Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday May 23, 2021
Message: Wandering
Reverend Glynis Faith
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Announcements
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* Monday 7pm Bible Study via Zoom
* Tue 7pm Knox board of managers
* Thursday 7:30pm Lectio Divina via Zoom
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Prayer of Adoration
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Look upon us, O Lord,
and let all the darkness of our souls
vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
Fill us with holy love,
and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
All our desire is known unto thee,
therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
We seek thy face,
turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
Then shall our longing be satisfied,
and our peace shall be perfect.
{prayer of Saint Augustine (354 and 430 AD)}
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Prayer of Intercession
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As we wander Lord, we pray for the eyes to see Your presence guiding us and for the ears to hear Your will for our journey.
We pray also for the Israeali – Palistine cease fire to be a lasting situation. We pray for peace in the Middle East, and we pray the people will know peace in the land and the peace of Your presence.
We continue to pray for the people of India – for healing – for hope – for the world to reach out in compassion to share much needed resources.
We pray for the people of Ontario, who have experienced extensive lockdowns throughout this pandemic. May the people use caution and compassion for others as things begin to open and vaccinations continue to be administered.
We pray for churches whose doors have been closed a very long time. As we begin to worship in person again, may we be reminded that our need to worship together is centered on YOU. May this time of wandering on our own, strengthen us when we come together.
Compassionate God, we lift the needs of Your people up to You, trusting in Your love and grace. AMEN
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Prayer of Thanksgiving & The Lord’s Prayer
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PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING & LORD’S PRAYER
Lord You lead us through this life – calling us to follow Your way into the eternal Promised Land. We thank you for Your promise and the eternal home You have prepared for us.
As humans, we are prone to sin, but You never give up on us. You, Lord, know we are capable of trusting and following Your Will. Thank you for Your patience and trust.
When we sin and seek Your grace, You, Almighty God, are quick to forgive. We thank you for Your forgiveness.
As we wander through this life we tend to get off track, yet when we stop to pray for guidance and when we listen for Your voice, You lead us back on the right path. Thank you Lord.
Your commandments showed us our need for a saviour. In our need You sent us Your Son Jesus to show us Your great love and to make the final sacrifice for sin. Lord Jesus, we lift our wandering hearts to You in gratitude and praise.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit we give you thanks as we pray together the prayer Jesus taught us, saying:
“our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be 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 as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. AME
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“ Wandering ”
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The wilderness journey is the human story - humanity free to choose life or death / freedom or bondage. It is a process full of God’s presence – humanities highs and lows – rebellion – faith and doubt – acceptance and rejection – it is a journey, and it is a journey we take together! Some individuals see and hear and trust in God more easily, while others witness the love and grace of God all around them but continue to question, challenge and doubt. Some are ready to step forward in faith into the Promised Land, while others are not quite sure and continue wandering.
In the past two weeks we have looked at the story of Moses and the Hebrew nation. God works incredible miracles through Moses to deliver the people up out of slavery – 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. The Presence of God comes to dwell among the people in a spectacular cloud encompassing the mountain. Lightening flashes, thunder rumbles and the voice of God is heard. God’s presence then resides with them, hovering over the tabernacle as a cloud by day and as fire by night; a presence that would lift when it was time to pack up camp and move, and stay put when they were to remain.
Throughout the first year, following the exodus of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, God addresses all their needs. The Red Sea is divided to grant them safe passage and the pursuing Egyptian army is drowned. They are provided water and food, and then they are given the Laws or Commandments.
They people vow to follow God’s instructions, but very quickly began to complain and rebel.
On the first day of the second month of the second year the people were called to celebrate the Passover, which you may remember is a meal to remind them of how God freed them from bondage – gave them a new start.
19 days later they set out for the Promised Land. It would have been a grand scene as each tribe gathered together and marched under their own banner. Imagine their excitement as they set out towards the land flowing with milk and honey. Milk and honey would certainly be better than the past year of living off water and manna.
If you have ever taken a family road trip with children, you are familiar with how long the excitement of heading out on a trip lasts. Less than an hour into a 20 hour trip, my daughter and son would start – she keeps looking at me – he touched me – she knocked over my stuff – he smells and you should put him in the trunk! Every now and then I would remind them of all the fun we were heading towards, and that might drum up some happy conversations, which lasted about 10 seconds, and then there was the universal travel chant, “ARE WE THERE YET?”
Honestly, I am not sure after the first road trip why I ever embarked on future ones. I do know that each time I prepared for the trip I would try new ways of making it fun – cool surprise boxes – one per hour of the trip. Each surprise was met with great joy and about 5 minutes peace and then, “ARE WE THERE YET?”
Well, the Hebrew nation celebrated the Passover feast together, began packing up camp and then headed out on a desert road trip to the Promised Land. They set off with great excitement and then . . . ARE WE THERE YET!
No, that is not what they said. The people began complaining about their hardships. Imagine that! On your way to the promised land – the Creator of heaven and earth is leading the way and you start complaining – the road is too rough – the food is not up to our standards – my feet hurt – she looked at me – he touched me – she knocked over my stuff – he smells so you should put him in the trunk!
