Welcome: –

Call to Worship: – 

(Psalm 81: 1 and Hebrews 13: 5b and 6) 

Shout for joy to God our defender;

Sing praise to the God of Jacob.

For God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”

Let us be bold, then, and say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?”  (Psalm 118: 6) 

Comment on Psalm 81

The Psalmist speaks of a trust in God that sustains them.  If God is for them, who can be against them, as Paul writes to the Church in Rome  (Romans 8: 31)  .  With God as their helper, the writer knows no fear of what people may do, for what can people do to them when it is God who helps them.  Others who may seek to do harm to the writer are no longer confronted by the writer, but by God Himself.  The fear of what Man can do diminishes in proportion to a consciousness of the greatness of God, whose concern is for the welfare and wellbeing of those whom He loves.

  (Artur Weiser in The Psalms volume 2 p725 & 726) 

  But more than that, the writer, because of their faith in God Almighty, is “free of the horrible fears that overwhelm the souls of heathen people in every land of the World.”  God’s Spirit has coming in a powerful way into their life, granting to the writer His peace and reassurance which God has promised to grant to all who put their trust in Him.

  (George Knight in Psalms p207) 

  It is with this confidence in the power of God and the love and faithfulness of God that we gather here today to offer God our praise and worship.

Prayer of Praise    

  God of love, we rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus, for through Him You have released us from the bondage of sin.  We praise You for your foresight and Your dedication to planning the salvation of Humankind.  We praise You for Jesus Christ who willingly offered Himself to be the means by which our sins can be removed forever.  We praise you for Your Holy Spirit who blesses us by being our guide and comforter in all moments of our life.

  God of light, we are assured of Your power to act in the World.  We are assured of Your love for all people, and of Your readiness to embrace all who come to You on bended knees, acknowledging their desperate need for forgiveness and healing.  We are assured of the reality of Your closeness to us when we humble ourselves in penitence and prayer.  We are assured of your abundant grace and mercy because you promised that it is so.

  God of new life, we acclaim You as our God, and praise You in the presence of all people because you have brought us out of darkness into the light of our salvation.

  Spirit of truth and peace, you lead us in the right paths and correct our wanderings.  You recall to us the promises of God’s grace.  You bring to us an understanding of God’s Word.  In the silences you refresh our souls and renew us for the coming day.  In the storms of life, you uphold us and support us so that we will not fall.

  We worship and adore you God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Our desire is to be in your presence and experience your love.  Holy God, we declare our love for you and offer you our praise, now and always.  Amen.

We sing two Songs

“Freely, Freely”  Scripture in Song  volume 1  number 41

Carol Owens

We sing the second song: “He is Lord, he is Lord”  Scripture in Song  volume 1  number 49

Composer unknown

Prayer of Confession

(from Romans 12: 21) 

Merciful God, we come to you confessing our shortcomings and our weaknesses.

We come confessing the times when we have not followed your decrees, for when we have not obeyed your instructions.

We are called to love others sincerely and with warmth.  Forgive us for when we have not shown respect or concern to those whom you love so dearly.

Merciful God, hear us.

We are called to hate what is evil and to hold on to what is good.  Forgive us for when we drift away from what is good towards those things that we should avoid.

Merciful God, hear us.

We are called to let our hope in you keep us joyful and to be patient in our troubles.  Forgive us for when we despair and do not lay our burdens at the foot of the cross.

Merciful God, hear us.

We are called to share the material things with which you have blessed us with those who are in need.  Forgive us for putting ownership of things before relieving the suffering of others.

Merciful God, hear us.

We are called to live humble lives and to humbly serve others.  Forgive us for when our pride or our concern for our self-image obstructs our serving of others.

Merciful God, hear us.

We are called to do everything possible to live in peace with everyone.  Forgive us for when we seek to repay a wrong, to take revenge when we are wronged, and to hold onto grudges.

Merciful God, hear us.

We come before you God confessing our wilful disobedience to you and for following the standards of this World.

Merciful God, hear us we pray and forgive our sins.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from Hebrews 13: 20) 

The writer to the Hebrews states: “God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, … by whom the eternal Covenant (with us) is sealed”.  We have this assurance, then, that by the power of Almighty God and through the grace of Almighty God, our sins are forgiven.

