A call to worship:
Come, bring your praises and your pains.
Come, bring your joys and your sorrows.
Come, bring your thanks and your regrets.
Come, bring your hopes and your fears.
Come, bring all you are to God, and find blessing.
Amen.
A gathering prayer:
God of each day and each moment, you call us to our Lord Jesus, ‘man of sorrows’, you know what it is to be full of sadness.
Lord Jesus, friend of sinners, you love us in all our brokenness.
Lord Jesus, like a mother, you care for us and soothe our pain.
As we worship you today, touch us in our need, and help us to love and care for one another.
Amen.
How Great is Our God
The splendour of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the Earth rejoice, all the Earth rejoice.
He wraps himself in light. And darkness tries to hide, And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice.
How great is our God, sing with me.
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God.
Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands, (Beginning and the end x 2).
The Godhead Three in One, Father Spirit Son
(The Lion and the Lamb x2)
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God.
Name above all names (how great is our God, sing with me)
Worthy of our praise (how great is our God, and all will see)
My heart will sing, how great is our God.
You’re the name above all names (how great is our God, sing with me)
You are worthy of our praise (how great is our God, and all will see), And my heart will sing
How great is our God.
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God.
Repeat x 2
Bible Readings
Psalm 130
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Mark 5:21-43
Jesus raises a dead girl and heals a sick woman
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered round him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.’ 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed round him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from him. He turned round in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’
31 ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, “Who touched me?”’
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher anymore?’
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.’ 40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum!’ (which means ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Reflection:
Today’s reflection is from Psalm 130 and follows on from the Bible month studies from the book of Genesis. This reminded me of a hymn written by Keith Getty, Stuart Townend, Jordan Kauflin and Matthew Sherman Merker, which helps us reflect and meditate on the Bible.
Out of the depths, I cry to You. In darkest places, I will call. Incline Your ear to me anew
And hear my cry for mercy, Lord
Were you to count my sinful ways
How could I come before Your throne?
Yet full forgiveness meets my gaze
I stand redeemed by grace alone.
I will wait for You, I will wait for You
On Your Word, I will rely. I will wait for You, surely wait for You. Til my soul is satisfied.
We are called to live, serve in response to God’s unfailing love. Psalm 130 starts with a cry of despair, and ends in a new place, where we can say we have an assurance of God’s unfailing love. Prayer is never more real and acceptable than when it rises out of the difficult places. Deep places, produce deep devotions as we reflect on our own lives, when we see no answer to our prayers, deep prayer gives God the glory. Someone once said, ‘if you pray in the depths, you will not sink out of God’s everlasting love’.
In our worship service we pray the Lord’s prayer when we say forgive us our trespasses and help us to forgive those who trespass against us. In different seasons of life, many of us may have cried tears, when things have been overwhelming.
This Psalm could be called a weeping prayer and in John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible says, ‘Jesus wept’. This moment speaks to His humanity, and His ability to sympathise with our pain and suffering. The fact that Jesus weeps in this situation brings perspective to human pain and suffering.
In this Psalm David comes to the place where he seeks God’s forgiveness. In verse 4 God has the power to forgive permanently, His forgiveness is ready right now to grant us a pardon. In this Psalm of a verse in Romans 3 v 12 says, ‘All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one’.
At the start of our Bible month looking at Genesis, I asked a Bible study group what music comes to their minds, when we looked at the creation story at the beginning of Genesis Chapter 1. It was interesting to hear that several people thought of Beethoven’s overture, ‘Gustov Holts Planets’.
At the conclusion of this year’s Bible month, I am reminded of the question in the Bible study notes, that may help us to ask ourselves the following question in the future, ‘Where is the good news for people and communities of faith today?’. To close a quote from the booklet. ‘Let’s attune ourselves to the invitation to live and learn attentively as God shows us who he is, what he is doing, and why he does it. In turn, we will discover who we are, what we are doing and why’.
Prayers of intercession
Lord, as we come to you today, we think of different changes that have happened in our lives – those that have had positive effects on us and those that were very hard. We know that you were with us through all the changes, even when we couldn’t immediately see you at work. As we focus on the coming few days and weeks, give us the confidence to know that you are still with us, always with us, through change and when everything stays the same.
Changeless God, we come to you.
Help us to know you are near.
We pray for those facing difficult changes in their lives: perhaps through ill health, bereavement, unemployment or separation from loved ones. Lord, we name anyone known to us who is struggling in this way…. We ask that your peace and comfort be upon them. Reassure them that, although their circumstances may change, you do not.
Give them the courage to face their future knowing that you are holding their hand. Changeless God, we come to you. Help us to know you are near.
The Lord's Prayer
Please use the version that you prefer
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
And deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Goodness of God
I love You, Lord. Oh, your mercy never failed me. All my days, I’ve been held in your hands
From the moment that i wake up. Until I lay my head. Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.
And all my life you have been faithful
And all my life you have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.
I love your voice; you have led me through the fire. And in darkest night you are close like no other. I’ve known you as a Father
I’ve known you as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God, yeah.
And all my life you have been faithful, oh-oh-oh. And all my life you have been so, so good
With every breath that i am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God, yeah.
Cause your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now. I give you everything. Cause your goodness is running after, it’s running after me, oh-oh
Cause your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now. I give you everything. Cause your goodness is running after, it keeps running after me
And all my life you have been faithful
And all my life you have been so, so good
With every breath that i am able
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
I’m gonna sing, I’m gonna sing.
(Repeat the 1st 4 lines above)
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God.
A sending out prayer:
Lord, be with us on our journeys with others and open our eyes to you.
Amen.
