Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
What follows is a worship service which, I pray, you can participate in at a time(s) that are convenient to you. This 'service' will take about forty five (45) minutes.
I pray that you will feel called to ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in this service.
The text that is in regular typeface (that is what you are reading at the moment) is to be read quietly, while the text that is in bold face (like you are reading right now) is meant to be read aloud.
Opening Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we commence our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A Call To Worship:
We meet in the name of God,
Creator of the universe,
source of true humanity,
mother and father of all. Amen.
An Assurance of Forgiveness:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):
The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):
We will shout for joy at your victory and triumph in the Name of our God.
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):
Keep, O Lord, your people in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Our first reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Our second reading for today:
(click the 'play' button below to listen)
Gradual Hymn:
Let us continue by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we raise out voices in praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
A reading from the holy gospel according to Saint Mark.
Listen to David speak to this gospel
or, if you prefer, you can read the sermon, below:
Sermon for Ordinary 11, Sunday, 16th June 2024
MAY the words of my mouth and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>
A small farming village was threatened with drought because the rains had failed to arrive and the seeds lay in the ground. On a hot and dry Sunday, the Pastor told his congregation, “There isn’t anything that will save us except to pray for rain. Go home, pray, believe, and come back next Sunday ready to thank God for sending rain.” The people returned to church the following Sunday. As they sat down the Pastor gently rebuked them. “We can’t worship today because you do not yet believe,” he said. “But we prayed” they protested, “and we do believe.” “Believe?” he responded. “Then where are your umbrellas?”
A seed is a mysterious thing. They contain instructions on how to grow and reproduce. Not only that, each seed contains the instructions for the next generation to do the same. In other words, a seed stretches into the future, generation by generation. A seed also stretches into the past. Each seed contains the memory of the failures and successes of previous generations. This is the miracle of what biologists refer to as “replication”. Each seed results in the next generation.
Today, I might fancy that I understand genetic coding, the structures of DNA and RNA and how that gives me an insight into how seeds are part of the replication process. But understanding some basic biological facts is quite different from grasping the MYSTERY of the seed. Something that ensures the continuity of physical life across generations?
In our gospel this morning, Jesus speaks about developing “umbrella” faith. Jesus is speaking about the kingdom of God and how that kingdom grows. It grows with an unwavering faith, a faith that we cannot see or understand but a faith demonstrated by results.
To illustrate the growth of the kingdom of God, Jesus tells two VERY SHORT stories, two parables, one about growing seed, the other about a mustard seed.
I would like to make three simple observations from these verses:
1. The growth of God’s kingdom is mysterious.
A man scatters seed, whether he is awake or asleep, the seed sprouts and grows and he does not know how.
Jesus reminds us that the mystery of the origin of life, physical and spiritual, is beyond our knowledge. We are divinely and wonderfully made. We live by faith, by trust, not humanly dependent upon scientific proof for absolutely everything.
2. The growth of God’s kingdom is momentous.
A seed, which is a tiny thing, yet when planted it can grow to become a large and most beautiful tree, where countless birds can perch, find shelter, and sing. Jesus uses the mustard seed to illustrate a second profound truth. Don’t underestimate the power of a seed! Don’t think that something which at one moment is small and seemingly insignificant will not grow to become strong and powerful. Just give it time!
Yes, the growth of God’s kingdom is momentous; so let us not be discouraged by small, seemingly insignificant signs of growth.
Remember it’s not HOW MUCH faith we have but WHO our faith is placed in that matters.
Yes, the growth of God’s kingdom is mysterious. Yes, the growth of God’s kingdom is momentous. However, ultimately …
3. The growth of God’s kingdom is miraculous.
Next time you have a seed in your hand, any seed, examine it closely. Does it show any sign of life? Any sign of movement? No. To all intents it is dead. It may be hundreds of years old and yet, plant it in good soil, water it and leave it to germinate and “all by itself” as Jesus observes, “the soil produces grain”.
We are increasingly victims of a culture that demands instant answers, instant foods, instant relief, instant results. Jesus slows us down when he describes the process of growth, “first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel…” (Mark 4:28).
Jesus reminds us that we humans cannot short circuit God’s timing.
God has only commissioned us to sow the seed by sharing our knowledge of Jesus with other people. The results, the harvest of new souls and transformed lives, is the work of God, mysterious, momentous, miraculous. <PAUSE>
Success in witnessing is sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit AND LEAVING THE RESULTS TO GOD.
It is a very humbling, but reassuring, principle that we can never talk anyone into the Kingdom of God. We are saved by grace through faith, not by argument, explanation, or proof. Only God can raise the dead. Only God can open blind eyes. Only God can make the seed of The Word germinate. Only God can bring us to new life.
That is why we must have confidence in the seed – the word of God – and scatter it liberally, widely and repeatedly. Why? Because it has great power to change lives, to transform whole communities, to influence entire nations.
I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu.
In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMINE>
Pause and Reflect
Just take a moment now to pause. Bow your head, close your eyes.
Allow these words of Holy Scripture and this interpretation of them today to speak to you.
An Affirmation of Our Faith
Let us affirm our faith by saying aloud, and together, "The Apostles Creed":
... and now let us pray for the Church, the World, and Ourselves, giving thanks for God's goodness.
Let us pray aloud, and together:
Everlasting God we are gathered together in love and fellowship, hear us now as we bring before you our cares and our needs.
And so we pray for your people throughout the world, for Christians everywhere meeting in small house groups, in rural and town churches and in great city cathedrals. Grant that we and all your people may be built up in our faith and show in our lives the love we see in Jesus.
(LONGER pause for silent, personal reflection)
In response to the call today “Lord, in Your mercy” Our response is, “hear our prayer!”
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord God, we give you thanks for the faith of people as it grows from small beginnings to a faith much greater and stronger. We pray for all who minister, preach, seek to live out the life of The Risen Christ, and all who enlarge and enrich our understanding of God and help us to respond to His love.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Holy God, we pray for people working in places of power and influence who make decisions which affect the lives of so many others. We ask you to bless those who work in politics, in the media, in advertising and in the financial markets. May they all know what to say and how to act for the benefit of all people and at all times to be true and faithful to You.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful God, today’s gospel reminded us of the importance of sowing the Seeds of the Gospel. Help us to learn from this and remember that we should always strive for opportunities to spread the Good News and bring comfort to those whom we meet.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Father God we pray for those whom we love, family and friends who are the special people in our lives wherever they may be. We pray for their hopes, their fears, their problems and their needs but most of all we thank you for each one of them and for what they give and mean to us.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God we raise before you all who will struggle this day with afflictions or addictions of body, mind, or spirit. May they feel the presence of your caring arms and become aware of our prayers for them. If it is Your will, and in Your time, may they be restored to full health. We especially raise before You now all those who have asked for our prayers from around the world … those we know in New Zealand, in Singapore, in Argentina, in France, in Australia, in the US, in Canada, in Austria, in Ukraine, in China and any others we now name aloud, or in the silence of our hearts, and those who are known only by You.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Merciful God, into Your caring hands we commit those who have died and we pray for all those who are mourning the loss of a loved one.
May all the saints who have gone before us now rest in Your eternal peace as they most surely have risen in glory.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your Mercy: Hear our prayer
In a moment of silence we pray for ourselves, our families, friends, for all whom we love and for our personal ministries. Make the things that we choose to do be worthy of the sacrifice of Your Son.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Gracious God, we have laid before you our concerns and now we offer You our thanks and praise for all the blessings and gifts You lavish on us. In the weeks ahead help us to keep the faith as deeply and passionately as possible in these troubled times.
(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer
Forth in the peace of Christ we go; Christ to the world with joy we bring; Christ in our minds, Christ on our lips, Christ in our hearts, the world’s true King.
Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Remembering that we are confident to pray this day, and every day, because Jesus Christ continues to teach us:
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.
Let us conclude our prayers by praying together and aloud:
God of mercy,
you have given us grace to pray with one heart and one voice,
and have promised to hear the prayers
of two or three who agree in your name,
fulfil now, we pray,
the prayers and longings of your people
as may be best for us and for your kingdom.
Grant us in this world to know your truth,
and in the world to come to see your glory. Amen.
The Blessing
May The Risen Lord Christ turn His face towards each and every one of you.
May He cause His light to shine upon you, and
may He grant you His peace, and
The blessing of Almighty God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you and all of those whom you love,
on this day and forever more.
A Closing Hymn:
Let us conclude our worship today by watching, and please do feel free to sing or read aloud the lyrics, as we unite in another hymn our praise and thanksgiving.
When you are ready - click the "play" button on the video window, below:
The Dismissal
Go now, go out into the world
to love and serve The Lord.
Go in peace.
AMEN, we go in the name of Christ.
