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Call to Worship: –
Today is World Communion Sunday. This is a day when Christians all around the World celebrate Holy Communion with a special reminder that we are part of one big family, no matter where we live! We join ecumenically in acknowledging our unity in Christ as we come around his table.
When we celebrate Holy Communion, we remember Jesus’s love for us. But it’s not just for us here in this church, nor even just for people in our town or our Country, for Jesus’s love knows no bounds. It’s for everyone, everywhere! Jesus’s love reaches every person, in every Country, in every corner of the earth.
We gather for worship, celebrating the boundless love of our Lord Jesus Christ. From the rising of the Sun to its setting, may we lift our voices in praise for our God who reigns over all the Earth. We join with Christians from every corner of the globe, to unite in worship, giving thanks for the gift of Jesus by celebrating the bread and cup he shared. As we gather here today, may we celebrate our covenant commitment to be followers of Jesus, the Christ.
Prayer of Praise
(from Uniting in Worship p572 to 574 nos. 23 to 29)
Lord God Almighty, your greatness and majesty are there for all to see in the Heavens and the Earth. All that you have created is yours to control and to direct. You have authority over Time and Space, over History and over Nations. You are beyond our sight, above our thoughts, infinite and eternal.
We exalt you for the works of your hands and the wonders you perform.
Most blessed God, your graciousness is revealed in your goodness to all peoples. Your mercy is revealed in the life and witness of your Son, Jesus Christ, who preached good news to a despondent people seeking relief from their trials, who proclaimed to a despairing people their release from a bondage of sin and death, who befriended the outcast and the diseased who were rejected and cast aside, who denounced the oppressor and the hypocrite who lived off the lives of others. Your great work of salvation was achieved by the raising of Jesus from death, the pinnacle of your work to reconcile a sinful Humanity to yourself.
We exalt you for the works of your hands and the wonders you perform.
Holy Lord, you have guided and preserved us in all our ways. You have shown us the path to take and have sustained us on life’s journey. You have held us up in our times of trouble and have comforted us in our times of grief. You have blessed us with family and friends, you have provided for our needs, those things for which we asked and those that we did not know we needed.
We exalt you for the works of your hands and the wonders you perform. In reverence and awe we come before you, to offer our worship and praise. May all we do and say bring glory to your name and bear witness to your everlasting love for all people. Amen.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing 2 Songs
“Our God reigns”
(Scripture in Song volume 1 number 201)
Leonard Smith
“Something Beautiful”
(Scripture in Song Volume 1 number 204)
Bill and Gloria Gaither
Prayer of Confession
Physician of my sin-sick race
come with your everlasting grace
to this, my dying, sinful soul,
and make me pure and clean and whole.
Transform my heart so you will find
a pure intent, a healthy mind.
Your utmost truth in me reveal
my unbelief, and doubts to heal.
Your presence does my joy ensure,
your presence is my nature’s cure.
My hope, your gift I may possess,
life, everlasting righteousness.
Revive my spirit, tired and worn,
sole comforter of souls forlorn,
I surely trust your gracious power
to touch, to heal me, in this hour. Amen.
Charles Wesley
(from Wesley’s Prayers and Praises p27 & 28 [adapted])
Assurance of Forgiveness
(from Hebrews 2: 11)
The writer of Hebrews proclaims that Jesus Christ purifies people from their sins. Having confessed our sins before God, let us hold onto this assurance and know with confidence that God has listened to our pleas and that God has forgiven us.
Thanks be to God.
Prayer of illumination
(from https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Liturgist_Resources-1.pdf)
God, source of all knowledge. By your Word you give light to the soul. Pour upon us the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, so that our hearts and minds may be open to know your truth and your way. Amen.
Bible Readings
Psalm 8:
1 O LORD, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the World!
Your praise reaches up to the Heavens; 2 it is sung by children and babies.
You are safe and secure from all your enemies; you stop anyone who opposes you.
3 When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places, 4 what is Humanity, that you think of us; mere mortals, that you think consider us?
5 Yet, you made Man and Woman inferior only to yourself, you crowned Humans with glory and honour. 6 You appointed Humans rulers over everything you made; you placed Humanity over all Creation: 7 sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too; 8 the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas.
