Please note:
Tis script does not exactly reflect the transmission as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It contains gaps to be filled in at the time, and changes may made be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

The texts of some copyright items have been left out.

Radio 4 Sunday Worship

18 February 2001

from
Wylde Green United Reformed Church

led by the Revds Ken and Meriel Chippindale
Organist and Choirmaster: Philip Bellshaw
Assistant Organist: Stephen Clarke

Radio 4 Opening Announcement:
And now it’s time for Sunday Worship, which today comes from Wylde Green United Reformed Church. The preacher is the Revd Tony Burnham, Moderator of the Free Churches' Council and the service is led by the ministers, the Revds Ken and Meriel Chippindale.

Ken
Good morning and welcome to Wylde Green, which is situated on the edge of Birmingham in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield – "Royal" because of a charter granted in 1528 by Henry VIII to his friend Bishop John Vesey, who was born here. This church was founded just over 100 years ago, and today is a growing congregation which includes many young families.

We seek to serve the local community, and our concern for the wider world is shown through the United Reformed Church's Commitment for Life programme, with links to the Palestinian Territories, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh; and by a flourishing Traidcraft shop within the church itself. To symbolise our desire for peace, we begin each service by lighting a candle for peace.

Choir & Soloist
A Light for Peace
(the candle is lit by a member of the congregation)

Ken
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37 v 3 NRSV

Choir and Congregation
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet thy tribute bring;
ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! praise him"
praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favour
to his people in distress;
praise him still the same for ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless:
Praise him! praise him!
glorious in his faithfulness!

Junior choir
Father-like he tends and spares us;
andwell our feeble frame he knows;
sopranosin his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes:
Praise him! praise him!
widely as his mercy flows!

Descant
Angels, help us to adore him,
ye behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space:
Praise him! praise him!
praise with us the God of grace!
H F Lyte (1793-1847) altd.
based on Psalm 103

Meriel
Loving God, we marvel at your creation
- the vastness of space, and the myriads of galaxies,
- the perfection of a butterfly's wing, or the song of a bird.

We marvel that you came, in Jesus, to live our life, and even to die,
to show your generous, overflowing, love for each one of us.

And we marvel that your Spirit lives in us –
enabling us to respond to you, and to those around us, in love.

Ken
And yet Lord, we turn away from you
We live our lives as if you do not exist
We fail to notice your presence, in the busy-ness we have created.
We cannot hear your voice because we surround ourselves with noise,
and make no space for quiet reflection
We become so immersed in our own concerns, that we forget the needs of others

Meriel
Loving God, help us to turn back to you.

May we know afresh, your great love for us,
your deep longing to forgive us and accept us
- imperfect as we are – as your precious children.

Help us to recognise that to you each one of us is special, and that you love us.

Junior Choir sing "I'm special"

Meriel
And now let us say together the Lord's Prayer

Congregation
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 that 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

Ken
Our preacher today, Tony Burnham, is General Secretary of the
United Reformed Church and Moderator of the Free Churches' Council. His theme is Resurrection Now. What does resurrection mean for us today?

But first we listen to the reading of God's word in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth chapter 15 beginning at verse 15

But, you may ask, how are the dead raised?
In what kind of body?
What stupid questions!
The seed you sow does not come to life unless is has first died;
and what you sow is not the body that shall be, but a bare grain,
of wheat perhaps, or something else;
and God gives it the bodyof his choice,
each seed its own particular body.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead:
what is sown as a perishable thing is raised imperishable.
Sown in humiliation, it is raised in glory;
sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is such a thing as a physical body,
there is also a spiritual body.
It is in this sense that scripture says,
'The first man, Adam, became a living creature,'
whereas the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit.
Observe, the spiritual does not come first;
the physical body comes first, and then the spiritual.
The first man is from earth, made of dust:
the second man is from heaven.
The man made of dust is the pattern of all who are made of dust,
and the heavenly man is the pattern of all the heavenly.
As we have worn the likeness of the man made of dust,
so we shall wear the likeness of the heavenly man.
What I mean, my friends, is this:
flesh and blood can never possess the kingdom of God,
the perishable cannot possess the imperishable. (15: 35-38, 42-50 REB)

Meriel
The anthem, sung by our choir, is John Ireland's "Greater love hath no man"- a setting of texts which speak of God's eternal love, shown in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which invites the response of our lives offered in God's service.

