Welcome: –
Call to Worship: –
I have made reference to this book previously:
‘Children’s Letters to God‘ compiled by Eric Marshall and Stuart Hample
Here is one of the letters in the book:
“Dear God,
I didn’t think orange went very good with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool.
Eugene.”
And no doubt we have all seen such wondrous sunsets.
Here is one such sunset that I managed to take one afternoon.
Sunset at Barungwarra Bushland Reserve Bald Hills on 1st June 2021 @ 5.09pm
The Apostle Paul wrote of such things in his Letter to the Church in Rome, we read,
“For since the creation of the World, God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1: 20)
But Paul was only reiterating what the Psalmists were writing about God. The author of Psalm 19 writes,
“The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”(Psalm 19: 1)
The author of Psalm 97 writes,
“The Heavens proclaim God’s righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.” (Psalm 97: 6)
We have all experienced the love and grace of God in our own lives. We have all seen the power and glory of God at work in the lives of others and in the World around us. It is on that basis that we gather together here, to acknowledge the majesty of God, to offer our praise and worship of God for who He is, for what He has done, and for what He will continue to do to bring about His will and purpose in the World and among Humanity.
Prayer of Praise
Holy God, we come to declare that You are our Creator.
Holy God, we come to proclaim Your greatness.
We glorify you, O Lord, creator of heaven and earth, for you have set the lights in the vault of the sky. You separated light from darkness and arranged signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.
You studded the firmament with stars. How majestic are your works, the heavens declare your glory and the skies proclaim the work of your hands!
We acknowledge You as the Almighty, we acknowledge all with which You have blessed us, we acknowledge that You care for each one of us, we acknowledge that You are our strength when we feel weak, we acknowledge that You know us all individually, and You created us uniquely and perfectly.
We acknowledge that, although You know us inside and out, You still love us eternally.
That love was shown so powerfully by sending us Your son Jesus. We thank You for all that you mean to us and all that you have done for us.
We praise you for you did not abandon us despite our rebellion but sent your Son to brighten our darkness and be our light and our salvation. In him was life, and that life was the light of all Humanity. And the light shines in the darkness.
We worship you, O Lord, for you accompany us in the chaos of our life through the power of your Holy Spirit. You light up our paths and give us wisdom and faith in a world of untruth and doubt.
We thank You that You call each of us by name and that, with Your disciples of old, we too are called to serve You and Your people.
We thank you, O Lord, for you send us into the world to witness to this light, in our various churches and diverse cultures, and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, the one true King, offering ourselves to him.
Holy God, we come to lift Your name in the words that we say and in the songs that we sing today. May all the peoples bow before you and worship you, now and always. Amen.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn “I am resolved no longer to linger”
Palmer Hartsough
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we come before you contrite and confessing our failures.
Almighty God, you love us, but we have not loved you; you call us, but we have not listened.
We walk away from the needs of others, wrapped up in our own concerns.
We declare our desire for justice, yet go along with prejudice and greed.
We claim the name of Jesus Christ, yet have not departed from sin.
We profess to walk in your light, but prefer to walk in darkness.
Merciful God, the Psalmist wrote of your overwhelming majesty; Isaiah wrote of your overwhelming love.
We long to experience these in our own lives, but too often we are so overwhelmed by uncertainty about the future, and by feelings of powerlessness in the present, that we fail to hear you speaking to us.
Forgive us for listening to voices that call us worthless and unloved.
Forgive us for when we feel imprisoned by our fears.
Forgive us for our negative feelings about ourselves and others.
Forgive us for when we allow our fears and our worries to stifle your voice of love and to stifle your acts of compassion towards us.
Merciful God, we lay before you our words and our actions, our silence and our inaction, that together mean that we have not loved you with our whole heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
We look within ourselves and see times when we have wandered away, we see our weakness and our selfishness, our sloth and our envy.
In humbleness we confess our sins to you.
In our humbleness we seek your forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with you. In this we trust in your vast love for us. To the glory of your holy name we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
(from 1 Corinthians 15: 4 and 20)
The Apostle Paul reminded the Church at Corinth that Jesus Christ died for their sins and was raised to life three days later. This promise of sins forgiven and of reconciliation with God holds true for us, today, as well. Having confessed our sins before God, let us rest on this assurance with confidence, knowing that God has listened to our prayers and has answered us by removing all traces of our sins and welcoming us into His family.
Thanks be to God.
Prayer of illumination
Prepare our hearts, O Lord, to be guided by your Word and the Holy Spirit, that in your light we may perceive your mercy and grace, that in your truth we may find freedom, and that in your will we may discover peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bible Readings
Psalm 1:
1 Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. 2 Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the LORD, and they study it day and night. 3 They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leave do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.
4 But evil people are not like this at all; they are like straw that the wind blows away. 5 Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God’s own people. 6 The righteous are guided and protected by the LORD, but the evil are on the way to their doom.
Jeremiah 17:
5 The LORD says,
“I will condemn the person who turns away from me and put their trust in mortal Humans, in the strength of mortal Humankind. 6 They are like a bush in the desert, which grows in the dry wasteland or salty ground where nothing grows. Nothing good ever happens to them.
7 But I will bless the person who puts their trust in me, 8 They are like a tree growing near a stream and sending down roots to the water. It is not afraid when hot weather comes, because its leaves stay green; it has no worries when there is no rain; it keeps on bearing fruit.
9 Who can understand the Human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to
be healed. 10 I, the LORD, search the minds and test the hearts of people. I treat each one according to the way they lie, according to what they do.
1 Corinthians 15:
12 Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? 13 If that is true, it means that ?Christ was not raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe. 15 More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that He raised Christ from death – but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then He did not raise Christ.
16 For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. 18 It would mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in the World.
20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.
This is the Word of God.
Praise to you Almighty God.
Luke 6:
17 When Jesus had come down from the hill with the Apostles, he stood on a level place with a large number of his disciples. A large crowd of people was there from all over Judea and from Jerusalem, and from the coast cities of Tyre and Sidon; 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were troubled by evil spirits also came and were healed. 19 All the people tried to touch him, for power was going out from him and healing them all.
This is the Gospel of our Lord.
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn ‘Pass me not, O gentle Saviour’
(Alexander’s Hymns No. 3 number 196)
Fanny Crosby
Sermon
Jesus’ Shocking Mistake in Mark Revealed!
This was the triumphant proclamation of a YouTube post that I came across during the week. It is one of a series of 28 YouTube posts prepared and presented by someone using the pseudonym “The Sarcastic Skeptic”. In the Order of Service which I have forwarded to members of our congregation, I have provided the link to this YouTube post But, be aware, the presenter incorporates gross profanities in their presentation, presumably to appeal to a group of like-minded sceptics. It is something that they will be needing to discuss with God, at some point in Time.
[Note: The spelling ‘skeptic’ is the USA equivalent to the spelling ‘sceptic’, which is the preferred spelling used in English speaking Nations with an historical British background. The author of these YouTube posts employs the term ‘sceptic’ to define the content of their YouTube posts not so much in the sense of mistrusting or doubting “the truths of the Christian religion”, as the definition of the word allows, but in the much stronger sense of denying such truths, an understanding also incorporated into the allowed usage of the term.
Refer to:
The Macquarie Dictionary New Budget Edition 1985 p358
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 3rd edition 1973 volume 2 p1900
Websters New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language 1952 P1592]
In 1 Samuel 21: 1 to 10, we have the account of David who is fleeing from King Saul and comes the city of Nob to see the priest Ahimelech, to fetch food for himself and his followers and to obtain a weapon for himself.
“David went to the priest Ahimelech in Nob.” (1 Samuel 21: 1)
In Mark 2: 23 to 28, we have Mark’s account of Jesus referring to this incident in answer to a complaint brought up by some Pharisees because his Disciples “picked some heads of wheat” on the Sabbath. But, in this account, Mark records Jesus implying that it was Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, who David approached in Nob.
