CANADA DAY SERVICE

PRELUDE:                   Madrigal Choir

PROCESSIONAL: 0 Canada
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INTROIT:                   Not On This Land Alone   Madrigal

CALL TO WORSHIP:
ONE: In a world filled with violence and war,
ALL: we gather together to celebrate the promise of peace.
ONE: in a world filled with tyranny and oppression,
ALL: we gather together to celebrate the promise of justice for all.
ONE: In a world filled with hunger and greed,
ALL: we gather together to celebrate the promise of plenty for all.
ONE: Our hope is in the name of the Almighty God,
ALL: the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of heaven and earth.
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SPECIAL MUSIC:    Farewell to NovaScottia      Howard Welburn


LITANY:          "The Nation"
ONE: 0 my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
ALL: Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
ONE: But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the
ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today. Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
ALL: But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing
stream. Hate evil, love good.
ONE: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose
for His inheritance.

SPECIAL MUSIC:            Une Colombe            Elisabeth Churchill

Peace Like A River
Just a few short weeks ago there was flooding in our communities
and surrounding areas. The winter ice melted, the rains came pouring
down, the rivers and lakes swelled and the water came rushing over the
banks. Many people faced the loss of their homes, personal belongings
and irreplaceable memorabilia. To these people, peace is NOT like a
river.

But whenever these rivers and lakes overflow their banks, the
waters always recede and things eventually return to normal. It's a fact
of life that we can always expect trials, hardships, sacrifices and
difficulties. Isaiah tells us that when we go God's way, there is a
beautiful peace which falls over us. God doesn't want us to back away
from the hardships and trials that face us from time to time. They are
part of His plan. When we receive them in the right spirit, they can
increase our desire to do God's will.

God is the source of all peace and His peace is like a river. A river
is constant. God's peace is constant. It keeps flowing no matter what.
God's peace keeps flowing no matter what we do or say.
A river receives fresh supplies of water from springs and small
streams. God's peace is kept by a constant supply of grace from the
Holy Spirit.

At its source a river can be small, but it grows as it moves along its
path. As we grow spiritually, God's peace also grows.
True peace is only found in a relationship with God. There is a
Buddhist saying I'd like to share with you: If there is to be peace in the
world, there must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the
nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the
cities, there must be peace between neighbours. If there is to be peace
between neighbours, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be
peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.

Whenever I think about peace I think about this beautiful saying.
But there is one thing missing. It doesn't tell us where peace in the
heart comes from. For a Christian the only source for peace in the
human heart comes from God. Each one of us must accept God's truth
and believe in the Lord.

Until each individual is at peace, there can be no peace between
us and the people around us. The lost man has no peace. Man was
made to be in communion with God. When he is separated from God
by his sin, there is only confusion, emptiness and frustration. He is
always seeking contentment and peace, and is never able to find it.
Believe in God. Accept Him as your Saviour. Ask God to forgive
your sins. Then you will be reconciled with Him. Isaiah 48, verse 18,
says: "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace
would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the
sea." The promise of peace like a river suggests the idea of increase. It
constantly grows stronger and fills us.

When we take our sins to God, the peace that He bestows on us
transforms our life. God never stops loving us. God never gives up on
us. He never stops thinking about us. So we must never give up on God.
We don't always see the obvious. Sometimes we can't see the
forest for the trees. The truth can be as plain as the nose on our face,
but we just don't see it.

There's a story about Batman and Robin going on a trip:
The story goes that Batman and Robin decided to go camping.
They set up their tent and fell asleep. A couple of hours later, Batman
wakes his faithful friend, "Robin, look up at the sky and tell me what
you see."

Robin ponders for a minute, and then replies, "Astronomically
speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially
billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.
Chronologically, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three.
Theologically, it's evident that God is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Batman?"

Batman is silent for a moment, then speaks: "Robin, you're an
idiot, it means that while we were sleeping, somebody stole our tent."

This funny little story reminds us that we don't always see the
obvious. We can be misled by many things and we sometimes fail to
see what is most important. Along with God's grace, God's peace is one
of the most important things we need to know. By knowing God's
peace we are able to live a valuable Christian life.

Lasting peace only comes from God. "Oh the peace I find in Jesus,
peace no power on earth can shake; peace that makes the Lord so
precious, peace that none from me can take." If you want peace, real
peace, everlasting peace, you can come to the Prince of Peace, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you can give His peace a chance.
Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell
God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this,

you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the
human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and
minds as you live in Jesus Christ.

Let us pray:       Dear Heavenly Father, this world is crazy, chaotic
and quick. Everything is fast paced, problems compile, issues simmer,
and there seems to be no time to address much of anything, let alone
just rest.
Evil parades around and takes lives. Terrorism strikes fear in the
hearts of everyone. Please give us peace among the chaos in life. I pray
that in our culture and in the time we have, we would make it a priority to rest in Your peace. To comfort others who are going through a rough time. To take a break from the never-ending transitions we face, to appreciate life to the fullest.