Thanks be to God.

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:

Psalm 81:

5  I hear God’s voice saying:

6  “I took the burdens off your backs: I let you put down your loads of bricks.  7  When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you.   From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you.  I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.  8  Listen, my People, to my warning; Israel, how often I wish you would listen to me!  9  You must never worship another god.  10  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.  Open your mouth, and I will feed you.”

11  “But my People would not listen to me; Israel would not obey me.  12  So I let them go their stubborn ways and do whatever they wanted.  13  How I wish my People would listen to me; how I wish they would obey me!  14  I would quickly defeat their enemies and conquer all their foes.  15  Those who hate me would bow in fear before me; their punishment would last forever.  16  But I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy  you with honey.

Jeremiah 2:

4  Listen to the LORD’s message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel.  5  The LORD says:

“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?  What made them turn away from me?  They worshipped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.  6  They did not care about me, even though I rescued them from Egypt and led them through the wilderness: a land of deserts and sand pits, a dry and dangerous land where no one lives and no one will even travel.  7  I brought them into a fertile land, to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.  But, instead, they ruined my land; they defiled the country I had  given them.”

8  “Their priests did not ask ‘where is the LORD?’  My own priests did not know me.  The rulers rebelled against me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal and worshipped worthless idols.”

9  “And, so, I, the LORD, will state my case against my People again.  I will bring charges against their descendants.  10  Go west to the island of Cyprus, and send someone eastward to the land of Kedar.  You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.  11  No other Nations has ever changed its gods; even though they were not real.  But my People have exchanged me, the God who brought them honour, for gods that can do nothing for them.  12  And, so, I command the sky to shake with horror, to be amazed and astonished,  13  for my People have committed two sins:

They have turned away from me, the spring of fresh water, and they have dug cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.”

Hebrews 13:

5  Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have.  For God has said,

“I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”  (Deuteronomy 31: 6, 8 and Joshua 1: 5) 

6  Let us be bold, then, and say,

“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?”  (Psalm 118: 6) 

7  Remember you former leaders, who spoke God’s message to you.  Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith.  8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  9  Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you from the right way.  It is good to receive inner strength from God’s grace, and not by obeying rules about foods; those who obey these rules have not been helped by them.”

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Word of God.

Praise to you Almighty God.

Luke 14:

1  One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat a meal a the home of one of the leading Pharisees; and people were watching Jesus closely.  2  A man whose legs and arms were swollen came to Jesus,  3  and Jesus spoke up and asked the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees,

“Does our Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?”

4  But they would not say a thing.  Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away.  5  Then he said to them,

“If any one of you had a son or an ox that happened to fall in a well on a Sabbath, would you not pull him out at once on the Sabbath itself?”

6  But they were not able to answer him about this.

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Passing the Peace

Whether we gather in person in our Church building or whether we gather in spirit in our homes, we remain one body, one people of God, one in fellowship and one in worship.  With that in mind, let us uplift our hands and greet those both here and those who cannot be here:

May the peace of God be with you all.

And also with you.

We sing the hymn “Jesus!  Redeemer, Saviour, Lord”  MHB366  Wesley’s Hymns number 139

[This hymn is sung to the tune of ‘Praise to the holiest in the height’ (Gerontius)

[This YouTube clip has organ music only.]

Verse 1 of 5

Jesus!  Redeemer, Saviour, Lord,

The weary sinner’s friend,

Come to my help, pronounce the word,

And bid my troubles end.

Verse 2 of 5

Deliverance to my soul proclaim,

And life, and liberty;

Full fellowship with God reclaim,

This gift you give to me.

Verse 3 of 5

Faith to be healed you know I have,

For you that faith has given;

You can, you will the sinner save,

And make me fit for Heaven.

Verse 4 of 5

Fulfill God’s Plan is all your cause,

You will victorious prove;

For everlasting strength is yours

And everlasting love.

Verse 5 of 5

Your powerful Spirit shall subdue

All of my deepest sin,

Cleanse this my heart and make it new

And write you Law within.