“This happened when Abiathar was the High Priest.” (Mark 2: 26b)
Well, according to The Sarcastic Skeptic it is, for in the YouTube post they ask the question:
“If this book (that is, The Bible) can’t keep its own characters straight, why in the name of all things holy should we believe it’s the inerrant Word of God?”
Now, this raises two issues.
Firstly, the original text of 1 Samuel was written in Hebrew. The nuances of the various usages of a Hebrew word nor the cultural framework in which we are to understand an act or function outlined in a passage may not be adequately made clear in an English translation, with minimal notes and cross-referencing, that is intended to be used solely for the reading of the passage and not for the in-depth study of the words that are incorporated in a passage.
I have addressed the apparent inconsistency with the mentioning of Ahimelech and Abiathar in some additional notes at the end of this Order of Service, and have presented four options for dealing with the issue:
Mark was in error for stating Abiathar rather than Ahimelech.
The passage should not be read as “at the time when Abiathar was priest” but as “in the time of’ or “in the account of (Abiathar as high priest)”.
Abiathar was performing the duties of high priest at that time and at that place, alongside his father, Ahimelech, and as were other members of Ahimelech’s family.
Jesus was affirming the actions of Abiathar to support David and to oppose Saul, subsequent to and in support of the decision of his father, Ahimelech, to provide for the needs of David.
I have copied passages from Bible Commentaries and Dictionaries in support of all of these four options for you to read. Suffice it to say that, upon reading those Bible Commentaries and Dictionaries that do not support the stance that Mark or Jesus made a mistake in the words that Mark records, that is, the first option, there is some justification for either of the other three options, which the usage of the Hebrew words and the cultural framework allows. This is something which The Sarcastic Skeptic seeks to gloss over and disregard as something like ‘literal gymnastics’, for they have their own priority, which is:
“Rather than looking at the truth of the message of the passage in the Bible, they prefer to seek ways so as to justify their disregard of the message of the passage.’
And this raises the second issue. Irrespective of any apparent or overt mistakes in a Biblical passage, as the very Word of God we are compelled to seek to understand the message from God that is in the passage. Such is the case here, where the intent of Mark is to present the teachings of Jesus regarding what is and what is not appropriate behaviour undertaken on the Sabbath.
Willaim Barclay, in his Commentary of the Gospel of Mark, presents three “essential truths” from the passage referred to in Mark 2:
“Religion does not consist in rules and regulations.
“The first claim on any (person) is the claim of Human need.”
“The best way to use sacred things is to use them to help (others). .. The Sabbath was never so sacred as when it was used to help those who needed help.”
(William Barclay in The Gospel of Mark The Daily Study Bible p58 to 61)
From the writings of the Prophet Jeremiah, we read:
“The LORD says,
‘I will condemn the person who turns away from me and puts their trust in mortal Humans, in the strength of mortal Humankind.’” (Jeremiah 17: 5)
The author of Psalm 1 writes of God’s approval of:
“those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God” (Psalm 1: 1)
Both of these passages write of “those who stubbornly choose the way of sinners”, those who intentionally choose not to “(faithfully respond) to God’s revealed and written directives for life, which is the path that leads to blessedness”.
(John Stek in Study Note to Psalm 1 in The NIV Study Bible P790)
In contrast to those “who turn away from God and put their trust (for their present and for their future) in mortal Humans, in the strength of mortal Humankind” (Jeremiah 17: 5) , God blesses those who put their trust for such matters in His hands.
“But I will bless the person who puts their trust in me”. (Jeremiah 17: 7)
The author Psalm 1 writes of “the righteous (who) are guided and protected by the LORD”. (Psalm 1: 6)
Brent Strawn writes that the lives of such people are characterised by “prayer and piety, righteousness and justice”.
(Roger Harn and Brent Strawn (editors) Psalms for Preaching and Worship A Lectionary Commentary p53)
Artur Weiser writes that such people exhibit “behaviour (that) imparts to (a person’s) life the meaning and value which is ordained for them by God”.
