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

The Twenty-First Sunday of Pentecost – Reformation Sunday

October 30^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Announcements:

 

Call to Worship Jesus name above all names

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 479 The church’s one foundation

BoP 307
Responsive Reading  – Psalm 43 [BoP 635]

¹ Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

² For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³ O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

⁴ Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

⁵ Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

 

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: songs 126 Onward! Christian soldiers

 

Scripture Readings:

 

OT – Joshua 1:1-9

¹Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, ²Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. ³Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. ⁴From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. ⁵There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. ⁶Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. ⁸This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. ⁹Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

KJV

P_____

¹After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ²“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. ⁵No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

⁶“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. ⁷Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” NIV

 

Epistle – 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

⁹For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. ¹⁰Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: ¹¹As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, ¹²That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

¹³For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

KJV

P_____

⁹Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹²encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

¹³And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. NIV

 

 

Baptismal Hymn:  NBoP 315 A mighty fortress is our God

BoP 86

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 23:1-12

¹Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, ²Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: ³All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. ⁴For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. ⁵But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, ⁶And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. ⁸But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. ⁹And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. ¹⁰Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. ¹¹But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹²And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

KJV

P_____

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. NIV

 

Sermon: Tangled in tassels

Four years ago  I began my service to the congregations of this pastoral charge. I was not yet ordained, so I started here as Mr. Alexander Sutherland. I like that I started my ministry with you without titles and collar, especially in relation to today’s reading from the gospel.

Because Jesus proclamations to the crowd and to his own disciples especially, are meant to make anybody with any kind of a title cringe a little. These words should not be taken lightly by anyone, but anyone that is in a position of respect and authority should pay special attention.

What is it, in our society, that gives people the right to have a title in their name?

Usually, it’s years of successful education in some field of study. Though it can be confusing for some people, you do not have to study medicine to have the title ‘doctor’ before the rest of your name. Philosophy, other sciences, my father is now the Reverend Doctor; a title I have often associated with slightly longer sermons, and certainly bigger home libraries.

But there are other titles, Lord, Baron, Duke, Duchess, Sir, Lady, Dame, but here,. in North America, most of those sorts of noble titles have fallen well by the wayside. However, titles such as ‘Honourable’, and perhaps even right ‘honourable’ are designated to a few, usually political or judicial leaders, and every once and a while and ‘Esquire’ or two are recognized.

And then at there are designations for other professional, legal or medical, and a few in education usually listing their titles. If you look in you bulletin, you will see a full title with my name there. It is about as stuffy as I can get without laughing.

Because I know I live in an age when such designations and titles and their proper usage have pretty well fallen by the wayside. People rarely refer to last names and wonder if there is a day coming when last names will be forgotten, and everyone will simply be known by their first name. I mean, outside of the church, I am called Sutherland mostly by traffic cops and bank tellers.

I even wonder if there is a day coming when we will not really be known by our given names, but by the names we chose for ourselves, our online identities. Imagine being known among your friends as ‘gumdrop425’ or ‘ffdougw23’ or something like that.

It was not as though Jesus had a particular problem with people having titles either. I think a lot of people look at this passage and see it as an excuse not to honour anybody with titles. But Jesus throughout his ministry makes it very clear who is to be honoured and why.

The wearing of certain cloths, in the case of the temple priests it was tassels and boxes with long leather binding thongs, these things are not enough to give a person authority or require any special honouring.  Jesus does call on us to honour those who serve us, and no matter what role we serve in society to honour those who share God’s love fully and sacrificially.

The trouble with the tassels is that we still get caught up in the images and the show. Jesus wants us to get pass the people who look the part and to really look into t each other’s lives to see how we are living the life. If you want a leader to follow examine each leader to see if they are worthy of your trust.

In our church and our church tradition I did not come by this collar, or the robes I wear by simply what I did in school, or what I feel I am capable of. In our denomination, unlike many, I could never have been ordained if it was not for you. It was your acceptance of me as you minister that made me reverend. You called me here to have some to show you first hand how to grow in strength in faith, in joy as a family together in Christ, and more deeply in the love that dwells among the servants of God.

And I do this, as the apostle Paul says, not simply by preaching, but by making my life with you and being a real part of this community in its many facets, using my best abilities not for my well being, but for the growth and prosperity of all.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the great ascriptions given to him by the prophets of old was called the Son of David, he was called the ‘wonderful’, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Christ, Lord, the messiah, King of Kings. But these titles were not that God took upon himself but that human kind in response to all that god has done ascribed to God in proper recognition of who God is and who we are not, and yet Jesus was a servant.

The fulfillment of the greatest of offices is not then self satisfaction, it is in serving. The best doctor is not necessarily the one with the most studies, but the one who uses them to the best service of another, the greatest judges are no better than the rulings they give, the minister or pastor of any church is cannot be truly reverend unless they lead their congregations to the reverence of God.

And in that we must, all of us, try to lead each other well. For it is not enough for me alone to seek to set this example, but all of us together must be reminders of God grace and love and compassion as we seek to serve each other in the needs that each of us have in facing the hardness of our world, and the faithlessness of our society.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

 

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 332  O Lord my God/ How great Thou art

{overhead}

Benediction

 

Dismissal: Midst prayers of thanks [back of bulletin]

 

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.

A Fellowship of the Christian Church

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

The Twentieth Sunday of Pentecost

October 23^rd 2011

Welcome & Announcements

 

Call to Worship – Shine Jesus Shine [overhead]

 

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

 

Opening Praise: BoP 47 O praise the Lord for He is good

 

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 1 [BoP 618]

Children’s story – Locked Car Door

A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car.

She didn’t know what to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened. The baby sitter told her that her the fever was getting worse. She said, “You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door.”

The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, “I don’t know how to use this.”

So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, “This is what you sent to help me?” But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.

The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said, “Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?”

He said, “Sure”. He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, “Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man.”

The man replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour.”

The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, “Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a professional!” Alicia Coop (acoop@integrityonline30

Children’s Hymn: BoP 358 There is a redeemer

 

Scripture Readings:

OT – Deuteronomy 34:1-12

¹Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, ²all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, ³the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. ⁴Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

⁵And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. ⁶He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. ⁷Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. ⁸The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

⁹Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, ¹¹who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. ¹²For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Epistle – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

¹You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. ²We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. ³For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. ⁶We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, ⁷but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. ⁸We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 437 Take time to be holy

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 22:34-46

³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

⁴¹While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴²“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

⁴³He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

⁴⁴“‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.”’

⁴⁵If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

 

Sermon: Tests of faith

The apostle Paul told the church in Corinth to test themselves an order to know the quality of their own faith. It was not enough for them to assume they were being a faithful church, the apostle tells them to self-examine so they can know the strength and quality of faith.

And why is this so important. If they bothered to get together as a church at all, that should have been enough for them to be able to say, “I am a good follower of Christ”, or “We are a strong church, and faithful.”

I want to clarify something first, because in talking about being tested in our faith I am not talking about a bible quiz to see if you memorized passages of the bible. I am also not talking about checking to see if you have memorized the writings of Christian authors through the centuries [church fathers or modern writers]. A test of faith is not whether you can recite from memory the 23^rd Psalm or the Apostles’ Creed, or every verse of Amazing Grace.

The Pharisees thought that a test of Jesus faith would be a Bible quiz. They of course did not see Christ as the author of all things. Now I am not saying that tests that call on someone to know their scripture verses is a bad one. We certainly – all of us – could stand some encouragement or coaxing to read and know our bibles a little better. But the Pharisees wanted to see if Jesus had the fundamental knowledge of the bible, and an understanding that was foundational to what even the Pharisees believed.

The answer that Jesus gives them is not a hard answer. In fact it makes a lot of sense and any good Jew who had sat in synagogue or the temple for any period of time would probably have given the same answer. But the problem in the test is not the question, but the intension behind the question, in all the questions.

The Pharisees were trying to find the chink in the armour; they were probing Jesus to see if they could break his faith. They wanted Jesus to have a broken faith so that they could be shown to have the greater and stronger faith.

We have committed the same sin in our own church history. Ancestors of the church, sitting pews or standing in pulpits have rejoiced at the downfall and struggles of church denominations. They have pointed to the faults of the denominations around them and sought to condemn them for the weaknesses of faith that were seen there.

“HA!” we say, “We are better Christians than YOU!!”

But being tested and struggling with our faith, and seeing and knowing that there are weaknesses in our practice of faith, in our knowledge of scriptures [our faith literature], are not things we should shy away from, or use as some false sense of competition. We are not trying to know God in this place and time and worship God as a sign of faith just so we can out-sing the Baptists, show up the United Church, out-pray the Anglicans, or beat the RCs.

We are here to worship, and in the midst of worship were hope to encounter the living God, and in that moment of encounter we are confronted with our faults, our weaknesses, our false desires, and in that moment we are tested.

Like the first churches that we read about and learn about from the bible we do not usually jump at the chance to be tested. Most people do not like being tested, unless it is at something they really like doing and are really good at, and even then they do not want to be tested, they want to be able to show someone else just how good they are at what they do.

No, when it come to being tested, especially when we speak about having our faith tested, we cringe at the prospect.

In scripture there are many stories about many people. When we look at these stories we discover one regular trend right through the whole bible. Ever person whose faith is tested has a miserable time of it. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, Moses they all had a really tough time in their lives. I mean where is the story in scripture about getting a just dessert, being able to put their feet up at the end of the day, being treated fairly, and gaining respect from people in their own midst?

