Sunday Worship 12 October 2025

 
Today’s service is led by students at Luther King Theological College, Manchester

 
Welcome & Call to Worship

Hello and welcome everyone to our online worship service.  My name is Tom Miller and I’m a third year student training to be a Minister of Word and Sacraments. This week’s service has been put together by a number of students at the Luther King Theological College in sunny Manchester. Most of us are students from the United Reformed Church. We also have a friend from the Moravian Church who’s been helping out as well. Some of us have written prayers, some have picked out the hymns. Some of us have written the sermon, and some of us have been chasing cats, putting it all together. Let us take a second to catch our breaths and let us begin with a pause.  You can close your eyes if you wish, or keep them open. If you feel more comfortable. Just allow yourself to enter this space, a space of friendship, of reflection, and of love surrounded by the presence of God.  And let us pray.

Come all who seek healing and wholeness. Come all who long for grace. Come just as you are. Not with pride, but in humble faith. The Lord who healed Naman welcomes us. We come to worship the God who washes us clean. Amen.

Hymn     In Christ There is No East nor West
William A Dunkerley (John Oxenham) (1852-1941) BBC Songs of Praise

In Christ there is no east nor west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.

In him shall true hearts ev’rywhere
their high communion find.
His service is the golden cord
close-binding humankind.

Join hands, then, people of the faith,
whate’er your race may be.
Who serves my Father 
as his child is surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north.
All Christ-like souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.
 
Opening Prayer 

God of every nation and all people,
You are the One who brings wholeness where we are fractured,
who extends love beyond boundaries,
who welcomes the outsider and lifts the humble.
We come with gratitude to Your  table — 
where grace is served, healing is offered, and all are made welcome.
Meet us here. Amen.

Prayer of Confession & Words of Assurance

Lord of healing and grace,
we confess that we often approach You with pride in our hearts.
We expect You to act on our terms,
to meet us in ways we choose.
We resist the simple calls to obedience.
Forgive us when we turn away from Your word,
when we overlook Your messengers,
and when we fail to trust in Your mercy.
Wash us clean, Lord, and teach us to walk humbly with You. Amen.

Silent Reflection

God’s mercy flows deeper than any river.
Just as Naaman was cleansed in the Jordan,
So too are we washed clean by the grace of God.
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.  Thanks be to God!

Hymn     Breathe on me Breath of God
Edwin Hatch (1835-89) sung by St Lawrence Church Chorley and used with their kind permission.

Breathe on me, Breath of God
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what Thou dost love,
and do what Thou would do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure;
until my will is one with Thine,
to do and to endure.
 
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly Thine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God;
so shall I never die,
but live with Thee the perfect life
of Thine eternity.
 
Prayer for illumination

As we listen to your Word, speak to us, creator.
As we wrestle with ideas, grant us understanding, peacemaker.
Make yourself known to us as we hear your word proclaimed. Amen

Reading     2 Kings 5:1-15c

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from a skin disease. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his skin disease.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his skin disease? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God and would wave his hand over the spot and cure the skin disease!

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”

Sermon

Hello, my name is Jo. I live in Manchester with my family and I’m a third year Church Related Community Work student at the Luther King Centre.

It’s lovely to be sharing with you, as you worship together today. Now, it will become increasingly obvious – if you’re meeting me for the first time – how much I love stories.  And that I really love stories from the Old Testament  The story I’m going to tell you today, is from 2 Kings chapter 5

It is a story about kings (unsurprisingly), and a nation’s prophet, the commander of an extremely successful army, and a girl. A girl who was the servant of the wife of the leader of the extremely successful army. 

Now – if I started to tell you a fascinating story about my second cousin getting swept out to sea in an inflatable chair that was shaped like a doughnut then go on to tell you how they were rescued by a boat full of tourists who’d mistaken them for a dolphin – you’d be allowed to be distracted by the way I’d casually missed out important information. Then, if I started to tell you an hilarious story about the time a friend of a friend wore the wrong colour polo shirt when they popped to the supermarket one lunch time and they’ve worked there ever since – they’re due to have a leaving party next week – and they really will be missed!  Of course you’d laugh along at the ridiculousness of it  and wonder if I was perhaps embellishing the facts a little.  More importantly – you’d question my tendency to gloss over key information.  By the time I’d started the third story, about my best friend’s sister – who has a terrible phobia of cheese which puts her in all sorts of embarrassing situations on an almost daily basis – well, you’d be quite within your rights to stop me politely – and ask what I was playing at! Did I even know these people? Did I know their names? Had I just forgotten them?  Names are important.  Names are powerful. A name gives you an identity, individuality and dignity surely?