Charles Wesley

Sermon

Screen 1

  A wife and husband were sitting at the kitchen table reading the day’s newspaper.  The wife turned to her husband and said, “This is interesting.  It says here that the local Council has given an enterprise award to a scarecrow.”

“To a scarecrow!”, exclaimed the husband, “That’s preposterous!  Whatever for?”.

“Well,” replied the wife,” apparently because they considered it was outstanding in its field.”

  God had the identical reaction towards the People of Israel.  “It’s preposterous what they have done!” exclaimed God, “You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.  No other Nation has ever changed its gods.  But my People have exchanged me for gods that can do nothing for them.”  (Jeremiah 2: 10b and 11) 

  Let us first assess what God has done for the People of Israel.

Screen 2

“you called to me and I saved you”  (Psalm 81: 7) 

  The author of Psalm 81 writes of God recalling His past acts of compassion towards the People of Israel.

  “I took the burdens off your backs; I let you put down your load of bricks.”  (Psalm 81: 6)  This was a reminder of the time when the People of Israel were slaves in Egypt, working under oppressive conditions making bricks for the Pharaoh.  (Exodus 1: 11, 2: 11, 5: 6 – 19) 

  “When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you.”  (Psalm 81: 7a)  This was a reminder that, in their distress, the People of Israel cried for help, a cry which was heard by God, who acted in such a dramatic and powerful way whereby Pharoah, was led to proclaim to Moses and Aaron, “Get out, you and your Israelites!  Leave my Country, go and worship the LORD as you asked.”  (Exodus 12: 31) 

  “From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you.”  (Psalm 81: 7b)  This was a reminder that God had revealed Himself to the People of Israel on Mount Sinai in such a powerful display of might and authority.  (Exodus 20: 18 – 21) 

  ‘I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.”  (Psalm 81: 7c)  This was a reminder that while journeying to Mount Sinai, the People of Israel complained to God about not having any water to drink, and of how God spectacularly provided a spring of water for them, coming out of solid rock.  (Exodus 17: 7) 

  “Listen, my People, to my warning; Israel, how often I wish you would listen to me!”  (Psalm 81: 8)  This was God’s plea to the People of Israel to humble themselves before Him and to heed what He is saying.  God reiterated this on several occasions.

“If you obey me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians.”  (Exodus 15: 26) 

“If you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own People.  The whole Earth is mine, but you will be my chosen People, a People dedicated to me alone.”  (Exodus 19: 5 & 6a) 

“Then Moses said to the people, ‘Obey all the Laws that I am teaching you, and you will live and occupy the land which the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.’”  (Deuteronomy 4: 1) 

  “You must never worship another god.”  (Psalm 81: 9)  This was a reminder of the first of the Ten Commandments given to guide the People of Israel.

  “Worship no god but me.”  (Exodus 20: 3, Deuteronomy 5: 7) 

  It was something which Moses urged upon the People of Israel as being of the upmost importance to them, individually and as a People.

“For your own good, then, make certain that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all.”  (Deuteronomy 4: 15b & 16a) 

“Do not let yourselves be led away from the LORD to worship and serve other gods.”  (Deuteronomy 11: 16) 

“The exclusive service of one God is demanded of Israel in no uncertain terms.  Israel lived in the midst of a polytheistic World: this terse prohibition deals with one of the dangers that came from living in just such a World.  The Commandments were addressed to the ordinary Israelite, not to the religious elite of the day; they are expressed in strong simple terms, understandable by all, and deal with the temptations of the common person, not the theologian.”  (Alan Cole in Exodus p153) 

  “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.”  (Psalm 81: 10a)  This is a reminder of the preamble to the Ten Commandments. 

“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves.”  (Exodus 20: 2, Deuteronomy 5: 6) 

  These words also formed part of the warning to be faithful to God that Moses proclaimed to the People of Israel.

“But you are the people He rescued from Egypt, that blazing furnace.  He brought you out to make you His own People.”  (Deuteronomy 4: 20) 

  This is not so much a call to believe in God in a general sense, but to believe “in the living God who had acted on behalf of Israel”.  (Alan Cole in Exodus p152) 

  The Prophet Jeremiah recorded God’s words to the People of Israel in Jeremiah’s time, reminding them, also, of God’s acts of compassion towards them in their Past.