Choir
Greater Love Hath No Man (Ireland)

The resurrected life, part of Jesus' new way, is spelled out in Luke's Gospel chapter 6 beginning at verse 27

But to you who are listening I say :
Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you;
bless those who curse you;
pray for those who treat you spitefully,
If anyone hits you on the cheek,
offer the other also;
if anyone takes your coat,
let him have your shirt as well.
Give to everyone who asks you;
if anyone takes what is yours,
do not demand it back.
Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
If you love only those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
Again, if you do good only to those who do good to you,
what credit is there in that?
Even sinners do as much.
And if you lend only where you expect to be repaid,
what credit is there in that?
Even sinners lend to each other to be repaid in full.
But you must love your enemies and do good,
and lend without expecting any return;
and you will have a rich reward :
you will be sons of the Most High,
because he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate.
(6 : 27-36 REB)

Choir and Congregation

Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.
copyright text excluded

Sermon (1): Tony
Christ is alive shouts Brian Wren's hymn,
reminding us that resurrection is not simply an event in history but that we can experience resurrection now.

I suppose that at sometime most of us have stood in the muddied grass by a graveside, hearing the sound of the soil rattling on the wood as the parson intones earth to earth, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.

It was in the book, Genesis, that God is described as forming a human being from the dust of the ground and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life. (Genesis 2.7 REB) And at death, when we breathe our last, when life leaves us, to the earth we return : from dust to dust.

In Paul's letter to Christians in the city of Corinth, he's trying to help his readers understand resurrection. Well we're still struggling today. Most of us are happy enough to celebrate Easter, and if the different stories about events involving Jesus after his death seem too magical for our rational viewpoint, then we console ourselves with the thought that those who understand these things, are always arguing about the how of Jesus' resurrection. So we cheerfully hum you say eether and I say either and are nearly ready to add let's call the whole thing off.

But we're pulled up sharply by that line in the creed I believe in the resurrection of the body. And those countless references in the New Testament. They make it clear that resurrection is at the heart of the Christian faith. But it's more than just particular references. All four gospels are witness to resurrection. They're not newspaper accounts, or daily diaries, they're actually edited versions of the stories told by the first Christians about Jesus, filtered through the experience of their own resurrection.

Their own resurrection? Usually we present resurrection as something which happens after death. After all, that's what Jesus' resurrection was about and we need to hold on to that for Jesus did actually die. But the heart of the matter, on which all Christians agree, is that in the death of Jesus, God was active, giving us hope. That just as God had shared human life in Jesus, so after death, not only Jesus but we too, share God's glory.

And this is where some of Paul's explanation of resurrection strikes home. He wrote

As we have worn the likeness of the man made of
dust, so shall we wear the likeness of the heavenly
man. (I Cor 15.49)

From Adam, the man of dust, to Jesus, the heavenly man. Death and dust may go together, but so do death and resurrection. Our death, our resurrection.

Now this isn't the language of the scientist. It's a spiritual insight in everyday language, that wearing the likeness of Adam, made of dust, we are united in a common humanity. Yet now what the scientists are confirming through their studies in the genome project is that all life is a unity. The headlines put it sharply and simply, humans have only twice as many genes as a fruit-fly and there may be greater diversity within African people than between Africans and Caucasians. Biologically there's no such thing as race. Life is a unity.

And that common humanity was shared by Jesus. He was born, he lived and died, one of us. For all his wisdom, all his virtue, all he revealed about God, he was a creature of dust. Astonishingly, most of his actual genes were the same as ours. Yet, in his death, God was there, in action, for us. That's resurrection but we too shall wear the likeness of that heavenly man. With Jesus we can know resurrection now.

Choir
Fairest Lord Jesus,
Lord of all creation,
Son of God and Mary's son;
you will I cherish, you will I honour,
you are my soul's delight and crown.

Fair are the flowers,
fairer still the human race
in all the freshness of youth arrayed;
yet is their beauty fading and fleeting;
Lord Jesus, yours will never fade.

Jesus, all beauty,
heavenly and earthly,
in you is wondrously found to be;
none can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
than you, my Saviour, are to me.

When I am dying,
still on you relying,
suffer me not from your arms to fall;
at my last hour, come in your power,
Lord Jesus, be my all in all.
Anon. (German, 1677) altd. tr. Lilian Stevenson (1870-1960) and others

Tony (2)
That old seventeenth century hymn ended with a prayer, when I am dying……at my last hour, come in your power, Lord Jesus be my all in all. A comforting plea that we may wear the likeness of Jesus, the heavenly man. That God can be active in us but not only at the end of life. There is resurrection now. Those first Christians knew that. And it was because of their own experience that they were so confident in telling those strange stories about Jesus' appearances after death.

But they also told own stories of their own resurrection of how God changed them. There's Peter, the disciple who, after Jesus was arrested, while warming himself at the ashes of a charcoal fire, denied that he knew him. After the crucifixion, in despair, he'd gone fishing and then, by the ashes of a fire on the shore, he'd reversed his denials with expressions of love. The description of Peter, leaping from the boat, swimming ashore, and emerging from the water wearing his coat, is a picture of resurrection. Ashes to ashes, and Peter put on the likeness of the heavenly man. This seemingly unstable man became the rock on which the Christian Church was built. Peter was changed. God was active in him. His life gave God the glory. Resurrection now.

