What it takes to be church - well-managed

When Jesus died, eleven of the twelve fled. Their hopes dashed, it felt as if everything had fallen apart. And Judas, the twelfth, could see no future for himself at all and took his own life.

On the third day they met with all the women and the other disciples behind closed doors when it happened. Peace be with you, said the risen Jesus to them and they knew this was only the beginning.

Out on the mountain top back in Galilee where it had all started, six weeks later he gave them a task to fulfil.

Go therefore 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.

It was a task they knew they could not accomplish in their own strength.

Ten days later they were again behind locked doors. And then it was it happened. They sensed they were not alone – there was a strength, a power, such as they had not experienced before, a strength a power from beyond themselves – words could not describe it. It was as if it was tongues of fire touching them, each one; it was as if it was the sound of a rushing, mighty wind.

Now it really was beginning.

Read the opening chapters of Acts and there is a buzz as they take the message of Jesus on to the streets of Jerusalem. And people are caught by the buzz. And more and more follow this way of Jesus.

It’s exciting stuff – lives are changed, the Jesus movement has taken off. It really is a wonderful new beginning.

But it needs to be organized. There needs to be some kind of organization.

If you are going to make a difference you need to be organized.

Especially if people are involved!

And people were involved. The thing about people is that they can so very easily fall out. They need organizing.

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

For a couple of hundred years there had been tensions in the city of Jerusalem between those who were drawn to the Hellensitic way of doing things – the world of the Roman empire with the sports stadium Herod the Great had built, the Gymnasium – where Greek and Roman ways prevailed … and the Jewish way of doing things of the Hebrews. Some didn’t want anything to do with the ways of the Greeks and the Romans. And among those captivated by the teachings of Jesus were Hellenists and Hebrews, those entirely at home in the Greek and Roman way of life and those drawn to a stricter Hebrew Jewish way of life.

The tensions came to a head in the daily distribution of food. Something had to be done.

In what happens next we get a glimpse of the way the earliest church organized itself.

And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’

What’s interesting there is that the Twelve gather the whole community of the disciples together – there’s a meeting of the whole church community. The Twelve have come up with a way of tackling the situation which will enable them to continue with the buzz of that mission spreading the good news of Jesus and at the same time ensure that the practicalities of food distribution are carried out fairly.

They do not select the seven most appropriate people themselves. They want to entrust the community as a whole to select the seven fitted for the task.

Having mapped out the plan they have to solve the problem, they then put their plan to the gathered community who have the opportunity to have their say before the plan goes ahead.

What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

Notice the selection is made by the whole community. They then bring these seven before the Apostles who set them apart.

They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

So the Apostles have responsibility for prayer and serving the word, while the seven are to serve the whole community in the practicalities of what needs to be done to resolve the problem that had arisen. With good organization now things are able to move forward once again …

 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

One footnote to the story – there are no hard and fast distinctions between the roles those people are playing. The first to be named, Stephen, was noted as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

What’s more he was a great speaker, a great debater who spoke with wisdom and the Spirit. Arrested he gives a wonderful account of his faith in Jesus that is one of the longest if not the longest speech to be recorded in Acts. And, with Saul’s connivance, he is taken out and stoned to death becoming the first Christian martyr.

Since the start of Advent we have been looking at what it takes to be church here at Highbury.

We are called to be Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, rooted in the Bible, open to all, worshipful, prayerful, missional, visionary. There’s a buzz in all those words and rightly so.

And today we arrive at the last in our sequence … and you  might think it’s a bit of a let-down. We are called to be ‘well-managed’.

Boring!  Who wants to know about management, organization – let’s just focus on what Church is really all about.

But actually from the first church needs to be organized, it needs to be well-managed.

That’s why it is important to come along to our Annual Meeting on Thursday – I do hope you will be able to come.

In seeking to be a church that is Christ-centred, Spirit-filled and rooted in the Bible we find the roots of our way of being church and of organizing church here in the New Testament and this passage is one of the telling passages we draw on.

There is no blueprint for church in the New Testament – and different ways of being church will trace their roots to different parts of the New Testament.

This is where we find our roots.

Even at the very first, when you might have thought the twelve might have had the kind of authority to enable them to act without consultation they in fact “called together the whole community of the disciples”. They put a plan to them and then they sought the response of the whole gathered community – “What they said pleased the whole community”

It was the whole gathered community then who set apart the seven to respond to the situation and the whole gathered community that brought the seven before the Apostles for them to pray and lay hands on them.

Unlike Anglicans, Catholics and Orthodox who have a hierarchy of Priests and Bishops Archbishops, national synods and the like to determine the way the church is run

And unlike Methodists, Presbyterians, URC who have a national structure of provinces, synods, districts and a national assembly with responsibility for faith and order, for doctrine and discipline

We in our Congregational church share with Baptists and many independent churches a focus on the gathering together of the whole community of the church in each local place.

So what did you score in the survey when you were asked to say how well you understood the way Highbury Congregational Church works?

I have updated the leaflet we prepared three years ago to picture the church and the way it works.

Highbury Congregational Church

A place to share Christian friendship, explore Christian faith, and enter into Christian Mission with Christ at the centre and open to all

As people feel at home and that they belong it is important to us that they register their sense of belonging and become Church Members – we ask all who belong to make a simple statement of faith in God and

Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

We very much hope that each person who belongs can be committed to one or more areas of church life in things they do and/ or in prayer: worship, children’s work, youth work, mission and outreach, pastoral care and discipleship.

Church Meeting

Those who share that simple statement of faith are our equiavalent of what Acts 6 describes as ‘the whole community of disciples’ here in this place. Our quarterly Church meeting is where we all have the opportunity to gather together and shape the life of the church and set its future direction – but in doing that we are not just wanting to take a vote – we meet in the presence of Christ with the love of God in our hearts and the guidance of the Holy Spirit and so we think of ourselves as ‘seeking not just the mind of the meeting, but seeking the mind of Christ for the future of our church.

Minister and Ministry Leaders

It is the gathering together of the whole community of our church in Church Meeting that has the responsibility then to appoint a Minister to serve the church family and a team of Ministry leaders to work collaboratively together in the service of the whole church in worship, children’s work, youth work, mission and outreach, pastoral care and in growing a spirit of discipleship.

Deacons

The Church meeting also elects five Deacons who serve the Church as Managing Trustees and ensure all the Church does is in keeping with its aims  as a Congregational Church and its responsibilities as a Charity with reference to finances, safeguarding, health and safety, disability, employment and other legislation

Deacons interview and recommend a name for Minister, Ministry Team Leader for Church Meeting, and then review and support Ministry Team. They also ensure good employment practice for paid employees and volunteers.

Church Secretary and Treasurer

We are all served wonderfully by our Church Secretary, Helen Roberts, and our Church Treasurer, Roger Gregory. Who help to make it all work well.

That’s how HIghbury Congregational Church works and it is our prayer that it is well-managed.

There are quite a number of people who have joined us – it would be great to welcome you into church membership as you make that statement of faith – do have a word with me – I hope to have a chat in the next few weeks.

In our set-up this is us. There’s no one else somewhere else to bail us out and come in and sort us out. Though we are part of a fellowship of like-minded churches who can share resources and be a help to each other.

At the end of that passage in Acts there’s a wonderful comment

The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly

Our hope and prayer as we meet together in our Church meeting is that here through this church and its work the Word of God can continue to spreak – and our prayer is that the number of the disciples here in this place will increase … greatly!

To help that happen our Deacons and our Minsitry Leaders are going to be sharing thoughts at our Church Meeting which I invite you to come and find out more about!

What it takes to be church - visionary

Text of the Week: The king said to her, ‘What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.’ Esther 5:3

 Welcome to our services today and a special welcome if you are worshipping with us for the first time. This Tuesday sees the start of our short course leading up to Easter, The Life of Faith. Whether you have joined our church family recently or been part of our church family for the first time it’s a good opportunity to look at the faith that binds us together as a church family. This Tuesday we are going to begin by looking at what Christians believe from the perspective we share as a church family. Do join us if you can. On Sundays we have been looking at what it means to be church here at Highbury: we are called to be Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, Rooted in the Bible, Open to All, Worshipful, Prayerful, Missional, and today, Visionary. In many ways today is the first of two Sundays when we have the opportunity to prepare for our Annual Church Meeting when we are going to review the three years since we introduced a new way of working for our church. If you haven’t already filled in a survey please fill one in today. Three years ago we shared a vision for our church: is that the vision we share today? What’s your vision for our church today? Do join us at our Church Meeting on Thursday 2nd March at 7-30. Cheltenham’s second Christian Arts Festival is coming – be sure to take a brochure and book the dates in your diary!

Welcome and Call to Worship

Praise with Hy-Spirit

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Esther’s Story

Reading: Esther 6:14 – 7:3

A Hy-Spirit Song

Activities for all over 3

A Vision to Share

Hebrews 12:1-2 and 13:1-7

Hymn: Be thou my vision

Prayers of Concern

Hy-Spirit Song

The Lord’s Supper

Communion Offering & Dedication

Hymn: In Christ alone

Words of Blessing

Retiring Collection

Of all the words that Jesus used to describe his followers one of the most precious to my mind was a word he used as he gathered with those followers to share one last supper with them. As we gather together to share around the table in bread that is broken and cup that is shared it’s a word that to my mind is as precious now as it was then.

“I do not call you servants any longer … but I have called you friends”

In some ways it’s a word that has come into its own in our age of Facebook. In other ways it’s a word that has been diminished in meaning by its over use on Facebook.

After the horrors of the second world war every effort was made to build friendships that would build bridges between peoples who had been at war. Barbara Cullis has a wonderful story to tell of her class being linked up with a class from a school in Germnay so they could all have pen pals. There weren’t enough girls in the German class for all the girls in her class at Pate’s Girls School as it was then. So she made do with a boy.  And she has corresponded with him ever since.

Friendships across those divides is what has been celebrated in Sandford Park – with links to Cheltenham’s twin towns. I have a liking for the Friendship circle – a two dimensional pattern that is realised in three different ways set in a circle – circles of friendship that take on all sorts of different forms.

Whatever form that friendship takes we can recognize ‘friendship’. It was the way Jesus described his followers at the table. And with that description comes a command that he gives.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Ever since I first encountered Quakers through the one who was my best friend at primary School something has drawn me to their ways – they think of themselves not so much as Quakers as the Society of Friends. It is what binds them together as followers of Christ, that they are friends together.

It’s at the heart of the vision we shared three years ago when we were thinking about new structures for the life of our church. On Thursday, 2^nd March, a week on Thursday at our annual meeting we are going to reflect on the last three years of the life of the church here at Highbury – if you haven’t already, do fill in one of those surveys – today is the last chance to do that.

One of the things we did three years ago was to reaffirm the vision we had shared for the life of the church. And this is where it starts, around this table where Jesus says to us, “I have called you my friends’

Our prayer is that Highbury be a place to share Christian friendship. Where we can come alongside each other as equals, where we can support one another, care for one another, and discover the value of Christian friendship.

When Jesus used those words he wanted his followers not just to think of themselves as friends with each other, but as friends of his. You are my friends.

Jesus offers his friendship to all of us together, but he also offers that friendship to each of us individually. And that’s where faith comes in. Faith is not a set of creedal statements to sign up to, faith is what draws us to realise the reality of that friendship Christ offers to all of us and to each of us. The risen Christ promises to be with us always – a presence alongside us through good times and ill.

Friendships grow and change and develop – so too with Christ and the friendship he offers us. Faith is not a take-it-or-leave-it package it is something that grows and develops and changes and has its ups and downs.

It’s something to explore and to keep on exploring. Getting to know Christ more and more.

