ORDER OF SERVICE

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 22^nd 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Greetings to you in Christ, and may your walk in faith on this day and from it be blessed with the joy of heaven as we serve in God’s grace.

Call to Worship I love you Lord

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

Opening Praise: BoP 328 Stand up and bless the Lord

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 31 [BoP 628]

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: BoP 401 Tell me the old, old story

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 7:55-60

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Epistle – 1 Peter 2:2-10

²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him

will never be put to shame.”

⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected

has become the capstone, “

⁸and,

“A stone that causes men to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 382 Christ for the world we sing

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 14:1-14

¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. ¹²I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Sermon: The Perfect Provider

Anything! I used to ponder at the possibilities of that ‘anything’ clause in Jesus statement to his disciples. Jesus says to his disciples. When I think of all the things I have ever wanted, here is an open invitation to ask God for anything. Do I mean anything? Yes, I mean anything.

It is a real test of our own faith to simply ask God for the things we want in life. God, who created us, who gives us everything we already have, and has put in place all the things we are meant to receive has not set aside our wants, our dreams, or our hopes. The real question is, are we ready to accept that God will provide? Are you willing to have your faith proven by God’s love for you?

Every parent’s pleasure is to look upon the smiling face of children who are filled with the joy and comfort that comes from being well provided for. Oh, that has never meant that every want was catered to, though a treat from time to time is a blessing every parent wishes to give, but needs of cleanliness and clothing, shelter, warmth and food, and the chance to learn and grow; if these were not wanting than any parent would know the satisfaction of being a good provider.

And I believe that about the time our society lost that understanding of what good provision really is, was the same time we lost sight – as a society – of who God really is.

How do you see God as your provider?

How do you recognize God’s provision for you and your life each and every day?

Whether we like it or not, God provides for the good and evil in the world. Was God not the same ultimate source for the food Ben Laden ate, as God was the source for your food? Are your neighbours in any less of a shelter even if they may not be attending church services as frequently as you do?

Who do you think has the greater chance of winning the lottery? The one who believes in Jesus? Or the one who does not?

There was a time where your attending church, attending a certain church even, might change your positioning life and through it you might land a better paying job. By going to certain churches in certain communities you might find yourself connected with the right people for personal advancement. And it was once viewed that if you were the kind of person who attended church on a regular basis, you were also the kind of person who be trusted and entrusted with responsibility, position, power, and through all these things you could advance yourself as someone who could provide MORE for yourself and your family and even your friends.

I hope you see where this all falls apart. It is the reason that the church having so much influence in society has fallen apart. It is simply because a church that function that way, with those motivations in mind is not a church made up believers in God, it is made up with people who feel entitled to God’s provision. See it was not society that fell, and the church followed; it was the church that fell, and society has crumbled after us.

We were once in the business of helping people see what God was doing in their lives. Are we capable now of even seeing for ourselves what God is doing in our lives, let alone showing others the signs of God’s grace. Do we have the faith to celebrate salvation as it sustains our belief, so that we can share that faith with others?

So I have to ask you, are you the kind of disciple who looks at the whole picture of God’s provision in your life and say to yourself – or say in the way you conduct your life – ‘I don’t have enough evidence to make a statement about my faith’. In looking at the opportunities you have been given, the conditions in which you live, the security of your life, the resources to do whatever you might like, are these enough to convince you.

While I am sure you are able to say yes, I can tell you that there are people that no matter how many possessions and how much influence they have, they still will say that their confidence is not in what God can provide, but in what they believe they can provide for themselves. And you could give these same people the whole world for themselves and they still would not believe.

Honestly, that is not a bad thing. I would never trust in a faith that is built upon how much I feel God has given me. I believe God is the source of all the grace I feel in my life, the center of what makes me most happy, the origin of every ounce of love that envelops me, but If I sat down and counted all the blessings to see what God has done, I would not trust in the blessings as the source of my faith I would look beyond all these possessions to God.

The disciples ask to see God the Father. Even Jesus was not enough for them. The Son of God was not enough for the disciples. I tell you now that if indeed God appeared before the world thee would be those who would say that it was not enough to make them believe.

I don’t get into this pulpit week after week to try and convince you that God is God, I come up here to give you an opportunity to accept what you already know. You have been given a lifetime of proof, and every breath of life that you continue to take is more proof upon what you already have that God loves you and provides for you.

But God does know when enough is not enough. God knew what more we needed to be convinced. We need more than the breath of life to convince us, we need more than the strength of our bodies, and the material things that we use to sustain ourselves. God looks past the needs of the flesh and the mind into our very souls, and in looking into the souls of all human kind for all time God saw our need for Jesus, and God saw to that provision; even at the horrible cost it was to him.

Because when God sent his Son, His begotten being born into human flesh, he did not simple send him to teach and bear witness to God, but he sent Christ Jesus into our midst so that we would take him and use him up completely. God sent Jesus into the world to die so that our sin could be taken off of our lives, and if you still doubt God in the light of your salvation from sin, there is no other way to convince you.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me” Whether in this life or the life everlasting God’s provision is perfect, and not to the end of serving selfish wants, but to the goal of meeting our deepest needs. God knows them, better than perhaps we know and understand them ourselves. And God will not leave us, not forsake us. Trust in God.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 465 God of grace and God of glory

Benediction

Call to Worship Shine Jesus Shine

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 359 The great Physician now is here

BoP 373

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 23 [BoP 624]

¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Children’s story – What are some things we like to share? What are some things we have trouble sharing?

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

BoP 378

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 2:42-47

⁴²And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴And all that believed were together, and had all things common; ⁴⁵And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. ⁴⁶And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, ⁴⁷Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

KJV

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. NIV

Epistle – 1 Peter 2:19-25

¹⁹For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. ²¹For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: ²²Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: ²³Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: ²⁴Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ²⁵For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. KJV

¹⁹For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. ²⁰But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 662 Those who wait on the Lord

(overhead)

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 10:1-10

¹Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ²But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. ⁴And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. ⁵And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. ⁶This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. ⁷Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV

¹“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Sermon: No side entrance

A knock on the door in the middle of the day, while some household members would be off working, in town or in the fields, and the kids would be off to grad-school classes at the community schoolhouse. Sometimes they were a regular annoyance, and still – at other times – they were the welcomed interruption from chores and household duties.

When the traveling salesman would do his rounds it was almost a carnival treat to wonder at the inventions and innovations he would peddle. He was the walking-talking personal infomercial, who seemed to be stopping in out of a real concern for your need for whatever it was he was peddling. His goal was to convince you to buy everything he was selling; and the successful ones would know the secret reasons why customers might need anything and everything that they were selling.

I did not live in the age of the traveling salesmen; those peddlers that would show up to sell anything and everything from shoes to vacuum cleaners, milking machines, to ladies dresses and of course encyclopedia. The only door-to-door salesman that I have heard of was the fish peddler, who I hear still stops by a few loyal homes to deliver some frozen fillets.

However, the old proverb that resonating in the techniques of each and every sales-person, of any walk of mercantilism, remains true; even in this day of internet advertising, and mega markets like CosCo, and Target: “Get your foot in the door.”

Salesmen would try anything just to get you to open a door. Song and dance, flashy signs and everything from sharp cuts suits to almost clown cloths. They will promise you innovation, and they will promise you the latest in improvements. They will wheel and deal till the reason for just why their product is so needed by you, to at least catch your interest, just so you’d open the door.

And you’ve probably seen this in other areas too. Politicians love to put on a good show. Oh, they will ‘song & dance’ just about anything to earn your vote, and once their foot is in your door you can find yourself being taken for quite a ride.

