An order of service 10th May 2020

A short service

Call to Worship

Lord Jesus, we are here to worship you. Please speak to us, move amongst us, and touch our hearts afresh with your love, that your name may be glorified here today.

We approach God in your name, for you are the Way.

Cast away all falsehood from us as we gather in your presence, for you are the Truth

Remove all that is dead and decaying within us, for you are the true Life.

Amen.

Prayer of Confession*

Dear Lord, we struggle in our lives with doubt, loneliness and fear of the unknown. We look to other sources to answer hard questions, to justify our actions and to seek comfort. Help us to remember that You alone are the source of all our needs; You guide us on the path that leads to joy; You teach us the real truth of life and death; You shine upon us and our lives…

Words of Assurance*

Jesus tells us He wants to be with us always; He wants to comfort us; He promises that with Him all our sins will be forgiven and His mercy will never cease.
Thanks be to God!. Amen.

*from:https://www.fpcomaha.org/i-am-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life/

Bible Reading           John 14:1-7

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe^[a] in God, believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?^[b] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to the place where I am going.”^[c] 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you know me, you will know^[d] my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

REFLECTION

We’ve just come through the seventh week of lockdown. This week has been significant because it marked out the UK as the having the highest coronavirus death toll in all of Europe. The statistics make grim reading. While on there are whispers of lockdown gradually being eased in the forthcoming weeks, the expected details are still worrisome. As has often been said during this time, whatever happens after this, ‘the world can never be the same.’ The ways we live our lives has changed forever. And it is appropriate that into the very specific context in which we live (one shaped forever by coronavirus), that we hear the opening words of Jesus in today’s gospel: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe^[a] in God, believe also in me ” (v.1).

Let’s reflect on these words. Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal with his disciples. He had just said to them that one of them would betray him (Jn 13:21). He had indicated that the next few hours and days were not going to be easy – for him, for them. They were reeling from the staggering announcement that he had just made, that he was going to leave them and be separated from him (13:33). Life as they knew it was never going to be same again. They way they lived was being changed for ever….and Jesus says to them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (v.1a). He said that to them even before they realized they were going to be troubled and anxious. He put aside his own impending suffering and death and focused on comforting them. That’s why in John 13: 1b we read of Jesus: “…having loved his own, he loved them to the end.” And they are told to let go of anxiety and take hold of the all-powerful God, hence: “Believe in God, believe also in me” (v.1b).

We can take heart, for the love of Jesus is such that he always knows what we are going through and he comforts us with his word. Are you worried? Are you anxious at what’s happening around you? Are you fearful of what the future will look like? Or worse still, does everything look blurred and indistinct and unknown? May we hear again those tender, gentle, loving words in our ear: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” May we have the strength and courage to let go of the anxiety in our hearts and replace it with a powerful and quiet trust in God who we know through Jesus.

Jesus encourages his disciples to ‘believe in God’ and then tells them about God’s abode, which his describes as his “Father’s house” (v.2a), a house with “many rooms” (v.2b) which Jesus himself goes to prepare (v.2c). It is interesting to note that this teaching about the father’s house flows out from the preceding statement about believing in God and believe also in Jesus: “Believe in God, believe also in me” (v.1b). All that we know of the Father’s heavenly abode is only through Jesus. In other words, believing in God and therefore in the dwelling place which God provides for those who believe in him becomes a reality when one believes in Jesus. How can this be? Jesus tells his disciples that he himself is going ahead to prepare a place for them in the Father’s presence and he will take them there (v.3b) so that they can all be together (v.3c) and that they “know the way to the place” (v.4). The disciples struggled to understand this teaching “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (v.5).

This question sets the context for one of the most powerful statements in the New Testament: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (v.6). The first part of this saying directly answers Thomas’ question. Jesus is the way, he is true and he gives us life. The second part of the saying provides much food for thought: “No one comes to the Father except through me” (v.6b). The only way to God is through Jesus. The only way to the Father’s heavenly abode with many rooms is through Jesus, for He is the Way (v.6a). Then he emphasized this even further when he says: “If you know me, you will know my Father also” (v.7). Knowing Jesus results in knowing God the Father. To appreciate this, we need to think of the context of the first disciples of Jesus. They hadn’t yet figured that Jesus was indeed divine. They knew he was holy; they knew he was empowered by God, but they didn’t yet know he was God. Therefore, Jesus is making a very radical claim here. To Jesus is to know God. The only way one can come to God is through Jesus. It is here that we need to go back to his saying at the start of chapter 14: “Believe in God, believe also in me” (v.1b). They would have had no difficult with what Jesus said about believing in God. But it is here and now that the second part of the sentence makes sense: “believe also in me!”  Why did they need to believe in Jesus? Because only by believing in Jesus could they know anything about God – the heavenly abode with multiple rooms, the place that has been prepared for all those who believe in God. This is in keeping with John says at the start of his gospel: “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart,^[f] who has made him known” (Jn 1:18). So, to know Jesus is to know all the heavenly blessings that God the Father gives to those who love him.

We thank God for the privilege that is ours. We have not been left on our own to figure out how to relate to God, how to get to God. We know that God has good things in store for us, but we also know that it is so easy to take a meandering path to God, getting distracted by the things that dazzle us and lead us off the path. But thanks be to God that all we have to do is to believe in Jesus and in so doing, we know that he is the Way to God. There is no other way, for he is true, and in him is fulness of life.

Amen

Prayers of Intercession

"A light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower." John 1:5

Loving, ever-living and compassionate God,

You understand the pain of loss, the heartache of bereavement,
May we hold in our hearts all those whose families or friends have died.

You are a light that shines in the darkest times,
Guide us and heal us in our sickness and sorrow.

You comfort us in times of fear,
May we comfort each other, even as we keep apart.

You console and lead us in times of doubt and confusion,
May we follow the light of your love and spread hope.

You move our hearts to acts of generosity,
May we be led to share what we have with those in need.

God of life,

We thank you for the signs of your light in the midst of our darkness,
May we be signs of your compassion in the heart of your world. 

Amen. 

Prayer: Linda Jones/CAFOD

Lord God, we entrust to you the families and communities

affected by Coronavirus, wherever they may be.

We pray especially for health care workers, that you may guide and protect them.

We pray that your Spirit might inspire those researching new medicines and treatments.

And in the midst of this, keep us strong in faith, hope and love. Grant us the courage and perseverance to be good neighbours.

May the words of your Son Jesus Christ in the Our Father,

be our prayer as we entrust ourselves and all of us who are affected

to your infinite power and love. 

Amen.

Adapted from an Ebola prayer by Caritas Guinea

Blessing*

God’s love surround you, God’s Spirit guide you,
God’s whisper cheer you, God’s peace calm you,
God’s shield protect you, God’s wisdom arm you,
wherever God may lead you. Amen.

*from https://www.faithandworship.com/blessings_and_benedictions.html