Watchword for the Week

Jesus says, “All who exalt themselves

will be humbled, but all who humble themselves

will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

(Moravian Daily Texts 2016)

ORGAN PRELUDE

WELCOME and CALL to WORSHIP

(Verses from Psalm 65)

Happy are those whom you choose, O God;

whom you bring to live in your sanctuary.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of

your house, of your holy temple.

You do wonderful things to save us.

People all over the world

and across the distant seas trust in you.

You calm the roar of the seas

and the noise of the waves;

you calm the uproar of the peoples.

The whole world stands in awe

of the great things that you have done.

Your deeds bring shouts of joy

from one end of the earth to the other.

You show your care for the land by sending rain;

you make it rich and fertile.

You soften the soil with showers

and cause the young plants to grow.

What a rich harvest your goodness provides!

Wherever you go there is plenty.

The pastures are filled with flocks;

the hillsides are full of joy.

Everything shouts and sings for joy!

Hymn 137.1 * All things bright and beautiful

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

PRAYER of APPROACH (Sections of this opening

prayer originate from the churches in Kenya and Ghana)

From the rising of the sun till its setting

in the west, God’s Holy Name be praised.

On the lips of children, by babies at the breast,

God’s Holy Name be praised.

In the visions of the old and the dreaming

of the young, God’s Holy Name be praised.

In the banquet hall of heaven

and the forgotten corners of our hearts,

God’s Holy Name be praised.

O God our Creator, your kindness has

brought us the gift of a new morning. Help us to

leave yesterday, and not to covet tomorrow,

but to accept the uniqueness of today.

From the cowardice that does not face new

truths, from the laziness that is content with half

truths, from the arrogance that thinks it knows all

the truth, deliver us today, good Lord.

O Lord our God, listening to us here,

you accept also the prayers of our sisters

and brothers in Africa, Asia, the Pacific,

the Americas and Europe.

We are all one in prayer.

So may we, as one, rightly carry out your

commission to witness and to love in the church

and throughout the world. Accept our prayers

graciously, even when they are somewhat

strange. They are offered in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

Hymn 169 * Praise the Lord with the sound…

SHARING GOD’S PEACE

(Children may join the Kids’ Church programme)

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Joel 2:23-32 OT p. 885 (884)

2 Timothy 4:6-18 NT p. 270 (268)

Hymn 170 * Praise and thanksgiving…

St. Luke 18:9-14 NT p. 103

People may stand for the Gospel reading.

The word of God: Thanks be to God!

Hymn 267 Blest be God for ever

(Hymn of the Month, October 2016)

SERMON Rev. James Brown

Hymn 198 * Let us build a house

(Offerings are gathered and brought forward)

DEDICATION PRAYER

Loving God, accept these our offerings as

symbols of our commitment to you and to

the work of the church. May your blessing

rest on them that they may be used wisely

and imaginatively in the service of your

church and kingdom, and may that same

divine blessing rest on us that we too may

use the gifts of wisdom and imagination that

you have given us, to work and witness for

you in the coming days. Amen.

NOTICES and PRAYERS for OTHERS

(Sung response: Hymn 805)

Your kingdom come:

Your will be done on earth, O Lord!

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 341 * Blest are they, the poor in spirit

BLESSING and Threefold Amen (No. 819)

ORGAN POSTLUDE

“Do you wish to rise?

Begin by descending. You plan a

tower that will pierce the clouds?

Lay first the foundation of humility.”

Saint Augustine (AD 354-430)

Early Christian theologian and philosopher