Worship at LEIGHMOOR UCA Sunday 13th November 2022 – 9.30 a.m. PENTECOST 23  WELCOME TO WORSHIP PLEASE STAND FOR ENTRY OF THE BIBLE  SERVICE OF APPROACH CALL TO WORSHIP WELCOME ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY PRAYER TIS 156                         Morning Has Broken                    SERVICE OF THE WORD READINGS             Isaiah 65:17-25; Luke 21:5-9       TIS 217 (i)                             Love Divine               CHILDREN TIME  SERMON: God Is Creating with His Infinite Possibilities                            [Sermon on Web / Hardcopies at the Door after worship]            TIS 123                               Be Still My Soul            SERVICE OF RESPONSE JOYS AND CONCERNS PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION  NOTICES – OFFERTORY  TIS 569                                   Guide me      BENEDICTION          God Be with You (v. 1)   NOTICES: Sunday School @Fellowship Hall Morning Tea @Fellowship Hall  Potted Palms Concert: 20th November 2PM @Leighmoor Entry is by donation & Funds raised will go towards roof repairs Music & Afternoon tea preparation Sausage Sizzle & A Book/Plant Stall: On Election Day, Saturday 26th November Friday Fellowship: 9th December 11AM @Fellowship Hall Christmas Lunch – Bringing Dishes Christmas Journey: Saturday, 24th December 4PM  For Children and their families Chilling + Interactive Christmas Christmas Bible Fashion Show with Christmas Carols Carols and Dancing + Treasure Hunt + Christmas Photo Zone  Christmas Carol & Candle Service: Saturday, 24th December 8PM For All Generations Candle Service + Christmas Music + Words + Carols Christmas Gifts Talk Christmas Service: Sunday, 25th December 9.30AM                      CHURCH CONTACTS Minister: Rev Heeyoung Lim  M: 0432 054 369 E: hyfilm12@gmail.com  Website: www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org  Zoom Service: Henry Wan (0403 150 404) Closing time for Notices is 5 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Leighmoor, Murrumbeena, Coatsville combined service Sunday 6 November 2022 All Saints Readings: Psalm 98, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17, Luke 20: 27-38 Title: God’s truth Rev Anneke Oppewal Psalm 98 is a beautiful song of praise filled with joy and bubbling with imagery that is uplifting and heart warming. Rivers clapping their hands, mountains that jump for joy, the sea bubbling with excitement while trumpets and other musical instruments play jubilant tunes. It sings of a God that conquers the world with justice and faithful love, that comes to save and shows the world what righteousness, a life according to God’s hopes for the world look like.  In the Church of my youth in Holland there was a hymn that caught that mood perfectly. And to this day it is still one of my all time favourites. Even hearing the first notes lifts my mood and my heart and I’ll keep humming it for hours after I have heard or sung it. I’m sure there is an equivalent in English, but, up till now, I’ve never encountered an English rendition of Psalm 98 that does the same as the Dutch one does for me.  I hope you have hymns or songs or music like that. That lift you wherever you are or whatever you are doing or feeling at the time and will take you to another level of being. If only for a little while.  That Jesus would have known and sung this psalm makes it even more precious I think. It was the spiritual food he would have been raised on. Words that accompanied him on his journey and shaped his way of worshipping and prayer every day. Singing God’s praises with words that went back to the time of Kin David and some of them even to before that, singing and reciting words that have stayed with his followers for centuries after.  Old, old songs and words that have renewed, revived and revitalised people for thousands of years now. And we are still singing them. How good is that?  What happens in the gospel reading is in stark contrast to the joy and boundless energy with which the Psalm speaks to us. The mood is cold and dark, the words are clipped and angry, the imagery conjured up is one of confusion, conflict and angst. Jesus has entered Jerusalem, he has entered the temple, he is in the place where that joy for God should have been more abundant than anywhere else and the tension and simmering passive aggression is palpable.  Tell us Jesus….. The sadducees, priests that were in charge of the temple grounds, wealthy, powerful and considered authorities on matters of religion, come and put an absurd question to Jesus. Not because they want to learn something. Not because they are interested in debate. But because they want to cut Jesus down to size, diminish him in the eyes of the people, embarrass him if they can.  The question is in the same category as the question that kept theologians in the middle ages occupied for a while about how many angels would fit on the top of a needle.  And the answer is very simple: We don’t know.  So, if the law in Jesus day, designed to protect widowed women and make sure males had a maximum chance of continuing into the future through their offspring, even if they died, could result in an absurd scenario. Should brothers continue to die and a widow continue to be handed down the line of a group of brothers, what would happen if they all turned up in heaven after the resurrection is a question we cannot know the answer to and that the scriptures don’t, anywhere, even attempt to solve.  What Jesus does, when that absurd and unanswerable question is put to him, is show up the people that ask it as people that lack faith and imagination in even coming up with the question.  They take a law that was designed to keep women, who at that time lost everything when they got married, safe by ordering that their new family would continue to look after them. And that a man who died without children might still have his name continue into the future through a child his brother might have with his wife. So the brother, through this child, could be present when the end of times would come to bring praises to God.  