Two veiws of Faith

CALL TO WORSHIP

How blessed are those whose offence is forgiven,

whose sin blotted out.

How blessed are those to whom Yahweh imputes no guilt,

whose spirit harbours no deceit. (Ps 32:1-2)

HYMN

StF 50 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.

GATHERING PRAYER

Lord our God,

help us to love You with all our hearts

and to love all people as You love them.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Surprising God,

We confess before you now. that we are a lost and wandering people,

distracted by the world around us and easily diverted from how you call us to live.

We are quick to anger and slow to forgive; we are quick to judge and slow to accept; we are quick to doubt and slow to understand.

All too often we place barriers in the way of seeing you in the world and shun opportunities to share you with the world.

We pray to you now for support and compassion: that we may always, however tentatively, proclaim the joy and hope of your promise to us — that we are forgiven.

We gratefully affirm that your love will always welcome us, comfort us and heal us. Be with us now in this time of worship and help us accept you into our lives, as you will always accept us. 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.

HYMN

StF 477 Jesus, be the center.

COLLECTION

READING 1

Mark 6: 1-13

Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth

6 Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples. 2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? 3 Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?” And so, they rejected him.

4 Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family.”

5 He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. 7 He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits 8 and ordered them, “Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt.” 10 He also told them, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. 11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

12 So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

HYMN

StF 659 As dawn awakes another day.

SERMON

Mark gives us two stories in this reading, and it might seem at first that they are not related to each other.

First, we have the story of Jesus returning to Nazareth I always wonder why?

Is it that in Capernaum due to his rising fame that it became almost impossible to get any peace.

If we read in the pervious chapter this journey to his hometown happens just after the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead. He seems to continually being followed by crowds.

So, perhaps going home seemed like a good idea. A time to go to where people would remember him in his youth before his fame spread and maybe he can breathe for a short time.

Or is it a chance to visit his old town for the very last time?

Do we sometimes do the same, I know my brother who lives in Scotland When he visits, We often drive around the areas of our childhood.

It can in some ways centre's us, as memories flood back.

Even if you have a relatively short time away, maybe on holiday and although you may have a wonderful time, there is nothing quite like arriving home.

I don’t know about you but when Karon and I have been on holiday, there’s still a great sigh of relief when we open our front door, it doesn’t matter where you live, I don’t think there is anything like arriving home, the comfort that envelopes you.

Within this reading today we find there are two different stories and they are both about faith, and that’s where the similarity ends.

Unlike the two miracles that we can read about in Mark 5:21-43, which demonstrate faith in Jesus, the first part of today’s reading we heard in this passage is about the lack of faith.

Jesus should have had a great home coming a hero’s welcome but he didn’t. Things start out well, it must have been great to reconnect with old friends Jesus then as was his habit attended the synagogue on the Saturday, his fame has got to Nazareth, they would have heard all the things that had been reported the healing, the speech he made to over 5,000 people and so naturally wanted to hear the message he had to give so asked him to give the reading from the Tora at the meeting, many would have come with a sense of curiosity,

He takes the floor and begins to teach, but as soon as he starts teaching, even though it tells us the people were amazed, it seems the people thought this person they had known and watched grow up had got a bit too big for his boots.

you could say familiarity breeds contempt:

Jesus was surprised by the unbelief of the crowd, and not because he was expecting to be welcomed as a hometown as he had elsewhere.

Lack of faith always caused Jesus to be amazed because of all the works he was doing. Why would they not trust him? If you consider the population of Nazareth at the time of Jesus, there are reasons why he was not accepted.

Jesus didn’t have the formal training required for rabbis, so in the eyes of the people, he was just a local boy who was “putting on airs”. To make matters worse, the scribes in Jerusalem spread rumors about Jesus—rumors which had also reached Nazareth. For example, in Mark 3:23 Jesus was accused of working with the devil.

There is even a hint of scandal as the people of Nazareth question his authority. They ask, “Isn’t this Mary’s son?” instead of, “Isn’t this Mary and Joseph’s son?”, in that time and in that place, it was just short of an insult to skip over naming the father as head of the household. It hints at the possibility that Jesus was an illegitimate child, bringing shame on his family.

It’s the lack of faith he sees among his hometown friends and family. In fact, this lack of faith brings us to one of the more problematic verses in this passage: Jesus, the Son of God, can’t move the people. Mark writes, “And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.” (v. 5)

Biblical scholars have wrestled with this sentence, and theologians have argued about it. Matthew’s version cleans things up a bit for us. Matthew says Jesus “did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matt 13:58), making it sound more like Jesus chose not to work any wonders.

But the question may not be about whether Jesus chose to do miracles or was prevented from doing them. Maybe the question is, how does our lack of faith affect the way God works?

Do we really stand in the way of God’s miracles, simply because we lack faith? Before we get too caught up in arguments about God’s grace and that it’s not dependent on anything we do, let’s look at what does happen in Nazareth.

Jesus does heal a few. There are at least some who seek him out in faith, just as Jairus did on for his dying daughter, just as the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years did.

And I think this might be the key – Jesus responds when we fall at his feet and ask for his mercy. He can’t answer our prayers unless we pray them. He can only transform our lives to the extent that we allow him to. Jesus’ ability to do great things in Nazareth was only limited by the fact that nobody bothered to ask – except for a few, and they were healed.