And you’ll even find it with some preachers and evangelists. They will try and sell you on their kind of faith, on their brand of believing, but like the snake-oil sales man, or the crooked politician, they are not declaring Christ or preaching salvation. They, like the others are in it for the reputation, because they like being called teacher and priest, Father and all the personal regard that goes with it.

Jesus hinted at this kind of behaviour when he was talking with disciples about being like a shepherd to God’s called and chosen people; even you and I. Jesus was not just telling his disciples how He was the ‘Good Shepherd’, but how there were people who were not shepherds of any kind.

Jesus called them thieves. Jesus called them robbers.

Really, there were two kinds of salesmen back in the day – weren’t there –  just as there are two kinds of politicians, and two kinds of preachers & pastors. There are those who are the slick snake-oil salesman who have no interest in you and only want your money, or your high regard, and then there are the honest peddler delivering an honest product for your benefit. The hard thing is that

Jesus knew that his disciples would have to deal with certain characters who would use the gospel the wrong way. Jesus knew that there would be people who would try and sell the good news but would water down the message so they could mix it in with some other message; so they could profit, so they could feel important.

We encounter this same sort of thing in the false prophets that arise from time-to-time in the fringes of our faith. The latest being a group from the states, operating through the internet, called the ebiblefellowship.com. They fall into the class of deceivers known as false prophets. They say they proclaim a biblical truth, but it ends up being a ploy to get your attention and interest. This latest group in particular say they are not selling you anything, but that they simply want people to come to Christ and read their bibles, but what they really are trying to get people to do is to read the bible like a code of hidden knowledge, rather than with faith. They want people to accept their teachings, and rather than take a person’s money they want the tender obedience that comes through fear.

They want to add to your faith about Christ a terror about the end of times, and about a judgment that they will interpret. It is a subtle deception, but deception non-the-less.

But anyone who tells you that you need to add more to your faith than a deep humble and honest love for Christ is that crooked salesman, that side-gate-slider, the over-wall robber. There are thieves; thieves who do not understand that the love of God is not something that can be stolen, but who will try to steal away your love for God.

There are people who will try and tell you that there is some other way to salvation other than Christ Jesus. They are around us, and among, and we do not need to fear them, we simply need to recognize them.

Christ Jesus is the only way, and only through Him are we saved from our sins. This is the will of God, that all who come in Christ’s name might know salvation, and live in the light of God’s everlasting love.

May God be praised. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Flood victims in the prairies, and in the states. War torn Libya & Syria

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 650 He leadeth me

BoP 522

Benediction

The Third Sunday of Easter

May 8^th 2011

Happy Mother’s Day

Welcome & Announcements

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

St. Mark’s Hall will be hosting a breakfast on May 28^th, Beersville Community center will be hosting on May 14th

Call to Worship As the deer pants

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

Opening Praise: BoP 105 All things bright and beautiful

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 116 [BoP 657]

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: BoP 159 Mother’s of Salem

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 2:36-41

³⁶“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

NIV

Epistle – 1 Peter 1:17-25

¹⁷Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. ¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

²²Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴For,

“All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

²⁵ but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 211 Speak, Lord in the stillness

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Luke 24:13-35

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

NIV

Sermon: Found in faith

I remember my mother, sitting at the kitchen table at the end of a very hard day; full of chores, and work and household duties. She be sitting at the table with a piece of orange loaf, a cup of steeped tea, and her bible open.

That old bible of hers has long been one of her greatest treasures. It has been open under her prayers, taken her tears, provided answers and new questions.

On family vacations she packed that bible up in her cloth bag where she kept cross-word and a couple of apples in case someone got hungry. She would open her bible sometimes as we traveled and ask Dad and even my sister and I questions about what we believed. And all our answers were valid, all of them were given fair weight, and no one would have the final word, except God.

My mother is one of several people in my life whose faith was always with them. My mother struggled with her faith, she has seen things that made her doubt God’s love like others, but it always seemed that even in the harshest of circumstances it never got to the point where I would think it wasn’t there. I always found her in her faith, no matter where she was on her faith journey.

So, if angels were to take a snapshot of you life today, would you be found in faith. I am not saying that you’d be found to be a roomful of saints, but is that kindled flame of faith alive in you. Do your children, your neighbours, your friends, look at you and find you a faithful Christian.

When Christ finds our faith broken or weakened by our experience in life, Christ does not condemn us, even if we might sense God’s critical eye on our circumstances. Look at our reading today from the Gospel of Luke; Christ Jesus comes upon two of his disciples Cleopas and another that the gospel does not name. Both of these disciples are at a low point of faith. If they had believed Jesus was anything more than a good teacher, or a prophet, they would have believed the rumors that were circulating, but they have gone from doubt and into despair.

And there is a difference, and it is a difference that is often mistaken. Doubt is trying to wonder at the things God has done without fully understanding the scope of God’s power. Doubt is the rough path of disbelief that hits us when we find out that everything is not going according to OUR plan. Doubt is what happens to a lot of good Christians when God takes them down a path in life that is not all church services and picnics, but is hard work and mission.

Despair is what happens when you’ve doubted for a while, been listening to the wrong sort of people, been going to the wrong kind of parties, and centering your life on anything but God’s word and the fellowship of God’s people. Despair is that kind of attitude you see with people that have not gone to church in a while and are now so afraid that they are going to be pointed out, teased, or just burst into a ball of flames as the steeple of the church falls right on them because they have been away for so long. In other words, when confronted by God’s love for us we should see just how foolish our despair really is. Foolish, because it takes a real choice fool to say that God will not welcome them, accept them and rejoice in their return to fellowship and faith considering the other faithless fools of history that have found faith and rediscovered their salvation.

So there they are, Cleopas and choice fool #2 walking the road to Emmaus, in the midst of their despair, when Jesus comes up along beside them. Now the roads around Jerusalem are not foot-paths like we have around here, with the forests all drooping in around. This is an arid, near-desert land a lot of it. There are shrubs and the occasional trees, but for the most part you can see for quite some distance. That means that no one is going to stand much of a chance of sneaking up on you. Even the ground it dry and rough, so you can hear the crunch of dirt and gravel before anyone can come up to you on the road.

We also tend to forget part of the context of the crucifixion and the resurrection, and that it took place during the celebration of the Passover. There would have been others who having observed Passover in Jerusalem, would begin the journey to their homes. So Cleopas and the other disciple would not have been surprised to see others on the road with them.

Now an interesting thing happens when Jesus comes up to them; they don’t recognize him. Now you would think that any disciples worth his salt would recognize Jesus, but the bible says that they were kept from recognizing him. In verse seventeen, in the last phrase of that verse we find out just how this was done. It says: “they stood firmly (or still), with their eyes downcast.”

Now when you meet someone, especially a stranger it is advisable to at least take a peak at their eyes. There is a lot of a person’s character in their eyes. These disciples have forgone the practice of looking the stranger in the eye simply because one of the main things that despair does is it pulls us away from each other. When we despair we turn our backs on each other, we turn our backs on God as well. When we despair we can only look at our sadness, our pain, our frustration to the point where even though our bodies continue to move and go through the motions of living, inside our souls have stumble and fallen and are broken upon our journey of faith.

But when we despair we are not left there. When Cleopas and the other disciples trudged their seven-mile journey home, they did so in the blindness of their despair. Even though it was the short journey of seven miles they would likely walk it as if it were seventy. It certainly did not take Jesus long to catch up to them.

