8th. May. 2022. Service.
Inverkeithing Parish Church linked with North Queensferry Church
Worship 8th May 2022
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Prelude “Brother James’s Air”
Bible Introit Hymn 186 “Father God, I wonder”
Collect: O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice, we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 181 “For the beauty of the earth”
From every nation, in every language, we cry out:
“Salvation belongs to our God, and to the Lamb!”
Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving!
Honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen!
Prayer
You are the Good Shepherd, Lord,
we hear your call;
we know your voice;
we follow your paths.
You lead us beside still waters.
You guide us to the springs of life.
You shelter us and restore our souls.
In you we find life everlasting.
We come humbly into your presence this day,
in praise, worship, and adoration.
Our hearts run over
with your unfailing goodness
and never-ending love.
In the name of our Savior, we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Master, Saviour, Shepherd, Messiah—
we know you by many names, Lord.
Your presence fills our lives—
all that we are and all that we have
comes from you;
all that you do declares your love for us.
Yet when trouble comes,
when adversity plagues us,
we wonder where you are;
we even wonder who you are.
How quickly we forget
that you are always with us.
Dispel our gloom and despair.
Change our garments of darkness
into robes of dazzling light.
Spread your table before us,
and feed us from your hand.
Lead us in the paths of righteousness,
for it is in your name that we pray. Amen.
Even in the darkest valley,
though death’s shadow may threaten us,
we need not fear, for the Lord is with us.
God will comfort and shelter us.
No harm will come to us.
No one can snatch us out of the Lord’s hand.
God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Prayer for Understanding
God of wisdom, as we listen to your Word recorded by prophets and disciples, give us understanding through the power of your Holy Spirit. Reveal the mysteries of faith to us, that we may grow in faithfulness, and follow Jesus, your Living Word. Amen.
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever Amen.
The Intimations
The Annual stated congregational meeting of both North Queensferry and Inverkeithing will be held after worship next Sunday 15th May. There will be a soup and pudding lunch in aid of Christian Aid in North Queensferry at noon.
The North Queensferry Congregational Board and Kirk Session will meet on Wednesday 18th May at 7:00pm in the Church.
Holding Ukraine in the light
To mark three months since Russia invaded Ukraine, we will be holding an event on Tuesday 24th May to pray for peace and restoration.
The church will be open from 6.30 till 9, and people are welcome to drop in and out as they wish. Various prompts and points of focus will be available to help with private prayer.
If anyone is interested in helping organise this event, they can speak to Morag after the service or call her on 695664.
Messy Church
The next Messy Church will be “Messy Pentecost” on Saturday, 11th June, 2-4 p.m. in the church. All are welcome, especially families. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
The C-Word
Following on from Messy Church, the next C-Word event will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 15th June. As we continue looking at “Creed”, we have reached the events of Easter – “Was crucified, dead and buried … the third day he rose again from the dead”. We will be discussing in more detail some of the beliefs about the purpose of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Coffee mornings will be held in Inverkeithing each Tuesday at 10:00 am and in North Queensferry on Wednesday 11th May at 10:30 am.
Inverkeithing Christian Aid
The sum of £282.32 was raised for the work of Christian Aid at the Coffee Morning on May 3rd.
Christian Aid envelopes will be distributed next Sunday. These can be returned any time up to the end of the month.
On Saturday 14th May, Dalgety Church are holding a Cafe while the Farmers Market is taking place next to the Church. All proceeds are for Christian Aid.
On Saturday, 28th May Aberdour Church are holding a Christian Aid Coffee Morning in the Church Hall from 10.00-12.00noon.
The funeral of our elder, Bill Duff will take place in Inverkeithing Parish Church at 10:00 am on Thursday 19th May and then to Douglas Bank Cemetery. Please remember his son Billy in your prayers.
The Offering
In the Easter season, we celebrate God’s most precious gift to us in Christ’s dying and his rising. As we present our offering this morning, may our generosity reflect God’s goodness to us, and the hope we have in Christ Jesus, even in these troubled times.
Prayer of Dedication
Generous God, thank you for all we have received from you in Christ and in creation. Bless the gifts we bring and use them in the service of your reign of justice and peace, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Guide.
All Age Talk
Does anyone know what a guarantee is? It’s a promise, usually that if something breaks or stops working, a company will fix it. Can anyone think of something that comes with a guarantee? Many things come with a guarantee. Refrigerators, cars, TVs, houses, even mobile phones. That’s because all these things have a tendency to break, get lost, or stolen.
Wouldn’t it be great if something was guaranteed to last forever—and was guaranteed that you couldn’t lose it and nobody could steal it? Well, there is!
Jesus promised everlasting life to those who trust and believe in Him. Listen to His guarantee.
“My sheep hear My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never die!”
Nothing can take us out of Jesus’ hand. It is guaranteed that no one can steal His trust or break His promise.
Jesus said, “No one can snatch them out of My hand.”
Imagine eternal life that you can’t lose, and no one can take away. That’s a guarantee no one can match.
Dear Father, we thank You for Your guarantee of everlasting life through Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Here is a video about this:
Hymn 351 “God gave me eyes so I could see”
John 10:22-30
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’
25 Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.’ Amen.
Hymn 257 “Singing we gladly worship the Lord together”
Revelation 7:9-17
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’
11 All the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, 12 saying: ‘Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour
and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!’
13 Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?’ 14 I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’
And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,
‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,”
nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; “he will lead them to springs of living water.” “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”’
Amen, this is the word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 462 “The King of love, my Shepherd is”
Sermon
Last week we looked at the epilogue of the Gospel of John, chapter 21 which appears to be an afterthought written by John to tidy up some loose ends. It focuses upon Jesus’ call to his disciples and to Peter to care for His sheep, all those who are brought into the kingdom of heaven by the fishers of men. We mentioned that Tolkien’s book, The Lord of the Rings, also has a lesser-known epilogue only recently published by his son. Today we return to the Lord of the Rings with a quote from the first book, “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
In one scene the hobbits, Merry and Pippin, find shelter with an extremely long-lived tree-like creature called Treebeard who attempts to describe just exactly what” ents”, his species, are: “We are tree-herds, we old ents. Few enough of us are left now. Sheep get like shepherds, and shepherds like sheep, it is said; but slowly, and neither have long in the world. It is quicker and closer with trees and ents, and they walk down the ages together.”
Ents, it seems, are the caretakers of the trees and over the ages they grow tree-like, and their charges become more like ents. We can only speculate about this as Tolkien did, but shepherds and sheep are biblical. David, the boy shepherd who became a shepherd king, is famous for the Psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” While Jeremiah and Ezekiel cried out against kings who proved to be evil shepherds.
Today’s passage from the gospel of John follows a passage in which Jesus proclaims himself to be both the gate to the sheepfold and the good shepherd. These words were spoken in response to the opposition from the religious and political authorities who were proving to be poor shepherds. Jesus had just restored sight to a man born blind. When the authorities objected because Jesus broke their interpretation of Sabbath law by healing on the holy day, Jesus responds by saying that they were the false shepherds, and the truly blind because their laws and regulations were more important than the restoration of life and sight.
It is now, John tells us, “the festival of the Dedication,” or as it is called nowadays, “Hanukkah” It’s winter, it’s colder and Jesus is walking, we are told, “in the portico of Solomon” no doubt to keep out of the wind and stay a little warmer.
The gospel of John revolves around religious festivals, and Jesus’ attendance at them. This is the only reference in John to Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights which is an apt image for this gospel; God’s first act in creation is to pronounce, “Let there be light” and the first chapter of John, intentionally matches majestic “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth” of Genesis with the equally majestic “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” of John.
John goes on to say about the Word, whom we come to know is Jesus, “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
The Festival of Lights celebrates a key moment in the history of God’s people. From the time of their liberation from the oppression of the Babylonians, until approximately 167 BC, God’s people lived comfortably within the larger society, maintaining their beliefs, customs, and religious practices, while participating in the economy of their neighbours. In return, their faith was tolerated by government authorities.
That all changed after the conquests of Alexander the Great, when one of his generals, Seleucus, established an empire that included Palestine. One of these rulers, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, tried to stamp out the Jewish faith. His brutal attacks resulted in slaughter, slavery, and destruction. He profaned the Jewish temple in an unspeakable fashion, an act remembered as “the abomination of desolation,” the memory of which was later referred to by Jesus in his apocalyptic discourses.
In response Judas Maccabeus and his brothers led the people in a guerrilla war that ultimately resulted in their oppressors’ overthrow. When the Maccabees rededicated the temple, they discovered there was only enough oil to light the altar for a single day — yet the light of the lamps miraculously shone for eight days. In Jesus’ time as well as in our day the Feast of Dedication is marked by eight days of celebration at the onset of winter in the weeks before Christmas.
It’s during the commemoration of this great military victory and the miracle of the lights that Jesus was asked, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” They were asking if he was going to be another military Messiah, this time throwing off the shackles of Rome, leading the Jews to a similar military victory.
