A Christian Church, A Family of Faith

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church; Clairville

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

www.pccweb.ca/brpc

July 31^st 2011

Call to Worship

Opening Praise

Come let us sing of a wonderful love by Robert Walmsley

Come, let us sing of a wonderful love; Tender and true, tender and true,
Out of the heart of the Father above, Streaming to me and to you:
Wonderful love, wonderful love, Dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Jesus the Saviour this Gospel to tell; Joyfully came, joyfully came,
Came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell, Sharing their sorrow and shame:
Seeking the lost, seeking the lost, Saving, redeeming at measureless cost.

Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet; Why do they roam? Why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget; Home, weary wanderers, home!
Wonderful love, wonderful love, Dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love! Come & abide, come & abide,
Lifting my life till it rises above, Envy and falsehood and pride:
Seeking to be, seeking to be, Lowly and humble, a learner of thee.

 

Prayers of Approach & The Lord’s Prayer

Special Music – I live for him ’cause he died for me

Can the world see Jesus in you? sung by John Warman

Recalling our Heritage and Memorial

–         We remember this year the passing of our dear friend and our neighbour Alma Hudson, who shared her faith with so many in our community. She became a sister to those who needed a sister, a mother to those who sought for the trust only a mother can offer. She was our dear friend.

–         We remember the life of Miriam Little, who above all things taught the stature that comes from doing something well and right. Ever ready to lend a hand, or to see the hard tasks through to the end, she also has found her peace, and our thanks to God is for the witness she has given us.

–

Scripture Reading:   Psalm 25:1-10

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

² in you I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

³ No one whose hope is in you

will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

who are treacherous without excuse.

⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,

for they are from of old.

⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth

and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

for you are good, O LORD.

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

⁹ He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful

for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

2 Timothy 2:7-15

⁷Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,

we will also live with him;

¹² if we endure,

we will also reign with him.

If we disown him,

he will also disown us;

¹³ if we are faithless,

he will remain faithful,

for he cannot disown himself.

¹⁴Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Hymn of Illumination Near the Cross by Fannie J. Crosby

Jesus, keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain

Free to all, a healing stream, flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.

CHORUS: In the cross, in the cross; Be my glory ever;

Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me;

There the Bright and Morning Star

Sheds its beams around me. CHORUS

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day,

With its shadows o’er me. CHORUS

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,

Hoping, trusting ever,

Till I reach the golden strand,

Just beyond the river. CHORUS

 

Gospel Reading:       Luke 23:39-46

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^£”

⁴³Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 

Sermon          Remembering What Is Forgotten

Theodore’s mother sent her son out to walk to the general store. Now this was in the days before telephones, and so Theodore was expected to remember the order his mother wanted to make at the general store. It was one of those orders of a lot of little things.

It was a few miles to the store, and Theodore had enough time to walk their, do his mother’s shopping and then come home.

Theodore’s mother knew Theodore was not a good reader, and she herself was not much for legible writing, and besides that one of the things Theodore needed to pick up was an ink bottle, because the last one was all dried up.

Theodore was told to put the items on his folks account. He could even get a soda of his choice and a penny bag of candy for doing the job.

But there was something Theodore had to remember. He had to remember it and not forget it in spite of all the other things he was expected to get, Theodore had to remember this one thing. So his mother tied a piece of string to remind him of the one thing he needed to pick up.

Well, Theodore walked the miles to the store. He walked those miles, but do you think he was reminding himself of everything that his mother wanted him to get. No, Theodore was thinking what candies he wanted in his penny-bag and what kind of soda pop he would get. But he did not worry because he had that string tied on his finger.

Well, Theodore walked the miles and got to the store. He told the store clerk that his Momma wanted this thing and that thing, and when he was done his ordering he said that his Momma said he could have a soda and a penny-bag of candy. The store clerk smiled and obliged.

The clerk looked at Theodore finger and he said, “ Now young Theo, you have a string around your finger, is there something you were supposed to remember?”

And Theodore thought for a moment, and he just could think back. He tried to come up with it, but just never came to mind. And Theodore felt so bad. He told the clerk to put the bottle of soda away, and Theodore did not pick out his bag of candy. He took the satchel with the things he had remembered and knew he forgotten the most important thing, and he trudged home.

It took a longer time than it should have.

Theodore stopped and sniffed, he dragged his feet and he worried what his mother would say. And eventually he got home.

He walked inside, and he put the satchel on the table, and his mother remarked on all the things he remembered to get. As she got to the bottom of the satchel she said, “Theodore, is there something you forgot to get?!”

“Yes Momma!”, he exclaimed and he went on and on about how he tried to remember, and how he had looked at the string, and how it just did not help, and how he had not got his soda or his candy because he forgot that one and most important thing.

“Well, just look at your finger my child!” “You were supposed to remember to get a large ball of string.” And Theodore looked at his finger, and his mother laughed, and he laughed, and they laughed together on and off again well into the night.

And not a couple of days later they went to town and Theodore marched up to the counter and told the clerk the one thing he had forgotten before and Theodore also asked for e bottle of soda and a penny bag of candy, both which he shared with his mother.

–        Have you ever tried the trick of tying a string to your finger to remind you of something important? Maybe you are passed that and have tried something modern, Maybe you are like me and you pocket rings at you from time to time reminding you do things, of course it only works if you first remember to put the reminder on the calendar in your phone.

Or perhaps you have reached that blissful point in life where you have accepted that there are things you are going to forget and you just might as well get on with life and not worry about the things you might forget and just deal with the things that were important enough to remember.

It was a memory that drew you here today. Of some one, or some time. It was that person or this place that was important enough for you to remember, and to honour this day and this place and recognize it a part of who you are. We can easily forget – or take for granted – those people and places that influence and guide our lives. But when we remember people and places we take a close accounting of the influence people have had on our lives, and we begin to see how the places we come from and the communities that surround us shape and also mark us. And when we do that, we begin to really see God at work.

