Welcome: –

We worship our Lord, and in doing this we have come from a long line of worshipping folk. Let’s warm up our hearts and voices with a few choruses.

We invite you to join in singing: ‘This Is the Day’

We invite you to join in singing: ‘Unto Thee O Lord’

We invite you to join in singing: ‘I Will Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving’

Reflection on Worship

From earliest Biblical times we see recorded examples of God’s people worshipping and giving thanks.

In Exodus:

Moses worshipped ‘Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshipped.’

Miriam, Aaron’s sister chanted for them: “Sing to Yahweh, for He has triumphed gloriously; 

In 1 Chronicles 16:34-36:

‘Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 

The Psalms show many fine examples.

Psalm 95:1-7: Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

David fully engaged his heart in worship to God:

“And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips” ……..Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD

Jesus: When they had sung a hymn of joyous paise and thanksgiving to God., they went out to the Mount of Olives

Paul reminds us that ‘a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.’

Magnificent words of John’s book of Revelation:

 ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory.’

In fact the whole of creation cries out in worship. When Jesus approached the Mt Olives the crowds erupted

 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

When the Pharisees told Jesus to silence them he replied, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Where are we to worship with our songs of praise and thanksgiving?

Paul and Silas sang songs of praise in prison.

In many parts of the world there are no song books and Bible fragments are passed around. Christians worship in secret behind closed doors – in underground bunkers safe from falling missiles. Where there is no access to electricity and the digital world.

And not so long ago our orders of worship and hymns were contained in the hymn books which we could use but many of us with failing eyes would find it difficult to read the words and we would rely on our memories of familiar responses, hymns and songs.

Today, in our church building, we will follow our order of service from printed sheets.

Let us join with the psalmist:

‘Let everything that has breath praise the LORD’

Call to Worship

Let us worship God

The world belongs to God,

the earth and all its people.

Love and peace come together,

justice and peace join hands

How good and how lovely it is

To live together in unity

If the Lord’s disciples keep silent

The stones would shout aloud

Lord, open our lips

And our mouths shall proclaim your praise

We invite you to join in singing: ‘Let Us Sing To The God Of Salvation’ (The words are printed below)                

1. Let us sing to the God of salvation,

let us sing to the Lord our rock!

Let us come to his house with thanksgiving,

let us come before the Lord and sing!

Praise our Maker, Praise our Saviour,

Praise the Lord our everlasting King.

Every throne must bow before him,

God is Lord of everything!

2. In his hand are the earth’s deepest places,

and the strength of the hills is his!

All the sea is the Lord’s, for he made it,

by his hands the dry land was formed.

3. Let us worship the Lord our Maker,

Let us kneel before the Lord our God;

for we all are the sheep of his pasture,

He will guide us by his powerful hand.

4. Let today be the time when you hear Him!

May our hearts not be hard or cold,

lest we stray from the Lord in rebellion,

as his people did in time of old.

Greeting

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God

And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you

Prayer of Adoration:

Ever living God,

you are infinite, yet compassionate

In you we live, and move, and have our being.

One with us in Jesus Christ,

You share our life and our death,

flowing through us as living water

you quench our thirst

In you we live, and move, and have our being.

Holy one, we adore you

Holy Wisdom, we adore you

Holy Spirit, we adore you

Accept our praise we bring today and forever. Amen

Invocation:

Come to us, O God of surprising grace

Break into the places in our lives

Which we think are not worthy of your entry

And show us the measure of your love for us

Break through into newness

In all our life together, O God

In the wonder of your transforming presence. Amen

Prayer of Confession:

We come to God,

Knowing that we have failed to obey the call of Jesus

To love God and love one another with our whole being

But we also come to God who reaches out to us

With healing and reconciliation

Let us pray together

 God of all mercy, give us grace today to make a fresh start

We know we have not loved you with our whole heart

Nor have we loved our neighbour as ourselves.

As we hope to be forgiven

Teach us to forgive

And lead us forward in a new life

Where neither grudges nor resentment have a part

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Declaration of Forgiveness

If we confess our sins,

God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins

And cleanse us from all unrighteousness

Hear then Christ’s word of grace to us

“Your sins are forgiven.”

Thanks be to God

We invite you to join in singing: ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’

Prayer for Illumination as we read the Bible passages:

Holy One, Open our hearts and minds

by the power of your Holy Spirit

That as the scripture are read and proclaimed

we may hear your word with joy

Amen

Bible Readings:

Jeremiah 31:31-34

³¹ The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. ³² It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. ³³ The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴ None of them will have to teach a neighbour to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Ezekiel 36:24-28

²⁴ I will take you from every nation and country and bring you back to your own land. ²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. ²⁷ I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

Isaiah 40:31

³¹ But those who trust in the Lord for help
    will find their strength renewed.
They will rise on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not get weary;
    they will walk and not grow weak.

Response to First Readings

Your word, O God, is a lamp to our feet

A light to our path

John 3:3-13

3There was a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. ² One night he went to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him.”

³ Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”^[a]

⁴ “How can a grown man be born again?” Nicodemus asked. “He certainly cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time!”

⁵ “I am telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. ⁷ Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again.^[b] 8 The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” asked Nicodemus.

