A Christian Church, A Family of Faith

The Bass River Pastoral Charge

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

St. Mark’s, Bass River; St. James, Beersville; St. Andrew’s, Clairville & Zion, West Branch

Organists: Heather Morton, Marly Sutherland, Rodney Girvan, Dolly MacDonald, Shanece Wilson

Minister: Rev. Alexander [Sandy] D. Sutherland; B.A., B.Th. M.Div

Manse #: 506-785-4383 Cell #: 506-521-0705 Email: thebrpc@gmail.com Twitter: thebrpc

Bulletin Announcements:  Cathy Little @ Fillmore Trucking #785-1083

www.pccweb.ca/brpc

ORDER OF SERVICE

Pentecost Sunday – June 12^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

The BRPC EMAILING LIST –email thebrpc@gmail.com to be added

 

Call to Worship Spirit of the Living God

Prayer of Approach & Confession & The Lord’s Prayer (NBoP 831; BoP 605)

Opening Praise: NBoP 581 Pour out Thy Spirit

BoP 366

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 103:1-17 [BoP 654]

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

² Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

³ Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

⁴ Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

⁵ Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

¹⁴ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

¹⁶ For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

¹⁷ But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

Children’s story – More than Miracles

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 344 The wise may bring their learning

BoP 468

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 2:1-11

¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. ⁶Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. ⁷And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? ⁸And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? ⁹Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

KJV

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^£ as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

NIV

Epistle – 1 Corinthians 12:3-13

³Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. ⁴Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. ⁶And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. ⁷But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. ⁸For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; ⁹To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; ¹⁰To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: ¹¹But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

¹²For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. ¹³For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

KJV

³Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

¹²The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 291 Thou whose almighty word

BoP 366

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 20:19-23

¹⁹Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ²⁰And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. ²¹Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: ²³Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. KJV

¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

NIV

Sermon: The signs of the church

When someone speaks about the Holy Spirit they might mention the flames that rested upon the faithful in Christ on the day of Pentecost. It might be that you recall the words about the rushing wind that came blowing into the space where the disciples had gathered on the day of Pentecost. You might also think back to the miracle that took place in the city of Jerusalem as each person began hearing the speeches the apostles were giving, but heard the words they were saying as if each apostle was each in the language of each person gathered there.

I am left to wonder a bit about this last event. One of the decisions we made at our last two joint session meeting regarded my study leave that I will be taking this fall. A part of that study leave will include me taking a course in French, to help aid in local dialogue in our church’s context. I am not trying to get an easy way out of this, but I DO hope the Holy Spirit will manifest upon me in the midst course so that I can surprise myself with an A in the course. But perhaps the Holy Spirit will simply be kind enough to encourage me to study hard instead.

But the real sign of the Holy Spirit was not the flames, or the wind, but the will to speak and the strength to listen.

I think there have been many instances of mistaken identity when it comes to the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and Satan has made good use of those misunderstandings. People look for the burning flames resting upon churches, upon people, and in looking for the fantastic they miss the evident; and they miss the Holy Spirit present in the lives of people around them and even mistake God’s presence in their own life and choices. There are those who are all caught up in the hearing of voices, and the seeing of visions, and they believe and follow these fantasies instead of the wonderful reality that is clearly from God and is right in front of them.

Wait! So what exactly is proof of the Holy Spirit? How do we know when God’s Holy Spirit is upon us and moving in us as individuals and most importantly as a church? If we are not tot trust the events of rushing winds, and tongues of fire, or speaking in tongues, how are we supposed to discern the presence of the Holy Spirit?

I want to reference the apostle Paul, and his words to a church trying to understand how God was present with them and directing their service as a church. Paul talks about the many ways that the Holy Spirit will be seen within the church. The first and foremost is one that we use as a church to discern whether someone is speaking the truth – a Christian lie detector – if you would.

It works like this, we recognize the Holy Spirit and the body of the church by the declaration of Christ Jesus. No one who can say false or disreputable things about Jesus is in the Holy Spirit. When you encounter people who diminish Christ Jesus in some way, or even go so far as to revoke Christ lordship over our lives, they are not in the Holy Spirit, they do not belong to the body of God.

The Apostle Paul goes to the absolute extreme and says that no one who is living in God’s Holy Spirit can say that Jesus is cursed. Paul is telling the church that the kingdom of God is unified. Paul is reminding the church that While God may have shown God’s being to us As Father, Son and now Holy Spirit there is still One and Only God, Lord of All. The Church will exist where the Holy Spirit is manifest among God’s people.

And that manifestation is not flames on foreheads, but the burning desire to offer healing and hope to the nations. To seek Justice, offer kindness and walk humbly with God. The powers the Holy Spirit brings to the church are not wind and flame, but  as the apostle Paul points out; wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, powers to perform other miracles, prophecy, the ability to discern spiritual life and direction, the ability to speak to various situations, and then also the ability to understand various things that are said. You put those gifts into the a gathering and you have the church. These are the living flames of the Holy Spirit and better evidence of God’s presence with us than the blowing of any wind.

Sometimes though it takes a bit of wind to make us pause and see at last what is really true.

Is there a way that god has been speaking to your life that you have been denying?

Is there something you have been trying to say, trying to do, trying to be?

To continue to be, or to become again perhaps, the church of God we have to live in the Holy Spirit. We need to celebrate these gifts of wisdom, of knowledge, and of discernment more often than we have. We need to celebrate these gifts by using them. And by using these gifts we become the gift to the world that the church is supposed to be. We are God’s guide to those who are spiritually blind, who have broken away, and who have become lost because of their blindness. We are the Church, called to declare our faith, and live it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

 

Offertory Prayer

 

[Zion only} The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Loving God,

we give you thanks for the peace of this hour, and the blessing we have received in Jesus Christ. We thank you Lord that we are renewed in our spiritual bond to the whole of your Church through Christ’s body and blood. Give us the grace to carry his word into the world, as we are lifted up in all manner of being, because of Christ, through the Holy Spirit in your love:

Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us

Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us

Jesus, redeemer of the world, grant us your peace.

Amen

 

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 774 God forgave my sins

 

Benediction

Dismissal: Holy Spirit, on us fall (see back of bulletin)

Holy Spirit, on us fall,

As we go fulfill our call,

Serving God by loving all,

Alleluia! Christ our Saviour.

 

Holy Spirit, with us stay,

Teach us what we ought to say,

Guard and keep us in the Way.

As we follow, Christ our Saviour.