I often wonder at the pace I let myself get caught up into. I can get so wound up that the smiles on my son’s face, and taking the time to just be held for a moment by my wife can seem to be a strain of my resources. And in the midst of all my business I call out in my prayers, “Lord, remember me.”, “Jesus remember me in your kingdom.”

Isn’t that what you do when you pray? No matter what the prayer, what is first and foremost in your prayers is that simple request: “Jesus, remember me. . .” And it’s the question that lingers in the unspoken prayers of many people who wanted to be here today, who heard about this service, who read about it, but could not face the shame they felt. They wondered in their hearts if their even remembered by God, if they’d even be known to you.

But I know Jesus does remember them. I know that Jesus died for the sake of both of the crooks on the other crosses, and even in that place Jesus was thankful to be remembered by one of them. Who is it that you have remembered today that would have been here but for some lingering doubt in their troubled spirit? I know why you’ve just thought of someone, if you have. You’ve remembered them because you have discovered who you still have to tell about Jesus.

There are a lot of things that you hear from pulpits; this one and others elsewhere. Today I want for you to go out remembering the most important message that can be taught to you. You now know who you have to share that message with. Share the message of Jesus, that he died for you – to take away your sins and your fear of death and all that lies beyond it – he died for the person who is struggling to remember Jesus in their own lives, but who longs to call out again, “Jesus, remember me.”

The word of God is not bound to this, nor is the message of salvation chained and held back in our memories. You have been given this testimony to go on from this place, and to be compelled through your sharing of Christ’s love and the message that we celebrate as our Good News.

If you need to tie a string to your finger to do it, if you need to put it into your day-planner, or program it into your phone that do not forget to do it. If you have come many times and have only now remembered that most important lesson that you were given, or have just learned it at last for the first time, I hope you will share the celebration with all of us. That is the best reason, the real reason we are here together today.

We come together once a year for a special service like this to remember what God has done and is doing from this place and in our midst, to remember and celebrate. But today I encourage you to follow Christ’s example in remembering, as your are drawn to God’s kingdom, to offer the Good News, the truths about love and life and all that God has given you, and pass those truths along with those who you remember as near and dear to you.

Remember to share the joy in knowing that God remembered you, and that you at last you remember God and know that all his promises are true.

Let us respond to God’s word in song . . .

Hymn of Response He leadeth me by Joseph H. Gilmore

He leadeth me! O blessed thought! O words with heavenly comfort fraught! Whate’er I do, where’er I be, still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

CHORUS: He leadeth me, he leadeth me, by his own hand he leadeth me: His faithful follower I would be, for by his hand he leadeth me.

 

Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom. Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,

By waters still, o’er troubled sea, – still, ‘tis his hand that leadeth me! CHORUS

 

Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine, nor ever murmur nor repine,

Content, whatever lot I see, since ‘tis my God that leadeth me! CHORUS

 

And when my task on earth is done, when, by thy grace, the victory’s won,

E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me. CHORUS

Offering

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Commissioning Praise

Simply Trusting Every Day/Trusting Jesus by Edgar Page Stites

Simply trusting every day; Trusting through a stormy way,

Even when my faith is small; Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Chorus: Trusting as the moments fly, trusting as the days go by,

Trusting him whate’er befall, trusting Jesus, that is all.

 

Brightly doth his Spirit shine – into this poor heart of mine;

While he leads I cannot fall; trusting Jesus, that is all. Chorus

 

Singing, if my way be clear; Praying, if the path be drear;

If in danger, for him call; Trusting Jesus, that is all. Chorus

Trusting him while life shall last; Trusting him till earth is past,
Till his gracious advent call; Trusting Jesus, that is all. Chorus

Blessing and Benediction

 

The Daisy

I picked a daisy flower, ‘midst the wheat and timothy

I wondered at the question that they always posed to me

“Love me? Love me not?” Till all the petals plucked,

And I’d get my final answer, or just a silly turn of luck

But then, looking at the flower, I began to see,

A little piece of heaven smiling back at me.

For God had written on this flower a story greater still,

Than all my silly inquisition had ever let them tell.

Around a sun-like center; bright, vivid, shining,

I saw the light white petals standing in a ring.

I thought of the vision, of heaven in the end,

When we will all be gathered, and in bright raiment stand

Around the throne of Jesus; the sun-like sacred lamb.

So God had given me my answer and in my soul it lives

For ‘He loves me’ is the answer that every daisy gives.

 

Memorials

In Memory of Tom Robinson & Mae “Robinson” MacLean, Tommie & Irving from Irene Taylor & Arthur Robinson- nephew

In Memory of Brenda Peters “Roach” & Gary Peters from Jean Peters.

 

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 forth Sunday of Pentecost 

July 31st 2011

 

Welcome & Announcements

Call to Worship Be Glorified

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

Opening Praise: BoP 504 Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 86 [BoP 646]

Children’s story – What do I know?! [how to respond to those people are always saying, “I know!”]

Children’s Hymn: BoP 468 The wise may bring their learning

Scripture Readings:

OT – Genesis 32:22-31

²²That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

²⁹Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Epistle – Romans 9:1-5

¹I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—²I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, ⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 474 Take my life, and let it be

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 14:13-21

¹³When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Sermon: Getting God in a Chokehold

Sometimes we act as though we have Him right where we want Him.

You’ve said your prayers; every day. And devotions, you’ve done them too, day and night. You’ve been to the bibles studies. You’ve baked for the bake sale. You’ve even served on a committee, and did the dishes at the last church breakfast. Yep, you have even read in church. And now, God owes you!!

Have you ever met the type? Now I doubt any one would admit – out loud – to having that sort of attitude about God owing them, but many people live their live and do the works that we might call good works, but they have the wrong faith and those good works never become godly works.

