Call to Worship Praise to God, the Creator of all things. Praise to Christ who brings healing and hope. Praise to the Holy Spirit, the Breath of new life. Trinity of grace, we call on you today. Come worship the God who made us and loves us! We come with joyful praise and hopeful hearts! Hymn 110 – Glory be to God the Father Prayers of Approach and Confession Creator God, You have made a world of such amazing diversity – with unique living things we cannot number! We praise you for such wonder. You have created such amazing diversity in humankind – through culture and language, custom and community, expressed in so much creativity and compassion. We praise you for such wonder. In Jesus Christ, you show us how much you love your creation and how we can live by your love. By the power of your Spirit, give us new eyes to behold the wonders you have made and teach us how to love your creation with humble, grateful hearts. We confess the words spoken and things done which have harmed us and hurt others this week; hasty words perhaps, unkind thoughts, acts of frustration. We confess words never spoken and things undone which have laid guilt upon us and left possibility incomplete; words of kindness or challenge left unsaid, acts of justice or generosity thought about but never acted upon. We look beyond ourselves, and confess that your good creation and your beautiful human family all too often are broken by sin and wrecked by evil. Lord, forgive us. Forgive the things we know and the things we haven’t noticed. Lift from us the guilt we carry.Set us free to serve you with joy and passion. Renew, restore, begin again your good news within us. The prophet Micah declared that God requires three things of us: to do justice, to love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. To all who seek reconciliation with God and neighbour in kindness and humility, God offers forgiveness and peace. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Genesis 18: 1-15 (Pg 17) Matthew 9: 35- 10: 8 (Pg 974) Hymn 598 – Come Holy Ghost our hearts inspire Weekly Prayer Father God, at times your son offers us hard choices; to choose sometimes between the closest ties of earth and loyalty to him. Free us from making decisions that are for our comfort or for the approval of others. Help us to understand that good choices don’t always lead to the easiest outcomes. Amen Sermon I was in Morocco recently on holiday, and at the end we were asked what we enjoyed best. Some said an ancient town or the Sahara Desert, but for me, I enjoyed the times when we met with local people and were invited into their homes. They would have a ‘good’ room for visitors often with bright cushions, and we were given mint tea or on a few occasions we were given lunch or dinner. They were paid to do so, but even so, they were happy to welcome us and wanted to give of their best. Whenever we have visitors, whether it is family or friends coming to stay for a few days or a friend looking in for half an hour, we want them to be comfortable and we make an effort. When I lived in Zambia, friends would often turn up without warning, but it was good to welcome them and to hear what was happening, to listen to their stories – because of poor telephones and distance, though mobile and wifi has considerably improved now. Visiting plays a part in both our readings today. In Genesis, Abraham and Sarah have set up their tent at the oaks of Mamre and receive 3 visitors with unexpected news, while in the Gospels the disciples are empowered to visit others with Good News, just as their teacher Jesus was doing. Abraham and Sarah offer a ‘wilderness welcome’ to their guests. Visitors would be few, so they would be eager to find out what was happening in the world, whether anything momentous which would affect their security or simply chat about the weather. It was incumbent on them to provide hospitality, as they themselves would rely on it if they travelled. In Hebrews in the NT we remember the verse, ‘Don’t neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some have entertained angels unawares’. Certainly it can be a blessing to meet with others and share stories. In the case of Abraham and Sarah’s visitors, they turn out to be from God. Are they angels? In the famous icon they are even seen to be the three members of the Trinity. But the reward of hospitality is the sharing of the news that Sarah would bear a child. Now, Sarah had left the ‘men’ to their talk but was situated herself conveniently near at hand to overhear what they were talking about – and when she heard this she laughed. There is not a lot of references to laughter in the Bible, so this is significant. But you can imagine a throaty, bitter laugh, for she had been barren for all these years. She had never thought she would bear a child. She had even encouraged Abraham to sleep with her maid Hagar, so that he would have a child to carry on his name. Now these visitors were taking of her giving birth at her age – how ridiculous. But the message came from God – and it was no cruel joke. Many of us will know couples who have adopted children only suddenly and unexpectedly to have their own. That was to be the reality for Sarah too, despite her age, for nothing was impossible for God. So we have two points here – that God comes to us when we least expect, and we need to be open to God speaking to us through other people. And also that God can make things happen through us, if we be open. There was a piece of good news last week. A plane had crashed in the Amazon Jungle, killing several people on board, including the mother of 3 children. But the children were nowhere to be found. Even if they had survived the crash, there were wild animals, it was isolated. But after weeks, they were discovered alive and well. The impossible can happen. The impossible seemed to be happening for the people of Galilee, for their lives were being transformed by Jesus of Nazareth. In the last verses od Chapter 9 there is a sense of movement with all the verbs – he taught, proclaimed, healed, had compassion, summoned. Jesus was on the move, so active, and everywhere people’s lives were changed. He saw and had compassion for they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he acted and turned people’s lives around. No wonder they crowded round him, hoping for healing or for another miracle. But he didn’t want to be a one man band, so empowered his followers to go out with compassion and love to proclaim and heal. The wonderful thing is that at the beginning of Chapter 10 Matthew names the disciples. You can almost hear the first readers say, ‘O yes, there was Philip. Oh I had forgotten about James the son of Alphaeus. I know his nephew.’ But they were not nameless, but each was individual and each had their own unique gifts and talents that could be used to visit people with the good news of God’s Kingdom. God still calls us today as individuals with our own gifts to explore how best we can be used. Our new Presbytery has a series of Zoominars which are tapping in to what is happening in some congregations, and we can see what can be good for us., for we are a dynamic church, always reforming, always on the move. God still wants to use us and can still surprise us with the good news of the kingdom. Hymn 623 – Here in this place Prayers of Dedication, Thanksgiving and Intercession God of grace and goodness, your world is full of gifts that sustain our lives. We offer our gifts in gratitude. Bless them and make them signs of your presence at work in the world, touching lives in need with your love and strength in Jesus’ name. We read, Jesus, of your compassion. The world unfolded its sadness as much as its joy as you walked your way with us. You saw and felt the need. You cared. In our prayers, we join with you in your unending compassion and care. We pray for all those trapped in situations that destroy them: those caught up in war and the violence of abuse; those trapped in addiction and cursed by poverty; those lost in depression and crushed by sadness; those broken by anger and torn by loneliness. We pray for those burdened by situations that snatch at life: those who are sick and those who care for them; those who are dying and those who mourn; those who face unemployment and those without homes; those facing hard choices and those longing for guidance. We pray for the Church and all of its witness: for the congregations we know that have been home to us; for those in leadership across denominations and for their wisdom; for those whose work is often unnoticed but who build the Church; for those sharing faith and those seeking it. We pray for ourselves: for the gifts and joys that bless us; for the longings and hopes that beckon us; for the sadness and pain that touch us; for the calling and gifting that inspire us. [silence for our own prayers] Jesus, in your compassion, hear us. Amen. Hymn 533 – Will you come and follow me Benediction Deep peace of the running wave to you, Deep peace of the flowing air to you, Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Deep peace of the shining stars to you. Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you
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