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Today's Service: 9 August

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Dear All,
Welcome to worship. As we emerge into the 'new normal' and as we prepare for worship may we remember God is still with us at home in our communities and in our world.

Still your minds, breathe deeply and prepare to worship God.

2 Corinthians 3: 12, 17,18

12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness,
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

HYMN 339: Great God your love has called us here
tune: Abingdon, with Intro.

1. Great God, your love has called us here
as we, by love, for love were made.
Your living likeness still we bear,
though marred, dishonoured, disobeyed.
We come, with all our heart and mind
your call to hear, your love to find.

2. We come with self-inflicted pains
of broken trust and chosen wrong,
half-free, half-bound by inner chains,
by social forces swept along,
by powers and systems close confined,
yet seeking hope for humankind.

3. Great God, in Christ you call our name
and then receive us as your own,
not through some merit, right or claim,
but by your gracious love alone.
We strain to glimpse your mercy seat
and find you kneeling at our feet.

4. Then take the towel, and break the bread,
and humble us, and call us friends.
Suffer and serve till all are fed,
and show how grandly love intends
to work till all creation sings,
to fill all worlds, to crown all things.

5. Great God, in Christ you set us free
your life to live, your joy to share.
Give us your Spirit's liberty
to turn from guilt and dull despair
and offer all that faith can do
while love is making all things new.

(c)Brian Wren Copied under license number 88966

PRAYER

Think of something that has lifted your spirits this week
Pause and give thanks

Think of someone that has contacted you this week
Pause and give thanks

Think of someone who has served you this week
Pause and give thanks

God has been with us this week
Pause and give thanks

Gracious God
In this house, at this time, we set aside this space to worship you.
Bless this space, bless this house, bless this time.

We come to worship you, coming with a boldness that we are known and loved by you.
We come to worship you, coming with a hope that our words and thoughts are heard by you.
We come to worship you in the freedom that the Spirit gives us, wherever we are and at whatever time.
We come...
We come because you invite us into that transforming relationship sealed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord.

We come aware of those things which have got in the way of that relationship,
Our busyness in living,
Our anxieties about the situation we are in,
Our willingness to listen to so many voices before we hear you,
Our own folly and indeed our own sinfulness which gets in the way of your image being clear in our lives...

We are truly sorry, we ask your forgiveness and we ask that as you set us on the path of freedom and hope again we may recall that this is only possible in and through Jesus Christ, who gave up his freedom so we could be given ours,
And so in his name we pray...

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 them 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, For ever and ever. Amen

Matthew 14: 22 - 33

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, 'Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.'
28 Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' 29 He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?' 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'

Genesis 37: 1 - 4, 12 - 28

Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.' He answered, 'Here I am.' 14 So he said to him, 'Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.' So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem, 15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, 'What are you seeking?' 16 'I am seeking my brothers,' he said; 'tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.' 17 The man said, 'They have gone away, for I heard them say, "Let us go to Dothan."' So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.' 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, 'Let us not take his life.' 22 Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him'-that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.' And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

To colour in!

REFLECTION

We return to a much-loved Old Testament story today. I can almost hear you humming songs from 'Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat'. The sons of Jacob - that 'close to reprehensible' character are in some ways no better than their father in their lack of moral standards. I realise that Joseph is the 'annoying younger brother' - the lectionary missed out those antagonising dreams of his where his brothers were portrayed as bowing down to him - but that does not sanction selling into slavery, nor tricking their father into thinking Joseph has been devoured by wild animals.
Yet how close to our human experience is this. One of the worst aspects of the slave trade that is now documented was the part various African tribes had in selling people from other tribes into slavery. The tragic thing is that in the world today there are those who would sell their own family members into slavery/enforced labour/to traffickers for a pittance. You can read the harrowing stories in the literature of charities such as 'Hope for Justice' 'Freedom United and 'Barnardo's'. It does not make for an easy read but the truth is that trafficked people are in our midst, exploited in so many different ways in agriculture, beauty parlours, car washes and of course the sex trade; which makes this story in Genesis remind us the Gospel is grounded in the darkest side of human life not just the 'every dream will do' jaunty side of our lives.
However, what the story does tell us is that God is there in the messiness of all of this. When we hear of the terrible circumstances of people as their story enters our living rooms and we are tempted to say 'Where is God?'. These stories remind us that God is there - it is human compassion that is missing.
Yet we also do see in the most awful of situations that human beings can be capable of the deepest compassion and the costliest of sacrifices. All is not lost for humanity. 'Wherever the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom' 2 Cor 3: 17
It is like the disciples being tossed about in the boat. In this case Jesus is not even in the boat being tossed about. Despite the strong wind and still choppy water Jesus comes to them. We see the ever-impetuous Peter say, 'well if it is you tell me to walk on water too!' 'Come', says Jesus, and Peter steps out of the boat and succumbs - not unreasonably, I think - to the strong wind whipping about him and the far from calm glass-like sea. His human instincts take over and naturally he starts to sink - it is then he calls out to Jesus to save him. It is only when that cry is uttered and they are both back in the boat that the calm descends. In the choppy waters of life how often do we rely on our human resources and only in desperation turn to God?
So perhaps we need to refocus our minds and seek God first in all things. As we sung a couple of weeks ago 'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God'. As Jesus said 'Come' to Peter, we need to get out of our boat and reach out for God - then God in and through us can work to change the awfulness of the world into a less choppy sea. That might just be about raising our awareness so that we can pray and give some of our resources to those who are able to act in these circumstances. So instead of wringing our hands and asking 'Where is God' we can dare to say 'Wherever the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom'.

PRAYERS

Gracious God,
We come to you today to pray for those caught up in situations that entrap them:-

For those sold into modern day slavery..
For those trafficked across continents..
For those who see no way out of their grinding poverty...
For those who are tempted to abuse other human beings...

For those caught in a cycle of addiction...
For those who live with people under strain...
For those who are fearful of the world around...
For those who are imprisoned...

For those who cannot worship in freedom...

For men and women who work to end slavery and trafficking...
For women and men who work to alleviate poverty...
For men and women who work in drug, alcohol and other rehabilitation services...
For all those in the criminal justice system...
Great God, in Christ you set us free
your life to live, your joy to share.
Give us your Spirit's liberty
to turn from guilt and dull despair
and offer all that faith can do
while love is making all things new.
We pray for ourselves and our family and friends, especially those who we cannot see at the moment or who are in another country...
For our own fears and anxieties - may we hear your voice say 'Come' and in coming may we find your spirit giving us freedom, hope, courage and peace...

In Christs Jesus' name we pray. Amen

HYMN 625: God of freedom, God of Justice
tune Rhuddlan, with long Intro.

1. God of freedom, God of justice,
God whose love is strong as death,
God who saw the dark of prison,
God who knew the price of faith:
touch our world of sad oppression
with your Spirit's healing breath.

2. Rid the earth of torture's terror,
God whose hands were nailed to wood;
hear the cries of pain and protest,
God who shed the tears and blood;
move in us the power of pity,
restless for the common good.

3. Make in us a captive conscience
quick to hear, to act, to plead;
make us truly sisters, brothers,
of whatever race or creed:
teach us to be fully human,
open to each other's need.

(c)Shirley Erena Murray copied under CCLI license number 88966

THE GRACE
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with us all now and for evermore. Amen

There is a URC service available every week (see link below, or go to the URC web site and follow the links)

If you come across things that you are finding helpful, let us know and we can disseminate the information to all.


More next week . . .
Every Blessing,

Hilary and Stephen


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 now, thanks to harry Marshall, available 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, Stephen'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.

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