Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday February 21, 2021
Message: Finding God in the Water and the Desert
Reverend Glynis Faith
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Announcements
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1) Music in the Sanctuary beginning Tuesday March 2 there will be music in the sanctuary at Knox, Port Carling. You are invited to come out for an hour to listen, pray and rest in the Lord. The music will ring out from the sanctuary on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 2-3pm. You will need to preregister by calling Edie Bard (705-645-6748)
2) Monday evening, 7p.m. our final group prayer meeting via Zoom. For this last week we will be focusing our prayers upon everyone working in the heart of the covid crisis – the medical teams in the Covid units – icu units – and long-term care homes, and, of course, the patients they are treating. If you would like us to pray specifically for someone you know working directly with covid patients or a patient, please email me and I will add them to our prayer.
3) Tuesday 7p.m., Knox Board of Mangers will meet downstairs at Knox.
4) Thursday evenings 7:30 p.m. Lectio Divina group meets via Zoom.
5) Zion is planning an in-person worship service March 14. More details to come.
6) Knox is planning an in-person worship service March 21. More details to come.
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Call to Worship
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We begin our Lenten journey by lighting the Christ Candle and welcoming Jesus to lead us on our Journey.
May our journey remind us of God’s great love for us and of Christ’s great sacrifice.
Let us open our hearts and minds to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to identify those things within ourselves that separate us from God and gives us the strength to confess our sins and stand firm against the Tempter.
*WE LIGHT THE CANDLE saying, Lead us, Teach us, Forgive us, be with us, Lord Jesus, we pray. AMEN
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Prayer of Adoration & The Lord’s Prayer
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God of Creation, we see the depth of Your love for us in the beauty and abundance of nature.
We are extremely small and insignificant in the light of all You have created, yet Your love makes us shine brighter than diamonds and stand taller than the greatest mountain.
By our own sins we cause ourselves to be unworthy to stand in Your presence. WE do not deserve You. But we are so grateful for Your mercy and grace. WE do not deserve Your love, yet You have lavished us in love through Christ’s life, death and resurrection.
God of love, we lift our hearts to You in praise. Smile Your blessings upon us now as we pray the Lord’s Prayer together: 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. AMEN
_______________________________________Scripture
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Psalm 25:1-10 NIV
In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.
I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

Mark 1:9-15 NIV
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
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Message
“ Meeting God in the Waters and the Desert ”
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Lent is a time of intentional reflection. A time to reflect on our own personal sins ~ sins that brought Jesus to the Cross. It is also a time to reflect on Christ’s Journey to the Cross; a journey taken out of an abundant love for a sinful people.
Our Saviour came to show us the depth of God’s love for us – just how far God would reach out to bring us safely back to the home we were created for. Jesus shows us God’s love through His words and His actions, written down by the Gospel writers, for our benefit.
So, as we travel through this season of Lent together, we will be looking to Jesus to help us see and experience God and His unending love for us. My prayer for you is that you will take the time to reflect on your own life, considering any sin in your life that may serve as an obstacle in deepening your relationship with God. I pray that you will confess and turn away from anything that stands between you and God, so that on Easter morning you will feel the triumph of the angel’s words, “He is not here, He has risen.” That is my prayer for you!
Mark’s gospel gives us little detail about the baptism, fasting and temptation of Jesus, except to tell us they occurred. The details don’t seem important to Mark, what is important is that Jesus did these things for a reason – with intention. Mark tells us Jesus came from Galilee. He did not simply happen upon a community baptism and join in with the crowd, Jesus came directly to John for the purpose of being baptized.
Then, immediately following His baptism, Jesus is lead by the Spirit into a time of fasting, where He is tempted by Satan.
Mark is not stuck on details, he simply wants the reader to understand that the baptism, fasting and temptation of Jesus are intentional - done for a reason.
Let’s begin with Jesus’ baptism. Jesus goes directly to John for baptism. He has come for a reason. But the baptism John is offering is a baptism of repentance, so why would Jesus travel to the Jordon River to be baptized? Why submit to something He does not require? Jesus is without sin! Mark does not mention it, he likely assumes his intended audience already knows this fact. But Matthew’s Gospel tells of the conversation between Jesus and John. Let me paraphrase a little.
Jesus comes to John to be baptised in the Jordon. John is flabbergasted and
says, “this is a baptism of repentance Jesus, there is absolutely no need
for you to be here. You are without sin, and it is I that should come to You
in repentance seeking grace.”
Jesus says to John, “Yes, yes, I am aware, but I have come to save sinners – Soon I will soon carry their
sins to the Cross with me – today I begin my journey by submitting myself
in baptism.” Trusting in Jesus’ words, John reaches out and immerses Jesus
into the Jordon to be baptised.
If we were to read the synoptic gospel accounts (that is Matthew 3 - 4, Mark 1:9-15 and Luke 3-4) you get a fuller picture of Jesus’ baptism and temptation. And I would encourage you to do just that. Take time this week to read the different gospel accounts, paying close attention to the details of Jesus’ movements and words.
The baptism of Jesus and the temptation in the desert that follows are 1) part of His mission and 2) symbolic (serving as a reminder and example to us)
Baptism today symbolizes that God, in Christ, has done all that is necessary to redeem us. Baptism brings us into the family of God, uniting us with Christ in His death and resurrection. The waters of baptism serve to remind us of death and life, of cleansing and fresh starts – Through His death on the Cross, Christ has broken death’s power over us and we are cleansed of all confessed sins – we are made anew in Christ.
