Sunday Service Marsden Road
The Gathering of God’s
People:
From river to ocean, from
campfire to hearth,
May the First People who have cared for this Land be
blessed.
From breath to song, from
step to dance,
May those who follow Your Song lines guide us on the
journey of living honourable in this place.
From greeting to Amen, from silence to chorus,
Call to Worship (Abingdon Worship Annual 2015 and Billabong)
It is here in the
sanctuary of our God that we learn to fulfil the royal law of God’s Word: “Love
your neighbour as yourself.” May our praise and worship this day, remind us of God’s
love, forgiveness, and healing grace.
(From Psalm 125)
Those who trust in the LORD are like
Mount Zion ,
they are like Mount
Zion
and the LORD God surrounds God’s people
even now, and for all time.
God of the unexpected moment, you have
gathered us by your Spirit to serve us and renew us, and surround us.
Break in on our world like hearing to
the deaf, sight to the blind, speech to the dumb; come in your unexpected hour.
Bring form to our chaos, light to our
darkness, and life to our hearts.
Fill
us with your expectant Spirit: and so transform our gathering to your glory, and
perfect our worship for your praise.
Charles Wesley (1907 –
1888) was a leader of the Methodist movement in England
Opening Prayer: “Creating, loving, and healing God, we gather together this
day, coming from different places and situations in life. In faith, we fall
before you in praise and worship, desiring to be fed with your love and healed
with your grace. Fill us with wonder, O God, that we may proclaim your good
news for all to hear. Open up our ears, our mouths, and our hearts this day. In
Christ Jesus’ name, we pray.” Amen.
After The Prayers of Confession was
the Declaration of Forgiveness:
“Mercy
overrules judgment, love hatred, and God’s embrace reaches out to all people,
spanning all of the mountains and chasms that confront us. Be at peace with
yourselves and with others, knowing that God’s mercy endures forever.” Thanks
be to God!
We were invited to Pass the Peace: “Creating us all as equals, and calling us
to be generous in our faith, the Lord invites us to offer gestures of welcome
as we share the peace of Christ.”
Children’s Message:
John challenged the
children to listen to the clues and guess who he was describing as he “unfolded”
the remarkable story of Mother Teresa.
When the clues were finished and she had been identified by one of the
children, John talked of Mother Teresa as a 20th C example/picture of this
week's gospel reading.
Offering &
Dedication:
Hymn TiS 587 “Fold
to your heart your Sister and your Brother”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG21apd_vWw
This
hymn was written by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 – 1892) who was an American
Quaker. He was a successful poet and
hard working advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States
The reading from James is
important and carefully weighs up our attitudes to the law. And how we think
and how we act – and what attitudes do we display by our actions. But this is all clearly summed up in the last
verse; “So faith by itself, if it has no
works, is dead.” Good food for
thought!
The reading from Mark’s Gospel finds
Jesus trying to go unnoticed as he
healed people – in the modern era with instant communication this seems rather
a hopeless wish and of course people always want to share good news.
Reflection: “Where
you are?” (James
2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17)
John began with a quote
from Mark Twain who said that it was the things in the Bible that he did
understand that disturbed him – not those he did not understand. John noted that this passage from the letter
of James is such a passage; “The first
half of our lesson from James is a direct blast against playing favourites on
the side of the rich. In fact, the
passage declares God’s bias toward the poor! ‘Has not God chosen the poor in
the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has
promised to those who love him?’”
“There is no prosperity gospel to be found here! The degree
of poverty is emphasized by the adjective “dirty”. This passage calls to mind
the parable about Lazarus and the rich man. Our temptation is to point knowingly
at others who are perceived to be rich by our standards of measurement. This
passage from James is directed at us! “
John uses Pogo, a comic
strip character’s quote; “We have met the
enemy and he is us” to introduce several references of importance, like
“kingdom”, “royal law” and the way “faithfulness
should be lived out in our actions.“ John also reminds us that; “James takes us immediately to a quote from Leviticus, ‘You shall love
your neighbour as yourself.’ Our attention is being called to how Jesus summed
up the totality of the Torah or Old Testament Law. This was the central
teaching of Jesus.”
John then spoke about the
importance that those who love God should therefore love their neighbour and
pointed out this is not intended as a platitude, “love one another”. He reminded us; that this means “That our walk and our talk are to be one.”
“Think about it. We are watching the news, a scene of
violence flashes across the screen, and just for an instant we find ourselves
hating the perpetrator. If that is the case, according to James, we have
committed a sin and “are convicted by the law as transgressors.” The emphasis
is on the whole Law. We have to keep every little bit and nuance. How good is
good enough? We have to always, perfectly, in every particular seek to love our
neighbour. The passage hammers the point home in an indisputable fashion.”
John said, ”As hard as I’ve tried, there are many times
when I have been judgmental. How about you? Are you good enough? Have you once,
just once in your life, harboured a secret hatred or discriminated against
someone because of economic status or race or nationality or something else?”
“In other words, have you led a sinless existence? With
Jesus, word and deed were one. He lived with perfect integrity. So ,let it be
with us, James is reminding us. We are urged to let what we profess we believe
and how we act mirror each other— “so speak and so act.”
John introduced us to a Rich
Mullins song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2caOygnx2kk
Hymn TiS 608: “Where cross the crowded ways of life”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYuzL3wvcU8
This hymn was written by Frank Mason North (1850 –
1935)
Prayers of the People: John led the prayers of Intercession today
and we shared in saying the Lord’s Prayer.:
Hymn TiS 627: “Praise and thanksgiving Father we offer”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMb1cu-WqJg This hymn was written by Albert
Frederick Bayly (1901 – 1984)
Benediction:
Now as you have received,
so may you give away. Keep God's words close to your heart. Teach them to your
children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when
you lie down and when you rise. Bind God's truths as a sign on your hand, fix
them as an emblem on your forehead, and may they be written on the doorposts of
your homes, your gates, and your lives. Amen.
Hymn:
TiS 779 " May the feet of God walk with you" (Aubrey Podlich b. 1946)
May the feet of God walk with you,
and His hand hold you tight.
May the eye of God rest on you, and
His ear hear your 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment