Opening Hymn of Praise
Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise (MP 327)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZsSRaaHKGA
1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
3 To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render; O help us to see
’tis only the splendour of light hideth Thee.
5 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Confession
Our heavenly Father
thank you that you love us
and care for us all the time.
We know that this week
we have not always lived the way you tell us.
We have done wrong things
and not done all the good things we should have done.
Only you can save us,
so please forgive us
and help us to live as your friends.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Silence
God is the fount of all mercy
and through the life, death, and new life of Jesus Christ
has shown us how to live,
calling us to renewed action and commitment.
Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit
may you receive pardon, peace, and wisdom,
that you may use your time well,
be filled with grace,
and help to renew the earth.
These prayers we bring You,
in and through the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
Creed
We believe in God the Father,
Maker of all things.
We believe in his Son Jesus Christ,
Lord and Saviour of the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
giver of life and light.
We belong to the Church,
God’s family everywhere.
Amen.
Children's Song
Light of the World (MP 1086)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_KNvkk2G-Y
1 Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness,
opened my eyes, let me see
beauty that made this heart adore You,
hope of a life spent with You.
So here I am to worship,
here I am to bow down,
here I am to say that You’re my God:
You’re altogether lovely,
altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me.
2 King of all days, O so highly exalted,
glorious in heaven above,
humbly You came to the earth You created,
all for love’s sake became poor.
So here I am to worship . . .
So here I am to worship . . .
And I’ll never know how much it cost
to see my sin upon that cross.
And I’ll never know how much it cost
to see my sin upon that cross.
So here I am to worship . . .
Prayer for / with the Children
Spirit of God,
who danced at Creation’s birth,
dance with us now,
as we hear the Word proclaimed here and in Sunday School,
that we may be changed,
renewed
and empowered for mission,
May your blessing be upon us all
and through us, be a blessing to others.
In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen
Sermon
Song
Before the Throne of God above (MP 975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-50pFs0hRpg
1 Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
a great High Priest whose name is Love,
who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
my name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
no tongue can bid me thence depart,
no tongue can bid me thence depart.
2 When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see Him there
who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God the just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me,
to look on Him and pardon me.
3 Behold Him there! The risen lamb,
my perfect, spotless righteousness;
the great unchangeable;
I AM the King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die,
my soul is purchased with His blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ my Saviour and my God,
with Christ my Saviour and my God.
Offering
(Please do bear in mind that as long as we are still able to, CHS is continuing to support various projects and people in need and needs will likely increase during this time. You may want to set aside some money in an envelope every Sunday and bring these to church when we next meet back at ARDA.)
Dedication of our Offering
Out of your providing, Lord,
we make this offering
brought from our daily living.
Sanctify your gift,
and bless the life from which it comes,
that with a cheerful spirit
and an ungrudging heart
we may be devoted to your service;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Thanksgiving and Intercessions
In Matthew 18, verse 31 we read:
"When the other servants saw what had happened,
they were greatly distressed and went and told their
master everything that had happened."
Loving God,
We give you our thanks and praise this morning.
There is nowhere where our joys and sorrows are more
keenly felt than in heaven.
Thank you for allowing us to share in the building up of your Kingdom through our praises and prayers.
We give you praise for the many ways we sense your presence in this world building up your Kingdom.
We thank you for evidence of your kindness and care in our lives and in the lives of others.
Every day there is an abundance of your new mercies.
Thank you for your faithfulness in showing your loving kindness for your creation and in the keeping your covenant promises.
Merciful God,
We cry out to you to show mercy to a world that has turned from your ways, that it may recognise your love in Christ and turn back to you.
We see the effects of human activity in the growing number of climate change related natural disasters.
This morning we pray for the thousands of people in the western United States affected by wildfires. We pray for those who have lost loved ones or property as well as the many who have had to flee from those areas and all the ensuing upheaval.
But we also recognise how human activities such as deforestation and excessive burning of fossil fuels leading to climate change have affected some of the poorest people on the planet, because of rising temperatures, the failure of rains or overabundance of rain and flooding.
We see how such changes along with conflicts and wars drive people to become refugees, risking everything to have a future.
We see the shortcomings of how people treat one another: men, women and children trafficked and abused.
We see social unrest caused by racism, prejudice and oppression.
We see how in a world obsessed with self-fulfillment at any cost, there are more problems with mental health than ever before.
We see having riches does not equate to happiness and yet there are so many not having those things considered basic necessities, such as clean drinking water, education and food security.
God of mercy, may we be distressed by those things in the world around us, that we get tired of hearing about and tempted to ignore because the needs never seem to go away.
Give us merciful hearts to care for people as you do.
Help us in our distress, not to be judgmental or unforgiving but instead to forgive and love our enemies, pray for those who are prejudiced and ask you to bless those who would seek to do us harm.
We pray for those countries where there is growing disunity and political turmoil, we pray your blessing on those men and women who seek to be peacemakers in such circumstances.
We pray also for those who would seek to cause division, that you would cause them to recognise their own folly and turn to you to bring healing among the nations.
Righteous God,
We pray for the Church, that she might truly demonstrate she is the bride of Christ by seeking to be pure and and spotless with regard to your righteousness.
We pray that in seeking to make your love known to the world, your people would be both wise and gentle.
We pray for your people to have their lives transformed by the renewing power of the Holy Spirit and not be squeezed into the world's mould.
We pray for the faithful proclamation of your Word and for your people not simply to listen to what you are saying but also to obey what you are calling us to do.
As we learned about our need always to forgive, we pray for those who find forgiveness very difficult because they have suffered so much. May all such people come to know the liberating power of forgiveness. Help all your people to grow in your love and forgiveness.
Faithful God,
We lift before you our praises and prayers for those close to us, our families, friends, colleagues, neighbours and others we come into contact with in some way in the course of our daily lives. In a moment of silence, we lift people and situations before your throne of grace that you would touch their lives wherever there is need.
Thank you God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for hearing and answering our prayers, as you have faithfully answered the prayers of those who have gone before us into your eternal glory, some known to and loved by us, others unknown. Grant us the same perseverance to complete our race and receive along with them your commendation as good and faithful servants.
These prayers we offer up in the name for for the sake of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen
Closing Song
Christ be our light! (MP 1201)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caA4sIXkD44
1 Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to You.
Make us Your own, Your holy people;
light for the world to see.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts,
shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in Your church
gathered today.
2 Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us Your living voice.
Christ, be our light . . .
3 Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us Your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.
Christ, be our light . . .
4 Longing for shelter, many are homeless,
longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us Your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.
Christ, be our light . . .
5 Many the gifts, many the people,
many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
making Your kingdom come.
Christ, be our light . . .
Prayer of Sending and Blessing
May the One to whom every knee shall bow
and every tongue give praise,
enfold you in loving kindness.
May the One who was nailed to a tree for challenging the powers,
give you grace to challenge the lies of this age.
May the One who sustains Creation
inspire such love in you,
that you remain unsatisfied until the Earth is healed.
And may the blessing of Almighty God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you and all whom you love
now and always.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,in the name of Christ.
Amen
