Seventh Sunday of Easter or Ascension Sunday (5)

MUSIC

WELCOME

As the risen Jesus prepares to leave his disciples and to send them out into the world, he prays for their protection. We celebrate Christ's presence and protection in times of change and growth.

CALL TO WORSHIP

YOU COULD ASK PEOPLE TO TURN TO FACE THE RELEVANT DIRECTION AS THESE WORDS ARE SAID.

I look to the East where the sun breaks the dawn, Christ is there. I look to the West where the sun slips from sight, Christ is there. I look to the North where the winter sun is scarce, Christ is there. I look to the South where the summer sun blazes warm, Christ is there. I look to the past where memories remind us of times gone by, Christ is there. I look to the future where dreams are dreamed and hope burns bright, Christ is there. I look at the faces revealed around me, Christ is here.

SONG

GATHERING PRAYER

God present in the vastness of creation. God present in the intimacy of home. God present in the lofty mountains. God present in the deepest valley. God present in the vibration of thunder. God present in stillness of silence. God present in urban city street. God present in rural village lane. God present in the unknown stranger. God present in the life-long friend. God present in the bitterness of grief. God present in the bubbly celebration. God present in the changing times. God present in the uniqueness of this moment.

Remain with us: protect us, guard us, and enfold us in your loving embrace. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

God, forgive us when we deny your presence in the world you have created. Forgive us when we deny your presence in those who we perceive to be different from us. Forgive us when we deny your presence in those whom we know and love. Forgive us when we prefer the safety of the familiar and help us to embrace the adventure of faith. Amen.

THE 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 that trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever Amen.

SONG FOR KIDS

CHILDREN’S PRAYER

Christ, encircle us. Keep out all that would hurt us. Keep your creation safe.

Christ, encircle us. Keep us from hurting those around us. Keep everyone safe.

Christ, encircle us. Keep us from hurting ourselves. Keep us safe.

Christ, encircle us. enfold your arms around us. and give us faith to go out and live. Amen.

READING 1

John 17:6-19

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

READING 2

1 John 5: 9-13

9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.

10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

SONG

SERMON

Today, we are reminded that Jesus actually prays for us. What better gift is there? And not only that, but we get to listen in on this prayer. John heard this prayer and faithful recorded it, so we really know what Jesus was praying for. It is a long and beautiful prayer, but it can be a little confusing.

But he wants nothing more than to save us, all of us.

“Lord, Save me!”

Do you remember Peter’s famous attempt to walk on water? He did it, for a few steps. We can live in this world on our own for a little while. But then he noticed the storm, and the waves, and he began to sink. It happens to us all, eventually. When Peter began to sink, he cried out to Jesus: “Lord, save me.” And “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him” (Matthew 14:31). Jesus wants nothing more than to reach out his hand and save us and all this world. And that is what he has done for us.

But how often we loose sight of God feel that we have moved our position away attending Church in body, but our minds fear how short we are of God’s glory.

But in the verses of 1 John we see that this is ever the case.

You see life seems to be filled with loss, doesn’t it? We lose people we love dearly. We lose things we treasure.

We lose abilities, memories, trains of thought, momentum, and drive. These losses are painful. We grieve. And we mourn.

We long for things to be different. We cling to things because we don’t want to lose them.

Jesus comes and, knowing our desire to preserve what we have, he turns our fear of loss on its head.

For Jesus, losing is gain. Giving up is receiving. Losing is winning.

Jesus taught his disciples by saying, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what would it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mark 8:35-36).

My brother is somewhat older than me and when we were young, he liked to torment me I suppose like that among all siblings.

If one of us got up from our seat, the other would swoop in and take it. “You lost your spot,” we’d tease each other.

Or, On Saturday night as the family settled down to watch a program on the TV the choice of 3 channels.

My Mum would share out some sweets and maybe and orange between us, and we would lay them out next to us, watching each other, seeing what the other had left of our spoils, As I said my brother is somewhat older ne got me every time I saw his pile vanish then smugly began to eat mine in a semi gloat, only to find as I ate my last sweet he would pull out the ones he had stashed earlier!

Even as children, we learn that losing is inevitable “Finder’s, keepers; loser’s weepers.” We lose things we care about.

We have things we enjoy and see them get broken.

It gets to all of us when we lose something, and after a while we can become consumed with the idea of protecting ourselves and what we have at all costs.

Maybe if we lock it all up, we can’t lose it.

But we still lose things. And it can disturb us deeply inside.

We lose things, and it reminds us in little ways – and in big ways – that things are not the way we hoped they would be.

In John’s letter today he was writing to a divided and hurting church.

