Meeting God in the SanctuaryMuskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday March 7, 2021
Message: Meeting God in the Sanctuary
Reverend Glynis Faith
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Announcements
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1) Music in the Sanctuary What a lovely hour it was with the sanctuary filled with beautiful music on Tuesday afternoon. If you would like to reserve a seat to listen, pray and soak in God’s presence please contact Edie Bard (705-645-6748) to pre-register. The music rings out the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.
2) Thursday evenings 7:30 p.m. Lectio Divina group meets via Zoom.
3) The in-person service at Zion on March 14th has been cancelled due to current lock-down restrictions. The Annual meeting will continue via Zoom.
4) Knox is planning an in-person worship service March 21 followed by the annual meeting. More details to come.
5) New Beginnings, isn’t that what Easter reminds us of. Sin holds us in bondage, but through Christ’s death and resurrection we are given the opportunity for a new beginning – a new life – a fresh start. New Beginnings - - something to think about!
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Call to Worship
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The heavens declare the Glory of God / / / On this 3rd week of Lent we join with the heavens declaring God’s glory made known to us in Christ Jesus as we light the Christ Candle
Let us worship God together. . .
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Prayer of Adoration & The Lord’s Prayer
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Almighty God,
you have set the whirling cosmos in motion and called all creatures into being.
All that exists speaks of your majesty, yet no detail misses your care and attention.
You know each of us by name, and make yourself known to those who seek you.
Your wisdom delights the human heart and purifies the soul. We join this worship service to enjoy your presence with us, and to listen for your Word for our times and our lives.
God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, to you alone all worship, honour and glory are due, this day and every day, now and always.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless us now as we repeat the Lord’s prayer. 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. AMEN
______________________________________Scripture
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Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

John 2:13–22 (NIV)
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
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Message
“ Meeting God in the Sanctuary ”
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On the first Sunday in Lent we followed Jesus to the Jordon River where He was baptized. Immediately after we watched Jesus face the Tempter in the desert. We saw the water and the dry desert sand and we heard the voice of God saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
In the waters of baptism, we experience the cleansing of God’s forgiveness and the new life through Christ’s salvation. In the desert we see God present through His Word, guiding and strengthened Jesus, and us, to stand firm against the Tempter.
On the Second Sunday in Lent we climbed a mountain with Jesus and saw His glory revealed, along with Moses, the Law Giver and Elijah the great prophet. We listened and we learned, and then we went back down, to apply this experience into our life. While up the mountain we also heard the voice of God saying, “This is my Son, whom I love” but his time He added instruction for us to “LISTEN to HIM!”
As the disciples came down the mountain with Jesus they questioned amongst themselves, which reminds us that we too still have questions, so we must continue to follow Jesus and listen and learn from Him. That is how we grow in our faith.
On this third Sunday in Lent we follow Jesus into the sanctuary, but what we see is unexpected and what we hear is shocking to us. “get out of here,” He raises His voice in anger. “Stop corrupting God’s house.”
So, Jesus submits Himself to a baptism of repentance, even though He was without sin. He is obedient to God as He identifies Himself with us – sinners. Then Jesus willing fasts in the desert while being exposed to all kinds of temptation. / Now we all know how testy we can get if we go too long without our coffee, three solid meals and a half dozen snacks each day, but Jesus, who has been fasting, calmly addresses the temptations thrown at Him with God’s Word. Then He takes a few disciples up the mountain to show them something amazing, and, as usual, His disciples are bumbling around trying to figure out what is going on. But Jesus shows amazing patience with them, just as He shows amazing patience with us today.
Today, on this third Sunday in Lent, we follow Jesus into the Temple, where we might think He would be filled with peace and joy, and perhaps we would hear God once again confirming Him, ‘this is my Son, whom I love. Common everyone, get with it, listen to Him!’. But instead of finding Jesus filled with peace, He is angry. Instead of Joy, He takes a whip and starts letting the merchants have it. Instead of the patience we are used to seeing from Jesus, we see Him flipping tables and scolding us. This is not how we expect to meet God in the sanctuary.

Consider Psalm 19 describing God’s glory revealed to us:
The heavens declare His Glory
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
The law of the LORD is perfect
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy
The precepts of the LORD are right
The commands of the LORD are radiant
The decrees of the LORD are firm
More precious than gold – sweeter than fresh honey from the comb
These are the words we want to bring to mind when we are thinking about God.
But we also read these words:
The fear of the LORD is pure
By them your servant is warned
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
The fear of the Lord – we are warned – keep us from willful sins, that they not rule over us!
It is foolish to think we can stake a claim that nature reveals God and yet wilfully contribute to it’s destruction. We cannot claim God’s Law as perfect, then choose only to live by the ones that suit our fancy. We cannot state God’s statutes are trustworthy, yet not put our trust fully in them. Can we make a claim that God’s precepts, commands and decrees are right, and then twist them to suit our purpose?
Oh, we can, and we have! Repeatedly, throughout history, God’s children have gotten off track – we have sinned! We sin! That is why we need to frequently revisit Scripture and even more frequently communicate with God through Christ.
Jesus walked into the Temple and found God’s Laws, commands, precepts, statutes and decrees being violated and He made it clear this was unacceptable. There are consequences to sin.
The problem Jesus is confronting may not be obvious to a modern day reader. Were they not supposed to sell things in the Temple courts? Is that the problem? Was there something wrong with what they are selling? Are they price gouging? What?
Well, it is partially what they are selling, but like all sin, it is rooted in the why – in their motives and their lack of concern for people.
The design of the Temple made room for all peoples of all nations. There were no exceptions – Everyone is welcome at the Temple. Now, we would not like the design and intentional segregation it created, but that is a whole other sermon. What is important for us to know is that there were 5 main sections to the Temple:
1) The Holy of Holies, where only the High priest entered, and only once per year.
2) The Court of the Priests, where the Levites and Priests worshipped
3) The Court of Israel was for all Jewish men to worship in
4) The Court of Women, where Jewish females gathered
5) The Court of the Gentiles, where anyone who was not Jewish came to worship.

