Welcome:   –

Call to Worship:  –

  Philip Yancey writes in his book, ‘I was just wondering’:

“You might say that faith means taking a vow, ‘for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health’, to love God and cling to Him no matter what.  Happily, the spirit of faith being like a marriage commitment works two ways, for God also commits to us.  Faith means believing that He has taken a similar vow, and Jesus Christ is the proof.  God does not accept us conditionally, on the basis of our performance.  God keeps His vow to continually love us, no matter what, and, therein, is God’s grace.”  (p67) 

  Let us then come to worship and give praise to our God who doesn’t just speak words of love for us, but has demonstrated this love for us since the beginning of Time.

Prayer of Praise

(from Psalm 65) 

O God, it is right for us to praise you,

You set the mountains in place by your strength, showing your mighty power.

The whole World stands in awe of the great things that you have done.

Your deeds bring shouts of joy from one end of the Earth to the other.

You show your care for the land by sending rain; you make it rich and fertile.

You fill streams with water, you provide the Earth with crops.

You send abundant rain on the ploughed fields and soak them with water;

You soften the soil with showers and cause the young plants to grow.

What a rich harvest your goodness provides!

Wherever you go there is plenty.

You keep your promises to us and answer our prayers.

People all over the World and across the distant seas trust in you.

People everywhere will come to you on account of their sins.

Our faults defeat us, but you forgive them.  You do wonderful things to save us.

Happy are those whom you love and who dwell in your presence.

We shall be satisfied with the good things and the blessings that you lavish upon us.  Every day we will shout our praises to you and sing for joy, knowing that you are our God, now and forever.  Amen.

We sing 2 Songs “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord”  Scripture in Song volume 1 number 132

Composer Unknown

Our second song is: ‘God is so good’  Scripture in song volume 1 number 121

Paul Makai

For the Young and the Young at Heart

Screen 1

Tallinn, Estonia

  In July 2019, Kerry and I enjoyed a cruise, visiting some of the countries around the Baltic Sea.  One of our ports of call was Tallinn in Estonia.  This photograph shows only a small aspect of the many wonderful sights in the city.

  Princess Cruises, who operated the ship on which we sailed, employs speakers to detail what you could see and visit at each of the ports that we visited.  This one speaker, on talking about Tallinn, challenged those visiting the city to look for an image that had been etched onto a wall somewhere in Tallinn.  He gave two hints as to the location: that it would be found on the upper part of the city and that it would be near someone who made and sold fresh fruit juice.  And he promised a prize for those who could verify, by a photograph, that they had found it.

  Being up for just such a challenge, Kerry and I endeavoured to look for the image during our wanderings in the city.  It wasn’t going to be the primary concern for us during the day, because there are so many lovely buildings to view and so much history to absorb as you walk around. 

  We found our way to the upper part of the city, as you can see from the photograph.  And, as we rounded a corner, there in front of us was a person manning a stall at which he sold freshly squeezed juice.  We carefully looked around us and, behold, there, at the base of the wall of a nearby building was the image which we were challenged to find.

Screen 2

Where the image was found.

  You can see the image at the bottom right-hand corner of the wall in the photograph, just above and to the left of the drain-pipe.

Screen 3

Close-up of the cockroach

  A close up of the image reveals that it is a cockroach that someone has drawn on the wall.  Apparently, it has become some sort of tourist attraction, to the extent that no effort is made to have it removed.  Needless to say, we were pleased to find it, and duly reported our find when we returned to the ship later that day.

Screen 4

“You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29: 13

  That incident nicely illustrates this verse from the Book of Jeremiah.  It was written at a time in the History of the People of Judah, when they neglected their worship of their God, wilfully and vainly seeking spiritual satisfaction and enlightenment from the worship of the idols and false gods of the neighbouring Nations.  The Jewish people ignored and rejected God’s call for them to repent and return to true worship of Him, indicating a coldness of heart towards Him.

  But God did not give up on them.  He indicated that He would remain true to His promise to be their God, and that they could once again enjoy a close relationship with Him, if they had a change of heart and sought such a close relationship as their priority.  Hence, God talks of them seeking Him ‘with all their heart’.

