January 23, 2022

WELCOME TO ST ANDREW’S ON THE TERRACE

The Profound Mistake

PRELUDE

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come, teach us, Spirit of our God,

the language of your way,

the lessons that we need to live,

the faith for every day.                                                                     (Shirley Erena Murray)

SILENCE

GATHERING

In all our living, may we be freed

to see things afresh,

to be more fully alive,

and have the courage to keep faith in the way we live

for the future of humanity.

PROCESSIONAL HYMN                                                               ‘Birth Of A Boy-child’

Words by Andrew Pratt © Stainer & Bell Ltd

Tune: Mueller by James R Murray (PD)

 

1. The birth of a boy-child, the growth of a man:

his mother’s enigma; a part of God’s plan?

Uncertain, now standing a part of the crowd;

the still of the water foreshadows a shroud.

 

2. The death of an old life, the birth of a new,

as values are challenged, past choices askew.

Fierce currents of feeling, encounters of love,

a man by a river, a voice and a dove.

 

3. That voice stills the crowd at the slow river’s rim:

‘My son, my beloved, now listen to him.’

The birth of a boy-child, the growth of a man:

his mother’s enigma; a part of God’s plan?

WELCOME 

Kia ora tātou.

Kia ora.

 

 

 

PRAYER Responsive Contemporary Version of the Beatitudes
by Peter Matheson
Jesus, is this what you say to us today?

How blest are those who abhor easy pieties;
the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
How blest are those who train in non-violence;
they shall have the earth for their possession.
How blest are those who fast for justice;
they shall be satisfied.
How blest are those who see enemies as human;
mercy shall be shown to them.
How blest are those who live what they profess;
they shall see God.
How blest are those who build bridges of reconciliation;
they shall be called friends of God.
How blest are those who show the outcast that someone understands;
the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
.JESUS’ PRAYER Jim Cotter paraphrase

Eternal Spirit
Life-Giver, Pain-Bearer, Love-Maker,
source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
loving God, in whom is heaven:
the hallowing of your name
echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed
by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done
by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test,
strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory
of the power that is love, now and for ever.
Amen.

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LIGHTING THE RAINBOW CANDLE
BLESSING THE CHILDREN (All stand)
For all those of our community on summer holidays and especially for our children, we pray for fun, relaxation and adventure.
We bless you. Amen.
PASSING THE PEACE
Traditionally we shake hands to pass the peace and say “peace be with you.” Now that COVID-19 is here we ask that you pass the peace without shaking hands.

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THE WORD IN TEXTS Tony Kirby
Gospel/New Testament Luke 4:14-21
Contemporary reading A sermon of Martin Luther King Jr.
A Walk Through the Holy Land, Easter Sunday Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
And he (the guide) entered this gate (into Jerusalem), and we walked around and through there and pretty soon, about fifty feet from the gate, we came to a spot and the guide said, “This is where the old temple stood, the Temple of Jerusalem.” You remember that temple fell in 70 A.D. The Roman Empire came to stop an uprising in Palestine, and they destroyed the temple. But the spot is still reserved, and there is a big stone in the middle of that point where all of the sacrifices used to take place on the altar. This was the temple where Jesus entered as soon as he got to Jerusalem a few hours and ran the money-changers out of the temple. This was where Jesus made his profound mistake. And what was his profound mistake? His profound mistake was that he went beyond the realm of talking about what he believed but he was willing to act about it. And he was willing to act on truth, and the world considers that a mistake.
RESPONSE
For the Word in scripture,
for the Word among us,
for the Word within us,
we give thanks.

---

REFLECTION ‘Profound Mistakes to be Celebrated’ Rev. Ross Scott
Flute music for reflection. Ross Scott
HYMN ‘Where Does Compassion Start?’
Words © 2009 Shirley Erena Murray
Tune: Love Unknown by John Ireland WOV 257 (i)
(A response to the ‘Charter for Compassion’)

1. Where does compassion start?
How does compassion grow?
Her seed is at the heart
of every faith we know:
compassion honours others' place,
dethroning self with willing grace.

