Ripley Methodist Church

Hi Everyone 🙂

The Methodist Church link for services:

www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/worship/singing-the-faith-plus/seasons-and-themes/worship-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

Kate’s Worship can be found on the following Facebook page at 10.30:

@strangetimes2020

Trinity Church Cheltenham 10am and 6pm:
http://trinitycheltenham.com/

St Andrews at Langley Mill:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85705723703

I guess we all look forward to the end of social isolation and when our current lockdown situation comes to an end many of us will already have had thoughts about the first things we are going to do.

Maybe a trip to the cinema, the theatre, a meal in a pub or restaurant, maybe share a beer with some friends; what about coffee and cake in our favourite cafe? A visit to grandchildren, parents, relatives and friends.

Right at this moment don’t we all long for those freedoms? Well, dust off the cover and crack open your bibles and have a look at the following verse from John’s Gospel:

John 8:31-32: The Truth Will Set You Free.

Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

On August 28, 1963 Dr Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd numbering around a quarter of a million people. That day Doctor King delivered his famous speech “I Have a Dream.” Remember that he concluded that message with these timeless words: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

In these testing times it’s wise to remember that freedom is certainly not free and that there is always a price to be paid for our liberty. Currently there seems to be precious few signs to the end of our social isolation but it will end and our hard won freedoms will be restored.

Jesus said, “Hold on to my word!” So continue to obey his teaching; stick with it to the end and live by what Jesus says. THEN WE WILL ALL BE FREE!

I look forward to the day when I walk through the doors of the Church and meet again with my church family and it’s on that day that I pray that we will all cry out in unrestrained joy:

“FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST!

THANK GOD ALMIGHTY WE ARE FREE AT LAST!”

A big Amen!

Song

Lyrics: Priscilla Jane Owens (1829-1907)

Music: William James Kirkpatrick (1838-1921)

CCL 122217

Message – Dear Friends,
I write to you all in these Strange times. Firstly I want to thank
you all, those of you who have been checking the building, those
who have been looking after each other with news sheets,
pastoral care, telephone calls and small acts of kindness.

Those
who have sent out the links for worship and those who have
shared worship resources to those who don’t have media
devices. Those who have kept folk going through difficult days,
those who have stayed home to keep others safe. We have all
played our part. Today my message is a message of hope. Hope
that things are starting to look brighter, but it comes with words
of caution. Friends, I urge you not to speak of ’going back’ for
there will be no going back, we can only ‘go forward’. Currently
we don’t know what forward will look like. We are at this
moment waiting on news from both the government and the
church, who are working round the clock on how to keep those
churches who are able to reopen their doors a ‘safe place’ for
people to ‘go forward’ into and what worship might look like.
Many questions are being asked and we are trying to look at the
answers as well as how we look after those people who are in
the vulnerable group and still won’t be able to ‘move forward’ for
some time, possibly months, and still feel part of church
communities. We’ve seen a growth in ‘online worship’ and we
are looking at how that might be part of the future for folk who
can’t join the ‘unlocked’ to not exclude them, to make this
message of hope not one just for a few but for the many. I ask
for your prayers at this time. I’ve never ministered into this
situation neither have my colleagues, almost daily we find new
blessings and new challenges. Our hope is in knowing that God
is with us through this. The Psalmist writes 25:5 ‘Guide me in
your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my
hope is in you all day long’. It’s these words that I turn to now,
trying to take courage. I know because I have spoken to many
of you that you are struggling, I ask you to try and be patient,
we all want to see our church families but not at the cost of a
second peak in the virus and not by breaking with the advice of
the government and church. I believe folk will feel far safer
knowing that every precaution has been put into place when
they do ‘move forward’. We are the body of Christ, by working
together as we have done so far, we will combat this next phase
and work out a future that is inclusive for all of God’s people
while keeping our most vulnerable safe. We want a church do
we not that lives in word and action; ‘all are welcome here’
we just need to work out how that might work practically. As
soon as we have news I will pass it onto the stewards who will
pass it onto you. In the meantime, stay safe and may God bless
you all. Kate.
Blessing – May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of
God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and
evermore, Amen.

Sorry no preachers message but a song to listen to instead

Song – Faithful One.

Faithful one, so unchanging
Ageless one, you’re my rock of peace
Lord of all I depend on you
I call out to you, again and again
I call out to you, again and again

You are my rock in times of trouble
You lift me up when I fall down
All through the storm
Your love is, the anchor
My hope is in You alone.

Songwriters: Brian Doerksen

Faithful One lyrics © Music Services, Inc

Sunday 10^th May 2020

The disciples had had a long tiring day and Jesus sent them out in the boat to go over to another town. It was a dark stormy night and the wind was tossing the waves around. In the middle of the night, they thought they were seeing a ghost when Jesus came to them walking on the sea! Jesus saw they were scared and told them not to be afraid. When they were the most afraid, he told them to cheer up, he was with them! God has to take the storm out of us before He can take us out of the storms of life.

Reading Mathew 14 V 27 -33 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2014:22-33&version=NIV

When we find ourselves as Peter did, battling the storm, we may become focused has he did. Peter was focused on what was going on around him, the high waves and wind, the safety of the crew and ship. With the current situation with lock down, the weekly shopping trip and the daily exercise, the inability for many to leave their homes, it is easy to find ourselves focused on what is happening. Those of us that are working spend a lot of the time focused on safety, hand washing, disinfecting, keeping our distances, reducing contact.

We start to not notice what is in front of us Peter didn’t. He didn’t see Jesus initially and it was only when he saw beyond the storm, that he paused for a moment and it was then that his eyes where opened.

Peter must have wondered if it really was Jesus or whether it was just his imagination. He asked Jesus to tell him to come out on the water with him if this was really happening. Jesus didn’t say, “I’m sorry, Peter, but water-walking is for Messiahs only.” No, he said one simple word: Come. God calls us to do impossible things by faith. It must have taken a lot of faith by Peter to take that first step out of the boat in the middle of the wind and waves. When he did, Peter walked on water! The Bible says,

And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. – Matthew 14:29,30

Peter was doing well until he took his eyes off Jesus. As long as he had faith, he was able to do impossible things, keeping his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on water. When he looked around at the world, he started believing that the storm was going to defeat him. He lost faith. He took his eyes off Jesus, and he began to sink. If we forget that Jesus is right there to help us, we can let the storms of life cause us to sink. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, we can do mighty things for God by faith.

Then Peter uttered what is probably the shortest prayer in the Bible: Lord, save me. Everyone needs to say that prayer. We ALL need Jesus to save us. He is our only hope. Jesus told Peter he should not have doubted. When they got back in the ship, everyone on board came and worshipped Jesus, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. Whenever we do something with God’s help we need to remember to give Him the glory for it.

For each of us we need pause and look beyond our fears and focus on Jesus and hear Him say, as he did to Peter, come. From that point he didn’t think about the water or failure he was responding to his Lords request.

We need to stay safe during these times, but we can still be called in many ways to come.

Come now is the time Worship  Brian Doerksen  © 1998, Vineyard Songs (UK/EIRE) (PRS) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmnE8JvRqy8

Pray: – That we might have our eyes opened during this time and that we may see the love of Christ and worship wherever we may be.

That our eyes may be opened to new possibilities and ways to share our faith and support.

Lord we pray that you will keep us safe during this time and be with those who are struggling. We pray those for who are in hospital or ill at home, as well as for all those who are supporting them. We think of the families of those who have lost love ones to this terrible virus, and we pray your loving arms are around them and those supporting them.

Amen

Rasie a Hallelujah  Jonathan David & Melisa Helser  Bethel Music

 :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJFhHf-NjRg

Some parts Adapted from “Keep Your Eyes On Jesus” as told by Rev. Lewis Shaffer, Son Shine Ministries International Inc

CCLI 122217 PRS 537156 Streaming 101147

Message – “Blessed be your Name in a Land that is Plentiful”

“If you think you are too small to make difference, try sleeping with a mosquito!” Dalia Lama.

