The Father’s Day

Posted on June 16, 2024June 16, 2024 by John

Worship on the Father’s Day and National Indigenous Sunday
10:00 am       16 June 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs    Elder: Sam Malayang
Music director: Binu Kapadia    Guest Pianist: Gail Lundquist
Vocalist: Lynn Vaughan

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: It is good to give God thanks, to sing praises to the Most High!
P: We will sing for joy to God who has made us glad.
L: Let us declare God’s steadfast love in the morning,
P: and God’s faithfulness by night.
L: So come to worship God with thankful, joyful hearts!
P: Let us praise God’s holy name together.

Opening praise: O come to the altar

Prayers of approach and confession
Living God, from you come vitality, love and joy.
Your peace is our companion, your love is our strength, your Son is our hope.
Your Spirit nurtures tiny seeds of purpose and potential, hidden deep in the soil of life, to surprise us with new life.

While the earth begins to bloom around us, we bring you our prayers and praise, trusting that your Spirit will renew in us the gifts we need to serve you in faithfulness in the example of Christ our Lord.

Living, loving God, as we watch our gardens and our children grow, we confess we often resist the change growth can bring.
We form opinions about many things – and cling to them.
We fear new insights and new directions.
Forgive us when we think already know enough.

Grant us faith like the mustard seed, able to grow with your blessing to become a mighty sign of your lively kingdom among us. Amen.

Response: I will trust in the Lord

Assurance of God’s love
Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn us?
Only Christ – and Christ died for us;
Christ rose for us.
Christ reigns in power for us.
Christ prays for us.
Believe the good news of the gospel.
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven
And once forgiven it is now our job to forgive someone else.

We listen for the voice of God

Children’s time

Response: Jesus loves me (373)

Story: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Matthew 10:40-42 (NIV)

Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: This is my Father’s world (328)

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Genesis 22:1-4

Response: Glory. Glory hallelujah

Message: The Father’s Day

Abraham and Issac… what stranger story can be found than the story of God asking a father to sacrifice his son? But it’s not only the idea that troubling it’s also the individual verses themselves that present a problem.

See, right from the start we are told that the whole thing is just a test. It says in verse 1, “Now it came to pass that God did test Abraham” and God said to Abraham, “Abraham!” and right away Abraham responds, “Here I am”. The story continues as God speaks to Abraham and says, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac, and go to the place of Moriah and bring him there for a burnt offering.”

Now there are a couple of problems here. See, the first one is this, God says, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac” but the problem is simple. Abraham actually has two sons.

Long before all of this happened God had promised Abraham something. God told Abraham that his descendants would be “as numerous as the stars”. But Abraham has some trouble with this because he and his wife don’t seem able to have a child and so Abraham has a child (Ismael) by another woman. Yeah, Abraham seems to believe the promise but on his own terms. Have you ever looked at God’s promises or your understanding of them and then, tried to make it all happen on your own? I’m pretty sure I have.

But God says that this is not what he meant and tells Abraham in Gen. 12:3 that it is through Isaac (the one he didn’t plan for) that he will become the father of a nation.

See, God says, “Only son”, because by this point Ismael had been sent away. Isaac was the only son that Abraham had left. And that’s because Abraham messed up! He messed up. He tried to control the blessing and make it make sense. But it didn’t make sense. God didn’t need it to make sense.

Because of Abraham’s weak faith things didn’t get better, they got worse. And now only one child remained. And so, Isaac was Abraham’s last chance.

And so, with only one son left; without Isaac, there could be no nation (no descendants as numerous as the stars – no promise).

After sending one son away, Isaac became dearer to Abraham than we could possibly imagine. All his hopes were now pinned on this one child. Isaac was Abraham’s only son (LEFT), but more than that, Isaac was proof of God as well. He was a miracle that shouldn’t have existed at all. Abraham tried to do things on his own, but God had other plans. God didn’t need Abraham to do what God wanted to do.

Now, I just want everyone to think about this for a second. God has rejected Abraham’s attempt to do things on his own. And still, God has given Abraham a son (just as promised) and promised that he will be the Father of nations through him… that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky – but there’s a catch.

In Gen 17, God says that in order for this to come to pass Abraham must, “Walk before God and be blameless”. Isaac will be the father of many nations but ONLY if Abraham can “walk before God and be blameless”.

But we’ll get back to that.

The story continues. In verse three it says, “Abraham arose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, and Isaac his son… and split the wood for the burn offering and went to the place God had told him”.

Again, there are two interesting things here. One is silly and bit unimportant and then the other is serious and very important.

The first (silly and unimportant one) is this: At this point in the ancient near east, a man in high standing (an important man) always took 2 servants with him as a status symbol.

Does anyone know why? …

It’s because the servants are meant to protect you… and if you only took one servant, then who would be there to protect you if that one servant might need to use the washroom? This is true folks.

It sounds crazy but this is true.

If you had money… then you took two servants with you because one servant – might have to pee. That is dead true.

And so, respectable men in high standing (like Abraham) took two servants with them when they travelled. It was kind of like a status symbol, like having a large SUV for the winter and a sports car for the summer. It’s probably not necessary but it’s nice to have. The second (the grotesque but important thing) that begs mentioning… is this: How much wood, do you think it takes for a burnt offering of a lamb? Have you ever built a fire for a small fish or a few hot dogs? How much wood does that take?

How heavy a load do you think you might need, to cook something that’s 50 or maybe 200 pounds? What would that bundle of wood be like? What strength might that take to carry that amount of wood on a long walk up the foothills? How hard would it be to bring that load of wood all the way up to the top of a mountain?

In verse 5-6 it says, “Abraham said to his servants ‘stay here with the donkey, and I and the LAD will go over there’” (and then it says this) “and WE will worship and WE will return to you.” “Then Abraham took the wood for the offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and Abraham took the fire and the knife and the two of them walked on together.”

Do you see what happened there?

Again, there are two more strange things worth noting.

First, Abraham says, “WE” will worship” and way more interestingly “WE will return.”

Now I don’t know exactly what Abraham thought would happen. I guess it’s also possible that he just attempted to lie to his servants so they wouldn’t stop him. I don’t know. Maybe he thought God wouldn’t make him go through with it. It is a crazy request. Maybe he thought God would bring Ishmael back from banishment or maybe even thought God would bring Isaac back to life.

But what I do know is that after Issac was born, Abraham never wavered. God called Abraham and Abraham responded, “Here I am” and that was it. God had told Abraham that he would be the father of a nation and that it would be through his son Isaac. And though Abraham once doubted God’s power, now he believed in it with his every fiber of being.

Second, remember Abraham has two servants.

He also has a donkey. But who carries the wood on this final part of the journey up the mountain top? Isaac!

Abraham piles it up and piles it up in Isaac’s hands and the two of them head off into the distance leaving the donkey and the other two men behind.

Something strikes me odd about this. In fact, it’s bothered readers of this story for at least the last 3,500 years. One might speculate that while Abraham calls his son a “lad” that Isaac is actually a rather large “LAD”.

Remember, Isaac is going to walk a long way into the distance; up the foothills and up the mountain with a heavy load (enough wood for a large sacrifice). That is a big LAD. And in fact, this is part of why the Jewish Talmud refers to this story not as the “Faith of Abraham” but rather as the Binding of Isaac and claims that Isaac and not Abraham is the real hero of this story.

But again… we’ll get back to that.

It’s an interesting picture, isn’t it? In fact, it’s a beautifully told story and a picturesque scene. A father and a son walk calmly off into the distance together. It’s so nice. But also, it’s not. It’s horrible. And the readers are shocked. And maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe it’s to tell the people in a region of the world where child sacrifice was common, that the true God would never make you do something like this.

When I’m on a long car ride, I talk. And when I read this story, I picture a father and son in some very important kind of conversation. And that is exactly what happens here. In verse 7 it says, “Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘my Father’?” And just as Abraham responded to God in love, he now responds to his son Isaac the same way, “Here I am.” And in response, Isaac says, “Here is the fire and the wood but where is the lamb for the offering?”

Then in verse 8 Abraham answers in a very interesting way, he says, “God will provide for himself the lamb for the offering, my son. And so, the two of them walked on together”. But again, things are not always what they seem.

The question arises, where does the emphasis lie? See the Hebrew language has no punctuation. Translators are left to figure emphasis out for themselves. And this often changes the way we read the texts before us.

In other words, does Abraham say, “God will provide for himself the lamb my son” or does he say, “God will provide the lamb for himself, – My son” Does Abraham say, to his son that God provides, or does Abraham say to his son, “it’s you – my son” and Issac knows exactly what is about to happen. The story can and has been read both ways and it seems that this was the intent of the author. I think the confusion is on purpose.

I personally feel that in this one line’ Abraham tells Isaac that Isaac is the sacrifice. But I might be wrong. Still, that is what I think.

The story goes on. In verse 9 it says, “Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the alter there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the alter on top of the wood.”

Now let’s go back to something for a second. God tells Abraham that he will have a child. Neither Abraham nor his wife believe and say, “We are far too old”. Abraham and wife make other arrangements. Ishmel the first child is sent away. Years later we are told that Isaac was born, and Abraham is now said to be 100 years old (when Isaac is born). Now while numbers in the bible may not always be exactly what they first appear, one thing is for sure – we are being told that this guy is Very Old. That’s when Issac was born. By the time that this story takes place, Isaac is called a “LAD”.

The term, “lad” can have a variety of meanings in Hebrew. It is used for a small boy but also describes a newlywed. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus claims that Isaac is 25 years old, and the Jewish Talmud (an ancient commentary on the Jewish texts) says that Isaac is 37. The idea that Isaac is a young boy is relatively modern. But most ancient commentators agree that Isaac is most likely at least in his late teens or early twenties. What’s more, he’s a farm boy; not some city slicker.

Isaac’s a guy that grew up knowing how to put in a hard day of manual labour and he is big enough to carry all that wood through the foothills and up the mountain for his elderly father. Does anybody here want to do the grouse grid with a 50lb pack? And then Abraham is said to have just casually tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar??? No, no I don’t think so. I think we are meant to read something else into this story. I think we are supposed to see between the lines.

I think not only did Abraham respond to God “Here I am” and Abraham respond to his son “Here I am” but Isaac too responded to His father and to his God in the same way. I think Isaac might be the hero of this story. I think Isaac also said, “Here I am!” I think the conditions of the covenant had been met, that the test was over; that the two of these servants had indeed Both – “walked with God” and had been “found blameless” as the covenant commanded.

In verse 10 it says, “Abraham stretched out his hand and took his knife to slay Isaac” but then the angel of the LORD called out from heaven “Abraham, Abraham” to which Abraham responded one more time, “Here I am”.

The story concludes, “And God said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the LAD and do nothing to him; for I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld even your son, your only son, from me.’ Then Abraham looked and saw behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns and Abraham took it and offer the ram instead of his son.” Because of this they named the place, God provides.

Our world is full of tests. Some are easy. Some are more than a little challenging. Some like Abraham and Isaac’s seem downright impossible. And the tests we face in life will be different for all of us. But no matter what the test might be, like Isaac and Abraham before us we are called to walk with God and called to be blameless. And when God calls out to us, we should respond just as they did. Whatever the test, “Here I am” is the answer. “I’m ready”. Because if we stay true to God, God still provides.

May we all walk with God, calling out always “Here I am” and may we be found blameless in all the tests of life. – Amen

Song: My shepherd is the King (691: vss. 1-4)

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

O Eternal one, we thank you for the record of the biblical witness which documents your love affair with our humankind. We thank you for these words of Jesus which remind us of our need to be welcoming. We thank you that you continually stretch us to reach beyond ourselves.

Stretch us to widen our souls to include others of your children whom we might naturally exclude.
Stretch us to grasp for more than we can reach.
Stretch us to believe in ourselves and others.
Stretch us to support and encourage others.
Stretch us to offer a cup of cold water, food, shelter and a safe haven in your name.

We pray that we might learn the lessons of Christian community. Help us to be instructed by the errors of the past in order that we may be saved from repeating them. Help us to learn exciting new behaviours and new ways. Temper our penchant for holding resentments.

Teach us that life does not have to be marred permanently by resentments.
Teach us that life is much more positive and meaningful and satisfying when it is focused on love.
Teach us that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness but of strength.
Teach us to build more expansive souls which can reach out and embrace the least of your little ones.

Send your peace and love and overwhelm and transform all of the bitterness and anger which we so often want to hold close. So lead us in your higher way.

For all who suffer and need your special grace we lift up our prayers today. Amen

Song: Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us (647)

Sending out with God’s blessing

May you go out into the world
Blessed and ready to bless
Fed and ready to feed
Forgiven and ready to forgive
Tested and found blameless and faithful

Response: God to enfold you

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

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 License (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.

You are Salt … or Beef Jerky (Youth led service)

Posted on June 9, 2024June 9, 2024 by John

Worship on the Lord’s Day
10:00 am 09 June 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Youth-led Service: Rom, Wesley, Matthew, Felix, Godfrey, Cohen, Marilyn, Maddie, Bianca, Kaye, John, Sam, Arghavan, Nejabastian, Corrie, Shaylynn, Tassen, Noah
Minister: The Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Lynn Vaughan
Elder: Rom Rhoad

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: Welcome to this place of grace and care; of hope and perseverance
P: God invites all of us to be a part of the beloved community
L: God invites us to share in the good news
P: We are welcome just as we are
L: And loved too much to stay that way
P: Let us praise the One in gratitude for all things.

Opening praise: Bless the Lord, O my soul

Prayers of approach and confession
God of all creation, we are amazed at the details in your world around us.
You care for the fragile beauty and balance in the world.
You receive praise from the depth of the sea to the tops of the mountains.
God of love – you have seen your Church grow from tiny beginnings into a worldwide community, full of diversity.
Open our eyes to your purpose for each of us, all of us.
Help us to be guided by your Holy Spirit to do your will in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
God of purpose and possibility, you give us work to do.
And you give us the skills we need to do what you ask of us.
Yet we prefer to follow our own ways and to do our own thing.
We think we know better than you.
Forgive our stubborn natures and our unwillingness to love and care for all creation as we should.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, create in us a teachable spirit so we can learn new ways to serve you, becoming the people you know we can be.

Response: We come to ask your forgiveness, O Lord

Assurance of God’s love
The prophet Micah reminds us that God requires three things of us: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.
To all who love God and seek to love our neighbours in kindness and humility, God offers forgiveness and peace.
The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you all.

We listen for the voice of God

Response: Jesus, we are gathered

Story Time

Story: More than Salt (Corrie)

Introduction: As you entered the sanctuary you were given a little packet of salt… take that in your hand now and imagine if you were compared to salt! How would that feel? (pause)

You are loved more than salt! Really?

Now let’s hear a story –

Once upon a time, a long time ago, when most stories begin, there was a kingdom far away, where most kingdoms are. In this kingdom, there lived a king with three loyal knights. Now, this king was a fairly ordinary man, sometimes wise, sometimes foolish. He trusted his knights and made certain they wanted for nothing. One day, the king wanted to know how much his knights loved him.

He put the question to them.
“My loyal knights, I crave to know how much you love me. Pray, tell.”
The first knight to speak said. “My liege, I love you more than gold or silver.” (place a bar of gold/silver on sidestep of platform?)
The king was pleased that he loved him more than such valuable things, and smiled at him.
The second knight, spoke next. “My liege, I love you more than diamonds and pearls, more than rubies and emeralds, or any other gem.” (place jewels on sidestep of platform?)
Again, the king was pleased to be loved more than such precious things.

He looked to his third, and most beloved, knight.
“My liege, I love you more than salt.” He spoke simply, quietly. (Place a bag of salt on the communion table in the centre)

More than salt? More than salt?! The king was displeased. He couldn’t believe his most beloved knight had compared him to something so common and coarse as salt. The king was angry, thinking of all the gifts he’d lavished on this knight. Such was his rage that he exiled him from the kingdom. The knight left without saying a word, simply carrying away small packets of salt in his pocket.

The Knight traveled to the next kingdom, where he worked as a shepherd.

Meanwhile, in the king’s kingdom, something strange happened. As soon as the knight had crossed the border, all the salt began to disappear. At first, no one noticed. There was NO salt for their meat, NO salt for their broth, NO salt for their bread. Soon the people realized that NO new salt was coming into the kingdom. No matter how hard the caravans, ships, or gypsy traders tried, they could NOT bring salt beyond the border.

After a while, the king fell ill. As he grew weaker, sicker, the royal physicians puzzled out what could be wrong. Finally, they decreed that the king needed salt, or he would perish. Until then, no one knew that salt was necessary for life. Tales of the king’s plight reached beyond the borders, from town to town, and finally to a simple shepherd’ hut. When the knight heard of his king’s illness, he went to him. He carried nothing with him but the clothes he wore and his bag of salt. For long days, he walked, until he reached the palace. He made his way to his king’s room, where he slept fitfully, close to death.

The knight kissed the king on his boney hand and sat beside him. He cut a piece of bread, buttered it, and sprinkled salt over it. He managed to sit him up and coaxed the bread into him. The king slept again, and woke a short time later, a little stronger. The knight called for broth, sprinkled salt in it, and encouraged the king to eat. He regained his strength slowly, after that, until he was well. He again sat on his throne and kept his knight close by.

“My loyal knight, can you forgive a foolish king?”
“Of course, my liege. I cherish you.” The knight meant it, too.
From that moment on, salt flowed freely into the kingdom once more.
The king never looked down on salt again, and he knew that his most beloved knight loved him best of all, for when he said “I love you more than salt.” he meant that he loved him more than that which gives life, which is a great love indeed.

