Reception of member
by transfer.
Apologies to all for the tardiness of
the production of this blog and what I anticipate to be its briefness. The
birth of a second grandchild early Tuesday morning meant much loss of sleep and
very active days with the first grandchild, a two-year-old. She has just
returned most unwillingly to her family home. Her preferred option would be
that we all live together in the one house - Parents, GPs, Aunty and all. She
and her new sister are the greatest treasures we have ever received and for
which we are so grateful and thankful.
Call to worship
Lord, you are enthroned as the Holy One,
The one whom Israel praise.
Our ancestors put their trust in you;
They trusted you and you saved them.
They called to you and escaped danger;
They trusted you and were not
disappointed. (Psalm 22:3-5)
And so we give you our praise and worship.
Hymn TIS 133 “O worship the king,
all glorious above.” The hymns of this service were written around
membership of the church, who as individuals and as a group, exist because we
are enlivened by Him, the glorious one, who evokes our worship.
Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving
Today, the person being received into
membership was me, the writer of this blog. As such, the prayer of thanksgiving
was richly applicable, thanking God for the life abundant that I have received
by his generous hand. Jan thanked God for all he had done in Christ, whose
sacrifice enabled people like me and you to know this life abundant,
experiencing the full power of God's spirit and without which we are mere dust
and ashes. "We worship you in songs and hymns of praise. To you be the
glory, forever and ever." Amen.
Prayer of Confession "Loving
and redeeming God, in Christ you have shown us the paths of true discipleship.
You have taught us the ways of your realm. Forgive us that we so often stray
from those paths. Forgive us that we choose death over life, power over
justice, wealth over service." Forgive us...correct us...move us...call us
back to you. Amen.
Words of Assurance "May the
grace of God, shown in Jesus and made present through the Spirit, assure us
that we are set free from sin to live in joy. Our sins are forgiven."
Thanks be to God.
Reception of a member by transfer-
Margaret Johnston
In this service I was welcomed as a member
of the Uniting Church and pledged my life to fellowship with our God and his
people. I promised to share in the life and work of the church, which I did
with much willingness. This is the place where I find my purpose and these are
the people who extend their hands in friendship and support.
Let us pray: "O
God our loving parent, we praise you for calling us to faith in Jesus and for
gathering us into the Church, the body of Christ. We thank you for this
congregation of your people and rejoice that you have added to our number
Margaret, our sister in the faith. Together may we live in the Spirit, building
up one another in love, sharing in the life of the Church, and serving the
world in God’s mission; for the
sake of Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen.
Hymn TIS 599 “Take my life and let
it be, consecrated Lord to thee” in singing this hymn, we affirmed our
promises of yesterday, last year, or so long ago, to be wholly God's.
Offering Once more we offered
back just a little of God's blessing to us to be used in the church's work of
extending his kingdom of love to those around us.
Bible Readings- Hebrews 4:12-16 and Mark 10:17-31
Sermon- “Call and cost of
discipleship” Totally appropriate to the theme of membership of God's
church. Jan spoke of the affect of the media on our thinking, leading many to
believe that ownership of large numbers of the latest, trendy items is the way
to achieve happiness and peace. She added that it is also difficult to
discipline ourselves to a budget, to a diet of healthy food, to an active life.
We like to indulge ourselves. My special indulgence in sleeping in...then
I'm really unhappy with myself about all the time I have wasted.
In terms of possessions bringing happiness
I learned a good lesson early in life. Possessions get old, wear out, break.
And then, if we are depending on possessions for our happiness...guess
what....we have to buy new possessions again, and again, and again. That is
obviously not a good path to follow.
Jan spoke of a DVD called "Happy"
by Roko Belic in which it was shown that the values of people are important to
achieving happiness. Those who were concerned for others and acted in the best
interests of others were far happier than those who lived for themselves, and
the ephemeral things of life. Many people are always longing for that something
that is missing in their lives. Jan explained that the missing thing is God and
if anyone tries to replace God with other things they aren't satisfied...the
longing continues. This is what happened to the Rich Young Ruler. God expected
his all and the young man couldn't bring
himself to give it and went away sad. And he would have continued to be sad.
Hymn TIS 609 “May the mind of
Christ my Saviour” We don't stand a chance on our own. The forces that
operate in this world are too determined and too many for us to stand up to
them by ourselves. Take a mate. That's a Mate with a capital M.
Musical interlude before prayer During
this time we contemplated our private needs and concerns. After this time Jan
led the Prayers of Intercession.
Hymn TIS 233 “I will sing the
wondrous story” Those of us who have experienced the joy of that
abundant life can hardly stop ourselves doing so!
Blessing The peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in
the knowledge and love of God. And may
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of
the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Blessing song TIS 778 “Shalom to you now” Shalom...I wish
upon you every good thing that comes from the blessing of our God.
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