Welcome: –

Passing the Peace: –

As we gather for worship let us remember that we are one people in Christ Jesus.  We are all welcomed by God into His presence and graced by His mercy.  Let us, then, be united in our worship of God and in our fellowship together, and uplift our hands to greet those both here and those in their homes with these words:

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Call to Worship 

(from Psalm 104: 1, 24, 27, 28,30, 31a, 33, 34, 35b) 

Praise the LORD, my soul!

O LORD, my God, how great you are! You are clothed with majesty and glory;

LORD, you have made so many things! 

How wisely you made them all!  The Earth is filled with your creatures.

All of them depend on you to give them food when they need it.

You give it to them, and they eat it; you provide food, and they are satisfied.

When you give them breath, they are created;

You give new life to the Earth.

I will sing to the LORD all my life;

As long as I live I will sing praises to my God.

May He be pleased with my song. For my gladness comes from Him.

Praise the LORD, my soul!

  Comment on Psalm 104:

The writer of this Psalm utters an exclamation of wonder at the greatness and the glory of God.  He sees the beauty and the purpose evident in the World as extolling the glory and the wisdom of its Creator.  The infinitely great and the infinitely small of Earth’s creatures reveal God’s incomparable handiwork.  And just as God has brought every living thing into existence, so through Him is life preserved.  God is described as benevolently opening his hand to scatter food, enough so that every creature has sufficient to meet their needs.  There is the acknowledgement that the very life of every creature comes from the life-giving breath of God.  There is no life save that which originates from God, the majestic and glorious Creator.  It is the desire of the writer that the glory of God may endure forever, and that God may take joy from His handiwork.  May we, as we come before God in worship, do so in an attitude of thanksgiving and praise, acknowledging Him as Creator and sustainer of all there is, and the source of our life and purpose.

  (Artur Weiser in The Psalms p669 and 670, Leslie McCaw and Alec Motyer in Psalms in New Bible Commentary p516) 

Prayer of Praise

 (from World Environment Day worship material & Uniting in Worship Red Book p567 &Prayers for God’s People Year A p114 & 115 & Invocations p163 & Opening Prayers p50 & 51 & The Book of Worship p184) 

  Almighty God, You bring into being all that we see around us through Your breath of life.  There is a mystery about Creation that we cannot comprehend and gaze at in wonder.  We see the way that You sustain all things and can but praise You.  We marvel at the intricate systems which make our life possible.

  Almighty God, we proclaim how great You are in raising Jesus on the third day so that our sins can be forgiven, grateful that we are no longer alienated from you but are united with You.  We proclaim how great You are in raising Jesus to Your right hand side, to live and reign with You.  We proclaim how great You are by sending Your Holy Spirit so that we not left alone in a World that turns its back on You.

  Almighty God, we rejoice in Your mercy, in the way that You have welcomed us into your family, in the way that You have blest us by being here amongst us.  We know that in You there is nothing corrupt or impure, that in You we only find truth and hope and the peace that we cannot obtain from anywhere else. 

  Almighty God, you give us new life through the breath of your Holy Spirit.  Your gift of the Spirit empowers us to be witnesses for You to the ends of the Earth.  Our lives are enriched.  Our spirits are released from the bondage to darkness and liberated to shine in Your glory and honour.  We rejoice in the wonder of Your love and kindness.  We come here today and offer You all of our praise, now and always, to your glory we pray.  Amen.

You are invited to listen to or join in singing the following songs:

‘For I’m persuaded to believe’  (Communion songbook page 35) The words are printed below:

For I’m persuaded to believe

Nothing can separate us

From the wonderful love of God.

For the Lord who has called us

According to His purpose

Works all things together for good.

Neither height, nor depth, nor principalities,

Things present nor things to come.

Though the Devil hates us

He can never separate us

From the wonderful love of God.

(Repeat)

Mark Lowry

‘All that I can do’  (Communion songbook page 52).  The words are printed below:

Verse 1 of 3

When the Father sent His Son

to live with us our lives to mend,

Placed His love upon the alter

That with Him we might ascend.

Chorus

And all that I can do is thank Him,

All that I can do is pray,

All that I can do is lift my hands

To sing His praise.

Verse 2 of 3

Lord, the blessed life you give me,

And the holy road you choose,

Lead me all the way to Calvary,

And I’ll only follow you.

Chorus

And all that I can do is thank Him,

All that I can do is pray,

All that I can do is lift my hands

To sing His praise.