Here is another example, they were born to the worst conditions imaginable. Parents were abusive in all the worst possible ways. They grew up knowing nothing but hate. Schools just pushed them through the system, they suffered addictions, they did time in jail, they hurt the people around them, and then all of a sudden they come to church, they hear that they are forgiven, and that they can begin a new life in Christ, and so they start to go to church, and they think that everything will go okay from this point on because God’s already put them through the worse that life can offer. Nothing else could go wrong. God kinda owes them, doesn’t He?

You might have met this type too. And what is quickly discovered by either of these people I have described is that God does not pay up to what we think that God owes us. If things have not gone your way, or even if your life has gone exactly as you have planned at some point your pride and your own will is going to draw to the point in your life when your journey of faith is going to make you wrestle with God; because if you think God owes you, you are already acting as though you have God in a chokehold.

Jacob, the Jacob in the bible in the book of Genesis was the son of Issac. Jacob was born into the world with all kinds of expectation put on him. He was told the stories about his grandfather Abraham, how he came our from the land of Ur with a special promise from God. Jacob grew up knowing that he was apart of that promise, and Jacob seemed to develop an opinion that he was entitled to certain rewards by being a grandson to such a promise. Jacob liked to get what he felt was his due, and he did not like it when someone stood in his way.

He wanted his father’s blessing so he taunted his brother and tricked his father until he got it. He wanted Rachel for his wife, and tried to work his way around proper customs in order to have her. He wanted the best flocks for himself, so he manipulated the circumstances again until he got what he wanted. Jacob wrestled his way through life, striving for the best of whatever he could get.

Sounds like a determined man. It sounds like the kind of person you’d want running a company, or even ruling a country. Sounds like a son that Isaac should have been proud of, but the bible tells us that Isaac favoured Esau; hmmm . . .

And when it came time to turn back to his roots, to go back and make amends with his brother, and be resolved to his father-in-law, and to have all those things in place in his life, that any of us would like to have in place, you think that God would open the way for him.

Esau was coming to the river with four hundred men, warriors and huntsman like himself. Jacob did not know Esau’s intentions, but he sought to bargain with Esau, and in the same manner sought to convince God that God owed him something. Jacob was trying to resolve things with his brother on his own terms, not his brothers, just as he had tried to resolve things with his father-in-law on his own terms, as if he [Jacob] was owed.

Have you been coming to God on your own terms? Look at what we have been teaching our children for generations. If you work hard enough things will work out for you, well the truth is that that sort of thinking and that sort of teaching is a lie. If you work hard enough you are not owed anything, if you make enough money you do not find happiness. If you fill your house with piles of wonderful things and assorted stuff, you do not have great possessions. Just the same as if you build a beautiful church, sing the favourite hymns, have the most interesting sermons it does not mean that you are rewarded with the results you want.

Jacob had a last lesson to learn before he was reconciled with his brother. Jacob had to learn that the healing that needed to take place between him and his brother was going to take something of far greater value than a heard of goats, or his entire stock of cattle, or his lifetime of accomplishments, or even in returning a birthright and blessing to his brother.

So Jacob waded across the river, and there he encountered God. And God was standing against Jacob. God was standing in Jacob’s way. God waited for Jacob on the riverside, and there they wrestled.

Jacob had acted as though he had God in a chokehold for so much of his life. He believed he was entitled to everything he got. But that whole time he was putting his own will up against God’s will.

And so I am asking you today, where is your will? Are you living you life like you’ve got God in a chokehold? Is there some nagging self-understanding that God owes you something? For being so faithful? For going through SO much?

You cannot build a church big enough, fill a collection plate high enough, serve in enough missions, read enough bible readings, do enough committee work, or wash enough dishes to make God owe you. This is the creator of all things, the author of all things, the source of all things, and the power by which all things move and have their being. What can God owe you?

We are owed nothing . . . but look at what have been given.

That was what Jacob had to at last see. Jacob had to lose in order to finally see all that God was giving him. Jacob wrestled with God and discovered that though he thought he had God in a chokehold God had only to touch Jacob’s hip and the match was over.

Are you prepared, to feel that touch of God who loves you enough to put your whole life out of joint in order to save you?

We ask for God to touch our lives, to touch our lives so we can see and know just how much we have and how much God loves us. Look at Jacob and what happened to him when God touched his life. He walked with a limp. Getting touched by God is not the pleasant things we like to try and imagine it to be.

But in the end we discover just how much God loves us. The man once named Jacob became the nation known as Israel, God’s people, but also those who wrestle with God.

Yes, we still wrestle with God, not because we hate God, or because we are trying to trick or manipulate God, but because even now God is not willing to let you go. God’s not going to let you go until you admit that God wins. God sent his own Son, Jesus our Saviour, to show us that God can defeat even death.

All this has been done so that you do not have to win your way through life, but you can let God win for you as you follow in his way, and are fulfilled in what God has prepared for you, this day and forever in God’s kingdom, the everlasting Church.

So, what does God owe you? So, what is God giving you that your pride has kept you from accepting? So, are you still wrestling or are you ready to give your will over to God, whose own Son has given all to win for your sake?

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 509 Lead on O King Eternal

Benediction

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

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.

Announcements:

Memorial Services:

July 31^st at 2:30pm – St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Clairville
August 7^th at 2:30pm – St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, Bass River

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: India Mission Trip: “Send someone else!”

When Crawford Sharp first heard about a short-term opportunity to go to India with his church, St. Andrew’s Ottawa, his response was “Here am I. Please send someone else.” For many reasons, he simply did not want to go. . As decision time approached, Crawford felt something stirring.  At the last minute, he truly felt that God was calling him to go.  Crawford found Amkhut, India to be “a place where the veil between heaven and earth is thin, heaven seems somehow nearer, and God is very close.”  He was touched by the enthusiasm, joyous worship and strong abiding faith of his hosts, often in the face of persecution and hardship. Our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing connect people with long-term mission partners around the world through short-term mission visits. Let us pray for the people whose lives these trips transform.

