Marsden
Road Uniting Church Carlingford
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Back to Basics.
Without
Holy Communion
Gathering
God’s People
Prelude Music to prepare for worship
Acknowledgement of First Peoples
We acknowledge the first people who have cared for this Land, where we
worship, the Wallumedgal.
May
our worship join with the voices of the First Peoples of this Land.
Call to Worship
(B. J. Beu,
Abingdon Worship Annual 2017)
Are we
ready to call God our Mother or Father? Are we prepared to hear God say to us,
“You are very good!”? Can we leave our doubts and insecurities behind and claim
our heritage? Will we stand in our truth?
God, how
majestic is your name in all the earth.
Your
glory surrounds and enfolds us.
Your
image resides within us and completes us.
You made
us but a little lower than the angels.
How
majestic is your name in all the earth?
Hymn 132: Holy,
holy, holy Lord God almighty
(Tune – Nicea)
2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee
perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee
perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.
4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky & sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky & sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Opening prayer
Triune God, your Spirit danced over the
waters, your Word
was spoken, and the glory of your creation sprang
forth:
sun and moon, earth and sky, creatures
beyond count. We
thank and praise you for putting your
image within us and
for creating us but a little lower than
the angels. Abide in
us, as you abide in the fullness of your
holy mystery. Teach
us to be caretakers and stewards of your
good earth, that
we may walk gently upon the meadows, and
leave puddles
of light wherever we tread. Amen.
A Prayer of Confession
God of grace and glory, who are we that you are
mindful of us?
You sustain us through the gift of your
indwelling Presence, yet we turn from you again and again, and succumb to
feelings of inadequacy and despair.
We turn from communion with you and with one
another, even though it is only in community that we have the strength to
endure the mystery of your glory and weight of our failings.
Claim us anew as your beloved children, and we
will be healed. Amen.
Declaration
of Forgiveness
The love
of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the blessings of the Holy Spirit are
ours without price or condition. Rejoice in this good news and live.
Thanks,
be to God!
The
Peace
Sisters and brothers, when we live in peace with one
another, the peace and love of God are ours. Let us share this great gift with
one another as we share signs of the peace of Christ.
Peace be with you!
And also, with you!
(You
may like to exchange a sign of peace with those around you.)
Offering Prayer
Your gifts overwhelm us, Creator God. We praise you for placing your
image within us— an image that makes us who we are. May these gifts reflect the
glory of your image as they go forth to move creation forward toward its
fulfillment in you. Amen.
Hymn 188: Where
wide sky rolls down
(Tune – Hanover)
Where
wide sky rolls down and touches red sand,
where
sun turns to gold the grass of the land,
let
spinifex, mulga and waterhole tell
their
joy in the One who made everything well.
Where
rain-forest calm meets reef, tide and storm,
where
green things grow lush and oceans are warm,
let
every sea-creature and tropical bird
exult in
the light of the life-giving Word.
Where
red gum and creek cross hillside and plain,
where
cool tree-ferns rise to welcome the rain,
let
bushland, farm, mountain-top, all of their days
delight
in the Spirit who formed them for praise.
Now,
people of faith, come gather around
with
songs to be shared, for blessings abound!
Australians,
whatever your culture or race,
come,
lift up your hearts to the Giver of grace
The
Service of the Word
The First Reading: 2 Corinthians 13.11-13 NEB page 905
The Gospel Reading: Matthew 28.16-20 NEB page 755
After the final reading the reader will say For the Word of the Lord
Please respond by saying Thanks
be to God.
Readings:
2
Corinthians 13.11-13
11 Finally,
brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree
with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with
you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet
you.13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
Matthew 28.16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to
the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When
they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And
Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to
the end of the age.’
Preaching of the Word – Back to basics
Trinity Sunday, that anomaly of Sundays. A day when we celebrate a
doctrine or foundation of our faith within the context of the celebration of
Christ's resurrection as every Sunday is. It is always a Sunday that has
provided most clergy with anxiety or anguish or consternation as they attempt
to prepare a sermon on the Trinity that is not boring or so full of theological
jargon that parishioners will fall asleep.
How often have you heard clergy lament on having to preach on the Trinity?
Well today is no exception for me. However, I would like to share with you some
reflections on how it shapes and forms who we are as a people of faith.
