Welcome: –

Call to Worship: –

(from Psalm 50: 1, 6, 14, 23) 

Almighty God is LORD of all, from the farthest east to the far west

He speaks and summons the whole Earth, to honour Him and to offer their worship.

The Heavens proclaim God’s righteousness,

That God, alone, determines what is right and what is just, and judges all people accordingly.

Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God,

Give to Almighty God all that you have promised to Him.

‘Those who give thanks to me as their sacrifice,’ declares God, ‘are the ones who give me the honour that is due.’

‘To those who obey me, to those who follow my way and walk uprightly as I have commanded, to them I will surely show (my) salvation.’

(GNB, NIV, NEB, A Weiser p391 & 392) 

Comment on Psalm 50

The writer of this Psalm is careful to explain that true and right worship of God does not entail the offering of animal sacrifices nor the observance or ritual and rite in worship.  True and right worship involves the offering of real and earnest praise of God and of humble obedience to God’s Commandments, as a response to the revelation of God’s nature and of His saving grace.  (Artur Weiser in The Psalms p393) 

The writer reminds his readers of the folly of seeking to mould their understanding of God in their own image or in the image of any god of the neighbouring Nations, for Almighty God, the God who called the People of Israel to be His chosen People, and sealed this with His covenant agreement with them, is to be described as exhibiting “moral and just behaviour” “far beyond anything attainable” by any Human or by any of the numerous false gods worshipped by the People of the surrounding Nations.  (John Walton, Victor Matthews & Mark Chavalas in Psalms in The IVP Bible Background Commentary of the Old Testament p531) 

So, let us gather together before God today in gratitude and faithfulness, to offer our worship and to seek to live in obedience to His Will and Purpose for Heaven and Earth.  (Leslie McCaw & Alec Motyer in Psalms in the New Bible Commentary p483) 

Prayer of Praise    

God of kindness and concern, your mercies to us are without end.  If we go to the limits of Time or go to the edges of Space, we know that you will always be there with us.  In the joy and happiness of life or the darkness of despair and uncertainty, we can be certain that you will never leave us.  You are a God to be praised.

   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 compassion, through a relationship with you we can experience joy and hope, a newness of being, a relief from concerns and worries.  We are enabled and encouraged to give up old habits and attitudes so as to live lives by Your standards, lives in touch with Your will and purpose, lives attuned to the cries from our neighbours.  You walk with us in our daily life, revealing Your truth and delivering us from peril.

   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 your Word says so.

   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 2 songs: The first is ‘It’s no longer I that liveth’ Scripture in Song Volume 1  number 8   

Sally Ellis

“The second song is ‘He is Lord’ Scripture in Song Volume 1  number 49 

Author unknown

Prayer of Confession   

Merciful God, we see the abundant life that you have provided for us, the gifts that you have so freely given, 

Yet, we confess the times when we have withheld our plenty from others, for the times when we are so often indifferent to the sight of the needy and to the calls of assistance from those with whom we live.  Lord, have mercy on us.

Merciful God, we see the wonders of Your Creation and the beauty in the World around us,

Yet, we confess that our tendency is to use it foolishly and wastefully.  Lord, have mercy on us.

Merciful God, at Easter we celebrate Your great act of salvation for the World through the costly sacrifice of Your Son,

Yet, we confess that often we neglect this means of Grace, we confess that our worship is often superficial and our prayers selfish.  Lord, have mercy on us.

Merciful God, you have given to us your Word of Life and the never-ending spring of living water for our souls,

Yet, we are so often indifferent to the study of your Word, and to silent communion with you.  Lord, have mercy on us.

Merciful God, we confess that our personal sins grieve You and hurt many with whom we are in contact. 

Look with pity upon us as we confess our sins. 

We repent and are sorry for our neglect, for the way we have departed from your will and purpose. 

Please give us the light by which we can be guided to live as you commanded and to follow in your steps.

