Prelude Music to prepare for worship
Call to
Worship - (Mary J. Scifres, Abingdon 2016)
Look and
listen! God is always creating us anew, offering new perspectives for living as
faithful disciples. Look and listen...as new possibilities are given to us, let
us walk hand in hand with holy truth. Be glad and rejoice, for God is creating
us ever new...We will sing and shout with hope and joy, for God is
with us here.
Hymn TIS 687: “God gives us a
future” We become stuck in habits that are
not at all helpful or productive. God throws open new possibilities for us to
do his will, even when we have not followed that true path before. Grasp those
opportunities and leave the old ways.
Opening
prayer
Call upon us
this day, Holy One of Israel. Be our Strength and Shield, that we may be your
steadfast followers, even as you mould us to be courageous prophets of change
and hope. Be our Guide and our Shepherd, that we may walk this challenging
journey, open to your new creation, even as we remain true to your calling and
your teaching in our lives. Amen
A Prayer of
Confession
John prayed for
forgiveness for all of us. These times are so precious. Left on our own, our
confessions can be half- hearted and we neglect to ask God for the strengths we
need to follow God's command. But in this communal prayer, we are led to
address all the issues that we need to hold up to God. Amen.
Declaration
of Forgiveness
Look! God is
creating a new heaven and a new earth. Past events aren’t remembered; they don’t even come to mind. In Christ Jesus, we’re forgiven and made new.
Thanks be to God!
The Peace
As people of peace,
let us share words of grace and gestures of love, as we pass the peace of
Christ together.
Offering
Prayer
We thank you, God,
for being our strength and shield, our salvation and our hope. As we have drawn
joy from the springs of your salvation, may these gifts become springs of hope
to a world thirsty with need...Amen.
Hymn TIS 52: “Let us sing to the
God of salvation” Praise God for
every blessing. Yes!
The Readings:
Isaiah 65:17-25. God's promise that
all things will be made new. Just not new but amazing in every way. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 We can't sit around
waiting for something to happen. Get up and get on with God's work. Luke 21:5-19. A warning that everything will not go smoothly. In
fact we can expect chaos and expect to be given a difficult time. But we are
promised that the spirit will give us the words to defend
A Word with
The Young People - (that applies to us all.)
In the gospel
reading today, some people were admiring the walls of the temple, just like
people today might come along and admire our church building. Today we have
again built our model as we did at the 150th.
But we must remember the warning of Jesus. He told those admiring the
temple that the day was coming when all the walls would be thrown down and not
one stone would be left standing. The
temple was the place where people came to worship God and to learn how to live
their lives as God wanted them to live - loving God and serving their
neighbour. Because that was not always evident in people’s lives, Jesus was saying that, even although the
temple - the building - may appear to be in fine condition, the people’s faith had fallen into disrepair, so, a new ‘building’ was necessary
(more followed but this was the essence.)
Sermon It’s Your Choice - Luke 21:5-19
More than a few of
life’s unsettling situations have both problem and
opportunity wrapped up inside them. John told us about a time at the end of
Jesus' ministry when he heard people admiring the temple. Jesus warned: “All this beauty, every dressed stone you see, every
ornate appointment in this place will one day soon be nothing but rubble!” Jesus described what would happen but that was not
his focus. John explained: 'Rather, he turns the conversation from what will
happen in the future to how those who confess him as Lord must live their lives
in the face of difficulties that could become opportunities." We don't
like anything to be difficult, even opportunities.
John continued: 'To embrace our Jesus’ values, to love our enemies, to speak peace in the presence of war, to
offer reconciliation in the midst of division always requires courage." He
pointed out that: "The first choice we make is whether we will live the
faith we confess." John had much
more to say but we are smart enough to apply the above words to our
lives.....if we dare.
Hymn TIS 186: “Stars and planets
flung in orbit” These would be my words if I had thought of them. This
universe is overflowing with the signs of God's marvelous creative gifts.
Music to lead
us to prayer
Intercessory
Prayers We prayed for ourselves and those
around us and then joined in The Lord's Prayer.
Hymn TIS 473: “Community of Christ”. We are the church,
Christ's hands in this world. Think of everything that Jesus would want to do
to right this planet. To repair the environmental damage; to heal all the sick;
to comfort those upon whom hostilities are thrust by others. Comfort all his
people.
Benediction
Behold, you
are a new creation in Christ Jesus! We rejoice and are glad, for God is making
everything new! Look! The world needs this
hope! Go forth to proclaim God’s new creation, as
we live in peace and grow in love in the name of our God, creator, redeemer and giver of life.
Hymn TIS 778: “Shalom to you” This is the most precious gift you can offer to
another person.
