Let us be encouraged in our walk with God.
When we are faced with challenges,
when the way before us is dark,
when we are not sure what to do,
let us be assured that God is ready to bless us,
and to bring us through it all.
So come now to praise and to pray.

​Creator God,
source of all life and all wisdom:
we adore you and boast in your love.

Christ crucified,
who walked humbly on this earth:
we adore you and boast in your love.

Holy Spirit,
who leads and guides our steps:
we adore you and boast in your love.

We praise you for your guidance to your people down the ages.  You are our God, ahead of us, leading us, guiding us and calling us.  For all the gifts you have given us we offer our praise and thanksgiving.

In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen

​The first reading is from the prophet Micah about 700 years before the birth of Jesus.  Then we read from the account in Matthew of part of the teaching of Jesus we often call the sermon on the mount.

Readings Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12

Message
What does it mean to say someone is blessed?  Words are not always easy to translate from one language to another.  Jesus spoke in Aramaic the version of Hebrew commonly spoken  and the Gospel was written in Greek.  If you were to read these passages in different English versions of the Bible they could be very different.  The Good News, for example, used the word happy.  The Latin translation gives us the commonly used title of the Beatitudes.  

There is a lot to say about these sayings of Jesus and we just have time to look at a few.  As in the Old Testament reading from Micah Jesus is teaching about our relationship with God and our fellow human beings.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit
There are two words in Greek that could be translated as poor.  One can refer to someone who is just about managing but the word used here is one for someone who is destitute.  Part of the Jewish understanding of poverty was someone who has no resources and puts their trust in God.  This beatitude refers to someone who realises their own spiritual weakness and realises we need the Spirit of God to move in our lives and transform us.

Blessed are the meek
Meek is not complement in English - it implies someone spineless, submissive and ineffective.  However, one meaning of the Greek word is for a domesticated animal under control.  In our days we could think of a sheepdog or a race horse which gives a different picture to that of spinelessness.  The calling for us is to be someone who is God controlled.

The Good News translates this 'Happy are the humble for they will receive what God has promised'.  Humility may not be viewed as negatively as meekness although we could think of the false humility of Uriah Heep in Dickens.  But is not the quality of someone who will inherit the earth.  The old testament book of Numbers is one of those that tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt under Moses.  In Numbers 12:3 we read 'Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth' (some versions translate as meek).  We do not read of a weak man but someone submitting to God and doing his will and acting strongly.

In the Micah reading the people are urged to walk humbly with your God.  It is the relationship with God that is at the heart of our faith.  In January the church is looking at 'Learning more about our faith' on the Methodist Way of Life.  Do we seek a daily walk with God, reading the Bible, spending time in prayer and seeking to learn and do God's will.

Blessed are the merciful
 In the Micah reading the people are urged to act justly and love mercy.  So often the prophets in the Old Testament speak of the denial of justice to the poor in Israel.  However, the people are urged to go beyond justice and be merciful.  Mercy forgives where justice does not require.  In the Old Testament God shows mercy to his people, bringing them out of Egypt and in other ways.  In Jesus God shows love and grace in the death of Jesus on the cross.   We are called to follow Jesus and be like him.  

Blessed are the peacemakers
This phrase we may instinctively find easier than some of the others.  We can see the conflicts in the world and long for peace to come.  We must remember that this phrase is about peacemaking not peace loving.  The Aramaic word for peace is more than the absence of war - it means everything is as it should be and there are right relationships between human beings.  You cannot have peace in this sense without justice.  There are times when we need to stir things to make true peace - standing against slavery and apartheid in South Africa.  Whilst these are not controversial sometimes it is - Christians can come to different views on issues such as asylum or tax and benefit issues.  We are called to bring true peace.

Summary
Blessed are those who ...’, says Jesus to his disciples – and to us. How are we blessed? Blessing in the Beatitudes is  something present, something ‘now’ – blessed are, not blessed will be. We are blessed by God's presence in our difficulties.  We are blessed as we live with each other, in and through all of  life’s challenges, striving always to be a blessing to others.