Verse 3 of 3

Lord, I only want your blessing

While I’m sitting at your feet,

Nothing in this World can woo me

From your holy seat.

Chorus

And all that I can do is thank Him,

All that I can do is pray,

All that I can do is lift my hands

To sing His praise.

Ted Sandquist

Prayer for Reconciliation 

[UCA Assembly Day of mourning 2021 Worship Resources and Anglican Defence force chaplains Australia Day worship resources 2014] 

We praise you, God of the Universe, for this Nation of ours, for its contrasts of landscape and climate, for its times of droughts and times of floods, for its times of abundance and beauty.  We praise you for the stability of its Governments, for the ready provision of education and health care and housing, and for basic and accepted freedoms to choose how we live and work and believe.

  We accept the realities of our History, with its struggles in adversity, with its loss and grief, with its failures and neglect, with its inequality and poverty, with its injustices and abuses committed against peoples of different colours and races and cultures and creeds.

  We ask for your forgiveness of us, when by acts of commission or by our failure to act, we have contributed to the needs of others not being met, or we have contributed to the discrimination shown to another Human being who is equally valued and loved by you, or we have contributed to the acceptance of the presence of inequity and neglect when none should exist.

  We pray for the healing of our Nation, that you will empower us to eliminate any divisiveness and mistrust that divides us.  We pray that you will encourage those who have been wronged in the past and in the present to be moved to forgive the pain that they have experienced, to forgive the loss that they have suffered, to forgive the abuse that has been hurled at them, and to forgive the neglect and inequality that has impacted on their life.

  We pray that paths of dialogue may open within and between our communities, dialogue that will lead to cooperation and the advancement for the Common Good, dialogue that will lead to the making of constructive and positive decisions towards the advancement of all peoples.

  Give us the courage to ensure that the realities of our past do not determine the realities of our future.  May we not seek to take upon ourselves the guilt for the sins of others in the past, especially the sins of the Church, but lead us instead, Lord God, to celebrate what we have and who we are, to accept that “we are all part of the story”, and to seek pathways for moving forward together as a Nation.  (Home ‐ Australia Day) 

  So that we may together build a better future for our Nation, teach us to tolerate diversity, to respect all Cultures, and to care for our land and our waters.  Help us to work towards a just sharing of the resources of our Nation and of the opportunities that it affords.  Give us a passionate commitment towards justice for all, and for structural and social change to improve the quality of life for all peoples in all communities, especially for the disadvantaged and the neglected.

  May your authority and love be the foundations upon which we walk together as one People who share this Nation of yours.  Bless us so that we might be a blessing to others.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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

Numbers 11:

16  The LORD said to Moses,

“Assemble seventy respected men who are recognised as leaders of the people, bring them

to me at the Tent of my Presence, and tell them to stand there beside you.  17  I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit I have given you and give it to them.  Then they can help you bear the responsibility for these people, and you will not have to bear it alone.”

  24  So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said.  He assembled seventy of the leaders and placed them around the Tent.  25  Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him.  He took some of the Spirit he had given to Moses and gave it to the seventy leaders.  When the Spirit came on them, they began to shout like Prophets, but not for long.

26  Two of the seventy leaders, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp and had not gone out to the Tent.  There in the camp the Spirit came on them, and they too began to shout like Prophets.  27  A young man ran out to tell Moses what Eldad and Medad were doing.  28  The Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ helper since he was a young man, spoke up and said to Moses,

“Stop the, sir!”

29  Moses answered,

“Are you concerned about my interests?  I wish that the LORD would give His Spirit to all His people and make all of them shout like Prophets!”

30  Then Moses and the seventy leaders of Israel went back to camp.

Acts 2:

1  When the Day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place.  2  Suddenly, there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  3  Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there.  4  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5  There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious men who had come from every Country in the World.  6  When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered.  They were all excited, because each one of them heard the believers talking in their own language.  7  In amazement and wonder they exclaimed,

“These people who are talking like this are Galileans!  8  How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?

12  Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other,

“What does this mean?”

13  But others made fun of the believers, saying,

“These people are drunk!”

14  Then Peter stood up with the other eleven Apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd:

“Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means.  15  These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only 9 o’clock in the morning.  16  Instead this is what the Prophet Joel spoke about:

17  “This is what I will do in the last days” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.  Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams.  18  Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.”  (Joel 2: 28 -32) 

1 Corinthians 12:

1  Now, concerning what you wrote about the gifts from the Holy Spirit.  I want you to know the truth about them, my sisters and brothers.

