INTRODUCTION
Welcome in the name of our Lord Jesus to morning worship for this 5th Sunday of Easter. We will be following the Lectionary gospel reading for this Sunday with our theme being trusting in the promises of Jesus.
HYMN: Singing the Faith 11
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee:
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee:
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.
though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!Reginald Heber (1783–1826) (alt.)
Based on Revelation 4:8-11, Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 11
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!Reginald Heber (1783–1826) (alt.)
Based on Revelation 4:8-11, Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 11
PRAYERS
Praise be to you, O God,
the maker of the universe,
by whose wisdom we are created and sustained.
the maker of the universe,
by whose wisdom we are created and sustained.
Praise be to you, O God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whose love we are redeemed and forgiven.
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whose love we are redeemed and forgiven.
Praise to you, O God,
the source of all holiness,
by whose Spirit we are made whole
and brought to perfection.
the source of all holiness,
by whose Spirit we are made whole
and brought to perfection.
Praise be to you, O God,
Source of all being,
Eternal Word and Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be forever. Amen.
Source of all being,
Eternal Word and Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be forever. Amen.
Loving God,
we have sinned against you
in what we have thought, said and done.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry
and turn away from what is wrong.
God of truth be merciful to us
as we claim your promised forgiveness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
we have sinned against you
in what we have thought, said and done.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry
and turn away from what is wrong.
God of truth be merciful to us
as we claim your promised forgiveness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
READING
John 14: 1-7
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
HYMN: Singing the Faith 403
“God is Love. His the Care.”
“God is Love. His the Care.”
God is love: his the care,
tending each, everywhere.
God is love — all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that we all might know him:
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good!
God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
tending each, everywhere.
God is love — all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that we all might know him:
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good!
God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
None can see God above;
neighbours here we can love;
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
sisters all, and brothers:
neighbours here we can love;
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
sisters all, and brothers:
Jesus came, lived and died
for our sake, crucified,
rose again, glorified;
he was born to save us
by the truth he gave us:
for our sake, crucified,
rose again, glorified;
he was born to save us
by the truth he gave us:
To our Lord praise we sing —
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty:
Percy Dearmer (1867–1936). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 403
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty:
Percy Dearmer (1867–1936). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 403
REFLECTION
I have been preaching for a number of years now, but even after all the sermons I’ve prepared and all the Bible Studies I’ve been to and led; after all the sermons and reflections I’ve heard by great preachers, I never fail to be amazed and astounded by the Scriptures.
Every time I read a passage in the Bible it speaks to me in a new way. I hope it is the same for you. Every time I come to a passage that I’m going to preach from it reveals not only new truths but often things that are relevant to things going on in our lives right now. The Scriptures are not ordinary human words, they are living words from the living God that speak to us across time and space. The same is true of our gospel reading for today.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that many of us have hearts that are troubled. The hearts of Jesus’ first disciples were troubled because Jesus had told them he was going somewhere they couldn’t immediately follow. New Testament scholar Bruce Milne expresses it this way, “Jesus has informed them he is about to leave them. Their whole world had been so wrapped up in Jesus over the last few years that the prospect of his departure must have been devastating.”
Many of us have troubled hearts: troubled because we fear losing our own lives or of losing those close to us and troubled because somebody we know has died in recent weeks.
This is a passage from Scripture that helps us face our fears of death and is sometimes used in funeral services.
Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms.”
Some translations have many tents, or many dwelling places and the King James version has “many mansions”. As I sometimes say at funerals when I preach on this passage, I’m hoping for a mansion. But the type of dwelling doesn’t matter, it’s the word “many” that’s important. This word suggests that in heaven there is room for all. A house on earth can become overcrowded, a bed and breakfast in Blackpool can have a sign in the window reading “No Vacancies” and a hotel can be full. As Mary and Joseph discovered, there is sometimes no room at the inn. There is room for everybody in heaven and there will never be a “No Vacancies” sign on the pearly gates. Heaven is as wide as the heart of God. There is room for all. Jesus was, in effect, saying to his friends, “Don’t worry. People may shut you out, but the gates of heaven will always be open to you.”
Jesus continues, “if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” This doesn’t mean, of course, that Jesus is acting as some sort of heavenly chambermaid, making the beds and cleaning the bathroom. He means that he is going ahead of us to prepare the way by dying on the cross so that we can know our sins are forgiven and we will receive eternal life in heaven. We are welcomed into heaven by Jesus who went there ahead of us.
There are more words of reassurance from Jesus. “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” This is a great truth stated very simply. We do not know what heaven will be like. Even the description of the new heaven and earth given in Revelation gives us only a very vague idea. I guess we all have our different hopes about what heaven will be like and our own ideas. It’s natural for us to wonder and speculate. This passage tells us very simply that heaven is where Jesus is. That’s all we need to know.
Think about when you are in love with somebody. You are almost obsessed with them. You want to spend as much time as possible with them. We only feel truly and completely alive when we are with them. It’s the same with Jesus if we are truly his disciples. At the moment, in this life on earth, our contact with Jesus is kind of ephemeral: we can know his presence very intensely sometimes, but the spiritual highs and the feelings of euphoria don’t last. When we are in heaven that’s how we’ll feel the whole time because we will be with Jesus.