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

Seventh Sunday of Pentecost

July 24^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Memorial Services

July 24^th at  3 pm – Harcourt Heritage Chapel [ol’ St. Andrew’s Presbyterian]

July 31^st at 2:30pm – St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Clairville

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 God forgave my sin [Freely, Freely]

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 746 What a friend we have in Jesus

BoP 431

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 126 [BoP 662]

¹ When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.

² Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.

³ The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

⁴ Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.

⁵ They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

⁶ He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

KJV

Children’s story – Romans 8:38, 39 – Really, Really sure

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 347 There were ninety and nine

BoP 393

Scripture Readings:

OT – Genesis 29:15-28

¹⁵And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? ¹⁶And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. ¹⁸And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. ¹⁹And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. ²⁰And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. ²¹And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. ²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. ²³And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. ²⁴And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. ²⁵And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? ²⁶And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. ²⁸And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. KJV

P_____

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah had weak^£ eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. ¹⁸Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.”

²²So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. ²⁴And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.

²⁵When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

²⁸And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

NIV

Epistle – Romans 8:26-39

²⁶Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

²⁹For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

³¹What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ³²He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? ³³Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. ³⁴Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. ³⁷Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

KJV

P_____

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 682 Just as I am

BoP 394

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 13:34-51

³⁴All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: ³⁵That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. ³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. ³⁷He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; ³⁸The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; ³⁹The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. ⁴¹The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; ⁴²And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

⁴⁴Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. ⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: ⁴⁶Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. ⁴⁷Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: ⁴⁸Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ⁴⁹So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

KJV

P___

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. ³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”^£

³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴²They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

NIV

 

Sermon: It’s like heaven

Summer is that time of the year when perhaps, more than any other time, we go looking for that perfect day. Oh there are those perfect days of springtime, and those days of perfection in the autumn, and for those who either snuggle by fires or brave the white stormy trails there can even be the occasional perfect winter’s day. But summer seems to be the days we were made for. When most people imagine heaven, it is summertime.

And we search near and far for those perfect days and places. Sometimes we travel all over creation – it seems – looking for the perfect place to have a perfect day, for others it is a matter of getting everything in order and working well on the home front and that is our idea of a perfect day.

There is a saying, “Perfection is mine”, saith the Lord.” It is a true, God is perfect, that phrase though is not a quote from any bible we’ve ever had in the church. The closest passage to that expression is found in the book of Matthew chapter five verse forty-eight. Here we have Christ’s own which read, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” See that essentially the old phrase, especially given who is talking, but maybe there is a better sense the old expression.

No, God’s word is focused more on a slightly different application of the term perfection. The bible tells the long history of a people seeking after perfection. And we might first think that God would stand before the people and say, I am perfect, so worship me. But God does not just stand before creation and His people and say ‘Worship me because I am perfect!’. That’s the distinction between the pagan gods, the foreign gods and the one and true God. God calls on His people through the ages, on us to love Him; dearly and deeply, and when we love God we draw closer to God’s perfection; and in the process of doing all of that, we become perfected.

And Jesus explains what the final perfection of humankind will be like. Jesus had told the story to the crowd of a planted field, and how a farmer let it grow despite the weeds in the field. Jesus explains the process that we go through to be the ones of God’s choosing, growing to our full potential. It is interesting in the way that many people view Christian faith that Jesus does not talk about a dramatic transformation in salvation, but simply in being recognized as what God planted. According to this parable at least it would seem that our perfection is less about becoming something different than it is about realizing who we really are.

And that can be a really hard process. I mean how many people are going to tell you who you really should be, and what you should really be like. I can give you the caution, that anyone who encourages you to be just like everyone else, or only like a specific understanding of a person, you should be wary of that person or that group. I mean, even we as the Church call on the followers to be like Christ, but then many go on to really miss the point on being Christ-like.

You are most Christ-like when you are yourself, the true self who God created you to be. Christ Jesus himself struggles to be who God intended, even though the world around him – even his own disciples – were encouraging to be something/someone else. That is a lot harder work than fitting into some cookie-cutter mold of Christianity. There are Christians out there who in order to attempt to express their faith put on clichéd expressions, and an accent that they use for no other part of their life. If I was to stand be fore you and suddenly slip into a Scottish brogue, does that make me more of a Christian speaker, or even more Presbyterian.

Heaven is that place and that time in human existence when we get to step away from all the false expectation, and all the distractions that lead us down dark paths of unhappiness. Christian singer, Michael Card, focuses it this way; he says: “The way of wisdom is living, as the path to peace is forgiving.”

Are you really alive if you have been living a lie? If you are a father and you are trying to be anything but a father [a laborer, a professional, an academic] are you going to be happy, No of course not. If you are at a place in life when you are a grandmother and you are still trying to mother you children are you going to be content? Not likely.

Heaven is that final place, that end goal, the place of perfect reward when we get to be ourselves. In heaven, at long last we are gathered together as God’s children in joy and celebration before God  just as we would love to be. And that journey to heaven should be a joyful event. Yet there ‘Christians’ out there would look so dire and so bleak and so stern that no one could imagine heaven to be a place of anything but the hard labour of worshiping a distant and remote God. We are gathered together to worship a loving God who draws us close. If our worship and the practice of our faith is sending a different message out into the world, then we really need to change what we are doing and how we do it.

You are in the midst of being made perfect. You are being made perfect through the lessons of faith you learn not only here during worship, but especially as you live each day in faith turning to God for direction each day and through the hours of the day.

It’s like heaven when you get to be yourself. When you can be with those people who accept you for who you are. It’s like heaven when you can honestly say in public, “ I am a Christian!” [Let’s try it, out loud now . . .] I am a Christian!

