17th May 2020 Service.

Sixth Sunday in Easter

Call to Worship

Let us see you this day, O God,
Come to us as light.

Let us hear you this day, O God,
Come to us as truth.

Let us sense your presence, O God,
Come to us as love.

Come and let us worship, God.
We will rejoice in God, our Saviour.

The Collect for today

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit,
Your love and mercy fill us with awe as we come to you in worship today, our
God, One in Three and Three in One!
In you, we live and move and have our being.
In you, we find our beginning and our end.
In you, we come before a judge who is kind and gracious.
We know you as Saviour, keeping watch over all your people,
calling us to walk in paths of justice and peace,
leading us away from trouble into a future filled with the hope and the promise of heaven.
Here in our homes, we offer you our praise and worship, but also one with our families and friends within the compass of your church on earth. We come with gratitude to serve you today and always.

Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit,
Hear our confession as we admit the ways in which we have failed to be people of the way the truth and the live
We have loved ourselves more than others and have been ready to justify ourselves whilst condemning other people. We have claimed to be your disciples while forgetting your teaching. We have pretended to be wise when we were ignorant.
We have believed and trusted lies without questioning.
We have sought after things of little value and valued little the things of great worth.
Forgive us our foolishness. Renew us by your mercy.
Restore within us a right spirit and guide us in your ways of wisdom.

Assurance of Pardon

We hear the good news! Who can condemn us? Only Christ –
And Christ died for us; Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Friends believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and set free by God’s generous grace.

Prayer for Understanding

Spirit of Truth and Love move in us and among us as we listen to the Scriptures read and proclaimed. Open our minds and hearts to God’s Living Word
so that we may know it more fully and follow it more faithfully day by day. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer (in the words most familiar to you)

The Readings

Psalm 66:8-20

8 Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfil my vows to you –
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

John 14:15-21

15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.’

Acts 7:22-31

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So, you are ignorant of the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 ‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 “For in him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”
29 ‘Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.’

Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all praise and glory.

Sermon

There is an old American spiritual which runs:

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, A long way from home, A long way from home.

Here is a version sung by Paul Robeson:Paul Robeson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiJx1Hbn_KM

Jesus words, in our gospel today is the antidote: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” Orphaned, otherwise understood as ‘desolate’ or ‘abandoned.’ The context of today’s gospel is incredibly sad. Jesus is about to leave his disciples and friends. We need to be reminded that this scripture is a part of the long dialogue Jesus had with his disciples as he prepared them for his death, resurrection, and ascension.

In order to look forward to the promise contained here, be must look back to the Upper Room before the crucifixion where we see that the followers of Jesus are beginning to feel separation anxiety; the man they gave up everything to follow is about to leave them. They do not really understand what is going to happen to Jesus, what is going to happen to them, and where they are going to go.

Many of the disciples had left their homes, their wives and families and their livelihood to follow Jesus. They no longer had a source of income and were far away from the security and comfort of home. We can easily forget, in the excitement of the unfolding story of Easter and Pentecost, that it was a time of great anxiety and wondering “What next?” which lasted seven weeks. Seven weeks surely rings a bell for us. During that time, did the disciples remember the details of all Jesus told them? They were certainly encouraged by the resurrection, but how did they handle the waiting and wondering until the time was right for the next stage of their lives

When we are about to lose something that is valued, someone close, or somewhere familiar, we worry, become disagreeable or feel depressed. That is only human. I am sure that the disciples were feeling all of these – some kept it to themselves, and others, like Thomas, questioned and questioned. The mood around Jesus and the disciples must have been despondent.

They were still a small unknown group of people living in an occupied nation. They had seen the power of the Roman State allied with a religious leadership which was determined to resist change. Prominent politicians and leaders had asked, “What is truth?” and had stated, “nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” People who would stop at nothing to protect their power and privilege. Ruthless deceit was at the heart of Jerusalem’s civic life. How little have circumstances changed

I read a comment by a minister which runs:

“I have long suspected that in the Ten Commandments the most important command after the first two concerning worshipping God alone, is the ninth: you shall not bear false witness. It seems to me that if truth is respected, a community can deal with most sins. But when deceit rules, then all becomes chaos.

For example, society can handle theft as long there is integrity in police and witnesses. Society can sort out the breakdown of marriages as long as the participants will be honest. I have seen marriages cope creatively with adultery where painful truth has ruled. We can even cope with murder, providing witnesses, police and jurors and judges retain their veracity.

However, when the essence of the ninth commandment breaks down, when truth ceases to be the common bond in communal interaction, then all hell has broken loose. Sadly, I believe we are very much in that situation in our times.

The “postmodern” world seems to want it to be so. Relativity of all things, the quickest way to exert one’s naked self-interest, the ruthless using of other people like furniture for one’s comfort or articles for one’s profit, is widespread.”

