Canvey Methodist Church Sunday Evening Communion Service- 25th April 2021
1) Welcome and Notices
2). Call To Worship: Psalm 23- A psalm of David-
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
3). We begin as we listen to the worship song
“The King of Love My Shepherd Is”. https://youtu.be/nWfZ-8s71-k
4). Prayer: Holy God, we thank you that wherever we are, you are with us. We praise you that in Christ we have new life. Unite us in this worship by your Holy Spirit that we may each know your blessing. Amen.
5). Reading: John 10:11-18. New International Version. (Reader please).
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
6). Reflection: The Good Shepherd:
There are many hymns that talk about Jesus as a good shepherd. Our first hymn for instance, “The king of love my shepherd is”,How sweet the name of Jesus sounds,(shepherd, husband, friend), The Lords my shepherd” ….and more.
But what is it about Jesus that makes Him a Good Shepherd? Here I what St John records Jesus as saying about his role as being a good shepherd.
- He Cares: Being in the flock of Jesus is to have someone looking out for you who really wants you to be there. Jesus the Good Shepherd Cares, for you and for me.
- He shows the cost of His caring by “Laying down his life” for his sheep. The Middle Eastern shepherd would coral his sheep into a pen and literally lie down at the entrance to make the door. This shepherd sees the wolf coming and he stands between it and the sheep within. We know that Jesus literally laid down his life for you and I on Calvary’s cross. Nothing gets past the blood line drawn around us without his say so.
-Jesus Knows us, His sheep individually. He knows you and me. And we can know him too. The sheep get to know their shepherd's voice .
-Jesus, is inherently good. He is The “Good” Shepherd. He is in for the long term. This is no short term contract. He is not deceitful or dishonest with hidden agendas and motives. His goodness as the hymn says, “faileth never”.
-Jesus is Faithful to His sheep. Does not abandon them. He can be trusted implicitly.
-How is Jesus faithful? By being faithful to and keeping in close contact with God. Jesus took time to pray, to be close to His Heavenly Father, to see things from his perspective, to renew His strength.
-Jesus the Good Shepherd is in Control. Even in death he was able to say “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again”. And he is fully in control for us in our lives.
-Jesus searches out the lost. “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also”. From those who are willing to be found, Jesus will rescue from the thickets and thorns of life.
-Linked to this, Jesus rescues those who are in trouble. Corrie Ten Boom, author of the hiding place and survivor of the world war 2 concentration camp Ravensbrook described it like this, “There is no pit so deep God’s love is not deeper still”. Jesus has the shepherds crook to reach down wherever a person finds themselves to lift them up into his presence.
Jesus the good shepherd; He cares for his sheep, He showed the cost of caring by laying down his life, He knows his sheep individually, He is inherently good,
He is faithful, He is in control, He searches out the lost, and He rescues those who are in trouble.
As the church of God, we are the sheep in his fold today. In benefiting from His care, we also are called to reach out and care for others, drawing them into the safety of this fold.
Can we mirror these “Good Shepherd” attributes as a loving community serving God? Amen.
7) We Bow Down https://youtu.be/AMdiT_Hb-Nw
8) Mark14:22-26
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to his disciples and said, “Take it. This is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup. He gave thanks and handed it to them. All of them drank from it. 24 “This is my blood of the covenant,” he said to them. “It is poured out for many. 25 What I’m about to tell you is true. I won’t drink wine with you again until the day I drink it in God’s kingdom.” 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
9). Communion.
10). Here I am https://youtu.be/PlRfem9kCKE
11) Benediction
And now may the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.