WELCOME
Welcome. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, wherever you’ve come from, wherever you’re going to, whatever is in your heart you are very welcome.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We gather on this first day of this new week of God’s creation on Dharawal land. We acknowledge their continuous link with the land and its Creator. Today we join them in celebration acknowledging their elders past and present and our journey together of justice making and reconciliation.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Wherever you come from, you are welcome. Whomever you are, you are welcome. Whatever you seek, you are welcome. No matter your journey, in God you find a home. Come, friends, gather in friendship. Let us leave what was and worship today. We come with open hearts to hear God’s word today.
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
Spirit of Life, We long to draw near to you. Come, settle here with us today. There are cares we wish to share, and worries to lay down. We are thirsty for your word and longing to know your grace. God of all, to you we turn to let go of the worldly ways and learn again how to follow in your way. Come, loving One, come. Amen.
HYMN: Lord of all hopefulness, Together in Song 613
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of Light, we are pulled and pressed by worldly ways. Too easily, we comply with things that grate on us. Dishonesty surrounds us, and false claims are taken as truth. In our shame, we often listen. With sadness, we sometimes believe.
God of Light, shine in these shadowlands.
Forgiving God, we seek your guidance. We become bound by standards that judge people unfairly and prejudice their futures. We perpetuate rules in our workplaces that are disrespectful and hurtful.
Forgiving God, fill our hearts with your grace.
Healing God, many live with illnesses that affect their engagement with life. In our ignorance, we interpret incorrectly and layer their lives with much greater restrictions than we have in our own lives.
Healing God, heal our thinking and being when we do not love as you love.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Faithful friends, Seek God’s light in the anguish moments, for God is there before you. Seek love and forgive each other, for when you turn to God, forgiveness washes over you. Seek healing, and offer your pain to God for woundedness is hard to carry alone. Faithful friends, in God we find a home.
PRAYER OF ADORATION AND THANKSGIVING
All: God of Hope
Group 1: When we are thirsty for truth,
Group 2: you bring us to refreshing waters.
Group 1: When our souls are aching with deep grief,
Group 2: your deep waves of love wash over us.
Group 1: When the heat of injustice burns our hearts,
Group 2: your cooling love billows around us.
Group 1: When we are lonely and forgotten,
Group 2: you call us by name.
All: God of us all, in you we find a home.
READINGS: 1 Kings 19:1–4, Luke 8:26–39
SERMON: John McK (from 3min52sec to 18min52sec in this video)
Hymn: O Christ the healer, Together in Song 638
OFFERTORY PRAYER
With all that comes our way, loving Jesus, we long to share it with others. Please grow in us the generosity you show to us so that others may know of life with you. We know the joy of living an honorable life. May these gifts reveal joy to those who need them most.
PRAYER OF INTERCESSION: Bruce
Hymn: As pants the hart, Together in Song 25
COMMISSIONING AND BENEDICTION
Grace goes with us. Love surrounds us. Truth leads us.
Go into this week knowing that you have a home in God.
Wherever you go, God welcomes you.
Whomever you are, God calls to you.
Whatever you seek, God reveals it to you.
No matter your journey, in God you find a home.
We are faith-filled people. Creator, Sustainer, and Wisdom God goes with us now and always. Amen
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