Chrisanthia
welcomed Dan, who was to lead the service for today and Dan, in turn proclaimed
the Call to Worship inviting
all present to attune their ears and hearts so as to hear God's voice in the
service to follow.
Hymn AHB 115 "Let us sing to the God
of Salvation". A song of praise to
the Lord who rescues us from our life of constantly falling short of what is
intended for us; the Lord on whom we can depend always; the Lord whose Spirit
reaches, even into the hidden places; the Lord who is our shepherd. Then an
appeal that today will be the day we hear his message to each of us.
Prayer of Adoration and
Confession.
For the congregation, Dan offered a prayer to our Creator and Saviour, God's
Life-giving Spirit, to whom all praise and adoration are due. He prayed that we
should receive God's Grace and in turn share that Grace with others around us.
He acknowledged all our many transgressions of commission and omission, of
which we are guilty each day and of not celebrating our lives and faith as we
should. Dan prayed that we should be freed for joyful communion with our God
and that we be renewed in our pursuit of God's will.
Assurance of Forgiveness Dan spoke to us, assuring us
of God's intention to make us whole, healing our torn hearts, encouraging us to
rejoice in the forgiveness offered to us.
Hymn AHB 371 "Dear Shepherd of your
people, hear", asking God to make His presence known and to give us
prayerful hearts: to heal our troubled spirits: to let us unburden ourselves of
our cares and to offer prayers in faith:
make us receptive in every way, so that we will grow in God's grace.
Terry
read to us, firstly from Psalm 23
and then John 10: 22 - 30. Both
readings focus on the image of God as shepherd and the people as his flock. All
the characteristics of the shepherd, well known to His contemporary audience,
were and are relevant. The shepherd knows his sheep and they know him: the
sheep know the voice of their shepherd and follow him, knowing that with him
lies safety. In the OT reading there is also the sense that the shepherd will
nourish his flock, seeing that they are fed and watered.
The Sermon Dan began with the statement,
"As Christians, we have the assurance that we belong to Jesus' flock, and
as we are part of his flock, through Jesus we can have peace."
When
Jesus met his disciples, he greeted them with "Peace be with you" or
more probably, the Hebrew equivalent, "Shalom", which is a greeting
that can be used in many ways. It can simply mean peace be with you, but more
often implies a sense wishing the person you are greeting, peace, wholeness,
safety and general wellbeing. In the OT the priests were instructed to pray in
terms of Aaron's blessing, "The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make
his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, the Lord turn his face
towards you and give you peace." so when Jesus gave the greeting
"Shalom" or "Peace be with you" he disciples understood
each as a shortened form of that blessing.
Only God
can grant that peace as a gift of the Holy Spirit, as part of the Good News
that God wants us to share with others.
In
reference to Psalm 23, Dan proposed that God is just not a good shepherd as is
one who cares for his flock, but that He protects us, guides us, and gives us
peace. It doesn't mean that bad things won't happen but that God will guide us
through them.
In both
the readings the image of God as a Good Shepherd sums up so much - it shows the
absolute security Jesus' followers have through him- he will lay down his life
for the flock.
In the
reading from John, we hear of the disbelief of the Pharisees and Scribes when
Jesus says "I am the Good Shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know
me". The Pharisees could not accept that Jesus was "one with the
Father" and sought his death, in which he proved them wrong. As a result
it is through the Holy Spirit we can know and truly feel God's peace.
So Dan
finished with this blessing:
"The
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the
knowledge and love of God and of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
"May
the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The grace of our
Lord Jesus be with you evermore."
Amen.
Hymn AHB 165 "What a friend we have
in Jesus". Jesus who will answer all our cares. Who can lead us through
all our problems - if we take them to him.
After the
notices and offering Dan led The
Prayers of Intercession where he spoke of God giving us peace in times
of trouble and times when we feel alone and asked that we would know God's
peace and assurance. He then held before God MRUC, our leaders and the
congregation and people close to the members of the congregation who are
experiencing difficulties. He then prayed for the wider world: the people in
Ethiopia, the groups giving aid, the people in Boston and the Uniting Church as
we face the future.
Hymn AHB 363 "Heart and heart unite
together". " O thou gracious friend unite us"
We were the sent out with the Aaron blessing
followed by:
Go in
Peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen. Amen.
Amen.
Apologies
for the lack of reflection in today’s blog. It has been caused by
a combination of a very full programme and extreme tiredness. Sorry.
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