Again, this kind of separation does not bid well with us today, but lets not let that blind us to what was happening here. Jesus walked in through the Court of the Gentiles, only to find the Gentiles are being denied their worship space so that the religious leaders can increase the revenue. Instead of welcoming the strangers, their neighbours, into the Temple, they have chosen to push them out and up their profits.
Jesus wasn’t mad because they were selling things to people – providing sacrifices to purchase near the Temple would have been a blessing to anyone travelling great distances. Jesus was angry because they overlooked the rules of hospitality and compassion to pad their own pockets. They put profits over people.
The Temple is a special place – a place set apart from the everyday – a place where people come to encounter God, yet those not included in the inner courts were being denied the opportunity to encounter God.
But that isn’t the only place where the religious leaders have forgotten the heart of God’s laws, commands, precepts and decrees, Jesus is angry because of how they are conducting their business. Once again, it has nothing to do with them selling sacrifices, but how they are selling them.
People who had travelled great distances to worship in the Temple, people who had journeyed the distance with their supplies and their sacrifices, were being refused entry with claims their sacrifices were not acceptable and being forced to purchase the birds and animals provided at the Temple courts. Imagine coming to church with a loonie to place in the offering plate. As you place it into the plate the usher quickly runs over and asks you to leave – your not welcome. Not welcome, that is, unless you give more!
God’s Laws, His commands are good, and they are given to teach us how to live in harmony with God and with each other. We all matter to God. Jesus died for the whole world. We all belong. Those who have been given more and those who have been called to higher positions have greater responsibility to use what they have been given to include and bless everyone who will come.
During this third week in Lent I encourage you to continue praying and looking into your heart. Consider how you are living God’s commands. Would Jesus be pleased with what He sees, or would He flip some tables to wake us from our complacency? Sometimes the only way to get our attention is to flip the tables and make a lot of noise.
Friends, I invite you to meet with God in the inner sanctuary of your heart and ask Him to help you understand and live out His Laws – His commands – His precepts and His decrees, which are all designed to teach us how to love God with all our heart, with all our mind and with every inch of our being AND ALSO how to love one another as Christ has loved us.
AMEN
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Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
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Generous Provider,
As each of us pauses for a moment to consider all we have to be grateful for, help us to see Your hand in all of it. (pause) For all that has come to our minds Lord, God, we give You thanks.
We thank you also for Your Laws - - for Your commands that guide us and help us see our sinfulness.
We thank you for your relentless love that never stops calling us home.
We thank you for Jesus - - for His life, His death and His resurrection. We thank you for this season of Lent as we consider Christ’s journey to the Cross. As we travel through Scripture following Jesus, enable us to hear Him speaking to us and to understand the sacrifice He made for us.
Hear our prayers of intercession as we pray for those who are struggling with the isolation and frustration created by this pandemic. Bring them peace and patience with your love.

We pray for churches whose common life has been changed dramatically by months of closures and distancing. Keep us strong in faith and fellowship, so that we may serve as agents of healing and hope in our communities.

We pray for our nation and the nations of this world. May leaders confront the challenges of this time with courage, wisdom and compassion.

We pray for victims of violence around the world. Work through advocates for peace with justice to bring change where it is needed, and daily bread to those whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted.

And we pray for all those who are enduring pain and illness, those who are facing grief and loss, and those who work on the front lines in our community, in health care, education, retail, emergency and public service. So many are exhausted by these months of pandemic. Be their comfort and encouragement day by day.

All this we pray in Christ’s name. AMEN
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Prayers of Confession
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God of majesty and mercy,
we are aware that you are present here and everywhere, drawing near to us.
Yet we confess we are often distracted from your presence.
Many things compete for our attention.
We are tempted to seek things that cannot truly satisfy.
We envy those who are successful in the world’s terms, and so pursue our own desires, without questioning the cost to the earth or those in need.
Forgive us, O God.
Send us the Holy Spirit to awaken us to your purposes and pursue them with renewed commitment, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord, AMEN
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Words of Assurance
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The apostle Paul declared that the message of the Cross is foolishness to many, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
By this power, we are forgiven all that we will confess.
Thanks be to God for the wisdom to live as forgiven people. AMEN
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Commission and Benediction
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Friends, reach out with sincere love and hospitality, caring for the week, feeding the hungry, and assisting the poor. Meet God in the sanctuary with a heart willing to be shaped for Christian love and service. And as you do . . .
May the hand of God uphold you, the life of Christ guide you, and the presence of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope. Amen.

*The Candle is extinguished