EASTER DAY 2020
PREPARATION:
# You might like to have an appropriate candle ready to light,
# your Bible with the places of the Readings book marked…
# and your usual offering in its planned giving envelope
or another envelope…
It is gratifying that so many have made arrangements to ensure your offerings
get into the hands of Kerry, our treasurer.
Well, more correctly, into the Congregation’s Bank Account through Kerry…
or through Direct Debiting.
Please contact Kerry if you wish to ensure your offerings reach the church’s account!
WELCOME
Welcome to this Easter Day Service as distributed via email and letter box drop.
Before Easter Day of course, there is Good Friday!
You will no doubt recall that on Good Friday I simply read through
the Gospel account of Jesus’ Arrest, Trials, Crucifixion and Resurrection.
This year I suggest Matthew‘s account, all of chapters 26 and 27.
Read through these chapters carefully, even aloud perhaps,
stopping for reflection when a thought strikes you….
The TV guide seems bereft of specific Good Friday content!
I usually listen to my two CD set of the Messiah,
of course saving the Resurrection focussed material till Sunday!
Most likely this year I will listen to the ABC Classic radio station which will broadcast the Queensland Symphony Performance of the Messiah on Thursday, 8.00 pm…
Spoiler Alert: This was their Christmas Concert, so no doubt will include the Resurrection material, you can choose, to then turn of the radio… or not…
PASTORAL NOTES
# Annette gives us the following information:
Belle Connolly is in hospital after a suspected heart attack.
The call was from Belle, who requests our prayers.
# We continue to pray for Val, Andrew and Helen as they receive their ongoing treatment.
# We also continue our praying for each other as we make use of the congregation’s prayer diary!
EASTER DAY 2020
WE GATHER IN GOD’S PRESENCE
Lighting the Candle
as you light your candle, say:
Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness
but will have the light of life.’
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
“AND ALSO WITH YOU.”
Christ is Risen!
“HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
Psalm 118: 24,25
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 SAVE US, WE BESEECH YOU, O LORD!
We Sing: TiS 370 Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Prayer
Gracious God of all nations,
we appeal to you that as we gather as your people
you will infuse us with a hope for new life
to replace the fear of death
which dominates our collective minds so much
during this current pandemic.
We pray this not just for ourselves
who have gathered in community, though dispersed,
but for all nations…
therefore, enable us through our worship
to open ourselves to being witnesses to resurrection hope;
Increase our trust in the resurrected LORD
through the words of scripture
and a sense of his constant presence;
Christ Jesus, with whom we have already been raised
into the new life you promise to all…
the life which echoes your kingdom for which we pray, as we say:
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen
WE LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD FOR US
Scripture
Acts 10:34-43 and Colossians 3:1-4
then remind yourself: this is the Word of the Lord
WE HEED AND OBEY, O LORD
Matthew 28:1-10 then announce:
This is the Gospel of our Lord
PRAISE TO YOU RISEN LORD
We Sing: TiS 380 Yours Be The Glory 3vv
Contemporary Word
Driving from Sheila’s home last week
having delivered the Palm Sunday service,
I passed the Faith Community Anglican church.
It has a display sign, such as we have…
on which was this slogan (or one much like it)
Let your decisions come from hope,
not from fear!
A fine sentiment, I thought!
An encouraging word for those driving past…
When faced with the unknown in our daily living
and uncertainty concerning any future,
a positive guide might well be:
Let your decisions come from hope,
not from fear!
Fear arises so easily in times of crisis!
in times of irrevocable change
especially when what changes and how
is still very much undetermined,
the big anxiety provoking unknown.
As fear arose in the hearts of Mary and Mary
when faced with the ‘from beyond this world’ encounter;
though the word angel means simply, messenger
the description of this messenger
with an appearance like lightening
makes this messenger certainly other world!-
Fear which must have shown itself in an instinctive reaction
to the presence of such a being…
So words of reassurance came: Do not be afraid!
One can imagine a certain calming of mind
and slowing of heart rate,
a coming back from the brink of going into flight mode…
sufficient at least to pay attention to the moment,
rather than flee from it;
And then the message itself was given,
I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.
6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.
Come, see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
“He has been raised from the dead,
and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there you will see him…
What follows?
We are told:
So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy,
and ran to tell his disciples.
With fear and great joy!
these words had me rethink the road side slogan!
With fear and great joy…
This fear gets mentioned again
when we read of this early bunch of disciples
immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection.
This fear was not merely to do with the mind blowing
information and evidence
given them about Jesus’ resurrection;
We learn that one aspect of this fear was anxiety
about the authorities who had brought about the arrest of Jesus…
This was certainly a valid reason to exercise caution,
to remain vigilant to avoid possible arrest;
to be fearful… yet also to have great joy!
