26th July 2020 All Saints Church, Childwall
READ Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52: 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” 33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. “Yes,” they replied. 52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
REFLECT: Half of Jesus’ Parables are parables of the Kingdom and 7 of them are in Matthew 13 with 5 in today’s reading alone! What do they tell us? That the Kingdom of Heaven is like:
A tiny mustard seed with huge potential for growth and blessing to others.
A lump of humble yeast which permeates and transforms the dough of life.
Hidden treasure, of immense value, which can be stumbled upon by chance and which, if so discovered, brings great joy to the finder and causes him/her to sell everything to buy the field in which it is hidden.
A pearl of supreme beauty/value which is worth the seeker sacrificing everything to gain.
A fishing net which catches both the good and the bad which will need to be separated at a later date.
We are used to thinking of the Kingdom of Heaven as a ‘topsy-turvy Kingdom’ which flips the values of the world on their head, but today’s reading reminds us that this Kingdom is also ‘multi-facetted’; it is not easy to pin down or discover, but when it is planted/nurtured it is characterised by growth, and when deliberately added/absorbed into a life it is transforming, and when sought and found is worthy of great sacrifice in order to experience the great joy and the spiritual treasures/renewal which it confers.
But where is this kingdom? Where may it be found? Well, it is not a physical, geographical Kingdom, but any and every ‘place’ or situation in which the ruler-ship or Lordship of ‘the King’ is acknowledged and the commands of ‘the King’ obeyed. Some years ago there was a film entitled, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven’ in which a young man was travelling to the Crusades. On his journey he meets a stranger who asks where he is going and why. The young man explains that he is going to Jerusalem seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. The stranger, pointing first to his head and then to his heart says, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is not in Jerusalem, but here [head] and here [heart’]. That seems about right to me; there is a great deal of teaching in the Bible about the importance of right hearts and minds in the citizens of God’s Kingdom!
RESPOND: How is your heart and mind? Is the mustard seed of God’s word flourishing in you?
Do you consciously mix in the yeast of the Kingdom [Bible, prayer, worship and service] into your daily life?
How much effort and sacrifice do you make to continue to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God’?
Suggestion: Between 27/31 July the Annual Keswick Convention will be running online. The link is vkc.keswickministries.org. Why not make the effort to tap into it for feeding and refreshment.
PRAY: Heavenly Father, help us to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’ in every choice, decision and situation we face in life. Help us to be fruitful, transformative, renewed people – Kingdom people. Amen.
Rev Bill Forster (Associate Minster at All Saints, Childwall)
Dear Friends,
Youth & Children’s Worker – I shared with you last week that we have the opportunity to welcome a young woman called Gypsey-Leigh Tait who is 25 years old, as a Youth & Children’s worker at All Saints. She is travelling up to Liverpool this Tuesday until Wednesday as we discern with her whether this is right for her and also if it is right for us as a church.
After sharing this possibility with you 10 days ago the response from our church family has been overwhelming. Support offered to date means that we will be able to offer a full-time wage for a year along with accommodation, prayer support, meals in people’s homes, mentoring and regular supervision. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we seek before God the right decision in this area for our church and the next steps going forward.
Services in Church – We held a Baptism service last Sunday in church for 2 families along with their guests numbering about 30 people in total with a team of 11 on duty. Those of us on duty were involved in welcoming people, directing people to gel hands and sign in, taking people to their pews, ensuring outside signage was in place and operating the sound desk and screen. Helen and I led the service and I wore a clear visor when I baptised the children.
All the procedures that we have put in place worked well to keep everybody at a safe distance from each other. We have a further 2 baptisms this week and then on Monday evening 27th July at 8pm we will be discussing the further possible reopening of our church building, please pray for this meeting.
As you are all aware government legislation and guidelines are changing regularly. The latest legislation to come in is the compulsory wearing of face masks in shops and in supermarkets from 24th July. The Church of England has issued its own guidelines. This is an extract from what I received yesterday:
We strongly advise that face coverings should be worn by all those attending a place of worship, including ministers, worshippers, staff, volunteers, contractors and visitors, where there may be other people present; remembering that they are mainly intended to protect other people, not the wearer, from coronavirus COVID-19 and that they are not a replacement for physical distancing and regular hand washing.
I personally believe that we would be very foolish to go against these new national guidelines which Bishop Paul has commended to us.
Weekly Prayer requests – If you would like other members of our church family to be able to pray for you or for another member of your family, please let me know and I will put names on this sheet each week. Please ask permission from the person whose name will appear.
Please pray this week for those that are unwell: We pray particularly for Marie Owens at this time.
If you change your address or your tax status and you regularly give financially to All Saints Church please will you let Diane Deacon know who is our Gift Aid Secretary, thank you. deekschildwall@gmail.com
WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING – Weekly prayer meeting Thursday 6.30pm on Zoom. Why not join a group of us at All Saints that pray regularly. It lasts 40 minutes, you can pray, sit and listen or just contemplate.
Click on the below link and take 40 minutes out of your busy schedule.
Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79853782379?pwd=NEloclhRVEJST3RFeUdUVEowSWJRUT09
Meeting ID: 798 5378 2379 Password: 7VUQh6 Aidan Holmes
Zoom coffee – After our Online Service each Sunday please join us for Zoom coffee at 10.15am for 40 mins – remember to bring your own coffee! Details for Zoom coffee are as follows:
Zoom Coffee – every Sunday at 10.15am Meeting ID: 842 767 1496 Password: 4allsaints
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8427671496?pwd=K2dMMnlvTHpwTkxDNEV6bDYwQXBDQT09
With our prayers for you all at this time – Andrew Colmer – Vicar – Tel: 07305 842257
Helen Deegan – Curate curate.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