One of the things we try to do is to run short courses that introduce the Christian faith and help us to explore that faith together – we have given those evenings an overall title and think of them as our  Explore evenings together on a Tuesday.

This Tuesday sees the start of our short course leading up to Easter, The Life of Faith. Whether you have joined our church family recently or been part of our church family for the first time it’s a good opportunity to look at the faith that binds us together as a church family. This Tuesday we are going to begin by looking at what Christians believe from the perspective we share as a church family. Do join us if you can.

Our prayer is that Highbury be a place to share Christian friendship, explore Christian faith and enter into Christian mission. There’s something for each of us to do – in caring for others, in making a differenced, in pastoral care, in sharing the good news of the message of Christ and the Christian faith with others around us.

We’ve been looking at what it takes to be church – Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, rooted in the Bible, open to all, worshipful, prayerful, missional and today we are looking at the way we are called to be visionary.

How important it is to have a vision for our church.

We expressed our vision for the church three years ago in this way …

That Highbury be a place to share Christian friendship, explore Christian faith and enter into Christian mission with Christ at the centre and open to all.

I like that Friendship circle in Sandford park – I like picturing church as a circle. A circle has a centre – and it is Christ at the centre of what we seek to do but the circle of our church family should be an open circle that is welcoming to all.

So heading for our Church meeting as we look to the future ahead of us a couple of verses come very much to my mind towards the end of the letter to the Hebrews.

Chapter 11 is a wonderful chapter celebrating the faith of the people who had gone before whose stories are told in the Old Testament.

And then we reach these wonderful words …

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, 

and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 

looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who for the sake of the joy that was set before him

endured the cross, disregarding its shame,

and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

I love that image of the race – we have to keep running till the end of the course – we are called to run with perseverance – shake off the things that hinder us and weigh us down.

And as we run we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus

The pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

The one who blazes the trail ahead of us and opens up a path for us to follow through life – and brings it to completion as well.

We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith,

The one on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.

Keep at it.

What does that look like?

Let mutual love continue. 

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,

for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Remember those who are in prison,

as though you were in prison with them;

those who are being tortured,

as though you yourselves were being tortured. 

Let marriage be held in honour by all,

and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled;

for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 

Keep your lives free from the love of money,

and be content with what you have;

for he has said,

‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ 

So we can say with confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper;
   I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?’

 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you;

consider the outcome of their way of life,

and imitate their faith. 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. 

What it takes to be church - missionarl

Text of the Week: Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life, wo which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12)

The Gospels begin and end with a call to mission. No wonder it has been said that church exists for other people. So welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time. As this year begins we are looking at what it takes to be church here at Highbury. We are called to be Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, Bible-based, Open to All, Worshipful and Prayerful. Today we look at the way we are called to be Missional. The Gospels begin with the call to mission Jesus shares in the synagogue in Nazareth. He drew inspiration from the last part of Isaiah: mission nvolved bringing good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and letting the oppressed go free. A little further on Isaiah has a vision for a world where the youngest and the oldest are cared for, all have a home and somewhere to live, and enemies are reconciled. This is the mission we share. But it is not ‘our’ mission. It is not ‘the church’s mission. It is ‘God’s’ mission. And God is at work in his world to bring this mission about. Our task is to see where God is at work, come alongside and join in. The Gospels end with a call to mission as Jesus commissions his disciples: “Go therefore 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.” That too is the mission we share. And as we carry that mission out we are not alone for Jesus went on to say, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Welcome and Call to Worship

36 O God beyond all praising

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

In Praise – Psalm 98 – the Congregation

A Hy-Spirit Song

I’m not sure whether you can claim it’s the only organisation like it, but I am sure it’s true. The church exists for other people. I’ve been doing the reports for the Annual Meeting … and I’ve kept the deadline for next month’s Highbury News! We are now registered as a charity so that means our reports have to follow a set pattern.  In particular we have to demonstrate that what we do is of ‘public benefit’.

I’ve found that really helpful – because that’s the very nature of what it means to be church. We are here to make a difference. We are here to do good and to do good for people other than ourselves.

