WELCOME:   –

CALL TO WORSHIP:  –

Come to worship,
to be comforted and disturbed,
challenged from our complacency,
but also offered forgiveness
and the hope of eternal life.
Come to Jesus, prophet, priest and king.

Let’s pray together

Creative God,
you called us into your Kingdom, and adopted us as your children.
Redeeming Saviour,
you showed us how to be servants, denying ourselves to serve others.
Sustaining Spirit,
you give us strength to take up our cross in the service of the Kingdom of God.
Teach us to serve others, and in doing so, to serve you.
Amen.

SONG 1 TIS 147 To God Be the Glory            

Prayer

Lord, you walked with your disciples from village to village.
And on the way you talked to them about many things.

Some things were not easy to hear or to understand.
We meet you here today, Lord, to hear these things too.
You don’t call us to sit doing nothing.
You want us to be on the move:
taking risks to change our world and save our lives.
Help us, then, to draw close to you, to be ready to listen. Then to act.

Most merciful and gracious God,
we offer you our heartfelt love and praise
because your Son, Jesus Christ, was willing to risk everything for the whole World.
Even for us.

We come to worship you, earnestly seeking your will for us –
however risky that might be, you are worth it.   Amen.

Psalm 103

1 Praise the Lord, my soul!
    All my being, praise his holy name!
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and do not forget how kind he is.
³ He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He keeps me from the grave
    and blesses me with love and mercy.
⁵ He fills my life with good things,
    so that I stay young and strong like an eagle.

It was 1974, and there was a little boy born in England.  This little boy was born into a very dysfunctional family, and his father committed suicide when the little boy was seven.  He didn’t know that his father had taken his own life until he was ten, which left some scars on him.  His mother remarried to a very abusive step-father, who eventually ended up in prison for abusing the family.  Hard life for that little boy in England.  Sometime later in his youth he went to a mission meeting in England where he heard the gospel and was converted to Christ.  He is a very good musician.  And in wanting to celebrate what Christ had done in his life he started writing songs.  He came to Psalm 103, and he wrote a song on Psalm 103.  The name of that song is “Ten Thousand Reasons,” and that little boy was Matt Redman, and “Ten Thousand Reasons” is his expression of Psalm 103.

SONG 2  Bless the Lord O my Soul  words and music Matt Redman

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul

Worship his holy name,

Sing like never before, O my soul

I’ll worship your holy name.

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning,

It’s time to sing your song again,

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,

Let me be singing when the ev’ning comes.

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul

Worship his holy name,

Sing like never before, O my soul

I’ll worship your holy name.

You’re rich in love and you’re slow to anger,

Your name is great and your heart is kind,

For all your goodness I will keep on singing,

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul

Worship his holy name,

Sing like never before, O my soul

I’ll worship your holy name.

And on that day when my strength is failing,

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing your praise unending,

Ten thousand years and then for evermore.

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul

Worship his holy name,

Sing like never before, O my soul

I’ll worship your holy name.

Prayer of confession

 ‘Who is Jesus?’
For the times I have been asked this question, and have
struggled to give an answer:

Forgive me, Lord, and give me your words to speak.

For the times I have been ashamed to acknowledge you:

Forgive me, Lord, and grant me courage.

For the times I considered only Human concerns, and not God’s:

Forgive me, Lord, and widen my horizons.

For the times I saw opportunities to take risks for God but

looked the other way through fear or indecision:

Forgive me, Lord, and build up my confidence in you.

For the times I only take the chocolates I like out of your box:

Forgive me, Lord, and make me whole,

ready to do your good will.  Amen.

Assurance of forgiveness

We have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
The same Jesus who took up his cross and died for our sins.
The same Jesus who looks on us now with love and intercedes on our behalf.
Open our hearts to receive your forgiveness and blessing, Lord.  Amen.

Passing the peace:

In the light of the knowledge of our forgiveness we can say to each other,

May the peace of the Lord be always with you.

And we all can reply,

And also with you.

Christ has risen,

He is risen indeed.

Bible readings:

James 3:2-12

(A warning to use the words we speak to encourage and bless others and not let our remarks run wild with destructive criticism and put-downs.) 