When it comes to ‘tests of faith’ in scripture many people do not live through the test. Now, even through I say that, while they don’t live through the test that does not mean that they do not pass. I think we really need to see the difference here. Being faithful to God does not mean that God rewards us with an easy life, or a life filled with riches, or even a healthy life.

Having faith in God does not mean a better time for our families, ourselves, or our friends. Success in the work-place, strength and vitality, not one of these are the results of passing the tests of faith in life.

The book of Job is a mysterious book of the bible and scholars have no clear idea when, or under what circumstances it was written. Scholars disagree about whether it was written during a time of plenty or a time of exile or trial, and whether Job was a real person or if the whole story of Job is a parable like ones Jesus told. What we know and understand is that the story of Job is a story about a test of faith.

What is it that tests a person’s faith. Can you recall in your own life when your life was tested? Have you walked the hard road of Job, to have all things taken from you? Have you seen others around you breaking or broken against the hard rock that caused them to stumble?

The tests of faith in life are more than tests of patience. Too often we mark our test of faith as little more than whether we can handle a long and boring sermon – which by the way is not what I was going for this morning. Can we endure this hard time? Well then I must be faithful. Can I just get through the time of sorrow to a new time of riches and rest and happiness. The sign of faith that shows whether we are true as we are tested in life is not whether we can get through it, but if we can have the grace and the joy that is our in God, during the test.

Whether the tests of faith in our lives come upon us very quickly and suddenly, or are the ongoing story of our lives; however we view it, faith is meant to shine from us not only so we can see what we have, but so we can be a beacon for those struggling and failing their own tests of faith.

Shine forth with the bright light that is your joy, for in the midst of our trials, as we are tested in more than knowledge and strength we are tested and called to be true, pure as gold refined even by the harshest fires life can offer. For just as Christ Jesus was tested, the prophets , the apostles we who follow are also tested. We hold fast to the great commandment, that is true no matter where we are in life, We love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind; and in the same spirit [in the same faith] we love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

In this the testimony of our lives will prove our faith true, and the test that is all of life will be passed. In God’s grace.

Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 83 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Benediction

Dismissal: ‘Midst prayers of thanks [back of bulletin]

A Fellowship of the Christian Church

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

The Eighteenth  Sunday of Pentecost- Thanksgiving Sunday

October 9^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements    –

Happy Thanksgiving one and all! May you find this time of worship to be a blessing as you celebrate all that God has given you. Together we are a thankful church family, and from our times of worship and fellowship we look for ways to grow, and to increase the celebration of life and faith you share with us today. 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.

Next Week’s Services:

9:30am – Zion Presbyterian Church (West Branch)

11:00am – St. James’ Presbyterian Church (Beersville)

Mission Moment UKRAINE: Equipping children

Our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing support Dr. David Pándy-Szekeres as he serves with the Reformed Church of Sub-Carpathian Ukraine (RCCU). David coordinates four Christian secondary schools and helps to post and supervise RCCU missionaries serving communities in Ukraine. A special class run by RCCU missionaries for Roma children in the village of Nagybereg has been a great success. Nine students who went through the first session passed their final exams and were enrolled in regular classes. A multifunctional building which will serve as a prayer hall and kindergarten is being constructed to serve this Roma community. Let us pray for David and the important work that the RCCU is doing with Hungarians in Ukraine.

Call to Worship – Give Thanks [overhead]

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

Opening Praise: BoP 70 Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 25 [BoP 624]

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: BoP 566 Can a little child like me?

Scripture Readings:

OT – Exodus 32:1-14

¹When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods^£ who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

²Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,^£ O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” ⁶So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.^£ Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

⁷Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. ⁸They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

⁹“I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

¹¹But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. “O LORD,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? ¹²Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. ¹³Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” ¹⁴Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Epistle – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:

“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 563 We plough the fields and scatter

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 22:1-14

¹Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

¹³“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

 

Sermon: Called to the table

Jesus was making a point, a very clear and a sharpened point, in the parable we read today in the gospel of Matthew. Now this is a parable that certainly describes how we tend to make excuses about coming or not coming to church, being spiritual or not being spiritual. God has heard all the excuses for our lack of faith. I can tell you that every one of those excuses are ones that God has forgiven, all of them are things we still can tend to put between us and God and also between ourselves and others; for the invitation is still there, still being offered. And so when we come to this table I want you to know the invitation is not something that I am offering you, or the session of the church is offering you, but that God is still offering you, to be gathered with Christ as the disciples were gathered with Christ, and to be counted with the disciples in faith, purpose, calling and glory.

But the sharpened point that Jesus makes is this, that God’s invitation has been offered not only today, and not only in our life-time. God has made that invitations to gather at His table through the words of his law, and the messengers that Jesus speaks about in the parable are not only the prophets of the old testament, but it certainly includes them. These prophets were ridiculed, they were abusively treated, they were used up and spit out, these messengers of God were poorly treated, and our loving shepherd Jesus describes the kind of answer God gives to those who poorly treat his messengers.

God sent out an invitation to the world to be gathered, and today we are here to answer that call.

[Pause]

It was an impossible task, and it would cost the lives of many sailors then and in years to come, but the search for the north-west passage is a part of the great legends of the founding of our nation. In the history of our Canadian Thanksgiving holiday the events in 1578 on Baffin Island, in what is today Nunavut, are the equivalent of the pilgrim’s party near ‘Plymouth Rock’.

Recognizing the difficulty they were facing, the losses that had already taken place, and in the face of insurmountable doubt and fear, it was suggested by the missionary and preacher to the expedition that they set ashore, and make camp, and set up a place for worship and there celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Recorded in the ship’s log of one of the surviving vessels in northern explorer, Martin Frobisher’s, fleet of battered and beleaguered vessels are these words: “The celebration of divine mystery was the first signe, scale, and confirmation of Christ’s name, death and passion ever known in all these quarters.”

Among all the events of the history that has come to make up our celebration it is one of the clearest examples of how what we celebrate at our tables at thanksgiving is distinct from many of the world-wide harvest celebrations, and so true to the real purpose in harvest/thanksgiving festivities.

We set our tables of thanksgiving not simply in the midst or the end of our harvest, but we set our tables in the face of the season that is about to fall on us.

The celebration of Thanksgiving comes at the end of certain ‘good times’. We might celebrate over the labour-day weekend an end to summer holidays, but it is really Thanksgiving that marks the real turn in the seasons. We mow our lawns for the last time, exchanging mowers and gardening tools for snow-ploughs and shovels. We rejoice in the end of road construction season, change the tires on our cars and watch the temperatures to make sure we are not surprised by the first deep frost and black ice of the oncoming winter season.

The history of holidays is less about celebrations that mark changes in the cycles of moon, sun and stars, and more about getting together and having good times, and significant times in the face of real need, in the face of perhaps disaster, certainly in the face of our many enemies.

Step back through scripture with me to that ever familiar psalm, Psalm 23, were in verse five it begins by saying “Thou preparest a table in the presence of mine enemies”. This psalm so clearly celebrates all God does for us and the safety and assurance of God’s presence, but it is this line that tells us the context for thanksgiving. In the face of our enemies. That was almost the title for the sermon today [but I did not want to give the theme away too early].

In Jewish tradition the festival celebrations of Sukkot mark not only the time of harvest but it remembers the hardship of two generation as they struggled to survive in the wilderness. Yet the festival beacons to the Jewish people as our thanksgiving festival does for us, to see not only the hardship we have emerged from, but also the one we have been prepared to endure.

To simply celebrate the wealth and provision that God has given us, in the light of the state of the world and the famine and hardship of millions world-wide, would be an arrogant boasting before the world of our advantage over others. Maybe that is the way the world sees us, sees the west, the ‘developed’ nations, and it is not our best light.

But if we get back to the roots of giving thanks, especially as it is expressed in scriptures, we discover the wonderful gift of these celebrations, and in our own remembrance we know their purpose. Even in the memory of giving thanks together we are given power to face so much in our lives and in the struggles of those around us. When we gather at this table [communion table] especially, we gather at the table the Lord has prepared in the face of our enemies; for Christ gathered his disciples – even those would betray him, and run from him, and deny him.

This is the great feast that God offers us, not in food, but in the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. We are here at God’s invitation, for Christ is with us as we gather and we are named as God’s own children through Christ. God is present as we celebrate, and by the Holy Spirit’s power keeps us in the unity of his love as we celebrate and remember with thanks today, tomorrow and forever. Let us rejoice today and always in the great gift of God’s love.

 

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

BR – Special Reading – Jean Chilcott

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

The Lord’s Supper [BoP 619; ref NBoP 539]

 

Today we recognize together with the whole of our Church: That we gather at this table in preparation for the journey that lies before us.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ chose to humbly walk with us. To live our life, to suffer as we suffer; to face sin and to be righteous; to face illness and offer healing; to face death, and to offer us eternal life through his sacrifice. In Christ, we come together to give thanks, and in looking forward together to a journey, a potentially hard journey, but one full of hope because of Christ Jesus has done.

 

Through Christ we pray; In faith in Him our lives are healed; and through Him our sins are forgiven.

 

Jesus gave us the witness of his own words and actions, that we might speak and act, seeking understanding and purpose in God.

The only begotten Son of God has come, and facing the curse of our He sin conquered death, that we might know the Full measure of God’s love.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper:

This is the joyful feast of the people of God! Even though it takes place of the shadow of the cross, we celebrate in the light of the resurrection.

We come to this table at Christ’s invitation, given in the grace of the Loving Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. The institution of this sacrament belongs to Jesus the Christ, for it is the memorial of Christ’s life, death, and the new life we share in Him.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, we declare this sacrament of our faith to draw from this truth:

“the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Yet the Apostle Paul also gives us this warning:

He says,

²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

[1 Corinthians 11:23-29]

This holy meal is a gift to all who confess with heart, and mind, and soul, the living and eternal Christ Jesus is Lord; who by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power, gives us the understanding to know God in faith. Let us then, offer God our confession of faith as we together declare . . .

 

Confession of faith: [BoP 619; ref NBoP 539]

I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, and suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN

Communion prayer:

Lord God of all mercy, we bring to this table our souls, humbled by your grace in all its signs. Our spirits are in need of the cleansing that can only come through Christ.

Lord, hear our prayer and set us free.

Hear our cry for mercy, for we lift our eyes to the cross and see the cost of our salvation. Know our cry for peace as we lower our eyes in shame

Lord, hear our prayer and draw us together in peace.

O Lord, this is your table, and we come seeking your presence; let nothing separate the Lord God and His people.

Lift the gifts of your Holy Spirit – humility, goodness, kindness, self control, knowledge, perseverance, and most of all love  – as signs to the world of our faith; as we seek to be more like Christ.

Lord, this bread is made from the grain that you caused to grow and this cup is filled with the fruitfulness of the vine you have sustained. You brought them to this table and now, O Lord, we pray that by your blessing this bread and cup will be renewed as a blessing in their use in the special purpose you have for us in this sacrament.

Help us understand, that in Jesus we must finally see that we are made for more than ordinary purposes.

Let feel the support of the communion of faith in the Church, as we are gathered with all who confess faith in Christ and seek His presence in their life.

O Father in Heaven, by your Holy Spirit, let us be drawn together with you because of Jesus, our Saviour and Lord; who was begotten, who was born, who lived and died, and who is risen, and who is coming again.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen

The Holy Communion of the Lord’s Supper

We are gathered by God to this table with the whole Church. We are gathered with all who proclaim Christ, name Him Lord, and in communion with all who rejoice before God in glory.

In accordance with the teaching and direction of the good news in Jesus Christ, we do this:

The Lord Jesus – on the night he was betrayed – took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and said: “Take, eat, this is my body that is broken for you. This, you do, in remembrance of me.”

Bread distributed to all

When we break the bread it is the sharing in the body of Christ                                                                                                        1 Corinthians 10:16

We eat the bread together

In the same way also Jesus took the cup, After they had sup, and said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in remembrance of me”

The cup is shared

In remembrance, let us share the cup of the new covenant.

We drink the cup together

This bread and this cup are a proclamation; by them we declare the power and purpose of the Lord’s death until he comes.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Loving God, thank you for the assurance of this sacrament of faith, and all the blessings we have received in Jesus Christ, our Lord. We rejoice that we are renewed in our spiritual bond to the whole of your Church through Christ’s sacrifice, here recalled. O God, give us the grace to carry his words into the world in the way we live our faith, 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

Now, go out into the world in peace. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him

 

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 571 We praise Thee, O God

Benediction

Dismissal: ‘Midst prayers of thanks [back of bulletin]

 

‘Midst prayers of thanks our praises ring,

Before the world we gladly sing,

For we are saved by giving hands

Of Christ who died that we might stand.

Our great thanksgiving is our lives

In daily service lifted high

Souls in devotion testify

We thank you Lord, you paid the price

We thank you Lord, you paid the price

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

The Seventeenth Sunday of Pentecost – World Communion Sunday

October 2^nd 2011

Welcome & Announcements

 

Call to Worship Give Thanks

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 803 Come, ye thankful people come 52 sog

BoP 567

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 19 [sel. 1-9] [BoP 622]

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork.

² Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

³ There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

⁴ Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

⁶ His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸ The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

¹² Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

¹³ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 373 Jesus, loves me this I know 59 sog

BoP 378

Scripture Readings:

OT – Exodus 20:1-20

¹And God spake all these words, saying, ²I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

¹²Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. ¹⁹And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. ²⁰And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

KJV

¹And God spoke all these words:

²“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³“You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³“You shall not murder.

¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵“You shall not steal.

¹⁶“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

NIV

Epistle – Romans 7:7-12

⁷What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. ⁸But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. ⁹For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. ¹⁰And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. ¹¹For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. ¹²Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. KJV

⁷What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” ⁸But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. ⁹Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. ¹¹For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. ¹²So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

NIV

 

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 549 For the bread that you have broken 543 new book

BoP 357 For the bread which Thou hast broken

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Mark 7:9-13

⁹And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: ¹¹But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. ¹²And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; ¹³Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. KJV

⁹And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹¹But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), ¹²then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. ¹³Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

NIV

Sermon: Commands of grace

Did you know there was a day when the ten commandments were a part of our laws? Our legal system, and most western democratic legal systems use the ten commandments found in the bible as the basic tenants of law.

These ten commandments are not the only laws found in the bible. In fact, when questioned, Jesus does not name the ten commandments as the highest laws mentioned in scripture, but instead two other laws:  To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your souls and with all you mind, and to love you neighbour as yourself. Jesus says that all the other laws depend on those two similar laws.

But it is not a huge jump between the two highest laws identified by Jesus to step into the commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. They make more sense when connected together, and they are but a part of a whole collection of laws that were given by God and developed in the midst of a people learning to be God’s people.

It was these commandments, these laws, which distinguished God’s people – the Israelites – from all the nations of the world; in their own time and throughout history.

So what distinguished you? If the laws given to the nation of slaves who came out of Egypt made all the difference for them, what in you calling yourself a Christian makes you so different from your neighbour who calls themselves an atheist, and agnostic,  or just non-religious.

Is there something in the way you live your life that lets people recognize that you are different? Is there something that you recognize about yourself that allows you to see and say that you believe in Christ?

It began as a philosophical movement over a hundred years ago, and it grew as populations moved and shifted across the globe, as cultures mixed and blended in ways that had never been seen before in world history.

We are taught from a very young age that it is important to ‘blend in’. This is more than just getting along with each other, this is an end to individuality. Presently there is a growing counter culture that tells our youth to stand out, and be distinguishable from the crowd. I mean there was a day not so long ago when it was seen as ideal that everyone would eventually look a certain way, dress an appropriate way, cut their hair a certain way, drive certain styles of vehicles, work at certain kinds of jobs, and in other words get along with each other. But truly, YOU are not getting along with anybody if you are ceasing to be yourself.

The life we share in Christ is not meant to remove our distinguishing characteristics, it is meant to bring them together in a fellowship that would be otherwise impossible. Be get along by Christ’s love. The law was meant to draw God’s people together, but the people corrupted that law and made it a point of contention; of competition.

The ten commandments:

Not to set other gods above God,

And like the first  you must worship idols or in any way put anything in life in front of your love for God.

Not misusing the name of the Lord your God,

Remembering the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Honouring your father and your mother

Not murdering.

Not commit adultery, and that means not breaking the best promises that bind us together.

Not stealing, and that is a whole lot more than not robbing banks, or stealing candy from the corner store.

Not give false testimony, not lying against each other against your neighbour. And ‘not lying’ does not simply mean you say nothing to each other, which is the way this is often practiced. It means telling the truth. It means making it a point to speak to each other and to speak the truth when you do.

Not coveting your neighbour’s house.

Not desiring and want your neighbour’s spouse, or anything that belongs to the people around you whether it is their job, their retirement, or wanting your family to be like their family. We often forget that this means celebrating what we have, and seeing the wonderful things that God has given us, because that kind of celebration is the true opposite of jealously coveting someone else’s possessions

Not so long ago shops were closed on Sundays. And not so long ago expressions like OMG were frowned upon. There was a day when most children were expected to respect and even perhaps honour their parents in the way they lived their lives. There was even a time when wanting what others had and lying, cheating, and stealing to get it were actually recognized as character flaws, instead of lifted up as ambition.

The commands of God are the same as Christ in this, they were and remain a means to grace. A way to share God’s love and forgiveness with each other.

We need to pick up these commandments again and recognize again how they draw us closer to God and also how they bring us together. We need to feel again the grace that comes from God’s commandments to us, not as rules and regulations, but as supports to lift us up and draw us in strength together as the church God calls us to be.

So Christ has come, and we together with the whole Church come together today to celebrate the fulfillment of God’s law, and experience the grace in that fulfillment. Christ has come, and though we break the laws of God, God’s commanding grace shines in the fulfillment of God’s law through Christ Jesus God’s only Son, our Saviour, who died that we might dwell in sin no longer, and who is raised that we might stand together in glory fulfilling our purpose in God today and forever. May God be praised. Amen.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

The Lord’s Supper

Today we recognize together with the whole of the Church:

The Lord Jesus Christ chose to humbly walk with us.

He has come to dwell with us, to be with us in our lives.

Through Christ we pray; In faith in Him our lives are healed; and through Him our sins are forgiven.

Jesus gave us the witness of his own words and actions, that we might speak and act, seeking understanding and purpose in God.

The only begotten Son of God has come, and facing the curse of our He sin conquered death, that we might know the Full measure of God’s love.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper:

This is the joyful feast of the people of God! Even though it takes place of the shadow of the cross, we celebrate in the light of the resurrection.

We come to this table at Christ’s invitation, given in the grace of the Loving Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. The institution of this sacrament belongs to Jesus the Christ, for it is the memorial of Christ’s life, death, and the new life we share in Him.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, we declare this sacrament of our faith to draw from this truth:

“the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Yet the Apostle Paul also gives us this warning:

He says,

²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

[1 Corinthians 11:23-29]

This holy meal is a gift to all who confess with heart, and mind, and soul, the living and eternal Christ Jesus is Lord; who by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power, gives us the understanding to know God in faith. Let us then, offer God our confession of faith as we together declare . . .

 

Confession of faith: [BoP 619; ref NBoP 539]

I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, and suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN

Communion prayer:

Lord God of all mercy, we bring to this table our souls, humbled by your grace in all its signs. Our spirits are in need of the cleansing that can only come through Christ.

Lord, hear our prayer and set us free.

Hear our cry for mercy, for we lift our eyes to the cross and see the cost of our salvation. Know our cry for peace as we lower our eyes in shame

Lord, hear our prayer and draw us together in peace.

O Lord, this is your table, and we come seeking your presence; let nothing separate the Lord God and His people.

Lift the gifts of your Holy Spirit – humility, goodness, kindness, self control, knowledge, perseverance, and most of all love  – as signs to the world of our faith; as we seek to be more like Christ.

Lord, this bread is made from the grain that you caused to grow and this cup is filled with the fruitfulness of the vine you have sustained. You brought them to this table and now, O Lord, we pray that by your blessing this bread and cup will be renewed as a blessing in their use in the special purpose you have for us in this sacrament.

Help us understand, that in Jesus we must finally see that we are made for more than ordinary purposes.

Let feel the support of the communion of faith in the Church, as we are gathered with all who confess faith in Christ and seek His presence in their life.

O Father in Heaven, by your Holy Spirit, let us be drawn together with you because of Jesus, our Saviour and Lord; who was begotten, who was born, who lived and died, and who is risen, and who is coming again.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen

The Holy Communion of the Lord’s Supper

We are gathered by God to this table with the whole Church. We are gathered with all who proclaim Christ, name Him Lord, and in communion with all who rejoice before God in glory.

In accordance with the teaching and direction of the good news in Jesus Christ, we do this:

The Lord Jesus – on the night he was betrayed – took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it and said: “Take, eat, this is my body that is broken for you. This, you do, in remembrance of me.”

Bread distributed to all

When we break the bread it is the sharing in the body of Christ                                                                                                                 1 Corinthians 10:16

We eat the bread together

In the same way also Jesus took the cup, After they had sup, and said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in remembrance of me”

The cup is shared

In remembrance, let us share the cup of the new covenant.

We drink the cup together

This bread and this cup are a proclamation; by them we declare the power and purpose of the Lord’s death until he comes.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Loving God, thank you for the assurance of this sacrament of faith, and all the blessings we have received in Jesus Christ, our Lord. We rejoice that we are renewed in our spiritual bond to the whole of your Church through Christ’s sacrifice, here recalled. O God, give us the grace to carry his words into the world in the way we live our faith, 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

Now, go out into the world in peace. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him

 

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 802 For the fruits of His creation 39 sog.

BoP 570

Benediction

Dismissal: ‘Midst prayers of thanks [tune of Before the throne of God above]

‘Midst prayers of thanks our praises ring,

Before the world we gladly sing,

For we are saved by giving hands

Of Christ who died that we might stand.

Our great thanksgiving is our lives

In daily service lifted high

Souls in devotion testify

We thank you Lord, you paid the price

We thank you Lord, you paid the price

 

 

 

A Christian Church, A Family of Faith

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

St. James’ Presbyterian Church, Beersville

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

Organists: Mrs. Marly Sutherland  B.Sc B.Ed

www.pccweb.ca/brpc

August 28^th 2011

 

Welcome & Call to Worship

As a Part of today’s worship there will be

Opening Praise Faith of our Fathers

Faith of our fathers! living still; In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,

O how our hearts beat high with joy, when e’er we hear that glorious Word!

Refrain: Faith of our Fathers! holy faith! We will be true to thee till death!

Our fathers, chained in prisons dark, were still in heart and conscience free;

How sweet would be their children’s fate, if they, like them, could die for Thee! Refrain

Faith of our fathers! We will love, both friend and foe in all our strife;

And preach Thee, too, as love knows how, by kindly word and virtuous life! Refrain

Prayers of Approach & The Lord’s Prayer

Special Music – Bev Dunn, if she remembers.

Recalling our Heritage,

Memorial & Dedication

We remember this year the passing of our dear friend and our neighbour Marion, who shared in song and spirit both faith and life with us in this place. We pray for her family, for her children and for her husband our brother Jack.

 

We come together today in the spirit of remembering all that has carried us in the faith. To recognize the ways that God has sent people into our lives to show us His everlasting love. Today we are glad to celebrate the gifts that God has given us, and the tools and resources that strengthen our shared faith. Today we remember God’s grace through God’s holy word.

You will have noticed the new steeple, and perhaps you were here for its raising.  We are glad to have them and we are thankful for the gifts that make them possible.

The bibles we have been using through the years are, in the Spirit with which they were given and dedicated, will now be used in the evangelical work of this congregation as we reach out with God’s word into our own community, and we offer those bibles to those who do have bibles of their own.

In prayer, let us not together dedicate these bibles to God’s work in this place, and from this place through the inspiration we are given in Christ.

I invite you to turn in your bulletins to the prayer of dedication, and let us now bow our heads and direct these bibles to the great works God will do in this place.

 

Liturgy of Dedication – Prayer

Scripture Reading:   Psalm 30

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.

¹ I will exalt you, O LORD,

for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

² O LORD my God, I called to you for help

and you healed me.

³ O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;

you spared me from going down into the pit.

⁴ Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;

praise his holy name.

⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,

“I will never be shaken.”

⁷ O LORD, when you favored me,

you made my mountain stand firm;

but when you hid your face,

I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, O LORD, I called;

to the Lord I cried for mercy:

⁹ “What gain is there in my destruction,

in my going down into the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;

O LORD, be my help.”

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

1 Kings 6:1-7

¹In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD.

²The temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.

³The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits, and projected ten cubits from the front of the temple.

⁴He made narrow clerestory windows in the temple.

⁵Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.

⁶The lowest floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits and the third floor seven. He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

⁷In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

 

Hymn of Illumination Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain: This is my story; this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long;

This is my story; this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending, bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Refrain

Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Saviour am happy and blest;

Watching and waiting; looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. Refrain

 

Gospel Reading:       Mark 12:41-13:10

^12:41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

⁴³Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

^13:1As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

²“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

³As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁸Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. ¹⁰And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ¹¹Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Sermon Untrustworthy Stones

I said last Sunday that I have a project that I get to in the back yard of the manse. In the little wooded area I have a shaded garden, with stone paths and a few small garden walls around the flower beds.

The hardest part in building such a garden is in the limitation to use the resources on hand. I only take what stones the old rock-pile back there provides. While I am surprised at all I have been able to do with that one pile, I cannot say that the pathways are as smooth, even or straight as say a path made with quarried and chipped-to-form stone. Sometimes I am forced to move and replace rocks and stones that have sat in a place for quite some time, and every spring I have had to rebuild something the harshness of winter has brought crumbling down.

I can’t trust those stones, and I don’t trust that they will stay on top of each other to make an long-lasting wall.

Some of us consider ourselves to be craftsmen, or craftswomen by all means, but I hope that all of us realize that the things we build will not last forever. The people who built this church building knew that just like the buildings that had gone before it, this building too can, by fire, weather, or the years, come crashing down.

But Jesus’ disciples wondered at the beauty and majesty of the temple and it buildings. They were awed by the great stones, of similar size to the great blocks used to build the pyramids, or surround the circle at Stone Henge, these massive blocks fitted to form foundation and structure at a wonder in their day and age.

How impervious these buildings must have seemed and how wondrous their construction must have been to this group of fishermen and tax collectors. One of them is particularly moved and celebrates the buildings before Jesus.

And here we need to pause, because in this moment we have the stumbling block for so many people’s faith. We come together for worship services, here and in other houses of worship, but how much of our behaviour looks like building worship and how much of what we do is God worship.

When this building was built it was built and dedicated to the glory of God and to God’s worship. And so when we come together to worship, especially during a special service like this, we need to be very careful that we do not make a mistake in our worship.

Because we cannot be caught putting our trust in stones, or in beams of wood or plaster, or pains of glass. Our ancestors warned of this when the reformation took place in Europe and the Western Church out of Rome was fractured into the denominations we have today. The statues in church buildings, the stained glass windows, even the stain on woods was broken, buffed and white-washed, so that nothing could distract from the worship of God, or the reading and hearing of God’s Holy Scriptures. Many look back at their actions and grieve at how extreme they were, but they were necessary.

Sometimes we need to be forced to let go of these stones we have come to call precious in order to realize that they are not precious, but God is precious. The Jews, the priest and the scribes had lost their way and their purpose, and the people of God no longer came to the temple to worship God, but as the disciple’s words show, people were worshiping the temple, and were giving gifts to the temple; but what was being given to God?

Jesus says to his disciple that the beautiful buildings are unimportant. “They will be thrown down, and not one of these will be left on top of another.” Within a generation that is exactly what took place. The temple was bulldozed and turned into the first century version of a parking lot.

The whole world of faith was about to be turned on its head, and over the next ten generations a faith that had never existed before would come to rule the known world and spread to over half the globe. Not only would the temple be torn down and never be rebuilt, but the from the nation known as ‘God’s people’ a deeper truth about life, it meaning and our purpose together would emerge.

Not even the pillars of faith that the Jews clung to would stand any longer because of Jesus the Christ. For the people of God had been given a new vessel in which to worship, far greater and more beautiful than any temple or church that has ever been built, for we are now the kingdom of God, and as God’s people we are built one life on another, together bound by God’s love and the strength of God’s spirit moving around us, to be God’s Holy Church.

