Printed Service – Sunday 8th September 2024
Prepared by Rev. Saul Tadzaushe
‘Spiritual Transformation’

Call to worship Psalm 118 : It is better  to take refuge in the Lord  than to trust in human beings.

Hymn STF 51 : Great is thy faithfulness 
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Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside

Thomas O. Chisolm (1866-1960)

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Bible Reading Mark 7: 1-23
The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciple’s eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)So, the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ’‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. ’You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus, you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” Again, Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Hymn STF655 – We cannot measure how you heal
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We cannot measure how You heal
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.

The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hoped to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.

So, some have come who need Your help
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present in the touch of friends.
Lord, let Your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make Your broken people whole.

Reflections on the theme Spiritual Transformation.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law confronted Jesus on the question of the law and Jewish traditions.  The Disciples of Jesus Christ were found wanted and not  observing the law.

Every society has cultural traditions, ritual norms, values, and practices in order for the community to function well, just like the Jewish society of that moment.

Jesus said  these people honour me with their lips, but their hearts  are far from me. They worship  me in vain their teachings  are merely human rules.

The ten commandments were multiplied to six hundred and thirty-two rules. They became a burden for society, and no one followed them all. The law was given the highest place of honour more than God.

The church should examine its laws rituals and practices today. 

The mission of God is in the world. Jesus came to the world not to condemn the world but to save the world. He did not come enslave the world but to save the world.

The church should be the salt of the world as it brings  justice, love, and pastoral care for all in the world.

Spiritual transformation begins with the heart and then to the public world.  Our private lives should affect the public world. Outward observances are not of any relevance and significance when the heart is not right.

Prayer of Dedication

Let us read Romans 12:1-2 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
And then meditate on the words silently.

Hymn STF 632 I’ve had questions
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I’ve had questions, without answers
I’ve known sorrow, I have known pain
But there’s one thing, that I’ll cling to
You are faithful, Jesus You’re true

When hope is lost, I’ll call You Saviour
When pain surrounds, I’ll call You Healer
When silence falls, You’ll be the song within my heart

In the lone hour, of my sorrow
Through the darkest night of my soul
You surround me, and sustain me
My defender, forever more
When hope is lost …

I will praise You, I will praise You
When the tears fall, still I will sing to You
I will praise You, Jesus praise You
Through the suffering still I will sing
When hope is lost …

Tim Hughes

Blessings.