Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday Nov 15, 2020
Message: Finding God in the Pandemic
Reverend Glynis Faith (705-765-3797) (muskokalakesministry@gmail.com)
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Announcements
________________________________________* We will be celebrating Communion on Sunday November 29th via Zoom. Details on how to participate and prepare will be emailed out on Wednesday Nov 25.
* For those who are unable to take part by Zoom, I will be arranging to bring Communion into your home. This will take place starting in January. Please feel free to contact me to discuss and set up a day/time.
* The Session of Zion meets via Zoom, Monday Nov 16 at 2pm.
* The Session of Knox meets in the Sunday School room, Tuesday Nov 17, 7pm.
* Lectio Divina, Thursday evenings, 8pm via Zoom
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Prayer of Adoration & Confession
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Lord God, through this pandemic it is common for people to wonder, where are You in all this?
As we consider this question, we realize You are with us in the midst of it all. You are the God of love holding the hands of those in ICU units. You are the compassion flowing through the hearts and hands of those working to provide care for our elderly and healing for the patients in hospital. And You are the gentle voice reminding Your people to love one another – care for one another – protect one another – calling us to make choices and sacrifices that put the safety of our neighbours along side our own safety.
Father, we praise You for Your Amazing Love. Jesus, we thank you for teaching us sacrificial love. Holy Spirit, we thank you for the comfort and encouragement Your continued presence brings.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit we confess our frustrations and impatience as the 2nd wave of Covid-19 sweeps through. And we confess that we allow our frustration and impatience to cause us to sin. We complain against decision makers, especially when we are inconvenienced by their decisions. We bend rules, setting the examples for others to do the same. We overlook blessings as we fix our eyes on going back to the way things were.
Lord, forgive us. Forgive us and guide us in putting the needs and health of others ahead of our wants and goals. Through Christ we pray. AMEN

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Christ sacrificed that we might have forgiveness and eternal life. In this national health crisis, let us be willing to sacrifice to protect the lives of the vulnerable. AMEN
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Scripture
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John 14:15-20 NIV Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

1Kings 19:9b-13 NIV The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
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Message
“Finding God in the Pandemic”
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Elijah arrives at Mt. Horeb and hears the Word of the Lord questioning him, “what are you doing here?” He does not answer the question, but proceeds to credit himself as righteous and complain about what is going on in the world. The Lord does not rebuke his self-righteous claims or his complaints. Elijah, the great prophet has come before the Lord of heaven and earth with complaints instead of reverence.
It happens sometimes, the craziness of the world and the situations going on around us can distract us from the very fact that God is in control and will have the final word. We see the sins of the world and the things that oppose us and our beliefs, and we allow these things to distract us from sitting, talking and listening to God. So, the Lord asks Elijah to ‘chill out and listen.’ (maybe not in those words, I believe my translations says, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by,” which can be translated in modern talk to, ‘chill out for a moment and listen to what I have to say.’)
Life, indeed has been challenging for the great prophet. He did not face a national pandemic, like we face today, but he did face a national crises inflicting idol worship, hate speech and violence upon the nation of Israel. He had good reason to fear for his life, but what we don’t read in the passages we read today, is that while fleeing, he stops and gives up. Elijah, the great prophet calls out to God to take his life. The world, as he sees it, is beyond repair, and he would rather die that see anymore.
There is a helplessness that Elijah is carrying in his heart. The great prophet no longer sees God’s presence in what is going on, so he says, “just come and take me out of this world, LORD.”
Life may blow trouble our way. The future may look like it is crumbling. The flames of doubt and fear may rage, but they cannot shake the One whose gentle voice has the final say – the Creator who made the wind, mountains, rocks and fire.
Many are feeling helpless and frustrated today. We hear the hate speech and the false accusations. A hidden virus goes unseen amongst the people and we feel helpless to stop the spread. Our economy faces great uncertainty, and it seems like there is nothing we can do. We look towards Christmas and feel downhearted because it will not be the same celebrations and traditions we have built up around the season. Church pews will not be crammed full on Christmas Eve. People working in healthcare are frustrated with people continuing to gather and refusing to limit their bubbles. People in business are frustrated with efforts to limit their numbers and profitability. Landlords are frustrated with the freeze on evictions and tenants are fearful of what will happen when the ban is lifted. Parents are struggling to find the balance between keeping children home to reduce the spread and maintaining children’s access to healthy socializing. Those in high risk categories fear the consequences of contact with the virus, and those who have lost a loved one are grieving and unable to receive comfort through the touch and hugs of community.
