Lyn welcomed Rev. Chris to MRUC. Chris will be ministering to
us in the next months and we look forward our time together.
We Gather
We were Called to
Worship. Chris used the words of Ps 130: 1 - 6 to remind us of how
thoroughly God knows and understands us: how he knows how our minds are ticking
over and how our past informs our present.
"This wonderful knowledge is beyond my understanding;
It surpasses everything, and is beyond my grasp."
"For
the stories we share, for our life together, and for the breath of your Spirit
among us,
we thank
you, O Lord, our God. Amen.
For some
reason I thought for a time that God had called me because of my better
characteristics. He called me as I am and as I have been, even if that is not
all pretty.
Hymn TIS 90 "I'll praise My Maker
While I've Breath" A vow to praise God for all His goodness in this life
and beyond. Praise for God's truth and the security we have in Him: praise for
His care for those whose personal and material resources are meagre: praise
for His care for the physically
afflicted, the guilty, the stranger and the widow: for everything He bestows
upon us - praise. Nothing we have or achieve is down to our amazing talent. God
is the author of everything good.
We think about a Potter working clay
We pray, being honest with
God. (
incl. Ps 139: 13 - 18)
A prayer
to the "Ever present God of grace" He who has known every moment of
our development. To our "Lord God" whose thoughts about us are
impossible to begin to understand. To You, we pray that we will hear Your
voice, that we will change and become what we should be.
"Open our ears to hear you, open our eyes to
see what we might become, open our hearts to follow in the way you have shown
to the world in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
(Hear,
see, follow. Take note.)
Hymn SIS 482 "Change my heart O
God" Eddie Espinosa, 1982 Mercy Records and Publishing, Anaheim, CA, USA.
A plea to
be changed by God and moulded by Him as a potter moulds the clay to his will.
We are assured of God's grace
Hear the
sound of love poured out: (water is poured into font)
2 Cor. 5
- 17
If anyone
is in Christ, there is a new creation...your sin is forgiven, your life is made
new,
Let us
live as those reborn.
We Listen for the Word of God.
Scripture Reading Norma brought us Jeremiah 18: 1 - 11 and Luke 14: 25 - 33.
The message in Jeremiah is about the potter's ability to destroy a flawed piece
or rework the clay into something good. God promises that He can reshape us but
only if we turn to Him and away from the influences for evil in our lives.
In Luke
it is made clear that turning to God will have its cost, so we must calculate
that into our decision to hand ourselves over to God's will, which must come
first.
Reflection Chris began by raising
questions about the reading from Luke, suggesting that it is contrary to much
of what Jesus taught about loving our neighbour and showing care for each
other. He pointed out that the advice about counting the cost before entering
any commitment is sound but that for Jesus to say, "none of you can become
my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions." is not only very
harsh but very puzzling. To make sense of this, Chris turned to the reading
from Jeremiah which presents a metaphor of God as the divine potter. Chris
showed that we can see this metaphor as one of a controlling
God but that on
closer viewing, we will realise that the potter works in concert with the clay,
bringing out its beauty by feeling the characteristics of the clay and
creatively re shaping it.
The work
of the Divine will with the human will is a dynamic relationship; it is God
working with people, bringing out the best in them.
With
reference to the Luke reading, it is then our responsibility to examine our
priorities and rid ourselves of anything preventing that moulding process of
God having its most beautiful outcome.
We should
also be going through this process of prioritising in our church community. How
open are we to God's call? How open are we to releasing those things from our
individual and community lives that are hindering God's work!
Are we
"Letting go of being possessed by our possessions."
We begin our response to God's
Word
Hymn TIS 468 "We are your
people" An acknowledgement that we are God's people to be used by Him as
voices to those around us. That within our community we should be willing to
lead sometimes and be led at other times: that we should hold each other close
and at the same time, welcome strangers: to be aware that we will disagree but
be prepared to forgive: to value tradition but be prepared to change: asking
for wisdom and praising God for His love.
We Share in Prayer for one
another and the world - Chris
A humble
prayer calling on God's grace to transform us in each situation as we admit our
inadequacies and our fears, showing us the good we can do. Chris led us in
prayer for MRUC as we journey down a new path, and for those whose value we
can't appreciate yet. Chris prayed, on our behalf, for our helplessness in a
world of conflict and injustice and the we prayed in the words Jesus taught us.
Offering With Jesus we love generously
as we bring our offerings.
We go out to serve Others
Hymn TIS 163 "God who stretched the
spangled heavens" To the God of all creation, we look upon all our achievements
with pride and see our dreams as possibilities to serve God..."till our
goals and yours are one."
We are offered blessing on our
way
May the
Artist who crafted you continue to shape your heart. Ps. 139: 15
may the
Christ who commissioned you, charge you with purpose. Matt. 28: 19 - 20
may the
Spirit that stirs you, help you to carry the cross, that you may honour your
Creator and bless the world. Luke: 14: 27
Amen
Rev.
Chris acknowledged these resources in creating the service:
The
Billabong website: copyright Jeff Shrowder 2000, 2013.
Feasting
on the Word Worship Companion Yr C V2
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