Call to Worship With thankful hearts we gather to worship God May we be united in love and praise With generous, faithful minds we open our hearts May we be filled with the knowledge of Christ's teaching With the trials and temptations of life in our thoughts May we lay them down and prepare to worship God Hymn 214 – New every morning Prayers of adoration and confession Eternal and Loving God, We are in awe as we worship You today. Your generosity knows no bounds, and we are humbled by the breadth, length and depth of Your love for us, which extends to the people of the whole world that You made so creatively. How wonderful it is that You brought variety, colour, vibrancy and beauty to this earth, for You have been a generous and caring master who wanted to provide for Your children. We are blessed with continents, countries and areas that range from the high mountain to the deep ocean, the small rural village to the bustling city. All of this has been made perfectly, a loving gift to be experienced and lived to the full. Creator God, You have showered upon us all the resources we need for a fulfilling life, including families and friends who love us, work and leisure that inspires us, and a faith that brings meaning and purpose day by day. We are truly thankful for all You have done, and continue to do for us, day by day. Almighty God, You know everything about us. The thoughts we have, the desires we fight against, and the words that are spoken that cause distress, worry and fear. We confess the mistakes made, the actions taken, or not taken, and say sorry ... Sorry because we let others gain the upper hand, instead of turning to You. Sorry that we have not been as faithful as we could have been. Loving God, forgive us, assure us and empower us as we move forward in faith, renewed and forgiven, knowing You are with us, urging, encouraging and driving us on Lord’s Prayer Readings – Lamentation 3: 19-26 Luke 17:5-10 Hymn 153 – Great is thy faithfulness Prayer of Illumination God our creator, You have made us one with all the earth, To tend it and to bring forth fruit: May we so respect and cherish All that has life from you, That we may share in the labour of all creation To give birth to your hidden glory, Through Jesus Christ. Amen Reflection Two weeks ago was the Morebattle Flower Show; yesterday was the Yetholm Shepherd Show. At both events I stood amazed at the skills people have. There are gigantic leeks; there are thick stalks of rhubarb; there are flowers wonderfully proportioned and in the brightest of colour. There are cakes and scones; there are the beautifully carved sticks. At Yetholm there is the livestock as well, but also runners tackling a hilly course. It is all great fun, but also it represents a real commitment to grow the fruit and vegetables; a creativity to produce the best displays. I look out at my garden, and there is nothing I could display, but there are flowers and trees that have given me a lot of pleasure over the months. We humans can work away, but it is God who ultimately brings about the growth. I don’t think I saw in either of the shows any mustard bushes, but Jesus had a particular liking of mustard seeds, for he uses them in several of his parables. The seeds were of course tiny, yet put them in the ground, lavish them with TLC (tender loving care) and they would grow into a large bush. But in the parable this morning Jesus used the image of a mustard seed to talk about faith; if the disciples had the tiniest of faith, the size of a mustard seed, they could tell a mulberry tree to uproot itself and plant itself in the sea. Though perhaps more famously in Matthew, the faith to move mountains. In Cairo the story is told of a time in the Middle Ages when Cairo was a place in which the three monotheistic religions all thrived – Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The heads would gather every now and again to chat, but this time the Sultan and the chief rabbi rounded on the Christian bishop and asked about this parable and challenged the bishop to prove it and to move a mountain by faithful prayer – or else, his flock would be put to the sword. He was given three days – and he was in despair. He tried to explain that perhaps it wasn’t to be taken literally, that Jesus was exaggerating to put across his point. But they wouldn’t listen. The story goes, however, that after sleepless nights and much fasting during the day, on the third day the mountain was moved, and the Sultan abdicated and became a Christian. We may take a story like that with a pinch of salt, but for many Coptic Christians in Egypt they believed it happened. They live as a small minority, and stories like this bolsters their faith. We read from the book of Lamentations today. It is a gloomy book, as it records the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. |The temple had been raised to the ground, the precious treasures taken away to Babylon; even the king had been led away in chains. The people who were left lamented in despair. But in Chapter 3 we have the tiniest mustard seed light in their darkness, as the writer realises that God’s love is there new every morning; so great is his faithfulness. Suddenly there is hope in the worst of situations. The disciples had asked Jesus to increase their faith. By faith, I thank they meant their trust. We are often in that situation, where we look at other people or we look at those who have gone before us and feel that they had so much faith, whereas often ours is wanting. But I think we need to take these words from lamentations to heart; that God’s love is there new every morning; that God is ever faithful to us. The saints were ordinary people, with all their failings, but who somehow made a difference. We too can make a difference, even with our failings. Daoud Nasser is a Palestinian Christian and has a farm near Bethlehem. It has been in the family for many generations, and they have title deeds to prove it. It is now surrounded by Israeli settlements, which ever seek to encroach upon their land. He now calls his farm the ‘tent of nations’, as many volunteers come to stay to help the Nasser family plant olive trees especially and help them with the harvest. So often the settlers burn the trees or uproot them; the Nasser family just replant, refusing to be intimidated or to treat the settlers as enemies. That’s faith. Despite the hatred they face, they respond with love and plant believing in a bright future. We pray it will come. As the farmer plants crops hoping for a good yield or a gardener plants flowers or vegetables hoping for a good display, so we can plant the seeds of hope, for God’s love is there for us, new every morning. So great is God’s faithfulness. Prayers of Dedication O God of the ages, we give because you have given so many things to us. Help us to use our resources to bring about change that the poor will be lifted up, the broken healed, and the despised included, let our love for you increase and our love of mammon fade away. Amen. Hymn 259- Beauty for brokenness Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession Eternal One, we praise You for Your goodness and grace, Your love which sustains our world and all that is therein, the diversity of Your creation, the beauty of our planet, and the animals and forms of life with which we share our fragile home. O Most High, we give thanks for all that is good in our lives: our church where we’re nurtured and sustained, our community where You meet people in all sorts of ways, the love that we share in so many different ways – each way reflecting Your love for us. Here in the security of our worship we bring to you places, O God, that are not very secure, for we remember those who weep: the people of Ukraine living with invasion, terror and uncertainty, the people of Afghanistan recovering from earthquake and living with an unstable government the people of Yemen at war with Saudi Arabia and the civil conflict in Ethiopia. We pray for those who seek and work for peace in each of these places - seeking to sing your song of peace in a strange place. We ask Your blessing on those who investigate war crimes and attempt to bring perpetrators to justice and we ask You continue to turn the hearts of politicians toward peace and away from war. We remember too, Eternal One, our own nations in times of trouble. We pray for those who: struggle to pay their bills this month and this winter, will suffer due to the fall in the value of sterling, plot to make the rich wealthier in the proud imagination of their hearts, and those who feel they have no alternative but to strike to defend their livelihoods. Give wisdom, O God, to those who dare to lead us, that integrity, justice and compassion will become watchwords of our national life. We pray for the Church, that we might be forward looking and outward-looking. Help us to put our trust in You, O God. Give us faith to make a difference. Faith: that you still call people to Yourself; that you still have work and purpose for us; faith the size of a mustard seed. In a moment’s silence we bring to God the names of those we love and worry about… Amen Hymn 644 – O Jesus I have promised Benediction May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His smile towards you and give you peace.
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Call to Worship Creator God, of Justice You are with us now Bright God of Change You will walk beside us Rainbow God of life We will follow you! Hymn 200 – Christ is made the sure foundation Prayers of adoration and confession Creating God, beauty and harmony mark your creation. As the seasons change, we see you are still at work in the world, transforming hearts and situations. We praise you for all you do to repair injustice, to bring peace to places of war, working for goodness to prevail in all nations. You offer us new possibilities day by day, and so we place our trust in your redeeming power. Renew our energy to reach out in love this autumn and open our eyes to new opportunities in Jesus’ name. Through the power of the Spirit, make us participants in your work, bringing justice and joy into the world you love. Compassionate God, you open your heart to those in need, and to your aching creation. We confess we often turn away so that we do not have to see pain, suffering or injustice, right before our eyes. We don’t like to feel uncomfortable or pressed into service. Forgive us and give us courage to love others as you love. The prophet Micah declared that God requires of us three things: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. To all who repent, who act for justice and seek to serve God and neighbour in kindness, God offers forgiveness and peace. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Lord’s Prayer Readings – 1 Timothy 6: 6- 19 Luke 16:19-31 Hymn 517- Fight the good fight Prayer of Illumination God, whose name is not honoured Where the needy are not served, And the powerless are treated with contempt: May we embrace our neighbour With the same tenderness That we ourselves require; So your justice may be fulfilled in love, Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Reflection I studied at St Andrew’s, and tourists would come and rave about being at the home of golf. I was caught by surprise, because after the first week, I never noticed the golf, I never noticed the golf courses. This week I was speaking to some visitors at Yetholm Church, and they were raving about the thatched cottages and the village greens and even the house in the Morebattle Road with the gnomes in the garden. I realized that I have grown used to these now; I accept that they are there and don’t see them as different. Some things become so familiar that we don’t notice any more. We have to look with the eyes of a stranger to see how beautiful a part of the world we live in or even to see what needs done about the house - that we do need to change the wallpaper or give the door a lick of paint. The parable we read this morning is about failing to notice. There are two main characters, and there is a chasm between them – because one is outrageously rich and the other dirt poor. There is a chasm between them in the afterlife, as one is in heaven and the other in the torments of Hades, of Hell. There is a rich man. Sometimes we call him Dives, but that simply means rich man. And there is the poor man, a destitute, with sores all over his body that the dogs lick. He is called Lazarus, and in all Jesus’ parables, Lazarus is the only one Jesus gives a name to. The prodigal son isn’t Aaron, woman looking for her lost coin isn’t Rebecca; the sower isn’t Zack. Only Lazarus is given a name, the lowest of the low. And the name Lazarus means ‘God helps’. There is a painting of this parable by the Italian artist Veronese, and the rich man is sitting at his table, eating the sumptuous fare, drinking the finest wine, while musicians play for his enjoyment. He is dressed in the latest fashion. He has everything money can buy. But Lazarus is lying by a pillar, dogs licking his wounds. The rich man would have passed Lazarus every day, but never noticed – or chose not to notice. He had become just part of the scenery. But then the scene shifts to the afterlife. Jesus is talking with some Pharisees, and they believed in the afterlife. Jesus isn’t giving a model of what heaven is like, but is rather using a folklore version of heaven and hell. On death, Lazarus is whisked away by angels to heaven, but the rich man ends up in hell, where he suffers. This time, for the first time, he does notice Lazarus seated beside Abraham, but a chasm lies inbetween. The rich man was used to giving orders and he begins to instruct both Abraham and Lazarus, telling Lazarus to warn his brothers to mend their ways. They will believe, he thinks, someone who comes from the dead. But the parable finished with Abraham saying that if they hadn’t listened to the teaching of Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen to someone coming from the dead. Wealth plays a part in this parable, though Jesus doesn’t dwell on it. But in our reading from Timothy, we hear the famous verse about the love of money being the root of all evil and how destructive it can be. Yet the rich can also help – the Hunter Foundation matches by 50% every pound raised for charity in the Kiltwalk for example. He gets some kudos out of it and can probably well afford it, but even so, he has done a good thing. It is the abuse of money that is the problem. Paul encourages the young Timothy to concentrate on living his life in a good and compassionate way, fighting the good fight and pursuing love and faith and gentleness. The was a challenge to the Pharisees with whom Jesus was conversing, for did they notice the downtrodden? Or did their learning blind them? But it is also a challenge to us. We are privileged in so many different ways, with education, lifestyle, technology. But what – of whom- do we pass by, with eyes closed? Some are obvious – the widows, orphans, refugees that the Old Testament prophets keep mentioning, but others of our neighbours can have hidden needs and anxieties. We need to keep our eyes – and our ears – open. And as a Church we are tasked to build bridges over the chasms that divide and tackle the prejudices that create these chasms in the first place. Jesus called Lazarus by name. Let us give everybody