Silent Actors:

King – Matthew (special chair, crown, sceptre, ice bag when ill…)
Knight #1 – Felix (spear/sword, knight vest, gold bar

(after bringing the king his treasures, Knight #1 stands beside the king… and will help the king when sick)

Knight #2 – Godfrey (spear/sword, knight vest, jewels – gems

(after bringing the king his treasures, Knight #2 stands beside the king… and will help the king when sick)

Knight #3 – Cohen (knight vest, salt… will need to pretend for bread…)

(after bringing king salt, he is banished. Pointed out by other 2 knights… comes back)

Song: Jesus bids us shine (773)

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Matthew 5:13-16

Music Offering: Binu, Arghavan, John, and Sam

Message: You are salt … or Beef Jerky

Part 1 – Wesley

About 2000 some years ago a very special guy named Jesus, was walking around Palestine. JESUS was a common name for Hebrew boys, but this Jesus was extra special! Matthew was one of his closest friends, and it is believed that Matthew wrote a book about his friend Jesus. This is the Gospel of Matthew that we just read from this morning.

Mathew shows Jesus to be a pretty regular guy, but he gives this outrageous story about his birth and magi coming to visit. Then Matthew talks about John the baptizer, and he says Jesus was tempted like any other person. Matthew talks about Jesus calling his disciples (a word for student-learners) and then the next thing Matthew remembers is that Jesus is up on a mount giving a group of ordinary people small sermons. We call this the Sermon on the Mount. Over the past few months, the youth here in Dayspring have been learning about some of these ideas in this sermon on the mount.

This sermon begins with the words of the beatitudes (which is Latin for “happy). This peasant-teacher – Jesus – is telling the crowd that’s gathered that people who feel sad, are blessed… that people who have lost someone they love can find comfort… that people who have no power will inherit a Kingdom… that people who seek peace are called “children of God”… and that even when people are tortured for their faith that they are blessed.

The people listening to Jesus were ordinary people – the peasants, the poor, the farmers, the people who were under the domination of another nation, forced to obey the Roman law and they did not have many freedoms. Jesus is telling them things that they had never heard before. In their minds rich people were blessed. But this crazy Jesus, from Nazareth guy told them… “Blessed are the poor”!

It was crazy, unheard-of, shocking, life-altering things that Jesus was saying.

Part 2 – Maddie

Today these words sound simple, and we don’t pay much attention to them. But think about how wild this is… “Blessed are you, who people insult, and hurl insults at”. Blessed are the people that the world makes fun of?!

But that’s what Jesus said. These common, everyday people are blessed, even when they are poor or sad or sick or judged or dominated by the Romans, needing justice or whatever…

Jesus tells them that they are blessed because GOD loves them more than they can ever imagine. Being loved by God makes them as important to God as salt is to humans, as beef jerky is to me.

After Jesus tells them how much he loves them, he reveals something even more spectacular. People are important! Jesus said,“You are the salt of the earth. Or, as I like to say, “You are beef jerky!”

Part 3 – Marilyn

Now really! Why is that spectacular? Who wants to be compared to salt?

Do you?

Maddie responds: “I do!”

Wesley responds: “Me too!”

Marilyn:

WHY do you want to be “salt of the earth”? (pause)

Salt is the mineral that God created to be a necessity of life. Salt is essential for the survival of living things. We heard the importance of salt in the story about the King and his 3 knights. Living things – animals such as cows and horses, lick blocks of salt to obtain the nutrients and minerals they require to live.

In Jesus’ day salt was a precious and valuable commodity. Indeed, salt was so valuable that it was sometimes traded ounce-for-ounce with gold. At times, Roman soldiers were even paid in salt. The word salary is derived from the word for salt. According to some people, If a Roman soldier didn’t do his job, he wouldn’t get all of his salt. That’s where we get the phrase, “He is not worth his salt,” if someone doesn’t do a good day’s work. In the Palestine of the past, much of the salt came from the Dead Sea or in Hebrew it means, “The Sea of Salt.” It was like a pool of gold.

In cultures lacking refrigeration, salt was the key preservative which allowed a thriving fishing industry to flourish. In an age before modern drugs, salt was a critical disinfectant which saved untold numbers of lives. For example, I would use salt in warm water to rid myself of a throat infection.

Maddie: Salt is a seasoning spice that transforms food from distasteful or bland to palatable and delicious. When I make chocolate chip cookies I make sure to add a little sprinklin’ of flaky sea salt on top.

Are there other ways that salt is special?

Marilyn: This wild Jesus character just says “You are the salt of the earth.”

Let’s take a moment and open those brown bags you were each given when you came into the sanctuary today… (hold up a brown bag)

Does anyone not have a bag?

(Have a couple of youth ready to distribute some bags to people who might not have received them…WAIT here – take time for everyone to open their bags.

You will notice there are baggies containing popcorn but one has NS written on it – “NO salt on the popcorn.” Please take this baggie first – and eat it (WAIT!!!! For people to do this…)

Now take the second baggie of popcorn and eat it; it has salt on it. (WAIT for people to do this)

Maddie: I like this one with salt on it.

Wesley: Yes, this one is better!

Marilyn: Which one did you like better? (Pause… there may be some responses…) I think MOST would agree that the salted popcorn tastes better.

Part 4 – Wesley

“You are the salt of the earth”.

Jesus looks out to a crowd of people and says, “You know that thing that preserves our food and keeps us from dying. That thing that takes a dull life and bland food and makes it exciting… That thing that is more precious than silver or gold – that’s you! You are that salt!

You are the salt of the earth. This is how we are to BE – salting the earth…sharing God’s love with everyone, preserving the goodness, taking care of God’s world and God’s people. As salt we will make things better, bring joy into sadness, give understanding instead of judgement, accept all our neighbours whomever they are.

But then Jesus puts to the people a small challenge. He says “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything.”

Part 5 – Maddie

For those of you not on familiar with the land of Palestine – The Sea of Salt is more than a mile and a half below sea level. The waters of The Sea of Galilee flow into the Jordan River and from there go to their final resting place in The Sea of Salt – the lowest land elevation on earth. So once the water gets there, there’s no place to go. The hot sun evaporates the water and leaves behind a chunky white powder made up of a combination of salt and minerals. That powder contains enough salt to season meat or to flavour soup, and that’s why people used to get their salt from The Dead Sea. But it’s also mixed with minerals and it’s not pure sodium chloride – it was a quite unstable compound. When it was stored in a damp environment or even when mixed with a little dampness in the air it would frequently begin to dissipate. That’s the surface meaning of Jesus’ word. That’s how the salt “loses its seasoning.” Jesus goes on to say, “It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

Part 6 – Marilyn

But honestly that Jesus fella was on to something. I mean if we are really, actually, truly blessed… then why not share that love? Why would we NOT be salt of the earth? Why would we NOT help to make this world a better/brighter place filled with Gods’ love? Why NOT be salty?

At the same time Jesus never said that you BEING salt gives you your worth. Living as the salt of the earth does NOT make us more important. Jesus never says that you gain anything by your sharing. He does say that people will see God in you and that is a great thing. But Jesus never promises to add blessings to you because you live as the salt of the earth.

And Jesus would never ever say that… because to JESUS, we are already Salt. There are no conditions to God’s love. WE are already, no matter how normal or lowly we think we are – WE are blessed because God loves us more than we can ever imagine.

No matter what you do or don’t with this message: You are Salt.

Maddie: You are beef jerky!

Marilyn: You are loved! Amen

Song: Lord, the light of your love is shining (376)

Our time of giving

Reflection on giving: When we look at God’s world around us, we see the beginning of new growth and our gardens will soon be plentiful. We see God’s abundant care for us. We also know that God asks us to care for all Creation. We know that there are many people around the world that do not have enough food or clean water. Through World vision, we are sponsoring Joshua and his family who live in El Salvador.

Today we will take up two offerings.

Our regular offering can be given in as is our normal practice.

If you are able, please feel free to add some coins to this can or donate by putting an envelop in the offering plate labelled with this special donation. May we give out of our abundance to those in need.

Prayer of Dedication

God of growing gardens and growing hope, receive our gifts and our thanks this day. Bless what we bring and what we do, so that we become salt of the earth, in Jesus’ name. AMEN

Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves.

Embrace the world you love.

Bianca

God of grace and compassion, We offer you our thanks for all that we have, for our friends and families, our neighbours and fellow citizens. We name before you those whom we love. We are thankful that they are in our lives. We know that your love touches the depths of their needs and celebrates the joys of their journeys:

Keep silent for 6 seconds.

God of grace and compassion,

(Together: Bianca and Kaye) – Embrace the world you love.

Bianca

As part of YOUR Church, we celebrate our Dayspring community, where we worship together and grow in our faith in Jesus Christ. We are challenged to live what we learn and what we believe you ask of us. Make us aware of opportunities to serve you both in this church and in the world beyond these walls. Give us the courage to reach out to more neighbours where there is human need. Help us to BE salt of the earth, in Jesus’ name.

Keep silence for 6 seconds.

God of grace and compassion,

(Together: Bianca and Kaye) – Embrace the world you love.

Kaye:

God of all people, we think of neighbours in Canada and in other places in the world who are facing ongoing conflict and violence, those who crowd together in refugee compounds and homeless encampments, or who face the consequences of nature’s unpredictable destruction (fire, floods, violence wind, earthquakes).

We join our prayers with those who are desperately seeking to survive, wherever they find themselves: Give us courage and commitment to meet the greatest challenges. Inspire our hope to work and live as we seek to love all our neighbours.

Keep silence for 6 seconds.

God of grace and compassion,

(Together: Kaye and Bianca) – Embrace the world you love.

Kaye:

As summer approaches, and your creation changes around us, we give you thanks for beauty in your world, for the living and nonliving things.

Thank you for the chance to participate in your creation – walking, biking, camping, swimming and all the recreational activities we can enjoy.

Yet we know that we sometimes forget how we are guilty of misusing these gifts and we damage your creation with our selfish ways and careless actions.

Show us how to act for justice with compassion so that all your creation is precious, and all your peoples are cared for as we show love to all our neighbours in the world.

Keep silence for 6 seconds.

We know in our hearts that you love us and that you offer us your grace and compassion. So, loving God, we offer these and all our unspoken prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to say together …

The Lord’s Prayer

Song: I’m gonna live so God can use me (648)

Sending out with God’s blessing

Friends – Keep your eyes open as you walk in God’s world. Look for ways to share God’s love. And may the God who loves you more than Salt, The Christ who flavours you as salt, And the Spirit who gives us life, empower you to BE salt of the earth. Amen.

Response: Go forth into the world

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

The Rev. Brad Childs and Elder Darlene Eerkes retain the copyright (© 2024) on all original material in this service. As far as they are aware, all of the material that has not been attributed to others is their own creation or is in the public domain. Unacknowledged use of copyrighted material is unintentional and will be corrected immediately upon notification being received.

Jars of Clay

Posted on June 2, 2024June 2, 2024 by John

Worship on the Lord’s Day
02 June 2024    10:00 am
The Sacrament of Holy Communion & General Assembly Sunday
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev. Brad Childs     Elder: Lynn Vaughan
Music Director: Binu Kapadia           Vocalist: Glynnis McCrostie
Guest Pianist: Darolyn McCrostie
Guest Violinists: Rob Hryciw & Thomas Schoen

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: Raise a song of joy and gladness before God.
P: We will make music and sing God’s praises.
L: Sing aloud to God, our strength!
P: We will shout for joy to the God who made us.
L: Worship God who makes all things new!
P: We will celebrate God’s goodness in prayer and praise.

Opening praise: Everlasting God

Prayers of approach and confession

God of all life and each life, you created us in love to enjoy your presence in creation.

You made us in your image so that we would find purpose and possibility in our lives.

You gave us Sabbath rest to breathe in your grace and peace week by week.

In Jesus, you show us how to share grace and peace with one another.

Refresh us in this time of worship, so that we may leave with a deep sense of well-being at our core, for we offer ourselves to you through Christ, our Saviour. Amen

God of all life and each life, you created us to enjoy your presence, yet we confess it is easy to lose track of that joy.

When times are tough, we feel resentful.

When someone else succeeds, jealousy creeps in.

Some days bad news is all we hear.

Draw us back to your goodness and grace.

Response: Glory, Glory, Hallelujah

Assurance of God’s forgiveness

Jesus said, “Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” Friends, trust that peace and forgiveness are God’s gift to you this day. Be renewed by the power of the Spirit that moves with you into each new day.

Music Offering: Rob, Thomas, and Darolyn

Hymn: The clay-stained hands of love (296)

We listen for the voice of God

Scripture readings (NRSV): I Samuel 3:1-20 & II Cor 4:5-12

Response: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet

Message: Jars of Clay

Paul is the King of Metaphors. Or perhaps it is young coauthor Timothy.

Let me try it this way and see if it makes it a little more clear what the bible is saying here. This is the Brad Version: We have this Good News inside us. Something from the Divine with the power to change people. It is inside us: fragile, broken people, harmed, attacked, complex, beautiful people. But we continue on, in our brokenness; with the good news of the resurrection shining through us even in our weakness.

Paul and Timothy, in Macedonia in 56 AD, wrote a letter to the congregation in Corinth. In this section, they say that we, as Christians everywhere, have this special treasure kept in jars of clay—meaning our fragile human bodies, complete with scars, sins, contradictions, mixed emotions, and everything else that also makes us beautifully human.

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. It is power from God and something beyond ourselves. This treasure is the Good News: we do not need to be perfect, shining, golden examples of Christ. We cannot earn God’s love because we already have it; it is simply given.

But still, we beat ourselves up for sins already forgiven. We consider our pain, marks of shame and nothing else, even if we were victims of them.

We get beat up by life and think it degrades our worth. We beat on each other. We could, like this congregation in Corinth, (also be physically afraid of our government, from persecution or abuse).

In Paul’s day Jars of Clay were extremely common, extremely useful but also easily broken.

And yet just like the $100 bill that gets torn or wrinkled or wet or stuck in the mud, yet it’s value remains the same. Our value lies so heavily upon what we contain within these easily damaged but very useful jars of clay.

John Newton once said, “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.” We are not made on a potter’s wheel but in the image of God, the perfect Potter. He is the one moulding us, shaping us, and filling us with His treasure, His grace, and His power.

God’s grace is most powerfully demonstrated in flawed people, in our weaknesses and imperfections. The metaphor of a clay jar is significant: clay jars in Paul’s time were common, everyday items. They were not particularly beautiful or strong. They were prone to cracks and easily broken.

Our flaws provide the perfect backdrop for His grace to shine. In our weaknesses, His strength is made perfect. In our brokenness, His healing power is displayed. In our sinfulness, His forgiveness is magnified. The clay jar, with all its cracks and imperfections, does not subtract from the treasure it holds.

Here’s the thing: His power is not dependent on our strength. It is often most evident in our weaknesses. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” God’s power is not diminished by our frailty; it is magnified. You need not be perfect to be His. It appears the more fragile you are, the more useful you can be.

It’s a sad fact and it’s insane, but for some reason, there is this theory that if a Christian person doesn’t live up to absolute perfection, we believe that Jesus Christ upheld, then we are hypocrites. But what’s the alternative? Be perfect. Because it’s a bit late for that. We aren’t perfect. We are just following the one who is.

What a sad situation it is when people believe this. But it’s worse yet when we Christians do it to each other.

You know, there is this logical fallacy called the No True Scotsman fallacy. If you haven’t heard of it, it goes like this: Say a man called Alex makes this statement, “All true Scottish people love haggis. It’s part of who we are!” But his friend Hill replies, “But Alex, you know none of the guys in the neighbouring town like haggis.” To which Alex then replies, “Then they aren’t true Scottish people.” In short, if a person is proven wrong after claiming everyone in a particular group acts equally, they insinuate that “those people” aren’t truly a part of the group. And of course, it’s always they who are evil, never us.

But look, the physician comes for the sick whether that’s because you did wrong or you got beat up by the world. And listen, if sinners and struggling and broken people cannot also be “real Christians” despite their faults, and their wounds ‘s left. Or as Canadian musician Matthew Goode put it, it heaven’s for clean people, it’s vacant. It would be nice if we could stop doing this to each other but I also do it and don’t see it. It’s that whole “plank in the eye”/”speck in the eye” thing.

You may recall that Moses was a likely stutterer, yet God used him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. David was an adulterer and a murderer, yet God called him a man after God’s own heart. Peter denied Christ three times, yet he was chosen to lead the early church. Paul himself was a persecutor of the Christians before he became one of the most influential ones of all time.

God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. He does not look for perfection; He looks for willingness. He does not require us to be strong; He asks us to lean on His strength. His grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in our weakness.

We have these fragile lives, and they are breakable. But inside us is a powerful message. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Not gold vaults, not diamond-strong containers, but imperfect, flawed, breakable clay jars like you and me.

If the famous Director Steven Spielberg is making a movie you can pretty well guarantee it will have an estranged father-and-son relationship involved.

Saving Private Ryan, Poltergeist, ET, Lincoln, War of the Worlds, Close Encounters, AI, Sugarland Express, Hook, Catch Me if You Can, Jurassic Park, BFG, and of course the most obvious to me, Indian Jones and The Last Crusade.

In the film, a group of Nazis force Indy to determine from a mysterious treasure room, what cup Jesus used at the last supper. As a kid, I remember that pivotal scene being very impacting. The Nazis chose the biggest, most gold and richest cup and died from the curse eliciting the phrase “You have chosen poorly” from the thousand-year-old Knight of Templar who guards the sacred cup’s location. Indiana on the other hand looks around the room quickly before wrapping his hands around a small dirty wooden and copper cup exclaiming “That’s the cup of a carpenter”. The audience is then treated to the phrase, “You have chosen wisely”.

It is the usefulness and not the shine that God loves.

This doesn’t mean pain is good. Don’t get me wrong but I do have a very good quote for you because I could never put it this well.

Theologian J.I. Packer once said, “God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away.” Charles Hadden Spurgeon adds, “The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our heart, upon the black horse of affliction.”

In our lives, we may feel like we are too flawed, too broken to be used by God. We may feel like our mistakes and failures disqualify us from His service. But the truth is, our flaws do not disqualify us from God’s grace; they qualify us for it. God’s grace is not for the perfect; it is for the broken, the flawed, the sinful. It is for people like me.

