Monday 8 June 2015

Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 7 June 2015



The theme of today's service was "Listening to God's Call", and that theme was evident as the service continued from the Call to Worship to the benediction. The Call to Worship provided an opportunity for the congregation to respond as one, praising, thanking and acknowledging their reliance on God's strength.

The Hymn TIS 216 "Rejoice the Lord is King" continued the response to God's greatness with the exhortation to "Rejoice" in God's power to overcome in all situations.

As Jan led the Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving we were reminded that our God is the God of all...the God of all who have been, of all who are, and of all who are to come...and that he reaches out to us in a personal way, for which we respond in gratitude.

In the Prayer of Confession Jan prayed for us, confessing that we know that discipleship demands a new way of being to other people but that we find that difficult because of our human ways. She confessed that we forget that loving God is our first priority, to seek to do that at a deeper stronger way. But then the words Hear the Words of grace reminded us that Our sins are forgiven for which we gave thanks.

A response to Listening to God's Call became action as Sylvia and Stephen obeyed that call, bringing their little boy Billie for Baptism.
As the Baptism service proceeded first Sylvia and Stephen, then the people, and the Godmother were asked for their promise to nurture Billie in his Christian journey, to which all agreed, accepting an important Call from God.

To affirm the position of Billie and all children, especially those present in the Kingdom of God, Hymn TIS 491 "Father welcomes all his children" was sung, which reminded us that because of our baptism we were set on a path of daily responding to God's Call.

Communion followed and the singing of responses during Communion and the Baptismal service added a dimension of commitment as all present added their voices to the strength of the response. 

The words of the Institute of the Sacrament reminded us of the great love that binds us to God and to each other, refocusing our commitment on God's love for us and our need to respond to the Call of that Love. As the congregation moved to the Communion rail, that response manifested itself physically as it did vocally during the singing of the responses at the beginning of The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving.
 
 
During this Prayer as Jan gave thanks for us, we were reminded of Christ's sacrifice and the implication of that for us: "Make us one with him, one with each other, and one in ministry in the world," the Lord's Prayer spelled out what had gone before and gave them time for each to pray to be made fit for that ministry.

The singing of Hymn TIS 531 "Sent forth by God's blessing" was done with gusto, a reflection of the renewal experienced in the preceding parts of the service.

Ruth brought the Bible Readings to us from Psalm 139: 1-6; 13-18 and Mark 4: 26-34 especially chosen for today's very special service. The Psalmist speaks in awe of God's knowing of his every part and every movement and of his unassailable relationship with God. The reading from Mark gives us the words of Jesus, telling the mustard seed analogy, explaining that the Kingdom can start as such a little thing but become greatness itself, encouraging even the most weak at heart, to step out to be part of that growth.

Sermon

Jan drew our attention to the special nature of today's service: A Baptism and Holy Communion and pointed out that both readings were about new life and our relationship with God. Jan then pointed to the fact that both readings were about the mystery of life...how it begins and how it continues. She called our attention to the Creation of which we are stewards, but for which it is difficult to know how to act, because of the confusing plethora of information available.

The Psalmist saw God's hand at work in Creation and was in awe. Jan referred us to our ability to have some knowledge of how God brings life and nourishes it today and challenged us as to how we are responding to God's grace in our lives.

For the first time we heard Jan's singing voice as she gave us a few lines of "From little things, big things grow." She then spoke of the various nutrients needed and the time required for a crop to grow, reflecting on the similarity of our spiritual growth.

Jan then focussed on the Mustard Tree. Providing shade, food and safety for small animals, the grown Mustard tree is a bit messy. A bit like our lives sometimes. God's community is a place of nourishment and hospitality.

"Keep letting God's Spirit in, to renew and fill you, so that your life will flourish...to bring more goodness into our world."

Lynell then played a very evocative rendition of Amazing Grace while we prayed our private prayers after which Grahame led the Prayers for the People: "Holy God, Father, Mother, Parent" Grahame prayed that God would watch over us and Billie's family...and for parents worldwide that they will help, tolerate, encourage and accept differences. He prayed for teachers that they will encourage their students to explore the world around them, living the life we are given. He offered a plea that we will act in God's way to our environment and to the marginalized people of the world. He then prayed for us all. That we will be the people we are meant to be. His attention then turned to the Pupil Free Day Activity and all those involved, followed by all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the unemployed, the mentally ill, and finally for the personal concerns of the congregation.

Our final hymn was an echo of our theme of Listening to God's call.

Hymn TIS 130 "We plough the fields and scatter" It finishes with "Help us in our  thanksgiving to use your gifts with care, to serve as friends and neighbours, your children everywhere." Simple words - huge message.

Jan then pronounced the blessing:

The Lord bless you and keep you,

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you,

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and grant you peace.

AMEN.

To seal our renewed commitment we sang Hymn TIS 781 "Father bless us as we go, Jesus walk beside us. Holy Spirit guide us."

 

A moving service.

 

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