(Artur Weiser in The Psalms p 105)
But it is not just on a personal level to which Jeremiah and the author of Psalm 1 are referring, for the advice and warnings from God apply equally to us on a National level. Robert Davidson wrote a Commentary on the Book of Jeremiah in 1983, 42 years ago. He writes of the warnings that the Prophet Jeremiah gave to the Nation of Judah in the 6th Century BC, 2600 years ago, of preferring to place the safety and prosperity of their Nation in the apparent political and military strength of foreign Nations, rather than in the promise of God to uphold them.
“To place your trust in Man or in any kind of Human power is ultimately a recipe for disillusionment. At no time in Human History more than the present has there been such an urgent need to question putting trust in Mankind. The Human power is there, awesomely there, but to trust it is to invite the disillusionment of a nuclear holocaust.”
(Robert Davidson in Jeremiah The Daily Study Bible volume 1 p140)
And in today’s world of political and social strife, nationally and internationally, this warning by Robert Davidson is just as pertinent as it was 42 years ago. Food for thought for when we vote at any upcoming elections.
“Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. A person reaps what they sow.” (Galatians 6: 7)
And we have Jeremiah recording God saying the same thing:
“I, the LORD, search the minds and test the hearts of people.” (Jeremiah 17: 10)
Therefore, we must be sincere in our trust in God, and in our trust in the inerrancy of His Word. So, how do today’s New Testament readings confirm for us the divinity and ministry of Jesus Christ, Son of God?
Luke records for us a time when a large crowd of people had gathered where he was. These included both Jews from Jerusalem and all over Judea (Luke 6: 17c) , as well as non-Jews from the nearby Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon (Luke 6: 17d) . These people had gathered to be healed of their physical aliments, to be healed of their spiritual ailments, and to be spiritually and morally uplifted by his teaching. (Luke 6: 18)
And in this brief passage we see Luke seeking to record for his future readers that people were attracted to Jesus because he met their various needs; physical, mental, moral, and spiritual. It was his divine nature through which he healed and taught, through which he was able to meet this wide range of needs of the people. This was not the well-meaning actions of just some well-known and well-respected humanitarian at work, but Jesus, the Son of God, undertaking the role that God had empowered him and called him to fulfill.
“that Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15: 3b) ,
“that he was buried” (1 Corinthians 15: 4a) , and
“that he was raised to life three days later” (1 Corinthians 15: 4b) .
Paul cites numerous firsthand witnesses to these three foundational events. Paul uses terminology that “must mean a literal appearance” of Jesus upon his being raised to life three days later.
(Craig Keener in 1 Corinthians in The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the New Testament p484 & 485)
Paul states categorically in 1 Corinthians 15: 2 :
‘This is the message that was given to me by those firsthand witnesses who were there.’
‘This is the message that I faithfully preached to you.’
‘This is the message by which the Holy Spirit spoke to your hearts and convinced you of the truth of what I preached to you.’
‘This is the message by which you are saved.’
Paul is telling the church at Corinth, using the words of Norman Hillyer, “to deny the resurrection of the dead is to evacuate the Gospel of all its worth”.
(Norman Hillyer in 1 Corinthians in the New Bible Commentary p1070)
Paul adds more on this issue in today’s reading when he argues that a literal understanding of the resurrection of Jesus from death is necessary as the logical basis for our faith.
Paul commences with a basic truth:
“For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised.” (1 Corinthians 15: 16)
No discussion on the resurrection of Jesus, and his subsequent promise of our resurrection and the resurrection of the faithful who have died can commence without our confirmation in God’s promise to do just that.
Then Paul continues:
“And if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15: 17)
Our whole faith rests of the resurrection of Jesus. If that is false, then there is no substance to our beliefs. And, just as critically, if that is so, then those who have sought to pass on our beliefs must be liars, because they are professing something that is real when these things about which they preach cannot be real.
And, if all or this is so, that implies that:
“It would mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost.” (1 Corinthians 15: 18) ,
and that,
“If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in the World.” (1 Corinthians 15: 19) .
