Today's Service: 3 January 2020
Our services continue with "visiting" preachers.
Today's is by Revd Val Towler
This is best viewed in Landscape orientation
You will appreciate the sound better if you use earphones or an external loudspeaker, whatever type of device you view on.
We may not all be gathered in the same building, but at this time, when we
need each other so much, we are invited to worship together from where we
are - knowing that God can hear us all and can blend our distant voices into
one song of worship.
We join with the psalmist to praise God:
'O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!... When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour.... O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!'
Psalm 8: 1,3-5,9
Hymn: 'Tis winter now
(tune: O Waly Waly, with Intro.)
1. 'Tis winter now, the fallen snow
has left the heavens all coldly clear;
through leafless boughs the sharp winds blow,
and all the earth lies dead and drear.
2. And yet God's love is not withdrawn;
his life within the keen air breathes;
his beauty paints the crimson dawn,
and clothes each branch with glittering wreaths.
3. And though abroad the sharp winds blow,
and skies are chill, and frosts are keen,
home closer draws her circle now,
and warmer glows her light within.
4. O God, you give the winter's cold,
as well as summer's joyous rays,
you warmly in your love enfold
and keep us through life's wintry days.
Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892)
Prayers
Unexpected God, when we follow you we never know what is around the next
corner,but that is all part of the package we accept when we take up your call
to follow you.
You constantly surprise us with new challenges and sometimes test our faith
to the limits, but you will always make sense of it later if we keep trusting you.
Exciting God, we pray for those people of vision and initiative who place
new challenges before us; though it may not be easy, encourage us to catch
their vision.
Forgive us our lack of courage.
Fire our imaginations and teach us to be more like the first disciples of Jesus,
who had no idea what to expect, yet bravely followed their calling.
Many things hold us back from new possibilities: fear of what it would mean to
change, the power of our past relationships in life, hard personal experiences,
things we have done or not done, and discouragement because we often
cannot see many signs of your reign in us or in the world.
We would like to expect miracles, O God,; please give us faith and help us in
our unbelief.
The word to us in Christ is that if we have faith as much as a mustard seed,
that will be enough for the transforming of us and of the world.
Thanks be to God!
We pray in the word that Jesus taught us:
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 who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver is from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reading: Jeremiah 31: 7 - 9
'For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts
for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise and say 'Save, O Lord, your
people, the remnant of Israel.'
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them
from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those
with child and those in labour, together; a great company, they shall return
here. With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them
back.'
Comment
These are powerful words of restoration to the exiled remnant of Israel. Their glory days were gone and they had been advised to settle down, to make the most of Babylon, to pray for their captors, and to wait. Then the prophetic word came to them, telling them that the time was coming when all those who has been exiled, scattered far and wide, would be gathered together by God for a great and emotional return home.
Like those people of God in Jeremiah's day, in 2020 many people stumbled, languished and mourned in a kind of exile - and like Israel in Babylon, we are all waiting until we can gather together in celebration. We, like them, heard a succession of warnings and dire predictions which were not universally heeded, but we also dream of a coming time of togetherness and thankful praise, as God works out his purpose.
Hymn 573: God is working his purpose out
(tune: Benson, with Intro.)
1. God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year,
God is working his purpose out, and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
2. From farthest east to farthest west where human feet have trod,
by the voice of many messengers goes forth the voice of God,
'Give ear to me, you continents, you islands, give ear to me,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.'
3. Let us go out in the strength of God with the banner of Christ unfurled,
That the light of the glorious gospel of truth may shine throughout the world.
Sin and sorrow let us fight to set their captives free,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
4. All that we do can have no worth unless God blesses the deed;
vainly we hope for the harvest-time till God awakens the seed;
yet nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea
Arthur Campbell Ainger (1841-1919)
Reading: John 1: 10 - 14, 16 - 18
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.... From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
Reflection
(I have taken the first part of this from a book by Sheila Walker, published in 2005)
Have you ever wondered why charity shops are always full of jigsaws? Well, let me unravel one such puzzle...
You know how it is, as a child at Christmas, when those very kind distant
relations very kindly send you a present, but forget you're a whole year older
than last time? Well, that's how it was for Mike, whose very kind aunt forgot
he was twelve and presented him, very kindly, with a jigsaw. All right, adults
do jigsaws too, but maybe not Noah's Ark, in sixteen large pieces.
Mike said thank you very politely to his aunt, but grumbled to his mother, who said she would take it to a charity shop.
When Mrs. Mitchell saw it in the shop, she said, 'That's a very nice jigsaw. I love the penguins! I'll buy it in case I get any young visitors.'
A few days later, little Michelle came visiting with her dad. Michelle was four, but she didn't do or say much, and her dad was worried. When he saw the jigsaw on Mrs. Mitchell's shelf, he said, 'That's a nice Noah's Ark jigsaw. Look, Michelle, don't you just love the penguins?' And to his amazement, Michelle got down on the floor and played and played with the jigsaw, and started to learn how to put it together and to talk about the penguins.
It was a very kindly aunt who gave the present, but who received it? Mike, yes, of course, but to him it seemed irrelevant. Mrs. Mitchell was interested enough to pay £2 and put it on her shelf, just in case. But Michelle received it, yes and yes and yes - playing and probing, sorting and seeking, hearing it speaking into the silence; unlocking her mind, unlocking her heart, releasing grace; calling her to be herself.
To us, last year seems rather as if we were stuck at home doing a jigsaw with thousands of pieces, and when we got to the end, some were missing. We had no idea at the beginning of the year how it would turn out, but wanted to get the picture sorted to our satisfaction. Now we are at the start of 2021, wondering if we will ever find the missing pieces, or if we should just give up and start all over again. Will the picture be better this year? Who knows? But we can dream and hope and pray that it will.
God's very kind present to us is Jesus - but who has received it?
To all who received Christ, to those who believed in his name, God gave the right to become children of God; a gift to unlock their minds, to unlock their hearts, to release grace and to enable them to become themselves - the best selves they could be.
However, some think that, though kindly meant, the gift is irrelevant; some that it is interesting and could be put on the shelf, just in case. Yet to all who welcome the gift, who receive it with joy and thankfulness, it becomes the means to discovering our true selves - we are children of God.
Let us receive and nurture that most precious gift, hoping and praying that our hearts and minds will be opened to God's grace and that in this new year we shall be enabled to share the gift with those around us.
Prayers
(Using a hymn written by David McGregor in 2007)
As the old year passes, we look back, reflect: times of joy and promise, times
we'd best forget.
God of the ages, help us walk your way. Help us greet your future, seize tomorrow's day.
As the old year passes, sorrow wells within; loved ones no more round us, all that could have been.
God of compassion, heal each ailing heart. Guide us to your future where new life may start.
As the old year passes, we cry for our struggling world. Climate everchanging, fighting too often heard.
God, you have called us to cherish all you give. Call us to your future, where all in peace might live.
As the new year dawns now, we would give you praise. Faithful God, come lead us onward in new ways. We'll love and serve you in the name of Christ, in your Spirit's future, people of new life.
Amen.
Hymn 705: O God our Help in Ages Past
(tune: St Anne, with full verse Intro.)
1. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home;
2. Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.
3. Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
4. A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
5. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
6. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home!
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
The Blessing:
May the Lord lead us on into this new year, to learn willingly, to love well and
to live in trust; may we be surrounded with hope, shielded from harm and
filled with rejoicing.
And may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon us and
all those we love, this day and always. Amen.
Next week's service will be by Derek Jackson
Don't forget the live streamed hymns on Sundays at 10:45 a.m. from Zöe (via Facebook)
These are available to view later as well. (via YouTube, for those without Facebook, and also Facebook)
The streamings are proving to be a great success - well done, Zöe!
The recorded streamings are, thanks to Harry Marshall, available to all on YouTube - search for 'Northgate URC Darlington'.
Ask Harry to invite you to the Northgate Facebook Group 
and you will get a notification of the live stream.
- Or you can just search for 'Northgate URC Darlington' in Facebook.
The URC denominational church audio Services (podcasts) at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/ are excellent, with well-delivered prayers and readings using a selection of voices and well-presented hymns.
Do give these a try - they are excellent.
(Just start the sound playing and scroll down to the written words)
Why not put the time aside for Zoe at 10:45, our preacher's service after that and follow up with the podcast - you will feel as if you had been IN church, as well as WITH church.