Order of Service – Sunday 18 April 2021 – Easter 3

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CALL TO WORSHIP

It is good to give thanks to You, O God. Your love is better than life itself. Your faithfulness is to all generations.

We sing for joy at the work of Your hands. We praise with all our hearts and rejoice in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who willingly went to the cross and gave His life to open before us the way to You.

PRAYER

Almighty God, boldly we approach Your throne of grace. Joyfully, we come knowing You always welcome us. Humbly, we acknowledge before You and one another our need. Eagerly, we seek Your mercy and grace, which are sufficient for our every need. Grant us open hearts, minds, and lives that we might gratefully receive. We pray in the name of Jesus, our great High Priest. Amen.

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

We light this candle, which symbolises the light of the world, that came to save through His death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb, changing the darkness of sin and death to light.

The light of Christ. Thanks be to God.

Sing to God, all people of the earth, sing praises to the Lord! Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over all the land and whose power reigns above the skies. Praise be to God!

HYMN:       216       “Rejoice, the Lord is King”

RESPONSIVE  READING              Psalm 116

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, He saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

For You, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”;
in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.”

What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants.
Truly I am Your servant, Lord; I serve You just as my mother did; You have freed me from my chains.

I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord—in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

PRAYER

O Lord our God, we praise You above all creatures and all things. We lift prayers of thanks for the amazing fact that You loved us enough to give Yourself fully for us. Now we have the challenge of trying to live fully for You. Help us in the task of discipleship. Be our spiritual teacher; remove our thick clouds of ignorance, Help us, O God, to live by the pattern and example given to us by Your Son Jesus Christ. Give us an eagerness and joyful desire to obey Your command to make disciples of all nations. Send us out with renewed courage to proclaim the faith and hope within us to a world that needs both so that we may become Your body in the world. Amen.

HYMN:       342       “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

CONFESSION (from Psalm 103)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Against You, You alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight

You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Wash me, O Lord, and make me clean.

Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE (from Psalm 103)

Hear the good news: Our gracious God forgives all your iniquity and crowns you with steadfast love and mercy; God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; God does not deal with us according to our sins, or repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is the steadfast love of God; as far as the east is from the west, so far God removes our transgressions from us. Thanks be to God! Amen.

BIBLE READINGS                                                                Frank Knowles

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (Page 1139)                             John 21:1-14 (Page 1075)

MUSICAL REFLECTION

MESSAGE:         “Surmounting Barriers of Faith”     Krikor Youmshajekian

HYMN:       691       “Faith Will Not Grow from Words Alone”

NOTICES: –Armenian Genocide Commemoration Vigil – Today 3:30 pm at

the Armenian Apostolic Church 10 Macquarie St. Chatswood.

  • Sign the Petition – Recognise the Armenian Genocide.
  • Working Bee in the garden – Monday 26 April from 2:00 pm.
  • Elders’ & Council Meetings Wed 28 April 12:00 noon.
  • Mother’s Day Munch – Sunday 2 May 2021, after Morning Tea.

OFFERING:     “Freely we have received; let us freely give”.

HYMN:       594       “Fight the Good Fight with All Thy Might”

BENEDICTION

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To contact Krikor call   0418 417 411

Church Website:  http://www.longueville.unitingchurch.org.au

Church email: standrewsunite@tpg.com.au

Church Office phone: 9427 4740