We live in a world in which truth is replaced with alternative facts, fake news, and blatant lying from politicians around the world. How do we make decisions when we cannot always trust what we are told? Across ideological divides accusations are levelled without proof and many messages are confused and contradictory.

On what can you depend in this deceitful world? Thank goodness there is a Spirit of truth whom Jesus promised to send to his disciples. The truth of God in Christ Jesus, that is what! This is one reality which is not relative, one on which we can rely completely; one voice that never fools us, one great love which will never cheat on us. This truth is personal.

The Spirit of truth is of course God with us. As Jesus said: You know it because it lives with you and will be in you.” John 14: 16-17

This truth is not learned information about physics, or astronomy, or psychology, or theology. It is a relationship of God with humanity. A relationship which God initiates and to which we can respond with a “no,” or with a celebratory “yes” each day. It is the veracity of God’s love leading us towards the fulfilment of self and community. And note also that it is a Spirit whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it nor knows it. This Spirit of truth is vastly different from the Spirit of the world, which is deceitful and untruthful, divisive, and self-serving.

Each of us may then ask an honest question, “But how do I know that I am not deceiving myself in believing that I have the Spirit of truth of whom Jesus speaks?” I hope the following may be helpful

The Spirit of truth sees us as we really are, yet he accepts and treasures us. Of course, we must know and acknowledge the truth about ourselves, painful though that may be Nothing can be hidden from this truth. Nor is there any need to hide anything from this truth. For the pure truth of God can face the degraded veracity that is our truth without disgust or despair.

This is one of the wonderful things about the Spirit of truth. Here we do not have to pretend, or makes excuses, or try to hide any ugliness. Just as men and women found themselves at peace in the presence of Jesus of Nazareth, so we too find ourselves at peace in the Presence of the Spirit of truth.

The Spirit also sharpens our perceptions of life, and at times alerts us to dangers or opens our eyes to new opportunities for serving Christ. Traditionally the church used the words “convict” to describe this ministry of the Spirit of truth. The Spirit convicts us of sin, or convinces us of wrongs to be righted, neighbours to be helped, enemies to be forgiven, apologies to be made, achievements in others to be gladly applauded. The sign of this is an active and sensitive mind fed and guided by Jesus’ commandments and motivated by his love. It is more than what we call conscience.

Conscience can mislead us. It is a handy but very fallible tool. It is a construct of the values of parents, teachers, friends, pastors, Sunday School, books that deeply influence us, and saints who profoundly inspire us. But sometimes our conscience is also corrupted from some of these sources.

The Spirit of truth is greater than conscience. In fact, the Spirit sometimes wishes to take some unnecessary burden out of our conscience, or contradict some attitude embedded in conscience, or sensitise our conscience to issues that we must take more seriously. The First Letter of John reminds us that conscience is not absolute: “If our hearts (conscience in some translations) condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

To trust the Spirit of truth may mean enduring the pain of having conscience reshaped. And that is indeed a painful business. We do not like change; especially not the change of deep-down parts of our being with which I am familiar and comfortable.

The Spirit of truth is the Counsellor, the paraclete who (like a barrister conducting a fierce cross examination) can make us face things that we thought were good but we now begin to see are distortions of the best that God wishes for us.

Please note that the Spirit of truth is not different from Jesus himself. When he speaks of coming to the disciples, he also says that he will send the Holy Spirit. And of course, the Spirit gives the same hard challenges and the same warm comfort and healing that Jesus gave to those around him. No wonder that in the New Testament the words–the “Spirit of God” the “Spirit of Christ” and the “Holy Spirit” are used interchangeably.

Truth, God’s truth, is no kinder and no tougher than the Jesus whose life we admire and praise and love. There is laughter in God’s truth. There is compassion in God’s truth. There is judgement in God’s truth. There is grace in God’s truth. There is a cross in God’s truth. There are wounds in God’s truth. There is resurrection joy in God’s truth.

How shall we apply the comfort element of this promise, that the Spirit of God will make us stronger? To “comfort” means literally to bring strength to someone.
The answer comes when we remember how the bewildered disciples were transformed at Pentecost into a force which overcame the reactionary power of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the hostility of the pagan world and ultimately conquered the Roman Empire. And they did so in the face of the world’s fiercest opposition.

In the face of the upheaval in our world caused by the Covid-19 pandemic many are feeling a sense of loss and upheaval, abandonment, and uncertainty such as the disciples felt when Jesus left them. What comfort, what new strength can we find?

By recalling that the Spirit of God still walks with us. As the disciples then, so for the last 2000 years and now, we are not left alone.

The Holy Spirit, that nameless and most mysterious part of the Trinity, is still and forever with us.

That still small voice that comes into our hearts when we are the most overwhelmed or confused; that is the Holy Spirit.

