prepared by Joanne Mead – 16th November 2025
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to all who are receiving this service of hope and praise.
We may be separated by walls, we may be separated by distance, but in spite of all of that, we are united in Christ. God promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us, and that promise is as true today as it was all those hundreds of years ago when it was first made. We are a ‘Church Without Walls’, that is one positive thing we learned during the pandemic. God’s people never stopped connecting, never stopped praying – even though we could not be together physically in one place.
Let us praise God with hymn StF 51: Great is Thy faithfulness
Prayer
Loving God, Holy One. God of Peace, from whom all blessings flow. Our God, whose very nature is love, whose love is inescapable – reaching to the farthest ends of the earth. Nothing can separate us from you, our Creator, our Lord. Generous God, who poured out your love and mercy upon us, even though we strayed from your way, you call us to you – each one of us by name. Like a shepherd calling to his sheep, drawing us to you. We praise you. We praise you with our hearts, our minds and our voices. Unite us Lord, in spite of the walls that separate us as Brothers and Sisters. Help us to understand more of you as we worship today. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Lord, so often you call out to us, but we are too stubborn to listen. You reach out to us only to have us go our own way. You pour out your love on us, but we are slow to extend that love to those around us. We are so absorbed by our own selfishness, we are blind to the needs of those around us. Forgive us Lord, make us whole again through the saving grace won for us through Jesus, your only Son. Shape us and mould us into the people you want us to be, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
Reading: Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Reflection
If you have picked up a newspaper or listened to the news in recent weeks, the message has been downbeat. Wars, hatred, greed, abuse, intolerance, violence…..it’s all there. A prince stripped of his titles and privileges, passengers on a train stabbed, a young woman murdered – you could be forgiven for thinking that the warnings of this week’s Gospel reading from Luke 21 are coming to pass in one horrendous news bulletin. Yet, we must hold onto hope. We’ve been through times like this before, of course we have.
Hope is a little word, but has an awful lot resting on it. To lose hope is to be in a perilous place, a desperate place. Maybe as you sit in your home today, you are living with your own difficulties – pain that never goes away, loneliness that makes each day seem so long and hard to endure. Maybe you have the lingering pain of a difficult relationship. Whatever you are enduring today, do not lose hope. Remember God’s enduring promise that he will never leave you nor forsake you. The words of today’s reading are often on display on a wall hanging in my church at Goffs Oak….those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint. Verses that came to mean so much to me over recent years. When I arrived at Goffs Oak I’d been hurt, my husband was recovering from a serious illness and I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. All I could do was hope in the Lord – I had no resources left to fight under my own steam. My hope was not misplaced, for God provided the support, the care and the encouragement I needed to become strong again. It didn’t happen overnight, but it happened.
Paul never lost his confidence in God, despite imprisonment, beatings, threats to his life. Paul praised God and sang hymns, even while chained to two Roman guards. Such was his enthusiasm that many of those who guarded him came to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour too. How wonderful is that? What a contrast from many of the other prisoners in their charge. It didn’t mean that Paul didn’t want to be free, it didn’t mean his situation was easy to endure, but with his hope firmly in God, Paul acknowledged what he had been (a vile persecutor of God’s Church) and the grace he knew. He trusted wholeheartedly that he had a future in glory with Christ.
Those who put their trust in the skills of politicians are regretting their decisions. Those who put their trust in monetary wealth often realise that confidence was in vain. Some put their trust in their own abilities only to find themselves suddenly without the answers they need. Hope is important, but we only truly realise our eternal hope that comes to us through Jesus. The words of the rather old-fashioned hymn that was dear to me in my formative years spent at the local Gospel Hall in East Belfast spring to mind:
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
Friends, as we come to the Lord with our Prayers of Intercession, take this opportunity to renew that hope you have in Jesus. Put your confidence in him for he will never disappoint. We may not always get the answer we want, but we are given the strength and the patience we need to get through the challenges. Our eternal hope is forever secure. Amen
Prayers of Intercession
Loving God – when we hear through the news about the awful things going on in our world today, our hearts are filled with despair. Some recent events have been devastating – the war in Gaza, the hurricane in Jamaica, the typhoon in the Philippines. Violence and hatred manifest through attacks on innocent people. Lord, we don’t know what the answer is – all we can do is bring these situations to you in prayer, trusting that peace, healing, comfort and tolerance will overwhelm evil and restore world peace.
This week we remembered those who gave their lives so that we might be free – and we pray for all who serve in the armed forces, the peacekeepers, the negotiators, the rescuers. Strengthen all who seek peace and reconciliation.
Lord, in our own words, we pray for the church and those who have devoted their lives in service of you. We earnestly pray that a revival will grip our land. That people will turn away from worldly gains and instead put their trust wholly in you.
[A time of silence]
We also remember those known to us today who are in need of care and support. May we truly be a church without walls, able to reach out to those who are poorly, alone, the heartbroken. In a time of silence, we bring to you those whose situations are on our heart today.
[A time of silence]
Lord, we pray for one another, those Brothers and Sisters who journey with us through life. Enable us, encourage us and give us the grace and the guidance we need to follow your perfect way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
We join in say the prayer that you taught us….Our Father, who art in heaven……..
Thank you Lord, for all that you have provided for each of us. We thank you for food, for friends and for the hope that comes through our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Our closing hymn – no. 548 from Singing the Faith, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine.
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.
Refrain:
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 communion, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
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. [Refrain]
Fanny Crosby (Public Domain)
The Blessing
May the God of Love embrace you.
May the God of Peace calm you.
May the God of Hope reassure you.
May the God of Grace restore you and make strong.Amen.
