Printed Service – Sunday 28th June 2026

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Printed Service – Sunday 28th June 2026
Prepared by Rev. Steve Mann
‘Left, Right, Up and Down’ (or ‘Peter, Paul and Jonah’)

Hymn: StF 335 Rejoice! The Lord is King
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Rejoice the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore!
Rejoice, give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice!
Rejoice! again I say, rejoice!

Jesus, the Saviour reigns,
the God of truth and love:
when he had purged our stains,
he took his seat above.
Lift up your heart…

His kingdom cannot fail;
he rules o’er earth and heaven;
the keys of death and hell
are to our Jesus given.
Lift up your heart…

He sits at God’s right hand
till all his foes submit,
and bow to his command,
and fall beneath his feet:
Lift up your heart…

Rejoice in glorious hope!
Jesus the Judge shall come
and take his servants up
to their eternal home:
We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice,
The trump of God shall sound, rejoice!

Reading: Philippians 4:1-8 : Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Prayer : Heavenly Father, We come before you with hearts full of gratitude and praise. We thank you for your steadfast love, your faithfulness, and your constant presence in our lives. Thank You for strengthening us to stand firm in you and for calling us your beloved children. Thank you for the joy and peace that come from knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord.

We adore you, Lord, because you are worthy of all honour and glory. You are gracious, merciful, and near to those who call upon you. Your gentleness and kindness exceed all understanding. We praise you because you are our provider, our sustainer, and our source of true contentment. You alone satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts. You are the God who gives us strength in every circumstance, whether in abundance or in need. Your peace guards our hearts and minds, and your presence fills us with hope.

Father, we confess that we have not always rejoiced in You. We have allowed worry, fear, and anxiety to take hold of our hearts instead of bringing our concerns to you in prayer. We confess that we have sometimes focused on our problems rather than on what is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy. Forgive us for the times we have complained instead of giving thanks, doubted instead of trusting, and sought contentment in earthly things rather than in Christ.

We also confess the ways we have failed to pursue unity and peace with others. Forgive us for holding grudges, fostering division, or neglecting opportunities to encourage and support our brothers and sisters in Christ. Teach us to be gentle, humble, and gracious, reflecting the character of Jesus in all our relationships. Lord, help us to learn the secret of being content in every situation. Whether we face plenty or scarcity, success or hardship, teach us to rely completely on Jesus, who strengthens us. Fill our hearts with joyful trust so that we may live with confidence in your care and provision.

Thank you for every blessing you have given us and for every way you have supplied our needs. Thank you for the generosity of your people and for the privilege of sharing in the work of the gospel. May our lives be a pleasing sacrifice of worship to you, marked by thanksgiving, obedience, and love. Guard our hearts with your peace, renew our minds with your truth, and help us to walk faithfully before you each day. We rejoice in you always and offer you all praise, honour, and glory. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Reading: Acts 9:36 to 10:9 : In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so, when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Peter went with them, and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

Hymn: StF 416 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
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There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice
which is more than liberty.

There is plentiful redemption
in the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members
in the sorrows of the Head.

There is grace enough for thousands
of new worlds as great as this;
there is room for fresh creations
in that upper home of bliss.

For the love of God is broader
than the measures of the mind;
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.

But we make his love too narrow
by false limits of our own;
and we magnify his strictness
with a zeal he will not own.

If our love were but more simple
we should take him at his word;
and our lives would be illumined
by the presence of our Lord.

Message

I was teaching recently on the Book of Jonah. Famously, Jonah ends up inside a big fish because he is running away from God, refusing to take God’s message to the people of Nineveh. When he finally does get to Nineveh, he delivers God’s message and the people of Nineveh repent and turn from their wickedness. God is pleased because that’s what he was wanting but Jonah not so much. In fact he is very angry. God’s response is to provide Jonah with a plant that first grows up to give Jonah shade but then dies. The punchline at the end of the book comes from God and reads like this:

But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:10-11)

When God speaks about the Ninevites not knowing their right hand from their left, it doesn’t mean that they have no sense of direction. Left, in many ancient cultures, was used to signify the dark or evil side. That carries into our English language in the word ‘sinister’ which comes from the Latin word for ‘left’. What God is saying is that the Ninevites have no moral compass. It’s not that they are deliberately choosing to be wicked. Rather that they do not understand the difference between right and wrong as God sees it. They need somebody to explain it to them and, as Jonah begins to do that, Bingo! We see amazing results.

