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ANGLICAN PARISH OF ATWELL/SUCCESS THE CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
Sunday Bulletin Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – 5th October 2008 |
God provides
The saying goes that when the going gets tough the tough get going. This was not quite the case with the Israelites in the wilderness. When the going got tough for them they started whingeing. They complained about their hardship and that they had no water. The focus of their complaining was Moses who felt betrayed. After all, it was Moses who had led the people out of Egypt from their slavery and now the people were saying that they would have been better to be slaves in Egypt than to be free in the wilderness. They did not seem to care or notice that God was working out a plan for them. Nor did they remember his deliverance from Egypt.
Moses became quite fed up with their complaining and did not know how to deal with such un-generosity. He took the problem to the Lord. Moses knew, even if the people did not, that the Lord had a plan and that the Lord would not leave them helpless, or even perish, through lack of water. True to his word the Lord offered a way forward. He gave instructions to Moses which, when carried out, saved the people again. The staff that Moses had was the all important instrument that he used, on the Lord’s instruction, to tap on the rock and the Israelites had life sustaining water.
It is perhaps not all that uncommon that when there are tough times people assume that God has forgotten them. This is certainly not the case as is shown in the story. God does look after his people, God does care, and God does provide what is needed when it is needed. The whole point of this story is the gracious and surprising provision of God who provided water for his people when there appeared to be none available.
Fr Clive
Sentence
Come, let us return to the Lord, that we may live before him.
Hosea 6.1a, 2b
Prayer of the Day
Grant, O merciful God, that your people may have that mind that was in Christ Jesus,who emptied himself, and took the form of a servant, and in humility became obedient even to death. For you have highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, Jesus Christ, the Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in everlasting glory. Amen.
First Reading: Exodus 17:1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Psalm 78:1-4, 11-16
1 Give heed to my teaching, O my people:
incline your ears to the words of my mouth;
2 For I will open my mouth in a parable:
and expound the mysteries of former times.
3 What we have heard and known:
what our forebears have told us,
4 We will not hide from their children, but declare to a generation yet
to come:
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his mighty and wonderful
works.
12 He divided the sea and let them pass through:
he made the waters stand up in a heap.
13 In the daytime he led them with a cloud:
and all night long with the light of fire.
14 He cleft rocks in the wilderness:
and gave them drink in abundance as from springs of water.
15 He brought streams out of the rock:
and caused the waters to flow down like rivers.
16 But for all this they sinned yet more against him:
and rebelled against the Most High in the desert.
Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-13
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death–even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
Intercessions
This Parish: Fr Clive, Diane and new growth.
Diocese: Archbishop Roger Herft, Bp Mark Burton.
Parish of Witfords, clergy & people.
Province: Parish of Broome, Frederick Irwin School, Dio. of Bunbury.
Australian Church: Primate, Phillip Aspinall, Diocese of Armidale,
Bp Peter Brain, clergy & people.
Anglican Communion: The Church of Wales.
Those in need: Murray Blore and his family, Riley, Debbie, Andy and Jade Calmeyer.
NOTICES
Today: Fr Clive to preside and preach.
Please stay for a cuppa after the service.
Next Sunday: Revd Karen Lewis, reserved sacrament service.
Synod; Fri pm, Sat, Sun 10th – 12th October
Readings Next Sunday, Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (G), 12 October 08
Exod 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6, 20-24; Phil 4:1-9; Matt 22:1-14
Anglican Parish of Atwell/Success,
Harvest Lakes Community Centre Aurora Drive, Atwell,
(next to Harmony Primary School).
Parish Web site: http://transfig.wordpress.com/
Services: Eucharist Each Sunday 5pm
(Frank Prendergast House, once each 4 weeks, 11am)
Priest in Charge: Fr. Clive McCallum Ph: 040 911 2079
Email: cdlc44@bigpond.com
Churchwardens: Gill King Ph: 0421 188 793
Neville Matheson Ph: 0419 046 811
Church Office: (answering machine) Ph: 9417 2480
Filed under: pew sheet
