Welcome: –

 Gathering: –

Rejoice in the Lord always.
Say it again: Rejoice!
The Lord is near; the Lord is here.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Say it again: Rejoice!

Lord, your goodness and love
have surrounded us all the days of our lives.

We rejoice! The Lord is near! The Lord is here!

We gather at your invitation, to rejoice in you,
to bring our everyday lives to you,
and to know your peace. 

We rejoice! The Lord is near! The Lord is here!

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing three songs:

SIS 139 I Will enter His Gates with thanksgiving my heart

SIS 142 From the rising of the Sun

SIS 46 Surely goodness and mercy

Prayer of Praise

Let us come before the Lord in prayer.

Generous God, we are amazed in awe at your willingness to draw us into your fellowship; in wonder at your gracious invitation to join the feast of life; in gratitude at your care for each one of us; in humility for your faithfulness towards each one of us.

All knowing God, if we have come to you today

clothed in despondency, bless us with hope.
If we have come clothed in anxiety, bless us with peace.
If we have come clothed in half-heartedness, bless us with desire.
If we have come clothed in resentment, bless us with grace.
If we have come clothed in distractedness, bless us with focus.
If we have come clothed in failure, bless us with confidence.
If we have come clothed in complacency, bless us with urgency,
that we may worship you with the best of all we have and are –
in Jesus’ name. 

Introduction

Today’s readings bring us the messages that God demands whole-heartedness or as we Aussies might say a true “fair dinkumness” in our relationships with Him.

It originates in the British dialects of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, where it meant ‘work’, or ‘a due share of work’. So if you did your fair dinkum, it meant you did your fair share of the work. Nowadays, it means true, honest and genuine and is often used accordingly.

Macquarie Dictionary. .

In that context we hear that when that happens there is cause celebration  and a banquet is prepared for us to enjoy.

The Isaiah reading encourages us to join in the celebration shouting from the roof tops.

“He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the Lord! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us.”

In Psalm 23 we are welcomed to the feast as honoured guests.

“We know that the Lord’s goodness and love will be with me all my life;
    and His house will be my home as long as I live.”

While the letter to the Philippians encourages us to

“Delight yourselves in God, yes, find your joy in him at all times. Have a reputation for gentleness, and never forget the nearness of your Lord.”

The Matthew reading speaks to us about making a whole-hearted response to the invitation to the feast. This was something the Pharisees couldn’t do. The reding finishes with a warning that we are to accept the invitation and come to the feast on His terms, not our own self conceived notion that we might have.

We know that God has a different way of looking at things and we are reminded when David is anointed to be King of Israel that…..

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

But the Pharisees should have known that…..

Jesus tells a story in which invitations are sent out for a wedding banquet. The invited guests find excuses not to come, so others are invited in their place. But a man is thrown out because he is not dressed appropriately.

In a world where cynicism and negativity are often prized, today we explore how we might say a wholehearted ‘Yes’ to the many invitations open to us to rejoice in his love, and how we might better welcome others to celebrate with us.

Jesus tells a story in which invitations are sent out for a wedding banquet. The invited guests find excuses not to come, so others are invited in their place. But a man is thrown out because he is not dressed appropriately.

In a world where cynicism and negativity are often prized, today we explore how we might say a wholehearted ‘Yes’ to the many invitations open to us to rejoice in his love, and how we might better welcome others to celebrate with us.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Reflection song  TIS 585 ‘I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say’

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God, you invite us to join you in caring for the vulnerable,
and we hurt you when we do not accept your invitation.
We are sorry and ask your forgiveness.
You invite us to share the good news of your love,
and we hurt you when we do not accept your invitation.
We are sorry and ask your forgiveness.
You invite us to clothe ourselves with compassion and humility,
and we hurt you when we do not accept your invitation.
We are sorry and ask your forgiveness.
You invite us to take our place at your table,
and we hurt you when we do not accept your invitation.
We are sorry and ask your forgiveness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

Eternal God, you clothe us with forgiveness, you cover us with your grace, you feed us with your word, you robe us with your generosity, you root us in your faithfulness, you gather us in your love, you invite us to be your disciples, and you go all out to draw us all in and call us each by name. Amen.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing  TIS 129 Amazing Grace

Prayer of Illumination

As we prepare to hear the Scriptures for today, we turn our attention to God to ask that we hear God’s word to better know God’s will for our lives. This time allows us to take a moment to “get settled” and ready to hear God’s written word.

