Service for Sunday 9th March 2025, which will be conducted by Mr Geoffrey Webber

Welcome: –

Call to Worship: –

(Psalm 91: 1, 2, 9 to 12, 14, and 15a)

Whoever goes to the LORD for safety,

Whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,

Can say to Him, “You are my defender and protector,

You are my God; in you I trust.”.

We have made the LORD our defender, the Most High our protector,

And, so, no disaster will strike us, no violence will come near our home.

God will put His angels in charge of you, to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.

God says, “I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as LORD.

When they call to me, I will answer them;

When they are in trouble, I will be with them.

The writer of this Psalm testifies to the strength that springs from placing their trust in God. There is the promise and assurance of God’s salvation for the individual. There is the promise and assurance of blessing and strength flowing from placing one’s trust in God. There is the promise and assurance of God being a refuge and a source of protection in times of strife and trouble. This Psalm reads as a hymn of praise that was sung as part of the worship that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem. We, too, offer the same worship of God, as we gather in this place of worship as His people. Let us be encouraged to place the same trust in God to accompany us as we walk through life, as we place our trust in God’s promises & assurances.

Prayer of Praise

Gracious God, we come celebrating the awesomeness of your love and the wonder of your grace.

Even though we fail you time and time again, you never walk away and you never fail us.

Undeserving though we are, you show us mercy.

You do not turn away in the moments our faith is feeble, in the moments when we doubt, or when we are hesitant disciples.

God of never-ending patience, even in the times we fail you, you understand our weaknesses and help us to put our faults behind us.

You dust us off when we have fallen from grace and help us to start again.

We offer so little,

yet you give us so much.

Our love is so weak,

yet you respond richly.

Your grace defies expression too wonderful for us to fully comprehend, and though we fail you, you never fail us.

Lord, continue to grant us your grace, unworthy as we are.

God of all Creation, you have given us so much and we are truly blessed.

We thank you for your constant guidance throughout our lives, for your wisdom in all things, for the way your Word encourages us, inspires us, feeds us and sustains us in our daily spiritual lives.

For all the ways you have guided us and supported us, and for all the ways you continue to lead in our lives,

we give you our heartfelt thanks. For this and a whole lot more, we are truly humbled and thankful. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn ‘He leadeth me’

Joseph Gilmore

Prayer of Confession

(Psalm 51: 3 to 12 and 1 and 2)

I recognise my faults, O God, I am always conscious of my sins.

I have sinned against you – only against you – and have done what you consider evil.

So you are right in judging me;

You are justified in condemning me.

Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom.

Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; and though you have crushed me and broken me, I will be happy once again.

Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil.

Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.

Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.

Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love.

Because of your great mercy wipe away my sins!

Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin! Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

(from 1 Corinthians 15: 57)

The Apostle Paul reminds us that God gives us victory over sin through His son, Jesus Christ. Having confessed our sins before God, let us hold onto that promise with thanks in our hearts, trusting that God has listened to our prayers, that God has forgiven us and that He has cleansed us in His sight.

Thanks be to God.

Prayer of illumination

O Lord, Heavenly Father, in whom is the fullness of light and wisdom,

enlighten our minds by your Holy Spirit,

and give us grace to receive your Word with reverence and humility,

without which no person can understand your truth.

To your glory we pray. Amen

John Calvin

Bible Readings

Deuteronomy 26:

11 Be grateful for the good things that the LORD your God has given you and your family; and let the Levites and the foreigners who live among you join in the celebration. 12 Every third your give the tithe – a tenth of your crops – to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows, so that in every community they will have all the need to eat.

Isaiah 58:

6 The LORD says,

“The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. 7 Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives. 8 Then my favour will shine on you like the morning Sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. 9 When you pray, I will answer you. When you call me, I will respond.

If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word, 10 if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. 11 And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.

