Meditation for today
Who do you see, and which one are you?

Today were going to go back and look at the passage where Christ was crucified... We are going to look at it and consider the various people that were around and witnessing the crucifixion. And we're gonna use our imaginations, and scriptures to help enlighten us as to what they saw, and where they stood with regards to who that man hanging on the cross was. To Jesus is...

Luke Ch 23 vs 32-56

Here we are first introduced tioL Two criminals That were lead with him to be put to death. We know the story well, but do we really?.

Its very easy to glance over it and not give it much thought. The Scriptures does not give the detail of every moment by moment. It states that the criminals were crucified with Him, One on the right at the other on the left. 34 then Jesus said, "father forgive them for they do not know what they do".

How much time do you think it past in these two opening sentences.?„,„

What do you think was going on in the mind of the two thieves?

,„, 34B. And they divide his garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on.

Who are these people? „„,
Whet do we know about them? 

Ifs easy to picture of the scene like the movies do and indeed like it is portrayed in the Scriptures here. That everyone's yelling and screaming and sneering and demanding his death.

Some of the people that were there other than the two thieves were,Rulers, every day people. Soldiers, reluctant followers. Jesus mother, Women that were true followers. One of Jesus disciples John was there. And we know there was a Pharisee watching from a far off. They were probably A fair amount of religious leaders Pharisees and rulers that were there.

What was going in the mind of everyone was there, caught up in the frenzy. And the massive historical event that we still remember and speak about today.! 2000 years later.

If you were there, what would be going on in your mind. Which one of those people would you have been?,,,,
The two thieves....
Rulers....
Soldiers....
Curious onlookers.../Reluctant followers...
The women disciples...
Jesus mother....
John the disciple....
The whole crowd...
Jesus acquaintances and the woman who followed him from Galilee standing at a distance...
Joseph of Arimathea. A member of the Sanhedrin,,, good and righteous who had not consented to their decision and deed.

What was going on in the minds of everyone of these people we see here?„„

What kind of inward struggle and conflicts were they going through?„„

I like imagine what was going on and everyone's heart. But most of all I like to think what was going on in the hearts of the ones who had very little time to ponder who this Jesus was before them.

Who is this Jesus?,„,

And what kind of person would I be now?„„ in other words what will I do with this truth/experience/person/situation?

And of course the two people that most qualify, are the two thieves on the cross! Everything is condensed into those few hours they have with the Christ. Everything is heightened and more important, decision making is let's say a little bit critical at this juncture!

I assumed they heard rumours about the Messiah that was coming to town.... Maybe they heard about the miracles... Maybe they didn't _..

We know that they weren't the most upstanding citizens.... and we know how people like that, think about godly matters.... They couldn't care... Right? After all, they are thieves and criminals. Scum/low lifes right?

They're hanging on the cross, I'm sure its quite excruciating. But nothing like joining the crowds in mocking the innocent one!. Might as well get a few last Dibs in before you depart this world.

Maybe one of the thieves, blamed the religious leaders. Maybe they blame their parents. Maybe they were so poor they had to steal, we don't know. But it's fair to assume, that they are just like anyone else, just like you or me. With feelings and with emotions and with regrets and with all the frailty that comes along with being a human being.

But as they stood there watching Christ witnessing everything that's going on. Pondering everything that they may or may not know of the Messiah of the Christ of this man before them. They each made a critical decision, that would go on into eternity. One continued in disbelief and in ridiculing the Messiah, and the other one/,,, thought long and hard„ he looked at Jesus and had a realization.
​
He probably didn't know everything.

​The Power and Beauty of Prayer             

When I was 5 years old, my mother taught me how to pray. She had me to kneel in my crib, join my hands together, and memorize these strange sentences to a mysterious creature called God. She first taught me a child’s prayer, asking God for protection for my mother, my father, and myself. Added to that, she taught me the Lord’s Prayer, and finally, the Hail Mary, one of the favourite prayers Catholics recite to the mother of Christ.  

It reminds me of the story of the apostles who approached Christ when he was praying and asked him how they might pray as well. That’s how they learned and retained The Lord’s Prayer. And, through my mother, is how I learned and retained my evening prayers. 

At first, I didn’t expect anything special from them, even though I recited them regularly. At first, my mother said them with me until she felt I could do them on my own. It was sort of the same thing as learning to ride a bike. Your parent hangs on to your seat and bit by bit lets you go, hoping you didn’t crash. But I have to admit, riding a bike was a lot more fun than praying, yet no easier.

Still, I always said my prayers except for once, as a child. That was the time we escaped overnight through dark woods with my mother, a guide, and a few other people. We made our way from Hungary, my homeland, to Austria and when we made it through, I collapsed in bed and asked my mother if I could neglect my prayers for just that night. I passed out and didn’t hear her reply, but I’m pretty sure she agreed.

Do you pray? And do you expect results from your prayers? That’s always tough.

No, it really isn’t easy, you know. Many people make fun of attempts to speak to an invisible force called God. It’s understandable. We are reasoning human beings. As such we are limited by our senses. If it can’t be seen, heard, felt, smelled, or tasted, then does it actually exist? This is where the importance of faith comes in. Faith is the needed ingredient to be able to converse with God. It is the very human trait of believing in something even when there is no evidence for it. None. Rien. 

And yet, a long time ago, I made up my mind to believe. Why? Yes, why? Well, first of all, let me give you a few examples of prayer in my personal life as forays into the dark having little expectation of successful result. The first time I experienced this was when I was about 10 years old. Before that, I ambled along in repetitive forays more or less just to get it out of the way to the point where I say, “AMEN.” Sort of our usual gambits in church when we reach the “Lord’s Prayer.”

What happened when I was 10 is that my birthday was coming around and I asked my mother for a special gift, something that all my friends in Verdun owned but not me. I didn’t yet get a chance to use, my very first set of roller skates. You know. The kind that clamps on to your shoes and tightens with a single key. Ohhh, that was so special. But my father said, sorry Joe, we can’t afford it. You should have seen my lower lip curl down. sort of like this. It was enough to melt a mother’s heart. So, yes, I did get the skates.

I skated with my friends all day that summer, until the sky was darkening and everyone began to go home. So I too rode my skates home and sat down on my front steps to take them off. But…But…where was my key? I couldn’t find it. I was crushed!

I went the whole gamut from making excuses to sniffling to picturing my dire punishment, and finally, to prayer. More than anything else I was ashamed. So I prayed to God to help me find my key. I looked everywhere. In the schoolyard, the ball fields, friends’ homes, you name it, no luck. I said to God, “You know, God, I probably don’t deserve it, but please, please, find my key for my mother. I’ll accept any punishment. Not that I really wanted a lot, but I would accept anything. So, dragging my heels, I searched again around my friends’ front yards. No key. So I sat on his front lawn, buried my face in my knees and put my hands in the grass. When I put my right palm flat down on the lawn, I suddenly felt something hard and metallic. Yes, it was. It was the key. God sort of said, he didn’t like young boy blubbering…I guess.

Now, of course, I could say this was all a coincidence. OK it might have been. But I didn’t believe it for a second. This was God at work. The first time in my own experience.

——--

Since then, there have been many other occasions of very different gravity. But I can tell you that each was a surprise, and each has been a delight. When I asked God to send me a special girl, a life partner, because I hadn’t been able to find my own around my own neighbourhood. He sent one all the way from Huntingdon, my mother hired her in her beauty salon, and then God sent her to our front door to pick something up for my mother, which is where I met her. We married 3 years later. You can’t be too careful with these country girls. And 50 years and three sons and two grandsons later, we are still together, as God intended and I prayed. And you’re going to tell me prayer doesn’t work? No way to tell me that.

——--

I’d like to leave you with my latest example, from last week. I knew this girl from the Laurentians together with a bunch pf other friends when I was a teenager. Over the years, I lost touch with nearly all these friends. We grew older, we went to different schools, and different careers, we got married, had kids and, as usual, the wheel of life turned.