Hebrews 1:
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the Prophets, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. He is the one through whom God created the Universe, the one whom He has chosen to possess all things at the end. 3 He reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact likeness of God’s own being, sustaining the Universe with his powerful Word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of Humankind, he sat down in Heaven at the right-hand side of God, the supreme power.
Hebrews 2:
6 As it is written in the Scriptures:
“What is Man, O God, that you should think of him; mere man that you should care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honour, 8 and made him ruler over all things.” (Psalm 8: 4 – 6)
It says that God made man “ruler over all thing”; this clearly includes everything. We do not, however, see man ruling over all things now. 9 But, we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made power than the angels, so that through God’s grace he should die for everyone. We see him now, crowned with glory and honour, because of the death he suffered.
10 It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in order to bring many children to share his glory. For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation. 11 He purifies people from their sins, and both he and those who are made pure all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his sisters and brothers.
This is the Word of God.
Praise to you Almighty God.
Matthew 21:
12 Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons, 13 and said to them:
“It is written in Scriptures that God said,
‘My Temple will be called a House of prayer. (Isaiah 56: 7) But you are making it a hideout for thieves!’ (Jeremiah 7: 11) ”
14 The blind and the crippled came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. 15 The Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law became angry when they saw the wonderful
things he was doing, and the children shouting in the Temple,
“Praise to David’s Son!”
16 So they asked Jesus,
“Do you hear what they are saying?”
“Indeed I do.” answered Jesus. “Haven’t you ever read this Scripture? ‘You have trained children and babies to offer perfect praise.’” (Psalm 8: 2)
Mark 10:
13 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the Disciples scolded the people. 14 When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his Disciples,
“Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
16 Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.
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
“My song is love unknown” (TiS341)
Samuel Crossman
Sermon
Today’s readings from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark are about children, or, to be more precise, to be like a child.
But first, I want to share with you two quotes about children that I came across in a book titled, Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes, so that we have some sort of context.
This first is from a Rebecca Richards:
“Oh, to be only half as wonderful as my child thought I was when he was small, and only half as stupid as my teenager now thinks I am.” (Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes p53)
When I read this, it reminds me of the joy I see in the faces of our three ‘pre-teen’ granddaughters whenever they get an opportunity to spend time with their Nana and Pop. There is the spontaneity of their joyful greetings, the acknowledgement that they are accepted and loved just for being who they are, and the understanding that any affection and time lavished upon them is given to them freely and willingly.
The second quote is from a William Tammeus:
“You don’t really understand Human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at their parents every time (they go) around – and why their parents will always wave back.” (Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes p 59)
And if you don’t believe that this happens, go to Aussie World up at the Sunshine Coast or to any of the theme parks on the way to the Gold Coast and watch what happens at merry-go-rounds. This interaction between children and their parents waving to each other just happens quite naturally so it seems. Why is this so? Perhaps it is a hope on the part of parents to see that their child is enjoying the experience of being on the ride, and a desire to reassure their child that they will still be there even though they may temporarily be out-of-sight. And, conversely, it may be a desire on the part of the child to express their joy at experiencing the ride, and to be reassured that the parents are there all of the time watching over them.
Mind you, I admit that this is not the case for all young children, all of the time. At morning tea, ask Kerry about the time when our daughter was about two years old and was given an extra long ride on a merry-go-round type of ride at the Pine Rivers Show because there were no other children waiting in the queue.
And, I also admit that are two unwritten and unspoken expectations about children having a ride on a merry-go-round. Firstly, that the child will always be seen by their parents to be on the ride every time that the ride completes a full circle and they again come into view. And, secondly, that the parents will always be seen by their child to be where they had been standing every time that the ride completes a full circle and they come into view.
What happens if either of these expectations is not fulfilled, if a child or their parents were not where they should have been? Well, I’m sure such a happening has been the inspiration for an episode of numerous television series at some point in time. All jokes aside, though, it is important to reflect on the motivation for the behaviour of the children as described in both statements when we reflect on today’s Gospel passages.
