St Thomas Methodist Church, Exeter
Weekly Worship Resources
July 2024
07 July – All coming together: David’s story
The people of Israel come to David and ask that he fulfil his God-given destiny. David is therefore anointed as king and makes a covenant with his people. Shortly after, he takes the city of Jerusalem and makes it his own. With God’s help, David continues to grow in power and greatness.
In a world where leadership is often sadly lacking, how do we understand the qualities that make good leaders. How are good leaders shaped?
Lectionary Bible readings for RCL Proper 9 Year B
2 Samuel 5:1-5,9-10; Psalm 48; 2 Corinthians 12.2-10; Mark 6.1-13
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 [NRSVA]
David Anointed King of All Israel
5 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, ‘Look, we are your bone and flesh. 2 For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’ 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
9 David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inwards. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
Thought for the week
What do we expect a leader to look like? What are our expectations formed by? – our culture?, our personal history? Sometimes we make assumptions about people – they cannot possibly be leaders because they are too young, the wrong gender or from a different ethnicity. It’s known as ‘unconscious bias’ and many organisations are now recognising that it exists and are training managers and recruiters to be aware of their own unconscious assumptions about others.
If we look around our own world, we see that it is sometimes the leaders we don’t expect who are shaking things up. Think of Greta Thunberg and the many young climate activists she has inspired. They are challenging the complacency and inaction of governments and refusing to be silenced.
King David, despite his personal failings, was regarded as the ‘model king’ of Israel. In today’s reading from 2 Samuel, we see him fulfil his God-given destiny as he is anointed and makes the city of Jerusalem his own. Yet we remember that as a young shepherd boy, he did not seem a very likely future king. But God saw beyond external appearances to the heart (1 Samuel 16.7b).
In today’s Gospel reading, we see Jesus visiting his hometown of Nazareth, and teaching in the synagogue. But his hearers remember him when he was a boy, the child of Mary, the carpenter’s son, and reject his teaching. They cannot see beyond their own ‘unconscious bias’ about what a leader and teacher should look like.
Think about the people around you. Are there people with gifts that could be nurtured and encouraged? Are there potential leaders in our midst? Ask God to show how you might be an encouragement to that person and resolve to do something about it.
A prayer of adoration
Father, you are the king of heaven, above all forms of earthly kingship;
Jesus, you are the king of love incarnate, our Saviour, lover of souls;
Holy Spirit, you are the spirit of divine kingship, surging among us in power and glory.
We adore you, not with gold and jewels or the symbols of earthly rulers, but with hearts and minds open to the love and wisdom of your divine leadership. Amen
14 July – Extravagant worship
The Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets of the law and a sign of God’s presence, is brought in triumph to David’s city, Jerusalem. David and his people greet its arrival with uninhibited dancing and singing, and the distribution of food to all in Israel.
This week’s reading challenges any tendency to be lukewarm in our worship when what God deserves is all of us. We consider how we can be exuberant and generous in our daily lives, not just on Sundays.
Lectionary Bible readings for RCL Proper 10 Year B
2 Samuel 6:1-5,12-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1.3-14; Mark 6.14-29
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19 [NRSVA]
David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem
6 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. 3 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart 4 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. 5 David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
12 It was told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing; 13 and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt-offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, 19 and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.
Thought for the week
What is the most valuable object you possess? Do you value it for its cost or for its associations e.g. the meaning it carries in your family? How do you treasure this possession? – do you keep it locked securely away? or polish it? or give it a prominent place in your home?
What about the most valuable possession of your faith community? The ark of the covenant contained the Ten Commandments, God’s word to his people and a sign of his presence with them. What objects in our church building or home life speak to us of the holy presence of God?
David and the people are celebrating the most valuable object they possess, which was lost and is found (cf Luke 15). Their core symbol of God’s presence is back with them. They are reunited with the Lord of hosts. They rejoice with extravagant, physical, multi-sensory worship involving the whole community, and with generosity, offering rich food to folk whose normal diet was very plain. How might we and our faith community recognise and celebrate the things that mean most to us in our shared worship life?
Is our worship inward-looking or does it allow us to reach out to those beyond the walls of the building? Is it exclusive, putting others off? or does it make others feel welcome? Does our worship fuel us for the week ahead or do we leave it behind in the church building, putting it in a box until the next service?
And how do we worship extravagantly during the week? How do we show our love for God during the week? We may not dance down the streets in joy, but can we radiate our love for God in other ways, through a simple smile or an act of service? Are our lives as well as our worship always pleasing to God?
What will you offer to God this week?
A sending out prayer
God of all, send us out into the world you have made.
Help us to be the people you want us to be; help us to live in ways that show your love for us and for all people.
Keep us dancing, keep us singing and keep us walking in your ways.
Keep us open, keep us generous and keep us ready to give our all for you, as you have given everything for us. Amen
21 July – Let God be God
Now settled in his new capital, Jerusalem, David resolves to make a temple as a permanent dwelling place for the God who has been on the move alongside his people since they left Egypt, and with David since he was chosen to be Israel’s king. But God has other ideas: this is not the time for the building of a temple, a task that will fall to David’s successor, Solomon. Nonetheless, God makes an everlasting covenant with David that secures his royal dynasty.
Are we tempted to domesticate God? How can we respond to a God who refuses to be pinned down or confined to the houses we wish to make for him? How can we let God be God?
Lectionary Bible readings for RCL Proper 11 Year B
2 Samuel 7:1-14a; Psalm 89:20-37; Ephesians 2.11-22; Mark 6.30-34,53-56
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
God’s Covenant with David
7 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’ 3 Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.’
4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.
Thought for the week
In today’s reading from 2 Samuel, God declines David’s offer to build a temple as his permanent dwelling. But the God who has travelled with his people out of Egypt and through the wilderness is not ready to be confined to a temple, even one made of the finest cedar money could buy. Instead, God promises that one of David’s descendants will build ‘a house for my name’. And it will be up to David’s successor, his son Solomon, to finally build and dedicate a temple to house the ark of the covenant.
There is a moment in CS Lewis’ story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when the characters hear that Aslan is on the move. The children – Edmund, Peter, Susan and Lucy – do not yet know who Aslan is. We are told: ‘the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different … At the name of Aslan, each one of the children felt something jump inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realise that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.’
How do we react to a God who refuses to be confined; who refuses to be pinned down to the image and expectations we might have? A God who even refuses to be confined to the wonderful buildings we have created to house him? Do we feel scared, like Edmund? Brave and adventurous, like Peter? Uplifted, like Susan? Or giddily excited, like Lucy?
What can we do, in our personal and corporate church life, to make more space for the God who is on the move? How can we be more open to a God who refuses to be pinned down but nonetheless promises to be with us always, to the end of time: just as he promised to David and his descendants.
A prayer of confession
Lord God, we confess that we often put you in a box.
We like to think we know you, and that we know exactly what you want from us.
We have pigeon-holed your character and packaged your personality – you would barely recognise yourself!
We repent of this behaviour, for your might and majesty cannot be quantified.
We beseech your forgiveness and release you from the bonds of our ignorance, to be what you have always been.
Assurance of forgiveness
There are times when we think we cannot be forgiven.
Unable to forgive ourselves, we don’t believe that you will either.
But you, O Lord, are not like us, and your ways are not our ways.
Your promise of forgiveness is strong and true, when we accept it, and let you be you. Amen
28 July – It’s not fair
While his troops are away, King David spots and seduces Bathsheba, wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David tries to cover up what he has done by bringing Uriah home; but Uriah refuses to be with his wife while others are still fighting. So, David sends Uriah back to the battlefield, instructing his commander to use him where he is most likely to be killed – and he is.
David has gone from shepherd boy to king – he has arrived at the position to which God had called him. However, now he is king he has full freedom of action – and, in the same way that his heroism previously led to freedom for others, now his sin will result in the suffering of other people. Often, we focus on our own suffering, but God’s justice insists we look also at those who hurt us and those impacted by our own choices.
Lectionary Bible readings for RCL Proper 12 Year B
2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3.14-21; John 6.1-21
2 Samuel 11:1-15
David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba
11 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ 4 So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’
6 So David sent word to Joab, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house, and wash your feet.’ Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, ‘Uriah did not go down to his house’, David said to Uriah, ‘You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?’ 11 Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.’ 12 Then David said to Uriah, ‘Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, 13 David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
David Has Uriah Killed
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.’
Thought for the week
The Bible story understandably focuses on David, but what about looking at the situation from Bathsheba’s point of view? She is a woman from another country (wife of Uriah the Hittite), but she is following Jewish purity rules as she bathes following her period. While her husband is away risking his life for the people they live with, the king sends for her, sleeps with her and sends her home. Bathsheba has no power in this story – the choice to commit adultery rests solely with David – and she will lose her husband (and the baby David conceives in her) as a result of David’s fear of discovery.
We often focus on our own sins (with some justification), but do we also see those who are suffering because of our sins or, more generally, those who suffer as a result of the choice and actions of others, including ourselves? This might be: those made homeless by rent or mortgage rises they have no control over; garment workers in the developing world working in dire conditions to provide us with cheaper clothes; those who live in the areas most affected by climate change caused by the lifestyles and choices of richer countries. The unfairness of people suffering from the sins and choices of others comes out strongly in this passage.
Our challenge is to discern when we are in the position of Bathsheba and Uriah – i.e. suffering due to the choices of those in power over us – and when we are in the position of David, making choices that suit us but cause pain to others. In today’s globalised society, we can be in David’s place without knowing much, if anything, about those we are impacting. But we have a responsibility towards them that God will judge.
On the other hand, if there are situations where we are the ones suffering, we should strive to act like Uriah – live with integrity and do what is right, regardless. Ultimately, we are responsible to God for the choices we make and the impact we have on others.
Prayers of intercession
We pray for the homeless, that they will have opportunities to find a place to stay, and to get back their sense of self-worth … Lord, we pray that they might be rooted and established in love.
We pray for the unemployed, that they will have opportunities to gain necessary skills, and not feel that society doesn’t care … Lord, we pray that they might be rooted and established in love.
We pray for anyone in our congregation going through hard times; help us to help them, and to show them your love … Lord, we pray that they might be rooted and established in love.
We pray for anyone who is sick or suffering, anyone feeling withered or drained of the life blood they need … Lord, we pray that they might be rooted and established in love.
We pray for anyone coming into the fellowship of our church family, that they may quickly feel welcomed and feel a sense of belonging … Lord, we pray that they/we might be rooted and established in love.
We pray for anyone who does not know your love, that you will bring them into contact with a branch of your tree. Lord, we pray that they/we might be rooted and established in love.
We pray for ourselves, our families and our friends, whatever our needs may be … Lord, we pray that we might be rooted and established in love. Amen