False teachers were coming in. There were divisions.

Despite their best efforts, people were still sinning, and because of that, people were afraid of judgment.

John writes and urges them to love one another and love God, to believe in God, to walk in the light, and to trust the Holy Spirit.

Here at the end of 1 John, John talks a lot about testimony – our testimony, and God’s testimony, but for any of that to make sense to us, we have to back up and read beginning with verse 5:

5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

So, what does this all mean? One thing I love about both the Gospel of John and the 1st epistle of John is that both tell us exactly why they were written.

Back in John 20:31 we read, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” Everything written in the Gospel of John was written down so that we might believe in Jesus and have life in his name.

1 John 5:13 says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

The community that received this letter knew Jesus. They believed Jesus was the Son of God. They struggled with sin, and false teachings, and divisions, and all the things so many of us in our church today find we, too are dealing with these things, and they were afraid.

They were afraid they’d believe the wrong thing, embrace the wrong teaching, sin just a little too much, and that in doing so would find themselves removed from God’s love.

Everything John wrote in this letter was written because he wanted them to know that God never fails to keep God’s promises.

Even when human testimony is wrong, even when sin lingers, God is faithful.

For this community that believed in the name of Jesus, they could rest assured that they would receive eternal life – not because of they were good, but because of God’s faithfulness and grace. And isn’t that amazing news for us, too?

The good news of Jesus isn’t something we can lose. It isn’t something we can have snatched out from under us. The grace of God is something given freely, and it’s the one thing in this life we can rest assured we will never, ever lose.

When I was a young lad, of maybe five or six years old, I was shopping with my mum. I was standing in the aisle looking at toys, knowing me – and when I looked up, I could not see my mum.

And I remember that panicky feeling, the tears forming in my eyes, and the lump welling up in my throat at the thought of having been left in the shop. I managed to barely squeak out the word, “Mum!” over the tears. And there she was, standing just around the corner at the end of the aisle. She was only feet away from me, and I’m sure she had never taken her eyes off me the entire time. But in that moment when I was certain I had been forgotten, I was really frightened.

In moments of fear and doubt, we may feel forgotten by God. We might even be convinced that we sinned just badly, enough to have used up all the grace God can muster.

But just like what God said through the prophet Isaiah, God says to us today,

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16a).

John wrote this letter to the community and told them to stop sinning. He warned them of false teaching. He urged them to stay strong in the faith. But, at the end, what he wants them to know is that even in their divisions, and sins, and broken relationships, they still belong to God.

The water and the blood testify – a reference to Christ’s saving work on the cross. The Spirit testifies – by reminding us of the truth, encouraging us, and uniting us to Christ. And God testifies. They all testify together, and what they testify is the truth.

Verse 11 says, that “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” God gave us eternal life through Jesus, and this isn’t something we can lose.

We can’t lose the grace of God because it is a gift given to us.

“And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Salvation is a gift freely given by God.

We can’t lose it, and we don’t have to be afraid. So, let’s love God and our neighbours. Let’s settle our differences, confess our sins, and strive to live more like the people we were created to be each day. And, in the darkest days and most difficult nights, let’s find the assurance that we are never, ever alone because the gift of God’s salvation is not something we can ever lose.

SONG

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

(MAYBE A MEMBER OF THE CONGREGATION?)

We hold to ourselves this day God, who fashions the earth, who blazes stars across the heavens, who makes the seas team with life, who makes the tropical forests beautiful and breathes life into humanity.

We hold to ourselves this day Jesus, who teaches by parables and stories, who touches the sick and includes the outcast, who breaks bread and celebrates with wine, who knows our pain and bleeds with us, and gives his life for the world.

We hold to ourselves this day the Spirit, who breathes energy into life, who blazes in tongues of fire that cleanse and forge, who bubbles with excitement and enthusiasm , who speaks in the still small voice of our conscience, and inspires us to live as a community of justice and peace.

We hold to ourselves this day God, who is three-in-one and we invoke God's wisdom to guide, God's power to protect, God's tenderness to heal and God's delight in community. Amen.

Gracious God, though you have cast us all from the one mould that is your love, we are a wealth of different shapes and sizes; a vast army of pilgrim people you cherish as sons and daughters. Unite us as one family, one humanity, that clamours not for security, but for peace. May we never stand alone when we could stand together; and never isolate, when we could include. That all may recognise in all your image and your likeness, revealed most fully in Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

SONG

BLESSING

The blessing of the God presents from the dawning of creation be with us. The blessing of the Son who encircles us in the protection of his presence be with us. And the blessing of the Spirit who invites us to new adventures in faith be with us yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

MUSIC TO LEAVE