2. How does compassion thrive
in worlds of greed and grief?
Her goodness stays alive
through those of strong belief:
compassion, luminous and clear,
outshining wastes of war and fear.

3. Where is compassion's role
in cultures, or in creeds?
At centre, with the soul
who feels another's needs:
compassion brings the touch of friend,
a bandage that will bind and mend.

4. Dynamic is the power
that heals, restores and gives,
connecting at the core
with everyone who lives,
transcending culture, colour, race,
compassion builds the house of peace.

AFFIRMATION ‘Somewhere someone’
The kingdom of love is coming because:
Somewhere someone is kind when others are unkind,
somewhere someone shares with another in need,
somewhere someone refuses to hate, while others hate,
somewhere someone is patient - and waits in love,
somewhere someone returns good for evil,
somewhere someone serves another, in love,
somewhere someone is calm in a storm,
somewhere someone is loving everybody.
Is that someone you? (jke)

OFFERTORY MUSIC AA 127 ‘Take my gifts’ verse 3
Words © 1992 Shirley Erena Murray, (Admin. by Hope Publishing Company)
Music: ©1992 Colin Gibson Hope Publishing Co.
Take whatever I can offer –
gifts that I have yet to find,
skills that I am slow to sharpen,
talents of the heart and mind,
things made beautiful for others
in the place where I must be:
take my gifts and let me love you,
God who first of all loved me.

---

OFFERING PRAYER
Together:
Nearly all that we are, and all that we have, comes from this planet, from God,
for we are made from its dust.
So we bring these offerings and ourselves:
to bring restoration to our relationships.
Male to female,
old to young,
nations to nations,
ethnic group to ethnic group,
humanity to the natural world,
and as we do so may we find peace with ourselves and with our God.
Amen

We recognise and bless the gifts brought to the table, and those which wing their way electronically from our banks to the church’s account.
LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY OF ST ANDREW’S
People share notices and visitors are welcomed. If you have a notice, please move to the front row, ready to speak briefly from the lectern.
For the benefit of newcomers, please introduce yourself before you begin.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Lynne Dovey
CIRCLE OF PRAYER
We think today of the people of Mongolia and we pray for the continued development of indigenous ways of life in a changing world. We hold all refugees in our hearts. We pray in particular for those detained for many years in Papua New Guinea & Nauru. We give thanks for progress that has been made and pray that their calls for justice might yet find a compassionate response. In New Zealand, we remember those in Parliament, and today we name Nicola Willis and Hon Michael Woodhouse list MPs. Here in the Central Presbytery, we pray for the leaders and people of Shannon Co-operating Church, Foxton.
PRAYER FOR ST ANDREW’S
Renew your people, God,
And renew our life in this place.
Give us a new spirit of unity
with all who follow the Way of Jesus
and new bonds of love
with people of other faiths.

Bless the city in which we live
that it may be a place
where honest dealing,
good government,
the desire for beauty,
and the care for others flourish.

Bless this church
that what we know of your will
may become what we do,
and what we believe
the strong impulse
of our worship and work.
Amen

HYMN ‘Amazing Love’
Words © Margaret Rolfe, Uniting Church in Australia
Tune: Amazing Grace WOV 56
1. Amazing Love that Jesus told,
two thousand years ago,
a story new, a story old,
a love we all can know.

2. He spoke to crowds in Palestine,
He speaks to us today,
He tells us all of love divine,
to us he shows the way.

3. The realm of God is one of love,
of justice and of peace.
It’s not about a realm above -
through love this world release.

4. What we want done to us, can be
the rule by which we live;
to follow it will make us free
to share, to love, to give.

5. The story comes to challenge us,
It’s not the easy road,
for us to love, as Jesus loved,
to bear another’s load.

6. The realm of God is here with us
when love and peace we share,
although we fail, we know God’s grace,
it’s love that helps us there.

7. Amazing love that Jesus told,
two thousand years ago,
a story new, a story old,
a love for all to know.
BLESSING
SUNG AMEN
POSTLUDE