2 August 2026

1. Announcements

2. Votum / Voorbereidingsgebed

L: In die Naam van die Vader en die Seun en die Heilige Gees, genade en vrede vir julle.

G: Amen.

L: Ons hulp is in die Naam van die Here.

G: Wat hemel en aarde gemaak het.

L: Genadige Vader, ons soek u aangesig.

Ons bely ons sonde en ellende.

Gedring deur die Heilige Gees kom ons tog nader, in die Naam van Jesus Christus, ons Middelaar.

A: Here, ontferm U oor ons.

L: As ons ons sondes bely, Hy is getrou en regverdig om ons die sondes te vergewe en ons van alle ongeregtigheid te reinig.

A: Amen.

3. Introïtus – Psalm 63:2–9

L: You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;

C: I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

L: I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

C: Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

L: I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

C: On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.

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4. Opening Prayer

Here ons God,

Ons kom vanoggend na U toe omdat U alleen God is. Daarom buig ons vandag in verwondering voor U neer. Aan U behoort al die eer, die lof en die aanbidding.

Dankie dat ons as u kinders hier mag saamkom – uit verskillende agtergronde en met verskillende tale – maar met een geloof en een Here. Maak ons harte stil voor U, sodat ons U stem vandag duidelik kan hoor.

Gracious Father,

We thank You that Your faithfulness is greater than our fears and Your love deeper than our uncertainties. As we gather around Your Word today, fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Open our minds to understand, our hearts to believe, and our lives to obey.

Teach us not simply to seek what is safe or comfortable, but to trust You wherever You lead us. May everything that is said and prayed in this service bring honour and glory to Your holy Name alone.

Ons bid dit alles in die Naam van Jesus Christus, ons Here.

Amen.

5. Eerste Skriflesing – Filippense 3:3–14

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6. Tweede Skriflesing – Jeremia 1:4–10

7. Credo

In language of choice

Ek glo in God die Vader, die Almagtige, die Skepper van die hemel en die aarde.

En in Jesus Christus, sy eniggebore Seun, ons Here; wat ontvang is van die Heilige Gees, gebore is uit die maagd Maria; wat gely het onder Pontius Pilatus, gekruisig is, gesterf het en begrawe is en ter helle neergedaal het; wat op die derde dag weer opgestaan het uit die dode; wat opgevaar het na die hemel en sit aan die regterhand van God, die almagtige Vader, van waar Hy sal kom om te oordeel die wat nog lewe en die wat reeds gesterf het.

Ek glo in die Heilige Gees. Ek glo aan ʼn heilige, algemene Christelike kerk, die gemeenskap van die heiliges; die vergewing van sondes; die opstanding van die vlees en ʼn ewige lewe.

Amen.

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8. Kanselseën

Liturg: Genade bly by julle en vrede van God, ons Vader, en die Here Jesus Christus.

Gemeente: Amen.

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SERMON

CALLED BEYOND COMFORT

What If Safety Is Not God’s Will for Us?

Jeremiah 1:4–10

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart.”

Is that not among the most beautiful words any human being can ever hear?

“Nog voordat Ek jou gevorm het in die baarmoeder, het Ek jou geken; nog voordat jy uitgegaan het uit die moederskoot, het Ek jou geheilig.”

God does not begin with a command. He begins with grace.

THE FIRST TRUTH

The first truth about Jeremiah is not what he must do for God.

The first truth is what God has already done for Jeremiah.

And perhaps that is the first thing we need to hear today.

Before we speak about calling…

Before we speak about purpose…

Before we speak about what God wants from us…

we need to remember this:

We are known by God.
We are loved by God.
We belong to God.

Think about those words.

Before all the things we consider important… there was God.

Before there was your story… there was God.

That is where every Christian life begins.

Not with our search for God.

But with God’s love for us.

That is grace.

But we must notice something else.

God does not say these words to Jeremiah simply to make him feel secure.

God says this because He follows it up with:

“I have a purpose for your life.”

Grace always leads to calling.

Being known by God always leads to being sent by God.

RESPONSE

And how do we not understand Jeremiah’s response:

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

Jeremiah is afraid.

Every generation has its own version of Jeremiah’s words.

The young say: “I am too inexperienced.”

The middle-aged say: “I am too busy.”

The older say: “My time has passed.” “I have already done my part.” “Perhaps someone else should do it now.”

Different ages. The same fear.

GOD’S ANSWER

But listen carefully to God’s answer.

God does not say:

“Jeremiah, you are right. Let’s wait until you feel more confident.”

God says:

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

God does not promise Jeremiah a comfortable life.

He promises His presence.

And that is the same promise Jesus gave His disciples:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

God does not promise a comfortable life.

He promises to be with us.

And sometimes that is the greater gift.

Because comfort can keep us where we are.

But God’s presence gives us courage to go where He sends us.

Years ago, in one of my confirmation classes, I struggled to explain what discipleship really means.

After many attempts, one of the young people looked at me and said:

“So tannie, all you are actually saying is: we cannot serve God sitting down.”

She had understood something profound.

Faith is not something we simply keep.

Faith is something we live.

BEYOND COMFORT

And that brings us to the question:

WHAT IF SAFETY IS NOT GOD’S HIGHEST WILL FOR US?

We all understand the desire for safety.

We lock our doors.

We protect what matters to us.

We treasure familiar places, familiar faces and familiar routines.

There is nothing wrong with that.

But Scripture shows us something surprising:

God’s people are often called beyond comfort.