These walls are too untrustworthy, and there is not a timber, a stone, or a stained glass window that can equal what you are in the kingdom of God. There is nothing about this building or the stones and markers that surround it that equal the strength that you bring into the fellowship of this church in the worship of God that goes on in this place.

Today we remember, and we rejoice as we remember. We remember those who have been foundations stones for us, in securing us in faith, we remember those who have formed us and placed us in God’s work not only in this community, but in all places where God’s will has taken us.

Look at the beauty of God’s church, and see the beauty not in walls, wood, stone, glass or plaster, but in each other. Rejoice, for in your joy and in the love you share you lay the surest foundation for the generations yet come. A foundation of faith, the foundation of God’s love.

Hymn of Response Thine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honour to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

Offering

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Commissioning Praise Rock of Ages

Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee; let the water and the blood, from thy riven side which flowed, be of sin the double cure; cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Not the labours of my hands can fulfill thy law’s demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears for ever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath, when my eyelids close in death, when I soar through tracts unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne; rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.

Blessing and Benediction

 

A Fellowship of the Christian Church

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

The Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost

August 28^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Memorial Services:

TODAY! August 28th at 2:30 pm – St. James’ Presbyterian Church, Beersville

 

Call to Worship You are my all in all

 

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

 

Opening Praise: songs 112 Blessed Assurance

 

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 25 [BoP 626]

 

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: BoP 437 Take time to be holy

 

Scripture Readings:

OT – Exodus 3:1-15

P___ P___

¹Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹²And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹³Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

¹⁴God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

NIV

Epistle – Romans 12:9-21

P___ P___

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

NIV

 

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 774 God forgave my sin [Freely, Freely]

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 16:21-28

P___ P___

²¹From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ²⁸I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

NIV

 

Sermon: The Denial of Christianity

Who are you?

Most people only ever have the chance to ask that question to someone they are just meeting, or – if the memory slips – they’re meeting a second time and will hopefully remember them.

Who are you?

It is the kind of question that it is really important to have an answer for. It is something we teach our children to be able to answer at a pretty early stage. It is something we rehearse before important events. It is something that gets thrown back at us so we had better have a good defense for who we are as well.

Who are you?

This is sadly a question we don’t often ask ourselves. We might think about who we were  and we might consider who we want to be, but rarely do we really think about who we are.

Who are you?

You can look in the mirror day after day, week after week, year after year, and still come up with the same answer that you or I would get from most people if we stopped them in the street and asked them ‘Who are you?’

What’s that answer? Really there are two common answers but they almost amount to the same. “I don’t know” is the first one, and it is the most common because it is easy and it is the most common because it is a quick and easy defense.

The second one like it is this: “God only knows.” And the only thing that makes this answer better than the first is that this at least allows for the possibility that God at least is in on the BIG secret of who we are, and will perhaps reveal it at the proper time.

And if you are or were tempted to give either answer, and you feel you do not know who you are, or if you can think of someone who fits the bill, then I want you to listen very closely to this next piece of advice. Follow Christ, because God does know who you are and God does know who you are supposed to be. And Following Jesus Christ is the way, is the truth is the life you are supposed to have from God you creator. Jesus is not simply the way and the truth in and onto himself, but on our behalf, and as an example to us. Be how do we respond to the this amazing provision from God. We respond like sullen teenagers. We act as though God does not know us, cannot see us, and does not understand us.

What are your presumptions? How do you feel things should be?

A lot of people are of the opinion that church-goers think that they are better people than the people who do not go to church. That is the way we are depicted in popular media, in the movies, on TV. Take a look and think about what the world around you says about going to church and being a Christian.

We get fixed on those stereotypes, even the ones about us. Do we really think we are better people because we go to church? Is that the way we portray ourselves to the world around us? Is that how the youth, and the young adults who chose not to be here are seeing us? Is that how we let them see us?

‘Cause they’d be wrong about us, would they. We can be absolutely terrible. We sin. So often we sin in pride, or in ignorance, or never doing anything to grow in our faith. Take a look at your scriptures and see which kinds of sin God gets the most upset over. God caused sores to fall on the children of Israel who engaged in wicked behaviour, and God wiped from existence those who became unfaithful.

We are here, not because we are sinless, but because we know we sin, and we rejoice that forgiveness is possible, and we seek only to grow in our faith, that we might know and celebrate the gift of grace that God has given to us more fully.

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome tells the church to get out of its showiness and become authentic. First verse in today’s reading says, “Let love be sincere.” ‘Let love be genuine! Let it be your truth.

Is your truth loving your neighbour? loving one another? loving your enemy? loving the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind your soul?

But we presume God’s part, don’t we? Just like the apostle Peter we declare God with one breath and deny God with the next. We fell God moving in our lives and suddenly everything we have ever thought will happen should fall into place. So many new Christians go through a quick cool down after they have made that declaration of faith.

I don’t know how many of you had to come up to the front of this church, or another church, and declare your faith, and what it meant to you at that time. I ask you to revisit that moment today. I will revisit that moment with you because I, like you, flaked and flailed in my faith after that profession of faith.

Here I am now, almost twenty years after joining the church and Have had to struggle each and every day with my faith, asking the hard question, “Who are you?” in the mirror each day.

And some days I do not liking what I see.

And some days I know that I am not what God would have me be.

And some days I see that I am not living my life in love,

And I struggle to pick up the word of God,

And I find it hard to love as God would have me love,

And forgive as God would have me forgive,

And there are days still when I wake up and I don’t act as though I need God’s forgiveness.

But I thank God for those days when I deny myself.

I thank God for those moments when I deny my ideas, and embrace the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.

Who are you?

Are you the one who answer Christ’s call? Are you one of those people who knows that Christ came and died for you to set you free from your sins? Because if that is who you are, then you have entered into Christian denial.

In Christ we set aside presumptions and we face our own reality. In Christ we don’t deserve, we celebrate the grace that is ours even though it is God’s gift. In Christ we set down our pride, our fears, our doubts, and it does mean we have to embrace wonder, and it does mean that we have to look at somethings, perhaps all things in our lives in a whole new way, and for some of us that is harder than it is for others.

Look how hard it was for Christ own disciples Peter, who walked beside Jesus on the water, and who was the first to call him Lord. Peter is called Satan, deceived and deceiver, for not being willing to take Christ Jesus at his word.

I ask you one last time today. Who are you? And I hope the answer you are discovering that is in yourself, has Christ at the forefront. If your answer that is echoing around in your heart sounds like our next prayer, you have a strong beginning in faith, if your answer says something else, then listen closely, to hear the still small voice of God calling you to become yourself and be more fulfilled in your life than you have ever been. Let us pray

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

O Lord our God,

What an awesome wonder it is to be here  in your presence today. And we thank you that we are gathered in with others who know you, and see to discover themselves through your love. Lord, we ask this day that you will help us to discover ourselves again. To learn more about You, but in that Lord, to discover our way to go, our truth, our life in Jesus Christ.

Lord we pray for our own souls, and we ask you to help us not to be held back from being ourselves because the presumptions the world teaches us to have.

Lord, we pray for people who call themselves Christians, who believe in their own way instead of believing in your own way. We pray for the people they have hurt with their false faith, or their lack of faith.

Lord we pray for our church, here in this community and throughout this region. Help us all discover who we are as congregations and as churches working together for the growth of faith.

>>>

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 277 Holy, Holy, Holy

Benediction

Dismissal: Holy Spirit on Us Fall [overhead]

 

These bulletins for August are dedicated in loving memory of Earle, Laura and Marion by their family

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

The Eleventh Sunday of Pentecost

August 21^st 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Memorial Services

 

Call to Worship songs 136 Jesus I come

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

 

Opening Praise: NBoP 497 Word of God across the ages

BoP 291

 

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 121 [BoP 661]

¹ I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

² My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

⁸ The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

KJV

 

Children’s story – Names, nicknames, etc . . . all the things we call each other, and what God calls us.

Children’s Hymn: (overhead?) Standing by a purpose true

BoP 459

Scripture Readings:

OT – Exodus 1:8-2:10

⁸Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. ⁹And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: ¹⁰Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. ¹¹Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. ¹²But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. ¹³And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: ¹⁴And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

¹⁵And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: ¹⁶And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. ¹⁷But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. ¹⁸And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? ¹⁹And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. ²⁰Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. ²¹And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. ²²And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

¹And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. ²And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. ³And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. ⁴And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

⁵And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. ⁶And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. ⁷Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? ⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. ⁹And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. ¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

KJV

 

P___

⁸Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. ⁹“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. ¹⁰Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

¹¹So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ¹³and worked them ruthlessly. ¹⁴They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.

¹⁵The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶“When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” ¹⁷The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. ¹⁸Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

²⁰So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²²Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born^£ you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

¹Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, ²and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. ⁶She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸“Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

NIV

 

Epistle – Romans 12:1-8

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ³For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ⁴For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: ⁵So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. ⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; ⁷Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; ⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

KJV

P___

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

NIV

 

Hymn of Illumination: songs 92 It is well

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 16:13-20

¹³When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? ¹⁴And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. ¹⁵He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? ¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. ¹⁸And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ²⁰Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

KJV

P___

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

NIV

 

Sermon: The rock, our foundation

I have been picking away at a little project since I moved here just under four years ago. Lately the progress on this project has slowed, but when I get a few moments, and it is daylight, I go back to the little patch of forest behind the house and the rock-pile it conceals. [Nothing elicit] I am building a shaded garden, taking the stones, and arranging them as pathways and walls and borders.

And a lot of people might look at a patch of woods and see just a patch of woods, and see a pile of stones and see only that they are the end result of a farmers hard work in clearing the land. But sometimes, when we look at the world we can be surprised by what we see in what we always are looking at. We see things in different ways, it is our nature.

Jesus evoked that nature in his disciples. He quizzed them all the time on how they were seeing things. He asked them to comment on what they were seeing him do, and on how people reacted to his teachings. Jesus not only told people how he saw things, but he offered them an opportunity to express their own understanding and he used it as a starting point for transforming their understanding into an understanding of the truth.

You see, what I believe to be true about the backyard of the manse, and the true potential of that piece of property we all share, is a truth I am still questioning. Trying to get it into my head that ‘Perhaps there is more to see than I am seeing’ is a hard lesson in discovering truth; it is a lesson that I am still learning. That is what my study leave next month will be about.

The questions Jesus asked his disciples, especially the question he asked them in today’s reading, are the questions we all need to come to terms with, to uncover not only our own understanding, but to know the understanding of the world around us.

So I ask you, what is it that the world says about Jesus? Who does the world say Jesus is? What do your neighbours say about Jesus? What do your children say about Jesus? What do they believe? Do you know? Children, do you know what your parents believe about Jesus? What are they willing to say about Jesus to you?

If you are answering ‘I don’t know’ to any of those questions then you can be assured that you have some inquiries to make with the world that surrounds you. Because once you know what the world around you says about Jesus you quickly discover whether you should be learning from the people around you, or if you are meant to share the truth that God has gifted to you.

That is what Jesus wanted His disciples to see. He was not simply looking for a local opinion survey. Jesus knew what the people were saying, time and again we read how Jesus knew what was in people’s spirit. He did not need to ask the question for his own education. Jesus needed to ask the question for the sake of his disciples, so they could discover the strength of their own faith, their grasp of the truth, and to let them open up their eyes to see him properly. And in this opportunity Simon called Peter declared, “You are the Christ!”

I want you to see the exchange that goes on here. Simon Peter – in the fulfillment of the gifts, strengths and faith in his being – declares the truth, “You are the Christ! The Son of the living God!”. Christ Jesus in reply to that declaration of faith says, “You are indeed Peter!”

Have you ever wanted someone to recognize you for not only who you want to be, but to look and see all you can do, and all you like to do, and all you are meant to do and recognize and celebrate you for who you really are. We have an incredible drive in our spiritual being to have our deepest unspoken desires recognized and celebrated in the open. It is why so many people are driven to psychics and fortune tellers, who use their tricks to make us think we have been well recognized.

Peter experienced in that moment what we all desire. Jesus looked at Simon called Peter and said, “There in that statement, in that fulfillment of his gifts and potential, in that faith that we have just witnessed. On that I will build my church.”

Would you like Christ Jesus to say that to you?

Some of you, many of you, have had this very statement spoken to you. But if you think you missed it, if you feel that you did not God’s voice echoing through the cacophony of speeches and blind worship that can happen here and elsewhere in our lives from time to time. You see God word resounds, so let me help you hear God speaking to you.

When you joined the church, you declared – as Peter declared – that you also believe Jesus is the Christ; the Son of the living God. That statement of faith is your own, and no one could have made it for you; though many people have encouraged you and taught you along the way. When you made that public declaration of your faith (some call it a profession of faith, but let’s stick with common terms for now), you said so the world around you could see and know who you say Jesus is; and in that moment Jesus called out your name, as Peter’s name was spoken so long ago.

It is upon the faith that was kindled so bright in Peter that Christ has built His Church. And upon your faith Christ is still building that Church. The true and Holy Church is built upon the faith of all who confess Christ Jesus as their Saviour.

Peter’s name is a play on words. Peter, or Petros in the Greek, Cepheus in the Aramaic, means rock or stone but what Jesus is naming is not Simon himself, but for what renames Simon faith as solid as a rock, as solid as Petros. And Faith is what truly defines us as being God’s people or not being God’s people. The question we ask anyone who wishes to be a member of the church, or who partakes of the Lord’s supper, or who comes forward, or brings a child forward for baptism is, “do you believe . . ?”

Declare it again! The world around you, even your own family might have a lot of other things to say about Jesus, about all that God has revealed to the Church and all God’s people down though the ages. But now, who do you say Jesus was, who Jesus is? Who do you say that Jesus is? Declare your faith!

And hear that recognition that is being given to you. Now, do you hear that calling, upon you and what you do with the faith you have been given, will Christ Jesus build the Church. Jesus is calling out to you no simply by name but by naming everything you are going to be about; all your ability, you strengths, even your weaknesses, all of who you are and declaring to you, in the light of your faith, upon this will I build my Church.

Your name might not be Peter, it might not even be Simon, but God has called you to be together, and in the faith you share he has named you the building blocks of His Holy Universal Church.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

 

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 410 Joyful, Joyful we adore Thee

BoP 569

 

Benediction [Rom 12:9-13]

 

Dismissal: Holy Spirit on Us Fall [overhead]

These bulletins for August are dedicated in loving memory of Earle, Laura and Marion by their family

A Fellowship of the Christian Church

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

The Tenth Sunday of Pentecost 

August 14^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

 

Call to Worship I love you Lord

 

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

 

Opening Praise: BoP 230 When morning guilds the skies

 

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 67 [BoP 641]

 

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: BoP 251 Come. Children join to sing

 

Scripture Readings:

OT – Genesis 45:1-15

¹Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ²And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

³Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. ⁷But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

¹²“You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. ¹³Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

¹⁴Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. ¹⁵And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

Epistle – Romans 11:28-36

²⁸As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, ²⁹for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. ³⁰Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. ³²For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

³⁴ “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

³⁵ “Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay him?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 675 Precious Lord, take my hand

 

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 15:21-31

²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²²A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”

²³Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

²⁵The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

²⁹Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

 

Sermon: Leaving Crumbs

My son David has entered into the stage of development that the dog has been wait for all of David’s life. You see every meal-time the dog takes position some where in the range of David’s high chair. She lies their patiently and she does not go unrewarded. Soon enough bits of cereal, a nice gob of buttered toast, or even the little bits of meat come lofting off the high chair tray. Then – with the wag of her tail, and a lick of her tongue – the delicious morsel is gobbled up.

I think she almost smiles when she get certain things; this, that is if dogs can smile.

Jesus used that same sort of image when speaking to the Canaanite woman in today’s reading. She had chased after Jesus when he passed through Sidon and Tyre [those are coastal cities north and west of Nazareth], and after pestering Jesus disciples enough, she is given the chance to meet Jesus.

This passage is almost out of step with the chapter in some ways, the early part of chapter fifteen of Matthew’s gospel includes Jesus warning his disciples about the poor faith of the Pharisees, and Jesus chastising the intentions of the Pharisees that were gathered against Jesus.

Now, at verse twenty, Jesus goes on to deny the petition of this Canaanite woman in distress.

This is really not how we like to imagine Jesus to be. In Christ’s own words, Jesus says to the woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman, in earshot of this, doesn’t budge. She does not budge, she does not relent, she does not back off. But any of us might react to the offence. Let’s not apologize here for the distinction Jesus makes here. Jesus says that he had come to be the revelation to the people, the nation that had held onto God promise and read God’s word, Jesus was sent to be the reward for long service and endurance on a people who had survived much in order to fulfill what they did fulfill.

They took possession of the land in God’s name, they built the temple and dedicated it for the worship of God and when that temple was destroyed they were rebuilding it within a couple of decorations. The Israelites, the Jews, sought always to be loyal and true to God. They believed in God, they sought to obey God.

Jesus only real criticism of the Pharisees had less to do with what they did – he openly said, “Do what the Pharisees and the scribes do.” – Jesus had a problem with the intentions of the Pharisees. There actions were doing exactly what God intended, those actions showed the strength in being obedient to God.

But in a quick reading of this passage it look like Jesus first ridicules the Pharisees and then turns around and rejects the Canaanite woman. This does not seem the way to make friends and influence people.

Jesus said, ““I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

And when the woman pleads for help Jesus says, and the seeming cruelty of this statement should toss the gentle Jesus image right out the window. He looks at the woman pleading for help and says to her, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

What is the difference between the Jews and the Canaanites. Well when Abraham had moved in, he moved into the area surrounded by Canaanites. When the Israelites returned from the bondage of Egypt they took the land from the Canaanites. When the Babylonians and Assyrians to the Jews into captivity the Canaanites stayed behind, and under the watchful eye of Babylon ruled the land once again. Then the Jews came back and the Canaanites again lost control of the land. In other words the Canaanites were the native.

The Canaanites had seem the people of God come and go, and come and go again. There was no love lost between the Jews and the Canaanites, and thought they were neighbours and both conquered under the Romans, there was no love lost between them.

Jesus, called the Canaanites dogs right to the Canaanite woman’s face. The people had along history together, but there was no togetherness in their history. The frustration for the Israelites and then the Jews, was that for generations, for years and years they showed, told and missioned about God to the Canaanites, the fought wars with them but they also had treaties with them and this whole time they did not come and follow God. They had been given a rare opportunity to know and worship God, but they sought God on their own terms, in their own way.

The Jews had one thing irrevocably right; they went to the place that God called them to worship. But like the church today there are lots of people on the fringes, who felt they could worship where they wanted to worship. Some even worshipped in their own homes, in private temples. And this kind of private separate worship should not be confused with the gatherings that took place in synagogues; synagogues were place for learning, and debate and discourse, but only in Jerusalem could the Jews properly worship God. That is why so many gather at the ‘wailing wall’ in Jerusalem. It is their last true place of worship.

The Canaanites were given the chance to be with the people of God and they always rejected it, but still they always wanted the privileges that comes with being one of the people of God. They fought to take what the Jews had, they signed treaties to be given what the Jews had, and for hundreds of years they were like a pack of wild dogs, raiding and yapping at the Jewish people.

Not all that different from the atheists of our society, and not all that different from many of little religions that trickle and tear through society. And at some point in your life you are going to meet these people, because like this woman once they catch the scent of salvation they are going to come running. They are going to come running, and they won’t come to me, they will come to you because it is from you they first tasted hope; and today I want you to sense the hard thing that any one of us must do in that moment. We need to confront them.

We need to confront them with all the forgiveness we can, but ib order for that to happen we need to confront hem and say to them, ‘You know – when it comes to God and faith, you have been like a dog.’

Most of the time we don’t like getting into ‘IT’ with too many people. Oh, we might have a heartfelt conversation with a long time friend who is struggling, and we might call up our minister or an elder to help us understand a passage of the bible, but to say to someone ‘you are a dog when it comes to faith’, Well that is a little colder than many of us can handle.

But Jesus handles it, Jesus can handle it because he knows the hunger in that woman, and he feels the starving faith inside her soul. He turns around t her and to her plea he confronts her sin, and she gives her sin over to Jesus says, “Yes I know I sin, I know my people sin, but I also believe.”

That is the point of transformation. You know all those people you have been carrying through the years spiritually. I know you know them because you have been praying for them everyday. These are the people that have been living on the scraps and crumbs for your table. They have been wanting what you have, they have been starving for the confidence that you carry, and now I am saying that you need to confront them with this and then you need to start really feeding them.

People have been living on crumbs, they have been following Christians around for decades – it is not just you – looking for some morsel of faith to be the miracle in their lives, and they just aren’t getting much of anything, certainly not enough to keep them going. The church has been struggling it seems to keep the bread on its own table let alone letting the overflow of crumbs reach the searching hungry souls of the world. We have even barricaded our faith so much, and put up so many protections, and defenses, and excuses that the world cannot even get a sniff of the crumbs of faith that overflow from us.

You do not have to look to far into your own lives to see the hungry people around you starving for faith, for a purpose in life and purpose for their family. They are hungry for what you have and they need something more than the smell of faith, or the taste of a crumb. They need to be welcomed to the feast of faith. We need to let that desire to believe be answered.

What morsels of faith have you been letting trickle to the edge of your table. Have you been forgetting Today devotional books at friend’s houses? Have you children heard you talking out loud, or have they caught you praying?

Jesus turned to her in her need and confronted the shortcomings of her life. Then he reached into her life and offered her forgiveness, and the fullness of God’s grace. Let us, like Christ, welcome the world to God’s table. For in God’s love there are no dogs anymore and we all eat at the same table, the wonderful meal of Gods love and forgiveness.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 425 How firm a foundation

Benediction

Dismissal: Holy Spirit on Us Fall [see back of bulletin]

 

These bulletins for August are dedicated in loving memory of Earle, Laura and Marion by their family

We are glad to be a welcoming fellowship, and we hope you all find a wonderful fullness of God’s 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.

 

Memorial Services:

August 28th at 2:30 pm – St. James’ Presbyterian Church, Beersville

Next Week’s Services:

9:30am – Zion Presbyterian Church (West Branch)

11:00am – St. James’ Presbyterian Church (Beersville)

Mission Moment MALAWI: Todd Statham

Through our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing, The Presbyterian Church in Canada has sent Dr. Todd Statham, his wife Annika and their two children, Sophia and Mio, to serve the Blantye Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in Zomba, Malawi. Todd is lecturing in church history and theology at Zomba Theological College the CCAP’s seminary. Annika is caring for the children and hopes, in the future, to use her training in pedagogy and her experiences working with physically and mentally disabled children and adults. This spiritual and physical journey began in Todd and Annika’s home congregations where missions were avidly promoted and supported: Todd in St. Andrews Presbyterian church in Duncan, B.C, and Annika in the Lutheran Church of Germany. Let us pray for the Statham family as they acclimatize to their new life in Malawi.

 

A Christian Church, A Family of Faith

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, Bass River

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

www.pccweb.ca/brpc

August 7^th 2011

 

Welcome & Call to Worship

Opening Praise  Open my eyes, that I may see

Open my eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Refrain Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready, my God, thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

 

Open my ears that I may hear

Voices of truth thou sendest clear,

And while the wave-notes fall on my ear,

Everything false will disappear. Refrain

 

Open my mouth and let me bear

Gladly the warm truth everywhere;

Open my heart and let me prepare

Love with thy children thus to share. Refrain

Prayers of Approach & The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn – Jesus Loves me

Recalling our Heritage

– Memories shared by

Memorial & Dedication

We come together today in the spirit of remembering all that has carried us in the faith. To recognize the ways that God has sent people into our lives to show us His everlasting love. Today we are glad to celebrate the gifts that God has given us, and the tools and resources that strengthen our shared faith. Today we remember God’s grace through God’s holy word.

In your pews you will see bibles, our new bibles are giant print, they are a good and clear translation of scripture from the original languages of Greek and Hebrew, they include tools for learning. We are glad to have them and we are thankful for the gifts that make them possible.

The bibles we have been using through the years are, in the Spirit with which they were given and dedicated, will now be used in the evangelical work of this congregation as we reach out with God’s word into our own community, and we offer those bibles to those who do have bibles of their own.

In prayer, let us not together dedicate these bibles to God’s work in this place, and from this place through the inspiration we are given in Christ.

I invite you to turn in your bulletins to the prayer of dedication, and let us now bow our heads and direct these bibles to the great works God will do in this place.

 

Liturgy of Dedication – Prayer

 

Scripture Reading:   Psalm 119:49-64

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,

for you have given me hope.

⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this:

Your promise preserves my life.

⁵¹ The arrogant mock me without restraint,

but I do not turn from your law.

⁵² I remember your ancient laws, O LORD,

and I find comfort in them.

⁵³ Indignation grips me because of the wicked,

who have forsaken your law.

⁵⁴ Your decrees are the theme of my song

wherever I lodge.

⁵⁵ In the night I remember your name, O LORD,

and I will keep your law.

⁵⁶ This has been my practice:

I obey your precepts.

⁵⁷ You are my portion, O LORD;

I have promised to obey your words.

⁵⁸ I have sought your face with all my heart;

be gracious to me according to your promise.

⁵⁹ I have considered my ways

and have turned my steps to your statutes.

⁶⁰ I will hasten and not delay

to obey your commands.

⁶¹ Though the wicked bind me with ropes,

I will not forget your law.

⁶² At midnight I rise to give you thanks

for your righteous laws.

⁶³ I am a friend to all who fear you,

to all who follow your precepts.

⁶⁴ The earth is filled with your love, O LORD;

teach me your decrees.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

¹⁰You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹²In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

Hymn of Illumination Lead On, O King Eternal Er­nest W. Shurt­leff

Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come;

Henceforth in fields of conquest / Thy tents shall be our home.

Through days of preparation, Thy grace has made us strong;

And now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song.

 

Lead on, O King eternal, till sin’s fierce war shall cease,

And holiness shall whisper / the sweet amen of peace.

For not with swords loud clashing, nor roll of stirring drums;

With deeds of love and mercy / the heavenly kingdom comes.

 

Lead on, O King eternal, we follow, not with fears,

For gladness breaks like morning / where’er thy face appears.

Thy cross is lifted o’er us; We journey in its light;

The crown awaits the conquest; Lead on, O God of might.

Gospel Reading:       John 2:12-22

¹²After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

¹³When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²²After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

 

Sermon       Remembering What Was Said

So, for those that were here, who can tell me what last week’s sermon was about? Quick check then, for those of you who were in other churches last Sunday, can you remember what last Sunday’s sermon was about.

A student minister from a school in the states did a casual study of church members in his home town. He discover that is about one in fifty to sixty people can come up with the sermon title or theme after a week, if asked on the spot like that. Yet, when he shared that result with colleagues, few ministers actually seemed upset by the revelation.

Here is another way of looking at it. Does anyone recall the sermon that Jeff Howard gave before the old church building burnt down? The sermon from the first Christmas that Stephen Mawhinney served here? How about some of the lessons of Rev. Joupe Encorn? No? Perhaps the stories that Wallace White used to share with the children? Do think they expected you to remember what they said?

If ministers do not expect you to remember the sermon from one week to the next why are we up here preaching?

Jesus offered a lot of teachings. Whole chapters of the books of the gospels are devoted to his sermons. The ‘sermon on the mount’ is recalled in special detail in the gospels and also Jesus speeches that he gave in the temple in Jerusalem, but we do not have a complete edition of everything that Jesus said and did. For all the things that are recorded by the four gospels we still do not have every speck of information of all the things Jesus said and did.

When Jesus walked the roads from Galilee to Jerusalem and preached through the countryside and in the cities he spoke and share those every day things that you and I might share in a walk together. And some things that Jesus said at one time were not recognized as important until much later, until after he had died and had risen and had ascended into heaven.

I post the sermons, week to week, now on our church web page. Is used to email them out as well. I do that not only so you can read them this week, but they are archived there so that a month from now, a year from now, you can look back to what I said. Maybe something I am saying now will have more meaning for you later, maybe you will need to help someone else with their journey of faith down the road.

