Redeeming GraceMuskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday June 3, 2021
Message: Redeeming Grace
Reverend Glynis Faith
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Announcements
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* Monday 7pm Bible Study via Zoom
* Tuesday 2pm, Music in the Sanctuary at Knox
* Tuesday 7pm, Presbytery of Barrie via Zoom
* Thursday 7:30pm Lectio Divina via Zoom
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Prayer of Adoration & Confession
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You, O Lord are the true model of love – creating, providing, sharing, sacrificing – You are the Creator of all that is, yet You would humble yourself in human flesh to redeem those who sin against You.
Lord Jesus, Saviour and King of all, as the Cross stood before You, you prayed for the horrible task to be taken from You, but out of great love You spoke up in the garden, saying “I am he,” allowing the soldiers to arrest You and lead You to the place where You would place the needs of sinful humanity ahead of Your life.
Spirit of Comfort, when life is challenging You remind us we are loved, You show us the right path, and You fill us with hope.
Creating, Redeeming and Comforting God, we lift our hearts to You in adoration and praise.
Perfect God, we are mindful that we don’t always follow Your model of love, humility, sacrifice and compassion. We can be less than loving towards one another, as we put ourselves before others. Instead of redemption we seek our own wants and needs, refusing the opportunity to do what is right for others. Lord forgive us. Help us to be humble, always putting the needs and safety of others ahead of our own. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit we pray. AMEN
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Friends, when we acknowledge the sovereignty of God, seeking His forgiveness and direction, He gives us what we ask. Ask and you are forgiven – seek and you will see. AMEN
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Prayer of Intercession
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God of Compassion, we lift our prayers of intercession to You now.
We pray for 9 year-old Fayez, whose family was struck down in London. We pray for this young boy who has been orphaned because of intolerance and hate. May the love of his relatives surround him and give him hope, and may Your love surround Him and give him peace and comfort.
We pray for everyone who is or has been victimized by hate, resentment and intolerance.
We lift up the people who are silenced by bullying and oppression, asking Lord for you to expose evil for what it is. Give your people courage to stand firm and speak out against those who use their strength, words, finances or position to cause harm to another.
We offer our prayers for our brothers and sisters at home and around the world who are battling physical or mental illness. Place Your healing hand upon them LORD, let them feel Your loving presence and grant them to know how precious and loved they are by You.
Bless each of us with the knowledge of the grace we have been offered, and grant each of us the courage to be channels of Your peace, healing, grace and reconciliation.
God of Grace, Prince of Peace, and Spirit of Gentleness we offer these prayers with humble hearts. AMEN
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“ Redeeming Grace ”
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In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:1-5
In a foreign land, she loses her husband followed by her two sons. Naomi is far from home with two widowed daughters-in-law at a time in history when there was no social services. In her homeland of Bethlehem there was a system in the Laws of God that called for people to provide for widows; but, Naomi was not in Bethlehem, she was in Moab.
So what does she do? She decides to return to her homeland. She learns the famine has ended, and the safest place – the best chance for her survival would be amongst her own people. A loving mother-in-law (and yes, contrary to many tv shows and movies, there are loving mother-in-laws in the world) Naomi does not wish to hold her daughters-in-law back, urging them to return to their families and perhaps remarry. She blesses them with her hopes that they can start again.
Orpah accepts Naomi’s words of grace and returns to her family. Ruth, however, is a different story.
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17
Ruth has lost her husband and her father-in-law, yet she does not despair, in fact, somewhere in the midst of all this she has found hope in the Lord God. And she passionately declares her intent to leave behind her homeland and the gods of her people to stay at Naomi’s side and serve God.
I recall as a young girl noticing there was something different about the families I met at church and youth group, especially the family who picked me and several other local kids up to drive them to church each week, and who often invited us back to their home for lunch. They modelled a unique joy and a love and concern for other people. What I saw in them played a huge role in my committing my life to Christ. Perhaps it was the same for Ruth. Perhaps, in the time she had gotten to know Naomi’s family, she saw God at work in their lives. Whatever it was, it led her to give up her own security in returning to her family home, and potentially her future, as she could not have known what to expect going into a foreign land as a widow.
Chapter 9 of the Story is the story of Naomi and Ruth, beginning with their tragic losses and concluding with a fairy-tale ending. It is a short book in the Bible, 4 short chapters you can read while you enjoy your morning coffee. Between the tragic beginning and the fair tale ending enters Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer.
Should you decide to read the book of Ruth tomorrow morning while you enjoy your first cup of coffee, you might see it as a love story. It certainly has the basic elements of a modern love story. It begins with tragedy that leaves behind a family of widows. Into the tragic situation enters the tall dark handsome Boaz who offers Ruth and her mother-in-law protection, providing for their basic needs. The young woman is swept off her feet by prince charming – they marry – have a child and live happily ever after. End of story! Or is it?
The book of Ruth may appear to be a love story, and it is, but at its core, this is a story of redemption.
* Out of love, Naomi releases her daughters-in-law of any obligations they may have to provide for her.
