Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday Nov 1, 2020
Sermon Series: The Ministry of Jesus
Message: Ministry of Sacrifice and Reconciliation
Reverend Glynis Faith (705-765-3797) (muskokalakesministry@gmail.com)
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Announcements
________________________________________* Lectio Divina Thursday evenings at 8pm via Zoom. If you would like to take part contact Rev. Faith to receive a Zoom invitation.
* Anyone considering membership at Knox or Zion can contact Reverend Faith to discuss (705)765-3797 (leave message) or muskokalakesministry@gmail.com Membership classes will begin in January.
* If you are looking for a way to contribute your time to the ministry of the church, perhaps you would consider sharing two hours of your week to help with the recording of the services. Please contact Rev Faith if you are interested.
* We will be celebrating Communion on Sunday November 29th via Zoom. More details in the coming weeks.
* The online worship services have been put together on a begged, borrowed (but never stolen) shoestring budget. As it has become apparent that online services will continue for the foreseeable future, we are hoping to beg a little less, return some of the borrowed and purchase some equipment to bring us into the 21st century. If you are able, please consider making a donation to the production of these services. Please note on your donation “online worship services.” And thank you in advance for your support.
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Prayer of Adoration & Confession
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God of mercy and Lord of grace, Your love for us is utterly amazing. We sin against You and You unfold a plan to restore us into Your glory. It was not us, but You who made the sacrifice of redemption. You gave Your all for those who turned away from You – to those who rebelled against You. Precious God accept our heartfelt praise.
Jesus, You stepped out of the glories of heaven clothed in the flesh of humanity. You faced temptation, frustration, hunger, thirst and crowds who wanted to see miracles, and you showed us the love of God in how you faced them. To the Cross You took our sins, allowing Your perfect blood to be shed as a atonement for those sins. Precious Saviour accept the worship we bring to You today.
Holy Spirit, You encourage and engage us to continue the ministry Jesus began. You enable us to use our own story to share the Good News of Jesus and You strengthen us with every step forward we take. Holy Spirit we put our trust in You.
Father, Your love for us is so great that You sent us Jesus, that if we should believe in Him, we would find redemption and eternal life. Loving Father accept the confessions we each offer up to You in the quiet of our hearts /// Father, Son and Holy Spirit hear the confessions we make today and forgive us all we confess. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
For God so loved the world – (that is you and me) – that He gave His only Son – (that is Jesus) – that whosoever shall believe in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Because we believe Jesus died for our sins – we lay our confessions at the foot of the Cross where Jesus buried them, and we open our hearts to receive forgiveness, with the peace and joy it brings.
Thanks be to God.... AMEN

PREAMBLE
We are drawing to the conclusion of our sermon series on the ministry of Jesus.
* He began His ministry by submitting to a baptism of repentance. Repenting not of His sins, but of the sins of humanity – sins He carried to the Cross and gave His life for.
* He taught us to face temptation with God’s Word in our hearts and on our lips. All were welcome to follow Him, but a few, 12 to be exact, were brought into the inner circle and given more intimate knowledge and responsibility in ministry.
* Jesus spoke words of healing and sought no glory for Himself. He gave all glory to God. He showed us how to live as the kingdom of God now and modelled for us that effective ministry begins and ends with prayer.
* He spoke truth without judgement offering grace and forgiveness.
* He showed us that the love of God was found in the Laws, and He spoke parables to give us something to think about.
* Jesus gave thanks to God and sought His blessings in His ministry, and He preached the need for us to repent and change our ways.
Who of us does not need a reminder from time to time – perhaps daily?
Today’s reading comes from Colossians, a letter written by the apostle Paul to one of the churches he founded. In most of Paul’s letters to the churches he is addressing tensions that have arisen or questions of Christian conduct. We are reading from the 3rd Chapter, where Paul is addressing concerns that have arising regarding the behaviour of the people, reminding them to stay focused on Christ, letting His examples and teachings guide them.
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Scripture
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Colossians 3:1-17 Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Message
“Ministry of Sacrifice & Restoration”
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Made alive in Christ - set your hearts on things above - Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature - rid yourselves of anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language - clothe yourselves with compassion kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience - bear with one another – forgive one another – forgive as Christ forgave – Love, love as Christ has loved (and that is a lot of love, my friends) - let the message of Christ dwell among you richly (people should see Christ in you, let the message of Christ dwell among you) - whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord (in other words, if it is not something you would do standing in the presence of God, then you might want to reconsider it)
We know all these things, right! This is what the ministry of Jesus has taught us. Our Lord took on flesh to show us the love of God and to teach us how to live with and love one another.
But the ministry of Jesus was, at its very core, about sacrifice and restoration. Christ sacrificing His life to restore the relationship between God and man.
A restored relationship implies change. Something is broken, damaged, not as it was originally created to be, and restoration is done to return it to its original form and function.
Consider what happens when you place a hot teapot directly on a varnished wooden table. A cloudy ring appears and does not go away. It mars the appearance of your table. Now, if you have the table restored, I am guessing you are going to be attentive to using a protective hotplate under your teapot in the future.
Imagine you have been teaching your child to bake and you have a counter that looks like butcher block. Your child wants to surprise you with homemade chocolate chunk cookies. They chop up your favourite chocolate bar for the chunks and assume the wooden counter is the same as a cutting board. The cookies are scrumptious. When you go to make supper, you notice the big scratches and a couple of chips missing in your countertop. You decide to replace the countertop and teach your child the proper way to chop and the importance of protecting the counter from sharp and hot objects. With the counter restored, and the newest cook in the family taught how to enjoy cooking and care for the counter, you would hope your counter will have a long life.
But what if you keep putting the teapot directly on the dining table, and what if your child says, ‘mom’s rules are not fair’ ‘I don’t like using a cutting board’ ‘I should be able to use the kitchen my way?’
Christ has made the ultimate sacrifice to restore us into a relationship with our Creator – a relationship we were created for, and throughout His ministry He has taught us God’s ways and how to live in harmony with God and with one another. What we do with that restored relationship is up to us.
The key to maintaining what Christ has restored, Paul tells us, is keeping our heart and mind fixed on Christ. Don’t keep putting the teapot on table without a coaster – don’t keep cutting on the counter, or laying hot pots on it. Bring your earthly desires under control and work on your anger, rage, malice and filthy language. Is that how Jesus behaved? Absolutely NOT!
Practice what Jesus taught you – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. It is not always easy, but when we keep out hearts and minds fixed on Jesus it is easier for us to call Him Lord – to let Him rule our hearts and guide our ways.
The key is remembering what Christ taught and what He did for you. That is why Paul kept writing the church – Remember – Remember – Remember. That is why we, the church today use symbolism throughout the church, in our liturgies and in the celebration of the sacraments.
Churches place crosses in visible places to remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Communion tables are often engraved with the phrase “Do this in remembrance of me.” Stained glass windows and wall tapestries display images of familiar Bible stories and liturgical colours remind us of the different seasons in the life of the church. Through the celebration of Communion we remember the sacrifice Christ made to save us from the consequences of our sins, and in the celebration of baptism we are reminded that through repentance our sins are washed clean and we are born again. We are born into a new life, a life that models Jesus, a life that turns from anything that is in opposition to the Spirit, a life that is focused on God.
Friends, I encourage you to take time every day this week, reflecting on your life. Is there anything in your life that would not be pleasing to God? Are there things you would not say or do if Jesus came into your home and joined you at the dinner table? PUT THOSE THINGS ASIDE and focus your heart and mind on the things of Christ. Friends, let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, and do and say all things in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Please pray with me: Jesus, we praise Your Name. You are awesome, You are wonderful and we lift our hearts in praise to You. Jesus, we thank you for the Cross and the empty tomb. We are grateful that You offered Yourself freely for our sins, and that You have taught us how to turn from our sins and live as God has called us to. Lord, as we participate in the ministry You have called us to, grant us hearts open to acknowledging when we are off track, and spirits that quickly return to You. This we pray in the only Name that saves – Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. AMEN
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Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
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Jesus, You are the light of the world and we give You thanks for the direction You give to our lives.
We are able to see God’s love through Your life and we are better able to understand God’s will for us through Your Words. Thank you!
We give You thanks for the work of the apostles and for the early church. Yesterday was 503 years since Luther initiated the Reformation, and we are grateful for the times in our history when we have gotten off track and been brought back by Your Word.
We give thanks for the Cross of Jesus and the empty tomb, and we give thanks for the sacraments of Communion and Baptism which serve to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice and the new life we have in Jesus.
Enable us to remember and to live as Your children. Here the prayers of Your children, Lord:
We pray for anyone who has not heard the Good News of Jesus. May our lives reflect the Gospel and may our words speak out to those seeking the peace You bring.
We pray into the growing numbers of Covid cases in the world. Lord, we seek healing and comfort for all affected. Give us common sense to protect one another until a vaccine is found. Give added protection to the elderly – the most vulnerable to this virus – strengthen their lungs to fight off this disease.
We pray for any who have gone astray, including ourselves. Saviour, like a Shepherd, lead your beloved children home.
Lord, help us to expose and be the change where systemic racism exists. Let us begin by looking into our own hearts and considering our own thoughts and motives. Help us to see one another as YOU see us.
We pray peace and civility for our brothers and sisters in the States.
Smile Your blessings down upon us 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