Twice in the chapter, the authors proclaim, “Therefore we do not lose heart,” showing the clear theme of this message. Even if our status is taken away or we are thrown in prison or beaten or abandoned, God still uses us and blesses us. It says we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We all, Christians everywhere, carry the death of Jesus with us, which shines through all the cracks in these fragile jars. The treasure that Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 4:7 is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, and the salvation that comes through Him. This treasure is of immeasurable worth, far surpassing any earthly riches. Because it is the message that while Love is not God, God is Love and you are God’s beloved. Made of clay, yes and yet, God has chosen to place this priceless treasure in us, frail and flawed human beings. Clay jars were not the kind of containers one would typically use to store something of great value. Yet, this is precisely the point Paul is making. God deliberately chose what is weak and ordinary to carry the extraordinary message of His love and salvation.

God does not wait for us to rid ourselves of flaws before He can use us. Instead, He uses our imperfections to display His power and grace.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Song: We have this ministry (590)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Prayer for ourselves and for our world

God of communion and community, we give you thanks for our life together in Christ, and for the work of the Spirit that draws us closer to you and each other.

We pray for the life of our denomination as it meets in the General Assembly throughout the next few days.

Send your Spirit to work in and through the commissioners, opening minds and hearts to your leadership.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ sustain us in communion and community, even when we differ over decisions and directions.

God of compassion and concern, Thank you for the ministries and mission Presbyterians undertake together in Canada and throughout the world you love.

Thank you for the lessons learned and hope inspired by all the partners we have worked with in different cultures and on different projects.

We pray for all who serve in ministries supported by Presbyterian Sharing and Presbyterian World Service and Development.

Open our hearts to support their work with generous giving and ongoing prayer, so that lives will be healed, transformed, and strengthened according to your compassionate concern.

God of our hearts and our hopes, We pray for those you have given us to love.

Hear us as we name them before you in silence.

We pray for those who serve our nation and communities as leaders in business and politics, in health care and education, in the military and all emergency services.

Grant them wisdom and resilience when resources are stretched, so, their choices address the needs of the most vulnerable.

We pray for those who face uncertainty, unrest and threat from violence day by day.

In this moment of silence, we bring before you people in our community and those in places around the world where injustice and deprivation are unrelenting.

God of the earth and all its fullness, in this season of planting and growing, nesting and nurturing, we pray for the environment and all the creatures it supports.

Protect species and habitats at risk,and make us better stewards of all you have entrusted to us.

But above all, aid us as we reach out with the good news of Salvation in Jesus Christ and his incomparable saving love found in the next life yes, but also in the now. Amen.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion

Invitation

All those from any place, with faith in Jesus Christ are invited to table. Let us not return to God the offerings of our lives and the gifts of the earth.

Song: All who hunger, gather gladly (534)

We affirm our faith: The Apostles Creed (539)
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Communion Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, in the face of much that seems to deny your presence, we give you grateful thanks for the victory of Christ, that has become our victory in him.

We thank you for revealing yourself in Jesus our Saviour.

He blessed little children when adults thrust them aside.

He touched lepers and made them whole; wept at the death of a friend; confronted fear in the darkness of a garden; was subject to the torturer’s lash and the scoffer’s tongue; and he suffered as we suffer.

We thank you that in his death and resurrection Christ has overcome all that can destroy us.

We thank you that nothing in our lives, no power or principality, no occasion of pain or fear, can ever separate us from your love.

In our weakness your strength is shown.

Help us, gracious Lord, so to bear our infirmities before the world that we may testify to your strength and become to others a means of grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

The words of Institution

The Lord Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and said, “This is my body, that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in remembrance of me.”

Every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Sharing of the bread and wine

The bread of heaven. Amen.

The cup of salvation. Amen.

Song: One Bread, one Body (540)

The prayer after Communion

Rejoicing in the communion of saints, we praise your name, most holy God.

We give you thanks for all your servants who lived for you, departed in the faith, and are now at peace with you.

We thank you for all saints of every age and especially those who have been dear to us,mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters in the faith who have led us to you.

Believing that we are still at one with them we pray that we may follow their faith and example until that time when we feast with them in your heavenly kingdom.

Hear us heavenly Father, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hymn: Let us talents and tongues employ (563)

Sending out with God’s blessing

Go in the strength of the Spirit, to greet those, you meet with gifts of nderstanding and friendship, serving gladly in Jesus’ name.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Response: God to enfold you

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

The Communion liturgy is based on the liturgies of the PCC’s 1991 Book of Common Worship. 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 License (3095377) and CLC (A735555).

Wounds

Posted on May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 by John

Worship on the Lord’s Day
10:00 am       26 May 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia     Vocalists: Cheryl & Peter Sheridan
Children’s Time: Vivian Houg and Marc Johnson     Elder: Darlene Eerkes

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: Loving God: you call us together
P: To worship God as the people of God.
L: You call us by name and just as we are: you know each of our needs; you know our experiences; you know what rests in our minds and our hearts, and in your love you call us:
P: To worship God as the people of God
L: We come together, our heads, our hearts and our hands and feet yearning to be remade and redirected to paths of justice, and in ways of love. Help us, Jesus, to walk in the paths of justice and love that you yourself have walked:
P: To worship God as the people of God.
L: God invites us to worship as beloved and loving people! Mold us, Holy Spirit:
P: To worship God as the people of God.

Opening praise: Here’s my heart. Lord

Prayer of lament for children who did not return from Residential Schools

Creator God, we pray for Love. We thank you for the love that these families and communities hold for their daughters, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, cousins, and friends. We mourn with them. We pray for all those whose lives are marked by trauma because of these murders and disappearances. Hold them in love, Abba. Catch every tear that falls.

Creator God, we pray for Honesty. May those who have information about the whereabouts of these women and girls be moved to share it?

Creator God, we pray for Humility. Give Canadians the humility to open their hearts to hear stories from this country that are not celebratory: stories of colonization, racism, and marginalization.

Creator God, we pray for Wisdom. May the leaders of the inquiry and all those who direct them have the wisdom that comes only from you to listen deeply and make wise recommendations, so that we may all heal together.

Creator God, we pray for Respect. May the families who share their pain and perspectives with the inquiry be treated with respect—may the inquiry be centred on their needs.

Creator God, we pray for Truth. These stories are far from simple and clear-cut. May the truth of the impacts that Indigenous women bear become clear.

Creator God, we pray for Courage. For families and community members testifying. For inquiry commissioners crafting recommendations. Civil society organizations hold the inquiry to its mandate. For Canadians, as we prepare to listen to these stories and to advocate for action on its recommendations. For our political leaders, as they prepare to respond to the recommendations.

And Lord we also confess that too often we have let ourselves ignore these and other issues. In Christ’ name we pray. Amen.

Response: Here’s my heart, Lord

Assurance of God’s loving grace

In Christ, we are new creations. Let the old fall away and embrace the new. Forgiveness is found in Christ for all those who wish to change.

We listen for the voice of God

Children’s time

Response: Open our eyes, Lord (445)

Story: This is Trinity Sunday, a day we set aside every year to celebrate our wonderful 3 in 1 God. The Trinity cannot be completely explained by me (or really by anyone else), because we don’t totally understand it. It is a bit of a mystery, so I’ll do the best I can, but remember that this comparison doesn’t explain everything about God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although the word “trinity” does not appear in Scripture, it is taught in Matthew 28:18-19. Some people think God is a very big idea to understand, and God is, but we don’t need to understand everything about the mysteries of God to love God and to serve God with our hearts, our minds and our whole bodies. God loves us. Because of that love, God shows God’s self to us in different ways. Trinity means 3, just like a triangle has 3 sides.

I don’t want you thinking God is like an egg or water or an apple. God made all these things; they are part of his creation. God is greater than this similarity, but it’s the best I can do to help you understand the concept of the Trinity. Does that make sense?

Have you ever eaten an apple? Of course you have. Look at this apple. It is one of God’s creations. It can help us understand that there is still only one God. Have the children name the three parts of the apple, the skin, the flesh and the core. All the parts are uniquely different, but they are all one apple.

There are basically three parts – the skin, the flesh, and the core. All the parts are still one apple, yet they are all uniquely different. Each part of the apple – the peel, flesh, core – have different functions, yet are all “apple” and nothing else. The Trinity [three parts] of God – Father, Son Jesus, Holy Spirit – are all God in different forms. Just as the peel protects the apple – God the Father protects humankind, an apple has flesh – Jesus was God made flesh and the core of the apple, like the Holy Spirit, contains the seeds. Just as seeds of apple trees grow in fertile, watered and cared for ground; seeds of faith will sprout, grow and flourish. The seeds of faith are just that – faith – in God. We Christians need to nurture and care for one another to keep the seeds of faith alive.

Prayer: Dear God, help us to know your love through Jesus, to feel your power in the Holy Spirit, and to praise your splendor in creation. Amen.

Source: https://sermons4kids.com/sermons/an-apple-for-trinity

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: Holy, Holy. Holy (299: vss. 1, 3, 4)

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Psalm 147; Zechariah 8:16-17; Micah 6:8

Response: Glory to the Father

Message: Wounds

It was over ten years ago now. I was the minister of First Church in Regina. I had done my first 40 or so funeral services and became a sort of “go-to” for people without a church association. And I was at the time serving as the Moderator of the Presbytery and as the Moderator of the Synod. Because of this, when Prince Charles came to town, I got the invitation to come. When they filmed local Christmas services, I did the opening prayers. Whatever the activity required some level of ministerial presence, either I or the three other guys in my theology book club did it.

So, I wasn’t surprised when a small group of local activists came to my office with the news that they would like me to speak at a ceremony. The reason, however, did surprise me.

Someone had noticed one small grave marker in a corner of a farmer’s field outside the airport. It was the old location of the Regina Indian Industrial School. It had been taken over by the United Church in 1945 and torn down in the 1980s. But it was originally operated by the Presbyterian Church.

The reason they came to see me. There was one marker… but there were dozens of mounds. From correspondence with the government, church records and other materials like ground penetrating radar, it was determined that likely 38 children resided in that field. And while early letters are rather kind, after a few years the correspondence becomes almost completely about finances.

Now I want to be fair. I think this was one of those well-meaning plans that didn’t go well. But residential schools (especially one like this one which taught farming) at the time seemed like the only way to get kids regular medical care (which they had on site) while not getting “left behind” without an education in a newly technological world. You can imagine the alternative of having only white kids getting an education and everyone being left behind. And while horror stories exist to be sure, it’s always good to remember that the principal and teachers and nurses’ children all stayed in the same dorms, ate the same food, and got the same medical attention. It is 100% true that these schools also did good. But I understand that probably sounds to some people like I’m saying Nazis did build large instruction and boost the economy… while murdering 6 million people. That’s because I am.

In the end, we had the ground scanned, discovered the marker of the Principles two children, located the burial space, commissioned a book, and funded indigenous artists to make a music video and dance along with a documentary film which we premiered. We planned 3 feasts of remembrance and three mass funerals as well as attempted to connect with the federal government about the issue.

It bears saying that when I first agreed to speak publicly about this issue, I was advised by some folks at the national church offices that I needed to make a “confession” but NOT an “apology” because (not to put to fine a point on it but) a confession is to God and an apology can get us sued.

So, I wrote three apologies; not because I’m a good guy – ‘cause I’m a contrarian and I’m full of beans as my grandma says.

Now wouldn’t you know it 8 years later another group discovers the bodies of more children, this time in Kamloops – and this time people seem to notice. Improvements are being made, just slowly.

When I first came to Canada I had no idea about the history of native peoples. I didn’t know any about residential schools (didn’t know what they were) and had never met someone taken away from their home to attend a school by force – though in the US, the government did a similar thing with the Amish who didn’t go to school and were becoming completely incapable of surviving outside the colony. They are now legally required to attend school until grade 8.

I had no idea what had taken place at these schools until I was introduced to Sheryl Bear a famous Canadian artist and activist. And that is when I decided that I was guilty of something, despite also, not being guilty at the same time.

I wrote an article for the Presbyterian Record Magazine. I wrote the most popular and silliest of the monthly columns, but I also wrote two very serious op-eds. One was shortened and submitted and won an award in Canadian Journalism. I’d like to read my original entry now.

My editor changed the title to

Why Issues Surrounding the Residential Schools Should Matter to Us

My original title was: I might not be a racist, But I benefit from it.

I will read it in full now.

I don’t believe I have ever personally mistreated a native person on the grounds of race. I never personally created any rules restricting First Nations people. When The Presbyterian Church in Canada set up Residential Schools I wasn’t even born yet. I had nothing to do with it. I’m an immigrant. I didn’t even come to Canada until 1999. I didn’t join the Presbyterian Church in Canada until 2005. What exactly do I have to apologize for? I don’t like being blamed or taking the blame for things I didn’t do. Who does?

I was born in a small community in the State of Kansas. “Bleeding Kansas” is its nickname due to corruption in the White House at the time which led to a change in the number of entered “Slave States”. You see, there weren’t just Union States and Confederate States. Union States were covering the Northeast as well as Nevada, California, and Oregon. Then there were Union States not permitting slavery (which is different). There were also Border Union states between the Union and the “Deep South”. Then there were three Union States that permitted slavery (bet you didn’t know that). That was Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. Then there was Kansas who simply entered the Union (sort of). So, what happened? People above us permitted slavery and people below us did not. People Northeast of us did not and people Southeast of us did. People Northwest of us permitted slaves and the people Southwest of us were confederates. We were surrounded. So, they all met in Kansas for 8 years of fighting while tensions grew within the state itself and neighbours simply started killing neighbours in the middle of the night. I’m not a Yankee! Only people from 20 Union states are. I’m not a Southerner. And I’m not a Confederate. I’m just “bloody”.

As you might imagine race and racism are often just under the surface of what’s going on. But am I a racist? Unlike 50million living today, I never owned a slave. I didn’t grow up thinking about race the same way that my grandparents’ generation or my parents’ generation did. When I was little, I just didn’t notice it. My brothers’ (then and still) best friend is black. My best friend was Japanese. Early on in life, the only racism I ever encountered was when I was the target. The other kids at my Amish school hated me because I was “Zee English”. Eventually, I had to be pulled out and switch schools. But me? I’m not a racist. I didn’t own a slave or set up a “separate but equal” water fountain. I know slavery was/is wrong but, just what exactly do I have to feel sorry about when it comes to slavery?

Well actually quite a lot. Indeed, I may not be a racist… but I’ve sure benefited from it. The fact is, the rapid prosperity experienced in the United States occurred on the backs of slaves and on land first claimed by the Europeans though Native Americans were already living there. Even people who belonged to the Union had investments in the South, wore clothes made by slaves and had sugar for their tea that came from free labour. They might not have been racist themselves, but they sure benefited from it. Even today, many major companies still exist that were slave fueled at one time (part of The Canadian National Railway Company for example claimed the loss of dead slaves for insurance purposes). They still thrive today because of the money they made with slaves for future investments.

My family moved to the United States legally at a time when people from Asia, Africa and other areas were restricted. The best land of course was gone by the time immigration opened more broadly. My ancestors might not have been racists, but they benefited from it. Once here my ancestors were never relocated forcibly. When they died, they passed down money earned on land not made available to other races. Later on, they lived in better communities where non-whites were discouraged from living. If I have any inheritance coming to me (and I most certainly do not), that’s where it’s coming from.

My grandparents received small business loans unavailable to non-whites. They voted in elections and voted for people that best represented them and their particular class as to be expected but those politicians and platforms had little interest in representing non-whites. In their newer neighbourhoods, police protection appeared easier to come by. My parents were safer. They had public swimming pools, libraries, and playgrounds close to them. No one stopped them from using these facilities. They were encouraged too.

When my parents were young there were segregated schools that received more funds and drew interest from more and better-qualified teachers than non-white schools would get. They have got newer materials, up-to-date books, and better facilities. They were trained better to get higher-paying jobs. They learned from textbooks that reflected their race, religion, class, and opportunities and spoke more favourably to issues textbooks written by non-whites might have. Little to no mention of non-white heroes were anywhere to be found. They had tons of people who looked just like them to look up to, making it clear that they too could be doctors, scientists and engineers. People told them they could someday be the “president of the United States”. My parents might not have been racist, but they sure benefited from it.

When my parents and grandparents went to college, they were eligible to receive student loans. No one stopped them or protested their education. While they were training to be the boss others were being kept for labor. When a co-worker of colour was hired, often, they would be paid less, leaving more money for white workers. When cuts were made often people of color were cut first saving white jobs. My father might not be racist, but he probably benefited from it. He built a house with a higher wage because of it. He bought me my Sunday dinner with it, and my shoes too. I may not be racist, but I benefited from it when I got new toys someone else didn’t.

Very few of us would ever consider ourselves racist and yet there is no doubt that we benefit from racism. We were born into or inherited a system which restricted some and propped up others and helped create a cycle which can be escaped from but isn’t as easy to do as it is to say. Today I own a house built on land that was taken from someone long ago. When the government first sold that land to a homesteader the homesteader didn’t steal that land and wasn’t a bad person for buying it… but that homesteader sure benefited from racism and so have I. I benefit from it every time I shop at a store or buy gasoline made with oil pulled up out of the ground that belonged to someone else. I may not be a racist, but I benefit from it.

When I joined the Presbyterian Church in Canada the residential schools were all closed, an apology in the form of a “confession” had already been issued (provided at the end of this service text) and people by and large just wanted to forget about it and move on. And that makes sense. After all, what did most of us ever have to do with those schools anyway?

Well in truth it sort of doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if they were closed. It doesn’t matter if rather conveniently the United Church inherited the “problem” from Presbyterians seemingly freeing us from the past. It doesn’t matter at all. Because I call myself a Presbyterian now. I joined this church, and I don’t just get to identify with this denomination and its rich heritage when it suits me. I don’t get to celebrate with it without admitting the faults with it. I don’t get to be a part of the “Continuing” Presbyterian Church without being a part of the history it’s continuing from.

Sometimes when we think about the issues surrounding Residential Schools in Canada, we are tempted to brush them off and go about our business. It’s tempting to think, “Get over it”. It’s tempting to blame others or ignore the issues altogether. But the truth is, there is no getting around it or away from it. And it’s not someone else’s problem. We all have a role in it.

I may not be a racist, but I’ve benefited from it. How about you?

-The Rev. Brad Childs

Song: O for a world (730)

Our time of giving

Prayer for others and ourselves

Creator God of love and justice, Comforter of those who mourn,

We turn to you acknowledging the actions of your church, our complicity in running residential schools and taking children from their families. We have asked forgiveness and committed to work for truth, healing and reconciliation. But we recognize that for some, that change came too late.

The names of more of the students who died and never made it home from residential schools are beginning to be known, but we know these lists are incomplete; that there will be more names and that some names may never be publicly known. But you know, Loving and Healing God, their names, and their stories, their hearts and their families.

For those children whose names we do know, those we do not yet know, and for the intergenerational harm, the trauma still present today that grew from their absence, we apologize. We pray for healing for the siblings, family, and friends of those were taken from home but did not return, and for the intergenerational impacts the schools continue to cause today in families and communities.

For where there was joy, and we took it:

Laughter and we stifled it.
Play and we turned it to tears.
Family and we broke it.
Dignity, and we stifled it.

We repent and renew our commitment to walk a new path. We honour the children lost and hold the memory of their lives in our hearts.

Comforting God, we pray for healing in the communities and families of all who experienced residential schools, and strength for all who pursue healing, truth and reconciliation. Amen.

Song: Make me a channel of your peace (740)

Sending out with God’s blessing

As we go out today, may the Spirit rouse in each of us, minds prepared to be unsettled, hearts that yearn for justice, and bodies that work for peace. Guide and impassion us in love and justice, to walk lightly and humbly and seek truth and reconciliation, healing, and wholeness. May God’s transforming love flow freely through each of us. Amen.

Response: Benediction (As you go)

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

The Confession

In 1994, The Presbyterian Church in Canada adopted a confession recognizing the church’s role in operating residential schools and the harm those schools caused to Indigenous children, their families and communities. The Holy Spirit, speaking in and through Scripture, calls The Presbyterian Church in Canada to confession. This confession is our response to the word of God. We understand our mission and ministry in new ways in part because of the testimony of Aboriginal peoples.

We, the 120th General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, seeking the guidance of the Spirit of God, and aware of our sin and shortcomings, are called to speak to the Church we love. We do this, out of new understandings of our past not out of any sense of being superior to those who have gone before us, nor out of any sense that we would have done things differently in the same context. It is with humility and in great sorrow that we come before God and our Aboriginal brothers and sisters with our confession.
We acknowledge that the stated policy of the Government of Canada was to assimilate Aboriginal peoples to the dominant culture and that The Presbyterian Church in Canada co-operated in this policy. We acknowledge that the roots of the harm we have done are found in the attitudes and values of Western European colonialism, and the assumption that what was not yet moulded in our image was to be discovered and exploited. As part of that policy we, with other churches, encouraged the government to ban some important spiritual practices through which Aboriginal peoples experienced the presence of the creator God. For the Church’s complicity in this policy, we ask forgiveness.
We recognize that there were many members of The Presbyterian Church in Canada who, in good faith, gave unstintingly of themselves in love and compassion for their Aboriginal brothers and sisters. We acknowledge their devotion and commend them for their work. We recognize that there were some who, with prophetic insight, were aware of the damage that was being done and protested, but their efforts were thwarted. We acknowledge their insight. For the times we did not support them adequately nor hear their cries for justice, we ask forgiveness.
We confess that The Presbyterian Church in Canada presumed to know better than Aboriginal peoples what was needed for life. The Church said of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, “If they could be like us, they could think like us, talk like us, worship like us, sing like us, and work like us, they would know God and therefore would have life abundant.” In our cultural arrogance, we have been blind to how our understanding of the Gospel has been culturally conditioned, and because of our insensitivity to Aboriginal cultures, we have demanded more of the Aboriginal people than the Gospel requires and have thus misrepresented Jesus Christ who loves all peoples with compassionate, suffering love that all may come to God through him. For the Church’s presumption, we ask forgiveness.

We confess that, with the encouragement and assistance of the Government of Canada, The Presbyterian Church in Canada agreed to take the children of Aboriginal peoples from their own homes and place them in residential schools. In these schools, children were deprived of their traditional ways, which were replaced with Euro-Canadian customs that were helpful in the process of assimilation. To carry out this process, The Presbyterian Church in Canada used disciplinary practices which were foreign to Aboriginal peoples, and open to exploitation in physical and psychological punishment beyond any Christian maxim of care and discipline. In a setting of obedience and acquiescence there was opportunity for sexual abuse, and some were so abused. The effect of all this, for Aboriginal peoples, was the loss of cultural identity and the loss of a secure sense of self. For the Church’s insensitivity we ask forgiveness.

We regret that there are those whose lives have been deeply scarred by the effects of the mission and ministry of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. For our Church we ask forgiveness of God. It is our prayer that God, who is merciful, will guide us in compassionate ways towards helping them to heal.
We ask, also, for forgiveness from Aboriginal peoples. What we have heard we acknowledge. It is our hope that those whom we have wronged with a hurt too deep for telling will accept what we have to say. With God’s guidance our Church will seek opportunities to walk with Aboriginal peoples to find healing and wholeness together as God’s people.

Pentecost

Posted on May 19, 2024May 19, 2024 by John

Worship on the Pentecost Sunday
10:00 am 19 May 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Ann May Malayang
Elder: Jane de Caen

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: Breathe upon us, Holy Spirit,
P: and inspire our worship with your truth.
L: Stir in our hearts, Holy Spirit,
P: and fill us with your love.
L: Strengthen us, Holy Spirit,
P: and move us to act with your power.
L: Breathe in us, Holy Spirit,
P: and receive our prayers and praise.

Opening praise: Holy Spirit, you are welcome here

Prayers of approach and confession
God of power and possibility, with the flame of your Spirit, you give us energy to move into the world in Jesus’ name.
With the breath of your Spirit, you refresh us to engage life in its complexity.
Your Spirit embraces us in the diversity and difference you wove into our creation and united us in your love.
We praise you for your presence with us in every time and place.
In this time of worship, send us the Holy Spirit once again.
Renew us to serve you in the world that aches for the healing and wholeness you offer through Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.
God of mystery and mercy, we confess we have not always paid attention to the urging of your Spirit to follow your will and your way.
Too often we claim to belong to Jesus, yet we ignore his teaching.
You created us to love one another, but we resist loving those who differ from us.
Stir our hearts with your Holy Spirit.
Transform who we are, and direct who we shall become through Christ’s redeeming love.

Response: We come to ask your forgiveness, O God

Assurance of God’s love

These words are worthy of our trust and acceptance: In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven. Be at peace with God, with yourself and with one another. Thanks be to God for God’s steadfast love and mercy!

We listen for the voice of God

Children’s time

Response: Jesus, we are gathered

Story

When I was in school, I studied several languages (Spanish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew). I’m not great with any of them.

Pentecost took place with people from all around the known world who spoke many different languages.

There were Flames, Tongues, and Fire.

People heard God’s Message in their own languages.

The Bible has been translated into 1,658 languages to share God’s message.

One language that everyone speaks is Love. If you love someone, they know it. Now the Holy Spirit has never given me the special gift of speaking in tongues, but I know what the language of Love is. It’s kindness and respect. It’s sharing God’s message by how we act and how we treat each other.

God has given you a message to share, in English, in any language you speak and in all you do.

Prayer: Our God, we pray that you will help us to speak the language of love – to share the Gospel with all people whether we share the same language or not.

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: When the Spirit of the Lord (398)

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Acts 2:1-21 and Romans 8:22-27

Response: Glory to the Father

Message: Pentecost

I heard a story some time ago about a boy who was wandering around the narthex of a large downtown church one Sunday morning. As the ushers looked over, they saw the boy stop and carefully examine a large bronze plaque that was hung on the wall. The ushers came over to say “Hello.” “Why are all those names up there?” the boy asked the ushers. “Those are the names of people who died in the service.” the usher replied. With eyes now open as wide as they had ever been the boy stared at the ushers and asked “the 9:30 service or the one I come too?”

Sometimes it’s easy to get confused about things in the Church. Pentecost is one of those things. Most people know what Christmas is; many know what Easter is but very few people generally know what Pentecost is. And really that’s very understandable because most Christians tend to disagree a bit about what Pentecost is about.

My Grandmother Grace once told me about how she and her friends used to hide in the bushes outside the Pentecostal church and watch the people roll around in the aisles. She said that one of her great regrets in life is laughing at the so-called “Holy Rollers” when all they were doing was trying to understand God in their own way.

The events of Pentecost and different understandings about what happened at Pentecost have helped to create a whole host of different denominations and sects of Christianity. The Toronto Blessing is a group of Charismatic Christians that believes itself to be weekly experiencing the Holy Spirit as worshipers go through fits of uncontrolled laughter. It may not be for me… but I doubt laughing every really hurt anyone.

Many Pentecostals believe that only those who speak in tongues have been given the Holy Spirit and therefore are the only true Christians. That seems odd and perhaps rude at first but then again, John Calvin was the complete opposite. He believed that the original Pentecost experience was a miracle but that it existed only for the birth of the church and that miracles were no longer needed and so, no longer happened. When people spoke of the miraculous, he argued with them (considering them uneducated). It seems Pentecost (a day that’s supposed to be about unity) is dividing us. We all seem to understand what happened differently.

In the story from Acts chapter two, the disciples are gathered together when suddenly a sound “something like” a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house. And then what seemed like “tongues of fire.” Then the tongues separate and rest on each person. And then everyone in the room begins to speak in “other tongues.”

Outside there is a large crowd with people gathered from all around the known world. But somehow everyone outside hears the gospel message proclaimed in their own native language. Some of the people nearby are skeptical and think the disciples and other travelers are simply drunk and attempt to dismiss them. But many others come to believe.

Just what was happening at Pentecost though is a little hard to tell. There was no camera around to capture the event; it was written two thousand years ago, and it was written in another language complete with its own traditions, background, idioms and much more. At first it might seem straightforward enough (The Holy Spirit came as tongues made of fire and gave people a magical language so they could share the gospel with the world beyond) but… What does it mean that Luke (the writer of Acts) doesn’t actually say that a great wind came? No instead he himself can’t describe it…calling it “something like a mighty wind.”

Next Luke can’t describe the so-called tongues… instead calling them “what seemed like tongues of fire.”

Next what does tongues of fire mean? By tongues are we meant to literally envision tongues but made of fire? Or are “tongues of fire” a figure of speech that describes the flickering edges or tops of the flames? What is speaking in tongues anyway? Are they speaking other human languages as some suggest? Did they know the languages they were speaking but simple felt compelled to speak as some say… or did they speak human languages they had never studied before? Or are they babbling nonsensical words or are they speaking the language of angels as many Charismatic Christians believe?

On the more literary front, many scholars have pointed out that the events of Acts 2 appear to mirror the events that take place at the bottom of Mt. Sinai in the book of Exodus. Both have a violent wind, both have the theophany (fire of God), both have the presence of God being revealed in a new way, both have a multitude of people gathered, both make a point to note that people from foreign lands are present and both note the Word being given to the people to share.

Other scholars have noticed that what happened in Acts 2 is actually the exact opposite of what happened in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel. The say that in Babel the people didn’t trust in God’s promise to Noah to never again flood the earth and so they began to make a structure to reach the heavens where they could go and be above God’s reproach and so be “like gods” themselves. In response God confuses their language and scatters them throughout the world as a curse. In contrast to this, on the day of Pentecost they say, God lifts the curse and creates a kind of universal language and speaks to people from all around the known world who are all gathered together once again.

Is the story history the way we define history, history the way they defined history or was the whole event meant to be a literary or figurative way of explaining the beginnings of a spiritual revival that first century people would have easily understood but has been largely lost on us?

Want to know what I think happened? Would you like to know exactly what I think happened?

I don’t have a clue. I don’t know why but strangely and quite frankly I don’t really care all that much to know exactly what happened.

But I’ll tell you what I do know.

Three times a year the Jews were to take a pilgrimage up to Jerusalem. Shavu’ot is one of the three. It comes from Ex. 34:22 which says that God’s people were to have a festival on the Sabbath following seven weeks after the Passover. In Leviticus 23:16 it says, “You shall number the festival after 50 days”. By the New Testament times, the Hebrew Bibles were nearly out of use and most people; even Rabbis read a Greek translation called the Septuagint. The Septuagint translation of the above texts just reads “You shall have a festival at ‘pentekostes’” the Greek word for 50 (“You shall have the festival at 50”). While the Passover was about the exodus from Egypt, the pentekostes was commonly thought to be about the giving of the Ten Commandments. But officially the holiday was a pre-harvest festival called “The Feast of First Fruits.”

See in the early first temple period when the nomadic Israelites had just left the desert and first begun to farm, they began to celebrate the festival of first fruits. It was an extreme act of faith. See farmers didn’t just cultivate crops all at the same time. It took a long time to plant and a long time to bring in the crops. Farming is hard and dangerous today, but this was an even harder time. For most people there were no irrigation systems, no safe place to store next year’s seed, no guarantee of pleasant weather, no pesticides to keep crops from being destroyed, and only a few ways to take out loans (none of which were pleasant) if nothing grew. A weak harvest could mean starvation and the death of a whole extended family. Two weak harvests and death was almost certain. Now it should be noted that Leviticus asks the people to give a tithe or tenth of their earning as a sacrifice to God for the festival but here’s where the feast of first fruits gets really serious.

See – at the feast of first fruits, they gave 1/10 of their harvest. But it’s not 1/10 after the harvest is all over. It’s the first 10% of the crop. At the beginning of the harvest before it had all come in, long before they knew if the rest of the crop would mature, if the rain would come, if the bugs wouldn’t eat it all, if there would be enough to eat, if enough to eat… enough to store, if enough to store then enough to save for planting the following year. Before they knew anything at all… they would take the first 10% of their crop, and during the harvest season… travel to the Temple in Jerusalem (at the time when they should be watching their crops most carefully) and they would take that first 10% (their only food for the whole year thus far… all of it) and they would burn it.

They would burn it because they trusted God would provide them with more.

Shavu’ot… Pentekostes… That is why the disciples are gathered together in that room 50 days after Jesus was killed. There is a party going on… it’s the 50^th day. It’s a pentecostes. It is an exciting time… but it’s also a very selfless time when the people really stepped up to the plate in faith, where they stuck their necks out as far as they could possibly go.

And on that day, the Ruach HaKodesh (the very Breath of God) came into that place. And as opposed to how things had been before (an insular and tight knit group), verse four says the Breath of God and the Fire and Spirit “came to all present.” What’s more the Spirit didn’t just “rest” on them as He did in the Old Testament but instead verse five says he “filled them.” Everyone began at once preaching the gospel and outside travelers from all around the known world heard the message of Christ in his or her own language. Because of Pentecostes when the people gave their first fruits, God birthed the Church through the disciples… the First Fruits of many (including you) who would share the gospel with others. Because he trusted that there would be more.

Sometimes it’s easy to get confused about things in the Church. And that’s understandable. Exactly what happened that first Christian Pentecost day two thousand years ago? I don’t have a clue. I don’t know for sure if they were literal tongues or just flames (both would be miracles). I don’t know if the story is more literal or literary. I don’t know for sure if they were known languages, angelic tongues, or something else. I don’t know if God still does the same kind of miracles today or if this was just for those first believers. I don’t know… but strangely and quite frankly I don’t really care all that much. Because I may not know all the minute details of exactly what happened at that first Christian Pentecost, but I do think I know what it means that it happened.

I think what John the Baptist had said in Luke 3:16 came true when he said,
“I baptize with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

I think Jesus did what he said he’d do in John 14:16 when he said, “And I will ask the Father and He will send you another advocate who will never leave you.”

I think what Christ said Acts 1:8 came true where he said, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

I think that first Pentecost day they were the first fruits of those called to proclaim the message of Christ to all the world and that you and I are a part of that harvest just as you and I are called to proclaim it to all the world in every language and every corner of creation. Because Acts chapter two is the birthplace of the Church as we know it… and when the Bible says, “12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’” I believe Peter is right to answer that question by saying, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Because the Church might be confusing at times and the gospel hard to grasp but the Spirit of God wants everyone to hear it.

May the Lord Bless you and keep you,

May you be the first fruits of all those you touch,

And may we always proclaim Happy Birthday to the Church of Jesus Christ, in every language everywhere knowing that by the power of the Sprit, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Song: I am the church (475)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Reflection on giving: At Pentecost, God poured out gifts of the Spirit upon the Church, to equip Christ’s followers to bear witness to him throughout the world. We offer our gifts and our lives to God so that the witness of the Church will continue with the blessing of the Holy Spirit in this generation and beyond.

Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves

Spirit of grace and power, bless the gifts we offer so that they may accomplish surprising things in Jesus’ name. Bless our lives, too, so that our words and actions bear witness to Jesus’ love and mercy each and every day.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through your whole church on this day of Pentecost: Blow through us and renew our faith. Re-awaken our love for God. Let the flames of your love warm our hearts with trust in Jesus Christ. Dare us to do great things in his name.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and renew our faith and hope.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us energy to serve you as the body of Christ working in the world. Open our eyes to recognize needs for ministry and mission around us. Open our hearts to welcome newcomers and meet those we don’t yet know. Open our hands to share in tasks that need doing, and open our lips in prayer and praise.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and renew our faith and hope.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us understanding for all those whose lives seem so different from ours (brief silence)

for those facing situations we’ve never encountered (brief silence)
for those with whom we’ve disagreed (brief silence)
for problems and challenges we face at home, at work, and in the world facing so much turmoil. (longer silence)

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and renew our faith and hope.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring healing

for all who face pain or illness, discouragement, or disappointment (brief silence)
for all who know sorrow, sadness, or grief (brief silence)
for those who feel pressure in these uncertain times (longer silence)

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and renew our faith and hope.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring us the compassion we see in Christ Jesus to serve the world you love in his name.