That’s what it is all about.

We’ve been looking at what it takes to be church here at Highbury. We are called to be Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, Rooted in the Bible, Inclusive and Open to All, Worshipful, Prayerful and today we are going to reflect on the way we are called to be missional.

We are called to be outward looking. We are called to make a difference to benefit people. If we don’t do that what’s the point?!

So, what does it mean to be missional.

It has been said that all good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end.

The story of Jesus is no exception.

If we want to find out what it means to be missional we need to look to the beginning, the middle and the end of the Gospel story of Jesus.

So, let’s begin at the beginning, a very good place to start.

It all starts in his own home town of Nazareth, in his own home synagogue where his custom was to gather together to sense the presence of God in the reading of the Scriptures, in prayer and in fellowship. And it begins with a place in the Bible that Jesus was so at home in, in the Prophet Isaiah and in chapter 61.

It’s as if Jesus uses these words as the basis for all that he is going to do. This is what it is all about.

Luke 4:16-21

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,

he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.

He stood up to read, 

and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

‘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.’

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 

Then he began to say to them,

‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’

Good News to the Poor

Release to the captives

Recovery of sight to the blind

Freedom for the oppressed

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour

This is what the people have been waiting for: this is it! It’s all going to happen now.

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the words of grace that came from his mouth.

But, as they settled down to hear what this Rabbi who spoke with authority was going to say their amazement quickly turned to rage.

They knew exactly who the poor were who needed Good News, they knew just who the captives were who needed release, they knew exactly who was blind and who needed to see, they knew exactly who the oppressed were, they knew exactly who needed to hear the proclaimation that this was a year of jubilee, the year when wrongs were righted, debts were cleared and everyone could begin all over again.

As far as those who were listening to jesus were concerned it was US, OUR poor, OUR captives, OUR blind, OUR oppressed – it was US who needed to hear that this was the year when everyone could begin all over again.

What Jesus said next came as something of a surprise. More than that, it shocked them to the core. It turned them from amazement at his words of grace to such rage that they got up, drove him out of the town and led him to the bnrow of the hill on which the town was built so that they might hurl him off the cliff.

But Jesus stood his ground. He knew exactly what he was about. He passed through the midst of them and went on his way. And his mission began.

Down from the mountains and Nazareth to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum and on into the towns and villages of the Galilee – he taught as one who had remarkable authority – Love God, love your neighbour, love your enemy too. He brought healing to people suffering in body and in mind.

And his mission had no bounds: it was for everyone: Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, women and men.

This was what it was all about.

And Jesus did not go it alone.  First it was the twelve he commissioned to share in the task, then it was the 72, then it was all his followers … and it’s been a call to every generation, and to us as well.

We shouldn’t be surprised if such a mission meets with rage as well as amazement.

We are called to side with the poor and the most vulnerable. Practical help as far as we are able.

Practical things – maybe we each can think of someone, some need that is great that we can do something about this week. Maybe in the context we find ourselves in.

What about rough sleepers, homelessness – massively on the increase - practical support in a co-ordinated way – I am drawn to respond with any request forfood, with support to the food bank, with support to the charities working with them – CCP we know, P3 as well in our town.

But the way things are organised too – we have to address. Very difficult, very hard: could there not be a willingness to accept an increase in tax to help meet the social care needs.

And what about children in need? Social care needs of our local authorities. But then an emergency response to the refugee crisis and in particular the promise tha was made to bring 3000 lone children as refugees – now reduced to 350. That’s something we cannot stand by and simply let happen.

The beginning of Jesus’ ministry there in Nazareth in the Synagogue in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah quickly led on to the central part of his mssion.

It was all about the Kingdom, the Kingdom of  God, the Kingdom of heaven. And it’s right there in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

What’s the kingdom like? It’s right there in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

Two phrases that say the same thing.

God’s kingdom is where God’s will is done, God’s will for good, God’s will for love, God’s will for mercy, God’s will for justice. Read through the teaching of

Jesus, listen again to the stories he told, the parables he shared. This is what it’s all about.

