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06. The Welcoming of Love

Monday 19th Feb 

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(for more details see here)

 

Pause:


Your love, shining like the sun
Pouring like the rain
Raging like the storm
Refreshing me again
O, I receive Your love

Your grace, frees me from the past
It purges every sin
It purifies my heart
And heals me from within
O, I receive Your grace

Pour over me, pour over me
Let Your rain flood this thirsty soul
Pour over me Your waves of love
Pour over me

I come and lay my burden down
Gladly at Your feet
I'm opening up my heart
Come make this joy complete
O, I receive Your peace

Pour over me, pour over me
Let Your rain flood this thirsty soul
Pour over me Your waves of love
Pour over me
STUART TOWNSEND

Today's reading: John 13. 3-11

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Kneeling in front of us, towel around His waist, and bowl in His hands, Jesus is silently saying to us - to you and to me:

You have to let me love you.
As in - really love you.


Don't forget - I know you. As in really know you.
I know you better than anyone else - even yourself.
I know how strange this feels to let me see what you would rather remained hidden
to touch the dirtiest part of you
to wash the ugliness away from you

But you have to let me
You have to let me love you
As - really let me love you
 

Which is hard because I know your heart will squirm around in grace much more even than your foot in cold water
Feeling unworthy, fearing rejection
Wanting first to cover up, or settle a debt knowing you have insufficient funds

But this is love - applied right where it is needed most
Not love as a word - I never intended it to be the platitude it has become -
But love willing to go to even the most profoundly painful places

Because unless you let me hold your most filthiest regrets, your utter shame, your deepest embarrassments...
And though it is true that I already know them all - there is a beauty and power in giving them over to me...
Unless there in my hands you allow me to see
How will you fully know what is the deepest truth about you:
You are fully known and...
You are fully loved

Don't try and wash yourself before you come to me - there are stains only my nail-pierced hands can remove
You have to let me wash you
You have to let me love you
You have to let me in

As I come to you, towel around my waist, bowel in my hands
My work of love for you
My work of love in you

Will you let me see you?
Will you let me wash you? 
Will you let me 
love you?
Will you welcome my love?


 

Reflection: The Welcoming of Love

"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

JOHN 13.8

Peter is so often the spokesperson for the group.
He so often voices the unspoken thoughts.
He so often speaks for me.

"You Lord?!" he blurts out - more of a raw reaction that considered response:
"No, no, no, no - this is all wrong! You, of all people, can't wash my feet..." 

It wasn't necessarily coming from an awful place - in fact, Peter says this because of how highly he holds Jesus... but Jesus won't let even that define the kind of relationship He desires with us.

Close enough to serve even our most menial and degrading of needs.
That's where He wants to be.
I know that will jar with us, so let me say that again:
Close...
Close enough to serve...
Close enough to serve even our most menial...
Close enough to serve even our most menial and degrading of needs...

That is right where He wants to be.
 

Questions for today:

What I am hiding from Jesus?
What do I recoil from Him seeing and knowing, and touching and cleansing?
Can I welcome His more and more of His love today?
 

Prayer:

"Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean."

JOHN 13.10

Many have seen this as a picture of us having been bathed (or baptised) and "washing our sins away" (Acts 22:16) returning to Jesus, not needing to start all over again, but simply to wash our feet. Our feet here perhaps symbolising of that part of us that comes into contact with the world more than any other.

As we pray today,
Imagine Jesus' hands open before you
Remind yourself that there is nothing He didn't already about you when He chose to die for you
What will you place into His hands today?
Where will you welcome His love?
 

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways,
to the glory of Your Name.
Amen. 

BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER


Now hear afresh the promise of God:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 JOHN 1. 8-9

Welcome His love
Know that you are known
Know that you are forgiven
Know that you are purified
Know that you are His
Know His Presence
Know

Welcome His love

 I prayed this.

My prayer for today: (if you would like to, please feel free to add your own prayer here):


 


Glenys
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

 

Where and When

The church is open for activities throughout the week but if you are just seeking us out it is likely that you will want to come and be a part of our Sunday worship which is core to what we are about.
We meet in the main church building (details here) at 10:30 each week. See our calendar to find out plans for the next few weeks.

Accessibility

There is wheelchair access and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer and church lounge.

Our Sunday Services


Sunday morning services are structured but informal. They include a mix of both contemporary and traditional worship songs and hymns, prayers, readings from the Bible and a sermon that unpacks this. Occasionally we will also have specific updates about ways that God has been working through and in people and activities. Once a month we celebrate communion as part of the service. The last Sunday of the month is usually an Altogether Service when all ages are all together in one place for a more relaxed and activity based time of worship.

We aim to finish at about 11.45 to Midday when we serve free tea, coffee and cold drinks. This is a great opportunity to get to meet people.

Sunday Evening services, either in person or online, tend to be shorter and more reflective and are an opportunity to dig a little deeper into our relationship with God.
 

What about the children and youth?

We have a great programme for children of all ages, for more information about what happens please visit our Children and Youth page.

Getting Connected

 

Small Groups

It is often in smaller gatherings that we can really get to know other people. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some in the afternoon and some in the evening either in the church, in peoples’ homes or online    .
If you are interested in joining a Small Group, let us know and we can put you in touch with the small group coordinator who will be more than happy to find a group that is convenient for you and introduce you to the group leader.

Get Involved

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the life of our church. If you'd like to find out more, please let us know.

Get in touch with us to plan your visit
If you would like to discuss anything before you visit the church, get in touch and we can arrange a time to chat with you.
 
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