Order of Service – 10th March 2024

The Order of Service follows below.

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Brougham Place Uniting Church

Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

10 March 2024. 10.00 am
Lent 4
Preacher: Rev Linda Driver
Liturgical colour: Purple

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

Prelude

Welcome

Niina marni!
Marni’ai!

Acknowledgment of Country

Introit and Lighting of the Candles

O For a Closer Walk with God
Together in Song 576

Call to Worship

From Psalm 107

Give thanks to God, for God is good;
God’s love endures forever.
Let all who know God tell of their story
from east and west, from north and south,
we will tell our story.
When we cried to God in our trouble, God saved us from our distress;
God sent out the Word and healed us.
Let us give thanks for God’s unfailing love, with songs of joy in worship.

We Sing: Beneath the Southern Cross

From the ends of the earth we will sing;
God is here, the Kingdom is near.
Shore to shore across ancient lands.
Christ to dwell, Emmanuel.

From north and south, from east and west
beneath the Southern Cross we rest.
Found by One who came for all,
in this tale of spacious love we’re born.
This, the land on which we stand,
this holy ground made by God’s hand,
marred and scarred yet marked by grace,
held and healed, in Christ we find our place.

Chorus
From the ends of the earth we will sing;
God is here, the Kingdom is near.
Shore to shore across ancient lands.
Christ to dwell, Emmanuel.
God, our hope, our life, our heart,
come break our differences apart.
Strangers once now called as one,
every soul awake to greet this love!

Chorus
From the ends of the earth we will sing;
God is here, the Kingdom is near.
Shore to shore across ancient lands.
Christ to dwell, Emmanuel.

Prayer of Confession

Words of Grace

Listen to the voice of God calling you: You are loved.
I am loved.
You are loved.
We are loved.
We are indeed loved. Let us then live out that good news.
Thanks be to God. Amen

Passing of the Peace

May the peace of God be with you.
And also with you.

Community News and Notices

Current or previous BP E-news and to sign up to receive BP E-news

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

Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life
– Ralph Vaughan Williams. Together in Song 552

Scripture Reading: John 3:14-21

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

The Gospel of Christ, Light of the world.
Thanks be to God.

Sermon

We Sing: Christ, Be our Light

Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice.

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
Many the gifts, many the people,
many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
making your kingdom come.

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.

Prayers of the People

Response:
and so we pray…
Gracious God, please fill our spiritual suitcases
with gifts to nurture our self and others.

The Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray together in the words that Jesus taught us:

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.

Chimes: I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.
– Trad. All Together Now 84

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

As you journey with God through Lent may you find the road that leads to life and pause to accompany others on the way.

May God take your hand as you go, Christ be your constant companion, and the Spirit guide you on the Way this day and for evermore. Amen.

Choral Blessing:

Peace and Goodwill
– Bray/Nairn

Postlude

Comfort, Comfort
– Robin Mann, Together in Song 647

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

Some of the liturgy in this service is adapted from the work of:

Roddy Hamilton: Spill the Beans

Words for Worship, Mediacom Education

Bec Lindsay in Leadership, Learning and Purposeful Life (L3)

The Scripture Readings are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash