SUNDAY AUGUST 30TH 2020 – BACK AT SION
Call to Worship:
Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:1-2
Let us worship God. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Offering Prayer:
Faithful Father, thank you that you give the gift of abundant, eternal life. We know you as the Good Father who gives us good gifts. Your generosity overflows to us. Everything we have is a gift from you. As we bring our offerings in worship of you, we only give back to you from the abundant blessings you have given us. May our gifts be acceptable in your sight O Lord our God. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honour, and power and strength, be unto you our God for ever and ever. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Reading: Psalm 30
Prayer by Carol Acton:
Lord God, You have given us the honour of being able to come into Your presence here. As individual members of Your family we share our lives with You and today we rejoice that once more we come together as a Church to share our love for You. You are our faithful God, through Your son Jesus we return to You. In Your Holy Spirit we come together as one body to honour and worship You. We have been given a gift worth more than silver or gold, we have been given a gift that will not tarnish or perish, we thank You Lord for our gift of faith, our gift of everlasting life with You…
Lord we confess that we sometimes forget how mighty you are; that you are more powerful than anything or anyone. Let us stand in awe of You; creation shows us how You planned everything in minute detail, we only have to look at the intricacies of our own bodies to know Your ways are far above our understanding. We do not have the words to describe how great You are. Lord God we come together in deep gratitude, thankful that we are not facing these difficult times alone, that You are with us every step of the way.
Forgive us Lord when we become anxious, worried about our health and the health of our loves ones. Lord we become overwhelmed by stories of death and the long term physical effects caused by the Corona Virus; of financial crisis and mental health problems. We worry about how long this will go on and start to worry about the future and how we are going to manage. We are sorry Lord that we sometimes get caught up in the worldly view and forget that You are always in control. We forget to keep our eyes on You, we forget that Jesus said “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanks giving present your request to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
So Lord we come before You now and humbly ask that You will intervene; give the scientists and doctors a ways to stop the virus from spreading…find a vaccine and cure. We ask that you soften the hearts of the governments of the world, fill them with compassion for the people they lead so that food and aid can be provided without discrimination. We ask for healing for those suffering from physical or mental health problems. We ask for comfort for those that are mourning the loss of loved ones and we ask for Your peace for those that are anxious.
Help us to remember that You will bring good out of every situation, that You alone have the bigger picture. Lord we pray as Your people to be part of Your plan, to be used for the good of others. We thank you that the slowing down of the pace of life has given us the opportunity to marvel at Your creation. Through these dark times more people are turning to You and we have more opportunity to be the people You made us to be. We pray Lord that all Your people throughout the world will respond to these difficult times in a way that pleases You; just like a call to arms, help us to re-ignite a passion to serve one another and keep focussed on being faithful to You.
As we join together again in body and spirit help us to put aside our old selves and be guided by Your Holy Spirit. Help us to glorify Your name and honour Your son who died for us that we might be reconciled with others and closer to You. You are truly an amazing God and we love You and worship You and thank you.
We humbly ask for a blessing on our families and friends, asking all this because we can… in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Reading: John 20: 10-18
Applause for a Friend: we stand to applaud our brother Derek Booth who was called home on Easter Sunday
Message: “Joy comes in the morning!”
(Please read John 20: 10-18 and Psalm 30)
Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. – Psalm 30 v5
When will this end? When will I be able to get back to normal? What will become of us in the future? Perhaps you even asked, “What is God saying to me through this lockdown and the course of another species-jumping-disease?” New words and phrases have slipped into everyday use...our new normal: antigens…aerosols…air corridors…support bubbles…flatten the curve…even covidiots…and zoom…no longer just an ice lolly!
But through His Word to us we are left in no doubt that God will use means to change His people. He will send…or use (allow) events…often painful, sometimes personal, or shared global ones…to get His children’s attention…to shake them, to discipline them, test them, to correct them, to teach them…so many lessons…
The life of David chronicles many ups and downs, triumphs and sorrows. As a shepherd, giant-slayer, folk hero, warrior, persecuted fugitive, exile, father, and king, he had seen it all and was certainly no stranger to the unexpected and unpredictable nature of life. But through it all, David, who is referred to in the Bible as a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), kept his eyes…for the most part… on the Lord. When times were tough, he cried out to God in frustration; David questioned God (Ps 30: 9)… and, when God was faithful, David lifted his voice in praise…
David pens Psalm 30 because, at last, he has emerged from a long, dark night of the soul (the pit), perhaps from a period of sickness…an enforced lockdown. Some people only look up when they are put on their backs, in bed!
Morning has come. He wants to render personal thanks to the LORD for his deliverance of him (Ps 30: 1-3); and he wants his fellow worshippers to do the same (Ps 30: 4; we can sing in our spirits!)…David also wants to share what he has learned about himself and the Lord…David wants to dedicate his house…to rededicate himself and his people to the Lord…to return to worship…to start again…just like us…today…
Rather than simply wanting to enjoy his moment of healing, David wants to go further and deeper with God. He wants to do more than simply move on with business as usual…because business as usual… is what got him into trouble in the first place! David wants to re-orientate his life…to vow never to forget God…come-what-may: “O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever!” (The last verse…a vow).
