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Young Christians walk from G7 to COP26 - via Birmingham!
The Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) has begun a relay pilgrimage from the G7 summit in St Ives to Glasgow, where world leaders will meet in November for important climate negotiations at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
The Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) has begun a relay pilgrimage from the G7 summit in St Ives to Glasgow, where world leaders will meet in November for important climate negotiations at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
The 750-mile Relay aims to raise awareness of COP26 and spark conversations around climate and creation care theology within local churches and communities across the UK. Along the route, the pilgrimage will stop in 10 cities for a multi-day Residency and Birmingham is one of them!
The YCCN Relay will enter Birmingham District near Fenny Compton on Thursday 19th August and arrive in the city on Monday 23rd August. They will be events across the city before they leave Birmingham on Friday 27th August. The Relay then heads north, through Tamworth to leave the District on Sunday 29th August. More details of the route can be found online: https://www.yccn.uk
Anyone – young and old – can join the pilgrimage and walk (or cycle) along during the 10 days in Birmingham District. This is a wonderful opportunity to engage churches and youth groups with the topic of climate justice. As the Relay organisers state: “COP26 is a decade-defining opportunity to make a stand for climate justice, to hold our leaders accountable and to protect people, not bank balances. It’s a decade-defining opportunity to think about what we, the Church, could do together - how we could #RiseToTheMoment.”
This may be one of the most exciting events for your church to get involved with this year. The YCCN is an excellent organisation with full support from Christian Aid and Hope for the Future. These young people are doing brilliant work, and we should welcome them warmly to God’s own county. I am excited about the potential of this Relay for our local churches. Please sign up and get involved.
There are many ways you can join and support the Relay. YCCN is urgently looking for volunteers to plan (and test) the walking route in more detail, to provide accommodation, and to organise events during the residency. To sign up for any offer of support, please visit the website: https://www.yccn.uk/
Kind Regards
Gill Watts
Tel: 07779 977825
Route section team leader for stage [10] [Birmingham to Nottingham] of the UK churches’ relay to COP26
On behalf of Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN)
relay@yccn.uk | https://www.yccn.uk/ | @YCCNetwork
CAP Campaign Video
I am pleased to announce this great video from Christians against Poverty. The work that they do in the U.K has helped to bring people out of debt and has led people to rediscovering Christ and the Church. Please take the time to watch through this video as it is something that could be initiated within our churches to reach the wider community.
A message from CAP: We hope you enjoyed Tina's story and CAP talk! A gift of just £12 could bring hope to the next person like Tina that calls and ensure that we can answer their call. You can make that gift now at capuk.org/respond212
You can still join in our Weekly Services on our Website at this link: https://www.bhmethodist.org.uk/reflections.htm
We are also on Facebook at the Blackheath and Halesowen Methodist Circuit https://www.facebook.com/BHMC.U.K
Or the B&H Family Hub https://www.facebook.com/BH-Family-Hub-112438643791937/
We also have a prepared Messy Church Service for our little ones that you can find on this page https://www.bhmethodist.org.uk/familyworkerpage.htm
Our YouTube Channel can be accessed here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMRs4QPYS_lfZg18Y14Lhug
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Welcome to our Blackheath and Halesowen Online Services
Thank you to Sue Simpson for this Weeks Service
Welcome
We are called to recognise God’s authority
And to submit to it in every area of our lives
Let us invite God to direct our thinking and our prayers
Let us give God the highest place in our lives
Let us worship the living God.
Reading Psalm 111
Praise the Lord!
With all my heart I will thank the Lord
in the assembly of his people.
How wonderful are the things the Lord does!
All who are delighted with them want to understand them.
All he does is full of honour and majesty;
his righteousness is eternal.
The Lord does not let us forget his wonderful actions;
he is kind and merciful.
He provides food for those who honour him;
he never forgets his covenant.
He has shown his power to his people
by giving them the lands of foreigners.
In all he does he is faithful and just;
all his commands are dependable.
They last for all time;
they were given in truth and righteousness.
He set his people free
and made an eternal covenant with them.
Holy and mighty is he!
The way to become wise is to honour the Lord;
he gives sound judgment to all who obey his commands.
He is to be praised forever.
Prayer
Father God, you are holy and majestic, you are the source of all authority in heaven and on earth.
We are here now to acknowledge you majesty and to rejoice that all power and righteousness belongs to you.
You are our wise and wonderful God; in you no fault can be found; your ways are perfect and your wisdom boundless.
Lord, Jesus, we praise you for your compassion and your love; you are never more than a heartbeat away from us, you laid down your life for us and now you live in everlasting life right here beside us.
You have shown us that you are God’s holy son by coming among us , bringing us the Good News, sharing God’s Truth and showing us his divine power at your own fingertips.
