You can watch some parts of the service in this video here (mostly bible readings and sermon) or scroll down and read the prayers and songs in the order they happened.
LIGHTING THE CANDLE
The light of Christ Jesus be with us all
Let us delight in the gift of Christ and meditate on his love and teaching,
Let us share the peace and welcome each other to worship this morning .
The peace of the Lord be with you
And also with you
Acknowledgement of country
We acknowledge elders and community members of the Dharawal people who have lived on this land and cared for it for many years. We ask God’s blessing on those who continue to work for the healing and restoration of our beautiful land.
PREPARATION
Christ is alive!
He is alive indeed!
Now we know for sure
that God is not very far from any one of us,
for in God we live and move and have our being.
Wonderful are you, God our God;
you do not scorn our prayers
or remove your committed love from us.
PRAYER OF APPROACH
Loving God, by your Spirit lace streamers of joy through this time of worship, that we may be able to offer you something far brighter than duty and much livelier than religious solemnity. Let us worship you with love and love you with our worship. Through Christ Jesus our ever-living inspiration. Amen
HYMN Amazing Grace (My chains are gone)
CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE
My friends, we come to God with prayers of confession, not to rake up added guilt, but to become repentant and re-embrace the new life which God offers us through Jesus.
Let us pray.
When our faith becomes shaky and we fall into a deep trough of doubts and anxieties,
Lord have mercy and rescue us all.
When our hope and joy lapse and we get bogged down in the swamp of despondency,
Christ have mercy and rescue us all.
When our hearts grow cold towards the rights and needs of others and apathy settles in like a wintry fog,
Lord have mercy and heal us all…
When our minds become confused by the Babel of the world’s many religious voices, and we lapse into a spiritual cynicism,
Christ have mercy and heal us all
God, most holy and most merciful, grant each of us a sincere repentance, a heart open to forgiveness, a will ready to make amends, and a soul fixed on loving. Through Christ Jesus our Redeemer.
Amen
FORGIVENESS
It is true “Where sin flourishes the redeeming grace of God flourishes all the more.” We are a forgiven and reclaimed people.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn 411
Filled with the Spirit’s power, with one accord
the infant church confessed its risen Lord.
O Holy Spirit, in the church today
no less your power of fellowship display.
Now with the mind of Christ set us on fire,
that unity may be our great desire.
Give joy and peace; give faith to hear your call,
and readiness in each to work for all.
Widen our love, good Spirit, to embrace
in your strong care all those of every race.
Like wind and fire with life among us move,
till we are known as Christ’s, and Christians prove.
BIBLE READINGS Ian
Genesis 2 7
7 The Lord God took some soil from the ground and made a man.[b] God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.
Genesis 4 8 – 10
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go for a walk.”[d] And when they were out in a field, Cain attacked and killed him.
9 Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”
10 Then the Lord said:
Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you.
Genesis 4 23 -24
23 One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him. 24 Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”
John 14 15 -21
15Jesus said to his disciples:
If you love me, you will do as I command. 16Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help[b] you and always be with you. 17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.
18 I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. 20 Then you will know I am one with the Father. You will know you are one with me, and I am one with you. 21 If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like.
John 20 19 – 23
19 The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. He greeted them 20 and showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they became very happy.
21 After Jesus had greeted them again, he said, “I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they will be forgiven. But if you don’t forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven.”
Sermon: John
Hymn 407
1 Breathe on me, breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love all that you love
and do what you would do.
2 Breathe on me, breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with you I will one will,
to do and to endure.
3 Breathe on me, breath of God,
and all my life refine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with your fire divine.
4 Breathe on me, breath of God;
so shall I never die,
but live with you the perfect life
of your eternity.
Announcements
Prayers for giving
Prayers of the People Sue
Hym 414
1.There’s a spirit in the air, telling Christians everywhere:
‘Praise the love that Christ revealed, living, working, in our world.’
2 Lose your shyness, find your tongue, tell the world what God has done:
God in Christ has come to stay. Live tomorrow’s life today.
3 When believers break the bread, when a hungry child is fed,
praise the love that Christ revealed, living, working in our world.
4 Still the Spirit gives us light, seeing wrong and setting right:
God in Christ has come to stay. Live tomorrow’s life today.
5 When a stranger’s not alone, where the homeless find a home,
praise the love that Christ revealed, living, working in our world.
6 May the Spirit fill our praise, guide our thoughts and change our ways:
God in Christ has come to stay. Live tomorrow’s life today.
7 There’s a Spirit in the air, calling people everywhere:
‘Praise the love that Christ revealed, living, working in our world.’
SENDING OUT
May the love of God be the strength of your mind and heart.
May the grace of Christ be the salve for your bruises and wounds.
May the friendship of the Spirit be the joy of your resilient soul.
Now and ever more.
Amen!
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