Worship on the Lord’s Day
10:00 am 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalists: Ann May & Sam Malayang
Elder: Lynn Vaughan Reader: Wesly Childs Children’s Time: 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: We are called together
P: To worship God as the people of God.
L: God calls us by name and knows what rests in our minds and our hearts, and calls us:
P: To worship God as the people of God.
L: We come yearning to be transformed and redirected to paths of justice and in ways of love so that, in truth, we can turn to God:
P: To worship God as the people of God.
L: God invites us to worship as beloved and loving people and together:
P: To worship God as the people of God.
Opening praise: Great are You, Lord
Prayers of approach and confession
Lord, you are faithful, and our message of salvation in you will be equally unchanging.
Father, this morning, we come before You as people devoted to You, Your Word and Your World. But God, we also come as people who slip into old ways, get lost in our little worlds, and even do terrible things with the best intentions.
God, we give too much power to the whims of our hearts. We think way too selfishly and way too much about ourselves. We turn prayer and fellowship into gossip and divisiveness. Rather than concern ourselves with our neighbours, we put all our energy into ourselves. We have untrue things on our lips and anger in our hearts. We stray from your path and seek out ways to glorify our own.
We have ignored people in need, alienated others, been divisive and selective in our love, and made barriers between us where none existed.
As such, we have pretended to love our neighbour and have thought we loved you, but we have done wrong.
Please help us to help those most in need, to think of and put others before ourselves, to see where we have fallen short, to admit when we are wrong, and to align ourselves with your will rather than try to bend you to ours.
Father, lead us to genuine and honest repentance and forgive us for everything wrong. In the mighty name of Christ, we pray, Amen.
Response: We come to ask Your forgiveness, O God
Assurance of God’s Grace
The good news is that the pain we feel and share because of our sins need not control us. We are forever being conformed to the image of Christ, who saved us by repenting of sin and washing us in his sacrificial blood.
We are a forgiven people, so in thanksgiving to Him, let us go and sin no more. Amen.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Musical meditation and prayer
We listen for the voice of God
Children’s time
Response: Jesus, we are gathered (514)
Story: On saying “I’m Sorry”
Darlene initiated a conversation about whether the children had ever had to say “I’m sorry” to anyone. She emphasized that it’s important to apologize and say, I’m sorry when we hurt someone. But she pointed out that it’s not enough to just say, “I’m sorry.” And then walk away.
I would wonder if you’re really sorry.
You know there are other things we need to do if we’re sorry.
What would you need to do if you’re sorry?
If you pushed someone down, you might say: “I’m sorry I pushed you down. Next time I will not push you. I will change my actions. I will do something different.
There are 3 things we need to do when we hurt someone.
- The first thing is, we need to listen to see how they’ve been hurt. And sometimes it’s hard to listen. If somebody’s crying, you need to ask … What happened? Why did you get hurt? How did I hurt you?
- The second thing we need to do, after we say I’m sorry, is I have to change my actions right now. I have to do something different – like one of you said during our conversation.
- And the third thing is – I have to work really hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again because I don’t want to continue to hurt somebody. And that can be really hard.
You know some of you are in school right now, and I am sure that, in schools like all across Canada, during this week, have been talking about Truth and Reconciliation, and Orange Shirt day.
So, I’m wearing an orange shirt today. And I see some of you are. And I see other people wearing orange shirts and ribbons.
Across Canada, people are thinking about how indigenous people in our country were harmed and continue to be hurt.
And one symbol of that is the orange shirt because, for those of you who might not know, a little girl had an orange shirt that was really special to her taken away from her, and she never got it back.
I’m sorry that happened to her. I’m sorry it happened, and I don’t want anything like that to happen to anybody else. So. I can apologize for that and say, I don’t want that to happen ever again. And I change my actions.
I need to fix the harm.
One possible thing we can do is support an organization called Coyote Kids. It’s just one program they offer indigenous children, age 6 to 12 – a weekly program to help them understand their culture, and how to live, feeling good about their life.
Then Darlene shared a story from a book by Phyllis Webstad, the lady who talked about the Orange Shirt day, and a friend of hers, Natasha.
We all matter. God cares about every person. Every person is a child of God. Every child matters.
