Welcome: –

Welcome to our worship today. We come with anticipation, that our lives will be enriched and come a little closer to our Lord and Saviour Jesus who is the Christ, God who is with us. Our lighted candle reminds us of that fact and that is really good news for He will show us the way to Himself. 

 Passing the Peace: –

We gather together, greeting each other with the everlasting peace that Jesus offers each and everyone of us. We say to each other……

Peace be with you

And we respond:

And also with you.

Call to Worship

God has been with us through the week just gone, in all the joys and all the sorrows.
Let us come together and worship God as creator and sustainer of all things,
and our constant companion in all things.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing two choruses.

Gathering Prayer

Almighty God, thank you for all the times and places
where we have seen you at work this week.
Come and reveal yourself to us again now,
that we might be strengthened in our faith
and renewed in our trust of you.
Amen.

We read Psalm 86:11-17 responsively:

Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;

Give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me;
    you have delivered me from the depths.

For you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength on behalf of your servant;

Give me a sign of your goodness,

That I may know that you, Lord, help me and comfort me.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing TIS 216 ‘Rejoice the Lord is King’

Introduction:

Last week our Gospel reading was the ever-familiar parable of the Sower.  The seeds which fell on the good soil produced a bountiful harvest.  From life’s experience we know that where the good seeds grow the weeds also grow abundantly.  It is almost as if someone had come along to our freshly prepared and sown garden and deliberately planted a variety of unwanted weeds amongst the desirable vegies.

Maybe we can sort out this agricultural problem by planting good seeds in one garden and weeds in another.  We know that won’t work out.  That’s La La Land.

We could think back over the last week and list the encouraging times on one hand and the struggles we faced on the other.  If we brought our hands together and linked our fingers, we find the good times interwoven with the struggles. That’s life.  It’s too hard.

If we look on the bright side, then we learn that out of the struggles we grow stronger.

Last week I harvested a beautiful crop of snap beans that had been growing in a tub completely covered in weeds.  This one bean planted germinated from some bean plants I neglected and let go.  I am amazed.  I am encouraged.

Jesus told another parable about seeds and weeds.  And it also concludes with the challenge, “Listen! if you have ears!”  This is the message we hear today.

Time Of Reflection

We will now allow ourselves to take time out. Sit quietly and reflect upon the message in this song. That we place our complete trust in the mercy and grace of God.

Following the song will be a time of silence. Think back in time of the people who have brought you close to our Lord. This will lead into our time of confession as we come before his throne of grace.

You are invited to listen to  ‘When It’s All Been Said and Done’

A Prayer of Confession

Lord, we confess that we are quick to decide who are the weeds among us;
mostly, we think they are whoever is outside these walls,
and maybe one or two here with whom we disagree in some way.

We, of course, are wheat; so, we raise ourselves high,
while casting our brothers and sisters down in our harsh judgement.

But you, Lord, see the wheat and the weeds within each one of us,
the good and the bad battling for space to grow.

Forgive us, Father, for the less-than-Christian thoughts and
attitudes we allow to take hold of our souls, smothering the
good growth you have nurtured within us.

Help us to accept that we all have our failings,
and so it is right that we should all be given a chance, for you
are the only one who sees everything and is fit to judge.

We humbly ask your mercy, O Lord.
Amen.

 Assurance of Forgiveness

God the creator and re-creator,
constant in your care for your creatures and creation,
you forgive us time and time again
when the thoughts and attitudes that choke our faith
spring up to darken the light and love of your grace within us.
We thank you that we can trust your judgement
and rely on your forgiveness in all circumstances.

Amen.

Prayer for the Scripture Readings to Come Alive

We say together the words of the hymn “Your words to me are life and health” TIS 430 as we prepare to hear God’s word for us today:

Your words to me are life and health;
They fortify my soul,
Enable, guide, and teach my heart
To reach its perfect goal.

Your words to me are light and truth;
From day to day they show
Their wisdom, passing earthly lore,
As in their truth I grow.

Your words to me are full of joy,
Of beauty, peace, and grace;
From them I learn your blessèd will,
Through them I see your face.

Your words are perfected in One,
Yourself, the living Word;
Within my heart your image print
In clearest lines, O Lord.

Scripture Readings

Romans 8:12-25 (J.B. Phillips New Testament)

So then, my brothers, you can see that we have no particular reason to feel grateful to our sensual nature, or to live life on the level of the instincts.

Indeed, that way of living leads to certain spiritual death. But if on the other hand you cut the nerve of your instinctive actions by obeying the Spirit, you are on the way to real living.

All who follow the leading of God’s Spirit are God’s own sons. Nor are you meant to relapse into the old slavish attitude of fear—you have been adopted into the very family circle of God and you can say with a full heart, “Father, my Father”.

The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really are the children of God. Think what that means. If we are his children we share his treasures, and all that Christ claims as his will belong to all of us as well!

Yes, if we share in his suffering we shall certainly share in his glory.

In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us.

The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope.

And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!

It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realised our full sonship in him.

We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience.