Abraham left what was familiar.

Moses stood before Pharaoh.

Jeremiah spoke God’s Word.

Paul suffered for the Gospel.

And Jesus walked the road to the cross.

God has never promised His people a life without uncertainty.

But He has promised that we will never walk alone.

OUR CONGREGATION’S JOURNEY

Friends, I cannot read Jeremiah’s calling without thinking about our own journey as a congregation.

We find ourselves in a season of uncertainty.

We worship in the beautiful Stella Maris Chapel, surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation and the sound of the ocean.

It has been a harbour for us.

But God is calling us beyond the harbour.

Because ships are not built only for the harbour.

They are built for the open sea.

We still carry questions about our future.

We still face challenges.

We still sometimes ask:

“Lord, how will this be possible?”

But these questions are not signs that God has abandoned us.

Perhaps they are invitations to trust Him more deeply.

Because the future of this congregation will not ultimately be decided by our age, our size, or our resources.

The future of this congregation will be decided by one question:

DO WE STILL BELIEVE THAT GOD IS CALLING US?

MAGGIE KUHN

Let me tell you a story.

In 1970, a woman named Maggie Kuhn was forced to retire at the age of 65.

Many people might have thought:

“Your work is finished. Your time has passed.”

But Maggie believed that growing older did not mean becoming useless.

Together with a group of older people, she started what became known as the Gray Panthers movement — people who challenged society’s tendency to overlook those who had grown older.

Even into her eighties, she continued working.

She once said:

“When you look at me, you see the gray hair, the frailty, an old woman; when I look at myself, I see survivorship. I see the evidence of God’s faithfulness through all the years.”

I wonder if we sometimes make the same mistake in the church.

We look at our age.

We look at our limitations.

We look at what we no longer have.

We look at our challenges and our impossibilities.

Jeremiah could only see what he lacked.

“I cannot speak.”

“I am too young.”

But God could see what Jeremiah could not see.

God saw a prophet.

And perhaps today God sees something in us that we sometimes cannot see ourselves.

Not a congregation that is too old.

Not a congregation that is too small.

But a congregation that is still called.

TRUST?

Perhaps this morning God is asking us the same question He asked Jeremiah.

Not: “Are you strong enough?”

Because we know we are not.

Not: “Do you have everything figured out?”

Because we know we do not.

God asks a deeper question:

“Will you trust Me?”

Because the God who calls us is the God who first formed us.

The God who sends us is the God who already knows us.

The God who asks us to step beyond comfort is the God who promises:

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

GREATEST DANGER

Friends, perhaps our greatest danger is not that we are too old.

Perhaps our greatest danger is that we stop expecting God to do something new.

Faith has never been about protecting what we have always known.

Faith has always been about following where God leads.

And perhaps the prayer of our hearts today should simply be:

“Lord, we do not know what lies ahead. But we know You are already there. Give us the courage to follow You.”

Because the safest place has never been the place where nothing changes.

The safest place has always been where God is.

Amen.

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9. Gebed na die Dankoffer

Here, alles wat ons het kom uit U hand. Ons bring hierdie gawes as ’n teken van ons dankbaarheid en vertroue. Gebruik dit om U gemeente te versterk en U koninkryk te laat groei.

Amen.

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10. Gebed

Getroue God, ons dank U dat U ons geken het nog voordat ons U geken het, en dat ons lewens altyd vasgehou word in U genadige bedoeling.

Leer ons om nie ons lewens slegs te meet aan dit wat ons kan sien of beheer nie, maar om U te vertrou wanneer die pad onseker is.

Herinner ons daaraan dat U nie vir ons ’n maklike pad belowe nie, maar dat U belowe om altyd saam met ons te wees.

Ons bid vir U Kerk: gee moed aan almal wat U Woord verkondig, gee krag aan dié wat dien, en gee geloof en hoop aan gemeentes wat deur verandering en uitdagings gaan.

Lei ook ons eie gemeente met wysheid, eenheid en vertroue.

Wanneer ons slegs struikelblokke sien, help ons om die moontlikhede van U genade raak te sien.

Wanneer ons ons eie swakheid ervaar, herinner ons daaraan dat U krag juis daarin sigbaar word.

Here, wees naby aan almal wat swaar laste dra — die siekes, die eensames, dié wat treur, dié wat angstig is, en dié wat moed verloor het.

Wees veral naby aan ons ouer lidmate. Herinner hulle daaraan dat hulle steeds deur U geken, geliefd en geroep is.

Here Jesus, U het die pad van die kruis geloop. Stap ook vandag saam met ons.

Gee ons die moed om U te volg — verder as ons gemak, verder as ons vrese, en verder as dit wat vir ons bekend en veilig voel.

In U hande plaas ons onsself, ons gemeente en hierdie wêreld.

En nou, met vertroue in U liefde, bid ons saam die gebed wat U ons geleer het:

Ons Vader

Ons Vader wat in die hemel is, laat u Naam geheilig word; laat u koninkryk kom; laat u wil geskied, soos in die hemel, so ook op die aarde.

Gee ons vandag ons daaglikse brood; en vergeef ons ons oortredinge soos ons ook dié vergewe wat teen ons oortree; en lei ons nie in versoeking nie, maar verlos ons van die Bose.

Want aan U behoort die koninkryk en die krag en die heerlikheid tot in ewigheid.

Amen.

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11. Dismissal

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12. Blessing

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ hold you,

the love of God surround you,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit strengthen you,

today and always.

Amen.