The shape of the kingdom is spelled out in those last chapters of Isaiah. There’s a wonderful vision in Isaiah 65 of new heavens and a new earth.

Isaiah 65:18-

What’s this new heaven and new earth like – this is God’s will for good, for peace, for love, for justice

Distress is relieved

Infants are cared for

Elderly people are loved and given dignity

People have a home to live in and work to do

And reconciliation takes the place of division and hatred.

This is God’s way, this is God’s will – on earth as it is in heaven.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done …

But those are principles we share with many people – people of different faiths, people of no faith.

There was one occasion towards the middle of Jesus’s ministry when one of Jesus’s closest friends, john, was deeply concerned. He and the other disciples had noticed someone casting out demons in the name of Jesus who was not one of them, not one of jesus’s followers. Do not stop him, said jesus, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Maybe there’s a reminder that it is God’s mission we are called to be involved in, not our mission. And God is at work in the world to alleviate distress, to care for children, to care for elderly people, to provide a home, to provide work to bring enemies together. And we should find common cause and join in with the work we see God already doing.

It’s God’s mission we are involved in and it is good to share.

It is appropriate to share with all who share those concerns.

This is God’s mission and we are all part of it. So we find common cause not just in work done by specifically Christian organisations but we join forces with people of all faiths and no faith In the work of the kingdom. And in doing that we are not doing God’s mission but sharing in the mission God is already doing.

Where can we be involved, what can we support, what can we do n the week that lies ahead.

328 Lord for the years

There is one more element to this work of mission.

It’s there right at the very beginning … and it’s even more plain right at the very end.

For that we need to turn to the last part of the Jesus story.

At the very beginning Jesus knows that to follow him involves changing the way you think, the way you live, the way you are … and that comes through commitment.

Mark 1:15

‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; 

repent, and believe in the good news.’ 

That word ‘repent’ is the key and it means so much more than saying sorry. Some say it means turning things around, making a whole new start. Yes … but the word itself is even more interesting

Have a whole new way of thinking – about yourself, about the world, about life itself.

And believe in the Good News.

So that makes the mission of the Church a mission that involves offering people a whole new way of thinking about themselves, about the world and about life itself.

What you believe in counts – and the thing to believe in is this very Good News of the way life itself can be transformed and turned around.

The very end of Matthew’s Gospel.

Matthew 28:19-20.

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore 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. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

This is adding something more into the equation, another dimension to the mission we are called to be part in church.

Our task is ‘to make disciples of all nations’.

Following in the footsteps of Jesus makes a difference in people’s lives. It actually makes a difference to people.

Some people say that what counts is having some kind of faith.

I don’t go along with that. I have respect for people of other faiths. I want to honour the great faiths of the world.

But at the same time I believe there is something unique about Jesus that transforms us deep within – he draws us to God in the most intimate of ways so that we can know God to be the God who is love, the God who is ‘our Father’. Jesus does map out a very particular way of life that has within it its own fulfilment – it makes for healing and wholeness, for transformation, renewal and change. And then comes the clinching thing – there’s a  strength from beyond ourselves that we can draw on that makes all the difference

In those final words of Jesus there is one more thing that’a all important – a promise he gives for us all to take to heart. I will be with you to the end of the age.

How can we make such a promise a reality?

As I write these words as these notes come towards an end I find myself on my knees. Literally on my knees. I had a meeting to go to on Friday and caught an early train home. It was packed. I didn;’t have a reserved seat. I got to thhiw wie3 or BIRMINGHMAM typing these notes when someone claimed the seaqt I was in.

I stood for a while and then thought I could just finish these notes off on the floor. As I was got to my knees the guy opposige said, say one for me.  I was quick to explain who I was and what is was doing and asketd for his name. It was Peter and his fellow traveller was Christine.

How appropriate.

We cannot reqach today and the call to be a missional church without being a praying church. And that’s what we are going to do next.

