A Light on the Hill

Order of Service – 26th November 2023

The Order of Service follows below.

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Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A light on the hill

November 26th, 2023. 10.00am
Reign of Christ
Preacher: Dr Deidre Palmer
Liturgical colour: White

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of the land on which our church is built.

Prelude

Welcome

Niina marni!
Marni’ai!

Welcome to this time of worship!

Acknowledgment of Country

Lighting of the Candles and Introit – O Jesus Christ, May Grateful Hymns

Richard Terry – Together in Song 620

Call to Worship

Here we meet.
Here we encounter.
Here we worship God.
Here we meet.
Here we encounter.
Here we worship God.

Earth is full of noise. We push through these doors to find a spirit of wisdom.
We come together singing.

Here we will encounter Christ, Lord and Redeemer of all of creation. Here we will celebrate what it means, to be the people of God in this place.
Here we will give thanks
for the Word made Flesh.
Here we will meet our
Redeemer and our Lord.

Here we worship God.
Here we worship God.

We Sing: For the Beauty of the Earth

  1. For the beauty of the earth,
    for the beauty of the skies,
    for the love which from our birth
    over and around us lies,

    Lord of all, to you we raise
    this our hymn of grateful praise.

  2. For the beauty of each hour
    of the day and of the night,
    hill and vale, and tree and flower,
    sun and moon and stars of light,

    Lord of all, to you we raise
    this our hymn of grateful praise.

  3. For the joy of human love,
    brother, sister, parent, child,
    friends on earth and friends above,
    for all gentle thoughts and mild,

    Lord of all, to you we raise
    this our hymn of grateful praise.

Together in Song 137. Folliott Sandford Pierpoint 1835-1917 alt. Public Domain.

Opening Prayer

Prayer of Confession

Trusting in God’s forgiveness, Let us in silence confess our failings And acknowledge our part in the pain of the world.

(Silence)

Before God, with the people of God, I confess to turning away from God in the ways I wound my life, the lives of others and the life of the world.

May God forgive you, Christ renew you,
And the Spirit enable you to grow in love.

Amen

Before God,
with the people of God,
we confess to turning away from God
in the ways we wound my lives,
the lives of others
and the life of the world.

May God forgive you, Christ renew you, and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.
Amen

Passing of the Peace

The peace of our God be with you.
And also with you.

Community News and Notices

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Children’s Time

Children may go downstairs for Sunday School. Parents, you are welcome to join your child in Sunday School if you feel your child may need your assistance. Alternatively, you may wish for your child to remain with you for the duration of worship. Activity packs are available at the entrances.

Choral Anthem – Rejoice the Lord is King

Malcolm Archer -Royal School of Church Music 41

Scripture Readings

Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSVue)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

Ephesians: Ephesians 1: 15-23 (NRSVue)

Paul’s Prayer

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

For the Word of God in scripture,
For the Word of God among us,
for the Word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.

Message – Living in the Reign of Christ

We Sing: Love Makes a Way

  1. Love makes a way to open the door,
    love spreads the welcome mat down on the floor,
    love feeds the hungry and sits with the poor,
    the greatest of all is love.

  2. Love clothes the cold and tends to the frail,
    visits the sick and the pris’ner in jail,
    love sees a need and answers the call,
    the greatest of all is love.

    Bridge:

    Love isn’t jealous, impatient or proud.
    Love keeps no record of wrongs that are done.
    True love rejoices when goodness prevails
    love never fails.

  3. Love sees a stranger and acts as a friend,
    love breaks down walls, finds bridges to mend,
    love chooses life and sticks to the end,
    the greatest of all is love.
    The greatest of all is love.

Words and music: Alison Campbell Rate © 2018. CMLA “Walk as One.”

Offering

To give electronically please go to bpuc.org/give

Alternatively, there is an offering bowl near the lectern on the left-hand side as you exit the church.

Offering Prayer:

God, whose giving knows no end,
we offer up the treasure that you have entrusted to us;
we offer up the skills and time that you have graciously
given to us;
we offer up ourselves in service and praise.
Receive these gifts by your grace.
Multiply and use them through the power of the Holy Spirit
to accomplish Christ’s work of love in the world. Amen.

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

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 forever. Amen.

We Sing: Jesus Calls Us Here to Meet Him

  1. Jesus calls us here to meet him
    as, through word and song and prayer,
    we affirm God’s promised presence
    where his people live and care.
    Praise the God who keeps his promise;
    praise the Son who calls us friends;
    praise the Spirit who, among us,
    to our hopes and fears attends.

  2. Jesus calls us to confess him
    Word of Life and Lord of All,
    sharer of our flesh and frailness
    saving all who fail or fall.
    Tell his holy human story;
    tell his tales that all may hear;
    tell the world that Christ in glory
    came to earth to meet us here.

  3. Jesus calls us to each other:
    found in him are no divides.
    Race and class and sex and language
    such are barriers he derides.
    Join the hand of friend and stranger;
    join the hands of age and youth;
    join the faithful and the doubter
    in their common search for truth.

Together in Song 477. John L. Bell and Graham Maule © 1989, WGRG, Iona Community. Administered in Australia and New Zealand by Willow Publishing Pty Ltd. Words used with permission under copyright CCLI Licence No 137219. Copyright cleared music for churches.

Sending forth and Benediction

Choral Blessing – The Peace of God

John Rutter

Postlude

Come and share morning tea together, in the basement. There are stairs behind the organ and a ramp between the church and the car park leading to the basement. You are welcome!

Some of the liturgy in this service is adapted from Act for Peace – Christmas Bowl, Seasons of the Spirit and the Iona Abbey Worship Book, a Wild Goose Publication

www.bpuc.org