Worship at Home - By David Godfrey

Middlesbrough and Eston Circuit - Sunday 8th February 2026

Hymn:  StF106, H&P 29 “God whose almighty word”  

Prayers:

Confession and words of assurance (adapted from rootsontheweb.com):  

Forgive us, merciful God, when we disappoint you with our complacency, our half-heartedness, our hypocrisy.  Forgive us when we are all words and no action, or all action and no integrity.  Forgive us when we let you down, when we let down those around us, when we let ourselves down.  In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Eternal God, in you we trust for grace to begin again, for faith to act justly, for strength to stand up courageously and for humility to recognise our need of all these things and more.  Amen.

Reading: Matthew 5:13-20

Reflection:

Salt is one of our most important commodities, yet we so often take it for granted.  We use it for flavouring, preserving, gritting roads and even for cleaning stains.  The best salt comes from the sea and is normally used for flavouring food.  It is made by evaporating sea water and is very expensive to buy.  Lesser salt comes from mines and is impure.  This is the kind of salt that is cheaper and thrown underfoot to grit paths or roads.  Given our various uses of salt, what did Jesus mean when he said, ‘you are the salt of the earth’?   

One of the properties of salt is that a little goes a long way.  When we think of the first disciples there must have been times when they felt totally overwhelmed by the task that lay before them.  There were so few of them, but they were called to make a big difference.  Like the expensive kind of salt they were called to flavour the world with Jesus’s values of generous, self giving love.  And their work, together with Jesus, was a glorious example of a little going a long way.  In fact Jesus talked a lot about small things making a big difference. Elsewhere, he spoke of the kingdom of heaven being like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a mighty tree, or like yeast worked into flour to make dough.  The disciples may not have felt this at the time, but actually they were acting as the most expensive kind of salt.  By living the values of the kingdom of heaven they were flavouring the whole world and making a huge difference to the lives of many people.   

And now Jesus calls us to do the same.  If we are to act as salt for Christ, it means that we must come out of the salt cellar to flavour schools, workplaces, charitable organisations, politics and family life.  We do this  by living the counter cultural values of Christ’s self giving love.  It is this that makes such a difference, because it cascades outwards changing people and even transforming society.  In this we follow Jesus himself who lived and proclaimed God’s kingdom.  May his love and grace be seen in us, that God’s kingdom may grow today and change the world.   

Hymn:  StF 167 “Colours of day dawn into the mind”

Prayers:  

Intercessions:   Loving God bring hope and light to our world.  Bring your healing to Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran in particular and we pray for justice and peace in all regions where there is war.  We pray for the leaders of the nations that they might work together for the good of all people.  We hold your Church in the light too, as it seeks to share your love in places where there is hatred and great discord.  We pray for the communities in which we live and for those we know who are suffering from economic challenges, the break down of relationships, bereavement, or ill health.  Bring transformation and your divine peace to our world.  We offer our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,  Amen.

Our Father…

Hymn: StF 504, H&P 739 “May the mind of Christ my Saviour”

Blessing:

  As we leave our time of worship, may we take on the challenge of becoming salt and light for Christ in the world.  May our words and actions spread the love of Christ far and wide, and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us always.

Amen.