A few weeks ago, this girl turned up as a Facebook friend. Well, we were both delighted , and right away began to share notes. But then, something grim happened. She told me she was sorry she had to share such news with me but the lung cancer she had experienced a long time ago looks like it’s come back, and her cancer specialists advised her that this time it might well be more serious than even before.

I didn’t know what to say. So, I said, “Look, I’m sure I still know you well. You’re a bright and personable research nurse. Besides that, you have strength and energy, you are adored by your family and friends. They all need you. Your granddaughter especially needs you  (her mother also took breast cancer of late). And I guarantee I will include you in my prayers every night. No matter what, I will be here for you.” You know, she is not a religious person, but she is an extremely good person, and she accepted my promise of prayers in good faith.
Last week, her specialist asked for another biopsy just to see if they could verify the findings. 

She called me with these words:
Just got back from Dr. and got great news - the biopsy results were NEGATIVE - I am so relieved !!!
“Thanks for all the good thoughts , love and prayers !!
Sending love 
Sharon”pastedGraphic.png

Yes, as I said, I have many such examples over the years, but this was very special since it involved an old friend’s life. God was there. God listened. And God responded, Thanks be to God.

PROCESSIONAL:    Amazing Grace (1st verse) - Piper Robert Wailer
​
CALL TO WORSHIP:
ONE: At God's table of justice, everyone has a place and none are turned away.
ALL: Here, strangers are welcomed as friends.
ONE: At God's table of abundance, a banquet of righteousness and liberation is
set for all.
ALL: Here, the powerless are heard, the outcast our showered with honour.
ONE: At God's table of life, all people know peace.
ALL: Here the hopeless are nourished with possibility, the complacent are
transformed into advocates for change. Here in our very midst, the
kingdom of God is revealed

OPENING PRAYER & THE LORD'S PRAYER:
0 Glorious St. Andrew, you were the first to recognize and follow the Son of God. With your friend John, you remained with Jesus your entire life, and now through eternity. Just as you led your brother, Peter, to Christ and many others after him, draw us also to Him. Teach us how to lead others, solely out of love for Jesus and dedication to His service. Help us to learn the lesson of the cross and carry our daily crosses without complaint. And now, as Jesus taught you, let us all pray together with His words: 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, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

PIPER:            Robert Wailer

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Romans 10:8b-18
Psalm 19:1-6
Matthew 4:18-20

OFFERING:   Offering Received:     "Aura Lee" Chenaniah

Offertory Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You today for Your blessings which You bestow upon us all. No one ever gives a present with reluctance and we should never give what already belongs to You with reluctance either. Bless these cheerful givers and the offerings that they give. Amen.

ST. ANDREW: St. Andrew has been celebrated in Scotland for over a thousand years, with feasts being held in his honour as far back as the year 1000 AD. However, it wasn't until 1320 that he officially became Scotland's patron saint. Even Scotland's flag, the St. Andrew's Cross, was chosen to honour him. The cross, which is the shape of an "1", represents the type of cross that St. Andrew was crucified on. The ancient town of St. Andrews was named due to its claim of being the final resting place of St. Andrew.

November 30 is designated St. Andrew's Day because he is said to have died on that date, crucified on the X-shaped cross. Andrew was the first disciple of Jesus. He seems to have been a natural leader. Andrew, who was a fisherman, was influenced by the preaching of John the Baptist It was Andrew who introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus. It is also Andrew, faced with the prospect of feeding a very large, hungry crowd, who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes. Andrew is the disciple who was able to think out of the box, allowing the possibility of new ways to express faith. Thank you Andrew for your service and dedication. We pray that we may follow your example of faith and love.

WHAT 15 AGAPE LOVE?   Agape love is selfless, unconditional love. It is the highest form of love in the Bible. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus has for God and for his disciples and his followers. Agape is a word that describes God's unboundless love for us all. God gives us this love without conditions and without question. This Bible verse describes agape love: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Agape doesn't love somebody because they're worthy. Agape makes them worthy by the strength and power of its love. Agape doesn't love somebody because they're beautiful. Agape loves in such a way that it makes them beautiful.


THE AGAPE MEAL:

PRAYER OF ADORATION:
We will keep on thanking God with constant words of prayer. We will
glory in the living God: the humble will hear and be glad. Let us pray
together:
Living God, You cherish Your creation and we praise You. With earth, air, water, fire: in our element as Your children, we praise You. With our lips, with our lives, in all our diversity, each one made in Your image, we praise You. Because You share our human lives, our sorrow and joy, we praise You. Because You are at work today, encouraging, enabling,
surprising us, in the world's places of beauty and of pain, in the mystery
of the mundane, we praise You. Poor as we are, You give us hope: salt of
the earth, You give us meaning and purpose and we praise You. Amen

PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Our praise fills us with a sense of God's goodness, beside our struggle to
be good, and of our weakness beside God's great strength. But God's grace meets us now to renew us, reorientate us, restore us. And so in confidence we pray together:

We call on the power of God to meet us in our helplessness. God in our thinking, God in our speaking. We call on the clarity of God to meet us in our confusion. God in our acting, God in our stillness. We call on the mercy of God to meet us in our brokenness. God in our waking, God in our sleeping. We call on the Spirit of God to meet us in our division. God in our meeting, God in our parting. Amen

And now we call on the grace of God to meet us here as share the sign of  peace with each other.


INTRODUCTION TO THE SHARING OF THE MEAL:
Let us pray: We have shared peace, we have shared thanksgiving, and we
now, in solidarity and agape, share ordinary food together. Taste and see
that God is good. Be present at our table, Lord. We pray people everywhere will find Your love. Bless all Your creatures, great and small and bless the food we are about to receive. Grant, that one day, we may feast in Paradise with You. Amen.

On the table in the midst of this congregation with whom Christ is present, we set symbols to remind us of His promise to us. A candle to remind us of the way, "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life." The food representing God's love. "1 am the bread of life. The bread that I shall give is myself for the life of the world."

God, we welcome Your presence with us. May the food and companionship we share nourish ur bodies, hearts and minds. As we live in the tight of Your presence, with us now, and at all times and places. Amen,

PRAYER AFTER SHARING:
Behold, the fragments of our feast, our meal is ended, but God's banquet
continues as we go from this place. With gratefulness to others for all that we have shared and thankfulness to God, we begin to look outwards and ahead to our lives beyond this week and this place, so let us pray together:

Dear God, we give thanks for places of simplicity and peace. Let us find such a place within ourselves. We give thanks for places of refuge and beauty. Let us find such a place within ourselves. We give thanks for places of truth and freedom, of joy, inspiration and renewal, places where all creatures may find acceptance and belonging. Let us search for these places, in the world, in ourselves and in others. Let us restore them. Let us strengthen and protect them and let us create them. May we mend this outer world according to the truth of our inner life and may our souls be shaped and nourished by nature's eternal wisdom, in the country, in the city, and in every place we go. Amen.


BENEDICTION & CHORAL AMEN:        Giving God, bless all who have gathered around this table. May we know the fullness of Your presence at every meal and in all our sharing. May the peace of Christ be upon you, and may you be channels of peace and justice.

POSTLUDE:  Chenaniah

Shel Silverstein was a well known artist, author, playwright, songwriter and poet from New York City.

Now, Shel was something of an over-achiever: He was a well known cartoonist for Playboy Magazine, you know, that magazine we all read for the great articles and interviews? He won Grammy awards as a songwriter (amongst others, he wrote Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue"), had plays produced on Broadway... And all sorts of other things. He also published several volumes of some of the finest poetry ever written for Children.

When I was 7, I was given a copy of his book, "Where the Sidewalk Ends", and from it memorized my first (and longtime favorite poem): Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Shel Silverstein's epic work: "My Beard"

My Beard Grows
Down to my Toes.
I never wears no Clothes.
I wrap my Hair
Around my Bare,
And down the Road I goes.

