St Albans and Welwyn Methodist Circuit Service for Second Sunday in Ordinary Time January 15th

 Prepared by Revd Rosemary Mutopo

Call to Worship

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. (Psalm 40:1-3a)

STF 651 – Lord of Life, we come to you

Catherine Walker (b. 1958)

Prayers

God of compassion, we bring before you, our lives. We acknowledge that they are far from perfect, scarred by selfishness and deceit. We humbly and confidently seek to receive the forgiveness for which your son, Jesus Christ died. That, we may go forward pardoned, cleansed and hopeful. ‘Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from us; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep us safe forever.’ God shows his love for us, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So, we rejoice in God, through Jesus Christ, in whom we are now at peace with God. Amen.

STF 250 – Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult

Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895)

John 1:29-42 The Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ 32 And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’
The First Disciples of Jesus

35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 39 He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

Reflection

Today we reflect on how John the Baptist presents Jesus to the crowd as well as being a witness at the same time. In fact, in the gospel text, John the Baptist says, ‘I have seen and I am a witness that he is the chosen one of God.’ What are the two images used by John the Baptist to describe Jesus? How, why and in what capacity are we witnesses of Christ in our Christian Life today. Finally, what does this liturgical reading for this Sunday teach us? To begin with, we all know that we have just concluded the Christmas season in which we celebrated the incarnation; the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

On this Sunday we start a new liturgical season called Sundays in ordinary time. These Sundays in ordinary time continue up to the beginning of Lenten season. So, what is the importance of ordinary time? It helps us to reflect, to deepen and to understand more the mysteries of Christ whom we have just celebrated during Christmas season. Today, we reflect on John 1:29-42. In this gospel passage we realize that John’s text presents Jesus’s public ministry as well as the clear roles assigned to John the Baptist and to Jesus Christ. After the prologue, John describes briefly Christ’s baptism. John and Jesus had distinct roles as reflected in today’s reading.

John the Baptist had three important roles namely, to be a bridge between the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament, to reveal or to introduce the Messiah and finally to be a witness. John the Baptist uses two Images to introduce Jesus to the people. these are, Jesus as the Lamb of God and Jesus as the servant of God. John the Baptist introduces the Messiah to the people by saying, ‘behold here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ From this text, John presents the personality of Jesus as the Lamb of God echoing Isaiah chapter 53:7 the lamb that will be offered as a living sacrifice, not only for Israel but for the forgiveness of every person who believes in him. Jesus is the Lamb of God, is the chosen one of God, the servant of God. John the Baptist is a direct witness of Jesus because he met Jesus and introduced him to the people as the Lamb of God and the servant of God. At Jesus’ baptism John also witnessed the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove.

What about us? Are we witnesses of Jesus or we are fans of Jesus? Do we introduce Jesus to others or we leave out Jesus and introduce them to other things? Do we bear witness as a disciple of Jesus in our families? Do we bear witness in our places of work and do we bear witness even in our churches today? What messages do we get from this reading? John the Baptist and Jesus had different roles but complementary ones, so, let us learn to collaborate, complement and coexist in peace. Let us be witnesses of Jesus Christ wherever we may find ourselves and finally, let us be credible ambassadors of the Gospel values such that we can introduce others to Christ.

Remember, we are called to be witnesses of Jesus just like John the Baptist. Jesus is the Lamb of God and the servant of God. As servants of God, we may experience pain, shame and suffering, but we are called to remain faithful to God’s call. May our words and actions bear true witness in our Christian life that attracts others to Jesus Christ today and always.

STF 556 – Just as I am without one plea

1 Just as I am, without one plea
but that you died to set me free,
and at your bidding, ‘Come to me!’
O Lamb of God, I come!

2 Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings within and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come!

3 Just as I am, you will receive,
will welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve:
because your promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come!

4 Just as I am — your love unknown
has broken every barrier down —
now to be yours, yes, yours alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!

5 Just as I am, of that free love
the breadth, length, depth and height to prove,
here for a time and then above,
O Lamb of God, I come!

Charlotte Elliott (1789–1871)
adapted by Jubilate Hymns (alt.)

Prayers for others/Intercessions and Lord’s prayer

Let us pray: Gracious God. With thanksgiving in our hearts, we bring our petitions before you. We ask for renewal of our minds, for courage in our difficulties. Help us to increase our love for our neighbours through our words and actions. Help us to be witnesses for Jesus Christ and give us the courage that even in trials and fears we may live as people of Jesus. We pray for people who are finding winter tough for any reason – loneliness, mental health, finances or heavy work responsibilities. We pray also for emergency and health services, who may be especially busy through the depths of the winter months. Above all, we pray for peace that surpasses all understanding. We pray all these prayers in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ and unite them with the prayer that Jesus taught us: ‘Our Father…’

STF 662 Have you heard God’s voice; has your heart been stirred?

Jacqueline G. Jones

Blessing:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. May all who seek you, O Lord, rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
and the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you now and forever. Amen (Adapted from Psalm 40:4 and 16

Copyright Notices

Hymns

Hymn words where displayed are in the Public Domain.

Hymn organ recordings where used are from Small Church Music. Copyright notice: Rev. Clyde McLennan, performer in this collection, has assigned his performer rights in this collection to Hymnary.org. Non-commercial use of these recordings is permitted.

Other hymns are from YouTube and covered by YouTube copyright processes.

Bible Readings

Bible readings are from the New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Images

Images where used are from pixabay.com and free for commercial use no attribution required.