their dignity- by noticing them and not walking past. Prayers of Dedication Loving God, we bring you our gifts, grateful that we have something to share, and glad to be part of a network of mission and mercy which circles the earth. Bless the various good works supported by our Church of Scotland as well as the mission of our congregation. Use our gifts to multiply their impact in the world you love through Christ our Lord. Amen. Hymn 544 – When I needed a neighbour Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession God of mystery and wonder, We look around at the beauty of this world and the worlds beyond us, and sense that you have given each precious thing its place and a way to sustain itself. Thank you for the care you hold for your whole creation. We also look around at the aching of the world and sense that many precious things are under threat. Too many pieces of your creation have fallen out of balance with each other. Show us how we can help restore that balance and protect what is at risk for the health of your whole creation. God of all creatures great and small, Make us stewards of what is precious to you. God of energy and life, We look around at the peoples of this world and see your image and dignity in every variety of face and culture. Thank you for the care you hold for all humankind. Yet we look around at the people of this world and see the aching of the hungry and hurting; we hear the groans of parents whose children die in their arms and feel the tears of children whose parents die too soon. We know neighbours who are suffering and hear of strangers who can’t imagine how to make it through tomorrow. Awaken our generosity to offer what healing and hope we can to the lives you cherish in every neighbourhood and nation. God of all creatures great and small, Make us stewards of what is precious to you. God of promise and possibility, We look around at places where people collide with each other. We hear the grumbling of nations locked into old rivalries and grievances. We watch the jousting of leaders impressed more by polls than effective policies. We worry about the future of our communities and our children. We hear your call to do justice and live generously. Guide us as citizens to act for justice that brings peace and well being to communities near and far. Bless the Church as she engages with causes both in this country and abroad. God of all creatures great and small, Make us stewards of what is precious to you. God of faithfulness and surprise, We look at ourselves and sometimes doubt we can make a difference or have an impact. Challenge us to recognise the kinds of power we do have: The love and compassion, the courage and commitment, the laughter and friendship, the generosity and mercy You inspire within us. In all these gifts we know your power. Through all these gifts, our lives have been changed. Using these gifts in our lives, bring Christ’s love and mercy to the world you love, Silence Amen Hymn 737 – Will your anchor hold Benediction Go in joy, knowing God rejoices over you; And care for others, knowing God rejoices over them, too! May the blessing of the God who made us, the Christ who mends us, and the Spirit who gives us life be with you now and always. Amen We welcome all visitors to our services this Sunday at Yetholm (10am) and Morebattle (11.15). Please sign the Visitors’ Book. Pippa Emerson will lead worship and preach today.
 We welcome all visitors to our services this Sunday at Yetholm (10am) and Morebattle (11.15). We have been greatly saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth and mourn her today.
Call to Worship ‘Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord . Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.' Hymn 160 – Praise my soul, the king of Heaven Prayers of Adoration & Confession Almighty Father. You are the Lord who is beyond time and change. Through all the myriad courses of history, you have been the one constant that has enabled our wayward humanity to follow a safe pathway. And as we think of our native land and the twists and spirals of its journey to this hour, we are grateful for your care and endless benevolence. And bright among the shine of your blessings through so many years has been the presence of our sovereign. So this time of loss touches deep, and with our sadness uncertainty comes to snap at our heels. But then comes your word calling us to stand fast in the faith that our Queen knew and which sustained her through all her days. So we turn to it, knowing well that it will uphold and nourish us through this time. Forgive us if ever we forget ourselves and look to another rock than you, or another quarry from which to draw our security. For in you alone is our hope, from you alone is our comfort, through you alone is our nation made whole and strong, and by you alone is our future made secure. Such prayers now we make through Jesus Christ, Our Lord Lord’s Prayer Readings – Romans 8: 31-39 John 14: 1-4, 6, 27 Hymn 425 – The Saviour died, but rose again Prayer of Illumination O Christ our tender Shepherd, you know how anxious we are and how easily we