3b  No one can confess “Jesus is Lord” unless they are guided by the Holy Spirit.

4  There are different  kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them.  5  There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served.  6  There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.  7  The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all.

11 The one and the same Spirit, as He wishes, gives a different gift to each person.

13b  We have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

This is the Word of God.

Praise to you Almighty God.

John 7:

37  On the last and most important day of the Festival, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice,

“Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink.  38  As the Scripture says,

‘Whoever believes in me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from their heart.’”  (Ezekiel 47: 1, Zechariah 14: 8) 

Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive.  At that time the spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.

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

‘God of all power, and truth, and grace’

Charles Wesley

Sermon

  I have a Bible trivia question for you.

What three characters in the Bible were not born of parents?

  We read about two of them at the very beginning of the Bible.

  Adam and Eve were not born of parents, God created them during Creation Week.  (Genesis 1: 26 & 27 and 2: 7, 21 & 22) 

  The third person was mentioned in today’s reading from the Old Testament Book of Numbers.

  It is Joshua, son of Nun (son of none).

  Trick question!

  I am mentioning Joshua because I was intrigued by his reaction to what was taking place among the People of Israel, as described in today’s passage, where we read, 

“Then Joshua spoke up and said to Moses, ‘Stop them, sir!’“  (Numbers 11: 28b) 

  Writers suggest that, in his outburst to Moses upon his experiencing the Spirit of God resting upon the 70 Elders, Joshua was becoming over excited  (John Thompson in Numbers in the New Bible Commentary p181) or alarmed  (Walter Riggens in Numbers  The Daily Study Bible p98).  Clearing he is confused with what was happening, and incorrectly interpreting what was taking place.

Acts 2: 12

  We see a similar reaction among the crowd which had gathered around the Apostles at 9 o’clock on the morning of the Pentecost happening.  Upon hearing the babble of the voices of the Apostles as they spoke in various languages, we read the reaction of some of the crowd,

“Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, ‘What does this mean?’”  (Acts 2: 12) 

  Luke writes that there truly was confusion among the hearers, who were not understanding what was happening.  Luke also writes that those who “made fun of (the Apostles) saying,

‘These people are drunk!’”  (Acts 2: 13)  , clearly misunderstood the situation.

  There was misunderstanding and confusion with both Joshua and the Pentecost crowd, because they were seeking to interpret the circumstances before them in Human terms, outside of the context of God at work in someone’s life.  Understanding the work of the Holy Spirit can only be understood by looking at how God is seeking to equip someone for His service.

  At the root of Joshua’s reaction was his perception that the authority and position of Moses, as the Leader of the People of God, was being threatened by the Spirit of God enabling others to be being empowered to speak the Word of God and to lead others as directed by God.  (John Thompson in Numbers in the New Bible Commentary p181, Walter Riggens in Numbers  The Daily Study Bible p98, Study Notes in NIV Study Bible p207)

  The response of Moses to Joshua was that his call by God to lead God’s People involved no concept of status or self glory.  (John Thompson in Numbers in the New Bible Commentary p181)  How God sought to enable Moses to undertake all of the tasks of leadership and who God chose to assist Moses to lead the People was God’s choice alone.  (Walter Riggens in Numbers  The Daily Study Bible p98)  Moses refused to restrict how God would work.  (Study Notes The New Oxford Annotated Bible p206)  “Moses recognised that the Spirit enabling him to lead the People was not his own nor his to direct.”  (John Thompson in Numbers in the New Bible Commentary p181, Walter Riggens in Numbers  The Daily Study Bible p98) 

  The response of Moses mirrored his increasing understanding that the People of God should, individually, be equipped by God to undertake a life of worship and service of God.  His hope was that “the LORD would give His Spirit to all His people.”  (Numbers 11: 29b)  , for in this way they would be better motivated and directed in their life ,rather than being dependant upon the guidance of one person.

  It was in the writings of the Old Testament Prophet Joel that this hope of Moses becomes transformed into a promise by God, where He states clearly, 

“I will pour out my Spirit on everyone (or all people).  (Joel 2: 28a) 

  This is a significant turning point in God’s relation with people, because, as Alan Cole points out, until this point in time, “God gave His Spirit only to special people, on special occasions, for special tasks”.  (Alan Cole in Joel in the New Bible Commentary p723)  He goes on the explain that the responsibility of people at that time was to recognise the guidance from God that a select few had received and for them to obey that guidance.  (Study Note in The New Oxford Annotated Bible p1279)  But, all this would change.  In the indeterminate future, “the possession of the Spirit of God will be the universal hall-mark of all of God’s children.”  (Alan Cole in Joel in the New Bible Commentary p723) 

  We need to recognise how revolutionary such a change this would be.  Social and cultural barriers involving age or gender or occupation or social standing and position would dissipate, for God would treat all people on an equal basis.  No-one would be “excluded from the Spirit’s outpouring”.  (Study Notes in NIV Study Bible p1357)  Peter, in his speech to the  Pentecost crowd, reveals a much wider application to Joel’s prophesy, for he states,

“The promise (of forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit) is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”  (Acts 2: 39) 

  The implication is that the “all people” of Joel’s writings includes both Jews and non-Jews, that is, the Gentiles, meaning that the barriers of race and culture and religious upbringing would also dissipate.

  The mention of God’s intent to “pour out his spirit”, show’s God’s plan for an “abundant outpouring of His spirit”, “in numerous forms and outlets”, such that ‘new life” will be breathed into the People of God.  (Peter Craigie in The Twelve Prophets The Daily Study bible Volume 1 p111, Alan Cole in Joel in the New Bible Commentary p723) 

John 7: 38

  When Jesus talked of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, it was always in the future tense, something that will come.  “The fullness of the Spirit’s work depended on Jesus’ prior work of salvation.”  (Study Notes in NIV Study Bible p1639)  The coming of the Holy Spirit was subsequent to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ  (Donald Guthrie in John in the New Bible Commentary p945)  or, as William Barclay writes, “it took the life and death of Jesus Christ to open the floodgates for the Spirit to become real and powerful for people.”  (William Barclay in The Gospel of John Volume 1 p252) 

  And, just as Jesus promised, and just as the Prophet Joel had prophesised, at Pentecost the Apostles “had an experience of the power of the Holy Spirit flooding their beings such as they never had before”.  (William Barclay in The Acts of the Apostles p15)  Luke, in his recording of the recollections of the Apostles to this happening, is careful to note that “the coming of the Spirit is marked by an audible sign (a strong wind blowing)  (Acts 2: 2)  and a visible sign (tongues of fire)  (Acts 2: 3)  .  (Study Notes in NIV Study Bible p1679, Frederick Bruce in Acts in the New Bible Commentary p975) 

  And we must note that this is the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to the Apostles that they would be filled with “the power from above”, which would take place soon after his ascension to Heaven.  (Luke 24: 49, Acts 1: 4 & 8) 

  The fulfillment of this promise led to a purpose for such an empowering, and we see that in Peter speaking to the assembled crowd, and the further acts of the Apostles about which we read in Luke’s Book of that title.  Such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit still takes place today, but perhaps not so dramatically in the lives of God’s people.  And, if so, for what purposes does the holy spirit prepare and equip us today?

1 Corinthians 12: 3b

  The affirmation “Jesus is Lord” is the earliest Christian confession of faith.”  (Study Note NIV Study Bible p1754)  The Greek word translated as “Lord” is Kurios  (Strong’s NT2962)  , which can be interpreted to mean “supreme in authority”.  Paul, in his Letter to the Church in Corinth, is stating that anyone making this acclamation, “Jesus is Lord”, is making the claim that they are giving to Jesus “the supreme loyalty of their life and the supreme worship of their heart”, as William Barclay writes.  He goes on to say, that Paul’s understanding was that the Holy Spirit enables the person to make this acclamation, for “the Lordship of Jesus is not so much something which a person discovers for themself, but, rather, something which God, in his grace, reveals to them.”  (William Barclay in 1 Corinthians  Daily Study Bible p119) 

  So too with us.  When we make such acclamations in worship, do they come from the heart, as you are led by God’s Spirit, or are the words repeated as part of a ritual?

  Jesus promises that God would send to each believer a parakletos, as the Greek read,  (Strong’s NT3875), meaning a comforter or consoler or helper.  In a legal sense it could also be understood as intercessor or advocate.  Jesus is intentionally using this word in all of the breadth of its understanding, for he is ensuring the Disciples that the Holy Spirit, when he comes, will fulfill such roles in their entirety.  Jesus is stating that “the Spirit will always stand by God’s people”.  (Study Note in NIV Study Bible p1653) 

  Jesus always explained that the blessing of the Holy Spirit was a gift from God.  It was not something thrust upon people, nor an enforcement.  As a gift, therefore, the Holy Spirit can be called upon to bring that discernment and peace of mind and soul which God also promised to those who believed in the saving work of His Son.  John talks briefly of two ways this is accomplished.

