Oxford Methodist Circuit worship

Circuit Worship: 2nd May 2021

Led by Rev Miriam Moul

If you would like to join this service of worship using just the videos playing one after another, you can visit our playlist on Youtube by following the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2KHyGgDaLuBJX_WUUlpebmeMT4oumIP

Welcome and call to worship

A very warm welcome to this service of worship from the Oxford Methodist Circuit. My name is Reverend Miriam Moul and I am one of the Ministers of the Circuit serving Cowley Road Methodist Church and as Methodist Chaplain at Oxford Brookes University. Whoever you are and from wherever you are joining us today, we are delighted that you are here.

Would you join me in prayer as we gather together?

Call to Worship

Come among us loving God,

You, who cast the planets into space

and cradled the sparrow in her nest.

Come, loving God and meet us here.

Come among us loving God,

You, who bless the poor and the broken

and stand by the sad and the strong.

Come, loving God and meet us here.

Come among us loving God,

You, who dance in the silence

and shine in the darkness.

Come, loving God and meet us here.

Amen.

Song:

Singing the Faith 3 Eternal God, your love’s tremendous glory

Opening Prayers

Holy God, ever creating and transforming; we come in awe and wonder this day to praise and worship you. In the beginning, you created and designed all there is – you are the architect of the universe. Creating stars that blaze, oceans that roar, light in all its glory, darkness, land in all its diversity, sea and sky. Holy God for the inspiration and spark of your creative power, for the beauty of all your creation, we bring you our praise.

Tender and nurturing God, like a mother and father you draw us to yourself and hold us. Knowing and loving each one of us, excited as you saw the people we would become, the people we are yet to become. Even before we were born, before we took our first breath, you knew us, knitting us together, our personalities, our futures, our hopes and dreams. Tender God, for your relentless love, for your excitement and plans for our lives we bring you our praise.

God of presence, we thank you that you are present in all times and places, in darkness and light, in joy and despair, in the valley of the shadow of death and the face of evil, in hope and disappointment, in life and death. Help us your people to earnestly and urgently seek you in all things, that we may acknowledge your presence in the everyday, ordinary things of our lives made extraordinary by your Spirit’s presence in us and surrounding us. May we continue to be transformed as we encounter you powerfully in the places where we least expect to. God, present in all things, we bring you our praise.

God of love victorious, of the Cross and empty tomb, of the road to Emmaus and a breakfast barbecue on the beach, help us to recognise your voice speaking to us, calling us as Mary did in the garden, to follow the one who knows us intimately, and loves us beyond the horizon of our imagination. Each one of us is held and precious and valued beyond measure. God of love victorious, we bring you our praise.

God of Trinity, you invite us to join in the dance of community. You are ever moving and interweaving together. Knit us together as the community of Christ, help us to dance together in praise and worship. God of Trinity we bring you our praise.

So, holy, creating, tender, present, loving, transforming, leading God, we bring you our heartfelt praise this day.

In a moment of quiet we offer before you those things that we wish to ask forgiveness for this day.

(Silence)

Gracious God, we give you thanks for the forgiveness that is offered through your Son Jesus Christ. May we live as your forgiven people this day and all our days to come. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.

Reading 1

1 John 4: 7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Reading 2

John 15:1-8

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO92Lw9v8PE

Singing the Faith 611 Brother, sister, let me serve you

Reflection:

Download sermon transcript

Prayers of Intercession and The Lord’s Prayer

Loving, Living, Listening and Waiting God, we come before you this day with our prayers knowing that you hear us and that you listen. We praise and worship you for your care for us.

Living God, we pray today for your Church, carrying a gospel of forgiveness and freedom which is so much needed in our world. Give us the courage and the willingness to be your witnesses in ways that are generous and respectful, and which come from the overflow of our love and delight in you. Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Listening God, we pray for countries where there is war, random violence or only fragile peace. May hearts which have been darkened by violence discover a different light and a better way. We pray particularly for the people of Myanmar at this time. We pray for peacemakers struggling to end hostility and violence across the nations. We pray especially for areas ravaged by Covid-19, for the people of India, Brazil and other nations facing huge surges in cases and deaths. We pray for places devastated by natural disasters, particularly remembering today St Vincent and its residents. Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Waiting God, we remember before you those in need of hope. Those who feel that their cries for help are not heard by you or by the people around them. For the lonely, isolated, disenfranchised, hurting, homeless, shunned. We pray for those for whom this day has seemed long and hard, for those in hospital or ill at home, those struggling with depression, mental illness, those waiting for a job. Loving God, give your courage and hope to those in trouble. Your kingdom come, your will be done.

God of love, we remember with deep gratitude those who have left their mark on our lives by giving us love and laughter but have now gone before us to be with Christ. We hold them in our hearts, knowing that you, Lord, hold them in yours. Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Faithful God, we remember before you our families, friends and the communities we represent here. In a moment of quiet we bring before God the concerns of our hearts and minds…Your kingdom come, your will be done.

So ever-loving and listening God, may we be a people who wait and listen for your word to us. People who act when you call us to and stand back when you require it. May we be agents of change in your world, offering not only our prayers to you but our lives and actions. May we be a people that ‘keep watch to see what you will say to us’ and be ready to serve you in all we do.

We offer our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

We say together the prayer 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 trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

The power and the glory

For ever and ever. Amen.

Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pqPlXLj_HI

Singing the Faith 615 Let love be real

Blessing:

May God our maker, bless us and wrap us round in love and tenderness. May our brother Jesus bless us and ask us the questions that lead us to do justice. May the Holy Spirit bless us and fill our lives with her courage and wisdom. May we live bravely in the love of God all our nights and days. May almighty God bless us, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, now and for ever. Amen.

Organ Voluntary

Organ voluntary: Sonata in G, BWV 530 (J.S. Bach)

Reitze Smits plays the Schnitger organ of Uithuizen, the Netherlands

https://youtu.be/slfSTazbYhE

This three-movement work lasts just over 12 minutes. Come back at your leisure, after Zoom coffee perhaps, for the Adagio (4′ 20″) and the final Allegro (8′ 45″)

Circuit Worship: 25th April 2021

Mike Trinder

If you would like to join this service of worship using just the videos playing one after another, you can visit our playlist on Youtube by following the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ymtm0gUbLw&list=PLc2KHyGgDaLt11XAnnfmP0ExsgMuBHRLg

Welcome and Call to Worship:

I would like to welcome everyone to worship today. My name is Mike Trinder, and I’m one of the Oxford Methodist Circuit’s Local Preachers who take services every week.

We start with the Call to Worship

Loving God, open our eyes to the beauty of your holiness, open our ears to the message of your word. Open our minds to the challenge of your truth, open our lives to the coming of your spirit, that we may truly worship you, now and forever.

Amen

We continue our worship with the first song:

Song: “As Servants Working an Estate:

Opening Prayers

God of all life, of all ages, of all places:

God of all people, of all voices, of all accents;

God of all signs, of all symbols, of all songs..

God of all life, as we worship you today,

encircle us with the knowledge that you are always

with us, and your forgiveness, through the sacrifice

of your son Jesus Christ, is always there when we

acknowledge the error of our ways.

In gladness and thanksgiving we recognise the world

as your home, and our place within it. We thank you for

The gift of your son, who shared our human life with us.

Call us back to you to die for us upon the cross, to be

Raised again, that we might know true and eternal life in you.

We ask these prayers in Jesus’ name,

Amen

Reading 1: John10: 11-18

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.

Reading 2: Acts 4: 5-12

On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Address

4th_sunday_of_easter_yr_b__1_Download

Song No 9 “Of the Father’s Love”

Prayers – intercession, and blessing.

Loving God, your Kingdom is a kingdom of justice and mercy. We pray for the leaders of the nations, that they might rule fairly and with compassion, respecting the rights and needs of all people, and promoting peace.

Loving God, Your Kingdom is a kingdom of hope and joy. We pray for those in sorrow or need. We remember the bereaved, the anxious and the ill, the destitute, the hungry and the homeless. At this time of pandemic, we pray for the people who work in caring for people who are seriously il, and for the families who are separated because y of the lockdowns.

Loving God your Kingdom is a kingdom of love and mercy, and we pray for the Church here and throughout the world, in supporting people who are in great need. We pray for ourselves, that you will guide us through these difficult times.

We ask these prayers in the name of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Organ Voluntary

Carillon de Westminster (Louis Vierne)

Jean-Baptiste Robin plays the organ of Saint-Eustache, Paris

Circuit Worship: 18 April 2021

Revd Stephen Maunder and Siobhan Antoniou

If you would like to join this service of worship using just the videos playing one after another, you can visit our playlist on Youtube by following the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUKYsUmFi80&list=PLc2KHyGgDaLv5szF4tnu-c5y3uU2Bxuyu

Welcome and call to worship

I am pleased to welcome you to this service from the Oxford Methodist Circuit for the second Sunday after Easter. I offer Easter greetings to all with the familiar words…

Alleluia Christ is risen
He is risen indeed, Alleluia

In our worship today we hear one of the Gospel accounts of the appearance of Jesus to his disciples as they are gathered in the Upper Room. I am pleased that our reflection today is being offered by Siobhan Antoniou, who is a student minister from the United Reformed Church on placement within our Circuit.

Song: Praise the Lord with the sound of trumpet

Prayers

Almighty God, as we come together in our worship, we give you thanks and praise for the beauty of creation around us, and in the new life which Spring brings to our world.

We continue in Easter praise for the resurrection of Christ who came amongst us to show your way of the Kingdom. A Kingdom of love and grace and service. We thank you for his faithfulness in ministry, in word and deed, and in taking the road to Jerusalem and to a cross. We praise you that death was not the end, and that on the third day our Saviour rose again to offer us life in all its fullness in this world and in the kIngdom to come.

We thank you for the gift of your Spirit holding us in fellowship with one another and inspiring our living. We rejoice in the gift of your Church on earth and in heaven, and our call to join with those who have come before us, and those who will come after us in witnessing to your goodness as Easter people.

Forgive us, we pray, for those times when despite all that we know of your love, still we turn from you. Forgive us when we fail to speak with the assurance of your voice in our hearts. Build us up as your people and renew our faith we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reading: Luke 24:36-48

Today’s Gospel Reading begins at the point where the travellers to Emmaus have returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about what they had experienced as Jesus joined them on their journey home.

“While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Amen

Reflection

reflection-180421 Download

Song: Christ is alive, let Christians sing

Prayers of intercession

Brian Wren’s hymn reminds speaks to us of the presence of the risen Christ with us now as at all times.

We bring our prayers together we have moments of quiet as we focus upon those needs known to us….

God of love, we pray for the needs of this world, bringing before you those places and concerns where Good Friday is the flavour of life, and where joy is unknown. We pray for those in need of peace, for those mistreated by others, for those in constant fear…..