Worship on the Lord’s Day
10:00 am 20 July 2025
Online & Onsite (Mixed Presence) Gathering as a Worshipping Community
Minister: The Rev. Brad Childs Worship led by Lynn Vaughan
Music director: Binu Kapadia Vocalists: Peter & Cheryl Sheridan
Elder: Sam Malayang Reader: Renita MacCallum
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: God is our light and our salvation! Whom shall we fear?
P: God is our stronghold. Of whom shall we be afraid?
L: Let us be strong and of good courage as we wait upon God.
P: God has called us together, and we have come.
L: Let us thank God forever for what the Lord has done.
P: We will proclaim God’s holy name, for God is good. Let us worship God!
Opening praise: Here I am to worship
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
God of majesty and mystery, your love and purpose embrace the whole world. You set us in a world of beauty and bounty and invite us to meet you in the midst of its wonders. You call us to love each other in the example of Jesus to make your world a place of justice and compassion. In this hour of worship, send us your Spirit of wisdom and grace so that we can live out the praise on our lips in our day-to-day living, which we offer to you, our one and only God.
Lord Jesus Christ, you were born one of us to show us God’s love for us. You came to teach us God’s truth and touch us with God’s mercy. We confess we sometimes try to push you away. We cling to what we think is important and resist your challenge to open our lives to others. We limit our generosity, convinced we can’t give any more. Forgive us, Lord Jesus, when we turn away from the example you set for us. Amen
Response: I Waited, I waited on you, Lord
Assurance of Pardon
Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ – And Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and set free by God’s generous grace.
We listen for the voice of God
Children’s time: Heather Tansem
Response: Jesus loves me (373)
Story
Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer (535)
Transition music
Song: Open my eyes (500)
Today’s Message
Scripture reading: Colossians 1:15-20 & Luke 10:38-42
Response: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
Message: The better choice
In today’s gospel reading, we are introduced to Martha, who just might be the patron saint of this 21st century. We are told that Martha was “distracted by many things” and “worried”, even though she lived 2,000 years ago. Before TVs. Before cell phones. Before social media. Before any of the things that distract us in our day and age, Martha was worried and distracted by many things. I can only imagine what it would be like for Martha today!
We live in a time of never-ending worries and distractions, don’t we? The distractions are obvious and include so many of the things I just mentioned. Plus more! The worries, though, are equally obvious. And they seem to grow all the time. And trying to distract ourselves from our worries just seems to wear us out all the more. In other words, we can all relate to Martha, who was worried and distracted by many things.
Pulled Apart and Re-Attached
There is a wonderful Greek word that Luke uses in this gospel reading to describe Martha’s distractions. The word is: Perispaou. And this word literally means “to be pulled away or to be pulled apart.” That’s what distractions do, don’t they? They pull us apart. And they pull us away from what really matters.
What really mattered for Martha was the presence of Jesus in her home. How many people can say they have had that privilege? But her worries and distractions pulled her away from that amazing experience. Distractions pull us away from what really matters, from what is truly important. And it happens to all of us.
There is another word, on the other hand, that means almost the exact opposite. It means to be re-attached. And that word is: Religion. From the Latin, re-ligare, which literally means to be re-attached. Re-ligare. Re-attached. That is what religion does, at its best. It re-attaches us to what truly matters.
So, while distractions pull us away from the things that matter, religion re-attaches us to what is truly important. And, in particular, it re-attaches us to Jesus.
In Christ All Things Hold Together
Here is another way to think about that, and it is from today’s first reading from Colossians, where Paul tells us that “in Christ Jesus, all things hold together.” And isn’t that a wonderful way to think about Jesus – He holds us together!
There is a great illustration of this from the world of science. And it has to do with a protein molecule called laminin. Laminin is a cell adhesion molecule. Now, I am not a molecular biologist, but I am told that what this means is that laminin is like the glue of the human body – it is what holds the molecules in our body together. But what I find so interesting about this particular protein molecule is its shape. If you go to Google Images and type in “laminin,” as I did, you get a bunch of drawings and pictures of this cell adhesion molecule. And you know what? They all have the same exact shape – the shape of the cross. Diagrams and pictures taken with powerful microscopes all reveal that the molecule that holds our bodies together is in the exact shape of the cross.
Imagine that – The stuff that holds our body together is in the exact shape of the cross of our Lord. I think that is a powerful symbol and a reminder to us that Christ Jesus is what holds all things together. He is what holds us to what truly matters. He is the glue that we need in times of worry and distractions.
Yes, worries and distractions pull us apart. But Jesus holds us together. His cross. His love. His grace. His mercy. These are the things that hold us together, that keep us close to him.
Sit or Serve?
But let’s also take the next step with this. Because for Jesus to do this, to hold us together, we need to give him our time and attention. When the distractions of life threaten to pull us apart and away from the important things, we need to re-attach ourselves to Jesus, by spending time with him in daily prayer, and weekly worship. We need to re-attach ourselves to Jesus to be re-attached to what truly matters in life.
That’s what Mary was doing in this reading – re-attaching herself to Jesus. She was sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from him, listening to his stories. In the scripture passage, Jesus tells Martha that Mary made the better choice.
But we can’t end there. Because Martha was doing something important, as well. If everyone just sat at Jesus’ feet, all those people at the gathering in the house that day would have gone hungry. It is important to remember that there is a balance needed.
Last Sunday, we heard a gospel reading that takes place right before today’s story. It was the parable of the Good Samaritan and the person who helped a neighbour in need. And in that story, Jesus told the lawyer who initiated the conversation that he should go and do as the Samaritan did, that he should always be ready to help his neighbour in need.
So, let’s think about that: One week, Jesus tells someone to be like the Samaritan and “go and do”, and the next week, he tells Martha to be like Mary and “come and sit”. Sometimes, in other words, Jesus calls us to be like the Samaritan. And sometimes, he calls us to be like Mary.
So, which is more important? I like how the great preacher Fred Craddock put it. He says:
“There is a time to go and do; there is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which is a matter of spiritual discernment. If we were to ask Jesus which example applies to us, the Samaritan or Mary, his answer would probably be: Yes.”
Sometimes, it is important for us to go and do – to serve others, to love others, to share our faith, to do all those things that Jesus instructs us to do. But after we do these things, it is equally important to spend some quality time with Jesus – to come to worship, to spend time in daily prayer, to attend Sunday School or Bible study, to just sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him.
The Right Attitude
What Mary is doing is important, but what Martha is doing is also important. There is nothing wrong with what either is doing. But where Martha does go wrong, it would seem, is that she focuses on doing so much that she starts having a negative attitude about it. She starts being pulled apart.
We might be called to serve right now, or we might be called to sit at Jesus’ feet in prayer. Both are important. But the motivation behind our actions is even more important. Serving another will not be helpful at all if we do it in a distracted way, or if we are resentful about doing it, or feel forced to do it. That is not what God wants.
God wants us to do all things with love. Serving a dinner with love can be an act of worship; it can be a time of prayer; or it can lead to distraction and anxiety and worry and resentment.
But here’s the thing: Sitting at Jesus’ feet can also be either of those things. It can be a time of prayer. But it can also be an activity that leads to distraction and worry and resentment.
To show you what I mean, let me re-tell the Mary and Martha story, with a reversal of attitudes:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home and happily started to prepare a meal. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and tried to listen to what he was saying. But Mary was distracted by many things; so she said to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left us to prepare the meal? Tell her to come and sit with us.” But the Lord answered her, “Mary, Mary, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Martha has made the better choice, which will not be taken away from her.”
You see? Mary could just as easily have been the one worried and distracted by many things, even while sitting at Jesus’ feet. And Martha could just as easily have made the better choice, serving Jesus with joy and free from worries and distractions.
It’s not what they did; it’s the attitude with which they did it. So, what matters most, then, is not whether we are sitting at Jesus’ feet or serving Jesus’ dinner. What matters is why we are doing what we are doing, and the attitude we have while doing it. Are we doing it free from distractions and anxieties and hidden resentments? Are we doing it out of love?
Closing
We certainly do live in a time when the worries and distractions are all around us. It is all too easy to become bitter and resentful in our world today, and to let fear and worry crowd out love and forgiveness. It is all too easy to find ourselves being dragged down by what is around us, being pulled apart from all of these things.
Today’s gospel reading is a timely reminder to us to take time each day to re-attach ourselves to what truly matters. To spend time with God in prayer, to sit at Jesus’ feet. And take time each week to be re-attached to God through our Sunday worship. These are the things that will keep us from being worried and distracted by so many things.
But then, after we are re-attached to what matters, we are called to go and serve our neighbour in need, to go and show God’s love and mercy and grace and kindness to everyone we encounter. We can help the world stay connected to what truly matters, by bringing Jesus’ love to all those around us. We can make the better choice, whichever one that might be at the time. And we can do either of these for the glory of God. Amen.
Adapted from a seron written by Rev. James Laurence, First Lutheran Church of Albemarle, NC (used with permission)
Song: Suing them over again to me (498)
We respond to serve God: Our time of giving
Reflection on giving: The stories of Scripture remind us there are many ways to give of ourselves in gratitude for God’s goodness to us. Whatever we have to give, let us give joyfully and generously, trusting God to do more than we can ask or imagine, in the name of Christ, our Living Lord.
Living, Loving God, Martha offered the work of her hands to Jesus and Mary offered her close attention. We bring the gifts we have to offer to you. Bless and multiply them. Show us how they can best serve your purposes in our church, in our community and in your world. Amen.
Prayer of gratitude and for others and ourselves
Loving God, we come before you in prayer, trusting that your power works in the world in ways that we cannot even imagine, calling goodness forward, supporting love, and creating justice even in situations that seem hopeless to us. Draw on our prayers as signs of your Spirit at work in our lives.
God of the world and all its peoples: we pray today for those who lift up their voices in troubled nations, for those working to bring justice and negotiate peace, for those bringing aid to the vulnerable, and those offering shelter to anyone fleeing violence.
God of our everyday lives: we pray today for our community and our neighbours whose everyday lives have been disrupted by economic realities beyond their control. We remember neighbours whose livelihoods depend on undependable weather systems, and those fearing fire, flood or drought this summer. We pray for communities that lack safe drinking water or adequate medical care and places where there is high unemployment or a worker shortage.
God of the courageous and compassionate, we pray for those who live out their commitment to the well-being of others day by day, in public service, health care, education, social work, community organizations, and environmental concern. Thank you for their dedication. Support those who feel stress or exhaustion and inspire those who can speak out when they see needs being neglected.
God of neighbourhood and nation, we pray for friends and neighbours near and far, for all who travel this summer,
and for those who find themselves strangers in new communities. We remember in silence those on our hearts facing some kind of challenge this day:
Draw near to each one in deep need, O God. Equip us to support those lives that intertwine with ours, for we are your people, embraced by your love. Amen
Song: Jesu. Jesu. Fill us with your love (279)
Sending out with God’s blessing
May the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with each one of you, with all those that you love, and all those that God loves, both this day and always. 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).
Lynn Vaughan retains the copyright (© 2025) 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.