When you are the most befuddled and lost for answers, and an answer comes to you – that is the Holy Spirit.

When we are despondent, our hearts are broken and we don’t think we can go on, it’s the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts with love and encouragement that lets us know we can keep going.

When we see someone hurting or upset, needing comfort and we don’t know how to help, suddenly the right words begin to come, and we find solace – that is the Holy Spirit.

When we look in the faces of our grandchildren, when we are overcome with the beauty of springtime or the twinkling of a starry sky or the touch of a loved one’s hand, that is the Holy Spirit reassuring us ‘lo I am always with you’, even to the ends of the earth.

The Holy Spirit is always with us, even when we do not acknowledge the presence. The Holy Spirit walks with us, leading, guiding and supporting us on our journey. The Holy Spirit may come in the form of a person or a spirit. How many times, when you are at your lowest, does someone appear who walks the path with you and supports you as you dig your way up into the light? The paraclete hears us when we cry out and comes to prop us up.

If sometimes you feel like a motherless child, a long way from home? –

Remember that Jesus goes on to say that he “will not leave us as orphans”. No matter how alone we feel, we are not alone. We are a member of the family of Christ, protected eternally by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this little phrase, Jesus promises that we will be not be onlookers to a love we can never possess; instead, he says ‘come in, and join. My family is gathered, and your place is reserved.’

Just as Jesus offers us a place in his family, so we must not leave others orphaned. As members of the family of Christ, we must not leave anyone on the outside looking in. We all know the phrase: “what you do for the least of these, you do for me”. Just as Jesus has not left us orphaned, so must we be our brother’s keeper. Does your intimate circle include those who are orphaned or disenfranchised or abandoned by the world?

Jesus also tells us that we should keep His commandments. In Matthew we are told that the greatest of the commandments is to love . . . Love God and love thy neighbour.

No matter what happens, what goes wrong, how remote God seems from us, Jesus assures us that we have a supporter, a truthful helper in the Holy Spirit who will always be with us. When we love God and our neighbours and keep his commandments, He and the Holy Spirit will always be with us. We will always be a part of the family of Christ.

We will never be alone, and we will receive strength and truth and courage to change our world as the first disciples did. Amen.

Invitation to the Offering

Jesus has shared his gifts with his followers throughout all time and in every place. As we offer our gifts in thanksgiving, may our generosity reflect the generosity we meet in Christ Jesus, Lord of all times and all places.

Prayer of Dedication

Generous God, we bless you for your gift of life renewed through Christ’s love. Bless us and the gifts we bring so that our lives may reflect the hope and renewal we have found in Christ, throughout our community and in the world which you love, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession

Holy Spirit be with us today. Be our teacher, our guide, our counsellor, our friend. Fill us with your gifts, especially the gifts of wisdom, discernment, knowledge, understanding, compassion, love, and awe in God’s presence. In all that we think, say, and do, let it be in accordance with your most holy and perfect will.

Loving God,
We thank you for calling us into a relationship with you and setting us in the world you love. Through our prayers, we bring to you our doubts and fears, our joys and our concerns, and our deepest longings for your world.

Reconciling God,
We pray for our family and friends, those far away and those close by,
any who are estranged from us and those whom we depend upon daily. In these days of physical distancing, keep us close to each other through all the means of communication we have. Bless and protect relationships that are joyful and life-giving. Where our relationships are strained, bring understanding and new possibilities. Help us all give thanks for the love that is still possible among us all.

Guiding God,
We pray for public officials, politicians and all who serve the public good day by day. In these times of new challenges, guide each leader to uphold standards of good service above personal gain. Give wisdom to make faithful decisions, and give them courage when those decisions are unpopular. Create a spirit of co-operation and understanding among our leaders, especially those who are tempted to emphasise differences and to be oppositional that our country and communities can flourish again.

Caring God,
We pray for the people we encounter every day, both those who are shining lights in our communities and those whose lights have yet to be discovered. Help us to be respectful of every neighbour and treat each person we meet with kindness. When we grow tired of limits on our lives, help us remember that the limits we face in this time of pandemic are what protect the most vulnerable among us.

Healing God,
We pray for those who are suffering from illness or chronic conditions, for those in grief or loneliness, and for any who feel frustrated or overwhelmed by what they face. We remember all those who have been affected by coronavirus, those who have died, and those whose treatments have been postponed during the pandemic. Move in all our lives with your healing grace and show signs of your presence and compassion in life-giving ways to all who suffer.

Faithful God,
Your Spirit has worked in the world throughout all generations. We thank you that we belong to you in this generation. We pray for life-long believers and for those whose faith is new. May your church benefit from the wisdom of the experienced and the vibrancy of those beginning their journey. Help us work together in hope in this time of anxiety and uncertainty, so that our witness to your purposes and promises will invite others to discover life in you.
Hear all our prayers in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sending out and Benediction

Through the encouragement of Jesus, let the Spirit of truth be the abiding reality
in your sleeping and waking, working, and relaxing, praying and laughing.

