1. Call to worship             Jesus said “All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you (John 16:15)

Hymn StF 490  Watch on Youtube

Being of beings, God of love,
To you our hearts we raise:
your all-sustaining power we prove,
And gladly sing your praise.

Yours, wholly yours, we long to be:
Our sacrifice receive;
Made, and preserved, and then set free,
To you ourselves we give.

Heavenward our every wish aspires;
For all your mercies’ store,
The sole return your love requires
Is that we ask for more.

For more we ask; we open then
Our hearts to embrace your will;
Turn, and revive us, Lord, again,
With all your fullness fill.

Come, Holy Ghost, the Saviour’s love
Shed in our hearts abroad;
So shall we ever live, and move,
And be with Christ in God.

Charles Wesley

Prayer Father God, you have created al things and through Christ revealed your salvation in all the world.  Give us a vision of your glory and by your Holy Spirit fill us with life and love that we  may praise and serve you through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Reading  John 14:8-17;  16:12-15       Jesus teaches about his relationship with the Father and the Spirit

Reflection

In Chapters 13-17 of John’s Gospel we have a record of what Jesus did and said to his disciples on the night before he was crucified. Jesus was preparing them for when he was no longer on the earth in the flesh. At the beginning of his Gospel, John records that Jesus had come to make God known (John 1:18). Now when Philip asks the question “Show us the Father” (John 14:9,10) Jesus replies ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.   There was an intimacy in the relationship of Father and Son. It’s mind-boggling to begin to grasp this and as you read on you discover more mind-boggling statements. “¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 15 where Jesus teaches about the Vine talks about us having that same intimacy with Jesus “abiding in Him” and we can do nothing on our own.

Jesus goes on in the rest of Ch 14 and 16 to promise the gift of the Holy Spirit, (Jn 14:15-18, & 16:12-15). The third person of the Trinity who would be this empowerment to do these “works” – spreading the message of the gospel of transformation.  Indeed, Jesus is emphatic that it is good that he is going away (in the flesh) for then He will ask the Father to send His Holy Spirit, to come and live in us. While Jesus was in the flesh, he was limited to being in one place at a time, by his Spirit He could be everywhere – living in his disciples. Evidence, what happened on the Day of Pentecost, never in the ministry of Jesus in the flesh were 3000 added to the church in a Day, but this was the beginning of the greater works that his disciples and us will do.

One of the things about relationships within the Trinity and that Jesus offers to us, is that we can talk with them. When the Jesus was in the flesh it was easy for the disciples to talk with him. As Jesus describes the intimacy of the Father, Son Holy Spirit  relationship we see their interconnectedness and their talking with one another (the lovely prayer of John 17). In these passages, Jesus urges us to talk with him by pray and to know his indwelling

For your reflection.

1. What do we learn from Jesus dramatic reply to Philip’s question in John 14:8-10?
2. In John 14:12 Jesus declares that his followers will accomplish greater things than what was possible when Jesus was here on earth. How could this be so and why?
   For illustration look at Acts 2:38-41. Look too at the context of John 14:16,17.
3. In your prayer time, use Ephesians 3:14-19 as an example of a Trinitarian prayer.
   Then end with “the grace” 2 Corinthians 13:14.

A Trinitarian Prayer   Father God, your purpose is for all, for you are the Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator of humankind, Ruler over history. You are always at work, always involved in our lives, calling, guiding, speaking, and responding, everyone being important to you, no matter who they are, each having a place in your purpose.  So then, we pray for all in our world who feel they are drifting, all who search for meaning to their lives, a sense of direction, a goal to strive for. May they find in Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life.

In faith we lift them before you: hear our prayer.

Son of God, your love is for all, for you lived and died for others, reaching out to both rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, righteous and unrighteous, nobody being outside your care, no one beyond your grace. You gave you’re all, enduring death on a cross, so that everyone willing to receive you may share in the joy of your kingdom. So we pray for all in our world today who long for love, those who yearn for a meaningful relationship, all those whose once precious relationships have ended in tears, those who have been abandoned or orphaned as children, and those who cannot have children of their own; those cut off from family and friends, and those who face trauma of bereavement. May they discover in you a love that will never let them go.

In faith we lift them before you: hear our prayer.

Spirit of God, your peace is for all, for you are at work in every heart, seen or unseen, recognised or unrecognised, striving to breakdown barriers that keep us from one another, from ourselves and from you.  We pray, then, for all in our world who hunger for peace, all who are tormented by fear, torn by doubt, troubled by anxieties, or tortured by guilt; families separated by feuds, communities racked by division, and nations ravaged by war. May they find, through you, peace in body, mind and spirit.

In faith we lift them before you: hear our prayer.

Almighty God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, we bring you our world, thankful that it is also your world, precious to you and shaped ultimately by your will. Remake, redeem, renew it through your sovereign power. May all people everywhere come to know your purpose, experience your love, and receive your peace, and may each rejoice in the new life you so yearn to give them.

In faith we lift them before you:  hear our prayer. Amen.

Hymn  StF 682   Watch on Youtube
God of grace and God of glory,
on your people pour your power;
crown your ancient Church’s story;
bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour.

Heal your children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.

Lo, the hosts of evil round us
scorn your Christ, assail his ways!
Fears and doubts too long have bound us;
free our hearts to work and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the living of these days.

Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969)

Blessing  The Spirit of truth lead us into all truth, give us grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and to proclaim the word and works of God; and the blessing of God, Spirit, Son and Father remain with us always. Amen.

  

Hymns reproduced under CCLI No. 9718
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