It’s a warm feeling to be that authentic. And even though each of us live that faith in different ways, practice different professions, work in different labours, we are brought together to be a kingdom in the faith that calls us all to be who God made us to be in all our diversity.

And no, we are not perfect, but we are called to perfection; and that can be a hard process at times, but we are offered perfection with a promise, a covenant that is already fulfilled in Christ as we live our lives in glory to before Him, and in God’s Holy Spirit that inspires the church to be true even in a world filled with the weeds of deception.

So this week I am encouraging you to take the time to feel as though you are already in heaven, to celebrate God’s perfection and seek God’s kingdom in all that you do. You have been given a promise and the assurance of that promise is Christ. Receive it, receive God’s kingdom, and rejoice.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Pray for the families of those effected by the violence in Norway, and for that nation as it grieves.

For families of those killed by the violence in Grand Prairie, Texas.

For those effected by the crash in British Columbia

Lord we pray for all who have suffered the tragedies of evil, and for peace and strength for those who seek to come to terms with violence and suffering in their own lives.

Lord, we pray for our soldiers return from the battlefield after doing their best to serve in building a nation and helping those who were afraid to help themselves. Lord, may they be welcomed home, and able to set aside the ghosts of war.

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 574 With the Lord as my guide

1. With the Lord as my guide
I will walk through the desert,
rest by the water, run in the wind.
With the Lord by my side
I will stand on the mountain,
drink from the fountain of love deep within.

2. With the Lord as my guide
I will see all the talents,
accept the balance of who I am.
With the Lord by my side
say yes to the calling,
fear not the falling, trust in God’s plan.

3. With the Lord as my guide
I will work with my sister,
care for my brother, bend with their pain.
With the Lord by my side
we will rise up together,
strengthen each other, courage regain.

4. With the Lord as my guide
I will rise in the morning,
praise for the dawning beauty of day.
With the Lord by my side
I will sing, sing forever,
always a lover, seeking God’s way.

 

Benediction

Dismissal: Holy Spirit on Us Fall [see 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

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 forth Sunday of Pentecost

July 3^rd 2011

Welcome & Announcements

 

Call to Worship Give thanks

 

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

Opening Praise: BoP 307 The church’s one foundation

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 40 [BoP 634]

 

Children’s story – A Field of Corn

Children’s Hymn: BoP 515 Will you anchor hold

 

Scripture Readings:

OT – Genesis 2:15-25

¹⁵The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

¹⁸The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

¹⁹Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^£ and closed up the place with flesh. ²²Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib^£ he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of man.”

²⁴For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Epistle – Romans 7:14-25

¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

 

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 366 Pour out Thy Spirit

 

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 11:16-19

¹⁶“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

¹⁷ “‘We played the flute for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

 

Sermon: One way or the other

Who do you think you are . . . in God’s eyes? We can think a lot of ourselves. We can be proud of the things we do that we believe to be good. We can think of ourselves as not good enough. Sometimes we even define who we are by what other people say about us and react to us. And sometimes we can try to be so much like other people it is hard to tell who we really are.

But when we ask that question of someone – ‘who do you think you are?’ – do we usually leave that question hanging in the land of rhetorical, or do we really expect an answer. Today I want you to listen to your own answer. Who do you think you are?

Paul asked the Romans that question, but he asked them that question after already asking himself who he think he is. And Paul’s answer might startle us. Usually we like to think of those early disciples and apostles and preachers of the church as the near Christ-like examples of what it means to be Christian in every sense of the word. The honesty of Paul is a bit of a wake-up. We are called to follow Christ, to be Christ-like, but we cannot nor should we ever try to be Christ. Paul has to say that a number of times, in a number of his letters to many different churches. It is not so different than what is done today with congregation trying to find reasons to worship their ministers or remembering back to the very best minister they ever had, and literally worshiping their memory: Oh, remember ‘Rev. So-and-So’ she was the best preacher that ever blessed our pulpit’, Oh and there was Pastor ‘what’s-his-name’ he never missed a beat, always there when needed.

I am sure, had anyone ever asked one of those ministers of the church how they would feel about that sort of idolic worship, and they would set every one right on just how good and righteous they really were.

Paul’s sigh of frustration with the people of the church is almost vocal in some of his writings. In this passage from his letter to the church in Rome Paul berates himself, he puts himself down, and he does that to show some integrity in what he is saying. His authority does not come from being a really good guy in all he does and in what he knows. Paul is good because Christ is good. Paul calls himself, on his own, a slave to sin. It is as if he does not have control over his own actions, and Paul complains that even though he does not want to sin, he still sins.

Do you share Paul’s frustration? Isn’t it awful when we try to be doing good in our community, we reach out and help our neighbour, and then we realize that we are so full of self-righteous pride in what we have done that everything is null and void. It is like we did nothing at all. In fact all the good we have done is now tainted. Paul cries out in his letters and he tells the church to be full of Christ and not full of themselves.

I wish the church was still listening. One of the hardest things for me to swallow at the General Assembly of our church when it met in London this year was our pretentious some of our actions and behaviour as a church really are. It was disgusting to watch ministers and elders treat the people serving our breakfast and meals rudely or with little regard, but it was a keen reminder just how great God is, because even that fault and that error in our church and the way we as a fellowship of faith behave is forgivable by God, even though it aches my gut to try and forgive it myself.

We have a messed up idea of what it means to be right, and what it is to do good. Society will tell that to do good you need only feel good, but Christ tells us something much deeper and truer, in order to do good and be good, do the things that make people who come into your life able to feel Christ’s goodness; to know God’s love.

There is many ways to do this. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” And a lot of people have come along since and said many things about that one way that is Christ. We have been told that a certain way of being the church is the only way of being the church. Some have put unnecessary tasks and rituals in the way of showing our love for God. Others have taken very helpful practices away because they were afraid of things that are hard to understand.

Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” If we are to understand the way, the truth and the life, we need to ask the same sort of questions. People still say Jesus was a great teacher, a prophet, but to know Jesus as the only begotten Son of God our Saviour and Lord and to claim it not only in what I keep deep inside your heart but in how you live you life and how you show Jesus Christ to other people.

We’ve done that here, at the table where we gather and we proclaim Christ’s life and death and resurrection simply by eating bread and drinking juice. We do it in the spirit of faith so that we can see our faith together as a community, but when we go out those doors there are many other things that we can do in much the same spirit.

The apostle Paul sought to build up the awareness of the Church so that it could recognize the weaknesses that needed to be overcome. We need to have the integrity and humility in ourselves to continue that hard but amazing journey in our lives of faith as well. We need to recognize our struggle with sin, and see how the people around struggle in their own way as well. In the same grace we are offered we can also show grace to others, especially those who have sinned against us.

We do not rejoice because we are free from sinning, we rejoice because even though we struggle with sin we can look beyond our own sorry limits into God’s unlimited grace, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Rejoice, for in Christ our Lord, our salvation is sure.

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (NBoP 539; BoP 616) [St. Mark’s Only}

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 362 Lord of all power

Benediction

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

These pamphlets can be altered for the use of your congregation. They were made by our minister Rev. Sandy Sutherland.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

 

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

3^rd Sunday of Pentecost

June 26^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

 

Call to Worship Refiner’s Fire

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

 

Opening Praise: NBoP 670 Amazing Grace

BoP 258

 

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 15 [BoP 620]

¹ LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

² He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

³ He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

⁴ In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

⁵ He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

KJV

 

Children’s story – A cool drink of water [Matthew 10:42]

Children’s Hymn: songs 119 Higher Ground

 

Scripture Readings:

NT – Jeremiah 28:5-9

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD, ⁶Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD’S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. ⁷Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; ⁸The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. ⁹The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him. KJV

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⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. ⁶He said, “Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD’S house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. ⁷Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true.”

NIV

Epistle – Romans 6:12-23

¹²Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ¹³Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. ¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. ¹⁵What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. ¹⁶Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ¹⁷But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. ¹⁸Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. ¹⁹I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. ²⁰For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. ²¹What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. ²²But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. ²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. KJV

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¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. ¹⁸You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

¹⁹I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV

 

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 381 Holy Spirit, hear us

BoP 263

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 10:40-42

⁴⁰He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. ⁴¹He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. KJV

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⁴⁰“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

NIV

 

Sermon: Who gets in?

It’s easy at the movies and sports events. You pay the fee, you get the ticket, you get in; and there you get be part of the event for a set period of time. It is not all that different for clubs and social groups; you pay the dues and fees, you go through a ceremony perhaps and you are in for as long as that fee entitles you to membership.

Now, churches have been accused of being like social groups, and some churches function more like theatres or sporting events including having the donation basket at the door; not all that different from the stadiums they are modeled after.

The rather flip wit of Groucho Marx frustrated any group that was in any way conservative throughout the mid 20^th century. In a rather poignant critique of attitude and life of the religious life, he said “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member” And to those who view the church in this way I am very glad to say that in our case this is absolutely NOT true.

You in yourself, and I in myself for that matter, do not have all that it takes to be the Christian that God wants us to be in what we bring to that door. As far as deserving goes, you cannot fill this offering plate enough, to earn your way into this fellowship let alone into heaven. Neither can I for that matter. As far as deserving goes, and being worthy of member ship, this should be a very, very empty building. Our congregational roll should be so small that there would be no one to take it. Church, and church membership is not something you earn based on your contributions, or time in Sunday school or bible studies. It is not something you are qualified for based on your smarts, or your strength or your singing ability. But there are some people that think that is all churches are looking for these days.

But not just these days; because as soon as we start looking back through the legacy of the church we discover the constant struggle of our faith to define itself against the sin in people’s lives, knowing that the people in the pews and pulpits are sinners too. What is the difference between the good people who are outside those doors, and the good people who are on the inside of those doors? More to the point, what’s the difference between the people who no one would imagine deserves heaven on the outside of the church and the sin laden sorry souls that are on the inside of those doors?

This is one of the major problems the church has with God’s forgiveness and the appearance of goodness in the world, and especially in the church; God’s forgiveness makes all those good works something secondary. It does not make them unimportant or unappreciated, but God’s glory is in God’s forgiveness and God’s love. To say, well I can make it on my own thank you God, is to say your own righteousness, and your own understanding, and your own strength will be enough. Your own abilities by themselves are not enough to give you a happy life in this life, now how are they supposed to propel you into a joyous everlasting life?

The church in Rome had sent Paul a whole list of problems, and the problems they did not send letters to Paul to get some advice on Paul had heard about from some of the others who had visited. Their main problem was this one about sin and forgiveness. If they were forgiven, and God would always forgive them, then why should they worry about sinning?

I want you to consciously try something. First, list those things in your life that your are convinced are sins. And everyone has them, so this is something everyone can try. You can write the list down, and I suggest you do that, but if you cannot write the list down then I suggest you keep an honest mental hold on that list of your sins. Now, take that list to God in prayer, and really ask for forgiveness.

Now, when you sin one of those sins again I want  you to ask for forgiveness; and not just one of those hunch your shoulders kind of prayers either: “Oops. Sorry God. Be a pal and forgive me, eh?” Try using a real prayer, and end with something like ‘In Jesus name’.

Then, and you might stumble with the sinning a couple of times, and these are sins that you have identified, not some judgment I breathing down from the pulpit. But you will likely stumble a couple of times, but you know what, you keep asking God honestly for forgiveness, and sinning becomes a much harder thing to do.

How does this happen? Well it is because you are not letting sin be your Lord, you are asking God to be your Lord and God will free you from the bondage of sin so you don’t feel that compulsion to sin any more. And God’s forgiveness is more than I can offer you for whatever offences you may have committed against me or grace you can dish out for the debts you’ve got against or from your neighbour.

