You can watch the bible readings and sermon here, or scroll down to read the rest of the Sunday prayers and content, and watch this video at the point it occurs during worship.
GATHERING THE PEOPLE
Welcome It’s Trinity Sunday today, and tomorrow is the start of Reconciliation Week. We have features of both in our service today.
Opening song: This song was written by Uniting Church member and prolific song-writer Craig Mitchell in 2010, and this video put together in 2021, with the main vocals sung by Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler of Eastwood Uniting (also World Council of Mission)
God of Creation (to the tune Morning has Broken) on vimeo here and here: https://vimeo.com/461406456
Acknowledgement of country
Feel your feet on the ground.
We’re gathering and worshipping on sacred land, and we praise the Creator for its beauty and its gifts.
We acknowledge the First Peoples of the Dharawal nation who have cared for this land, and honour the way they have lived from these deep connections.
We acknowledge elders and communities – past, present, and emerging –
May God bless the Peoples of this land, now and forever.
All: We recommit to the path of reconciliation and justice that God lays before us.
Call to worship (Let us light the candle and hear the call to worship, which today is inspired by Psalm 29.)
Today is the day God created:
Happy are those who delight in God.
Today is the day of salvation:
Happy are those who delight in God.
Today is the day of new beginnings:
Happy are those who delight in God.
Today is the day of God’s love:
Happy are those who delight in God.
Prayer Of Invocation/Welcome
The whole earth is full of the glory of God – Glory in the sunshine, glory in the rain. Glory in the grasshopper, glory in the bird. Glory in the silence, glory in the word. Let us be present now to the Presence that makes all things beautiful, that makes all things new. Amen
Hymn/Song: Womb of life, and source of being (Joy Duck)
Womb of life, and source of being, home of ev’ry restless heart,
in your arms the worlds awakened; you have loved us from the start.
We, your children, gather ’round you, at the table you prepare.
Sharing stories tears and laughter, we are nurtured by your care.
Word in flesh, our brother Jesus, born to bring us second birth,
you have come to stand beside us, knowing weakness, knowing earth.
Priest who shares our human struggles, Life of Life, and Death of Death,
risen Christ, come stand among us, send the Spirit by your breath.
Brooding Spirit, move among us; be our partner, be our friend.
When our mem’ry fails, remind us whose we are, what we intend.
Labor with us, aid the birthing of the new world made new,
ever singing, ever praising, one with all, and one with you.
Mother, Brother, holy Partner; Father, Spirit, Only Son:
we would praise your name forever, one-in-three, and three-in-one.
We would share your life, your passion, share your word of world made new,
ever singing, ever praising, one with all, and one with you.
Words © 1992 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission
Prayer of adoration and confession
God of wholeness,
our gospel text for today is full of the possibility of new life, of being born of the Spirit, being deeply connected to you and all that is. And yet, we live so much of the time as if we humans are separate from nature – as if the rest of creation is simply a larder that we can plunder at will. We live so much of the time as if we are separate from each other – sometimes willing to ostracise or kill rather than acknowledge that we are each other’s sisters and brothers.
We live as separate beings in a world of true unity, God of wholeness, and we need forgiveness to be made whole. As we cast our eyes upon Divine fullness, our deficit of life stares us right back in the face.
Forgive us, mighty God.
Words of Assurance/Affirmation
With a single touch of divine mercy, guilt departs, sin is blotted out, and our very lives are drawn into the Holy, into participation in the Divine Life. You, brothers and sisters, are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.
National Reconciliation Week: Tomorrow is the start of National Reconciliation Week. It’s exactly the same dates each year, regardless of the day of the week. Do you know why this is so? National Reconciliation Week runs from May 27 being the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum that effectively gave Aboriginal peoples full citizenship rights by finally being counted in the national census, until June 3 being the anniversary of the 1992 Mabo decision that effectively overturned the lie our country had lived of ‘Terra Nullius’ – ‘empty land’ or ‘land belonging to no one’.
And do you know how National Reconciliation Week started? The 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody had 339 Recommendations – only a handful have ever been implemented. The final recommendation, Recommendation 339 said, “Initiate a formal process of reconciliation between Aboriginal people and the wider community.” It was Christians that led the way when in 1993, the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Christians started the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation which was supported by Australia’s major faith communities. In 1996, society caught up to the churches and we had Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week.
This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme is “Now, More than Ever” and we have included in our service some of the resources prepared by Common Grace with the theme “Reconciliation Through the Cross”. During National Reconciliation Week all Australians are invited to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, to share that knowledge and help us grow as a nation. Common Grace invites us to be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders, walking together in friendship to pursue justice, healing and flourishing for First Nations peoples. We can support Common Grace by praying for them, by attending their conference in Canberra in November, and by donating.
HEARING THE WORD
Readings
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: Isaiah 6:1-8, God Calls Isaiah to Be a Prophet
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on his throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole Temple. 2 Around him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. Each creature covered its face with two wings, and its body with two, and used the other two for flying. 3 They were calling out to each other:
“Holy, holy, holy!
The Lord Almighty is holy!
His glory fills the world.”
4 The sound of their voices made the foundation of the Temple shake, and the Temple itself became filled with smoke.
5 I said, “There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. And yet, with my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the creatures flew down to me, carrying a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with the burning coal and said, “This has touched your lips, and now your guilt is gone, and your sins are forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?”
I answered, “I will go! Send me!”
Reading 2: Romans 1:1-5
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.
Reading 3: John 3:1-17, Jesus teaches Nicodemus
Reader: Through these readings we hear God speak.
All: Thank you, God, for your words of life.
Hymn/Song: O God whose first creative word
O God whose first creative word set universes into place,
who stretched across the whirling void infinities of time and space;
O speak to our chaotic day a word of ordered grace we pray.
O Christ who came the living word, proclaiming love’s redeeming power,
who drained the tempter’s bitter cup and triumphed in earth’s darkest hour;
O speak to our despair and pain a word that kindles hope again.
O Spirit, ever-present word, God’s agent of transforming grace,
who seeks to enter every heart with light its darkness to replace;
O speak within the hearts we raise a joyful word of faith and praise.
Sermon: John McKinnon
RESPONDING TO THE WORD
Prayer as a response
God of wholeness, what a joy it is to know that we and all that exists live in your goodness. From our first breath to our last, from the birth of a star to a black hole, everything is alive in you and because of your love. The whole universe is one entity in which each has a place.
For your goodness, for your wholeness, for your always-present love
for all you have made, we are so thankful and so glad. We pray in joyful thanks. Amen.
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: God of all that is, even in our small lives, in our small ways, we participate in your great world of love and generosity. We dedicate what we have here and who we are to the wholeness that is your desire for the world.
Amen.
Prayers of the people: Karen
Hymn/Song: Maker of mystery, dreamer of what will be
Maker of mystery, dreamer of what will be,
wellspring and fertile ground of all our growing: tending the buried seed,
foreseeing every need, you draw us into life beyond our knowing.
Christ, strong and living vine spreading through space and time,
deep-rooted in the love of God our Mother: dying, you live and share
your strength with us, to bear ripe fruit in season for the life of others.
Wild Spirit, springing green, coiled in the depths unseen,
promise of seed within the fruit maturing: new life, you grow and swell,
burst from the outgrown shell, hundredfold yield in every age ensuring.
Living and loving God, sing in the pulse of our blood;
help us to know you in your own creation, love you, the life of all,
serve you and hear your call from our first forming to our full salvation.
Words: © Marnie Barrell, 1996
Benediction
The voice of God comes to each one of us, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, who will go for us?’
May each encounter with the Holy draw you into deeper awe, gratitude, excitement, and purpose as every fibre of your being responds, ‘here am I; send me.’
Go in peace, to love, to serve, come what may.
More information
In today’s National Reconciliation Week service, we have used resources created by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders.
Three practical ways you can take action to support them are:
1. To commit to pray for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters – for healing, justice and Reconciliation. Prayer resources can be found on the Common Grace website here.
2. Common Grace ‘Let Justice Flow’ Conference
Join us at the Common Grace ‘Let Justice Flow’ Conference, 16-18 November 2024. This conference is being held on Ngunnawal & Ngambri Country, in Canberra, and will be a unique opportunity to gather together to deeply listen to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders, build relationships, and meet with and call on our nation’s leaders to take action to see justice flow across Australia and beyond. Book your Early Bird Tickets now to join in this unique opportunity to advocate for First Nations and Creation and Climate justice. Find out more details here.
3. Consider making a donation to Common Grace. “As an independent Christian movement, we produce Church Resources so that local churches of all denominations can be equipped with theological, spiritual, and practical resources to guide them in their pursuit of Jesus and justice. By making a donation, you help Common Grace to continue producing resources that can equip your church for impacting and transforming your community.”
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