KOONUNG HEIGHTS UNITING CHURCH
Introit: “Bless the Lord” – TiS 706 during which The Bible is processed in, the candle is lit.
Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads us into life. ( x 2)
The Light of the World
Lighting the Thanksgiving Candle for David Pryor
Call to Worship
The Lord is Risen! Allelujah!
Allelujah! He is Risen indeed!
You have heard our cries; you have come to our aid.
You deliver our souls from death, and our eyes from tears
You deliver our hearts from fear, and our feet from stumbling
That we may walk again in the light of life
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
And also with you
Hymn – TiS 107 Sing praise and thanksgiving
Sing praise and thanksgiving, let all creatures living
now worship their maker with gladness and song;
all glory and honour we come to him bringing:
O praise to the Almighty, sing praise to our God!
Our lives of his making he brings to their waking;
in darkness he held us in his gracious care,
now into the light we are called from our sleeping:
O praise to the Almighty, sing praise to our God!
Lord, frame our desiring to do your requiring,
that unto your glory be all that we do;
and where we have faltered, give strength and give healing:
O praise to the Almighty, sing praise to our God!
Welcome
Acknowledgement of First Peoples
Praise and Confession
O Lord our God, …creator of all things, father of all humankind, … relentless and passionate in your desire to love us into abundant life … we rejoice in you.
Lord Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, God for us,
Through birth, life, death and resurrection, you have overwhelmed the powers that destroy, shattered the chains that imprison, dispersed the clouds that oppress …we rejoice in you.
Holy Spirit – Spirit of our Risen Lord, speaking the gospel of life into every language, every culture, every moment, across every generation … inspiring hope and faith and love …we rejoice in you.
Have mercy upon us we pray.
Have mercy upon your church.
Have mercy upon the nations and the peoples of the world.
Come again to us this morning, speak the word we need to hear, reshape and renew our human lives, reconcile us across our divisions, liberate us from our fears, that we may declare with boldness and thanksgiving: In and through you, we are healed, we are cured, we are raised from the dead !
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN
Declaration of Healing
WORD for ALL – What’s in a Name?
Hymn – TiS 152 Joyful, joyful, we adore you
Joyful, joyful we adore you, God of glory, God of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before you, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away;
giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.
All your works with joy surround you, earth and heav’n reflect your rays,
stars and angels sing around you, centre of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
singing bird and flowing fountain call to praise you joyfully.
You are giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
well-spring of the joy of living, ocean-depth of happy rest.
You our Father, Christ our brother, all are yours who live in love;
teach us how to love each other, lift us to your joy above.
Bible Readings
Genesis 18:1-2, 9-15
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.
They said to him, ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ And he said, ‘There, in the tent.’ Then one said, ‘I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.’
Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’
The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied, saying, ‘I did not laugh’; for she was afraid. He said, ‘Oh yes, you did laugh.’
Romans 5:1-8
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Matthew 9:35-10:8
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
Sermon
From the Gospel of Matthew, Ch 9, Verse 36.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
The Gospel of Matthew is a unique and amazing contribution to the writings of the New Testament – astonishing in its scope, and extravagant in its declaration! It speaks out of the future, into the present, with a word of both personal and global (cosmic) ambition.
And if the church is ‘the community of the gospel’ – which it is! – then the church too is unique and amazing …astonishing and with an extravagant message … out of the future, into the present, with a word of both personal and global (cosmic) ambition. Indeed, it is not too much to say that the church is uniquely the community of God’s promised future!
Perhaps I had better say more because I doubt that the Gospel of Matthew will be listed on any library’s recommended book reads for the month, or any of the top hundred books of the year. It may even be some time since we ourselves have delved into its contents, assuming that it is about a time long ago, and of little relevance for our day. How wrong can we be!
Well, yes, it was written a long time ago … towards the end of the first century of the Christian Era, in the 3rd generation after the life of Jesus … it is set against the backdrop of 2000 years of Jewish history.
After 400 years of refugee life in a land not their own, bearing the burdens of oppression and the scars of slavery … liberated by the Exodus God who heard the cries of the people, and through the agency of MOSES – the Hebrew word for ‘Saviour/liberator’ – led the 600,000 Israelites out of Egypt, trekking for 40 years across the Sinai Peninsula, to a promised land flowing with milk and honey … to become a theocratic nation, ruled by Shepherd Kings commissioned to guard and guide their people in the ways of God …and thus, to be a light to all nations!
An enterprise of the creator God … an enterprise foiled by a rebellious and stiff-necked people, shepherd kings who failed their people …leaving a remnant and bruised flock, dispersed into alien lands, … leaving a distressed and suffering Creator God, this God of life-giving love.
That is the backdrop for the Gospel of Matthew and his story of the Jewish man Jesus of Nazareth … born out of wedlock, given the name ‘MOSES’ or its Greek equivalent, ‘JESUS’, into a refugee family and a story which is peppered with images and quotations from that first Exodus story, painting a landscape where this Jewish man is ‘Immanuel’ – God with us – as THE shepherd king, come as liberator of an enslaved people …but no longer just the tiny nation of Israel from enslavement in Egypt, but liberator for all, and liberation from all forms of enslavement, of captivity, anything that violates our God-given and God-blessed humanity … even from that which enslaves us all – ultimately and finally – the power of death.
Which is why, in Matthew’s account of the death of Jesus is so brutal – death at its worst – accompanied by a moment of global darkness, an earthquake that shakes the world at its foundations …and at this same moment, tombs in the cemeteries break open and the entombed skeletal bodies, come to life.
And now we can re-read this morning’s text … not as a story of long ago, but as our story, and the story of God’s promised future, embodied and accomplished (!) in this Mosaic Jesus, Shepherd King.
“Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
It is into this ministry that the church is called …. Not as those who carry the burden of continuing what Jesus began a long time ago … but as sheepish participants in what this Shepherd King has already accomplished and forecast for us, for all.
Which is why this Gospel of Matthew has an ending which reads:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go forth to all nations …
And I am with you, to the end of days.
Such extravagant words, with cosmic scope, and more amazing than anything, words spoken first to a motley collection of 11 ill-equipped disciples.
AMEN
Prayers of the People Ray Michelle
Let us bring our hearts and minds together in prayer.
Gracious and loving God, you are the true Shepherd who guides us, protects us, and leads us beside still waters. In a world filled with changing landscapes and unique leadership, we thank you for the faithful shepherds you place among us. We ask that you continue to guide all those who shepherd your flock, giving them wisdom, grace, and strength to lead with a servant’s heart in a modern world.
Lord, we look at the turmoil, the conflict, and the uncertainty across our world right now, and we recognise just how deeply we need the community of the church. Thank you for providing us with this sacred space, a sanctuary where we can find connection, support, and hope together. Help us to be a beacon of your peace to the wider community.
Today, we honour those who have gone before us in faith. We give you thanks for the saints of this parish who walked with a clear vision and an enduring trust in you. As we prepare to celebrate the forty-ninth anniversary of the creation of the Uniting Church in Australia, we thank you for the courage of those who brought our foundations together. May we inherit their vision, carrying the torch of faith forward into our own generation.
We pray particularly for our congregation during this time of ministerial vacancy. We know that transitions can bring uncertainty, but we ask that you make this a holy season of discernment and love. Guide our leaders, protect our unity, and open our hearts to listen clearly to where your Spirit is leading us next.
We bring before you all those who are currently unwell, whether they are struggling with physical illness or the quiet burdens of mental health. Touch them with your healing presence, grant wisdom to their medical teams, and give them the strength to face each day.
We pray for our neighbours and those in our wider community who are really struggling under the weight of the high cost of living. For those who are stressed about making ends meet, paying bills, or putting food on the table, we pray for relief and practical support. We pray also for those who are actively seeking work, asking that doors of opportunity will open for them, and that they may find fulfilling employment to sustain them.
Lord, we hold in our hearts those for whom home is not a safe place. For anyone enduring fear, abuse, or isolation within their own walls, we pray for your urgent protection. Break the cycles of violence, provide pathways to safety, and use us as instruments of your justice and shelter.
Finally, in the moments ahead, I invite you to call out loud the names of any other people you would like prayer for, or to simply name them before God in the quietness of your own heart.
(pause for the congregation to speak names and for silence)
We bind all of these prayers together, the spoken words and the silent longings of our hearts, trusting in your boundless grace.
Let us now celebrate our unity by praying together the words that Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name;
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and 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 forever.
Amen.
Hymn – TiS161 Tell out my soul
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings, give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of God’s name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
God’s mercy sure, from age to age the same;
God’s holy name – the Lord, the Mighty One.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of God’s might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by.
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight,
the hungry fed, the humble lifted high.
Tell out, my soul, the glories of God’s word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure.
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
to children’s children and for evermore!
Blessing and Commission
The candle is extinguished, the Bible is processed out
Hymn – Tis 779 ‘May the feet of God … ‘
May the feet of God walk with you,
and his hand hold you tight.
May the eye of God rest on you,
and his ear hear your cry.
May the smile of God be for you,
And his breath give you life.
May the Child of God grow in you,
and his love bring you home.
