Welcome to the first HomeFaith worship service for 2022. This service includes some pre-recorded videos in addition to some YouTube videos for music. Most words are included or links to them are provided.
I suggest people participating in this worship read or pray out aloud the words in black.
Song
The opening song is ‘Be thou my vision’, sung by ‘The Petersens’. If you have trouble connecting you can go directly to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwwWMWTpp-U
Call to worship & prayer
God’s truth is revealed in Jesus Christ the light of the world. May the light shine for the hope of the world [you may like tonight a candle here].
Let us gather knowing that God, whose dominion is over all creation, is with us. Let us come with an expectation that God is revealed in the commonplace, even in a child.
Prayer
Interrupt our lives, O God, with stars we cannot refuse to see. Set before us today those life-changing possibilities which send us on better paths than we have ever known. Go with us to explore the mysteries of Christ. Fill us with awe and wonder, with joy and confidence, with generosity and praise. Reveal to us in new ways the promises of the gospel, that we may be bold to proclaim good news by the way we live. Amen.
Acknowledgment of country
As we worship let us also acknowledge those Aboriginal peoples who are the first habitants of the land on which we dwell and honour them for their care of the land.
Children’s story
This is an enchanting message from a 4 year old who explains the problem with new year’s resolutions. If you have problems connecting you can go directly to Youtube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn36cBi9v6A
Reading
The Bible reading is from Luke 3:15-17, 21-22.
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And/or video of reading
Here is a dramatic re-enactment of the baptism of Jesus. It was recorded by a group called the ‘Lumo Gospel’ that have created videos of the four Gospels. If you have trouble connecting you can go direct to YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2amOk6rcZmU
Message
The speaker for today’s message is Phil Jensen from the Saltbush Community. Mary’s response to the news of pregnancy is to invite a new way of being in the world.
Questions for conversation
If you feel willing you might like to talk about your experiences of God? Remember people all have different times and experiences.
● Try and recall some ‘God moments’ in your life, where you saw, knew, realised, or felt the nearness of God within your life.
● 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.
Prayers for Others
Eternal God, where there is hope, you are there. Where there is compassion and the desire for wholeness, you are there. Where there is the struggle for peace, you are there. Where the hungry are fed, and the poor empowered, you are there. Where there is delight in the trees of the land, or the depths of the seas, you are there. Wherever love is announced, you are there.
In you is such longing for your creation, and for humanity, and we thank you for that presence of you, in Spirit, in people, renewing, calling, and saving. In that knowledge, and in our simple faith, we bring our prayers for your creation and for the people of this world.
·O Christ we open ourselves in prayer for: [Silence for personal prayer or invite others to open prayer in between each]
Your creation …
Silence
Lord reveal your presence and Spirit.
For others we have heard about throughout our world …
Silence
Lord reveal your presence and Spirit.
For other people we know and are close to …
Silence
Lord reveal your presence and Spirit.
For our church and our wider community …
Silence
Lord reveal your presence and Spirit.
For ourselves …
Silence
Lord reveal your presence and Spirit.
Blessing
Plunge into the deep and arise with a new vision, hearing the voice addressed to you ‘my beloved’. Go into the world, be alive to the movement of God, the wildness of the Holy Spirit, the firm but gentle leading of Jesus. Amen
SONG: “HERE I AM, LORD”
The closing hymn is, “Here I am, Lord”. If you have problems connecting, try this direct link to YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9_6amNT_AE
Fun Activity
See below for a fun activity. Make a Christingle! If you don’t know what that is, taken a look below. If you want a fullscreen version, select the download button below.
Sources
Today’s worship is based on the 2022 service by the Saltbush Community.
https://saltbushcommunity.uca.org.au/video/the-word/epiphany-1-god-revealed-luke-315-17-21-22/
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