Rev. Trevor led our
service today encouraging us in various ways, through prayers, hymns, scripture
readings, the children's address and sermon to reflect on our lives as
Christians.
The prayer of praise
and thanksgiving was a
responsive reading of Psalm 48, extolling God's greatness and His
steadfast love for us, concluding with the words: "that you may tell the
next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our
guide forever." Amen.
He can only be so if we
let go of that grasp we have over our lives and hand ourselves over to his
guidance. God cannot guide us if we are following another path that suits other
purposes.
These thoughts were
reflected in HYMN TIS 626, which praises God for his mighty works of
creation and his intention to live in every heart that humbles itself to him:
"Lord of all power, I give you my will; my mind; my heart; my all. The
irony of surrendering ourselves to God is revealed in the last line: "I'll
walk in your freedom to the end of the way."
The Children's
Address concerned an Emu
who kept thinking there were better ways of being accepted..as a seal, as a
lion, as a snake..but finally realized that the best thing he could be was
himself. There is a sign in a lane in Broadway that says: "Be yourself.
Everybody else is taken." How true is that. The only person we fit
perfectly is ourselves, which is just as God wants us, as we sang in the next Hymn
TIS 584 "Just as I am without one plea." God calls us as we are;
breaking every barrier down with his love and our response can only be: "O
Lamb of God, I come. I come.
Pat read to us from the Scriptures, first 2
Samuel 5: 1-5, 9-10 and Mark 6: 1-13. The reading from 2 Samuel describes
the immediate events that led to David being crowned King of Israel and his
work in cementing his position as king. The reading from Mark is well known.
Jesus is rejected by those who have known him all his life and don't recognize
his unique authority. His disciples are then sent out to spread his message
without very much to support them, depending on a welcome response from at
least some people. What do we hear from these readings? One message that came
through to me was that kingship sought David, not the other way around. David
just kept doing what he saw as his job in life. Jesus did this too. Don't be
too concerned about ambition or the applause of others or even their criticism.
Just do what you see that you have been given to do.
Rev. Trevor then
brought us his message from the Mark reading but as he said God speaks to each of us differently.
We are different people with different needs and as a result we each need
different "advice".
So God’s voice emerges from, not only the readings
but also the message delivered by the Preacher, in a way that heals us, that
challenges us, that comforts us each in our own space. The message I heard was
not to try to be God's servant by copying someone else nor by taking on loads
of unnecessary "adornments" to the way I work out what I see as God's
path for me. To be myself and keep my trust in God alone to use me in whatever
way he chooses.
Holy Communion
followed. We were reminded
of the story of the Institution of Communion and the significance of the bread
and wine.
We heard again of the sacrifice made on our behalf and answered the
invitation to become church as we shared in the communion meal, again praising
God for his initiative in calling us back from our fallen state.
Hymn TIS 446 "Glorious things of you are
spoken" This hymn gave each of us the opportunity to say before others,
our belief in and reliance on the God of all. Reliance on him for our
redemption and our continuing spiritual growth of which we are so keenly aware
of and grateful for that we cannot be swayed by anything this world may try to
say to dissuade us from our path.
Rev. Trevor blessed us and we sang our final blessing
to each other:
May the feet of God go
with you and his hand hold you tight.
May the eye of God be
on you and your ear hear his cry.
May the smile of God be
for you and his breath give you life.
May the child of God
grow in you and his love bring you home.
Amen
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