Jesus did not find them dwelling on faith. One of the important teaching about the Passover is it a time to remember and rejoice in all of God’s promises, the way that God has fulfilled them, and the what God will still do for His people. Cleopas and the other disciple were not discussing faith, but were discussing everything that had happened that caused them to despair their faith, despair even their lives and their purpose.

Jesus comes up to them, not at the high point of their faith, but at the lowest possible moment. These two disciples were in the depths of their despair and Jesus comes to them then. Look at the track record in this, Jesus appears to Mary who is weeping, to the disciples in their fear and disbelief, to Thomas in his doubt, and now to Cleopas and the other in their despair.

Jesus does not speak to our lives only when everything is ‘hunky-dory’. God does set his angels on the edge of horizon to be on the look-out for the really good people. And if you have been doubting and your have suffered through despair and if your faith is challenged by the real circumstances of living real lives, then maybe you take another look at your life and rediscover how Christ is in your midst and speaking to you; not just from pulpits either, but through people in your life. I used the example of my mother today, as its mother’s day, but truthfully Christ will speak through father, grandparents, best friends, new acquaintances, and of course the simple truths our children teach and remind us of.

Jesus comes into our moments of despair, and if we listen, open our eyes, opens our lives to the fullness of his love. Jesus came to the two displaces on the road to Emmaus and shared that Passover tradition. He told them about God’s promises and he showed them the light in the darkness they were seeing. The disciples would describe the experience as having their spirits, the center of their being set alight.

Listen to the continuous joy of our children and discover the wonder of God’s love streaming into our lives through them. Rejoice in the fellowship you now share, one that is bound and held by God’s love no matter how far from each other we travel. Today the Lord is with us. Christ gathers with us, in the midst of our happiness and our sorrow, amongst those who know him and especially with those struggling to find Him in their lives. See who it is that Christ has placed in your life, that you might know God’s love and look onto the everlasting joy that will be ours when we at last break bread with Christ at his table in heaven.

Thanks be to God; for God love knows no bounds, and the walls of our sin and despair have broken by the strain of his love.

Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 233 Love divine, all loves excelling

Benediction

Dismissal: Alleluia, Alleluia [see opposite]

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

Welcome & Announcements

Call to Worship We will glorify

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 814 Morning has broken

BoP 550

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 16 [BoP 621]

¹ Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

² O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

³ But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

⁵ The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

⁶ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

⁷ I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

⁸ I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

¹¹ Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

KJV

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 452 Jesus, stand among us

BoP 323

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 2:22-32

²²Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: ²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: ²⁴Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ²⁵For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: ²⁶Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: ²⁷Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. ²⁸Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. ²⁹Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. ³⁰Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; ³¹He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. ³²This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. KJV

²²“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,^£ put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will live in hope,

²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. ³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.

NIV

Epistle – 1 Peter 1:3-9

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: ⁸Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: ⁹Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

KJV

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 497 Word of God across the ages

BoP 291

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 20:19-31

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. ²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

²⁶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. ²⁷Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. ²⁸And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. ²⁹Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. ³⁰And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ³¹But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

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.”

²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

NIV

Sermon: The joy of not seeing

Here is the dilemma; if I explain the meaning and purpose about a certain passage of scripture, then the emphasis and understanding that you would have gained by working things out on your own is lost. And if I impose a certain interpretation upon the events that took place, you have little choice but to be influenced in your faith by my belief.

It is the same way when a painter, or photographer, views a landscape that few people have scene before, and then captures and presents that scene through their art. What we see, and how we view that scene if we ever see it for ourselves, is always going to be effected by someone else’s experience. So, as one of the key principles of our faith , we struggle to agree with the views of events as scripture presents them. And in the midst of that we can even argue about the authenticity and accuracy of what is written about it our bibles; whether we are talking about the transcription and transmission of God’s word down through the ages, the translations of God’s word into a language we can read and understand, and the interpretations that have been read into the text for the centuries of it’s existence.

But what if you just had to take MY word for it?

I think most of us would agree there is a certain level of difficulty in believing the word of God, and the stories and laws found in scripture. I believe we would be a great deal more uncertain about our beliefs if we did not have a bible, and I was standing up here Sunday by Sunday and saying, “Hey, just take my word for it!”

You do not have to just take my word for it. You can read it for yourselves. In fact you have in your bibles a few witness accounts to the events that took place; in other words, you have corroborating testimonial evidence to the event of the resurrection taking place. You do not even have to hear or even read my interpretation alone. There are many commentaries on the bible, thousands upon thousands of ministers of the Word, and you have more access to this testimony than any other generation that has ever existed in the history of the earth.

But what if you just had to take MY word for it?

Thomas was out away from the other disciples when Jesus came to the place where the other disciples were gathered. There are any number of reason why Thomas would not have been with the others; he could have been working [we tend to forget that these biblical people lived in a world that was driven by labour and commerce at least as much as ours is], he could have been at a family event [perhaps his mother’s birthday], the picture that is being painted by the text is simply that Thomas was out at the time that Jesus arrived to be with the other disciples.

It seems though that Thomas had issues about trusting, even in the case of the other disciples. He had been told of at least two moments when the risen Christ had appeared to his friends, and yet Thomas doubted. It begs the question, how many times should people encounter the witness to the truth of the resurrection before they will respond by faith in believing? Because most people struggle with the good news in Jesus Christ the first time they hear it.

Thomas was being told not simply by one friend, but the passage from John tells us that he was confronted by the whole group. But Thomas’ faith was blocked by doubt, and that doubt was empowered by the fear that scripture tells us was very present with the group, or perhaps was compounded by the flooding sadness of Christ’s death.

Thomas had many hurdles to overcome in order to have the joy of true faith.

For all those who struggle with their faith, this is an important recognition. Even Thomas, who lived and walked with Jesus was challenged to believe that Christ had risen from the dead. Even Thomas who had witnessed all of Christ Jesus’ miracles found the news of the resurrection more than he could bear. It was not that the other disciples were better than Thomas, they had all seen Jesus, they did not need much faith to believe in what they had seen and, to whom the had spoken.

Thomas was given the opportunity for something far richer and more strengthening. We make a mistake when we envy the disciples first had experience of the resurrection. Yes it would have been amazing to walk with Jesus, through the days of his life, and yes certainly experiencing Christ’s teaching first had would have been truly amazing, but the power that comes in believing cannot be matched by having witnessed it just for ourselves.

A deep personal belief in Christ, and in Christ’s resurrection, is a powerful joy. When you read in the bible about the power of God’s love over flowing the cup of our hearts we are encountering the joy of really believing. Some day we will know, but the real joy of that day will be not that we know at last, but that we have lived in faith until Christ has revealed himself in the fullness of time.

When at last Thomas is offered the proof of Christ Jesus resurrection by Christ himself he is not filled with joy in that moment. Instead he is overwhelmed into his confession. There is shame in that moment that would not have been present if Thomas could have just believed.

And in the fullness of your time you will know the full truth of Christ and you will see Christ revealed in your life, but before you know, believe. Believe and know the joy of your salvation, believe and know Christ first in faith.

We have a testimony, a testimony that covers centuries of the witness of God’s love and power. We have the testimony of the witnesses in God’s word, and the testimony of our fellowship here – as those who have experienced and shared in the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

Rejoice, for our salvation is found in the faith we are called together here to share. And in our faith we discover the grace and strength to share this good news in the whole world.

May God be praised. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: songs 77 Who is on the Lord’s side?

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

Easter Service

Rexton Lion Nursing Home

April 24^th 2011 – 2:30pm

Order of Service

Opening

Kathy L1 – I thought I knew God’s word well enough to recognize God’s Messiah at first glance, but I could not see him until I had hurt him, and until I was part of the group that condemned him to the cross.

Cecil L2 – I was just following orders. I was just doing my job. I didn’t really have choice. But my heart aches that I was a part of his suffering.

Galen L3 – It seemed like the world was out to get us. The world wanted to destroy us, like they crucified him. So I was hidden. I could not go to the cross. But something amazing happened as I made my way home.

L4 – After thousands of years people still talk about Christ’s resurrection, and even though I was not there it sometimes feels like I was. When I feel Christ’s presence in my life I feel like I am being resurrected.

Hymn: Beneath the Cross of Jesus

 Beneath the cross of Jesus

I fain would take my stand,

the shadow of a mighty rock

within a weary land;

a home within the wilderness,

a rest upon the way,

from the burning of the noontide heat,

and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus

mine eye at times can see

the very dying form of One

who suffered there for me;

and from my stricken heart with tears

two wonders I confess:

the wonders of redeeming love

and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow

for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than

the sunshine of his face;

content to let the world go by,

to know no gain nor loss,

my sinful self my only shame,

my glory all the cross.

Scripture:

Psalm 22:1-18

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from the words of my groaning?

² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, and am not silent.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the praise of Israel.

⁴ In you our fathers put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

⁵ They cried to you and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷ All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

⁸ “He trusts in the LORD;

let the LORD rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;

you made me trust in you

even at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰ From birth I was cast upon you;

from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

¹⁴ I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted away within me.

¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me;

a band of evil men has encircled me,

they have pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷ I can count all my bones;

people stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸ They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.

Prayer of Approach

O Lord God,

We come in the wonder of this day. Today we come in worship and in praise, and together as your people we come to the open door of the tomb to encounter the living and eternal Christ, who is risen, and who calls us each by name.

Lord, we come to our good shepherd, who has laid down his life for the sheep and who brings us together as a flock, for tending care and even discipline; for both your rod and staff are a comfort to us.

Lord let us hear your voice as we pray. Lord, let feel your presences as we pray. Lord, revive us, renew us, resurrect us and make us a new and living people, born again through the blood of your sacrifice.

Lord, forgive us. Lord, forgive us for the times that we have looked for you in the wrong places. Lord, please forgive for the times we sought you by doing our own will and not yours, when we served our own ideas before we followed the guidance of your Law. Lord , forgive us for the times we have hidden our eyes from a neighbours sorrow, or ignored a stranger’s need. O Lord, help us to honour this day and know forgiveness that has come through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, in whose name we pray.

Amen

Kathy – Reflection of a Pharisee: This man was said to be a troublemaker. He had stirred up the countryside, and even when he came into the holy city he was greeted by mobs with palm branches as if he was a king; as if he was the king.

But he walked with sinners, he ate with the unclean, and it was people like tax collectors and rough fishermen who followed him around. Every time he encountered one of us, a priest or any Pharisee he seemed to argue with us.

He was a lot like the rebel John the Baptist, who Herod had dealt with. Well, that should have been my first clue. John was not wrong, a little zealous maybe, but not wrong. He did not deserve death.

And I stood with all the other with all we thought we knew about God and God’s will. And when my vote came down in the Sanhedrin and I spat in Jesus face after Caiaphas tore his robes; did I condemn him, or did I condemn myself? I did not go to watch his punishment, or anything that followed. After he was taken to the hill outside the city called the skull, I pulled out the Isaiah scroll, and I read these words, and I wept for what my pride had caused me to do.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6

¹ Who has believed what we have heard?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

² For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

³ He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,

and with his stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Hymn: Lord of the dance

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
at Bethlehem I had my birth.
Refrain:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
and I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

I danced for the Scribe and the Pharisee,
but they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John –
they came with me and the dance went on. Refrain

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame;
the holy people said it was a shame.
they whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
and they left me there on a Cross to die. Refrain

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
but I am the Dance, and I still go on. Refrain

They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me –
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he. Refrain

The Lord’s Supper

Sacrament of Communion:

We come now to the Lord’s table, to celebrate the communion we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is the Lord’s Table free to all who confess Jesus as Lord; for those who are joined to Him in the love we share as His people.

Prayer: Almighty God, we are gathered at this table, with these simple elements of bread and wine; and as a family at this table we seek a nourishment that these elements of food alone cannot provide. We seek your presence at this table, and that at this meal we can be gathered with you, and all those who proclaim Christ Jesus as your Son and our Saviour.

Lord, by the power of your Holy Spirit use these elements, crafting them to your purpose, that our spirits might be raised to give good praise to you in our lives. Anoint us with the power of your love, that in the celebration of this sacrament – given to us by your Son and our Saviour, Jesus the Christ – we might rise from this table full and deeply blessed.

Lord, hear our prayer, as we offer the prayer that Jesus taught us:

Our Father,

Who art in heaven,

Hallowed by Thy Name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts [trespasses/sins]

As we forgive our debtors [those who trespass/sin against us]

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory

For ever and ever; Amen

Institution: As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church, so we have this testimony we share “That on the same night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said ‘Take. Eat. This is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.’ In the same manner he took the cup – after they had sup – saying; ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Sacrament: Behold! The saving grace of Christ Jesus is this; “That while we were still sinners He came and died for us.” [Romans 5:8].

The Bread: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” [Matthew 26:26]

Bread distributed

The Cup: Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. . .” [Matthew 26:27, 28]

Wine/Juice distributed

The Apostle says: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show the Lord’s death until He comes”

Praise be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for by His body and Blood we can know salvation and be filled to overflowing with the joy of God’s love for us. Amen

Scripture: John 19:1-6, 17-24

¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.

⁴Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,

“They divided my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

Cecil – Reflection of a Soldier: As a soldier for Rome I have had to do terrible things. They ordered me to work in parts of the world that are far from my home and away from my family. Here in this part of the world we have to try and keep law and order, but our rules are not these people rules. They believe different things, and I don’t understand it most of the time.

But to see their leaders turn and treat one of their own people so harshly. And this man was not a thief or a murderer. He mostly gave speeches, and they were speeches about trying to learn to get along from all I have heard.

But some of the other soldiers, they wanted to make a mockery of him. They beat him, and one of them twisted some thorns into a crown and jammed it on his head so the thorns cut him. Then they all looked at me.

I grabbed a robe, and old dyed cloak and draped it over him. “There!” I said “A king need a robe!” The others laughed. Better him than me, right?

They took him away, I thought for good, but then we get the order to report to Golgotha, the place of execution outside the city. I knew we were supposed to execute a couple of thieves and the murderous Barrabbas, and for crooks like that I don’t mind doing justice.

But then I look up, and coming out of the city, the three of them, the thieves and that man, it’s not Barrabas, it’s that good man. Some people are yelling, others are crying. There is another man carrying the cross for him, because he looks barely able to walk. It was though the weight of the world was on him as he stumbled up to me on the hill.

And then the soldiers who had marched him to the hill threw him down, on the crossbeam at my feet, and then looked at me.

“Well, we’re waiting. Or are you enjoying the view?”

I looked into my hands. I’ve got the hammer and the spikes. I have a job to do . . . it’s just a job I have to do.

And I did my job.

Oh, what have I done?!