2 All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being. 3 We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. 

4 Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. 5  So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things.

Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! 6 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself. 

7 We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures—wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 8  But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. 9  We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. 

10  Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen! 

11 No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. 12  A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.

Mark 8:27-38

(Jesus once again puts the hard word on his closest friends, his disciples speaking directly to them,  and gets to the nitty gritty speaking about His suffering and death. Peter comes up with the right answers but falls into the trap of trying to control what Jesus knew to be a necessary cosmic event.)

27 Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?”

28 “Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”

29 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

30 Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”

31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” 32  He made this very clear to them.

So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33  But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don’t come from God but from Human nature!”

34 Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. 35  For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the Gospel, you will save it. 36  Do you gain anything if you win the whole World but lose your life? Of course not! 37  There is nothing you can give to regain your life. 38  If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Message

In our Gospel reading today Jesus asks the tricky questions, apprehending the disciples’ attention then forcing them to commit to deeper thinking before going even deeper, teaching them about what was to come and what will be demanded of them as His disciples.

Jesus had made his mark in society.  Amazed people saw him as a Messiah, a prophet, a reincarnated Elijah or John the Baptist, who would deliver them and raise up a new Israel, but they failed to see him as God’s suffering servant who would turn World thinking upside down.

After asking “Who do the people think I am?”, and receiving a predicted answer, Jesus makes a rapier-thrust question “But, who do you say I am? “

Peter replies for them “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”, an answer revealed to Peter only through the Holy Spirit.

Sworn to secrecy about Jesus’ true identity as Messiah, he teaches the disciples about what was to come.

He must suffer much.

He will be rejected.

He will be put to death… and three days later rise to life.

This is the divine mind, but Peter, expressing the Human mind, has a lot to learn. Any avoidance of the cross is contrary to the Messiah’s divine purpose.

Jesus now draws their attention to what it means to follow him:

Forget yourself

Carry your cross,

Follow me

Try saving your own life you will lose it

Lose your life for me and the Gospel and save it

Be ashamed of me now and be ashamed on the last day.

To follow Christ means to deny all our natural inclinations and follow in his footsteps.  In playing the Follow the Leader game, we must do exactly as the leader does, going to the place the leader has gone.

To follow our natural inclinations will lead us to jealousy and selfishness and to the death of the life God would have us live.  We may try so to grasp what we have without letting go, but that is like dry sand trickling through our fingers.  The more we try to grasp it the faster it escapes our clutches.

We understand that the death to self, bearing the cross of Christ, is a spiritual death bringing new life to the believer.  Quite the paradox.  It is a life found only by passing through the gate of death itself.

All must die one day, but the Christian dies here and now with nothing left to fear. Death no longer has any sting and life spent in service spreading the Good News is a very good deal indeed.  Good News back then and good news today.

The Christ of History, Mankind’s greatest stumbling block back then, remains Mankind’s greatest stumbling block even today.

Here today these passages are alive.  God’s Holy Spirit indwell those who have made that decision to follow Jesus, who is our Messiah.

We decide to lose our lives to follow Jesus, who leads us in a new way, seeking out the goodness of God’s intended creation.

Looking at James stern words about controlling the tongue, we need to remember that the Spirit of God lives in us. The Spirit motivates and enables us, from within, reshaping our thinking which directs out thoughts, words and deeds.

If the source, that is the thoughts behind our words, are motivated by our carnal life with its selfish desires, then the tongue is quite capable of negative words which destroy what is good.  “Be careful in what you say.” says James.

If our thoughts are directed by regenerated hearts, we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to seek out God’s creative life.

Not only do we put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet readied in the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, we take up the sword of the Spirit who enables us further with the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control so that we become encouragers and enablers.

We will live life to the full, living a new life yielded to Godliness, living as a new creation, living in this world as salt, yeast and light.

We will know God’s assurance, that we are blessed and will be a blessing to others, speaking and living out our faith because the Spirit of the Living God dwells with us.

Song 3   The Summons – Will you come and follow me?    – Altogether OK 413

©1987  WGRG, Iona Community, Govan, Glasgow G51 3UU, Scotland

Offering

Offering Prayer

(Source: Words4Worship)

Let us all pray together                                                                                        

For the wondrous gift of life, we are thankful, O God.                                                   

Your generous outpouring of grace reminds us of the fruitful life we are called to bear.