Who gets in? Anyone can come through those doors and sit down. They can come and sit beside you, it does not make them church. But by crossing that threshold they are saying that they are willing to take the chance and the risk of finding forgiveness in their lives for the sins that have weighed them down; and then they start to become members of the church, they start gathering with the church ands stop being a church to themselves.

There are people who spend their whole lives going into church buildings, and have never once come to be a part of the church. There are people who have never darkened the door who are desperately searching for a way to take the weight of sin and guilt of their spirits who need the fellowship and have never been offered it. We are called to be a fellowship with a beginning in this place that reaches out to offer hope to w world that so desperately needs grace and lives waiting in the weakness of trying to live lives outside of the union we have in God’s Holy Spirit        . Reach out with the strength we share as Christ’s Church today, to offer the refreshing cup of God’s grace, just as it has been given to you in the new Covenant, the gospel promise, we have in Christ Jesus, Our Saviour and Lord.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (NBoP 539; BoP 616)

[St. James’ Only}

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 665 Lord Jesus you shall be my song

Benediction

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

Holy Spirit, on us fall,

As we go fulfill our call,

Serving God by loving all,

Alleluia! Christ our Saviour.

 

Holy Spirit, with us stay,

Teach us what we ought to say,

Guard and keep us in the Way.

As we follow, Christ our Saviour.

Bulletin Announcements:  Cathy Little @ Fillmore Trucking #785-1083
www.pccweb.ca/brpc
ORDER OF SERVICE
The second Sunday of Pentecost – TRC Sunday {www.trc.ca}
Happy Father’s Day
June 19th 2011
Welcome & Announcements
SPRING CLEAN UPS – Please check with the managers of each to see when clean up days are taking place.
TUESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY –Will be having its spring round-up fellowship on June 14th before taking a break for the summer.
TUESDAY BIBLE SCHOOL Has finished up for this year, but keep you ears open for news on our VBS!
WEDNESDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY –Continues this week at the home of Jessie Kelly [1972 Route 495].
COMMUNION SUNDAYS –St. Andrew’s (June 19th); St. James’ (June 26th);
St. Mark’s (July 3rd)
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL – SonQuest Beach Blast! Running July 4th to 8th in Clairville. Pre-registration available to help make sure we have enough craft materials. See the summer events pamphlet or the church website for details.
BAPTISM – David Sutherland, son of Rev Sandy and Mrs. Marly Sutherland will be Sunday July 3rd at 2pm at the cottage of David and Shelley Cail [8 Wry’s Lane, off of the Thompson Road] All are welcome.

Call to Worship Father we love you (Glorify your name)

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

Opening Praise: BoP 412 Come let us sing

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 8 [BoP 619]

Children’s story –
Children’s Hymn: overhead 340 I have decided to follow Jesus

Scripture Readings:
OT – Genesis 1:1-31
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was£ formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” 7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,£ and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27    So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Epistle – Ephesians 3:7-19
7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 306 Thy hand, O God has guided

Scripture Readings:
Gospel – John 5:19-29
19Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

Sermon:  The Voice of God
For some of you it was the calling out of your name like the rolling of a thunderous drum. It would be your full name; Not just the first and last name, but the first the last and the middle and those other middle names, that no one else knew, sounding across whatever space separated you from your father that told you that you were in trouble. The voice of a father . . .
Hopefully this was not too common an occurrence, but hopefully it happened enough for you to know that father was watching, and most of all, that father cared.
And I use that term father in a fairly open manner, because we need to be open enough to acknowledge those fathers who were not only our birth fathers, or perhaps even our parents, but to us we still call them fathers. We try to make them proud of us, we live to honour them, and we rely on their good advice. And when their voices stir, like the rumbling in a thunder crowd, we bow our heads and know that we’ve done wrong.
It is not a father’s job to growl and be the enforcer of the hard rules of a household either; though for some it might seem that’s all they do. But most fathers get labeled with that role of showing stern affection, and loving correction. That is the stereotype, and the model in our society, so that from sitcom to TV drama, to blockbuster movie, it boils down to the same thing, we expect our fathers – and whomever we come to call father in our hearts – to be that standard for our life and especially our life of faith.
James Dobson, a Christian author and psychologist and founder of the organization called Focus on the Family once wrote that “ The father’s most important responsibility is to communicate the real meaning of Christianity to his children.”
Children care about what their parents believe. Didn’t you care about what your parents believed? Weren’t you amazed at the strength of their faith? Didn’t you find it frustrating when you saw weaknesses in their faith? You cared, and your children care (even though children don’t often admit that sort of thing till much later in life).
An irresponsible parent says, “I am going to let them make up their own mind. And not make what I believe something that they have to believe.”
A responsible parent says, “I am going to give my children the best understanding of what I believe, and I am going to hope they come to an even better understanding of faith than I have.”
The working out of our faith doesn’t come from just stern correction, hard punishments, but from seeing the faith of others lived out with honesty and integrity. I am talking about a voice of grace that is  – at the same time – also a voice of judgment; which is the best possible tone of voice for fatherhood. I am speaking about a life that is an example, even if not everything in that life is exemplary.
The Apostle Paul was that kind of a father to many early churches. We have the specific example of Paul fathering several young new ministers of the faith. Timothy, Luke, Mark and others all benefited by the apostle Paul’s strength and struggles of faith, and in listening closely to what Paul believed, being corrected by him; and these followers who would become ministers began to hear the voice of God through what Paul was teaching them. The churches also heard Paul speak, they read and reread his words because in those words they received the fatherly advice, correction, grace and mercy that build a personal powerful faith and connection with God.
Though I am by no means advocating for parents to take on the roll of God, but simply to recognize that for the children in our lives the beginnings of their own personal faith are going to come from building upon the foundation we as parents provide. Jesus said that coming to know God the father is best accomplished through His own earthly example as God’s own Son; but we are also called to be children of God – brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus – and that means that the children who come after us look to know God through the example we offer as children of God; getting to know God through God’s own children.
We do our children a disservice when we make them figure it all out on their own. It is a cowardly thing to do to hide our own faith from the children in our lives; and we fool ourselves when we say it is to give them the opportunity to figure it out themselves. Truth is, when we hide our faith from our neighbours, our family, our children, we do it because we don’t want to give anyone the chance to question it, challenge it, or possibly to force us to change it.
And who better to test our faith in God than those who we love? I think of the rebellious teenager who will throw everything we say back in our face, and in that raging and roaring that comes with teenage angst we see our faith as it appears before everybody else; we should not fear that. I think of the little three year old questioning everything their whole environment, seeking for the truth to give life meaning. Would you really deny a child that truth?
God voice can be heard, not in rolling thunder or the great speeches from the learned, the popular, the powerful. The voice of God is heard in the small voice of a loving parent, holding their child so close as to only whisper, “I love you”