Thank you that we can always judge what we hear in our world based on what we know to be your truth; you give us a compass point by which we can navigate our lives.
You, Lord Jesus, are our anchor amongst the rough seas of human existence.
Loving Jesus there is no one like you; in you we can place hope for all our fears and all our despairs; you know us through to our core and there is nothing that we can hide from you.
In a world that is very strange at the moment, you are in the midst of us, guiding us, loving us and sharing our uncertainties.
A moment of confession.
At the cross, Lord Jesus, you defeated evil and overcame even death. By the authority of your holy name, we can freely approach your throne knowing that when we pray sincerely and in faith our sins are forgiven.
We recall that promise now and claim it as our own.
Lord, in all that we have done that has hurt you or denied you we ask you to cleanse us from it now and make us new.
In all that we have done that has been unworthy of us or has hurt another, we pray that you will help us to put it right.
Then, once we have turned to you in our remorse, May we hear again the beauty of your promise; our sins are forgiven.
So, Heavenly Father, we ask you to draw near to us and pray that we might hear your truth and know your presence as we dedicate this time to you. Come, Lord Jesus, draw us close to your Holy Spirit now.
Amen
Reading Mark 1;21-28
Reflection; to trust and Obey in the authority of Jesus
Today, I have based my service on the Authority of God and how as Christians we choose to Trust and Obey the source of that Authority. We also see how God’s authority is reflected in Jesus and how both New and Old Testaments point us to the power and wisdom of God in this world and in heaven.
How might you and I recognise that authority in our own lives? In a world where so many sources clamour for our attention, and so many claim to speak with authority, how do we learn to put our trust and obedience in God over all other claims on our lives?
In times of trouble we look to our leaders to guide us. We look to those in authority to use their gifts and powers wisely to protect us and lead us into better times.
But no human is infallible and when we fix our sights on human authority we will always be let down eventually.
But our Lord God is perfect. So we learn that when we are looking for true authority on which we can depend we need to look not amongst the human but only to the divine.
It’s important to remember also that God has authority over our bodies and minds, if we invite him to do so. So, when bodies and minds need healing we can ask God to heal us with his power, his love and the influence of his healing holy spirit. I have fractured my wrist this week; so I was reminded to give authority to God over my damaged bones, to invite his holy spirit to heal me and to ask Jesus to surround me his love when I felt vulnerable.
How wonderful it is that as Christians we have the reassurance that we can call on Jesus to have authority in our lives. Christ is wholly wise and worthy of our trust, for in his divinity he will not let us down.
Earlier we heard from the beautiful and uplifting joy of Psalm 111. Its final verse declares
Reverence for the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom
The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey him.
Praise his name forever.
How wonderful it is to have God as our oarsman on the ships of our lives; He who is our Father God – the only living one true God - who we can cherish, worship and depend upon.
And because God our Father is wholly dependable, we can put our trust in him and obey him in whatever troubles us, whatever feels difficult and complicated for us.
When we are forced to make hard decisions we trust his wisdom.
When we are asked to do things that frighten us and that we believe we cannot do, it’s His strength that we draw upon.
When our lives take unexpected turns (such as Covid 19) how wonderful to have the security, the confidence, the reassurance that God who made our world still holds it within his hands and pours his wisdom and authority into it. For not a sparrow falls but God knows that it has fallen.
So secure, so steadfast are our lives when we learn to trust our Lord.
Today’s psalm reminds us that our creator God is not only truly wise but that he is the source of true wisdom.
We can be receivers of His wonderful wisdom. Life itself is given to us by God, he is our foundation for making wise decisions that are secure and anchored. In trusting and obeying God we claim His wisdom for ourselves.
But the psalm goes further than that. Because it not only offers us the wisdom of God but it offers us that same divine wisdom as our own. When we think of the fruits of the spirit we do not automatically think of wisdom, yet, is not wisdom a consequence of the fruits of Self-Control, Patience, Goodness, Gentleness, Joy and Kindness?
Earlier we heard Mark tell us that Jesus has the power to command demons. We know that demons come in so many forms; temptation, greed, false loyalties, vanity and envy also have the power to wreck our lives just as fully as the physical demons that the man in the synagogue experienced.
The people were amazed. “What is this? They questioned.
A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.”
Look what happened when the demons inside the man were confronted by the authority of Jesus; they fled. The evil spirit knew at once that Jesus was the Holy One sent by God. In these verses, Mark is establishing Jesus’s credentials, showing us that no demon has the power to defy God’s authority.
It’s also true to say that, what in times gone by were referred to as demons, we might now describe as mental health issues. How reassuring to know that when we feel low, anxious and short in confidence that Jesus can help us banish these from our lives.
Let’s return to our psalm.
Today we have been looking at how God has authority over this world, the living creatures within it as well as ourselves. The psalm reminds us that all Gods works reveal his glory, majesty and righteousness. We are reminded that all he does is good and just.
