Welcome:
Welcome to our joint service for this, the 22nd August. This week we consider our call to serve Christ through serving the world.
Call to Worship):
God is the King of moon and sun;
God is the King of stars above.
He knows our every need;
he is the loving God of life.
Let us worship God.
HYMN 59 Oh, come, and let us to the Lord (Irish)
(From Stevenston High Kirk)
Prayer
God of love,
light a flame of love in our hearts to you,
a flame of love to our families and friends,
a flame of love to our neighbours,
a flame of love to our enemies.
Son of the Mary,
light a flame of love in our hearts to all,
from the lowliest thing that lives,
to the Name that is highest of all.
God of life,
grant us your forgiveness.
We have been heedless in our thoughts,
cruel in our words,
shameful in our actions.
We are indifferent to a world made sad
by want and wastefulness;
we pass by on the other side
when we see our neighbour in need;
we wander from the way that leads to peace
in paths of our own pleasing.
God of life,
grant us your forgiveness.
silence
God of the new day and God of love,
you created us and you have redeemed us.
Banish the deeds of darkness
from the sons and daughters of your light.
Help us to know and believe
that, as the children of your love,
we are free to begin again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God and Jesus and Spirit of wholeness,
as Three and as One,
shield us and save us,
possess us and aid us,
clear our path,
go before our souls
each step of this world.
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:
John 10: 11-18
‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’
John 21: 15-19
‘When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
HYMN 16 The Lord’s my Shepherd (Brother James’s Air)
(from the Chet Valley Churches)
Reflection:
Jesus said to Peter a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter must have felt hurt, “Do you love me?” Peter’s response reveal his feelings. He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
Jesus appears to be clearing the air between Peter and himself. He makes sure that Peter knows He is forgiven; he makes sure Peter knows that God still has a place for him in his Kingdom. That this encounter is recorded in the Gospel of John is no mere accident. Rather, it is there to remind us that those who proclaim they love God must respond in deed as well as in word. The response He wants is for us to ‘feed his sheep’.
There is almost a sense of urgency in Jesus’ question for Peter. He pushes Peter past his failure of denying Jesus; he pushes him into living a life that continues to honour the risen Lord. This conversation reminds us that God has a heart for humanity. He calls us to be people who live in service of others.
Jesus calls for action to accompany our faith; not as a means of earning his favour but as a witness to it. These actions, in obedience to our Lord, giving meaning and purpose for our Christian lives.
But who are the sheep that both Peter and we are commanded to feed? The love of God, active in each of us, is an outward one; it’s something that doesn’t stand still. It shouldn’t, then, surprise us when Jesus says that he has sheep of another flock. He says, “I have sheep that don’t belong to his fold,” he says, “I’m bringing them, too. They’ll listen to my voice, just like you.” It’s a statement that shouldn’t surprise yet often does. It means that Jesus has a community of the faithful beyond our own. It means that they are included in the plans of God. It means that, just like you and me, there are others that listen for the voice of Jesus.
Sheep not of our flock! Think about it. Who are they? Are they like us? Are they different? Does Jesus love them more than he loves us? The wonderful thing is that these questions are not answered. This means that we are not to go out seeking which sheep are Christ’s and which others are not. What it does mean that we are to feed the sheep simply because they are sheep.
Let us be people that take the words of Jesus seriously, willingly giving our time and talent so that we are a blessing to those around us. Yes, the words of Jesus to Peter most likely stand in the context of spiritual feeding. Yet they also mean that we must consider all of the forms of care and nurture that feeding could encompass. Philippians 2:17 says, “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.”
May we all have the opportunity to share the joy that comes when we are faithful to serve.
Amen.
Prayer for the World:
Let us pray for the Church,
the world, and one another.
For the Church we pray, the bright lamp of faith,
her ministers and people, and this parish.
May the King of angels protect her,
keep her, and save her.
For the world we pray, the creation of God,
its land and sea, its peace and prosperity.
May the Spirit of Christ move through all the earth,
blessing it.
For those who are ill we pray
and for those who suffer.
May the Good Shepherd
who knows and loves his sheep
make them whole and well, active and content.
For those who work we pray
and for all who create
the patterns of this worlds life.
May the King of grace
give to their labour
growth, purpose, and meaning,
until the day of the Lord comes.
For those we love, and for ourselves we pray.
May the guarding of God be theirs and ours
until together we come
to the High King’s house in heaven,
in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit Holy.
Amen.
HYMN 533 Will you come and follow me
(from St. Andrew’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Glasgow)
Benediction:
The guarding of the God of life be on you,
the guarding of the loving Christ be on you,
the guarding of the Holy Spirit be on you,
every day and night,
to aid you and enfold you,
each day, each night.
Amen.
Sung Amen
Acknowledgements:
Bible Quotations taken from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Prayers adapted from the Church of Scotland Book of Common Order (1994) – fourth morning service.
English translations of The Lord’s Prayer, © 1998, English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), and used by permission. www.englishtexts.org