SONG
The opening song is, “God of justice, love and mercy”, sung by InterVarsity Live. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35iDoog9cmo
Call to worship
We come to hear the Good News, to embody the love of God in Christ as we share our lives with others. .
You may like to light a candle at this time.
God’s truth is revealed in Jesus Christ the light of the world. May the light shine for the hope of the world.
Acknowledgment of country
As we begin, it is appropriate to recognise that this great land has been home to our first nations peoples for many thousands of years. Let us also acknowledge those Aboriginal peoples who are the first inhabitants of the regions in which we dwell, and honour them for their care of the land.
Prayer
“And Jesus said to them…. Follow me.” Let’s pray.
We come to encounter you this day, O God.
Meet us here, that we might know your overflowing grace.
Lift us from our burdens that we might see the hope you offer.
Heal us, that we might live in your freedom and light all our days. Amen
From the Bible
The Bible reading for today is from Luke 13:10-17. The words of the reading is below. There is also a video of a dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading underneath.
Luke 13:10-17
Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”
But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
Dramatic readings from Lumo
Here is the dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading by the Lumo group. If you have trouble connecting you can go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2Q37dvUU4
Message
The message is brought to you by Tim Jensen of the Saltbush Community. Jesus heals the woman who has been bent over for years and now she sees more than others do, she sees in Jesus the one who is incarnate of God.
When have you felt bent over? When have you felt freed from those things that have weighed you down? How do we show that God is present in us: personally and as a Christian community?
Before a time of prayer you may like to spend some time in silence sitting still. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Simply be still and open to God. You may prefer to do this while listening to the ‘Optional reflective music’ below.
Optional reflective music
“My prayer for you”, by Alisa Turner. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj_0pvIGkks
Prayers for Others
Let us pray.
All loving God, you offer a life that raises us from focussing on small and insignificant things, to a larger view, that expands horizons for us and the world.
And so we pray for places where hope is in short supply.
We also pray for people who stick by the rules to the exclusion of love and grace, and who limit their own experience of wholeness or that being offered to another.
We pray for those who see another as being of lesser value or worth, disregarding another’s value as a child of God, and, in the process, also devaluing their own worth.
Bless those people who have heavy burdens placed on them, lift their shoulders and help them to live in faith and in hope.
When we are complicit in burdening others unfairly with poor wages, inadequate living conditions, unjust policies or insufficient welfare, lift our view to see with your compassionate eyes.
Help us to notice those who others walk past. Enable us to live in the hope and freedom you offer and help others carry their burdens. May all live in the hope and freedom you offer. Through, Jesus Christ, the one offers freedom to all, we pray. Amen.
Blessing
As we leave this place let us look to the sky, to the horizons filled with hope. Let us raise our gaze to see the face of Christ in those we meet. And may we stand firm in the knowledge of the love of God and live in the freedom and light of Christ, this day and always. Amen
Song
“Amazing grace”, from 2020 as 50 Covid affected countries sing about the grace of God. If you have problems connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7pdABvpnc
Postlude
“Christ our hope”, by Keith & Kristyn Getty with Matt Papa. If you have trouble connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OibIi1rz7mw
Fun Activities
Messy Family Fun Psalm 23
There are many fun activities at HomeFaith based on the theme of the ‘Good Shepherd’ at:
https://homefaith.net/resources/messy-family-fun-psalm-23-2022/
Pentecost Flames Salad Spinner Art and Prayer Ideas
Get a cheap salad spinner and use it to create some spinner art! It’s brilliant: quick, clean (because the spinner sits in its own bowl) and each piece is unique! The process of making the art really lends itself to Pentecost themes so here’s an idea to help celebrate the occasion. Go to the following link:
http://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/2014/04/pentecost-flames-salad-spinner-art-and.html
Resources
The prayers & blessing are based on content in the Saltbush service for this week, which can be found at:
https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/video/the-word/pentecost-11-rise-luke-1310-17/
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