  “I rescued them from Egypt and led them through the wilderness: a land of deserts and sand pits, a dry and dangerous land where no one lives and no one will even travel.”  (Jeremiah 2: 6) 

  This is a reminder that God’s showing of compassion towards the people of Israel was not a once only event, but was a continuous act over the 40 years of their wandering in the wilderness.  In a country where there was nothing to sustain life, God ensured their survival and guaranteed their livelihood.

“ Open your mouth, and I will feed you.”  (Psalm 81: 10b)  This is a reminder that God did not just promise the People of Israel that they would merely survive their ordeals during the Exodus, but that, later, in the land across the River Jordan, they would have plenty of that which was good for them, abundantly.

  For the 40 years of their journeying, God ensured that, each day, each person would have their fill of Manna. 

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you.  The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day.’”  (Exodus 16: 4 & 35) 

  God’s promise of prosperity and satisfied desires was to extend into the Land of Canaan.

“Moses said, ‘So then, obey the commands that I give to you today; love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart.  If you do, He will send rain on your land where it is needed, in the autumn and in the Spring, so that there will be grain, wine, and olive oil for you, and grass for your livestock.  You will have all the food you want.’”  (Deuteronomy 11: 13 -15) 

“Obey the LORD your God and all these blessings will be yours:

The LORD will bless your towns and fields.

The LORD will bless you with many children, with abundant crops, many cattle and sheep.

The LORD will bless your grain crops and the food you prepare from them.

The LORD will bless everything you do.”  (Deuteronomy 28: 2 – 6) 

  The Prophet Jeremiah also reminded the People of Judah of his day how God had acted so compassionately towards them in their History.

  “I brought them into a fertile land, to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.”  (Jeremiah 2: 7) 

  It was not as if the People of Israel can be excused for forgetting these things, or that the events of their past were too far back in their History for them to be remembered or for them to be of any further relevance to the people in the time of the author of Psalm 81 or in the time of the Prophet Jeremiah.

  The oral and written History of the People of Israel recorded all of this for them, a History of which they would have been reminded each time the Scriptures were read to them.  Their History recorded how they viewed God with such awe at the manner in which He saved the People of Israel from the Egyptian army at the crossing of the Red Sea.  (Exodus 14: 31) 

  The Laws that governed every aspect of their personal and social and religious life were given to them by God at Mount Sinai.  The People of Israel were only too aware that their Laws were not inherited nor adopted from the Laws of any of their neighbouring Nations, but were given directly to them by God Himself. 

  Their Festivals, especially the Passover Festival, made no sense other that from an understanding of God’s provision during the Exodus journey of the People of Israel, and of them being under the care and guidance of the LORD their God who brought them safely to the land of Canaan to inherit.

  The bronze snake on the rod that had been made by Moses, according to the command of God  (Numbers 21: 8 & 9)  , stood for 320 years at the Tabernacle until the end of the reign of King David and, then, in the Temple for another 270 years until the reign of King Hezekiah  (2 Kings 18: 4b)  .  It stood as a tangible reminder to generations of those who came to worship God that God had been active in the life of the People of Israel from many centuries in their past.

  There was, then, no excuse for any of the religious leaders or for any individual:

to not accept the reality of the LORD their God,

to fail to see how God alone had provided for them throughout their History, and

to fail to accept their responsibility to respond to the reality of God and to the compassion of God, by demonstrating faithfulness to God and obedience to His call to worship Him alone.

Screen 3

  On the promenade along the Cairns foreshore is this sign, with an explicit warning about the presence of crocodiles in the nearby water.  It is there to warn people of the dangers associated with getting too close to them.  Moses and Joshua and the Prophets of God such as Jeremiah, gave to the People of Israel just such explicit warnings about the dangers associated with dallying with the worship of idols and false gods

  Yet, what is it that we see the People of Israel doing?

  The author of Psalm 81 records this lament of God:

“But my People would not listen to me, Israel would not obey me.

(they were determined) to go their stubborn ways and (to do) whatever they wanted.”  (Psalm 81: 11 & 12) 

Screen 4

They worshipped worthless idols”  (Jeremiah 2: 6) 

https://www.istockphoto.com/en/vector/moses-angry-at- the-worship- of-the-idol-gm1385337981-4444

  The Prophet Jeremiah records this lament of God:

“What made them turn away from me?

They worshipped worthless idols,

They did not care about me,

They ruined my land,

They defiled the country I had given them,

My own Priests did not know me,

The rulers rebelled against me.  (Jeremiah 2: 5b -8) 

  These passages portray a time when the People of Israel abandoned their first love of God to follow “worthless idols”, as Jeremiah writes.  (Jeremiah 2: 8)  (NIV Study Notes p1134) 

  Jeremiah writes of how God is incredulous about this state of affairs.  God’s actions in the past, of which the people were only too aware, proved to all who cared to consider their History, that God had shown to them time and time again that He was real, that He had authority and power, and that He had compassion for them.

  God’s actions in the past also proved that no other deity existed in Heaven or on Earth, that the gods worshipped by the peoples of their neighbouring Nations were gods that can do nothing for them.”  (Jeremiah 2: 11) 

  Yet the People of Israel chose to worship these other false and worthless gods.

  Jeremiah writes of “Israel’s fickle devotion to God, (that) Israel was not only incapable of recalling its History, but was incapable of engaging in lament, indicating a loss of relationship (with God).  He writes that “Israel, in Her decision to turn away for them worship of God, acted against simple reason, natural instinct, and plain common sense.”  (The New Oxford Annotated Bible Study Notes p1060 & 1061) 

  Robert Davidson writes:

“A bond, forged and tested in the harsh life of the desert, snapped with the coming of prosperity in the land of Canaan.  To the people of Israel, the gods of the soil proved more attractive and less demanding partners than the LORD who had brought them out of Egypt.”  (Robert Davidson in Jeremiah volume 1 p25) 

  Philip Yancey writes that the ancient Israelites were deceived by the message that the idols held magical powers of the rain and harvests, or that they sought to worship Canaanite gods as well as the LORD God of their ancestors, as a way of “hedging their bets” in times of strife.  (Philip Yancey in I Was Just Wondering p95 & 96) 

  William Jordan writes that the People of Israel failed to grasp “that National misfortune comes not from blind fate, but from the stupidity of men who fail to hear the Divine voice.”  (Willian Jordan in Religion in Song p112) 

  Derek Kidner writes:

“It was as if the lock rejected its key, or the fledgling its parent; such was the demented Human material God handled”.  (Derek Kidner in Psalms volume 2 p295) 

  Artur Weiser writes:

“When the history of salvation so often ends in disaster in spite of the Divine will to save, then this state of affairs is not God’s fault, but is brought about by the people’s thoughtlessness and disobedience.  God leaves men to their own devices so that in future they act only in accordance with their own desires and follow their own counsels, with the result that their sin leads to hardness of heart and so to their punishment.  (Artur Weiser in The Psalms p555) 

  It seems that there is a Human propensity to fail to listen to the voice of God.  Or is it that there is a Human propensity to listen to voices other than the voice of God?

  David Egner once wrote this poem:

“The house of sin is brightly lit, the door is open wide;

When voices urge you, “Come on in.”  Their call must be denied.”

  (Our Daily Bread July 9 1999)

  Sin is essentially following an alternative path to that revealed by God as His will and purpose for us.  We see this in the case of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, who chose to believe the words of Satan rather than the words of God.  They chose to believe that there was an alternative source of truth and purpose in the World other than that offered by God.  But the alternative which they chose to believe led to death and not to life in God.

Screen 5

“Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way”  Luke 14: 4

   Luke records for us an occasion when Jesus challenged the legalism that constricted the generosity and compassion of the Jews.  Where God sought to instil in people a desire to help those in need, as was His nature, in the time of Jesus, their overzealous concern to obey the letter of the Law overrode any such call for compassion from God.  It was as if they worshipped the Law itself and not their God who gave them their Law.  Jesus challenged those present at the meal in the Pharisee’s house to understand that the Law encompassed the potential to show acts of kindness and generosity even on the Sabbath. In his healing of the man of the sabbath, Jesus challenged his listeners to realise the falsity of an interpretation of Scripture where that interpretation did not encourage acts of love for others.

