Worship on the Lord’s Day
10:00 am 18 August 2024
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Led by the Rev Brad Childs
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalist: Linda F-B
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
Preparation for worship
Call to Worship
L: Awake! God is here!
P: Rejoice! We are loved!
L: Get ready! There is much to be done!
P: Prepare us, Lord, to work for you. Amen.
Opening praise: Here I am to worship
Prayers of approach and confession
Creator, Christ, and Spirit, when our souls hunger for fulfillment, you give us the Bread of Life.
Creator, Christ, and Spirit, when our souls thirst for communion with you, you refresh us with living water.
Creator, Christ, and Spirit, when we long for what is authentic, you show us the Way, the Truth and the Life.
And so we come to worship you, Creator, Christ, and Spirit.
Receive our praise and gratitude, Living God, for you are the source of all that matters, and the strength to live out your purposes, now and evermore.
God of all that matters, forgive us when we forget what matters to you.
Forgive the sins we have tried to hide, and those we were once proud to commit.
Forgive the sins we have done to please ourselves, and the sins we have done to please others.
By your grace, forgive us, and bless what we can become through your faithfulness to us.
Response: We come to ask your forgiveness, O Lord
Assurance of God’s love
In Christ, all things are made new. Know that you are forgiven by his great mercy. Trust in God’s mercy and have the courage to forgive each other in Jesus’ name.
We listen for the voice of God
Children’s time: Courtney Vaughan
Response: Jesus loves me (373)
Story
- What is this? (An anchor.)
- What is an anchor used for? (An anchor keeps a boat from drifting in the water -or- it keeps the boat from going off course during a storm.)
- How does an anchor work? (The heavy anchor part is attached to a large chain. The anchor is dropped into the water and stays connected to the boat with the chain. The “flukes” on the anchor hook onto the sea floor.)
Give a brief demonstration of how this works, by either hooking it behind a front pew leg OR ask a child/adult to stand up and be your prop. Holding onto the rope/chain, drag the anchor until it catches. Invite a child up to pull on the string now that it has been “anchored” onto something. So once it’s hooked on something, whatever is at the other end can only move so far from where it has been “anchored.”
Over the past few weeks, the church services have been focused on God as OUR anchor. God’s love, His compassion, His patience, His mercy, His goodness and His justice never change. His purpose and plans never change.
Hold up a helium-filled balloon. Let’s imagine that this is a ship out in the sea. Invite two to three volunteers up. A storm is approaching, so the crew throws the anchor overboard to keep the ship from going off course. Make sure the balloon is tied off really well to the anchor. Each volunteer will take a turn hitting the balloon to be the “storm”.
As we saw in our demonstration, the “ship” was tossed around by the wind, waves and rain, but it always came back. It didn’t leave its’ connection to the “anchor.” That connection kept it safe, secure and steadfast.
In a similar way, life can seem to toss us about. We may go through suffering, trials and temptations. But our connection to Jesus Christ and His love for us is what gives us hope and prevents us from drifting too far.
When an anchor is working, keeping a boat secure and steadfast during a storm, you can’t see the anchor beneath the waves. That doesn’t mean it is not there and not working on behalf of the ship! Even though we can’t see God, that doesn’t mean that He isn’t at work in our lives.
God the Father hears and answers our prayers. Jesus is preparing a forever home for His followers with Him. The Holy Spirit gives us comfort, helps us not give into temptation and helps us to understand God’s Word. As Christians, we know that we can rely on God to be our anchor, whatever challenges we face!
Prayer
Let us pray. This is a repeat after me prayer! …
Thank you, God, …
for holding us steady …
as we face the storms of life. …
Now, we will pray the prayer that You taught us, saying:
The Lord’s Prayer (535)
Transition music
Song: Come, my way, my truth, my life (565)
Today’s Message
Scripture reading: John 15:5-8 & Psalm 23:1-3 (Tracey Childs)
Response: Glory to the Father
Message: Remain
This is the last week of our anchor series, built around Hebrews 6:19 which says: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…”
An anchor is a wonderful invention, used by fishermen and sailors for thousands, of years. The basic concept of an anchor is to hold a vessel steady and secure and prevent drift: simple in its design, but powerful in its function.
As followers of Jesus, we are encouraged to remain “steadfast” in our faith through every trial and storm that life may bring. Steadfast: meaning persistently committed to, our faith in Him. You may remember from last week that it’s not a matter of if the storms of life will come, it’s a matter of when. And when they come, you want to be prepared, you want to have a firm grip on the anchor of our soul, Jesus.
Today we’re going to talk more about maintaining that grip throughout life. The Bible uses words like perseverance and steadfastness to describe enduring faith. But there’s another word I want us to add to our list today, and that’s the word “remain.“
To remain is to stay… and in our fast-paced, ever-changing culture it’s become more and more of a rarity to just be able to… remain. To hunker down for the long haul. Whether it be relationships, or jobs, or even cities or countries. We are a culture that is constantly on the move. From one thing to another, many of us become enamoured with the new shiny things or grow tired of and bored of the old ones. Whatever the case may be, this isn’t how faith works.