This story, only chooses to name two people the servant of the wife of Naaman – is not one of them.  Elisha is named, but he doesn’t join the action until a little bit later – he’s in an entirely different location, because the start of this story is a little bit like an unsettling ‘meanwhile’ like ‘meanwhile, back at the ranch’ but with a sinister undertone. 

‘Meanwhile, evil plans were finalised by the evil inhabitants of the evil lair’ 

’Meanwhile, a captive of the Arameans……is doing the washing up and making excellent suggestions’ doesn’t sound quite so dramatic!

Unsettling!  Not quite as descriptively dramatic as we have hoped for!

Unsettling – and perhaps even a little confusing – history is supposed to be written by winners.  At the very least, the losing side is allowed to suggest the other team cheated or are doomed to generational curses that would make your toes curl – it makes no sense for them to narrate domestic scenes and helpful conversations.  Then there’s the main character, swanning about and getting to be called by his actual name, throughout the story (not even the two Kings are named – and they rule whole countries – how well? That’s a whole other story!). 

Naaman…He’s the commander of the opposition army.  Responsible for the extremely successful raid on Israel.  Responsible for the team of highly organised raiders and marauders who capture Israelites and whisk them away to a life of servitude but he seems quite nice.   Easily flustered and with in-built snobbery in relation to foreign rivers but nice.  Oh, he does have a skin disease but hardly his fault, hardly an evil villain flaw.
   
Maybe we’ve made the mistake of diving straight in – (freezing cold water will disorientate you) 2 Kings chapter 5, that’s a lot of water, already under the bridge.  Perhaps we need to go back! I mean, it is incredibly annoying to realise you’ve accidentally started with a sequel – even if it does help you to understand why the plot seems sketchy and everyone keeps making terrible decisions you hadn’t anticipated.  And, if you just watch The Dark Knight – how will you ever know how Batman Begins or Rises?   

So Kings (1 book of 2 parts or 2 books in an epic series….depends on your perspective – opinions vary).  It’s recorded as history – the drama of Isreal and Judah unfolding before our very eyes which is a lot!!!
 
Our story is right in the midst of the Royal Rollercoaster, which starts – as all good rollercoasters do with some waiting and anticipation.  There’s a blur of names and dates and a nagging feeling that this might not have been the best idea but it’s too late now and we’ll have to close our eyes and just get through it and we can’t get off even if we want to I thought you liked rollercoasters? You told me liked them! I remember it distinctly and why do we always make life so difficult for ourselves.  Who thought a king would be a good idea anyway? Terrible planning!!  If only Samuel had warned us?!!? oh wait.

Just before our unexpected ‘meanwhile’ of a detour, the kings’ rollercoaster had made it to Elijah’s successor – Elisha! New to the BIG job of national prophet, but really getting stuck in!  Now, I would never forgive myself, if I didn’t draw your attention to the excellent community work Elisha is getting involved in:

• he’s helping widows start businesses
• he’s crafting solutions to an agricultural disaster
• he’s addressing large scale food poisoning (well maybe that one’s not the best example….) 

You can see why I’m so enthusiastic, there’s some hopeful, faith-filled work going on vulnerable communities are getting the chance to thrive.
But meanwhile, those captured by the Arameans have been separated from their homes and families – hand-picked by their oppressors to work for them. The most powerful getting the first choice.

Meanwhile there are people of faith, living in geographical and spiritual isolation – but God hasn’t forgotten them, and neither should we!

Meanwhile people are being referred to by a name that is not their own – or not being dignified with a name at all but God still sees the beautiful whole that was created – rather than the load they can lighten or the speed with which they can work.  

Meanwhile God chooses to use the calm wisdom of a nameless slave who belongs to a woman as nameless as she is – she belongs to her husband, as the servant belongs to her.

God chooses the servant of the wife of Naaman to be a sensible bookend –  in partnership with Elisha in the story’s other location.  They’re like ordinary bookends – but with added sensible-ness! Sensible bookends that contain the growing sense of anxiety and panic.

Sensible bookends that are not flustered by the uncertainty of characters who are supposed to be in charge – and who are supposed to know what they are doing.

Sensible bookends which offer an antidote to the Royal Rollercoaster and the mess it leaves in its wake.

