May 07 2011
Blessing for the Season
WELCOME TO THIS SERVICE OF WORSHIP
AS WE SEEK THE LORD’S BLESSING ON THE SEASON
Leader : Praise the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, you are exceeding glorious; you are clothed with majesty and honour.
ALL : You deck yourself with light, as it were with a garment:
and spread out the heavens like a curtain.
Leader : He waters the hills from above: the earth is filled with the fruit of your works. He brings forth grass for the livestock: and green herbs for the service of man; that he may bring food out of the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man: and oil to make him a cheerful countenance, and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
ALL : Lord, how manifold are your works; in wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your riches.
Leader : Isaiah 40:21-23 and 57:15
21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
HYMN AHB 28 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy
health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Sing now in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all
things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle,
uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully,
wondrously, made thee!
Health hath vouchsafed and, when
heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of
His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
READING OF THE SCRIPTURES
Genesis 1:26-2:2
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Matthew 13:3-9 and 18-23
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
SERMON
To seek God’s blessing on a season yet to begin is a step of faith – we are saying that whatever we do, the outcome belongs to the Lord: we are trusting in Him.
Every farmer knows that we can plant the seed, fertilise the soil, kill the weeds, and if possible, even irrigate the land; but the final outcome is not in our hands. And so we turn to God ..
According to the book of Genesis God made man on the sixth day. He was the last aspect of God’s creating.
Now there’s an interesting sequence in the story.
Before He made man, He established man’s purpose – “to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Then He made man in His image to fulfil this purpose.
Then He blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
And then God rested.
He had handed over responsibility to those made in His image.
But we still need God. There are things in this universe and on this planet which are beyond our control – many things … not the least of which is the weather. And so we turn to God …
He has made us stewards of creation but we still need Him in order to manage this creation. Our dependence is on the Lord.
Jesus once told a story about sowing seed. Some fell on the hard ground, some in the rocky places and some amongst the weeds. But some fell in the good soil and that seed multiplied into an abundance.
In His explanation, Jesus said that the seed was the “message of the Kingdom”. Some did not understand that and the seed was taken from them.
Another group did understand it but the moment that troubles came they gave up.
Still another group found their crop strangled by the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.
The last group did get the message and their crop multiplied.
Now parables are an interesting literary device – they can say one thing and mean any number of other things – depending primarily where you are in your situation.
This parable however, is quite specific … although we have interpreted it in many different ways.
It is specifically about what we do with the “message of the Kingdom”.
What do we do about our understanding of the Lordship of Christ in our lives and in this creation?
There are those who will this season, not understand that God is in control and that we should turn to Him and trust in Him. They may well produce a crop but it will be meaningless and will produce no fruit in their lives. They will remain hard in their hearts.
Others will trust in God at the start but when troubles come, they will seek support in other places, people and things.
Still others will worry so much that not only will God be kept out, but they will be consumed by worries and fears of bankruptcy.
And then there are those – hopefully at least all of you who are here today, but including others who also put their whole trust in the Lord. Their crop – not simply wheat and barley and lupins – will be multiplied. They will know a contentment which draws its strength from the Lord of heaven and earth.
This parable has an ancient source in the Jewish Passover meal. In the Maggid – part of the story telling which takes place during the Seder – four sons are to ask questions about the Exodus. And the father then tells a story about four sons.
The first son does not know what question to ask – he is the stupid son – equivalent to the hard path.
The second son doesn’t understand the reason to ask the question – he is the innocent son – equivalent to the rocky ground.
The third son asks why he should even ask a question – he is the wicked son – equivalent to the weeds which choke the seed.
The fourth son asks what is the meaning of all that the Lord has done – he is the wise son – equivalent to the good soil.
Jesus’ parable and the account of the four sons in the Maggid challenge our trust in the good desire of God to bless us.
God has a purpose for us – to be stewards of His creation.
And God has blessed us to be fruitful.
May our response be like the wise son, like the good soil.
May we put our trust in the Lord for this season.
May we trust for the rain to come in season, may we trust for the multiplying of the crop.
Do not falter, do not fail, do not try to help God along in something which He can do without your help – do what you need to do; do it well and honour the Lord in your trust of Him.
And He will not fail you ….