But Jesus responded as a sacrificial Messiah (remember that John the Baptist, the one who came to “witness to the light,” identified him as “the Lamb of God”). If they had been paying attention, as his sheep have, they would have known this. His real sheep, the disciples, knew this because they listened. His questioners did not.
We cannot distinguish Jesus’ work from God’s work. God gives life. Jesus gives life. God judges. Jesus judges. Jesus’ power is not that of someone who comes to bring political liberation. Jesus brings life. And then Jesus enraged them by identifying his aims as the same as the Father, adding, “The Father and I are one.” This led to an attempt by some to stone him, but they failed.
This brings us back to the image of sheep becoming like their shepherds, and more importantly, of the shepherd becoming like the sheep, because of the time they have spent together.
The gospel of John also revolves around a series of dialogues that change lives:
The Pharisee Nicodemus struggles to keep up with Jesus when it comes to being born from above, but when push comes to shove, he stood up for Jesus in the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, and carried a 33 kg sack of spices through a public street on the eve of the Passover to prepare Jesus for burial.
The Samaritan woman at the well catches on quickly to what Jesus means by living water, and soon her whole village becomes his followers. Receiving his sign, the man born blind becomes a believer while the blindness of those who accused Jesus becomes apparent. Martha scolds Jesus for not arriving in time to heal her brother Lazarus to keep him from death yet confesses from the depths of her soul, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” Signs and wonders point to Jesus as the Messiah, and those who get it, who hear his voice, follow him.
But something else occurs because of these meetings. The Word made Flesh changed too. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus is almost rude when his mother informs him the wedding feast is about to run out of wine: “Woman, what’s this to me and you? It’s not my time.”
We may wonder if he ridiculed Nicodemus for not keeping up when he says, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?”
Do we detect a trace of an “Gotcha!” moment when he responds to the Samaritan woman’s admission that she has no husband by saying, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband”?
And it seems almost callous when Jesus answers the question from his disciples “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” by answering, “Neither, this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” We still don’t like the idea that suffering may be intended for divine glory.
So, the final straw seems to have been his deliberate delay upon hearing Lazarus was sick, so that he would be dead by the time they arrived “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Yet, when Mary weeps at the tomb of Lazarus Jesus weeps as well! This seems to be the moment when Jesus truly understands what it means to be human, to be rejected, to suffer. The Shepherd has been changed by the sheep just as the sheep have been changed by the Shepherd.
After Jesus calls Lazarus to come out of the grave, he defends Mary when she is criticized for anointing him with expensive perfume, admits his soul is troubled by the looming crucifixion, humbly washes the feet of his disciples, introduces the Beloved Disciple and Mary his mother as mother and son, performs the duty of a son instead of snapping at her, deals gently with a doubting Thomas and re-admits Peter, who denied him, into the company of the disciples.
We have been transformed by Jesus. Is it too much to say that the Good Shepherd was also transformed by a personal relationship with the sheep? This is a comforting thought. We are walking together, Lord and disciples, down the corridors of eternity, transformed — together. That is the way shepherds and sheep interact. They say people become like their pet animals, I met shepherds as a boy who seemed to say little more the “Baa!”
When do we hear Jesus voice?
When he invites us as when he urged the disciples to come and see or simply called them to ‘follow him.’
He knows by name and history and hopes. There was Nathaniel — whom Jesus described as one with no deceit; and Nicodemus, who was yearning for new beginnings even though he didn’t fully realise it at the time. Or in the woman at the well whose story Jesus knew and declared to her out loud.
When he becomes the source of healing as for the man who had been ill for 38 years, inches away from a recognized source of healing, the Pool of Bethesda, incidentally near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem He was unable to reach the pool when the angel stirred the water, but in the end, he did not need it when the voice of Jesus sounded.
For the man blind from birth whose story became one of not only healing but of belief and a witness who could not be contradicted.
For a woman caught in adultery whose sin was proclaimed as no worse than that of any other, who was first protected and then given a chance at a life marked by wholeness and hope.
There are the times when his voice calls forth abundance: in wine at a wedding, in living water which quenches all our thirst, and in bread and fish and thousands fed and satisfied, with plenty to spare.
We listen so freely to the voices and opinions in the media, television, newspaper, Facebook Twitter et al and they are rarely edifying. Instead allow yourself to listen to the voice of Jesus in the first chapters of John for a while and you may find yourself wondering why those other voices continue to hold such sway over us.
Given half a chance the voice of Jeus will overwhelm all those negative voices which limit and exclude and never make room for more, which inevitably lead to judgment and are seldom compassionate or restorative. They tend to preach scarcity and fear, never abundance and hope and they are rarely voices who know you at all.