How can we encourage God to work in our lives? How might we be preventing him from doing the work he wants to perform in us?

Let’s take a moment to let God’s Spirit direct our thoughts to the ways we might be resisting God. As we do this, I invite you to consider things that keep you from experiencing his power –

some hurt or regret you can’t let go,

some grudge you hold onto,

some addiction that has come to define your identity,

some anger that continues to burn in you,

some problem that you just don’t quite want to trust God to solve.

Or maybe there is something you need to receive from God.

some commitment God is calling you toward that you don’t want to acknowledge,

some ministry opportunity you are afraid to accept,

some challenge to grow that you think is too difficult for you.

This isn’t only about accepting God’s grace to save us and inviting Jesus into our hearts.

It’s about our willingness to be true disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It’s about trusting God enough to ask him to change us and mean it.

The disciples who followed Jesus to Nazareth didn’t leave him when the town rejected his message.

They were watching closely to see what he would do. As Jesus kept on with his ministry of preaching good news and healing the sick, casting out unclean spirits and giving hope to the poor, the disciples were learning what it means to be a true follower of Christ. And that brings us to the second part of the story.

So, we ask the question why did Jesus send the twelve out in pairs?

He had three main reasons. First, a partner provides strength, protection and companionship. Deuteronomy 15:19 required two or three witnesses to convict a person of a crime, because a single witness was likely to make a mistake.

For the same reason, one witness had less credibility than two.

Finally, a partner holds people accountable. A person is less likely to give into temptation when accompanied by a partner.

Jesus gives some very specific instructions to his disciples. He tells them what to take, and what not to take with them on their journey.

It’s clear that Jesus wants his followers to go out in his name, completely depending on God to provide for their needs through the hospitality of others. Jesus knows that they will probably face rejection in at least some of the towns they visit.

So, they go – and their ministry is successful. No doubt they ran into some opposition from time to time. We know from the rest of the story that Jesus would face growing resistance from those who felt threatened by his message.

But that didn’t stop him from seeing it through, from dying on the cross for you and for me, from rising on the third day to defeat death and sin once and for all.

Sometimes rejection is the springboard for ministry. Sometimes I wonder if we fear rejection so much that it prevents us from experiencing God’s power at work in our lives. When we shrink back from stepping out on faith.

We become what John Wesley would call an “almost Christian,” living out the form of a godly life without experiencing its power.

Jesus faced failure, but he kept on going. We can face failure and keep on going if we have the faith, courage, wisdom and strength that come with both believing in Jesus and fellowship with fellow believers. When Jesus sent the twelve disciples out, he prepared them to handle failure. He constantly prepares us for failure through his word and our faith. If we want to do something for the Gospel or for God, we must believe them and behave according to their teachings.

We must have faith and let our actions match our faith. When we do, Christ will do deeds of power thought us, and the world will be blessed by our having been here.

Following Jesus means putting it all on the line. We may find that some don’t want to hear our message of hope. That doesn’t mean we should stop sharing it. Some may ridicule us or walk away. There are others who will respond to the good news that God loves them. When we put our full faith in Christ, living into the assurance that he will act, he can change our brokenness into fruitfulness. Amen.

HYMN

StF 394 Spirit of God, unseen as the wind

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Heavenly Father, what a lesson I can learn from the people of Nazareth who refused to recognise the Lord Jesus, the King of Glory.

He had grown up in their village he came to give them the words of eternal life, but they refused to listen and allowed doubt to cast the shadow of unbelief in their hearts.

Thank You that although He was despised and rejected by His own people, you have graciously brought us into Your family and equipped us to be used in Your service.

Fulfil now, O Lord, Your Word in each member of Christ's Body, and equip each one of us to carry out the work that You have prepared for us to do.

In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Faithful God,

It is easy to cry, “Where is God in the world?” as disease disrupts lives and illness induces grief and pain.

Help us to see you, Lord: in the dedication of nurses and doctors; in the wonder of science and research.

Help us to serve you, Lord: by comforting those who suffer; sitting with those in distress.

It is easy to cry, “Where is God in the world?” as war and violence spread fear and entrench hostility.

Help us to see you, Lord: in unexpected bonds of peace; in the provision of refuge and shelter.

Help us to serve you, Lord: by confronting aggression and the abuse of power; protecting those displaced by conflict.

It is easy to cry, “Where is God in the world?” as racism diminishes our society and prejudice fuels distrust.

Help us to see you, Lord: in the friendships that bridge cultural divides; through the allies that speak up for the exploited.

Help us to serve you, Lord: by adding our voices to calls for justice; replacing suspicion with a desire for understanding.

It is easy to cry, “Where is God in our lives?” as hopes are dashed, and dreams delayed.

Help us to see you, Lord: in the small moments of each day, reminding us of your persistent love for us.

Help us to serve you, Lord: with welcoming hearts and acts of compassion, sharing your love in the world around us.

All this we pray in Jesus’ name, who lived and loved as one of us, God in the world. Now and forever. Amen.

HYMN

StF Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.

BLESSING

As we go forward this day: Ready to find God in the world, in small and surprising places. Willing to see God at work, in intriguing and unexpected ways. Eager to serve God in the world, where you are, as you are, and as God calls you to love. Amen.