Cleanse us from all that separates us from a loving relationship with You,

For we seek to live a life of reverence for you and of a sincere love for others.  To your glory we pray.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness    

In the writings of the Prophet Isaiah God declares “You are stained scarlet with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow.  Although your stains are crimson, you will be as white as wool.”  (Isaiah 1: 18b)  Having confessed our sins before God, let us hold onto this promise of God, trusting that God has forgiven us and cleansed us in His sight.

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

Isaiah 1:

2  The LORD said, “Earth and sky, listen to what I am saying!  The children I brought up have rebelled against me.  3  Cattle know who owns them, and donkeys know where their master feeds them.  But that is more than my People know.  They don’t understand at all.”

4  You are doomed, you sinful Nation, you corrupt and evil people!  Your sins drag you down!  You have rejected the LORD, the holy God of Israel, and have turned your backs on Him.

12  Who asked you to bring me all these sacrifices when you come to worship me?  Who asked you to do all this tramping around in my Temple?  13  It is useless to bring your offerings.  I am disgusted with the smell of the incense you burn.  I cannot stand your New Moon Festivals, your Sabbaths, and your religious gatherings; they are all corrupted by your sins.  14  I hate your New Moon Festivals and holy days; they are a burden that I am tired of bearing.

15  When you lift your hands in prayer, I will not look at you.  No matter how much you pray, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with blood.  16  Wash yourselves clean.  Stop all this evil  17  and learn to do right.  See that justice is done – help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.”

18  The LORD says, “Now, let’s settle the matter.  You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow.  Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool.  19  If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces.  20  But if you defy me, you are doomed to die.  I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Hebrews 11:

1  to have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.  2  It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God’s approval.

3  It is by faith that we understand that the Universe was created by God’s Word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.

8  It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a Country which God had promised to give to him.  He left his own Country without knowing to where he was going.  9  By faith he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised to him.  He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God.  10  For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations.

[Revised Standard Version, Today’s English Version, New English Bible]

This is the Word of God.

Praise to you Almighty God.

Luke 12:

32  Then Jesus said to his Disciples, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.  33  Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor.  Provide for yourselves purses that don’t wear out, and save your riches in Heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them.  34  For your heart will always be where you r riches are.

35  Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit,  36  like servants who are waiting for their Master to come back from a wedding feast.  When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once.  37  How happy for those servants whose Master finds them awake and ready when he returns!  I tell you, he will take off his coat, and have them sit down, and will wait on them.  38  How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later!

[Revised Standard Version, Today’s English Version, New English Bible]

This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Passing the Peace

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

And also with you.

We sing the hymn ‘How happy are they who the Saviour obey’  MHB407

[This hymn is being sung to the tune Trust and Obey, and incorporates a chorus from the words of verse 1 of the hymn “My God, I am thine” (MHB406).]

[This YouTube clip has music only – there is a small introduction.]

Verse 1 of 4

O how happy are they

Who the Saviour obey,

And have laid up their treasure above.

No tongue can express

The sweet comfort and peace

Of a soul in its earliest love.

Chorus

My God I’m thine

What a comfort divine,

What a blessing to know that

My Saviour is mine.

Verse 2 of 4

That comfort was mine

When the favour divine

I first found in the blood of the Lamb;

When my heart it believed

What a joy I received,

What a Heaven in Jesus’s name.

Chorus

My God I’m thine

What a comfort divine,

What a blessing to know that

My Saviour is mine.

Verse 3 of 4

Jesus all the day long

Was my joy and my song;

O that all his salvation may see;

“He has loved me!”, I cried,

“He has suffered and died

To redeem such a rebel as me!”

Chorus

My God I’m thine

What a comfort divine,

What a blessing to know that

My Saviour is mine.

Verse 4 of 4

O the rapturous height

Of the holy delight

Which I felt in the life-giving blood;

Of my Saviour possessed

I was perfectly blessed

As if filled with the fullness of God.

Chorus

My God I’m thine

What a comfort divine,

What a blessing to know that

My Saviour is mine.

