Printed Service – Sunday 24th August 2025
Prepared by Rev. Paulson Devasahayam
Your condition is NOT your conclusion
Call to worship : Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30
Let us worship with confidence and courage.
Hymn StF 17 With gladness we worship
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With gladness we worship,
rejoice as we sing,
Free hearts and free voices,
how blessèd to bring!
The old thankful story
shall seek Thine abode,
Thou King of all glory,
most bountiful God!
Renewed by Thy Spirit,
redeemed by Thy Son,
Thy children would bless Thee
for all Thou hast done:
O Father, returning
to love and to light,
Our spirits are yearning
to praise Thee aright.
Thy right would we give Thee,
true homage Thy due,
And honor eternal,
the universe through:
With all Thy creation,
earth, heaven and sea,
In one acclamation
we glorify Thee.
We join with the angels,
and so there is giv’n,
From earth, Alleluia,
in answer to Heav’n.
Amen! Be Thou glorious
below and above,
Redeeming, victorious,
and infinite Love!
Prayer of Praise
Lord, you are El Shaddai – Lord God Almighty,
You uphold us when we are weak and shelter us in every storm.
Lord, you are Jehovah-Raah – The Lord My Shepherd,
You guide us beside still waters, and you restore our souls.
Lord, you are Jehovah Rapha – The Lord That Heals,
You touch our deepest wounds—body, mind, and spirit.
Lord, you are Jehovah Shammah – The Lord Is There,
You never leave us nor forsake us.
Lord, you are Jehovah Jireh – The Lord Will Provide,
You see our needs and you supply our daily bread.
Glory be to the Father, the Almighty, Glory be to the Son, the Redeemer, And glory be to the Holy Spirit, the Sustainer, Three in One, perfect in unity and love. Amen.
Prayer of Penitence : Lord, you see us completely. You know our struggles, our weaknesses, and our failures. There is nothing we can hide from you. We confess, Lord, that we have often tried to solve things our own way Instead of stepping forward in faith and trusting you. We are also sorry for the careless words we have spoken. Words that have hurt others, and for the missed chances to lift someone up with love. Forgive us, gracious Lord. Thank you for your mercy that never fails. Help us to walk again in your light, with faith and kindness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hymn StF 247 I danced in the morning when the world was begun
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I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun;
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.
I danced for the scribe and the pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John –
They came with me and the Dance went on.
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame;
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die.
I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black –
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the Dance, and I still go on.
They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me –
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
Reading: Luke: 13:10-17
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Sermon: Your condition is NOT your conclusion.
Dear friends in Christ,
I praise God for another opportunity give me to share God’s message with you today.
It is often difficult to believe in the possibility of transformation—especially when we are caught in situations that seem unchangeable. In such moments, hope can feel distant, even irrelevant. Quietly, we begin to accept certain conditions as final. We make conclusions—about ourselves, about others, about our churches, even about the world. But perhaps today, God is inviting us to revisit those conclusions in the light of the Gospel.
In most healing stories in the Gospels, someone approaches Jesus—pleading, interceding, or reaching out in desperation. But in our reading from Luke 13, something different happens. Jesus initiates the healing. He sees a crippled woman. He calls her. He sets her free.
What first caught my attention in this passage is Luke’s simple, yet profound line in verse 12: “Jesus saw her.”
I invite you to pause and imagine her condition. Try to see her, not just with our eyes, but with our hearts. The King James Version offers a literal translation from the Greek: she was “bowed together.” It’s more than posture; it describes a life folded inward. For eighteen years, her back was permanently curved. She couldn’t stand tall. Sitting comfortably or lying flat would have been difficult. Walking was painful. Eating was awkward. Her body drew pity. Her face bore the story of long, silent suffering.
Try this: bend over for one minute. While in that position, try to look someone in the eye. Try to embrace a child. Try to lift your hands in praise. Try to feel the sun on your face. It’s nearly impossible.
She was bent toward the ground, almost faceless, and her vision was always downward. I would say: she lost her sky.
But then Jesus saw her, and Jesus restored her Sky.
For eighteen years, her world was confined to what was beneath her: dust, dirt, and feet. Her line of sight was always downward. Even a sideways glance gave no real direction. She moved through life seeing feet rather than faces.
But Jesus sees her, calls her forward, touches her and immediately she straightens up. She sees the sky again. She sees faces again. She sees life again.
And then Jesus gives her something even more precious: He gives her a name. She was nameless in the crowd. But Jesus calls her “daughter of Abraham.”
That means everything. It is a name full of covenant, dignity, and belonging. The promise to Abraham was, “your descendants will be like the stars of the sky.” And now, she too can look up and reclaim that sky. She belongs to the promise. She has not been forgotten.
My friends, when we live with conclusions, we lose our sky. Discipleship and the calling of the church is about helping people recover their sky. It’s about lifting those who are bent low by life by suffering, shame, or silence and helping them see the face of Christ.
Another thought this woman teaches us is that faith keeps the flame burning.
In her condition, she could have stayed home. She could have withdrawn, bowed down not just in body but in spirit. But she didn’t. She came to the synagogue. She took a step toward the presence of God.
That simple act was an extraordinary act of courage. She might have said this: Even if I’m hurting, I will seek God. Even if I’m bent down, I will lift my soul.
This is what faith does: it lifts our gaze beyond the dust of our suffering toward the One who is higher than our pain.
Yes, we can live without faith. But faith in God gives us something more: courage in the face of weakness, and the quiet confidence that even in our brokenness, we can step into God’s embrace. Faith does not promise the absence of trouble, but it assures us there is a Rock higher than we are, and that Rock will hold us fast.
This woman stepped into a place that may not have welcomed her. She entered a space where social taboos, religious judgments, and cultural barriers could have excluded her. But she came anyway.
Jesus notices the bent-over, the overlooked, the dismissed. He speaks life into those the world has written off. And sometimes, He works through us through his people. Are we willing to be his voice, his touch, his compassion? Can we be the ones who help restore the sky for someone else?
Let me close with a real-life story that echoes this Gospel truth.
Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely, weighing just four and a half pounds. She was often sick as a child, and at four, she had polio. Her left leg was paralysed. Doctors said she would never walk again. She wore a metal leg brace for years.
But her mother refused to accept that conclusion. Every week, she took Wilma to the only doctor they could find who would treat children in the segregated South. Her siblings massaged her legs daily. Slowly, she regained strength.
By age 11, Wilma could walk. Then she could run. And run she did. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games.
Later, she wrote: “My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.”
Wilma’s story reminds us that no condition has to be our conclusion.
What conclusions have you quietly made about our lives or others?
What parts of our vision have been bent downward for too long?
Today, Jesus is with us. He still sees. He still calls. He still restores the sky. Let us rise and walk in that healing love.
Hymn StF 655 We cannot measure how you heal or answer every sufferer’s prayer
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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.
Prayers of Intercession
God of grace and God of compassion, we thank you and praise you for the message you have brought into our lives today. As we come to you with our needs, we seek your presence and peace. Lord, you know everything about our lives. We do not need to explain what is happening, you see not only our faces but our hearts. You are the healer of body and mind, so we ask for your healing touch upon us. Some of us are living with conditions that feel permanent or unchanging, but we believe, Lord, that you are the miracle worker and promise keeper. Transform our bodies and minds to receive your healing presence.
We also lift up our families and friends. Help us to live peacefully and joyfully, strengthening our relationships and renewing our commitments to one another. Help us to support each other through a visit, a smile, a phone call, a card, or by sharing a meal. May your love be made visible through our simple acts of care.
Lord, we ask your blessing upon the mission of your Church, both locally and globally. Help us to remain a worshiping community and a serving community. Let your name be glorified in all we do in your name. Help us to welcome all who seek your face, without condition and without bias. Help us to grow in faith, to study your Word, to find time to pray, and to share the gospel through both our words and our actions.
We pray for our world and all its people. We lift up to you the cries of those living in poverty, those caught in political crises, those suffering from natural calamities, and those living in the shadow of war. Grant wisdom to the leaders of nations, and strength to peace-makers and organisations, that they may work together to find just and lasting solutions. We also pray for the creation your hands have made. Too often, we have taken for granted the resources you have given us. We confess our neglect and pray for a renewed commitment to care for Your earth. Help us to take immediate steps in our daily lives and to boldly promote the message of climate justice in our communities.
Finally, Lord, we commit this new week into your hands, the travels we will make, the appointments we hold, our financial needs, and the commitments we must fulfil. May we experience your presence throughout the week. Guide us and guard us. We ask all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer : 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.
Hymn StF 681 Community of Christ, who make the Cross your own
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Community of Christ,
who make the cross your own,
live out your creed and risk your life,
for God alone:
the God who wears your face
to whom all worlds belong,
whose children are of every race
and every song.
Community of Christ,
look past the church’s door
and see the refugee, the hungry,
and the poor.
Take hands with the oppressed,
the jobless in your street,
take towel and water, that you wash
your neighbour’s feet.
Community of Christ,
through whom the word must sound:
cry out for justice and for peace
the whole world round:
disarm the powers that war
and all that can destroy,
turn bombs to bread,
and tears of anguish into joy.
When menace melts away,
so shall God’s will be done,
the climate of the world be peace
and Christ its sun;
our currency be love
and kindliness our law,
our food and faith be shared as one
for evermore.
Blessing : God of all new beginnings and hope, guide you and guard you in every step of your life. May His light shine through you to all whom you meet and speak with. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God, And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always. Amen