SUNDAY - 21^st JUNE 2020:  REV. ANDREW DART

Sadly, we are still unable to meet in our buildings for worship and so we have prepared this sheet for you to use at home.  Although the Government has announced a possible lifting of some of the restrictions on the use of Church buildings, the Methodist Church do not anticipate any changes to the present situation  and will review the matter at the Annual Conference which meets at the end of this month.  

A version of the following Service can be found on the Circuit website:  www.lambethmethodistcircuit.org.uk and a recorded service will be available on the Southwark and Deptford Circuit website from 10:30 a.m. on Sunday  www.southwarkanddeptfordcircuit.org.uk

OPENING PRAYER
God of all, we come to you just as we are – happy, sad, busy, bored, lonely, or fed up with people.  We thank you that you welcome us just as we are and are always with us, even when we don’t realise.  We come to worship you and praise you, faithful God. 

HYMN                  467 (StF) I need thee every 
I need thee every hour,
most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine
can peace afford:

I need thee, O I need thee,
every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Saviour;
I come to thee.

I need thee every hour;
stay thou near by;
temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh:

I need thee every hour,
in joy or pain;
come quickly and abide,
or life is vain:

I need thee every hour;
teach me thy will,
and thy rich promises
in me fulfil:
                  Annie Sherwood Hawks (1835-1918)

PRAYER
We pray together
Beautiful God, we praise and worship you – your loving kindness and mercy is without end.  Your faithfulness to us is unending.  We praise you for your eternal love.

We recognise before you, and thank you, for where your image is clear in us – where we radiate you in the way that we live.  We recognise too where we mar that image – with selfishness, unkindness, a lack of love.

We say sorry in a moment of quiet and ask your forgiveness.

We thank you that you say to us each, ‘my child your sins are forgiven, go in peace and sin no more’.

We thank you that you give us your Spirit to help us know you and be closer to you

We thank you that when we come to you, you don’t wait for us to be clever enough, good enough, or perfect enough – but you accept us as we are in complete Love.

We thank you for people who have shown us what your love is like, remembering with thanks those who have died who have shown us what your love is like.

We bring our prayers in Jesus name.  Amen.

TODAY’S READING FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
Psalm 86:  A Prayer of David
¹ Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,   
for I am poor and needy.
² Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;   
save your servant who trusts in you.  
You are my God; ³ be gracious to me, O Lord,   
for to you do I cry all day long.
⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant,   
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,   
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
⁶ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;   
listen to my cry of supplication.
⁷ In the day of my trouble I call on you, 
for you will answer me.
⁸ There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,  
nor are there any works like yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made shall come   
and bow down before you, O Lord,   
and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do wondrous things;   
you alone are God.

TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
Luke 22: 39 - 46
³⁹ Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples followed Him.  ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, He said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”  ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,  ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.  ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵ When He rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.  ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” He asked them.  “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

(Please note the set gospel reading for today is Matthew 10:24-39 which you will find below)

TIME TO REFLECT
Recently a friend told me that he was grateful for the ‘gift of desperation’ because it was what made him reach out for help.

This echoes for me in the Psalms, where there is nothing the Psalmist won’t bring to God – fear, panic, anger, despair, jealousy, injustices, pain. From the lowest depths, the Psalmist cries out to God – for what else are the depths for, but to give us the ‘gift of desperation’ which makes us reach out to God?

Jesus too gives us this example with his heart-wrenching prayer in Gethsemane. Jesus brings it all – the pain, the anguish, the loneliness – to God, just as it is.

However this time is for us, the examples of the Psalmist and of Jesus, encourage us to bring it all to God – just as we are.  If there is fear, panic and anguish, bring it to God, let it push you to reach out to God and to good people for help.

If there is desperation, loneliness, despair, let those be the things that have us pouring our hearts out to God, reaching out to the One who is our Creator, Sustainer, Upholder.

If there is joy, gratitude, praise – bring that too!  The Psalmist brings it all, Jesus brings it all – so can we – confident, without fear, knowing we are beloved.

Things to consider:

• When are you likely to pray the most?
• Do you find it hard to bring difficult emotions to God? How might today’s bible passages inspire you?
• Consider writing your own Psalm to God – sharing how you are – the wonderful things, the joys, the difficulties and the struggles.

Take a time to sit quietly

A TIME OF PRAYER
Please make your own prayers for specific people, places and situations in the spaces.

Eternal God, we come to pray as your co-workers and co-carers in your world.  We know you already care and are already there in the places and with the people for whom we pray.

In a moment of silence we pray for people suffering, in pain, depression or anxiety. We pray for all those who work to alleviate suffering.

We pray for communities struggling in poverty, overcrowding and hunger, for people feeling disconnected and for those who are working together to bring comfort, food and help.

We pray for governments and those in power around the world, for wisdom and the desire to put the wellbeing of their people first and to work together with other countries in peace.

We bring all our prayers, in trust and confidence, in the precious name of Jesus.  Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father……

HYMN                  645 (StF) Will your anchor hold in the storms of life
1. Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
when the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
steadfast and sure while the billows roll;
fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love!

2. Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear,
when the breakers roar and the reef is near?
While the surges rage, and the wild winds blow,
shall the angry waves then your bark o'erflow?

3. Will your anchor hold in the floods of death,
when the waters cold chill your latest breath?
On the rising tide you can never fail,
while your anchor holds within the veil.

4. Will your eyes behold through the morning light
the city of gold and the harbour bright?
Will you anchor safe by the heavenly shore,
when life's storms are past for evermore?
                                                    Priscilla Jane Owens (1829-1907) 

A PRAYER OF BLESSING
May Immanuel God be with us, bless us with the deep heart-knowledge that God is with us, and as we share the reality of ourselves with God, may we know ourselves held and beloved.  Amen.
                                                                                                                    Original Materials by Ruth Yorke 

LECTIONARY GOSPEL FOR THIS SUNDAY

Matthew 10:24-31
A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵ it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

²⁶ “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸ Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^[a] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.