Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 28 September 2015

 

Jan welcomed us and then we joined together in the

Call to worship

We worship the living God

Whose grace enfolds us all.

Let all the world rejoice at the goodness of God.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Let’s worship our God.

Hymn TIS 107 ‘Sing praise and thanksgiving, let all creatures living.' All through today's service there was a theme of acknowledging and thanking God for all his blessings. Life's

tough in many ways and we can easily forget the amazing gifts we have been given.

Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving

Here, Jan acknowledged and gave praise for God's faithfulness and constancy, always ready to receive us and reach out to us in generosity. She thanked him for being ever with us, being our strength, our companion and our hope. For this we offered our worship.

Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance

Despite God's utter faithfulness, we do not respond in kind and need to approach him in humility, confessing our selfishness and pride that often are a stumbling block to others. We have not followed God's commands as we should and for this we ask forgiveness. Instead of drawing others into the kingdom we push them away because they are not like us. For this terrible sin we asked forgiveness. We don't even notice we are doing it.

Our sins are forgiven.

Thanks be to God.

View DVD ‘One night with the King' We watched a video of the story of how Esther came to save her people. This set us thinking. Esther's status was such that she could not approach the King without his prior invitation but she risked his wrath to be available for that invitation so that she could use her time with him to not  save his life but also rescue her people from annihilation. How many risks for good do any of us ever take?

Hymn TIS 754 “You are my hiding place’ Sometimes serving God and good can cause anxiety if not downright fear for our physical safety. But "whenever I am afraid I trust in you". If only that were the first sentence to come into my mind when I am faced with something frightening.

Bible Readings- ​Chris read to us from Esther 4:12-17, 7:1-10, 9:20-22 and Mark 9:38-50.

Mordecai warns his Jewish, adopted daughter Esther that being the queen will not save her when the Jews are attacked but it may be that her position will save them all if she is willing to approach the king, even though that is forbidden and therefore dangerous. ​Her courage comes with her request that she be supported in a fast, showing the devotion of the people to God. In the end Haman who was behind all the plotting was found out and punished by hanging. And the saving of the people has been celebrated ever since.

Mark: The disciples were upset by someone who was not one of them working in Jesus' name. Jesus rebuked them saying that such a person was doing the right thing and went on to warn those listening about anything that would prevent themselves or someone else following him should be thrown away. Sometimes I think this device on which I am typing the blog is a stumbling block to me. At least it's the worst time waster I have but I need it for proper tasks. I think discipline is the word.

Sermon –Esther a woman of faith and courage. The bible readings have covered the story, so what is important is to pass on Jan's message as she gleaned it from the passage. The Jews  who were threatened were those who remained in Persia after their countrymen and countrywomen returned to  Israel and whose faith was now rooted in the keeping of festivals, keeping the law and worshipping in the synagogue. Her stepfather heard of the plot against the king and the Jews. Now Jan's words:

there are three points I'd like to focus on today, firstly how Esther finds herself in a place of significant influence and opportunity, and God's providence. Secondly how she finds courage in her faith to trust God for guidance and a plan. And thirdly, how Esther risks her life to attempt to save her people from within the empire from genocide..we can see the power of prayer and fasting...when we need wisdom and..seek God's timing and guidance...When we are faced with unexpected circumstances...what can we do?...with God's help, we can often find the "way of escape".

So don't underestimate the role you can play in working for God's Kingdom and for life in all its fullness. Amen!

 Hymn TIS 619 ‘Have faith in God my heart’ Regardless of circumstances, may our faith be in God.

Offering All good gifts come from God. We give these gifts to express our love. We prayed for God's blessing in our gifts and ourselves.

Musical interlude during which we could prayer privately about those deep concerns we all have.

Prayers of Intercession Led by Jan we prayed to our loving and almighty God, asking for his Grace and wisdom, according to his will. We prayed for all those in any sort of need, especially those known to us personally. We prayed for our country's leaders that they will form policies to meet the needs of all people at all levels. We prayed for the oppressed, that they experience freedom and relief from their suffering. We asked for God's hand on those who are away from us travelling, that he will keep them safe. We asked for God's blessing on the Uniting Church in Australia, that we may show his love and grace to the world. We then joined together in The Lord's Prayer.

Hymn TIS 626 ‘Lord of creation to you be all praise.’ My praise, my will, my mind, my heart, my all.

Blessing May the Lord bless you and keep you.

                May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

                May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and bring you peace. Amen.

Blessing song TIS 779 ‘May the feet of God walk with you’