Welcome:  –

Call to Worship:  –

The liberty of the Lord Jesus be with you all.

And also with you.

God gives us a day of Sabbath rest because we need it, not because the Sabbath demands our servitude.

The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath.

O Lord, you have searched me and understand me, you know every path I take, every decision I make, you know all there is to know about me.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How great is the sum of them.

If I should try and count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

Prayer of Praise   

Most wonderful God, we love you because you first loved us.

Praise be to you for the countless blessings of your creation!

Praise be to you for your son Jesus, and for all the blessings of salvation!

Praise be to you for you the gifts of your Spirit, and all the blessings of the new creation!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful are you, God of unspeakable light and love,

all things are full and running over with your glory!

Glorious are you and praised be your name for ever! Amen!

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing 2 songs:  

SiS 254      ‘I Will Sing, I Will Sing’

SiS 139      ‘I will enter his gates with thanksgiving’

Prayer of Confession 

Most wise and loving God, you are the one sure Source of grace, mercy and peace.

Thank you for not pandering to shallow penitence but for requiring deep repentance.

There is much in the things we do and say, to give us regret. There is even more in the good things we fail to do, to make us want to say “sorry.”

Yet we confess we are inclined to say “sorry” too glibly, and we treat mercy and forgiveness as a formality. In our better moments we know that such shallow religion will not do.

Today we come seeking something deeper and more radical.

You, saving God, know how things stand for each of us here this day.

You know of our hard-won achievements and our virtues.

You also know our lapsed good intentions, our blundering escapades, our broken promises and our petty ways.

You see both the large picture of evil and the smallest detail pertaining to each individual.

Please God, by your relentless Spirit drag us from shallow regret into sincere distaste of all that is less than loving.

Implant in us both the desire and the will to thoroughly repent, and to wholeheartedly accept your forgiving and reforming grace.

We abandon ourselves to whatever discipline and painful therapy may be needed if we are to mend our ways.

Most wonderful God, may your saving love never cease to amaze us, your forgiveness never fail to touch the darkest corners of our heart and mind, and your empowerment always be our hope and our joy.

Through Christ Jesus our Saviour. Amen!

Assurance of Forgiveness

Your forgiveness I proclaim to you, your absolution I declare to you.

While we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us.

Our sins are forgiven.

Thanks be to God.

Prayer of illumination

God, our most holy Friend, you have spoken your definitive word in Jesus Christ, in whom we find grace, mercy and truth. By your Spirit grant us the liberty to live in a way that reflects your truth.  May we bring grace into obdurate situations and spread mercy wherever the world rushes into hasty judgements. To your honour and glory, through Christ Jesus who continues to make all things new.

Amen!

Bible Readings

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (NIV)

The Lord Calls Samuel

¹ The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. ² One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.  ⁸ A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”  Then Eli realized that  the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

This is the Word of God

Praise to you Almighty God.

Mark 2:23-3:6 (NIV)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

²³ One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”  ²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”  ²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

¹ Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shrivelled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”  ⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. ⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

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: TiS 161 – ‘Tell out my soul the greatness of the Lord!’

Sermon: – Theme: Mercy, Justice and Love

Prayer: Dear Lord, As I bring Your Word today to this church, I pray that we would cherish Your Word to us. Please help us to hear Your Word and obey it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

“Jimmy, I love you.” Wilma was sitting by the bed of her husband, Jimmy. The progression of his illness had reached its last phase. But Wilma, who had been married to Jimmy for over 4 decades, just sat by his bed, repeating what she had so often said: “Jimmy, I love you.” They first fell in love in high school. And after Jimmy served in the Army, they were married. A young couple, starting life together at the start of the 1960’s. They set about creating a life together. Jimmy worked in a local factory, Wilma added inexpensive touches to their little apartment. They started to learn each other’s habits, adjusting to married life. They were young, and in love. Love had something new in store for them. The doctor announced that a child would soon arrive. So Jimmy and Wilma set up the nursery, and wondered how the arrival of a child would change their lives. They would learn new things about love. Jimmy and Wilma made all of the mistakes that first-time parents make. But eventually, with their son, a new routine settled in. The three of them, loving each other. It looked like this would be their future. But then another surprise. The doctor announced that another child was coming. They would learn new things about love again Their daughter was born. Now there were four in the house. Two years later, another daughter was born. Life was not like it was before. They were learning new things about parenting, and love. The girls reached high school. This family had reached its stride. Then came the day when Jimmy went to the doctor. The diagnosis came: he had multiple sclerosis. Their lives changed forever. Wilma became the bread winner. Things changed for the children, as they watched their father’s health decline. They began to learn that love was requiring something new from them. Now, love required letting go of what used to be, and learning the new skills of encouragement, patience, caregiving. For the next two decades, Wilma took care of Jimmy. It was certainly NOT what she had envisioned on her wedding day.

