Welcome to this worship service on Sunday 11th July 2021.
Our relationship with God promises us love, forgiveness, freewill and eternal life, and all we have to do is promise to use that freewill to follow and serve Him.

Call to Worship
O God from whom every gift derives,
we gather to worship You this day.
You are an awesome God,
greater than our comprehension or our imagination.
You are beyond any word we could ever use to describe You.
And yet, through Jesus, we know the intimacy of Your vast Love.

Hymn CH4 512 To God Be The Glory

Prayer of Approach

God, our God, we are here to worship You.
We come, each of us from our own lives,
with our own thoughts, hopes, and worries.
Clear in our hearts and minds a space to focus on You and our relationship with You.
We come as Your children: and long to know Your love.

And here in this place of prayer;
in this quiet and unlaboured time –
we can bring to mind the paths that brought us here.
As Your people, we’ve known joy and comfort, fatigue and pain;
love and hope, loneliness and stress.
Lord, give us eyes to see that You have been with us every step of the way.
Gives us hearts to know Your presence,
not just today, but every day.

You are the God who freely loves.
Yet as infinite, majestic, and glorious God:
You concern Yourself with us.
You care for us.
You know everyone of us.
You walk among us demonstrating a perfect and often unmerited love.
We cannot comprehend its depth, width, and height.
There can be no excuse for our faults;
We ask for Your forgiveness; in hope and in faith,
You know every hair on our heads and every movement of our lives,
speak quietly to our troubled souls.

When we are fearful, still our hearts.
And so, rejoicing in the life of Christ, and in the joy of the Holy Spirit,
we ask You to restore us, renew us, and shape us in Your ways.
And hear us as together we share the words that Jesus taught us,

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name, 
thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, 
as we forgive our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 
For thine is the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory, 
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Scriptures

Mark 6:14-29
The Death of John the Baptist
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason, these powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him.
When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’ 

Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Ephesians 1:3-14
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.

With all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Hymn CH4 334: On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry

Reflection

Once there was a man in a park who saw some girls with skipping ropes. He challenged them to a contest. He tied a ribbon to the middle of the rope, scratched a line in the dirt and said, “I’ll promise £1 each to the team that can pull the ribbon over to their side of the line.” He was in for a big surprise. The girls divided into two teams, picked up each end of the rope, and began to sing and dance to an upbeat little song. They repeatedly took three steps forward and three steps back. Each time, the ribbon passed over the line and, as it did, they racked up another £1 each. When the man saw what they were doing, he shouted, “Stop, stop, you’ll bankrupt me!”

Rash promises. Have you ever made a rash promise? Said something on impulse that, no sooner than the words were out of your mouth, you knew you had made a big mistake? In the reading from Mark’s gospel, we hear of the promise made by Herod that resulted the gruesome death of John the Baptist.

Herod was faced with John’s rebuke for taking his brother’s wife as his own. Herod’s relationship with John seemed to be a complex mixture of fear, respect, and protective goodwill. On the one hand, John was imprisoned for his hard words over Herod’s marital affairs; on the other, Herod seemed to acknowledge John’s authority and respected him.

Herod threw a big party to celebrate his birthday and invited all of the dignitaries to come. At the height of the celebration, his stepdaughter began to dance, to entertain Herod and his dinner guests. So pleased was Herod that he blurted out for all to hear, “Ask me anything you want, and I’ll give it to you … up to half my kingdom!” It was a rash promise. What could a young woman like his stepdaughter possibly want from him? A new wardrobe? Precious jewels? A new sporting chariot? He was not worried.

She ran out to find her mother. “What shall I ask for?” Her mother, having nursed bitter contempt for John the Baptist because he condemned her for her adultery, said, “Go back and tell Herod to give you the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” Herod was too weak to extend his protection to John and his heart sank. True, John had disgraced him publicly, but he had no intention of killing him.