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Loving God,
we give you thanks for the peace of this hour, and the blessing we have received in Jesus Christ. We thank you Lord that we are renewed in our spiritual bond to the whole of your Church through Christ’s body and blood. Give us the grace to carry his word into the world, as we are lifted up in all manner of being, because of Christ, through the Holy Spirit in your love:
Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us
Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us
Jesus, redeemer of the world, grant us your peace.
Amen
God’s Tithes and our gifts
Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)
Offertory Prayer

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper[St. Andrew’s Only}

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 489 Lord of light whose name outshineth
Benediction

Dismissal: Holy Spirit, on us fall (see back of bulletin)
Holy Spirit, on us fall,
As we go fulfill our call,
Serving God by loving all,
Alleluia! Christ our Saviour.

Holy Spirit, with us stay,
Teach us what we ought to say,
Guard and keep us in the Way.
As we follow, Christ our Saviour.

 

Graduation prayer

Bonar Law Memorial High School – Class of 2011

By Rev. (Sandy) A.D. Sutherland

O Lord God, You have made us, and everything around us, and You have made all things possible; You have even made today possible.

Here in this place the graduates have learned to wonder at your creation, to be amazed by what You have made, and also to be pleased in what they can do within your creation, through the gifts that you have given each graduate. For each of them is a miracle, now not only in the eyes of their parents and their teachers, but now before the whole world.

Here, through the gifts you have given these teachers, you have taught these students about the world, and so much of what is in it, even to the edge of the known universe. Through these teachers, these once children have learned so much of what it takes to be young men and women in a world needing workers, needing leaders, even needing heroes.

O God, your Spirit has been present in class rooms when young minds were awakened to truth, when hands were empowered to skills and task that these young men and women never thought possible. O Lord our God, in this place, you have taught many lessons. May these graduates be good stewards of these lessons, the knowledge they have been blessed with, and most of all the wisdom they have gained.

You, O God, bring people together, and call to each one of us to be in fellowship with each other. We thank you Lord God, for the fellowship of this house of learning. We are thankful for the strong spirit of teamwork that echoed in the clubs and sports teams. Help these graduates to remember the lessons of teamwork and trust and encouraging others so that all can succeed. We thank you God – most of all – for the friendships that we have all seen You make here; especially the friendships that have taken a lot of work. Help each graduate to hold onto the fellowship they have gained here, or the strength that they draw from be so deeply loved as they have been here.

O Lord God, grant us the security of your enfolding arms. Secure us from harm, and may each of us feel the power of your Holy Spirit resting on each of us like a dove, giving each of us the strength of your peace in all that has been accomplished here.

O Lord God let your Spirit rest on each graduate and their family to guide and shield the gifts that carry them on to carriers, to the making of new families, and to sharing their own strengths and wisdom with a world that needs to see them use the gifts that You have richly blessed them with. Help us all to celebrate well what You have done in their accomplishment, and rejoice in what You are doing in their success that awaits them in all that life has to offer.

And so, O Lord, as you watch over each of us, and especially these graduates we pray for your continued blessing.

In Christ Jesus we pray.

Amen

 

 

A Christian Church, A Family of Faith

The Bass River Pastoral Charge

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

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

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

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

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

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

www.pccweb.ca/brpc

ORDER OF SERVICE

Pentecost Sunday – June 12^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

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

 

Call to Worship Spirit of the Living God

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 581 Pour out Thy Spirit

BoP 366

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Children’s story – More than Miracles

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

BoP 468

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 2:1-11

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

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

KJV

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

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

NIV

Epistle – 1 Corinthians 12:3-13

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

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

KJV

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

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

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

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

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 291 Thou whose almighty word

BoP 366

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 20:19-23

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

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

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

NIV

Sermon: The signs of the church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

 

Offertory Prayer

 

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

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Loving God,

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

Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us

Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us

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

Amen

 

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 774 God forgave my sins

 

Benediction

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

Holy Spirit, on us fall,

As we go fulfill our call,

Serving God by loving all,

Alleluia! Christ our Saviour.

 

Holy Spirit, with us stay,

Teach us what we ought to say,

Guard and keep us in the Way.

As we follow, Christ our Saviour.

Call to Worship Give Thanks

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 675 Precious Lord, take my hand

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 65 [BoP 640]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KJV

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: songs 55 Whiter than snow

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 17:22-31

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

KJV

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

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

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

NIV

Epistle – 1 Peter 3:13-22

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

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

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

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

KJV

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

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: songs 134 Sweet hour of prayer

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 14:15-21

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

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

KJV

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

NIV

 

Sermon: Seeing Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

 

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

 

Commissioning Hymn: songs 112 Blessed Assurance

 

Benediction

 

Dismissal: Alleluia, Alleluia (see opposite page)

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

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

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

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

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

 

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