Thank you very much.

Steel was born and raised in a Jewish family, and was a pious and faithful man. He had a great interest in comparative religious studies and was always up for a chat about faith and philosophy. One day, he had a long conversation with a Christian Minister in a New York Park about the nature of Jesus, and the way that Jesus asks people to love.

Following that conversation, he returned to his apartment and wrote a story, that became a book. It's not particularly long, so I'd like to read it to you.

There is a story. It's a story about a tree. And it's a story about a little boy the tree loved.
Every day the boy would come by the tree and play, Picking up the tree's leaves, playing make believe, climbing the tree's trunk, and enjoying the tree's shade. All of this made the tree very happy.

But time passed. The tree was alone and it was sad. One day the boy came by and the tree tried to get the boy to stay and play. But the boy asked the tree, "Can you just give me some money?"

The tree said "I'm sorry, I have no money. I only have apples. Take my apples and sell them in the city and then you will have money. Then you will be happy," So the boy climbed the tree, took all the apples and sold them in the city. And the tree was very happy.

One day the boy came by and the tree once again tried to get the boy to stay and to play. The boy said "I'm too busy. I want a house to keep me warm. 1 want a wife and a child. So, I need a house. Can you give me a house?"

The tree said, "l'm sorry but I have no house. But you can cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy." So the boy cut off the branches, carried them away, and built a house.

And the tree was very happy.

More time went by. Again, the tree was alone, and it was very sad. One day they boy came back. The tree once again tried to get the boy to stay and to play. But the boy said, "I'm too old and sad to play. 1 want a boat that will take me far away. Can you give me a boat?"

The tree said, "I'm sorry but I don't have a boat. You can cut down my trunk and make a boat." So the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy...... but not really.


After a long time, the boy came back again. The tree this time said, "I am sorry, Boy but 1 have nothing left to give you. 1 wish I had something to give you but I have nothing left." The boy said, "1 don't need very much now. I am old and very tired, I just need a quiet place to sit and to rest." The tree said "Well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, boy, sit down and rest."

The boy did. And the tree was happy.

I must admit, I wasn't sure I liked the story of the giving tree the first time I heard it. It seemed to me that the boy had problems. As he grew older, thou ght he became self-centered and greedy and that he as<ed too much of the tree. And then I though of my kids, and I said.... Yup. I see what's going on here.
And, the tree well -he seemed to problems, too. I thought she suffered from what we, in our modern vernacular might refer to as poor self-esteem and/or the inability to set healthy boundaries.

To give up parts of herself until she had nothing but a stump left seemed like the ultimate sacrifice to me . . and perhaps more than she should have agreed to do.

Reading The Giving Tree myseif years later, I still wish the boy hadn't asked the tree to give up so much, and I still wish the tree had learned to stop trying to fix the boy's sad feelings. 

However, f also recognize that The Giving Tree a story about selfless love . . and encountering it again has caused me to wonder about the nature of such love.

Selfless love can seem superhuman, irrational, and exhausting when we are examining it from the outside. "How does she do it?" we may wonder of the young mother who has multiple small children in tow that require her constant and undivided attention. "He has a heart of gold," we may say of the husband who is caring for his wife whose health is in serious decline.

These instances of giving are likely not the times when we are keeping score and expecting a favor in return. Rather, when we give from the heart and in a self-sacrificing way as the Giving Tree did to the little boy, it seems that we're giving from a primal place within one that may not be easily explained by human kindness or a sense of duty.

Physicists, neurologists and psychologists are just a few of the scientists who have attempted to explain selflessness, or what we understand as altruistic behavior.

Albert Einstein, for example, argued that selflessness is a dynamic found in existence itself. Selfless acts of integration had to occur for the universe to evolve from chaos into stars, planets and galaxies and atoms to merge into molecules, molecules into compounds and compounds into organisms.

Some social psychologists believe that selflessness is a prosocial behavior, meaning that it is a behavior that is intended to help other people. And, some neurologists explain that altruistic behavior activates pleasure centers in the brain. But then, hey, science can ruin anything, right?

Whatever the underlying reasons are for selfless love, it seems to me that the central message in Shy: Silverstein's story is that those who give love selflessly do so from a place of abundance.

While the Giving Tree may have once had an abundance of apples, branches and wood to share with the boy, her heart it seems was abundantly full of cherished memories.... memories the tree had of loving a boy who visited her, played with her, and slept peacefully at her side. It seems that the boy gave the tree an abundance of joy she had never known before or since, and that this abundant joy was the wellspring from which t he tree acted so selflessly.

What are we to make of such a story? Perhaps we can start by asking ourselves, What in our lives gives us abundant joy? And, how might this abundance enable us to give to others with humility and a sense of gratitude?

There's a famous prayer, often but mistakenly attributed to St.
Francis of Assisi............................................................................

After a few minutes where everyone regained their composure, we continued on another shocker....



​

​It seems to me this prayer of selfless giving is contained within the story of the Giving Tree. While there may be limits to what we are able to give (as there were even for the Giving Tree)there are never limits to living lives characterized by a spirit ofhumility and gratitude.

And don't forget, in just a couple of weeks, we' begin ourjourney of renewal as we begin the Church year with the Advent Season. Well hear a reading from the Prophet Isaiah that will talk about a stump in the wilderness, and a shoot that will grow into a great tree. Maybe we can take a little time during the frantic season to some to spare a thought for the Giving Tree that we heard about today.

Humble lives, and grateful hearts; gifts given, and received in selfless love: As we go from this place this morning, let's go with hearts fur of the all these gifts we've given and received this weekend the gifts of friendship, Nature's beauty, children's laughter, sweet rock and roil jams for some of us) and the peace of the beautiful country in which we live.

Let's live our lives with the courage to give selflessly, trusting that we can do so from a place of abundance deep within. And may we find happiness, every one of us, as we bring a spirit of gratitude to our days.
Amen.

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
Isa. 55:1-7
Matt 9:9-13

MESSAGE: “There But for the Grace of God Go I”

This is a phrase that most of us will have heard several times at least in our life-time. We see someone in a bad or difficult situation, and say basically, yeah that could be me, except for God’s intervention in my life.

It was apparently said by a John Bradford in 1500’s England, as he watched a group of prisoners be led away for execution. Bradford lived during the time of the reign of Henry the VIII of England, became a protestant convert from Catholicism, and began preaching and teaching not only around the country, but also as chaplain to Edward the VI. When Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and who was Catholic like her Spanish mother,  ascended the throne and tried to reverse the movement of the Reformation, John Bradford was arrested on a trumped up charge, tried and burned at the stake. His was one life given up for his faith, a man martyred for what he believed. And he left these words for posterity, for us to ponder today, 500 years later.

What kind of faith influenced John Bradford to go to the burning stake?  It is reported that even while waiting for his death by fire, he asked those around him for forgiveness had he hurt them in any way, and offered forgiveness to anyone who felt they may have wronged him, so they could live on with a clean conscience.

Where did this kind of faith come from? Why did he believe? Why do any of us believe actually? And what did he mean by saying “there but for the Grace of God goes John Bradford”?

What is faith?  What is Grace? Why do we even believe?

1John 4: 10 says “…not that WE loved God, but HE loved US, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Verse 19 says “We love because he first loved us”

So from this we understand that we actually did not take the initial step into belief, but rather God did, by sending His Son. But how did we get to that place of belief?

In Matt. 9:9-13 Jesus called Matthew. He was a tax collector and NOBODY liked him! He was scum to most people. But Jesus CALLED him to come to him and follow him. And Matthew actually dropped everything and did. When questioned about his decision to call such a one as Matthew, Jesus replied “I came to call sinners, not righteous ones”

John 1:23 says “I am the Voice of the One calling in the desert…”

By these examples we realize that it is God who first did the work, and He calls EVERYONE- all humans are living in darkness and the “wilderness” or “desert”; that is, in lives without God. So God’s voice goes out to all the world, he calls everyone, not just a select few.

