Prepared by Rev Rosemary Mutopo – 15th June 2025
Call to Worship
Come, all ye people of the Lord God Almighty!
Come into the presence of God the Father, who loves and sustains us.
We come with adoration, praise and thanksgiving.
Come into the grace of God the Son, who redeems and journeys with us.
We come to follow Christ, our Lord, our Saviour and our redeemer.
Come into the power of the Holy Spirit, who speaks truth and gives life.
We come to be renewed, transformed, equipped and sent out.
Let us worship the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Glory be to God in three persons, blessed trinity, now and always. Amen.
STF 11: Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Opening Prayers
Loving God, the source of all life and love, we thank you for this beautiful day and for the many blessings we enjoy. Jesus, our Saviour, we praise you for your courage and compassion—for living with such love, and for giving your life for the sake of the whole world. We are grateful that you rose from the dead and opened the way for us to follow. Holy Spirit, you help us understand the heart of God. Fill our hearts with love, and bless us with gifts that help build up the Church in peace, unity, and joy. Holy Trinity, three in one and one in three, you gave yourself to bring us healing. Help us to give ourselves to you today in return, knowing that your arms are open to all who respond with love.
God our Father, we admit that we often forget your greatness, your power in creating the world, the sacrifice and victory of Jesus, and the life you give us through your Holy Spirit. We often take your goodness for granted—especially when things are going well. Even when life is difficult, we sometimes hold back because we don’t fully trust you, or we think we should be able to fix things on our own. Forgive us for forgetting that you are always ready to help, that your love never runs out, and that your forgiveness is freely given to all who are truly sorry. By your grace, help us to turn back to you with open hearts, and to know the deep joy that comes from being forgiven and made new through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please read the Gospel reading: John 16: 12-15
‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Reflection
In his final hours with his disciples, after the Last Supper, Jesus has a parting conversation with them. In this conversation, he did not give them a lecture on systematic theology. He didn’t hand out a list of answers to their burning questions or concerns. Instead, he gave them something better and precious. He gave them a promise. He said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” In other words, Jesus promised his friends a teacher. Not just any teacher, but the Holy Spirit — the personal presence of God, who would journey with them, teach them, comfort them, advocate for them and lead them slowly and lovingly into all truth.
Jesus begins with an honest and tender admission: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” That is significant. It tells us something important about how God deals with us. He deals with us with patience and compassion. God does not overwhelm us with more than we can handle. Jesus knew that the disciples were not ready to receive the fullness of what was to come. They were not ready for the pain of the cross, the mystery of the resurrection, and the mission of the Church, so he did not force it on them. So, if Jesus was patient with his disciples, he is also patient with us. He knows what we can bear. He doesn’t rush our growth. He meets us where we are, and then he walks with us forward. So, Jesus promises the coming of the Holy Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
We have a beautiful image here.The Holy Spirit is not a lecturer delivering abstract facts from a distance. The Spirit is a guide, a companion, a private tutor. One who comes alongside, one who walks with us, helping us understand truth, not just in our heads, but in our lives. We often think of truth as something fixed and factual. But in the Gospel of John, truth is a person — Jesus Christ himself. So to be guided into all truth is to be guided into a deeper relationship with Jesus. The Spirit teaches us not just what to know, but how to live. The Spirit helps us read scripture, interpret experience, discern wisely, pray honestly, and love faithfully. The Spirit doesn’t give us a quick answer sheet. The Spirit gives us presence, and presence forms us over time.
Jesus goes on to say, “he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears… He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” This is a profound glimpse into the Trinitarian life of God. The Spirit speaks what he hears from the Son. The Son shares what he has received from the Father. It is not a top-down command chain but a divine relationship of mutual sharing, love, and glory. And the amazing part of it all is that we are invited into that relationship. The Spirit takes what belongs to Christ and shares it with us. That means the Spirit does not just teach us about Jesus but it makes the life of Jesus real and present within us. Jesus doesn’t say the Spirit will give us “all the answers” but that the Spirit will “guide us into all truth.” This makes it a journey. The journey is not always a quick or easy one.
Sometimes the Spirit leads us through wilderness places, through questions we didn’t expect, through grief, uncertainty, pain, delay and waiting. But always, without a doubt, the Spirit leads us toward truth that liberates and love that transforms. In our own lives, in our churches, in our world, we may sometimes feel that we don’t have all the answers. And that’s okay. Jesus never asked us to have it all figured out. He asked us to trust the one who is with us, to be open, to listen, to learn each day. The truth is not a test to pass, but a life to be lived in the company of the Spirit, in the light of Christ and in the love of the Father. So let us live attentively. Let us pray honestly. Let us follow the whisper of the Spirit who still speaks, still teaches, and still glorifies Jesus in us and through us. Amen.
STF 83: Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like thee his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King!
2 Praise him for his grace and favour
to his people in distress;
praise him, still the same for ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness.
3 Father-like, he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows.
4 Angels in the height, adore him;
ye behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace!
Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847)
Prayers of intercession
Gracious God, you are the one who formed us, who rescues us, and who upholds us every day. Your love extends to all living things, and Your wisdom is beyond anything we could ever imagine or achieve. As we shape and create in our daily lives, may Your Spirit inspire us—so that what we make reflects Your kindness, what we build promotes justice and life, and what we give to others carries truth and goodness.
God of deep love, you have filled our hearts with Your unfailing love. May that love overflow from within us—poured out in kindness, compassion, and generosity toward others. In every hardship we face, tend to us, Your beloved children, that we might not only persevere, but truly thrive. Today we bring before You all who are suffering, those overwhelmed by fear, those whose dignity has been violated, and those who lack the safety and resources they need to live freely and without fear.
[Silent reflection] Lord, in Your mercy: Hear our prayer.
God of peace, you have planted peace within our hearts. Let it grow and overflow, that through our words and actions, we may share Your peace and become peacemakers in a troubled world. We lift to You now all the tensions we carry, the conflicts we witness, those trapped in violence, those suffering under oppression, and all who need protection from harm and injustice.
[Silent reflection] Lord, in Your mercy: Hear our prayer.
God of hope, you have sown hope within us. May it flourish so that, with generous hearts, we might offer that hope to others. As we yearn for change and healing, may Your Spirit guide us in seeking Your kingdom and living out Your will, here on earth as it is in heaven.
[Silent reflection] Lord, in Your mercy: Hear our prayer.
Holy Trinity, Three in One- Father, Son, and Spirit, may all our words and actions bring honour and glory to You.
Amen.
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 those who 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.
STF 16: We give immortal praise
1 We give immortal praise
to God the Father’s love,
for all our comforts here,
and better hopes above.
He sent his own eternal Son
to die for sins that all have done.
2 To God the Son belongs
immortal glory too,
who bought us with his blood
from everlasting woe:
and now he lives, and now he reigns,
and sees the fruit of all his pains.
3 To God the Spirit’s name
immortal worship give,
whose new-creating power
makes the dead sinner live:
his work completes the great design,
and fills the soul with joy divine.
4 Almighty God, to thee
be endless honours done,
the undivided Three,
and the mysterious One:
where reason fails with all her powers,
there faith prevails, and love adores.
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Blessing
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Son,
the love of God the father,
and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
fill us and remain with us, now and always. Amen.
