Song
‘Here in this place’, by Christopher Grundy. If you have problems connecting, also try this link at YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9LZURdBJxE
Prayer
Let us pray,
Life-giving God, we gather in your presence to offer you thanksgiving and praise for all that you have done for us. Through the life, death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, we have been set free — free from the power of sin that leads to death, free to follow the leading of your Holy Spirit, free to love you with all our heart and soul and strength, free to worship!
May your Holy Spirit inspire our praise and our prayers. Open our hearts and minds to your presence among us and within us, and to the Wordy you have for us today. To you alone, life-giving God, belongs all praise and honor and glory and blessing, now and to the end of time. Amen.
From the Bible
The Bible reading for today is from Romans 8:1-11. There is also a dramatic reading of the Gospel reading from the Lumo group below (Matthew 9:1-38).
Romans 8:1-11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law–indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Message
Today’s message is brought to us by Phil Swain on behalf of Project Reconnect. In Romans we read there are 2 ways to live – follow our natural desires which may not be pleasing to God, or set our minds on what the Holy Spirit desires and live in a way that pleases God. It is a life choice!
– What point from Phil’s message on Romans 8:1-11 jumped out at you the most?
– Has there been a time in your life when you felt condemned? Was it justified? how do you feel to hear Paul say that there is “no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”?
– Phil talked about our ‘phronema’ – our life orientation or the things that directs all that we do and say. What are some practical things that we can encourage each other to live in the spirit and have God be our ‘phronema’?
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
The reflective music is ‘Where thou leadest me’, by Keith & Kristyn Getty. If you have problems connecting, also try this link at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEeA0JJxKZI&list=RD7-99REFRxgI&index=31
Prayers for others
Let us pray,
Wind of God, keep on blowing. Sail over the barriers that we build to divide ourselves from each other. Pick up your seeds of freedom and truth where they flourish, carry them across frontiers to be planted in other soil, to begin fresh growth and new forms. Blow from the south and the north, from the east and the west to all peoples. Blow away the blinkers which keep our eyes focused only on the past, repeating its violence, deepening its divisions and adding to its despair. Reveal the new future you have in mind for us.
Fire of God, keep on burning, smoulder in the hearts of people where oppression keeps them in chains, where unemployment and poverty devalue their humanity and ours, and where hunger weakens the spirit. Burn in them, like Moses’ bush, and do not let us be destroyed.
Tongue of God, keep on speaking so that the peoples of the earth can speak your language to each other and all can hear you in their own. Speak peace where nations meet, justice where ideas clash, mercy where power reigns, healing where minds and bodies hurt, and love where churches see unity, and wherever else confusion drowns out the sound of your Word. Amen.
Blessing
Go in peace, and until we meet we again, may the love of the Father enfold us, the wisdom of the Son enlighten us, and the fire of the Holy Spirit kindle us. Amen.
Song
‘Here we stand’, courtesy of Emu Music. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BmsimFGyPA
Resources
The ‘Prayers for others’ are based on content in the Saltbush service for this week, which can be found at:
https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/video/the-word/exploring-discovering-acts-16-1-15/