SONG
“O God our shelter in ages past’, by Reawaken Hymns. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9USHRbF5vbw
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
Let’s pray.
We enter this time of worship knowing that you, God, are just and compassionate, that your mercy extends not just to ourselves but to all the earth and all the earths creatures.
Today we would remember that all you have created is good, that all creation is held in your care, and so we have no need to fear. May we know this is the eternal truth of all life. Amen.
From the Bible
The Bible reading for today is from Luke 20:27-28. The words of the reading are below. There is also a video of a dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading underneath.
Luke 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”
Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
Dramatic readings from Lumo
Here is the dramatic re-enactment of the Gospel reading by the Lumo group (plus some extra verses). If you have trouble connecting you can go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX1v9gIigi4
Message
The message is brought to you by Tim Jensen from the Saltbush Community.The Sadducees forget something very important about the woman they are describing: no one owns her and she is no ones property. Jesus makes this clear as he describes how God’s reign is realised at the time of resurrection and now.
What did you hear in the Word today? I wonder what you heard in the Word for our church? What one action can you or your church take in response to the Word today?
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
‘Make me a channel of your peace’, sung by Susan Boyle. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcxg4XQgaGg
Prayers for Others
Let us pray.
God of all hopefulness, this is a short prayer,
for we may like to think we would not be those ‘who walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets (who) devour widows’ houses and for the sake ofappearance say long prayers “We would want to be those who live and work in the world confident of the promise that your Spirit abides with us and within us.
This is enough.
Hear the prayers of our hearts for our world, for all people and all creation.
(Pause and allow a few minutes to either speak your prayers or pray in silence)
As people of the resurrection, in Christ name we bring our prayers. Amen
Blessing
Go out into the world, to love and serve the Lord. Bless us and the people we meet along the way. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Song
“For all the Saints”, sung by the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir. If you have problems connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOC0Mb–FWY
Postlude
“It is well with my soul”, sung in four languages: English, Spanish, Russian & Ukrainian. If you have trouble connecting, go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRTVx3gPoWA
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-22-encountering-resurrection-luke-2027-38/
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