Welcome Thanks
to all those involved but today I would particularly like to thank the kids who
gather the offering and Lyn, who led the singing today.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge those who were here before
us, the first inhabitants of this place.
We honour them for their custodianship of
the land on which we gather today.
Call to Worship From Psalm 96.
O sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to
the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name; Tell of
his salvation from day to day
Declare his glory among the nations, His
marvelous works among the peoples
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised; He is to be revered above all gods.
Hymn TIS 100
"All creatures of our God and King" With this hymn we continued our
praise
Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving. (Shortened)
Our God of all that is, we praise you for
your greatness, and as is due, for your glory and strength. We praise you that
you are here present with us; and, as we respond to your invitation to just be
in your presence, we give you the glory that we can know you. Amen
Prayer of Confession
(Shortened)
God of mercy and grace, we have been shown
your splendour in this world. But we fail to see your magnificence. Forgive us.
We have been shown the path to true life through Jesus of Nazareth. and your
Spirit awakens us to the needs before us, but we do nothing. Forgive us.
Forgive our fear. Forgive us for forgetting that nothing is beyond your Spirit
working through us. Amen
Prayer of Affirmation.
In penitence and faith, And in silence, Let us
confess our sins to almighty God.
Silent interlude. While we
pondered our own need for forgiveness.
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance,
That Christ Jesus came unto the world to save sinners. Our sins are forgiven. Amen
Offering
As children of God, Struggling to discover
what new life in Christ means,
We humbly offer our gifts in grateful
thanks. Amen
Hymn TIS 429
"Break now the bread of life."
With this hymn we prayed that as the readings were brought to us, that
we would hear a message for ourselves.
Bible Readings - 1Kings 18: 20- 39 and Luke 7: 1 - 10 both
carried messages of people who trusted totally in God. Elijah was so confident
in God's faithfulness that he was prepared to pit himself against hundreds of
prophets of Baal and then the Roman military leader in Luke's story knew,
without doubt, Jesus' power was such that he didn't even have to be present to
heal the young girl.
Reflection Today
the theme was trust. Utter trust. The sort that was possessed by the people in
the readings. The reflection then turned to us: Western people who are
"hands on". People who have to keep, at least, one finger on the wheel.
We simply cannot trust utterly.
It was suggested that in next week's Communion
service that we should open our hearts fully to God and ask that He enables us
to focus our attention totally on each part of the service. It was also
suggested that we participate as fully as possible in the service, gazing upon
the cup and bread, feeling the bread in our hand, feeling the bread and juice
in our mouths. We should adopts the prayers and hymns as our own, entering into
the occasion deeply, allowing God's spirit enter and work within. Amen.
Hymn TIS 560
"All my hope on God is founded." We really need to remind ourselves
sometimes that this life is not about us.
Interlude While we
prayed silently
Prayers of Intercession Laurel
led, first reading to us a prayer from Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and
Swaziland reminding us of the pleas of these people who are in such desperate
circumstances. People to whom we have responded but have not embraced with full
enthusiasm. Laurel then prayed for all refugees everywhere and guidance in
fighting corruption. She then raised before God those that minister to the
desperate people of the world. Laurel turned her focus to our own country and asked
that visionary leaders will be raised up who will pull this country out of the
pitiful state it is in. Laurel then prayed for the needs of our own
congregation followed by The Lord's Prayer.
Hymn TIS 90
"I'll praise my Saviour while I have breath." That is our hope and
intention and with God's grace we will.
Blessing
To him who is able to keep you from
stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and
with great joy - to the only God our
Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
before all ages, now and forevermore!
And may the blessing of God the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you always. Amen.
Song TIS 781.
"Father bless us as we go."
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