My initial “pause for thought” was going to be about Captain Tom and his amazing achievements for the wonderful NHS and a reminder that we can all do our part and make a difference (like the mosquito!). But then it started to rain and I needed my umbrella to go out and as I got to work the previous happy smiling faces that had greeted me on the sunny days looked much gloomier and suddenly things seemed tougher and not as easy as they had previously seemed. Again, like the mosquito, a small change had made a huge difference.

I pondered on the lovely things that came with rain and chatted with the children in school, who clearly loved splashing in puddles. But there was no way round the fact that rain was having a detrimental effect on the way people were feeling in the current situation.

After the long winter, spring brings both sunshine and showers; the temperature warms up from the cold of the winter and, as it does, the plants around us begin to grow once again.

Plants don’t just need sunshine to grow; they also need rain, which is where April showers come in. Although we might prefer the rain to stop, it is actually doing a very important job.

Plants grow in both sunshine and rain can be a helpful reminder to us. The sunshiny days make us feel good; they warm us up and the sun often puts a smile on our faces. When we have sunshiny days, we feel good about ourselves; perhaps we feel like we can take on anything or we feel good about who we are. We feel warm and happy on the inside as well as on the outside.

However, some days are not sunshiny. There are rainy days too; days when things are more challenging. Perhaps we find our work hard or something else makes us feel low. These are our ‘April shower days’.  Many are feeling this at the moment during our Lockdown weeks (and months).  Many are feeling low, down in the dumps, lonely, sad – a whole range of muddled up feelings.  Questions of when will it end are being asked and the isolation for many can be soul destroying.  And yet there are still amazing things happening in our world and changes that could make the world a far better place in the long run.

Like the flowers, we need both sunshine and rain to help us grow. We need days when life is more challenging as well as days when things feel good and easy. Instead of feeling down about the rainy days in our lives, it can be helpful to picture those spring flowers and remember what they had to experience in order to grow. They needed sunshine and rain together: both are important.

Perseverance means sticking at something and not giving up. We show perseverance when we continue to do something that we find tricky. Like the flowers that grow through rainy days, we can achieve many things if we don’t give up and persevere. And we need to remember that we have each other to encourage and care and carry.

The Bible has something to say about perseverance, too. In the Book of Romans Paul wrote to encourage the followers of Jesus in Rome. In the letter, he writes, ‘We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’

Difficult times can help us to learn perseverance. Then, like a flower blooming, we grow and become even more amazing! Springtime flowers can remind us of the hope that this Bible passage mentions.

I am so privileged as a key worker to be able to be still seeing others and it also means that I can help others too, which is an amazing thing. Let’s take some time to be quiet for a moment and think about some of the difficult things that we may be facing at the moment… And…

Let’s remember that we never need to suffer or feel sad on our own.

Let’s remember that we can always talk about anything that we might be facing.

Let’s also remember that perseverance is important; if we can press on, we can all grow.

Dear God,

Thank you for springtime and sunshiny days of fun.

Thank you for the April showers that help the plants to grow.

Thank you for the way in which we are growing, too.

Please help us to continue to grow through both easy sunshiny days and tougher rainy days. Amen.

God Bless you all,

Wendy.

Message – Many of my sermons pivot around a life affirming story. This is a true story because when I shared it with Wendy she told be she has used this very practical illustration herself.
A teacher brought balloons to school and asked the children to blow them all up and then each write their name on their balloon. They tossed all the balloons into the hall while the teacher mixed them from one end to the other. The teacher then gave them 5 minutes to find the balloon with their name on it. The children ran around, looking frantically but as the time ran out – nobody had found their own balloon…
Then the teacher told them to take the balloon closest to them and give it to the person who’s name was on it. In less than 2 minutes everyone had their own balloon. Finally the teacher said,
“Balloons are like happiness. No one will find it looking for only theirs. Instead if everyone cares about each others, they will find theirs as quickly as possible.”
Imagine church on Sunday full of people each holding a balloon with their name on it ready to be thrown in the air, then arms raised throwing the balloons and after a few minuets of bouncing balloons around the room told to stop and find their own.
It reminds me of an old song by Malvina Reynolds:
Love is like a magic penny, Hold it tight and you won’t have any. Lend it, spend it, and you’ll have so many They’ll roll all over the floor.
Love is something if you give it away Give it away give it away Love is something if you give it away You end up having more.
Jesus gives his Love freely to each of us, and we need to give it away. Although we don’t see each other over these weeks, we all share in His love for us, and our love for each other, you can’t see it, but know it’s there.
Paul

