Sunday Worship 20th October 2024 – Freedom Sunday

(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) or Hymns & Psalms (H&P) or Songs of Fellowship (SoF) numbers will be given where available)

Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at St Andrews Methodist Church led by Stuart Ayrton, one of our Circuit Local Preachers.

Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links

St Andrews begin the service with a Praise Time that includes these songs prior to the young people going into Sunday School.

Song – SoF 4207 Praise is rising

Song – SoF 137 – Be bold, be strong

Song – SoF 21067 – To be in your presence

Call to worship

Who created the seas? God did! Who created rainbows? God did! Who created snails, whales and wolves? God did! Who created rain, sunshine and snow? God did! Who have we come to worship? Our creator God.

Prayers

Lord, you are amazing and wonderful. You are dressed in the beauty of the world you created.

You control the skies and the waters. We praise you for your countless creations, For the stunning beauty you have made. You made them in your wisdom. We praise you, Lord.

Almighty God, we come to you today with awe and wonder, as we hear your voice from the whirlwind, and witness your power and majesty in creation. You are Lord and know all things. Teach us, humble us and reveal yourself to us. Help us to approach you with reverence and faith, and to worship you in spirit and in truth. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Glorious God, we praise you and we adore you for your amazing deeds, wonderful works and marvellous wisdom. You created the heavens and the earth and sustain all life. You are the ruler of the storm and the sea, and the provider of all our needs. You are the high priest of the new covenant, and the mediator of all grace. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and the friend of sinners. You are worthy of all praise and deserving of all adoration.

Forgiving God, we confess that we have sinned against you and against our neighbours. We have failed to recognise your presence and your authority in our lives. We have doubted your goodness and your justice in our world. We have resisted your guidance and your correction in our hearts. We have been selfish and ambitious, rather than humble and servant-like.

Forgive us, O God.

Amen.

 Assurance of forgiveness

Gracious God, thank you for your forgiveness and mercy. Thank you that you do not condemn us, but that you love us. Thank you that you sent your Son Jesus Christ to die for oursins, and to rise again for our salvation. Thank you that you have given us your Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, and to assure us of your pardon. Thank you that you have called us by name and claimed us as your own.

Awesome God, we praise you for your wonderful deeds and mighty power. We praise you for your everlasting love. We praise you that you are faithful to your promises. We praise you for your healing touch. We praise you for your generous gifts. We praise you for your gracious presence.

Amen

Meditation On Job

Lost – one God. Can’t find him anywhere. One direction or another, it doesn’t matter – no God. Is he hiding from me? Has he turned away and has his back to me? Am I lost, or is he? I don’t know. I want to find him. I want to talk to him. I know he will listen carefully and be fair with me. But it’s no use if he’s not around. I’d be talking to empty air. And because that fear is in me. And because my worst nightmare is that I have been deserted, I need a dark place to hide. That shouldn’t be difficult. Without God there is no light for me. I need to speak to him, but he’s not listening. Must have turned deaf, because there is no response. Is this the end then? Do I give up on him, as he’s apparently given up on me. This time I am really afraid. Hide me, darkness, until I can see the light of God’s face again.

 ©Marjorie Dobson

Song – H&P 577 – This is the day that the Lord has made

Readings

Job 38: 1-7 and 34-41

Mark 10: 35-45

Song – H&P 138 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

Sermon

As we continue our journey through Job, we come to a dialogue between Job and God. Rather than providing words of comfort in Job’s suffering, God points Job towards his power as the creator of the universe. God’s omnipotence  throws Job’s humanness into stark relief. This is an opportunity to hear God’s side of the story of Job. He calls Job to consider who he is – and we are invited to do the same. There seems to be a contrast when Jesus speaks about being a suffering servant. But here is the paradox of the God we serve.

As we read though the Bible an interesting question arises. Does God change or do the writers’ understandings of God change? CS Rodd suggests that when reading Job, ‘We need to put away all thoughts of the rather sentimental “fatherhood” of God that have become common in modern Christianity. God in Job is the omnipotent and omniscient creator’. One could say God in Job is like the drill sergeant Emil Foley, played by Louis Gossett Jr in the classic film An Officer and a Gentleman. Foley’s sole mission seems to be to get new recruit Zack Mayo to ‘man up’ (cf ‘Gird up your loins like a man’, Job 38:3), putting him through an endless sequence of hellish physical and psychological tests. The whirlwind (38:1) emphasises the power and transcendence of God. The verses that follow form quite a contrast to chapter one, when God is celebrating Job. Here God addresses Job very harshly. One commentator describes it as the divine cross examination. In verses four to seven, we have a picture of creation in keeping with the religio-scientific thinking of the time. Pointing to the complexity of creation, God none too subtly lets Job know who is boss.

 Jesus says to James and John (Mark 10:38) ‘You do not know what you are asking’. Misunderstanding is a recurrent theme in Mark. Despite their closeness to Jesus, the sons of Zebedee still didn’t fully understand who he is. There are clear links here to the story of Job, which is full of misunderstanding. ‘In your glory’ could be a reference to the messianic banquet or the Second Coming. It may be that John and James sat at the right- and left-hand side of Jesus at the meals they shared and were simply asking that this practice be continued. The reference to the cup of suffering may bring to mind Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer. To share someone’s cup was a recognised expression for sharing their fate. In popular Greek culture the vocabulary of baptism was used to speak of being overwhelmed by disaster or danger. But Jesus understood his baptism as expressing solidarity with sinful people and signified his willingness to accept the burden of God’s judgement upon human sin. So, his baptism on the cross is part of his fulfilment of his messianic vocation.

In verses 42-45, and in contrast to Job, we have servanthood, not wealth and power, as the mark of fidelity and faithfulness.

Were you there,’ asks the old song, ‘when they crucified my Lord?’ ‘Were you there,’ the Lord enquires of Job, ‘when I laid the foundation of the earth?’ Both questions receive the answer ‘No’, but for different reasons; born too late in one case, born as a human creature in the other. Yet both questions are invitations, not simply put-downs. You need to ponder what you missed. Of course, in Job’s case it is a put-down as well. The majestic stride through the glories of creation – stars, sea, snow, animals, birds, and finally Leviathan itself (chapter 41) – compels Job into appropriate humility. It isn’t so much an answer to his nagging question as a statement of why the question cannot be answered, or not yet. It’s a way of saying that God’s ways are not our ways, and that the right path lies in submission to the strange wisdom by which the world was made. From this point of view it isn’t so much a matter, as some have said, of Jesus providing the answer to the questions Job was asking, though in some ways that’s true too. It is rather, we might say, that Jesus became Job, ‘learning obedience through the things he suffered’, as Hebrews starkly puts it. God was able to save him from death. But Jesus, shouting and weeping in prayer (an important and often ignored historical memory, presumably of Gethsemane), fought his way to costly submission to the divine purpose which was taking him through death and into the world of new creation. God was laying the foundations of the new earth, giving the morning stars a new song to sing, taming Leviathan at last. James and John, like Job, come with the wrong question. They weren’t there when God determined on the plan of salvation, and they won’t be there when their Lord is crucified. They’ll be hiding like rats in a hole, unable, for the moment at least, to drink the cup or share the baptism. Their squabble with the other disciples, like Job’s with his comforters, simply keeps the misunderstandings in circulation. They need to be silent before the unimagined, unlooked-for fresh revelation of upside-down divine wisdom. The world goes about things in one way; God does it differently. When Jesus explains the necessity of the cross he starts with a political point. Leviathan, whether the sea-monster or the political ‘absolute state’, must be tamed, but can only be tamed by the God revealed in the suffering Son of Man. Hobbes, not for the last time, needs to be corrected by Calvin. Isaiah’s vision of the Servant will indeed be fulfilled in Jesus; but this was never simply about sinful souls being saved by an arbitrary substitute. It was always about YHWH, the sovereign one, defeating the gods that have enslaved his people and, redeeming them, renewing not only the covenant but creation itself. Were you there? No, but follow this path and you will be.

Song – StF 415 – The church of Christ in every age

Prayers of Intercession

Where are you, God?

Do not be far from us, Creator God, when we look at the wonderful world you created. Help us to recognise the damage we have caused over centuries through greed for food and the rush for industry and vain progress. When we see the destruction of huge forests and the extinction of rare and precious species, we can’t see you. When we see the seas warm and the ice melt, we can’t see you. When we see temperatures rise and heatwaves, storms, floods and fires, we can’t see you. Show us the small things we can do to bring change and help us to respect and enjoy all creation.

Do not be far from us, for trouble is near.

We are not silenced by darkness; we approach God’s throne with confidence.

Do not be far from us, Loving God, when we feel lost, powerless and unable to help in the face of  the deep and damaging suffering of others. Help us to recognise the harm caused by abuse, addiction, poor family relationships and poverty. When we see people suffering because of lack of food or shelter, we can’t see you. When we see children damaged and hurt in their homes and communities, we can’t see you. When we see the result of conflict, war, hatred, mistrust and prejudice, we can’t see you. Show us what to do to bring help and support and give us the words to say on behalf of those who have no voice.

Do not be far from us, for trouble is near.

We are not silenced by darkness; we approach God’s throne with confidence.

Do not be far from us, Healing God, when we are feeling troubled, when we see sickness in others and when we face the loss of those we love. Help us to feel and know that you are always with us and walk alongside us through the hardest and most challenging times. When we see people suffering pain through illness and enduring difficult treatment, we can’t see you. When we see those who have lost someone close to them and can’t recover or see a future of hope and happiness, we can’t see you. When we ourselves go through sickness and other personal struggles, we can’t see you. Show us how we can share your love and healing hope with others, and teach us to trust you in all that we face.

Do not be far from us, for trouble is near.

We are not silenced by darkness; we approach God’s throne with confidence.

Do not be far from us, Peaceful God, when we remember the people of Israel who look back to this time last year and the horrors of attacks, death and kidnapping. Help us to pray for your peace when we think of the suffering of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and of the people of Lebanon. When we hear the fixed views and lack of compassion from those who order attacks and promote conflict, we can’t see you. When we hear the news coverage and see suffering at arms’ length, not really feeling the true pain of all involved, we can’t see you. Show us what we can do to promote peace in all situations and make us determined to keep praying for the peace that only you can bring.

Do not be far from us, for trouble is near.

We are not silenced by darkness; we approach God’s throne with confidence.

Amen

Lord’s Prayer

Offertory

Song – H&P 700 – Lord we have come at your own invitation

Blessing

Go with God and search for his wonders. Go with God and look for his glory. Go with God to proclaim his greatness. Go with God as your Lord and your friend. Amen.

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