Sunday Service
Marsden Road
The Gathering of God’s People:
Call to Worship (David
N Mosser and other Sources)
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now,
the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.”
Receive life as a gift from God. We will give generously to others from
the gift of our lives.
Hear the words of faith and rise to act. We will be doers of the word, acting
out of faith and love.
Arise and come away. We rise to serve with hearts overflowing
with love.
The theme of the Service
today was “Living Faithfully”
Hymn TiS 156 “Morning
has Broken”
This Hymn was written by Eleanor Farjeon who was a children’s author and poet
who was born in London
Opening Prayer:
Creating God, Giver of life and
love, open our hearts to your loving call, that we may hear your voice and rise
to follow you. We give you thanks for the gift of life, and pledge to live this
gift with love and gratitude. Guide us, Holy One, to respond to those in need:
the widows and the orphans, the tired and the weary, the lost and the lonely.
We pray in the name of Christ, who taught us how to love. Amen.
The Prayers of Confession Forgiving God, there are many times when we
are content to rest in your word— your words of assurance, your words of
comfort, your words of abundant grace. Guide
us to the places most in need of your love. Guide us to the opportunities most
in need of our actions of care. Forgive
us for our times of inaction. Forgive
us when we quote the words of faith but fail to live them. For your mercy and
grace, we thank you. Amen
Declaration of Forgiveness The author of our lives calls us into new
life. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven. Thanks
be to God!
Passing of “The Peace”
We exchanged words of Peace with the worshipers around us.
Offering &
Dedication:
Hymn TiS 597 “Master
speak, thy servant heareth”
This Hymn was written by Frances
Ridley Havergal (1836 – 1879) who was the daughter of the Rev. W. H.
Havergal. She was born in 1836 and in
1851 she said; "I committed my soul to the Saviour, and earth and heaven
seemed brighter from that moment." She was the author of many hymns.
The Service of Holy Communion: The Great Thanksgiving
The
Lord be with you. And also, with
you. Lift up your hearts. We
lift them to the Lord.
Let
us give thanks to the Lord our God. It
is right to give our thanks and praise.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again!
The Breaking of the Bread: Because our bread has
come from one loaf; we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the
one loaf. The bread which we break is a
sharing in the body of Christ. The cup
over which we give thanks is a sharing in the blood of Christ. Thanks be
to God.
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God
you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God
you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
Invitation to Communion: As tangible as grain
plucked by Jesus and his disciples, as mysterious as the Presence known by our
faithful ancestors, so is the meal we are about to share. Let us open our
hearts and hands, as we remember and partake together.
Prayer after Communion: Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery
in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in
the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the reading from James,
we heard what has always appealed to me as a good clear message; 17 Every generous act of giving, with
every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In
fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we
would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 19 You
must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to
speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not
produce God’s righteousness.
Reflection: “Living Faithfully” (James 1:17-27)
John
skillfully used the words written by James; “To
give profoundly practical help in living daily as followers of Jesus Christ.”
He
went on to say; “At the close of the first chapter of James the reader
encounters a powerful claiming statement. Verse 17 is a line of poetry in the
Greek. ‘Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from
above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation
or shadow due to change.’ What a
beautiful verse. Here is genuine good news. It is not all up to us. The good
does not arise from our gritty will power. It comes from above, as a gift, from
God. Do you remember that old tale about the guy who bragged that he was a
self-made man? People who knew him said that accounted for a lot.”
“When wrestling with problems and
struggling with destructive impulses, James instructs us to turn to God.” John said – and then went on to remind us; “Trying harder alone is not enough, as
noble as that may be. The story is told of how a legendary football coach,
stood on the sideline during one game, watching the opposing team run around
his team’s right end successfully time after time. In frustration he called for
one of his substitutes. “Jimmy,” he said, instructing the player, “I want you
to go in there and stop that sweep around the right end.”
“With pumped up enthusiasm Jimmy replied,
“I’ll try coach!” The coach looked at him in disgust. “Sit down son,” he said,
“Billy’s trying. ”We have to do more than just try. We are to turn to the
“Father of lights.” The lights are a reference to the heavenly bodies—the sun,
the moon, the stars—as great as they are, they change.”
John
went on; “God alone is the Father of
lights. In Verse 18 the passage turns to strikingly feminine imagery in which
James calls us to trust God, “he gave us birth by the word of truth.” It is
suggested that the language is metaphorical. God created you. God called you
into being. Your divine purpose is not to fulfil every “itch of pleasure,” that
might come your way but to be the “first fruits” of God’s good creation.”
James
bids us to tune our lives to hear the music of God! There is greatness within
you, within me, within us that comes from God.
With this great crucial preface, the rest of the passage from James
challenges us to lean forward into a life lived for the purpose and glory of
God.
Hymn TiS 534 “Love
is his word, love is his way”
This hymn was written by Luke
Connaughton (1917 – 1979)
Prayers of the People: Noelene led the prayers of Intercession today. At the end, we joined together in the Lord’s
Prayer.
Hymn TiS 618 “What
does the Lord require”
This hymn was written by Albert Frederick
Bayly (1901 – 1984) It is generally
considered to be Bayly’s best-known hymn, written in January 1949. It was based on the text from Micah
6:6-8. He was also considered to be “the
father” of the new and exciting explosion in hymn writing in the 1960s -1970s.
Benediction:
With hearts renewed and
spirits filled to overflowing with the love of God, our Creator, go from this
place to follow Jesus, who taught us how to love. Listen for the guidance of
the Holy Spirit. Hear the word, do the word, and live the word. Go in peace.
And the blessing of God Almighty, Creator, Redeemer and Giver of Life be with
you and remain with you. Amen.
Hymn:
TiS 780 “May light come into your eyes” Mandy Treagus
May
the light come into your eyes, may hope spring up in your heart, may peace
guide all of your mind, and keep you in God; and keep you in God.
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