stray. Let us hear your voice Above the clamour of all others, That we may learn who truly feeds us And find our way home to you. Amen Reflection Whenever the Queen was in residence at Balmoral, a minister would be invited to preach at Crathie Kirk, and they would stay the weekend. A couple of friends of mine have been in that position. In both cases, they panicked for weeks over needing a new wardrobe for the barbecue and dinner. But immediately they reached Balmoral, they were put at their ease. The Queen had a knack for engaging with people, so that soon they were chatting and laughing. Ian Greenshields, the present moderator, was at balmoral only last weekend, and he paid testament to the Queen’s knowledge, but also to her sense of fun. He was shocked, as so many of us were, to hearing how gravely ill she was, because ‘she was in such amazingly good form at the weekend’. She died on Thursday afternoon. The Queen was held in the greatest respect by all, Royalists and even by those who would not support the Monarchy She touched the lives of so many people here in Britain, but I have also received messages from friends abroad speaking of their admiration for the Queen. She became Queen at the young age of 25, her father dying when he was only 56. She was in Treetops in Kenya and immediately began to write letters apologising for cancelling the rest of the trip and upsetting people’s plans So began a life of impeccable duty. What a reign – she spanned 15 Prime Ministers and 14 American Presidents. During her life, there has been the Second World War, and she broadcast as a 14 year old, encouraging the children and saying that we will come through this. Astronauts walked on the moon, the Berlin wall was built and also knocked down; an iron curtain disappeared; the internet has revolutionized life; apartheid ended in South Africa, and a rainbow nation came into being. The list is endless, but the Queen offered the still small voice of calm and stability throughout. She wasn’t shaking hands looking for a vote or addressing rallies looking for power or, like celebrities these days, blurting out her personal thought every which way. Instead, she embodied service and devotion. At an age when most people would have retired decades before, she was still at work, right up to the last. She believed that it was a God-given task, to serve the people. Not just some, but all people. Her Christian faith was central to this. She believed, and always had a real concern about the Church, while also respecting those of other faiths. At 96 she lived a good and a long life and touched so many people’s lives for good. In his letter to the Church in Rome, Paul asks what can separate us from god’s love and the goes on to list various calamities and even death itself, the last enemy, but he is bold to say that he is convinced that nothing, neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, can ever separate us from the love of God. Meanwhile in the Gospels, Jesus gives the reassuring message to the disciples that there are many mansions in His father’s house, there is so much space, and he assures them that they will be with him, and we cling to that hope, that God, maker of all things, has made us for more than this life and that there will be a coming together with all who have gone before us. The Queen lived her life in dedicated service; let us be thankful for that example and as we seek to follow the way of Christ, let us seek to serve one another and the community around. Prayers of Dedication In Jesus’ parable, the woman who found the lost coin rejoiced over something precious. What we offer to God is precious to us. When we present it to God, God rejoices in our gifts. Let us bless God with our offering. Lord God, receive our gifts offered in a spirit of generosity and humility. Bless and use them for the work that you long to do in the world in Jesus name. Amen. Hymn 691 – Be still my soul Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession Generous God, Who engages with the world in which we live, We give You thanks that all is known to You, And blessed by Your eternal presence. God of the past, the present and the future, For the bed-rock of faith, For the deep roots of faith, Receive our thanks this day. In times of change and transformation, Where we miss the familiar, And long for stability, Reassure us with the steadfastness of Your love. Hear our thanks for this nation of ours: Its people and its places, The human tapestry of young and old, women and men, The city-dweller and the country folk, One people. Enhance our respect for each other, Trusting in the inherent goodness that each child of the universe Offers to a broken world. Hear our thanks for Elizabeth, our late Queen, Blessed by grace, Resolute in service, Modest in person. For the years of her reign, And the sweep of history through which she provided Both anchor and springboard. We thank You for her dedication to this nation and Commonwealth, And for all the rich gifts of wisdom, kindness and inclusion She brought to her long decades. We give You thanks for lives her life touched, For the radiance of her smile And the encouragement of her words. We thank You for the sparkle of her humour That eased the tensions she encountered, And for the determination of her life To see its duties through. King of kings and Lord of lords, We thank You for the families she united Through her person. Those near and dear to her in her home life; Those brought together by the union of this kingdom; Those spread throughout the Commonwealth of nations So dear to her heart. For our nation at this time we pray, Asking for comfort in our loss, And hopefulness as we step forward into the days ahead. As our thankfulness mingles with our sadness, May we support each other And be, together, communities of tenderness and kindness. Sustain us with the strong memories of the past, And prepare us for joyfulness in the days before us. In the dignity of our time of grief, May we find in each other encouragement To share our tears, and be consoled by remembering laughter That eases emptiness and speaks to us Of life continuing in generations to come. God save our King, And bless him in these days of preparation. Imbue him with the strength of character, The openness of heart, The suppleness of mind And the generosity of spirit That will anoint him in the coming days. Silence as remember those who are ill and situations of strife and conflict in our world today. Amen Hymn 694 – Brother, sister, let me serve you Benediction Go in peace and love. May the blessing of the God who made us, the Christ who mends us, and the Spirit who gives us life be with you now and always. Amen. 
Call to Worship O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise. O Lord, may we open ourselves in worship, and give of ourselves in worship and service. O Lord, receive our praise as we gather to worship you. Hymn 457 – All hail the power Prayers of adoration and confession God of all creation, you have opened the world around us and filled it with creatures of your love and purpose. Each one declares your praise – the mountain states your majesty; the ripened field, your generosity. Birds flying aloft sing of your freedom; the tiny ant works with your persistence. And what do we declare about you in our lives? We pray that our work will honour your justice and mercy; may our relationships speak of your love and compassion. So may we praise you, O God, not just in this hour of worship, but in all our waking and our working. Challenge us today to live out the praise we offer you through the grace of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God of justice and mercy, we offer you our love and loyalty in worship yet we admit we do not live out that love and loyalty. We don’t always act on our good intentions, we fail to keep our promises, we hurt each other, and then refuse to seek or offer forgiveness. Forgive us, we pray, for not taking up our cross and following Christ. Friends, let us proclaim good news to one another. In Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Philemon 1-21 Luke 14: 25-33 Hymn 191 – Do not be afraid Prayer of Illumination Spirit of God, present now in each of us, bring forth truth from words spoken and heard, as we seek to follow in the way of Christ the eternal living Word. Amen. Reflection It is often interesting when people come up to read the lessons to hear how they will pronounce certain names. I was taking a service in one of the sheltered housing complexes in Kelso this week and talking about Moses. Afterwards, someone asked me about my pronunciation of ‘Moses’. It never occurred to me that I was saying it in a different way from everyone else. Moses/ Mosis. In Zambia, people liked soft ‘a’s, so Jacob and Abraham were pronounced differently and probably nearer to the original Hebrew. But today we had ‘Philemon’ and ‘Onesimus’. We don’t read from Philemon very often, so it is not one which trips off our tongues, but it is a fascinating book of the Bible. It is the shortest of Paul’s letters, only 25 verses, and the only one written to an individual rather than a church. That’s because the message was personal. Because Philemon, who was a prominent member of the church, also owned slaves. Now in the 1st Century world there was nothing unusual in that. Slavery was at the heart of the economy of the Roman empire, and indeed all other cultures at that time. It was a given. But one of Philemon’s slaves had run away and had somehow made their way to Paul, who at that time was himself in prison. Being in prison, having his own liberty taken from him, would no doubt have made Paul sympathetic to the runaway slave, but he knew Philemon and knew the punishment if Onesimus was caught, and so he wrote to Philemon, and he said ‘Philemon, you have a problem!’