Hi everyone, my name is Mick Woodhead and with my wife Tricia, we lead STC Sheffield. It’s Holy Week! This is a special week in the life of every follower of Jesus worldwide and it is a very significant week in our church here at STC Sheffield. We love Holy Week; do check out the Holy Week Schedule on our website – lots of opportunities for you/your family & friends to be part of this amazing week.

A special part of our week are our evening meditations. Each evening Monday to Thursday the church family and others gather for our evening meditations with worship, prayer, silence and visual presentations. During these meditations there will be a short talk each evening given by a different speaker on the theme of ‘love’ with reflections on four bible passages from the gospel of John. Four opportunities for Jesus to speak to us about ‘love’ – the foundational truth of our faith. Four opportunities for the Lord to speak to us about what it means to follow him and be agents of his goodness in our everyday lives. You can then hear each talk on this Podcast the following day.

REFLECTION

‘Love’ – the scene is set today by considering THE great bible reading on love; a reading which is still one of the most popular at weddings – chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. These words were written to followers of Jesus two thousand years ago encouraging them to re-examine their lives, to re-examine their lives as a church community – to see if love is at the centre of who they are and the power behind all they do.

The description of love in these verses is one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament. The writer, Paul, places it in the middle of his teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ and describing the importance of these gifts for the church to be healthy. Paul is saying that Gods gifts are so important but love is even more important, in fact in v31 of chapter 12 he calls it ‘the most excellent way’. He says to the people then and to us today as we begin this Holy Week that everything we do should be done in love. So what is this ‘love’?

Paul then lists sixteen characteristics of love in verses 4 – 8a; I’m going to read them now from The Message bible

‘Love never gives up

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first”,

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

It takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end

Love never dies’ (vv.4–8a, MSG).

Every time I read these verses I am challenged – this is love shown in the life of Jesus; this is the life I am called to live. Every day I fall short but every day, by God’s grace, through his Holy Spirit and with my intent (you need all three!) I grow in his life of love a little more. Just imagine if these amazing verses were constantly read, learnt and practiced in homes our homes, schools, workplaces … what a different world we would live in!

Love is permanent – everything else is temporary. The older I get and the longer I have been following Jesus, the more I understand that the greatest thing in the world is love. Paul ends this great chapter with these words in verse 13: ‘Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly – and the best of the three is love’.

PRAYER

Lord, we so need your love in our world today. Help me to draw close to you this Holy Week through prayer, a church service,