Printed Service – Sunday 30th June 2024
Prepared by Rev. Derek Grimshaw
Facing the storms of life

Opening Prayer

God of power and majesty, in the silence and stillness of the time I give to you, be with me as I worship you. If I am weak in my faith, let me cling to the awesomeness of you and lead me to complete trust in you again. If I am faith filled, let me not take this season for granted and help me to grow deeper in love with you. Come, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hymn: StF 565 Only by grace can we enter
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Only by grace can we enter
Only by grace can we stand
Not by our human endeavour
But by the blood of the Lamb
Into Your presence You call us
You call us to come
Into Your presence You draw us

And now by your grace we come
Now by Your grace we come

Lord, if You mark our transgressions
Who would stand
Thanks to Your grace
We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb
The blood of the Lamb

Lord, if You mark our transgressions
Who would stand
Thanks to Your grace
We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb
The blood of the Lamb

Let us pray together:

God of power and majesty, we adore you!
We adore you for who you are: faithful, holy, loving, powerful.
You are precious, gracious, merciful, and life-giving.
Forgive us when we have taken our relationship with you for granted and have hurt you and hurt others. Hear us in a moment of quiet as we say sorry to you.
God of mercy, if we are sincere, you forgive us our sins and we thank you for that glorious gift of forgiveness.

Introduction:

The Methodist Conference meets in Leeds this weekend. This is time when debates will be held, and decisions made about the future of the Church.  This somehow feels to be significant in 2024 because in just four days’ time the nation will decide on the kind of government we need to take us forward for the next five years.

·  Take a few moments to pray for the future of the nation. For the people who will form the new parliament. For the promises made, and for all of those who will be affected by the decisions of the coming week.

·  Pray for the Methodist Conference, this is the point when we will know for certain the outcome of the stationing process and particularly how it will impact on the future of the Ipswich Circuit.

· Pray for ministers who will be ordained today.

Hymn 459 StF Captain of Israel’s host,
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Captain of Israel’s host, and guide
For all who seek the land above,
Beneath thy shadow we abide,
The cloud of thy protecting love;
Our strength, thy grace; our rule, thy word;
Our end, the glory of the Lord.

By thine unerring Spirit led,
We shall not in the desert stray;
We shall not full direction need,
Nor miss our providential way;
As far from danger as from fear,
While love, almighty love, is near

Bible Reading:   Mark 5: 21-43

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. ”While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore? ”Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”  But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Reflection:

I remember receiving a Sunday School prize way back in the 1960’s “the little girl of Capernaum” I still have that little book and learned the story off by heart, I thought it was a wonderful story back then and it remains one of my many favourite Bible stories. As the Methodist Conference meets in my home City this weekend and as the nation votes on the new government, I confess to feeling completely disillusioned.  I have spent time watching the debates on telly and in truth, I haven’t a clue who I trust and believe me, I have done my best to trust people, but don’t know how any party will solve all the issues that face the nation in 2024.

Jairus must have felt even worse, his daughter was dying, he had possibly tried his best for her sought out the very best medics of his day and now all was lost.  Over the years I have come admire Jairus, he was a man of authority and power, clearly a man of deep faith and would know the Jewish Scriptures intimately.  Now, in this desperate moment there was only one place to turn, one man who could help him.  Two words spring to my mind Humility and Trust.

If you are anything like me, you value your independence, your ability to rule your own destiny.  It takes a great deal of humility to accept that we can’t sort everything out ourselves and if you are like me, asking for help doesn’t come easily. This great leader of the synagogue comes to Jesus and asks for help.  We see Jesus as the hero in the story, as we read it we have the benefit of 2000 years of history to call on, but we need to remember that Jairus was a Jewish leader, my guess is that along with his contemporaries, he would have seen this Jesus as a bit of a pest, a thorn in his side, the enemy, he may well have been vocal in his opposition to Jesus, yet now, in this desperate moment, he needs his help and I think that takes the ultimate levels of humility.

 As the story unfolds, we have the cameo of the woman who touches the cloak of Jesus, she has sufficient faith that all she needed to do was touch the hem of Jesus’ cloak and she would be healed. This is another wonderful story, but I wonder how Jairus felt, Jesus was with him, going to his home, to help with his daughter and now, he was helping a woman instead.  Moments later, people came to tell Jairus that his daughter had died, yet he still trust’s Jesus and the result is this wonderful story as the young girl is restored to life.

As I get frustrated about the world today, as I stand helplessly wondering where to turn next, all I have is Jesus, and like Jairus, in humility, I bow before him and trust that he can deal with the issues that allude me.

• Reflect for a moment on the issues that trouble you today.
• Think of global, national and personal concerns.

A time of prayer

We pray for God’s world.

As we pray for God’s world, we are mindful that we have not been wise, loving stewards of it. We have been greedy and selfish, rather than focusing on the beauty and wonder, and encouraging flourishing.

We pray for world rulers, that they would rule with truth and justice, mercy and grace and that they would remember that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus Christ.

Take a moment in silent prayer to pray for God’s world and world rulers.

“The Lord hears our prayer”. “Thanks be to God”.

We pray for God’s church.

We pray for the church worldwide, that we would unite in the common goal to worship and serve God together in a spirit of unity and holiness.

We pray for the church where we are and in a moment of quiet, we offer up to God our prayers for our church.

“The Lord hears our prayer”. “Thanks be to God”.

We take time now to pray for those who are known to us. We pray for those who are known to us that are going through times of trial that they would know God’s peace and comfort. We pray for those going through times of joy, that they would know your love and not take this time for granted.

We pray also for ourselves, and I invite you to spend some time in prayer to God for yourself.

“The Lord hears our prayer”. “Thanks be to God”.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father….

Hymn 645 StF Will your anchor hold
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Will you 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.

Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear,
when the breakers roar and the reef is near?
While the surges rave, and the wild wins blow,
shall the angry waves then your barque o’erflow

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.

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?

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.

A prayer of blessing
As this time of worship ends, we ponder the words of the grace:

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.