Romans 10:

8 What it says is this:

“God’s message is near you, on your lips and in your heart” –

that is, the message of faith that we preach. 9 If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. 10 For it is by faith that we are put right with God; it is by confession that we are saved. 11 The Scripture says,

“Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Isaiah 28: 16)

12 This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to Him. 13 As the Scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.” (Joel 2: 32)

2 Corinthians 5:

20 We plead on Christ’s behalf: let god change you from enemies into His friends! 21

Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Word of God.

Praise to you Almighty God.

Luke 4:

1 Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy spirit and was led by the spirit into the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.

3 The Devil said to him, “If you are God’s Son, order this stone to turn into bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “The Scripture says, ‘Man cannot live on bread alone.’” (Deuteronomy 8: 3)

5 Then the Devil took him up and showed him in a second all the Kingdoms of the World. 6 “I will give you all this power and all this wealth.”, the Devil told him. “It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. 7 All this will be yours, then, if you worship me.”

8 But Jesus answered, “The Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’” (Deuteronomy 6: 13)

9 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here. 10 For the Scripture says, ‘God will order His angels to take good care of you.’ (Psalm91: 11) 11 It also says, ‘They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’” (Psalm 91: 12)

12 But Jesus answered, “The Scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deuteronomy 6: 16)

13 When the Devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he left him for a while.

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was with him. The news about him spread throughout all the territory. 15 He taught in the synagogues and was praised by everyone.

[Today’s English Version]

This is the Gospel of our Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn ‘God of freedom, God of justice’ (TiS657)

This YouTube clip is for another hymn but is used here for the tune. The words are printed below.

Verse 1 of 3

God of freedom, God of justice,

God whose love is strong as death,

God who saw the dark of prison,

God who knew the price of faith:

Touch our World of sad oppression

With your Spirit’s healing breath.

Verse 2 of 3

Rid the Earth of torture’s terrors,

God whose hands were nailed to wood;

Hear the cries of pain and protest,

God who shed the tears and blood;

Move in us the power of pity,

Restless for the common good.

Verse 3 of 3

Make in us a captive conscience

Quick to hear, to act, to plead;

Make us truly sisters, brothers

Of whatever race or creed;

Teach us to be fully Human,

Open to each other’s needs.

Shirley Murray

Sermon

after the rush at the supermarket before Cyclone Alfred comes

We all experienced the rush on the supermarkets earlier last week, with people trying to stock up on food and water before Tropical Cyclone Alfred came ashore. Let’s not even begin to consider the rush on toilet paper. People today lead such comfortable lives don’t they. And if you were to suggest to them that it would be character building if they experienced a time when they could not eat their usual food nor were able to drink their favourite beverage, they would look at you as if you were a mad, rabid ‘MAGA’ supporter.

“Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert” Luke 4: 1b

Luke tells us of the time when the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, where, for 40 days he ate nothing. (Luke 4: 1 & 2a) Now, we make sure that we eat a meal three times a day, cyclone or no cyclone. Here was Jesus who ate nothing for 40 days. In quite an understatement, Luke writes that, after these 40 days, Jesus was “hungry”. (Luke 4: 2b)

It was during this time that Jesus was at his weakest; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; “when his resistance was lowest”. (Lewis Foster in Study Note in Luke in the NIV Study Bible p1572) As such, the Devil sought to tempt Jesus to obey Satan’s will and intentions, instead of being obedient to God’s call on his life. All to no avail, for Jesus was steadfast in his obedience to God and to his call to be the Messiah.

Philip Hughes and Donald Burdick note that:

“The way in which Christ’s temptations were different from ours was in the results – his temptations never led to sin.” (Philip Hughes and Donald Burdick in Study Note in Hebrews in the NIV Study Bible p1900)

Thus, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes:

“Jesus has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4: 15)

The Apostle Peter writes:

“Christ committed no sin” (1 Peter 2: 22)

The Apostle John writes:

“and there is no sin in Christ” (1 John 3: 5)

And the Apostle Paul writes:

“Christ was without sin” (2 Corinthians 5: 21a)

All of the Apostles and the New Testament writers consistently agreed on this point, because their faith made sense only if that statement were true.

