Watchword for the Week
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises
to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 92:1)
(Moravian Daily Texts 2015)
ORGAN PRELUDE
WELCOME and CALL to WORSHIP
(Based on verses from Psalm 92)
The children of God portray
the wonder and beauty of your Spirit.
They are like springs of water
in a parched world.
They flourish even amid the distortions;
their lives are rich and productive
in a barren and desolate society.
It is good to give thanks to you, O God,
to declare your steadfast
love in the morning;
for you have made us glad by your work;
at the works of your hands, we sing for joy.
Hymn 160 * Praise, my soul, the King!
People’s Choice Hymns are marked with an asterisk (*)
PRAYER of APPROACH
Sovereign God, we praise you that you are
far greater than our minds can grasp;
far higher than our highest thoughts;
leaving us lost for words.
We offer our praise to you,
for your working in our lives and in our world,
for your never-ending mercy,
for your intention that your work be fulfilled in us.
We praise you that in Christ, you teach us to
live by faith, to place our hope and trust in
him, and through Christ, experience your
unconditional love.
As we “dig holes for ourselves” through our own
deceit or wrongdoings, we ask your forgiveness.
As we are tempted to
“sing songs from other hymn-sheets”,
place your song of compassion on our lips.
And when we consider that
“the grass is greener on the other side”,
bring us home to your promised land, that we
may honour your name in everything we do.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
WORDS of ASSURANCE
God does not look at outward appearances, God
looks into the heart. In Christ there is no limit to
grace, we are offered renewal and restitution in
Christ’s name. Thanks be to God. Amen.
CHILDREN’S TIME
Hymn 522 * The Church is wherever…
SHARING GOD’S PEACE
(Children may leave for Kids’ Church in the halls next door)
SCRIPTURE READINGS
1 Samuel 15:34 – 16:13 OT p. 281 (280)
St. Mark 4:26-34 NT p. 50
People may stand for the Gospel reading.
The Word of God. Thanks be to God!
Hymn 417 Now the green blade rises
SERMON Rev. James Brown
Hymn 533 * Will you come and follow me?
(Offerings are gathered and brought forward)
AFFIRMATION of BELIEF (Iona Community)
We believe in God,
who befriended a wandering people,
calling them from slavery into freedom,
yet who in Rahab, Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba,
Cyrus, Darius and many others called
outsiders to be agents of God’s purpose.
We believe in Jesus,
who was revered by Persian sages,
sought and found asylum in Egypt,
preached the love of God to Syrians,
attracted Greeks to his cause,
found his first evangelist in a Samaritan,
saw incomparable faith in a Roman,
had his cross shouldered by a Libyan,
and ascended above his native land
that he might be present in all places.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who at Pentecost proved that heaven
has no favoured mother tongue;
who, in the baptism of an Ethiopian,
denied racism a foothold in faith;
and who, in the ancient and modern worlds,
founded churches in different cultures.
We believe that the kingdom of God
is bigger than the Church,
and that the love of God
is beyond our understanding.
Therefore we celebrate
that God’s ways are not our ways,
that God knows whom God chooses,
and reserves the right
to surpass all human expectation.
Blessed be God for ever.
ANNOUNCEMENTS See Notices overleaf
PRAYERS for OTHERS (sung response)
Lord of heaven, let the kingdom grow.
Your will be done on earth, O Lord.
(Hymn 805 *)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be
thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 527 Lord, make us servants
(Hymn of the Month, June 2015)
BLESSING and Threefold Amen (No. 819)
ORGAN POSTLUDE
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