Prayers
Lord God we come to you knowing our dependence on you, seeking your renewal and transforming power that we would indeed have a heart like yours.  Forgive us for the times we have failed to bless others.
We bring to you in the quiet those things where we need to change

Silence

Praying that we may be a blessing to others we turn to bring our concerns for the world - for neighbours across the street and neighbours far away.  In all this we pray for ourselves, for our own difficulties and for times we can be an answer to our own prayers.
We pray for
- areas of conflict between nations and neighbours and all seeking to bring peace
- for those who are driven to seek asylum and governments across the world as they respond.
- for all struggling financially and those who seek to help.  We pray for the work of foodbanks
- for justice for those who are denied justice

Lord’s prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever.
Amen

Closing prayer
Lord, you bless us in so many ways.
You love us just as we are.
And you also want us to grow closer to you.
Show us how we can bless others
by putting them and you before ourselves.
May we walk humbly with you every day.
Amen.

​God of all grace, help me today as I am beginning again my journey with you.
I am seeking you Lord, seeking here for you.
God of all love, help me today as I am wanting to know more of you.
Come here, today, by your Spirit.

Prayers
Come into this space, by your grace, O Holy Spirit,
Come and inspire me to encounter you again
Come and transform me,
That I may seek to walk in your paths, to follow your way, to worship you as my Lord
and Saviour.
On this day of worship, this day of rest,
I am waiting Lord, waiting here for you.
God of all grace, help me today as I am beginning again my journey with you.
I am seeking you Lord, seeking here for you.
God of all love, help me today as I am wanting to know more of you.
Come here, today, by your Spirit.
Your invitation is to presence, not busy-ness,
To prayer, not stress,
To hope, not despair.
Help me to hear that call today.
You are full of grace, O God, and you forgive us for who we are and what we’ve done.
I am sorry for all I have done wrong.
Thank you for your love for me, which surpasses all understanding, all failing.
Today, then, as I worship: I hold this space for stillness.
I pause in the silence and let it settle on me.
I pause for longer than feels usual.
I pause to focus on you, Lord God, and am asking you to reveal yourself to me again
Ask God to reveal God-self in what you are to be a part of.
Pause.
Loving God, I pray that I will meet you in this time of worship.
Amen.
Prayers by Tim Baker

Reflection  by Tim Baker
‘Those who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of
deep darkness, on them light has shined.’
Take a look at these four questions. You might like to spend some time journalling or
doodling your reflections and responses. If you are with someone you trust, or could
call someone up to have a discussion with them about your answers, then we’d
encourage you to do so.
Who are the people you find it hardest to connect with? Where do you see difference
more clearly than similarities?
What barriers do you build or have you built?
What barriers or boundaries do you feel like you are outside of: how are you
excluded?
How can you do something about those barriers and prejudices, the ones in yourself,
the ones you are responsible for, and the ones you are affected by?
[Pause].
Based on the radical way Jesus lived his life, inviting people into his story, bringing
radical love and challenging the barriers we build, lets finish with a simple challenge to
take into this week. Lets remember that Jesus came and lived amongst us so those
who walked in darkness would see a great light. We can all be that great light to all we
meet this week when we focus on what we share rather than what divides us.
You might like to say this simple prayer:
Loving God, thank you that you accept me just as I am. May I become more
accepting, more loving, more forgiving. May I be a person who channels your great
light out into the world,
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

​StF 409Let us build a house

Blessing
God of all grace, may I go from this place, to seek a world of wholeness, a world of
harmony, a world where your grace is revealed to all people in all places.
Empower me, by your Spirit.
Amen.

​God is with us – born among us – reaching out in love. And so we bring God our worship, offering all that we have been, all that we are, and all that in God we shall be.

Prayer of praise* 
Glory to the Father, the God of love,
who created us;
who continually preserves and sustains us;
who has loved us with an everlasting love,
and given us the light of the knowledge of his glory
in the face of Jesus Christ.

Blessèd be God for ever.

Glory to Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who, though he was rich,
yet for our sake became poor,
and was tested in every way as we are,
yet without sin;
who proclaimed the good news of the kingdom,
and was obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross;
who was raised from the dead and is alive for ever,
and has opened the kingdom of heaven
to all who trust in him;
who is seated at God’s right hand in glory,
and will come to be our judge.