  One of the purposes of our walk around Tallinn was to find the image that we were told was there to be found.  The primary purpose in our walk of life, is for us, also, to seek God ‘with all our heart’, and to ignore and reject the gods of the World around us that seek to entice us away from a close relationship with God our Creator and Redeemer.  That is the true purpose in life.

  And what was the reward given to us for finding the image?  It was a ‘drink coaster’, bearing the name of “Regal Princess”, the name of the cruise ship on which we travelled.  Apparently, the speaker only had a small budget for his gifts. 

  The reward for seeking and finding God is, however,  beyond price, beyond measure, for it concerns complete fullness of meaning and purpose, to the end of Time and beyond.

Prayer of illumination 

(from Uniting in Worship Book 1 number 13 & 14 p599) 

  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:

Proverbs:

3: 34:  God has no use for conceited people, but shows favour to those who are humble.

11: 2:  People who are proud will soon be disgraced.  It is wiser to be modest.

16: 18:  Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.  19  It is better to be humble and stay poor than to be one of the arrogant and get a share of their loot.

29: 23:  Arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.

James 4:

4  Don’t you know that to be the World’s friend means to be God’s enemy?  Whoever wants to be the world’s friend makes themselves God’s enemy.  5  Don’t think that Scripture says without reason that God yearns jealously over the spirit that He places in us.  6  But the grace that God gives is even stronger.  As the Scripture says:

“God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble.”  (Proverbs 3: 34) 

7  So the, submit yourselves to God.  Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.  8  Come near to God, and He will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners!  Purify your hearts, you hypocrites!  9  Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom!  10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Philippians 3:

4  If anyone thinks they can trust in external ceremonies, I have even more reason to feel that way.  5  I was circumcised when I was a week old.  I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew.  As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee,  6  and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church.  As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.

7  But all those things that I might count as profit, I now reckon as loss for Christ’s sake.  8  Not only those things, I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ  9  and be completely united with him.  I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law.  I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.  10  All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death,  11  in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Word of God.

Praise to you Almighty God.

Luke 18:

9  Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.

10  “Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.  11  The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed,

‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else.  I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there.  12  I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.’

13  But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to Heaven, but beat on his breast and said,

‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’

14  “I tell you,’ said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home.  For everyone who makes themselves great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles themselves will be made great.”

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Passing the Peace

We are one in fellowship and in worship of our God, whether we gather together in the Church building on Sunday morning or whether we worship in the ‘digital sphere’.  It is important that we recognise that, together, we remain one in Christ Jesus.  With that thought, let us uplift our hands and greet those both here and in their homes: May the peace of God be with you all.

And also with you.

We sing the Hymn:  ‘Father of me and Humankind’  Wesley’s Hymns number 251

This hymn is sung to the tune Irish. This YouTube clip is for another hymn, but provides the tune.

Verse 1 of 4

Father of me and Humankind,

And all the hosts above,

Let every understanding mind

Unite to praise your love.

Verse 2 of 4

Your Kingdom come, with power and grace,

To every heart of Man,

Your peace, and joy, and righteousness

In all our spirits reign.

Verse 3 of 4

The righteousness that never ends,

But makes an end of sin,

The joy that Human thought transcends,

Into our souls bring in.

Verse 4 of 4

The Kingdom of established peace,

Which can no more remove,

The perfect power of godliness,

The omnipotence of love.

Charles Wesley

Sermon

Screen 1

  There is the story of a hiker walking along a country road, who stopped to view some goats grazing in a nearby paddock.  A sudden gust of wind blew his hat into the field.  One of the goats walked over to the hat and commenced to eat it.  The hiker became distressed and shouted at the goat to try to stop it eating his hat.  Seeing the owner of the goats nearby, the hiker runs over to them, pleading for him to do something.

  But the owner of the goats only replies,” But, that’s what goats do.”  This only makes the hiker more distressed.  “But, can’t you do something to save my hat?” he pleads.  To which the owner of the goats replies, “Why should I?  As I have already told you, that’s what goats do.”  The hiker was distraught, saying to the owner, “I don’t like your attitude.”  “My attitude?”, questioned the owner of the goats, “It’s your ‘at he chewed’.”

