As a Christian Community we believe that God reaches out to us in love and acceptance and that our relationships with each other should express love and respect.
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, wherever you’ve come from, wherever you’re going, whatever is in your heart – you are welcome here.
Welcome to our friends joining us on zoom this morning and a special welcome to Ms Jenny Ware the Federal Member for the seat of Hughes. We are so pleased you could join us today.
Acknowledgement of Country and lighting the candle (Melanie)
We acknowledge the Dharawal people, the traditional custodians of this land, and pay our respects to Elders past and present. The Traditional Custodians who have been and continue to be caretakers of this beautiful part of these lands in this country now called Australia. We shall always endeavour to walk softly, gently and respectfully on this land. We thank them for their patience, courage, faith, spirit and graciousness.
God calls us to worship.
God calls us to life.
God invites us to sing.
God calls us to life.
God invites us to pray.
God calls us to life.
God invites us to think and talk together.
God calls us to life.
God calls us to life today.
Let us pray: God of all truth and wisdom,
you invite us to remember that we are always in your presence,
that you are always present with us,
that you are with us and in and through every moment of our lives
now and always.
Hold us in your presence that calls us to life.
Amen.
Hymn: Make me a channel of your peace
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of memory and longing,
you know the deep recesses of our minds and hearts.
You know how we long for what is good and what is pure,
how much we desire to live with confidence.
Often these desires and longings are simply that,
and you know how far we are every day from the life we hope for,
the life to which you call us.
Do not cease in calling us, God of great patience.
Forgive us and give us courage.
Forgive us and give us persistence.
Forgive us and give us grace
that we might, even in the smallest of ways,
and in the briefest of moments,
glimpse the life you long for us to live.
Amen.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Be assured all who hear these words.
Be assured all who are the beloved of God.
Be assured, all you children of God.
You are forgiven.
You are forgiven.
You are forgiven.
Thanks be to God!
PRAYER OF ADORATION AND THANKSGIVING
A psalmist says: ‘God who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.’
And we say,
God is Good.
A psalmist says, ‘God is your keeper; your shade at your right hand.’
And we say,
how wonderful are your promises.
A psalmist says, ‘The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.’
And we say, what blessings are at your hand.
A psalmist says, ‘God will keep you from all evil; and will keep your life.’
And we say,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
Amen.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Readers: Genelle and David
Luke 18:1–8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Psalm 119:97–104
Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
Jeremiah 31:27–34
27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbour,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Song – 10,000 Reasons
Karen discusses the upcoming Housing Affordability Forum.
On Tuesday the 1st November, there will be an Affordable Housing Forum held here in our church from 7:00pm until 8:30pm there will be expert speakers, representatives from Sydney Alliance and, hopefully some Sutherland Shire Councillors and some candidates for the upcoming State elections will also attend. The housing crisis continues and we cannot emphasise enough the importance of keeping this topic front and centre on social, political and community agendas. As our church seeks to reach out to our community in love, respect and to be a voice for those on the fringes of community and also the strugglers, to see homelessness and a lack of housing affordability strikes at the heart of what will always be basic human rights. Most Australian would see this country as being fair, just and a social justice aware country.
(Display photo of house) Some of you may recognise this house in Heathcote. My husband Wayne and I have lived in it for 32 years this month. We own it and anticipate we will be spending a few more years in it yet. It is by much of today’s standards quite a modest home and it is shockingly a red brick home and probably worth around $1.2m and by that figure alone that puts Wayne and I as being some of the wealthiest people in the world.
A few weeks back when John was preaching he mentioned that Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Around the time of John’s message to us I had read an article which set out the recent studies by Swiss Investment Bank, Credit Suisse and its findings regarding the ten wealthiest countries in the world.
The findings by Credit Suisse are based on median and mean wealth.So here are the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world based on median wealth:
10. France, the average adult has a median wealth of $211,000
9. United Kingdom, it’s $214,000
8. The Netherlands: $217,000
7. Canada: $229,000
6. Switzerland: $255,000
5. Denmark: $260,000
4. Hong Kong: $307,000
3. New Zealand: $351,000
2. Belgium: where the average adult has a median wealth of $406,000
1. Australia, where the average adult has a median wealth of $415,000
The growing wealth of Australia’s richest people has had a significant impact for our country’s wealth but the continuing climb of property prices is the main driver. Wealth calculated on a means basis puts Australia in fourth place. Certainly much food for thought.
If this country is so rich it begs the question why is there a chronic lack of housing affordability and widespread homelessness. Yes our median wealth is built on property ownership but even taking that out of the equation we are still ranking 4th as the richest country in the world.
The inequality of wealth distribution is sadly widening. Everybody has the right to have a home, a roof over their head, a clean dry and sanitary place to live.
(Picture of old van and tarpaulins) This van is parked in the commuter carpark of Heathcote Railway Station. A lady lives there with her 2 dogs and has lived there for almost 2 years now. I had a conversation with her recently; the lady’s name is Sally-Anne and her dogs’ names are Maisy and Bella.
Sally-Anne shared with me some reasons as to why she is now living in the van. She said to me that in the past she has lived in social housing or housing commission in the old speak. Sally-Anne said that it didn’t work for her, there were people with drug, alcohol or other issues and she found it not somewhere she would like to be living she didn’t feel safe. Sally-Anne has also lived in a boarding house in one room but that too was challenging she said there were cockroaches in the place, her mattress was very old and dirty and she just had a bar fridge to wo. Sally-Anne said that room was costing her $140 per week. So she thought you know what I would be better off in the van and saving myself the $140 so I can spend that on the costs of her phone and Internet. I asked her a couple of times if she was contented but she didn’t answer that question directly. However Sally-Anne is obviously settled in where she is in the railway station carpark. Sally-Anne did say she is aware that she could be moved on at some stage. Sally-Anne told me I could look her up on the Internet and so I did I look in FB and found her. There isn’t much there, very little in fact mainly photos of this and that but she does have a post which is a verse from Ecclesiastes, that verse is :
Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 17
17 I said to myself,
“God will bring into judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.”
As we heard in our Luke reading today as the widow was persistent with the Judge, Jesus too would like us to be persistent and constantly strive to find ways to help those out of homelessness, to come off housing wait lists and ultimately to give to people the dignity of a safe place to be sheltered. This situation is one which involves everyone to think, to help to solve and to act in order for this situation to change for the better. So be persistent in prayer and in action.
O love that wilt not let me go
Sermon: We welcome our virtual guest speaker for today, Rev Andrew Cunningham of Orange Uniting Church in the central west of NSW. In this recording made especially for today, Andrew discusses the theme of being persistent in “Enough Prayer”.
https://vimeo.com/749038948
OFFERTORY PRAYER
God, you are the great gift giver.
This Earth, our lives, this community are all gifts from you given in abundance.
May we be gift givers, too.
Today, we give of our resources, our energy, and our hearts.
And we dedicate them to you.
Accept out gifts of online donations, envelope donations, food donations and our gifts and service as we seek to bring light to your world.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Bruce
COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
Go today with the reassurance that in being persistent we can continue to bring God’s love, care and fight for justice to the world,
Do not give up be prayerful and put prayer into action
May you take with you today and always the sense of God’s peace in your lives
Be happy, grateful in all that you do for our Lord
Amen
Recent Comments