* Out of love, Ruth sacrifices the freedom she is offered by her mother-in-law to remain at Naomi’s side.
* Out of love Boaz looked beyond race, seeing Ruth, not as a foreigner, but rather as a woman of integrity, someone who gleaned the fields to provide for her mother-in-law.
* Out of love Boaz was willing to sacrifice his own inheritance to protect the rights of Ruth.
* This love brings forth new life, and with it, hope for current and future generations.
* This is a story of love that unites and blesses; it is a story of love and redemption; it is a story that reminds us that love involves sacrifice.
Boaz is the Kinsmen-Redeemer for Naomi’s family. The Israelites were a tribal culture, which meant there was an expectation of family members to care for their relatives. The male next of kin was considered the kinsman redeemer responsible for
1) redeeming family property. If family property was sold to pay off debt, it was the responsibility of the next of kin to pay the debt and redeem the land. The land was meant to always remain in the family – it was their inheritance from God.
2) provide an heir through marriage. That being, that if a man died without an heir, the brother would marry the widow and produce an heir to carry on the brother’s name and keep his brother’s inheritance in tact. The child would bear the dead brother’s name and thus be heir to the land.
3) to avenge the unlawful death of a family member, seeing that justice would be served when a family member was killed.
Boaz was not the closest relative, there was one before him, but the closest relative did not want to redeem the property when he realized it came with Ruth, the foreigner. He feared the responsibility and sacrifice would hinder his own estate, so he passed on his responsibility.
Redemption involves sacrifice, giving of oneself, giving up something, paying a debt not your own. Redemption is about restoration, making things right, making things as they should be – as they were meant to be. To sacrifice for the sake of redeeming another, is to trust in God’s plan – to trust that God sees the big picture and is calling you to be part of His love story of redeeming grace.
Boaz steps in as the Kinsman-Redeemer - - Naomi is redeemed, becoming a grandmother and once again having family and hope for the future / / / Ruth is redeemed finding not only redemption and security, but love. And it just so happens the child born of this love is Obed, the grandfather of David, who would become king.
The story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz is a love story, and it is a story of redemption. It is also a story that reminds us of Jesus, the true Kinsman-Redeemer, for Jesus sacrificed His all to redeem us from our sins and restore us into relationship with God. Through Christ, the Word of God, all things were created – you and I are created in His image – The breath we breathe comes from God – We are a part of God, a part of His family, so when sin corrupts us and steals our inheritance, when sin brings death and dishonours God’s children, Jesus, our Kinsman-Redeemer steps in and makes the ultimate sacrifice to restore our inheritance – to restore us into God’s family.
You were created holy, created for paradise – for eternity. Sin is unholy and separates us from the perfect peace we were created to know – our sin creates a debt we simply cannot pay. Jesus paid that debt. Jesus paid your debt. If you will accept His love and commit yourself to Christ, you will know the true peace and joy you were created for.
Jesus came to show God’s grace and to sacrifice for the good of others. Jesus calls us to be a part of that process – to sacrifice for the good of our brothers and sisters – to love and care for one another – to be part of the solution – to live our lives in a way that reflects God’s love to others – to unite and to bless. You are blessed. You are called to bless others. When you live for Christ, God will bless others through you. You and I are part of God’s love story and each of us has a role to play in the redemption of our brothers and sisters. May God bless you richly as you live out your call to serve and bless others.
PRAYER: Redeeming God, You sent Your son, Jesus to restore us to You through His sacrifice on the Cross. Grant that we can see the places in our own lives that need redemption, and bless us when acknowledge and seek forgiveness for our sins. Help us to see the situations around us that require words and acts of restoration. May we bare one another’s burdens in love, that we may be messengers of faith to bring hope and confidence and peace in our world. May all our words and actions point to Christ and the gift of redeeming grace He offers. In His perfect name we pray. AMEN
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HYMN Called as Partners in Christ’s Service
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Called as partners in Christ's service, called to ministries of grace.
We respond with deep commitment, fresh new lines of faith to trace.
May we learn the art of sharing, side by side and friend with friend.
Equal partners in our caring, to fulfil God's chosen end.
Christ's example Christ's inspiring, Christ's clear call to work and worth.
Let us follow never faltering, reconciling folk on earth.
Men and women richer poorer, all God's people young and old;
Blending human skills together, gracious gifts from God unfold
Thus new patterns for Christ's mission, in a small or global sense
Help us bear each other's burdens, breaking down each wall or fence.
Words of comfort words of vision, words of challenge said with care;
Bring new power and strength for action, make us colleagues free and fair
So God grant us for tomorrow, ways to order human life,
that surround each person's sorrow with a calm that conquers strife.
Make us partners in our living, our compassion to increase;
messengers of faith thus giving, hope and confidence and peace.
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Commission & Benediction
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Brothers and Sisters in-Christ, go out today knowing God’s grace in Your life - - - Go and live out that grace, sacrificing a little – redeeming a lot, 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 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

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