From Advent until through Pentecost we focused all of our attention on
the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Even Advent focuses our
attention on the coming saviour. The one who came and will come again. We have
lived the liturgical drama of Christ Sunday by Sunday climaxing with Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday, The Easter Vigil and Resurrection Sunday. Now comes the
hard part living the faithful life, "with the Spirit's gifts to empower us
for the work of ministry."
In order to understand the Trinity, one must go back to basics. To
understand how that early faith community understood their life that resulted in
the adoption of the Trinity as a way of being and doing.
That community knew their story as found in the Hebrew Scriptures and in
the Gospel stories. They knew God as their creator and in whose image, they
were created. Not only did they know God as their creator, but that God created
all that was and is as reflected in the Genesis reading for this day. But God
was more than just their creator, God was in an intimate relationship with them
as a parent as a father, a mother.
We glean that from the stories where their God hears the cries of the
people and brought them out of bondage cares for her children as a hen cares
for her chicks, where God calls Israel my children, and weeps over their
destruction, as parents weep over the actions of their brood. No, this God is
not a God from afar or just a judging God, but a loving and gracious God who
created them, and even when Adam and Eve sinned stayed with them and clothed
them. The stories of God as creator and intimate parent, father/mother abounded
in their in-salvation story and continues in ours.
For this community another understanding of God came through the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus. God became flesh and dwelt among us. The
incarnate Word. Through the early apostles and disciples, the community heard
the story of Jesus and how God lived and acted in new and profound ways among
the people. It wasn't until after Jesus' resurrection that his life made sense
to the apostles. For during his life, the disciples were still trying to
understand. We know from the Gospel of John how difficult that last night was
as Jesus was explaining what had to happen and what it all meant. They didn't
get it fully until after the centurion said, "truly this was the Son of
God."
The disciples finally get the full meaning at the Ascension when
"they return to the temple rejoicing and praising God." God was made
manifest in Jesus to ensure that the faith community understood that God was
not just out there but lived as one of us as our brother through God's son
Jesus. The new community had also experienced the resurrected Christ and knew
like Mary that with God nothing was impossible for the Easter story is the
knowledge that the impossible is possible. Now the new community had all those
stories to know God as not only their creator, but as their saviour and
redeemer.
Finally, this community understood God as the Holy Spirit. As promised
by Jesus, the gift of the Spirit came on Pentecost. It came to the whole
community and not just a select few. One would have thought that the spirit
would come to the disciples and their friends only, but the spirit came to the
gathered group that represented people from all over the region. Jesus lived
and preached a life of welcome and inclusion even when his followers didn't.
The community now has experienced God as the Holy Spirit.
The doctrine of the Trinity is not a "top down" theology that
began with Augustine or Thomas Aquinas, but a way for the faith community to
understand the God of our salvation history. Throughout our tradition and the
stories handed down this is still be best way to understand God.
Why celebrate Trinity Sunday? For us it is the time when we begin the
struggle to understand how it is, we live in this community of faith. The
liturgical dramas of Jesus' life are over and we the ones left to tell the
story. We are the ones to go out into the world to proclaim the good news, to
baptise in the name of God, the Parent, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, we need
to understand how God acts and lives in our lives in order to share the good
news in the world.
People are not converted to Jesus because we can articulate a
theological doctrine, but because we can share our faith in very human terms.
Sharing how God has acted in our lives as creator/parent, redeemer, brother,
and empower spirit. Our God is a loving and generous God who gives to us
unconditionally. The God we worship is the God who created all of us and
accepts all of us as we are. God does not make mistakes.
Understanding God in this way gives us knew insight into loving and
accepting others who are different from us for we are all made in God's image.
It is us, not God, who has put limits and parameters on who is acceptable to
God. Understanding God this way also calls us to reach out and care for all of
God's children especially those who cannot care for themselves.
Paul reminds us there are a variety of gifts but one spirit. We are
variety of people in one Spirit. We are called to live out and develop our
gifts to the fullest. Our gifts are complimentary to one another and there is
no scale of 1-10 on the gifts of the spirit.
Trinity Sunday is a day for the church to celebrate how it understands
God and how it lives out that understanding. It is an opportunity for us to
wrestle with, to struggle with, to celebrate the meaning of God in our lives
and in the life of our faith community. It is about getting back to basics.