You don’t anticipate such things when you are young and in love. But here she was, the full-time bread winner, full-time care giver. And what did she say about all of this? She simply said, “I will do whatever it takes to love him.” Until the day he died, she stayed by his side, tenderly saying, “Jimmy, I love you.”

When couples stand before the altar and say “I do,” they often think that they know what love will require in their lives. But, over time, we begin to learn that our understanding of love must evolve, grow, deepen.

Life requires that we let go of what we thought love means, so that we can embrace the truth of love more generously. With time, we learn that love is about sacrifice and selflessness. And just as people begin to wrap their heads and hearts around the reality of their vocation… the first child comes along. Now there’s a new vocation – parenthood! And, all over again, we learn that love requires a lifetime of sacrifice, and selflessness.

Frankly that’s true of every vocation and calling in life – whether it’s marriage, parenthood, friendship, ministry, just following Jesus. We THINK we know what we’re getting into when we first say ‘yes’ – then life teaches us that we often have to let go of what we thought we knew, in order to embrace the God-given vocation of love.

In the First Book of Samuel, we see that Young Samuel literally has a vocation, a calling. Asleep near the Ark of the Covenant, he hears a voice: “Samuel.

Samuel.” Since he is young and inexperienced in spiritual things, he assumes that old Eli is calling him. As this pattern is repeated through night, young Samuel grows confused… and maybe just a little tired from all this interrupted sleep!

But Eli had learned a thing or two about God over the years. So Eli, the seasoned mentor, helps Samuel figure out what is going on. “You’re being called by the Lord, Samuel! (the word ‘vocation’ means ‘calling’). So when you hear the voice again, say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

This is the beginning of Samuel’s vocation or calling, the start of his life-long love of God. Samuel says, “Speak Lord,” and the Lord does! And whatever initial excitement Samuel may have felt over this loving encounter with God may have quickly given way to Samuel asking himself, “What did I just sign up for?” Because, when the Lord speaks to young Samuel, the Lord asks Samuel to deliver a hard and discomforting message to… Old Eli!

God has a word of judgment for Eli and his disobedient family. Samuel quickly learned that loving THIS God, listening to THIS God, was not going to be easy. This was a truth that Samuel would encounter again and again. Yes, Samuel loved the Lord, and the Lord loved him… but love required that Samuel had to let go of any hope of being the popular, beloved prophet of God.

Again and again, Samuel had to announce a word of challenge and warning to the people of Israel. Loving the Lord required sacrifice from Samuel. Samuel had to let go, in order to love the Lord more faithfully. The Pharisees often get a bad rap from Christian preachers.

In past sermons, I myself have painted the Pharisees with a very broad brush. We observe their careful attention to the Law, and we criticize them for being ‘legalistic.’

 As we read today’s Gospel passage, we might shake our heads and ask, “How can they complain that Jesus and his disciples are plucking and eating a little grain? How can they complain about Jesus healing a man’s hand on the Sabbath?” But let’s not judge the Pharisees just yet.

After all, they were trying their best to love God. They had a vocation, a calling – to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind and strength. Since they wanted to love and serve God faithfully, they read what we call the Old Testament. There, they found instructions from God himself. There, they read that faithfulness to their calling could be expressed by carefully following the statutes and commands of God.

God gave the commandments, to show us what life can look like as we live the covenant. So… the Pharisees loved God. And they understood that loving God required our careful observance of the law. Then along comes Jesus. He and his followers were causing quite a commotion. Yes, Jesus, spoke of the love of our God. But there was something new about his teaching. When Jesus talked about the love of God, he touched people’s hearts and minds. Even the Pharisees listened and were intrigued.

