After a
happy time of “Favourite Hymn Singing” led by Elaine, with Andrew at the organ,
Hugh began our Service today with the: Call to Worship (based on
Psalm 112:1-9)
There were
many positive thoughts in this responsive Call, like; “Praise the LORD! Happy is the person who honors the LORD”, “Who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.”
“Light shines in the darkness for good people,” “For those who are merciful, kind, and just.”
“A good person will never fail”, “He will always be remembered.”
This Psalm is worth reading.
Hymn TiS 150 Ye
watchers and ye Holy ones
This hymn of Adoration and Praise
written by John Athelstan Laurie Riley was based on Deuteronomy 32:43 “Rejoice,
O nations, with His people, and let all the angels worship Him.”
Announcements: Among details of many other church
activities, the notices revealed a “flurry” of special morning teas to come;
with today being a celebration of significant “0” birthdays for Max and
Laurence, next Sunday a “Friendship Circle” get together, and the following
Sunday a “Pancake Day” morning tea.
Prayers of
Adoration & Confession
Father, we
bring our busy minds before you in humble worship. You are a great God, the Alpha and Omega; You
have always been and will always be. On
this gorgeous Sunday morning, we are reminded again that you are our all
powerful Creator as well as our merciful Father.
… we pray
for the forgiveness of our sins. We
confess we have sinned against you and others. We confess that we have failed
to love others as we love ourselves and our families. We confess that we have
failed to be a witness of your love and your Gospel to those around us. Lord
our Father, forgive us our sins. Hugh
declared with confidence; “Our sins are forgiven.”
Offering /
Prayer Jonty and Alexis were pleased to help the
stewards with the offering and Hugh offered a prayer for the wise use of our
gifts and included a Blessing for “the givers”.
Before the
larger than usual group of children went off to their Sunday Kids & Minis
groups, Hugh showed pictures which represented Jesus as part of different
cultures – but always surrounded by children.
Through these he gave an important and happy message: “Jesus loves ALL
children.”
Hymn TiS
655 O,
let the Son of God enfold you
This hymn,
called a Spirit Song, was written by John Richard Wimber who was raised in a
non-Christian home and found Christ through a Quaker Bible Study Group while he
was involved in the American music industry.
He helped in the formation of “The Righteous Brothers” group before
becoming involved in various and sometimes controversial evangelist groups. This “Spirit Song” which speaks of us choosing
to fill our lives with the love of God is simple and full of joy.
Bible
readings 1
Corinthians 2:1-12, Matthew 5:13-20
Our Bible
passages this morning were read for us by May, with “telling” headings of
“Nothing but Jesus Christ” at the start of Chapter 2 and “Revelations by the
Spirit” before Verse 6 in the first reading.
Verse 12 gave us much to think about. “Among men, who knows what a
man is but the man’s own spirit within him?
In the same way only the Spirit of God knows what God is.”
The second
reading from Matthew exhorts us to be a light to the world and stand on a hill
to be visible in all we do and to obey and uphold laws and be “salt to the
world.” A big assignment for us!
Reflection: “You
are salt for the world.”
I have
always struggled a little with the story of the building of the Tower of Babel
said to have been built by men to challenge the power of God in Heaven. Hugh mentioned the difficulties faced today
by those who are unable to speak English which has become the “default” common
language for the modern world and I must admit to having often been grateful of
this when I have travelled. In the church,
the common language is Love, Hugh reminded us.
He told of
the commitment and bravery of Dr. Evan Kane, who in 1921, had a theory far in
advance of his time. Dr. Kane operated
on himself without the benefit of general anesthesia to prove his theory that
patients would recover more quickly with just a local anesthetic. Hugh used this story to invite us all to
“perform spiritual exploratory surgery on ourselves” during Worship in order to
show the world that our morals and ethics are a philosophy from God.
Our Gospel
reading from Matthew is near the beginning of Jesus’ most famous sermon, the
Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus calls his followers to the highest standards
of conduct. Hugh said, “He challenges us
to "turn the other cheek." He
asks us to walk extra miles for others.
He urges us to be a servant of all around us. He asks us to take a
narrow road. He even commands us to love our enemy, and to forgive those who do
us wrong. Those are tough commands. And it might sound too much asking from the
world’s point of view.”
“But here
in today’s Gospel story Jesus calls us to make a choice. He calls us to choose
to follow Him, not the world. But more
importantly, He doesn’t just want us to choose Him at the expense of the
world. He invites us to choose to
change the world by changing ourselves first.”
“Jesus in
this reading clearly expects the world to be transformed by our presence. He
chose to use us to change the world. So
the world is His target, and we are His agent.”
The scary
idea of seeing ourselves as an effective agent of God’s love became clear – if
somewhat challenging, when Hugh reminded us that the world does not always read
the Bible - and that the way we live our
life may be the only scripture that some people out there may see and
“read”. WOW!
Can we go
out and be the salt of the earth and the light of the world and let our life
and light shine so we reflect God’s Love and glorify Him? We can certainly try. Amen!
Hymn: Bring Forth the
Kingdom
Marty Haugen is a prolific composer of modern liturgical music, with
this hymn based on our reading from the Gospel of Matthew today.
You are salt for the
earth, O people: Salt for the Kingdom of God!
Share the flavour of life, O people: Life in the City of God!
Chorus: Bring forth
the Kingdom of mercy, bring forth the Kingdom of peace;
Bring forth the Kingdom of justice, bring forth the City of God!
You are a light on
the hill, O people: Light for the City of God!
Shine so holy and bright, O people: Shine for the Kingdom of God!
You are a seed of the
Word, O people: Bring forth the Kingdom of God!
Seeds of mercy and seeds of justice, Grow in the Kingdom of God!
We are a blessed and
a pilgrim people: Bound for the Kingdom of God!
Love our journey and love our homeland: Love is the Kingdom of God!
Hymn TiS
465 Father in Heaven, Grant to your
children
This
gentle hymn by Daniel Thambyrajah Niles was like a quiet prayer to bring
together all the threads of today’s service.
The
Benediction & Blessing
You have
come in anticipation; now leave in dedication, for the God who calls you to
salvation also sends you out in service. Go now in peace, and the blessing of
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit go with you now and always. Amen.
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