Worship
Sunday 27 December 2020 This short act of worship has been prepared for you to use whilst we are unable to use Methodist Church premises. We invite you to spend a few moments with God, knowing that other people are sharing this act of worship with you.
Opening Prayer Gentle, nurturing God, Hymn: Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus (169 StF) Sing/Read/Pray/Proclaim the words or listen to it here: https://youtu.be/JEEd0uWnDGs
Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free, from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art, dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us for ever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all-sufficient merit raise us to thy glorious throne. Charles Wesley (1707-1788) Let us pray together God of life and light
God of forgiveness and grace, I ask your healing forgiveness for all that does not honour and serve your love,
God of time and patience In the name of God, our creator, redeemer, and sustainer I pray. Amen.
Reading: Isaiah 61:10–62:3 Luke 2:22–40 Time to Reflect Stop, take a deep breath if you want, pause for a moment. It is barely a moment since Christmas was upon us. This Sunday, between Christmas and Epiphany, gives us space to slow down and to reflect. As we have watched and waited over the weeks of advent, we have recalled God’s work over thousands of years as we awaited the arrival of the Son of God amongst us. And now, just two days after Christmas, we mark the months and years of Jesus’s infancy. Time has slowed to give us the opportunity to take in the majesty, the hope, the transformation that the birth of one miraculous child brings. We can stand back in awe and wonder! We see that awe and wonder in the accounts of Simeon and Anna. Each has waited a long, long time in the promise of Messiah, and now encounter the infant Jesus. Like us, they have watched and waited in anticipation. As Luke tells us, their hope has not been in vain, but this is not the powerful speaker, or charismatic leader they encounter. The Jesus they see, and in whom they recognise God’s presence, is just a child. The long-prophesied acts of the scriptures and those that Anna foretold are yet to come to be. This infant cannot undertake the world-altering ministry that will come… yet… So we find ourselves once again waiting, watching, hoping, praying… We know what is to come. We live in the light and hope of the transformation Jesus’s ministry and life, death and resurrection made possible for all of us. That light and hope is powerful as it shows us that even while we are waiting, we can still trust in God’s life-giving spirit amongst us. And while we continue to wait with anticipation we can, like Simeon, take a moment to pause and give thanks for God amongst us here and now. Take a time to sit quietly
A time of prayer Enduring, eternal God, of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Joseph,
Powerful, transforming God, of Isaiah and Ezekiel, Micah and Amos,
Creating, unsettling God, of John the Baptist, Parenting, nurturing, God. of Mary and Joseph, we think of our families, those we choose and those chosen for us, We call them to mind:
Patient, hope-filled God, of Simeon and Anna
The Lord’s Prayer Hymn: Sing/Read/Pray/Reflect on the words to Mary and Joseph Came to the Temple (229 StF) Mary and Joseph came to the Temple, brought the boy Jesus, offered him there. People were waiting wanting to greet him, long had they sought him, solace for care.
Anna had prayed there, widowed, long waiting; worshipping God by day and by night. Now she is praising, filled with elation; here is God's promise, Christ is her light.
Simeon sings now God offers blessing, brilliantly gilding dawn of his day; light in the darkness, never extinguished, light of all nations, light up our way. Andrew Pratt (b. 1948)
A prayer of blessing Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace: From Common Worship Reproduced from Singing the Faith, 794 The Big Church Sing Christmas Special was broadcast live on the Methodist Church's YouTube channel on Sunday 29 November. Have you seen it yet? If you have access to the internet go to |
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