Blessèd be God for ever.

Glory to the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
by whom we are born into the family of God,
and made members of the body of Christ;
whose witness confirms us;
whose wisdom teaches us;
whose power enables us;
who will do for us more than we can ask or think.

Blessèd be God for ever.

To the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be praise and glory for ever. Amen.

Readings-
Deuteronomy 29:10-15
Mark 14:22-25

Message - Revd Christine Fox
For weeks we seem to have had rain every day – and some of those dull days have been pretty depressing – January can be a bad time for many people anyway -  and dull weather doesn’t help!
But one day earlier this week I saw a rainbow as the rain-clouds parted and the sun caught the raindrops, and always a rainbow makes me smile.

And thinking of the covenant service coming up today I realised how relevant the symbol of the rainbow being used as a symbol of inclusion is - we say – all the colours of the rainbow– the full spectrum – These phrases predated the adoption of the rainbow by the LGBT+ movement.  And maybe people have learned through this that the rainbow is a symbol of everyone being included. God’s early expression of the covenant relationship with people was made with Noah through the appearance of the rainbow after the flood. God kept renewing that offer of covenant relationship – we heard read today the occasion of Moses speaking of it to a great gathering of God’s people.
My favourite part of that reading from Deuteronomy is the last line – “I am making this covenant not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today”.

Not only has the Lord God offered to form a covenant relationship with the Israelites, and not just with the leaders and chief men and elders and officials – he included all the other men, and the women and the children…  and not only just Israelite people – but also the people from other nations and faiths living amongst them.
– and then he includes not only those standing there, but those ‘not here today’.
God confirms all of these as his people, that he may be their God.
Reading through that list of people included in this offer of covenant relationship I can’t think of anyone on earth at any time in history who isn’t included.

The emphasis of the covenant service too, is on God’s readiness to enfold everyone in generous love, and not depending on anyone’s deserving. This means that the covenant service offers us the peak opportunity of our year to wonder at God’s generosity, and to respond to that all-inclusive love with words offering ourselves to do God’s will as far as we are able.  

Our response of words and actions includes doing what Jesus asked us to do. He sat in an upper room with a group of people – disciples including the Twelve named ones, including Peter James and John, and Judas too;  Jesus commanded them to share bread and wine together, and whenever they did so, to remember him – in particular to remember his body broken and his blood poured out on the cross in sacrificial love for them, and not just for them, he says, but for ‘many’.  So again the will of God to include everyone is echoed by Jesus.

For anyone who has experienced exclusion of any kind, the message of God’s inclusion is a great blessing. For us who desire to follow Jesus and to show God’s love as he did, this is a challenge to examine our own actions and words to see if we either inadvertently or even deliberately exclude someone who may be different to us in some way.  This active attention to the way we live is an important part of our response to God’s offer of covenant relationship with us – we who have benefited from that inclusion by God to be God’s people, especially since we are not Jews nor were we present on the day that Moses spoke God’s invitation .
I said that when I see a rainbow it makes me smile. A smile can be inspired by a joyful thought or it can be caught from someone else smiling at you.

Twice recently on the radio in the car I’ve heard people speak of the effect of a smile – both on them and on those who are on the receiving end. The decision to smile at people you meet may not seem much, but the friendly smile offered to a person expresses your acceptance and inclusion of that person. One of the examples on the radio was of a lady who gave up her seat in the bus to another – and as she got off the bus the recipient of the seat thanked her but said it was not so much the seat but the smile that had been such a blessing.  That response inspired the formation of the WVS – by that lady who had realised that the benefit of her small act of friendliness might be offered more widely by others.

The other mention of smiling on the radio spoke of the benefit of smiling to the one doing the smiling too – therefore it being a two-way blessing. That might motivate you to smile more at people but we can’t use that fact to conclude that God derives benefit from offering us covenant relationship.

The covenant is entirely for our benefit. The Covenant is not a contract in which God and human beings agree to provide particular goods or services for each other! And attending a covenant service is not something that we have to do to create a relationship with God. God has freely and graciously already made it possible.  It is, however when we realise God’s immense generosity that we want to respond.

We renew our response to God’s covenant of love with us and all those ‘not present’ once a year. We celebrate Jesus’ renewing of that covenant ‘for many’ when we share in bread and wine as did those disciples, around twelve times a year. And we gather to worship God every Sunday of the year, remembering that first day of the week when Jesus’ rose to life, defeating death, renewing hope. And a great part of that hope is in, one day, all things (all people, all of creation) being reconciled to God.
​
As the rain clouds clear and the rainbow appears and we remember God’s offer of a covenant relationship of love, then our hope is restored and we can look forward to the year ahead with joy and maybe with a smile on our faces too.
Amen 

In our next song –Jesus  asks ‘will you come and follow me if I but call your name?’ – though it’s full of examples of things we might do in response to God’s offer of covenant relationship - notice that each verse reminds us that in fact he will be doing this  - ‘I’ll move and live and grow in you, and you in me.’

Sisters and brothers in Christ,*
let us again accept our place within this covenant
which God has made with us and with all who are called to
be Christ’s disciples.

This means that, by the help of the Holy Spirit,
we accept God’s purpose for us,
and the call to love and serve God
in all our life and work.

Christ has many services to be done:
some are easy, others are difficult;
some bring honour, others bring reproach;
some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material
interests,
others are contrary to both;
in some we may please Christ and please ourselves;
in others we cannot please Christ except by denying
ourselves.
Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ,
who strengthens us.

Therefore let us make this covenant of God our own.
Let us give ourselves to him,
trusting in his promises and relying on his grace.

Eternal God,
in your faithful and enduring love
you call us to share in your gracious covenant in Jesus
Christ.
In obedience we hear and accept your commands;
in love we seek to do your perfect will;
with joy we offer ourselves anew to you.
We are no longer our own but yours.

I am no longer my own but yours.
Your will, not mine, be done in all things,
wherever you may place me,
in all that I do
and in all that I may endure;
when there is work for me
and when there is none;
when I am troubled
and when I am at peace.
Your will be done
when I am valued
and when I am disregarded;
when I find fulfilment
and when it is lacking;
when I have all things,
and when I have nothing.
I willingly offer
all I have and am
to serve you,
as and where you choose.
Glorious and blessèd God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
May it be so for ever.
Let this covenant now made on  earth
be fulfilled in heaven. Amen.

Prayers for Others*
As we have entered this covenant not for ourselves alone, but
as God’s servants and witnesses, let us pray for the Church
and for the world.

Loving God, hear us as we pray for your holy catholic Church:
make us all one, that the world may believe.

Inspire and lead all who govern and hold authority in the
nations of the world:
establish justice and peace among all people.

Have compassion on all who suffer from any sickness, grief
or trouble:
deliver them from their distress.

We praise you for all your saints who have entered your
eternal glory:
bring us all to share in your heavenly kingdom.
​
Let us pray in silence for our own needs and for those of
others…

Blessing*
The blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be upon us and remain with us for ever. Amen.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.

*  Extracts of the Covenant Service from the Methodist Worship Book ​© 1999 Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes

Loving God, you call us to be your people. You make us and fill us with your Spirit. You call us to see your glory in creation, your inspiration in our work, and your love in our lives. Refresh us here, rebuild us and renew us as we offer you thanks and praise, for you are our breath and our life.

​Prayers of Praise 
Living and loving God, once more we bring you our praise and worship. We acknowledge you as our God. We recognise your greatness and power. We marvel at your love and compassion. We come before you with awe and wonder. You are the Lord of heaven and earth, of space and time, of this world and all of the universe, of life and death. Draw near to us to open our hearts to the risen Christ. Speak to us through the worship we offer this day, and through it all deepen our faith. 
Living and loving God, we praise you that there is so much that speaks to us of your love and purpose, in our daily experience, in the world around us, in the vastness of the universe, in the fellowship we share with one another, and in the relationship we enjoy with you, through which you teach and guide and challenge us. We offer you our worship with glad and grateful hearts, in Jesu’s name. 