We pray together

 Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Bible Readings

 Isaiah 25:1-9   (Good News Translation)

 Lord, you are my God;
    I will honor you and praise your name.
You have done amazing things;
    you have faithfully carried out
    the plans you made long ago.
You have turned cities into ruins
    and destroyed their fortifications.
The palaces which our enemies built
    are gone forever.
The people of powerful nations will praise you;
    you will be feared in the cities of cruel nations.
The poor and the helpless have fled to you
    and have been safe in times of trouble.
You give them shelter from storms
    and shade from the burning heat.
Cruel enemies attack like a winter storm,
    like drought in a dry land.
But you, Lord, have silenced our enemies;
    you silence the shouts of cruel people,
    as a cloud cools a hot day’

God Prepares a Banquet

Here on Mount Zion the Lord Almighty will prepare a banquet for all the nations of the world—a banquet of the richest food and the finest wine. Here he will suddenly remove the cloud of sorrow that has been hanging over all the nations. The Sovereign Lord will destroy death forever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone’s eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The Lord himself has spoken.

When it happens, everyone will say, “He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the Lord! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us.”

Psalm 23

The Lord Our Shepherd^[a]

The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in fields of green grass
    and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.
He gives me new strength.
He guides me in the right paths,
    as he has promised.
Even if I go through the deepest darkness,
    I will not be afraid, Lord,
    for you are with me.
Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.

You prepare a banquet for me,
    where all my enemies can see me;
you welcome me as an honored guest
    and fill my cup to the brim.
I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life;
    and your house will be my home as long as I live.

 Philippians 4:1-9  J.B. Phillips NT

So, my brothers whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, do stand firmly in the Lord, and remember how much I love you.

Be united, be joyful, be at peace

Euodius and Syntyche I beg you by name to make up your differences as Christians should! And, my true fellow-worker help these women. They both worked hard with me for the Gospel, as did Clement and all my other fellow-workers whose names are in the book of life.

Delight yourselves in God, yes, find your joy in him at all times. Have a reputation for gentleness, and never forget the nearness of your Lord.

Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

Here is a last piece of advice. If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on the things which are holy and right and pure and beautiful and good. Model your conduct on what you have learned from me, on what I have told you and shown you, and you will find the God of peace will be with you.

Matthew 22:1-14

The kingdom is not to be lightly disregarded

Then Jesus began to talk to them again in parables.

“The kingdom of Heaven,” he said, “is like a king who arranged a wedding for his son. He sent his servants to summon those who had been invited to the festivities, but they refused to come.

Then he tried again; he sent some more servants, saying to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Here is my wedding-breakfast all ready, my bullocks and fat cattle have been slaughtered and everything is prepared. Come along to the festivities.”’ But they took no notice of this and went off, one to his farm, and another to his business.

As for the rest, they got hold of the servants, treated them disgracefully, and finally killed them. At this the king was very angry and sent his troops and killed those murderers and burned down their city.

Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is quite ready, but those who were invited were not good enough for it. So go off now to all the street corners and invite everyone you find there to the feast.’ So the servants went out on to the streets and collected together all those whom they found, bad and good alike. And the hall became filled with guests.

But when the king came in to inspect the guests, he noticed among them a man not dressed for a wedding. ‘How did you come in here, my friend,’ he said to him, ‘without being properly dressed for the wedding?’ And the man had nothing to say. Then the king said to the ushers, ‘Tie him up and throw him into the darkness outside. There he can weep and regret his folly!’ For many are invited but few are chosen.

Message:

But the Chief Priests and the Pharisees should have known that to get in on the act after the event wouldn’t work.

After rejecting the invitation they thought they could still hold a place at the feast through their wisdom, their prosperity, their hard work and therefore earned their right to be there.  

To come clothed in the wrong attitude wouldn’t get them anywhere.

The custom of the parents providing the wherewithal for the wedding celebration still exists today, even in our Australia and when accepting the invitation, we accept the wishes of wedding couple and their family.

Here is a little story.

There was once a woman who was a princess in Nigeria. She married a teacher from Ireland, and they moved there and had three daughters.

They were not wealthy and her husband died before the last of their daughters was married, but the woman was determined to give all of them, including the youngest, a wedding befitting their status as belonging to a royal line.

No expense was spared. Each wedding, and particularly the receptions afterwards, was lavish. Everyone from her acquaintance was invited, or at least as many as the venues could contain. The bride’s dresses were stunning, but as well as supplying the bride’s dresses, for the Nigerian contingent, men and women, she supplied bolts of matching brightly coloured batik fabric to fashion into wedding clothes.

We may not understand all of the allusions in Jesus’ story, particularly as it turns from a seemingly happy story of a royal wedding to one of war, murder and mayhem, but key to it is the idea of who is invited and who accepts. There are no moral criteria; both ‘good and bad’ are, in the end, invited in. No one earns their right to be there.

            Then, perhaps, we remember that this is not really a story about wedding customs, it is about the kingdom of God.

And then we read the sting in tail: one person is ejected. Everyone is invited; but there is more than one way of not accepting the invitation.

We may puzzle over where we might fit in to this hard-hitting parable which was aimed at the chief priests and elders, but we, today can accept the invitation to whole-heartedly accept the invitation to enter into the Kingdom of God and join in the joyous festivities in celebration.