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “You are a great teacher in Israel, and you don’t know this? ¹¹ I am telling you the truth: we speak of what we know and report what we have seen, yet none of you is willing to accept our message. ¹² You do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world; how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things of heaven? ¹³ And no one has ever gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from heaven.”^[c]

Response to the Second Reading

May your word live in us

And bear much fruit to your glory

Message

The prophets spoke into a time of turmoil. Although there was judgement proclaimed, they also proclaimed that God had not deserted them and that a saviour was to come. To recognise the saviour, God’s gift to us would be that his Holy Spirit would place a new heart in his people.

In turn, his people would trust in God’s timing and live day by day in the fullness of time knowing that there always exists by the mercy of God a life of hope, redemption, and restoration.

We too know that same mercy and wait upon the Lord. And can confidently answer the first question of the Shorter Westminster Catechism

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

As Wesley and Luther discovered and remind us that it is God’s work not ours. With renewed hearts we are to trust in God’s righteousness not ours. We cannot work out our own salvation, so we respond to god’s calling.  It is our vocation.

We cannot rely on past achievements or any value we place upon ourselves but place our own response to the call to be His people.

No alternative but to put our trust in the Lord as we come to end of our earthly lives – with a new heart the Holy Spirit takes us in to the presence of the father and son.

We can be like Anna who was always at the Temple; she never left. She worshipped God by fasting and praying day and night.

³⁸ Anna was there when Joseph and Mary came to the Temple. She praised God and talked about Jesus to all those who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.

And Simeon who was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come.

They waited upon the Lord.

We could be like be like the young Samuel and answer God’s call and respond, “Here I am Lord.”

And as Jesus said to Nicodemus that he must be born again to see and understand what God is doing, we must also change or modify our understanding of what God is doing in these uncertain times. We, individually, and as a congregation, must be willing to wait upon the Lord, enjoy Him and glorify Him from the core of our being, giving our hearts minds and souls into His care and keeping.

What then for us here at Bald Hills in our 150^th year?

God worked his miracles with each generation before us. He has done things differently in their time and place, with each generation of believers who meet together in His name. Here we are in our time and place. We are God’s people drawn together called to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. We share the joy and celebrate as we have the opportunity to become a special group of believers who may share the privilege with David the title of being a congregation after God’s own heart.

Is it time for our congregation to stop and be born again? A congregation that is bigger beyond these walls as we share our ministry in the world. We may be small, but we are part of God’s bigger plan. We don’t have to have a despairing attitude. We don’t need to look back to when we may have thought of ourselves as being a successful or be anxious because our resources are diminishing, or that ministers are difficult to find.  but engage our new hearts and worship, giving thanks and praise Him each day.  That’s attitude!

We invite you to join in singing: ‘Amazing Grace’

Prayers of the People

We have received a spirit of adoption

And the Spirit of God assures us

That we are God’s children

In the Spirit. We lift our prayers to God

In this confidence, let us pray

God of creation and Sustainer of all of life within it, who offers us hope through the resurrected an ascended Jesus, and the gift of the Spirit as surety for life beyond what we know, Lord hear us.

Lord hear our prayer

We pray for our Ministry Agents and Chaplains who are ministering within our communities during these uncertain times.

We pray for UnitingCare and Blue Care as they minister to those who are reaching out for assistance

For those with disabilities and the elderly within their care. 

Grant them the necessary gifts and graces and the wisdom to use them. Lord hear us.

Lord hear our prayer

We pray for our Politicians, Health Workers and those on the front line who are daily stepping up

to care for the community
We pray for those in positions where difficult decisions have to be made –
Grant them an overflow of your compassion, with strength and peace. Lord hear us,

Lord hear our prayer

We pray for those in our communities who are struggling – may we find genuine ways to encourage and uplift them.

We pray for those in our communities who have lost or reduced their employment.

Grant them hope for a renewal of a productive life, and grant all of us the will to share each other’s burdens.

Lord hear us,

Lord hear our prayer

We pray for those folk dear to us who suffer in different ways, with ill health and debilitating afflictions of body and mind…   We name these aloud or within our minds…

Grant them your peace.               Lord hear us,

Lord hear our prayer in the name of the resurrected and ascended Christ.

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

Offering:

Dedication of the Offering:

Gracious God, for all you have poured out upon us:

We give you thanks.
For your Word that has inspired and fed your people; for those
who had vision to record it, skill to translate it and presence to share it:  

We give you thanks.
For your love that has surrounded and enfolded us, that has
given us joy, confirmed our faith, nurtured our love and given us enduring hope in the gift of the promise of eternal life:
We give you thanks.
To you be all praise and glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.

We invite you to join in singing: ‘Father I Thank You’

Word of Mission

May we go forth into the world in peace

And be of good courage

Help us to hold fast to what is good

Rendering no one evil for evil

Equip us to strengthen the faint hearted,

Support the weak, help the afflicted, honour all people,

Always Loving and serving the Lord,

Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

 Blessing:

May the Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord make His face to shine upon you,

And be gracious unto you

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you

And give you peace.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God

And the communion of the Holy Spirit

Be with us all evermore.

Amen

We invite you to join in singing the Benediction Song: (The words are printed below)

Now unto Him, who is able to keep

Able to keep you from falling

And present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy

To the only wise God our Saviour

Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and power both now and forever.           Amen.