Prayer of Confession
​Dear Lord Jesus, even though you did no wrong and did not need to be forgiven, you chose to be baptized; you chose to be like us. We are sorry when we make wrong choices. We are sorry when we don’t have the right attitude. We are sorry when we choose to go our own way, rather than following your perfect example. We are sorry; please forgive us. Help us to show humility and obedience as you did. Help us to become more like you. Amen.

Lord’s prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and for ever.
Amen​

​Sermon
Matthew 3 v 15 We shall do all that God requires.’
During the last few days you have probably been removing the signs of Christmas from your home. No doubt there are particular memories and experiences which have meant something to you. That may also have been the case in the various church services or other church-related events which you may have attended. 

Today, we find that the church year has moved on for the gospel reading was the baptism of Christ. Jesus sums up the event with the words, ‘We shall do all that God requires.’ 

1) This is what John had been doing in his life. John was calling people to repentance and the offer of a way to forgiveness. John was offering baptism to the people. The emergence of John was like the sudden sounding of the voice of God. The Jews had become conscious that the voice of prophets spoke no more. John fearlessly denounced evil wherever he saw it – in Herod, the leaders of religion, the ordinary people.
​
John’s message was not just a negative denunciation, but he encouraged people to be righteous, to follow the moral standards of God. He came with a message from God. It is no surprise that he recognised who Jesus was and was reluctant to baptise Jesus. John’s baptism was for sinners conscious of their sin, therefore it did not seem applicable to Jesus.

2) Jesus insisted on baptism. He acknowledged it as an important part of his life. As Jesus grew up he must have become increasingly aware of his role in life. The time for taking a decisive step can be crucial. When John started his mission to the Jews and received the response which he did from Jewish people who realised their own sin and their need for God, Jesus would have recognised this as the moment for him to take his opportunity. In being baptised Jesus was identifying himself with the people whom he had come to save and who were searching for God. 

In his baptism Jesus was affirmed in a way which the Jews would recognise. The words, ‘this is my dear (beloved) Son’ are from Psalm 2, a Psalm which every Jew accepted as a description of the Messiah, the mighty king of God who was to come. ‘With whom I am well pleased’ comes from the reading which we had from Isaiah, a description of the Suffering Servant. The baptism gave the certainty that Jesus was the chosen one of God, and the certainty that the way in front of him was the way of the cross. 

‘We shall do what God requires’ may have been words used in referring to the process of the baptism, but it started a commitment for the rest of his life.

3) If doing what God requires was true for John and Jesus it is also true for any who follow Jesus. Sometimes what God requires may appear unusual and something which Jesus’s followers find hard to do. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles we heard how Peter recognised that the Gospel was for all, not just for the people of Israel. ‘Whoever worships him and does what is right is acceptable to God, no matter what race they belong to.’ Peter continued with a summary of all that Christ had done and how he had left his followers with the encouragement to preach the gospel. He could also have used Christ’s words spoken at his baptism, ‘We shall do all that God requires’. Peter had had the vision of seeing a sheet with all kinds of animals, reptiles and birds. A voice encouraged him to kill and eat, even though he regarded that doing that would mean eating something ritually unclean or defiled. The voice persisted in saying that he should not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean. As Peter was having his vision, Cornelius, a Roman soldier who worshipped God and helped Jewish poor people, was instructed by an angel to send for Peter as this would be God’s way of speaking to him. When Peter arrived at the house of Cornelius he explained how God had encouraged him to associate with Gentiles. As Peter spoke the people listening were filled by the Holy Spirit – what a learning experience for Peter!

As we look ahead to a new year we could be asking the question, ‘What does God require of us?’ Perhaps we may be surprised in the opportunities which come our way. 

​Prayers of Intercession
Almighty God, surrounded as we are by the troubles of the world, where paths are not straight and where justice does not prevail, where so much pain and anguish is in evidence, we bring our prayers for those in need, knowing you hear our prayers and the deep yearnings of our hearts.
Hear us, Lord; hear our words and the yearnings of our hearts. 

We pray for those