Worship on the Lord’s Day
10:00 am 14 May 2023
Christian Family Sunday and Mothers Day
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Lynn Vaughan
Elder: Gina Kottke
We gather to worship God
Music prelude
Greeting
L: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
P: and also with you.
Lighting of the Christ candle
Welcome and announcements
Silent preparation for worship
Call to Worship
L: Let us see you this day, O God.
P: Come to us as light.
L: Let us hear you this day, O God.
P: Come to us as truth.
L: Let us sense your presence, O God.
P: Come to us as love.
L: Come and let us worship, God.
P: We have come to rejoice in God, our Saviour
Opening praise: I lift my eyes up
Prayers of approach and confession
You are the God who made the world and everything in it.
You are the ruler of heaven and earth.
You give life and breath and all things.
In you we live and move and have our being.
In you we find a judge who is kind and gracious.
In you we find our beginning and our end, and so we offer you our praise and our worship and adoration this day and always.
We also offer to you our confession of sins so that we might begin again with you and one another.
We have claimed to be wise when we were ignorant.
We have sought truth in places of folly.
We have made idols of things of little value, and valued little the things of great worth.
Forgive us. Renew us.Restore within us the spirit of truth and set us on a new track.
Response: Glory, glory, hallelujah
Assurance of God’s grace
God is slow to anger and swift to forgive and always filled with loving kindness. Know that you are forgiven, forgive one another and be at peace.
We listen for the voice of God
Children’s time
Gradual: Open our eyes, Lord (445)
Story Time
If you could name something that is the farthest possible distance away from you, what would that thing be?
Now, if you could name something that is as close to you as is possible, what would that be? What are some things that are very, very close to you?
Some people think that God must live far away. If we could travel to go see God, how far do you think we’d have to go? If we thought that God lived somewhere in the “up” direction, and we got into a rocket ship to go and visit him, how far do you think our rocket would have to travel to finally get to where God is?
But is God really far away from us? Does God live way out there in outer space?
Our God is not a distant God. He wants to be right here with us. He sent his only son, Jesus, right here to our world to live with us and to die on the cross for us and to rise again to life. And when Jesus went up into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to fill every believer with the power of God.
God is close to us, isn’t he? Jesus is closer than your mommy or daddy when they’re hugging you tight; he’s closer than a hug. Jesus is closer than our shoes and socks. He’s closer than our skin. Acts, chapter 17, describes how close God is to us. The apostle Paul says, “He is not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being… ” (Acts 17:27-28 RSV). God is so close that he’s a part of us.
So the next time you get a nice squooshy hug from someone, remember that Jesus is even closer than a hug! When you go back to your places, give someone a big hug and tell them how close Jesus is to them.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when we feel, like you are far away, help us to remember how close you really are. Help us to know You are always here. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer (535)
Transition music
Song: Teach me, God, to wonder (704)
Today’s Message
Scripture readings: Acts 17:23-31; I Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21
Response: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
Message: “Always be willing to tell anyone about the hope that we have”
Paul has travelled from Berea to Athens ahead of his friends Silas and Timothy. That trip is 3 days by boat or 12 days if you walk.
Supposing Paul arrived by ship, (which appears from Luke to be the case) he would have landed at Piraeus and would have gone north from the harbor and entered Athens by the “Double Gate” on the west side of the city, where four highways converged.
Passing through the gates, Paul would have seen the Temple of Demeter with statues of the goddess and her daughter. A little further on he would have passed the statue of Poseidon hurling his trident. Beyond this, he would have seen the statues of Healing Athena, Zeus, Apollo, and Hermes standing near the Sanctuary of Dionysius.
Assuming that Paul explored the city (even just 6 or so blocks past the Sanctuary for the god of wine) he would have seen the Royal Colonnade, the Metroum or Sanctuary of the Mother of the gods with her image. In the agora, the central market, where that street led, he would have seen the altar of Mercy, which stood in a grove of laurels and olives. Nearby was another stone statue: this one once more of Hermes, and a bronze statue of Ptolemy which would have been bad new. Also in the city was the Sanctuary of the Dioscuri, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Sanctuary of Dionysus (at the foot of the Acropolis), the Temple of Athena (the goddess of Wingless Victory). And in Athens was of course, the most famous Greek temple of all – the Temple of the Parthenon (with its many deities).
The city was flooded with statues, temples and altars. While visiting Montréal, the famous writer Mark Twain reportedly said, “You can’t throw a bring in this town without breaking stained glass.” Athens was much the same. An ancient proverb declared that there were “more gods in Athens than men.” It wasn’t far from the truth. He had just arrived but wherever the Apostle looked, in niches and on pedestals, in temples and on street corners, at the food stores, were gods and demigods. Busts of Hermes were on every corner and statues and altars were in the shared courtyards of every home.
