Call to Worship
Bronwyn welcomed us to this place of love and peace
where we could be sure we belonged. She reminded us that we were celebrating
each other as we celebrated the faithful and eternal love of God.
Praying to our Gracious and Loving Lord, Bronwyn
thanked him that each of us has a place in his realm and can speak to him as
both friend and Saviour. She asked, for all of us, that he would receive not
just our worship today, but also the worship of our lives, knowing that it is
in him that we have our being. She asked that the joy of our relationship with
him transform our lives and our world.
Sing:
TIS 152 "Joyful, Joyful"
We continued our adoration of our glorious Lord, acknowledging his ability to
work miracles in us and asking that he will do that just to transform us.
Prayers of Praise & Confession/ Words of Assurance -Bron
For us, Bron praised our Creator, Redeemer, our very
heart, attesting to God's initial choice of us which allowed us to respond to
him and love because he loved us first. She declared that our hearts swelled
with love and gratitude for God's faithfulness to us.
After a pause in which we could offer our own thanks
and praise, Bron continued with our
Confession, asking
forgiveness for when our worship is hollow, our thoughts not on his will: when
we ignore his teaching and make selfish choices. She asked that he call us back
and give us another chance to be the people we should be. She asked that this
day, God should wash us clean, and make us anew, in Jesus name. Amen
Words of Assurance God's forgiveness is beyond our
understanding, but is as real as the air we breathe. Receive his gift of grace
- in the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven.
All: Thanks be to God.
Children’s talk-
Have you filled your bucket today? Bron. This talk was
as much for the adults as the kids,
reminding us that many of our attempts at happiness are counter productive.
Many assume that filling our own buckets would benefit us the most, but it
turns out that it adds nothing.
Filling some else's bucket with acts of kindness, not only fills their bucket and makes them feel special but fills our own bucket as well. Expressions of love, smiles, welcomes are all ways to fill the buckets of other people - it doesn't take much. Start each day asking God to help us fill buckets. Check out how you went at the end of the day. Succeeded? Yes! - No so good? God will not give up!
Filling some else's bucket with acts of kindness, not only fills their bucket and makes them feel special but fills our own bucket as well. Expressions of love, smiles, welcomes are all ways to fill the buckets of other people - it doesn't take much. Start each day asking God to help us fill buckets. Check out how you went at the end of the day. Succeeded? Yes! - No so good? God will not give up!
Offering & Dedication Bron offered not only our financial donations
but those of our time and energy, asking for God's blessing upon them that we
will be filled with the spirit so that the whole world will come to know God's
blessing,
Sing:
TiS 162 "Thank
you for giving me the morning"- verses 1,2,5,6 The idea of recognizing our
real blessings and thanking God for them continued, so that we will not be led
astray, thinking that contentment can come to us through acquiring things. Nor
should we think the blessings spoken of in this hymn are of no account but are,
in fact, the foundation of happy lives.
Bible Readings- Jeremiah 23:1-6 -
Mark 6:30-34,
53-56. Jack brought us the readings today. The OT reading
promised protection for the 'flock' of the Lord and retribution for anyone who
harmed them. Mark speaks of the difficulty Jesus experienced when the people
crowded him looking for his help, leaving him and the disciples no time to even
eat. But even in his exhaustion, he had compassion on them. The strength of
his compassion was such that even
touching the fringe of his coat brought healing.
Sermon- "Come
Away" Bron pointed to the Mark reading as a reminder of how busy our
lives are. We have all sorts of things to simplify our lives but paradoxically
our lives become more frenetic. If it's not the demands of family, it’s work
or church or sport or study. That's not to mention volunteering and just
"helping out". Bron then told the story of African workers who were
carrying equipment over footpaths because that was the only way to go. At one
point they stopped and refused to stand up and carry the equipment. When
pressed for a reason, the answer was: "Sir, we are waiting for our souls
to catch up with our bodies." That's why church is so important.
That Jesus felt overwhelmed and needed to take his
disciples aside to rest, so we shouldn't feel we can't pull aside to refresh
ourselves.
We should never feel guilty
about having to take time out...Jesus on the other hand saw them as Sheep
without a Shepherd and dug deep for their needs.
Bron spoke of what happens to those of us without The
Shepherd and laid out the types of things that happen to sheep who try wander
off by themselves. They get lost; they will wander into danger, trying to find
pasture; they will have no defence against dangers.
Likewise, we will come to grief without our Shepherd
to guide us.
Bron then told a story of a traveller who needed to
traverse a great forest to get home but the forest was crisscrossed by
identical-looking paths all of which but one led to a great abyss. The way to safely
cross was to accept and rely on the help of a shepherd who appeared and those
that refused the help invariably perished through becoming lost or falling into
the abyss.
We don't need, to be consciously disobedient to God's will
for us, but when we become frenetically busy, we can become distracted and fail
to follow God's paths and fail to be good shepherds to those around us. Jesus
is the Good Shepherd who will lead us home and by keeping by his side and
giving him our time, we avoid wrong paths. "Church is not where we come on
a Sunday but who we are."
"This is where our souls catch up to our bodies -
so embrace this moment..."
Sing TIS 569 "Guide
me , O thou Great Jehovah" The enthusiasm in our voices during hymns like
this one, is often because they are old favourites - but also because they say
the words our heart can't express otherwise. Today Bron reminded us that this
is a prayer we should pray daily.
Prayers of Intercession & The Lord’s Prayer- Bron
led us in praying to God for his help to be the people we would hope to be -
gentle, forgiving, patient, understanding - holding fast to what we believe is
right, trusting in God's power to overcome evil and transform lives. She prayed
that we will remember that the worship service is a "time and base from
which to serve and live and transform"..in God's name.
Sing:
TiS 106 "Now
Thank we all our God" We thanked God with all that we are, for all that he
is, and all that we can become through him.
Blessing- Bron blessed us that "the heart of God love
us...the wisdom of God guide us...the hand of God protect us. And may the
blessing of God - God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you and each
one that you love - this day and forever more." Amen
Blessing Song: TIS 779 ‘May the feet
of God walk with you’
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