  Firstly, John records Jesus saying that “the Spirit (is the one) who reveals the truth about God.”  (John 14: 17, 15: 26)  In one sense, this is an obvious statement to make.  We understand that the Holy Spirit

“proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified”,

as we read in the Nicene Creed.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_versions_of_the_Nicene_Creed) 

  Upon that understanding, how, then, could the Holy Spirit not reveal the truth about God?  However, I think that what Jesus is saying, is that if there is a matter on which you are seeking understanding about God, about His nature, His will and His purpose, it is the Holy Spirit who will provide that understanding, if we sincerely and patiently ask for it.

John 14: 26

  Secondly, John highlights the onus on the Christian to always be seeking a greater understanding of the World and of our faith.

  William Barclay writes, “to the end of the day the Christian must be a learner, for to the end of the day the Holy Spirit will be leading them deeper and deeper in the truth of God.  There is never any excuse in the Christian faith for a shut mind.  The Christian who feels that they have nothing more to learn is the Christian who has not even begun to understand what he doctrine of the Holy Spirit means.”  (William Barclay in John  Daily Study Bible p170) 

  Paul is using the concept of nourishment when he wrote,

“We have all been given the one Spirit to drink.”  (1 Corinthians 12: 13) 

  The Greek word Paul uses is potidzo  (Strong’s NT4222)  which could be translated as either to furnish a drink or to irrigate.  Norman Hillyer writes that Paul is incorporating both concepts, for he understands Paul saying,

“the Spirit is around us (the image of being irrigated or immersed in water) and within us (the figure of drinking water).”

  Incorporating both of these images, he explains that the Christian is “saturated with the Spirit”  (Norman Hillyer in 1 Corinthians in  the New Bible Commentary p1067)  , or as the writers of the NIV Study Bible express it, “overflowing with the Spirit”  (Study Note in NIV Study Bible p1784) 

  This highlights the understanding that God does not issue His gift of the Holy Spirt sparingly, but lavishly and abundantly.

  One of the main lessons that Paul seeks to highlight to the Church in Corinth, is that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is manifest in a particular way in that individual.  Make no mistake, Paul says,

“The Spirit gives a different gift to each person.”  (1 Corinthians 12: 11) 

  The unity of the Church, Paul writes, “does not mean uniformity”, for there are differing functions to perform requiring the use of differing abilities and differing skills.  How God seeks for the individual to contribute to God’s purpose for the Church is shown by the specific “spiritual gift” given to them by the Holy Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 12: 4) 

  And Paul explains his understanding of what some of these gifts may look like in chapter 12 of his first Letter to the Church in Corinth, but it would require a month’s worth of sermons to give a brief understanding of them all.  I like this paragraph written by William Barclay about what Paul is saying in this particular passage,

“The picture we get is the picture of a Church vividly alive.  Things happened; in fact astonishing things happened.  Life was heightened and intensified.  There was nothing flat and dull and ordinary about the early Church.  Paul knew that all this vivid, powerful activity was the work of the Holy spirit who gave to each person their gift to use for all.”  (William Barclay in Letters to the Corinthians p121 & 124)

 But, the application for us is none-the-less just as important, for how is the Holy Spirit enabling us to be involved in such “powerful activity” in the life of a Church that is “vividly alive”?  Or to put it another way, how are we seeking to make use of those gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to each of such that our Church will be characterised by “vivid, powerful activity”?

1 Corinthians 12: 5

  We are reminded of the reaction of Moses to Joshua’s alarm.  It is not my status or authority about which you should be concerned, Moses is saying to Joshua, but about how God is enabling His People to worship and serve Him.  In all of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Christ, the focus is always on God.  Paul reminds the Church in Corinth,

“There are different ways of serving but the same Lord is served.”  (1 Corinthians 12: 5) 

  There is no room for status or self-glory in our understanding of how the Church is to be.  William Barclay writes,

“Paul begins by saying that all special gifts come from God.  It was Paul’s belief that any special ability that a person has comes from God and, therefore, must be used in the service of God.”  For it is only upon that understanding and application that the Church will be “enriched” and purposeful.    (William Barclay in Letters to the Corinthians p120) 

  A Joe Stowell wrote these words,

“What a profound privilege it is to mirror God’s love, mercy, grace, justice, and righteousness to a World whose heart is veiled to God’s truth.  Our purpose is to show others less of us and more of Him.  That’s living with a purpose.  (Our Daily Bread 21 May 2007) 

  I will leave you with this poem,

“So let our lips and lives express

The Holy Gospel we confess,

So let our words and virtues shine

To prove the doctrine all divine.”