In short, Paul had come to a very interesting place. Archeologists have yet to find an altar to “An Unknown God” in Athens like the one we are told about here in Acts. But in Athens such an altar would not be a surprise to find, and it wouldn’t be unique either. Outside of Rome, on the Palatine Hill, there is an altar dedicated to “The Unknown gods” in the plural. Most likely it just hasn’t been uncovered just yet. But I bet it’s there.
Still, what a strange thing… an altar to a god no one worships? To Canadians it seems pretty crazy. Why build an altar to an Unknown God?
Well, the answer is actually pretty simple. French philosopher Blaise Pascal observed: “In every person’s life there is a God-shaped hole.” Each of us tries to fill that vacuum with a god of some sort. Some make glamor their god, others drugs, others their parents. But it seems innate within humanity that even people who claim not to believe in god, tend to make idols out of just about everything.
Ancient people were no different than the 17th century French philosopher was… or us for that matter. They were searching. You see, the Athenian people believed that different gods owned different sections of the planet earth. The ancient pagans were simply people who didn’t want to offend any of those gods and so they freely prayed to any and all gods they had ever heard of in the hopes that one might answer them. It was sort of a buckshot, shot gun approach to prayer if you will. Sort of a spread it out and see if you hit something.
Writing in the third century, Diogenes Laertius tells a story of a plague that took place in Athens nearly a thousand years earlier. He says that a Cretan magician ended a terrible plague (which had ravaged the land) by bringing a heard of sheep to the Aeropagus and releasing them. According to the story, each sheep was followed around until it lay down. You can imagine a good hundred men, following sheep around all day waiting for them to take a rest. And then wherever it lay, it was sacrificed to the god whose temple or alter of sacrifice was in that area of the city. According to the story, one lone sheep lay down in an area of Athens where no temple seemed to be in the immediate vicinity. As a result that sheep was sacrificed and a new alter was erected to “An Unknown God”.
And this is where Paul goes to preach. Truth be told it’s not a lot different from today. And just like today, people are always looking for ways to share their religious views with others.
The problem is – unlike Paul, we don’t have a very good track record.
We will speak about this a little more in the weeks to come but about 10 years ago our congregation in Saskatchewan, along with one other, and a local community group began investigating a lone grave stone in a field by the Regina airport. In the end we discovered the bodies of some 37 children. What was there, long ago was a residential school, once owned and operated by the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The school was originally set up because indigenous children were being left behind. The intent was to teach farming so that native communities would have more opportunities. The government paid for it and the churches got to “witness” Jesus to the kids as a result.
I don’t think I have to tell you – it all went bad. And we need to own that history just as we own the things we are proud of.
In the first century the apostle Paul was faced with the same kinds of reality. He came upon a diverse people with variously different forms of spirituality and wanted to share a message with them previously unheard of before by the inhabitants of that land. But he did it a little differently than we did.
In Acts 17 it says, 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus (or Mars Hill) and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: “to an unknown god.”
While the English here can be a little deceiving, there is no hint of rudeness in his approach in the Greek.
In short, he treats them with respect.
Instead of attacking the people for their “strange beliefs” he shares something with them and builds on that. He doesn’t treat them like fools or reject what they know. He starts with what they know. He talks about their “unknown god.” He meets the people where they are.
At this point I’m reminded of Engineering Scientist and Television personality Bill Nye The Science Guy, who once said, “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” That’s kind of what Paul does here. He comes to them assuming that they know something he doesn’t and wants to share something he knows that they don’t.
He just says, I see that you are deeply religious people, but I might just know something about this “unknown god” of yours. Clever, isn’t he?
And he does it with such great enthusiasm. He’s not scared to share. He’s excited. It reminds me of this little story.
All the kids in my family used to play in the empty lot next door to my house when I was little. I can remember one time when my little sister fell and skinned her knee, a big group of us kids helped her to the house and when we got there my mom was waiting with peroxide, (which by the way does not actually help – it just hurts) band-aids and two freshly baked cookies. My mom cleaned her up quickly and put on the big bandage. Outside she could hear someone ask “are you okay”. Not three seconds went buy and my sister went from tears to joy as she screamed back. “Cookies, I got cookies”.
When you’re really happy about something, you want to tell people. That’s how we should be about our God. That’s how Paul is here.
Sadly, Christians today are often afraid to share their faith. And it’s understandable. As I said we haven’t had the best track record and quite frankly we’re haunted by the mistakes of our past. Often people are afraid of offending someone or afraid they might bump into someone that has no belief or interest in God. People wonder, “What could I ever say to somebody that doesn’t believe in God at all?”
But to tell the truth I bet if someone ever said to the apostle Paul “I don’t believe in God,” he might have responded the same way I do. I say, “Tell me about this god you don’t believe in. Because chances are that I don’t believe in that kind of god either.”