  Today’s parable from the Gospel of Luke concerns attitudes towards God and towards prayer.  We are presented with a good example and a bad example of such attitudes, and the message seems to be straightforward: Don’t be proud, but be humble, especially when you pray.  But we need a closer look at the setting to gain a clearer understanding of the message Jesus is seeking to portray.

  Given our contemporary way of worship and church life, it is too easy to image that the two people in the parable were praying in something like an empty church, with the Pharisee perhaps standing proudly at the front and the tax collector perhaps hiding in the shadows in the rear.  But imagining such a setting is misleading.  When Jesus said the two men “went up to the Temple to pray”  (Luke 18: 10)  , he was not referring to a private devotional visit but, rather, to them joining the gathering of the community of worshippers at the set time every afternoon when people went to the Temple to pray and participate in the sacrifices.

Screen 2

“I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there.”  Luke 18: 11b

https://pixabay.com/link/? 2 men-pray-differently-gm471901665-

  Each of these two men behaves within this community worship in a different way.  The Pharisee, a member of a group that would have been highly respected within the wider social and religious setting, proudly stands apart from the common crowd  (Luke 18: 11)  , but not so far apart from others that they could not overhear his prayer.  We need to understand that the Pharisee was not being dishonest in his actions, nor was he not being genuine to his nature and to his perceived calling in his actions.  He was quite right in performing his religious and moral duties in his worship.  He, truly, was not like other people to whom he makes reference, the ‘greedy’, the ‘dishonest’, or an ‘adulterer’  (Luke 18: 11)  .  and, clearly, those listening as Jesus told this parable, would say that the Pharisee was a righteous man.

  He begins well in his prayer, “I thank you, God”  (Luke 18: 11)  ,but his prayer soon degenerates into a proud boast that he is not like these other people,  the ‘greedy’ the ‘dishonest’, or an ‘adulterer’  (Luke 18: 11)  , especially not like the tax collector standing nearby.  And then he itemises his pious performances,  (Luke 18: 12)  .  Whereas the Jewish Law required fasting on one day a year, he fasts twice a week.  From historical records, this was not uncommon among the pious at this time, but it was conspicuous in that it went beyond the requirements of the Jewish Law.  And, whereas the Law dictates the tithing of agricultural produce, he gives a tenth of all of his income.  In themselves, his pious practices were commendable, but the Pharisee advertises them to his listeners, to bolster his pride and to set himself apart from others around him.

Screen 3

“God, have pity on me, a sinner!”  Luke 18: 13

https://pixabay.com/link/? tax-collector-prays-gm471901671-

  The tax collector, on the other hand, stands apart, not in pride, but in humility.  He beats his breast, a sign of deep and sincere mourning of his behaviour and of his lifestyle.  And he prays simply, “God, have pity on me, a sinner!”  (Luke 18: 13)  .  The Greek word that Jesus uses is hislastheti, and is associated with the words spoken by the Priests when performing the rites of atonement.  The listeners to the parable would have picked up on this association and the message underlying the scene that Jesus is portraying to them.  Unlike the Pharisee, it was the tax collector who was fully involved in the Temple atonement liturgy being undertaken by the Priests at that time of day.  The tax collector was praying, in effect, “Let the atonement work for me, ‘a sinner’”.

Screen 4

“God has no use for conceited people, but shows favour to those who are humble.”

  Proverbs 3: 34  (James 4: 6, 1 Peter 5: 5) 

  The tax collector had nothing by which he could be commended.  He was no better than the rest of his kind.  There was no question that he was ‘unrighteous’, especially in the eyes of those who were there with him in the Temple, as well as to those who were listening to Jesus as he told them this parable.  Yet, Jesus pronounced that it was he who “was in the right with God when he went home”  (Luke 18: 14)  .  How could Jesus give such a verdict to his listeners, for this would have been nothing less than outrageous to them?  But Jesus did not mean that the Pharisee was wrong in his deeds of morality and piety, or that the tax collector was right in his behaviour as a swindler and an extortioner.

  What was wrong about the Pharisee was his approach to God, for he prayed with himself, he set before God all or his attributes and merits, he compared himself favourably with the tax collector and proclaimed his goodness.  He came before God, not placing his trust in God’s grace, but in his own genuine righteousness.

  The tax collector, on the other hand, knew in himself that he was a miserable sinner.  He could not lift up his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast and cried, with all sincerity,  “God, have pity on me, a sinner!”  (Luke 18: 13)  .  He was “in the right with God”  (Luke 18: 14)  because he had thrown himself on God’s mercy.

  These concluding words of Jesus underscore the context of the Jewish People being a covenant community.  For it meant being in a right relationship with their God, of being faithful to the covenant relationship established millennia before at the time of the Exodus.  This was why Luke introduced this Gospel account with reference “to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.  (Luke 18: 9) 

  Luke states pointedly that Jesus addressed this parable to those who trusted in their own goodness and righteousness as the means for being justified before God.  The target of the parable were those who foolishly thought that their righteousness was based on their own acts rather than God’s act of grace.  They placed their faith in themselves rather than in God.  As such, they were undermining the very foundation of their covenantal connections with God and with the wider worshipping community.

  Our attention to the setting and language of this parable do not change the obvious message plainly stated at the end:

“For everyone who makes themselves great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles themselves will be made great.”  (Luke 18: 14)  .

  But the setting and the language puts us in touch with precisely what humbling oneself entails, acknowledging our need for a right relationship with God that comes only from Divine forgiveness.  Our own actions do not initiate that relationship.  Rather, being in that right relationship with God calls us to a behaviour that reflects, and is an acting out of, our faithfulness to our relationship with God, and to our right and responsible relationships with those around us, who are equally loved by God and who are equally called to be in a right relationship with God.

  The Apostle Paul learnt this truth all too clearly.  In the same manner as the Pharisee in the parable, Paul in all truthfulness stated:

“As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.”  (Philippians 3: 6) 

  But, in response to personally experiencing the risen Christ and being led to a re-evaluating of all that he had been taught and had learnt from Scripture, his outlook on his relationship with God was revolutionised.  His eyes were opened to the truth of God’s grace, such that he would now proclaim:

“I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law.  I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.”  (Philippians 3: 9) 

  The righteousness that he had reserved for himself, was ultimately given to him by his Saviour.  Paul now understood that he could not achieve this by himself.  He realised that all of his accomplishments were “mere garbage”  (Philippians 3: 8)  , and that he could no longer aspire to perfection by his own efforts.  Paul had to come to the same place as did the sinner in the Temple, and he had to humbly mutter the same words:

“God, have pity on me, a sinner!”  (Luke 18: 13) 

  James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the early church in Jerusalem and Judea, wrote to those in the Church who had lapsed into feelings of self-righteousness , those who he felt had not taken to heart the need for the deep remorse for sinful behaviour and of an alienation from God as was expressed by the tax collector praying in the Temple.  James writes that they risk becoming ‘God’s enemies’  (James 4: 4)  .  And he uses the same imagery that Jesus used when he described the attitude of the tax collector:

“Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom!  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”  (James 4: 9 & 10) 

  Interestingly James refers to a theme outlined in several passages from the Book of Proverbs when he says:

“As the Scripture says:

‘God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble.’”  (Proverbs 3: 34)  (James 4: 6) 

  It is here that we see that the message that Jesus had for his listeners was not something new or extraordinary, but was something of which they should have been aware, for it was something that was at the heart of the Covenant relationship that God had established with them.  It was He who had brought them out of Egypt, by His might and His power and His authority, not by anything they had done or earned.  Their response was to humbly accept the grace and mercy of God and to humbly acknowledge Him as their Lord and God.

  This was but an image of what God achieved through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  As Paul sought o teach in his letters and as James sought to stress in his letter, it is God who has brought us out of our bondage to sin, by His might and His power and His authority, not by anything that we have done.  For as Paul writes:

 Our “righteousness comes from God and is based on faith.”  (Philippians 3: 9) 

Our response, likewise, is to humbly accept the grace and mercy of God and to humbly acknowledge Him as our Lord and God.

  I will finish with this poem:

Thanks, O God, for boundless mercy,

From your gracious throne above;

Thanks for every need provided

From the fullness of your love.

  (from Our daily Bread 16 October 2005) 

[refer to the footnote at the end of the Order of Service]

Prayer of Confession 

(from Moira Laidlaw in Liturgies Online Pentecost 23C) 

Jesus, friend of us all, you told the parable to people who believed that they were truly righteous and who regarded others with contempt.  We confess that there are times when we say and do things which leave us equally open to your judgment.

Forgive us when we assume that our belief in you gives us a status which makes us superior to non-believers.

Forgive us when we believe that our worship or tithing enhances our importance in your eyes.

Forgive us when we commend ourselves for sharing the humility of the tax collector.

Forgive us when we place more confidence in our own goodness than in your amazing grace.

Lord Jesus Christ, humility for you consists of emptying yourself of all self-serving power and filling yourself with the desire to serve others.  Forgive our reluctance to follow your example and replace any selfish or pious power-plays of ours with your love, your compassion, and your humility.  This we pray in your name and for your sake.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from 2 Timothy 3: 15b) 

Paul reminds Timothy that the Scriptures lead us to an understanding that salvation comes to us through faith in Christ Jesus.  Having confessed our sins before God, let us hold onto that understanding and know that God has heard our prayers and has forgiven our sins.

Thanks be to God.

We sing the Hymn ‘Just as I am, without one plea’  MHB353  AHB497  TiS584

Charlotte Elliott

Offering

Offering Prayer    

“For the life that you have given”  TiS774 

[This hymn is being sung to the tune Austria,.  This YouTube clip is for another hymn so disregard the words – only the one verse is needed.]

For the life that you have given,

For the love in Christ made known,

With these fruits of time and labour,

With these gifts that are your own:

Here we offer, Lord, our praises;

Heart and mind and strength we bring;

Give us grace to love and serve you,

Living what we pray and sing.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Prayers for Others

Loving God, knowing your love for all of Humanity, especially your compassion for the needy, we come to you with our cares and our concerns.

We pray for the Church, that we may recognize our need for you and resist relying upon our own efforts to justify ourselves.

We pray for growth in prayer, that the Spirit teach us how to pray so that we may deepen our dependency upon you and open us to the length and breadth of your merciful kindness.

We pray for greater compassion, that we may proclaim your greatness and show your love and concern for all who face the burdens of life.

We pray for the grace of humility, that we may come before you honestly, surrendering our pride, and recognizing the limits of strengths and abilities.

We pray for a spirit of gratitude, that we may recognize all our gifts, possessions and opportunities as gifts from you and place each of them in your service.

We pray for all who are bound by a spirit of self-righteousness, that you will free their hearts, break down the walls of prejudice, and open them to the dignity of each person.

We pray for all who are suffering or being oppressed for their Christian faith, that you will comfort and strengthen them and bring them safely through their trials.

We pray for greater respect for each person, that you will turn the hearts of all who rely upon violence and bring healing to all who have suffered harm, abuse or neglect.

We pray for all leaders of government, nationally, state, and local, that you will inspire them with new ways to promote the welfare of citizens and the common good.

We pray for all who are in need; for the poor, the homeless, the widow, the orphan and those on the margins of society, that you will open our eyes and hearts to their needs and their presence in our communities.

We pray for the homebound, that they may experience your presence with them and support from this Christian community.

We pray for all who are recovering from storms, floods or wildfires, that you will give them courage and guide them to the assistance which they need.

We pray for all immigrants and refugees, that they may find new homes and enrich these places with their gifts and talents.

We pray for all who are bound by drug addiction, that you will break the bonds that hold them, help them to seek assistance and guide them to people who will support and challenge them to live in a new way.

We pray for the gift of peace and an end to violence, that you will turn hearts from violence, inspire leaders to start new initiatives and give courage to all who are working for peace.

https://liturgy.slu.edu/30OrdC102322/main.html Copyright © 2022. Joe Milner. All rights reserved.<br> Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use.

We pray for the peoples of the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

We are thankful for the natural beauty, climate, and distinctive cultural practices of these islands, for how churches have responded to disasters and served all in need, for how liberation from colonialism and oppression has been pursued through music, words and actions, and for the leaders of the ecumenical movement who have come from this region.

We pray for those devastated by disasters, that their lives, communities and eco-systems might be rebuilt, for the strengthening of all who faithfully witness through word and deed to the gospel, for all those affected by crime and addictions, and for good governance and smooth transitions between political leaders.

Prayers

God is worthy to be praised

L:             Almighty and everlasting God, you are a merciful and forgiving God.
C:            You are worthy to be praised.

L:             You are a kind and loving God.
C:            You are worthy to be praised.

L:             You are a righteous and just God.
C:            You are worthy to be praised.

L:             Almighty God, all glory and honour are yours because,
C:            You are worthy to be praised.

(© Hope Lindo, Jamaica)

Gracious and compassionate God,
faithful to all your promises,
supplier of our needs,
may we never underestimate
the value of all that you afford us;
nor the usefulness of the endowments you give
for the realization of your purposes.
May we never so take for granted
the gifts your bounteous grace provides
as to become victims of the callousness
that produces an abundance of waste.
And save us, we ask you, from becoming
purveyors of the careless and irresponsible disposal
of the waste we produce.

(© Neville Callam, Jamaica)

Prayer of thanksgiving

Creator God,
how could we possibly not thank you
for the earth you have given to us!
With joy we praise you
for the high mountains and their trees,
for the rushing waters of Caribbean rivers
which give the breath of inspiration
and the joy of fruitfulness,
for the forests so luxuriant in foliage,
the glorious tall trees
and the abundance of temperate climes.
Still more, we praise you
for the wisdom for living,
and the commitment which our dignified
and courageous ancestors taught us,
the neighbours in whom we became acquainted with you.

(From the 25th anniversary service of the Caribbean Conference of Churches, 15 November 1998. © 1998 Caribbean Conference of Churches.)

The Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)

We pray for the volunteers involved with the teaching of Religious Instruction at Bald Hills State School.  We pray for encouragement and support for them as they seek to present the Gospel to the children as is permitted within the framework of RI.  We pray that the Holy spirit is working in the minds and hearts of the children who attend RI classes.

We pray for Kylie Conomos, the Chaplain at Bald Hills State School, that she is being supported and encouraged in her work by the local Churches.  We pray for strength and energy as she undertakes her tasks at the School.  We pray for guidance as she seeks to address individual needs and concerns in the lives of students, parents and staff at the School.

We pray for those who are unable to worship with us in person, that they may know your support and comfort for them each day.  We ask that you keep them in good health and good spirits.

Loving God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your compassion and care.  To your glory we pray.

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 sing the Hymn ‘I am Thine, O Lord’  Alexander’s Hymns No. 3 number 47

Fanny Crosby

Benediction 

(from Norman Wallwork in Companion to the Revised Common Lectionary volume 5 p67) 

As we go, may we be at peace in the presence of God,

may we have a fuller appreciation of God’s grace and mercy,

and may we know with confidence that we are the people of God. 

And may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you always.  Amen.

Benediction Song: 

‘Now to him who loves us saves us’  TiS771

(only the one verse is needed)

Now to him who loved us, gave us

Every pledge that love could give,

Freely shed his blood to save us,

Gave his life that we might live,

Be the Kingdom

And dominion

And the glory evermore.

Samuel Miller Waring

Footnote:

I acknowledge that much of the material on which the sermon is based comes from documents found on The Sunday Website at Saint Louis University @ https://liturgy.slu.edu/30OrdC102322/main.html

including those covered by these copyright conditions listed:

Copyright © 2001, Dennis Hamm, SJ All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use.

Copyright © 1984 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. Used by permission from The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321

Copyright © 1997 by John F. Kavanaugh. All rights reserved. Used by permission from Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York 10545-0308