The sadducees, with their question, turn a law that was designed to protect and secure life into an absurd questioning of what might happen after we all die in a place that none of us can know exactly what will happen about.  Look, says Jesus, as he shows them up quoting from their own sacred scriptures. All I know is that God is a God of the living, even after they have died. Moses, Abraham, Isaak, Jacob: God has never stopped loving them and they are, still, alive, for God as well as for us in who they were and how they lived. For God that difference, that may be such a big thing in our minds and hearts, the boundary between life and death, is simply non existent and of no importance. God is here. And in God all who have lived are still alive. And all who have lived we may know are still loved, known and cared for by God. As we are loved, known and cared for.  That’s all we need to know. And how that works out? Well, perhaps all we need to do there is trust that in God’s way, in God’s time, in God’s world that will be worked out in a way that we may simply not be able to imagine.  What the sadducees at the time of the question didn’t know, but what Luke, at the time of writing did know, is that the temple where this debate takes place, the home ground of the sadducees where they feel confident enough

30th October 2022 (Pentecost 21 & Reformation Sunday)  Title: Transformed Witnesses (Scripture Readings: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 & Luke 19:1-10)                                                                               By Heeyoung Lim  In 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12, a community has been praised for its steadfastness in the face of persecution. Paul expressed his gratitude for the connection between the faith growth and the community’s growing love. God’s love is made visible in many ways, through a transformed life, the love of an individual, and the change of perceptions and growing intimacy of a community. We find an inner strength and shared feeling when we recognize and give thanks for how individual and collective beings witness God’s abundant grace every day. May we consider the many ways God’s love is made visible in our days, in our communities and the world. In verses 1-4, Paul greets the congregation at Thessalonica with love and gratitude. He notes that their increasing faith and love and spiritual maturity are growing stronger and steadier. Their maturity and growth are considered as an example of Christian stability for other communities. In verses 11–12, Paul assures that he, Silvanus, and Timothy will continue to pray for them. He believes that God may continue to empower them, help to fulfill their calling, lead to the glory of their Lord Jesus. We need growth and maturity to be strong as a witness of Christ in the midst of changing times and a challenging world. Paul boasts of the faith of the Thessalonians and highlights their growth. He focuses on their improvements and commends not only their performance but their effort. Paul’s applause for the Thessalonians should today be understood as affirming their love for God and love for people and churches that seek to be a community of faith. The writer notes with gratitude that “the love of every one of you for one another is increasing” (v. 3). The faith community has been bound together by faith and love, even in its suffering. Their mutual love and their regard for one another has been increased even under the pain of persecution. God will not forget such steadfastness.  In verses 11 & 12, God is the one who through His own power and grace makes people worthy of God’s call so that the name of Jesus is glorified in the world, and they are glorified in Jesus. These are the points of their prayers. After praying that the Thessalonians would experience God’s grace and peace, Paul offered thanksgiving for those believers because they continued to develop in faith and love. Although experiencing hardship, this church was an example to other churches because of their community life and love. This requires change and growth, and the story of a changed witness is found in the Gospel of Luke 19.  In Luke 19:1-4, Jesus continued his journey up the dangerous hills toward Jerusalem. A tax collector was determined to see Jesus. As an administrator for the Roman government’s tax office, Zacchaeus had great wealth. He may overcharge the Jewish people and take a cut from the taxes gathered by other tax collectors whose work he administered. However, his wealth could not provide the one thing he wanted more than anything else. He was not able to see over or get through the massive crowd swarming around Jesus, Zacchaeus ran ahead, found a tree, and climbed up into its branches. In 19:5, the clever tax collector did get a view of Jesus, and Jesus spotted him up in the tree. Jesus even invited himself to dinner at his house. Jesus said it was necessary for him to visit Zacchaeus. A necessity initiated by God to show one more time Jesus’ mission on earth. In 19:6-7, he overjoyed at this unexpected privilege, the short man rushed down the tree.  The big crowd or his short height does not prevent Jesus from coming to Zacchaeus’s tree, making eye contact with him, calling him down, and inviting himself into the tax collector’s home and life. Jesus is going to eat with a sinful man, and the crowd must have complained. In going to dinner with Zacchaeus, Jesus showed his love and dedication to seeking and saving the lost rather than catering to the proud. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, not to fulfill religious demands. We are sometimes hindered from seeing and experiencing the grace of God. Our sinful condition or worldly wind eclipses the light of God from shining into our lives from time to time. However, when God gives light into our hearts, He leads us to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. As in verse 8, after meeting Jesus, the tax collector was no longer the same person. He would enter the kingdom of God, but not as a wealthy man. God’s house is a place of prayer, not of business. He would take half of what he owned and give it to the poor. He would find the people he had overcharged on their tax bill and refund four times as much as he had cheated them.  Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to face his death when he encounters this man whom we might rightly expect him to rebuke. However, Jesus stops and gives Zacchaeus the honour of staying at his house that night. He responds to this with great joy. When the crowd grumble that Jesus is staying with a sinner, Zacchaeus stands up on his little feet, stretches up as tall as he can, and declares that he will give half his possessions to the poor and repay any deception fourfold. This goes far beyond what Jewish law demands. Jesus declares that “salvation has come to this house” (v. 9). Zacchaeus seems to have accepted the penalty of the law and applied it to