Hymn: Now let the vault of heaven resound

Now let the vault of heaven resound
in praise of love that doth abound,
‘Christ hath triumphed, hallelujah!
sing, choirs of angels, loud and clear,
repeat their song of glory here,
‘Christ hath triumphed, Christ hath triumphed!”
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Eternal is the gift he brings;
wherefore our heart with rapture sings,
‘Christ hath triumphed, Je sus liveth!’
now doth he come and give us life;
now doth his presence still all strife
through his triumph; Jesus reigneth!
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Oh fill us, Lord, with dauntless love;
set heart and will on things above,
that we conquer through thy triumph;
grant grace sufficient for life’s day,
that by our life we ever say,
‘Christ hath triumphed, and he liv eth!’
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Adoring praises now we bring,
and with the heavenly blessed sing,
‘Christ hath triumphed, hallelujah!’
Be to the Father and our Lord,
to Spirit blest, most holy God,
thine the glory neverending!
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Lord God, we thank you for the warmth of this place and the joy of our fellowship. Lord, we thank you for the people we gather with, who come from many roads of life, to be our brothers and sisters in this place.

Lord God we give you thanks for the joy of this day’s worship. We give you praise for the power of Christ Jesus, that he is risen and is with you in glory welcoming us in joy.

Lord God we pray for the world that does not know Christ, but we thank you for the chances we will have to share the good news in Jesus Christ with them. Help not to be shy, but to have courage and confidence in the truth. Christ has come, had died, is risen and shall come again in glory.

O Lord of peace, help us when we do not understand, and we struggle with each other. Help us to be patient with those who cannot understand our needs, and give us the voice we need to share our joys and sorrows, needs and hopes with those who care for us.

Lord God, Father of all, we pray for our families, and for all those who have loved us in our lives. We pray for this community and our home communities; and we give you thanks for all of our neighbours who still visit us, and to whom we are still dear remembered friends in prayer.

In our home Lord, we pray for healing and renewing of our spirits in you. We pray for the staff of this facility, who serve with your gifts to them. Bless them, Lord God, and keep them strong, give them joy in their own families, and forgive their occasional impatience with us, as they forgive us for not being patient with them.

Lord, in your mercy, keep us always in your loving grace, your enfolding wings; in Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Galen – Reflection of a dicisple: It took me a while to come out from hiding. I was with the disciples when the soldiers came, and I ran, like many of them did. I remember what they did to John the Baptist. I know what happens when people are taken away to courts in the middle of the night.

I ran because I wanted to live. I ran because I was afraid.

I ran and found a good hiding place. I hid there through the rest of the night, and even though I was terrified, I fell asleep there. I woke to the rooster calling to the new dawn. But there was no brightness to the day.

Not for me anyway.

I looked out from my hiding place, but I would not leave. It might seem safe enough but if I went too far, they’d catch me. I would not even look for food. And in that dark place I felt surrounded by fear, and it swallowed me that whole morning.

As the sun rose to the middle of the day I heard a great commotion. Curiosity got the better of me and I ventured out. I could see from that hiding place just outside the city walls to the hill where they held public executions. There were three of them on that hill. I began to think that if the soldiers had captured me, that I might be one of those poor souls being crucified.

But I never would have believed that Jesus was one of those men. He was so good. So wise and kind. So deeply strong.

And then the sky grew dark, and the earth began to shake. And it was then I knew what had happened. I returned to my hiding place, and I wept until the evening.

I ventured out again that evening, and this time made my way to the place were we had celebrated the Passover with Jesus. We were all gathered there.

On the first day after the Sabbath myself and one of the other disciples left to head home in Emmaus. It was about a day’s journey. He and I would return to the life we had led before.

But on the way we met someone who journeyed with us. By the time we reached Emmaus, all the doubts and fears I had bottled up inside since fear took hold of me in the garden were gone. I understood things as I had never understood them before. He explained all of the scriptures in a way that  I could really understand them

We asked him to stay with us that night, to have supper at least. I invited him to break the bread and pray thanks for the meal, and when he did that the last part of my fear went away and I could at last see who he was. He was Jesus. He had risen from the dead.

And then he was gone, so we ran back to tell the others that we had seen the Lord.

Scripture: Luke 24:13-30

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Hymn: Thine Be the glory trans. R.B. Hoyle

Thine be the glory; Risen, Conquering Son
Endless is the victory; Thou o’er death hast won
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away
Kept the folded grave-clothes, where Thy body lay

Refrain:

Thine be the glory
Risen, conquering Son
Endless is the victory
Thou o’er death hast won!

Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb!
Lovingly He greets us; scatters fear and gloom
Let the church with gladness hymns of triumph sing
For her Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting
Refrain

No more we doubt Thee Glorious Prince of life
Life is naught without Thee; aid us in our strife
Make us more than conquerors, through Thy deathless love
Lead us in Thy triumph to Thy home above

Refrain

Reflection: He was what the whole world was waiting for. All those centuries of looking for answers, in nature, in laws, in wars, in who we see ourselves to be as races, nations, people and even families.

There on the cross, over two thousand years ago, we were given the answers and yet people today are like people two thousand years ago; just looking past the cross, looking past Christ, and onto just something else.

Jesus died on the cross, and then rose to life from the grave. The reality of that scares a lot of people. They would rather not believe. They want to try and prove it wrong, or they have to try and prove it true, they have real trouble believing.

Other people say they believe, but then they don’t do much with their faith. They look for loopholes in believing in Christ so they can get away with all the things they want to do. Their faith doesn’t mean much to them.

It seems that even now after so many years of telling people about Jesus, and about his life, and his death, and most of all about his resurrection that people still cannot believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died take away our sins. Some people want to make believing in Jesus more complicated so they can control other believers; and then there are others who try to make it all seem so simple that believing seems to simple to really be the answer.

But I know it is. I hope you know this too.

Jesus died for you, because your sins made it necessary. Jesus died for me to for the same reason. I don’t know all of your sins, in fact I trouble keeping track of mine sometimes. But God’s love washes all those sins away.

We don’t deserve it, but I am happy that God loves me so much. I hope you know it too.

Come on, let’s believe in Christ, let’s love God like we are all brothers and sisters. That’s really why Christ Jesus came and taught us all those things and performed all those miracles and died on the cross and rose on the grave.

Rejoice! The resurrection is real! May God be praised. Amen

Commission and Benediction

¹⁸And Jesus came to his disiplces and said , “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

And now, May  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

A Christian Church at Easter

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

ORDER OF SERVICE

Easter Sunday

April 24^th 2011

Welcome & Announcements

Call to Worship He is Lord

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

Opening Praise: BoP 197 Now let the vault of heaven resound

Special

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 22 [BoP 623]

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: NBoP/overhead 250 Lord of the dance

Scripture Readings: C _________ Tracy Ryan [Abby?] BR___________ Jean Chilcott

OT – Isaiah 25:6-9

⁶ On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare

a feast of rich food for all peoples,

a banquet of aged wine—

the best of meats and the finest of wines.

⁷ On this mountain he will destroy

the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;

⁸ he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears

from all faces;

he will remove the disgrace of his people

from all the earth.

The LORD has spoken.

⁹In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;

we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the LORD, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Epistle – Colossians 3:1-11

¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 216 Rejoice the Lord is King

Scripture Readings: C___________ BR_____________

Gospel – Matthew 28:1-10

¹After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

²There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Sermon: Raised with Christ

Whether it is a diet, or kicking a bad habit, or simply trying to settle into a new job or a new neighbourhood, teaching ourselves to focus on the present and future can be difficult. Even when we are making a deep concerted effort to set ourselves on a new path in life can feel so difficult.