But being without sin was not an end in itself for Jesus, for Paul then writes of Jesus,

“but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God”. (2 Corinthians 5: 21b)

Peter talks of Jesus as,

“a costly sacrifice, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw”. (1 Peter 1: 19)

In a similar manner, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes,

“how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ, (who) offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God”. (Hebrews 9: 14)

Both authors are making reference to the lamb that was to be sacrificed at the annual Passover celebration, “a lamb without any defects” (Exodus 12: 5) , a sacrifice that was acceptable to God (Leviticus 22: 19) . Jesus, offering himself as the sacrifice for our sins, once for all time, for all of Humanity, was the embodiment of this perfect sacrifice for the salvation of God’s People.

Philip Hughes and Donald Burdick write that:

“Jesus Christ was the one who offered the sacrifice, and he was the sacrifice itself, unblemished (and acceptable to God), to remove sin’s defilement from the very core of our beings.” (Philip Hughes and Donald Burdick in Study Note in Hebrews in the NIV Study Bible p1905)

Whether or not you acknowledge the existence of Almighty God, the God of the Old and New Testaments, does not negate the reality of God. Whether or not you acknowledge the existence of the risen crucified Christ, only begotten Son of the Living God, does not negate the reality of his sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and the offer that is given for our salvation, as God had planned from the beginning of Time.

Based on that reality, what is our response? Based on that reality, do we accept our need to humble ourselves before God, or do we turn our backs on God and incline ourselves to that which Satan is offering, and be seduced by the gods of possessions, pleasure and power?

Paul wrote to the Church in Rome saying,

“If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by faith that we are put right with God; it is by confession that we are saved.” (Romans 10: 9 & 10)

Paul is writing from the background of Jesus physically appearing to him on the road to Damacus, and, also, from the first-hand accounts of the Apostles and the numerous followers of Jesus who interacted with the risen Christ during those 40 days after his resurrection. Paul is saying to the Church in Rome:

“I met the risen Christ who demonstrated the power of Almighty God. I listened to the first-hand accounts of those who also met the risen Christ and who talked of the power of God working through him. Have faith in this reality, confess that Jesus is God’s Son (Luke 3: 22, 9: 35) , that he was crucified, as foretold by Scripture, as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and that God raised him from the dead and, therefore, that he is our Saviour (Acts 2: 21 – 24, 1 Corinthians 15: 3 – 8) . Based on the reality of which I and they have experienced, I implore you to respond to God’s offer of salvation as I have done.”

And Paul is saying the same thing to us, we who are reading his words 1980 years later.

And in case the early Church mistakenly believed that they could make such a drastic and all-encompassing change in their lives through their own efforts, Paul offers this advice, as we read in his second Letter to the Church in Corinth,

“let God change you from enemies into His friends!” (2 Corinthians 5: 20)

Why is this crucial in an understanding of our faith in God and in His work of salvation?

The Prophet Joel was writing to the People of Judah during the time when people were returning to the Land of Judah from exile in Babylon and reestablishing the Nation of Judah. He warned them to learn from the errors of their forebears, those who were sent into exile.

Joel reminds them of the lovingkindness of their God,

“He is kind and full of mercy; He is patient and keeps His promise; He is always ready to forgive and not punish.” (Joel 2: 13b)

And he repeats the words of God,

“Repent sincerely and return to me with fasting, weeping and mourning. Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough.” (Joel 2: 13a)

Joel was telling them that the outward signs of repentance, that is, fasting and weeping and mourning and tearing clothes, does not indicate true repentance. Only a changed heart towards God indicates sincere repentance, a heart “broken” from a consideration of the hurt you have caused God from your wilfulness and negligence, a heart “broken” of its pride and self-satisfaction and remoulded into one of obedience and trust in Almighty God. And only God can change one’s heart.