We stand at a place in history where future generations will look back at how we addressed the challenges and situations the pandemic has placed before us. They may question where God was in this pandemic and we have the responsibility to show them where to find the Lord in the Covid-19 pandemic.
We may leave behind examples that will benefit them through similar challenges. We have an opportunity to set an example of what it means to live out Christ’s command to ‘love one another,’ by doing all we can to protect the health and safety of those around us. I am sure there will be things the future generations will criticize about our behaviours and responses. We are not perfect, and hindsight is not a luxury we have to guide us.
The church, however, does have the ‘gentle whisper’ of God to guide us and walk with us through whatever earthly challenge we face today, and into the future. If we listen and trust, the Lord will walk with us through Covid-19 and make us stronger on the other side of it. We have God’s Word and His promises to us:
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Joshua 1:5 and this is not a promise found exclusively in Joshua, but throughout the old testament (Deut 31:6-8, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Isaiah 41:10-13) and used frequently by the Apostle Paul in his letters encouraging the early churches.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.” Isaiah 43:2
We know these promises, but like Elijah we can become worn down, overwhelmed, frustrated, fed up, confused, self righteous, judgemental, and fearful. When we let situations and emotions distract us from God’s presence in all things we need to bring ourselves into the presence of the Lord and allow Him to speak to us through the chaos.
Please close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself standing with Elijah in the mouth of the cave on Mt. Horeb as the chaos of the world roars before the Lord.
-hear the great an powerful winds as they grow stronger and stronger – winds of change – winds of fear – winds of uncertainty – winds that appear unstoppable///The winds stop, and as we look around, we see that God is not in those winds.
- Watch as the rocks fall and shatter into pieces – financial security – independence – healthcare – job security – homes – businesses – the ways we have always done things///Eventually the rocks stop crashing down around us, and as we look, we see that God is not in those rocks.
- Feel the instability of our world as the earth quakes and trembles – pollution poisoning the air, water and soil we depend on – the extinction of insects, birds, fish, wildlife and plants – extreme temperatures and natural disasters – the earth groaning ‘how long, O Lord.’///And then there is a pause, and as we look and listen, we see that God is not in the groaning of the earth.
- And then there is fire. Can you see the flames of hate, resentment and anger? Feel the heat as it closes in, threatening to consume everything in its path. See the destruction left in its path.///And then it is gone. Look around and see, God is not in the flames.
- Now listen///ask God to reveal Himself to you///tell Him your fears///Speak honestly with God – he already knows what you need – He already knows your concerns and what makes you anxious – but He wants to hear from YOU///And listen///listen to that gentle whisper, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” “I will be with you always, even to the ends of the age.” “when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fires of this life, you will not be scorched, nor will those flames consume you.”/////
Friends, God is not in the chaos of our world, but He is with you through them. Stay close to God’s Word, speak often with God and listen – listen to the gentle whisper of His voice reminding you how precious you are in His sight.
There is lots going on in our world and communities that can distract us from God, so I encourage you to spend time every day connecting with God and trusting in His presence with you through it all. When you look and listen you will know that God is not in the pandemic, but He is with us as we go through it.
And what happened to Elijah. Well, I encourage you to read 2Kings chapter 2 this week and see for yourself. And God bless you as you do. AMEN
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Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
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Spirit of the living God, we give You thanks for Your steady presence in the lives of all who serve the Risen Lord. You are the Rock we can cling to amidst the storms of life. We are blessed beyond measure, and we lift our hearts to You in gratitude.
Amidst life’s current storms we bring You our prayers.
We pray for the family of the 12-year-old recently shot to death by people seeking to kill others. Bring his family comfort, Lord God, we pray.
We pray for families separated by this pandemic and for families who have lost loved ones.
We pray for individuals who are facing Christmas away from family and for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, whose seat at the Christmas dinner table will be empty this year.
We lift up to You our brothers and sisters in the United States. We pray for those who are angered by the election results and for those who are fearful of how the transition may unfold. Lord, bring peace and unity to our neighbours.
We pray You will guide Your churches as the 2nd wave sweeps through. Give us insight and the ability to continue to serve. Give us direction and hope in the face of all this.
Lord, God, we bring You these prayers and we put our faith in You as we pray together the Lord’s Prayer…. Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thine will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. AMEN