimination, bias and prejudice work both ways. 

You might think that it would be natural for the poorer classes to stick together but as we see in life today, folk often prefer to socialise or curry favour with those who are better off in hope that there will be some advantage for them. That may be for hope of financial gain, or an opportunity to leverage the other person’s status and contacts, or many other reasons.

James reminds us of Jesus’ parable about the banquet guests, [Luke 14:7-11] and the theme of reversal: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted”. He warns us against identifying with the rich, especially against one’s own best interests.

Whatever the reason, it is still partiality and James doesn’t mince his words – whenever we show partiality we are making a judgement call about others; it is a sin and it is a transgression against God’s law. Ouch, that sounds harsh! 

James goes on to stress that we can’t be selective and pick and choose which of God’s laws we want to keep and which we are happy to ignore. When we break the law we are transgressors,  criminals. Moreover, when we show partiality we are breaking the commandment that Jesus told us was the second most important, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”.

Praise be that we have someone to turn to, a saviour that who we can turn to for forgiveness. Someone who chose not to come to among us as a wealthy king, but one who chose to identify with the poor and the humble. 

We remember that Jesus showed us how to break down barriers and not discriminate between Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, slave or free person.

  

The Lord who died for us that we might be saved. 

But there is a word of caution from James: Faith is not just about believing that when we say sorry and profess our faith that all will be well – he reminds us that there is also judgement and we will be judged according to how we treat others. Mercy triumphs over judgement and I am sure we all look with hope and expectation for the mercy and forgiveness of God. 

A God who has infinite mercy but who will judge us by our actions as well as words. A God who knows what’s in our hearts and will judge us by our love for one another, and not judge us by our cover or who we pretend to be. In our daily lives we need to show mercy to others regardless of their situation, religion, colour or any other factor that may prejudice our feelings.                                Paul

Our Prayers

Merciful Father

We ask you to give us an open mind,

that we may take everyone as we find them.

That we do not judge people at face value

or turn people who need help away, because of false assumptions.

We pray for a world where all people are treated as equals

and where we show each other the same love that you show us.

Amen

Today's final hymn is "Jesus is Lord, Creation's Voice Proclaims it"

Notices

Our first "All-Age Worship Singing" is at 6.30 pm on Monday 9th September at St Thomas' Church. Everyone is most welcome to  join us as we learn how to sing God's praises with joy and confidence. 

On Saturday 14th September from 10 am to 4 pm, St Thomas’ Church will again be part of Oldham’s Heritage Open Day. The theme for this year is ‘links’, and we will be exploring how our churches connect with the local community, our schools and other churches. There will be a display board showing the people from our churches and the parts they play in the wider community.