You may ask, how will all humans know there is a God? Those who have not heard sermons or missionaries, or who live in paganism etc. God has His ways!

Psalm 19:1-4 is a familiar passage, but very important. Though humans in their scientific pursuits come to various conclusions, the words of David are “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 display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” 

David is reminding us here that every person in the world has access to the message that there is a God. We just have to look around us, lift up our eyes, and think.

John 10:3 says he CALLS His sheep by name. Not only does he call everyone, but he knows the name of each person.

God’s voice is ALWAYS calling, and, He is always LISTENING. Isaiah 65: 24 says “Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear”. He is calling EVERYONE. In 1 Peter 2, the apostle is saying that the message went out to all, but not everyone accepted it. The ones who chose to obey were “called out of the darkness, into His wonderful light”

So we see by this that WE did not take the first step to belief, GOD did. It makes us realize that we are so hopeless, so in darkness, that we absolutely need God to take that first step to call us 
out from that wilderness.

So this is where GRACE comes in. Grace is the offering of a gift to someone who is not worthy of it, with no strings attached.

GRACE is demonstrated by the sacrifice of a loving God to rescue us from darkness. This act of Grace led the Son of God to the cross to actually die for us, even calling us by name, that we may come out of the darkness into His wonderful light. For this place we enter into is not a place of moaning and groaning and pain, but rather a place of love and joy. God is love, and wants us to live in His love today and always. Contrary what so many may think, belief in Christ is not a burden, but rather true freedom. Things can get clouded by religion, which can unfortunately sometimes act as a screen hiding the real message of God. That message which is : come to me and I will give you rest.

John Bradford heard the voice of God calling Him, and he answered “Here I am God, send me”. When he said “there but for the Grace of God goes John Bradford” he was saying “if God had not called me, giving me the opportunity to hear and answer His call, the propensity for great evil that is in me could have led me to the place these criminals are today. So he thanked God for that Grace, but also acknowledged that it was not his work, but God’s work, that had put him in a different place than those criminals that day.


So God calls us by name. He then makes it possible for us to hear His voice. He offers us his love in action, an act of grace.

So, now: a problem. we all know people who have heard the message, who have had many, even years of opportunities to answer God’s call, but who have rejected that call. What about them? I had a long telephone conversation this week with someone who is really struggling with some issues. It is creating serious unhappiness in her life. I reminded her that Christ did come so we would never be alone, that He would always be with us, never leave us or forsake us, that He is our one true Friend. We just need to surrender and answer that call. But she said, I tried Christianity and it just doesn’t work for me.  So, has she really heard the call? Did she ever answer the call? Why has she decided that Jesus is not for her?

Why is it some people hear and respond to the call, and others do not? How is it we can even hear the call? The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent into the world when He left it, is not inactive and waiting for Halloween to be freed for action. The Holy Spirit is always there, whispering and nudging us to open our hearts to His call. We need to come to that place of surrender first. Some of us find that easy to do, others take longer. Paul tells us to count all trials and problems as blessings, because they lead us to surrender, as otherwise we may never get there, and we would be lost.  Sometimes we even have to hit bottom before we surrender and give in to His eternal love. God is interested in an eternity WITH us, not without us, so he will allow whatever is necessary in our lives, up to a point (as he said He would never allow anything that we cannot bear) for that to happen.

So when we hear that call and answer it, we actually haven’t seen anything with our eyes or experienced anything that we can touch. We accept Christ by Faith. We heard, we went for it, without knowing the future.

What is Faith?

I heard a radio interview the other day, with an American country singer who had made some big changes in her life. When she was asked by the interviewer how she had had the faith to make the decision, she said “Faith is trust based on experience”. Think about that. Sounds quite good right? Sounds correct. Nice. Faith is Trust based on experience.

So I then compared that with what the Bible tells us Faith is.

There’s a very well-known verse, though I don’t know if we really understand it, being human and such…
Hebrews 11:1 says “faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see”.

Paul reminded the recipients of this letter of many historical acts of faith. Such as:
-Moses leading the Israelite people across the Red Sea. They had no real idea what they were doing. There was a Sea in front of them for goodness sake! But God had told Moses to lead the people to the Red Sea and they would cross over on dry land. So off they went.

Another example is:
-Abraham taking Isaac up to the mountain to sacrifice him. WHAT?? How can a parent even think to do that?? But Abraham did it. He had faith that no matter what happened, it would be okay because God was in charge.

Then again, there’s:

-Daniel who went into the den of lions. He may well have thought “this is it, I am going to be eaten by lions.” Wow. But in he went, having faith that again, whatever happened would be the best thing, because God was in charge and God is Love.
-Shadrach Meshack and Abednego. who went into the firey furnace. They did not “know” the outcome of their obedience, they simply had faith in God.

As it turns out, ALL of those acts involved doing something without knowing the why or the wherefore, or the outcome at all.

None of those persons, Moses, Abraham, Daniel or the 3 boys in the furnace, had any previous experience whatsoever before they launched themselves into obeying the call of God. Daniel had never before been in a lion’s den and come out unscathed. Human knowledge would tell him actually that lions, especially hungry lions, would just eat him
.
So it seems Biblical faith is not the same as “trust based on experience” at all. Trust based on experience is more like knowledge, not faith. Almost the opposite of faith really.

So how do we live an everyday life of faith?

Paul says, what we do is “Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. He encourages the recipients of the letter to think about all these examples, especially the example of Christ Himself, in order to remain strong and not give up or lose heart. Because, he says in Heb 12:18-19, we don’t have a physical thing to touch or go to, like a mountain or loud sounds or voices telling us to be afraid, (like pagans do) which actually lead to a place of punishment and darkness, but rather we have come to, in Heb 12: 22-24 “ Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; you have come to God”

Romans 10:17 says “faith comes from hearing the message, and the messages is heard through the words of Christ”.  So we can encourage the growth of our faith, by reading, and hearing in our spirits, the words of Christ. Words such as, I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes unto the Father except by Me.

Faith reminds me that I am not in charge, but rather God is, and it is His will that no one should 
perish, but all should have eternal life. 
So I can pray that those who have not yet answered the call, will one day actually HEAR that call and will be unable to resist the whispering of the Holy Spirit, and enter into the place of love and peace that we are all really desiring.

We can all echo the words of John Bradford, who 500 years ago recognized that without God’s loving intervention in our lives, we are all lost forever in the wilderness.
Amen.

BENEDICTION:
Now may the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace at all times, and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

BENEDICTION & CHORAL AMEN:   The peace of God be in your heart; the grace of God be in your words; the love of God be in your hands; the joy of God be in your soul and in the song that your life sings.

Offertory Prayer:
Bless our offerings, Lord; we give them as tokens of our time, talent and treasure.
May these gifts reflect our shared joy and hope for this beautiful earth and its people.
We pray that our gifts may reach through this place and touch the world.
In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.

Philippians 4:4-9 New International Version (NIV)​4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Meditation "Blessing and Thanksgiving" 

It is both privilege and pleasure to be with you in Rockburn today; invited to share in a ritual to welcome and bless, with thanks, Eleanor Dawn Ouimet.
Such a celebration is appropriate on Thanksgiving Sunday, a special time to count our blessings and praise God with thanksgiving.
If the only prayer we ever offer is, "Thank you, Lord!" — it is enough

I have enjoyed a series of books about a make-believe town called Mitford, the little town with a big heart.
The stories feature Father Tim (Kavenagh) and his friends.
I have special affection for Absalom Greer, an aging Baptist pastor, who keeps a country store and ministers to a number of small churches in the back country of the Southern Hills. Pastor Greer calls these good people his "little handfuls." He cares for them and loves them because they could easily be overlooked, otherwise.
I find myself thinking of small churches in our Chateauguay Valley as "little handfuls" — places like Riverfield, Beechridge, Rockburn, etc.

Folks in upper cities never quite understand us and we often feel overlooked. So, it is good that you help each other within your church community; that you minister to each other and offer mutual support.
We are called to show our love for God by caring for each other. That is what church is all about.

I chose the scriptures that I read today, because they are meaningful to me and my faith journey. Even if you have heard it all before, let me tell you again.

In the Old Testament, we read of the Prophet Elijah's troubles. The authorities and thepower figures persecuted and threatened him. Elijah's colleagues had been killed and he feared for his life.

The Lord helped Elijah flee to the mountain, where he awaited further counsel from God.He waited through fierce wind, mighty earthquake, and huge fire. Nothing. It was in the quiet of a whisper that Elijah heard God.
The story tells me that all the noise and upheaval in the world can be as nothing.
Its wisdom shows that great things — the things that count — can be acknowledged and accomplished quietly...like God's whisper.

Small acts of love and kindness, done without great shouts and fanfare, comprise all that is basic and vital to our joy in relationship with our Lord and with each others.
In the Good News Bible, John's Gospel, chapter is prefaced by "The Word of Life."
In those first few verses, we are reminded that the Word was present with God even before the earth was created.
The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to humankind.
Light is the essence of life.
Every one of us carries such light within us. I firmly believe that.
That is the reason a small candle light was given to Eleanor-Dawn this morning.
We equate light with love and kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness, faithfulness and tolerance.
At times, one's personal battery may run a little low and the light dims — then we must recharge. Never hesitate to ask for or to accept the help of light from another.

Because, John's gospel tells us, the light shines in the darkness — whatever the darkness may be for us — and the darkness has never put it out.

I am not an authority of anatomy, but I believe that the human frame is fashioned with a particular hole in it — not just any hole, but a God-shaped-hole designed to carry God and God-given light, right there in us. 
Try as we might to fill that hole with other things, nothing else fills it properly.
The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never yet put it out.
Thanks be to God, Amen.

THE HANDS OF GOD

During the special music service that Nancy and her team prepared for us just before the summer break, I was struck by the many hands that were involved to prepare such a lovely morning of worship.

The hands of the musicians. The hands sweeping the bat droppings off of the front porch, those preparing the bulletin, or updating the website. Those that help collect the offering, check that the power was on and working, mowed the lawn, arranged flowers. Rang the bell. All those 
hands, and more, offering service to others.

I began thinking about the gift of HANDS, and how wonderfully made humans are, with amazing tools to accomplish so many things.
Then I began reflecting on the concept of service. What does Christian service look like?

Let’s start by thinking about what we very often think Christian service means. Here’s some examples:
-becoming a missionary
-becoming a pastor or preacher or leading worship in church 
-teaching Sunday School
-feeding the poor and homeless 
-doing street ministry
-giving tithes and offerings
-donating money or useful items to charity
-supporting a child through World Vision, Samaritan’s purse, or other works 
-visiting people in prison
-visiting the sick or infirm

So I am wondering if the above list of Christian service, which are all important and valuable, is completely representative. For those of us who are NOT doing those things, is there anything else? Or do we relegate ourselves to the back-bench of Christianity, failing to see our value.
Obvious acts of service can be politicized and honoured above the unseen ones. So, do we serve God in order to earn a golden halo? Or to earn points in Heaven? Is service a one-time act, or a repeating action?

Do we look for recognition for our acts of service? Are we disappointed when no one notices how clean the church is, or how many hours we spend helping others? When we are called to stand before God, does He look at our list of charitable works and judge us on that?

Or is service to God an on-going way of being? So where does Service fit in our faith life?

Matthew 25: 34-46 Here Jesus says to His disciples (who were asking about the final judgement), that whatever we 
do in service to others, we are actually doing unto Him. Conversely whatever we did NOT do that we could have done, we also did not offer to Him.  He is outlining what Christian works actually is, but do we actually understand what He is saying?

Another question: what is Christian service FOR anyway? What is the ultimate purpose of serving God?

Whenever I have questions like this, I like to go to the Bible to see what Jesus said. 

We read in the book of Matthew where Jesus was answering questions of the church leaders, questions designed to catch him out. They sure did not like His simple and profound teaching. 

Too many people were starting to be too interested! 

Finally he says this: Matthew 22:34-40 “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an 
expert in the law, tested him with this question: Teacher which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Did you catch that? What Jesus is saying here, is the same as he said to his disciples.
Loving your neighbour is serving God. 

Let’s look more closely at what he said.

-Loving God with all your heart mind and soul. That speaks of total commitment to God. There’s not too much room for anything else when we are called to love Him with ALL our heart.  It speaks of a heart full of God’s character, a heart that we have allowed God to fill. It speaks of a mind thinking in pathways that lead to goodness and kindness. It speaks of a soul that is sold-out to God, that knows who he or she is, a soul who knows whom they worship and serve. It speaks of a monumental act of surrender, of a conscious opening up to the Holy Spirit to allow Him to fill us.

-Loving your neighbour as yourself. Certainly if God is not number one, then who is? That’s easy. Me myself and I!  It’s is very very difficult for a human to put self aside and put God first.

But Jesus said that every other law or commandment in all of life is covered by these two statements. Loving our neighbour means extending kindness. Being generous. Showing good-will. Lending a helping hand when possible. Perhaps it could mean a bit of self-sacrifice. 

Practising an attitude of non-judgement. Not cheating, stealing or similar. It shows surrender to God. God is Love.

Any behaviour that is unkind, unjust or stingy is actually done unto God, because it is actually in disobedience to God’s commandment and therefore a rejection of Him. That sounds serious!

A heart that is surrendered to God loves his neighbour as himself.
When our kids were young, we had a discussion at the breakfast table every morning before school. We would read a Bible passage then apply it to events and situations in every day life. 

Basically everything boils down to how to apply these 2 commandments to everyday situations. It was helpful, in this way, to apply Biblical truths to “real” life, which is often the dilemma for believers. How to take faith into our every day lives. 

So if Jesus has commanded us to love God, be fully surrendered to Him, be filled with His love, and to honour others, how does doing those things translate into service?

What do we “do with our hands”, as it were.

The question that pops into mind is:  Why did Jesus come to earth anyway?

He says He came to give us Life.

John 3: 16 says “for God so loved the world, that he gave His only son that whoever believes on Him should not perish but may have eternal life”.

He also said that God does not want anyone to be lost.
In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus said in Matthew 18 “what do you think, if a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” For those of us who know what sheep are like, you 
can visualize that one sheep who wandered off. Walking around blindly bleating and of course going in the complete wrong direction! It needs help!  He continues:  “And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 

In the same way your Father in heaven is NOT WILLING that any of these little ones should be lost”

It seems God’s plan is that we all should come to know Him. He wants us to be in relationship with Him. So THAT is why Jesus came. So none of us should be lost. His plan is to bring us all to Himself, and his commandment is to love him, and out of that to love others.

Now I want you to think of someone in your life whom you remember most fondly. Maybe someone from your childhood or adolescence, a parent or grandparent. Or a business colleague or neighbour. Or even someone entirely unknown to you. Someone who had a memorable positive effect on your life.

Now that you have someone in mind, ask this question. Why them? Why do they matter? what did they do? What motivated that person to act in a way that made you remember them in fondness today? Just hold that thought as we continue.

God tells us to be filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit of God is Love. Be filled with Love. When that Love overflows out of our lives, it renders service to others.

God didn’t call us to believe on Him then go DO acts of service. He told us to LOVE HIM. The acts of service are simply a CONSEQUENCE of the fullness of God’s love in our lives.

