Sunday Worship 25th January 2026

(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)

Theme – Darkest before Dawn

Call to Worship: Thank you for joining us in worship – you are most welcome! I am Jackie Marshall, one of the Local Preachers in the Circuit, and the service this Sunday is being shared with our friends at Bolton Methodist Church, so let’s join with them in Spirit to praise God together.

Our Call to Worship this morning is the lyrics of a chant from the Taize community, based on the first verse of the psalm for today, Psalm 27.

The LORD is my light
My light and salvation
In him I trust
In him I trust

We will be exploring further both the psalm and the chant later in our time of worship, but for now let’s read, sing or, if you are able, watch the video of our first hymn,

Song – StF 175 – Light of the world

Opening Prayer:

Father God,
We are so thankful to be here today.
As we gather together in Spirit, help us to focus on You,
to worship and celebrate all that you are.
Fill this place with your love and light.
Let us feel close to you and to each other
as we spend this time in your presence.
May everything we do during our time of worship
bring you joy and draw us deeper into Your amazing love.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray,

Amen

Old Testament Reading:

Isaiah 9: 1-4

Our first Bible reading is from the book of Isaiah, who lived around seven hundred years before Jesus was born, serving as God’s ambassador to the royal court of Judah for more than forty years, spanning the reigns of a number of kings. In this famous passage, the prophet predicts the light of God dawning in Galilee.

Drama: That’s a reading we more frequently hear at Christmas, rather than in the dark doldrums of late January, isn’t it? But we’re back in Ordinary Time now, having celebrated Christmas and the visit of the Magi at Epiphany. They were the first witnesses to the light of God, shining in the form of the Christmas star, guiding them towards the Christ child. Do you ever wonder what happened to those special visitors in their Ordinary Time, once they had “returned to their country by another route,” as St Matthew tells us? Maybe something like this?

Balthazar peers upwards, glances at an old scroll he is holding, then looks upwards again, concentrating on a distant object. Caspar enters, clearly out of breath.

Caspar: (Gasping and waving bit of parchment) I got your message to meet you, Balthazar. This had better be important – I’m far too old to be climbing the astrology tower steps this early in the day!
Balthazar: I think you’ll want to see this, Caspar. (Points up) Look, there in the east, just above the horizon.
Caspar: (Peering in the direction Balthazar points) What, you mean the Morning Star? What’s so special about that? Mind you, it does look brighter than usual…
Balthazar: It’s not the Morning Star, Caspar – if you look closely, you’ll see this star is rising in front of the Morning Star.
Caspar: (Peers harder) Oh yes…I see what you mean!
Balthazar: Just like on this astronomical chart. (Shows old scroll to Caspar)
Caspar: What chart? (Sees the scroll and staggers back dramatically, clutching chest)
Oh no! No, no, no, not Melchior‘s chart, may he rest in peace – not THAT star! It’s taken us almost thirty years to live down what happened the last time it appeared! We were just fortunate the old High King died while we were away so the whole court was in turmoil when we got back, or there would have been serious questions asked about why we left all that gold, to say nothing of the frankincense and myrrh, within the reach of that madman Herod and his army!
Balthazar: (Sadly) And all those poor little boys he ordered to be murdered…because of what we said to him.
Caspar: I know…I know. (Sighs and shakes his head) Which is why we’re saying NOTHING about that star! (pointing upwards)
Balthazar: But…
Caspar: No.
Balthazar: But…
Caspar: NO! (turns to stamp off)
Balthazar: Caspar, please just listen to me! Do you remember how Melchior constantly studied the Jewish scriptures and insisted that the child we visited was the promised Messiah, therefore the God of Israel would be looking after him?
Caspar: Of course I remember! It’s only because he was the new High King’s second cousin that he wasn’t thrown out on his ear, and us two with him!
Balthazar: Yes, yes – but he also said that the Jewish people had been waiting centuries for the Messiah, so we should have faith and at least wait long enough for the child to grow up!
Caspar: And?
Balthazar: You said it yourself – thirty years – if he survived, the child we visited will be a grown man by now! Have you seen in the court reports recently that a new prophet has appeared in the region of Galilee, teaching and performing miracles, healing the sick – drawing huge crowds. Apparently, he’s really causing a stir amongst the powers that be in Jerusalem.
Caspar: And you think this prophet is the child? Did any of the reports give his name?
Balthazar: Yes. His name is Jesus.
Caspar: (Gasps) That was the name of the child in Bethlehem!
Balthazar: Exactly. That’s why I thought you should see the star.
Caspar: Well, I must say, of course, I knew all along that there was something special about that little boy – haven’t I always said so? As the Senior Astrologist, I must go and inform the High King of our findings immediately! (Bustles off importantly)
Balthazar: (Gaping in astonishment after Caspar) And we count as wise men!

We know that all true wisdom comes from God, so let’s ask him for his guidance as we share our second hymn,

Song – StF 161 – Speak, O Lord, as we come to you

Gospel Reading:

Matthew 4: 12-23

In our Gospel reading this morning we hear of the start of Jesus’ ministry, in Galilee, just as Isaiah had prophesied.

What was it like for those first disciples, leaving everything to follow Jesus? Let’s reflect on that as we sing, read or watch

Song – StF 462 – Come with me, come wander

Reflection:

A few years ago, a dear friend gave me a heart shaped coaster, with a quote about “friends being like stars – you don’t always see them but you know they are there.” I think it’s quite a well- known, maybe even hackneyed saying now, but when I received the gift, it was the first time I had seen or heard it and it really made me think. I’m fortunate to be blessed with some very good friends, one in particular, whom I have known almost all my life, but only see about once or twice a year as she lives at the other end of the country. But I do indeed know she’s there and that she would do anything she could for me, if I needed her to, and when we do get together, it is as if we have never been apart. I hope you have experienced that same kind of friendship.

Which leads us to a difficult question. Do we have the same faith in our best friend, Jesus? Do we honestly always still trust he is there during our dark times, when it’s hard to see his light? When our prayers seem to go unheard, or at least not answered in any way that we can perceive as being positive? What can we do during those times?

We can actively search for his light – in the people around us, family, church family, friends – and inside ourselves. The Spirit lives within each of us to be our helper but only speaks with a quiet voice that we must still ourselves to hear.

We can look at Scripture and remind ourselves that God’s promises are unbreakable – and one of those promises is that we will never, ever be abandoned. Ever.

And another thing we can do is wait, in faith, remembering that God’s timing might be very different to ours. The answer to our prayers might not be no, but not yet.

We know those first disciples that we heard about in our gospel reading, abandoning their nets to eagerly follow Jesus, led the most amazing lives with him but they also faced some incredibly hard challenges. We are told that they frequently misunderstood what Jesus was trying to tell them and that, understandably, around the time of the Crucifixion their faith faltered. But look what they, in God’s time, achieved – how, with the help of his Spirit, Christ’s church grew through the work of a dozen men in a backwater of the Roman Empire to there being an estimated 2.4 billion Christians in the world today. That’s a third of the current global population.

The Call to Worship we began with was based on the first verse of the psalm for today, Psalm 27, attributed to King David, so written around 1000 years before Jesus was born. Let’s take the last two verses of the psalm and make them our own.

Time of Prayer:

Loving God,
we admit that sometimes,
in the darkness and confusion of this world,
we lose sight of your light.
There are times when our faith grows weak,
especially when our prayers seem to go unanswered
and we wonder why things aren’t happening as we hope.
Please forgive us for when we’ve doubted you or missed your presence.
Remind us that your light shines even in the darkest hours.
Help us to trust your timing and hold on to the hope you give us.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen

At Bolton, at this point in our worship, before we offer our prayers for others, we are each going to be invited to light a candle to symbolise Jesus’ light in our lives, as we listen to the Taize chant that we took as our call to worship. Perhaps you would like to light a candle too. The chant is available through the following link.

God of Love,
sometimes life feels heavy
and as we look around your world, the darkness seems to press in on all sides.
But we trust that just before dawn, the night is at its deepest.
So we ask you—let your light break through the shadows.
Shine on those living with conflict, those wrestling with poverty, with the effects of climate change, and with all who have lost their homes.

We lift up to you everyone who is sick or anxious, weighed down by grief, feeling alone,
or struggling with despair.
Fill their hearts with your Peace and remind them that your love brings hope,
even when hope is hard to find.

In a few moments of quiet, we bring to you those people and situations of particular concern to each of us…..

Light of the World, be with us and everyone facing the darkness.
Lead us towards healing and new beginnings.
Make us carriers of your light, messengers of your kindness and Peace,
trusting that your love is stronger than any struggle humankind faces.
We ask our prayers in Jesus’ name, as we pray the prayer he continues to teach his friends,

Our Father, who art in heaven… Amen

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness.

We share our closing hymn,

Song – StF 706 – Longing for light, we wait in darkness

Blessing: Let’s close our time of worship by blessing each other with the words of The Grace

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen