The Great Multitude of Revelation – Mothers Day

                                                             Sunday 11 May 2025

Mothers Day

Order of Service

WELCOME

CALL TO WORSHIP  

L:             Come and drink from the springs of the

Water of life. Christ is our shepherd and rules

Over a kingdom where hunger is no more.  

All:           A kingdom of every tribe, every nation

And every language where God wipes away every tear. 

L:             We’ve got a song to sing this morning. A 

                  Song of God in community. God 

                  Transforming our souls. God bringing 

                  A diverse people together as one in Christ. 

All:           A kingdom of every tribe, every nation

And every language where God wipes away every tear.

L:              We are Christ’s sheep and we are known 

                  By name. We are called by name. Let us

                  Give thanks and praise in the new 

Community.  

All:           A kingdom of every tribe, every nation

And every language where God wipes away every tear. Amen 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

L: The Cammeraygal people are the original custodians of the land on which our church stands. The Cammeraygals were spiritual leaders amongst the Indigenous clans of Sydney. 

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

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

SONG

PRAYER OF CONFESSION  

God of every nation, language and peoples. We want to see a world that looks like the great multitude of heaven. 

Where language, rivalries, culture and race are no longer barriers but yet another example of how diversity sings to your glory. 

Yet we see the reality. We confess that we have not let go of the old prejudices. 

Transform the barriers that divide us into bridges of love, we pray. 

Amen. 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

L:              Hear the good news: God points us to the unity of

                  Heaven to bring forgiveness and reconciliation to 

Earth.  

All:           Thanks be to God 

SONG

SCRIPTURE READINGS – Simon 

Revelation 7:9-17

The Multitude from Every Nation

⁹ After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 

¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!”

¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵  For this reason they are before the throne of God
    and worship him day and night within his temple,
    and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

¹⁶  They will hunger no more and thirst no more;
    the sun will not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat,

¹⁷ for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

SONG OF ACCLAMATION x 1

John 10:22-30

Jesus Is Rejected by the Jews

²² At that time the Festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

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 x 1

MESSAGE

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

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

Let us pray. 

Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. We pray to you God of the ages, yet do we pray to you knowing that Christ knows us and calls us by name? Can we listen to Christ calling us in the eyes of our neighbor. 

Do we hear the voice of our neighbor?  

Lord in Your mercy 

Hear our Prayer 

God of unity, we pray for Your love to unify our hearts. We acknowledge that divided, wounded hearts lead to so much hurt and division in this world. We pray that the Holy Spirit would heal our hearts so that we can see in the heart of our enemy the divine humanity of Christ. 

Do we hear the voice of our neighbor? 

Lord in Your mercy 

Hear our Prayer 

We pray for the blessing of Heaven to pour into the broken cracks of our world. For nations to put aside their weapons and take up the cause of a just peace. Peace between peoples and nations seems so far away. As we pray and act for peace, draw us closer to Your presence, when justice seems far away.  

Do we hear the voice of our neighbor? 

Lord in Your mercy 

Hear our Prayer 

We ask these things as we pray 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

LITURGY OF BLESSING FOR THOSE WHO MOTHER 

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

ALL:  We celebrate 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:           May Christ Jesus lead you through the gates of justice; Be humble, even in the face of hostility

and do not turn back. Wave palms of salvation for all to see. 

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

           In the name of Christ. Amen.  

SONG