To experience the beauty of creation, the detailed craftsmanship
of others and their relationships, to explore with our senses, and find
joy in the stillness. Your power rejuvenates, Your soft whispers
encourage, Your comfort is warming to the soul, and Your presence is
overwhelmingly powerful.

However, we will miss out if we don't stop to rest and soak it all
up. Please help us to make time to seek You daily. Thank you Lord for
Your love. You are truly amazing and You have gifted us much more
than we deserve. May You be blessed by our lives, as we have been
blessed by Yours, and may peace flow like a river in our hearts. In Jesus
name we pray, Amen.

SPECIAL MUSIC:   Peace Like A River     4 members of the Madrigal


BENEDICTION:     Let us depart in peace, and in love and charity with our neighbours. May we be joined together in the common goal of service to our God and our Country. Let us drive safely and carefully to our homes, and may God's blessing be with us all.
Amen.
POSTLUDE:           C-A-N-A-D-A                    Madrigal
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"Christ in You, the Hope of Glory"

Text Colossians chapter 1 vs 27
Colossians 1:27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Him we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

Last week we looked at who Christ is Image of the invisible God

What He has done
Reconciled all things, presents us holy and blameless

Therefore How should we be? Wanting to please and serve and know him, praying for one another has Paul prayed for the church.

........

Now I want to look at the context of this verse, it was written to a gentile audience, and Paul uses the word and a theme found throughout many others epistles, that is "the mystery" Christ in you!

Paul's call and purpose and his main goal Was to present every man perfect in Christ! Who in this life does not want to be "whole"? People in this world are turning all kinds of things to find meaning and propose,they always have and  always will.

Part of what Paul did was to warn people of empty philosophy and legalism. Ch 2 vs 8
Colossians 2:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Why?

Because in the Colossian culture, philosophy was king. Knowledge, and great wisdom was greatly valued.

So notice what Paul says in chapter 2 Encouraged , knit together in love, riches, full assurance, understanding, knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Verse 4 lest anyone deceive you by persuasive words. False hope and prayer for them is that they would see them in "good order "steadfast in their faith in Christ"

...........

Friends…. When we can lay hold, truly lay hold of who Christ is.... and understand what this epistle is saying to us! We will have power. Power to be the kind of people that Christ wants us to be...

And it's so simple, it's right there in front of us. And the answer is this... Chapter 2 verse 6 as you therefore you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. How did you receive Christ as Lord? ...... rooted and built up in Him and established in your faith. As you have been taught, abounding in it with Thanksgiving.

Faith is only as good as the "object of our faith can be" in other words.. Faith in Jesus! Chapter 2 vs 9-10 Four in the Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. I'm sure no matter what message you gave from the Scriptures, no matter what topic you gave him the Scriptures, it would all be pointless and moot if we do not talk about faith! I'm sorry, but it always comes down to that...

This epistle to the Colossians is a complete document and wants to be read out loud to the church. We need to look at this epistle as a complete document, you need to go home and read it over a couple of times, pray on it, meditate on it. It is a letter to you today.

For today's purpose,,, I'm giving a message from this epistle of which the main point I'm drawing out today. Is "Christ in you the hope of glory" of which part of that hope is. "Complete in him" lacking nothing!

​ My question for us today is... do you want to be "whole" perfect? Look to Jesus our Lord. Amen 

Offertory
 
God of all things, source of all blessings; accept the gifts of our hands, the thankfulness of our hearts, the praise of our worship and the bounty of our lives. We pray that this offering will be used for the building up of your kingdom of justice, peace, love and reconciliation and that you bless us and our offerings to be a blessing. Amen.

Benediction
 
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.


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God ever creating,
God ever loving,
God ever leading:
 
Wherever people are unhappy because of their work, overwhelmed by their responsibilities, or anxious about the future,
where people sit idle and feel of no use:
Your kingdom come.
 
Where people are lonely or searching for love,
where people are trapped in unhealthy, uncaring, or violent relationships, where people are in pain because of the loss of friendship or meaning in life:
Your kingdom come.
 
Where people feel pain in their bodies, in their minds or spirits,
where people seek healing or help,
where illness has eroded hope and desperation has moved in:
Your kingdom come.
 
Where people gather to make the world a better place,
where people work with science, medicine, law and the economy to improve the quality of life and society,
where any one person strives to build a better and more    beautiful world:
Your kingdom come.
 
Wherever new life has begun,
where hope flickers,
where the morning light comes after a long period of darkness:
Your kingdom come.
 
In Jesus name we pray Amen