Acknowledgement of Country/First Peoples 

For thousands of years Indigenous people have walked in this land, on their own country. Their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives.

We acknowledge the Dharawal People, and pay our respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. We gather, attentive to First Nations wisdom of living in harmony with the land and the waters and in commitment to the ongoing journey of reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. May we continue to think of, pray for, stand with First Nations peoples. 


Call to Worship  

From different lives –  we come to worship. 

From good weeks and bad weeks  – we come to worship. 

Bringing great times and painful memories – we come to worship. 

Needing healing, needing peace –  we come to worship. 

With hope in our hearts – we come to worship. 

Together, we come to worship

We accept this day as the gift it is and light the Candle. Like the sunrise at dawn, may Christ’s light illuminate our lives and encircle us and those we love. Amen

Prayer of Praise and Thanks   

God of all blessings, source of all life, giver of grace. We thank you for the gift of life: for the breath that sustains life,  for the food of this earth that nurtures life, for the love of family and friends. We thank you for the mystery of creation: for the beauty that the eye can see,  for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves. 

We thank you for setting us in communities: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for those yet born, who offer us hope for the future. 

We thank you for this day: for life and one more day to love, for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and peace, for neighbours and one more person to love and by whom be loved,  for your grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise: to be with us, to love us, to be our God. For these, and all blessings, we give you thanks, loving God, through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Psalm 98

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvellous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
    let the mountains sing together for joy;

SONG – Joy to the World Joy to the World   CCLI Song # 7095548

Joy to the World was written by Isaac Watts and was inspired by  Psalm 98. Verse 4 particularly gripped him: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music”
And this is exactly what Watts set out to do in writing Joy to the World. This song whilst sung at Christmas does not mention Jesus birth specifically and was actually written about the fulfillment of Christ’s mission amongst us. Please meditate on the words as we joyfully sing Joy to the World (not always a Christmas Carol)

Joy to the world the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing  And heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world the Saviour reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy  Repeat the sounding joy

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love  And wonders of His love

Reflection

We had our AGM a few weeks ago and part of that was reflecting on the year that was and what our church has been doing over the year. I hope you have had a chance to read the church reports emailed out detailing all that we have done this year. Many of you will remember Terence coming and helping us with our strategic plan that Church Council has been implementing as COVID has allowed. As our lockdown lifts and things start to reopen, as and  as we are on the cusp of a new church year, I thought it was  a good opportunity to stop for a moment and reflect on where our church is going and our vision for the future.

The Uniting Church NSW Synod theme this year was “Where the Wild God is” and in this clip we hear thoughts from some UC people on the Wild God. My prayer is that as we listen and reflect we will be inspired on our journey here at Engadine. The video will be followed by the song by Glen Spencer – Where the Wild God is

Where the Wild God is VideoWGI Video 

Song Where the Wild God is   Author Glen Spencer Copyright Glen Spencer

Speak your church is listening
Forge in us again
Faith and unity
Speak as one we’re leaning in
Draw us back again
To who we’re called to be

O let your justice and love
Be our way
Be our way
Sent by your Spirit in love
Light the way
Light the way
Where the wild God is…that’s where we’ll be

Grace form us in your grace
As people on the way
In freedom and in peace
Lead – beyond familiar ways
Your fresh words for today
Beyond comfort beyond fear

O let your justice and love
Be our way
Be our way
Sent by your Spirit in love
Light the way
Light the way
Where the wild God is…that’s where we’ll be

CCLI Song # 7181651 Glen Spencer © 2021 Spencer, 

Prayer of Confession and Forgiveness 

Gracious God, our burdens are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo.  Forgive what our lips cannot name, what our hearts can no longer bear,  and what has become for us too much. 

Set us free from a past that we cannot change;  open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

The Good News for us all today: There is nothing that will ever separate us from God’s love. You are God’s beloved child. You are forgiven, loved, and restored. Amen

Bible Reading John 18 33-37

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Message Video from Sermon Share – Chris Goringe Message – Chris Goringe

Offering Prayer 

We give in grateful thanksgiving for all that God has given us.
In the upside-down world of the gospel,
we measure our wealth not by what we have,
but what we can give away.

Let us give generously, gifts of money, of food, the work of our hands, our hearts, and our lives
To bless your  church, your people, and your creation. AMEN

SONG  – God the Maker God the Maker – Porter’s Gate  

We bring our time, we bring our treasure
We lay them down before Your throne
You will make them something greater
More than we could ever know

We bring our gifts, we bring our power
Place them in Your sovereign hand
You will take what we have given
You will use it for Your plan

Glory be to God, the Maker
Glory be to God, Creator
Take our time, use our treasure
Turn them into something greater
Glory be to God, the Maker

Though our hearts are weak from failure
Broken dreams and failed attempts
Show us that in ev’ry season
You will fill our emptiness

Glory be to God, the Maker
Glory be to God, Creator
Take our time, use our treasure
Turn them into something greater
Glory be to God, the Maker
Glory be to God, Creator
Take our time, use our treasure
Turn them into something greater
Glory be to God, the Maker

God the Maker (Live) (feat. Latifah Alattas & Liz Vice) · The Porter’s Gate Work Songs: The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Vol 1 2017 The Porter’s Gate/The Fuel Music

Prayer for others: Heather Stone

As we move into this week which will bring good times, not so good times and unexpected times. Times we may need healing, comfort or peace that we move forward with hope and with love. The love of Jesus and the love of each other.

BENEDICTION

As we seek to have open hearts, open minds and open doors…

Help us to move beyond opening the door to welcome only those who can climb the steps to enter. Help us to move beyond opening our hearts to love only those who look like us. Help us to move beyond opening our minds to accept only those who think like us. And help us to create an environment, in our church and in our community, in our homes where all are welcome. May you keep our hearts and eyes open, Loving God, for opportunities to be a blessing and to make a difference. In your name we pray. Amen

Blessing Song – May our lives and our prayers be one

May our lives and our prayers be one – Paul Sommerville Paddington Uniting

May Our Lives And Our Prayers Be One

May our lives and our prayers be one
As our hopes shape the roads we walk on
And when our work and our dreaming’s done
May our lives and our prayers be one

Within the rhythm of our days
We take the time to muse and pray
The fears we face the tears we taste
We view in light of holy grace

We name our deepest hopes and dreams
For those we love and all in need
We picture how the world could be
We live the change we want to see

CCLI Song # 7022137 Paul Somerville © 2013 Somerville, Paul