Sunday Worship - 6th June 2021

Welcome to this morning's Worship service.

Worship today is led by Rev Christine Fox (not available via Zoom this week)

Our Zoom services are every other week and if you are not currently on our mailing list please contact Rev Christine: christineamfox@gmail.com

As today is Methodist Homes Sunday, please watch the following short video before you watch this morning's service:

Advance warning: Online Worship Next Sunday June 13th

Please note that instead of a pre-recorded service, we will record the Zoom service and make it available via the Blog but this cannot be until after the Zoom meeting finishes. We will aim to publish it by 12:30 but please bear with us if it takes a little longer.

Today, Sunday June 6th

Click below on the red play button to start this morning's service video. You can also find the service on YouTube here if it isn’t working on the blog.

God Bless x

If you'd like to connect with Grangewood please contact us.

Rev Christine Fox: christineamfox@gmail.com

Thank you to all those who have been part of putting together this weeks service.

Below you can find this weeks Message. Click here to find the whole worship sheet.

Message

When a family decides between them for a relative to move into a care-home often a lot of soul searching has gone on beforehand. When relatives were prevented from visiting residents in lockdown there were some who complained loudly about it even though it wouldn’t have been safe. Perhaps there are some feelings of guilt sitting below the surface; how hard to know what is best when Mum or Dad would have liked to still live in their own home but neither they nor their relatives can continue to make that a good option. But thanks to places like Methodist homes, once an elderly parent or even a son or daughter have settled in and discovered good food, all their washing done for them, friendly and caring staff and new friends, then their families can feel at peace.

Well if you’ve been in that position then you may have identified with Jesus’ mother and brothers’ concern expressed for him, when he was so busy with the crowds that he wasn’t getting anything to eat. They just wanted to take him home and look after him! It seems like it was a bad day for Jesus though as he not only had his family showing disapproval of his lifestyle but he also had the teachers of the law ridiculing him, even accusing him of being possessed by Satan’s demon Beelzebub.

They couldn’t seem to understand the nice bit of logic Jesus pointed out to them that he couldn’t be one of Satan’s demons since his miracles involved defeating Satan, saying– “a house divided against itself cannot stand”.

It would be like a supporter of a football club cheering for the opposition in the middle of his own crowd! Or someone swearing in the name of God the Father against God the Holy Spirit – illogical! and both ‘unforgivable’.

Jesus needed to let both the authorities and his family know that he was single-mindedly focused on doing only his loving Father God’s will. – He had a task and a calling that he couldn’t just leave and go home. And every challenge to the direction he was headed in just reinforced his understanding of what that direction was.

I wonder – have you had times in your life when you’ve an idea of what you think you should be doing, or what you want to be, but you needed some affirmation that it’s right before you’re sure yourself? How can we be true to who God wants us to be or to do? Life has lots of possibilities and distractions – not least the role models that other people provide. Even Jesus had those distractions - how easy it could have been for him to tell himself he should put his mother and brothers first and walk away from the constant challenges and being misunderstood. But Jesus knew that he wouldn’t find peace if he did that.

It was actually through people challenging who he was and what he was doing that he could see more clearly what was not ‘him’ and what was. He saw that only the ones who do God’s will are his true brother, sister, mother. This applied to him, and to us too – a kind of mutual support ‘family’.

We discover God’s will for our lives at the cross-over point of three things – the first is - what we can do (the gifts and skills he gives us), second - the place or context that we find ourselves best able to be/do it – and three - when these are to someone else’s benefit. When all these fall into place we find peace and any challenges or distractions from well-meaning ‘family’ and critics alike only make us more determined to stick to that source of the inner peace that comes from knowing you are doing and being the ‘you’ God intended.

For people who don’t have family or for whom the word family isn’t helpful I pray that you will discover, as Jesus did, others who are doing God’s will – they are your true brothers sisters parents…. Amen