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Eighteenth 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 Absolution
00:00 / 00:18

The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):

The Sentence For Today (let us say aloud):

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offences.

The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):

The Special Prayer For Today (let us pray aloud):

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your people; and, because we cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern us always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Our first reading for today:

(click the 'play' button below to listen)

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
00:00 / 03:26

Our second reading for today:

(click the 'play' button below to listen)

Ephesians 4:1-16
00:00 / 02:12

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 John.

John 6:24-35
00:00 / 02:01

Listen to David speak to this gospel

We are what we eat!
00:00 / 11:30

or, if you prefer, you can read the sermon, below:

Sermon for Ordinary 18, Sunday, 4th Aug 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>

I have met many people who have told me that they no longer listen to the news on TV or radio, they don’t watch internet news channels or news accounts on YouTube and they’ve stopped reading newspapers.

That really should come as no surprise because, as I read and listen to world news, I am constantly reminded that we live as hungry people in a hungry world. Everyone is looking for something that will sustain and nourish life, something that will feed and energise, something that will fill and satisfy. Everyone is looking for that kind of bread.

The problem is not that we are hungry, the problem is the kind of bread we eat.

Think about the varieties of bread being eaten in our lives and in the world today. In The Holy Land, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan, Korea conflicting sides are eating the bread of violence and war.

In the US and other countries, politicians of different persuasions share the bread of negativity, hostility, and name-calling, in a manner that objectifies and depersonalises another human being.

Even the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics was found ‘hungry’! Under some mis-placed guise of ‘inclusiveness’ it included scenes that sought to deride and mock one of the core images of a central moment in the life of Christ when he symbolic shares His body and His blood with His followers. There we see people eating the bread of having to do things their way - regardless of any commitment to the well-being or views of others!

We can also eat the breads of hurt feelings, resentment, loneliness, fear, isolation, sorrow, guilt. Other times human beings hunger for the bread of power and control, the bread of revenge or oneupmanship.

We eat all kinds of bread and the bread we eat reveals the nature of our appetites. <PAUSE>

The world is full of bread and yet far too many live hungry, empty, and searching. That too says something about appetites and the bread that is being eaten. It’s a sure sign that the bread being eaten in those lives does not bring REAL life.

It is perishable bread that nourishes only a perishable life. It leaves us wanting only more of the same. <PAUSE>

Not all bread sustains and grows life. Not all bread is nutritious. If you want to know the nutritional value of the bread you have to look beyond the bread. Where did it come from? What are its ingredients? THAT IS what Jesus is asking us to examine in today’s gospel.

The people in today’s gospel (John 6:24-35) have shown up hungry. Just yesterday Jesus fed 5,000 of them with five loaves and two fish. Today they show up and their first question is, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

They do not marvel at yesterday’s miracle, give thanks for God’s generosity, or even wonder who this rabbi is.

It sounds to me like they are worried they might have missed the next meal, that Jesus started without them and they are too late.They saw no sign, no miracle, in yesterday’s feeding. They saw nothing more than fish and bread. They either refused to, or were unable to, see BEYOND the fish and bread. They are interested only in their own appetites and Jesus knows it.

“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves,” he says to them.

The people are concerned for their bellies. Jesus is concerned for their souls, their eternal salvation. The people want to feed themselves with bread. Jesus wants to feed them with God. “Do not work for the food that perishes,” he tells them, “but for the food that endures for eternal life.” <PAUSE>

The food that endures is Jesus himself:

He is the bread that is broken and distributed for the life of the world.

He is the bread that is broken and yet never divided.

He is the bread that is eaten and yet never exhausted.

He is the bread that consecrates those who believe in and eat him.

When we believe in Jesus, eating, and taking him into our lives, we live differently. We see ourselves and one another as people created in the image and likeness of God rather than as opponents or obstacles or issues to be overcome.

We trust the silence of prayer rather than the words of argument.

We choose love and forgiveness rather than anger and retribution.

We relate with intimacy and care rather than superficiality and coldness.

We listen for God’s voice rather than our own. Ultimately, we seek life rather than death.

“I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells those people. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,” Jesus is offering the people himself. Jesus is the imperishable bread that nourishes and sustains imperishable life … and Jesus makes that same offer, TO US!

Jesus offers himself to us in every one of our relationships: family, friends, strangers, enemies, those who agree with us, and those who disagree. In every situation and each day of our life … WE CHOOSE the bread we will eat, perishable or imperishable.

In so doing we also choose the life we want. <PAUSE>

So I wonder, what bread will we eat today … tomorrow … the days to come ?

I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu. <AMINE>
In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMEN>

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":

apostles_creed_pic02.jpg
Image by Allef Vinicius

... 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 Help us to understand the way that You would like things to be done, to always keep in mind the needs and feelings of others, and to be ready to follow Your ways until we too can enter the wide open doors of heaven.

(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

Almighty God You want us hold the needs of our sisters and brothers in Christ as dear to us as ourselves. Help us to love our neighbours as ourselves as we offer our thanks and our intercessions on behalf of Your people in our own communities and throughout the world.

(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer

Creator God, You call us all to love and serve You with body, mind, and spirit. Help us to demonstrate our love for Your creation and the world in the way that we live. Open the hearts of those with power both elected and non-elected and give them compassion in all that they do for the good of the people that they lead.

(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer

Father God, we pray for all those who may be taking summer or winter holidays at this time. Thank you for the refreshment which holidays bring to their lives, for the freedom from routine and for the new experiences and opportunities they have as they rest and relax.

Thank you for the gift of Your wonderful creation and help us to be good steward especially in our leisure time.

(Short Silence) Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer

Loving God friend of those in need, Your Son Jesus has healed so many in body, mind and spirit.  We hold before you those still burdened, those seeking healing, those in any kind of need around the world.

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 we pray for all who grieve for loved ones who have died. Be with them in their sorrow, lead them with Your love to accept their loss and to go on with their lives.   We raise before You those who have died recently and those whose anniversary falls at this time

(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

God of power, hear our prayers, and through the ministry of your Son free us from the grip of the world and all that is evil. Lead us as we go forward into another week strengthened and upheld by your love, the knowledge of the Gospel and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

(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.

lord's_prayer_pic01_edited.jpg

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.

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