Charles Wesley

Sermon

Screen 1

  Something that I found on the Internet.

  And then there is this story of a doctor who was addressing a large audience in Oxford, England, saying “The materials we put into our stomach should have killed most of us sitting here, years ago.”  He warned of the dangerous practice by some meat producers whose red meat is full of steroids and red dye.  “But,” he continued, ”there is one thing that is more dangerous to all of us than this, and most of us have had it, or will have it.”  And he asked those in the audience, “Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?”

After several seconds of quiet, a 70-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly suggested, “Wedding Cake?”.

  Isaiah quotes God saying to the People of Judah:

“You are stained scarlet with sin, …. your stains are crimson.”  (Isaiah 1: 18b)

The dyes used by the people who lived in Judah to colour cloths and objects scarlet and crimson were not only fast acting dyes, they were also long lasting dyes.  With the dyes that they used, once they coloured something scarlet or crimson they could not undo the change.  (John Walton, Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas in Isaiah in The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament p585) 

Screen 2

“Wool, dipped in scarlet dye, is hung up to dry at Hebron, Israel”

(The Lion Handbook to the Bible 3^rd Edition 2002 p419)

  Isaiah’s audience would have been receptive to the imagery regarding the use of dyes.  But they would not have been receptive to the intended message behind the imagery.  For had they not diligently and correctly been doing the very things that God required of them, in their keeping of their religious Laws?  Isaiah record God listing their acts of worship.

  They were regularly attending Temple worship, as God had decreed, as we read in such passages as Exodus 23: 14.  (Isaiah 1: 12) 

  They were offering animal sacrifices to God, as God had decreed, as we read in such passages as Exodus 20: 24.  (Isaiah 1: 13a) 

  They were incorporating incense as part of their Temple sacrifices, as God had decreed, as we read in such passages as Leviticus 2: 1.  (Isaiah 1: 13b) 

  They were holding New Moon Festivals, keeping the Sabbath, and attending other religious gatherings, as God had decreed, as we read in such passages as Numbers 28 and 29.  (Isaiah 1: 13 and 14) 

  They were regularly praying to God, and were imitating the very manner in which King Solomon offered prayers to God by raising their arms and lifting their hands to God (2 Chronicles 6: 12) .  (Isaiah 1: 15) 

  If they were offering their worship when God had decreed that they should and in the manner that God had decreed they should, on what basis then could God be saying such things as:

“It’s useless to bring your offerings”  (Isaiah 1: 13a)  ,

“I am disgusted with the smell of the incense you burn.”  (Isaiah 1: 13b)  ,

“I cannot stand your New Moon Festivals, your Sabbaths and your religious gatherings, they are a burden (to me)”  (Isaiah 1: 13c and 14b)  , and

“No matter how much you pray, I will not listen”  (Isaiah 1: 15b) 

  God is judging that, though the People of Judah may have been correctly going through the motions of worship, though they may have followed to the letter of the Law the rituals and rites of their Temple worship, this was not what God was requiring of them.  God was seeking from the People of Judah a righteous approach to their worship and to their lives.

  God uses the example of a cow or a donkey that always recognises their owner, that responds to their owner, and that trusts their owner to feed them and care for them  (Isaiah 1: 3a)  , something that is prevalent throughout the world and both logical behaviour and productive behaviour.  “But that is more than my People Israel know.”, God declares, “The children I brought up have rebelled against me.”  (Isaiah 1: 2b and 3b) 

  All of Creation is called to witness the charge of unfaithfulness God is making against the People of Judah.  (Isaiah 1: 2)  All of Creation is called to witness the foolishness of the People of Judah, for God is saying, “Judah has less sense than the animals.”  (Yeoman Muckle in Isaiah p9) 

Screen 3

“They have turned their back on me.”  Isaiah 1: 4

  “They have turned their backs on me.”, God states  (Isaiah 1: 4b)  , indicating an intentional refusal to acknowledge God and a rejection of the Lordship of God.