But as they WATCHED Jesus, they realized – Jesus’s understanding of the love of God was different than what the Pharisees understood. If they were going to embrace Jesus’ teaching, they would have to CHANGE. They may even have to let go of some things they thought they knew about God, and about loving God. Jesus constantly revealed a deeper truth about who God is, and what the love of God means. As Jesus and his hungry disciples walked through the field of grain, maybe Jesus was revealing that God loves his children in such a way that he does not want our bellies to be empty. But to understand the love of God in that way, might mean that the Pharisees would have to let go of certain ideas about the Sabbath. As Jesus healed in the synagogue, he was revealing a deeper truth about what the love of God means. By healing on the Sabbath day, maybe Jesu was showing us that, in God’s mind, every day is a day to heal, every day is a day for us to do what is right and good. After all, isn’t God glorified when the suffering of one of God’s children is alleviated? Again and again, Jesus says, “I have not come to abolish the law, I’ve come to fulfill it.”

Perhaps Jesus is inviting God’s people to the next step in their vocation, to the next lesson in what love requires. Going deeper into the mystery of love always seems to require sacrifice, always seems to require that we be willing to let go of what we thought we knew, so that we can embrace a more Christ-like love. Throughout the Gospels, some folks seem to ‘get it.’ When we first start loving the Lord and living our vocation, we think we knew what love means. Then Jesus takes us deeper, shows us more, asks us to let go of what we thought we knew, to see the truth more clearly.

Some embrace that vocation, and are blessed. Some resist, trying to hold on to what they thought was the only way of being faithful, and loving. Through the gift of the Spirit, you and I have a calling and vocation. Isn’t it wonderful to be called by Jesus? Isn’t it wonderful to have friends and mentors who can help us listen to the Lord? And, as we follow the Lord, he always wants to show us more, and take us deeper, and expand our vision. If we are paying attention, our understanding of loving the Lord is different now than when we first started. That growth in understanding often comes when the Lord asks us to let go of what we thought we knew, in order to be surprise by his spirit. Loving him sometimes requires the hard task of letting go of some practices, certainties, convictions, and attitudes which, for a time in our lives, defined divine love for us. There is always something new to learn about love. Wilma (our story in the beginning) discovered that, in her life-long vocation of love with Jimmy.

Samuel discovered that, in his life-long vocation as a prophet. If we pay close attention to the words and deeds of Jesus, we will discover that he is constantly calling us change and grow. Trust him, even when the letting-go is hard. Say: “Speak lord, your servant is listening.” Say to him, “Jesus, I love you, so teach me something new about what love means. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Let us pray.  Speak Lord, your servant is listening. We love you Jesus, teach us something new about what love means. Let your love endures forever as we leave from here and let your love shines in all that we do to glorify your name, Amen.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the hymn TiS 597 – ‘Master, speak, thy servant  heareth!’

Offering

Offering Prayer

Prayers for Others:

We pray, loving God, for the liberation of all who are in bondage, be it physical, mental or spiritual.

We pray for all who are in spiritual bondage, slaves to fears and doubts, superstitions and grave errors, to oppressive religion, deceptive gurus, and charlatans,  or those who use the name of Christ for their own selfish gain or glory:

Lord, in your mercy set them free for faith and hope in you, and for the love that casts out all fear.

We pray for all who are in mental bondage, slaves to erroneous ideas and false prophets, to pseudo-scientific assumptions and dogmatic manipulators, or to erudite philosophies that lead clever minds astray:

Lord, in your mercy set them free for faith and hope in you, and for the love that casts out all fear.

We pray for all who are in physical bondage, slaves to harsh employers or their own rampant ambitions, to sexual promiscuity, love of money, and to alcohol or other drugs, or to national tyrants who enslave either by brute power or political cunning:

Lord, in your mercy set them free for faith and hope in you, and for the love that casts out all fear.

We pray for any of your children in this congregation who feel trapped in unemployment, degrading work practices, or bullying bosses, in unfortunate relationships, manipulative friends, or family feuds, or in a lost faith, spiritual anxieties, or habitual sins:

Lord, in your mercy set them free for faith and hope in you,

and for the love that casts out all fear.

O God, you have taught us that we are most truly free when we seek your will, not our own.

Help us to gain and enjoy this liberty by daily surrender to your love, so that trusting in your grace for our freedom, we may walk in those paths which you choose for us, and learn to love those beauties which partake of that true life which is richly abundant and joyfully eternal.

Through Christ Jesus our Liberator and Lord.

Amen!

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 TiS 155 – ‘O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder.’

Benediction 

The grace of the eternal God who wants us to become far more than we as yet can understand or even imagine, will be with you.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you not only today but evermore.

Amen.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Benediction Song:  ‘Shalom to you’