Paul stated the same thing to the Church in Rome when he wrote,

“God’s message is near you, on your lips and in your heart” – that is, the message of faith that we preach”. (Romans 10: 8)

We are to be ready to proclaim our faith in the saving work of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are to be ready to demonstrate our faith through the rites of Baptism and Confirmation. But the sincerity of what we proclaim with our lips and through the rites of the Church must be accompanied by a change in our heart from a tendency to sin to one of obedience and trust in Almighty God. (Charles Barrett in The Epistle to the Romans p187) And only God can change our hearts, if we let Him.

If our hearts are changed, and we are sincere in professing our faith, then this should be reflected in a change in our words and in our actions.

The Prophet Isaiah addressed the issue of deceit in the worship of the People of Judah. On the one hand, God said, they expressed “pleasure in worshipping me”, and an eagerness “to know my ways and obey my Laws”. (Isaiah 58: 2)

Yet, on the other hand, they displayed contempt for God by asking,

“Why should we fast if the LORD never notices?” (Isaiah 58: 3a)

They displayed contempt for the welfare of others through “injustice”, “oppression”, and neglect of those in need. (Isaiah 58: 3b, 6, & 9b)

This was evidence of a hardening of their heart towards God and towards others.

Moses sought to address this by giving the People of Israel guidelines for when they entered the Promised Land of Canaan and established the Jewish Nation.

Firstly, Moses instructed them,

“be grateful for the good things that the LORD your God (will) give you and your family.” (Deuteronomy 26: 11a)

They are not to forget that it is God who makes the Sun to shine, that it is God who brings the rains to fall at the right times of the year for their crops and pastures to grow, and it is God who bountifully provides for their every need. (Deuteronomy 26: 9)

And, secondly, because God promised that He would bountifully provide for their every need, they are to share what God has provided with those who cannot provide for their needs, that is, “the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows” (Deuteronomy 26: 11 – 13) , such that “in every community they will have all they need to eat”. (Deuteronomy 26: 12)

And it is to the shame of the People of Israel, that the Prophet Isaiah needed to remind them of these guidelines, when he conveyed the Word of God to them,

“Share your food with the hungry and open your home to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.” (Isiaah 58: 7& 10)

It is in these two ways that the People of God would demonstrate a heart changed from a tendency to sin to one of obedience and trust, a sincere faith in the lovingkindness of God, and a sincere concern for the welfare of those in the own community in which they lived.

It is to the shame of the people in our own Society, that they have neglected these same guidelines for right worship and right living. Who, amongst us, readily proclaims their “gratitude to God” for all of the good things God gives to us and our family? Who, amongst

us, does all that they can to ensure that “in every community (their neighbours) will have all they need to eat”?

It is by these same two measures by which God will judge the thoughts and actions of each and every person in each and every community in each and every corner of the World.

Who among the living and the dead will stand shocked when they come face-to-face with God and say with dismay, “But you’re not supposed to be real?”? For their unbelief will not excuse them of their neglect to offer sincere worship of God or to display a sincere concern for others. But we, who do have faith in the reality and person of Almighty God, will also have no excuse if we also neglect to offer sincere worship or God and to display a sincere concern for others. Herein is the challenge for us to get our hearts right with God and our actions right with others.

I will leave you with these words from a Charles Gabriel, which are the words of the first verse from one of his hymns which is titled, “More like the Master I would ever be”,

“More like the Master I would ever be,

more of his meekness, more humility;

more zeal to labour, more courage to be true,

more consecration for work he bids me do.”

Charles Gabriel (quoted in Clearing out the Clutter by Joe Stowell in Our Daily Bread 14 March 2009)

Amen.

You are invited to listen to, or join in singing the Hymn ‘O love, that will not let me go’

(Alexander’s Hymns no. 3 number 276 MHB448 AHB525 TiS602)

George Matheson

Offering

Offering Prayer

God of goodness, please accept these offerings that we bring to you. In your wisdom guide its use for your Kingdom. Through your Holy Spirit, please direct and enable us, in all we do, to be a light for you in the World in which we live. Amen.

Prayers for Others

We pray for all who are hungry, who do not have enough to live with dignity. May they find generosity and inclusion in their local Christian communities.