For in the God of Christ we live and move and have our being.

May the love of God be the strength of your mind and heart.
May the grace of Christ be the salve for your bruises and wounds.
May the friendship of the Spirit be the joy of your resilient soul.
Now and ever more. Amen.

Hymns

Here are some hymn suggestions to check on YouTube if you wish to sing along. Some may not be as familiar as their titles suggest:

Be still, for the presence of the Lord
Be Still for the presence of The Lord.

Immortal, invisible God, only wise
Immortal Invisible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spE-BE23qxA

For the beauty of the earth (John Rutter words on YouTube page)

Brother, sister, let me serve you

Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire

Breathe on me breath of God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIu0nuPX4Us
Breath on me breath of God.
Spirit of God, unseen as the wind

Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,
gentle as is the dove;
teach us the truth and help us believe,
show us the Saviour’s love.
Verse 1.
You spoke to men long, long ago,
gave us the written Word;
we read it still, needing its truth,
through it God’s voice is heard.
Spirit of God …
Verse 2.
Without Your help we fail our Lord,
we cannot live His way;
we need Your power, we need Your strength,
following Christ each day.
Spirit of God …

Guide me O thou great Jehovah

For Children

Today we are going to talk about something you cannot see, but you know when it is there.

It has been very windy this month, so much so that I’ve been trying to find a day to spray the dandelions in the manse lawn, but because I don’t want the spray to blow onto the other plants as well, I cannot do it. We cannot see the wind, but we certainly know it is there. The wind is also blowing seeds from the first dandelion clocks which is going to make things worse for gardeners, but not for the dandelions.

We don’t need to be convinced that the wind is there even though we don’t see it, do we? We cannot see the wind, but we can always see what it is doing. The fan pictured above is blowing streamers, and if we stood before it our hair would be moving, and we would feel cooler.

Do you know what this reminds us of in the Bible? I will give you a hint: It’s an amazing gift left for us when Jesus returned to heaven to be with His Father. Do you know what it is now?

Jesus promised us a helper and that helper is the Holy Spirit. We don’t see the Holy Spirit because He lives inside of those of us who make Jesus our Lord and Saviour. But just like the wind from a fan or blowing in our gardens, even though we can’t see the Holy Spirit, we know that He brings comfort and help to us. The Holy Spirit is God who lives within us and helps us to live as Jesus has taught us to live.

Can you suggest what that means?

Prayer

God, even though we cannot see You, we know You are real. We also know Your Holy Spirit is real. Thank You for the comfort You bring us through the gift of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Spirit lives to set us free

A Prayer in a Time of Distress

Almighty and everlasting God, you are strength to those who suffer and comfort to those who grieve. Let the prayers of your children who are in trouble rise to you. Hear our prayer. We claim your promises of wholeness as we pray for those who are ill or are suffering loss and long for your healing touch. Hear our prayer. Make the weak strong, the sick healthy, the broken whole, and confirm those who serve them as agents of your love. Hear our prayer. To everyone in distress, grant mercy, grant relief, grant refreshment. Hear our prayer. When we begin to rebuild, we commend our neighbourhoods to your care. Give us strength of purpose and concern for others, that we may create a community where your will may be done. Hear our prayer. God of compassion, you watch our ways, and weave out of terrible happenings wonders of goodness and grace. Hear our prayer. Surround those who have been shaken by tragedy with a sense of your present love and hold them in faith. Though they are lost in grief, may they find you and be comforted; Through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives and rules this world with you. Amen

Intimations

The funeral of Mrs Agnes Westwood, formerly an elder in St John’s Church and Presbytery elder, will take place at Dunfermline Crematorium on Monday 18th May 2020 at 10:45 am (Family only). Please remember her family in prayer.

Heart and Soul 2020 – Sunday, 17th May – 2:00pm – 4:20pm

We’re delighted to announce, as part of that ‘Big Weekend’ for the Church of Scotland, a special ‘Heart and Soul 2020’ event will take place (online) on 17th May 2020. The current crisis has meant that the original event, scheduled to have taken place in Princes Street Gardens on that day, has had to be cancelled.

However, a number of features from the event in Princes Street Gardens can be transferred into an online format, and we’re going to screen an abridged ‘Heart and Soul’ at 2.00pm on 17th May – when the original event would have taken place. The programme will run until about 4.20pm. A recording of the event will be available soon afterwards. You will be able to watch the event live on the Church of Scotland website (www.churchofscotland.org.uk)Church of Scotland and live on the Facebook page (fb.me/churchofscotland).C of S fb page.