Matthew describes a time when Jesus went to the Temple immediately after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where he was proclaiming himself to be the long-awaited descendant of King David. Now if you have been to the EKKA and have visited the bird pavilion, you can appreciate the scene that awaited Jesus in the Temple grounds. The noise in that EKKA bird pavilion is quite extraordinary, for you hear the loud cooing, cackling and chirping of an innumerable variety of birds, making it difficult to converse or to concentrate.
Such would have been the case in the Temple at the time of the visit by Jesus. In addition, there would have been the cries of those who were selling pigeons advertising the prices for their birds, the calls by the money-changers proclaiming their exchange rates, and the scraping of stools upon the stone floors as stall owners moved to serve a customer.
What had been intended as a place of prayer had become a place to make a profit.
What had been intended as a place for contemplation had become a place for commerce.
It would have been serious enough if Jesus had only acted as he did because he was outraged about the inability of people to be in a quiet place so as to enable them to offer a meaningful and personal worship of God. But Mark’s account seems to highlight three additional issues that Jesus sought to address.
“you are making it a hideout for thieves”, Jesus is recorded as saying. (Matthew 21: 13b)
Jesus is stating what must have been obvious to everyone who was required to purchase an animal to be sacrificed, or who had to exchange coins which bore the image of a Roman Emperor, which the Jewish religious Laws forbad to be used as Temple offerings, for other coins which did not bear the image of a Roman Emperor, which were considered as Lawful Temple offerings. Jesus is stating that the sellers were acting as “thieves”, making exorbitant profits by overcharging for their wares. And Jesus knew that the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law were complicit in this because it was they who approved of the buying and selling which was taking place in the courtyard of the Temple; it was they who turned a ‘blind eye’ to the overcharging. It is understood that the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law were receiving a portion of the profits that each stall holder was making, as payment for allowing the stall holder to sell their wares in the Temple grounds. Instead of focussing their energies on being priests of Almighty God serving the people, the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law were acting as priests of the idol of money, being implicitly and actively involved in the profit-making enterprises, making money at the expense of the people. It is on these grounds that Jesus was justified in his complaint against them.
Mark continues his account by relating how “the blind and the crippled then came to Jesus in the Temple, and Jesus healed them”. (Matthew 21: 14) It is here that we see the blind and the crippled recognising the all-encompassing care and compassion expressed by Jesus, their acknowledgement of the Divine power and authority of Jesus, and the opportunity Jesus offered for them to be healed of their afflictions and made whole in body, mind and spirit. And Jesus responds to their needs, miraculously giving sight to the sightless and the ability to walk to those who could not walk.
And we know that Jesus performed many miracles that day because Matthew records that the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law watched as Jesus healed the blind and the crippled with the divine creative power of the Son of God. But, instead of exclaiming joy and praising God for “the wonderful things that they saw that Jesus was doing”, instead, they “became angry” at what Jesus was doing. (Matthew 21: 15a)
How could they possibly react with anger at the obvious way God was at work in the lives of others? I believe that, deep down, they felt guilty, guilty at their total lack of empathy for the needy, guilty for the absence of any display of concern for the needy, guilty at their failure to initiate any act of compassion or assistance for their fellow Jews who were crying out for help. Sure, they could not heal the blind or the crippled, but they were at fault because they did nothing to prevent the blind and the crippled from having to resort to a life of begging so as to earn a pittance upon which they could feed and care for themselves and their family. It was Jesus who demonstrated the compassion that God had for such needy people. It was Jesus who was acting in the name of God so as to alleviate such obvious need. It was Jesus who was ensuring that the blind could now see and the crippled could now walk, and therefore it was Jesus who was enabling them, from this point onwards, to earn a decent day’s wage and to participate fully in the social and religious life of the community. It was the actions of Jesus that shamed the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law, not just in their own eyes, but, just as crucially, also in the eyes of all of those who were watching on as Jesus demonstrated that he was “the Son of God” acting in the name of God to bring glory and honour to God.
And the children watched all of this unfolding. They had watched as Jesus entered Jerusalem as the promised King in the line of King David, riding on a donkey on a mission to bring about the peace of God and not to initiate revolt and upheaval. They had watched as Jesus acted as had the Prophets of old to unseat sin and unbelief. They had watched as Jesus showed his Divine nature in acting with God’s recreative power to heal the blind and crippled. They had watched as Jesus clearly demonstrated that he was God’s chosen agent to bring about the coming Kingdom of God as John the Baptist had proclaimed.