Blow through us and refresh us as his faithful followers.

Unite us across our differences as together, we pray, Amen.

Song: Jump with joy (406)

Sending out with God’s blessing

On this Pentecost Day, go in the strength of the Spirit to serve with renewed energy wherever the Spirit moves you. And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Response: God to enfold you

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

Sent into the World (Lynn Vaughan)

Posted on May 12, 2024May 13, 2024 by John

Worship on the Seventh Sunday of Easter
Mother’s Day / Christian Family Sunday
10:00 am 12 May 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Lynn Vaughan
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Linda Farrah-Basford
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: Clap your hands, all you peoples;
P: We will shout to God with songs of joy.
L: For God is awesome, reigning over all the earth!
P: We will sing praises to God every day.
L: Let us worship God with all we have to offer.
P: We will offer God our love – heart, body, mind and soul!

Opening praise: Love the Lord, your God

Prayers of approach and confession

God of promise and purpose, we praise with thankful hearts.

As the beauty of the seasons change the beauty of your world lifts our hearts in praise. You lifted up Jesus to be by your side, and so we know he is always by our side as the future opens before us. Show us the promise and purpose in our own lives – how we can unfurl with new life and move into the future empowered by the Holy Spirit, embraced by the love of Christ our Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, you called your followers to carry the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness to the ends of the earth. Yet we confess we cannot always find the words to tell others of our faith.

We try to act out your love, but it’s hard to tell others why we do what we do for you.

Forgive us. Give us the courage to speak openly of our commitment to you.

Response: I waited, I waited on you, Lord

Assurance of God’s forgiveness

Friends, remember the promise the Apostle Paul declares: What will separate us from the love of Christ? Hardship? Distress? Peril or sword? Neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Let us rejoice that, no matter what is happening around us, no matter what path we are looking to follow, God’s deep love will always be with us.

We listen for the voice of God

Children’s time

Response: My Lighthouse

Story

Our theme in Sunday School today is “Sent into the World”, so we’re going to do a little experiment to demonstrate how that might look for us, as Christians.

This bottle I have and the water inside of it is going to represent the world we live in. It has the potential to be pure and beautiful and clear but, unfortunately, our world is sometimes a messy place. Sometimes, bad things happen. Sometimes, people are too busy looking out for themselves that they forget to look out for each other. They forget to love one another and be kind, as Jesus teaches us. So, that makes our world look a little murky and cloudy. (add food colouring to water)

After Jesus and his disciples ate their Last Supper together before his crucifixion, he prayed for them. He prayed that as they lived in the world, they would not become part of the murkiness and bad things that happened in the world. He wanted them to go out into the world and share the gifts he had given them, but he did not want them to become stained. He wanted them to remain the people God made them to be. He wanted them to know His love and to share that love with others. So, he prayed for them.

This prayer doesn’t just apply to Jesus’ disciples; it applies to us, too.

So, here we are, getting ready to go out into the world. Let’s see what happens. (pour oil into water in jar, shake it up)

When we first put these things together, it appears that the water and oil become one, right? But wait a minute.

Have the oil and water really become one? Let’s let the bottle stand for a little while and see what happens. Look! The water and oil have separated. That shows us that even when they were all mixed together, they were never really all together as one.

This is a pretty good picture of what Jesus wants US to be like in this world of ours. Even though we live in the world, we don’t have to become part of the muck and the bad stuff that so often exists. We can rise above everything bad and negative in the world and be separate from it, showing off our love and compassion for each other. We can teach others about God’s kingdom and everything good that happens when we follow Jesus and open our hearts to having a relationship with God.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, help us, as we live in this world, to remain faithful to your call to be separate from the world and show off your love.

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: God forgave my sin (774)

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Acts 1:1-14 and John 17:1-19

Response: Behold the Lamb of God

Message: Sent into the world

This Sunday’s Gospel text comes at a unique time in the Church year.

The Easter season begins a time of 50 days that ends with Pentecost, which will happen next Sunday, and it includes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit onto Jesus’ disciples. During the 50 days of Easter, we have the chance to revel in the new life Christ brings when he conquers death.

This past Thursday, which is ten days before Pentecost, marks the day of Christ’s Ascension into heaven. So then, today, the 7th Sunday of Easter – is kind of an “in between” Sunday.

On this particular Sunday of the Easter season:

Christ is no longer physically present with the disciples, as he has been since his resurrection, but
The Holy Spirit has not yet come upon them and given them the courage and motivation to begin their mission work as they are sent out into the world.

This scenario is a very typical moment for our own experiences of Christian life. We know Christ is risen. We know He has the power to conquer death. But, like the Apostles during this in-between time before Pentecost, we sometimes feel a bit scared and powerless to go out and face the world.

In the Gospel reading from John 17 that we just heard, we are taken back in time to Jesus’ last meal with his friends – the Last Supper – and the great and mysterious prayer he recited after dinner. Jesus is acutely aware that he is about to leave them. He has done all he can to protect his friends and teach them about God’s love, up until this time, but now he must entrust them to his Father’s care.

The prayer that Jesus recites bounces around a bit and is a little confusing, but it emphasizes three main things: belonging, being informed, and being sent. Today, I’m choosing to focus on the being sent part of things.

The disciples are made aware that Jesus, the Son, was “sent” by the Father. This “sentness” seems to be crucial to a true and transforming faith.

Jesus prays that his disciples – that WE – are being sent out in the same way as he was sent. He gives us the big green light to GO into the world to spread the message of the gospel and TRUST that all will be well as we face the future … and all the uncertainties that come along with that.

I’m going to share with you a little story about some fish who were kind of stuck in their own little world, set in their ways, when they were suddenly given the opportunity to follow a new path and take a chance on something that could change their sheltered lives forever. We are reminded that Christ offers an invitation to each one of us, as well. He holds it out and waits for us to respond. No one is forcing us to accept it. No one coerces us into believing. We each receive an invitation to follow Him and go out into the world to continue to spread the good news.

Do we dare respond to this invitation? Are we ready to follow this teacher? Are we ready to live our lives with him and be sent out to do His work? As I tell the story, see if you recognize any of the characters in the story in the people around us. See if you recognize any of the characters in yourself!

This is a story about some fishes who lived in a very small puddle of water.

“Give me that waterbug!”

“No, I saw him first!”

“Get your fins off my supper!”

“He’s mine, I tell you!”

And so, every day, the little fishes would fight. In such cramped quarters, there isn’t much else to do — except swim in circles and hunt for waterbugs. Their stagnant puddle, cradled between the roots of an ancient oak, lay just beside a swiftly flowing river. Life never seemed to change for the puddle fish.

But one morning, as they swam in circles and hunted for waterbugs, there was a sudden noise:

SPLASH!!!

“Watch yourself! Stand clear!”

An amazing, brightly coloured fish had jumped into the riverside puddle. This large fish had blue and red and golden scales. And — what was most unusual to the inhabitants of this particular puddle of water — he was smiling.

At first, the frightened puddle–fishes huddled together against the puddle’s far edge. Finally, one of them asked, “Where do you come from?”

The Sparkling Fish smiled brightly: “I come from the sea.”

“The sea? What’s the sea?”

The Sparkling Fish shook his head in surprise. “You don’t know about the sea? No one has ever told you? Why, the sea . . . the sea is what fish are made for!” He rubbed a golden fin against his head, puzzled.

“How can I explain the sea to you? Well … it’s not like this little puddle; it’s endless! You don’t have to swim in circles all day; you can dance with the tides. Life isn’t lived in the shade — the sun arches over the waves in silver and crimson! And there are many splendid sea–creatures, such as can hardly be imagined! It’s endless! And sparkling clear. The sea is what fish are made for!”

Just then, a waterbug skirted the surface overhead, but no one moved. Then a pale gray puddle–fish spoke up: “How do we get to the sea?”

The Sparkling Fish pointed toward the large black root that lay close to the river’s edge. “It’s a simple matter. You jump from this little puddle into that river, and trust that the current will take you to the sea.”

Astonishment clouded the puddle–water. At last, a brave little fish swam forward with a hard, experienced look in his eye. He was a Realist Fish.

The Realist Fish looked down at the muddy puddle–bottom and frowned. “It’s pleasant to talk about this ‘sea–business’. But if you ask me, we have to face reality. And what is reality? Obviously — it’s swimming in circles and hunting for waterbugs.”

A look of distaste mingled with pity crossed his face. “It’s all pie–in–the–sea nonsense. Of course, I sympathize; you undoubtedly dreamed this up because of some trauma you suffered as a little guppy. But life is hard. It takes a real Fish to face the facts.”

The Sparkling Fish smiled: “But you don’t understand. I’ve been there. I’ve seen the sea. It’s far more wonderful ….” Yet before he could finish speaking, the Realist Fish swam away.

Next, there neared a fish with a nervous twitch in his tail. He was a Scared Fish. He began to stutter: “If . . . if I understand y–y–you, we’re supposed to j–j–jump into th–th–that river over there?”

“Yes. For a fish who wants to go to the sea, the way to get there lies through the river.” The Sparkling Fish swam closer. (It’s difficult to understand someone when he stutters underwater.)

The Scared Fish’s voice jumped to a screech: “B–B–But . . . have you looked at that river over there? I’m just a small fish! That river is deep and strong and wide! Why, a small fish would be swept away by the current! If I jumped out of this puddle, I wouldn’t have any control! NO! I just can’t. . .”

The Sparkling Fish whispered, “Just trust me. Trust that the river will take you some place good . . .” But before he could finish, the Scared Fish hurried away.

Finally, there swam out a figure who seemed very solemn and learned. (He had been in this particular school of fish longer than anyone else.) He was a Theologian Fish.

Calmly, he swam to the middle of the puddle and adjusted his spectacles. Setting down a small shellfish podium, the Theologian Fish pulled out a sheaf of notes from his vest pocket. Then he smiled at the puddle–fishes: “My brothers and sisters, our distinguished visitor has expressed many views which certainly merit consideration.”

Then, he bowed respectfully to the Sparkling Fish: “However, my colourful friend, we must also concede that those fishes who so gracefully inhabit this humble puddle have also expressed many views which merit consideration. By all means, let us be reasonable.”

He glanced down at his notes, and then his smile brightened: “We can work this out. Why not form a discussion group? We could meet every Monday at seven o’clock, and I’m certain that some of the puddle–fish would be happy to bring coffee and doughnuts ….”

The eyes of the Sparkling Fish were sad: “No, this will never do. Talking is important, but in the end — it is a simple matter. You jump. You jump out of this puddle and trust that the river will take you to the sea.”

From somewhere above the muddied waters, a sparrow was singing. The light in the Sparkling Fish’s eyes shone with a bright urgency: “Besides, don’t you know? Summer is coming!”

The puddle–fishes murmured: “Summer is coming! Summer is …. Summer is coming. What difference does that make?”

The Sparkling Fish pointed toward the sun: “Summer is coming. The spring rains filled this little puddle to overflowing. But this puddle is going to dry up someday. No puddle lasts forever.”

The puddle–fishes were stunned. But then the Realist Fish swam to the front. There was a dark contempt on his face as he spat out his words: “That’s just like you religious people. When you don’t honestly convince people of what you believe, you try to scare them. You’re just one of those end–of–the–puddle fanatics!”

He swam away in disgust.

But then, all the colours of the Sparkling Fish — blue, red and gold — brightened into a warm glow. He whispered: “It is a simple matter. You jump. You jump from this little puddle, and trust that the river will take you to the sea. Will take you to a better future. Now … who will come and follow me?”

At first, no one moved. But then, a few puddle–fish swam to his side. Together, they jumped into the river, and the current swept them away.

The remaining puddle–fish were quiet for a long time.

Then, once again they began to swim in circles and hunt for waterbugs.

So now, ask yourself: are you ready to jump? Amen

Song: We are marching (639)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Reflection on giving: Even as the season of Easter draws closer to its end this week, we continue to receive the blessings God pours out for us in Christ and in creation. Our gifts to God speak of our gratitude for these blessings and our commitment to share them with the whole world.

Eternal and ever-present God, bless the gifts we offer today with the power of your Holy Spirit. Use them and us to witness to the love of Jesus Christ and bring healing and hope to the world in his name. Amen.

A Prayer for Christian Family Sunday

Lord Jesus Christ, You came to us bearing God’s love to live with us, to walk with us, and to show us how to love.

You pray with us and for us day by day.

Today we turn to you with our hopes and our concerns.

Draw near to us and to those for whom we pray, so that your love will be known in our world this day.

Lord Jesus, on this Christian Family Sunday, we pray for the families we belong to. Thank you for parents, grandparents and great-grandparents for the generations who started our families and all they have given to us.

Today we thank you especially for our mothers and pray for all the mothers around the world.

Give mothers hope for their children, and peace in the world to raise their children safely.

Comfort and support each member of our families and guide each child and young person into the future.

Lord Jesus, we pray for families in our community and in your world

We remember families in need:

Families who are struggling under economic pressures…

Families who know sorrow because someone has died or gone away…

Families who live in fear because they are in the midst of some kind of trouble…

Surround these families with your love and bring them courage to face whatever tomorrow brings.

Lord Jesus, we pray for each other and for our church family:

Thank you for the friendship and fellowship we share, and the unique gifts each one brings to our life together.

Show us our paths into the future and give us important things to do in your name. Amen.

Song: Who’s goin’ to tell the story (861)

Sending out with God’s blessing

Go in strength, with the assurance that Christ walks with you, to witness to his love in truth and action. And may God’s resurrecting love open the future for you, empowered by the Spirit, and embraced by the presence of Jesus Christ, our Risen and Ascended Lord.

Response: Go forth into the world

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

Lynn Vaughan retains the copyright (© 2024) on all original material in this service. As far as she is aware, all of the material that has not been attributed to others is her own creation or is in the public domain. Unacknowledged use of copyrighted material is unintentional and will be corrected immediately upon notification being received.

The long road

Posted on May 5, 2024May 5, 2024 by John

Worship on the Sixth Sunday of Easter
05 May 2024    10:00 am
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev. Brad Childs                Elder: Heather Tansem
Music Director: Binu Kapadia           Vocalist: Vivian Houg

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 sing to the Lord a new song,
P: for God has done marvelous things.
L: Let us make known the Lord’s victory,
P: for God’s steadfast love covers the whole earth.
L: Let us sing joyful praises,
P: and join all creation to worship God’s holy name.

Opening praise: Forever God is faithful

Prayers of approach and confession

God, you are known to us in scripture and you are known to us in our experiences but you are also beyond our knowledge and our comprehension. We come together not because of strength but because we need to be lifted up. We come to put our attention for one hour of the week on something clearly beyond ourselves. We come to dedicate time to the God we know and yet still strive to fathom.

God of all power and new life we come, humbly, bowing our heads before you, aware of your holiness and majesty knowing that in most things we are powerless and lowly. We come hoping to be received as humble servants but when we pray we feel like more than that. Many of us are invigorated by the morning. Yet many come today with reservations or doubts or simply come weighed down by the burdens we carry. Here we experience your willingness to walk beside us and share the weight of our load.

Only you can meet us in the heights and depths of human living. Only you can lead in the way of fulfillment. Only you are worthy of our worship. Thus we join with all creation singing your praise. To the seas’ roar, we add our melody. To the song echoing in the hills, we add our harmonies. To the voices carrying long distances through the prairie fields, we add our tone.

Despite our experiences of grace, we are not always faithful to you. We do not always live up to our calling to be your people. We seek joy in the strangest places. We tire of the old, old Story and seek happiness in novelty. We seek out swear words more often than true ones. We seek easy roads rather than the right paths. We play with the fires of addiction, compulsion and greed and wonder why we have so little fulfillment.

We are more attentive to the voices around us that sanction self-interest over love of neighbor or stranger and we wonder why peace is so elusive. We fail those you have given us to love and wonder why we feel so insecure.

Forgive us, Lord. And we ask for your help to live up to our best intentions and help to be the best that we can be and prayerfully even beyond. Help us use the energy of our regrets to change our ways. Fuel our desire to walk in your way. Energize us to pursue your purposes. Make us yours and only so. Bless the days ahead and lead us in all truth. Forgive us, change us, send us, defend us and make us new. We offer our prayers through your son, Lord Jesus Amen

Response: We come to ask your forgiveness, O Lord

Assurance of God’s pardon

The God of the Scriptures comes with fire to burn away what is unclean. But like gold being refined in the flames, what is left behind is more pure. In confessing our trials and our failures and in our promises to do better, our God refines the souls of the faithful. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God amen.

We listen for the voice of God

Song: There’s a spirit in the air (764: vss 1, 3, 5, 6)

Scripture readings (NRSV): I John 5:1-6 & John 15:9-17 (NIV)

Response: Glory to the Father

Message: The Long Road

While a college student, Heidi Neumark took a year off from Brown University to be part of a volunteer program. It was sponsored by a group called Rural Mission. Heidi was sent to Johns Island—off the Carolina coast—where she learned from the sons and daughters of plantation slaves who allowed her to sit and listen-in as folks sat around telling stories.

In her words: “The most important lesson I learned on Johns Island was from Miss Ellie, who lived miles down a small dirt road in a one-room, wooden home with an outhouse and one small cooking pot. I loved to visit her. We’d sit in old rocking chairs on the front porch, drinking tall glasses of sweet tea, while she’d tell me stories often punctuated with unique expressions that would leap from her river of thought like bright, silver fish. ‘Girl, I be so happy I could jump the sky!’ she’d say.

It’s the kind of phrase where you know what she means without understanding what she means. And Miss Ellie was full of them.