The voice of Jesus in the gospel of John, is the voice of the Good Shepherd who speaks to our souls. He is the one who would lead us to green pastures, still waters paths of righteousness and safety in the shadowy valleys and to a feast and ministry of comfort forever.
It is a voice for those worried about their next meal, how to pay the rent, how to keep their children safe.
For people in the grip of addiction and for those love them whose lives are forever altered. For those who have been battered and abused… For those whose diagnoses are breaking their hearts and the hearts of those who love them… For those so laden by debt that no clear way forward is clear…For those who are far from ‘home’ in any sense that matters: in the world or in their hearts…
For those who have spent their lifetimes listening too much to the false promises of those other voices and who are just beginning to realize that despite their volume, their words are false and never, ever offer true abundance, or real hope, or life itself…
What does it mean to all of these people and so many more that this Voice knows and loves us in all of our particularity and never lets us go?
And we ask ourselves as sheep of this flock how do we speak on behalf of the Voice of the Shepherd this week to people who have been misled by too many other voices? How do we speak this tough and tender truth where lies and half-truths have been heard and believed for too long?
But first, how do we hear the promise of this Voice for ourselves so that we can then speak so others might hear?
We should listen again to the stories of Nathaniel, and Nicodemus, and a woman at a well, of folks drinking wine at a wedding and those sitting down to receive a simple meal of bread and fish. Remember the voice of Jesus extending healing to those sick or the lifelong blind all their lives and compassion towards people too much judged by others who have no right nor room to judge.
Above all remember that as the sheep know Jesus, Jesus first knows the sheep, and so he surely knows you me. Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Lord Jesus Christ, you came to us bearing God’s love, and leading us as our Good Shepherd,showing us how to love each other. You pray with us to the Father in heaven for us moment by moment, taking and perfecting the prayers you inspire within us by your Holy Spirit.
We turn to you now, voicing our hopes and concerns in these uncertain times. Minister to us and to all those for whom we pray, that your love may be known in all our world that many may be blessed and healed.
Lord Jesus, we begin by praying for the families we belong to thanking you for parents, grandparents and for all the generations past whose faith and example moulded our lives and inspired our faith. For all who mothered, us encourage and taught us. We are grateful for their care and guidance. We pray for mothers and fathers throughout the world, thinking especially f parents in Ukraine and other places of conflict, worried for their children from whom many are separated and afraid for their future.
Keep a brief silence.
Strengthen their courage and maintain their hope and faith by the power of your Spirit,
Bring about peace in the world that our children and grandchildren may grow up in safety.
Jesus, our friend, and brother, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus, in time of economic and political uncertainty, establish our faith in the promise of your providence that as you provide for the least of your creation humankind is of great value in your eyes. We pray for families in our community and around the world who are in need. Show us how we may cope with economic upheaval and the high cost of living. Take away our selfish wants and desires and give us contentment in our lives whether we have little or plenty, and encourage us to give as you give, with fear of want or distrust of your loving providence.
We pray for people experiencing sorrow because someone dear has died or gone away, others who live in pain or fear, or face rejection or discrimination.
Keep a brief silence.
Envelope them with your love and infuse their lives with courage; bring them support from their neighbours and strengthen our communities with the graces of compassion and cooperation,
Jesus, our friend, and brother, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus,
We pray for the family of nations in this time of threat and conflict. Change the hearts of leaders bent on destruction or conquest. Give wisdom and courage to everyone who seeks justice through negotiation and protect all who offer themselves in the work of aid and advocacy.
Keep a brief silence.
Bring peace with justice to this troubled world.
Jesus, our friend, and brother, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus,
We pray for each other and for our church family. Thank you for the friendship and fellowship we share and the unique gifts each one brings to our life together. Rekindle our energy for ministry and mission and lead us into the future with peace and hope
Keep a brief silence.
May we be beacons of hope in your name.
Jesus, our friend, and brother, hear our prayer.
Good Shepherd, guide us through the dark valleys and green pastures of life with the assurance of your presence wherever you will lead us and hear our prayers as we offer them in your Holy Name, Amen.
Hymn 355 “You Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd”
The Benediction
The Lord is our shepherd; we want for nothing.
We hunger and thirst no more.
The Lord gives rest and comfort to our souls.
God keeps us in perfect peace.
The Lord sustains us amid trouble.
Our lives overflow with God’s love and grace.
Goodness and mercy will surely follow us always.
And we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever! Amen.
Postlude: “My sheep know my voice”