A welcome was extended to all and Robyn gave the Call to Worship thanking God and giving praise and
thanksgiving for all our blessings. Thanks was given for food and family,
church and faith as well as the beauty of the earth about us. It is so easy to
think these things "just are" and remain unaware that they are
precious gifts.
Hymn AHB 109 "Tell
out my soul, the greatness of the Lord!" A hard call, given that we humans
simply cannot appreciate God's greatness. We can, if we keep our hearts and
minds attuned, remain alert to God's many blessings in our lives and in the
world around us. That is difficult enough in itself, given our tendency to take
things for granted or to give credit to "our own amazing talent" for
what is due to the Lord.
Children's
Talk Robyn spoke of those who worry, worry, worry and forget that
they have a Father who cares for them.
Hymn AHB 92 "God
has spoken by His prophets, spoken His unchanging word," God has also
spoken to us through Jesus Christ and through His Spirit. I have taught science
for years and the appearance of God in creation both in created things - living
and non-living, as well as in the workings of creation, spells out so much that
words cannot. We have before us evidence of God's unchanging steadfastness; His
creativeness and untarnished, illuminating, glorious power.
Bible Reading Jack Elliot
read to us from Hebrews 11: 29 - 12: 2 and Luke 12: 49 – 56.
The Hebrews reading is well known, with the author listing
all those through Biblical history whose
faith remained firm in God. With that in kind we are encouraged to "...let
us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the
pioneer and perfecter of our faith..." Enough said.
The Luke reading is far more unsettling. Jesus is declaring
that He has come to cause division and then accuses the people who pretend
great wisdom by being able to interpret the signs of the weather of hypocrisy
because they can’t see what was
happening before them.
Prayer of
Adoration and Confession Robyn led us in this appeal to the Blessed God of the
Universe who created us and this radiant jewel, our planet Earth. We thanked
him for the Australian people, the lessons we have learnt; the work we have to
do and the people we have to love. We prayed: Merciful God, hear the words of
our hearts. There are so many false images of love and some of these are even
represented as the love of Christ. We prayed to live another way; the true way
of Christ. Amen. Jesus offered peace to His anxious disciples - this can be
ours. "Your sins are forgiven!"
Hymn TIS 595 A confession
of our commitment and a prayer for Jesus to be near: to feel, to hear, and to
see the path laid down for us. So that we will not be distracted or be tempted
to stray.
Message Robyn spoke
to the bible readings, directing our attention to Jesus' statement that He had
come to disrupt the world and cause division. Following Jesus can cause
our alienation from those around us. On
a personal note, just today I attended a meeting where a young man told of how
he had given up a lucrative career in the public service because he couldn't
stomach the decisions he had to make about asylum seekers. Belonging to God can
make life difficult but then Robyn pointed to the other reading and its
reference to those who had suffered alienation and far worse, but remained true
to their calling. Having been called by God, makes any other demand on us lose its
power.
Hymn TIS 407
"Breathe on me breathe of God"
A prayer that God will work in us so that we will be fit to live with
Him and an implied acknowledgement that we cannot do this by ourselves.
Offering and
Dedication. A prayer by Robyn to our gracious Father that He will fill
our hearts with love for our community and show us the best way to use our
offerings
Prayers of
the People and The Lord's Prayer Robyn prayed on our behalf, giving praise
for the wondrous diversity of creation, asking that we be good stewards of this
gift. She prayed for the people of Oceania, particularly the Maori and
Australian Aborigines, that their history and cultures should be respected and
that it should be remembered that their cultures have existed for tens of
thousands of years. She prayed that the lives of the Australian Aborigines will
be improved and that they will again be a proud people, who will feel part of
Australia. Robyn gave thanks for the personalities of the people from Oz and
NZ, praying that politicians should value their people and that Christian
people will open their hearts and minds to people who want to come to live here.
Robyn prayed for guidance for MRUC at this time of change and for people
everywhere suffering from illness. We then joined in The Lord's Prayer.
Benediction
Blessing:
Hymn TIS 755
You shall go out with joy - and be led forth in peace,
and the mountains and the hills shall break forth with
singing.
There'll be shouts of joy, - and the trees of the field shall
clap, clap their hands (repeat)
and you'll go out with joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment