Tuesday 10 November 2015

Sunday Reflections Marsden Road Uniting Church 8 November 2105


Welcome: Rev Deokhee Cho from Ryde Uniting Church was with us on a pulpit swap and Warwick welcomed him and he, in turn, welcomed us

Call to worship

Let us worship God, our light and our salvation.

The Lord is the stronghold of our lives.

We desire to live in Gods house and to seek God in his holy temple.

We have come with shouts of joy, to sing and to make music to the Lord.

Let us worship God in spirit and in truth.

Teach us your ways and make straight our paths

in this hour of worship and always.

 
Hymn: TIS 52 Let us sing to the God of salvation We sang to the God who is our rock...our everything!

Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving

Deokhee praised God on our behalf, calling on our loving God for whom we had gathered together, seeking to worship him. Deokhee praised God for being the beginning of all life who has known us from before we were born. He acknowledged that God knows our innermost thoughts.

When I think about life and the idea of anything being alive, something like spaghetti starts to form in my brain. Life itself is beyond comprehension and is our greatest clue to the existence of God. And I wonder how many of us try to pretend in the presence of God.

Prayer of Confession

Before this God we confessed that we had sinned against him and against other people. We confessed that we have only cared about ourselves and asked for forgiveness in Jesus' name. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Then in the name of he who died, rose and reigns Deokhee declared that the old life is gone and the new life begun. Thanks be to God.

 Announcements

The announcements included a big "Thank you" to all who had participated in any way in the Lamington drive

 Childrens talk: Deokhee involved the children through a little quiz, starting with what we call people from various countries. Koreans come from Korea; Americans come from America and so but it broke down when he got to Australia because the answer then was "Aussies" but that did not prevent him drawing out the point that people who belong to Christ are called Christians. This was followed by a very catchy chorus which Deokhee ably led.

We then offered each other the Sign of Peace which is a significant opportunity for all of us to declare our love for each other.

 Offering While the offering was being received the Men's Quartet led us with "When the Saints Come Marching In" after which Deokhee dedicated our gifts to the glory of God.

 
Hymn: TIS 745, Seek ye first the kingdom of God Deokhee can really sing and this enhanced the congregation's effort to sing this hymn with its cogent message as a round, producing a lovely offering in song form.

 Bible Readings: Val delivered the readings: Mark 12: 38-44, 1 Kings 17: 8-16

Sermon

Deokhee spoke on the bible reading from Mark, focusing on the offering of the widow whose few coins would have gone unnoticed in the clatter of all the coins being offered.
But Jesus noticed. Keep that in mind when you don't think you have much to offer. He then spoke of a time when he was helping out at Parramatta mission, which is very noisy around mealtime. There in the middle of the noise of voices, plates and cutlery there sat and old man, saying grace. He was offering all he had..his thanks. Deokhee also told of the widow approached by Elijah for food. She only had enough flour and oil left for a final meal for herself and her son before they surrender to death because of the famine. However Elijah convinced her to share that meal with him promising that God would provide. God did provide and the widow had oil and flour until the famine ceased.

God will provide.

This service has been about ordinary people doing ordinary things which have been seen as being of great value. We don't have to move mountains to carry out the mission God has given us, we simply have to be true of heart.

 Hymn: TIS 342 When I survey the wondrous cross For so many Christians all around the world, this is central to their belief and their lives spin on this axis.

 Musical interlude before prayer

During this time we thought about our own concerns and those close to our hearts, whether they concerned loved ones or people whose lives are being destroyed by injustice in so many places around the world, including in our own country.

 Prayers of Intercession Deokhee prayed for healing and comfort for those who are sick and suffering. He prayed to our most gracious God, thankful for God's belief in us to carry out his work, declaring God to be the mystery that binds us together. He asked for God's hand upon those who share the heavy burden of political leadership and for those who lead Marsden Road and Ryde Uniting Churches. Amen.

 Hymn: TIS 256 From heaven you came, helpless babe God came as a servant and now he asks that we serve him and each other.

 Blessing 

The blessing of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you, always.

Blessing song:

Hymn TIS 778 Shalom to you now A more powerful blessing does not exist as we pray for every good thing for others.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment