Welcome
Jan
welcomed us saying, how good it was to see us and how good it was to be
together on the Lord's Day. There's something about being together that is
hard to analyse or explain. For many of us at MRUC it would be easier, because
of medical conditions, to worship individually at home but we don't. We come
together on a Sunday to worship together because it is different, it is
enriching, it is better than not doing it. We go away ready to live our lives
in a better way than if we hadn't been there.
Call
to worship
O
Lord, you have searched us
And
you know us.
Even
before a word is on our tongues,
O
Lord, you know it completely.
You
lay your hand upon us,
Such
knowledge is too wonderful for us.
Let us
worship, in praise and adoration, the God who knows us all.
Hymn
TIS 153 “God is love, let heaven adore him” God is love. We are all his
beloved. We may not experience the fullness of that love unless we accept it
but everything that exists, (living, non- living, plant or animal) shows the
beauty of that love in some or many ways.
Prayers
of Praise and Thanksgiving
Jan
prayed for us, thanking our loving God for how we could come to him in prayer.
She observed that, as we prayed, we were bonded together in love, faith and
joy. She spoke of our hearing God call our name and of how we pledge to follow
him. For us, she asked that God call us again because we desire to know him
better.
Prayer
of Confession/Words of Assurance
As we
held our confession in our cupped hands, Jan talked of how we shape our lives
by the decisions we make and how our memories are built by these decisions and
give us our sense of who we are. But in those memories are the mistakes we
can't let go. Our Father knows each one and is prepared to forgive each one, so
as we open out cupped hands we let go of our mistakes and there is nothing left
because God does not hang on to them. Then the words we wait to hear: Our
sins are forgiven.
Hymn TIS 597 “Master
speak, thy servant heareth”
Here we are, acknowledging the love we sang of in the first hymn and
declaring that we are ready to hear the message of that love and to let it do
its work in our hearts and minds. Do its work, that we will be bearers of God's
grace to a world in need.
John 1:35-51 Jesus calls his
disciples. We need to be taking notice, to be listening. It could happen any
time - for any task - large or small.
Sermon- The call of God- are we
listening?
With
special reference to the bush fires, Jan focused our attention on the natural
disasters that often strike in Summer. She reminded us that people often ask
"Why?" Without thinking about the part we have to play. We live in a
"Sun-burnt" country. We should expect bush-fires and drought as
givens. But when these disasters strike,
God uses them for good: he uses
them to jolt us out of our dependency on the wrong things. "For too
long, Australians have made the pursuit of material things and looking after
No. 1 their key goal in life. For many this drives their life and has been done
at the expense of their spiritual life, of getting in touch with a loving
creator, the one true God..." These disasters, along with others, like
the Global Financial downturn make us realise that we can't depend on material things
for fulfillment.
The
reading shows that once Samuel realised that it was God who was calling, his
response was, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening". God had a
job for Samuel; he has a job for us. That will being true fulfillment. Fulfillment
that will remain. But we need to listen. "How often do we stop and allow
the space for God to speak to us and be still and open to listen to God's
voice? We all need to do this as individuals, to know what our priorities
should be...We also need to do it as God's people together, and seek direction
about the form our mission and ministry will take this year." And when we
hear God - our response must be, "Yes".
Hymn
TIS 658 “I, the Lord of sea and sky.” We have heard God's word through
the bible reading and Jan's sermon. It will not be the same word to each of us
but if we open our hearts to God's message we will know what is needed. Who is
to act on that word? Each one of us!
Offering
Having
acknowledged that all goodness comes from God, Jan blessed the offering, as an
expression of our love for others and prayed that the offering will be used for
Gods kingdom. We can show love in many ways, sometimes just by paying
attention to someone.
Prayers
of Intercession Jan
again thanked our loving Lord for his greatness, speaking of those known to us
who are suffering in any way, that God will make his living presence known to
them, will keep them safe, and will make his nearness known so they will be
guided in this time of care. Jan asked for God's help, that we will have the
confidence to share with each other what we have received from him and that he
will enrich us in hope and love. Jan prayed for those for whom we love and care
- in their individual needs. She prayed
that they might be aware that God is listening and that they will be aware of
his hand on their lives. Jan brought before God the world with its unrest and
division and asked that all people will be able to experience peace and safety.
She asked God that we can be the people he wants us to be: she asked for him to
strengthen us and our faith in him. For us, Jan asked for God's presence and
guidance in drawing those around us into his community. We then joined together
in The Lord's Prayer.
Hymn TIS 87 “You
are before me, Lord, you are behind” Following the thread of today's message. We have made
ourselves ready to receive God's message of love to this world. We have heard
the command to carry his message to this world and we have committed ourselves
to the task. But what if the task seems too much? What if we want to run from
it out of fear? What if all we can see are our deficiencies? The answer is in
this hymn. God is all around us, knowing all there is to know about us and
still hands the task of his work in this world to us,
Blessing
The
Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be amongst you, and remain with you
always.
Blessing
Song -TIS 778
“Shalom to you my friends.”
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