But Paul assures us that, on the basis of the testified first-hand witnesses to the reality of the risen Christ, and the witness of logic and reasoning to the reality of the risen Christ, he assures that:
“the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.” (1 Corinthians 15: 20)
“The Uniting Church acknowledges that the faith and unity of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church are built upon the one Lord Jesus Christ. The Church preaches Christ the risen crucified One and confesses him as Lord to the glory of God the Father. In Jesus Christ “God was reconciling the World to Himself ” (2 Corinthians 5:19 RSV). In love for the World, God gave the Son to take away the World’s sin.”
Basis of Union 1992 paragraph 3
“The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church has received the books of the Old and New Testaments as unique prophetic and apostolic testimony, in which it hears the Word of God and by which its faith and obedience are nourished and regulated. When the Church preaches Jesus Christ, its message is controlled by the Biblical witnesses.”
Basis of Union 1992 paragraph 5
Some seek to denigrate the Word of God as a means to avoid facing the reality of the call of God to respond to Him as the Creator God, Lord and Saviour of Humanity.
How do we respond to God?
I will leave you with this poem that I came across during the week.
“’There can’t be a God!’ the learned fool scoffed
As he studied the bees at their business aloft
And gazed at the spider suspended in lace
And pondered the stars unchained yet in place.”
(Tim Gustafson in Our Daily Bread 13th December 2008)
Amen.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn ‘I surrender all’
Offering
Offering Prayer
Almighty God, as our response to your unending love we offer these gifts to you. Bless and guide their use so that the message of your promise of reconciliation and fulfilment in life may be shared around the Globe, and give hope to those mired in desolation and despair. To your glory we pray, amen.
Prayers for Others
God of all truth, establish your justice in the world. Give to the nations the light of Christ that they may rejoice in his birth. Let your will be known and followed by all people.
Move to bring compassion those who use the power of authority or of money to exploit others. Lead those who rule the rich nations of the World to bring relief to the poor.
God of the weak and the powerless, we pray for the children in many parts of the world who are in need.
Nourish those who are hungry for food or for love. Strengthen and enable all who work to relieve child poverty and neglect.
Have mercy on families that are broken and divided.
Comfort parents who seek for children who are lost or alienated from them, and restore them in safety and love.
God of compassion, bring your wonders of healing and wholeness.
Bring relief and renewed health to the sick and the injured.
Have mercy on those who have long been ill and who despair of health.
Give them hope and trust in your unfailing love.
Bring new hope and confidence to all who are in doubt and uncertainty.
Give peace to troubled minds that distrust those near to them. Bring renewal and strength to those who struggle to feed and care for a family.
God of truth, gather into one your church that is scattered in different places and separated groups. Draw us together, to rejoice in our shared salvation.
Grant sincere repentance for the faults in each that have held us apart. May we be one light into the World promoting the one way of salvation.
(From Raymond Chapman in Leading Intercessions, p2, 3, 86, 87, and 88.)
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 the Hymn ‘Nothing but the blood of Jesus’
(Alexander’s Hymns No. 3 number 171)
Benediction
We go into the World with the joyous belief that Christ’s death and resurrection are not a delusion, that we are not lost in our sins. We go into the World knowing that God, who raised Jesus from death and welcomed him home, vindicates us because of our faith in His redeeming work. We go into the World assured that God watches over us as we live lives of trust and obedience to Him.
So, may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Benediction Song ‘By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered’
(TiS617)
Verse 1 of 1
By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
and confidently waiting come what may,
we know that God is with us night and morning
and never fails to greet us each new day.
We shall remember all the days we live through,
all of our life before our God we lay.
Dietrich Bonhoffer
translated by Frederick Pratt Green
Service for Sunday 17th November which was conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber 
Service for Sunday 21st February 2021 – Rev Louis van Laar 
Service for Sunday 22nd December 2024, which was conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber 
Service for Sunday 11th June 2023, which was conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber 