Call to Worship Give Thanks

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 675 Precious Lord, take my hand

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 65 [BoP 640]

To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David.

¹ Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.

² O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

³ Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.

⁴ Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

⁵ By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:

⁶ Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:

⁷ Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

⁸ They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.

⁹ Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.

¹⁰ Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.

¹¹ Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

¹² They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.

¹³ The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

KJV

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: songs 55 Whiter than snow

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 17:22-31

²²Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. ²³For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. ²⁴God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; ²⁵Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; ²⁶And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; ²⁷That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: ²⁸For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. ²⁹Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. ³⁰And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: ³¹Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

KJV

²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. ³⁰In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

NIV

Epistle – 1 Peter 3:13-22

¹³And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? ¹⁴But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; ¹⁵But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

¹⁶Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. ¹⁷For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

¹⁸For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: ¹⁹By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; ²⁰Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

²¹The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: ²²Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

KJV

¹³Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” ¹⁵But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. ¹⁷It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, ¹⁹through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison ²⁰who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge^£ of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: songs 134 Sweet hour of prayer

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 14:15-21

¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ¹⁹Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. ²⁰At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. ²¹He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

KJV

¹⁵“If you love me, you will obey what I command. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^£ in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

NIV

 

Sermon: Seeing Christ

At the auction yesterday a picture print of young Jesus in the temple went for two dollars. When I was a little boy it was a that picture printed in my bible at home that helped me see Jesus as being a little boy like me once. I could imagine myself playing games with Jesus in the street, I could see a boy who like to run, but who could talk to adults as well. It was nice to see Jesus in that way when I was young. How do you see Jesus?

Do you see Jesus as that little baby born into such humble means in a cattle stall n the little town of Bethlehem? So you see Jesus as the young man walking throughout the countryside of Judea, Samaria and Galilee. Do you see Jesus as the preacher; gathering with people on riversides and hillsides? Do see Jesus healing the broken bodied and the broken spirited people who came to him in multitudes?

When you turn to God in prayer, and you lift up that prayer in Jesus name, who do you see Jesus to be?

I think we all like Jesus to be many things for us. For those of faith, we like to remember Jesus as that perfect teacher, and the man who amplified our faith into healing beyond what we could imagine possible. We like to imagine Jesus as that welcoming friend; and who was so quick to pick up a child and offer them a blessing and putting down anyone who would put an age limit on faith and love.

But in that same light, some people DO get a little nervous about the title that belongs to Jesus. Jesus as a baby, that is easy. Jesus as a child, that is safe. Jesus as teacher, that is wonderful. Jesus as healer and miracle worker, that’s fantastic!

But Jesus as Lord . . . now hold on a minute.

Because isn’t Jesus the kind of Lord who doesn’t tell us what to do?

Well, actually Jesus is the kind of Lord who tells us to do stuff all the time. Who are we fooling when we act as though Jesus has not put any responsibilities on us? Ourselves, because we sure are not fooling God.

Oh, but Jesus fulfilled the law of God, so all those rule things that God’s people had followed in the past were done and taken care of, even the food laws change because of Jesus. Well, let’s just fix that view right here, the Old Testament said: “Thou shalt not” an awful lot. The New Testament in Christ says “Bless are the …”

Jesus our Lord, does give us commandments. Jesus our Lord calls out from boats, from mountains, in the temple and most assuredly from heaven and in our hearts and tells us to do all sorts of things we have just gotten very good at not listening and making excuses. \

Jesus says ‘if you love me you will obey my commandments.’ And Jesus commandments were not to worship and bow down once a week, but Jesus chief two commandments seem to be the ones we can never seem to keep. Do you love God? Have you loved God with your whole life, with your whole soul, with all you have in mind and in spirit? And I ask that because that is a commandment of Christ. It is not just something written about God five hundred or a thousand years before Jesus, it is something that Jesus bases everything he ever taught or did upon.

And loving God means loving everything that God has ever done. Loving God means appreciating and thanking God for our blessings. Do you take the time to thank God for the blessings in your life? Look at all you have at God’s hand and ask yourself if you have taken the time to thanks God for what you’ve been given in life. Christ’s commandments, like all of God’s gifts are not given to weigh you down, but to lift you and give you direction and encouragement in being exactly who God made you to be, in a joy and fulfillment.

But we make a mistake if we only look at things like, house, and food, and money, and stuff as the blessings of God alone. God gives you more than stuff. I think we need to refocus so we can see the best gifts that God gives us. When we do, we will also begin to see our Lord Jesus Christ in a much better and much truer way. For Jesus is the greatest of all the gifts we are given.

God has given us not only what we have, but God has given us what we are. And when we give to God, God expects us to give not only from those things we can hold in our heart, but from the storehouse of gifts God has woven into the fabric of our being. God has given us, more than houses and the stuff that fills them, but God gave us a world in which to dwell, and so many resources that they have still not been calculated. And God has not placed us alone in this world, but has given to us companions to experience life our lives with, friends, neighbours, family, and even enemy (if we learn the lessens that dealing with those who oppose us have to teach).

Can you see Christ? And in Christ Jesus can you begin to receive the whole wonder that is God’s love? The great binding quality, of life the universe and everything is that love of God, that love in God, through God, from God. Christ Jesus, our Lord is more than the great teacher of these things, Jesus is the perfect example of these things.

And in seeing Christ in his everlasting proclamation of the Holiness of all that is God, we recognize the Lordship of Christ Jesus, and that is what we as Christians are called to proclaim, and celebrate as we live our lives in faith.

It is not just me. It is not just me that wants you to gather with the whole fellowship of faith in the Church each week, in some way each and every day, even if it is in your own household. It is not just ministers who encourage reconciliation over the disputes among members and within their own families. It is not on my authority, but in Christ who first commanded that we love one another as God has first loved us.

Jesus also said, and we read it today; “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.” So I ask you today, do you see Christ in your life? Because there is the difference between the world and the Christian. The world cannot see Christ, but the faithful, the fellowship of believers, the Church sees Christ and knows Christ. If you cannot see Christ in your life, it is time to look to your faith. It is time to look to your faith and be renewed in that faith. It IS time, now here today to declare your faith, it is time today and every day to live that faith in the way you care for the world that God has given you, in the way you love your neighbour, in the way your steward and care for the environment and all creatures that seek to give praise to God.

Jesus promises us in love to be present and known to all who would come after and who would love God. Today let us come to these closing moments of today’s worship in the fullness of the spirit of love for God in Christ.

Children of God, let us give thanks, and in live out our lives in the expression of our love for God as our Lord Jesus commands.

Let us gather close to God and offer God thanks for all we have. Let us pray . . .

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

 

Commissioning Hymn: songs 112 Blessed Assurance

 

Benediction

 

Dismissal: Alleluia, Alleluia (see opposite page)

Chorus: Alleluia, Alleluia
Give thanks to the risen Lord
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name

Spread the good news o’er all the earth
Jesus has died and has risen

Come let us praise the living God
Joyfully sing to our Saviour

We are glad to be a welcoming fellowship, and we hope you find a wonderful fullness of spirit in today’s worship. If you are visiting, or are new to the community we hope you will get to know us, as we are very glad to have you be a part of this loving community.

The colour cover bulletins have been made available in memory of Minnie Fillmore; A gift from her family

 

Tuesday Morning Bible Study –Tuesdays at 10am at the Manse [3279 Route 465]. All are welcome. Tuesday Bible School 6:30-7:30pm in Clairville at The Clairville community Centre. This is the ‘round up’ for this year & we are thankful for the hard work and dedication of Tanya, Marie and Stephanie & everyone else who made this years program a success. Wednesday Evening Bible Study –7pm at Jessie Kelly’s [1972 Route 495]. Richiboucto Food Bank NEW LOCATION!! 8 Centennial Street Rexton [by Presto-Stitch] Drop-off days are Wednesdays and Thursdays. They are in need of canned milk. Congratulations! to Bonar and Beulah Morton today – Bonar & Beulah gathered with friends at the Greenwood lodge yesterday to celebrate 50 years together as husband and wife. And they extend their thanks to everyone who has made this celebration so very special for them.  Party! June 5^th – 2pm, there will be a open house gathering at the Lawson farm to celebrate James Lawson’s 98^th birthday. Come and celebrate with the family.