Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 4 November 2018

MARSDEN ROAD UNITING CHURCH SUNDAY 4th NOVEMBER.

 

Call to Worship - (David N Mosser and other Sources)

 

Look to the saints of God for direction. Trust in the saints of God for guidance. Be the saints of God for the world.

 Look, here is our God, the One we have waited for.

Let us be glad and rejoice in our salvation.

Come feast on rich food and dine on fine wine.

Enjoy the blessings of the Lord, the vindication from our God.

Come! Let us worship the Lord.

 

Hymn TIS 448: “Blest are the pure in heart”- That is, those who have opened themselves to God’s healing touch, allowing a new beginning. That can happen as often as we allow God into the deepest part of our lives.

 

Opening prayer

God of new beginnings remove the shroud that separates us from one another and from your mighty presence, that we may see you as you are. Wipe away our tears and take away our disgrace, that we may come before your throne with hearts full of song and souls ablaze with joy. Help us to live as those who are prepared to die and enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that whether living or dying, our hearts will always belong to you. Amen.

 

A Prayer of Confession

Wellspring of tears, you know well our grief and our longing to see you face to face.

O how we wish you would come down and save us. In our pain, we have grown impatient. In our sorrow, we have doubted the depth of your love. Forgive us, Patient One, when we forget that Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus.

Renew our faithfulness, Holy One, when like Mary and Martha before us, we despair of tasting the joy of eternal life.

Open our mouths to exclaim with delight: Here is our God for whom we have waited! We need your grace to complete us. We need your love to make us whole. Amen.

 

Today we were thinking about All Saints Day. The Bible readings all, in different ways, turned us to the thought of possible renewal…new beginnings.

Saints are those who seek to live their lives according to God’s will. It's not the same as learning to play better tennis or golf by taking some advice. The only way we can live according to God’s will is by opening ourselves up to being remade in the way God intended in the first place. A bit like a retrofit but there's a more demanding element. Because we are humans we keep undoing the remaking and need to turn back for another work of God in our lives.

I often wonder who this God is and how we can become alloyed with the divine holiness. I have no idea about the form God takes. I think God dwells in Creation somehow. God isn't some person living “out there” but on the other hand, my experience tells me God is available here and now to do that work of renewal as often as it needs doing and as often as we humble ourselves to that divine work.

 

This is what Rev. John had to say:

“Do we accept that when God shows up, healing happens, hope springs forth, and new life emerges? In today’s text from Isaiah, in the midst of Isaiah’s message of judgment, we are reminded of the power of a vision. When God shows up, the text points out, life will change. Pain will be replaced by rejoicing. Death will be no more. God will dry our tears. When God shows up, life will not be difficult; it will not be such a struggle. When God shows up, life will look more like a feast. And, not just any feast, but a feast with the finest foods, vintage wines, and multiple courses, and rich, opulent desserts.”

 

Today was also a day when we celebrated communion.
By doing that we remembered that Jesus, knowing the truth,
 knowing the solution to the perpetually destructive
behaviour of we humans, set his face unto Jerusalem.
He didn't turn aside, knowing what the outcome was
 going to be. He couldn't stop telling the truth, even if it
meant he would die.

 

That's how important the truth is: it's there where renewal is
found and there is only one totally reliable source.

 

Hymn TIS 780:

“May light come into your eyes.”  That's what happens when we accept renewal.

MARSDEN ROAD UNITING CHURCH SUNDAY 4th NOVEMBER.

 

Call to Worship - (David N Mosser and other Sources)

 

Look to the saints of God for direction. Trust in the saints of God for guidance. Be the saints of God for the world.

 Look, here is our God, the One we have waited for.

Let us be glad and rejoice in our salvation.

Come feast on rich food and dine on fine wine.

Enjoy the blessings of the Lord, the vindication from our God.

Come! Let us worship the Lord.

 

Hymn TIS 448: “Blest are the pure in heart”- That is, those who have opened themselves to God’s healing touch, allowing a new beginning. That can happen as often as we allow God into the deepest part of our lives.

 

Opening prayer

God of new beginnings remove the shroud that separates us from one another and from your mighty presence, that we may see you as you are. Wipe away our tears and take away our disgrace, that we may come before your throne with hearts full of song and souls ablaze with joy. Help us to live as those who are prepared to die and enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that whether living or dying, our hearts will always belong to you. Amen.

 

A Prayer of Confession

Wellspring of tears, you know well our grief and our longing to see you face to face.

O how we wish you would come down and save us. In our pain, we have grown impatient. In our sorrow, we have doubted the depth of your love. Forgive us, Patient One, when we forget that Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus.

Renew our faithfulness, Holy One, when like Mary and Martha before us, we despair of tasting the joy of eternal life.

Open our mouths to exclaim with delight: Here is our God for whom we have waited! We need your grace to complete us. We need your love to make us whole. Amen.

 

Today we were thinking about All Saints Day. The Bible readings all, in different ways, turned us to the thought of possible renewal…new beginnings.

Saints are those who seek to live their lives according to God’s will. It's not the same as learning to play better tennis or golf by taking some advice. The only way we can live according to God’s will is by opening ourselves up to being remade in the way God intended in the first place. A bit like a retrofit but there's a more demanding element. Because we are humans we keep undoing the remaking and need to turn back for another work of God in our lives.

I often wonder who this God is and how we can become alloyed with the divine holiness. I have no idea about the form God takes. I think God dwells in Creation somehow. God isn't some person living “out there” but on the other hand, my experience tells me God is available here and now to do that work of renewal as often as it needs doing and as often as we humble ourselves to that divine work.

 

This is what Rev. John had to say:

“Do we accept that when God shows up, healing happens, hope springs forth, and new life emerges? In today’s text from Isaiah, in the midst of Isaiah’s message of judgment, we are reminded of the power of a vision. When God shows up, the text points out, life will change. Pain will be replaced by rejoicing. Death will be no more. God will dry our tears. When God shows up, life will not be difficult; it will not be such a struggle. When God shows up, life will look more like a feast. And, not just any feast, but a feast with the finest foods, vintage wines, and multiple courses, and rich, opulent desserts.”

 

Today was also a day when we celebrated communion. By doing that we remembered that Jesus, knowing the truth, knowing the solution to the perpetually destructive behaviour of we humans, set his face unto Jerusalem. He didn't turn aside, knowing what the outcome was going to be. He couldn't stop telling the truth, even if it meant he would die.

 

That's how important the truth is: it's there where renewal is found and there is only one totally reliable source.

 

Hymn TIS 780: “May light come into your eyes.”  That's what happens when we accept renewal.v