We are gathered here today to remember. We are here to think back to the lessons of faith that have been shared not only in this congregation of St. Mark’s, but each and every day of our lives as a community working from this place.

I do not expect you to memorize what I have to say here today. In fact I am surprised sometimes if I remember everything I’ve preached on. I am up to about two hundred sermons now, since I moved here. I have not memorized what I said, and by no means do I expect you to go back and read through the archive on the church website trying to cram in every word I have ever preached. If I was that kind of preacher I would be here expecting you to worship me. But We are here to worship God.

Preachers get into pulpits to speak and make the changes in people lives that come gradually, all the way through a journey of faith. Yet, we share words of wisdom with each other each and every day to guide each other in the best way that we can see. We meet together week by week with Christians in many places to help and uplift each other and encourage each other.

I don’t expect you to remember my words, but I hope you remember again the words of Christ that are spoken especially to you. In the name of Jesus, you are called onto great and wonderful things, as you remember something greater than words spoken; as you remember God’s love for you.

Hymn of Response Love Lifted Me Howard E. Smith

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,
But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Refrain: Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help, Love lifted me!(repeat)

 

All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him I’ll cling,
In His blessed presence live, ever His praises sing,
Love so mighty and so true, merits my soul’s best songs,
Faithful, loving service, too, to Him belongs. Refrain

 

Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves,
He will lift you by His love, out of the angry waves.
He’s the Master of the sea, billows His will obey,
He your Saviour wants to be, be saved today. Refrain

 

Offering

 

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Commissioning Praise To God be the Glory Fanny Crosby

 

To God be the glory! Great things he hath done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!

Let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son; 

And give him the glory, great things he hath done!

 

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!

To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Refrain

 

Great things he hath taught us! Great things he hath done!

And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son:

But purer and higher and greater will be,

Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see! Refrain

Blessing and Benediction

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

Ninth Sunday of Pentecost

August 7^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Mission Moment: Saskatoon Native Circle Ministry: Warmth, food and safety

TODAY August 7^th at 2:30pm – St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, Bass River

August 28th at 2:30 pm – St. James’ Presbyterian Church, Beersville

 

Call to Worship As the deer pants for the water [NBoP 27]

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

Opening Praise: songs 76 Leaning on the everlasting arms

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 85 [BoP 645]

¹ LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

² Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin.

Selah

³ Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

⁴ Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

⁵ Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

⁶ Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

⁷ Show us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

⁸ I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

⁹ Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

¹¹ Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

¹² Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

¹³ Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

KJV

Children’s story – Wet feet

– Charles gets that sinking feeling after reading about Jesus walking on the water. Did God ask you to walk on water, or is God calling you to do some other important impossible thing?

 

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 347 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

BoP 249

 

Scripture Readings:

OT – Genesis 37:1-11

¹And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ²These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. ⁴And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

⁵And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. ⁶And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. ⁸And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. ⁹And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. ¹⁰And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? ¹¹And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

KJV

¹Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

²This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. ⁴When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. ⁶He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

⁸His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

NIV

Epistle – Romans 10:5-15

⁵For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. ⁶But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above🙂 ⁷Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) ⁸But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; ⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

¹²For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. ¹³For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ¹⁴How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

KJV

⁵Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” ⁶But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 330 O God our help in ages past

BoP 87

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 14:22-33

²²And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. ²³And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. ²⁴But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. ²⁵And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. ²⁶And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. ²⁷But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. ²⁸And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. ²⁹And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. ³¹And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? ³²And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. ³³Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

KJV

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

NIV

Sermon: The feet for faith [audio version available]

I am always amazed in the bible at the miles that people put on in the bible’s stories. With Adam and Eve we don’t know how long the journey was from the garden to the land of toil, and Noah got around by boat, but when we get to Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and then all the sons of Jacob [the sons of Israel], we encounter these trekkers. They were all over the place. Makes me feel a little better about the forty thousand kilometers I putting on the car each year though.

In our Old Testament reading today we discover that Joseph made the hard journey as a slave taken into captivity in Egypt, but I am even more astonished by his brothers who made the journey Canaan to Egypt and back repeatedly. These were not only long journey, but made even more difficult by the wilderness deserts, and dangers like bandits poisonous creatures, quick sands and other hazards along those long roads.

The apostle Paul certainly had a real understanding of the great journey that God can call any one of us out into the world to serve. On foot, on mule, on horse, aboard ship, Paul made regular journeys back and forth around the northern Mediterranean Sea, and to this day no one is completely sure of just how many miles Paul offered God in his service.

Sandal makers must have really smiled when they saw people like the brothers of Joseph, or Paul coming through the marketplace. And following their example, many people have, over the centuries, followed in their steps in pilgrimage, to really understand people like the sons of Israel, the prophets, Paul and the other apostles. And while the Roman Catholic tradition still maintains some of its pilgrimage trails, most Christian denominations have set aside the arduous journeying as a part of our practice of faith.

Yet, for all the miles that the prophets, apostles and priest of old have traveled there is one journey that – to this day – has not been known to be repeated. In the gospels of Matthew and Mark particularly, Jesus goes from one place to another immediately, or straightaway as the King James Version reads. In the few verses we read from Matthew Jesus and the disciples move around Immediately three times.

We might be used to the idea of people getting around quickly given developed highways systems around much of the world, air transport, and simply the many forms of locomotion, but in the ancient society to get from one place to another so quickly must have seemed very impressive. Far beyond what we could imagine, especially for those who had traveled the pilgrim roads, these immediate journeys must have themselves appeared miraculous.

Yet in our reading today we are shown at least one of Jesus’ short cuts. It was not an uncommon thing, though it was certainly and advantage for Jesus and the apostles having friends around the sea of Galilee, where having friends who are fisherman to be able to charter a fishing boat for a shortcut across the Sea of Galilee. It is about twenty kilometers north to south and a bit over ten kilometers east to west, and so to be able to cut across that distance in a boat, rather than going around, made coming and going from Capernaum [in the north] much easier.

But Jesus did not need the boat. He was able to make that short cut without boat and sail. Jesus could walk on water.

This is just one of those things about Jesus that is hard to explain, especially to non-believers and even those coming new to Christian faith. Jesus walks on water. By all descriptions in the gospels he walks on water like you or I might walk through a field. Unlike the nation of Israel, that walked between the parted waters of first the Red Sea and then the river Jordan, Jesus strolls from the shore on top of the waves. And comes out to the boat his disciples were in. And he does this not in calm waters, but in the midst of strong wind and waves.

We can and should be astonished at this. Wonder is a part of faith. More than trying to read through this passage again and again to find clues on the method to the miracle, we are confront by the confounding nature of Jesus. It is not in the human nature to stand on top of water. If it was the process of taking a bath would be a frustrating experience. Jesus does what is not expected and gets out of the boat and walks across the waves, from the shore to where his disciples were out battling the wind and the waves.

Jesus walked on the water. You’ve all lived along the waters of our rivers, streams, near the ocean. Is anyone experienced in walking on the water? You have had no shortage of opportunities?

I can tell you that this is one pilgrimage trail that has lies beyond the Christian faithful. The road that Jesus took across the Sea of Galilee are steps that still lie beyond the believers of today, but to accept that Jesus walked across the waters has been a journey of faith that many have struggled with.

A month ago my son David was baptized in the Richiboucto river, and for those who were there you might have noticed that when Marly and I and my father walked out into the river we did not get up on top of it. Now my father and I are both quite experienced at walking waters, having walked up and down rivers and along lakes in Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, New Brunswick, and Ontario. And I know of more than a few fly-fisherman who would certainly love to have that skill of being able to walk on water. Alas, we are forced instead to either wear waders or be resolved to get wet.

But why did Jesus walk on the water. Was he trying to prove that he was greater than his disciples? He had just fed the five thousand from two fish and five loaves. What did he need to prove after that?

But the answer lies in what Jesus did before he reached the boat. If Jesus wanted to prove to the disciples that He alone was great, he would have walked across the water and just climbed into the boat, but instead he walks across those waters and then calls out to his disciples and invites Simon Peter to join him on the waves.

Peter asks to be called out onto the water by Jesus, and this is SO substantial.  Peter does not just jump out of the boat and run to Jesus he first test the situation. “Lord” says Peter, “If it is truly you than have me come out onto the waters with you.”

We need to heed this example that Peter sets. When we see something in the church, when we encounter someone on our journey of faith, when we sense a calling we need to speak to God in prayer and say, ”Lord, if it is you give me the ability to come out to you.”

We don’t offer that prayer enough, and it is usually because we are too busy looking at the impossible task and saying, “It is impossible.”

Fill all the church pews with people – that’s impossible. Is it?

Grow the Sunday Schools and Bible School  – That’s impossible. Is it? Is it really or are you just looking at the waves and the wind?

Have some faith. Trust in God, Trust in Jesus and feel the Spirit moving you across whatever the impossible rough waters are in front of.

Peter asked the Lord to call him out onto the waters, and Peter stood upon the waves. Peter’s faith faltered, but Jesus did not let him sink and drown.

You might not have the faith in yourself to put yourself out of your safety zone and step out onto the waves, but Jesus has opened his arms so that you do not have to have faith in your own feet, but you need only faith in him. And in Christ God will call you to far greater things than a stroll down the river. You may find yourself doing any number of impossible things, as Christ calls you, and God strengthens you. May God be praised. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

 

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 662 Those who wait on the Lord

 

Benediction

 

Dismissal: Holy Spirit on Us Fall [see back of bulletin]