It is said that respect, and consequently authority, should be earned and not demanded. We have a loving God who commands us to do nothing but asks us only to search our hearts and find it within us to follow him as a life choice. God’s authority in our decisions is freely offered to us but never forced upon us.
To help us make that choice we know that Jesus, is worthy of our trust for he is “of the Father” and the same qualities that we see in the father are brilliantly reflected in the Son. Verse 9 says
He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
As Christians we believe that ransom is Jesus. Death and the fruits of corruption and evil have no power against the authority of God because he gave all that he had to give to defeat them. He gave his son.
No other would do, for it was only the perfection of Jesus that was good enough to battle and claim victory over death itself.
Jesus hung upon the cross as a ransom against our sins. In Jesus, God’s covenant – his promise – is fulfilled. In Christ’s victory over death we are secured freedom from false-authority, from obedience to the false gods of this world and foolishness in place of wisdom.
In our OT reading today we rejoiced with the psalmist at the righteousness, wisdom and authority found in the Father. In our NT reading we saw how God’s authority is echoed in Jesus.
So, whose authority do we place your trust in?
The flawed authority of humans and the ill-judged authority of some modern values?
Who do we place our trust in when times are difficult or over-whelming?
When we cannot find the strength within ourselves to muddle through: in whose hands will we place our trust?
I pray that, when we have testing times, as we surely will, you and I will Trust and Obey in He who has divine and faultless authority. And in his Son, who gave us a revelation of that same authority as he lived his life among us.
Loving God,
You have made us a wonderful world to call home. Since you created it, it has been your desire to know our hopes, fears and dreams for this world and all those people and situations with it. So we come to you and lift up those things that truly matter to us, knowing that you will hear and heed our prayers.
We pray for our world during this current pandemic. We remember before you all those that have lost their lives to this dreadful virus and the grieving families that mourn their loss.
We remember those fighting this disease; our scientists, our NHS, our police force, our politicians and all those who go to work each day to serve us and in doing so put their own lives at greater risk.
We pray for those who are shielding and therefore lonely or suffering with mental health issues.
We pray for parents who must home-school their children during lockdown, and we pray for children who are missing a vital part of their educational and social development.
We pray for our family, our friends and our fellowships.
We lift to you all those we know personally who are struggling at this time; those in hospital or suffering from life-limiting conditions, those who live with pain ,those suffering with bereavement or worries.
We thank you for the support of our fellowships; those that phone us or text us, those that share worship our online services with us and those that assure us of their love at difficult times. We thank you that we can draw down on their wonderful compassion and reassurance when we need it most.
We pray for our ministers whose job it is to direct our circuit and bring the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to us in our disparate situations.
And finally, we pray for ourselves.
Lord we accept that you have complete authority over this world and the next, so it is our privilege to put our hopes and trust in you. Father God, you love us as your own child, we pray that you will guide us, protect us, counsel us and love us all the days of our lives.
Lord’s Prayer
Blessing and grace
Almighty God, be with us this week
Meet with us each morning
And in every situation throughout the day
Whoever we are with
Help us to draw on your authority, strength and wisdom
That we may be faithful and true
In following the example and pattern given to us by Jesus.
Amen
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Be with us this day and forever more.
Amen
Welcome to another Journey Through Lent season, where we shall be focusing on different themes each Sunday with a Scripture reading, lighting the candle, having a moment of silence and short prayer before each service. Lent is a time of purification and renewal when we throw off the weight of sin, and old and destructive habits that cling to us.
We have entered into another Lent today that gives us an opportunity to be still in the presence of the Lord, with our Bible open, candle lit and hearts open:
to recognise God’s gracious presence,
to reflect on the journey Jesus began,
to re-examine our lives to be acceptable to Jesus,
to repent for our sins to be cleansed by the power of the Holy Spirit,
to be refreshed in order to refresh others,
to be renewed for God’s mission,
and rededicate all that we have to Jesus,
for his purpose -
during our remaining lifetime for God’s glory, so that the next generation
can remember what the Lord has done through our lives and be inspired
to worship the Lord in the years to come.
Advent Liturgy 2022
Theme: Jesus, the Prince of Peace”
“...For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
First Sunday of Advent: Hope
The first Sunday of Advent gives us the opportunity to centre our thoughts on hope.
It's a beautiful chance to remember the hope God offers to our lost and dying world, which He has given us through Jesus.
Bible reading (Isaiah 9:2, 6-7)
O God, we light the first candle of Advent. We kindle it with hope. We long for you to come to our world, to break through and reign with compassion, justice, and peace. Amen
Lighting the first candle of hope:
This candle of hope symbolizes promises delivered through the prophets from God, as well as the hope we have in Christ today.