George told me the other day he heard doctor James Dobson of Focus on the Family talk about his health journey, and how a doctor had told him he had to lose weight or he might not live that long. Dr. Dobson said he then quit eating sugar. He didn’t diet or think of dieting. He just quit eating sugar only. And he lost 30 pounds.  He even said “I didn’t diet or anything, I just quit eating sugar”. He didn’t focus on the result, just on the one act.

This concept is what God is talking about when He calls us to serve Him.  He has called us to love Him. That is all. To focus on that one act.

We serve God by BEING. By being in our lives and continually surrendering that life to God, for His infilling of love. We really don’t need to plan or figure out WHAT to do, we simply need to open ourselves to the love of God, and it automatically affects the world around us.

Simply being there in the midst of life, overflowing with the love of God. Love that flows like a river, spreading out wherever we go, touching others no matter who they are or what their situation.

And we have many tools at our disposal to express or release that love to our neighbour. We have HANDS. We have tongues. We have feet. We have attitude. We may have wealth or power or position. We may have NO wealth or power or position. But we have the love of God that overflows and becomes service to Him and to others.

The Bible tells us to not hide our light under a bushel. What is our light?  And why does our light need to be seen, and by whom?

Matt 5:14-16..you are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds (the work of your hands) and praise your Father in Heaven”.  Because it is a beacon, like a lighthouse that warns of danger and shows people the way to safety. A light a draws life to it. 

Not only moths or bugs are attracted to the light. We are also drawn to the light. The love of God in us glows like a beacon, and leads people to God.

Now think back to that person you chose when I asked you to recall someone whom you remember with fondness. Very possibly it is because he or she was simply living the love of God 

in everyday life, simply being there with his or her light shining. Not necessarily preaching or teaching, just being there.

We can be that person that someone else remembers as influential in their lives.

Lift up your hands and look at them. They are beautiful tools to serve God. Psalm 139:14 says “For you formed me in my inwards parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb; I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”.

Your hands might be bent or broken, small or large, long fingered or stubby fingered, weak or strong. They are fearfully and wonderfully made. Look at the pictures of the hands on the front of the bulletin. Those are actual photos I took of hands in this room. Look at your hands. They are yours only. They are your tools.

I have a story about my hands. As a child, of course I never thought about what my hands looked like. But one day when I was in Bible school I think, I was in the Greyhound bus depot coffee shop, having a snack or drink or whatever, waiting for the time to board the bus to go 
home for the weekend. There was a guy sitting there who decided he would try it on with me. After I rejected his advances, he tried to punish me, I suppose, for rejecting him, by saying “What big hands you have, they are like man hands. What girl has hands like that!

For years afterwards I was embarrassed about my hands. I never wore rings or bracelets to being attention to them or nail polish etc. Finally I decided I did not want some questionable person to be in charge of how I felt about any part of myself, and got over it.

Then just a few years ago I was going through some old photos and found one of my great great grandmother from Switzerland. My hands are exactly like hers.

No matter what our hands are like, they are a symbol of a life in service to God, hands that are full of goodness and that reach out to the world around us. For God does not want any one to be lost.

We don’t need to “go on a diet”. We don’t need to agonize over where we can be of use to God. 

We don’t need to look at the Christian service list and find ourselves lacking or incapable. Those are very important and very valuable kinds of service, but they are not all.

The thing is,  we don’t need to worry about what kind of service we can or cannot do. We are all different and placed in our lives with a light to shine.

All we have to do is open our hearts, mind and soul to the spirit of God, the spirit of love, and He will light our lamp and fill our hands.
​
The rest, as they say, is easy.

Carving Initials
“In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life.” (Genesis 2:9) When God created Eden it marked the beginning of humanity. God planted the Garden of Eden and it was a place of great beauty and pleasantness. God planted trees which He made to support and please human life. But He also planted two very special trees, trees that represented everlasting life and sin.

We have the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and we have the Tree of Life. This morning we will be focusing more on the latter, the Tree of Life. This tree looked like the others in the garden but it had certain goodness which the other trees did not possess. This was a life-giving tree, a life-sustaining tree. The connection between the soul and the body was maintained by this particular tree. As long as man nourished himself from this tree, the link between body and soul could not be broken.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the significance of trees. To a painter or poet, and probably some of us, there is nothing else in nature which is more intensely profound than a tree. Think about how graceful a tree is. Think about the silhouette of various trees. Think about its green colour in summer and the changing hues of gold, orange, yellow and red in the fall. Think about the branches, the twigs and the leaves.

A tree illustrates diversification in unity. It has colourful and fragrant blossoms and luscious fruit. A tree reflects human life: a tree is born, it grows, it breathes, sleeps, decays, dies and reproduces. It’s not much wonder that throughout history man has had a keen interest, even a fascination, for trees.

In many ancient cultures the tree held a divine sacredness. Groves, and even individual trees, were cherished and revered as favourite dwelling places of the gods and they were set aside as places of worship.

The earliest tree of life was stylized by the Assyrians in the second millennium BC and appears to have been adapted by Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist art.

The Greek Dryad is a tree nymph or spirit in Greek mythology. The Dryads watch over and care for the tree they are born with.

The British Druids were members of the Celtic people and are best remembered as religious leaders. Their knowledge was never written down, but rather passed down by rote. The Druids used both animal and human sacrifice and their rituals were carried out in Oak groves.

In Norse mythology, Igdrasil (Yggdrasil) is the tree of life and is an eternal green Ash tree. The branches stretch out over all the nine worlds of Norse mythology and extend up and above the heavens.

Now all of these are examples I have mentioned are pagan to our Christian beliefs. But we have our own Tree of Life which grew in the centre of the Garden of Eden. Eden’s Tree of Life is the source of everlasting life. That is the belief of Christians. The Tree of Life is mentioned four (4) times in the Book of Proverbs. Chapter 3, verse 18, “As a tree makes fruit, wisdom gives life to those who use it. Everyone who uses wisdom will be happy.” Then in Chapter 11, verse 30, “As a tree makes fruits, a good person gives life to others. The wise person shows others how to be wise.” The other two references in Proverbs can be found in Chapters 13 and 15.

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God.” This passage comes from Revelations 2:7. Other references in Revelations are found in Chapter 22, verses 2, 14 and 19.

These Biblical passages produce images of energy, health and abounding joy and happiness. But let’s not forget, there were two trees in the garden; the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave Adam and Eve a choice between the two trees. They represent a choice between obeying God’s command or following the lies offered by the devil.

God teaches us that the key to a good life is looking to Him for guidance and strength. He wants us to live according to His will. The life-giving tree represents God’s law. The Tree of Life is not dead. We alone are to blame if we are cut off from the tree because we chose the other tree.

Imagine yourself in the middle of the food court at the mall. You find yourself surrounded by all your favourite fast food restaurants. And now, like Adam, surrounded by such a wide variety, you have to choose what you want to eat. What would you choose? Adam is in the middle of the world’s most amazing garden. He has all the best food at his fingertips and can choose whatever he wants, whenever he wants. How cool would that be!

Then God gave Adam a rule for living in the garden. He said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you mustn’t eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because if you do, you will die.” So as long as Adam didn’t eat from that tree everything would be great.

Now this is where the problem starts. 

In the beginning of Chapter 3 in Genesis we are told about a snake. The snake, or serpent, sees Eve walking around the Garden one day and he stops to ask her a question. “Has God told you that you can eat the fruit from all the trees?” the silky voice whispered softly. Eve replied, “God has told us we can eat all the fruit except for what grows on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”

So here is the dilemma. Did God REALLY say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? Satan wanted to see if Eve remembered God’s rules. When you were a little kid, did you ever want to look at the Christmas presents under the tree? Everyone told you no peeking, but then one day you Mom goes to the grocery store and you see the presents just sitting there. So you think to yourself, “Did Mom really say I couldn’t look at any of the presents? Just one little peek won’t hurt.”

Even though we might not be talking to a snake about eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we still have been tempted to disobey.

So what does Eve do? The snake is still tempting her and says “I hardly think such a lovely fruit would do you harm. God knows that if you eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you’ll become just like God, and will be able to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong.”

​Eve looked at the fruit and thought how tasty it looked. She thought how wonderful it would be to be as wise and powerful as God. She believed the serpent’s lie and ate the fruit and also gave some to Adam, who was with her. She felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and wondered what was wrong with her. Suddenly she realized she was feeling guilty. She had disobeyed God and knew she’d done something wrong. Both Adam and eve became unhappy and fearful of God.

God was sad that Adam and Eve had disobeyed Him. He told them they had to leave the Garden of Eden. God told them that because they had disobeyed Him nothing would come easily for them and that one day they would die.

This story tells us that as long as we have a relationship with God, as long as we are connected to God, we have access to Heaven. We know that when we die we will go to Heaven to be with God and live forever. The problem is, when we sin or do bad things, we break our connection to God. And if we don’t have a connection to, or a relationship with God when we die, we won’t have everlasting life.

God made us to be in a relationship with Him, and when we admit that we have sinned and ask for forgiveness, we fix our relationship with God and ensure that when we die we will have ever-lasting life. So just like Adam and Eve, we’ve all done wrong. But just like Adam and Eve, God is there to rescue us. All we need to do is ask.

Perhaps some of you are thinking that I’ve been giving the wrong meditation this morning, since the title is Carving Initials, but here comes the explanation.

When I was a kid, maybe about 10 or 11 years old, my grandfather gave me a pocket knife. I was a bit of a tomboy. I liked trucks, machinery and tools and I wanted to know how things worked. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to get that knife. Grampa taught me how to whittle and I’d spend hours trying to master the craft. I was proud of that knife and showed it off to all my friends.

I carried the knife everywhere I went. And then one day I spotted a big old tree down in the brick yard and decided to carve my initials in the trunk. I began to scrape away the bark and to cut deeply into the tree. My fingers got pretty sore, but I kept on until the task was completed. Those 3 initials, NLC, stayed in that tree as long as the tree lived, but when it died and toppled over into the gully, my initials toppled with it.

That old tree reminds me of the Tree of Life. God wants us to carve our initials in the Tree of Life. He has given us our lives, as bright and new and keen as that pocket knife of mine. He wants us to take our lives and carve our names on that Tree of Life. And because that tree lives forever, we, too, will live forever if we put our names there. Let’s not spend all strength in cutting our names in the trees of wealth, business and fame. Let’s use some of our energy in carving our names deeply on God’s Tree of Life, because when we do, our names will be there forever.

​In the final chapter of the Bible it says, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the Tree of Life, and may enter through the gates into the city. (Revelations 22:14). Will you make the same old mistakes our ancestors have made down through the centuries and choose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or will you search out the Tree of Life and have eternal life?

Let’s pray a Celtic prayer called the Tree of Life. Let us pray. O, King of the Tree of Life, the blossoms on the branches are our people, the singing birds are Your angels, and the whispering breeze is Your Spirit. O, King of the Tree of Life, may the blossoms bring forth the sweetest fruit, may the birds sing out the highest praise, and may Your Spirit cover all with his gentle breath. Amen

PRELUDE:                    Chenaniah
 
PROCESSIONAL:         Thy Word        (#496-Blue Hymnal)
 
CALL TO WORSHIP:    (congregation reads words in bold)
Leader:  Joy comes to those who follow the ways of the Lord.
People:  We will follow the Lord with joyful hearts!
Leader: Those who follow the Lord are like trees planted by the river,  
               bearing fruit each season.
People:  May our leaves will never wither! May we know God’s     
                blessing in all we do.
Leader:  Let us worship the Lord who leads us to joy and abundance.
People:  We will worship God all of our days.
 
WELCOME
OPENING HYMN:       411   Stand Up & Bless the Lord
OPENING PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER  
HYMN:                     748   Lord Of All Hopefulness
ANNOUNCEMENTS, BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES          
PRESENTATION OF OFFERING:  
Offering Received                                                                              Offertory Hymn:     #79   (Blue Hymnal)               
​Offertory Prayer
HYMN:        634   Will You Come & Follow Me
SCRIPTURE:      Genesis 22:1-14 • Luke 14:25-33
 
PRAYER


MEDITATION:   
PLASTIC JESUS, PLASTIC JESUS....
Genesis 22:1-14 • Luke 14:25-33

A few years ago, the Federal Government, in their infinite wisdom, decided to replace paper money with some sort of a weird, shiny, plastic-y, polymer type.... Stuff. Indestructible, they called it It would last forever. Impossible to rend or rip..... I have a desk drawer filled with little weird, shiny, plastic-y, polymer scraps. Anyway, as I was saying, a few years ago they replaced paper money.

An industrious young entrepreneur from Ontario figured out a quick way to make a little cash. He procured some heavy linen paper and using a high quality printing setup managed to counterfeit a considerable pile of twenty dollar bills. He then decided that he would go gas stations, corner stores and the like, purchasing small items with his false twenties and then receiving new.... plastic.... money as change. Now, you'll remember I called this fellow industrious, young, but not smart. The fellow's twenties featured a delightfully regal and beautiful older lady.... who was definitely NOT the Queen of England.

As you probably know, real Canadian currency has a host of features designed to make it harder to counterfeit. If you hold it up to the light you will see that there's a strip embedded in the paper that has the denomination of the bill printed on it. That strip also glows under UV light. There are several features that you need a magnifier to see as well. All of these things are included to distinguish the real bills from the fakes and also to make it harder to counterfeit. The reason is that when you have that $20 bill you need to be sure that it's real; that it's really worth $20.

Here's another example. Companies that make the different products we use every day spend lots of money creating what's called "brand identity." That means they create a logo or identity for their company
or product that is easily recognizable. Probablythe most successful example of creating this brand identity is the familiar shape of the Coca-Cola bottle or their red can. When you see a can or bottle of Coke, no matter what language it's in, you know it's Coca-Cola.

The same is true for most successful products. The idea is that when you see that logo or name, you know you're getting the real thing, the genuine product. So these same companies spend lots of money every year to keep others from duplicating their product or their identity.
Today, however, one of the big problems is copycat products being produced in Asia that are trying to imitate the genuine product.

Dolce and Banana. Michaelsoft Binbows. A Superman clone called Specialman. 

Most of these are rather funny but these forgeries are not always funny. For example, authorities have found clones of a popular brand of down jacket for sale on the Internet. When the jackets were tested, it was discovered that they were not filled with down at all but with all sorts of other things, like chicken feathers (and other parts) swept up from the floor of a poultry factory. This can pose a real health risk by carrying bacteria and disease. Another problem these days is the availability of counterfeit medications that people purchase hoping to save money. I think it's obvious how harmful those could be since they may not have any of the needed medication in them.

In the same way that we can be fooled by counterfeit products or money, we are also in danger of counterfeit religion as well. To be more specific, we are in danger of having a counterfeit faith, of believing in a fake Christianity. We are in danger of worshiping a plastic Jesus.

So what do we mean by "plastic Jesus?" What exactly is a counterfeit faith? Where does this fake Christianity come from and how do we recognize it? More importantly, how do we make sure we don't fall for it?

The first thing we need to know is that, unlike counterfeit products or money that are produced by someone else, each one of us is responsible for creating these knockoffs. A plastic Jesus is some kind of caricature of Jesus that is not the real Jesus. It's the image we create in our minds of Jesus - the Jesus we think we want to believe in. John Calvin wrote, "every
one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols." What he's saying is that you and I are like a plastic Jesus factory.