Matthew 13:24-30  J.B. Phillips New Testament

Then he put another parable before them. “The kingdom of Heaven,” he said, “is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

When the crop came up and ripened, the weeds appeared as well. Then the owner’s servants came up to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did all these weeds come from? ‘Some blackguard has done this to spite me.’ he replied. ‘Do you want us then to go out and pull them all up?’ said the servants.

 ‘No,’ he returned, ‘if you pull up the weeds now, you would pull up the wheat with them. Let them both grow together till the harvest. And at harvest-time I shall tell the reapers, ‘Collect all the weeds first and tie them up in bundles ready to burn but collect the wheat and store it in my barn.’”

Matthew 13:36-43 (J B Phillips ‘The Gospels’)

Later, he left the crowds and went indoors, where his disciples came and said, “Please explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

 “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,” replied Jesus. “The field is the whole world. The good seed? That is the sons of the kingdom, while the weeds are the sons of the evil one. The blackguard who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of this world. The reapers are angels.

 “Just as weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire so will it happen at the end of this world. The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will uproot from the kingdom everything that is spoiling it, and all those who live in defiance of its laws, and will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be tears and bitter regret. Then the good will shine out like the sun in their Father’s kingdom.

The man who has ears should use them!

Grow where you are planted!

Message

“DON’T THEM WEEDS GROW!”

Last Sunday I attended worship at Nambour.  I was greeted warmly by many of Liz’ and my friends, and after a brief conversation I sat at the back of the church where I usually sat each week.

Sitting at the back in his usual place was Malcolm.  He was really excited to see me.  He had forgotten my name but had clearly placed me among his special Sunday friends.

Malcolm is a long-time member of the Nambour Congregation and comes every Sunday and sings from his heart as strongly as he sang in the Church choir years ago.  He listens closely to the prayers and messages.  He knows that he is loved by God and those around him.

He lives in a group home and is dropped off by his carer at Church where he is looked after by the Congregation.  He knows and trusts that he will be taken home later. 

Something happened in Malcolm’s life a long time ago and he has brain damage. When he sings he knows the hymns the words don’t come out properly.  At the end of the song he would most likely say “That was a good song!  Can’t Mal sing! Isn’t Mal a good singer!”

Malcolm is a faithful witness to me.

Following the service and over morning tea, the conversation would centre about an excursion to the movies or the beach, but then he would pop the question.

What’s Mal doing tomorrow?

I don’t know what’s Mal doing tomorrow?

Mal’s going to work?

What do you do at work?

Gardening.

What do you do?

Weeding.  Don’t them weeds grow?

Later the question comes, “Who’s taking Mal home?  And, after being assured that all is right with the world, he would wait patiently for his lift home.

His simple uncomplicated faith is a powerful witness to me, for as I deal with the day-to-day struggles of life, I sometimes fail to allow my conscious mind to marvel and wonder about the amazing grace of our Lord and His love for me.

I wish that life could be less complicated, and that God would do away with the distractions and troubles of life.

Our Gospel reading encourages us to trust God in all circumstances.

Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of God and provides its explanation: that evil and its agents in the World will persist alongside the good, despite the coming of the Kingdom of God that Jesus was proclaiming.

This seed-related story helps us to think about the difficulties and struggles we endure while seeking to live as God intends us.  Through it we have our gaze lifted to contemplate God’s power and are reminded that God is worthy of our trust.

In our gardens a great deal of time and effort is spent weeding it.  We might use weedkiller or good old-style hoeing to rid ourselves of unwanted plants, and need to repeat this regularly.  The Sower’s approach in Jesus’ story seems to run against our gardening instincts in allowing the weeds to remain.

“A good application of glyphosate would fix the problem!”

Annette McFarlane on talk-back responded to the call of a community garden wanting to deal with nut grass.  She advised that using weed killer they would have to let that space lie fallow for 18 months to maintain its organic status.  She explained that nut grass although unsightly does not use up the nutrition of the soil.

The weeds will share the resources of the good plants as they grow alongside it. They may even grow more vigorously than the good plants but, come the harvest, their fate is sealed.

When something bad happens, we often want justice straight away, we want the situation dealt with immediately.  The implication here is that God doesn’t work like that.  Justice and judgement belong to God, but in God’s time.  Our responsibility is to be the good plants and leave the rest up to God.

The weeds are planted by ‘an enemy’ – identified in the story as a “blackguard”. (JB Phillips translation)  In Jesus’ time, fields were not separated by hedgerows or walls but marked by boundary stones.  A rival farmer could easily sow weeds in a neighbour’s field to reduce their crop and to ensure a better return for their own produce.

Is there a parallel for us in the way we often compete with neighbours, colleagues or even family members, and might occasionally find ourselves on the wrong end of someone’s action to restrict our progress.  Jesus cautions us to leave it up to God.