May these gifts of time and labour, therefore, embody our desire to share and contribute to your coming reign among us. Amen.

Prayers of the people:

O Lord our God, we come as your children to share with you our cares and concerns for others.

This morning we have been reminded that prayers without actions, or actions without prayer, are less than the true expressions of our faith.

So now we come to pray for others, and to commit to backing up our prayers with loving deeds.

Our hearts go out to those who are suffering overseas and in our own country.

We have been saddened by the situation in Afghanistan, and we pray for the people of that country, especially those people who are in danger of reprisals from the Taliban, that they might be able to escape, or be able to live in safety and free of fear.

We have been reminded of the awful event twenty years ago, when the people of the United States suffered the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre towers, the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 which claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people.

We pray for healing for those who lost loved ones, and who still suffer the anguish of that loss.

Where there is the pain of loss, may your Spirit give peace.  Where there is bitterness and hatred may your Spirit give the power to let go of the hurt.

We are concerned about people who are suffering in our own country for different reasons.

We continue to hear reports from the church’s Frontier Services chaplains about the on-going suffering of people in regions where drought continues to drain the life from not only the land, but also those whose livelihoods depend on it.

We pray for those who are overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness, especially where thoughts turn to giving up life itself.

We pray that their spirits might be uplifted.

We pray too, that you will grant the bush chaplains the skills to provide hope to those needs are especially desperate.

We are constantly reminded of the dangers faced my many communities by the rapid spread of the Delta variant of COVID.

We pray for the health officers and those who have to make decisions

 that you will grant them the wisdom and insight to make the right decisions, on the lifting of restrictions

We pray, too, for the increased distribution of the vaccines, and the take up on vaccinations, so that all might be protected.

We are aware that our own community of Bald Hills, like any other community has its fair proportion of people with needs.

We pray for families who are having a tough time because of issues such as financial strain, unemployment or illness.

Where the strains have led to conflict and dysfunction we pray that your Spirit might bring peace, harmony and healing.

We pray for families who are dealing with serious illness or tragedy.

We pray for chaplain Kylie at our Bald Hills school as she ministers to the children and staff, and the families with special needs

We pray that you will grant her and her volunteers and those who teach Religious Instruction the skills and the strength to deal with the needs of the children and staff at the Bald Hills school.

You called the light to shine in the darkness at Creation. We pray that through us you will be a light of hope to those who live in darkness, and that amongst the struggles and confusions of the World, we can help people will find the path that leads to the fullness of life, and joy and peace in Jesus Christ.

We are aware of the often private struggles of those in our congregation who are dealing with grief, illness, or disabilities. 

We pray that they might experience your comfort, your healing, your companionship and your encouragement on their journey,

and receive from you what is necessary to meet their deepest needs.

 May we go out to be part of the answer to the prayers that we have prayed this morning.

We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus,

who taught us to pray these words: 

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.

Song 4 – Source 97 – Father I place into your hands                      

Words and music Jenny Hewer

Sending out

God, help us to know when to speak,
and when we need to be more gentle.
Help us to remember that our words are very powerful things,
and that we need to use them carefully.

Loving God, we commit to following you this week

Into the corners of the community

We usually prefer to ignore,

Help us to pray and speak for change.  Amen.

Benediction song –

God give you Joy – All together Everybody – 294                           

1. God give you joy and lead you on ahead

God give you wisdom for the path you tread

May he fit you for each task

And wrap you in his love

God give you joy always

2. God give you faith to lean on him each day

God give you peace to trust him and obey

May he fit you for each task

And wrap you in his love

God give you joy always

3. God give you peace when troubled times are near

God’s presence be with you to drive out fear

May he fit you for each task

And wrap you in his love

God give you joy always

4. God give you joy and fill you with his power

God be your strength and helper hour by hour

May he fit you for each task

And wrap you in his love

God give you joy always

Bless the Lord O my soul – in Times Square:  

(Notice the focused praise of the people gathered – completely oblivious of the gaudy flashing billboards surrounding them.  We can worship and sing praises to God anywhere)