ORDER OF WORSHIP TODAY The Gathering of the People of God

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1 Sunday, 8th October, :00am & 6:00pm Ordinary Sunday 27 (Year A) Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20: 1 3. ORDER OF WORSHIP TODAY The Gathering of the People of God GREETING Welcome in the name of Christ. God s grace, mercy and peace be with you. And also with you. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY CALL TO WORSHIP from Psalm 119 Come into this sacred space to worship God; Whose teaching is perfect; whose directions are sure. Come into this holy place to worship God; 1 Whose standards are right; whose commandment is clear; whose judgements are true. Come with holy fear to be given life, and made wise, to have your heart stirred and your eyes opened wide. Come let us worship God. Let the words of our mouths and the whispering of our hearts be according to your will, O God. Amen. Jeff Shrowder HYMN (TiS.156) Morning has broken

2 PRAYER OF CONFESSION God of Wisdom, we have dwelt in foolish ways, turning away from you to follow the desires of the world. We have sought worldly gain over the needs of our brothers and sisters. We have given in to anger, hate and fear rather than compassion and mercy. We have jumped to conclusions rather than waiting patiently to learn. Forgive us for tagging along to the ways of the world, and turn us back to follow you; in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Rev Mindi DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS Hear then these words of grace: Yours sins are forgiven Thanks be to God. INTRODUCTION TO THE THEME OF THE DAY HYMN (TiS.699) We listen to the Word of God A new commandment Before the Bible readings, the reader says: Your word, O Lord, is a lamp to our feet: A light to our path. Psalm 119: 105. FIRST READING Exodus 20: 1 4, 7 9, Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses the name of the Lord your God. 8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work. 12 Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die. 20 Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of God upon you so that you do not sin. NRSV. SECOND READING Philippians 3: 4b 14 4 If anyone has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. 17 You shall not covet your neighbour s house; you shall not covet your neighbour s wife, nor male nor female slave, nor ox, nor donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbour. 2

3 For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. After this final reading, the reader says: Here end today s readings. Lord, may your word live in us; And bear much fruit to your glory. SERMON We respond to the Word of God NRSV. All eyes are on the prize AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Jesus Christ is Lord We believe in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess to the glory of God: Jesus Christ is Lord! Amen. Uniting in Worship 2 #5 based in Philippians 2: NOTICES & CONCERNS OF THE CHURCH OFFERTORY HYMN (TiS.599) Take my ife and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee The people remain seated until the final verse. OFFERTORY PRAYER PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION THE LORD S PRAYER The People of God are sent out FINAL HYMN (TiS.687) DISMISSAL & BLESSING THREE-FOLD AMEN. God gives us a future Please join us after this morning s service for tea, coffee and fellowship in the Tea Shoppe. For the third week in a row, Karen Zaini, co-ordinator of our meals program, has requested EGGS. She must really need them! She has also asked for devon, cheese and paper serviettes. Put your donations in the basket in the church porch or, better still, drop it in to the Church Office during office hours. 3 LECTIONARY NEXT SUNDAY 15th October, Ordinary Sunday 28 OT Reading: Exodus 32: 1 14 Psalm: Psalm 106: 1 6, Epistle: Philippians 4: 1 9 Gospel: St Matthew 22: 1 14

4 A Word from the Minister 8th October, 2017 The Synod of NSW and ACT last weekend appointed the Reverend Jane Fry as our new General Secretary. Jane will be familiar to many of you as she has ministered in the Secretariat for several years and was acting General Secretary for the past year. The Synod also determined to restructure its standing committee to consist of ex-officio members and twelve elected members of Synod. I wish to congratulate Sharon Flynn on her election to the standing committee. Last Tuesday evening I met with Church Council. The Council resolved to embark on a process to develop a Mission Plan for presentation at the Congregation s Annual General meeting in November. Having a documented mission plan will assist the Council to discern the use of our sales proceeds in preparation for our Presbytery consultation which is due to be completed by April, I joined with members of the congregation last Wednesday to give thanks to God for the life of Pamela Parr and to offer comfort and support to Colin and his family and friends. Pamela made a significant contribution to the Craft shop, to the Community Centre and to the establishment of Farmborough Grove Village. Tomorrow afternoon I am meeting with the team of volunteers who serve lunch each day at Wesley Community Centre. I wish to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers for their enthusiastic service and their commitment to extending genuine hospitality to everyone who visits the Centre. I am meeting with the Elders and also with the organiser of Carols on Crown on Wednesday, with the Illawarra People for Peace committee on Thursday and with Lifeline Australia on Friday. Grace and peace, The Reverend Geoffrey Flynn, Wesley Uniting Church, Wollongong. EVENTS OF NOTE THIS WEEK Monday, 9th October School for Creative Living classes resume after the School holidays: 8:45am Thai Chi class (note: classes still full). 10:00am 7:00pm ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THIS WEEK Other SCL classes. Part 2 of the Baptism Information Sessions for October. Wednesday, 11th October 10:00am Elders Meeting for October. 1:00pm Midweek Holy Communion and prayer in the church. Friday, 13th, to Sunday, 15th October Lifeline Book Fair in the Illawarra Sports Stadium at Berkley. Get along and grab yourself a bargain, helping Lifeline in the process! TODAY S SERVICES 8th October, :00am & 6:00pm The Revd Geoff Flynn MUSICIANS TODAY (am) Peter Nickolas (pm) Marjorie Shepheard BIBLE READER THIS MORNING Dorothy Robinson SERVICES NEXT SUNDAY 15th October, :00am Mrs Sharon Flynn and the Revd Geoff Flynn 6:00pm The Revd Geoff Flynn (Multicultural Service) MUSICIANS NEXT SUNDAY READER NEXT SUNDAY MORNING (am) Scott Jackson (pm) Lorraine Jones James Ardma 4

5 Offerings for 1st October, 2017 Morning cash... $ Morning envelopes... $ Received by EFT (morning)... $ Total morning collections... $ Received by EFT (evening)... $ Total Collections for Day... $ Morning Tea... $ Total income for the day... $ That is the lowest for some time must be because it was a long weekend (we hope). Safe Church Workshops The Uniting Church has been providing these work-shops for some years now and all members of the Church Council are required to keep their compliance up to date. There are two remaining workshops planned for this year: on 21st October at Austinmer (offering the full program) and then on 22nd October at Corrimal (a refresher course for those who need to update). 5 Book the date now! Bargains galore on Thursday and Friday, 19th and 20th October (that s at the end of next week) at the Friendship Groups Bargain Barn sale in our very own Church Hall. You should also note in your diaries that the annual Christmas Lunch (organised by the friendship Group) will be held on Sunday, 12th November at the Passionate Palate restaurant at Kanahooka. See Ron or Ruth to book your place now and get in quick because this is always very popular (as well as tasty).

6 Congregational AGM and election of elders and church councillors A reminder that the Annual General Meeting of Wollongong Wesley Church will be held on Sunday, 19th November, following the morning service. Yes, that seems a long way off but preparations need to be made now. Available today are nomination forms for the election of Elders and Church Councillors. Your always fallible editor neglected to tell you in last week s news sheet that, in addition to the other changes, Robert Lang has stood down as an elder because he no longer lives in the Illawarra. That means that the following are NOT facing election or re-election to Church Council at this year s AGM: Albert Clottey (elder until 2021), Rose Flood (elder until 2018), Alison Grant (elder until 2019), Neil Grant (church councillor until 2019), Ully Silaen (elder until 2018), Kini Smeaton (elder until 2018). All other members of the congregation are eligible to be nominated. Elders duties include serving at Holy Communion, washing up the vessels after communion, participating in Baptism Information Sessions 6 and Baptism services, taking pastoral care of people on their elder s list. Church councillors duties include participating in the decision-making process and the implementation of church policies and serving on Church Council committees such as the finance committee. And, of course, both elders and church councillors sre expected to attend and participate in meetings. Secretaries and Presidents of organisations are reminded of the need to provide a written annual report outlining their organisation s main activities and achievements during the last year. Photos may be included but the report should not be more than about an A4 page. Induction of a minister to a placement A note from the Illawarra Presbytery this week invites us to attend the Service of Induction for the Revd Mark Greenlees to the Albion Park/Shellharbour Village Uniting Church congregations to be held next Saturday, 14th October, 2017, commencing at 1:00pm. Afternoon Tea will be served at the conclusion of the service. Sorry, but the note gave no venue.