Hymn HP 81: Come, thou long expected Jesus
A Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent:
Father, let your hope arise in our hearts! We lift our eyes up to see that you alone are where our hope comes from. Help us to shake off the anxiety, discouragements, and distractions that have filled this year.
Let us all say together:
May we pause to remember that we have hope in you. You know the end of our stories, and we give thanks because you have promised that it will be a victorious ending. Give us the grace we need to wrap up this year joyfully. Amen.
Second Sunday of Advent: Self Examination
Today we are reminded that we are given one more occasion to prepare our hearts in loyal waiting, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and get ourselves ready for his second coming.
Bible reading (Isaiah 40: 3-5)
O God, we light the second candle of Advent. We seek your comfort. You are both mighty and tender. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you. Amen
Lighting the second candle of faith and preparation:
This week calls us to reflect on the ways prophecy has been fulfilled, and to ponder what the future will bring.
Hymn HP 85: O come, O come Immanuel
A Prayer for Faith and Preparation on the Second Sunday of Advent:
Father God, prepare our hearts to celebrate your birth joyfully! We thank you for faithfully doing what you promised long ago when you sent your Son to earth so that we might have the assurance to become part of your family. Let the promise of your second coming inspire us to live with hope and purpose.
Let us all say together:
As we wait for your plan to unfold, give us the patience we need.
Remind us of the peace we can access when we take time to still ourselves before you and remember that you are God. We thank you that you are both sovereign and gracious. Help us to find rest in the midst of what feels like chaos in our world. Amen.
Third Sunday of Advent: Joy
The third Sunday of Advent gives us the opportunity to prepare in our hearts a sense of joyful anticipation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Bible reading (Luke 2: 8-14)
Over this Advent, let us pray that the joy of the Lord will be evident in our hearts and homes. Amen
Lighting the third candle of Joy:
The third Sunday of Advent calls us to reflect on the faith that enables us to have joy in Jesus Christ. It reminds us that joyful behaviour is the defining characteristic of those who follow Jesus.
Hymn HP 77: Joy to the World
Prayers for Joy on the Third Sunday of Advent
Lord, would you restore the joy of our salvation? Help us to be willing to follow you with all we have. As we read the Scriptures that remind us who you are and the ways you love us, ignite in us a sense of joy that overflows from our hearts! Let this holy joy be contagious and spill over onto the lives of those around us.
Let us all say together:
May your peace that surpasses all understanding be upon us, especially as we're wrapping up a year that has felt very scary and uncertain. Encourage our hearts with the knowledge that with you, we can live in your perfect peace, no matter what our circumstances are. We thank you for the joy and peace you give! Amen.
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Love
On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we reflect on the peace that Jesus brings to our painful hearts and to our broken world, so we may experience God’s love. God has given us the gift of peace in Jesus so we can live life overflowing with his love, no matter what we face!
Bible Reading (John 3: 16-19)
Over this Advent, we pray that God’s unexplainable peace would be evident in our heart and home. This year we have all faced so much chaos and uncertainty. Let us trust that God’s peace is something we can grasp firmly to, more than ever. Amen
Lighting the Fourth candle of Peace
The fourth candle of Advent is called the “Angel Candle” and symbolizes peace. The angels announcedthat Jesus came to bring peace to our hearts and to our world!
Hymn HP 112: Silent Night…
A Prayer for Peace in Our World
Psalm 29:11 says, “The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.
Let us all say together:
Lord, would you bring your strength and peace to your people? Would your presence be felt by all who seek you this Advent season? Turn the hearts of humanity towards you. We pray that the lost may turn to you and find an unshakable peace that nothing else in this world can offer. Amen.
Fifth Sunday (Christmas Eve): Adoration
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:1-14)
Lighting all candles-
As we prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ arrival as God’s greatest gift to the world, let’s create a sense of expectation both in our hearts and homes. Let us ask God’s spirit to transform the days leading up to Christmas into a moment of hope, preparation, joy and love to have expectant adoration. Let us prepare ourselves to wait faithfully and rejoice the coming of the servant king. Amen
Hymn HP 110: O Come, All Ye Faithful (Verses 1-5)
A Personal Prayer for Peace
Let us all say together:
Lord Jesus you are the Prince of Peace; I invite you to rule my heart and mind! As I prepare to say goodbye to 2022 and reflect on the many gifts you have given me, let my heart be encouraged with the truth that you are my God, the Good Shepherd.
I thank you for sending your Son to show me your unconditional love and to die for me on the cross, in order to give me eternal life. I thank you for being my eternal peace, which will hold me through all that I may encounter in the coming year. It is my prayer that you rule my heart so that my words and deeds bring glory and honour to you through all my days. Amen.
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- High Street, Rowley Regis
- Halesowen
- B65 0EH
0121 559 1509
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