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
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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:
Sunday 7th May 2023 Readings: Psalm 31: 1-5 1 Peter 2: 2-10 “As you come to him, the Living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2: 4-5) Call to Worship based on Micah 6 God has told you, O Mortal, what is good. What does the Lord require of us but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? It is good to be together, God, together listening for your voice, united by your Spirit. In this time of worship tell us about your kingdom of kindness so that we can seek it. Show us your justice. We want to walk with you, humbly, closely, daily. Watch the recording of the sermon - Living Stones –here: https://youtu.be/YspKjYE7lU0 Sunday 30th April 2023 Readings: Psalm 23 Acts 2:42-47 Bless us as we meet together, dear Lord we pray. Bless the singing of your praise, the reading of your Word, the sharing of our fellowship, the prayers that will be heard. Bless us as we meet together, dear Lord we pray. Amen. The recorded sermon can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/cQ0u9Vz_PpI Go from here in the joy of knowing
God is with us Go ready to serve knowing God is with us Go ready to give knowing God is with us In all that we do and all that we are God is with us. Kia tau ki a tatou katoa (Descend upon us) Te atawhai o tatou Ariki (The grace of our Lord) o Ihu Karaiti (of Jesus Christ) Me te aroha o te Atua (The love of God) me te whiwhinga tahitanga (and the fellowship) ki te Wairua Tapu (of the Holy Spirit) a ake ake (be with you for evermore) Amine (Amen) |
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
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Administrator: Gail Weaver |