Order of Service
291213
Call to worship Geoff
Psalm 95:1-7
Hymns 58 This
is my Father’s world
529 All Things Bright and beautiful
Announcements:
Dean
Prayer: Geoff
Reading: Ephesians 1:3-10
Hymn 96 Never in a
human story was a sight so wondrous
seen.
Communion
Offering
Prayer
Hymn 28
Great is thy faithfulness.
Message: “In
between” Geoff
Hymn 586 I know not why God’s wondrous grace
V1-2,4-5
Benediction
Vesper A new commandment I give unto you.
SERMON FOR
PARKROSE 291213 IN BETWEEN
Call to worship
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great
God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Scripture Reading:
3 Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him
before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he[b] predestined us for
adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to
the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he
loves. 7 In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.
With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he[d] made known to us the
mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in
Christ, 10 to
be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all
things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
IN BETWEEN
At this time of
the year we are about to see off the current year and welcome the next.
It is a time
between Christmas and New Year for reflection.
Reflection on what
has just gone by in the last 12 months, or even longer than that and what is
just around the corner.
What does the
future hold?
In the last 12
months we may have experienced some wonderful moments.
We may have been
through some heartache.
We may have lost a
loved relative or friend.
We may have had
the joy of seeing a cherished son or daughter or granddaughter get married.
We may have seen
the arrival of new babies in the family.
There may have
been wonderful birthday celebrations.
Our emotions have
been up and down and all over the place.
We may have
struggled with continuing ill health.
Our Bible reading
tells us if we are Christians,
“3 Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
There
will have been times in the last 12 months where we have certainly felt blessed
but times when probably we haven’t .
The
hardest thing of course is losing someone we loved dearly.
We
may still be grieving.
Jesus
is still grieving with us and wanting to comfort us.
What
lies ahead in the new year?
More
than likely more of the same we have just experienced this year.
Of
course we are always kept up to date with all the latest disasters and
atrocities if we watch the news or read the papers.
That
is usually interspersed with some feel good stories.
A
Christian Minister we learned much from once said he was, as he got older and
more mature in his faith, able to look back on each year and say that it was
better than the year before.
I
can’t say I have had that experience very often.
I
have personally known some very dark times with depression in particular.
Looking
back on this year in many ways it has been overall, a great year for Lesley and
I but you never know what’s around the corner.
Two
days ago we found our favourite cat,”little Cat” we call him,(he’s anything but
that) had broken his back leg in 2 places.
We
were given a choice.
Amputate
his leg or do corrective surgery.
We
will be going ahead with the surgery.
This
Monday in fact.
Our
pets can be such a blessing and we grieve much when we lose them or can no
longer care for them.
One
young woman across the road has dubbed “Little Cat” as “The Captain of Clement
Street” such is his popularity with everyone in the street.
I
digress a little.
So
what was the minister on about?
He
wan’t discounting all those things that are bound to happen to all of us one
way or another.
In
fact this same Minister in his later years became bed ridden after suffering a
stroke and lost his ability to speak properly.
Amazingly
he could still say the Lord’s prayer fluently.
He
could also sing Hymns.
But
normal speech had deserted him.
He
still had an amazing smile though.
He
was talking about how if we continue to grow in our relationship with God, as
we spend genuine time with Jesus each day,
He
is the source of Joy and Peace.
We
were in Renmark last weekend and Lesley just about bought out the local
Christian bookshop.
She
bought back this amazing wall plaque or sign.
“GOD
I AM IN YOUR HANDS.
I
KNOW YOU WON’T DROP ME”.
It
says much about the concept of knowing not what the future holds but knowing who holds the future.
He
holds us in the palm of His hand.
We
have a favourite Fridge magnet also which we sometimes share with others.
It
goes like this.
“I
was regretting the past
and fearing the future
Suddenly
the Lord was speaking:
“MY
NAME IS I AM!”
He
paused.
I
waited.
He
continued.
“When
you live in the past
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard.
I
am not there.
My
name is not I WAS!
When
you live in the future, with its problems
and fears, it is hard.
I
am not there.
My
name is not I WILL BE!
When
you live in this moment,
It
is not hard. I am here.
My
name is I AM”
We
may think
“that’s
all very well for you to say but you don’t know how hard it is for me at this
moment.”
I
don’t of course.
But
Jesus , the God of all the universe, He
does .
He
knows your circumstances.
He
knows our circumstances.
He
loves each one of us individually.
By
His death and resurrection he made it possible for us to know eternal
forgiveness from our sins.
Possible
to know assurance of having a place prepared for us when we pass out of this
life to the next.
We
may not have arrived yet, as fully
fledged mature Christians on top of everything.
In
fact that is a lifetime process and we should be wanting to grow as Christians
to the very end.
I
read these words the other day as attributed to John Newton who wrote the hymn
“Amazing Grace”
It
I think encapsulates the experience we all have as growing Christians.
It
sounds a lot like someone “In Between”
“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am”
We
will sing our closing Hymn
1. I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
o
But
“I know Whom I have believed
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”
o
2. I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His word
Wrought peace within my heart.
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His word
Wrought peace within my heart.
4. I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
5. I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noon-day fair,
Nor if I’ll walk the vale with Him,
Or “meet Him in the air.”
At night or noon-day fair,
Nor if I’ll walk the vale with Him,
Or “meet Him in the air.”
Vesper
A new commandment
I give unto you
That you love one another
As I have loved you,
That you love one another
As I have loved you.
By this shall all men
Know you are My disciples
If you have love one to another.
I give unto you
That you love one another
As I have loved you,
That you love one another
As I have loved you.
By this shall all men
Know you are My disciples
If you have love one to another.
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