And if a million complaining people was not enough, Moses’ brother, Aaron, and sister, Miriam start in on the action – “why does Moses get to talk to God?,” “why does he get to lead the people?,” “how come he gets to sit in the front seat with the Lord while we always have to sit in the back?,” “It’s not fair!”
But then, despite their complaining and rebelling, God brings them to the cusp of their inheritance. One leader from each of the 12 tribes is chosen to go in as a search party – go and see the land and bring back its fruits to show the people.
Can you imagine their excitement – their anticipation as they wait? They have grown up hearing the stories of God’s promises to Abraham, of Abraham’s faith and Isaac, the son of that promise. They were taught that they would be a great nation, they would be blessed, they would be a blessing and all nations would be blessed through them, AND they grew up learning of God’s promise to lead them into the Promised Land – their inheritance. Now they wait!!! Tic-toc, tic-toc, tic-toc . . . and then the search team returns to share the news . . .
Ten leaders fill the people’s hearts and minds with dread and lies – the land is difficult – the people are too numerous – they are bigger than us – its impossible – we better not go in!
But two of the leaders tell the truth, yes, there are some pretty big people in the land, but the land is rich and the harvest is plentiful, plus, if God will lead us, we can certainly take this land of promise.
So what do the people do? Do they say, ‘God has lead us out of the hands of Pharoah and his great armies, and He has provided for all our needs, and He has been present with us through all our grumbling and revolting, AND He has promised this land to us; therefore we shall go in with God as our helper?’ That is what they should have said, but here is what actually happened: Numbers 14:1-11
That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?
The people are willing to enslave themselves back in Egypt over trusting the One who set them free, provided for all their needs, kept them safe and brought them to the doorway of the land promised to them.
“How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?” God askes.
Well, obviously they are not ready for their inheritance, so God sends them back to Mount Sinai where they will wander for 40 years until the current generation has passed and the new generation is willing to step forward in faith.
There is a reason we call our Christian walk a faith journey. We are no different than the Hebrew nation. God gives us freedom and we enslave ourselves to any number of things. God provides for our needs, but the minute something isn’t going our way we forget all He has done and start complaining. When things aren’t moving as quickly as we think they should, we skip heavenly patience and take matters into our own hands. And sometimes we let the loud voices of fear, doubt, jealousy and discontent drown out the sounds of reassurance and encouragement from those walking this journey with us.
So what can we learn from God’s chosen nation as we wander together on this journey of faith?
1) When you are tempted to whine or complain – stop and pray instead. The people chose not to speak with God or listen to His voice – they wanted Moses to do it for them. But God wants to speak with you and He wants to listen to you. Whatever fear you have right now, whatever your current needs are, whatever challenges lie before you – don’t complain – pray. The God who provided water and food for the Hebrew nation will provide your needs too. The One who raised His hand against Pharoah’s army will calm your fears. There is no challenge ahead of you that is bigger than the Lord God. If you don’t believe me, talk to God and let Him speak the truth to you.
2) Build your trust in God. It is easy to be distracted and fearful when there is a major roadblock along your path – a lost job – a health crisis – a sick loved one – a major financial set back. Take your eyes off whatever lies before you and fix your eyes on the One who will provide. Count your blessings – remind yourself of all God has provided. Remember His promises – remember His Laws – Remember His Son, our Saviour – Remember the Cross and the empty tomb.
Trust in God and trust in His promises.
3) Remember, we are wandering together – we are on this journey of faith together. We, the church are God’s family and we are all in this together – here to strengthen one another. Sometimes we get off track (more often than we might like), and we need direction to get us back on the right path. We need to share our faith stories – to remind us of God’s presence and provisions – people to help us count our blessings and to tell us when we have lost sight of them. We need to pray for one another in the good times and especially when the journey seems so very very long – ARE WE THERE YET. Not yet, but we are on this journey together and God is leading and instructing us. if we will trust and keep our vision on the One who knows the way, we will one day step into the Promised Land to stand in the presence of our LORD God, and what a glorious day that will be my friends. What a glorious day that will be!
Please lift your heart in prayer with me: Lord God we confess our sins before You now, trusting You to forgive us and guide us back on the path that leads to YOU. We confess our grumblings when things don’t go our way; forgive us and help us to know YOUR way. Forgive us, Lord, when we are discontented with what You have provided; help us to see that manna is sufficient to sustain us on the journey. Forgive us when we long for what was instead of seeking what You will have them to be. You see the big picture – we only see what worked yesterday. Forgive us when we listen to negative and dissenting voices instead of trusting Your eternal vision for our lives. Forgive us when we enslave ourselves with a desire for wealth, power, status, or anything we use to escape reality instead of putting our faith in You to bring us through. Forgive us Lord God, and remind us in the depths of our being that You are on this journey with us, and that if we will follow Your will, we will receive the internal inheritance You have promised. Forgive us, we pray, in Jesus’ Name. AMEN
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Be Thou My Vision
Words: Irish anonymous, 8th century, translation Mary Byrne (1881-1931), paraphrase, Eleanor Hull (1860-1935), alt Music: Irish traditional; harmony, Erik Routley (1917-1982); descant, John Wilson (1905-1992)
Words: translation, paraphrase, copyright ©Chatto and Windus Ltd.
Music: harmony copyright ©1975 and descant ©by Hope Publishing Co.
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Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that though art,
thou my best thought in the day and the night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou my great Father, thine own may I be,
thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight,
be thou my armour and be thou my might,
thou my soul’s shelter and though my high tower,
rise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I head not, nor vain earthly praise,
thou my inheritance, through all my days,
thou and thou only, the first in my heart,
high King of heaven, my treasure thou art!

High King of heaven, when the battle is done,
grant heaven’s joy to me, O bright heaven’s Son,
heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, o ruler of all.
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God of Mercy, God of Grace
Words: Psalm 67; paraphrase, Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847), alt Music: Conrad Kocher (1786-1872); arrangement, William Henry Monk (1823-1889)
Words: public domain Music: public domain________________________________________

God of mercy, God of grace, show the brightness of your face.
Shine upon us, Saviour, shine; fill your world with light divine,
and your saving health extend unto earth's remotest end.

Let the people praise you, Lord; be by all that live adored.
Let the nations shout and sing glory to their gracious King;
at your feet their tribute pay, and your holy will obey.

Let the people praise you, Lord; earth shall then its fruits afford.
Unto us your blessing give; we to you devoted live,
all below and all above, one in joy and light and love.
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Commission & Benediction
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Friends, continue the journey knowing that God goes with you, and as you do . . .
May the love, grace and peace of God go with you. AMEN
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Support the Work of Knox and Zion in 2021
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DONATIONS TO KNOX, PORT CARLING
Mail cheques to Knox Presbyterian Church Box 283, Port Carling, ON,
P0B 1J0
E-Transfers to KnoxChurchPC@gmail.com No security question required
Pick up ~ Please call the office (705) 765-3797 to arrange pick up

DONATIONS TO ZION, TORRANCE
Mail cheques to Zion Presbyterian Church 1046 Torrance Rd, Torrance, ON, P0C 1M0
E-Transfers to zionchurchpc@gmail.com No security question required
Pick up ~ Please call the office (705) 765 3797 to arrange pick up