Sunday 16 July 2023 Genesis 25:19-34: Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, conceives and gives birth to Esau and Jacob. Matthew 13:1-9 & 18-23: Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed. The readings set for this Sunday, when we celebrate Matariki, are quite appropriate. The Genesis story tells of the birth of Esau and Jacob, one a hunter gatherer and the other a shepherd. Two rival ways of life. The recorded sermon can be watched here: https://youtu.be/vUv8c9HL1dU
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Sunday 9th July 2023 James 3:1-12 - James cautions on how we can use our tongue unwisely. In The Message Eugene Peterson writes: 5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. 7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! You watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/_gh19RqNogo Gracious God, you meet us in the most unexpected of places; in the moments when your presence seems to have disappeared; in the eyes of a stranger; in the experiences that make us feel the most uncomfortable; in abundance that is found amidst perceived desolation.
We come to worship, giving thanks for the gift of encounter. Through your Spirit’s movement in our lives and in this time together, may our hearts be torn open to your call in our lives, so that we may be stirred to go out and transform your world Sunday 2 July 2023 Readings: Genesis 22: 1-14 Romans 6: 8-14 Call to Worship based on Psalm 13 There are times O Lord when we feel disconnected Disconnected from your presence As if we only see the back of your head Not the full gaze of your loving eyes There are times when our faith is sorely tested, When we have lived with a stomach full of pain. When we are out of relationship Disconnected from the people around us. Take a good look at us, God, We want to look you and life in the eye, To know your love when we fall That we may throw ourselves headlong into your arms to know your rescuing love And to sing at the top of our lungs, to celebrate your faithfulness to us! In the reading from Genesis, the deep human angst and need being addressed is guilt and the resulting sense of disconnection from God. Watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/F2Q1CGeg3OI Sunday 25 June 2023 Readings: Genesis 21:1-21 Matthew 10:26-30 Psalm 86:1-10 Listen to me, Lord, and answer me, for I am helpless and weak. 2 Save me from death, because I am loyal to you; save me, for I am your servant and I trust in you. 3 You are my God, so be merciful to me; I pray to you all day long. 4 Make your servant glad, O Lord, because my prayers go up to you. 5 You are good to us and forgiving, full of constant love for all who pray to you. 6 Listen, Lord, to my prayer; hear my cries for help. 7 I call to you in times of trouble, because you answer my prayers. 8 There is no god like you, O Lord, not one has done what you have done. 9 All the nations that you have created will come and bow down to you; they will praise your greatness. 10 You are mighty and do wonderful things; you alone are God. You can watch the recording of today’s sermon here: https://youtu.be/8DMlUqJj3EM May the knowledge of God’s presence
be our strength throughout this day, a source of wisdom, love, light, and grace. And as darkness falls, may each of us find peace in that presence, and the gift of sleep. John Birch: https://www.faithandworship.com/ (adapted) Sunday 18th June 2023 Readings: Genesis 18:1-15 Matthew 9:35-10:8 Call to worship From north and south, from the east and from the west, from Cashmere and Westlake, God call us together to worship and serve. Out of poverty and wealth, out of health and disease, out of whatever circumstances in which we live, God call us together to worship and serve. Out of a spirit of jubilation and despair, out of times of hope and uncertainty, out of whatever state our heart is in, God call us together to worship and serve. Let us worship God. Today we hear from the Book of Genesis a little part of the story of Abram and Sarai and Lot as they travelled from Ur in the land of the Chaldeans to Canaan. Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah. Both wonderful old fools of faith who left the land of their ancestors with all their worldly possessions following God’s call. You can watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/rDKObq8DMAM Sunday 11 June 2023 Readings: Isaiah 51: 1-3 Matthew 9.9-13,18-26 We come with praise for the wonderful works of God. Even before we speak, God knows us completely. The Holy One knows us and sustains us, even in our moments of confusion and doubt. Who can count the thoughts of God? They are more than all the sands of the desert. Like clay in the hands of the potter, we are lovingly shaped and formed generation upon generation We come with praise for the wonderful works of God. The Sermon can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/0M5VMQ6HAM8 Sunday 4 June 2023 Readings: Psalm 8: This beautiful song of nature proclaims the goodness of all that God has created. Matthew 28:16-20: The risen Christ bids farewell to his disciples, promising to be with them until the end of the world, blessing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sending them out into the whole world. Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, that time in the life of the disciples of Jesus, when they were gifted with the Holy Spirit. Today, the Sunday following Pentecost, we celebrate the Trinity. – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – One God. This teaching of the church on how we understand God has created controversy and disagreements over the centuries. You can watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/ZnJCReq0Eew Sunday 28 May 2023 Readings: Numbers 11:4-17 and 24-30 John 7:37-39 O Day of joy and wonder! Christ’s promise now fulfilled! The coming of his Spirit the Father’s love has willed; our Lord in human body to mortal eye is lost, yet he returns for ever at blessèd Pentecost! The world, in sheer amazement, the truth must now declare: that men, who once were cowards, are brave beyond compare; and tongues, which could not utter their faith in Jesus’ name, defy all persecution his glory to proclaim. The sermon– Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful – has been recorded and can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/Vq1rz0nkqu8 Come, Holy Spirit, create in us holiness,
lift up our lives to thy standard of right; stir every will to new ventures of faithfulness, flood the whole church with thy glorious light. Sunday 21 May 2023 Readings: Acts 1:6-14: Jesus makes clear what is and what is not the disciples’ role. It is not for them to know the Father’s schedule for bringing the kingdom into its fullness. It is for them to be Jesus’ witness throughout the world, under the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 24: 44-53: Before ascending to heaven, Jesus commissions his disciples to be his witnesses. This Sunday marks the end of the Easter Season (we are forty days from Easter) when we have focused so much on the crucifixion, resurrection and what these events may mean for us in our life and faith. The Easter season, in the Christian faith, is a time when we focus on the new governance that breaks the grip of all that is old, tired, deathly and enslaving. The recording of the sermon can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/4FF1-o-FrYo Sunday 14th May 2023 John 14:15-21 The promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 17:22-31 Paul’s sermon in Athens We gather together in the presence of God, the Lord of heaven and earth: the Creator of our world and everything in it; the One who gave us life and breath, the One who is never far away from any of us, the One in whom we live and move and have our being. Let’s worship God! The recorded sermon can be watched here: https://youtu.be/kqRU9YwHPWY. At one point in the recording you are invited to sing along to the hymn Halleluja! Sing to Jesus, so here are the words:
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Worship ResourcesWorship Services are held at 10am every Sunday. For those unable to join us in person, a recorded version will be available from 9am each week. Archives
May 2024
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Administrator: Gail Weaver |