Helen
welcomed us to Fathers' Day and the notices were given, including one that we
were gathering in the hall after the service to say the last part of our
farewell to Helen and Graham.
Helen: "When we arrived this
morning, this Fathers' Day, we entered into the normal bustle of a Sunday
morning.
Friends
greeted each other, children brought their enthusiasm.
Now that
we are sitting together in the pews I invite you to close your eyes...and
consider the word sanctuary.
A
sanctuary is a place set aside for sacred things. It is a place of protection.
This
space, this church, is a sanctuary. You too are a sanctuary. There is inside
you a place for sacred things. A place where God abides."
Silence.........
Call to Worship. Proverbs 20:24
Since The
Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens
along the way?
Hymn TIS 569 "Guide me, O my great
Redeemer" A prayer for God's guidance and strength as we follow the path
before us. A plea that God will swamp us with the life of His Spirit till our
life's end and into the next.
Scripture Reading Genesis 12: 1 - 4, delivered
by Max, is the record of God commanding Abram to take all his family to a land
that will be shown to him and of God promising to make of him a great nation
and make him a great blessing. No details. Now that is a journey that would
require extraordinary faith. And Abram had such faith. Do we?
Play. A Leap of Faith Helen, finishing her ministry
as she has always conducted it, did the unpredictable and appeared from the
back of the church in swimming gear and a huge inflatable tyre. Graham played
the part of her swimming instructor, encouraging her to shed her inflatable
tyre, which protected her from sinking and leap into the "water"
where he was holding a kickboard for her. Helen took some convincing and many
tries to have the confidence, firstly to shed the floating aid, and then to
leap. But finally she did, and "swam" strongly up the aisle. The point:
we need to make that leap of faith.
Hymn TIS 691 "Faith will not grow
from words alone" ...."our faith must feel its way about".
My own
experience is that as we step out in faith into our lives, we find a little
truth here and a speck of insight there, all contributing to a much bigger
sense of God working in our lives.
Reflection "A God who Leads"
Helen began by telling of her family holidays as a child in a small caravan at
Palm Beach. The pool there was an ocean pool and it was there Helen had her
swimming lessons. The instructor was clear in what was required but Helen said
she was paralyzed by the "what ifs". What if the instructor didn't
catch her? What if a big wave carried her out to sea? Helen confessed to being
a control freak and having to work on that aspect of her character. She told of
how God had challenged her on that issue. Helen told of a time when, as the
result of a bible study, both she and Graham realised that God wanted them to leave their newly built
home and travel, like Abram, to a place that He would show them.
As a
result, they moved to Bellingen, even though that move did not seem wise from
several points of view. Then, once again, God spoke and they returned to Sydney
for Helen to study for the ministry. And now, Helen sees God has said it is
time to leave the ministry for whatever lies ahead.
Abraham
was not promised that everything would be clear sailing, but he was promised
that God would be with him. So Abram went even though he had no concrete proof
that anything he was doing was right.
But Abram
did have faith and Helen said that she is at a point where she is stepping out
in faith.
Helen
then made the point that, we as a congregation, are at a point where we have to
step out in faith too. God is with us, and we must trust Him. The first step is
the hardest but if we step out, God will bless us.
"Go
from your country and your kindred...to the land that I will show you."
Introduction to Communion An invitation to share in The
Lord's supper, whatever our spiritual state: to come as a worshipping group and
as individuals, in faith, no matter how faltering our steps.
Hymn 2 “Songs for a Hopeful Church”, words Elizabeth J. Smith. "All the
hungry and the thirsty" Whatever our need..."Here's a door that's
always open, here a table spread for all...here your heart can heed God's call." It's for
all, the joyful, the struggling, the gifted, those in pain, those in grief.
When we join together our "burdens lighten, joys increase". Praise
the Holy One.
Prayer of Confession Let us in silence remember our
own faults and failings. Then, Helen confessed, "In the community of
Christ's Church and in the presence of all God's people, I confess to God that
I have sinned..."
The
congregation responded:
"May
God forgive you, Christ befriend you, and the Spirit renew and change your
life."
Then the
congregation confessed in the same prayer, together, and Helen responded as we
had for her.
Then
together:
"Create
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Hymn 546 vv. 1,3,4 sung by Men's
group. v. 5 sing together. A plea to the Lord to think on each one of us to
cleanse us; to think on each one of us in all those dark places of our lives,
so that, "I may share your joy at last."
Then we
joined together in the Lord's Prayer
Communion Carolyn read the story of how
the sacrament began, reminding us that Jesus said:
"This
is my body. It is broken for you. Do this to remember me."
"This
cup is God's new covenant, sealed with my blood. Drink from it, all of you, to
remember me."
"So
now, following Jesus' example and command, we take this bread and wine, the
ordinary things of the world which Christ makes special."
Prayer Helen prayed, acknowledging
for us all, that God has taken us from our nothingness and welcomed us back:
that God offered Himself for us.
"...Send
down your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and wine, that they may
become for us your body, healing, forgiving and making us whole."
"...This
is my body, it is broken for you."
"...This
is the new relationship with God, made possible because of my death. Take this-
all of you - to remember me." The
Distribution followed.
Prayer after Communion "Lord Jesus Christ, take
us, renew us and remake us. What we have been is past, what we shall be,
through You, still awaits us.
Lead us
on. Take us with you.
Hymn 599 "Take my life and let it
be" The logical conclusion to our worshipping God in this service of
renewal. A reconsecration of ourselves to God and His service.
Offering Prayer A consecration of ourselves
and our possessions to "bring glory to your name"
Prayers for the People Noeline led us in praying for
those people in parts of the world suffering conflict; the boat people and
people without enough to eat. She prayed for those elected next week and for
the church in Australia, particularly the Joint Nominating Committee of our
church and the Advisory Committee on Ministerial Placements that they will seek
God's guidance. Her other prayer was for Helen and Graham, giving thanks for
their ministry and asking that they will be richly blessed in this new phase of
their lives.
Graham joined Helen and Helen said to the
congregation, "Graham and I, in our current roles, bid you farewell.
May the
blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with you now and
forever. Amen"
Blessing TIS 779 "May the feet of God walk with you" A
gentle, loving and kindly prayer for each other
Go in
peace to love and serve The Lord.
In the
name of Christ.
Amen.
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