How To Do Worship

                Sunday 12 MAY 2024

Mothers Day

Neutral Bay Uniting

Order of Service

CALL TO WORSHIP

L:               Shout for joy. Christ has not left us alone. The Spirit is with us today, renewing, restoring, revitalizing us and our church.  

ALL:          Come Holy Spirit, give hope to the lonely. 

L:               Feel God’s presence in the warmth of our welcome to each other. Receive Christ’s touch on your heart as we sing and pray. 

All:            Come Holy Spirit, give love to all who ask. 

L:               See how Christ heals all, welcomes all and draws all into his love. 

All:            Come Holy Spirit, lift up our souls and bring healing to wounded hearts and bodies. Amen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY – Graeme 

L: The Cammeraygal people are the original custodians of the land on which this church stands. The Cammeraygals were spiritual leaders amongst the Indigenous clans of Sydney, leaving us art and rock carvings that have lasted millennia. They manged the land so well, there was food and drink enough for all.  

All: We pay our respects to their Elders: past and present. 

L: We honour the deep spiritual traditions of the indigenous peoples; their gifts of lore and culture, and their holistic understanding of country and community.

We honour the wisdom of the Elders and the Dreaming of the First Peoples of these lands now called Australia.

All: We commit to walking respectfully in this country, and to journeying with them in their quest for justice and reconciliation.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION 

God who goes before us, who brings heaven to earth, who inspires us to reach for divine love, we confess. 

We confess that cares of the earth overwhelm us. What comes next? What happens if…? What will others think? These are the questions which consume us, worry us and cloud out our vision of You. 

We confess that we miss the times when Christ reaches out to us. 

Open our eyes, help us focus on what God is doing right here and right now, instead of worst case scenarios which live in our heads and stop us from seeing how God is our provider in all things. 

Amen 

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

One:         Hear the Good News: When we reach out for God, even to touch the hem of Jesus robe, God see’s our faith and draws us in. 

All:            Thanks be to God. Amen  

GOSPEL READING – Matthew 15:10-28

Things That Defile

¹⁰ Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 

¹² Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 

¹³ He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” 

¹⁵ But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶ Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 

¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

The Canaanite Woman’s Faith

²¹ Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 

²⁶ He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 

²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 

²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

For the word of God in scripture 

For the Word of God among us 

For the Word of God within us 

We say, Thanks be to God!

SONG OF ACCLAMATION 

I will listen to Your words O Lord 

I will listen to Your words

I will go where you want to go, I will seek very path 

Please Lord, lead me the way to my home in Your heart

SERMON 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Please join in me in prayers of the people. When I say Lord in Your mercy, you are invited to respond, hear our prayer. 

God of healing, love and inclusion 

We give thanks for the faith of women 

For the witness of women in scripture like in the book of Esther and Ruth. 

For the faith of Mary the mother of Jesus, 

For the faith of Mary Magdalene the first evangelist and preacher of the Good News

For the faith of the Caananite Woman who stood her ground and showed that God’s love expands to all people. 

L:      Lord in Your mercy 

All:   Hear our prayer 

We pray for mothers this day and all who mother. 

For the mothers who sacrificed careers to raise children 

For mothers who balance work and family 

For those who mother children that aren’t theirs 

For children who have difficult relationships with their mothers 

L:      Lord in Your mercy 

All:   Hear our prayer 

We pray for people, who like the Caananite woman, 

Who persisted in faith after being turned away. 

For communities who face the rejection of the church yet stay faithful 

For the lessons they teach the church on the most important part of faith, unconditional love

L:      Lord in Your mercy 

All:   Hear our prayer 

We pray for those in our community who suffer 

Suffer in mind, body or spirit.

For those grieving. 

For those who live difficult lives 

For those estranged from friends or families 

We pray for a church that is a family of choice for those who suffer 

L:      Lord in Your mercy 

All:   Hear our prayer 

Gracious God,

Forgive us for so often failing

to grasp the wonder of God’s love 

for living each day as though it had never been.

Help us to believe heavenly change is possible here on Earth. For peace to be possible between warring nations. For Palestine and Israel to know peace. For Ukraine to be set free from war. In our own country for the scourge of gender based violence to end. 

L:      Lord in Your mercy 

All:   Hear our prayer 

As ask these things as we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us in the language of our hearts. 

Our Father in heaven, 

   hallowed be your name, 

   your kingdom come, 

   your will be done, 

     on earth as in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread. 

Forgive us our sins, 

   as we forgive those who sin against us. 

Save us from the time of trial 

   and deliver us from evil. 

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours 

   now and for ever. Amen.

OFFERING

MOTHERS DAY LITANY

L:           To those who gave birth this year to their first child—

ALL:      We celebrate with you

L:           To those who lost a child this year—

ALL:      We mourn with you

L:           To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains

ALL:      We appreciate you

L:           To those who are foster mums, mentor mums, grandmothers and spiritual moms

All:        We need you

L:           To those who have warm and close relationships with your children

ALL:      We celebrate with you

L:           To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children

ALL:      We sit with you

L:           To those who lost their mothers this year

All:        We grieve with you

L:           To those mothers who have difficult relationships with their children or children estranged from their mothers

ALL:      We acknowledge your experience

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you. In the name of Christ. Amen 

BLESSING  

L:           Go out into the world.

              and in your words and in your lives

              bear witness to the Christ who has ascended

              to be everywhere present.

All:        We go in peace to love and serve the Lord, 

              In the name of Christ. Amen.