Sensible bookends who are looking in the right direction, and who understand that all the earth belongs to God – and no amount of power grabs or fleetingly foolish monarchs will change that.

Sensible bookends that know and understand what is true – that God cannot be squashed or bribed or controlled or coerced or ignored. They are sensible bookends – who show us just how lacking in sense, all the human leaders are. But the nameless captive (the servant of the wife of Naaman) is so much more than a sensible bookend.  At first glance, you’d assume she was the least powerful person in the story’s whole power ranking (if we were playing a complex battling card game – where characters were pitted against each other in a number of categories such as wealth, education, or maleness – (kings top trumps) she would be the card you would choose to use only if you had to!  Even then you wouldn’t be happy about it – silly card! What’s the point – it can’t do anything!)

She is young, female, poor, a foreigner.  The writer forgets her name, if he ever bothered to know it in the first place. And yet she re-directs the whole plot.  She has more impact with one gentle observation than all the hurriedly gathered ‘wisdom’ of the two principle kingdoms combined.  She is a skilled signposter.  At no point does she suggest she can heal Naaman herself or hint that she should train to be a healer so that she can do this in the future.  She doesn’t seem to feel guilty that she can’t heal him.  Or say she’s glad he has the disease – (serves him right!)  She uses the information she has – and she uses it wisely, sensibly even.  To signpost him to the place (and the person) that can help him best. 

She knows the world doesn’t revolve around her.  Instead, she listens, is part of productive conversations and shares what she knows for the benefit of others.  Her one gentle observation has dramatic results.

God was already at work in the ‘meanwhile’ location – even though it was odd, unsettling, confusing,  and entirely unexpected but thanks to her signposting skills other people notice that fact too and decided to join in! 

Hymn     We Cannot Measure How You Heal 
John L Bell (born 1949) and Graham Maule (1958-2019) © 1989, 1996 WGRG, c/o Iona Community OneLicence # A-734713

We cannot measure how you heal
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith & doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.

The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.
 
So some have come who need your help,
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make your broken people whole.

Prayers of Intercession

All-loving God,
we come to you in prayer when your world seems torn apart.
We pray for the oppressed peoples 
all over the world that their yoke will be light,
that their time will come of peace, love and harmony.
We pray that those who oppress 
will find peace and miraculous wisdom, and turn to you,
that their hand will not be a closed fist of violence,
but an open hand of peace,
that their hearts will be full of love, not hatred.
And their corrupting power dissolves in your strength.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer

We pray for our communities where we reside, 
and our neighbours are not too far.
We pray for wider communities where we cannot see, 
and our neighbours are far from here.
May your Word find all who seek it,
may your Word find all who need it,
and let it bring in your Kingdom for all time.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer

We pray for the voices that often go unheard,
the silent cries in the night, the whispers of prophecy,
when we often hear the loudest speak,
who seem so confident yet stray from your word.
Let the mighty be silent and the humble be heard.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer
We pray for the climate catastrophe of your world,
may wrong decisions be thwarted and right choices be made,
let the planet breathe new life, not gasp for air in the smog and heat,
let us all see our responsibility to care for your creation,
and help us to do all we can for the future of the world.

Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer

Incredible and merciful God, we bring these prayers to you 
through our love of our one true Saviour, 
Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and our love for You. May it be so, Amen

Offertory Prayer

As we bring our gifts of money and our lives to God, let us pray.

All understanding God, we bring these offerings to you,
Not just of money, but of our time, our knowledge and expertise.
We give them to you because you give everything to us.
Whatever we bring, let it bring the Kingdom to come.
Whatever we can afford, let it bring the Kingdom to come.
Whatever we do, let it bring the Kingdom to come.
Almighty God, take all we give you,as we are servants of your Kingdom now and forever. Amen

Hymn     For the Healing of the Nations 
Fred Kaan (1929-2009)  © 1968 Stainer & Bell Ltd OneLicence# A-734713. Sung by Chris Brunelle and used with his kind permission.

For the healing of the nations, Lord, we pray with one accord,
for a just and equal sharing of the things that earth affords. 
To a life of love in action help us rise and pledge our word.

Lead us forward into freedom, from despair your world release, 
that, redeemed from war & hatred, all may come and go in peace. 
Show us how through care and goodness fear will die and hope increase.
 
You, Creator-God, have written your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness bring the life of Christ to mind;
that by our response and service earth its destiny may find.

Blessing

Go now, washed in grace, fed at the table, and renewed in spirit.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.