  “Their hearts and their minds are sick.”, God states  (Isaiah 1: 5)  , indicating the unhealthy and degenerate nature of their thoughts and of their motivations.

  “Their hands are covered with blood.”, God states  (Isaiah 1: 15b)  , indicating an involvement in the abuse and oppression of the powerless and the innocent in Society, and a disregard for just and right behaviour towards orphans and widows  (Isaiah 1: 17b)  .

  “They are doing evil.”, God states  (Isaiah 1: 16)  , indicating a disregard for the righteous ways of God and of a disobedience to the righteous ways of God.

  Through their acts of worship, the People of Judah make a claim to be the ‘People of God’.  However, their actions towards God and towards their neighbour proves to God and to the whole of Creation how false is their claim.  The very witness of their thoughts and their actions provides the justification for God’s judgement upon them that they are “corrupt and evil people”  (Isaiah 1: 4a)  , that their lives are visibly stained by their sins  (Isaiah 1: 18a)  .

  The People of Judah are faced with a choice.

  They could continue as they had been doing, to continue to defy God, to continue to reject

God, to continue to refuse to consider that God has any part to play in their lives or that God has any right to tell them how they should live their lives, to continue with their claim that God has no right to pass judgement upon them.

  And isn’t this what we see in the world today?  Do we not see individuals in our Society reject outright the call of God to “stop doing evil, to learn to do right, to see that justice is done, to help those who are oppressed?”  (Isaiah 1: 16b and 17) 

  Do we not see groups in our Society reject outright the call of God to “stop doing evil, to learn to do right, to see that justice is done, to help those who are oppressed?”  (Isaiah 1: 16b and 17) 

  Do we not see Nations in our World reject outright the call of God to “stop doing evil, to learn to do right, to see that justice is done, to help those who are oppressed?”  (Isaiah 1: 16b and 17) 

  Do we not see these individuals, and these groups, and these Nations continue to act as they do because they claim that there is no God to whom they are accountable for their actions and inactions?

  God’s answer to the People of Judah is that if they make this choice “they are doomed to die”  (Isaiah 1: 20)  .

Screen 4

“But if you defy me, you are doomed to die”  Isaiah 1: 20

  But why should the People of Judah heed this warning from God?  Firstly, it was because their oral and written History testifies to the claim of God to be their Lord.  Their esteemed ancestor, Abraham, is the prime example of someone who put their faith in God and who obeyed the call of God when and as directed by God  (Hebrews 11: 8)  Secondly, the power and majesty of God is visible in His Creation which surrounds us.  Isaiah referred to this  (Isaiah 1: 2)  .  As Creator, God has the right and the role of determining what are “just behaviours and attitudes”, what are “right behaviours and attitudes”  (Isaiah 1: 17a)  .  God states that if the People of Judah refuse to heed what is so obvious to them and what is so obvious around them, then they must accept the consequences of their choice.

  It is no different in the World today.  If people, individually and corporately as Nations, refuse to heed what is so obvious to them and what is so obvious around them, then they too must accept the consequences of their choice.  If people continue to live a way of life that defies God and rejects His Lordship, this means that they, also, “are doomed to die”  (Isaiah 1: 20)  .

  Yeoman Muckle, in his commentary on the book of Isaiah, writes, “Isaiah’s conviction that the sin of a Nation leads to political disaster is a truth of which modern history provides some impressive proofs.  Nations which deliberately adopt evil policies or sacrifice principle to expediency, or run away from truth to seek safety have in our own day had to come to a dreadful reckoning.  We may not entirely agree with Isaiah’s representation of defeat and misfortune as specifically sent punishments of God, but it is still true that God’s world is so organised that persistent evil-doing will eventually bring confusion and calamity.  (Yeoman Muckle in Isaiah p9) 

