Today's Service: 13 June
Leader: Meg Thomson
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Opening words: Psalm 100. A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Let us sing our praises to God. Take particular note of verse three 'His purpose is in me and you, in what we are and what we do. His love is in us when we sing.'
Hymn 46 O Praise Him, O Praise Him
Tune: Song of Caedmon, currently not available.
1. O praise him! O praise him! O praise him!
O praise him! O praise him! O praise him!
He made the heavens, he made our sky,
The sun, the moon, the stars on high.
He formed our world, his mighty hand,
Divided sea and land.
He moves in wind and rain and snow,
His life is in all things that grow.
O praise him!
O praise him!
O praise him!
2. O praise him! O praise him! O praise him!
O praise him! O praise him! O praise him!
His joy is in the eagle's flight,
The tiger's roar, the lions might,
The lamb, the python, and the whale,
The spider, ant and snail.
All things that leap and swim and fly
On land and sea and in the sky,
They praise him,
They praise him,
They praise him.
3. O praise him! O praise him! O praise him!
O praise him! O praise him! O praise him!
He lives his life in love and joy,
In man and woman, girl, and boy.
His purpose is in me and you,
In what we are and do.
His love is in us when we sing,
With every God-created thing,
And praise him,
And praise him,
And praise him!
Arthur Scholey (born 1932) © 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Prayers
Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to join in prayer.
Thank you for the beauty of your creation, for diversity in nature,
the warmth of the sun and the refreshment of the rain,
for awe and wonder in sight and sound and smell.
Father, thank you for each new day and
each new opportunity to praise your name.
Lord forgive us when our lives fail to mirror your wonder, or our thoughts fail to glorify you.
Thank you that through the blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
May we strive to be more like you in what we say and what we do.
Help us to listen to your words both with our ears and our hearts this morning,
That we may be better equipped to go out into the world to serve you. br
Let us join together in saying the words Jesus taught us:
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your 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. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Samuel Anoints David
16 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me."
The Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."
4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"
5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord."
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the Lord chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The Lord has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health 
and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; this is the one."
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.
Reflection: Chosen, Anointed, Filled
To put the passage in context, Saul, the King has disobeyed God and has had his title stripped from him, even though he is still the King. (Read to the end of 1 Samuel to get the full story). Samuel, the prophet, is charged with finding Saul's replacement. Samuel is obedient, even though a little anxious, and heads off to Bethlehem to see Jesse. Next follows the selection process, guided by God, Samuel is introduced to each of Jesse's sons starting with the oldest - tall, handsome, surely the one - read verse 7 again. God does not judge as man judges, man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. God often chooses the weak, the stutterer, the small, the frightened, the infirm to do His work (Moses, Joshua, David, Jonah, Paul) ordinary people called to do extra-ordinary deeds. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak." David, the youngest son, is CHOSEN. He is ANOINTED, consecrated, sanctified, blessed with oil. And immediately FILLED with the Spirit. God has chosen you to be His hands and feet and ears and mouth, to share his message of Love and forgiveness. God has anointed you, "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift" (Ephesians 2:8-9). God has filled you with His Holy Spirit, the strength you need to go out into the world. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For the Spirit that God gives us does not make us timid; instead, His Spirit fills us with power, love and self-control." I finish with words from Ephesians 3:20 "To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of, to God be the glory."
As we sing the next hymn may you feel God's strength and feel empowered to do His will.
Hymn 576: God's spirit is deep in my heart
tune: Go tell everyone, with Intro.
1. God's spirit is deep in my heart;
he has called me and set me apart;
and this is what I have to do-
what I have to do:
Chorus:
He sent me to give the good news to the poor,
tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
tell blind people that they can see,
and set the downtrodden free,
and go tell ev'ryone
the news that the kingdom of God has come;
and go tell ev'ryone
the news that God's kingdom has come.
2. And just as the Father sent me,
so I'm sending you out to be
my witness throughout the world-
the whole of the world:
Chorus
3. Don't carry a load in your pack;
you don't need two shirts on your back;
a workman can earn his own keep-
can earn his own keep:
Chorus
4. Don't worry what you have to say;
don't worry, because on that day
God's spirit will speak in your heart-
will speak in your heart:
Chorus
Words adapted by Hubert John Richards (1921 - 2010) from New World, Alan Taylor Dale (1902-1979) (c) OUP
Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-18
16 No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so. 17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come. 18 All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.
Reflection: Joined, transformed, challenged
As God called David, so we are called by God. Probably not to be king, (no, I don't fancy it either), but to be what God wants us to be. He calls us to be joined with Him and be transformed into His likeness - to become a new creation. Not in our own strength, but in God's strength. And now comes the challenge.... we are challenged to tell others, to make them His friends also. Are you up for the challenge?
Mission Praise 254: I am a new creation
tune of the same name, with Intro. (sung twice)
I am a new creation,
no more in condemnation,
here in the grace of God I stand.
My heart is overflowing,
my love just keeps on growing,
here in the grace of God I stand.
And I will praise you, lord,
Yes, I will praise you, lord,
and I will sing of all that you have done.
A joy that knows no limit,
a lightness in my spirit
here in the grace of God I stand.
Prayers
Heavenly Father
We bring before you the cares of our world.
The ongoing health problems in India and Nepal
Unrest in Iraq, Iran and Syria
Those families fleeing their homes in Mozambique.
Natural disaster around the world, floods, landslides, fires
and .......
Lord hear our prayers.
We bring before you the cares for others. 
Our World Leaders and decision makers
The vaccine programme globally
Those struggling to balance the books.
Those who are lonely.
The homeless
Those whom we know that are unwell
and ......
Lord hear our prayers.
We bring before you the cares for ourselves.
Grant us peace and wisdom in all we do
and ......
Lord hear our prayers.
In your name and to your glory
May God grant us peace to keep loving, love to keep serving and joy to keep praising. Amen.
Our final hymn speaks of that blessed assurance in Christ. 'This is my story this is my song'. Can you sing those words with all your heart and know them to be true for you?
Hymn Blessed Assurance
tune: Assurance, with full verse Intro.
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
Chorus:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Chorus
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Chorus
repeat Chorus
Frances Jane van Alystyne
Blessing
May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Go forth to serve the Lord.
Amen
Next week, the service will be led by Eve Mortimer
Don't forget the live streamed hymns on Sundays at 10:45 a.m. from Zöe (via the 'Northgate URC Darlington' Facebook page)
These are available to view later as well. (via YouTube, for those without Facebook, and also Facebook)
The streamings are a great success - well done, Zöe!
The recorded streamings are now, 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.