Leighmoor UC.  June 14. 2020 Call to Worship Come, let us welcome the Sabbath in joy and peace! It brings comfort to our hearts, workday cares are set aside. On the Sabbath we remember our blessings from God, and our anxieties and heartache are softened. Come, let us worship our loving God, who modelled rest for us! Prayer of Adoration and Confession God of life, you brought all into being. In you, we are part of the glory of creation. In you, we receive the mystery of grace. In you, we find the wisdom of community. God of all glory, on this first day, you began creation, bringing light out of darkness. On this day you began your new creation raising Jesus Christ out of the darkness of death. On this Lord’s day, may our hearts praise you as we remember, and are thankful,  for all your blessings, including the precious treasure of the Sabbath. We are aware that we have misused your gifts of creation. We have not been faithful or careful stewards. Forgive us for neglecting your planet, by polluting its waters and habitats, for allowing species to become extinct or endangered. Forgive us when we have neglected our brothers and sisters, of different races, colours, religions. Forgive us when we have been indifferent to the plight of our indigenous brothers and sisters, for turning away from reports we hear of cruelty in police custody, or about lower life spans, poorer health, and harder access to good education, housing, and job opportunities. (in a time of silence we remember other things for which we seek forgiveness) Forgive us for superficial worship, and if our prayers have been of a selfish nature. Amen Words of Assurance. This is the best of all, when we are empty, God fill us, when we are disheartened, God is compassionate, when we are wounded, God brings healing, when we confess our sins, God forgives us. In Christ, through Christ, and because of Christ, Our sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen Bible Readings:  Exodus 20: 8-11                              Matthew 12: 9-13 Today I am departing from my usual practice of following the lectionary readings set for this week. Genesis is one of my favourite books in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, but we have nine more weeks when we can explore those readings, so I am taking this opportunity to address something some of us may be struggling with a little. The Sabbath. How to observe the Sabbath, and to keep it special, during this time of lock down. Do you remember the film, ‘Chariots of Fire’?  I noticed it was showing on tv the other night-but by then it was half over.  When it came out, back in 1981 (yes, that long ago!) I was very moved by it.   In the movie, Eric Liddell, a Scottish Presbyterian preacher and former Scotland rugby player, is chosen to run in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. His sister Jenny fears that running is diverting Eric from his calling to be a missionary in China. (that has never been a problem for me…if I take up running I have lost the plot!) Eric tells Jenny that his vocation is unchanged, but that he believes it is also part of God’s purpose for him to run.  He says to Jenny, “God made me fast, and when I run I feel his pleasure.” “when I run I feel his pleasure.” Does that happen for you?  Not in terms of running, but is there a time or activity when you sense God’s pleasure, God’s delight-when you are doing God’s will? When Liddell, a strict observer of the Sabbath, discovers that his Olympic 100m heat is on a Sunday, he refuses to take part. Entered instead-at short notice-for the 400 m, Liddell goes on to win a gold medal. How many runners would have refused to run on a Sunday? How many sportsmen and sportswomen refuse to take part in sporting activities held on a Sunday? The reading from Exodus is a familiar one.  ‘Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.’(Exodus 20:8) What is the Sabbath? The word ‘Sabbath’ comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat, which means to pause, to cease, and to be still. It is the opportunity to get off the treadmill of life and to reflect on our values and priorities. Lock down has given us that opportunity, hasn’t it? To reflect, to pause, to out aside activities. In their book Balance *, Robert Warren and Sue Mayfield write that the Sabbath encompasses six things: Stillness: to pause, to be still. Rhythm: the pattern of resting one day in seven imitates the rhythm of creation in Genesis 1 where God worked creatively for 6 days and then paused to rest and enjoy all that He had made (NOT that God needed to rest-God was modelling right practice-humans need some rest and re creation) Receiving: Sabbath is a gift from God, a gift of grace, a reminder that all we have comes from God’s creative love. ‘We do not so much practice Sabbath as receive it.’ Refreshment: it is more than stopping work-it is about restoration, creativity and play. Freedom: it is about liberation, wholeness, and well-being. Holy: God calls it holy and exhorts us to do the same. Joy Davidman wrote: ‘How do you make a day holy?  By seeing that it is holy already, and behaving accordingly.’ Let’s explore the Sabbath in Scripture. As I said earlier, it is that wonderful rhythm from Genesis 1: ‘In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth…’ ‘So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.’ It is sharing God’s enjoyment of creation (a return to Eden from the curses in Chapter 3 when Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden-so it is

