LUFC Service 13th November

Sunday 13th November 2005

Call to Worship

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning. Lamentations 3.21-23

Song: Immortal, Invisible, God only wise

Prayers:

Let us give thanks for the loving kindness of God and his strength given in every time of need. We bless you O God, for the courage, devotion to duty, and self sacrifice of those who in past conflict gave themselves that we may live in peace. We bless you for the witness of those who today make sacrifices which challenge us to search for peace. We bless you for those who invite us to share their vision of a new world, in which your creation is cherished and every human live is valued. For Jesus sake, Amen

The Lords prayer

As Jesus taught us, we commit ourselves

To welcome strangers into our midst,

To care for the poor,

To love our neighbours as ourselves;

And to establish justice in our community.

In the name of God

And in the power of the Holy Spirit

We pledge ourselves to work for peace:

Peace in our homes, Peace in our communities

Peace in our world. Amen

Taize Chant: O Lord, hear my prayer

Poem Readings : Remembrance - Ann H

An Older person to read:

They shall grow not old,

as we that are left grow old;

age shall not weary them,

nor the years condemn.

A younger person reply:

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning,

we will remember them.

The two-minute silence

Prayers:

Prayer : God of Hosts,
yours is the battle against evil,
yours is the victory over death.
We come to you with memories of war and death,
with scars of victory and defeat.
By your Son Jesus, who bears the scars of his victory
won not for himself but for others,
grant us healing for the past,
and resolution for the future.
So may your world discover and know that peace
which is your purpose for us all;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us pray for the needs of the world: (Hear our prayer)

Where there is war and conflict, we pray for peace and security;

Where there is injustice and oppression, we pray for justice and freedom

Where there is hatred and distrust, we pray for harmony and understanding.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

We pray for world leaders and all who exercise influence over others:

That they may act wisely and justly and seek the common good;

For the united nations and all international organisations working for justice and peace,

That they may be strengthened and upheld by your presence.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

We pray for all who suffer as a result of war;

In body, and mind or spirit;

For all who have lost their homes and possessions.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

We offer these prayers through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.

Song: It only takes a spark

Notices and Offering

Setting the Scene

"On a mission".

Song: This little light of mine

(Children leave)

Bible Readings

Matthew 28:16-20Keith H

Acts 1:3-11 - Libby E

Hymn: Ye servants of God

Sermon:

Intro:

A man moved into a new area and was getting to know the town, when he noticed in the Yellow Pages, in the listing for the restaurant section, a place called "Church of God Chicken Grill". The peculiar name aroused his curiosity and he dialled the number. A man answered with a cheery, "Hello! Church of God Chicken Grill!" He asked how the restaurant had been given such an unusual name, and the man at the other end said: "Well, we had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. Well, people liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, that eventually we cut back on the church service. After a while we just closed down the church altogether and kept on serving the chicken dinners. We kept the name we started with, and that’s Church of God Grill."

Not sure if this is a true story, but when I came across this tale it made me think. I sat down to prepare this sermon after this week's ministers prayer meeting, and one of the burning desires for prayers from that group was for direction in mission.

It seemed that almost every minister present, and there were a number of us; had the same hearts desire to see the churches of this town engaging with the community, being places of welcome and warmth, where faith is identified and nurtured, and where Gods love cannot possibly be contained, so it spills out of who we are and what we do.

The church of God should be about the Mission of God, and in the Bible Readings this morning we see the mission of God for his church as set out by Jesus in both the gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Both these readings appear similar accounts of Christ's famous last words, before he was taken into haven Heaven. Christ sets out a mission for his people.

It’s a Mission to stay, and a Mission to Go.

In Acts 1:3 Jesus tells his followers to stay and wait for the Holy Spirit; to stay and wait until they were at a strong enough place to take on this mission; to stay and not feel that they were alone, but to wait until they knew for certain that what they were about to do was from God, and not just a whim or fad. This waiting time in that upper room in Jerusalem was a time to focus, to pray, to bond together and to prepare for what lay ahead.

This was the mission for the disciples to wait and then to go. They knew they would have to go out from that place, that they would go out with power and authority when they left about their business, but despite that sending, there was a more immediate mission to prepare. This time of grounding that needed to be explored together. A time to reflect, to plan, to get ready.

I believe this morning that we have the same mission as the disciples, a mission to stay and a mission to go.

The other week we thought about those verses from Johns 15 where Jesus encourages us time and again to remain in him. To stay in relationship with him, to be fed and nurtured by him, to not seek to do things on our own, but with him.

Some would argue that our mission is simply to "go" - and in that going to remain in Christ, to exercise our faith -by going in faith. Yet I believe our mission is to come and go with Christ. To learn in the times of retreat and preparation, ways to better serve, to better demonstrate Gods love, to better use the gifts and resources we have been given.

Yes, we have been made for a mission, and our mission is something that together we can identify and together we can accomplish.

A Mission like Christ's:

Our mission is to be a people of prayer, as well as a people of action.

When we look at the life of Christ we see a man on a mission, a man who began his ministry in the Temple with that great mission statement: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." (Luke 4: 18-19)

A man who was indeed sent from God: (John 4: 34) "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. (Luke 10: 16) "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

Christ's focus on this mission was absolutely phenomenal. It filled his imagination and poured through almost every word and action was. At one point, after a long journey, Jesus' disciples were begging him to come into town and take a lunch break with them. But Jesus had seen a woman coming down the road, he recognised the needs of the woman and said "You go, I'll stay here,". "But you've got to eat something," the disciples said. "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" - It is my food, my meat & potatoes, my roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, the stuff that fills me up and keeps me going, is to do the will of the One who sent me and to do his work.

Yet Christ's mission was not always go, go, go. Often his mission was one of prayer and retreat. Times alone with the Father, up the mountain, by the river, in the synagogue. Feeding on the Father's presence, reflecting on the Father's beauty, receiving the Father's glory. On this Sunday where we recognise that we are shaped for mission, I did not want to put across to you that we need to do more - because for some of us the message is we need to stop more. We need to focus on God more, to chill more, to find God more in our stillness.

Shortly before he died, Jesus prayed to the Father, saying: "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you sent me to do." And the last words John's gospel records Jesus saying from the cross before he gave up his Spirit were these words: "It is finished." Or as the sci-fi edition of the Bible might say: (If there is one) Mission completed, over and out!

Christ's life of coming and going had times of hands on mission, travelling, healing, teaching - and times of retreat and solitude. Times when even his beloved disciples couldn't find him. And times when those around him were so exhausted and he wanted to carry on. He had a complete life of mission in the business and the quietness. Jesus knew balance in his mission. He carried in his heart this mission imperative, but also the need to be constantly connected with the one who sent him.

Until I prepared this sermon I always felt a level of frustration when I thought of the disciples in that upper room after Jesus had left them - what were they waiting for? (We know the answer is the Holy Spirit, but they had no idea why they had to wait). Peter was a man of passion and action, and he had to wait. Thomas who wanted to see, hear, be there himself - had to wait, and the others - locked in together, confined to a place of hanging around, wondering. But this time was much more than this. It was a time to build, to plan, to dream. A time to pray, share stories, encourage one another, it was a time to get in tune with themselves, each other and with God. And also a time to receive, so much so that when the giving time came they had so much to share, more than they ever dreamed or imagined. This was not a time of getting ready for a mission - this was their mission, to receive and to give. Not just preparation, but a vital step in the right direction to ensure that the days that lay ahead were grounded on solid rock.

Mission to Go! After a mission in preparation and receiving, came a time of action and giving: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. "

Did you know that The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea - are both fed by the same source, the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee is teaming with life, a vibrant and fertile aquatic community of plant and fish life. However, the Dead Sea is just that - dead - an acrid, odorous depository or mineral laden murk with no life at all. And why? It's simple, really. The Sea of Galilee has both a source and an outlet, the Jordan River flowing both in and out at opposite ends. The Dead Sea, on the other hand, only receives, with no outlet at all. We are like that, too. We are carefully designed by our Creator to both receive God's abundant love in Christ, and to share with others. Our lives only thrive when we are not just recipients of God's grace and love, but when we are actively involved in generously giving it away.

As we gather together on a Sunday we come and in this place of worship God, here he ministers to us, we build each other up, we are encouraged and blessed, supported and loved (Well, my prayer is that that is what takes place) . We align ourselves with Jesus taking time with the Father, and with the disciples away in that upper room. And what we know in our hearts is this is our mission - our mission is to come apart and be fed, to be challenged, to be comforted, to be inspired. We are called to come ad be receive, and called we are called to go and give.

Our mission to go out is ever before us: , for some of us, Its a Monday morning as we face our daily tasks. Our mission to be the people of God in the hard places, in that place of work where moral decisions have to be made.

Some time ago a young man wanted to speak to me after a service about his job with a leading technology company. That week the team he was heading up for his company had made major investments to the total of 6 million dollars, for reasons not known to me this project had not come off, and the money was lost. This left this young Christian executive with a huge moral dilemma. This is where the mission of God impacts our conscience, in the things we are called to do, and the powerlessness of the situations we find ourselves in. This young man was aware of what could have been achieved with that money, and he had a heavy heart about what he had been part of.

The Call to go is just that - to go and face what lied ahead this week, with the desire to see Gods love and justice in your world. Its in that classroom situation when faced with the same wilful child for the fourth time that day, in the tube carriage, when squashed up against the door feeling exhausted and apathetic to those around you; in the supermarket queue, when the check out lad tells you he is finishing after the person before you! Or maybe even closer to home, in that situation that is wearing you down, and that gives you no rest. We who are recipients of God's grace and love, should be seeking those opportunities to share that grace and love.

Personal and Corporate

It is a personal mission - one that impacts who we are and where we find ourselves - but there is also the corporate mission. Remember that "Church of God grill" at the beginning of this sermon. We are called to share a corporate vision for the mission of this church. As a church that operates a congregational government structure, we believe that the mission of the church is a shared mission.

Together shaping and bring into being God's purposes in this place. Allowing his grace and love to be served in this building in all we do. Our job is to hope and facilitate our agenda, out programme to enable this to happen.

The reading from Matthew 28:16-20 is often referred to as the Great Commission. Well we are people who are in this business for the commission! In business speak commission is often seen as extra finance you receive for more sales. Well, in church life the commission is great - Go and make followers of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰Teach them to do all the things I have told you.

As we reflect on the life of Christ and the ministry of the early church it seems that the key is balance. Successful mission is not always go, go, go - but often come and fed on God.

Jesus said:, "As the Father sent me, so I am sending you." Friends we need to be people made for mission - that includes time to receive and times to give; times to stay in and times to go out, times to speak and times to be silent. Balance is our key - one without the other will make us as busy as that Church of God chicken grill, or a stale as the Dead Sea - we need embrace the ebb and flow of mission, the mission God has put us here to complete and enjoy. Amen.

Intercessions: