'In safe hands.’

This act of worship, has been prepared for you by Colin Firbank for use where ever you are. 
Call to worship: 
O, come, let us worship and bow down before the Lord our maker
You, Lord, are our God, and we are the people of your pasture, the sheep of your hand.
 O, come, let us listen to the voice of the Lord.
 You, Lord, are our God, and we are the people of your pasture, the sheep of your hand.
 As we explore the idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, we consider how we are ‘in safe hands’.

StF 88 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation

Prayers of Praise and Confession and Lord’s Prayer
Loving God, we praise you for the realities of Easter which we continue to celebrate, realities that make such a difference to life – the victory of good over evil, love over hate, life over death, the turning of weakness into strength, fear into courage, doubt into faith, a new beginning where it seemed like the end, new hope where there had seemed despair, new confidence where there had been confusion.
Teach us to live each day as your Easter people.
We praise you that Easter is not just about events long ago, but about life now, not just about others, but about us, not just about one thing, but everything.
Teach us to live each day as your Easter people.
Help us, we pray, to live each day in the light of Easter, with its joy bubbling up in our hearts, its laughter shining from our eyes and its message always on our lips. So may others, seeing the difference it has made to us, discover the difference it can make to them,
Teach us to live each day as your Easter people, to the glory of your name. Amen

Confession –
Loving God, we are here in the name of Christ, to confess our faults and failings, to acknowledge our unworthiness of your love, to seek your mercy and forgiveness, and to ask for renewal in our lives.
Lord of life, hear us.
 Receive our confession and ourselves as we come before you. Cleanse and restore us through the love of Christ, and strengthen us through the inner power of your Holy Spirit.
Lord of life, hear us
So may we serve you better and live to your glory.
Lord of life, hear us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Lord's Prayer
Our Father........

John 10 v 22 -30

Reflection – ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.’
The shepherd and the sheep are images which go all through the bible. When you walk or drive through the British countryside at present you will be aware of sheep with their new-born lambs in the fields and on the open hillsides. There may not be a shepherd or farmer in sight. During the lambing season they could have been very busy and will constantly keep checking how things are but they do not need to be with the sheep all the time. You may have spent holidays in some countries where you do see shepherds with their sheep. They are looking after them and guiding them to places for food and drink. It is understandable why the image of the shepherd and sheep has come to describe the relationship between God, and Christ, and people. 
In the verses before our reading Jesus had talked about ‘being the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep’. Among the people who had listened to this were some who said, ‘He has a demon! He is mad! Why do you listen to him?’
The response which follows is given a precise time and location. It was winter and was at the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple. It is also known as the Festival of Lights – Hanukkah. Jesus was walking in Solomon’s Porch, a place where people walked to pray and meditate. Rabbis strolled there as they talked to their students and expounded the doctrines of the faith. These were the people who would have asked the questions. Jesus replied that he had told them but they had not listened to his voice and understood. His deeds should also have made it obvious. What he did was a fulfilment of promises.
Many people have responded to Jesus’s teaching and, when they have found themselves in difficult positions, have wanted to celebrate his love. This story of Ethel Mulvaney and other women prisoners of war shows something of what this means.

Because Christ rose.
Ethel Mulvaney was a Canadian working with the Red Cross in Singapore when it fell to the Japanese on February 15th, 1942. She was interned in Changi Jail. As the first Easter approached she petitioned the Prison Commandant for permission for a group of women to sing in the courtyard (so that all could hear) on Easter morning.
‘Why?’ demanded the officer.
‘Because Christ rose from the dead on Easter morning!’ she replied.
‘Request denied’, he barked, ‘return to your compound.’
This drama of request and refusal was made twelve times as Easter drew nearer. Each time, Ethel Mulvaney suffered the same rough manhandling. Then, to their utter astonishment and joy, the day before the Sunday, came the order over the loudspeakers: ‘Women prisoners may sing for 5 minutes in courtyard No. 1 at dawn tomorrow.’ For 5 precious minutes the women praised God in song for the raising-up of Jesus. In that hell they sang of their hope and of what was a fact in their experience. Silently, they filed back to their compound.
As they passed a gateway a guard stepped up to Ethel, and from inside his brown tunic he drew out a tiny orchid. Handing it to her he whispered in broken English: ‘He is risen indeed!’
  Anon – No Empty Phrases compiled by David Hilton 

StF 296 Christ has risen while earth slumbers

Acts 9 v 36 – 43
Revelation 7 v 9 – 17

StF 350 I cannot tell why he, whom angels worship

Sermon Revelation 7 v 17 ‘The Lamb will be their shepherd’
In this passage people worshipping before the throne of God come from all countries and have endured great suffering. Despite the fact that they have been victims of violence they wave the palm branches in their hands. They receive the promise that ‘they will not hunger nor thirst any more, neither sun nor any scorching heat will burn them, because the Lamb will be their shepherd and lead them to the springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ Many people have found comfort in this passage. There is a spiritual promise here, the ultimate satisfying of the hunger and thirst of the human soul. Jesus promised this in his ministry.
‘Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully.’ (Matthew ch 5 v 6)
‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will never be hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’ (John ch. 6 v 35)
We must also remember that for many people in the early church this promise would have physical meaning. They knew what it was to be ill-fed and hungry. They knew what thirst was. For them heaven would be a place where hunger was satisfied and where thirst was quenched. The greatness of the passage is that out of its promise a person can take that which their heart most yearns for. It is the promise that in Christ is the end of the world’s hunger, the world’s pain and the world’s sorrow.
Although Revelation looks ahead it was important for people at the time to see evidence of Christ’s love in action and this is what the followers of Jesus wanted to do. The reading from Acts is important in this context. The story was about Tabitha. She was highly respected for all the time she spent doing good and helping the poor – a sign that she was already filled with God’s spirit. She became ill and died. Her friends heard that Peter was nearby and asked him to come. He prayed and was able to help her up. The story witnesses to the life-giving power of the resurrection faith. Peter always insisted that this power of healing and life-giving is Christ’s. Christ’s resurrection power fills his disciples and through them fills the world. 
In our world today we hear examples of how God’s power is apparent as people respond to the needs of others. 

Prayers of intercession
God of all nations, in faith and with trusting perseverance, we pray for those suffering as a consequence of the policies and decisions of their leaders; for those living in war zones; for those fleeing their countries; for those battling with the effects of climate change; for those left with less than they need to survive; for those whose daily lives are controlled by others.
Lord Jesus, be with them through their ups and downs, 
and wipe every tear from their eyes

We pray for those who work in caring professions; those suffering from exhaustion; for those feeling demoralised; for those they aim to support and minister to; for those waiting for help and treatment; for those in the last stages of their life.
Lord Jesus, be with them through their ups and downs, 
and wipe every tear from their eyes

We pray for the church throughout the world; for leaders who have lost their way; for those ministering in divided communities; for those in places where the church is marginalised, persecuted or simple deemed irrelevant.
Lord Jesus, be with them through their ups and downs, 
and wipe every tear from their eyes

We pray for the young people of our world; for children traumatised by war and violence; for those whose abuse goes unreported; for those sitting exams; for those struggling to find their way in the world.
Lord Jesus, be with them through their ups and downs, 
and wipe every tear from their eyes

And we pray for one another; and entrust to you those things that worry us; those situations we feel helpless in; those decisions that burden us; those losses that overwhelm us.
Lord Jesus, be with them through their ups and downs, 
and wipe every tear from their eyes. Amen.

StF 481 The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want.

Blessing:
Loving Lord, we have come to you, to seek your help, offer our worship and declare our faith.
Now we go for you, to work for your kingdom, proclaim your love, and make know the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Go with us and grant us grace to serve you, even as through him you have served us. Amen