25th September 2022 (Pentecost 16) Sermon Title: Act Now & Fight the Good Fight of Faith (1 Timothy 6:11-19 & Luke 16:19-31)                                                                                    By Heeyoung Lim  26 Korean words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last year. With these additions, “we are all riding the crest of the Korean wave” the OED says in a statement. Many words come from Korean origin, but several words are new formations or new senses of existing English words. For Instance, the interjection “fighting!” is used to express encouragement, incitement, or support, another way to say, ‘go on!’ or ‘go for it!’ (BBC News, 5 October 2021) It is not about real fights. When a Korean says, “fighting!”, it means, do not give up, you can do it, I believe in you, I will be rooting for you, cheer up, I know you are going to get through it, and so on. The word “Fighting!” is simple, but the meaning is complicated and positive. Today’s text invites us to fight the good fight of faith.  Paul called Timothy as man of God and told him to flee from all ungodliness. The Christian is to escape from the traps and temptations of money and selfish ambition. We are to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. (v.11) These six qualities mark the life of a Christian, but intention and effort are needed. As Hebrew 12: 1-2, we are to run with perseverance fixing our eyes on Jesus. Paul’s list of Christian characteristics closely matches the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22. Timothy was to pursue personal behaviours, attitudes, and habits which would reflect his companionship with Christ. He was also to fight the good fight of the faith. He was to defend truth as a leader. (v.12) Those who follow Christ are to exhibit God in this world. We do this through our words, deeds, and the good fight of faith. In our lives, our public witness and private disciplines are necessary for the good fight of faith. Paul told Timothy to take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. The eternal life which believers enter is not limited to a future hope. It is also a present reality. We take hold of this eternal life when we live in the power of God and values of God’s kingdom. We will not experience the fullness of Christ’s reign until Christ returns, but eternal life is still accessible at the present time on earth as a future hope and present reality at the same time. May we live in harmony with God and His Spirit. Eternal life is not reserved for a certain level of people. It is available to all who believe in Jesus and live out the gospel and fight the good fight of faith. True faith cannot be hidden. Timothy testifies that he trusted in Jesus Christ in public.  Paul said in the sight of God who gives life to everything. God is sovereign over all life. All we exist by God’s mercy and life-giving power. We are cared for by his strength and goodness. The fact that God cares for us brings comfort as well as gratitude. Our lives begin with faith and confession, and they grow in intimate fellowship with Christ. Christ had a calling to reveal God in this world and to provide a way to be saved by holy living, death on the cross, and resurrection. Paul also delivered his command in the sight of Christ Jesus. May we testify Jesus and the love of God in the sight of God and in the sight of Christ.  Paul extended the charge to Timothy: keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a temporary determination but a lifelong pursuit and commitment until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we have a high expectancy of the Lord’s return even though we do not know when. Such a glorious prospect helps to overcome the difficulties as well as the temptations of this life in faith. Every good thing comes from God, who is generous to all. Through 1 Timothy 6, God invites us to learn personal contentment in all circumstances. Money is one of Paul’s major concerns in this chapter. It sometimes means temptations, disappointments, and destructiveness. However, God leads us to recognize God’s generosity and show it to the world.  For most people, becoming a Christian does not entail radical changes in occupation, living conditions, salary, or neighbourhood. Christ calls us to extend His kingdom from the place we now live. Contentment, the pursuit of godliness, and living with Christ are foundational to genuine Christian living. Becoming a disciple of Christ does not release a person from obligations or unpleasant conditions. Instead, being a disciple presents us with a higher standard or divine goals in all relationships and circumstances. The Word of God is sufficient to lead us to salvation and faith growth. No matter what God does, some people do not listen to His Word. In Luke 16, with no transition statement, Luke introduced the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In this parable, a rich man enjoys the most luxurious life possible. His dress and his food set him apart from other people. Lazarus owned nothing, but Jesus honoured him with a name. Lazarus is the only character in Jesus’ parables who is named. What we know about Lazarus is his name and his need. Lazarus’s empty stomach and life are gnawing at him, and his gaze is set on the household of the rich man, where he hopes only for the leftovers or less. There was a