I never could find out Miss Ellie’s precise age, but it was somewhere between 90 and 100. The sad part – maybe she didn’t know herself. She still did everything herself. She still chopped her own firewood, stacked in neat little piles behind the house. She was committed to work hard and to relax.

Miss Ellie had a friend named Netta. And Netta, whom she’d known since they were small girls had been a good friend. In order to get to Netta’s house, Miss Ellie had to walk four miles through fields of tall grass. This was the sweet grass that Johns Island women make famous baskets out of sold at Easter all around the state. But it was also home to numerous poisonous snakes: coral snakes, rattlesnakes, water moccasins, and copperheads. It was home to all manner of venom.

Actually, Netta’s home was not that far from Miss Ellie’s place, but there was a stream that cut across the fields between the two homes. You had to walk quite a distance to get to the place where the stream narrowed enough to pass. The travel was dangerous. And I admired Miss Ellie, who would set off to visit her friend Netta; full of bouncy enthusiasm, with no worry for the snakes or the long miles or the aching bones.

Still, I also felt sorry for her. Poor Miss Ellie, I thought, old and arthritic, having to walk all that way, pushing through the thick summer heat, not to mention the snakes. And the miles of travel! It was a lot for anyone; certainly a well-seasoned senior!

I felt sorry—until I hit upon the perfect plan.

See, I arranged with some local men to help build a simple plank bridge across the stream near Miss Ellie’s house. I scouted out the ideal place—not too wide, but too deep to cross without a bridge. I bought and helped carry the planks there myself.

Our new bridge was built in a day.

I was so excited that I could hardly wait to see Miss Ellie’s reaction.

I went to her house, where she wanted to sit in her rocker and tell stories as usual, but I was too impatient with my project for that. I practically dragged her off with me. ‘Look!’ I shouted, ‘a shortcut for you to visit Netta!’

I was so proud of what I’d done to help Miss Ellie, that sweetest old lady I had ever met. I’ll never forget that day.

In our reading from today, Jesus tells his disciples “¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

It’s one of those nice moments. But of course, it means different things to different people. The question has to be asked, “What does it really mean to love somebody”?

Over the years I have done a lot of weddings and a lot of wedding sermons. You may have noticed that I don’t insert names into forms. I start from scratch with nearly every wedding or funeral service. I don’t just do the same thing on repeat replacing “he” with “her” and call it quits. They are all very specific to the individuals involved.

But all of my wedding messages have one thing in common. In every one, I always make a point to say that “Love is not a feeling, it’s an action”. And that is extremely important.

For example, when the apostle Paul famously lists his definition of “true love” he says, “Love” “is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸True love never fails.”

But here is the rub” Those are all actions.

Nothing on Paul’s list is a feeling.

Nothing.

I am completely convinced that the rise in divorce in recent years is at least in part due to the fact that Hollywood and movie stars and the whole world out there – have convinced people that love is a feeling you have for someone else… that love is some feeling you get. In reality, love is not a feeling you have for someone else, it’s the things you do, in response to a feeling you have about someone else.

We have a whole generation of people raised on a concept of love that is utterly selfish at its core because it’s about what we get out of a relationship. Are you served by this relationship? What do you get out of it? It is often selfishness deputized as love.

The Bible on the other hand has just the opposite concept. In the scriptures, Love is not something you feel about someone else, it’s something you do for someone else. And there are no shortcuts. Love takes work. It’s not getting. It’s giving.

Putting Paul’s words in the affirmative: Love is when you have patience for someone else. Love is when you show kindness to another when you hold humility, and you show honour to someone else. Love is when you reject selfishness, you choose to trust and decide to have hope. You give love.

The Bible says that true love “never fails” because true love isn’t a feeling that can pass with time or emotions, it’s a commitment, a devotion and an action. You can never fall out of “true love” because it’s an action you’ve determined to do and you keep at it even when not deserved.

Jesus takes this idea to its ultimate conclusion.

True love is being willing even to die for someone else. It’s being willing to give up everything for another.

Often modern readers will be a little confused if they sit down with these verses and no surrounding context. So, when Jesus says “You are my friends if you do what I command” it sounds harsh and silly. To be friends we have to do whatever you say? Really?

When you hear those words it’s easy to think – that’s a horrible thing to say. “You are my friends if you do what I command” sounds like the little 8-year-old neighbour-girl Jenny who used to tell my little sister Hannah when they were kids that if Hannah didn’t do A, B and C then they weren’t gonna be friends anymore. It’s mean.

But is that really what he’s saying?… that we need to be perfect and follow him perfectly or will he reject us?

I don’t think so. Remember in Luke 7:34 Jesus is called “the friend of sinners” too.

No, it’s deeper than that.

If you don’t understand your relationship, and your place in God, you’ll find yourself trying to do what only God can do.

Many people in church today are confused, messed up, discouraged, depressed, and unable to praise God the way they are supposed to because they are spending all of their energy trying to be their god. They are trying to bless themselves, make their gospel, heal themselves, promote themselves, climb the latter of success themselves, trying to solve their problems alone, answer their own prayers, trying to cover up for God, because they feel as if he’s not doing it fast enough, trying to make God look good through their human efforts and it cannot be done. We don’t need to be perfect we just need to be His and fully His.

True Christianity is not about adding Jesus to my life. Instead, it is about devoting my life completely to Him – submitting wholly to His will and seeking to please Him above all else. It demands dying to self and following the Master, no matter the cost. It’s doing exactly what he did… it’s being willing to give everything.

And then the conversation takes a unique turn. Jesus says ^15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends.”

In ancient times, a rabbi or teacher would have followers and those followers were considered servants. But here Jesus is changing the relationship that He has with the disciples and with us. He now calls us friends.

Interestingly although this was the common word for Talmidim (a Master’s student) this is the last time the word doulos (for servant) or any variation of that word appears in John’s gospel. After this, the word is never used again. Once Jesus called us friends, that became the only way they were referred to from that point on.

Theologians have noted that Abraham was called a “friend of God” (Chron 20:7) in Exodus 33:11 so was Moses. But that’s it. It’s very rare in the Bible for someone to receive that kind of title from the triune creator of the universe. That should say something about the power of friendship. And it should say something about the love of Christ.

Aristotle writes, “To a noble man there applies the true saying that he does all things for the sake of his friends … and, if need be, he gives his life for them” (Eth. Nic. 9.8, 1169a). Plato stated “Only those who love, wish to die for others” (Symposium, 179B).

Plato and Aristotle it seems are in good company.

To the idea that a friend is willing to give everything for another Jesus adds, “¹⁴You are my friends…if you do what I command.”

And once again that comes phrase comes off a tad harsh to modern readers. Jesus will only love us and he will only call us friends if we do what he says. It just feels like little 8-year-old Jenny Mahoney is trying to get my sister Hannah to do something she doesn’t want to.

Do we have to do what God says to be called friends? If we want to be loved or be friends with God we have to obey his every command. At first, this verse makes the all-powerful God of the universe sound like a kid on the playground readying to take his ball and go home, if he doesn’t get his way.

But then again… maybe it’s more simplistic than all that.

See, In this very paragraph, Jesus defined what he meant by this exactly. He said this is my command: “Love one another”. You are my friends if you love one another.

And then he gives an example: “Greater love has no more than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” In other words, if you want to be friends you can’t just decide that you like each other. You don’t just get to have warm fuzzy feelings about God or the people around you. You have to do something about it. You don’t just get to take. You have to sacrifice. You have to actually love, not just with your feelings but with your service. Because true love isn’t a feeling, it’s an action. You have to give.

The point should be well taken. You don’t just get to call people your friends and then do nothing for them. You don’t get to call yourself of friend of God and then ignore Him. There are no shortcuts to friendship, no shortcuts to real love. It’s a long road. And real Love means action.

For Jesus, the title that was previously given only to Abraham and Moses is now a title that belongs rightly to anyone who knows that kind of love… true love. Many things in this world could cause us to wonder. But one of the most striking is that the bible tells us – the divine being that hung the stars in their place and built the universe atom by atom, and quark by quark, that this same God should want to call us His friends.

And we are. But love has a price. Friendship has a price.

This is not the love of Hollywood. It’s the love of God.

On John’s Island, Heidi Neumark shouted “Look” to Miss Ellie, “A shortcut for you to visit Netta!” And it was a grand gesture which was greatly appreciated. But “Miss Ellie’s face did not register the grateful, happy look Heidi had expected at first. There was no smile, no “jumping the sky”.

Heidi continues to tell the story in her own words. She wrote: “Instead, for a long time, Miss Ellie looked puzzled, then she shook her head and looked at me and said, ‘Child, I don’t need no shortcut.’ And then she told me about all the other friends she kept up with – on her way to visit Netta.

A “shortcut” she noted, would cut her off from Mr. Jenkins, a lonely man with whom she always talked about politics; from Miss Hunter, who so looked forward to the quilt scraps Miss Ellie would make sure to bring by; from the raisin wine she’d get to sample at one neighbour place in exchange for her homemade biscuits; and the chance to look in on the “old folks” (whatever that means to someone over 90) who had “taken ill”.

And then as if she were a parent speaking to a child or a teacher granting a bold and important lesson to a student, Ms. Ellie cocked her head a bit to the side, blinked her dark brown eyes slow and hard and with a pursed little smile she taught… “Child, ‘can’t take no shortcuts if you want friends in this world. Shortcuts don’t mix with love.” (1001 Il. pg325)

Friends… The God of the universe commands you – to love. But remember this, Love is not a feeling, it’s an action. Friendship has a price because love takes work. And “shortcuts don’t mix with love”. So when it comes to friends and loved ones, to God and neighbour…. Always take the long road. Amen.

Song: For the beauty of the earth (434)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Prayer for others and ourselves

Life-giving God, we thank you for signs of renewal around us. From treetops to roadside ditches new life is bursting forth. Vitality is now evident all around us. Our city is becoming green again. How amazing is a renewal? How delightful is birth and rebirth? Who are we that we should be so blessed? And yet we are. Even the greatest losses we’ve ever suffered in life, are only painful because we had something so special in the first place.

Deep is our gratitude for your constant reminders of the power of life over death. Deep is our gratitude for the resurrection’s power upon which your church is built.
Deep is our gratitude for the simple gift of prayer.
Deep is our gratitude for the ability to transform as people, change situations and revitalize the yearnings of our hearts.
Deep is our gratitude for love that nurtures life and makes renewal possible. For all that nurtures love, we are grateful: family relationships, friendships, worship, prayer, art, music, rest, play, learning and even our work.

We pray for your love to spill over into the areas of need where it seems too thin.

We pray for our families and for the families of our church where suffering might be found. May loving actions be the mark of our homes. May those who nurture the young and the needy be supported. May children experience their value. May people be treated fairly. We name before you now particular situations in our family and we pray silently to you. …

We pray for the new life slumbering within our church. May it burst forth in ways we cannot imagine. Help, us look for its signs and put our energy into nurturing it. Show each of us one thing we can do for the good of your Kingdom in this place in the coming weeks. Hear our prayers for this congregation and a thousand other churches in this denomination. …

We pray for the people of Nepal. We pray for aid workers, for those who administer resources, for those who are on the front lines serving those who have been devastated, for generous responses around the world and for the people who offer them. Uphold each individual who has been directly affected and lead each one to new places of safety and care. And Lord, Bless those who think of others… those who give. Amen.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion

Invitation

Beloved in the Lord, as we draw near to the Lord’s Table, we are to consider the great benefits of this Sacrament for those who come in faith and repentance, and those who hunger and thirst after Christ.

Those who, putting their trust in Christ, desire to lead a new life, and to mature with the gifts of grace, are invited and encouraged to come to the Supper of the Lord for their spiritual refreshment and renewal of strength.

Song: Worship the Lord (555: vss. 1-4)

The Lord’s Prayer (469)

Communion Prayer

Gracious God, we praise your holy name, giving thanks to you with our lips and our lives.

For the power and mystery of your Word by which you created us and called us to yourself, we give you thanks.

For the power and mystery of your Word by which you took flesh and lived among us through your Son, Jesus Christ, we give you thanks.

For the power and mystery of your Word by which you choose common people, forming the church to be the body of Christ in the world, we give you thanks.

Faithful God, we offer you our praise and thanks as we return to you these holy gifts of bread and wine.

Remembering our Lord’s command to take and eat we ponder the mystery of his promise that in this meal we are joined to him and to one another as a holy people uniting heaven and earth.

We offer you our praise and thanks for Jesus Christ, who took flesh and lived among us, was baptized for our sins, taught us your way of truth, loved us in our lovelessness and died that we may have life.

And now O God, we celebrate with great joy the resurrection of our Lord, his presence with us in this feast, and his promise of a new creation.

God of grace and power, you invite us to share in mysteries that are beyond our understanding; in simple trust, we seek the transforming power of your Spirit on this assembly of your people, on these words and actions, on this bread and wine, in order that, by the miracle of your grace, we may be united to Christ and to one another– one in body, one in spirit, one in faith.

Sharing of the bread and wine

The Lord Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and said, “This is my body, that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

…

In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in remembrance of me.”

Every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Song: One bread, one body

The prayer after Communion

Our God, we ask that you would send us out to love our neighbours, to love you and to do so not just with words but with our acts.

Hymn: Amigos de Cristo / Friends of the Lord (476)

Sending out with God’s blessing

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Response: Benediction (as you go)

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

You and Goliath

Posted on April 28, 2024April 28, 2024 by John

Worship on the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Mission Awareness Sunday
10:00 am 28 April 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Rom Rhoad
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: Like spring breaking through winter’s power,
P: God’s resurrecting power breaks into our lives in surprising ways.
L: Like the vine that supports blossoms and fruit,
P: God’s Word upholds the church in strength.
L: Let us worship God who makes all things new.
P: We will praise God who brings growth and renewal to all life.

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: Glory, glory, hallelujah

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: Jesus loves me (373)

Story: Behold a team went forth to play a game of baseball.

Just as the umpire was saying “Batter up” to start the game, the catcher for the home team arrived and took his place behind the plate. The center fielder didn’t show up at all but sent regrets. The 3^rd basemen likewise failed to come to the game, having been up late the night before. The shortstop was there but left his glove at home by mistake. Two the outfielders were away on a weekend trip but said they’d be there in spirit.

The pitcher went to the mound and looked around for his teammates. But his heart was sad for their positions were empty. The game was announced; the visitor were in the stands; and there was nothing to do but pitch the ball and hope for the best.

BUT in addition to pitching the ball, the same person also had to cover first base, shortstop, and center field.

When the absent players heard that their team had lost, they were very upset. Everyone held a meeting and they decided to get a new pitcher.

When things aren’t going well, it’s the leader that often gets the attention. But it’s never just about the leadership.

Schools, Work, Church, Families – everyone has to do their part.

That is exactly what you are all doing right now. Thank you for being here today to worship together. Without you, we just don’t have a full team.

Prayer: God, I thank you for these young people, for our children, for their excitement and their big bright smiles and their energy. You bless us greatly and we are not the same place without them. And now we pray our prayer that you taught us to pray.

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: We will tell each generation (46)

Today’s Message

Scripture: I Samuel 16:1-23 and 17:1-6, 32, 38-40,48-50

Response: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord

Message: You and Goliath

In the City of Gath, located near the mound, in 2005, just below the late 9th-century BCE earthquake destruction level, in a small section dating to the earlier phase of the Iron Age, a team of British archeologists found an interesting inscription. Scratched on a shard typical of the time are two non-Semitic names written in Semitic “Proto-Canaanite” letters. Both inscriptions are variant spellings of the same word – (Gol-iYeth). Goliath.

The ancient Greeks and Philistines sometimes decided on issues of war through the battles of selected warriors or small detachments. The “trials by battle ordeal” was based on the idea that the gods of the peoples determined a war’s outcome anyway so why not just send a few fighters and spare as many of your people’s lives as possible? Of course, despite this belief that the gods determined the victors, evidence is pretty clear that only the biggest, fastest and strongest were ever chosen. Although the phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is not actually in the bible. I think it’s fair to say that it’s a pretty universal concept nevertheless. I guess the Kings and military leaders thought their gods needed a little extra help… just in case.

The custom was not that uncommon, In fact, in 2Sam. 2:14-16 there is a similar story whereby 12 men are picked to battle in place of the full military (though in that story the warriors cheat… I guess they thought god needed help).

Historical texts outside scripture also show other traditions of warriors who fought this way as well, including Egypt. And of course, it is also well recorded in the epics like Homer’s Iliad and the famous Enuma Elish epic.

Now the Philistines were a sea-faring people who came to Canaan at the very end of the Bronze Age and barely defeated the Hittites in a land war. When they did win, however, they gained a whole new kind of technology – Ironworking. And that was a game changer. With this new ability to make weapons, came a new age of warfare. The introduction of these weapons changed the world of war forever and is part of what led the Israelites to demand a King for themselves in the first place.

As a result of these trades and weapons the Philistines quickly ravaged the surrounding lands and claimed 5 new territories for themselves including the mysterious land of Gath (a city that had already stood for at least 1200 years before the Philistines ever got there). In Gath, like all places, once the people were defeated they became a part of this new Philistine army and were granted in return the gift of breaching the Iron Age.

Now armed with a whole new kind of violence and covered in metal protection even the average soldier became a super-soldier; almost invincible to other people still counting on arrows and rocks as weapons to fight off this new Iron Man. You can imagine how frightened the people in the nearby cities must have been. They had never seen anything quite like this before and now every town was falling to the Philistines.

When the Philistines arrived on the scene, readying to enter Israel they stopped at the top of the valley on the West side. There they stood with long steel swords. Israel received word of their coming and assembled in the East to defend their land and people.

In the text, Goliath’s spear is said to be “like a weaver’s beam” meaning that at times the writer didn’t even know what it was or understand it.

Until David, Saul’s army focused on guerrilla warfare holding attackers off with short copper and tin or even rock knives. They managed to do so, simply because they knew the landscape and could fire random arrows and hurl rocks from hiding places. Israel was completely made up of light infantrymen, and only the very wealthy might have been able to buy armour (and even that was made of weak flimsy tin). It was designed to deflect small rocks.