For example: some people have this strange / false picture of the Christian God. They think we believe in an angry judge that just wants to punish people. But I don’t believe in an angry god just waiting to spank the people who get out of line. I don’t believe in a god that takes attendance every Sunday. I don’t believe in a god that judges us by our wrongs without justice.
But I do believe in a God of love… a God that accepts, a God that give us grace instead of what we deserve… a God that challenges and changes lives and inspires people. A God who would literally die for you. That’s the God I believe in and that’s the God I like to talk about.
When Paul meets the pagans in Athens (the people who pray to whoever will answer) he doesn’t try to change their culture or their clothes or their language. But he does try to add to it.
As Christians we need, as Peter says, “to always be willing to tell anyone about the hope that we have but with gentleness and respect.” We need to realize the ways that we have done this in the past which have done far more harm than good. We need to realize that our Lord proclaims his glory even through nature. General revelation is real. The sunset does tell us a lot about God. And we need to realize that no one has a monopoly on faith or truth but God alone. We simply do our best to follow.
I am fairly convinced that the Presbyterians of the generations before us generally had good intentions in their evangelistic efforts. I’m convinced the guy on the street corner shouting at people does too. But I’m also convinced of something else… We can, should and must do better. We must admit our errors, own them and attempt to make up for them. Good intentions are not enough.
May you know our God more fully each day.
May your cup overflow and your joy abound.
May you be excited to share your faith, in love and with gentleness and respect.
May you be just as open to learn what others might know, as you are to share.
And may we all learn from the mistakes of our past and proclaim Christ rightly whenever and wherever he might be “unknown.” And let us always be ready to share the reasons for the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Amen
Song: This is my commandment (694)
We respond to serve God
Reflection on giving: We have been giving faithfully since the beginning of the pandemic and we are committed to continuing the ministry and mission that define Dayspring – using the ways described below. Thank you all for your support of our shared vision and mission.
A Mother’s Day story:[1] The story is told about a mom was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter when the girl picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. The mother tells what happens in her own words:
I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.” My daughter quickly asked, “Why?” “Because it’s been lying outside, you don’t know where it’s been, it’s dirty and probably has germs,” I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, “Wow! How do you know all this stuff?”
I thought quickly and said, “All moms know this stuff. It’s on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don’t let you be a Mommy.”
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, as she pondered this new information. “Oh…I get it!” she beamed, “So if you don’t pass the test you have to be the daddy?”
I smiled and replied, “Exactly.”
Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves
God of homes and families, this Sunday, we give you thanks for our families,
especially remembering mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers.
We are grateful for their love and attention, their hard work and the deep hope they have cherished for each one of us.
We honour before you each one who has mothered us and now lives with you in your eternal care.
And we ask your blessing on each one in our family who continues to care for us, cook for us and worry about us.
God with a loving heart, Hear our prayer.
God of connections and compassion, today we thank you for our friends and relations, for the neighbours and fellow citizens who help to make our lives complete.
We thank you for glad times shared, helping hands offered, commitments honoured.
And we pray for those around us facing particular challenges this day:
Keep silence for 15 seconds.
God with a loving heart, Hear our prayer.
God of courage and new possibility, today we pray for all those who feel life or love slipping through their fingers, for those who face the loss of good health,
and for those who face the loss of good times.
We pray for communities facing upheaval through natural disaster and human misjudgment, and for countries facing economic turbulence and environmental collapse.
Keep silence for 15 seconds.
God with a loving heart, Hear our prayer.
God of forgiveness and renewal, today we pray for those caught up in relationships in need of repair and for all who seek peace and seek to make peace. We pray for families, churches, communities and countries caught up in division.
Keep silence for 15 seconds.
Send your Spirit to bring peace to troubled lives, God with a loving heart,
Hear our prayer.
Song: Love divine, all loves excelling (371)
Sending out with God’s blessing
May the immortal, invisible, God only wise, go with you, going before you, behind you, around you and within you.
May the God who made all things, who sustains all things, rules all things, sees all things, lead your way.
May the God In whom we live and move and have our being give you insight and understanding.
And may we all share our faith boldly and rightly or not at all, from this time forward and for evermore. Amen.
Response: God to enfold you
Music postlude
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Numbers in brackets after a song/hymn indicate that it is from the 1997 Book of Praise of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Those and other songs are being used in accordance with the specifications of Dayspring’s licensing with One Licence (3095377) and CLC (A735555).
The Rev. Brad Childs retains the copyright (© 2023) on all original material in this service. As far as Brad Childs is aware, all of the material that has not been attributed to others is his own creation or is in the public domain. Unacknowledged use of copyrighted material is unintentional and will be corrected immediately upon notification being received.
[1] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/82154/all-moms-know-this-stuff-by-sermon-central