In a garden by a tomb in a cave those who had been looking back and only seeing the past were awaken to a wondrous and endless future.

That is where the Christian message really begins its transformation. Up until that point all of Christ Jesus teaching could have been reasonably reached through the philosophies coming from the writings of Moses and the prophets. Even the idea of resurrection is not outside accepted doctrine of the Jewish faith.

But the event of resurrection is something altogether, especially a resurrection that takes place in the midst of time and not as the conclusion of time.

But Christ’s resurrection is the beginning of a new era in human history, and of the understanding of what it means to be human. Even the religions that do not claim the same truths as the Christian faith, all the world religions have been touched and have become answerable to the teaching of a resurrected Christ of God. There is more power within the Christian faith than we often give it credit for.

We often see Christianity as this archaic, ancient, institution that had its best years somewhere in our parent’s or our grandparents lifetimes. For many of our children, the idea of being a part of the church is about as attractive as they find a good feed of brussel-sprouts and liver; appealing to none but a few.

We should seek for the living examples that we have been given about living as those given new life. Resurrection in Christ means more than simply a second chance. It is a goal in our faith that we both sense and are drawn towards fulfillment. And we call this fulfillment love. This is the first promise of the resurrection, it is the revelation of God. We ARE meant to see and recognize God, and know what God is doing, and rejoice that God has not hidden himself from us, but is very real, very apparent throughout our lives, and compelling his people to see how much we are loved, and to love each other in the same measure.

And for the most part we will only see our children and grandchildren as a regular part of this fellowship if the full invitation is offered to them. I believe that is part of our problem, that the roles and rules of being a part of the church are so set in stone that someone new to the church can have a hard time settling in. So & so looks after this part of the life and church, and so & so ‘always’ makes sure that these other things are looked after, and we become so focused on who does things, and who has always done things, that we take very little time to attend to who is going to look after things, and blindly hoping that someone will be there.

Well, what does all this have to do with the resurrection message?

Simply this, that the whole reason Jesus died was to take away the sins that separate us from each other, and especially ‘put to death’ all those things that separate us from God. The apostle Paul wrote: “⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry”

See, what is happening in many church and what has its hooks here in our fellowship, is an ongoing struggle between the worship of God and the worship of something else. The last on the list that was in our reading from the letter to the Colossians is a problem that has creeped into our churches over many centuries until some of these churches have stopped worshiping Christ. There are many churches today that have stopped worshipping Christ and worship instead the walls of the building, the glass in the windows, the foundation stones, or even the stones in the graveyard. There are congregations within our denominations who would rather be certain that the graveyard gets tended to, or the church building stays standing, than to gather anyone else into the fellowship.

Wouldn’t it be better to not simply have someone come in and sit and see how we do our faith, but that we welcome them to be a part of what we believe. Jesus invitation was not simply to come in and sit down, but to go out and serve. When we do gather it is a better use of our time to recognize each other and seek to discover each other’s purpose in Christ.

There are gifts and abilities for the work of Christ in this fellowship that you do not know anything about. There are people coming into our church wanting to know how to use and apply what they have and what they know to some purpose, and we are missing it if all we do is invite someone to come in and sit down and see how worship is done.

We really need to invite each other to see above the same-ol’ building with the same-ol’ people, and really glorious fellowship that is supposed to be going on in this place and coming out of this place to change our world, even if that change is only happening in our little communities. The second promise found in the resurrection is the promise of ‘welcome’.

It begins with the resurrection; recognizing that that Jesus’ resurrection is not something limited to the past, but an event that is open and available to all the ages, even ours, even our children’s. That open door of faith, that beginning of feeling the resurrection is not going to come from some terrific sermon, or some insightful children’s story, or from the best sung favourite hymn, a person’s new faith is in the first words of the resurrected Christ. “Greetings”

And we all need to be welcoming like Christ. We need to welcome people into Christian life as more than observers, but as participants. Have you shared your work and mission in Christ with the children in your life, with the rest of your family, with your friends and neighbours?

And so, the hardest part of this message is getting over our fears enough to be able to do it. And this brings us to the last great promise fulfilled in the resurrection. That there is nothing that God cannot recover from. If you try to mission for Christ and you fall flat on your face, and if you stumble, and if you get confused or embarrassed, do you really doubt that God can put everything back together? Do you doubt that God cannot make it work for good?

“Do not be afraid”, says Jesus, “go and tell the others of our fellowship to go on, and where they go they will see me.”

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

The Lord’s Supper (Communion) handout

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 201 Thine be the glory

Benediction

Dismissal: Alleluia, Alleluia give thanks to the risen Lord [NBoP 260]

Today’s bulletin covers are provided by the family of Ruby (Warren) Clark in her memory

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.

Manse #: 506-785-4383 Cell #: 506-521-0709 Email: alexander.sutherland@gmail.com

ORDER OF SERVICE

How deep the Father's love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He would give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One

Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross

My guilt upon His shoulders

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no powr's, no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

²³When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,

“They divided my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

²⁵Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” ²⁷and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

²⁸Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

[The Christ Candle is extinguished]

A moment of silence – Unannounced

We depart in prayer and silence

And so, we face the wonder, the power and the sorrow of the cross, we are drawn onwards to the joy of our salvation: Christ Jesus has died, was buried, and is risen from the dead.

We look forward to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. We hope that you will be with us this Easter Sunday . . .

Call to Worship

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 209 O Love that will not let me go

BoP 447

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 31:1-14 (BoP 628)

¹ In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

² Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

³ For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.

⁴ Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

⁵ Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

⁶ I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;

⁸ And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.

⁹ Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

¹⁰ For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

¹¹ I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.

¹² I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.

¹³ For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

¹⁴ But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.

Children’s story – Palm branches and BlackBerrys

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 218 Hosanna, Loud Hosanna

BoP 157

Scripture Readings:

OT – Isaiah 50:4-9

⁴The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. ⁵The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. ⁶I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. ⁷For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. ⁸He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. ⁹Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

KJV

P_____

⁴ The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,

to know the word that sustains the weary.

He wakens me morning by morning,

wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

⁵ The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears,

and I have not been rebellious;

I have not drawn back.

⁶ I offered my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from mocking and spitting.

⁷ Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,

I will not be disgraced.

Therefore have I set my face like flint,

and I know I will not be put to shame.

⁸ He who vindicates me is near.

Who then will bring charges against me?

Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser?

Let him confront me!

⁹ It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.

Who is he that will condemn me?

They will all wear out like a garment;

the moths will eat them up.

NIV

Epistle – Philippians 2:5-11

⁵Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

KJV

P______

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷ but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 231 When I survey the wondrous cross

BoP 178

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – Matthew 27:6-25

⁶And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. ⁷And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. ⁸Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. ⁹Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; ¹⁰And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

¹¹And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. ¹²And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. ¹³Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? ¹⁴And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. ¹⁵Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. ¹⁶And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? ¹⁸For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. ¹⁹When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. ²⁰But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. ²¹The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. ²²Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. ²³And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. ²⁴When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. ²⁵Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

²⁶Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. ²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

KJV

P______

⁶The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, ¹⁰and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

¹¹Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

¹²When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

²¹“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

²²“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

²⁵All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

NIV

Sermon: Surely Not I

It think you’ll find this scene somewhat familiar. Three otherwise good well behaved boys, rubbing shoulders as they standing in the entryway from the porch to the kitchen, all with their head down trying to avoid eye contact.

It is a scene of the guilty standing before the judge and executioner – unless she says the fateful words ‘you just wait until your father gets home’.

