This week’s worship resources have been created by Margaret Reeson, a special thanks to her, the worship team, Chris Dodd and others who have contributed.

Mark Beresford, the Pastor at the Gungahlin campus of Mosaic Baptist and Darren had a conversation about this week’s reading from the book of Acts, you can access the conversation on Soundcloud here, it’s 40 minutes of two pastors talking about the bible. Mark’s a good friend and we’re thinking we’ll do more of these and get better as we go.

This week Darren is leading the Assembly Facebook worship, a weekly worship service streamed via Facebook by a number of different ministers from across Australia. If you’ve been tuning in you would have heard some remarkable voices and been able to worship alongside many from the UCA.

You do not need a Facebook account to watch, just head to this link for a 10am EST service from our lounge room. https://www.facebook.com/UnitingChurchAu/ Not long after the service I’ll put the video on our website.

But until then, welcome to worship.

Call to Worship

Come. Sit quietly.
Light your candle.
Prepare your heart and mind to sit with Jesus.

A prayer

Loving God, you have led us to this place,
not to shield us from heartache and the pain of human life,
but to heal us and inspire us,
to gently redirect us,
till we see the world as you do
and love it with your love. Amen

From Psalm 68

Our God, you are the one
who rides on the clouds,
and we praise you.
Your name is the Lord,
and we celebrate
as we worship you.

Our God, from your sacred home
you take care of orphans
and protect widows.

You find families
for those who are lonely…..

We praise you, Lord God!
You treat us with kindness
day after day,
and you rescue us.

Song

He Walked On Earth – TiS 260

Video/Audio: https://youtu.be/Dw-fjgslBrk

He walked on earth, showing glimpses of heaven;
Demons, death, disease had no hand.
The wind and the waves were obedient before him:
well may they say, “Who is this man?”

Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away our sin,
The light of the world, the son of God.
Worthy is the Lamb to receive our praise
and glory and honour and power.

On the third day he was raised up with glory,
Reigning on high, the risen Son:
We have new life, a new hope, a new future;
Now we cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus, come!’

Prayer of Confession

You are invited to use your hands during prayer.
Close both hands into fists and turn them over.

Loving God, we come to you as your children,
trying to hide things from you,
hoping you can’t see what is hidden in our hands.

You say to us: What are you hiding, my child?
[Pause]

You say to us: What is it that you cannot let go, my child?
[Pause]

You say to us: Open your hand and let it go.
I will not prise your hand open, finger by finger.
You know what is hidden and hurting.
You can empty your hands,
you can open your heart.

See the open hands of Christ, torn by nails.
This pain was offered for us.
This loving sacrifice can set us free.

Let us open our hands.
Let us place our fistful of pain into the wounded hands of Christ.
He will hold it for us.

Thank you, Christ Jesus.

Amen

Bible reading John 17:1-11

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Meditation on the scripture

Imagine that you are sitting with the other disciples. You are listening to Jesus speak these words. Read them again. As Jesus is praying this prayer to his Father, he is thinking of those who follow him, then and now. Is there a word or sentence here that is his word for you today? Mark it in some way, or copy it as a reminder.

The Light…

The kids and I filmed a Godly Play story for this week's online service. The story reflects on Jesus, the Light of the world and invites us to wonder how we can become with the light.The focus question for me is the question "Many have come to the Light to receive their light. But the Light is not smaller. It is still the same. I wonder, how much light can be given away and the Light still be the same?"I wonder, how will you help others receive their light this week?I wonder, can you remember the day when you received your light and became one with the Light?

Posted by Gungahlin Uniting Church on Friday, 22 May 2020

Song

The great love of God – TiS 164

Video/Audio: https://youtu.be/5sdMssEBQoI

The great love of God
is revealed in the Son,
who came to this earth
to redeem everyone.

That love, like a stream
flowing clear to the sea,
makes clean every heart
that from sin would be free.

It binds the whole world,
every barrier it breaks,
the hills it lays low
and the mountain it shakes.

It’s yours, it is ours,
O how lavishly given!
The pearl of great price
and the treasure of heaven.

Prayers for others

(Chris Dodd)

Our Loving God

The book of Ecclesiastes remind us “to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” The seasons of our life I’m not always times of comfort and love and peace. Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to die; a time to weep, a time to mourn, and a time to refrain from embracing – all apt to this season of our lives.

Today Lord we live in a season of trial. A season not experienced by the generations living on this small, fragile planet. We struggle, we are rage, we are confused
and we are sad, and we want this to end.
And it will but in its own time. Until then we must continue to struggle.

This day we pray for those who help us be the burden of this difficult season. Too many who are workers on a minimum wage.

We pray for our health workers – doctors, nurses, administrative staff, paramedics, ambulance drivers – and ask that you keep them safe and well and that they may find times for rest and recuperation before they face their next shift.

We pray for those who work in our shops, especially those in shops that supply the essentials of life – food, cleaning products and yes coffee. Many of them are young and for those who wonder what the next generation will offer we already see the future of our world here is in good hands and we thank you for that foresight.

We ask your blessing on cleaners, for their early starts and thoroughness. In their anonymity they are doing a vital service for us all. And also for those in our nursing homes. We pray that staff and residents will be safe and the isolation they are feeling is not proving unbearable.

And for our teachers whose value is now appreciated by so many, be with them as they move back to classroom, teaching and explaining this confusing time to their students.

Finally we thank You that through this pandemic we have found out who and what is truly important, and maybe hold onto that truth in the days and years to come.

Be with us during this season of our life. Walk with us. Help us understand.

Amen.

Blessing

May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit
you may abound in hope.
And may Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Romans 15:13 RSV

Call to worship

Let us worship God
In our house, in our quiet place
Alone or with another
Let us worship God. 

This week’s Home Brewed Worship provides you all a number of ways to enter into prayer and to explore the Gospel story. If you’re at home with family, a partner, a friend or a spouse please consider working through some of this with them. If you’re alone, consider phoning someone else and inviting them to join you in worship.

A special thanks to Jack Barnard for bringing this week’s scripture to life and to Margaret and Pauline for the liturgy and prayers throughout the material.

Carve out some space sacred space in your home, perhaps you have candle, some colourful material, a cross, a bible, some pictures of the world, artwork or images of Jesus… 

You don’t need to use all of this material, nor do you need to do it all in one sitting, perhaps some of these prayers and music can travel with you throughout the week. Use the material as part of daily exercises, music to carry you through the week, reflections to ponder as you walk or stay at home.

For some your focus may be to hear the gospel preached, others the gospel sung, while others may want to find a practice that they can enter into over the course of the week to make space for the Holy Spirit to work on us.

*We know there have been others using this resource in their own homes or communities, if you’d like to have updates and information of new resources please jump on our email list.

Order of Service

Some people have requested an order of service as a guide to use this material at home. Access a formal order here. If you’re happy making your own way through these resources please make yourself at home.

Home Brewed Families

We’ve curated some resources specifically for families to use in their homes this week, you can access them here.

As we enter into worship we invite you to contemplate these 3 questions:

• What am I grateful for this week?
• Who will I check in with / make contact with this week?
• Where will I seek, or create beauty this week?

This Week’s Readings:

Psalm 66 (MSG)

John 14: 15-21(CEV)

Acts 17:22-31 (CEV)

Prayer

A Prayer for Sunday

Prayer of Confession

Prayer for Others with Pauline Loughhead

Singing the Scripture

This is a selection of songs that speak to this week’s bible readings and themes, use it to fill your house with music throughout Sunday, perhaps you might continue to listen to the music through the week.

Jack, who reflected on the scripture this week suggested that I link to Robin Mann’s song “God Vs 1.0” an old but a goodie that links really well with this week’s reading from Acts.

Playlist for the week of May 17, 2020

Reflection on the Scripture – Tune In

Jack Barnard invites us to tune into God as he reflects on this week’s scripture readings.

Tune In – Reflection May 17, 2020

After hearing Jack’s invitation to tune in perhaps you’d like to listen to the song he referenced in his reflection. Listen to Breathe

Worship @ Home Ideas

Map With Sound

“Anytime I feel lost, I pull out a map and stare. I stare until I have reminded myself that life is a giant adventure. So much to do and see.”

– Angelina Jolie

Make a word art image that recreates a place where you spend time with God.

Close your eyes and listen to (or imagine) all the sounds in that place, both natural and unnatural, make a list of all the sounds.

Use the list to create a visual composition, create a map of sound.

*Activity inspired by the book “Sketch Book Dares” by Laura Lee Gulledge

A Love Playlist

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will do as I command.”

Can you create a playlist of your favourite songs about “love”?

• What songs need to be in the list?
• Why should certain songs be included in your list?
• Can your household come up with your top 3 songs of love?
• What do these songs say about love?
• What songs would you use to describe love to others? 
• Can you send your playlists to Darren for inclusion on our Facebook Page?

Go Deeper

This week we invite you to find a way to tune into God’s presence, here are a few ways you might be able to do that.

Spiritual Practice: Practice Silence

Spiritual Practice: Breathing Prayer

Spiritual Practice: Breath Lines

Spiritual Practice: Praying The Scripture – Enter The Story