Then Jesus gives some more words of reassurance; in what has become one of the best-known verses in the Bible. In answer to Thomas’ question “how can we know the way?” Jesus replies, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
But what do these words actually mean?
“I am the way.” Suppose you are in a strange town and ask for directions. You are given a set of complicated lefts and rights with a few unfamiliar landmarks thrown in. You try to follow them but inevitably get lost. What if the person you ask says, “I’ll take you there” and walks with you to your destination? You cannot get lost. This is what Jesus does for us. He doesn’t just tell us how we should live, he takes us by the hand and walks with us through our lives; he strengthens and supports us with every step we take on the journey of life. Jesus doesn’t just tell us our way, he is the Way.
“I am the truth.” The truth Jesus is referring to here is moral truth. A person’s character doesn’t much affect their teaching of geography or astronomy. But if a person teaches moral truth their character is vitally important. Personal integrity is vital, an understanding often summed up in the phrase “practice what you preach.”
There is only one person who has ever done that, Jesus of Nazareth. You see moral truth cannot be taught by words alone, it is taught by example as well. Nobody has ever perfectly practiced what they preached, nobody except Jesus. To quote William Barclay again, “The tremendous thing about Jesus is not that the statement of moral perfection finds its peak in him, although that is true; it is that the fact of moral perfection finds its realisation in him.”
“I am the life.” What is it we are ultimately looking for in this life on earth? I think most people would say we are looking to live life well; we are looking for a good life. Jesus shows us a life that is worth living. Being a disciple of Jesus gives us a life worth living. Life with Jesus is a life worth living: it is real life and true life.
Finally, Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Jesus is saying that he is the way to God because in Jesus, in his life, his words and actions, we see what God is really like. That’s what Jesus means when he says “If you really know me you will know my Father as well.” In Jesus and Jesus alone we see what God is really like. Jesus is the only way to know God because he is God as well as human. Only Jesus can really and truly show God to us and to know this and believe this is to truly come to the Father in a unique way.
Many of us have troubled hearts: troubled because we fear losing our own lives or of losing those close to us and troubled because somebody we know has died in recent weeks. Jesus words in this passage give us reason to calm those troubled hearts. Faith in Jesus means trusting that his words are true and living our lives according to that truth. If we truly believe in Jesus, in his promises to be with us always in this life and the next, if we believe his words that he is indeed “the way and the truth and the life” then there is no need for our hearts to be troubled and afraid.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus; but to trust and obey.”
PRAYERS
Loving and eternal God,
through the resurrection of your Son,
help us to face the future
with courage and assurance,
knowing that nothing in life or death
can ever part us from your love for us.
through the resurrection of your Son,
help us to face the future
with courage and assurance,
knowing that nothing in life or death
can ever part us from your love for us.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
Help us to be positive about the future of our churches,
trusting in you to guide in in the way forward
and for the resources we will need,
knowing that your church is the Body of Christ on earth
and the gates of hell cannot stand against it.
trusting in you to guide in in the way forward
and for the resources we will need,
knowing that your church is the Body of Christ on earth
and the gates of hell cannot stand against it.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
Help us to be positive about the future of our world,
the world you created and care for still.
Give wisdom to our leaders in this time of crisis,
and help us all to work towards a more equal,
caring and loving society.
Give wisdom to our leaders in this time of crisis,
and help us all to work towards a more equal,
caring and loving society.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
Help us to trust you with those who are sick,
at home, in care homes or in hospital.
We place them into your care,
knowing that your loving arms
will be wrapped round them,
your healing hands upon them
and your love filling them.
at home, in care homes or in hospital.
We place them into your care,
knowing that your loving arms
will be wrapped round them,
your healing hands upon them
and your love filling them.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
We commend to you those who have passed
from this life to the next,
thinking especially of those who have
helped to bring us closer to Christ.
from this life to the next,
thinking especially of those who have
helped to bring us closer to Christ.
Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
hear our prayer.
We bring all our prayers to you
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us when we pray to say:
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us when we pray to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven……
HYMN: Singing the Faith 563
“O Jesus I Have Promised”
“O Jesus I Have Promised”
O Jesus, I have promised
to serve you to the end;
Lord, be forever near me,
my master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
if you are by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if you will be my guide.
to serve you to the end;
Lord, be forever near me,
my master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
if you are by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if you will be my guide.
O let me feel you near me;
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me, and within;
but, Jesus, now draw nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me, and within;
but, Jesus, now draw nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.
O let me hear you speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
Lord, speak, and make me listen,
O guardian of my soul.
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
Lord, speak, and make me listen,
O guardian of my soul.
O Jesus, you have promised
to all who follow you,
that where you are in glory
your servant shall be too;
and, Jesus, I have promised
to serve you to the end;
O give me grace to follow
my master and my friend.
John Ernest Bode (1816–1874). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 563
to all who follow you,
that where you are in glory
your servant shall be too;
and, Jesus, I have promised
to serve you to the end;
O give me grace to follow
my master and my friend.
John Ernest Bode (1816–1874). Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 563
BLESSING
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen us
to walk with him in his risen life;
and may almighty God bless us,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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