Watchword for the Week

Let mutual love continue.

(Hebrews 13:1)

(Moravian Daily Texts 2016)

ORGAN PRELUDE

WELCOME and CALL to WORSHIP

From the ends of the earth

we are gathered together;

the poor and the rich,

the joyful and the sorrowful,

the honoured and the despised.

All are gathered in one community,

reflecting the love and life of God.

We have come from many worlds.

Let is worship God as one!

Hymn 198 * Let us build a house

People’s Choice Hymns are marked with an asterisk (*)

PRAYER of ADORATION and CONFESSION

This is the place and this is the time;

here and now, God waits

to break into our experience:

To change our minds,

to change our lives,

to change our ways;

to make us see the world

and the whole of life in a new light;

to fill us with hope, joy,

and certainty for the future.

This is the place, as are all places;

this is the time, as are all times.

O God of this place and every place,

God of this time and all time,

here and now, we praise you.

We come before you, Lord,

bringing our different thoughts and feelings:

Some of us are joyful, glad to be here,

full of thanksgiving.

Some of us are here reluctantly,

out of a sense of duty or expectation.

Some of us are weighed down, burdened by

responsibility, worried, disheartened.

Some of us are not really here,

still caught up in yesterday,

or already thinking about tomorrow.

We’re all ashamed as we reflect on the past

week of things we’ve said, or not said,

things we’ve done, or not done.

Hymn 485 *verses 1+2 Dear Lord and Father

ASSURANCE of FORGIVENESS

Whatever our thoughts and feelings,

you, Lord Jesus, are always the same:

yesterday, today and forever.

We can depend on your welcoming love,

your compassionate understanding,

your gracious forgiveness.

Whatever our thoughts and feelings,

you are our constant in a world of change.

We thank you. Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

SHARING GOD’S PEACE

(Children may join the Kids’ Church programme)

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 NT p. 287 (285)

St. Luke 14:1, 7-14 NT p. 98

People may stand for the Gospel reading.

The word of God: Thanks be to God!

Hymn 616 There’s a spirit in the air

(Hymn of the Month, August 2016)

SERMON Rev. James Brown

Hymn 496 Humbly in your sight we come

(Offerings are gathered and brought forward)

DEDICATION PRAYER

Lord God, our hearts are yours to share your

love. Our eyes are yours to see the world as

you see it. Our hands are yours to work for

you, our feet to walk with you, our tongues

to speak for you, our ears to hear from you.

With these gifts, we give our whole selves

for your service. Take them and us now, that

we may remain yours forevermore. Amen.

NOTICES and PRAYERS for OTHERS

The Lord is our helper: we will not be afraid.

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 685 * For everyone born, a place

BLESSING and Threefold Amen (No. 819)

ORGAN POSTLUDE