After our hymn we are going to share prayers that are on our prayer stations. I have checked. Not the ones that are too personal – but others. As I do in those times of prayer at the Minster that ;happen at 12-30 each day.           

Reading: 2 Timothy 1:3-10

521 Tell all the world of Jesus

Prayers of Concern 0 using prayer requewts

520 You servants of God

A time to share and Prayer

A  Hy-Spirit Song

Words of Blessing

What it takes to be church - prayerful

Text of the Week:  I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Welcome to today’s services and a special welcome to any who are worshipping with us for the first time. Today is one of those occasions when themes planned long ago seem to come together and connect with what’s going on in the world around us. In our series looking at what it takes to be church we arrive at the call to be Prayerful. And in our Bible Reading notes, Fresh from the Word, we arrive at 1 and 2 Timothy. Our text for this week urges us to pray “for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions”. How vitally important such prayer is at a time when we have been so aware of political decisions driven by fear, hatred and the demonising of other people. At our Explore evening on Tuesday there’s a choice of activity: a craft evening in the Dining Room. And in church we shall be welcoming Paul Clarke who last year spent three months in Jerusalem as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. He will be telling us the story of his time in Jerusalem and the West Bank and prompting our prayers. There’s an invitation to share in prayer on Wednesday morning from 9-30 to 10-30 and again on Thursday evening from 7-30 to 8-30. Do remember to fill in your Highbury Change Survey and as you do that remember all we do as a Church in your prayers as well.

Welcome and Call to Worship

342 Let all the world in every corner sing

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Lord, teach us to pray

Tell the story of Jesus from Luke’s gospel chapters 1-10 – highlighting how much Luke notices Jesus praying – when he is healing people, when he is teaching people, when he calls together the 12 who become his ‘team’. It’s as if the followers of Jesus notice the difference prayer makes in his life. They want to learn how to pray.

Go through the Lord’s Prayer

Reading Luke 11:9-13

Be thinking – in what way is prayer important to you.

A Hy-Spirit Song

Activities for all over 3

Called to be Prayerful

We’re exploring what it takes to be church here in this place at this time in Highbury Congregational Church. We are called to be Christ-centred, Spirit-filled, Bible-based, Inclusive and Open to All, Worshipful and today we remember that we are called to be ‘prayerful’.

Prayer at the heart of our church life individually and together as a church. What is it about prayer that makes it so important to you?

A Time to Share

It’s more than just asking God.

It’s more about opening up that sense of God’s presence and the strengthening that comes from that presence of God with us. Tapping into the strength we need – plugging in to the energy source.

Prayer makes a difference as we quieten ourselves, focus on God, give thanks and praise to God – the value of quietnesss, focusing, mindfulness that focuses on the present moment and sees in that moment the presence of God.

There’s a value in meditaion, stillness, quientness, centring. And somehow a sense that that presence of God is with the person praying for.

Prayer makes a difference in ways that can be seen and in ways that cannot be seen. Not just in the ‘answers’ to prayer. But in that sense of God’s presence making a difference

It also shapes what we do – if we pray for others who are lonely it prompts us to care for those who are lonely, if we pray for those who are sick it prompts us to do what we can to help them in their need.

There’s a real sense that we become the answer to our prayer.

Sometimes it comes easily. Sometimes it can be difficult. I take heart from the fact that those first followers of Jesus felt in need of some training – Lord, teach us how to pray.

I have a feeling that it’s something for us to learn and to explore and to grow with and into – a couple of hymns and a poem somehow capture prayer for me.

Prayer, the Church's banquet, Angels' age,

     God's breath in man returning to his birth,

     The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,

The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth;

Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tower,

     Reversèd thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,

     The six-days' world transposing in an hour,

A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear:

Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,

     Exalted manna, gladness of the best,

     Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed,

The milky way, the bird of Paradise,

     Church bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,

     The land of spices; something understood.

The hymn is by J.Montgomery.

1          Prayer is the soul's supreme desire
            expressed in thought or word;
            the burning of a hidden fire,
            a longing for the Lord.

2          Prayer is the simplest sound we teach
            when children learn God's name;
            and yet it is the noblest speech
            that human lips can frame.

3          Prayer is the secret battleground
            where victories are won;
            by prayer the will of God is found
            and work for him begun.

4          Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
            the Christian's native air,
            our watchword at the gates of death;
            we enter heaven with prayer.

5          Prayer is the church's glorious song,
            our task and joy supreme;
            we name our Lord in every tongue,
            and praise is all our theme.

6          Jesus, by whom we come to God,
            the true and living way,
            the humble path of prayer you trod,
            Lord, teach us how to pray.

Jubilate Hymns version of Prayer is the soul's sincere desire James Montgomery (1771-1854)

372 Prayer is the soul’s supreme desire

James Montgomery was a prolific hymn writer and an interesting person. A Moravian minister, part of that tradition was one of deep spirituality and the importance of prayer: it influenced Charles Wesley.

For many years he edited a local paper in Sheffield – he campaigned against slavery, he campaigned against the introduction of a national lottery to fund the Napoleonic Wars. He was imprisoned for the views he expressed..

He sought to apply his Christian faith to the world around him even when that brought him up against the authorities.

Today is one of those occasions when themes planned long ago seem to come together and connect with what’s going on in the world around us. In our series looking at what it takes to be church we arrive at the call to be Prayerful. And in our Bible Reading notes, Fresh from the Word, we arrive at 1 and 2 Timothy. Our text for this week urges us to pray “for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions”. How vitally important such prayer is at a time when we have been so aware of political decisions driven by fear, hatred and the demonising of other people.

Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

How do we shape our prayers – what should we pray for our leaders?

I go back to the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name

Heaven is not so much the place to get to when you die. In the Bible it’s where God’s way prevails, where his will is fulfilled fully, where all is well, where good prevails and evil is vanquished.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

God’s rule involves God’s will being done.

Heaven is where God’s will is done, where God’s rule is complete

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

We need to seek out what God’s will is.

To the prophets – that speak of justice, righteousness, care for those mot in need, welcome for the stranger, justice, mercy.

Go to the sermon on the mount – love for God, love for neighbour, love for enemy too.

Go to the Beatitudes – hunger and thirst for righteousness, peacemakers.

My prayer is that God’s will be done – for justice, for care for those most in need, for love for neighbour whoever that neighbour might be, for love for enemy too.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

We become the answer to our prayer as we then take a stand.

The proud boasts of doing horrible things to women, the cruel mimicry of someone who is disabled – these are things to speak out against and disqualify from public office. When in public office the hatefulness the sneering, - these are dangerous things that are to be resisted. His blanket ban on those seven countries is to be opposed because there is an imperative to welcome the stranger – and a practical concern that it actually does the opposite – it fuels the very terrorism it purports to oppose.

Coupled with that political dimension to praying comes a prayer for the church – prayer for people prayer for what we do – what is our prayer for church.

There’s one wonderful prayaer I want to hold on to. It is the prayer for our church here at Highbury … but it is also the prayer for us all in the response we make to the world around us, in the way we seek to shape that world.

Reading: Ephesians 3:14-19

At our Explore evening on Tuesday there’s a choice of activity: a craft evening in the Dining Room. And in church we shall be welcoming Paul Clarke who last year spent three months in Jerusalem as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. He will be telling us the story of his time in Jerusalem and the West Bank and prompting our prayers. There’s an invitation to share in prayer on Wednesday morning from 9-30 to 10-30 and again on Thursday evening from 7-30 to 8-30. Do remember to fill in your Highbury Change Survey and as you do that remember all we do as a Church in your prayers as well.

What prayers do we share today?

In twos or threes. Jot down in writing a prayer request

For ourselves

Healing and Wholeness

For our Church

For leaders of our nation

For leaders of the world

Through our lives and by our prayers

Your Kingdom come

223 When morning gilds the skies

Words of Blessing

Retiring Collection