Each time a baptism occurs in the church, we are reminded of Christ’s baptism, His Cross and His empty tomb. Each time a baptism occurs in the church we celebrate the life-giving gift of God, revealed to us in Christ’s death and resurrection. Each time a baptism occurs in the church, let us remember the words spoken by God at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”
The temptation of Jesus serves to remind us that we are never alone or defenseless in the face of temptation. Jesus did not defeat Satan by His own physical power or might. Over forty days of fasting Jesus was tempted, which lead to the three temptations recorded by Matthew and Luke. Perhaps Mark makes no note of the three temptations at the end of the forty days, because he did not want us to overlook the importance of Jesus being tempted constantly throughout the forty days.
This is important for us, because we face many kinds of temptation daily. Temptation has many faces – the temptation to take more than our share – jealous impulses – anger – frustration – refusing to forgive others – turning a blind eye to the needs of others – arrogance – judging – and the list is too numerous to list.
I cannot name your sin anymore than you can name mine. We might think we can, which in itself leads us to sin. This season of Lent should serve as a reminder to us to intentionally set aside time to pray and reflect with God on our own personal sins. To allow God to reveal the hidden sins in our heart that weigh us down and to ask God to forgive us and help us turn from those things. Call this a wilderness experience, as we seek to know what temptations we are most vulnerable to, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us stand strong against all that aims to pull us away from God.
If you read the extended accounts of Jesus’ baptism and temptations from Matthew and Luke, which again, I encourage you to do this week, you may note that Jesus stood firm against temptation by standing firm on God’s Word. He wasn’t carrying a Bible in His back pocket, He did not need to. Jesus studied the words of Moses and the prophets, AND Jesus spent time in fellowship with believers and dedicated time regularly in prayer.
Friends, you do not have to memorize the Bible to be able to stand on God’s Word, but you do need to spend time in God’s Word, seeking His guidance. It is beneficial to take part in studies and to spend time with your church family to learn and discuss your experiences with God. The more time we spend reading, discussing and living God’s Word, the more it is etched in our hearts. The deeper God’s Word is etched into our hearts, the easier it becomes to stand against temptation and turn away from sin.
Jesus has revealed the love of God to us through the waters of baptism and the desert temptations. During this time of Lent I encourage you to reflect on Christ’s journey to the Cross and how God is revealed through Christ. May God bless you as you see and share the Kingdom of God revealed through Jesus. All praise and Glory to God the Father, Jesus the Son and to the Holy Spirit – One God forever. AMEN
Please pray with me.
God of grace – of mercy – of forgiveness; You have revealed Yourself in Jesus. Through Christ You have shown us the need for obedience and humility, as Jesus has shown us by submitting Himself a baptism of repentance. Through Christ you have revealed the power of Your Word prepare and shield us against life’s temptations. Through Christ You have given us hope and a future.
Lord of Love, through Christ’s Name with give you our thanks and our praise. AMEN
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Prayers of Thanksgiving & Intercession
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On this first Sunday in Lent we give thanks for Jesus. We give thanks for the little babe in the manger – the Son of God who set aside His heavenly robe and crown to dwell amongst us. We thank you for the man the disciples call “Teacher” who would walk from village to village teaching, healing, forgiving and showing us the Father’s love.
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we thank you for submitting to a baptism of repentance – a repentance, not for any sin you committed, but for our sins. WE give You thanks for standing face to face with temptation. You have shown us how to stand on God’s Word and hold firm when temptation knocks. We lift our hearts to you in grateful praise.
You have shown us God’s love and have taught us how to love one another. With love for our neighbours, we lift up to You our prayers of intercession to you now.
Where there is sickness, we pray for healing.
Where these is exhaustion, we pray for rest and strength.
Where there is hate, we pray for peace and forgiveness.
Where there is mourning, we pray for the presence of Your comforting Spirit.
Where there is loneliness, we pray for an outpouring of fellowship and support.
Where there is hunger and thirst, we pray for nourishment and refreshment.
Where there is homelessness, we pray for shelter and safety.
Lord, we pray that You will use us as Your hands and feet in this world to bless, love and care for one another – to shine Your Light into the darkest places in life. All this we pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
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Prayers of Confession
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On this first Sunday in Lent we pause to reflect on the temptations we are facing in our lives right now. Temptations to lean on our own power instead of trusting God to provide. Temptations of pride, anger, jealousy, fear. The temptation to grow our own kingdom at the expense of others. The temptation to hold a grudge instead forgiving he temptation to turn a blind eye to injustices in our midst. Jesus, enable us to identify the temptations and sin in our lives, and as we confess these to You, forgive us and wash us clean. AMEN
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Words of Assurance
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On this first Sunday in Lent we pause to reflect on the temptations we are facing in our lives right now. Temptations to lean on our own power instead of trusting God to provide. Temptations of pride, anger, jealousy, fear. The temptation to grow our own kingdom at the expense of others. The temptation to hold a grudge instead forgiving he temptation to turn a blind eye to injustices in our midst. Jesus, enable us to identify the temptations and sin in our lives, and as we confess these to You, forgive us and wash us clean. AMEN
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Commission and Benediction
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Friends, go from this time of worship reassured of God’s great love for you, revealed through the life of Jesus – revealed through Jesus in the waters of baptism – revealed through Jesus’ time of temptation in the desert.
Friends, remember your baptism, remember God’s Word – remember to live in peace and love. 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