Service for the Lord's Day - Online 3rd January 2021 Christmas 2 - celebrating the Epiphany - Wesley Church Melbourne
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Wesley Church Melbourne
Congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia
Service for the Lord’s Day - Online
3rd January 2021
Christmas 2 - celebrating the Epiphany
Star of Bethlehem Quilt
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the First Peoples of the Kulin Nation,
traditional custodians of the land, under God.
We commit ourselves to work and pray for justice in this land.
Using this resource:
1. At points through this Order of Service you will find links (in brown
text) to audio and video files which are recordings by the worship leaders.
2. To hear the sound file for the hymns and still be able to read the words on
the Order of Service, simply hold the ‘Control’ key while you click on the
hymn link. It will open up a new tab which enables you to play the music
AND go back to the previous Tab and see the words.
Worship Leader & Preacher : Rev Kevin Dobson
Musicians : Geoff Urquhart and Catherine McLean (Music recorded at Wesley)
The People Gather
GREETING AND INTRODUCTION
CALL TO WORSHIP
HYMN 314 As with gladness men of old
© Together in Song. Organist: Geoff Urquhart. Soloist: Catherine McLean
As with gladness men of old
did the guiding star behold,
as with joy they hailed its light,
leading onward, beaming bright:
so, most gracious Lord, may we
evermore your glory see.
As with joyful steps they sped,
Saviour, to your lowly bed,
2there to bend the knee before
one whom heaven and earth adore:
so may we with willing feet
ever seek your mercy seat.
As they offered gifts most rare
at your cradle rough and bare:
so may we with holy joy,
pure, and free from sin's alloy,
all our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to you, our heavenly King.
Holy Jesus, every day
keep us in the narrow way;
and, when earthly things are past,
bring our ransomed souls at last
where they need no star to guide,
where no clouds your glory hide;
in the heavenly country bright
need they no created light:
you its light, its joy, its crown,
you its sun which goes not down.
There for ever may we sing
hallelujahs to our King.
William Chatterton Dix
1837-98 alt.
PRAYER OF APPROACH AND CONFESSION
Here we come, Living God, heading your way, hearing your call, holding
your promise as if the world depended on it.
Here we are, Living God, watching for signs of you, waiting to hear from
you, willing your word to make space in the straw of our lives.
Here you are, Living God , already there for us, all for the sake of us,
always a place for us, however close we dare come.
Here we stay, Living God , radiant in the light of you, rich in the realness
of you, ready to give to you all that we are.
So that here we may go, Living God, stars in our eyes, souls filled with
3hope, sure of the promise which leads us beyond and beyond and beyond.
You are our light: you shape our world; you interpret our lives; you speak
into our darkness.
You are our light: you lead us along paths; you hold us through fear; you
encourage us in uncertainty.
You are our light: you are the question that leads to adventures; you are the
mystery that makes us wonder;
you are the story that invites us to play.
You are our light: and may we have eyes to see deep in our souls the light
that continually calls in every wilderness and every unknown place we find
ourselves that we might journey with you into our world, daring to trust
your presence, your promise, your light, and when we cannot see it may
we trust others who can, and when it does not shine on us may we wait
until it does, and when it seems too far away may we have strength to
travel, and trust our faith that grows brighter in the trusting.
Loving God of light, of futures, or presence, may we light a candle in our
hearts and know it is lit by you: your gift,
your promise, your love, alive and never leaving us.
So be it.
Be assured that God hears our honest confession.
God’s love shines always, beckons us always, forgives us always.
Once forgiven, we see things in a new way, and new life is ours again.
Amen.
AN INTRODUCTION TO TODAY’S THEME particularly for children and
families.
SOLO Sung by Catherine McLean
How brightly shines the Morning Star/Three Kings from Persian Lands afar
Philipp Nicholai (1556-1608)
THE READING (I suggest someone from your household reads this out loud)
Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp to our feet:
a light to our path.
Matthew 2:1-12 NRSV
1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child
4who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,
and have come to pay him homage.”
3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with
him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the
prophet:
6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among
the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my
people Israel.’”
7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the
exact time when the star had appeared.
8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for
the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also
go and pay him homage.”
9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them,
went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place
where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped,£ they were
overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with
Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.
Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for
their own country by another road.
May your Word live in us:
and bear much fruit to your glory.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD
“Christmas is still here!!”
HYMN 309 Angels from the realms of glory.
© Together in Song. Organist: Geoff Urquhart. Soloist: Catherine McLean
Angels, from the realms of glory,
wing your flight o'er all the earth;
heralds of creation's story,
now proclaim Messiah's birth:
come and worship Christ,
5the new-born King,
come and worship, worship Christ,
the new-born King.
Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
watching over flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
yonder shines the infant Light:
come and worship Christ ...
Wise men, leave your contemplations,
brighter visions beam afar;
seek the great Desire of nations,
you have seen his natal star:
come and worship Christ ...
Though an infant now we view him,
he shall fill his Father's throne,
gather all the nations to him:
every knee shall then bow down:
come and worship Christ ...
James Montgomery 1771-1854 alt.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Loving God, our simple prayer and our deep hope is for your kingdom to
be found between our neighbours,
in the love we share between our nations, in the compassion we offer
between all people, in the peace we make.
There may we all see the light of our kingdom grow.
We bring our words and our longings and shape them into the
relationships we build this year; and affirm a truth that is where your
kingdom is found.
In the light that comes from that place in us that opens up love and grace
and hope.
We pray for the world and those places of conflict, for refugees and the
displaced, for so many who suffer in so many ways from disease, hunger,
fear, division.
6These places of shadow are not your kingdom but the places where the
light of your kingdom can grow.
We pray for our governments: for Canberra and Melbourne, for Brussels
and Washington, for the UN and for the countries of Asia and the Pacific,
and the longing to find stability and a future that is balanced and fair, that
has a light about it and leads to justice and renewal that is kingdom-
shaped.
We pray for our congregations, for our neighbours around us and the way
we live and speak together of love and grace and truth; those words of
light that lead us beyond where we are now into every new thing you are
doing.
We pray for our families and friends, for those ill and those recovering, for
those grieving and hurting, those anxious and worried, fearful and afraid,
for all suffering from the affects of Covid 19 and for the love that directs
us and calls us and challenges us to be your people, to see the light of your
kingdom between us, among us, through us.
Amen.
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 for ever.
7HYMN 459 In Christ there is no east or west.
© Together in Song. Organist: Geoff Urquhart. Soloist: Catherine McLean
In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
In Christ shall true hearts everywhere
their high communion find,
his service is the golden cord
close-binding humankind.
Join hands, then, people of the faith,
whate'er your race may be;
who serves my Father as his child
is surely kin to me.
In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north,
all Christlike souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.
William Arthur Dunkerley ( `John Oxenham')
1852-1941 alt.
DISMISSAL AND BLESSING
POSTLUDE
How brightly shines the Morning Star J S Bach (1685-1750)
8Giving
You can contribute by setting up a regular or occasional transfer from your
bank account into the Wesley Church Melbourne Offerings Account.
Direct Transfer
BSB 013 423
Account Number 472 967 586
OR PayID: WesleyMelbOffering@gmail.com
If you’d like to set up a regular transfer, please contact us at
churchoffice@wesleychurch.org.au for more details.
Wesley Church Melbourne
130 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
churchoffice@wesleychurch.org.au
https://wesleychurchmelbourne.org.au/
910
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