Welcome and Call to Worship

You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We praise you in the midst of the world and among all peoples,
we praise you in the midst of creation and among all creatures.

You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We praise you among suffering and tears,
we praise you among promises and achievements.

You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We praise you in the places of conflict and misunderstanding;
we praise you in the places of encounter and reconciliation.

You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you!
We praise you in the midst of rifts and divisions,
we praise you in the midst of life and death, the birth of a new heaven and a new earth.

You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you

HYMN The Church’s one foundation

Prayer

Lord, you are the vinedresser who cares for us with love.
You call on us to see the beauty of each branch united to the vine,
the beauty of each person.
And yet, too often the differences in others make us afraid.
We withdraw into ourselves.
Our trust in you is forsaken.
Enmity develops between us.
Come and direct our hearts toward you once again.

With the words that Jesus taught us, let us now pray together:

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.

Scriptures

1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 3:21-23
 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: one of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?

….. So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

John 17:20-23
‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

A Prayer for Unity

A united prayer to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, prepared and presented online by representatives from member congregations of Newington Churches Together.

HYMN Bind us together

Reflection

“United, united, united we stand; divided we ever shall fall.” These are not the words of a chant from the football terraces but from a commercially successful song of the late 1970s. At a time when most songs seemed to speak vaguely about ‘love’ this one stood out as different. It spoke of something that was true then and remains so today. Division is one of the great tragedies of human life. We see it from the small scale in families through to political or ideological groupings on a global scale. The Church, sadly, is not immune to this. Division within the Church has sometimes been referred to as its greatest scandal.

I wonder what Christ would have made of this division. True, he did see such among his disciples; note that they did not always agree on how things should be, and even jostled for position. Yet, they were more united than divided. Even in the earliest days of the Church we find Saint Paul having to address the issue as the believers proclaim allegiance to different leaders and so dividing a community that was meant to be one. You can almost sense Paul’s frustration when he asks if he had been the one crucified on their behalf. What would He have made of the division that has split the Church so many times in history, and has led to much pain and suffering for believer and unbeliever alike? Perhaps we may find a clue in His words on the night before the crucifixion; here Jesus prays, “that they may all be one … so that the world may believe.”

Division in the Church is more than simply politics, theology, or tradition for it has a spiritual dimension. Fragmentation in the Church reflects and influences upon our inner lives. It challenges our ability to find inner peace and strength as our energies are directed to defending our own traditions and values against those of our brothers and sisters in Christ. It impacts upon our attempts to find community and belonging as we seek out a place where we are welcome at the table and are not rejected because we were subject to the ‘wrong’ method of baptism or have the ‘wrong’ kind of institutional structures. It needs to stop!

So where do we begin? We first need to challenge our own thought processes. We often speak of other churches; the danger with this language is that we begin to see these gatherings as ‘other’, as not like us and, by implication, somehow not quite right. The truth is there is only ONE Church, though there are many congregations, traditions, and understandings of how we should be. Next, we need to take seriously the call upon us from Christ when he prayed that we may all be one. It means opening our arms in love and grace and accept each other as a part of the one family of faith. It means laying aside prejudices and working for the Kingdom of God. It means doing the difficult task of making sacrifice of things we hold dear that we may enable the world to believe. That is what Jesus prayed for his first disciples; it is what he prays for us today.

We live in a time of unprecedented change. As it impacts upon our own congregations we have the unmissable opportunity to come together in our sharing of mission and witness to the Good News. We will have to give up buildings and practices that are dear to us. It will not be easy, and it will hurt. But we can do it. In return we will gain so much more as we will see the Church unite in its purpose. Its importance is well summed up in the words of the late Brother Roger of the ecumenical community in Taize:

“Never resign yourself to the scandal of the separation of Christians who so readily profess love for their neighbour, and yet remain divided. Make the unity of the body of Christ your passionate concern.”

Amen.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, you create and re-create the Church in all places. Come and whisper in our hearts the prayer which Jesus addressed to his Father on the eve of his passion: “that they may all be one… so that the world may believe”.
Lord have mercy.

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, light the fire of your love in us so that suspicions, contempt and misunderstanding cease in the Church. May the walls that separate us fall.
Lord have mercy

Holy Spirit, Consoler of all, open our hearts to forgiveness and reconciliation and bring us back from our wanderings.
Lord have mercy

Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, give us poverty of spirit so that we may welcome the unexpectedness of your grace.
Lord have mercy

Holy Spirit, you never abandon the men, women and children who are persecuted for their fidelity to the gospel. Give them strength and courage, and support those who help them.
Lord have mercy

Amen.

HYMN Be Thou my vision

Benediction

Be one, so that the world may believe!
Abide in God’s love, go into the world and bear the fruits of this love.

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and all peace in faith, so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Acknowledgements:
Council of Churches of Britain & Ireland for permission to adapt prayers from this year’s service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18^th-25^th January).

