Call to worship
Ever seeking God we open our hearts to you the one who seeks us even when we feel lost and alone. Amen.
Hymn StF 55 “Immortal invisible, God only wise”
1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most Blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might —
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
3 To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render: O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
5 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most Blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Walter Chalmers Smith (1824–1908)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 55 .
Prayer
God the care-taker, your children come before you:
enfold us safely.
God the note-taker, we come to be counted:
let our presence count.
God the risk-taker, seek those of us who have gone astray:
help us to do likewise.
Amen.
Loving God, we confess that often we stray from your presence. Most of the time, it isn’t wilful – just distracted by greener grass, perhaps, or the urge to explore new things. We go our own way, until we are lost. Or, like the lost coin, something happens to separate us from you and we roll into hidden corners, lost. There are so many of us that we don’t expect you to notice. What is the loss of one of your children when you have so many more still safe in the fold? Yet it does matter to you – and you come seeking.
We confess that we don’t pay our brothers and sisters the same attention that you pay us. They wander off and we don’t notice. We don’t ask why, or try to bring them back. Forgive us for not loving others as you love us, and help us to do better.
Amen.
Collect Prayer
God our redeemer,
who called your Church to witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself;
help us to proclaim the good news of your love
that all who hear it may be reconciled to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn StF440 “Amazing grace”
- Amazing grace – how sweet the sound –
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see. - God’s grace has taught my heart to fear,
his grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed! - Through may dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
God’s grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home. - The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
- And, when this heart and flesh shall fail
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
a life of joy and peace. - When we’ve been there ten thousand years
bright shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
than when we first begun.John Newton (1725-1807)
Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-10
(1) Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. (2) And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (3) So he told them this parable: (4) “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? (5) When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. (6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ (7) Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (8) “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (9) When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ (10) Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Address
The stories that we heard from the gospel reading today are about searching to find the lost.
In these stories we are told about the shepherd searching for a lost sheep and the woman searching for the lost coin that would have been precious to her because it would probably have been one of those stitched on the head dress of her wedding outfit.
The one thing that both of these little stories have in common is that neither the shepherd or the woman give up looking for what they have lost until it is found.
Jesus says that our God is like the shepherd and like the woman. God searches for the lost and God does not give up searching until that which has been lost is found.
There are times when all of us have a sense of lostness when we are left wondering where we are and what life means. We may sometimes feel deserted and alone
Yet the good news is that though we may feel deserted we are not truly. For God knows that we are lost and God is searching for us. Seeking to meet us in our lostness. God will not give up on us – God will carry on searching for us until he finds us and we are able to discover what it means to be brought safely home.
Yet as Christians isn’t our role to be like God isn’t it our job to search for the lost too. Especially those who are frightened and have stopped shouting for help. This is why I believe we can never go along with popular public opinion which would shut the doors of our country to asylum seekers and refugees these folk more than anyone need our love our care, and our compassion.
God will never give up on us, and we must never give up on those who are the furthest from home and the most lost.
We need to reach out in love and care.
God seeks to rescue the lost and we must do the same. We cannot afford to be choosy about who we show compassion to because Jesus tells us that if we do it is we who are the ones who are truly lost. Amen
Hymn StF 462 “Come with me, come wander”
- Come with me, come wander, come welcome the world
where strangers might smile, or stones might be hurled;
come leave what you cling to, lay down what you clutch
and find, with hands empty, that hearts can hold much.
Sing hey for the carpenter leaving his tools!
Sing hey for the Pharisees leaving their rules!
Sing hey for the fishermen leaving their nets!
Sing hey for the people who leave their regrets!
- Come walk in my company, come sleep by my side,
come savour a lifestyle with nothing to hide;
come sit at my table and eat with my friends,
discovering that love which world never ends. - Come share in my laughter, come close to my fears,
come find yourself washed with the kiss of my tears;
come stand close at hand while I suffer and die
and find in three days how I never will lie. - Come leave your possessions, come share out your treasure,
come give and receive without method or measure;
come loose every bond that’s resisting the Spirit,
enabling the earth to be yours to inherit.
John Bell (b.1949) and Graham Maule (b.1958)
A song to reflect upon…
by Matt Maher on “Alive again”
It don’t have a job,
don’t pay your bills
Won’t buy you a home in Beverly Hills
Won’t fix your life in five easy steps
Ain’t the law of the land
or the government.
But it’s all you need…
Love will hold us together
Make us a shelter to weather the storm
And I’ll be my brother’s keeper
So the whole world will know
that we’re not alone.
Its waiting for you
knocking at your door
In the moment of truth
when your heart hits the floor
And you’re on your knees…
Love will hold us together,
make us a shelter to
weather the storm
And I’ll be my brother’s keeper
So the whole world will
know that we’re not alone.
This is the first day of the rest of your life
This is the first day of the rest of your life
‘Cause even in the dark you can still see the light
It’s gonna be alright,
It’s gonna be alright,
This is the first day of the rest of your life,
This is the first day of the rest of your life.
‘Cause even in the dark you can still see the light
It’s gonna be alright,
It’s gonna be alright,
Love will hold us together,
make us a shelter to
weather the storm
And I’ll be my brother’s keeper
So the whole world will
know that we’re not alone.
Prayer
Loving God, we thank you for being God of both the bigger picture and the tiny details. No creature in your creation is too insignificant to escape your notice; no person is too unimportant to be missed by you. We thank you for your care and concern for all who have gone astray, and for taking the risk to seek them out. Amen..
No creature in your creation is too insignificant to escape your notice; no person is too unimportant to be missed by you. We thank you for your care and concern for all who have gone astray, and for taking the risk to seek them out. Amen.
Loving God you know that we live in a anxious world and sometimes we have cause to be anxious because we have made life more difficult for ourselves and others than it need be.
We ignore the needs of the plants and animals of our planet and fill it full of plastic and greenhouse gases, then look to you for answers like naughty teenagers expecting their mum and dad to come home to sort out the problems when a wild party has got out of hand. You remind us that you love us, and forgive us for our carelessness, yet you call upon us to take responsibility for our own mess and to learn to clean up after ourselves.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God we worry about our country. Following the appointment of Liz Truss as our new Prime Minister we pray for her and all our political leaders that they may think clearly and act with compassion to meet the needs of all people in this time of economic and diplomatic crisis.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God, we know that the cares of the world can draw us away from you
Like a coin falling into the shadows,
sudden misfortune enters our lives and we are lost,
rolling away from all that held us safe.
We pray for all those affected by serious illness,
breakdown of relationships or loss of employment.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God, the temptations of the world can lead us astray
Like sheep sighting a patch of greener grass,
we go after what is new and more exciting.
We pray for all who are tempted away
from what is right, meaningful and good.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
Where darkness has descended, Lord,
when more attractive propositions beckon,
we pray that people won’t forget you –
because you won’t forget them.
And as you love and care for us,
so may we look out for one another –
to seek and to bring safely home.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn StF 465 Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
1 Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore;
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open thou the crystal fountain
whence the healing stream shall flow;
let the fiery, cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through:
strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield;
be thou still my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death, and hell’s destruction,
and me safe on Canaan’s side:
songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
I will ever give to thee.
William Williams (1717–1791)
translated by Peter Williams (1727–1796)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 465
Blessing
Go now and be God’s care-takers; take care of his flock.
Go now and be God’s risk-takers; seek out the lost.
And may his presence surround you,
his grace grant you courage,
and his Spirit guide you. Amen.
