Monday 23 December 2013

Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 22 December 2013




Beth began our service this morning with a prayer for all the people who worship in this church - so that we can leave here loving each other and loving ourselves and above all loving our God and being ready to live his word.



Hymn  TiS  107  AHB 25                                Sing praise and thanksgiving, let all creatures living


This is one of those really happy hymns that has a swing - and a tune that makes me feel like I am a better singer than I really am.  It includes pure praise for all God has provided, joyful thanksgiving for what God has given us to lead us through darker times and ends with a plea for us to live our lives in a way that brings glory to our God.


Lighting of the Advent Candles

After relighting the candles of Expectation, Hope and Joy, Jan lit the fourth Advent candle; the candle that symbolizes the Peace that starts in our hearts.  She reminded us this Peace is brought to us by the coming of Jesus into the world and by us inviting Jesus into our hearts. 

Prayers of Thanksgiving / Confession          

Beth invited us to “Have a yarn with our Father - God.”  She spoke of the relentless passage of time as seasons come and go and our reminiscences sometimes reflect we are getting old and in danger of “coming to bits”.  She reminded us how lucky we are we can worship in gladness and live through Him without fear.  Even when we are too human and “forget” our duty, God brings us back to Him with renewed peace, energy and love.  Our sins are forgiven.

Children’s address

As Kaye & Terry’s beautiful granddaughter brought over a chair for Beth to sit on while she told a special story - several decades vanished for many of us who had loved and cherished the child’s mother as part of our Marsden Road Church family all those years ago.  Beth brought out a doll which she said was very old – almost as old as she was – and this doll was a girl doll all dressed in pink.  She laid the doll on its tummy on a tiny blanket and to the tune of Braham’s Lullaby, the doll began to move and slowly began to roll over.  Jesus was alive and Jesus moved, Beth told us all - and although he could have told us what to do he gave us free will so we can choose to live good and active lives for him.  Jesus loved to cuddle children Beth said, and she recited a little poem; “My Christ was sunburned, warm and brown and he cuddled all the kids in Nazareth town.”  

Hymn TiS 293   AHB 218                               Unto us a boy is born!

The last verse is such fun as it gives us permission to make a loud and joyful noise.

Omega and Alpha he!  Let the organ thunder,

While the choir with peals of glee now rends the air asunder.

 

Reflection: It is hard to know what to write about Beth’s Reflection today as there were so many levels to the “Miracles of Christmas” she presented.  The core message was Christmas is holy and pure and beautiful and the miracles include belief and trust and the power of Grace which comes from beyond ourselves. 

To underline the first miracle of belief, Beth asked the ladies to imagine the reaction of their own mothers if they had announced an impending virgin birth when they were young.  It was suggested with a gentle smile that she would not have asked if we would like her to knit pink bootees or blue bootees.  That Joseph and others came to believe - at a time and in a place when women were not held in high esteem and men were taught to give thanks they were not born a dog, a gentile or a woman was a miracle.  It was a miracle that God trusted people like us with his only son. 



God’s love is greater than the storm Beth reminded us, as she told of an experience when she was ministering in Wagga Wagga, at a church where her home was “sandwiched” between the church building and a two story high Telecom tower with no windows.  With her three granddaughters staying the night so they could go to church with her in the morning, Beth was a bit distracted and had to dash over to the church to collect some forgotten papers after dinner.  As she would be gone only a minute she left the girls happily in the dog’s “care”.  A huge thunderstorm struck, making it impossible for her to return for longer than she expected or wanted and she was worried about the girls being frightened of the thunder and lightening.  She was surprised when the storm abated enough for her to return to the house, where she found three girls on the lounge, all sound asleep, with a slightly nervous dog standing guard over them.  When she asked later if the children were frightened by the storm they told her that the storm angels sang to them so they were not afraid - and promptly asked for more toast, with no hint of concern.  Beth worked out that the “storm angels” came from the Wesley Choir practicing in the church and the sound bouncing off the unbroken wall of the Telecom tower to be heard as “storm angels” despite the noise of the storm itself.

Beth quoted some of the words from the beautiful hymn; “There’s a light upon the mountain”.

But His angels here are human, not the shining hosts above,

For the drum-beats of His army are the heart-beats of our love.

We understood the heart of Beth’s message - we can be human angels as we go out into God’s world in the spirit of Christmas, to love and to serve.  God’s love is stronger than the storm.

Bible readings                                                 Isaiah 35:1-10    &       Matthew 11: 2-11

Our Bible passages this morning were read for us by Carolyn.  Beth said that it was an oversight on her part to leave the readings until after her Reflection, but went on to suggest this oversight could actually better set the context of the passages.  I could easily understand what she meant because I rather like reading the last page of a story first - with the excuse it helps me to appreciate the methods and skill of the storyteller. 

In the first reading Ahaz refuses God’s invitation to ask for a sign from him to protect Jerusalem.  However, wearied by the refusal to accept his promise of deliverance, God gave him the sign anyway;  A young woman is with child, and she will bear a son, and will call him Immanuel.

The second reading begins: This is the story of the birth of the Messiah and ends with the words; And he named the child Jesus.

Hymn  TiS 268  AHB 224                               Joy to the World

This hymn was a fitting summons to us just before the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus.  I felt it was reminding us to celebrate with renewed joy in 2013.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

 

Offering / prayer         Beth suggested we could celebrate the joy of having something to give, as we gave thanks for God’s gifts to us and thanked Him for the privilege of being in a position to give back to help others.                          

Prayers for Others  Jack chose to follow a different track in the prayers this morning.  He wanted to share two recent occasions when he had experienced harmony among people of different races, colours and religions.  He felt as he enjoyed these events that God would indeed have been pleased.  He stressed that prayer is a two way “thing” and reminded us we must live our life in the setting of our words and turn them into deeds God would have us do.  He also asked us to include a prayer for those who will have an empty chair at the Christmas table this year; a prayer I really appreciated.

Hymn TiS 303   AHB 227                                           Hark! the herald angels sing

The Dismissal and Benediction

“My Christ was sunburned, warm and brown and he cuddled all the kids in Nazareth town.”  These words, repeated by Beth after the Benediction, certainly created a wonderful image of the love of Jesus for all the children, especially at Christmas.

We sang; The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

The Advent candle of Peace burned brightly as we finished the service.

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