Y'see, when we read that Jesus said love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully…..and….. treat others as you would like them to treat you (Luke 6 : 27-28,31) we know that such values and ways of living are beyond us, beyond the achievements of people of dust. And yet, wearing the likeness of the resurrected Jesus, ourselves resurrected now, God's Spirit changing us can show in us, the glory of life in God's Kingdom.

Christianity at its best has been seen, in the dedicated, saintly lives of women and men who have spread their arms in faith to wear the likeness of the heavenly man. Their meeting with God in Jesus has changed them, given them new life, resurrection now. There are the saints whose names everyone knows, a St Francis, a Mother Teresa, but some of the best examples are those whose names are not well known. I think of one woman, comfortably off, whose home in Old Trafford became a calling point for tramps. She'd feed them, trim their hair and because it was what they needed most, cut their toenails. Resurrection isn't just a big bang miracle for the one we call the Son of God, it's when now, a person changed by God, in imitation of Christ, lives for others.

In the religious market of today, it may be that Christianity won't be a big seller, because what is on offer is the call to follow Jesus, it's not primarily about self-fulfilment but the denial of self. Yet if that seems too hard for us to accomplish, then God's gift is new life, resurrection now.

But we cannot believe in the resurrection of the body apart from the body of Christ, represented on earth now by those who come together, joined as sisters, brothers, finding him in others (R&S 274 v3). It is in community, expressed in worship and service that we are better able to live the resurrection life. But that's not about withdrawing from the world and its people. Adam, the man made of dust is the prototype of the whole human race. Socially as well as biologically related, all people are being called by God to enter into a new relationship with each other. And that's not just one to one, it's also as citizens together in God's kingdom.

But it's not only the people of the world, to whom God is ready to give new life. The very dust, which the ancient story says was moulded and into which God blew the breath of life, is all in need of transformation. The Genome project has demonstrated biologically what every day we sense more and more, not just the unity of life but the unity of the whole of creation. Human life is bonded to the earth and to its creatures. Our prayer for the earth as well is resurrection now.

God's promise then is that everyone and everything related to Adam shall wear the likeness of the glorified Jesus, shall be made new. Resurrection gives us hope, for no matter how despairing we are about our own lives or the future of the world and its peoples, Christ is alive. God took the one wearing the likeness of the man of dust and surrounded him with heavenly glory. And the promise is that new life may be ours too. And so we have hope, for God is good, God is truth, God is beauty. Praise him.

Choir and Congregation
God is love, his the care
Percy Dearmer (1867-1936)
copyright text excluded

Prayers
Thank you God
for giving us life :
for parents and those who care for us;
for schools and those who teach us;
for friends and those who help us.

Thank you God
for Jesus
for his stories about you
for his love for all people
and for making everyone special.

Choir
Thro' our lives and by our prayers,
your kingdom come.

Voice (2)
Gracious God, by the resurrection of Jesus, you bring new life and hope, we pray for all Christian people that as they meet in different parts of the church to worship you, they may be united by your Holy Spirit.

We pray for our partner churches in Sutton Coldfield……………and for our partners in Palestinian territories and Zimbabwe that they may receive the gift of peace; and in Jamaica and Bangladesh as they seek economic justice.

We pray also, remembering the various needs of those who share in our worship today……………… especially that those who mourn may have your gift of hope in the resurrection to eternal life.

Choir
Thro' our lives and by our prayers,
your kingdom come.

Voice (3)
And finally we pray for the world
that your gifts of peace and justice
may recreate the earth with the garden you intended.

We pray today for those places where there is
no peace………………………………………………………………We ask that all peoples may unite to share the earth's resources fairly, remembering the people of El Salvador suffering the effects of earthquakes………………………… Gracious God, listen to our cries and answer us, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son. Amen

Choir
Thro' our lives and by our prayers,
your kingdom come.

Ken
We close with a glorious hymn of the resurrection, using the translation by the United Reformed hymn writer, Alan Gaunt,

Yours is the glory, resurrected one.

copyright text excluded

Choir and Congregation

Blessing
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead,
he gave us new birth into a living hope.
The blessing of God, Father, Son and Spirit
be with us all, for ever and ever.Amen

Organ Voluntary

Radio 4 Closing Announcement:

Sunday Worship came today from Wylde Green United Reformed Church in Sutton Coldfield where the preacher was the Revd Tony Burnham. The choir was conducted by Stephen Clarke and the organist was Philip Bellshaw. The producer was Stephen Shipley.

Next week Sunday Worship celebrates the bicentenary of Cardinal Newman and comes from Birmingham Oratory.

Bible texts from The Revised English Bible, published by OUP