GATHERING THE PEOPLE
Welcome and Announcements
Friends, you are welcome in this place. Our time together is God’s gift to each of us. We come with what we know of and have experienced in life, we come seeking to discover what we don’t yet know about God and God’s hopes and dreams for our lives. Together, we seek to make this a safe environment for all who search for meaning and purpose in life. Together let us seek to be Christ’s light and salt in the world. So welcome.
My name is Sue. I am a member of Engadine Uniting Church and will lead the worship service today.
Acknowledgement of country
We, whose connection with this land may span only hundreds of years, acknowledge the Dharawal people whose connection with this land spans millennia. We recognise that time has not diminished the importance of this land to them, and we give thanks for their care of it. We acknowledge their Elders, past and present, and honour the emerging leaders of their communities.
All: In doing so, we recommit ourselves to working for deeper understanding and a more equitable relationship.
Lighting of the Christ Candle
Call to worship
We gather,
just as we are—because that is all we need to be to gather here.
We bring the stories of our past and the stories we are creating today.
We do not leave behind the world around us,
but lift it to you and allow you to hold it for us for this time.
We gather,
to turn our attention toward God,
to offer praise for who God is,
and to worship with open hearts.
Let us worship in word, in prayer, and in song.
Hymn: What Shall I Do, My God, To Love (TiS 122)(Tune Wiltshire, 122)
What shall I do my God to love My loving God to praise?
The length and breadth and height to prove And depth of sovereign grace?
Your sovereign grace to all extends Immense and unconfined
From age to age it never ends, To reach all humankind
Throughout the world its breadth is known Wide as infinity
So wide it never passed by one Or it had passed by me
The depth of all-redeeming love What angel tongue can tell
O may I to the utmost prove The gift unspeakable
CCLI Song # 2958592 Charles Wesley © Public Domain For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 31951
Prayer Of Welcome
Holy One, you walked with your people of old
with wanderers and with waiting ones.
We praise you as the God who walks with us today,
present in our wandering and waiting.
Holy One, you worked through Abraham’s far from perfect family
through rivalry and deception, through failure and stubborn faith.
We thank you that you do not wait for us to be worthy,
but meet us where we are and see the potential in each of us.
Holy One, you heard Rebekah’s prayer in her time of anxious waiting.
You answered with promise for the future.
We thank you that you still listen to all our prayers,
those we cry aloud and those we hold quietly in our hearts.
You are the God of then, and the God of now,
faithful across every generation.
All praise and thanks to you.
Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Holy One, We confess that there are times when we block out the light of your word.
We blunder on in our own strength, on our own path.
Drawn to the way of the world rather than your way, we forget others and the consequences of our actions.
Forgive, we pray, and help us that the light of your word may guide our thoughts, words, and actions. Amen.
Words of Grace
Paul reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we are set free and given life by the Spirit. By grace we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.
All-Age Message: Project Reconnect, Rev Josh McPaul here: https://projectreconnect.com.au/2026/06/12/12th-july-2026-year-a-pentecost-7-the-gentle-invasion
HEARING THE WORD
Readings: Genelle and David
Let us pray: God, please open our ears and minds and hearts so that as we hear the words of the Bible, you will speak to us and bring us new life.
Reading 1: Genelle or David
Our first reading comes from Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23 in the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 If you have ears,[a] hear!”
18 “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.[a] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this[b] age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Reader: Through these readings we hear God speak.
All: Thank you, God, for your words of life.
Sue introduces hymn with some variation of the following: Jesus continues teaching with a parable, first to the crowds and then more deeply to the disciples. In offering its meaning, Jesus invites us to consider how the word is received and what shapes whether it takes root or falls away amid the pressures and challenges of life. Jesus’ parables hold potential for holy growth. This hymn follows the journey of those seeds, pondering our responses.
Hymn: The Seeds of Grace (Hannah Brown)
The seeds of grace are scattered far by way of wind and hand.
The Sower offers openly these grains to bless our land.
In weeded plot and wilderness and busy city street
the seeds of grace are falling free What welcome will they meet?
The seeds of grace are opening in water and in fire
The Gard’ner tends each one in time to give what they require:
a stream of sun, a mist of rain, enrichment for the soil.
The seeds of grace are reaching deep. What promises uncoil?
The seeds of grace are rising up, unfurling shoot and leaf.
The Steward shields them faithfully to nurture green belief,
to cultivate a tender trust that strengthens, sweet and slow.
The seeds of grace are flourishing. What harvest will they grow?
Activity: Seeds and cotton wool in cups while music clip is playing (“Lord let me heart be good soil” https://youtu.be/47ggpDhylMg?si=J5XvqEyAmeFnIuJJ)
Reading 2: Genelle or David
The Old Testament reading comes from Genesis 25:23–34. In this part of the story of Abraham’s family, his daughter-in-law Rebekah enquires of the Lord during her pregnancy:
23 And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other;
the elder shall serve the younger.”
24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob.[b] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.[c]) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Reader: Through these readings we hear God speak.
All: Thank you, God, for your words of life.
Sermon: John M
RESPONDING TO THE WORD
Hymn/Song: God, When Human Bonds Are Broken (TiS 683)
God when human bonds are broken And we lack the love or skill
To restore the hope of healing Give us grace and make us still
Though that stillness with Your Spirit Come into our world of stress
For the sake of Christ forgiving All the failures we confess
You in us are bruised and broken Hear us as we seek release
From the pain of earlier living Set us free and grant us peace
Send us God of new beginnings Humbly hopeful into life
Use us as a means of blessing Make us strong give us faith
Give us faith to be more faithful Give us hope to be more true
Give us love to go on learning God encourage and renew
CCLI Song # 7045313 Fred Kaan | Ron Klusmeier © Words: 1989 Stainer & Bell Ltd; Music: 2012 Ron Klusmeier For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 31951
Offertory prayer
Thank you to everyone as you bring your gifts of loving service and financial support through online giving. If you prefer to use cash, it can be placed in the wooden box at the back, and you can also make one-off donations via the QR code on the box.
Let us pray: We thank you for what you have given to us. From that generosity, we offer back what we have— our money, time, and our gifts.
Receive these, we pray, and guide us in how they may be used in the unfolding of your work, in this place and beyond. Amen
Prayers of the people
We warmly invite anyone who would like personal prayer for themselves or others to stay after the service. A Member of our pastoral care team will be available here at the front of the church to listen and pray with you.
Holy One, whose focus never leaves us, we bring before you these situations asking that the beam of your love will shine into each life.
For those caught in the messiness of family life,
send your Spirit of healing and hope.
For those struggling with loneliness or despair,
send your Spirit of healing and hope.
For those dealing with sickness of body or mind,
send your Spirit of healing and hope.
For those suffering war and persecution,
send your Spirit of healing and hope.
For all that weights on our hearts this day,
Send your Spirit of healing and hope.
Holy Spirit, where we can offer care, show us the way. Where it is beyond us, we rest in the knowledge that you hear, that your love does not waver, and your Spirit is already at work.
Amen.
I invite you to join together to say this version of the Lord’s Prayer, from the Rainbow Cathedral community in Washington State, USA:
O God, you love us like a good parent, and are present in every aspect of our existence.
May your nature become known and respected by all.
May your joy, peace, wholeness and justice be the reality for everyone as we live by the Jesus Way.
Give us all that we really need to live every day for you.
And forgive us our failures as we forgive others for their failures.
Keep us from doing those things which are not of you, and cause us always to be centered on your love.
you are the true reality in this our now, and in all our future.
In the Jesus Way we pray. Amen.
Hymn/Song: Help Us O Lord To Learn (TiS 428 66.86)
Help us, O Lord, to learn The truths your word imparts
To study that your laws may be Inscribed upon our hearts
Help us, O Lord, to live The faith which we proclaim
That all our thoughts and words and deeds May glorify your name
Help us, O Lord, to teach The beauty of your ways
That yearning souls May find the Christ And live a life of praise
CCLI Song # 7011117, William Watkins Reid Jr. © Words: 1959. Renewed 1987 The Hymn Society; Music: Public Domain For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 31951
Benediction
We live in a messy world—but we do not go out into it alone.
We go with the light of the Word, who was present in creation and holds all things together.
We go with the Wisdom of God, who walked this earth, knew its struggles and understands ours.
We go with the power of the Spirit, who lives within us—to grow, guide, and strengthen us.
So go, held, guided and unafraid. Amen.
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