Ups and downs of life

​We praise you for sending us your son, Jesus.
We thank you that He shared all that it means to live in our world so that we might begin to
know what it means to walk in your love.

Call to worship.
Our theme today is the how do we cope with the Ups & Downs of life. In his home synagogue
in Nazareth, Jesus tells the congregation the stories about Elijah and Elisha, and how it
was outsiders that they serve - that sometimes God chooses gentiles over Jews. Clearly, the
people are enraged, and they respond to hid words by trying to throw him off a Cliff – and we
see the power of Jesus, as He responds, by just walking away.
StF 58: Lord I come before your Throne of Grace

prayer
Loving Heavenly Father, we come to worship you and to glorify your name with our songs
and hymns of praise as we offer ourselves afresh to you. 
You’re Lord of all that was, is, and will be – there’s no God like you and there’s no God beside you.
Father, we praise you not only as our creator, but also as the one who every moment of
everyday sustains our lives and the life of the whole universe.
We praise you that though you’re the high and exalted one, that you promise to live in our
hearts and lives.
Though you’re the King of all creation, you walk with us every day of our lives.
We praise you for sending us your son, Jesus.
We thank you that He shared all that it means to live in our world so that we might begin to
know what it means to walk in your love.
We praise you that he was ready to share our pain and loneliness, our weaknesses, our
​failures, and our defeats.
We thank you that through his death and resurrection, that we can enter into his victory of love.
We praise you for all your gifts; 
for the life, worship, and witness of all your people down the centuries; 
for all your promises to us and your presence with us, we thank you.
Lord, we thank you for the love, power and mercy that have brought us together. 
We confess that we haven't always wanted the best for each other, and we're sorry that we
don't put others first, or their needs before our own. 
We confess that we have too often and too easily pleased ourselves.
We confess that we are sometimes afraid and often uncertain. 
Lord, we ask not only for forgiveness, but also for the desire and the strength to begin again
​in Jesus name.
This prayer we ask in and through the name of Jesus, who taught us when we pray to say

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name. 
Your Kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
on earth as in heaven. 
Give us today our daily bread. 
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. 
Now and forever. Amen.

StF 61; Our God is a great big God​

Psalm 145:1-8 New International Version Psalm A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
    I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
    and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty--
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works--
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.

Matthew 14:22-34 New International Version Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the
other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up
on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat
was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind
was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples
​saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, 
“why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the
boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

Prayers for Others:
1. We come together in Prayer, let us pray.
Loving Heavenly Father, we pray today for your blessing on our congregation, and those
who lead worship, and those whose technical skills help so many to worship here in
church.
We pray for your presence to be seen vividly in everything we do and say each day, that
your joy, love, tolerance, understanding and compassion will flow freely in and through
us.
2. Loving Heavenly Father, we pray for all who work for peace and unity, and for all world
leaders that they will earnestly seek for an end to the suffering caused by war and
violence, injustice and inequality, disease and prejudice, poverty and hopelessness and
bring healing to the world.  We pray especially for those fighting terrorism throughout
the world.
Creator God, we pray for all in authority both in this country and around the world, that
they may never be tempted to abuse or misuse their power.
We continue to pray for persecuted Christians and for minority Christian communities
where they’re under pressure and for all who suffer for their faith.
3. Loving God, friend of those in need, your Son Jesus can free us from our burdens and
heal our bodies and spirits. We pray for those still burdened, those seeking healing, those
in need within the church and the world.
Pray for all those in Libya and Morocco so deeply affected by recent events.
4. We pray for those who have or are experiencing the ravages of climate change, and we
pray we will all make a difference by seriously playing our part in loving, caring, and
respecting your planet.
5. Gracious God, we pray for the work and service of all care homes and day centres for
elderly and sick people, and for the charity organisations and shops who raise money to
help. We pray for all finding their life painful, lonely or uncertain, especially those who
are ill or vulnerable.  Help them to sense your comfort in times of need and bless their
families and carers. We pray for healthcare and social workers in their mission to improve
the wellbeing of those who are sick and unwell.
For volunteers, carers and those who undertake work for which they're not paid.
6. Merciful Lord, your love reaches beyond the grave. At the end of our days on earth be
with us and with those we love. May those who have gone before us rest in your eternal
peace.  We remember before you those who have died and we pray for all whose life is
saddened by the death of a loved one, be with them in their loneliness
7. Gracious God, as we go out into the world, at the close of this service, we pray that we
may reflect your love, joy, love, tolerance, understanding and compassion in our families,
our church, and our community; so that the world can witness that we are followers of
Jesus and draw others into his loving care.
Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
​
​StF 531 What a friend we have in Jesus

Message:  The Ups & Downs of Life
Lucozade: When life gets you down, Lucozade, picks you up!!
What do we do when faced with the problems/fears/troubles of daily life that can threaten
​our security? 

1. breakdown in relationships  
2. losing our job 
3. losing our income 
4. losing our health 
5. even having problems with our faith or even losing our faith.

Life can be hard - can experience depression.
Do we turn to a visible or invisible means of support?
There are those who turn to alcohol for help and support - to help them drown their sorrows.
But of course, there are so many pills and potions to pick us up when we’re down or calm us
when we up to choose from.
Do we turn to a visible or invisible means of support?

We must learn the true SOURCE of our SECURITY and then learn to TRUST THAT
SOURCE - that is JESUS, HIMSELF.
[1]    Experience of PEACE
Irish poet Joseph Medlicott Scriven was born on September 10, 1819, at Ballymoney Lodge
in County Down, Northern Ireland. 
His parents were Captain John Scriven and Jane Medlicott. Joseph graduated with a B.A.
degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and embraced the teachings of the
Plymouth Brethren. In 1845 his fiancée drowned on the night before they were to be married. 
A grief-stricken Scriven moved to Canada where he settled in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
and worked as a private tutor for local families. 
Joseph fell in love with a local woman who suddenly fell ill with pneumonia and subsequently
​died. 
Known by people in the Port Hope area as an eccentric, Scriven was nonetheless a
born philanthropist and devoutly religious man who freely gave away what little money
and clothing he had to impoverished people in great need. In 1855 he wrote a poem called
"Pray Without Ceasing" to comfort his ailing mother. This poem was later set to music by
attorney and songwriter Charles Crozat Coverse and retitled "What a Friend We Have in
Jesus." "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" has since gone on to become a well-regarded
classic gospel hymn that's been covered by many artists throughout the world. Joseph died
at age 66 on August 10, 1886, in Pope Hope, Ontario, Canada.
Joseph was asked by a friend how he had written such words – he replied - “The Lord and I
wrote them together!”
Words born out of his own deep suffering speak directly to the heart of the friendship
of Jesus where we can find and experience perfect peace.

Helen LEMMEL’s friend’s story about when she was in her early 20’s visiting London with
​Helen when she was inspired to write the words of
“TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS” [written in 1922]

Paul’s trials
 - falsely accused of violating Temple rituals, he was arrested and for his own safety removed
to Caesarea where he was imprisoned for 2 years by the Governor Felix.
Felix successor, Festus wanted to put Paul on trial. Paul appealed to the Emperor Caesar
Following being shipwrecked off Malta, Paul arrived in Rome where he spent 2 years under
house arrest.
He may have been released in AD 63 and visited Spain and the Aegean region before his
re-arrest and death at the hands of Nero in AD67.

Throughout all of this, Paul kept his eye’s fixed firmly on Jesus - lived his life in the very
presence of Jesus and could therefore experience security and thereby experience the power
of Jesus in his life - and this gave him the strength to cope - gave him perfect peace.

Sometimes I become distracted by things going on round and about us - become obsessed
​by worries & fears and can lose all sense of reason.
The Stoning of Stephen – kept his eyes on Jesus.
During the testing of Abraham, he too kept his eyes in God.
This was Peter’s experience after the feeding of the 5,000.
After feeding of the 5,000 the people wanted to make Jesus their king, so He sent His
disciples off in the boat.
By the FORTH WATCH OF THE NIGHT (3.00 - 6.00am) Jesus could see that the disciples were
in distress - struggling against a strong head wind presumably by the light of the moon.
Peter - impetuous, impulsive, rash, head strong came to understand the reality - depth of his
own faith.
Showed FAITH & UNBELIEF.

Mirror image of my own experience
Never underestimate the Power of Jesus
“Lord save me!” and He did/does!

If we live our lives in the very Presence of Jesus, we will experience His Security, His
​Power, and His Peace
Jesus ministered to by the Angels in the wilderness after He had been tempted by the devil.

[2]    The power of Jesus
Luke 4: 18 - 22
Elijah - famine Elisha - Lepers
Jesus incensed the congregation to fury - but He just walked away - He maintained His peace.
[1]     Jesus calmed physical storms.
[2]     Jesus calmed mental/psychological storms.
[3]     Jesus maintained His peace.
Jesus walked on the water to reach out to His disciples
Mike Moberley story

​​StF 481: The Lords my shepherd

Blessing
Go forward with a heart renewed by grace, and may the Holy Spirit empower you to live a
life that reflects the love of Christ to the world.
Amen.