Worship on the First Sunday of Lent
10:00 am 18 February 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalists: Lynn Vaughan & Linda F-B
Elder: Iris Routledge
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: On this first Sunday of Lent, we find Jesus in the wilderness, facing temptation. And forty days in the wilderness is a long time.
P: We too experience wilderness times of temptation, challenge and change.
L: Yet even in the wilderness and among the wild beasts, the angels cared for Jesus.
P: As we make our way in the wilderness, we hear the good news that we are not alone – that God has come near in Christ.
Opening praise: I give You my heart
Prayers of approach and confession
God of Great Wisdom, You are beyond our imagining, beyond our control, and sometimes beyond our comfort zone.
You amaze us.
You have given us more than we could ever earn or deserve, and in response, we are not only grateful but determined to be faithful stewards.
Receive our worship this day, O God.
Speak to us in the sounds and silence of this hour and amaze us once again in your presence.
God of Goodness,
You share your abundance with us and shower us with gifts.
But we confess that we have squandered those gifts.
We have wasted knowledge, friendship, beauty and wealth; we have squandered our time and energy, sometimes even our trust and love.
Forgive our foolishness.
Have mercy on us.
Teach us new ways of living out your love in the world today and every day, with the help of Jesus Christ, our Friend and Saviour. Amen.
Response: I waited, I waited on You, Lord
Assurance of God’s grace
While it is true that we have sinned and squandered God’s gifts at times, it is a greater truth that we are forgiven through God’s love in Jesus Christ.
To all who humbly seek the mercy of God I say,
In Jesus Christ our sin is forgiven.
Be at peace with God, with yourself and with one another.
We listen for the voice of God
Children’s time
Response: My Lighthouse
Story
Q: What does the word Lent mean?
A: 40
Q: What is Lent?
A: 40 days of Jesus in the desert
Q: Why is Lent?
A: Because Jesus wandered in the desert and was tempted for 40 days, we do the same for the 40 days (with Sundays breaks) in preparation for Easter.
Q: How do we celebrate Lent?
A: To “celebrate” Lent may Christians give up some type or food in solidarity with Jesus. It’s about denying what you want and living with what you need.
Q: What do you do for Lent?
A: Glad you asked – In the past I have done both successfully and not so successfully 40 days without solid food which I’ve done a few times. But not this year for health reasons. Maddie often gives up Chocolate.
Q: What can you do for Lent.
A: Well, it’s not too late. You can start today, and it doesn’t have to be something you subtract from your life.
Instead of giving up an item of food I’d like you to try something new for Lent.
When you get home have your parents write the words
For Lent I Give Up and they decide on one thing.
- Maybe For Lent I Give Up grumbling or complaining
- Maybe for Lent I Give Up 15 minutes of sleep by getting up early to help make breakfast or pack your lunch.
- Maybe get up 10 minutes early to read a few pages of the proverbs or ask to help with leftover dishes.
- Maybe for the month you give up being first in line for something or give up getting mad. Give up saying saying “I’ll do that later” and just do things.
- Maybe you decide you are going to give up name calling or pushing or caring who plays with what toy or a half hour of your screen time.
The point is that you can still participate in Lent. You can give something up. And your parents can help. Just decide together and who knows, they might just join you.
Prayer
God as we go through Lent, help us to prepare for Easter help us to understand what it is to not have. Help us to understand the difference between want and need. And God help us to do something with our time to focus on the world around us that is much bigger than just ourselves.
The Lord’s Prayer (535)
Transition music
Song: Forty days and forty nights (197)
Today’s Message
Scripture reading: Psalm 25:1-10 and I Samuel 3:1-20
Response: Jesus, remember me
Message: Morse Code Calling
Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including (as one might expect) the sound of the telegraph clicking away in the background. A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed the numerous job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.
The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally, the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They muttered among themselves about how rude and how arrogant the young man was that he thought he could just jump to the front of the line.
Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.”
The other applicants began grumbling at each other, and finally one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. That’s not fair!”
But then they got their answer. The employer said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph in my office has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. He did. “The job is his.”
1 Samuel 3:1-20
During the time of the Judges when Israel was partially ruled by the Philistines and as the Bible says, “everyone did only what was right in their own eyes.” Or as Samuel himself puts it, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”
Anyway, a woman named Hannah wanted desperately to have a child but couldn’t conceive. She went to the Temple to pray. As the book of Samuel says, she prayed silently. At the time it was unheard of to pray silently. If you were going to pray then you might as well do it out loud because God might choose to work through people around you that might hear. And so when the High Priest Eli first entered the Temple, he thought Hannah was stooped over drunk. But when they spoke, he was moved by her tears and promised her that God is just and would surely grant her prayers.
As it happens this came true. Hannah had a son and named him Samuel. In devotion and in thanksgiving Hannah brought her son Samuel to the temple when he was only a few years old to train with Eli to be a Nazirite. Eventually, the boy Samuel would anoint a new king for the people and remove them from the rule of the Philistines. Samuels’s anointed was King David.
But before all that happened Samuel was just a boy. In fact, in this story, Samuel is probably between the ages of 6-9 and certainly no more than 12 years old. He’s not some great man or powerful figure. He is just little Sammy, a kid who lives with the high priest and sleeps in a corner on the floor.
