Worship at Home - By Ron Mapplebeck

Welcome to Worship at Home from the Middlesbrough and Eston Methodist Circuit in the north-east of England for the week commencing Sunday, 11 May 2025. I am Ron Mapplebeck, a local preacher in this Circuit.

Call to Worship:

Good Shepherd, you have called us into your fold and hearing your voice, we have come to worship you. Anoint us with your presence, comfort us and guide us, that our voices may join with those who dwell in your house for ever and ever.

Amen.

Hymn: Ye servants of God

1 Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim,

And publish abroad his wonderful name;

The name all-victorious of Jesus extol;

His kingdom is glorious, and rules over all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptLLr_WjCz8

Prayers and Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray. We give you all thanks and praise, O God, for you are the shepherd who guides us to springs of the water of life. Jesus, Good Shepherd of the sheep, by whom the lost are sought and guided into the fold: feed us and we shall be satisfied; heal us and we shall be made whole; and lead us, that we may be with you; for you are alive and reign, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Confession:

Lord, we have so many questions and we look for easy answers. We fail to hear your voice when you give us an answer we do not understand. We have so many problems and we search for quick solutions. We fail to see your hand when you work in unfamiliar places. We have so many needs and we demand instant satisfaction. We fail to discern your gifts when they come to us in unexpected ways. When we are deaf to your word, teach us to listen to you in faith. When we are blind to your works, help us to watch for you in hope. When we are closed to your presence, make us open to you in love. Amen.

We pray for healing amongst the sick. We ask that those who are sick, in body, mind or spirit will feel your presence, and that their lives may be transformed. God of love, we pray for those who are bereaved. We ask that your grace will bring them comfort in their need and consolation in their sorrow. God of love, who restores and reconciles people, breaking the bonds of sin and death; be with us and make us whole that we may live in your love and peace throughout our lives. We ask these prayers through Christ, our faithful shepherd.

Amen

Lord’s Prayer:

 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.

Reading:

John 10.22-30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWXFzKAGNtI

The set Psalm for this Sunday is the well-known Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd.

Instead of reading it, we sing:

Hymn: The king of love my shepherd is

1 The King of love my Shepherd is,

Whose goodness faileth never;

I nothing lack if I am his

And he is mine for ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWfZ-8s71-k

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who offers us salvation. Salvation? For us as Christians? Brother, are you saved? Sister, are you saved? I remember many years ago attending a Christian event. The precise details escape me now but I think I must have been in my late teens. During the evening an older lady (who was probably only in her 30s or 40s) came up to me and said: Are you saved? I can’t recall what, if anything, I said in response, but I do remember feeling terribly embarrassed to be asked that question. And ever since then I’ve felt uncomfortable about the prospect of ever being asked that same question again. And, do you know what, I don’t think I have been asked in such a blunt and direct manner since then. I think my embarrassment may have been because back then I didn’t really know the answer to being asked: Are you saved?And these 60 years or so later I’m not certain I’m any wiser. Certainly, if the God whom I love and try to serve, is seeking perfection then I know I would not qualify. God knows me too well, he knows how often I have failed to follow his way, he knows how much I fall short of what Jesus told us to aim for. And yet, and yet, I firmly believe in a God who promises me eternal life with him, once my earthly journey is over, even if only under certain conditions. I am comforted by the fact that God has relied on imperfect men and women, just like me, starting with those 12 disciples, to carry out his work here on earth.

In the verses we read today the crowds know who Jesus is; they know his reputation as a teacher and miracle-worker; but they do not understand what this means. Could Jesus be the Messiah? If only he would tell them! Would the mystery preacher please reveal his true identity? The reality and tragedy at the heart of this story is that Jesus had revealed his identity. His words and his miracles were testimony of God’s active work in the world through him. Some recognised Jesus for who he was, but for others it was not enough.

Many people think they know what Christians stand for, what we believe, and what we should be like. But when people look at us, they don’t always see a reflection of Jesus in the world. If the Church makes it into the media, it is usually a story which makes Christians look totally self-interested and protective. Too often, people look at the Church, and then turn away. But we know the truth is that God’s love for the world was shown by him in giving his Son so that those who follow him may have eternal life. Perhaps the gift ‘greater than all else’ that the Father has given to Jesus is his love for his people. As nothing can destroy such love, or ‘snatch it out of the Father’s hand’, so nothing can destroy Jesus’ followers: ‘No one will snatch them out of my hand’. This is the salvation we are promised, the true answer we can give if we are asked: Are you saved?

Hymn: In heavenly love abiding

1 In heavenly love abiding,

No change my heart shall fear;

And safe is such confiding,

For nothing changes here:

The storm may roar without me,

My heart may low be laid;

But God is round about me,

And can I be dismayed?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0r9DaGbmQ

Lord, you have called us all to be disciples. 

We know that you can work through us, if we let you. 

Show us what you want us to do. 

Show us where you want us to be. 

Let us be servants, ready to do your will.

Amen.

(We say the Grace to and with each other): 

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.

Amen

As always we thank you for joining us this week and look forward to you listening-in again.

Goodbye and God bless.