Blessing – May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and evermore, Amen

Message – We are living in times when we face so much
fear and uncertainty, so many questions are being asked
and we too ask questions. But God says to us He is with us
and His love is all powerful and encompassing. Through
everything that is happening, the new ways we are living
our lives at the moment, we do have an amazing
opportunity to live out Jesus’ love. This can be through the
way we are working, the way we are responding when
asked questions from children, the way we talk with friends
and relatives, the way we react to those who are grieving
and sad. Or how we greet those when we are out on a
walk, when we shop. Practically we can give to others,
financially we can donate. At the heart of all we do and the
way we do it has to be our faith. Does that mean it’s easy?
No not at all. Does that mean we don’t have days when we
say why? No it doesn’t. But it does mean our faith is driving
our actions. Karen.:-

When I Look Into Your Holiness
When I look into Your holiness
When I gaze into Your loveliness
When all things that surround become shadows
In the light of You
When I’ve found the joy of reaching Your heart
When my will becomes enthroned in Your love
When all things that surround become shadows
In the light of You
I worship You I worship You
The reason I live is to worship You….
Words and music arranged by Phil Burt CCL 122217
To hear this song on youTube click on the blue text below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtL2GUE1RS4

Message – Dear friends
I write to you in these strange times at this most important
time in our Christian calendar. As our shouts should be
‘Hallelujah! He’s alive, He is risen, He is risen indeed!’ My
thoughts turn to the Easter reading from John 20:11-18.
This is where Mary approaches the tomb and consumed
with grief, can’t see that which is before her, the angels
with the good news that Christ is resurrected. She can’t see
her Lord Christ standing before her. She sees only a
gardener, so consumed [is she] with her own grief. I think
many of us are at that place this year. Struggling to see the
message of hope past our own grief, anxiety, loneliness. Yet
the resurrection message is the same as it is, as it always
has been. God is with us. Through the trials, through the
joys, He will never leave us. Even if we can’t see through
our tears He will always remain steadfast. Friends, He died
so we might live. Remember that, He will not forsake you,
remain strong, wipe every tear from your eyes, we will get
through this. May God’s blessing be upon you all.
Rev Kate.
Song: –
I cast my mind to Calvary
Where Jesus bled and died for me.
I see His wounds, His hands, His feet.
My Saviour on that cursed tree.
His body bound and drenched in tears
They laid Him down in Joseph’s tomb.
The entrance sealed by heavy stone
Messiah still and all alone
O praise the name of the Lord our God
O praise His name forever more

O Praise The Name (Anástasis) lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group
To hear this song on youTube please click on the blue text below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkdKr9QP3w

Blessing for Easter Sunday
May you know life rising from the death,
May you know hope rising from the pain,
May you know light rising from the darkness,
May you know and live love,
May you know and live the life you are gifted. Amen.
(Methodist Church Website)
Strange Times – Rev Kate and Paul are holding live
worship on Sundays at 10.30am on their Facebook page
@strangetimes2020.

Special all-age Easter Service

Don’t forget we are streaming a special all-age service this Sunday at 11am and would love if you could join us! available from 11.00 Sunday 12th April

The service will be around half an hour and include drama from Rhema Theatre Company, a story, prayer and excellent worship music videos.

This will be available on the Spring Harvest YouTube Channel at 11am and for the rest of the week.

https://www.youtube.com/user/SpringHarvest