By this time Eli had become quite a bit older. He tired easily and his eyes were beginning to fail him. Well, one fateful night old Eli does what a lot of us do… he goes to lie down in his favourite easy chair for a sleep. And as he slips off into a world of dreams the voice of God calls out to little Sammy in the other room “Samuel, Samuel”.
Like a good little boy, Samuel gets up and goes to see the only other person in the Temple. He goes to Eli. “Here I am, you called me,” he says. Eli has been awakened. “I didn’t call you” and so Sam goes back to lie down again. But again the Lord calls “Samuel, Samuel” and again little Sammy runs to Eli’s side. “Here I am, you called me”. By this time Eli must be more than a little annoyed. No one likes being awakened just after you’ve fallen asleep.
A lot of us have been there. The story might as well have little Sammy say, “Can I get a drink of water” or “I forgot to brush my teeth” or “Can I sleep with you?”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” And like a good boy, Sam does just as he is told.
But again God calls out to Samuel, “Samuel, Samuel” and once more, little Sammy runs to Eli. “Here I am, you called me”.
And suddenly Eli is hit with the sudden realization that however unlikely and strange it may sound. God must be speaking to Samuel.
So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So our bible says that little Sam “went and lay down in his place.”
The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
It’s interesting for me that it takes the High Priest’s uncomfortable awakenings before he realizes what’s going on. I mean, he’s supposed to be the guy in the know. He’s the High Priest. But then again people probably think that about me sometimes too. “He’s the minister.” But it’s hard to hear God sometimes. Sometimes it’s the furthest thing from your mind.
Now remember that in reference to this time in Israel’s history, the Bible says, “Everyone did only what was right in their own eyes.” Or, as Samuel himself puts it, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare.” I find those two verses so pointed. More to the point, I wonder if they’re not deeply connected. I wonder if what this means is that “everyone did only what was right in their own eyes” and because of that “the word of the LORD was rare”. I wonder if, in fact, the word of the LORD wasn’t so much rare, as it was rarely heard.
I read this story a few months back.
A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the Native American said to his friend, “I hear a cricket.”
At first, the friend thought he was crazy. “You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!”
“No, I’m sure of it,” the Native man said. “I heard a cricket.”
Then he put his hand to his ear carefully listening for another moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he picked up a small grey cricket to show his friend. “That’s incredible,” said his friend. “You must have super-human ears!”
“No,” said the man. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening for. I’ll show you.”
Then the Native American man reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. With the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that bounced along the pavement was worth picking up. “It all depends on what you’re listening for.”
Our lives are hectic. The seasons seem to go by so quickly and it’s easy, hey it’s just plain human to get caught up in the allure of busy-ness. Our society teaches us that it’s noble to be overworked. That someone must be really important if they always have to be on the move, always filling every possible second with more, more, more.
I think perhaps in our time, it’s not so much that the word of the Lord is rare. I tend to think that God is often shouting at us and we’re just too busy to notice.
May you go to the Temple to pray. May you know the Shepherd when he calls. May you know the voice of God in your life. May you know what you’re listening for and listen for the right things. May you hear Him call you from His office even if those around you refuse to hear. And when he calls, may you answer… just like little Sammy: “Here I am, you called me.” Amen.
Song: Take my life and let it be consecrated (637)
We respond to serve God: Our time of giving
Reflection on giving: Dayspring is empowered to carry out our mission of worship, service, and care by generously given volunteer time, talent, and treasure. Many thanks to all who give so generously!
Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves
The season of Lent takes us on a journey with Jesus to prepare us for the day he gave his life for our sake. Consider what he has given as you offer your gifts to God in his name.
God of courage and compassion, we bring our gifts to you in Jesus’ name. This year the world badly needs both his courage and compassion. Bless our gifts so that they bring hope to others in these challenging times. Amen.
As we enter this holy season, Lord God, we give you thanks for your promise of new life that sustains us, encouraging us when news is difficult.
We thank you
- For tiny signs of hope, even in a bleak landscape or on challenging days;
- For glimpses of beauty in a smile or a ray of sunshine;
- For the people who support others in times of difficulty;
- For the chance to recover from mistakes, to begin again.
Keep silent for 10 seconds.
Lord of life, sustain us with your presence and give us patience and perseverance as we await the future with you. Trusting your promise of new life, it is with hope that we pray:
- For anyone we have hurt by harsh words or careless deeds;
- [Silence]
- For those known to us who are carrying heavy burdens but keep relatively close to the heart with all news;
- [Silence]
- For those we work with, those who need rest, those who need to find themselves again, those who used to seek you but currently feel lost, those who know you but need support and those who don’t know you and don’t search for you;
- [Silence]
- For all who are seeking employment or worry about their businesses as well as all those who feel unfulfilled by what they do to support themselves and those they love;
- [Silence]
- For troubled places in our world and those who work for reconciliation and understanding;
- [Silence]
- For churches seeking new ways to minister in changing times;
- [Silence]
- For all those on our hearts this day;
- [Silence]
Renew our hope for the future you will bring us and our desire to live out the courage and compassion of Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song: Oh sing to your God (453)
Sending out with God’s blessing
“May the eternal God bless us and keep us, guard our bodies, save our souls, direct our thoughts, and bring us safe to the heavenly country, our eternal home, where Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ever reign, one God forever and ever. Amen.” –Sarum Breviary
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 (© 2024) 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.