Muskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday Nov 29, 2020
Message: Make a List ~ Check it Twice
Reverend Glynis Faith (705-765-3797) (muskokalakesministry@gmail.com)
______________________________________

Announcements
________________________________________
* Lectio Divina, Thursday evenings, 8pm via Zoom
* Rev Faith will be on holidays for the month of December. Rev John Young will be conducting worship. If a pastoral emergency should arise, please leave a message at the church (705-765-3797) or contact an elder.
* For those who are unable to take part in Communion by Zoom, I will be arranging to bring Communion into your home starting in January. Please contact me to discuss and set up a day/time.

* If you have a pastoral need during my time away, please leave a message on the church office answering machine (It will be checked daily), or contact one of the elders (Knox: Alf MacMillian 705-764-1654 / Edie Bard 705-645-6748 / Scott Murley 647-220-0475 / Cathy Vine 705-764-0320 / Ken Shortt 705-769-3239) and (Zion: Garnet Schenk 705-684-8498 / Inez Laycock 705-762-2075 / Robin Keeler 416-540-4324)
_______________________________________
Prayer of Adoration & Confession
________________________________________

Creator God, You made the heavens and the earth. You set the planets in their courses, lit the sun with fire, caused the stars to shine and the world to turn.
Life springs up wherever your breath moves. In Jesus Christ, you brought hope into a world full of fear and despair. You sent your Spirit to enliven our hope and guide us on the way. We are waiting now in anxious times for the world to be made new. We wait for new life, and we wait with deep hope.
Redeeming God, We confess that waiting is difficult for us. We want to be comfortable in this festive season, but the pandemic keeps us anxious and unhappy. We complain about our own troubles and close our eyes to the suffering of others, Forgive us for ignoring truths we do not want to see. Forgive us for seeking our own comfort at the cost of others. Give us eyes to perceive the great need within our community. Give us eyes to see the deep need within our own lives. Turn our hearts to you again and again. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Friends, the good news of Jesus Christ is for all people. There is nothing we have done, nothing we will ever do, that can separate us from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ. This love is yours and you know it’s power when you live in love as forgiven and forgiving people. All thanks to Christ our Saviour. AMEN
________________________________________
Scripture
________________________________________
Psalm 2:1-7
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent,my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore, let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Mark 13:24-37
“… in those days, following that distress,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
_____________________________________
Message
“Make a List ~ Check it Twice”
________________________________________
Advent is a time of active waiting. Like the people of Israel thousands of years ago, we await the Saviour. Like the people of Israel thousands of years ago, there are signs to remind us of His coming, but those signs do not give us an exact time. We don’t know when or how, but we do know Christ will return. That is the promise left with us. So we are called to be prepared.
Just as the people of Israel saw the fulfilment of God’s promises through the birth of Jesus Christ, so too shall we one day see the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to return and restore all that has been broken by sin.
This is the week of HOPE, and our hope is founded on Christ’s promise to return. We have hope because of past witnesses who confirm the fulfilment of God’s promises. We remember these promises through the accounts recorded in God’s Word, and we remember these promises with symbols.
 We see the stars and remember God’s promise to Abraham to make him the father of a nation
 We see a Cross and remember God’s promise of a Redeemer
 We see a baptismal font and are reminded of Christ’s promise of new life through Him
 We see the church and are mindful that together we can do all things through Christ – we are called to community
 When we see a Communion table, we see God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus, and we hear Christ’s promise of grace for all who will believe and receive the gifts of God.

