LOVE

 

The theme for today’s service is ‘Love’.

 

Call to Worship:

Thank you God for loving us, because nothing will separate us from you.

Even in these most difficult times and situations, nothing can separate us from your love.

AMEN

 

Hymn: Come let us sing of a wonderful love (Cornerstone Methodist)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCSx7ZZ3-2I

 

Come let us sing of a wonderful love,
tender and true;
out of the heart of the Father above,
streaming to me and to you:
wonderful love
dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Jesus, the Saviour, this gospel to tell,
joyfully came;
came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell,
sharing their sorrow and shame;
seeking the lost,
saving, redeeming at measureless cost.

Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet;
why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget;
home! weary wanderer, home!
Wonderful love
dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love,
come and abide,
lifting my life till it rises above
envy and falsehood and pride:
seeking to be
lowly and humble, a learner of thee.

 

Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

Gracious God,
as the faithful dawn heralds hope,
and light gradually infuses the sky until morning
breaks open a new day,
so the coming of your son is the disperser of the darkness
of our night,
and we can boldly step out from the shadows of our hearts
and turn our faces to the light of his presence with us today.
His words still hang in the air.
His hands are still open to bless
and his call,
'Follow me,' is as loving and urgent as ever.
Now is our time to say 'Yes'.
Then will the great light that is your love be seen by
all people in darkness,
and hope flood every corner of every land and every heart.
Amen.

God who made the world, made me:
shaped me, filled me with life and talents.
God made me as part of a network of love
which keeps the world alive.
God knows the name of my heart,
my true name,
the name that links me to God:
the name that says who I truly am.
My name lives in the mind of God
just as I live in the mind of God.
God gave me myself
and I try to give myself back to God,
to use the freedom I have to choose God;
to place myself in God's hands,
trusting myself to his love and mercy,
trying to fill my life with him
by giving my life to him and
acknowledging that God who made the world
made me.
Lord I give thanks
and my place in God's world.
Amen

 

Bible Readings

1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 The Gift of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4: 7-21 God’s Love and Ours

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

 

Reflection:  Gods Love (Mike)

Today is Valentine’s Day, also called St. Valentine’s Day, holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends and today we most likely have done or plan to do just that.

In this time of pandemic the world today is greatly in need of God’s love. We have witnessed demonstrations, mistrust, corruption, false news and now at this time of reflection vaccine nationalism. Today is a time when the love of God is needed by so many particularly at a time when hugging a loved one may need to wait until this pandemic is over.

But it’s worth asking ourselves what is love? Is love just a warm, fuzzy feeling? Not really, the word love is a verb. It means to do something; to put someone else first. It means doing things for others instead of oneself.  It means giving others the benefit of the doubt, putting oneself in their shoes, and forgiving them - even if they don't "deserve" it. It means being nice to people who have hurt you, as well as those that love you.

 

1st Letter of John, reminds us that "if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" (4 v 12) and "Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him" (4 v 16b).

 

John speaks strongly about living Godly lives. He teaches that our knowledge and love of God will be evident by our obedience to His word and love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are simply not just to talk about love, but to love practically by giving to and caring for those in need. Simply put if we know and love Jesus, then we are to live and love as he did. But at times it can be painful to love, but God understands our brokenness and journeys every day with us. Each day He comforts us and sustains us, and reaches out His hand of love to us, and we in turn show that love to others.

I reflect on the words of Bishop Michael Curry who in May 2018 gained worldwide fame with a passionate sermon on the power of love at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle where he reflects on the power of love, imagining a world where love is the way. In his book -Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times. He says “Love is about working to change things that are harmful in the world”. He writes about the dance of nonviolent change in the church, country, and world. He describes this dance as learning to stand and kneel at the same time. Stand in our own conviction. And kneel before another’s anger.

The love of God cares for people, wherever and whoever they are. And through remaining close to God in his love I believe we are given opportunities to share his love with our neighbours and friends and wherever we are in community. For love can only be offered, offered by Jesus to us and the world on the cross and offered by us as our response to Gods love to others. Love is never forced, only offered. For He loves, He forgives, He gives, He waits for a response, He hopes, for a response to His love reaching out to us and through us to the world.

We are reminded to continually follow His word to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. And to love your neighbour as yourself”. Amen

 

Hymn: When I needed a neighbour (Rachel Bran)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6osdbgExLU

When I needed a neighbour,
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

I was hungry and thirsty,
Were you there, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

I was cold, I was naked,
Were you there, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

When I needed a shelter
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

When I needed a healer,
Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there?
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
Were you there?

Wherever you travel,
I'll be there, I'll be there.
Wherever you travel, I'll be there.
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter,
I'll be there

modern hymn by Sydney Carter

 

Reflection: Poem: Heaven’s Grocery Bill (Hazel)

During this coronavirus pandemic and being in the older, more vulnerable category, one of the things I miss is shopping!  I always felt grocery shopping was a chore but a necessity.  I now find myself wishing I could just pop into the local supermarket not only to have a good look around, but to meet up with other people and have a good old gossip! 

I have been very fortunate and blessed that family, friends and neighbours have been on hand to help during these difficult months of virtually total isolation.  My lovely neighbour has been doing our weekly shop each week since last February despite herself being a key worker, having a young family and coping with home schooling.  I am sure I am not alone in speaking of love in our community – people who have shown us true kindness and continuing care; ordinary people doing extraordinary things. 

I would like to share the following poem with you entitled: “Heaven’s Grocery Bill”.  We all need the things you will find on the shelves, so I hope when you are next able to take a trip to the supermarket, you will look out for them – I know I will!

 

I was walking down life’s highway a long time age when I saw a sign that read “Heaven’s Grocery Store”.

As I got a little closer, the door opened wide

That’s when I saw myself standing inside.

I saw a host of angels, they were standing everywhere.

One handed me a basket and said “Shop with care”.

Everything a person needed was in that grocery store

And what you couldn’t carry, you could come back for more.

First, I got Patience;  Love was in the same row.

Further down was Understanding – you need that everywhere you go.

I got a box or two of Wisdom, a bag or two of Faith.

I just couldn’t miss HIS presence for HE was all over the place.

I stopped to get some Strength and Courage to help me run the race,

By then my basket was getting full but I remembered, I needed some Grace.

I didn’t forget Salvation, for I knew that it was free,

So I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me.

Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill

For I was sure I had everything to do my Father’s will.

But as I went up the aisle, I saw Prayer and put that in

For I knew when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin.

Peace and Joy were plentiful; they were on the last shelf.

Song and Praise were hanging near, so I helped myself.

When I asked the cashier “How much do I owe?”

He just smiled and said, “Just take them with you, everywhere you go.”

Then he smiled again and said, “Jesus paid your bill a long, long time ago.”

 

Prayers of Forgiveness & Intercession
 

A prayer of Confession
Loving God, you made us in your loving light
but everywhere we fill ourselves with the darkness of selfishness.
You made us to know you and to live in friendship with you
but everywhere we turn our eyes from you, living blinkered lives,
as if you were not present in the world.
Lord, Forgive us our darkness.
Fill us with your love.
You made us to be confident in your love for us,
to know your protection and be fed by your strength
but everywhere we let ourselves be overwhelmed by fear.
You made us to see each other as your children,
one family under heaven,
but everywhere we are divided.
Lord, Forgive us our darkness.
Fill us with your love.
Loving God, forgive us the darkness of division,
the darkness of fear, the darkness of ignorance,
the darkness of desires that urge us to put our needs above the needs of others.
Forgive us our darkness.
Fill us with your love,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

People of God,
remember that God is kind and loving.
God forgives us and shows us the path to take.
We will follow God's ways.
Amen.

 

A Prayer of Intercession
We pray for all who support others:

the leaders of nations and communities,

those who care and those who educate,

those who serve and those who construct,

those who farm and those who trade.

Jesus, our loving guide,

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer
 

We pray for those whose journeying is intolerably difficult,
those denied the warmth and security of love and home,
those who struggle with internal and external pressures beyond their capacity,
those who are intimidated by the complexity of life.
Jesus, our loving guide,

Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

 

We pray for those who have no resources to share,

those have lost jobs and businesses,
those who, like the Christ, have no place to call their own,
those who struggle with faith.
Jesus, our loving guide,
Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

We pray for lands where that freedom is not known;
where lives are destroyed by war;
where people cannot voice their own opinions;
where they cannot choose who governs them;
where they can be imprisoned for speaking out.

Jesus, our loving guide,
Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Into your care and keeping
we commit those near and dear to us
in sickness or in health,
in wealth or in poverty,
in love or alone.
 

Come close, O Spirit of God,
and journey with them.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Jesus, our loving guide,
Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Lord we pray for the churches in our circuit, this week for Stratton House and Timsbury, and for Rev Geoff Waters and Rev David Winstanley as they minister in these places.

 

Petition

Thank you lord that your idea of time is very different from ours.

We find it difficult to be still and patient,

Help us to take time to really be aware of your presence in our lives.

Help us too to be ready to go where you send us,

To know your love, and to love all our neighbours.

Jesus, our loving guide,
Lord in your mercy

Hear our prayer

We pray that you lord will accept our prayers through your loving kindness, in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Lord’s Prayer  

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, 
and the power, and the glory, 
forever and ever. Amen.

 

Quote:  Mother Theresa

Who is my neighbour? Make her words our prayer. Mother Teresa said:

“The "least of my brethren" are the hungry and the lonely, not only for food, but for the Word of God;

the thirsty and the ignorant not only for water, but also for knowledge, peace, truth, justice and love;

the naked and the unloved, not only for clothes but also for human dignity; the unwanted; the unborn child;

the racially discriminated against;

the homeless and abandoned, not only for a shelter made of bricks, but for a heart that understands, that covers, that loves;

the sick, the dying destitutes, and the captives, not only in body, but also in mind and spirit;

all those who have lost all hope and faith in life; the alcoholics and dying addicts and all those who have lost God (for them God was but God is) and who have lost all hope in the power of the Spirit“

Hymn: Lord the light of your love is shining (Shine, Jesus, Shine) (Hill song - with lyrics)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OIwSQmyCg4

Lord, the light of your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us
Set us free by the truth you now bring us
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Lord, I come to your awesome presence
From the shadows into your radiance
By the blood I may enter your brightness
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

As we gaze on your kingly brightness
So our faces display your likeness
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Graham Kendrick
Copyright © 1987 Make Way Music

Closing Prayer & Blessing:

May the peace of God enfold us,

The love of God uphold us,

The wisdom of God guide us

And now may the blessing of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all now and for evermore.

AMEN