It is appropriate to be fearful of this virus
which threatens life and livelihood…
not a paralysing fear,
but that vigilance which has us listening to
and following the advice to minimise its impact on us,
social distancing and self -isolation, washing hands!
At the moment many of our day to day decisions
come out of fear of infection,
a healthy respect to avoid becoming unhealthy!
The young and foolish gather to party with much bravado!
Totally inappropriate behaviour,
a healthy dose of fear might well save their lives.
The point is, there are some decisions we make
where it is wise
to be guided by fear of the consequences
if we take the wrong course of action.
So Mary and Mary ran off to tell the disciples…
with fear and great joy!
but evidently before they got too far,
Jesus met them,
Him they recognised and worshipped…
Jesus then also said, Do not be afraid
before telling them to go and tell the others.
Is he merely repeating what perhaps the angel meant,
focussing on the immediate,
the here and now shaking of their reality?
Do not be afraid at seeing an angel,
at seeing the stone rolled away,
at witnessing a bodiless tomb!
At seeing me alive!
I suspect Jesus is focussing more on their future…
and taking into account the big picture,
all futures…
as they take seriously the task to witness to his being alive…
as they attract the ire of the authorities of their society
because of their faithfulness to the task of proclamation.
Having been granted the Spirit on the day of Pentecost
their mindset is summed up by Peter (Acts 5:29):
But Peter and the apostles answered,
‘We must obey God rather than any human authority.
A group of people very anxious and fearful of authorities
turned into a brazen vocal mission focussed movement.
Do not be afraid!
[I am not suggesting in any way we disregard
current rules and regulations to do with the closure of churches,
prohibition of gatherings, social distancing etc,
as some pastors in the USA, Africa and Brazil argue;
these also promise immunity to the virus through prayer
offered at their continuing gatherings of worship!
Our restrictions focus on community health and well-being,
not the curtailing of faith,
a crucial distinction between then and now].
That first generation believers, and we, serve a living Lord
who assures us Do not be afraid
of what you might have to face and deal with,
whatever impact this virus pandemic will have
on society and us:
Both collectively as God’s people
and individually as a person…
Individually the pandemic reminds us of our mortality!
Another form of death has surfaced!
Government action has as its main focus,
reiterated repeatedly,
all this is to prevent death,
all this is to save lives!
Do not be afraid Jesus says.
Advice repeated later in a vision to John:
‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
18 and the living one.
I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever;
Revelation 1.18
elaborating on His teaching before his death
when Jesus informed his disciples about how things would be:
because I live, you also will live. John 14.9
We know of course that death ultimately comes to each of us.
I always smile those times when I join a new gym
because of my move into a new placement
because the young, fit, and gym enthusiast
start giving me the statistics of how exercise
increases life expectancy by whatever the figure is,
as if somehow exercise can stave off the inevitable…
I leave them somewhat bemused when I inform them
that interesting though those figures are,
I exercise only because I hope to die healthy!
Our Christian faith informs us
that only God can take us through death into what lies beyond.
The Lord is our shepherd…
the 23rd Psalm is a fine expression of this conviction.
There are times when I deem it appropriate
in a pastoral situation to tell the following story:
A hiker followed a trail through some mountainous terrain,
and carefully made his way along a treacherous stretch of the path… stones and dirt slid away from under his carefully placed feet as he inched his way along, then suddenly he misjudged the firmness under him, he slipped and fell off the path into a deep gully with a rock filled creek at its bottom, far down…
he flung out his arms and his fingers grasped the root of a bush
which interrupted his fall;
he hung there, suspended by the fingers of one hand clutching this root… he quickly assessed his situation, realised there was no way he could get himself back up onto firm ground…
so began calling for help, repeatedly, loudly…
only silence was the response…
He called for what seemed an eternity, his arm was getting sore, his fingers sweaty… he yelled again and again…
then he heard it, a response, a voice saying
YES, HELLO, I HEAR YOU!!
Oh, thank God! the hiker yelled back…
THAT’S OK, the reply came,
I AM PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO HELP
a startling thought crossed the hiker’s mind!
You are God? he exclaimed
YES I AM, the reply came…
The hiker thought about this,
but not for too long, as he sensed his fingers were loosening their hold… so how can you help me? he asked…
SIMPLE, the answer came
JUST LET GO, AND I WILL CATCH YOU
the hiker did think long and hard this time…
then he commenced yelling again
‘help! anybody else there, help!
Even as Christians we get so caught up
in the conviction that human ingenuity and cleverness
can solve any problem,
that we forget there will ultimately be that time
when we have to let go and trust God…
Heed the words of Jesus
do not be afraid,
because I live, you also will live
Easter Sunday celebrates this truth for us..
The Colossian text affirms that our life
is now secured through Christ within God’s life!
When the time comes,
it is safe to let go,
for God will catch us!
Collectively as God’s people,
there will also be times
when we have to trust God and let go…
As a community, our congregational life
may not return exactly to how it was
before dispersion rather than gathering
was forced on us…
It would be unwise to assume a return to how things were;
to hope for that,
as if nothing has happened, nothing has changed,
might well be a desire rising out of fear,
fear of the new, the unknown and unfamiliar…
We know that for many congregations
doing what we have always done for the last forty,
fifty years or so,
some suggest even just the past ten years!
will lead to a shrinking congregation.
Jesus is saying to Mary and Mary
and by extension to us, Do not be afraid!
To them, Remember what you witnessed this morning,
to us, remember what you celebrate this Easter Sunday!
Such is the power of God to bring new life,
such is the desire of God to transform what is,
into what is unimaginable –
unimaginable except to those with a resurrection mind set!
The life of the church is gifted by God
through the enlivening Spirit…
embodied through the gifts and graces
imparted to each believer…
the form of the church is shaped
and then reshaped repeatedly
through cultural knowledge and practises…
the first Christians, being Jews,
reflected synagogue form and culture,
then Gentile believers
influenced by Roman and Greek culture
added their understandings of what it meant to be community,
and so on throughout the ages…
until we have our own current understanding
of the form of church, of congregational life
and how we function as the church…
We might well have reached a pivotal and seismic moment
(picking up the shattering earthquake metaphor
Matthew uses as we saw last week)
in how we function as Church…
Do not be afraid, Jesus says…
Now is a fine time to think about
how we might bear witness to the resurrection
and what it means to us…
I believe such witness
does involve making choices which come from hope!
We Sing TiS 242 Lord of the Dance
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
Prayer of Confession:
Eternal God, yet Emmanuel, God with us in the here and now,
we read: an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven,
came and rolled back the stone and sat on it….
We come confessing that so often we live
as if the stone is still in place,
that a cross determines our mindset
rather than an empty tomb:
so we live in fear of pain and suffering and death
rather than with hope
for a way of life where such shall be no more…
Lord have mercy
so we live with a cynicism concerning community life
which denies the possibility of a radical re-ordering of society
aligned according to your Kingdom values…
Christ have mercy
so we live with a self focussed agenda
overlooking our call to go quickly
to witness with great joy to the Risen Lord
to share this wonderful news in word and deed…
Lord have mercy
The Promise of Reconciliation
The Apostle Peter declared:
all the prophets testify about Jesus of Nazareth
that everyone who trusts in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name
We come trusting, so receive forgiveness
and with grateful hearts joyfully shout:
THANKS BE TO GOD
Sharing the Peace
As we offer our lives to God,
we offer our lives
to each other in friendship and service:
The peace of the Risen Lord be
with you all!
”AND ALSO WITH YOU”
We Bring Our offering
It is important to bring our gifts for God’s work through Christ’s church,
locally and beyond… having offered these to God now,
we set them aside for collection later…
Prayer of Dedication
Gracious God, who we are and what we have are your gifts to us.
Bless us and what we bring within this worship time; continue to use us
as the Bald Hills Uniting Church in this community, and beyond it… Amen
We Share Our Community Life
Pastoral Concerns – see page 1.
Pastoral Prayers
Gracious God,
we offer to you prayers for all for whom this Easter Day bring grief and sadness
because of the absence of a loved one through death or illness.
- silent prayer-
we offer to you prayers for all who use their intelligence and technological know how to develop vaccines to prevent and medicine to treat the illnesses caused by COVID-19.
- silent prayer –
we offer to you prayers for those known to us who life daily with ill health…
- silent prayer –
Compassionate God, may hope overwhelm fear in all our lives, AMEN
WE GO INTO OUR COMMUNITY TO SERVE GOD
We Sing: TiS 245; We Have a Gospel to Proclaim
Sending Out and Blessing
You have been chosen by God to be witnesses to the risen Christ
with whom you have been raised to a life entrusted to God…
In the power of the Holy Spirit go forth into the world,
acknowledging both fear and great joy,
to fulfil your calling as the people of God,
the living body of Christ.
The Lord of your new life in God
bless you and keep you
until that day when all acclaim:
The Lord is risen
HE IS RISEN INDEED (Conclusion of Service)
Service for Sunday 22nd May 2022, conducted by Mrs Jillian Ross 
Service for Sunday 29th October which was conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber 
Service for Sunday 26th November which was conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber 
Service for Sunday 27th November 2022, which was conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber 