A Light on the Hill
Order of Service – 23rd August 2026
The Order of Service follows below.
For improved text clarity and easier reading, e.g. change text size, you can use ePub on iPhones, iPads and other devices with an ePub application. If you want to see it exactly as printed, or print your own there is a pdf.
Please join us in saying and singing the words printed in bold text. Items in red text are for information and explanation and are not spoken.
Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill
August 23, 2026
Preacher: Rev Linda Driver
Pentecost 13. Green
Welcome to Brougham Place Uniting Church.
We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of the land
on which our church is built.
As you wait for worship to begin, please turn
your phone to silent.
Prelude
Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country
As we reach our hands towards the ground,
(reach down)
and towards the sky that covers the land,
(reach up)
we also reach out in a posture of caring embrace
(open arms wide)
that acknowledges that we meet on the lands of the Kaurna people.
With care, we honour the way the Kaurna people have embodied both a
unique givenness to this Land and faithfulness to Creator.
May we walk gently and faithfully upon these lands.
Introit and Lighting of the Candles
Lift Up Your Hearts (TiS 732. L. Stasson – Benjamin)
Call to Worship
Come to this time of worship.
We come from our everyday lives.
Come to this house of worship.
We come from our everyday places.
Come to this space to worship.
We come, here and now, to meet with the living God.
Prayer of Adoration and Thanksgiving
We sing: Jesus is the Rock
Well, Jesus is the rock,
his love never stops;
the world’s in his hands,
there’s no shifting sands
if Jesus is your rock.
If your world’s caving in around you
and you don’t know where to turn,
take a look at Jesus: there’s plenty there to learn.
If your life is built on shifting sand
you don’t follow God at all;
when the rain and the flood and the wind come up
there’ll be a mighty fall.
Well, Jesus is the rock,
his love never stops;
the world’s in his hands,
there’s no shifting sands
if Jesus is your rock.
When all the rain is falling and
the floods are coming down,
all the winds are blowing, you never will be drowned
if your life is
built on Jesus
and all he has said;
you’ll be laughing at the storm
all snuggled in your bed.
Well, Jesus is the rock,
his love never stops;
the world’s in his hands,
there’s no shifting sands
if Jesus is your rock.
Prayer of Confession
Loving God,
you understand how our lives are constantly refocusing.
Our time and energy become caught up in weekly routines,
in the responsibilities we carry,
in the concerns that sap our strength,
in the pleasures of life when hours speed by
and in the hard spaces when days drag.
Sometimes we forget your guidance in our choices
and overlook your mercy in our responses to others.
Sometimes our hearts are confused as to where our loyalties lie
and our minds are overwhelmed
by the constant changes around us.
Sometimes our bodies don’t align with our good intentions
so that pain or a sense of failure drags us down.
Reset our lives on the rock of your love
as we come to you today.
Words of Assurance
The living God hears your prayer.
God frees you to stand tall on the rock of divine love,
opens you to new possibilities
and unlocks the door to abundant life.
Thanks be to God.
Passing of the Peace
The peace of our God be with you.
And also with you.
Community News and Notices
You can sign up to receive BP E-news by email and read past issues on our website: www.bpuc.org
Children’s Time (Exploring the Theme)
Children and Young People may go downstairs for Sunday School and Youth. Parents, you are welcome to join your young children in Sunday School if you feel they 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
All the sleepy should have a place to sleep (TIS697)
Scripture Readings
Romans 12:1–8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Matthew 16:13–20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Teach us wisdom, O God;
let your word bring us light.
Message
We sing: We Are Your People
We are your people;
Spirit of grace,
you dare to make us
to all our neighbours,
Christ’s living voice, hands and face.
Joined in community,
treasured and fed,
may we discover
gifts in each other,
willing to lead and be led.
Rich in diversity,
help us to live
closer than neighbours,
open to strangers,
able to clash and forgive.
Glad of tradition,
help us to see
in all life’s changing
where you are leading,
where our best efforts should be.
Give, as we venture
justice and care
(peaceful, resisting,
waiting or risking)
wisdom to know when and where.
Christ, as we serve you
in different ways,
may all we’re doing
show that you’re living,
meeting your love with our praise.
Prayers of the People
Living God, …
A time of silence
In a world of many voices, let our lives declare,
‘You are the Christ.’
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
And now with the confidence of the children of God, let us pray the prayer Jesus taught us saying…
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.
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
We sing: In a Church That’s Moving Forward
In a church that’s moving forward,
this is where we long to be.
in a church with gifts abounding
and the grace to set them free.
in a church of many cultures,
in a church both old and young,
in a church of many accents
when the song of Christ is sung.
With a Lord who leads the mission
for a people on the way,
with a Lord who’s healing blindness,
lets the voiceless have their say.
with a Lord of every nation,
with a Lord of every place,
with a Lord who shines compassion
on to every tribe and race.
On a road that leads to wholeness
When we’re broken or unsure,
On a road to understanding
Where division finds a cure;
On a road where all may travel,
On a road where many roam,
On a road we walk together,
As we make our journey home.
Sending Forth and Benediction
Choral Blessing
Depart With the Peace of God (Tscharke)
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. All are welcome!
Thank you for joining us for worship! If you would like to get in touch or request a prayer, please make use of the Contact Cards in the pews and next to the Offering Bowl. Alternately, you can email our Minister, Rev Linda Driver: lindad@bpuc.org
This service has been
prepared with assistance from
Liturgy, Learning, & (Purposeful) Life (L3)
Rev Jesse Size
© 2026, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of South Australia
Words for Worship
© 2026, Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of South Australia
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible:
Anglicised Edition (NRSVA), copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of
the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Photo by Rev Linda Driver. Grampians, Victoria
Congregation
Hymns/Songs:
Jesus is the rock
Together in Song 669.
Mandy Treagus 1955-
Words used with permission under copyright
We Are Your People
Together in Song, 468.
Brian Arthur Wren. Words © 1975, Rev. 1999 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol
Stream, IL60188
In A Church That’s Moving Forward
Words: Andrew Williams © 2000, Music: Nettleton (public domain).
Arrangement: Jennifer Hughes © 2022.