To the community that lives the resurrected life of the risen Christ and
makes itself manifested in the world by living as Jesus lived a welcoming and
inclusive life. It really is simple this Trinity. Very basic and very profound.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of
the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen!
Hymn
245: We have a gospel to proclaim
(Tune – Fulda)
1. We Have A Gospel to Proclaim
Good news for men in all the
earth;
The gospel of a Saviour’s
name,
We sing His glory, tell His
worth.
2. Tell of His birth at
Bethlehem,
Not in a royal house or hall
But in a stable dark and dim,
The Word made flesh, a light
for all.
3. Tell of His death at Calvary,
Hated by those He came to
save,
In lonely suffering on the
cross,
For all He loved His life He
gave.
4. Tell of that glorious Easter
moon,
Empty the tomb, for He was
free.
He broke the power of death
and hell
That we might share His
victory.
5. Tell of His reign at God’s
right hand,
By all creation glorified,
He sends His Spirit on His
Church,
To live for Him, the Lamb who
died.
6. Now we rejoice to name Him
King,
Jesus is Lord of all the
earth,
This gospel message we
proclaim,
We sing His glory, tell His
worth.
Intercessory Prayers
On this Trinity Sunday we have come before you Lord
to offer our praise and adoration. You are God the creator, giving us richly
all things to enjoy. You are Christ the Saviour of the world, made flesh to set
us free. You are the Spirit of truth and love, willing to dwell in us. You are
holy and blessed. One god, eternal Trinity, be near to us the people formed in
your image, and close to the world your love brings to life.
Lord, in
your mercy Hear our prayer
Lord we pray for your church throughout the world,
for those that are thriving and those which have lost a sense of direction. We
give thanks for our church and its people, and gladly acknowledge all the gifts
you have given us through its life, we ask you to open wide our hearts that we
may welcome the stranger and share our faith with others.
Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer
Lord we pray for peace in the world, create in us a love for peace, not
peace that is absent from struggle, nor peace that is blind to injustice but
peace that makes whole what now is broken. We remember those who struggle
against injustice, for men and women who have to establish loves supremacy in
violent and oppressive societies, and for those whom war and famine have robbed
of homes, families and friends, may they be filled with your strength and
wisdom.
We remember those who are sick, sad or lonely and those who are brave and
patient when things are going wrong. We pray that they may be aware of your
comforting presence and know that in your hands they are safe and loved. Lord
we pray for all saddened by the death of a loved one, be with them in their
loneliness and let them know that Jesus Christ is the light of the world a
light which no darkness can quench. We bring our prayers to conclusion by saying
together the Lord's Prayer
THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your
name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us
today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against
us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom,
the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Hymn
405: O
Spirit of the living God
(Tune - Church Triumphant)
1. Spirit of the living God,
In all the fulness of Thy grace,
Where’er the foot of man has trod,
Descend on our apostate race.
2. Give tongues of fire and hearts of love
To preach the reconciling word;
Give power and unction from above,
Whene’er the joyful sound is heard.
3. Be darkness, at Thy coming, light;
Confusion, order in Thy path;
Souls without strength inspire with might;
Bid mercy triumph over wrath.
4. Spirit of the Lord, prepare
All the round earth her God to meet;
Breathe Thou abroad like morning air,
Till hearts of stone begin to beat.
5. Baptise the nations; far and nigh,
The triumphs of the Cross record;
The name of Jesus glorify,
Till every kindred call Him Lord.
Text: James Montgomery
Tune: Church Triumphant
Benediction
Go forth in the fullness of holy mystery. May
the love of God enfold you. May the grace of Christ Jesus flow through you. And
may the communion of the Holy Spirit complete you. And may that same Almighty
God, creator, redeemer and giver of life guide your dance in life forever. Amen
Hymn 777: May the grace of Christ our Saviour
(Tune - Gott Des Himmels)
1 May the grace of Christ our Saviour
and the Father's boundless love,
with the Holy Spirit's favour,
rest upon us from above.
and the Father's boundless love,
with the Holy Spirit's favour,
rest upon us from above.
2 Thus may we abide in union
with each other and the Lord,
and possess, in sweet communion,
joys which earth cannot afford.
with each other and the Lord,
and possess, in sweet communion,
joys which earth cannot afford.
Text by: John Newton 1779
Tune - Gott Des Himmels - Heinrich Albert (1643)
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