In our reading we hear that one day people will see Jesus coming in the clouds with a host of angels. I read this passage and this wonderful image fills my mind, an image of Christ swooping in, taking hold of the hands of all who serve Him as Lord of their lives. I envision the relief – our hard labour – our faithfulness – our waiting is over. Alas, we are home.
This may happen in our day. It may not. Jesus is clear in this reading, it doesn’t actually matter when it happens, what matters is that we have remained hopeful, eagerly anticipating His return, keeping His house in order until that day.
Since Christ lives in us, it is important to maintain our spiritual selves – feeding daily from God’s Word and keeping in contact through prayer
Since Christ lives in our neighbours, it is important to encourage one another in God’s Word and in prayer
Since the Church is Christ’s family, it is important to come together (even if that means virtually) in whatever ways we can and as often as we can. Family needs to be nurtured, loved, supported, motivated and celebrated.
Since Jesus came to shine the light of God’s love into our world, we are called to live our lives as a reflection of God’s love in action.
In the season of advent, I thought a good reminder to us might be taken from St. Nicholas, who makes a list and checks it twice. One way to always be ready is to make a list: Have I been feeding on God’s Word each day? Check! Have I spoken with God today? Hmmm, perhaps this needs some attention! Have I encouraged or prayed for my neighbour today? Check! Have I been in touch with my church family to check in and see how they are doing? Check, but now that I think of it, perhaps I should give ‘this person’ a call. Have I been reflecting the hope, peace, joy and love of God into my home and community? Well, maybe I need to work on that a bit.
Actively waiting means serving Christ – serving His Church – serving one another – using our gifts to reach out into our world in love and kindness until He returns. And since we serve the risen King, we have much to celebrate while we wait.
Friends, Jesus calls us to actively await His return. He has put us in charge of sharing the Gospel by living out our faith in community until His return. He is our hope, and as we prepare to celebrate Communion today, let us remember that our hope is founded on the sacrifice of Jesus and its atoning power to cleanse us from our sins and restore us into a righteous relationship with God.
What we await is Christ’s return, and friends, what a celebration it will be! Communion is both a reminder to be ready, participating with Christ in this world, and a celebration of all Christ has done for us.
Let us join together through the gift of technology to come before our Lord to celebrate at the Lord’s Table, beginning with our first Communion Hymn, I Come with Joy. Feel free to sing along at home, or quietly reflect on the words as Edie plays the music for us.
_________________________________
The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
________________________________________
The Lord be with you.
And with you also.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.

Holy God, Creator of heaven and earth, with joy we give you thanks and praise.
Through the words of your prophets you gave your people hope by promising them the Redeemer. And now we rejoice that in your Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour has come, and will come again in power and glory, making all things new.
How wonderful are Your ways, Almighty God.
How marvelous is Your name, O Holy One.
You alone are God.
And so, with apostles and prophets and that great cloud of witnesses who live for You beyond all time and space, we lift our hearts in joyful praise: (saying)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

We praise you, most holy God, for sending your only son, Jesus, to live among us, full of grace and truth.
Sharing our joy and sorrow, He healed the sick and was a friend of sinners.
Obeying you, He took up His cross and died that we might live. We praise You that He overcame death and is risen to rule the world. He is still the friend of sinners. We trust Him to overcome every power that can hurt or divide us, and believe that when He comes in glory we will celebrate victory with Him.
Therefore, in remembrance of Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we take this bread and this cup and give You praise and thanksgiving as we proclaim the mystery of faith

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Gracious God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, and upon these everyday items, that we, from wherever we are celebrating this sacrament today, may be one with Christ and He with us.
Fill us with the joy of eternal life, that we may be your faithful people until we feast with you in glory.
Loving God, we lift up our prayers for our brothers and sisters all around the world. We pray that all will be inspired and motivated to place the needs of others on par with their own, finding ways to connect while remaining distanced.
May our willingness to distance and sacrifice make us stronger and more compassionate human beings. Bless the sacrifices we make today with love and healing – love and healing that we pray for our world.
We pray especially for our elders, for the ones who have already sacrificed in their lifetimes to give us freedom and prosperity. Bless them, Lord, we pray. Strengthen them. Bless those who care for them, we pray.
Joining our voices in praise, we say together:
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour are yours, Almighty God for ever and ever. Amen

As our Lord taught us, we now pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
on earth as 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