23 October 2022 is the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. Our service today is again led by our Assistant Minister, Christine McWhirter.

The key points today are about recognising being in another time and place, recognising the experiences others have, knowing God’s love for us and for others, and sharing that love, peace and grace.

Order of Service

Welcome and notices
Call to worship
Hymn – CH4 600 Spirit of God, unseen as the wind
Prayers of Adoration and Confession (including Lord’s prayer)
MP – 167 Give me oil in my lamp
All-age talk
Children’s hymns – Our God is an awesome God and Did you ever talk to God above?
Readings – Psalm 40:1-5 and Luke 10: 25-37
Hymn – MP 631 Tell out, my soul
Message
Prayers for others
Hymn – MP 708 To God be the glory!
Blessing and threefold Amen

Main Scripture for today

Luke 10:25-37 (from The Message Translation of the Bible)

Defining “Neighbour”
25 Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”

26 He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”

27 He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbour as well as you do yourself.”

28 “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”

29 Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbour’?”

30-32 Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

33-35 “A Samaritan travelling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’

36 “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbour to the man attacked by robbers?”

37 “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

Video recording of today’s service

It’s usually fairly easy to help out friends and family and people we like or get on well with. But these men were strangers.

And had long-standing cultural and religious reasons to hate each other.

REV. CHRISTINE MCWHIRTER