Gathering

Lift us up as we gather in God’s presence to celebrate God’s saving love.

God shows us the path to a bright new dawn. We gather in the name of the resurrected Saviour who is Jesus the Christ.

Hymn

Confession & Words of Assurance

Sometimes faith is really hard, O God, forgive us when we fail to respond to Your call with faith. Forgive us when we are shackled by our narrow understandings of discipleship and our clouded sense of purpose.

Forgive us when we are frightened of the future or pull back from the demand of Your calling. Forgive us when we fail to sense Your presence in our past, to acknowledge Your grace in the present moment, and to trust You for our future.

Our God is a God of grace and transformation.When we ask, God gives us the courage and strength to live out our faith in the workplace and the marketplace, as well as in the sanctuary of our homes.

Story Time

Scripture

Jesus Calls his First Disciples

Luke 5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Sermon

 Prayers

God of promise and reconciliation, we are a hurting people, torn apart by opinions, ideas and fears. We struggle with the basic act of becoming community to protect Your most vulnerable. We are tired, and we look around us in despair at those not dealing well with our world challenges. We pray for all of those who are hurting and struggling.

We pray for first responders who face challenges the average person will never understand. Help them with their struggles, strengthen them in their times of doubt, and give them renewed courage to keep doing the tasks that they have been called to do for all our sakes.

We pray for the misguided as they get pulled away from the community’s desire to help each other and into a world of bigotry, hatred and vengeance. Help them find their way to back to a world where people have compassion for each other and do what they can to support each other.

We pray for the people who have been suffering under invasions and occupations which are often led by messages that are opposite Your call to us to be fishers of people and caretaker of the vulnerable. Help them gain strength to endure and thrive once they find peace.

We pray for our children and our families, as well as those we will never meet but who are equally valued in Your world. Help us be the kinds of people that show the world what it means to say God is Love.

All of these prayers and so may more we pull together and pray the prayer tradition has taught us…

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.