28th February 2021-Canvey Methodist Church Worship Services
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Service Sunday 28th February @ Canvey Methodist Church
Complete Link: https://youtu.be/F0NjuwRqTd8
1) Call to Worship :- A psalm – 98 (NIV) 1 Sing to the Lord a new song,for he has done marvellous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;5 make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn, shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
2)“We sing together from Singing the Faith number 94 ‘To God be the glory’”
3)“We come now to our prayers of adoration and confession – let us pray”
‘Almighty God, our heavenly Father, We bring our praise and thanks this morning for you have done great and marvellous things. We see glimpses of your power and majesty in the beauty of creation around us, and we marvel at its’ vast-ness and diversity. You are holy and righteous in all you do and yet merciful, filled with love and compassion. You revealed your love to us in the person of your son Jesus Christ, and through his life, death and resurrection you have made it possible for us to enter into a relationship with you. You give us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, to guide and empower us to live for you this day and every day. So, as we bring our worship in songs and prayers, draw near to us we pray, that we may be conscious of your presence with us in homes. AMEN Loving God, We acknowledge that we have failed to take up our cross and follow you when you have called us to serve and witness to others, sharing your love and compassion. Too often we have chosen the easy path, the safe ways and not trusted in you to lead and guide us. (A moment of silence as we make our confession) Help us to take those steps, to move beyond our comfort zones, confident that you are with us and have gone ahead of us. If we confess our sin, God is faithful to forgive our sin and restore a right relationship, through Jesus our Lord. AMEN “We share the Lord’s Prayer together” Traditional Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. 4) Bible Reading – St. Mark 8. 27 to 38 (NIV) Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Jesus Predicts His Death 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”The Way of the Cross 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
5) Hymn - “Taking up that theme of the cross, we sing together from Singing the Faith number 274 ‘Jesus Christ, I think about your sacrifice”
Jesus Christ, I think upon your sacrifice, You became nothing, poured out to death
And once again I look upon the cross where you died, I'm humbled by your mercy and I'm broken inside, Once again I thank you, Once again I pour out my life Now you are exalted to the highest place, King of the heavens, where one day I'll bow
And once again I look upon the cross where you died, I'm humbled by your mercy and I'm broken inside, Once again I thank you, Once again I pour out my life
Thank you for the cross, Thank you for the cross, Thank you for the cross my Friend.
Thank you for the cross, Thank you for the cross, Thank you for the cross my Friend And once again I look upon the cross where you died, I'm humbled by your mercy and I'm broken inside, Once again I thank you, Once again I pour out my life (Matt Redman b. 1974)
6) Sermon Prayer – “Open our eyes of our hearts, Lord, so that we may see as you see. AMEN”
“I don’t know if you are familiar with the expression ‘Hero to Zero’ but just recently I guess it could be applied to Allison the Liverpool goalkeeper, who in the game against Leicester, made some heroic saves but at the same time made some classic blunders, allowing the opposing team to score – who’d be a goalkeeper! In our lectionary Bible reading from the gospel of Mark, which I have expanded to include some earlier verses, we find Peter experiencing the ‘Hero to Zero’ phenomena. The incident takes place in the region of Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus quizzes his disciples as to who do the people say he is (v.27), to which they reply ‘John the Baptist’, Elijah or one of the prophets – there is no consensus amongst the people as to Jesus identity, though interestingly, those possessed by demons certainly knew Jesus true identity (Mark 1. 24 & 5.7). It's at this point that Jesus’ question becomes more personal, inviting the disciples to give their opinion, rather than that of others, and it is here that Peter makes his heroic confession of faith, that ‘Jesus is the Messiah’ (v.29). In Matthew’s account, Jesus tells Peter that his confession is through God’s revelation rather than intellectual assent (Matt. 16. 17). • In the same way, our own recognition of Jesus is the work of God’s Holy Spirit. This all sets the scene for a further revelation on the part of Jesus, something that would leave his disciples ‘gobsmacked’ for no sooner as Jesus identity as Messiah been confessed (to be kept secret), than Jesus tells his disciples, for the first time, that he will be rejected by the elders, scribes and chief priests, that he will endure physical suffering, before being put to death and rise three days later (v.31). If you put yourself in the position of the disciples, their minds must have been reeling at what they have heard, for nothing could have been further from their expectation and they could not take it all in. Perhaps we’ve had that experience over this pandemic, when we’ve been given ‘bad news’ and we have struggled to comprehend it all. For Peter this was certainly too much, not something he wanted to hear and so he took Jesus aside to rebuke and contradict him. Peter’s understanding of the Messiah was that of a warrior/king who would throw out the Romans and restore the kingdom. But now it was Jesus turn to rebuke Peter, publicly – ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ (v. 33). What a dressing down – ‘hero to zero’. But why so harsh a response from Jesus? It should be made clear that Peter was not possessed in any way, yet Jesus clearly saw the same working of the Devil in Peter’s contradiction, that same force that he encountered in the wilderness. Verse 33 gives us the clue as to what the challenge was – “not to have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” in other words, ‘worldly thinking’ which was opposed to God’s plan and purpose. The apostle Paul in Romans 12. 2 warns us ‘not to be conformed but renewed in our minds’ as the only way to please God. ‘World thinking’ is essentially about self interest and being self-centred, concerned about self-protection at all costs and this way of thinking is totally opposed to the way of the cross, and Jesus calls it out, so that no-one should be deluded regarding his mission. It is encouraging to note that in spite of Jesus’ put down of Peter, Jesus did not abandon him, but Peter was indeed privileged, along with James and John, to witness Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus spells out to his followers and those in the crowd just what it means to be a disciple in essentially three steps:- Deny yourself > Take up your cross > Follow Jesus (v. 34) and it has to be all three steps as you cannot be selective. ‘Deny yourself’ perhaps best summed up in the children’s chorus J O Y which stands for Jesus first, Yourself last and Others in between – it’s a bit more than just giving up chocolate for Lent! ‘Take up your cross’ has the implication of suffering and death, yet it might not be just a question of physical suffering but loss of status, privileges, material possessions for the cross also represents being powerless or suffering shame and disgrace. ‘Follow Jesus’ is both a command and an invitation for Jesus to take the lead and it implies going forward and not standing still. The thought of the ‘Good Shepherd’ as pictured in Psalm 23 comes to mind, for in the psalm, the Shepherd leads the sheep not just to green pastures and still waters, but though dark and dangerous places, so following Jesus may involve danger and challenge. Being a disciple is a risky and costly business yet paradoxically in ‘losing our life’ for Jesus we find it and can discover our truer selves by abandoning selfish aims and ambitions. In the Methodist Church we are invited each year to take part in the Covenant Service, where we make our promises to God, committing ourselves to follow him even as he commits himself to us :- I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing:
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