Let me close with these words from 2 Timothy 2
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. Amen
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
ALL: Our Father, who art in heaven
Leader: Through our love of the countryside,
Through our care for animals,
Through our respect for property and tools,
ALL: Hallowed be Your Name
Leader: On our farms and in our homes,
In our training colleges and schools,
Where machinery is made, and where policy is planned,
ALL: Your Kingdom come
Leader: By our seeking your guidance,
By our keeping your commandments,
By our living true to our consciences,
ALL: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Leader: For the millions who live in poverty and hunger,
For our own needs, and the requirements of our neighbours,
By co-operation, sympathy, and generosity,
ALL: Give us this day our daily bread
Leader: Because we have broken your commandments, doing what we ought not to do, and neglecting what we ought to do, ALL: Forgive us our trespasses
Leader: If any have injured us by injustice, double dealing or exploitation,
ALL: As we forgive those who trespass against us
Leader: When we consider doing to others what we would dislike done to us, when prosperity lulls us to false security, or adversity prompts us to despair, when success makes us boastful, or failure makes us bitter,
ALL: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
Leader; In the assurance of faith,
In the confidence of hope,
In the will to serve,
Help us to love Christ as Lord, and our neighbours as ourselves.
ALL: For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
HYMN AHB Through all the changing scenes of life
Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
With me exalt His name;
When in distress to Him I called,
He to my rescue came.
The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance He affords to all
Who on His succor trust.
Oh, make but trial of His love,
Experience will decide
How blest they are, and only they,
Who in His truth confide. Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you His service your delight,
Your wants shall be His care.
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Almighty God,
You created the heavens and the earth
and all that is on them.
You gave them to us and commanded us to be good stewards
over all Your dominion.
We cannot do this: we cannot seed, we cannot harvest -
Except by Your grace.
You have blessed us bountifully,
You have given and not taken away,
You have blessed the fruit of our labour for Your Name sake.
We are ever grateful for all that You have done,
Are doing, and will still do amongst us.
Today, we have gathered to ask Your blessing on the season
which lies before us -
We come also with with our gifts,
grateful for what You have already done.
In our prayer of thankfulness,
we ask that you would bless that which we bring,
that it might be seed in Your Kingdom
and that Your Word would bear much fruit.
We offer to You, also ourselves, our souls and bodies,
that we might be a living sacrifice to Your glory.
May our lives, our hopes and our dreams,
be a delight to Your Name.
May Your Spirit live in us,
May Your grace flow through us,
May Your Kingdom, come through us.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
BLESSING OF THE SEASON
Leader: Our help is in the Name of the Lord
ALL: Who has made heaven and earth
Leader: The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord
ALL: And you give them their needs in due season.
Leader: You open Your hand
ALL: And fill all things living with plenteousness
Leader: O Holy Spirit, bestow upon all who till the ground wisdom to understand your laws, and to co-operate with your wise ordering of the world; and grant that the bountiful fruits of the earth may not be hoarded by the selfish or squandered by the foolish, but that all who work may share abundantly in the harvest of the soil; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, you warned your disciples, having put their hand to the plough, not to look back; Bless this season and the skill of the farmer for the service of mankind. Amen.
God bless the season, the farm and the farmer.
ALL: God bless the season.
Leader: God bless the season, the hillside and the valley; the land which is rich, and the land which is poor; in countries beyond the seas, and in our homeland.
ALL: God bless the season.
Leader: God bless the season, in fair weather and in foul, in success and disappointment, in rain and wind, in frost and sunshine;
ALL: God bless the season.
Leader: Almighty God, you fill the earth with your riches for the use of your children: remember the impoverishment of the nations: and on all who are in authority bestow your gifts of wisdom and goodwill, that, being lifted above self-regard, they may establish a new order, wherein the needs of all men shall be supplied; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the farmers’ hope be fulfilled in a plentiful harvest. Amen.
HYMN AHB 59 We plough the fields and scatter
We plough the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God’s almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine,
And soft, refreshing rain.
All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above;
Then thank the Lord,
O thank the Lord, for all his love.
He only is the maker
Of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower,
He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey him,
By him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, his children,
He gives our daily bread.
We thank thee then, O Father,
For all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer
For all thy love imparts,
And what thou most desirest,
Our humble, thankful hearts. Leader: ………………
Leader: Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and earth; mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and grant us your peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
ALL: Amen
Leader: May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
ALL: Amen