Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 17 May 2015

 

After welcoming us to worship Lita led us in the

CALL TO WORSHIP: (FROM PSALM 47)

Clap your hands, all you peoples;

Shout to God with loud songs of joy.

God has gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

Sing praises to God, sing praises;

Sing praises to our Sovereign, sing praises.

For God is the Lord of the earth,

Sing praises with psalms and spiritual songs.

Even in times of great pain, we praise God for his strength and wisdom which is given to us through his Spirit to make sense of the things happening about us in the world.

PRAYER OF INVOCATION

Lita prayed to the God of all and our creator that our hearts would be filled with the desire to know him. If only we could keep that prayer before us at all times.

HYMN TIS 215 "You servants of God"  Your master proclaim! We must keep our focus on the Lord and keep our hearts and minds open to his will to show his love to the world.

PRAYERS OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING / CONFESSION

Lita thanked our loving God for the opportunity to worship together as one...that we are able to gather and sing his praises. She gave thanks for the rest that God gives and for the joyful experiences of the past week and the way difficult experiences give us an opportunity to reach out to him. We would do well to remember that. So often, when we are experiencing a difficult time we close off, cutting the connection to the help that God is so willing to give to us. Lita then asked forgiveness for those things we have done which did not glorify God...when we underestimated the depth of God's love and mercy, relying in our own ability, failing to listen to God's spirit. How does Lita know so much about me?

WORDS OF ASSURANCE

Hear the good news! Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us,

Christ prays for us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

The old life has gone; a new life has begun. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace.

Thanks be to God! Amen.     

OFFERING We returned but a little of our blessings from God's which Lita prayed would be used in his work.

HYMN TIS 706 "Bless the Lord my soul" Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God's Holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life. We sang together, then women and men separately and then together again..it became part of us.

BIBLE READINGS ​​​​Acts 1:15-17, 21-26. A story of the terrible fate of Judas and the method of choosing his replacement. They cast lots to choose between two men, which doesn't seem quite right to our modern ear but they were taking their hands off the choosing and leaving it to God's control. That is very difficult to do.

John 17:6-19​​ Jesus prays for his disciples that they will sanctified as he is sanctified and be led as he is led by the Father to carry out the mission when He returns to the Father. The mission that is now our mission. So may we be sanctified also that we may carry out God's will.

SERMON

Lita spoke about both of today's readings, firstly drawing our attention to the reading describing the election to decide between Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) to take the place of Judas amongst the disciples. Matthias won the vote but Lita made the point that Justus received a "Holy No"...he was the other winner. It was simply the decision for that time which became obvious when both men ended up in places of prominence in the church years later. In God's kingdom all those who faithfully seek God's will are winners.

Lita then turned to the account of Jesus praying to the Father about his disciples and said there are a lot of big things in the prayer of Jesus for all of us:

"That we become one just as Jesus and the Father are one ( that means caring for one another; helping each other grow in Christ.). That we may have the joy of the Lord. (His joy rests in fully surrendering his will to the Father.). That we may be safe from the evil one. And that we may be sanctified by truth. (That we may have reachable and obedient hearts)."

That we may be led and sanctified just as Jesus was by the Father.

HYMN TIS 547 "Be Thou my vision" My Lord, be thou my all. To whom do we turn except our Lord? There is no other sure source of strength, of inspiration, of direction, of wisdom..of any single thing that we need.

(Musical interlude)

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Lita prayed to our loving God on our behalf. He who knows all our prayers, asking him that we will continue to support each other and that we will be sanctified by his word. Turning to the outstretched arms of Jesus she, for us, asked that our prayers would be heard as we open our arms to others. Lita prayed for comfort for those who  mourn, for those who are discouraged in their search for employment, for our leaders and for people in pain, whether it be physical or mental, that they will be given relief and healing. She prayed that Grace be given to anyone who is having a tough time...in full measure and then "Bind us together", in the name of Jesus. Amen.

We then joined in the Lord's Prayer.

HYMN TIS 599 "Take my life" Take my everything. There is nothing I have that is of any worth unless it is under God's direction in being used in the service of God.

BLESSING

Lita's blessing acknowledged how beautiful it is to seek God's will and work together.

She then reminded us that "it all works out perfectly well in the end for those whose hearts are set on the Lord". She continued : May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

BLESSING SONG "May our God of love".

May our God, God of love, bless and keep you forever.

Grant you peace, perfect peace! And strengthen for every endeavour.

Now go and serve him with all your heart, serving him forever.

May our God, God of love bless and keep you forever

Tune: Edelweiss.