Compare that with our reading from Acts. Apologies that I brought it to a close tantalisingly half way through a story. What happened to Peter after he went into a trance in prayer? You may well know the answer to that question but, if you don’t or need reminding, it concerns a vision of a sheet containing a number of potential sources of food, some of which are clean under Jewish law and some of which are unclean. Peter hears a voice calling him to eat but he protests. The voice speaks again and this is God’s punchline to this particular story: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Jonah’s eyes were opened to the fact that God cares about the world beyond the fringes of his present followers. God wanted his word to go to the people of Nineveh as good news so that they might see things God’s way and be transformed. Likewise for Peter and the early Church, this dream carried the same message. God wasn’t solely interested in the good news about Jesus being spread around the Jewish world. In God’s eyes, this good news is for everyone and he wants it to be taken everywhere so that all people might be changed.

This week marks the fourth Sunday in June and the fourth and final dip into Paul’s letter to the Philippians – if you’ve been following Philippians as this year’s chosen Bible Month book. Chapter 4 begins with an appeal to two women called Euodia and Syntyche. They have fallen out with one another and Paul pleads with them to be of one mind. We don’t know anything more about them nor much about the other members of the Church in Philippi. We can, though, add two more characters to the list of Church members from the stories we find recorded in the book of Acts. Paul met Lydia soon after he first arrived in Philippi and she became a Christian, we are told in Acts 16, together with the rest of her household. Likewise the town jailer, who was converted together with his family after Paul and his fellow prisoners chose not to escape from prison when they had the opportunity.

These may be little more than names to us but what we can say is that they are not Jewish names. We know there were very few Jews in Philippi because there was no synagogue there. A synagogue required ten adult males so presumably the Jewish population of the town fell below even this minimal threshold. We also know that Philippi was a Roman colony with land given to retiring Roman soldiers and town laws that were modelled on Rome itself. Philippi, therefore, models the good news going out into the non-Jewish world as per Peter’s dream. The church is made up of non-Jewish people who have heard the good news and changed their ways. Just like the people of Nineveh in the book of Jonah.

June has been a busy month in this circuit as we have had Bible Month to follow and also a month of prayer. A month of prayer fits well with Philippians 4 because, in verse 6, Paul encourages us in prayer: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

In our Bible Month journey through Philippians we are presently in week four and so it is with our month of prayer. This week we are invited to pray for the churches at Felixstowe, Alan Road and Chantry and that we all might follow Christ faithfully and share his love with others. That invitation also fits well with Jonah going to the people of Nineveh; with the vision of Peter’s dream and with Paul taking the good news to Philippi.

This month we have been asked to pray every day at 6pm and finding a way of being active and intentional in prayer continues to be a good idea once June is over even if you don’t stick with that 6pm timing. In our reading from Acts we are told that Peter was very intentional in going up to pray on the roof of the house where he was staying.

The title given to this service is ‘Left, Right, Up and Down’. We have already considered the left and right part of that title and the need to take the good news of God’s love out to people that they might be changed through coming to understand God’s ways and his saving grace. What about Up and Down?

We have already seen that Peter goes up in our story in order to seek God in prayer on his rooftop. Did you also notice that he went up earlier in the reading as well? He went up to the room where the body of Dorcas was lying before God answered Peter’s prayer and restored her to life. These events occurred in Joppa, the same Joppa that Jonah ran to looking for a ship in which to escape from God’s call. Peter was seeking after God; Jonah was trying to block God out.

What happens to Jonah? The text tells us that he went down to Joppa; down into the ship; down into the hold of the ship where he falls into a deep sleep and then, of course, down into the depths of the sea where he is swallowed by the big fish. Peter is portrayed as going up, seeking after God in prayer; Jonah is portrayed as going down, trying to cut off communications with God. Even the trancelike state of Peter, open to dreams and visions from God, is in contrast to the empty oblivion of Jonah’s deep sleep.

What sort of people do we want to be? Are we, like Peter, ‘Up’ people consciously and actively seeking after God? Do we want to hear from God? Do we want to discover those ways in which the Holy Spirit longs to send us out with the good news that will change people and help them understand their ‘left’ from their ‘right’? Or are we ‘Down’ people? We might not be actively running away from God but where are our daily actions leading us? Do those actions help or hinder our ability to hear from God? Are we missing out on things that God wants to achieve though us? To quote the words we have been invited to pray in this final week of our prayer month, I pray that we might be more and more tuned in to God in prayer, so that we might more and more ‘follow Christ faithfully and share his love with others’.

Hymn: StF 627 Everyone Needs Compassion
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Everyone needs compassion,
Love that’s never failing,
Let mercy fall on me.
Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour,
The hope of nations.

Chorus:
Saviour, He can move the mountains.
My God is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in.
Now I surrender.

Chorus

Shine your light and let the whole world see.
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King.
Shine your light and let the whole world see.
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King.

Chorus

Prayer

Lord God, We thank You that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. As we reflect on Jonah’s struggle to accept your mercy for Nineveh, forgive us for the times when we have limited your love to those we find easy to accept. Open our hearts to see others as You see them, precious and worthy of your grace.