The Sower in Jesus’ story is affected by an enemy that sows the weeds, but the Sower’s control over the fields, and his power ultimately to rule on the fate of everything there, is never challenged.  God is God – there is no other – and God has promised to bless people and to rule the World with justice.  When we become anxious at our struggles or the relative successes of those who work by less honest paths, we betray a lack of trust in God’s goodness and power to fulfil those promises.  Spending too much time looking at the weeds that distract or threaten us stops us from seeing the full majesty of God and knowing that we can trust God to give us all that we need.  Jesus reminds us that God is in control and that, in the words of St Julian of Norwich, ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well’.

Jesus says, “As you grow in faith and learn to implicitly trust God, those weeds will be ever present.  But do not give way to despair.  Draw on my resources for my Father is the gardener.  He has planted you where he has chosen.  He will prune and weed where necessary, but you are to stand tall and produce the good fruit, for this is what my desire is for you.  He will ensure a harvest of righteousness.  He will be your God and you will be His chosen people.

The question beckons.  How can we as a Congregation together at Bald Hills be the good plants growing together in the garden? 

By getting to know each other.  Finding opportunities to learn from each other.

By worshipping together.  Preparing for our worship time.  Come with expectations.

Taking time to read our scriptures.  Daily Bible notes are a real help and an inspiration.

By praying heartfelt prayers.  Joining with and guided by those whose gift is prayer.

By loving and caring for each other.  Sharing our struggles.

Encouraging one another in faith.  Sharing our faith stories.  We have stories to tell.

Being Christ to each other.

Letting go of our selfish natures, practising the servanthood of Jesus.

The list goes on.  But, basically, it is about letting the Spirit of God infuse our lives with His joyous life, and learning to live out our faith seamlessly in our daily lives and really being community together.

Harvest of Righteousness Cry Hosanna 69            

Vs 1-3 based on 2 Cor 9 Isaiah 16,17

Words and music Bill and Betty Pulkingham.

He who supplies the seed for the sower – and bread for food will supply

and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of righteousness.

Praise the Lord – Let the Earth rejoice,

Praise the Lord all ye lands,

Praise the Lord – Let the Earth rejoice,

Praise the Lord all ye lands.

Offering your service supplies the wants of the saints – and pleases our God.

You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity.

Glorify God by your obedience – acknowledge the gospel of Christ.

The effect of righteousness will be peace, trust and quietness forever.

Proclaim with you heart great thanksgiving for the gift of Jesus our Lord.

Belief in Him gives us life eternal – We are one in His family.

I have mentioned my trip to Nambour and Malcolm’s encouragement to me.  But there are others.  Rod, whose memorial service bore testament to his ability to come alongside those blokes in strife who needed a mate to talk to.  Mary, whose great faith led her to minister to many.  June, who plugged away faithfully as an RI teacher.  Keith, a builder who, still in his later life, works tirelessly at church maintenance.  Ron and Val humbly serving morning teas.

These are people who are not theologians, or leading lights in the Uniting Church, or leaders in the Congregation.  They are the good plants growing in our Father’s garden producing good fruit.

I am not looking back longing for good old days.  These people are part of my journey just as you are part of my journey today.

Sure, we can say “Don’t them weeds grow!”, and that is true, but as we grow together, trusting in our Father’s care, we become stronger and will produce a rich harvest of righteousness. 

Let us pray

Loving God, who permits wheat and weeds to grow together,
allowing light and nurture to both,
we thank you for your patience and forbearance
with your fallen and faltering children.
We do not notice the things within us that
choke our spiritual growth, shutting out your light,
yet we are quick to spot them in others.
We thank you for your slowness to condemn us,
praising you for your unmerited mercy and grace,
for all are sinners and have fallen short.
Amen.

Offertory

Our free will offering will now be received.

Dedication Prayer

Let us dedicate our gifts as we say together

Your generosity, grace, and mercy are astounding, and we pray that the gifts we offer in worship and throughout the week might be used in Your name.

Help us to be generous with our money, but also with our talents and time. Strengthen us to recognize Your blessings, to be grateful, and to respond accordingly.

 Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Lord God, we pray for our world and its people.
So many different cultures, colours, languages
– but we are all your children, all special in our own right.
Whatever our gender, race, colour or creed, we all belong to you.
We all need your love.
We pray that we might learn to live in harmony with each other,
to recognise that even someone halfway around the world is still
our neighbour in your sight. Far or near, we all belong to you.
We all need your love.
With today’s technology we have access to news from afar,
almost before it happens. Help us not to become blasé about
the situations we see, but to pray and care faithfully for all concerned.
In war or peace, we all belong to you.
We all need your love.
We pray for those near and dear to us: protect them, wrap them
in your loving arms, and in sorrow and in joy, be with them.
Near or far, we all belong to you.
We all need your love.
Amen.

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  Source 97 ‘Father I place into Your Hands’

Sending Out

Dear God,

Be with us as we travel

Give us clear vision to see the way

Humility to understand that You create the path

Strength of purpose when the road is difficult

And gratitude, hope and wonder at what we have

Learned and what lies ahead.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen

Benediction

And the blessing of God the Father, Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Be with you and remain with you always.

Amen

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing ‘You shall go out with joy’ TIS 755