During his long reign the Lord had delivered David-the-king many times. And the result was…as it can often be…David took all of his many blessings for granted. “When things were going great, I crowed, ‘I’ve got it made…I’m God’s favourite. He made me king of the mountain. Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces!’” (EP/MSG)
David grew (sinfully) complacent and spiritually lax, “fancying himself secure.”“Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I will never be moved.’” (Psalm 30: 6) Things will stay the same…I’m safe and beyond trouble! It’s never a good thing to let our children have everything they want just when they want it…
David grew self-assured and satisfied during a season of prosperity…so God intervened, challenging him to return his eyes to the Lord. Unlike many people, however, David understood that God was not trying to tear him down in his dark-night-of-the-soul, but was humbling him, testing him and making him stronger. “The mountain peaks are great, but it is in the valleys that we (really) grow!” (Billy Graham)
In the aftermath of David’s personal struggle, he could write, “for His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30 v5
When Sunday came, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to finish the work she had begun when they lowered Jesus from his cross. She knew nothing of the empty tomb. She came with no other motive than to prepare his body for burial and say goodbye. When she arrived at the tomb, the nightmare of the last three days grew even darker. Mary Magdalene “saw that the stone had been taken away” – she assumed the worst. The disciples have come and gone… we are left to linger with Mary in the garden…her shoulders heaving, her face tracked with tears. Grief obscures even the visit of the angels. Sunday morning was just too dark to see…
In the midst of Mary’s darkest moment, than the Son came out…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. She didn’t recognise her Lord. So Jesus did something about it. He called her by name, and when he did, Mary recognised the voice that had first called her to freedom. In the time it took for Jesus to say “Mary”, her world went from hopeless to hope-filled. Of all the people to whom he could have spoken, Jesus went first to Mary- the weeping, heartbroken woman once possessed by seven demons.
Why her? I wonder if Jesus wanted to send out a message (a word of hope, a word of promise) to all the broken people; he wanted them to hear and know and believe that, for those who love Him, suffering is only temporary but life in Him is permanent…
Darkness comes, but so does the morning. Sadness comes, but so does hope. Sorrow may have the night, but joy comes in the morning. “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
Maybe Mary Magdalene’s story is your story. Maybe David’s… We may feel hopeless, discouraged, and afflicted at the moment, unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel…But (in the Providence of God) no night lasts forever. The sun will always rise, and with the dawn comes the blessing and favour of the Father, who is hard at work to bless, strengthen, and deliver His children. David had seen this time and time again. Mary had…we have…
Life may not be perfect, comfortable, or free of pain and struggle, not even for the most faithful servant of God. But in the midst of our pain, uncertainty, and fear, God is always with us and working for us.
David would continue, “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.” (Psalm 30 v11)
Well, a shout of joy did come on the morning of the third day with the ultimate resurrection of Jesus Christ, an event that would forever turn our mourning into dancing. From that moment on, the tragedy of the cross was nullified in the joy of the resurrection, and any pain, struggle, or fear we may face is destroyed in the hope we have in Jesus Christ…in things David never imagined could be seen!
See what a morning, gloriously bright, with the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;
folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light, as the angels announce Christ is risen!
See God's salvation plan, wrought in love, Borne in pain, paid in sacrifice, Fulfilled in Christ, the Man, for He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!
See Mary weeping, 'Where is He laid?' As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb;
hears a voice speaking, calling her name; it's the Master, the Lord raised to life again!
The voice that spans the years, Speaking life, stirring hope, bringing peace to us,
Will sound till He appears, For He lives, Christ is risen from the dead!
One with the Father, Ancient of Days, through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty, Honour and blessing, glory and praise to the King crowned with power and authority! And we are raised with Him, Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered; and we shall reign with Him, For He lives, Christ is risen from the dead!
When will this end? Well, one day it will – one day those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life will walk by His light through gates which are never shut…for there will be no crying there, no disease… no night there. (Revelation 21 & 22)
“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30 v5, NIV)
Prayer of rededication: (from Jen)
Father God,
We thank you that, although we have been - and are - apart from each other, we are never apart from you because you choose to live in your people by your Holy Spirit. We ask for the Spirit’s help this morning as we rededicate ourselves to you. We acknowledge that without his help we will not be able to keep our promises.
Help us we pray to remember, and to act upon, those lessons you have taught us during this period of lockdown.
When man’s noise was stilled at the beginning of lockdown, and the beautiful spring days were full of birdsong and new plant life, you reminded us what a wonderful planet you have provided for us to live on and also of its fragility. Help us to continue to wonder, and to do what we can to keep it beautiful.
You reminded us again that when all around seemed uncertain and shifting, ”The Lord Almighty is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress”. We learned to “Be still and know that I am God”. Help us by your Spirit within to remain trusting in your unfailing love, and to be still before you and listen to your voice.
We learned of the importance of our family – natural and spiritual – and of looking after each other. Help us to continue to care for each other, whether we can see each other or not.
We learned to be thankful to those who serve us in our communities, whether as part of the NHS or postmen, bin men or shop workers. Help us we pray to keep this attitude of thankfulness as we resume more normal lives, and to show these people our continuing gratitude as they serve us.
The future is still uncertain in many ways but we come to place our confidence in you and to rededicate ourselves in your service, and so we pray:
I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing: I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.'