. The problem was that Philemon had a runaway slave, who may well have taken something when he fled, but this same runaway slave had come to faith and been baptised by Paul. Now he was a brother in Christ. That would make for an interesting dynamic in Philemon’s household. That problem had a name, Onesimus, which means ‘Useful’, maybe a name given to him. Paul begins his letter with dollops of flattery, praising Philemon’s work in the church, but then has the sting in the tail, as he makes an impassioned appeal for Philemon to welcome Onesimus back, to forgive him any wrong and to treat him as a brother. Paul doesn’t condemn slavery outright in the letter, but obviously has sympathy with the slave. Elsewhere he writes that in Christ there is no male and female, slave nor free – we are all one in Christ, and many slaves were attracted by the radical message of Christianity. We don’t know what happened, how Philemon reacted. But we do know that there was a bishop in Ephesus in the early 2nd century called Onesimus – was it the same person, or someone named after the slave? The fact the letter exists and was so treasured in the early Church that it was included in the canon, in the books that make up the New Testament, tells us something. I think it tells us that Philemon took the message to heart and welcomed Onesimus as a brother and even perhaps gave him his freedom. Our Gospel reading today has Jesus counting the cost of discipleship and making it clear to the disciples that to follow him meant complete commitment and sacrifice. He called them to take up their crosses to follow him. It cost to be a Christian, and it certainly did for Philemon. When Jesus comes into the equation, things have to change. Before he was a Christian, Philemon would have punished Onesimus for running away, but now Christ had entered his life, he had to act differently. He had to show the same forgiveness and compassion Christ showed. It is the same with us; Jesus has entered our lives, so if we take him seriously, we must change the way we treat people. We need to reflect on what Christ would do in any situation- and change accordingly. Take slavery. It is so difficult for us to understand why Christian rulers were so heavily involved in shipping all these thousands of slaves to the Americas from Africa; why plantation owners in the Caribbean or the Southern states in America could go to church, even build churches, while all the time oppressing their fellow human beings. We thank God for Christians like William Wilberforce and others who campaigned so relentlessly to see Slavery banned. However, slavery still exists in our world today. Human trafficking goes on, luring women and children especially with promises of a new life, only for them to find themselves in impossible situations, often having to work in prostitution. A lot of the workers building the stadia for the next football world cup in Qatar may not be classed slaves, but their conditions are not unlike slave labour. Yet we can just let these things pass us by. It is like climate change, the effects of which are so obvious to us. And yet the enthusiasm to do something about it after the COP conference last year seems to have waned. We need to keep our eyes open to what is in plain sight in front of us. Paul encourages Philemon to look at Onesimus not as a slave, but as a brother. We too need to look around us and see beyond the labels we stick on people, and see them rather as people made in God’s image and beloved to God and work ever that people may enjoy the freedom to know God and to follow. Prayers of Dedication O God, we offer these gifts to you. Bless them and use them to heal and reshape the world you love Hymn 402 – Take up thy cross Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession Clouds rolling across the sea and land, freedom and space to explore, the soothing pattern and rhythm of our days and seasons grounds us in the Eternal. Tranquillity in early morning rising, delight in green surroundings, joyous laughter of children all remind us of the wonders of our lives. We give thanks for the gifts we witness around us, in green spaces, in music and creativity, support, validation, and love in companionship, our church communities, the wisdom in our shared heritage, and the wonderful example of Jesus. There is much happening in our world that concerns us and which we bring to you in prayer: the armed conflict in places like Ukraine and Yemen, displaced people who have already lost everything; people who are being trafficked and those who have no freedom at all. We think of the cost-of-living crisis, raising food prices and impacting those across our world who can least afford it. God, not only do we cry out for justice and fairness, equity and enough for all people – we pray also that you would show us, how we might be agents for the kind of change our world needs. We bring our silent prayers for those who lie heavily upon our hearts.…………………. As we answer our call to follow Jesus, be with us in our difficult life experiences and trials; where we fear there can be no hope, may we feel the healing touch of Christ. We remember all who have sought God before us, Saints and martyrs, their wisdom which shapes our knowledge and understanding today. We pray for our loved ones who have gone through death, that they may know the brightness of everlasting life, and we who are left can continue to grow through their inspiration. Amen Hymn 192 – All my hope on God is founded Benediction |
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