  The alternative choice is to “obey God”  (Isaiah 1: 19)  .  Jesus phrased it in terms of seeking after “the riches of the Kingdom of God”, rather that the material riches of the Human kingdoms, for the riches of Heaven are the only ones of value, for they do not wear out, nor can they decay or be destroyed, nor can they be taken from you.  (Luke 12: 33)  “Forgiveness and blessing will follow repentance.”  (Yeoman Muckle in Isaiah p9) 

  Jesus explained to his Disciples that true happiness comes to those who seek to serve God, their Master  (Luke 12: 37)  .  His call is that true and earnest Discipleship is “being ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, like servants who are waiting for their Master to come back from a wedding feast”  (Luke 12: 35 and 36)  .

  But there is this stumbling block of the stain of sin, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” as Paul writes  (Romans 3: 23)  .  This ‘stain’ must be removed from our lives, but the imagery is that once our lives have been ‘coloured’ by our sin, there is nothing that we can do to ‘wash out the stain’ from our lives, neither is there anything about our nature or our deeds that makes us deserving of being washed clean.

  But God has promised:

“You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow.  Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool.”  (Isaiah 1: 18) 

Screen 5

“I will wash you as clean as snow,  as white as wool”  Isaiah 1: 18

   Only by the saving grace of God can the stain of sin be washed out of our lives, and that comes about simply because of His love for us.

  What is to be our response?

Screen 6

“But God has shown us how much He loves us”  Romans 5: 8

  It is to express our eternal and heartfelt gratitude for God’s mercy and grace and to offer our eternal and heartfelt thanks to God for His saving acts for us.

  The Old Testament is a record of how the People of Israel got it so wrong so often.  They just went through the motions of offering sacrifices and of mouthing the words of their rituals and their ceremonies and their prayers, thinking that this was all that was required of them for God to show favour upon them.  But this was done without humbling themselves before God, without an earnest confession of their sins and without putting their faith in the Word of God for forgiveness and renewal and blessing in their lives.

  The writer of Psalm 50 was so keen to show that what God required of the People of God was their humble thanks for His undeserving providence towards them, and their faithful obedience to His just and righteous Commandments.

  May we respond to the Word of God, not by hardened hearts and minds defying God, but by offering our humble thanks for His saving grace towards us, and, like Abraham, by our faithful obedience to His way of righteous and just living.

“No heart too small, no world too wide,

To feel that Master’s touch;

Dear Lord of all, we give you thanks

For you have sent so much.

  (from Our Daily Bread 23 March 2006)  

  Amen.

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.]

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

Prayers for Others

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

God of community,

You call us to be in community just as you are in community to love, support and care for our neighbours.

Help us to see that our neighbours are those whom we meet every day, the members of our family, church, school and work communities, and those people who we are called to walk with in their journey through life. Remind us too, that as part of your global community you call us to care for people whom we will never meet in distant lands, please help us as we engage with them in their trials and tribulations.

Forgive us, God of grace, when we fail our neighbours, ignoring their pleas for help and failing to help them to live out their life as people loved by you. Help us to listen more carefully to our neighbour’s cries for help and stir us into action so that we might engage with them in ways that bring about a return to health and wholeness.

Strengthen us by your Spirit, loving God, that we might continue to go forward with renewed energy to be your community of neighbours who reach out with your love and care, so that all people might have life in all its fullness.

Rev. Andrew Gunton, Moderator

Uniting News – 2 August 2022

Uniting News <uniting.news@ucaqld.com.au>

We pray for the Church, that you will renew and deepen our faith so that we may be confident that you are always present and accompany us along each step of our journey.

We pray for a deeper appreciation of life, that we may celebrate each day as a gift from you and live it fully with our families and loved ones.

We pray for a deepening of faith, that our hearts may be open to the witness of our friends and mentors who have gone before us and draw strength and courage from them.

We pray for the grace to remember that we may be conscious of all the good things that you have done for us and allow that memory to inspire us to greater generosity.

We pray that we may recognize that our deepest desires can only be fulfilled in relationship with you and thus spend our lives seeking your reign.