Prayer
God forgive us for hurting others and help us to apologize and be truly sorry. Give us the courage to listen and change our actions. Give us love in our hearts to show that every child matters.
The Lord’s Prayer (535)
Transition music
Song: We cannot own the sunlit sky (717)
Today’s Message
Scripture reading: Zechariah 8:16-17; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 5:1-11, 17-18
Response: Glory to the Father
Message: Debt and Good Clothes
Thomas á Kempis wrote, “Whoever loves much, does much.” That is undoubtedly true. Of course, it’s also true the other way around. “Whoever does much, loves much.”
Romans was probably penned by a secretary of Paul’s called Tertius while he was staying at his friend Gaius’ house in Corinth sometime in the mid to late 50s. Theologians like to debate the genre of Romans, with some saying it should be classified as a letter (which is personal and intended for a small audience) and others arguing it to be an epistle (which is meant to be shared and has a more particular style. I prefer to think of Romans the way Phillip Melanchthon (a contemporary of Martin Luther) described it. He called it “a complete summary of the Christian Doctrine.” At its center is the relationship between law and grace. In short, Romans is Paul’s Magnum Opus.
In it, the Apostle sends his typical greetings and writes about God’s perfect and loving judgments, the hypocrisy and weakness of human judgments, Justification by grace through faith, the assurance of our salvation in Jesus Christ, and the transforming nature of God’s love.
In chapter 13, right before the verses, we find ourselves in this morning, Paul takes a rather unexpected detour in his point to remind the people of their civic duty to respect political authorities and remind them that they should continue to pay their taxes. And then, in our verses, Paul quickly shifts from having no governmental debts (taxes) to a call for believers to live in loving partnership with others. It’s a bit of an odd transition, but he does it because he has an important point to make.
Paul writes, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”
The continuing debt to love? What a weird thing to say, right? Is love an obligation we owe each other, like debts to a bank or taxes? Well, according to Paul – Yes.
But really, is that how you think of love?
When a couple stands at the front of a church and says their marriage vows, I doubt they would think of love that way. An old saying goes like this: “Love is Grand, but divorce is 40 Grand”. Love isn’t a debt; divorce is a debt. I mean, people don’t get married or spend 50 years in a loving partnership because we owe each other a debt, do we?
Well, in a way, we do. Paul says that Love is owed.
And this understanding of love is very prevalent throughout scripture. It’s not just Paul. It’s a pretty big theme.
This was picked up upon by some of the earliest Church Fathers like Origin, for example, who wrote in the last 100’s saying of this exact verse, “Let your only debt that is unpaid be that of love, a debt which you should always be attempting to discharge in full but will never fully succeed in paying.”
Similarly, famed homiletics professor Fred Craddock states, “There is an ‘ought-ness to love,’” further citing as evidenced by 1 John 4:11, which states, “Since God loved us so much, (Since) we also ought to love one another.” In other words, love isn’t just something nice or even something we are encouraged to do but fundamental to our response to God’s grace. As such, Love is something we are obligated to do. In short, for the Christ follower, love is compulsory. We don’t get a choice.
Next, Paul describes love as humanity’s ultimate goal, “for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”
Now, think about that for a second. The Law? The law was handed down directly by God to God’s people. It required a lifetime of sacrifice (actual sacrifices taken to an altar). To keep it was righteousness; to break it was to make someone unclean. To not have it was to make someone a barbarian, but to have it, made someone Chosen by God to be Holy. But Paul writes further, 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” (And I love this, by the way, because Paul adds it all up… and he says”, “and whatever other command there may be” (he through the whole of the Bible in there)…, “and whatever other command there may be” are all summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Now, a lot is going on here. There are three unique things I want to draw attention to, however.
- It is interesting to note here that Paul’s order of the commandments does not match the complete list of the ten commandments in scripture. Precisely, Paul has reversed “Do not Murder” and “Do not commit adultery” to put “Do not commit adultery” before “Do not murder.” Some have suggested that this may have been common in lists during exile in Babylon. Others have suggested the more likely possibility that perhaps adultery happened to be a more common issue in Rome, and Paul put it first to make a point.
- The Jews generally considered the command to love their neighbour (from the Book of Leviticus) to refer only to fellow Jews. Jesus famously suggested that non-Jews, specifically Samaritans, should also be considered neighbours (Luke 10).
