Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 24 August 2014

Call to Worship

L. Let us worship God our Father; The Lord be with you.

P. And also with you. Amen!

Hymn "Be still, for the presence of the Lord." An exhortation to stop and remember what the purpose of our meeting together is. To remember in whose presence we are. To remember, that regardless of how familiar we are with the setting we are in, we are on holy ground and should conduct ourselves accordingly.

Prayer of Adoration

Hugh prayed to God, as our Father and Lord, acknowledging his wisdom and thanking him for the day of rest we have been given to worship him. Hugh gave thanks that we have been called apart for a while with fellow believers, through God's wisdom and compassion for this special time. Hugh prayed that we will see our lives as mission, blessing God's name and the worship we offer.

Prayer of Confession

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Offering

Hugh expressed our thanks and gratitude for all God's blessings: past, present and future. Hugh gave thanks for all things, including family and friends and asked that our gifts be blessed and used in God's service. Amen.

Bible Readings

Romans 12:1-2. We are asked to simply hand ourselves over to God's will. We are not to measure ourselves by the standards of this world but allow our God to transform us, so that we will understand his will for our lives.    

Matthew 16:13-20 The question asked of the disciples is asked of us. Who do we say Jesus is? And if we accept him as our Redeemer, we can be used to do amazing things.

Reflection

"Who do people say that I am?" Then, "Who do you say that I am?" A kind of oral exam. The disciples' answers are all different. "Elijah", "Jeremiah", "John the Baptist". It's very much the same now isn't it? People haven't any idea who Jesus is/was. We do all sorts of good and evil in the name of Jesus. We mould Jesus into the image that suits us. We should be moulding ourselves to suit him. Jesus asks us who it is that we say he is, regardless of anything anyone else says. Peter's answer was, "You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God."

The twenty-first century is a very confusing place, full of all sorts of religions and gods, cultures and traditions. They call us to follow them. It was Jesus who named Peter and it is Jesus who names us. He calls us just as he called Peter and the other disciples. He called them to build his church in a world that did not receive him. He is calling us to build his church today in this increasingly difficult world. We are all his church.

Hymn TIS 655 "O let the Son of God enfold you" What do you hunger for? Let God's Spirit satisfy that hunger, whatever its nature. Take your hands off the wheel: give the Lord control of your life and experience the comfort and joy of His care.

Prayers of the People

Val brought our prayers before God for those we love. She asked God, the Good Shepherd, to care for all those in need - the sick, the infirm, the grieving and those whose faith is broken. She prayed for courage for those without hope. Val then prayed for the church worldwide  and the special needs of Marsden Road Uniting Church. Val asked for God's hand on the homeless, those in drought affected land and all those who feel lost, in Jesus' name. Amen. We then joined in the Lord's Prayer.

Hymn TIS 409 'O breathe of life'. A plea to be revived with life and power. A plea to be empowered to do God's work. The thing is: do we mean it? Do we really want to take on the challenge of reaping God's harvest or are we simply being religious and nice people? Decide now.

Benediction

Hugh prayed for God to be gracious to all of us and our family and friends. He then prayed that the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

Hymn TIS 720 "Halle, Halle, Hallelujah.