Worship at Home
Worship for the week beginning 29th May 2022
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Sunday 29th May
Rev David Speirs has prepared this week’s message.
This short act of worship is for use from home. Please use this service whenever you like during the week.
Pause to settle yourself in God’s presence, knowing that other people are sharing in worship with you.
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© ROOTS for Churches Ltd www.rootsontheweb.com. Reproduced with permission.
Opening Prayer:
Gracious God, you call us into your holy presence; gifting us your love in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Bless this time of worship so that we might be changed by you and be made more like your son Jesus, in whose name we pray.
Amen.
StF 335 – Rejoice the Lord is King
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore;
mortals, give thanks, and sing,
and triumph evermore:
[Refrain] Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
rejoice! Again I say: Rejoice!
Jesus the Saviour reigns,
the God of truth and love;
when he had purged our stains,
he took his seat above: [Refrain]
His kingdom cannot fail,
he rules both earth and heaven;
the keys of death and hell
are to our Jesus given: [Refrain]
He sits at God’s right hand
till all his foes submit,
and bow to his command,
and fall beneath his feet: [Refrain]
Rejoice in glorious hope;
Jesus the Judge shall come,
and take his servants up
to their eternal home:
We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice;
God’s trumpet-call shall sound: Rejoice!
By Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Bible Reading
John 17: 20-26
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Time to Reflect
During the pandemic lockdown I spent some of my free time watching films, including a few from my childhood. One of these films was the Lion King, a film that draws inspiration from the Biblical stories of Joseph (Genesis) and Moses (Exodus) as well as Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
In the film, Rafiki, the Mandrill, tells the adult Simba, who is grieving the death of his father, Mufasa, that he knows where his father is. Rafi takes Simba to a pool of water, and tells him to look down. Simba complains, “That’s not my father, that’s just my reflection.” “No, look harder,” Rafiki says. As he looks, Simba begins to recognize his father in his own reflection. “You see?” Rafiki says, “He lives in you.”
In the stage version of the Lion King this then leads to a song with the following lyrics:
“Hear these words and have faith
He lives in you
He lives in me
He watches over
Everything we see
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you.”
Lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Elton John © 1997
The Walt Disney Company.
Through the song Simba comes to realise that his Mufasa lives in him and that they are one. Because of this he can face the challenges that are ahead of him.
In the reading that we have for this Sunday, taken from John’s Gospel, Jesus is praying for his disciples that they might find a oneness in God that reflects the oneness that Jesus has with the Father. Here, Jesus is praying for what will become the Church and his request for oneness that would be found in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Though the Holy Spirit God does live in us.
The Spirit then enables us to reflect God’s love as beings who are made in the image of God. It is that Spirit that equips and enables us to participate in God’s mission in the world and who reminds us that we are never alone in the challenges that we face because God is always with us.
In the Lion King knowing that his father was within him gave Simba a new confidence and purpose. It turned his sorrow into joy and encouraged him to challenge the evil that had taken hold in the land. For us, knowing that Christ is with us, through the Holy Spirit means that we should find joy in God’s presence and be driven to challenge injustice through the good news of the Gospel.
As we move through Eastertide and approach Pentecost Sunday let us open ourselves to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who unites us with Christ and God the Father and who equips and enables us for his work.
Amen.
Time to Pray…
Listening God: we have many concerns for others and the world in which we all live, your people and your world. In prayer we place before you our thoughts born out of compassion, sadness, and sorrow. Out of anger, frustration and disappointment. Out of fear and uncertainty, hope and longing; a desire for a just and caring world.
Understanding God, receive our prayers. Help us, we ask, to be your answers to prayer. May we live to your glory.
Amen.
Amended from Methodist Worship at Home Resources
for 29th May 2022: https://www.methodist.org.uk/media/25723/29-may-22-worship-if-you-are-unable-to-attend-church.pdf
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
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.
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.
StF 397 – The Spirit lives to set us free
The Spirit lives to set us free,
Walk, walk in the light;
He binds us all in unity,
Walk, walk in the light.
[Refrain]
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light of the Lord.
Jesus promised life to all,
Walk, walk in the light;
The dead were wakened by his call,
Walk, walk in the light. [Refrain]
He died in pain on Calvary,
Walk, walk in the light;
To save the lost like you and me,
Walk, walk in the light. [Refrain]
We know his death was not the end,
Walk, walk in the light;
He gave his Spirit to be our friend,
Walk, walk in the light. [Refrain]
The Spirit lives in you and me,
Walk, walk in the light;
His light will shine for all to see,
Walk, walk in the light. [Refrain]
By Damian Lundy (1944-1996)
Words & Music © 1978 Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
Final Prayer
Gracious God,
As we end this time of worship we acknowledge that you continue to journey with us through your Holy Spirit. Keep us alert to your presence and our eyes fixed on Christ. Give us courage to do your work and share your love in the world.
May the blessing of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore.
Amen.
Service prepared by Rev David Speirs
Webpage: Paul Deakin