  (attributed to a Watts in Our Daily Bread 21 May 2007) 

You are invited to listen to or join in singing hymn:

‘Holy Spirt, come, confirm us’  (TiS413  AHB327)

William Foley

Offering

Offering Prayer    ,

‘For the life that you have given’  (TiS774) 

This YouTube clip is for another hymn but is used here for the tune, so please disregard the words – only the one verse is needed. The words are printed below:]

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

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

We bring to you our prayers for the World around us and for people individually.

We pray for the Church,

That we may faithfully confess Jesus as Lord and be guided by the Holy Spirit to continue the mission of Christ in our time.

For fuller utilization of the Gifts of the Spirit,

That you, God, will help us recognize and put into practice all the gifts which we have been given so that the Body of Christ may be strong in serving you.

We pray for the grace to forgive,

That you, God, will break the bonds of fear, anger, and resentment that freeze our hearts and free us to forgive all who have injured us as you have forgiven us.

We pray for Christian unity,

That the Spirit will heal the divisions that exist, bring down the walls of mistrust, and help us to pray and work together in your service.

We pray for reconciliation in the Human family,

That you, God, will help us bridge the gulf that divides nations, races, genders, and economic groups and restore our ability to work together against poverty, disease, famine, and injustice.

We pray for a Spirit of love,

That we may fulfill Christ’s command to love one another by placing our time, energy, and gifts at the service of others and helping them to carry their daily burdens.

We pray for a Spirit of truth,

That we may open our minds and hearts to all the ways that truth is manifest, particularly in the Scriptures.

We pray for a Spirit of hope,

That all who are overwhelmed by life may find new reasons to live this day and be gifted with a vision of all that could be tomorrow.

We pray for a Spirit of justice,

That the needy, exploited, abused, and victims of war may know freedom, relief from oppression, and their dignity as daughters and sons of God.

We pray for the Spirit of healing,

That you, God, will touch all who are ill, strengthen their minds, bodies, and spirits, and restore them to wholeness.

We pray for a Spirit of reverence,

That all hearts may recognize you, God, as Creator and work to protect and preserve your gift of Creation, our common home.

We pray for a Spirit of wisdom for all government and business leaders,

That they may develop policies that promote the common good and inclusion of all in Society.

We pray for a Spirit of Peace,

That you, God, will dissolve the hatred in Human hearts, protect the Human family from nuclear weapons, and establish a season of peace throughout the World.

Copyright © 2023. Joe Milner. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use.  https://liturgy.slu.edu/PentecostA052823/ideas_other.html

We pray for ourselves, all the people of Australia,

That there will be between us and within us wholeness and reconciliation, a deep love our neighbour.  Help us to see in each other Your righteousness, your goodness, your pure qualities, and that we seek to reflect the same in all that we do and say and think.

(https://assembly.uca.org.au/images/stories/covenanting/2012ReconciliationWeek_liturgy.pdf)

We pray for those who will lead Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State School this year.  Guide them in the words to say and the approach to take with the children in their classes.  May the Holy Spirit challenge the children in the RI classes to come to a closer relationship with you.

We pray for Kylie Conomos, the Scripture Union Chaplain at Bald Hills State School.  Please guide and equip her as she seeks to address the concerns and needs of children, parents and teachers at the school.

We pray for those who are unable to attend worship.  Please guide and comfort them in their particular circumstances.  May they be aware of your care for them as they meet what each new day brings.

Lord God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your lovingkindness.  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.

You are invited to listen to or join in singing song:

‘One Day’  (Alexander’s Hymns No. 3 number 205)

Wilbur Chapman

Benediction    

All in all to me is Jesus!  Every need His grace supplies;

Day by day He guides and keeps me, no good thing to me denies.

In His love I am abiding, everything to Him confiding;

‘Neath His wing my soul is hiding, He is all in all to me.

All in all to me is Jesus, I am His, and He is mine;

To His love, and in His service, everything I now resign.

Chas. H. Gabriel

And 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

Wade Robinson