As the Philistine army prepared for war (metal armour blazing in the light of the sun) they sent Goliath out to the front to taunt Israel as their chosen warrior. Sometimes translations will call him the “warrior” or the “champion” but the Hebrew description is pretty literal. It calls Goliath “the man who stands in the space between two armies”.

And then comes the description. While I must note that the oldest version of this story from the Dead Sea Scrolls states that Gol-yet is “Four cubits and a span” which is roughly 6ft 9inches, the majority of texts, the Septuagint and the Masoretic texts all state that he was “Six cubits and a span” which is roughly 9ft 9inches tall. Do with that what you will, but the point is this… He is big. In all variant text, it is agreed that his coat of armour weighs 125 pounds and that just the tip of his iron spear is another 15 pounds. To the Israelites, it was like the first time a chariot was ever seen the first time someone used gunpowder against a bow and arrow or the first time a tank appeared on a battlefield. It was insurmountable. And without a doubt, this huge armoured man is the champion and the only selection of a massive army picked to be “the man who stands in the space between two armies”. He is huge and he is nobody to be trifled with.

Then again, the whole point of this story is that God doesn’t judge by outward appearances. See, about the time that the Philistines were coming to power the people of Israel begged God for a king so they could be like the other nations around them. But King Saul wasn’t quite what they hoped for him to be. In essence, he was chosen because he was the tallest in the land. In 1 Samuel the bible says that Saul was “a head and a shoulder above everyone else in height.”

So when God asked Samuel to go and anoint a new leader he rather naturally goes out looking for the same thing. That leads him to the sons of Jesse but as Samuel is looking over the boys, the biggest and tallest and strongest around, and just as he is considering Jesse’s oldest and tallest child, God speaks to Samuel and says, “Do not consider his appetence or his height for I have not picked him, for the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at outward things but the Lord looks at the heart.” ¹¹So Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

Now up until this point Jesse hadn’t even considered that his youngest boy would even be a possible candidate. He was off in the field and while the others are named, David is so unimportant he is simply referred to as “another boy” until the end of chapter 16 when finally his name appears. In other words, he’s nothing, just a shepherd. But remember God does not consider his age or his height.

Now- some people disagree on this one but – Some people believe that David is pretty big. And I will concede that it’s probably a fair possibility that he’s large compared to most Israelites considering that he does have tall brothers (though he is very young here). Some also wisely note that Saul (the tallest man in Israel) later puts his armour on David and that David takes it off not because it’s ill-fitting but in his own words because “I am not used to them” meaning they might not have fit all that badly.

So was he a big guy? Maybe. Relatively I suppose. Okay, I don’t think so. I think he’s pretty small. And honestly, even if he’s big for the time – he’s still a whole “head and shoulders shorter than Saul”. And Saul we should remember trembles at the mere sight of Goliath. The whole point of the story is that David isn’t big but that God “does not look at his appearance or his height”. He looks at the heart.

No, I think the whole point of the story is that he’s small. The tall impressive men have been rejected (two in a row so far and soon to be a third) so that God can prove His might, not the warriors. The point is that David is facing a real insurmountable challenge, not that he’s almost big enough to beat Goliath on his own.

When David finally shows up at the battlefield, he comes as an errand boy; not even allowed to fight. He’s way way way too young. Only three of his oldest brothers (three out of 8) are there. David’s a kid; still taking care of the sheep and doing the lowest of chores.

For 40 days both armies had been waiting for Israel to send a champion. The valley of course has steep walls on both sides with each one looking down on the battlefield. Each army stood there waiting; all the while knowing that whoever rushed into battle first would be both tired from the climb up the other side and strategically disadvantaged (literally fighting an uphill battle). Neither side was stupid. It was time to choose a hero. It was a “trials by battle ordeal”. They needed “the man who stands in the space between the armies”. But who?

When David (who’s just there to deliver the pizza by the way) hears Goliath calling out to the Israelites saying he will murder them all, David is infuriated and confused that nobody is doing anything. It drives him mad that Goliath is insulting the God of Israel and no one has the guts to stop him – and so he volunteers.

And now as if to make it even plainer to see that “God does not consider” his “appearance or his height”, and perhaps even more importantly that God does not consider these new weapons of war or armour as a threat, David strips off the amour he is offered and picks up 5 smooth stones instead.

Now he is just a boy with a sling.

And then of course the story takes place that many of us know. “⁴⁹Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.⁵⁰So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”

Now I want to be clear, this story is not a story about why we need to defend God’s honor and it’s not a story about how God will help a small persecuted people rise against a massive military oppressor. I would argue that King Saul could have defeated Goliath too. He just had one problem. He didn’t have the right attitude.

Saul thought too much of himself and too little of his God. He forgot who was actually in charge. He forgot this one simple truth in life which we cannot and should not ever forget: that no matter what giants we face, we do not face that Goliath alone. As Mother Theresa once wrote, “We are all pencils in the hand of God”. We just have to realize it and let him draw the picture. Unlike those who trusted in the stature, strength and skill of their warriors, Israel sent an untrained, ill-equipped and largely unarmed teenage boy into battle as the only willing champion.

In the end, Goliath’s name ended up scribbled on a shard of pottery that eventually fell to pieces thousands of years ago.

Everyone knows David. Why? Because when everyone else saw a giant, David saw an ordinary problem and knew an extraordinary God.

Whatever Goliath you face, and you will face more than a few….

Ask yourself this – What do you see?

Song: With the Lord as my guide (574)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves

Lord Jesus Christ, we draw near to you in prayer this day, trusting that your love changes lives and your resurrection brings hope into the world God loves.

You walk with us through every challenging time, and we give you thanks for every sign of hope in a world that is often on edge and the future seems uncertain.

May we abide in your love.

We ask you to bless the ministries and mission activity undertaken through staff and funding provided by The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Thank you for each faithful servant serving in these challenging days, whether in Canada or in international ministries.

Bless them with good health and courageous commitment, and equip them well to reach out in love and respect.

May they abide in your love.

Loving and Listening God, we bring you now our prayers for others, friends and enemies, neighbours and strangers alike.

We pray for people who are struggling with illness, loneliness, grief or sadness:

Hold silence for 15 seconds.

May they abide in your love.

We pray for people in countries and communities where it is not safe to live out their faith or express their views openly.

Hold silence for 15 seconds.

May they abide in your love.

We pray for victims of discrimination and acts of hatred, and those who fear violence day by day.

Hold silence for 15 seconds.

May they abide in your love.

We pray for journalists and advocates for justice who live under threat for telling the truth.

Hold silence for 15 seconds.

May they abide in your love.

We pray for churches, local organizations and businesses struggling under the pressure of economic challenges.

Hold silence for 15 seconds.

May they abide in your love.

We pray for our families, friends and for ourselves, as well as those in the news whose situations tug at our hearts.

Hold silence for 15 seconds.

May we all abide in your love.

Song: You are holy, you are whole (828)

Sending out with God’s blessing

Go in the peace of Christ, to witness to his love in truth and action each day. And may God’s resurrecting love open the future for you, empowered by the Spirit, and embraced by the presence of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.

Response: He is Lord

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

In the dark

Posted on April 21, 2024April 21, 2024 by John

Worship on the 4^th Sunday of Easter
10:00 am 21 April 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Lynn Vaughan
Elder: Shirley Simpson

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: Jesus the Christ said, I am the Good Shepherd.
P: We have come to follow him.
L: We gather in the name of the One who leads us by still waters.
P: We have come to be restored in him.
L: We gather in the name of the One who prepares a banquet for us.
P: We have come to be fed by his love, so let us worship God.

Opening praise: Lord, I need you

Prayers of approach and confession

Lord, you surround us with your grace. Our cups do overflow. We have been given relationships and people we don’t deserve; people better for us than we are for them. You give us people to care for and love but truth be told, we take more than give. And still, our lives are showered with greatness. You fill our days with care. Even when we can’t see it, it’s there.

We have comfortable homes and beds to lay our heads. We worry, not about food or clean water but about paying bills for things we’ve already enjoyed and planned to pay for long ago. We see before us a blossoming world. We see good people and a watered prairie getting greener by the day. We see schoolchildren staying later after the day is done just to play longer. More noise we hear yes, but more laughter too. We used to be bored. Today we have kids who are free to do so much they are overstimulated. We have so much it’s like we have too much.

But we always grumble.

Where we see rain, we should see a last chance to sit in the calm of a drizzling day in warm socks with a hot tea or cup of stew but instead, we complain about the much-needed rain. God, you provide us with homes and friends and books and hugs and messages from loved ones and safe journeys and surprises.

But we’ve spent a lot of time on ourselves. We’ve ignored others too much. We’ve put forward false and better versions of ourselves when people we love just want the real me and you. We’ve wasted good food, spent too much time sitting around being memorized by nothing or by work or by thinking about things we “need” to do and not enough time with You or the people we love and love us. We have so much we waste.

We’ve spent too much time NOT having meaningful conversations.

These are some of our sins God… some of the things in our lives that just aren’t right on target. We trust too much in ourselves, our ways, our own opinions our strength, our own ideas, our own money, our own everything. We forget that you are the source of it all. We forget how much we need you.

But this week we want to be different. We confess. And we say that we want to be better. And we will be: with your help. Amen.

Response: I waited, I waited on You, Lord

Assurance of God’s grace: Jesus said, “What kind of Father when asked for bread would give his child a stone instead”. Our God hears us when we admit we can be better. Our God hears us when we ask to be better. And our God forgives and enables us to be better. Thank be to God, from a forgiven people. Amen.

We listen for the voice of God

Children’s time

Response: Open our eyes, Lord (445)

Story: Charades
Charades means acting out. You can’t speak. You have to act something out and everyone has to guess. Who’s first???

First word: Penguin! Second word: Telescope! Third word: Hockey! Final word: Love!

You don’t need words to tell someone that you love them. Love is something you can show by the things that you do. Now, let me point out that the game would be a lot easier if you could speak wouldn’t it? That’s true in life as well. You can show people you show them all you want but some people still need to hear it. As young people, you can show God’s love with your actions and with your words.

Prayer: Our God, you help us to shine a light into the world. So help us to say we love you with our words and our actions. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: The Lord’s my Shepherd (11)

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 12; John 10:11-18

Response: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord

Message: In the dark

In his book Unseen Footprints Timothy George writes, “When I was a student at Harvard Divinity School I learned “Homiletics” (the art of preaching) from Dr. Gardner Taylor, a minister in New York City. I’ll never forget those lectures. But most of all I remember a lesson I learned very early on. I remember Dr. Taylor telling a story from when he was preaching for the first time in Louisiana. During the depression, electricity was just coming into that part of the world and Dr. Taylor was visiting a small, rural; predominantly black church (as most were). The place was not exactly beautiful (especially due to a near-total lack of windows in the building) but it was clearly well cared for. And unlike a lot of places it had the much-welcomed technology of a single light bulb hanging down from the ceiling to light the sanctuary.

As Dr. Taylor put it, he was “preach’n away” when right in the middle of his sermon the rare gift of electricity went out. The building went black as night and Dr. Taylor didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t a real “wing it” type of guy and the pages of his planned 45-minute sermon were now utterly useless. He’d basically just introduced himself. What to do? It was nerve-racking and it was embarrassing and Taylor froze, motionless and speechless. It was just… dark. (1001 Il 190)

“Meanwhile, back at the ranch.”

Psalm 23 is probably one of; if not the most well-known chapter of scripture in all the world. Traditionally attributed to King David who was himself a shepherd, the Psalm is an allusion to God not only as Creator but also as Protector of a flock who knows each of His own by name and guides them through life’s joys and dangers.

Several years ago, a pretty devout Presbyterian man by the name of Steven King wrote a story about a family in crisis. It has a number of different incarnations but was most popular in the form of the book titled The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. In it, Tricia McFarland is on a family hike across the Appalachian Mountains when she stops to go to the bathroom.

While trying to catch up with the family she found herself on the wrong trail. Lost and alone she sat down closed her eyes and tried to pray. “Our Father…” came out of her mouth but not much else and she found it flat and awkward. That was just about all she could remember. In fact, Tricia couldn’t remember discussing spiritual matters with many people including her own mother… But she had asked her father not a month before this trip if he believed in God. “I’ll tell you what I believe in,” said her father. “I believe in the Sub-audible.” A curious look crossed Tricia’s face. He continued, “Do you remember when we lived on Fore Street? Do you remember how the electric baseboard units would hum even if they weren’t heating up?”

Tricia shook her head. “No”, she said. “That’s because you got used to it,” the father said with a smile. “But take my word for it Tricia that sound was always there. It was there humming. We just didn’t see it. And even in a house where there aren’t baseboard heaters there are other noises: the fridge goes on and off, the traffic going by outside.

We hear those things all the time so most of the time we don’t hear them at all.”

“They are sub-audible,” said Tricia not quite content with her father’s explanation.

“That’s like God,” he said. “That’s great,” she thought, “But is that enough”?

Still, there she was, a young girl lost in the woods wanting to pray and all she could think about was a God that must be there but is ultimately unseen and unheard. And that didn’t help.

So here’s this broken, lost person, who is sensing that there must be something more when for some unknown reason she began recalling her favourite baseball player Tom Gordon.

Tom came to mind. He played for the Boston Red Sox. And Tom ended every game in the same way… by pointing his finger up in the air and giving credit to a personal and knowable God “revealed to the world in the person of Jesus Christ” as he would say to the camera; each time he was given the opportunity. Something about that helped.

After nine days of being bug-bitten, scared, and sick from drinking bad water and eating poisonous berries, she broke down in a very personal and passionate prayer from the depths of her heart. She prayed to the God of Tom Gordon, not the sub-audible, but the God she could point to. At the end of the book, Tricia finds the right path in more ways than one. (1001 Il. 314)

The 23^rd Psalm sort of does that for us. It gives us a God we can point to. It’s the God that grants you what you need, takes you to greener pastures, finds you rest and restoration, guides your way carefully, provides all that you’re surrounded with and blesses you. It’s the God you have seen moving in your past and goes inaudibly if we aren’t listening.

But there is a problem. See the truth is, the shepherd is good but the sheep aren’t always that great. It is the nature of the sheep to stray and get in harm’s way, whether from hungry wolves or steep canyons. For centuries shepherds have used various methods from staff to dogs to keep sheep from straying from the safety of their care. But the sheep keep getting into trouble generation after generation.

In recent times shepherds have tried more sophisticated methods. One of those ways is a metal, hoof-proof grid that is built into the ground around the sheep’s territory just two feet wide. The animals cannot walk over the grid without falling over. This works well in keeping the sheep in the protection of a particular area. But in 2006 shepherds in Yorkshire, England found that their sheep were not only stubbornly prone to stray but were also “very crafty”.

When it found itself falling each time it came over the grid, one particular sheep determined to lie itself down and roll over the grid. [it must have been a crazy sight to behold]. The other sheep in the herd saw this genius little troublemaker and followed suit. Soon the entire flock had spread over the entire countryside to neighborhood gardens where they ate the food and flowers of local residents.

The shepherds eventually gathered up the troublesome sheep and returned them to their pen but they escaped again and got back into trouble right away. While the escape of these sheep may have seemed like an exciting adventure to them, it placed them in harm’s way from everything from theft to unfriendly dogs to busy traffic on the streets. They found it fun. But it was bad for them to run away. They just didn’t know it. (1001 Il. 111)

While the shepherd cares for His own and puts barriers around us for safety – We sheep are sometimes sly too.

I’m told several men were in the locker room of a private and very expensive club when a cell phone rang. One man picked it up without hesitation and said “Hello”.

“Sugar, it’s me!” she said.

“Hi!”

“Hi, back Shug. I’m at the store and this coat is absolutely beautiful. It is more than we had agreed to but it is also on sale. It’s $1,900. Is that okay?

“That’s a bit more than we agree,” the man said, “But Okay if you like it that much, then go ahead and buy it.”

“Thank you,” said the wife. “Oh and Sugar, I stopped by the dealership and the new BMW M6 is here and it does come as a red convertible!”

A little annoyed now, “How much?” said the man.

“$138,000 she replied???”

“Fine – but I want every option they can possibly stick on it, or in it, for that prince, and I mean it – Loaded!”

“Great!” came the replay. “Now before I hang up, I spoke to the real estate agent and that piece of land we looked at on the beach last year is for sale again. And you were right; Smarty-Pants the price did go down. It’s $740,000 now, so I think we should maybe talk about it tonight after dinner if that’s alright?”

“No,” said the man, “Go for it! You call and set the whole thing up. It sounds great.”

“Thanks, Shug! I love you” said the woman.

“I love you too,” said the man.

Then the man smiled a huge loving smile, hung up the phone, raised it in the air and announced, “Does anybody know whose phone this is?” (1001 Il. 263)

Sometimes the sheep wander out of the pen and into dangerous ground. Other times we just do whatever we want ‘cause we think it’s fun.

We are sheep.

Thomas Linacre was the king’s physician to Henry the 7th and Henry the 8^th of England, founder of the Royal College of Physicians, and friend of the great Renaissance thinker Sir. Thomas Moore. One of the colleges at Oxford is named for him.

Late in his life, Linacre studied to become a priest and was given a copy of the Gospels to read for the first time. Linacre lived through the darkest of the church’s dark hours under the papacy of Alexander 6^th the pope whose bribery, corruption, incest and murder, plumbed new depths in the annals of Christian shame. It is recorded that in reading the Gospels for himself, Linacre was both amazed and troubled. “Either these are not the gospels,” he said, “or we are not the Christians”. (1001 Il. 23)

The sheep it seems were out of the pen.

Too often we proclaim to love the Good Shepherd with our lips, but with our lives, we choose to ignore Him.

The craziest thing about Psalm 23 is that when we read it, we can generally agree with it.