Trinity Sunday June 7th, 2020 Leighmoor UC. Possible Hymns: TIS 100: ‘All creatures of our God and King TIS 132: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty’ TIS 478: ‘I bind unto myself today’ TIS 447: ‘Lord, your almighty word’ Prayers of Adoration and Confession Most blessed, most holy God, before the brightness of your presence the angels and archangels veil their faces. We worship you, eternal Trinity. You are God, the Creator, God beyond us, we adore you. You have created all that has come into being. You are the depth of all that is. When we gaze into the universe-we marvel at your handiwork. You are God the Son, God beside us. In you we see divine love and human greatness combined. You mirror what human life should be…what love can be. God the Spirit, God around us, we adore you. You draw us to the Creator, and to Christ. You are the power within us, making us the people you want us to be. Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we adore you. We thank you for all your gifts, great and small. For the gift of your nearness to us in the things that happen in our lives-and for the gift of your distance from us, in the mystery and wonder of life. When we are tired, worn down, when our commitment has grown cold, you come and warm our hearts. When our faith seems dry and dead, you breathe upon us and give us life. Yet we come before you, seeking forgiveness. We have not loved you with our whole heart, we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves. Forgive us. We like things tidy and explainable, but you defy our understanding. We are tempted to live closed to the spiritual world, but you touch us with dreams and visions. When we lose faith in the goodness of creation, in the father-like love of our Creator: forgive us. When we lose faith in Jesus as the true reflection of your suffering, conquering, redeeming love: forgive us. When we lose faith in your Spirit’s presence among us: forgive us. God is love. Through Christ our sins are forgiven  (thanks be to God). Take hold of this forgiveness, and live your life in the power of the Spirit. Amen Bible Readings Genesis 1: 1-2:4a Psalm 8 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 Matthew 28: 16-20 Sermon: Keep your distance! Today is Trinity Sunday -the first Sunday after Pentecost, when we celebrated the third person of the Trinity-the Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday is a transitional Sunday: -we move out of the 50 days of the Easter Season, out of Pentecost, into the ordinary time of the Church year. -no great feasts or celebrations, with the exception of next Saturday, which is the anniversary of the forming of the Uniting Church,  until November 1st-All Saints Day. Trinity Sunday. The English preacher, Colin Morris, said that any preacher with good sense would call in sick on Trinity Sunday. Last year, in my previous parish, a retired minister came up to me and thanked me for preaching-saying he had to do it most years! I can understand that sentiment. -trying to get across the concept of the Trinity, the central Christian doctrine-that the One God exists in Three Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and one substance. The notion of one God who is three persons is mystery Yet-it is not altogether beyond us. -we can grasp something of what ‘Trinity’ means. In its barest outline, the doctrine contains 4 truths: In the one divine nature, there are 3 Persons, the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Each is wholly himself The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God They are not three Gods, but one God. One substance, or nature. 3 in 1. If we asked ‘Who are you?’ each of the three would give His own answer-Father, Son or Holy Spirit. BUT if we asked ‘What are you? ’each would answer God. Each contains the same divine nature or substance. 1 in 3  3 in 1. If the idea of God as both 3 and 1 is confusing, Frederick Buechner suggests the following: -look in a mirror There is  The interior life-known only to yourself and those you choose to communicate it to (the Father) The visible face which is some way reflects your inner life (the Son) The invisible power that you have in order to communicate that interior life in such a way that others do not merely know about it, but know it in the sense of its becoming part of who they are (Holy Spirit). Yet what you are looking at in the mirror is clearly, and unable to be divided-the one and only YOU. Father, Son and Holy Spirit- may seem a mystery of mathematics (and most mathematics is a mystery to me!) -we may try to explain it or understand it by looking at water -as water droplets, ice and steam-3 in 1-all water, but in 3 ways Or be like St Patrick, who used a shamrock to illustrate the 3 persons (the 3 leaves)- as being part of the whole. (the substance, or nature) BUT, in the end, The Trinity is about distance and closeness Distance, and closeness. The Trinity is the result of a debate about who God really is. Knowing we will never know-but wrestling with that anyway. Isn’t that one reason we attend  church today?  We are trying to understand something of the nature of God, a God who has touched our lives-and is still active in our lives. Let’s travel back to the 4th century and meet two individuals who were passionate about God-and instrumental behind what is a human construct-the Trinity.  Arius: a priest in charge of twelve parishes. A persuasive preacher, a writer of verse and song, And Athanasius-secretary to the bishop of Alexandria. He is one of the giants of Christian history because of his part in defining

Pentecost.  May 31, 2020.  Leighmoor UC Suggested Hymns: TIS 572: O thou who camest from above TIS 398: Come down, O Love divine, TIS 675: Lord, the light of your love is shining TIS 407: Breathe on me, breath of God TIS 416: Great God, your Spirit, like the wind TIS 418: She sits like a bird, brooding on the waters TIS 421: Where the Spirit is, there’s freedom The mood of Pentecost is one of great energy. Images of fire, wind, breath and flowing water. Colour, sound, movement. Let us open ourselves to the moving of the Holy Spirit of God in our midst, in our lives. Prayers of Adoration, Thanksgiving, and Confession O God of glory, You created the earth by your power, you save the human race by your mercy and you make all new by your grace. We give thanks for your Spirit. -active in creation. The Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of love -present in the church. We rejoice in your presence around us and in us, like wind in our faces and breath in our lungs. Your Spirit gives us life. We give thanks that in your power, by your Spirit you give new birth and new life, Like fire, warmth and radiance, like life in dormant bulbs which burst forth in spring. We rejoice that you seek us, accept us, treasure us, with love older than the mountains you created, older than the distant stars you set in the heavens. Your love is old…yet new every morning. We thank you Creator Spirit, Life-giving Spirit, Nurturing Spirit, Spirit of love. And yet, you who created us for life together, We confess that we have turned from your way. We have not loved you with all our heart; we have not loved one another as you commanded. We have been quick to claim our own rights, but have been careless of the rights of others. We have taken much and given little. Forgive us. We confess that we have tried to relegate your movement as Spirit, to our command and understanding. (in a time of silence, we remember other things for which we seek forgiveness). God is love Through Christ our sins are forgiven (thanks be to God). Take hold of this forgiveness And live your live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen Bible Readings Acts 2: 1-21 Psalm 104: 24-34, 35b 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13 John 7: 37-39 Sermon: A strange gift. What is the strangest gift you have ever received?  A wedding present, unused?  We received a unique wedding present-a set of long handled filigree forks and a matching spoon-an exotic item that one uses to dip figs in honey!-well-I don’t like figs-and I don’t eat honey- so-needless to say-perhaps like wedding presents you received-it has never been used! Perhaps your unusual gift was a birthday present, maybe an item of clothing, hiding at the back of your wardrobe, never seeing the light! Today is Pentecost, a day when we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the birthday of the church.’ It is important to remember that Pentecost doesn’t celebrate the Spirit coming into being.  Sometimes Christians speak about Pentecost as being the ‘coming’ of the Holy Spirit.  No The Spirit, God’s Spirit, has been active from before creation; today’s psalm, Psalm 104 speaks of God’s spirit being active in every age and generation-and for all species.   What WE celebrate at Pentecost is a moment of new openness and receptivity to this Spirit which gave birth to the church.  In a sense, we ‘see’ the gift of the holy Spirit with new eyes. A strange gift, the Spirit.  Imagine wrapping it up…and giving it to a child to open. A box full of nothing…and everything! The Spirit-symbolized by fire, breath, the dove, and wind. Our Uniting Church logo has the dove, and the red flame. Fire Living in bush fire prone Australia, we fear the hot summer, for we know that a fire burns more brightly with a strong wind.  We know that so well from last summer, don’t we? Fire and Wind. 1.Wind can be violent, or destructive.  It can force us, or push us, to change direction. Think of how hard it is to walk when there’s a strong head wind!  At times, we may feel like autumn leaves-tossed about, buffeted by the wind-having no real control over our movements. We think of the power of cyclones, hurricanes and tornados. When we lived in Canada, we visited the equivalent of the mid-west, which was prairie country.  We noticed how strange the air was-and the sky-which was a yellow-brown colour.  It was so quiet.  That evening, as we sat in a restaurant-we marvelled at its strangeness, not knowing the reason.  The following morning we were told that the danger of the tornado had passed. We were babes in the wood! The destructive power of wind. 2 On the other hand, wind can be cooling, refreshing, life-giving. Think back to summer-the still, hot days-and then the most welcome evening breeze.  Wind can be life-giving.  If our lungs do not fill with air-we die. At the birth of a child, it is important to have the baby breathe-to scream is even better-better for its lungs, maybe not so for the new parents! The kiss of life-we can save lives with our own breath. Mouth to mouth can be life-to-life. Sadly, these days we are learning that our breath, or the breath of others, can be deadly. Wind. In Genesis: ‘then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being’(Gen 2:7) And in Psalm 104: ‘when you take away their breath, they die And return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit (or breath) they are created; And you renew the face of the ground.’(104: 29-30) Wind can be life-giving, the Spirit is life giving. Most of us have watched

Service Easter 7 May 24 2020 (Yr A) Leighmoor UC Possible hymns TIS 137: For the beauty of the earth TIS 675: Lord, the light of your love is shining (Shine Jesus shine) TIS 152: Joyful, joyful we adore you TIS 147: To God be the glory TIS 699: A new commandment TIS142: Glory be to God the Father TIS 755: You shall go out with joy Prayers of Adoration and Confession Glory-filled God, We come before your radiance in prayer. Your glory brought into being all of creation, Your glory was announced on the night of Jesus’ birth, Your glory was evident in Christ’s resurrection, and ascension. To you be all glory. We thank you for another day. In a world that is far from safe-may we never take a day, or hour, for granted. Thank you for the gift-and glory-of life. We thank you for the music of birdsong, Of the tinkling of laughter as children steer past on bikes and skate boards. And yet, we know we have let you down, we have let others down, and we have let ourselves down. Forgive us. Grant us a spirit of courage, of hope, of compassion. Help us to become the people you created us to be. (silence) God is love. Through Christ our sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Take hold of this forgiveness and live our lives in the power of the Spirit. Amen. Bible Readings Acts 1: 6-14 Psalm 68: 1-10, 32-35 1 Peter 4: 12-14, 5: 6-11 John 17: 1-11 Sermon: Love’s radiance (John 17: 1-11) In the story, The Whisper Test, Mary Ann Bird writes: ‘I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it.  I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. When schoolmates asked “What happened to your lip?” I’d tell them I’d fallen and cut it on a piece of glass.  Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different.  I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me.’ There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored- Mrs Leonard.  She was short, round, happy- a sparkling lady. Annually we had a hearing test.  Mrs Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn.  I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back-like ‘The sky is blue’ or “Do you have new shoes?’ I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life.  Mrs Leonard said, in her whisper, “I wish you were my little girl.” -I wish you were my little girl. In John 17, Jesus said, “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.  So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.” Earlier, in John 13, Jesus, speaking about glory, said: “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.” “…Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  God’s glory shines whenever we do loving things. -or God’s glory is revealed in acts of love. (repeat)  Glory and love are soul mates. Glory. We speak, indeed sing, of God’s glory, or ‘glory to God.’ But what is it? What does the word ’glory’ really mean? And what are we trying to get across when we give glory to God? According to the Oxford Dictionary to glorify-means to make glorious, invest with radiance, and with dignity. That’s part of what we ‘do’ We speak about something of God’s character and being. When we come to worship, to glorify God-to praise the Almighty, radiant God.  We honour God’s essential being. But what IS God’s glory? ‘Glory’ is one of those church words which many of us use over and over again without really understanding what we are saying. In both Old and New Testaments, there are many instances where the word ‘glory’ is used-in different ways. For example, in 1 Kings, Solomon builds a temple for God.  In vs 10: ‘And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.’ -here it signifies the power, the presence, and the holiness of God. BUT in Jeremiah, Chapter 2 the meaning is quite different.  God pleads with Jeremiah to ask Israel to repent of her ways, to cease following false gods: ‘But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.’ So-from the previous, positive image of power and majesty- to the negative-the people are without honour, without dignity, without character-they have strayed from their true, authentic calling as God’s people.  Who can forget the Christmas story?  In Luke  ‘Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them’ And later, the multitude of angels sang ‘Glory to God in the highest…’ Majesty, power, radiance-and praise, It is a word rich in meaning. In the Old Testament, there are two important elements in the understanding of God’s glory: It is a visible manifestation of God’s majesty –we can see it In acts of power While God is invisible, from time to time, God manifests Himself to people by a striking action-which is his glory. Sometimes through the realm of nature-as in a thunderstorm, Or  as an incident in history-in their