In fact, God calls us to remain, to hold fast, and to root ourselves in faith and righteousness. This is perhaps nowhere clearer than in the opening chapter of James, where the brother of Jesus writes, “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
The only firm and secure anchor is the one in Christ that lasts. He is the one who will hold on through any trial and every storm. There may be other anchors, but eventually, they all give way and fail. So we learn to hold on, sometimes for dear life, but we learn to hold fast. And if we want to persevere, we learn to remain. But you gotta hold on.
John 15:5 says, 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.”
If you are holding fast to Jesus, keep holding.
But truth be told most of us, even if we are holding on tight, still have a few other things in our hands as well. In fact, our hands are about full, so full sometimes that the Lord just runs out of room. In that case, we need to admit that there are things we need to let go of.
What are you holding onto?
We all see something we want, and we’ll hold on to it despite the cost to ourselves. Material wealth, status, prestige…There are many things we hold on to even though they potentially make us miserable. Letting go also takes courage. But sometimes you just have to let go of the wrong things to free your hands up to hold the right things.
Remember that old saying, “If you love it let it go – if it does not return, it was never yours – If it does return, it was always yours. If it comes back and eats your food and messes up your house – you either married it or gave birth to it.
On a more serious note: Martin Luther wrote, “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”
John 15:8 reminds us that this is all to the glory of the Father. All this holding tight to Christ and asking the Father for the things we need. It brings Him glory; it pleases Him to care for His creation. And it makes sense because as any parent or even pet owner knows, it’s an absolute delight to see your littles, healthy, happy, and prospering.
The scriptures tell us that God loves us. But more than God that loved us first. Before we could ever reciprocate that love, before our relationship with Him could be permanently restored, He loved. Before we were, he loved. 1 John 4:9-10 says, “9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Here’s the thing, isn’t love at first sight real? I just want you to think for a moment about any relationships in your life where you loved first before there was any opportunity for love to be returned in any way.
How many of you were thinking of an unborn or newborn?
It’s often said that “you don’t know what love is until you have a child.” Now I don’t believe that’s the undisputed experience, but what I will say, the kind of wave of love that just washes over you in one big splash. These types of events are unique. But they happen don’t they.
My point in all this is to say that this is exactly how God is described as loving you. God loves you. God has a purpose and a plan for your life. God has a room in heaven waiting for you… A seat at the heavenly banquet table. God formed and knit you together in the womb (Psalm 139). And God uniquely gifted you with a role to play and loved you so much that he died for you. Today even Jesus, the scriptures tell us, prays for you.
Yes, as Isaiah wrote long ago, we all have gone astray, we all fill our hands with a lot of things and crowd our faith out.
Sometimes you have to let go of a few things to make more room for Jesus, the anchor of our faith, the anchor of our souls and the one who never lets go.
Song: We have an anchor
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 our world
Gracious God, we are grateful for your presence with us in all things, especially in times of challenge and change.
We thank you for times of rest and reunion this summer, for opportunities to see people we miss and places that inspire us with wonder.
Yet we know this summer holds deep challenges for many, and so we bring before you people and places on our minds and hearts.
We pray for the families and communities facing fire, flood or storms, worrying about what will remain of their homes and hometowns.
Protect those who fight fires or conduct rescues in dangerous circumstances.
Open our hearts in generosity to do what we can to assist recovery.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayers.
We pray for the earth, for the land and the seas suffering as the climate warms, and for the creatures being displaced by disaster and disruption.
Protect all that is precious to you in creation and open our hearts to live more responsibly within the balance of life you created.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayers.
We pray for people facing hatred and discrimination, and those coming to terms with historic injustice and injury.
Guide the relations between indigenous peoples and other Canadians to correct misunderstandings and create justice for all communities.
Open our hearts to discover what we share as your peoples and appreciate the gifts we have to offer to each other.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayers.
We pray for all those who are suffering this summer: those who face pain or illness, those who are dying or who know bereavement, all who are anxious about what lies ahead, and any who do not have enough to make ends meet.
Bring courage and comfort to those who are struggling and open our hearts to offer companionship to ease their journey.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayers.
In silence we hold before you those near and dear to us.
Speak to us the truth we need to hear and guide us in our relationships:
(Silence for 30 seconds)
Receive our prayers, spoken and unspoken. Amen.
Song: Follow me, the Master said (645)
Sending out with God’s blessing
Now let us go forth out into the world in peace and dedicated to the Father’s service. Let us hold fast to that which is good; render to no person evil for evil; strengthening the faint-hearted; supporting the weak; helping the needy and the afflicted; and honouring all people. Let us love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of God’s Holy Spirit – and may God’s blessing be upon us and remain with use, forever and eternal. Amen.
Response: Go forth into the world
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.