When we look back on our lives, it’s pretty easy to see that someone was there helping us all along the way. We tend to see those “footprints in the sand” so to speak of the one who carried us through. But we didn’t see it at the time. And it’s a lot harder to see a personal and knowable God we can point to, when we are walking through the valley of darkness. And that should be no surprise. We see it when looking back. That’s true for King David as well.

After all, David didn’t write this Psalm when he was poor.

He didn’t write it while his brothers were making fun of him.

He didn’t write this as he was being attacked by a bear.

He wrote it years later from the comfort of a palace.

He wrote it when the dark valley was something of the distant past and he knew he’d been carried through.

Yes, Psalm 23e says that God is with us in the shadow of death but it doesn’t always feel like that does it? It might not of at the time… even to David. If you have been in Death’s dark valley you know, it’s dark.

The valley is where you don’t know if you can pay your bills, you don’t know if that medicine is going to work, don’t know if that surgery will work, aren’t sure what’s going to happen to your children.

The valley is where you feel alone and confused and you don’t know what to do and “all the best-laid plans” have come to naught. It’s in the valley that it feels like the Sub-audible [g]od is all we’ve got.

It’s in the darkness, we have to strain our eyes to see.

In that tiny little church back in Louisiana when the lights went out and Dr. Taylor didn’t know what to say or do. He stumbled around a bit trying to search out a phrase or word that might remind him of what he had planned to say. But he didn’t find it. He just looked out at the congregation in stunned silence. “What could he possibly teach these people?” he thought. He felt like a sham. AND THEN, all of a sudden a voice rang out from the back. “Preach on, preacher. We can still see Jesus in the dark”. And then again from someone else and someone else, and on and on… “We can still see Jesus in the dark”.

That day Dr. Taylor didn’t have much to teach. But he had a lot to learn. This world can sometimes be a cold, dark place. Life is full of surprises and not all of them are good ones. Yet, while it may not always feel like it, God is always down in the valley with us and just below all the noise, but personal and knowable too. And if we really try (and you may have to)… we can all still see… Jesus… [even] in the dark. (1001 Il. 190p2). Amen.

Song: Saviour, like a Shepherd lead us (485)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves

We make our offerings, small and large,
with the hope and confidence
that all we do,
all we offer
all we say,
all we think,
and all we hope
will take root in this world
and be the source of new expressions
of God’s love,
of God’s justice,
of God’s character,
of God’s mission,
and of God’s reign.
May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven
through us,
alongside us,
despite us,
and for us.

Gracious and loving God, as a shepherd cares for the flock, so you care for each one of us; move in our hearts, minds, and communities and enable us to care and serve as you lead each of us.

You are rest and you lead us into green pastures: we pray for all those who are tired with work or with worry; who wear themselves out with anxiety or serving others; be rest and re-creation for those who feel weary and tired:

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You are truth and you lead us beside quiet streams of reflection; where peoples’ lives are twisted by untruth, where tyrants and leaders or any in authority distort reality, be a strong and transforming word of truth:

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Particularly this morning I pray for those in North Korea who have recently received smuggled bibles. We pray for safety for understanding and protection. We pray that all people might find a heart for one another and an end to violence.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You are life and you restore our souls: wherever people’s lives are impoverished or in chaos, repair and bind them up. We remember all who are facing trials and difficulties, those who are sick and dying, and those who are bereaved. We pray for loved ones watching others fade away and feeling left behind. And we pray for those affected by the terrible earthquake in Nepal this morning. Lord may they feel a strong sense of your presence and peace and may you be seen in the lives of the rescue workers and aid:

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You are freedom, your rod and staff comforts us. We remember before you all those in danger for those who are far from home, prisoners, exiles, the marginalized, victims of oppression, police abuse and brutality, racism, and hatred:

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We give you thanks for those times when others and we have found peace in the face of turmoil, happiness after moments of strife, and when insight has emerged from times of confusion. Open our eyes more to the redemption of your work in our lives and orient us so that we might be part of your redeeming work unfolding around us for others in need:

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer. Amen

Song: Christ is alive (251)

Sending out with God’s blessing

May God,
the Good Shepherd,
lead you
to places of rest and renewal;

May Christ,
the Lamb of God,
accompany you
on the journey;

May the Holy Spirit
fill your hearts
with joy and generosity;

And may the blessing of God Almighty, the Creator, Christ and Spirit, descend upon you and dwell in your hearts this day, on hills and in valleys, always and forever. Amen.

Response: Go forth into the world

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

Where you focus your eyes and heart (Raymond Baker)

Posted on April 14, 2024April 14, 2024 by John

Worship on the Lord’s Day – Easter 3
10:00 am       14 April 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Minister: The Rev Brad Childs     Service led by: Raymond Baker
Music director: Binu Kapadia     Vocalist: Linda F-B
Elder: Rom Rhoad

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: We gather with joy, for Easter brings us new life.
P: The Risen Christ is with us wherever we go.
L: Love breaks all bonds and unites us in hope.
P: Christ has defeated death. Let us rejoice and be glad!
L: Come and worship with hearts full of praise.
P: O God, receive our grateful Hallelujahs!

Opening praise: Come, now is the time to worship

Prayers of approach and confession

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

In Jesus’ Powerful name we pray. Amen.

Response: I waited, I waited on you, Lord

Assurance of God’s love

Scripture teaches that there is a time for every matter under heaven.

A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.

In confessing our sins to God, we have offered God our tears of regret.

Now is the time to rejoice in God’s mercy:

In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

In Jesus Christ, we can make a new start. Thanks be to God.

We listen for the voice of God

Children’s time

Response: Open our eyes, Lord

Story

Have ever not been able to walk. Have you ever been in a position where you needed someone to carry you?

Why did you need someone to carry you?

Can anybody else think of a time when you needed someone to carry you? Because you just couldn’t walk?

I’m thinking of maybe when you were a little baby. And your mom or dad or grandma grandpa carried you around?

How about maybe when you’re a little bit older and you fall asleep on the couch and they have to carry you to bed?

Well, in our scripture reading today and in Sunday school, we are going to talk about a story about a man that wasn’t able to walk.

And back in the time of Jesus, they didn’t have wheelchairs and they didn’t have programs to help people that had health problems.

So really this man had to rely on his friends or his neighbors to carry him places. So they had put him outside the temple because also because he couldn’t walk. He couldn’t walk from since he was born. So he would sit outside the temple and he would beg for money.

One day, a couple of Jesus’ disciples were walking to the temple to pray, like good Jewish people did, and they saw this man there.

How would you feel if you had to spend all your days just sitting outside of a temple begging for money?

It’s kind of sad, right? So this man just kind of sat there waiting for somebody to notice him.

Then Jesus’ disciples, Peter and John, saw this man and they decided to go up to him and talk with him.

He didn’t really look up and they said to him, “Sir, look at me.”

Then the blind man got all excited. He thought that they were going to give him money because that’s what he did, right?

He begged for money and then he could buy himself food or whatever he needed. And so he looked up at them.

And he held out his hand waiting for them to give him some money. And Peter said to him, I don’t have any money. I don’t have any silver or any gold of you. But what I do have I will give you.

What do you think he gave him? What did Jesus’ disciples have? Can you think of anything?

All he had was Jesus’ Holy Spirit inside of him.

This is a few weeks now since Jesus had been resurrected. So their friend is now gone and now it’s up to the disciples to go out and help people.

Peter said, “Give me your hand, I will give you what I have.”

So the blind man held out his hand.

Let’s reenact this.

Hold out his hand, Claire. You got have to get because, you’re late going somewhere. But you can’t.

A s Peter said to the blind man, in the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk. There you go.

And that’s what happened with the blind man.

So how do you think the man felt? Pretty happy.

He told everybody about it.

So what do you think the people that saw this did?

They were they amazed? Like if you saw some guy that you’ve seen at the temple all the time and he couldn’t walk and he couldn’t walk and all of a sudden now he’s walking and dancing That would be pretty amazing.

So did Peter say, “Oh yeah, that was all me. I’m so good”?

No. What did he do?

So he didn’t take credit for it. He said, “I told you to walk in the name of Jesus.”

I had the power of God inside of me and that’s why you’re walking.

And that’s what he told all the people.

“It’s because of the power of God, because I focused fyself on God and if you focus yourself on God then you can do that too.”

Now that happened 2,000 years ago so nothing like that happens anymore, right? You don’t think so?

So do you think that if you focused on God and you did things in God’s name that you could do some amazing things?

Maybe. But I want to talk specifically about some of the programs at Dayspring.

About 15 years ago the Sunday School at Dayspring decided that they would sponsor a child with World Vision.

And this, we now have a fourth child, Joshua Gustavo.

I have to say about our last child, Jose, that we supported that family enough that they managed to get on their feet and they didn’t need support anymore.

And that kind of reminds me of our story where this man needed some help and he got help and now he was off on his own and he could do his own thing. So now we’re going to try it again we’re going to have a new sponsored child – Joshua

The Sunday school is a little sparse, so we’re going to ask for help from the congregation.

We’ve not talked about our sponsor children for a while, so I just want to remind people that we have this program going, we’re going to have these cans out with the offering plates if you want to give some offering, if you have change in your pocket or $5 bills, that’s good too. They fit in the slot as well.

It costs $49/month and we help support a child and their family.

And then we can have stories like we did with Jose where they eventually didn’t need our help anymore and they managed to get on their own 2 feet.

Now when we do service to others, it’s like we’re showing them Jesus, right? So there’s lots of things we can do.

We do lots of programs at the church where we’re showing them Jesus and we’re showing them how God’s kingdom could be and how we want them to be part of that.

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for loving us. Be with each of us as we go out into the world and do great things. In the name of Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Prayer (535)

Transition music

Song: In the presence of you people

Today’s Message

Scripture reading: Ac\ts 3:1-16

Response: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Living God

Message: Where you focus your minds and hearts

What is your Focus?

In Waikiki, Hawaii there is a beggar who lives in the streets named Lynda. People know she is there, but rarely look at her as they pass by. Maybe they are trying to avoid making eye contact with her, because they do not want to engage in or listen to her outrageous and confusing stories.

One day my wife, Jacquie and I got lost while visiting my father in Hawaii. We had gone to Walmart in Honolulu and became confused about how to get back to the condo in Waikiki where my dad lives. Thankfully, we noticed Lynda on the street and she began to engage us in a conversation. During our discussion, we told her that we were lost and needed to get back to The Pavilion on Kalakaua Avenue. She proceeded to give us very clear directions and when we arrived safely back home, my dad, who had passed by Lynda many times, was waiting for us. He was stunned to find out it was Lynda who directed us back to the Pavillion.

Unfortunately, it is true today that people get used to seeing the same unhoused individuals living on the streets as if they are part of the background, when they are there every day.

I can imagine it was no different in the story that we find in Acts where Peter and John were on their way to the temple for prayer. A man who was lame since birth was set at the same temple gate every day to ask those going in for money. The lame man saw Peter and John and asked them for money. When Peter and John heard the lame man’s request, they fastened their eyes upon him. This was probably different from what most people walking into the temple did. Peter then asked the beggar to look straight at them. The beggar gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter told the crippled man that they did not have silver or gold, but what they had was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In Jesus’ name, Peter instructed the lame man to get up and walk. Peter helped the man up and the lame man was instantly healed. The beggar began walking and jumping and praising God!

All the people around looked and saw the same beggar who had been laying in the same spot at the temple gates for years was walking and jumping around. Peter said to the crowd, “Why do you stare at us?” It was as if the crowd thought by Peter and John’s power or godliness they healed the man. Peter then corrected the crowd saying it was faith in Jesus that made this man able to walk.

I find it interesting that Luke, the author of the book of Acts, repeatedly used the Greek word, Atenizō for some of the words in this passage that are associated with the act of looking. This word is very similar to the Latin word attentio, which means “to attend, give heed to” and it is where we get our present word, “attention”. I believe it is not by accident that Luke emphasised “looking”.

Where do we put our attention?

Way back in the eleventh century, the theologian Thomas Aquanis went to visit Pope Innocent II at the Vatican in Rome. Aquinas seemed stunned at the opulent beauty and gold trimmings in the buildings. Innocent II bragged, “No more can we say silver and gold we have none!”

Thomas Aquanis quickly answered with, “Yes, and now you can not say get up and walk.” Aquanis was being very cheeky to the Pope, hinting that their focus was not on Jesus and therefore they had lost their connection with God. We can all listen to this story and think poorly about Pope Innocent II, but I think that we all should think personally about the focus of our eyes and heart.

Where do we put our attention?

The idea of where we focus our attention and heart is beautifully illustrated by Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler in Matthew 10. We read that this ruler came to Jesus and asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus knew the young man’s focus and asked him to sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor and then follow Jesus. The rich young ruler was dismayed at this answer. He owned a lot of property and could not change his focus and turn his eyes to Jesus, who was literally standing right in front of him.

Where do we put our attention?

This narrative in the Bible reminds me of an old story about catching a monkey. I don’t know if it is true, but it goes like this. First, take two clear jars with narrow necks, just large enough for a monkey’s hand to fit in. Next, place a piece of fruit in each jar and then put the jars near the monkey. Instinctively, the monkey will put his hands in the jars and try to grasp the fruit. Soon the monkey will realise that he cannot take his hands out of the jars with the fruit in his fists. Supposedly, one can approach and grab the monkey, yet the monkey will not take its hands and focus off the fruit, leaving it with jars on his hands. I am not sure this would work, because the monkey could just pelt you with the jar. The point is, that the monkey is too focused on the fruit in the jar to look at what is happening as you grab him. Just as the rich young ruler did not want to lose his possessions, the monkey did not want to lose his fruit.

Where do we put our attention?

The author of Hebrews summarises my first point well in chapter 12:1-3 when he says that we should throw off everything that hinders us and continue to fix our eyes on Jesus.

The second point of my sermon is: Jesus is the healer. As revealed in Peter’s retort to the crowd in Acts 3:16, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” By faith in Jesus the man was miraculously healed.

There is no formula for miraculous healing. The focus should be on having a relationship with Jesus.

To prove there is no formula for being healed, let’s remember the different ways Jesus healed people. For instance, in John 9:1-7 the blind man was healed when Jesus spit into some dirt and rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes. Another time in Luke 8:43-48, Jesus healed a bleeding woman when she touched His robe.

When we think of healing we mostly think of healings of lame people being able to walk like in today’s passage. I want us to think about all kinds of healing. Romans 3:23 states that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. As Christians when we are sanctified, we are healed from our sinful nature as we are made new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul states, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” As we have just celebrated Easter, we understand that Jesus died for our sins and if we accept his sacrifice and follow Jesus as our Lord, we become new creatures and our old selves pass away. This is a form of healing. We are healed from our sinful nature.

1 Peter 18-19 states, “…it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed …but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

I love this. It is not with silver and gold that we are redeemed, but if we believe in and focus on Christ’s sacrifice, we are saved. It is a ‘spiritual’ healing. Similar to what Paul said in Acts 3, “silver and gold, he and John did not have, but what they did have was faith in the name of Jesus”. This faith is what healed the lame man. Faith in what Jesus did on the cross for us gives us salvation.

I also want us to understand that we are subject to God’s will. This is my third point.

There is an old joke: if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans that you want Him to do. I remember when I was first saved in the 1990’s, I went to many churches looking to find a home church. It was interesting to me that several churches were praying for a missionary named Scott Hugg. The congregations were asking God to heal him from cancer. Because so many churches and people were praying for Scott, I thought he would definitely be healed and even possibly walk on water. In my mind, I did not consider another outcome. Sadly, however, a few months later, I heard that Scott had died. Needless to say, I was devastated and disappointed that seemingly, God did not listen to our prayers. In retrospect, I now believe that God did listen to our prayers. Focusing on God’s will, actually enthrones God in our lives. Jesus exemplified this in Luke 22:42 as He prayed on the Mount of Olives before being betrayed and arrested. Jesus prayed to the Father, “ if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Jesus was saying that He understood that all was in God’s will and put the focus on the Father’s will. If we pray and place all things in God’s hands we know that God will be there no matter what happens.

When we suffer, we also know that God is with us and we should focus on Him. This is stated in Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. In Psalm 46:1-3 we find that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” If we are sick or need healing, God is always with us and is our strength.

Where do we put our attention during tough times?

In conclusion, in Acts 3 Peter and John tell a paralysed man to get up and walk by the name and power of Jesus Christ. Peter made sure that the people around understood that it was focusing on Christ that healed the man, not their power. We too, must focus on Christ to change our lives, not on our possessions, like silver and gold.

Next, Jesus is the healer. Whether becoming a new creation in Christ as a result of believing in, accepting and focusing on Christ as saviour, or being healed from things like alcoholism or sickness through praying to God– we are healed by Him, who is ever present in our lives. It is only through Christ that our lives can be changed.

Finally, surrendering everything to God’s will helps us persevere and put our present situations and circumstances into God’s hands. We may not be physically healed here on earth, but God promises to always be with us even in our suffering.

If we focus our attention on Christ as Lord, there is a spiritual healing, which makes us new creations in Him.

In our daily lives, we can encourage others to focus their attention on Christ. When we do this, we can be the light of Christ to a world of suffering people like the lame man that Peter and John found sitting at the temple gate.

What is your focus? Is it Christ?

Song: Come, my way, my truth, my life (565)

We respond to serve God: Our time of giving

Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves

Lord, we come before you today to say thank you. Thank you for all you have given us–for all the blessings that we can and cannot see. With a grateful heart we thank you Lord for saving us from darkness and delivering us from evil. We accept what you did on the cross as you took our sin and shame. You can take away our sickness and can heal our pain. We thank you for all you have done and are about to do in our lives. Thank you Lord

Song: We are one in the Spirit (471)

Sending out with God’s blessing

Go in faith in the power of Christ. Help us to keep our eyes and heart on You as our Lord, redeemer and healer. In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit Amen

Response: God to enfold you

Music postlude

————————————————————————-

Raymond Baker retains the copyright (© 2024) on all original material in this service. As far as he 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.