English translations of Lord’s Prayer © 1988 English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC). www.englishtexts.org. Used by permission.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®  Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Welcome, and Call to Worship

(from Psalm 139: 17-18, 23-24)
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand –
when I awake, I am still with you.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

HYMN 459 Crown Him with many crowns

Prayer

Loving God,
You have gathered us in,
and made Yourself present among us.

We come to worship You,
our Creator
who formed us in our mother’s womb.
You are our source,
our life, and our meaning.
Create in each of us a new heart
open to all that is lifegiving.

We come to worship You
our Saviour and Redeemer.
We bring before You pour fears and our hopes.
As we come before You
we entrust ourselves
to Your loving care.

We come to worship You,
our Sustainer.
We give thanks
that in the highest joy
and in the deepest depths
You are there.

We come to worship You,
father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
One God, forever.

The Lord’s Prayer

Scriptures

I Samuel 3: 1-10
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’

But Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down.

Again the Lord called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’

‘My son,’ Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

A third time the Lord called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’

Then Eli realised that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’

Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’



I Corinthians 6: 12-20
‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say – but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’– but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, ‘Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.’ The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.



John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’

Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.

‘Come and see,’ said Philip.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’

‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig-tree before Philip called you.’

Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’

Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than that.’ He then added, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see “heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on” the Son of Man.’

HYMN 97 O God, you search me and you know me

Reflection

“Who are you?” This is such a simple yet such a profound question. Its directness evokes the simplicity of language of a young child yet also raises deep questions of personal identity and understanding. It touches on deep things without any of the trappings of philosophy or theology. So, “who are you?”

Our sense of who we are is often attached to things that may be described as external. We are keen to know where someone is from, where they live, or their occupation. These things impact on who we are but do not define us. A friend of mine recently said that she used to define herself by what she did; recently she recently realised that what mattered was whose she really was.

The Psalm that forms the call to worship, and one of our hymns today, seeks partly to address the question of who we are. God is described as present at our beginning, even in our mother’s womb. Here we are knit together by Him before our existence is known through any human means. What comes from this is not a sense of self-satisfaction that we are created as images of God; rather, scripture demands we reflect on this allowing it to guide the life choices we make. Samuel, thinking he hears Eli calling him in the night eventually has to choose what to do with this very literal calling of God. The good news is that he chooses to heed his earthly master and answer affirmatively the voice of God. Further into scripture we find St. Paul cautioning us about what we do in our daily lives. He sees that what we do matters not just on a human level; it matters, too, on a divine level because we are a part of the body of Christ. In other words, we are His. What we then choose to do reflects on how we understand ourselves in the sight of God.

The importance of knowing who we are moves to a new level in the midst of a lockdown. Many of our usual ways of defining ourselves are not available. Places of work are closed and employees placed on furlough. Cafés where we meet our friends are closed to all but take-away. Gathering with family, even outdoors, is no longer possible. We can no longer worship together in one place. In this existence how do we maintain our sense of identity, how do we maintain our sense of community? In all of this we continue to have a means of identity. This is true not only as individuals but also as a community. As the scriptures tell us, what gives both identity and community is God.

At the present time, just like the time of Samuel, it seems that personal power, wealth, and influence are topmost in people’s thoughts. We see it in relation to COVID, in ongoing political turmoil, and in continuing poverty through much of the world. It is also there in fear around these matters. How, in this, do we hear the voice of God calling to us to come to Him. How do we be like the young prophet and respond, “speak for your servant is listening.”? In times like these we need to realise our identity in Christ. No matter how things may seem at present we can answer the call of God, choosing to make our decisions knowing we are all His.

Basing our life in knowing we belong to God may radically change us. In the gospel passage Nathanael, a man of faith, has his preconceived ideas and expectations dramatically changed. How do we see beyond our fears and prejudices and, instead, see people made like you and me? How do we know, hear, and see people as they are rather than as our prejudices dictate? The answer is to remember we are all made in the image of God. We are all “fearfully and wonderfully made” (PS. 139: 14). Just as we begin to find our identity in whose we are so we can bring God’s justice to bear by remembering this is true of all people. In Christ there is no them, simply us. By acting in this truth we begin to make a difference; the world begins to heal; and we give glory to the one who created it, the one whose “works are wonderful” (Psalm 139: 14).
Amen.

Prayer

God of healing and wholeness,
we pray for a world in need;
a world in pain;
a world in need of You.

As we see a world divided,
may we learn to look beyond difference
remembering that all are one in You.
As we see a world that rages,
may we bring stillness;
may we seek our peace in You.

As we see a world of fear,
may we learn to walk in trust
and banish the use of threat.
As we see a world of poverty,
may we give of our resources
and fill each life in love.

As we see a world of sickness,
may we bring a healing touch
and see a world made whole.
As we see a world despairing,
may come bearing light,
and let Your love be known.

God who creates and sustains,
let us hear Your voice and call.
Let us be Your hands and feet
transforming the world we know.
Amen.

HYMN 543 Longing for light, we wait in darkness

Benediction

In each voice we hear may God be heard;
in each face we see may God be seen;
in each word we speak may truth ring out.

And as we go may God
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
go with us,
evermore.
Amen.

Acknowledgements
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.