And how did the children respond to all of this? “Praise to David’s Son!” the children were “shouting in the Temple”. (Matthew 21: 15b) The children spontaneously reacted with joy at the presence of Jesus amongst them. The children acknowledged that Jesus accepted and loved them just for being who they were. The children had the understanding that any affection and time lavished upon them by Jesus was given to them freely and willingly. The children understood that God’s desire was for them to experience joy and fulfillment in their lives. And the children felt reassured that God, the Father, was there all of the time watching over all of them wherever they were.
And how did the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law react to the children? By complaining to Jesus about them. “Do you hear what they are saying?” they asked Jesus. (Matthew 21: 16) It appears that they were offended that someone who was not one of their group was receiving the praise that they felt they deserved. They were offended that Jesus would allow mere children to proclaim that he was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies about God’s Messiah. They felt that Jesus challenged their power and authority as the religious leaders of the Jewish people. They felt that Jesus threatened the stability of the Temple hierarchy that they had spent so much time and effort to build up and uphold. (Craig Keener in The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the New Testament p101)
Jesus once said to his Disciples:
“whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (Mark 10: 15)
Children are not inhibited by being preoccupied with maintaining their status in the eyes of others, or by seeking to hold onto power and authority and position over others, or by wanting others to serve them rather than to follow the example of Jesus in seeking to serve others.
What God is seeking from us is that, in our faith we are to be like a child.
Walter Wessel and William Lane write that “the Kingdom of God belongs to those who, like children, are prepared to receive the Kingdom as a gift of God, who have the openness and receptivity of children to accept that it cannot be achieved by Human effort, but may be entered only by those who know they are helpless, and without merit or claim.” (study note in Mark in The NIV Study Bible p1541 & 1542)
Craig Keener writes that what God is seeking is for people to put their faith in “no one (and nothing) but God”. (Craig Keener in The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the New Testament p162)
I came across this poem in my week’s readings in an issue of Our Daily Bread:
“We cannot earn our way to Heaven
by word or work or worth,
but if we trust in Christ to save us
then we’ll enjoy new birth.” David Branon
Our Daily Bread 30 September 2008
May we be like the children who saw Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem that day, and spontaneously and joyously make our own statement:
“Praise to David’s Son!”. Amen.
Offering
Offering Prayer
(https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/october-06-2024-world-communion-sunday)
Prayers for Others
God of mercy and of love, you have called us to live in communion with all of your created World. Give us a new appreciation for the diversity of Creation.
Open our awareness of our responsibility for being good stewards of your Creation and of Earth’s resources, so that we will strive to protect it for future generations
Give us a new appreciation for the diversity of the people of our World, all of whom you love with an everlasting love.
Help us to serve the needs of all who are suffering, sick, lonely, and broken by the struggles of life with the compassion and joy of true servants of Christ.
Bless our national, state and local leaders to serve all people with integrity.
Purge from us all hatred and prejudice, and build within us your love, that even in our dealings with the other nations of Earth we may be servants of peace, truth and justice.
May you strengthen those whose lives feel shattered, don’t make sense, in crisis, and experiencing loss.
May you say the healing word to those who need it. May you bring the Human touch of love to those who have not been touched. May you love the unloved through us.
May you shine your light into those whose world is covered in darkness.
May you use us to feed the hungry, clothe the ones who need clothes, give a cup of water to those who are thirsty, shelter the homeless, and visit the sick and those in prison.
Give us grace to work with passion for the unity of your Church throughout the World, and to take our place among its people without expectation of reward, beyond the smile of your approval.
Make of us a more obedient people, gladly giving what we have received from your faithful hand.
May we see in each other your light, your love and you.
May it not matter our differences, our names, our languages, our looks, and our way of doing things.
Today, O God, we confess fumblings and failures in accomplishing unity. On this day, give us eyes to recognize your reflection in the eyes of Christians everywhere.
Give us a mind to accept and celebrate our differences. Give us a heart big enough to love your children everywhere. We thank you for setting a table with space enough for us all!
We confess that we are divided and at odds with one another, that a bad spirit has risen among us and set us against your Holy Spirit of peace and love. Take from us the mistrust, party spirit, contention, and all evil that now divides us.
Work in us a desire for reconciliation, so that, putting aside personal grievances, we may go about your business with a single mind, devoted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Lord God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your lovingkindness. To your glory we pray. Amen.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn
“Jesus, Thou joy of loving hearts” (TiS499)
Verse 1 of 5
Bernard of Clairvaux
(translated by Ray Palmer)
Sacrament of Communion
(following Uniting in Worship 2 p162 to p222)
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
The Invitation
Christ, our Lord, invites to his Table all who love him, all who earnestly repent of their sin and who seek to live in peace with one another.
Prayer of Approach
Lord God, we come to your Table, trusting in your mercy and not in any goodness of our own. We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature always to have mercy, and on that we depend. So, feed us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your son, that we may for ever live in him and he in us. Amen.
Narrative of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper
Hear the words of the institution of this Sacrament as recorded by the Apostle Paul:
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new Covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, for the remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’” (1 Corinthians 11: 23 to 26)
And, so, according to our Saviour’s command, we set this bread and this cup apart for the Holy Supper to which he calls us, and we come to God with our prayers of thanksgiving.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
With all we are, we give you glory, God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the one and holy God, Sovereign of all Time and Space. We thank you for this wide red land, for its rugged beauty, for its changing seasons, for its diverse people, and for all that lives upon this fragile Planet. You have called us to be the Church in this place, to give voice to every creature under Heaven. We rejoice with all that you have made, as we join the company of Heaven in their song:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and Earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed be the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
We thank you that you called a covenant people to be the light to the Nations. Through Moses you taught us to love your Law, and, in the Prophets, you cried out for justice. In the fullness of your mercy, you became one with us in Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for us on the cross. You make us alive together with him, that we may rejoice in his presence and share his peace. By water and the Spirit, you open the Kingdom to all who believe, and welcome us to your Table: for by grace we are saved through faith. With this bread and this cup we do as our Saviour commands: we celebrate the redemption he has won for us.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Pour out the Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts of bread and the cup, that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ. Make us one with him, one with each other, and one in ministry in the World, until at last we feast with him in the Kingdom. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, in your holy Church, all honour and glory are yours, Father Almighty, now and for ever.
Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,
For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Breaking of the Bread
The bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
The cup we take is a sharing in the blood of Christ.
The gifts of God for the People of God.
Lamb of God
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the World,
Grant us peace.
The Distribution
Receive this Holy Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, and feed upon him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
(after all have received the bread)
The body of Christ keep you in eternal life.
(after all have received the juice)
The blood of Christ keep you in eternal life.
Prayer after Communion
Blessed be God who calls us together.
Praise to God who makes us one People.
Blessed be God who has forgiven our sins.
Praise to God who gives us hope and freedom.
Blessed be God whose Word is proclaimed.
Praise to God who is revealed as the One who loves.
Blessed be God who alone has called us.
Therefore, we offer to God all that we are and all that we shall become.
Accept, O God, our sacrifice of praise.
Accept our thanks for we have seen the greatness of your love. Amen.
You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn
“Nothing but the blood of Jesus” Alexander’s Hymns No. 3 number 171
Robert Lowry
Benediction
Let us hold fast to our faith and to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for in Christ God has revealed His love and compassion for all of Humanity and has revealed His power and authority over the forces of darkness in Heaven and upon Earth. That is the source of our hope and our peace.
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
“God be in my head”
(MHB405) (adapted) (based in part on Psalm 19: 14)
[This Benediction hymn is being sung to the tune My Jesus I love Thee – refer to MHB437.]
[This YouTube clip has the words for another hymn but is used here for the tune.]
God be in my head, and in my thinking.
God be in my eyes, and in my looking.
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking.
God be in my heart, and in my loving.
The author is anonymous. The words appeared in a Sarum Primer dated 1558, and have been slightly adapted to fit the above selected tune.