We pray for better stewardship, that we may fulfill our responsibilities with love and diligence so that our efforts may glorify you.

We pray for patience, that we may have the grace to wait upon you, even when answers do not seem clear, and confidently trust in your love and providence.

We pray for the guidance to better make use of our time, that we may faithfully and diligently use the time that you have given us so that we may be found faithful and bearing much fruit.

We pray for spiritual freedom, that we may not be held bound by our possessions but see them as gifts from you for our good and that of others.

We pray for all who have lost faith: that the Holy Spirit will renew their hearts and open a new springtime of faith so that they come to a new relationship with you, the living God.

We pray for all whose faith is being tested, particularly those being persecuted or leaving home for the first time, that they may rely upon you for strength and draw upon the values that they have learned in making decisions.

We pray for migrants and refugees, that you will guide them in their search for safety and lead them to communities that are warm and welcoming.

We pray for all who are in need, that you will give strength to all who have lost homes or possessions in storms and flooding, sustain them as they rebuild their lives, and open the hearts of many to assist them.

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

  We pray for the peoples of the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe.

We are thankful for wildlife and rainforests in these lands, and those who protect this habitat, for the oral traditions, folklore, and good practices that have been preserved, for rich minerals and economic development, although benefits need to be shared more fairly, and for healing from exploitative practices that began under colonial rule.

We pray for democratic fair elections and political stability in this region, for economic development that benefits all the people, especially those living in poverty, for the preservation of the wildlife and the land, and for the witness of the churches and other faith groups in the midst of the challenges.

PRAYERS

Lord, if you want that we should love you with all our heart,
without distraction or detour,
teach us to become constant in your love.

When those without faith or law insult us,
help us to forgive, O Resurrected One.

Jesus, the friend of the people of the Congo,
your Father is not a God of the dead but of the living;

therefore, guide us in your love,
so that we may live in your presence forever.

(Louise Bakala Koumouno, People’s Republic of Congo.)

A Pygmy Prayer
In the beginning God was.
Today God is.
Tomorrow God will be.
Who could possibly make an image of God?
God does not have a body.
God is a word that springs from our mouths.
And what a word!
There is nothing more to be said.
God is the past, and yet God is.
That is what God is.

Prayer for transformation

Barriers, walls, and barbed wire mark the frontiers, O Lord.
Help us to transform them into places where we can meet,
with sincerity,
as countries and as persons,
so that the world will know that we are Christians
by the love with which our actions are marked.

(Louise Bakala Koumouno, People’s Republic of Congo.)

Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)

  We pray for Raphael Chemate, Bougainville Healthy Communities Programme (BHCP) Leprosy Program Officer, as he works in remote communities, diagnosing and treating leprosy patients.  We pray for your guidance and provision so we can reach deeper into communities affected by leprosy.  We pray too that the government’s Department of Health takes a leading role in the delivery of leprosy support in Bougainville.

  The team in Bougainville travels through difficult terrain to make sure no one misses out on the cure for leprosy, so we pray for timely detection of leprosy in remote communities.  We pray for a continuous supply of Multi Drug Therapy for all communities.  We pray that leprosy referral pathways will be strengthened.

  Village treasuries are one of the key elements of BHCP.  Funds are being used by communities to respond to the needs of each village.  This includes school fees, patient referrals and community development.  We pray for growth and sustainability of village treasuries, so more lives will be transformed through this vital work.

  We pray for your continued safety and protection upon The Leprosy Mission Papua New Guinea staff and volunteers as they work to reach out to people affected by leprosy and disability.  We pray for our community volunteers and the work they do alongside our staff.  Pray for your intervention as they lead their communities in health, governance and livelihoods support.  We thank you, God, for new funding opportunities from the New Zealand Government, TLM NZ, TLM Australia, the World Health Organization and The Old Dart Foundation.  We pray for their continued funding support, advice and mentorship.  

  (The Leprosy Mission Prayer Diary 2022) 

  Thank you God for the outstanding Scripture Union Australia Schools Ministry Conference held in July, as those who attended were refreshed, encouraged, equipped and re-envisioned for the vital work of chaplains and SRE teachers across the nation

  We pray for the Regional Interns Hub, held every Wednesday in Benalla, Victoria, as the interns gather to encourage one another in their work and ministry opportunities.

  We pray for the National SU Board and the next meeting in late August, that the Board members may seek your guidance and that you will lead them as stewards of the mission.

  We pray for the Mayoral School Chaplaincy Breakfast on the Sunshine Coast on 11th August, that all attending would leave inspired to continue to support the work of chaplains.

  We pray for the newly formed national Supporter Engagement and Marketing Production staff teams, that their contributions will greatly enhance SU ministries, and our supporters’ experiences.

Scripture Union Queensland Prayer Guide – August 2022 Brisbane.pdf

We thank you for Ian and others who are involved with the leading of Religious Instruction classes at Bald Hills State School, and ask that the Holy spirit is working in the hearts of the children.

We thank you for the work of Kylie, the chaplain at Bald Hills State School, for her dedication to the welfare of the children at the School, of their families, and of the staff at the School.  Please continue to guide her as she identifies areas of need and as she seeks your peace for them.

We pray for those whom we have not seen for some time.  We ask that they may know your loving presence with them each day, guiding them and providing for them.

We ask that you will guide and direct the Congregation and the Church Council as we consider our future as your people in our community as Bald Hills.

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

We sing the Hymn ‘Lord and Saviour, true and kind’    The School Hymn Book number 382  MHB868  (adapted)

[This hymn is to be sung to the tune Monkland.]

[This YouTube clip has piano music only – there is a short introduction.]

Verse 1 of 4

Lord and Saviour, true and kind,

Be the Master of my mind;

Bless and guide and strengthen still

All my powers of thought and will.

Verse 2 of 4

Help the memory, clear the brain,

Knowledge still to seek and gain.

Here I arm me for life’s fight,

Let me do it in your might.

Verse 3 of 4

You have made me mind and soul,

I for you would use the whole.

You have died that I might live,

All my powers to you I give.

Verse 4 of 4

Striving, thinking, learning still,

Let me follow thus your will,

Till my whole glad nature be

Trained for duty and for you.

Handley Carr Glyn Moule

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 wine, 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.

We sing the Hymn ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling’

  Alexander’s Enlarged Hymn Book number 115  Alexanders Hymn Book No. 3 number 115 

Verse 1 of 4

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling for you and for me,

See, on the portals he’s watching and waiting,

Watching for you and for me.

Chorus

Come home, come home,

You who are weary come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, “O sinner, come home!”

Verse 2 of 4

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,

Pleading for you and for me?

Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,

Mercies for you and for me?

Chorus

Come home, come home,

You who are weary come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, “O sinner, come home!”

Verse 3 of 4

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

Passing from you and from me;

Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,

Coming for you and for me.

Chorus

Come home, come home,

You who are weary come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, “O sinner, come home!”

Verse 4 of 4

O, for the wonderful love he has promised,

Promised for you and for me;

Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,

Pardon for you and for me.

Chorus

Come home, come home,

You who are weary come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, “O sinner, come home!”

Will Thompson

Benediction 

(from Norman Wallwork in Companion to the Revised Common Lectionary Volume 5 p57) 

We have a mind to comprehend the grace and majesty of Almighty God.  We have a heart to respond to God’s love for us.  We have a voice to offer our praise to God.  We have hands to serve others and follow the will of God.  Let us, then, dedicate our whole life and being to the worship and service of God.

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

Benediction Song

“Now to him who loves us saves us”  TiS771

(only the one verse is needed)

Now to him who loved us, gave us

Every pledge that love could give,

Freely shed his blood to save us,

Gave his life that we might live,

Be the Kingdom

And dominion

And the glory evermore.

Samuel Miller Waring