- This idea is common to Paul, of course. Likewise, Jesus said that the law and the prophets rest on two commandments: loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself. What is worth noting, however, is that Paul, like Jesus, quotes the commandments in the Second Table of the law here. When thinking about the two tablets, most Hebrews pictured the commands as being divided into two lists (one for each tablet). Scholars have long noted a particular kind of division apparent in their presentation. For example, the first half of the Ten Commandments relates directly to How we love God (acknowledge the Lord, have no God before him, make no idol, don’t take God’s name in vain, Keep His day holy). The second half has to do with loving neighbours (honouring parents, not murdering other people, not committing adultery, not coveting a person or property or stealing or lying about people). All of the laws then could be understood to be based on two categories (One tablet with laws about loving God and another tablet with laws about loving neighbours).
Next, the apostle feels the need to clarify. He continues, “because Love does not harm a neighbour. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.”
But can it be that simple? All we have to do is love. Well, yes, and no.
Some have used this idea so that they essentially make the law nonexistent. These people will argue that the only law is Love. And that’s not true. It’s the same mistake people often make when discussing God being love. Yes, “God is love” (in the scriptures), but the two are NOT equative. Yes, God is love! But NO! Love is not God. The two are not the same thing.
The same is valid here. Love fulfills the law, but love cannot… Love cannot break it.
As theologian and Greek scholar Douglas Moo writes, “the feeling of love is not always a guarantee of right behaviour, let alone a right heart.”
See, we are human, and we are corrupted by sin, and sometimes what we think is love isn’t. You cannot, for example, commit adultery and then blame your actions on love as if that feeling fixes all your other wrongs. Love does not break the law. Remember, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will” What? “Keep… my… commands…”. Real love can never break the law. Rather, real love is the spirit in which we are required to keep the law.
That is why Paul immediately describes love as a verb (something that does, something that acts, something that ought, something that owes).
“Whoever loves much does much.” And simultaneously, “Whoever does much, loves much.”
Paul writes, “So let us put aside the deeds of darkness (Love is an action) and put on the amour of light (that takes work). 13 Let us behave decently (love is an action), as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy (love has laws to follow and limits). 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify your desires.” (Love is about others because Love is a debt we must always strive to pay for someone else).
Newspaper columnist and Divorce Lawyer George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office early in his career with absolute hatred toward her husband. “Not only do I want to get rid of him,” she said, “but I want to get even more. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me.”
Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan of revenge: “Go home and act as if you love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every halfway decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no effort to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. And then, after you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him… then drop the bomb. With a huge smile, she knew it would be delicious revenge. “Beautiful, beautiful,” she said; he will never see it coming.”
And then she did it. She went home and went to work.
For two months, she acted like she loved him. But when she didn’t return, Crane called and asked, “How’s the plan going? Are you ready to drop the divorce bomb on him yet?”
“Divorce?” she exclaimed. “Never! I love him.”
See, it turns out her actions changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion.
The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often as repeated deeds.
Love does not make the law irrelevant; Love is what lies behind the law that gives it relevance. Love is not the reason to disobey the law, which can never be, but it is instead the only natural way to obey it.
Those great prophets of old, Paul…John, George and Ringo… told us, “Love is all you need”. And they were right. But the question then becomes… What kind of love is all we need?
And the answer is A love that acts. A love that owes. A love the “ought.” A love that works. A love that strives constantly.
Thomas á Kempis wrote, “Whoever loves much, does much.” And he was right. But this is also true: Whoever does much, loves much.” – Amen.
Song: Spirit of Gentleness (399: vss.1, 2, 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: Text not available
Song: O for a world where everyone (730)
Sending out with God’s blessing
Go into God’s good creation praying that the Spirit will open our minds to receive new truth. Open our hearts to seek peace and strengthen out bodies to work for justice. Let the Spirit guide you in ways of love – to walk lightly and humbly, to seek truth, reconciliation, healing, and wholeness for all. And may the blessings of Creator, Christ, and Spirit rest and abide with you today. Amen.
Response: Benediction (as you go)
Music postlude
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Numbers in brackets after a song/hymn indicate that it is from the 1997 Book of Praise of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Those and other songs are being used in accordance with the specifications of Dayspring’s licensing with One 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.