Screen 6

“It is good to receive inner strength from God’s grace, and not by obeying rules about foods.”  Hebrews 13: 9

  (htps://pixabay.com/photos/have-a-meal-salad-party-623897/) 

  The writer to the Hebrews spoke of “all kinds of strange teachings” that would lead people away from the “right way”, teaching such as relating to prohibitions “about foods”  (Hebrews 13: 9)  , stating that “Those who obey these rules have not been helped by them.”  Such rules were being presented as part of the Gospel message, when, in reality, they were an alternative gospel, a burden placed upon the individual that led them away from their trust in the saving grace of God.

Screen 7

“Anything that tempts us away from the true God may function as an idol.”  (Philip Yancey)

  Philip Yancey warns that “Anything that tempts us away from the true God may function as an idol.”  (Philip Yancey in I Was Just Wandering p96) 

  Church leaders in the Americas, Africa and Asia are all too aware that some members of their Churches seek to incorporate traditional beliefs into their Christian faith, such as the veneration of ancestors, or the traditional offering of sacrifices to so-called ‘spirits’.

  (Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk in Operation World WEC International) 

  Ghulam Masih Toon in writing about his conversion to Christianity writes:

“Muslims believe that good works done in this life will gain for them forgiveness for their sins and happiness in the next life.  I, on the other hand, saw the need for forgiveness of my sins now so that I could give my life to God and let Him determine the nature and course of my life now.”

  (Ghulam Masih Toon in The Unexpected Enemy p100) 

  He mirrors the words of the New Testament writers, that there is no understanding in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by which we can earn salvation by ‘good works’.

  Philip Yancey writes that in our so-called ‘modern society, “idols abound”.  “Some gods – money, beauty, success – appeal to out thirst for magic.  On the Human level, they work spectacularly, giving us a kind of magical power over people’s lives as well as our own.” 

(Philip Yancey in I Was Just Wandering p96&97) 

  He writes of other ‘idols’ that tend to trivialise our relationship with God, things that “tend to reduce the surprise, the passion, the vitality of our relationship with God”.  (Philip Yancey in I Was Just Wandering p97)  He writes of the busyness of life, the distractions of everyday life that “edge God out of our lives”, that crowd out God from our lives; the many tasks we do whether at home, or at work, or at Church, the things we do “without giving God a single thought”, for he warns that these “may lead to a form of forgetfulness that resembles idolatry”.

  (Philip Yancey in I Was Just Wandering p97) 

  If we sincerely look at our lives, are there gods that appeal to us because of the magic that they falsely promise to bring to our lives?  What are the things that we do that keep us busy, in such a way that crowd our lives in such a way that they edge out God from our mindfulness?  We may readily recite the words of our Creeds, but, do we act like we believe that God is real?  (Philip Yancey in I Was Just Wandering p97) 

  I will leave you with this poem that I read:

“The Lord wants us to walk by faith, because our eyes can be deceived,

And even though our path may fade, God’s Word can always be believed.”

  (David Sper in Our Daily Bread 24^th August 1999) 

We sing the Hymn “Saviour, like a shepherd lead us”  MHB609

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUcF_uaxgh0&ab_channel=RobCharles1981

Dorothy Thrupp

Saviour, like a shepherd lead us,

Much we need your tender care,

In your pleasant pastures feed us,

For our use your folds prepare.

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,

You have bought us, yours we are.

Verse 2 of 4

We are yours, O do befriend us,

Be the guardian of our way,

Keep your flock, from sin defend us,

Seek us when we go astray.

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,

Hear us when we praise and pray.

Verse 3 of 4

You have promised to receive us,

Poor and sinful though we be,

You have mercy to relieve us

Grace to cleanse and make me free.

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,

This we pray on bended knee.

Verse 4 of 4

Early let us seek your favour,

Early let us do your will,

Gracious Lord, our only Saviour,

With yourself our lives we fill.

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,

You have loved us, love us still.

Dorothy Thrupp

Offering

Offering Prayer    

“For the life that you have given”  TiS774 

[This hymn is being sung to the tune Austria – there is no introduction.]

[This YouTube clip is for another hymn so disregard the words – only the one verse is needed.]

[Alternatively, if you have the facility on your computer to play such music, double-click on the Mp3 file below and then select ‘open’ – there is a very small introduction.]

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 

(from Prayers For The Twenty-first Century” “© B.D. Prewer, and NZ Common Worship (C of E), Rev Bosco Peters liturgy.co.nz, Richard Emerson Prayers of the People Year B, 2015 Christmas Bowl Worship Resources) 

Let us come before God with our cares and our concerns.

  Come to us, Healer of hurts, touch us with your fingers and we shall be made whole.  We come with broken hearts and grieving spirits, we come with deep concerns and dark anxieties.

  Come to us, Healer of hurts, mend us and we shall be whole.  We come experiencing rocky relationships with others, we come with sleepless nights and lost self-confidence.

  Come to us Healer of hurts, mend us and we shall be whole.  We come with broken dreams and painful memories, of betrayed values and lost opportunities.

  Come to us, Healer of hurts, mend us and we shall be whole.  We come with broken wills and dried-up love, with abandoned hopes and lost faith.

  Come to us, Healer of hurts, mend us and we shall be whole.  Come to us with your holiness, and let our reordered lives express the beauty of your peace.

   Our gracious, eternal God, we are deeply aware of the fleetingness of time and of life.  Life is precious and we are also aware that it is precarious.  We thank you that you have enriched our lives by the support of loving family members.  Life for many though may be punctuated by the unexpected and the unwanted.  So we ask for strength, comfort, and courage for them in these times.  Help us to be sensitive to those who are hurting and grieving and to stand with them in these days.

   We pray for those who, unlike ourselves, don’t have access to fresh water.  May they know the benefits of good health through the provision of new water resources and facilities.  We thank you for those whose vision and dreams have caused these projects to become a reality and for the improvements they have made to the lives of many people.

   Foremost in our minds is the uncertainty of the present and of the future.  Our self assurance and comfort has been disrupted by the recent acts of hatred and religious bigotry in Israel, in Afghanistan, in Syria, in Ukraine.  We hear about and see the waves of displaced persons escaping from their homelands riven by violence and persecution and sit back powerless to comprehend it.  Those in authority seek to act with justice and compassion yet appear overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation.  What the future holds for us and for the World is unknown and this disturbs us to our core.  It is your peace and guidance that is needed, yet the World seeks answers by military force and the exercise of political power.

  Almighty Father, whose will it is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of all, govern the hearts and minds of those in authority throughout the Earth, and bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin and hate, to be subject to His just and gentle rule.  May your church be the guiding light to the World in that it is only by our submission to your will and by the confession of our sin that true healing and wholeness can take place.  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 know whom I have believed” – from Alexander’s Enlarged Hymn book number 182  Alexander’s Hymns No.3 number 148

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toG5ehZJP9Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toG5ehZJP9UVerse

1 of 4

I know not why God’s wondrous grace

To me He has made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love

Redeemed me for his own.

Chorus

But I know whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that he is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto him against that day.

Verse2 of 4

I know not how this saving faith

To me he did impart,

Nor how believing in his Word

Wrought peace within my heart.

Chorus

But I know whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that he is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto him against that day.

Verse 3 of 4

I know not how the Spirit moves,

Convincing us of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word,

Creating faith in him.

Chorus

But I know whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that he is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto him against that day.

Verse 4 of 4

I know not when my Lord may come,

At night or noonday fair,

Nor if I’ll walk the vale with him,

Or meet him in the air.

Chorus

But I know whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that he is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto him against that day.

Daniel Whittle

Benediction 

(from Norman Wallwork in Companion to the Revised Common Lectionary volume 5 p60) 

Let us seek to be near to God

as we move into the coming week,

Let us open our ears to hear His voice,

Let us open our eyes to behold His glory,

Let us open our hearts to receive His grace,

Let us open our mouths to declare our praise.

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