Last Sunday we whole-heartedly rededicated our lives together as a congregation “afresh to God’s service, with God’s help and to His Eternal glory.” We were joined by many others including the Moderator (Synod) and Presbytery. I have never heard before such a resounding affirmation of faith.

RE-DEDICATION

BY THE CONGREGATION AT BALD HILLS

SUNDAY, 08 OCTOBER 2023

Let us rededicate ourselves anew as members of Christ’s Church.

The Church is one body, made up of many members.

Each of us adds something beautiful and unique

to this community of faith.

Though we are frail Humans, God dwells on Earth and makes Himself known in sacred spaces and sacred moments.

God is with us, today, here in this place.

We promise to love as God’s people,

and to sing, pray, listen, hear the words of Scripture,

and to share these things with each other so we may energise and deepen our faith.

We dedicate ourselves this day to serving each other.

We look forward to more years of service and worship together.

We dedicate ourselves anew to being Christ’s people in the World.

Where there has been conflict among us, we pray for the softening of hearts and for reconciliation between us.

We pray for healing, peace and co-operation among us.

We covenant anew today,

to share the ministry of Jesus with each other,

and with the larger community around us,

so that all who meet us may know, by our example and our words,

of his unconditional love and healing grace.

Filled by the grace and love of Jesus Christ,

we rededicate ourselves afresh to God’s service,

with God’s help and to His eternal glory.

If we joined in, did we recite the words with whole-heartedness out of thanksgiving and praise for God’s amazing Grace towards us?

Or was that just in there for the moment? 

 And so, in a world where cynicism and negativity are often prized, today we explore how we might say a wholehearted ‘Yes’ to the many invitations open to us to rejoice in his love, and how we might better welcome others to celebrate with us.

We in turn become the servants sent out with the King’s invitation to the wedding feast.

We have started the race from many different places and times but we are encouraged to be finishers together as we journey together.

As we journey together, here are a couple of thoughts I think we need to contemplate and maybe put into action.

• not “give up the habit of meeting together” (perhaps find ways where we can meet more often together)
• dedicate ourselves to pray and seek the Lord’s guidance “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all the rest will be added unto you” (Is there a specific prayer we can write or find that can provide a focus for us?)
• allow opportunities to share our collective inspiration and wisdom. (and not be afraid to do this)
• encourage and support one another through it all, lifting the burdens that we carry at present.
• Give thanks at all times, rejoicing together.

In true rejoicing we are confident in inviting and sharing that love with other who either have lost their faith along the way or are searching for true comfort in their lives.

What new inspiration from God are we willing to embrace?

Are we willing to find out?

You are invited to read the words of this song ‘Won’t You Come’   (Cry Hosanna 93)(We regret that the music for this isn’t available)

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

1. But one man said he’d bought a house,

And had to go and see it;

Another man said he’d bought a car,

And had to go and try it;

While another man said he’d married a wife,

And really couldn’t come;

And they all, one by one made excuses.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

• But the invitation still went out,

Through the streets and alleys;

And all along the country lanes,

Where the people gathered.

“Won’t you come?” And they came;

And they filled all the house where the feast was.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

• Jesus said “If you want to come with me,

Then you must love me more

Than your house and your car or even your family.

And you must love me more

Than you love even yourself .

And where my feast is, there your feast will be.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

Come! Won’t you come, for the banquet is laid

Won’t you come, for the feast is prepared.

Offertory

Dedication of Offeratory            

 Let us dedicate our offering to the Lord as we say together

We give you thanks, wonderful God, for the gift of life, for the opportunities of life, for the invitations to flourish in life.

 May we be as whole-hearted as you in all we do, as generous as you in all we give, as daring as you in all we dream, and as faithful as you in all our relationships.

Thank you for everything. Amen.

You are invited to watch the video ‘runner gives up own place to help fellow runner’:

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing  TIS 650 ‘The Servant Song’

Prayers For Others

O God, we come to pray not for ourselves, but for each other – for those we know and those we don’t, for situations we understand and for those that confound us.

The news tells us of trauma and heartache across the world and we try to grasp the intensity of it all.
Bless, O Lord, all involved in the hurting and the healing.
We hear of death and dying, of grieving and weeping…
We hear of pain, scarring and disfigurement…
We hear of anguish and confusion…
We hear of those in need of help, and those who struggle to
find it…
We hear of the grieving and the sorrowful…
We hear of the lost and the alone…
And we know, Lord, there are myriad others known only to you.
Bless them all in their hurting and their healing. Amen.

Prayers of the Congregation

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.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing TIS 242 ‘I danced in the morning’ (Lord of the Dance)

Benediction

May the Lord bless you and keep you and may the Lord make his face to shine upon and give you peace.

Go into the week ahead, and wherever you find yourself,
celebrating or sharing a sadness, or anything in between,
may you rejoice in God’s grace.
            See each moment as an invitation to meet with God,
each meeting as an opportunity to invite others.
            Until we meet again. Amen.

Going Out Song

Teach Me to Dance (Source  469)