WELCOME & NOTICES
CALL TO WORSHIP:
Come, everyone who is thirsty!Thirsty? We are all thirsty in some ways..
Thirsty for what?
Thirsty for justice…thirsty for meaning…thirsty for comfort, for ease, for that satisfied feeling of a job well done: thirsty for significance, for recognition, for understanding
Come: you are with travellers who are also thirsty..but also and with those who have been thirsty, and have had their thirst quenched
We are hungry for the same things
Come: you are with travellers who are hungry..and who are finding food that fills, food that strengthens, food that enables us to carry on
We have been promised food that has turned out to be tasteless, not sustaining, bland or inedible
Come: the food that we eat, and the waters that we drink are the very bread and wine of life
Who gives us this food, this water, this life?
We gather in the name of God who listens…God who provides…God whose continuing story challenges and sustains, rebukes and inspires, lifts up and draws forward
Where is this God who provides what we long for, and how can we feed and drink from his provision?
He is here: call on him now: call on him in the quietness of your heart or the volume of your singing voice: call on him in your strength and in your weakness: for he is near.
How then shall we see our God?
For all that our God is beyond all human knowing, he will be seen: he will be seen in ways that you cannot yet imagine. He will be visible in the tiniest graces in our meeting here today that will resonate in your heart. He will be here in the conversations you have with this people here today, and he will be here in the surprises of words thought familiar, in the long-forgotten feelings and the dimly seen pictures of the heart and the soul…He will be known: for he is Love, and we all recognise love.
As we lift our voices and our hearts, our minds and our feelings in worship we choose to eat and drink from what is offered, in the desire that grace will supply all we long for
In the name of him whose name is love: Amen -based on Isaiah 55:1-9
HYMN: Come Now Where We Least Expect You
Come now where we least expect you,
Christ our hope and longing, come.
Show us where we still reject you in the world you made your home.
Look around! Christ is found far beyond our sacred ground.
Come where we have tried to own you locked within the distant past,
where your Church has scarcely known you,
where the least remain the last.
Enter still where you will, come to challenge and fulfil.
Christ-child, come in loving kindness; Come, great Judge whom
angels praise! Heal us of our pride and blindness, purge our hearts and change our ways,
God’s own Word, love outpoured, come to us, O Christ our Lord. ©Marnie Barrell (COC)
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING
OFFERING
LEARNING FOR ALL ~ especially the children
SONG: My God is So Big
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty,
there’s nothing my God cannot do x2
The mountains are His.The rivers are His.The stars are His handiwork too…My God is so big…x2
My God is so close, so warm and so tender,
there’s nothing my God cannot do.
The cities are his. The streets are all his.
The homes are his handiwork too. My God is so close…
My God is so close, He knows how my heart beats,
there’s nothing my God cannot do.
The future is His.The present is His
The future’s His handiwork too. My God is so close…
My God is so wide, so deep and so awesome,
Yet nearer to me than my breath
All heartbeats are his. All breathing is his
All artwork his handiwork too. My God is so wide…
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty,
That sometimes he’s quite hard to see
But Jesus is his. Yes Jesus is his
Yes Jesus shows God’s love for me x2
My God is so big, So awesome and lovely
There’s nothing my God cannot do x2
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
READING: Psalm 63:1-8 Tony Blackler
HYMN: How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art,
Then sings my soul, my saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
When through the woods and bushclad hills I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the creek and feel the gentle breeze:
And when I think that God, his son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin;
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart,
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great thou art. C/A
READING: Isaiah 55:1-9 Allison Blackler
MESSAGE
HYMN: In this familiar place
In this familiar place I know the mystery of your grace.
For the love that I receive, for the truth that I believe,
I praise and thank you for this here and now.
In halting song and word the music of your voice is heard.
For the love that I receive, for the truth that I believe,
I praise and thank you for this here and now.
Among these friends of mine I taste the company divine.
For the love that I receive, for the truth that I believe,
I praise and thank you for this here and now.
Within this narrow sphere I learn that you are everywhere.
For the love that I receive, for the truth that I believe,
I praise and thank you for this here and now. ©Colin Gibson (AA)
BENEDICTION
NOTICES
A very warm welcome to all who worship with us this morning. Please stay for morning tea following the service. Many thanks to Rev Alan Webster for leading our worship today.
LENTEN STUDIES with Mele continue on Wednesdays 2, 9 & 16 March at 10am in the Church.
FUNDRAISER: Daffodil Bulbs Fireside are selling bulbs now.
20 beautiful bulbs – 8 or 9 varieties – $10. If 20 are too many for you, share with a friend. Have flowers inside during the Winter or outside in Spring.
Wonderful presents (for Easter instead of chocolate?). Introduce children to gardening. Strictly payment with the order please. See Barbara 379 1474 or Margaret 366 8936.
WEDNESDAY WALKERS 2nd March: Meet 9.30am on Warren Cres, near the corner of Charles Upham Drive where there is an entrance across the river to Curletts Reserve. We will walk round the reserve and part of the show grounds before returning to the cars and driving to have coffee at “Café ine” in the Hillmorton shops (park in Coppell Place which is off Hoon Hay Rd a little towards the hills from Halswell Rd). All Welcome. Alan & Barbara McKinnon.
CRAFTY CRAFTERS: Thursdays 10am-12 noon in the Lounge. $3.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER: This year St Martin’s Presbyterian will be leading the service: 10am THIS Friday 4th March at St Anne’s Anglican Church, Wilsons Rd. We encourage you all to attend. The service has been written by the women of Cuba. A plate for morning tea following the service would be appreciated. Allison 332 0554.
PLEASE NOTE: The Parish Office will be closed on 2, 3 & 4 March. Anna is in Dunedin with son Alexander who is having surgery for scoliosis.
PARISH OFFICE: Wednesday & Thursday 9am – 12 noon, Fridays 9-11am Ph 332 6192. Email:stmartpresch@xtra.co.nz. Website:www.stmartins.org.nz. Please make sure Anna has any notices by 9am Thursday.
ALPINE PRESBYTERY newsletter is on the noticeboard in the Lounge.
CWS FIJI APPEAL:
Dear St Martin’s Presbyterian Parish
By now you will have seen the devastating pictures from Fiji after Cyclone Winston. Most of the country has been affected by this storm – the likes of which the people of Fiji have never seen before. Wind gusts of up to 325 kilometres an hour have smashed homes and livelihoods. Trees have been ripped from the ground and crops destroyed. Nearly 14,000 people found shelter in evacuation shelters.
It is a major catastrophe for our neighbours and they need to recover quickly.
The people of Fiji are working hard to clear debris, build temporary shelter and salvage what they can.
CWS has now heard from partners who had lost power and communications. The Social Empowerment and Education Programme (SEEP) is planning their response. Their immediate focus is on isolated communities in the hilly interior of Viti Levu. They will assist with food, shelter and psychosocial programmes for children. The Peoples Community Network working in the informal settlements is working out what needs to be done. Both groups are coordinating with local government, other community groups and churches.
Please remember the people of Fiji in your prayers that they might find the strength and resources they need to recover.
The devastation is great and together we can make sure many more Fijians get the help they need. Please give generously.
Thank you. Pauline McKay CWS National Director