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ROCKBURN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH May 1, 2022. Worship Leaders: Nancy & Randy Clerk of Session: Shirley McNaughton Music: Nancy Campbell & Chenaniah Board of Managers: Robert Waller Treasurers: Sophie & Christine Caza Youth Leader: Christine Caza Sunday School: Grace Sutton Worship Coordinator/Bulletins: Elizabeth Waller 450-827-2668 Rockburn Website: Marcelle Chabot www.rockburnpresbyterian.org PRELUDE: Chenaniah “Thy Word” CALL TO WORSHIP: ONE: We are called to be a people of faith in the midst of the world. ALL: And so we mix our worship and our work, our faith and our life. ONE: God has called us together as a church community ALL: May God open our hearts, minds and eyes as we worship together. WELCOME: OPENING HYMN: #662 Those Who Wait On The Lord OPENING PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER: ANNOUNCEMENTS, BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES: HYMN: #691 My Shepherd Is The King Of Love OFFERING: We have placed an offering collection box in the entrance of the Church.... if you wish to give. Thank you. OFFERTORY PRAYER SCRIPTURE READINGS: Hebrews 11:29-40 New International Version 29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 2Corinthians 4:16-18 New International Version 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. PRAYERS FOR ALL PEOPLE: HYMN: #675 Precious Lord, Take My Hand MEDITATION: “Recharge” Recharge Good morning, and I mean that sincerely. It’s so good to be back. I’ve missed you all so much. So yes, this is a good morning indeed. And I want to thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. I’ll give you a brief account of my ordeal. As you may know, when the new clinic in Ormstown opened up, my family doctor retired. And the government, in their wisdom, decided to appoint a new one for me. This however did not happen and I was without a family physician for over two years. I finally saw my new doctor last November and he discovered I had heart, lung and kidney problems. After a series of tests and several attempts at regulating medications, I am now functioning relatively normally without getting out of breath or being so dizzy I can’t stand. The first time I saw my new doctor and heard the problems I was facing, I was filled with anxiety and fear. I vowed to do everything my doctor told me to do, even though it was difficult at times. I had to trust what he told me and follow his instructions, and by doing so, I feel that I’m on the path to living a little bit longer. I had faith in my doctor and it’s paid off. Faith can be a difficult concept for us to grasp because it’s not tangible or easily explained. Just as I trusted my doctor, we need to trust God, no matter what. God will provide for us, in this life and in the next. It’s not always easy to live for the Lord, but we can remember His promises past and present, and trust He will fulfill our future hopes and prayers. It’s normal for us mortals to become complacent. When things are going well we tend to sit back, let things slide and just not bother keeping up with the things that matter. What happens when you go to make a call and you find that your cell phone is dead. You can’t make any calls or send or receive any texts. Maybe the cell phone went dead because you were helping a friend try to solve a problem and you were talking with her for a couple of hours. The phone ran out of juice and now it needs to be recharged. Our souls are a little like this cell phone. Sometimes life brings us trials and tribulations. We can feel rundown. We can get to feeling so tired or so depressed or so dejected that we feel like we just want to curl up in a ball and fall asleep for a year. What we need is a recharge! We are a little bit like this cell. When we’re starting to feel worn down by life’s struggles, that’s when we really need to plug into God the most. By plugging into God, we mean praying a lot more, reading our Bible more often and going to church on a regular basis. By doing these things, God will be able to recharge you. Recharging our cell phone takes a while.. But if we’re patient, we’ll have the charge back on. If we’re faithful to God, if we pray hard and go to His Word in prayer and fellowship with others, we will find that our life has been recharged as well. We can’t charge our cell phones without electricity and we can’t recharge our souls without faith. What do you think I have in this bag? Is it a book? Is it a towel? Is it an apple? Maybe it’s a loaf of banana bread or a bag of cookies. What if I told you it was a candle? Would you believe me? How could you know for sure? I guess I could prove it to you. I’ll take it out of the bag. Okay, here it is. You can see it. It looks like a candle, right? You can touch it and see that it feels like a candle. You could smell it. You could even light it and see that it burns like a candle. You now know that this is most definitely a candle. But what if I didn’t take it out of the bag? You would have to trust me and believe that it was a candle, even if you couldn’t see it. You’d have to have faith that I was telling the truth. The Bible talks about faith and says some great things about people who demonstrated faith. The Bible tells us that faith is being confident and assured of things we hope for, but can’t see. Having faith means that we believe even if we can’t be a hundred percent sure. Can we see God? Not necessarily. We see evidence of what He has done and continues to do. But we can’t see His face or touch Him. Faith means we know that He is there and that He does wonderful things for us. The Bible tells of people who demonstrated faith. There were people like Noah who built an ark in anticipation of a flood that hadn’t started yet. There was Abraham who left his home to follow God. And there was Rahab who trusted God when her whole city was collapsing around her. And we can be like those faith heroes too! The best part about faith is that we don’t have to do anything special. It depends on us or any actions we might do. Faith isn’t about us – it’s about God! It’s about what He’s already done and what He promises to do. Trust is about what we believe. To trust someone, it helps to know if they’re worthy of trust. If you know me well, and know that I tell the truth, you probably didn’t have any trouble believing there was a candle in the bag. But if you had just met me, it might be harder to trust me. Sometimes our lives as Christians are not easy. Trusting God doesn’t mean that our lives will always be rainbows and unicorns, but it does mean that we have a future hope for something greater. Sometimes we grow concerned that we need to do more for God. The good news of faith is that we recognize our powerfulness. So we ask God to help us stay plugged in to Him. We know that when we pray and read His Word, we are getting a recharge. And if we are patient, we will see His strength shine around us. Isaiah 40, verse 31 says: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. Let us pray: Lord: We pray that You will recharge our faith in You. We want You to renew our faith and hope. Never leave us and let Your presence show profoundly in our actions. Give us the will and strength to carry out deeds that are worthy of You. Help us to see what You want us to see. Keep our minds clear and our relationship with You strong. Hold us up and keep us recharged so we don’t falter in our faith. Because of You, we have hope. Amen. CLOSING PRAYER: CLOSING HYMN: #468 Lord Dismiss Us With Your Blessing BENEDICTION & CHORAL AMEN: POSTLUDE: Chenaniah
Announcements: Welcome Everyone! Welcome back Nancy & Randy and thank you for leading us in worship today! A plant sale will take place in May at Linda Rennie’s home the morning of May 14th, all proceeds going towards relief help for the Ukraine People. Washrooms facilities are now available at the Church Hall. Update on Rockburn Pulpit Supply May 8-Mother’s Day - Gail MacGregor May 15- Kevin Harvey May 22- Stewart Burrows May 29- Randy Barrington-Communion/Congregational Meeting to Follow June 5- Nancy Campbell June 12- Joe Hevesy June 19- Stewart Burrows June 26- Kevin Harvey
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