Jesus in Our Midst

Jo Moir : Good morning and welcome to Sunday Worship, my name is Jo Moir and I am the head ofSpring Harvest, a Christian festival which for nearly 50 years has been gathering peoplefrom multiple generations, cultures and denominations for a week of worship, teaching andspiritual refreshment. Across this holiday camp site about x [number of] people come toworship in a variety of venues, some large tents, some smaller buildings. We’ll begin our time together today with the song “Raise a Hallelujah” led by Evie Loose in our largest venue, Studio 36.

[We’ll begin our time together today with worship from our largest venue, led by Evie Loose].

Music 1 – Evie Loose and the house band - Raise a Hallelujah

Jo Moir :Spring Harvest meets every year in the seaside resorts of Minehead and Skegness, where we are today. Creativity is a key part of our time together, with workshops led by artists across the site which people of all ages and abilities can join in with.

Package - Creativity

Jo Moir :Our next song, “Praise” comes from our creative and more informal Soul Space venue, the worship is led by Cathy Burton.

Music 2 - Cathy Burton and Amos Burton - Praise

Jo Moir :That song, “Praise” came from our creative and more informal, Soul Space venue, where the worship is led by Cathy Burton.

Our reading this morning comes from the gospel of Luke, chapter 24, and is read by Sammy Jabangwe-Hanton. In this passage Jesus meets two of his followers on the road to Emmaus. These early believers fail to recognise him and with their faces downcast, they begin to tell Jesus about the traumatic events of the past few days of his life.

Reading – Luke 24: 17-35 - Sammy Jabangwe-Hanton

17 Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas,asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 “The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over. ” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Jo Moir :Singer and songwriter Graham Kendrick’s music is used across Christian denominations here in the UK and around the world. His most famous song is Shine Jesus Shine, but he is still writing new songs to this day and in a moment he will lead us in worship. We sat down together and I asked him to tell me about his song, Knowing You, Jesus, which he wrote for Spring Harvest Festival over 30 years ago.

Interview - Jo Moir and Graham Kendrick - part 1

Music 3 - Graham Kendrick 1 - Knowing You, Jesus

Interview - Jo Moir and Graham Kendrick - part 2

Music 4 -Graham Kendrick 1 - Jesus of the Scars

Jo Moir :Our sermon this morning is brought to us by Jade Reynolds, who is one of the leaders here at Spring Harvest in Skegness.

Jade Reynolds :Do you ever find it hard to trust the promises of God? Particularly when something unexpected or traumatic happens. It can be really hard to wonder where God is in it all. The pain can feel so all-consuming it can be hard to imagine how life can ever be good again? And how God can ever bring good out of this situation?

When I was 12 years old I went through something that changed my life forever. I was a happy, healthy pre-teen playing in the park with my family, and completely out of the blue I felt the power drain out of my legs and I fell to the floor. I managed to muster enough strength to get up and limp over to a nearby bench and sit down, but what I didn’t know is that those would be the last steps I would ever take. After months of tests in hospital I was told I had a very rare autoimmune condition which left me paralysed from the waist down and completely unable to walk from that moment on.

Over the years, since that day, I’ve been asked many times by those with faith and those without - why would God let this happen to you? And my answer is always the same - why wouldn’t this happen to me? When I read the Bible I see that it’s full of stories of people going through tough times. Being a Christian doesn’t make you immune to suffering - Jesus himself knows that full well. The truth is, we still live in a broken world.

Whenever I find myself in the wake of something traumatic, I’m often reminded of the aftermath of Jesus’s execution on the cross, and the disarray the followers of Jesus suddenly found themselves in. Disorientated, grieving, terrified. In particular, I think of the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus right after he’s been resurrected. As he walks along, there are two followers of His who don’t immediately recognise him. Hilariously, they then proceed to tell him everything that recently happened to a man called Jesus in Jerusalem, and how sad they are that it’s all come to an end. They feel in that moment that God has left them, but in reality He couldn’t have been closer.

Later in the day, they do recognise him and they rush to tell Jesus’s closest 11 followers the news that they’ve seen Jesus alive again and they remark that, despite not recognising him on the road, that even as he was talking to them and explaining the scriptures - their hearts were actually burning inside of them.

Sometimes it’s hard in the moment to see God and to see what he’s doing, but there have been countless times in my life when I’ve been able to look back, just like these followers of Jesus, and see so clearly how close God really was. Times where I felt surprising peace, times where I’ve not known how I’m going to get through something and then help has miraculously come along. Times when I’ve had surprising joy in what should have been the darkest moments of life. My experience is that God doesn’t always remove our suffering, but he never leaves us during it. That’s why I love coming here to Spring Harvest…this festival gives me a chance to spend time reflecting on what God has done and to focus on him and feel his closeness now, in the present. If we get stuck focusing on the pain and asking why this happened our whole lives - sometimes we can miss how close Jesus really is to us.

Father, help us to trust in your promises through the highs and lows of life, and to never miss how close you truly are. You are the God who draws near to the brokenhearted. Thank you for the peace you bring us and the way your Holy Spirit comforts us.

Amen

Music 5 - Cathy Burton and Amos Burton - Goodness of God

Prayers - Sammy Jabangwe-Hanton

And we’ll close our prayers with 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.

Jo Moir :Thank you for joining us here at Spring Harvest festival, we’ll end today’s service with the modern hymn “In Christ Alone”. But first, a blessing

‘May God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead, strengthen you. May Jesus the Son, our constant companion lead you in paths of peace and may the Holy Spirit guide your way as you seek to lead lives that recognise Him in all things. Amen’

Music 6 - Evie Loose and the house band - In Christ Alone