Yet, he had made a promise, and everyone heard it. To renege on his word would be to lose face. So, he sent an executioner to do the deed, who soon came back with John’s head on a platter. Herod was not a man of faith. His only strength was his own self-will, and he felt that he had no other choice but to make good on his promise.

But not all promises are rash promises. Sometimes we make promises thoughtfully with every good intention of keeping our word, but things do not always work out as we planned. If we are willing to act in faith, God will give us the humility to negotiate and compromise. God’s grace does not give us license to act irresponsibly. When we make a promise, we ought to do everything we can to keep it. God will give us the strength of character to man-up and admit our mistake, if we but ask. God is on our side, and that is all that really matters.

Put the shoe on the other foot: If someone promised us something they cannot deliver, would we rather see him squirm or come to us and offer to work things out, to the best of their ability?

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we read of the blessings that have been bestowed on us through Jesus, amongst them is freewill. We are adopted as God’s children and offered forgiveness. But what of God’s Will vs. Our Will? Promises are ours to make, as are decisions but sometimes we make the wrong choices. Some decisions are painless, like what am I going to wear today, or what am I going to have for lunch. But many decisions are life-altering. Should I marry this person? Should I accept this job? Should I buy this house? Should I have made a promise without thinking about the consequences? Our lives are the sum of the choices we make.

We are not chosen by God for anything we have done or would contribute to His Kingdom, it is more about our relationship with Him. Whether we choose to accept that relationship is still up to us. When we experience God’s perfect will, we are given the full measure of His boundless love. Does God choose us even if we do not want Him to? How can we know what God’s will and purpose is?

Paul was a highly intelligent and well-educated man but even he could not comprehend the infinite depths of God’s will and wisdom. Instead of being bewildered, Paul praised God’s greatness. God knows the future and He knows why He uniquely created each one of us. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses.

We may not fully understand what God is doing in our lives, but it is clear that the dominant feature is God’s love for us. He is full of grace and mercy toward us, and we can put our hope and trust in Him. And we too can praise Him for His greatness. That is why we are here at this moment. To praise God.

By accepting God into our lives means that there are promises that we can be sure of, the promise of God’s love, His forgiveness and eternal life. The choice is ours. Amen

Prayer of Intercession

God of love and freedom, we give thanks for your promise of love, forgiveness, and eternal life through Jesus Christ.
We pray for those who long to be free from imprisonment,
whether due to their behaviour against society,
Or because of a fight for justice, for speaking out against the tyranny of their government, or simply for their Christian faith.

We pray for the asylum seekers and refugees whose current home is a detention centre.

We pray for those who feel helpless and trapped due to domestic abuse, bullying or slave labour,
working unbearably long hours with little or not pay.
For the people who long to be free from human trafficking.

We pray for the people who work tirelessly in support agencies whose aim is to reduce the suffering of those in need. May they show wisdom and compassion in difficult situations.

We pray for the affluent members of society who are trapped by the desire to be bigger and better than their neighbours, and who may have forgotten to be compassionate and humble.
We ask that you lay a compassionate hand on,
Those who are struggling to cope with daily pain, or with a life changing diagnosis,
and those who are frustrated that poor health curtails the life that they want.

We pray for those who long to be free from the pain of this life.
Be alongside those who mourn, giving hope and peace to their troubled hearts.

We pray for the lives lost in the building collapse in Miami and the lives devastated by the fires in Canada, Norway, and Cyprus. We pray for the people of Ethiopian who are suffering through conflict and famine.

God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are the God who loves freely:
the God whose love is unconditional and infinite.
grant the fulfilment of our prayers.
All this we ask, in and through the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Hymn CH4 644: O, Jesus I have Promised.

Closing Prayer

God of Promise, may our worship today be acceptable to you.
Let the peace that surpasses our understanding be with us in the days to come.
Help us to make a difference in the world.
Bless us and help us to be a blessing to everyone that we meet and interact with.
Hear our prayers and help us never to forget that you are with us always.
In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.