Stephen welcomed
Ace Kim and the other members of the OneHeart congregation who had come to take
the service.
Ace then spoke to us of
his journey from the time he was at Epping West UC and his vision that led him
to his ordination and his leadership of the OneHeart congregation which is
meeting at Eastwood UC at the moment. He told of seeing our lovely church and
feeling the presence of God around it and how he was glad to be finally
worshipping with us.
He spoke of the service
that was to follow being different and probably louder than we are used to but
hoped that we would be able to glorify God through it. He added that the beauty
of God is everywhere, that we are all the children of God and thanked the young
people for their passion in expressing their love of God.
Hymn "Amazing Grace" sung a little
differently; differently enough to make the meaning leap out anew. Are we still
amazed? Are we even still thankful?
Prayer of
Adoration and Confession
Grace led us in the
name of Jesus Christ our Saviour, our mighty Lord, who offers love and
forgiveness to all and who is clear for all to see in his amazing creation. On
our behalf she gave thanks that Jesus, the Son, had come to save us and was
present with us. She asked for God's forgiveness for the guilt which we
confessed for our constant foolishness and gave thanks that we can approach
boldly, confident that we will be renewed and refreshed. Grace asked that we
should be challenged in our mission to serve in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Amen
Ace declared: your
sins are forgiven
Offering In a reference to his children, Ace
reminded us that we come into this world with nothing and everything we have is
a gift from God. After our offering was gathered by our "very young
people" Ace offered it back to God for his work out of the abundance of
his great blessing.
Hymn "Lord I lift up your name on high,
Lord I love to sing your praises.
I'm so glad you're in my life, I'm
so glad you came to save us."
When we sing hymns, are
we motivated as the author of this hymn was, or are we motivated in some other
way or do we just sing?.sometimes it's just good to rethink our position.
This was followed by a
video clip of the work of the OneHeart ministry showing the diversity of
nationalities and age groups who worship together and their various activities
including work in the community.
Heng then gave his Testimony
of being quite opposed to Christianity and also of being tongue-tied in
company. Then he became very attached to a young lady who unfortunately did not
want to continue their friendship. Heng became very depressed and cried and
cried. His mother, who was a Christian, handed him a bible and told him to open
it anywhere and read. He read the story of the man born blind and the questions
Jesus was asked about whose fault it was. Jesus' answer was that it was not the
fault of anyone but that God should be glorified. He saw the parallel with his
own situation and so started his Christian journey. Then he became involved in
OneHeart and in no time he was able to speak freely in social situations and
now is able to work for the OneHeart group, a changed man.
Bible Reading Val brought the reading to us: Psalm 23:
We all know it well. Often we hear it at funerals but it has more to say than
our relationship with God at our dying. It speaks of our lifelong walk with him
and the many blessing he heaps upon us during that journey.
Reflection
Ace spoke to us, confessing his ignorance
of the role of a shepherd until well into adulthood. He knew God was his shepherd
and that meant that he was his guide and leader and protector but it was only
when he visited an Australian sheep station that he saw a shepherd in action -
on a huge property where he couldn't walk its width, it was so big; where the
shepherding was done in a ute, bumping over a rough dirt road.
It was on this
farm that Ace found out that sheep are different from a lot of other animals in
that they can't defend themselves in any way. They need a leader- they are not
only weak but they have no idea of finding their own way. Anything here sound
familiar? Yep! All of us! Without our shepherd leading, guiding, supporting and
protecting us we all end up in trouble.
Hymn When peace, like a river attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll.
Whatever my lot, thou has taught me
to say, it is well it is well, with my soul.
Amen to that. Whatever
comes, God is with us.
Prayers for the
People Val led us,
praying for God's love and care for those far away, those travelling: for all
those in need that they will be given hope and strength and that those who are
alone will feel God's presence. She prayed that the worldwide Christian church
should serve with love and sensitivity.
Val then prayed for local concerns and for those known to our church who
are suffering and in pain.
Ace then blessed us:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
The love of
God
And the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you
all.
Go in peace to love and
serve the Lord.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
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