Come everyone, come and see.
We come to see the Saviour, the Lamb of God.
Come and seek him, come and ask him.
We come to stay a while with him.
Come and see, then go and tell.
Then go and tell some more.
STF 57 Let all the world in every corner sing
Prayer of Adoration
Welcoming Lord,
thank you that you invite us to come and see.
You extended a warm welcome to us.
Thank you that you invite us to stay and eat with you.
Thank you that we can draw closer to you.
We worship you, O faithful one,
knowing that you have chosen us.
We are honoured in your sight,
and you have become our strength.
Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Lamb of God,
who takes away the sins of the world:
have mercy on us.
Father God, you invited us to come and see,
And we turned the other way.
You offered us a warm welcome,
And we did not extend that welcome to others.
You invited us to tell others about you,
And we turned away and chose not to.
You invited us to come and eat,
And we chose to eat elsewhere.
You came as a sacrificial lamb,
And we allowed you to be crucified.
Lamb of God,
who takes away the sins of the world:
have mercy on us
Assurance of forgiveness
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
we have been washed clean by your blood,
by your sacrifice upon the cross.
We have been made whole in you
and you invite us to walk with you fresh each day.
Thank you for wiping the slate clean.
Amen.
A prayer of praise and thanksgiving
Thank you, Lord, that you have always welcomed us;
thank you for your invitation.
You invited us to come and see;
thank you for your invitation.
To come and see your goodness;
thank you for your invitation.
To come and see your kindness;
thank you for your invitation.
To come and see your generous hospitality;
thank you for your invitation.
To come and see your miracles;
thank you for your invitation.
To come and see that you died for us on the cross;
thank you for your invitation.
To come and see the freedom we now have in you;
thank you for your invitation.
Freedom to be the people you have called us to be;
thank you for your invitation.
Thank you.
Amen.
Reading John 1:29-42
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
Extra Bible readings are: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
STF 248 I heard the voice of Jesus say
Reflection
Since we began 2023, social media has been a funny old place to observe. Some of you would say it has always been a peculiar place. Years ago, it used to be a place where you caught up with family and friends and shared your life with but now even with privacy settings – its rather a public place open to all sorts of interpretation and often can cause mixed emotions. At the moment, there are lots of people who are selling their products and wanting to help you to make better use of social media and to sell yourself. It sees the human as a thing to be advertised and promoted and you can buy into all kinds of people to help you to become a product and not a person. Social Media has become a place for the church to be present in all sorts of ways: advertising, sharing prayers, telling stories, 60 second sermons and reflections etc etc…..a place for the church to sell itself I suppose in the hope that we get more followers. In turn to introduce people to the Christian story and ultimately accept Christ for themselves.
During the time of Jesus, following someone meant using your feet. Rabbis gathered the crowds and had followers. During my time in the Holy Land with a church group in 2016, I learnt many things that I didn’t know – some of which was about Rabbi’s and followers. Rabbi’s had to be 30 during the time of Jesus which, as we know, is when Jesus began his ministry. He would have spent time following a rabbi – a disciple in training if you like. From our reading today we know that John the Baptist had some followers too but John chose to point them to God’s chosen one, the son of God, the Messiah – Jesus.
What John the Baptist did was so effective that Andrew and Simon Peter went to see for themselves and chose to follow Jesus. This wasn’t a master plan, no training to advertise in a certain way and John didn’t pay anyone to help him…..John the Baptist pointed his followers to Jesus who went and saw for themselves. They in turn told others and invited others to see for themselves. These followers were so fascinated by Jesus that they did the same. People came. People Saw. People told…….repeatedly. The truth told was simple: we have found the Messiah, come and see.
This story has continued down the generations to us and we too are the ones who come and see. We are the followers. We are the followers of Jesus. We are the ones who need to invite others to come and see. We are the ones who need to tell. John the Baptist told Andrew ‘Look, the Lamb of God.’ Jesus invited Andrew to ‘come and see’. Andrew did and invited his brother to do the same. Who are you going to invite to come and see this week? If you are a user of social media, can you consider how this may be part of how you exercise your invitations to others to come and see and meet with Jesus.
This week may we find the confidence, the words and the actions to tell someone about Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, help us to come with open hearts and minds,
eager to spend time with you,
longing to learn more about you,
wanting to take more of who you are
out to the world –
until everyone has come to you.
Amen.
Activity: ponder these questions
- Who is this Jesus we are asked to tell others about?
Find a piece of paper and write out names, titles or descriptions of Jesus heard in our Gospel readings today then add other names of Jesus that you can think of.
- How does what you have written help you in daily worship and in speaking out your faith and who you believe in?
- Who can you invite to come and see?
STF 495 Dear Lord and Father of mankind
Prayers of Intercession
O Lord our God, as we bring our prayers for others to you now, we are aware of our inadequacies to help more and do more. We come to you, none the less, trusting in your power and your love. We see the needs around us and for them we pray.
For all those who are struggling with decisions as to whether to strike or work, seek more pay, better conditions or go with the flow that we all face at present. For Union leaders, those on the front line, politicians and all involved in deciding what is right and affordable and just and fair.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For countries in deep poverty where there is no extra support, no pay, let alone pay rises, no good conditions let alone better conditions.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For an end to the political unrest around the world where stable lives are being unsteadied and futures being made more uncertain. In countries where one party seems no better than another. Where political unrest seems to be escalating more and more. For Iran, Brazil, Ukraine.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For those in our own government seeking to resolve the Northern Ireland protocol and all the red tape involved, all the differing views, hopes and aspirations. Help all to come to see the needs, the realities and the way forward.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For those areas of the world where storms and floods and fires are still wreaking havoc. May those who are seeking resolutions for the climate come together, listen to each other, see the need and move towards sustainable action.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For the frightened and the fearful and the voiceless in societies who have no good news to tell, no stories to encourage, no history they of worth to repeat to other generations. For the rootless and the lost who see no path ahead and no point to the future.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For the ill and the suffering whose pain overwhelms them, physical or mental, bring them you comfort your love, your word of truth, your light in dark days.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
For those who we know personally who need our prayers and your love… May we tell them of your love, your promises and life eternal.
Lord, our God:
hear our prayer.
All our prayers we offer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
STF 347 Crown him with many crowns
Sending out Prayer
Lord, you invited us to come and see
and you opened our eyes to your wonders.
We have been transformed by our encounter.
Now give us the courage to go and tell,
to share who you are with others we meet,
so they too may be transformed by you.
Amen.
All prayers are from © ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com) 2002-2022.
Reproduced with permission.