In the living room is the evidence of the crime; broken glass, and in the midst of it a baseball.

In the boys hands on holds a baseball bat while the other two have gloves. And there they stand, shuffling back and forth, still filled with twitch and shuffle of little boy mischief.

“Didn’t I tell you NOT to play baseball in the front yard?”

And of course not one of them answers

“Now, who wants to tell me how that baseball came in through the front yard?”

And again, not one of them offers a word or a peep.

“Which one of you is responsible for this?”

And what answer would you expect.

“Answer me”, their mother says.

“It’s not my fault.”, says the boy who threw the ball.

“It’s not my fault.”, says the boy who hit the ball.

“It’s not my fault.”, says the boy who was supposed to catch the ball.

And then they point at each other.

Whose fault do you think it was?

One of the major lessons that Jesus taught the disciples and the others who came to hear him speak was about sin. The Pharisees through they knew everything about what sin was and what sin wasn’t. Then there were other people who did not know anything about sin and believed that it did not even matter. We have people like that today. There are some people that have very strong beliefs about right and wrong, and even though they might not think they know everything, they think they know enough to always be on the right side of things. There are others who just don’t seem to think that it makes any difference what they do.

Instead of letting the world fall into one of these two camps, Jesus teaches and calls on his disciples to become responsible about what they do and what they believe.

In the sermon on the mount Jesus said that peacemakers, meek, humble, the persecuted that these were the people who would receive God’s blessing. But what that means is that everyone else, those who fight over things, who are proud and puffed up, and people who put others down to make themselves seem more important, those people are outside God’s blessing.

When Jesus confronted the Pharisees he did not mock the things they did, but he challenged what they believed about what they assumed their actions meant. Jesus was just as critical about people who did not believe in anything at all.

Today, the reading from the letter to the church in Philippi, Paul tells the church that God likeness is not our goal. It is not as if we are trying to earn our way or even be forgiven enough to be God. Jesus did not see being  God as something to be grasped, but took the form of a servant. A Pharisee would never have done that since they competed over their own sense of righteousness, the most righteous being given titles like Rabbi and Priest. There is no name that other people can ever assign to you that will put you higher in the great book of life than the one God has given to you. What greater name could you ever bear than to be considered a child of God.

When we look at the scene of final accusation, as Jesus stand before the Sanhedrin, and then before Pilate, and then before the crowd of people, while recognizing the abandonment by Christ’s disciples; we need to try and understand which party we are most like. It is sort of like choosing which political party you’re going to vote for. You’re not too sure you belong to any one party, but even in trying to avoid the choice you have made a choice.

No one would wish to say; “Oh, well I am most like the Pharisees who persecuted Jesus because they were too proud to see the truth.” And yet this may be true. In the same way it is not comfortable to admit we are like any of the other groups. And right there is our biggest problem when it comes to Christ’s sacrifice. We are ashamed to admit it was necessary.

But it is true, the cross is necessary for not only the sins you admit, but the cross is especially necessary for the sin you can’t admit, that you don’t let anyone else see. The cross is the cost for all those sins that good acts don’t make up for.

Jesus is the king of kings; just as he was proclaimed when he rode into Jerusalem amidst the cheers of a joyful crowd. But this last crowd jeers him, laughs at him, mocks him and questions his kingship. And in that scene we want to say, “Surely, not I.” Surely we don’t have a place in the midst of the persecution and ridicule of Christ. Surely, we are not still like those who caused or – at the very least – allowed Christ to be brought to trial, humiliated and than taken away to a painful & shameful death.

But surely, it is us. It is us who God loves so much as not to leave us in shame and sin. It surely is us, who God will not leave us standing at the threshold of forgiveness, with our heads hung in the sorrow of our own guilt.

Just a follow-up on that illustration I used to open the sermon. There is no doubt that all those boys were at fault. They knew the rules, they broke them [and the window]. But there mother, for all her threat and scolding, she still would have a hug at the end of the day. Even though those boys deserved punishment, at the end of the day, as she tucked them into bed, she would still have a warm hug and a kiss, as they said their prayers and went to sleep.

That’s how God loves us. That’s right, surely you and I. And may God be praised.

Special Reflection – Now the Green Blade Riseth /

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

The Lord’s Supper

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 216 Hosanna to the king of kings

(overhead)

Benediction

Dismissal: Alleluia, Alleluia give thanks to the risen Lord [NBoP 260, insert]

Call to Worship I love you Lord

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

Opening Praise: songs 121 Close to thee

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 130 [BoP 663]

Children’s story – Wally the Walrus the Watchman

Children’s Hymn: BoP 163 Tell me the stories of Jesus

Scripture Readings:

OT – Ezekiel 37:1-14

¹The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ²He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹²Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’”

Epistle – Romans 8:6-11

⁶The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Hymn of Illumination: BoP 211 Speak, Lord in the stillness

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 11:1-45

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

⁷Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. ¹⁰It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹²His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

²⁸And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴“Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. ⁴⁶But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

Sermon: These dusty bones

Today I would like our attention to settle on the prophetic vision given to the prophet Ezekiel.

It is a dark scene, it is a depressing scene. That great valley of dry bones is every unconquerable task, every looming doubt, every uninspiring and uninspirable group. All these things wrapped into one vision and thrust by God upon the spirit of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel is told to look upon that valley, and see it for what it was. Look into that valley and see your people, the people of Israel, God’s chosen people, scattered and broken like dry bones. It could not have been easy for Ezekiel to look at that scene. It is heart-breaking to see people in those kinds of circumstances; like people who have had bad news waiting for more bad news to come.

When I listen to the CBC hourly news I get into the sort of mindset, especially if there is a breaking story. Even when I hear good news in the report I feel as though they are softening me up for more bad news. The news reports make me look at life around me as though the world full of dark valleys filled with dry bones.

No one likes to be confronted by life in this way. It makes us feel powerless and small. And it should not be the way we try to view life, except to recognize the need that God is calling us to fill.

Ezekiel is given a command. God calls Ezekiel to see the situation and then God says, ‘Okay, now DO something about it!’

Those mystic visions that arise in reading scripture can seem fantastic, even a little frightening. Yet, the kind of mystic visions that are described the book of Ezekiel are out of most of our experiences, but that vision was only given to Ezekiel to help him see what was right in front of him, surrounding him. And he is shown in the vision that he has some ability in answering that need he has been shown, that he has seen.

Is there something that has come to mind your own life, in the lives of people who surround you? Is there some need for hope, or joy, or especially love in the people around you?

When you think of the valleys of dry bones, what are they for you? Are they the children’s faces who flash across the screen of the TV when campaigns are running for UNICEF or for World Vision. Is the valley of bones that you see a neighbour struggling with addictions, with debt, with a personal or a family crisis, or even with long-stand strife that kind that wears hope down to nothing. The world is not running short on valleys of dry bones.

What valley is God drawing you to see?

The Lord God commanded Ezekiel prophecy to those bones. Can you speak to the struggles around you? Can you accept, and do you recognize the calling God is putting on you to be His prophet to the hardships that surround your life?

God said to Ezekiel, “Prophecy to the bones.” And God said this because he had given Ezekiel all the resources he would need to fulfill the prophecy. When God put a mission in your life and a need to be filled before you, you are given all the resources you will need in order to fulfill that calling, that mission.

You might not feel like you have the necessary resources and abilities to fulfill a mission. You might look at a person or a situation and wonder why God has brought this to your attention. God might not be asking you to answer that need all by yourself either. Perhaps God has brought something to you attention because you know the group of people that can bring hope to the situation.

When Jesus was called from his journey to come to the gravesite of his friend Lazarus Jesus was confronted with the valley of dry bones as well. But the dry bones was not the body of his dead friend in the tomb. The dry bones were the hopeless faces, the joyless spirits of Martha and Mary. Jesus came to the mournful scene in Bethany, he called not only into the tomb, but into the lives of Martha and Mary and to all who were gathered their, not to be dry bones any longer but to believe, and to see that life had a wonderful knew meaning because of Jesus.

The new prophecy that Christ gives to all who seek for life in Christ’s resurrection came in the form of these words: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

And then Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?”

Is that what you are offering the world around, the world with its needs and it doubts and its worries? Is that what we as a church offer our community? Is that what we offer our region? our nation? this whole world?

Our world today can be so like that valley of dry bones shown to Ezekiel so long ago. Our lives can be focused on death, and this is a growing trend in our church; ensuring that grave markers are preserved while ministries fail and church building fall to disrepair.

But God is calling us to look through the valleys of death and to fear nothing, to hold no doubt. Jesus calls on us, as he called on Martha and Mary, to believe. To believe that he is the resurrection and the life. And I do believe.

That’s the real power in knowing Christ, in having Christ as your Saviour and Lord.

God breathes life in through the most hopeless of circumstances. Christ came not only to show us, and tell us, but unlike any prophet or priest that has ever lived he WAS the life.  And Christ is the life forever

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: BoP 233 Love divine, all loves excelling

Benediction

Dismissal: We celebrate the gifts we share

Call to Worship You are my all in all

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

Opening Praise: NBoP 411 Stand up, and bless the Lord

BoP 328

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 24 [BoP 625]

Children’s story – Gilbert the goat

Children’s Hymn: songs 65 The ninety and nine

Scripture Readings:

OT – 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Epistle – Ephesians 5:8-14

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 769 Lord of light

BoP 489

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 9:1-41

_¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. ⁴As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

⁸His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.

¹¹He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

¹²“Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

¹³They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.

¹⁷Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹“Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. ²³That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

²⁵He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

²⁸Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

³⁰The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. ³²Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

³⁵Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

⁴⁰Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

⁴¹Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

NIV

Sermon: To make us see

There are people who are born and are thrown into the worst of circumstances, and in those situations they have made terrible choices. They have stolen, or cheated, they have sold out their friends or they have sold out themselves. Further still, there are people who by their own choice – having every opportunity to do right, with every advantage life can give – make very wrong decisions. No matter the choice that has been made or has not been made, people can find themselves facing the pits of hell.

There’s the expression, ‘Where but for the grace of God go I’. It is a terrible expression really. It points to another person’s dire circumstances, and snidely says that God has graced me with going through something terrible. I will say very plainly, that the pride with which that expression is often used is far more rotting than any difficult situation we might find ourselves in.

But that expression and others like it harkens back to the false mentality that people are in hard times, and in tough situations because God is invoking a punishment on them for something they have done, or something an ancestor did. This assumption is not only wrong, it assumes the wrong things about our redemption.

But how often have you heard someone say, when someone is going through a hardship, ‘It’s a judgment on them’, ‘they must have deserved it somehow’. And we say that, not out of pity [though we might try and make it sound like pity], but out of some need to explain that bad things happen to people because they deserve it, because if that is not true then bad things can happen to anybody. We like to think that we e good enough people not to have to deal with sadness, struggles, sorrow.

This kind of attitude is just one of our common forms of blindness. When we believe foolish assumptions, when we follow doctrine with examination, or orders without question, we are blind. The people of God had become blind. They could not see the truth of their time, the evil of their conquerors, and the corruption in their own faith.

The Pharisee Priests and leaders at the temple in Jerusalem had a very skewed view of this healing, of all healing. Their faith had become so controlled, to explainable, that there was no room for miracles. This same faith, born from the great acts of God through the prophetic leader Moses, revisited by the miraculous examples laid down  in the powerful prophecies of Elijah, Elisha and the many prophets who proclaimed God to the people through out the ages. Yet their reaction to this act of healing of a blind man should awaken us to how skewed a view was thriving in the leadership at that time.

Jesus states a very different reason for blindness than what was popularly held, perhaps even differently than we believe ourselves. When we encounter someone who is blind, or someone who is suffering from an ailment we do not go with the assumption that we found in our reading today, that they are ill or weak or disabled because of the sin of their parents or themselves. We assume that they have acquired a virus, a genetic malfunction, an injury. In other words, we like the Pharisees try to explain away the handicap. But Jesus does not explain it away, Jesus gives even a handicap like blindness a purpose.

Jesus invites us to see this blind man in a whole new way. Jesus invites the blind man to see his blindness in a very different way than he has ever been taught. Up until that point the blind man was likely bitter with his parents for whatever sin they had committed for causing him to be blind. The blindness was a barrier between them, but blind or sighted Jesus draws people together. The power of Jesus miracles is not only does this man regain his sight but his family is reunited in the midst of this, his parents stand in defense of him before the accusing Pharisees – who it seems would be more than happy for the man to remain blind.

Now I want to be clear about one thing at this point: the view that was generally held by the Pharisees in today’s gospel reading was not exclusive. The Pharisees, it says in verse sixteen, ‘were divided’. Yet the work of the Pharisees was clearly to explain away the miracle to be something other than a miracle.

This is a difficult line to skate. On the one hand we are told to believe, yet we want to know how things take place. We have this terrible tendency to explain God out of most things in life.

Why did the seed grow?

Well, because we planted it in nutrient rich soil, watered it, made sure it got lots of light and warmth, kept bugs and illnesses from interrupting its growth.

Do you see where God was involved in this?

Or, A little girl is very ill, but then she got better. How did she get better?

Well, her parents made sure she had lots of rest, made sure she drank lots of liquids, took the medicine the doctor gave them for her, she ate what food she could when she could and that food was very healthy food.

Do you see where God was involved in this?

Why did the man die?

Well, he had lived a good long life, his body was getting weaker, he kept getting sick, he had suffered from a number of injuries, he had good relationships with both his friends and his family.

Do you see how God was involved in this?

You and I could easily explain away everything I have just described with ever mentioning God. But God is involved, God’s will is present in death as well as life, in sickness as well as health and God’s glory is shown. God is present with the broken family as well as the unified one. But our need to explain thing to our own satisfaction instead of to God’s glory blinds us.

Oh, we can be very blind. We can be very blind to the presence of God and purpose of God. Have you asked in prayer what God would have you see, and what task God is calling you to fulfill?

You have been given God’s word, it has been read and the resources to know and to learn and to see God’s truth laid our for you are not hidden from you. You, like the Pharisees, have no excuse to not to see. You have reason to claim blindness from the truth found in God’s word and revealed in all of life. You have each other as a fellowship of believers and more than that you have the Holy Spirit as your guide.

Will you see?

Can you see?

Are you looking into your own life to see the revelation God has for you?

I pray you are, and that through God’s word you will discover and with joy celebrate that calling God has placed upon each of you.

See, and know that God is God, and in Christ our salvation is secured. May God be praised. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

Commissioning Hymn: NBoP 471 We are one in the Spirit

(overhead)

Benediction

Dismissal: We celebrate the gifts we share

We celebrate the gifts we share,

In service we proclaim

Our Saviour Christ who for us died

To wash away sin’s stain.

By faith we go and labour on,

Through tasks God’s Word reveals;

Amidst the joy of worship done,

To wonder as He heals.