As we come before God… StF 624
Calm me Lord, as You calmed the storm
Still me Lord, keep me from harm
Let all the tumult within me cease
Enfold me, Lord in Your peace.
C: SPCK Publishing
Call To Worship:
Come, all you people,
wandering and lost, far from home.
Come to the shepherd –
the one who guides us,
the one who remakes us,
and the one who will bring us to safety.
Listen! The shepherd is calling!
Listen! The shepherd is searching for you.
Listen! He is calling you by name.
Hymn: StF 51
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
C: 1953 renewed 1951 Hope Publishing Co.
Prayer of praise and confession:
Gracious God,
we celebrate your love as we worship this morning.
Raise our spirits in Jesus’ name
as we lift our hearts and voices to you
You count each one of us as your own.
You know us by name and by nature.
We worship you.
In Christ you have gone ahead that we might follow.
In Christ you have opened springs of living water that we might be refreshed.
In Christ you have conquered death that we might live without fear.
We know your voice,
the voice that draws us closer,
the voice that sends us out,
the voice that injustice cannot silence,
the voice that sets the prisoner free.
Merciful God,
we are your people,
and yet we have wandered far from your presence.
We have turned our ears from your voice and listened to other voices –
the voice of greed, the voice of selfishness,
the voices of arrogance and pride.
You have offered us abundance of life,
but we have settled for so much less.
Forgive us.
Silence
Our God is like a good shepherd,
never giving up on those who are lost,
always ready to welcome the wanderer home.
Hear these words and take them to heart.
You are already forgiven.
Therefore live as one who is forgiven,
in the name of Christ.
Amen.
Readings:
Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Revelation 7:9-17
9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
17 for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
John 10:22-30
22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
Hymn: StF 20
Be still, for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One, is here;
Come bow before him now
with reverence and fear:
In him no sin is found –
we stand on holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord,
the Holy One, is here.
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
is shining all around;
He burns with holy fire,
with splendour he is crowned:
How awesome is the sight –
our radiant King of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord
is shining all around.
Be still, for the power of the Lord
is moving in this place;
He comes to cleanse and heal,
to minister his grace –
No work too hard for him.
In faith receive from him.
Be still, for the power of the
Lord is moving in this place.
C: 1986 Thankyou Music admin Kingswaysongs
Reflection:
We lived and worked in Cumbria for a while. Those of you who know the area will know that everywhere you look there are fells, fields, sheep, and cattle. Around February we looked forward to the new lambs. We could walk through a small nursery field five minutes’ walk from home and watch them being born. Most of the people I worked with were sheep farmers and I soon learnt that shepherding sheep was not the easiest occupation. It didn’t matter whether it was minus 10 outside, hail, rain, or snow, they’d be out looking after their animals, especially during lambing. Radio Cumbria broadcast a regular Lamb Bank, matching orphaned lambs with ewes who had lost their own.
Living there, especially during the time of Foot and Mouth, gave me a whole new perspective on Psalm 23 and just how much God does for us. Even when we don’t recognise it or we reach the point where life is so tough we just don’t want to know, he is still there with us.
We live in a beautiful world, where there is much to celebrate, so much for which we can give thanks, yet there is also much fear and uncertainty. When I watched the news this morning, there was little good news to celebrate.
The words of Psalm 23 are words that speak to the heart and the mind, words full of promise,
Promise that we shall know contentment and guidance,
Promise that we shall know abundance and blessing,
Promise that we shall dwell in the presence of God for ever.
There are no commands, no instructions about how we should behave or what we should do, they tell us about who God is and what God will do.
But there is much more to this psalm than just comforting words, it goes much, much deeper and offers us a knowledge and experience of God that can help us to embrace every event in human experience with faith, courage, integrity and hope. Jesus will never let us go, even though we may not know the way ahead, or feel we do not have enough to meet the challenges ahead.
To think about…..
Which words from the psalm stand out for you?
Think about writing your own version of Psalm 23, focussing on how God is with us in all the ups and downs of life.
Hymn: StF 626
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know You are near
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You
C: 2005 Thankyou Music Admin: worshiptogether.com
Prayer of intercession:
We pray for those dependent on the charity of others…
Open our eyes to see their needs,
and strengthen our hands to make a difference.
We pray for those subject to the cruelty of others…
Open our eyes to see their needs,
and strengthen our hands to make a difference.
We pray for those who bear responsibility for others…
Open our eyes to see their needs,
and strengthen our hands to make a difference.
We pray for those who long for the companionship of others…
Open our eyes to see their needs,
and strengthen our hands to make a difference.
We pray for those bowed down with illness,
for those who are dying.
Open our eyes to see their needs,
and strengthen our hands to make a difference.
We offer our prayers in the name of Jesus as we say the words he taught his disciples:
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 who 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
Hymn: StF 503
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art.
Visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
Come, Almighty, to deliver,
let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never,
never more they temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
Finish, then, thy new creation;
true and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love and praise.
Charles Wesley
Blessing:
God of all our coming in and our going out,
of our past, present and our future,
of all the ups and downs of life,
give us bright hope that all shall be well.
Help us to trust in your promises.
Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour
and power and might
be to our God for ever and ever!
Amen.
Prayers adapted from Rootsontheweb
