Ascension (16 May 2021)

16 May 2021 by Shane S (service) in: Worship Services: 2021

 

Acknowledgement of Country

 

Leader: As we gather, we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this sacred land. Here in Engadine, we meet on the lands of the Dharawal People.

 

All: We worship on sacred land; holy ground; cared for since time immemorial

Leader: We acknowledge that the First Peoples of this land had already encountered the Creator God before the arrival of the colonisers, and that the Spirit was already in the land revealing God to the people through law, custom and ceremony. We recognise the continued ministry of First Peoples within the church, and their continuing connection to their land and living cultures. We acknowledge the ways in which we, the church, have been and continue to be complicit in the oppression of first peoples.

All: In doing so, we recommit to the path of reconciliation and justice that God lays before us.

 

Welcome Statement 

 

This is a place for wanderers, for misfits and for spiritual refugees, to let you know you are not alone in the wilderness. We are all about hope, and here we point each other to God. No matter where you are in your journey no matter what your story is, you are welcome here.  We are listening - to God, to one another and to the world

The story of God is bigger, wider, more inclusive and welcoming, filled with more love than we could ever imagine. There is room here for everyone , there is room here for you.

 

Call to worship

 

Leader: In this season, we gather as a community of disciples: to worship the crucified and Risen Lord, to hear God’s Word for us today, and to pray for each other and the world. The lord be with you!

 

All: and also with you!



Lighting the Candle

 

Today we celebrate God beyond, beside and within us.

We celebrate the light of the world that guides us in the way, the truth and the life has not been overcome by darkness.

We celebrate: the Spirit that renews life, joy, and possibilities.

We symbolise this in the lighting of the candle 

 

Eternal and near at hand.  

Already and not yet.

God’s promise is the foundation of all life.

Holy Trinity, full of light and movement and mystery, 

lighten the darkness of our world,

move in our hearts, 

draw us deeper into the mystery of your being.  

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.



Song of Worship .

 

Garden- Mikali Anagnostis (2020)

 

https://youtu.be/ob5dAbmnn2o



Prayer of Adoration

 

Sing to the Lord, praise his name;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvellous deeds among all peoples

 

Prayer of Confession

Friends, we come now to our time of confession prayer. We reflect on the week past, and acknowledge the times we have hurt ourselves, others, the world, and God. This is also a time when we are reminded that all of us are broken and redeemed, all of us are created in God’s image and by the grace of God, all of us are forgiven. We will begin with a period of silence, and then pray together the prayer on the screen. Let us bring our confessions before God

 

-Silence-

 

God, you loved this world so much that you sent your own son, Jesus Christ, to live and die among us, in order that we might have life. Forgive us for keeping that abundant life to ourselves, for jealously hoarding your generous gifts, for choosing self-interest over compassion and justice. Teach us what it means to live as the Body of Christ, generously sharing your abundance with our neighbours in need. Amen

 

Reading the Word of God

Luke 24: 44-53 (NRSV) 

 

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension of Jesus

50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.



John 17 6-9 (NRSV) 

 

6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.

 

Sermon: by   Rev. Raymond Joso    

Reponse

…. And so we are bound to God’s word

All: and to God’s word we are bound



Offering .

 

We take time to give thanks for the many ways people offer themselves and their resources to the work of the church

 

God, bless these offerings, that they may bring honour to you. Amen

 

 

 

Song of Worship

 

Worthy- Radhika Sukamar- White

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgVUItKg-cw



Blessing

 

Lord God,

we rejoice in your greatness and power,

your gentleness and love,

your mercy and justice.

Enable us by your Spirit

to honour you in our thoughts,

and words and actions,

and to serve you in every aspect of our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

 

 

Song as people walk out

Give me  place

Julian Elia & Ben Cross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPTaE5wZR0g

 

Words adapted from Leichhardt Uniting Church with permission by Rev Radhika Sukumar-White