Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 14 September 2014

Call to Worship (Responsively. Psalm 95)                     

L: Come, let us praise the Lord!

Let us sing for joy to God, who protects us!

P: Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and sing joyful songs of praise.

L: For the Lord is a mighty God,

a mighty king over all the gods.

P: He rules over the whole earth,

from the deepest caves to the highest hills.

L: He rules over the sea, which he made;

the land also, which he himself formed.

P: Come, let us bow down and worship him;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

L: He is our God;

P: We are the people he cares for,

the flock for which he provides.

Hymn: TIS 745 ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God’ All three verses remind us to keep our focus on our real mission. This is God's church in which we enrich our lives through this special communion between ourselves as a community and our God. The purpose of this is to refresh us in spirit to do his will, in this church community and the wider community.

 Prayer of Adoration and Confession                 Hugh Park

Gracious and ever-loving God, your presence gives us strength for each day, your compassion brightens our every moment and your word provides us with the guidance we need.  Lord, help us at this time to focus on the love you have revealed through your Son Jesus Christ. 

Send your Spirit upon us and fill our minds with thoughts of your goodness and our hearts with joy and thanksgiving that we may truly praise your most holy name and show forth your light to all those whom we encounter this day - and in all the days to come.                 We ask it in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Confessing sins in silence….

Declaration of forgiveness: 

“Christ died for us, the sinful. Christ lived again for us, the righteous.

 The living Christ is God’s guarantee to us that our sins are completely forgiven. Dear friends, I say it again this morning in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Your sins are forgiven.

Thanks be to God.

 Offering

Hugh thanked God for all our amazing blessings and asked that our offerings would be used in his service. He then prayed "Bless the gift and bless the giver."

Hymn TIS 229 “Jesus loves me this I know.” This hymn was chosen for the children but its simple, straightforward message lays down the basic foundations for our lives.

 

Bible Readings: brought to us by Grahame Forrest. Romans 14:1-12. Those who live their lives according to God's will should not be the target of others who live their lives according to the same will, but expressed differently. God has a different plan for each of us. Look after that plan for you and let God look after any correction that needs doing in others. Short and sweet.  Matthew 18:21-35​. God has forgiven you. It is your obligation to forgive others. Other people are forgiving us daily for the way we offend or annoy them (perhaps in our ignorance). Pay it on.

 Reflection ​​Hugh Park​​

Hugh related fictional stories to illustrate the points of the readings. He spoke of sailors at sea in huge waves hearing the cannon crashing about below decks, damaging the insides of the ship. He then suggested that much of the damage we do to ourselves is on the inside and went on to relate the story of a student who, having committed a horrible crime ended up confessing because he could not bear the damage his guilt was doing to him. Another story highlighted the value of remembering the good that is done to us and letting go of the bad things that we suffer at the hands of others. Harboring guilt, resentment, hate only damages us - let go - forgive.

Hymn: TIS 640 ‘Kneels at the feet of his friends’ We are commanded to serve. That can be humbling, especially when there is no sign of thanks or any understanding of how much it may have cost us in time or energy to provide that help. Just think of what God goes through putting up with our foibles. As above. Pay it on.

 Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer​       Hugh​​

Almighty God, through your Son Jesus Christ you have created all that exists: Reconcile all things unto yourself, whether on earth or in heaven, that your tender compassion may shine on those who struggle in their lives in this sinful, complicated world. Lord, have mercy on them and us, that we’ll join together in hands to make this world a better place for everyone, whom you created in your own image.

Remember your holy covenant, O God, and come to all your people to set them free, that members of every language, nation and tribe may be saved from oppression and live in peace, so that this world will resemble your Kingdom as time goes by.

And we continue our prayers in the Prayer that Jesus has taught us:

 

Hymn: TIS 650 ‘Brother, sister, let me serve you’ (vv. 1,2,3,4 & 5) How sincerely can you sing this? As far as some people we know it’s easy. But that's not what service is about. Perhaps we need to forgive before we can serve others in God's name. He is not interested in grudging, foot-dragging, "Oh, All Right!" service. Forgiving can lift a big load from your shoulders and then you can serve with joy.

 

Benediction

Hugh sent us out, saying that we were God's hands and feet. He then charged us to go in peace, blessing us and saying: May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always.

Hymn TIS 779

“May the feet of God walk with you"

and his hand hold you tight.

May the eye of God rest on you

and his ear hear your cry.

May the smile of God be for you

and his breathe give you life.

May the child of God grow in you

and his love bring you home.