Shipley Church Self-Service The 3rd Sunday of Lent 7th March 2021 Thought for the Week – Thou shall have no other gods before me On this third Sunday of Lent we are told that Jesus went again to the temple and found it being used as a market. He reacted by expelling the money-lenders and chastising those whose activities exposed them as being dependent on material things only. God’s people have always needed holy places, but they can be abused by what takes place within them. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple resonates strongly with the central message of the Ten Commandments: that the worship and devotion which God requires is absolute. (John 2: 13-22) Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart ….. this is the first commandment. “Write all these thy laws in our hearts”, we pray every Sunday at Communion. At our churches and cathedrals we enter places made sacred and set apart for worship; despite their beauty and grandeur, the purpose of all our ecclesiastical buildings is not as shrines to a past age, or museums of art and artefacts, but as expressions on earth of the Kingdom of Heaven, serving as places of prayer and pilgrimage. Hymn for TodayJust as I am, without one plea But that thy blood was shed for me, And that thou bid’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come.Prayer for TodayWe pray: If we love thee, keep your commandments, and have the Holy Spirit dwell within us, may we emerge from the sorrows and uncertainties of today’s world and journey towards lasting change, a more sustainable global environment, and peace among peoples. Amen.Note: The Gospel and readings set for today can be downloaded from the top right of this page
Shipley Church Self-Service Sunday 28th February 2021 Thought for the Week – Seeking a place of prayer On this second Sunday in Lent Jesus teaches that following him is costly in the extreme, and we have to “lose our life” in order to save it. Indeed, his own destiny is to suffer and die. (Mark 8: 31-38) Death is natural and inescapable, and yet salvation is also possible for those who pass through the gateway of physical death believing in the fulfilment of God’s promises. This will mean different things for each of us. One answer may be to turn to prayer. When we do so, we don’t pray alone. Countless others are praying with us across the world – some with prayers of praise and thanksgiving, and others in desperation. Part of our mission might be to pray alongside those who may even doubt if their prayers are being heard. An American hymn published in 1971 asks “Did you think to pray?” ‘Ere you left your room this morning, Did you think to pray? In the name of Christ our Saviour, Did you sue for loving favour, As a shield today? Oh, how praying rests the weary, Prayer will change the night to day; So when life seems dark and dreary, Don’t forget to pray!Hymn for TodayO Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder Consider all the works thy hand has made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, The power throughout the universe displayed; Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, How great Thou art, how great Thou art!Prayer for TodayWe pray: Holy Spirit, Spirit of Jesus, guide me to the place of prayer and to the people of prayer - that I might pray with them and together we might find you waiting for us.Note: The Gospel and Readings for today can be downloaded from the top right of this page
Shipley Church Self-Service Sunday 21st February 2021 Thought for the Week – He was in the desert for forty days Mark’s Gospel is very concise. It records no detail of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, but links together Jesus’ repentance at baptism, the deprivations of his being in the desert, and the nearness of the kingdom of God – the good news! This makes for an excellent start to Lent. (Mark 1: 9-15) We’ve been dealing with the reality of Covid19 for almost a year, and so much change and uncertainty has made us ask questions such as, “When will we return to normal?” A recruitment manager for the Church Mission Society, Susann Haehnel, reflects on our desire for a return to normality with a fresh perspective: “We will not go back to how it was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal, other than we normalised greed, inequality, confusion, intolerance, division etc. We should not be longing to return there, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. Change is needed. For us Christians, Jesus needs to be the starting point for lasting change.” Here is an invitation to work towards a different future; in Luke.4 Jesus articulates what could, should and will be: “hope for the poor, freedom for the broken-hearted, and new eyes for the blind”. (Luke 4: 18-19) As we embark on our annual journey of remembrance towards the death and resurrection of Christ, Lent can be about seeking, and finding, the path to new life!Hymn for todayForty days and forty nights Thou wast fasting in the wild, Forty days and forty nights Tempted and yet undefiled.Prayer for todayLet us pray that God will help us use this season of Lent to re-orientate our lives, seek forgiveness, and restore afresh our baptismal state.Note: The Gospel and Readings for today can be downloaded from the top right of this page.
Shipley Church Self-Service Sunday 14th February 2021 Thought for the Week – Christ’s Transfiguration The story we are looking at today is a defining moment in the life of Jesus and of his three closest disciples. The Transfiguration was the miraculous outward transformation of Christ’s appearance to Peter, James and John, and a vision of the prophets Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, as they all appeared on the side of a mountain. The indescribable light and magnificence in which he stood before them created, just for a brief moment, the “caterpillar” becoming the “butterfly”! This remarkable scene took place just a few days after Jesus had explained to his followers that he was going to die, even as they had only gradually come to recognise who he was. Their fragile confidence in him as their Saviour would undoubtedly have been shaken. But here was a “light-bulb” moment, a moment of sudden revelation, beyond human understanding: the extraordinary sight of Christ in all of his glory, giving the most powerful demonstration of his divine nature, revealed in the context of ancient prophecies from the Old Testament. Jesus was proving to his apostles who he really was.(Mark 9: 2-9)Hymn for todayLord the light of your love is shining, In the midst of the darkness, shining; 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.Prayer for todayThis is a good day to look at where God has led us. We rejoice that he accepts us as we are, and pray for him to take us by the hand, as we listen to him as instructed.Note: The Gospel and Readings set for today can be downloaded from the top right of this page.