What are some of these fake jesuses that we create? Let's look at some of the ways we misunderstand Jesus. Many people today see Jesus in the same category as Mister Rogers - a kind, gentle moral teacher telling
stories that have a good life lesson but not really requiring much on my part. Back in 2005, psychologist Christian Smith studied Christian youth and discovered that many of them held similar views about God and about morals but that these views weren't really biblical. After further research he discovered that these beliefs had become widespread in American religion. Here they are. See if this describes your own beliefs.

1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about yourself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in your life except when He is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

Smith called this kind of faith Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, which is a complicated way of saying that God's goal is to make me happy and to help out when I can't take care of things myself. Friends, that is NOT the God of the Bible. That's a made up faith with ME as the center. That's a plastic Jesus.

Instead, in our Scripture reading today Jesus says, "being my disciple is a total commitment. This is not a part-time thing. To follow me you have to be willing to give up everything else that you love more than me. You have to love me more than your money or your pride or your family or even your own life. Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."

What Jesus is saying is that being His disciple has to be the most important thing in your life. This is a radical concept for most of us, particularly in modern American culture. Our society says, "take care of number one." Jesus says, "you're not number one."

One of the things that I find interesting about this passage is the two short parables Jesus uses as illustrations.

 In the first one, in verses 28 and 29, he says "If you want to build a building, don't you first sit down and figure out how much it's going to cost and whether or not you can afford to complete it? " In the second parable he compares the decision to follow him to the decision of a king to go into battle against another. In both illustrations, what Jesus is saying is that being His follower takes a complete commitment and that commitment should come from careful, thoughtful Consideration of what's involved. 

We saw that level of commitment from Abraham in our Old Testament reading. Abraham trusted God so fully that he was willing to give up the thing that was more important to him than anything in the whole world his son Isaac.

I think it's important to point out here that God is not asking you to take a vow of poverty, or to live like the Amish. 
 
When Jesus says that we are to "hate" our parents or spouse or siblings or children he's using hyperbole. If hating your parents were a true tenet of Jesus, most 15 year olds  I know would make some fine Christians.

What He's saying is that we need to have our priorities straight. In Matthew 6 He tells us, "seek first the Kingdom of God and then all these things shall be added to you."

So back to our idea of Plastic Jesus...?

What are some ways that following the real Jesus is different from a plastic Jesus?

First of all, a plastic Jesus is easy to live with. There's no real requirement for you to change as long as you're being more good than bad.

But following the real Jesus is hard. We're told this over and over again. The path is narrow, and difficult.

Second, with our Plastic Jesus, the church and our faith (and I'm not only talking about Sunday mornings... All the time, friends, all the time) becomes something that we add to our already busy life. If I'm lucky I'll be able to make some time in my schedule to be at church or to help out with a service project.

Finally, the plastic Jesus exists to meet our desires. This is the heart of the "prosperity gospel." At the root of this is the idea that more than anything God wants me to be happy and that means he must want me to have the things that make me happy, like a nice home and a fancy Car.

But Jesus did not come to earth, die on a cross and then rise again from death to make us happy. He came to make us whole, to help us through our difficulties and trials, and to bring us joy.

Our happiness depends on our circumstances and so we are not always happy. Things in life can make us sad or angry. But joy (and we know that joy is sometimes different from happiness) .... True joy comes from understanding what God has done for us and continues to do for us. The Apostle Paul says, "rejoice in the Lord always." Joy comes from the wholeness that Jesus, his teaching and the path of discipleship provides.

So our challenge this morning is to get rid of our Plastic Jesus. Get rid of the Jesus that we've created in our mind. Instead, let's trust in the Jesus who was one of us and yet fully God. Believe in the teaching and wisdom that you find in the pages of the New Testament. Make God the most important thing in our life today and every day.

Choose wholeness over happiness. Choose to give Christ the most important place in your life, even if it means having to change. Choose to get rid of your plastic Jesus and follow the real deal.
Amen

​.CLOSING HYMN:         370   Hallelujah, Sing To Jesus
BENEDICTION & CHORAL AMEN            

With our Lord’s prayer, let us Pray, Our Father……

     Let us pray responsively the prayer of faith by David, the shepherd boy, from psalm 23. It is included in your bulletin.
 
One - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.


All - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
 
One - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
 
All - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
​

​Message:     Let Your Faith Carry You (Joe)

​Let Your Faith Carry You.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, what is faith? or how can I use my faith? I’m not just talking religion here, although faith in religion is certainly a prerequisite to strong belief. No, I’m talking about that kind of faith that can be part of our everyday lives, useful in a variety of ways. This kind of faith is the faith that is said to be able to move mountains.But before we look at any examples, let’s establish what we mean by faith. 

Saint Augustine of Hippo was a Roman African, an early Christian theologian and philosopher from Numidia (North Africa) whose writings had a huge influence on the  Christian Church in the 4th and 5th century, and on the development of not only Western Christianity but of Western philosophy in general. Augustine was a prolific writer. His ‘Confessions’ is recognized as the first autobiography of early western literature written, of course, in Latin. Luckily, nowadays, translations are available.

But what about faith? Without trying to go too far off course, here’s what Augustine says about faith: 
Faith is to believe what we do not see. And the reward of that faith is (finally) to see what we (decide) to believe.

Science believes only in material facts which have their roots in observation. In other words, if I can observe something by my physical senses, if I can see it, hear it, feel it, taste it, or small it then I can believe in it. Faith recognizes science as valid, but not as the sole root of belief.

Why would you believe in something you do not see, you may ask? Isn’t that a little ridiculous?

Yet this is the dilemma that believers face every day, and too often in our modern world, even so-called believers fail the test. At crucial times we fail to believe.

Here’s a story called ‘Leap of Faith’ which illustrates what I mean.

A man was walking in the mountains just enjoying the scenery when he stepped too close to the edge and started to fall. In desperation he reached out and grabbed a limb of a gnarly old tree hanging onto the side of the cliff.
Full of fear, he assessed his situation. He was about 100 feet down a shear cliff and about 900 feet from the floor of the canyon below. If he should slip again he'd plummet to his death.
Full of fear, he cries out, "Help me!" But there was no answer. Again and again he cried out but to no avail. Finally he yelled, "Is anybody up there?"
A deep voice replied, "Yes, I'm up here."
"Who is it?"
"It's the Lord"
"Can you help me?"
"Yes, I can help."
"Help me!"
"Let go."
Looking around the man became full of panic. "What?!?!"
"Let go. I will catch you."
"Uh... Is there anybody else up there?”

(We are afraid of the consequences. We are afraid of pain, We are afraid of death.


Yet in the end, there is only one thing that will provide us with balm, with relief, with confidence. There is only one thing that will give us assurance that we can break on through to the other side, as rock star Jim Morrison sang. That single thing is faith. And that faith, as Augustine said, consists of belief in something you cannot see. How do we know? Because we have faith, pure and simple. Why should we accept it? Because with it, we can see. Blinders are removed. Without it, we will always doubt. We will never fly. We will always hold ourselves back. Faith can carry us beyond science, beyond materialism, beyond the incessant need to keep proving or looking for proof. Faith is the door to self-fulfilling prophecies.

I remember one time quite a few years ago I was coaching a hockey team of 13-year=olds. Before every game, I led them out of the dressing room with the same team chant: “We’re number one, we’re number one, we’re number one.” Only problem was that halfway to Christmas we still hadn’t won a game. One night just before game time, one of the kids said to me, “Coach! How come we keep chanting, ‘we’re number one’ when we haven’t won a game yet?” “Well, Adam,” I said, if you don’t believe you’re number one, how will you ever make it happen?” If you don’t believe you can make it, trust me, you never will. Why? Because you’ve set your bar too low.

Belief does not rely on winning games. It relies on the faith that you can do it. Your faith will carry you to success, but only if you grasp it and make it happen.

Isn’t that what Christ said to Doubting Thomas? “Thomas, you now believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”

My personal belief that God exists rests on faith. At one time I wrestled with my doubts in this way. Reason could only take me so far. There is a God, there is not a God. Our existence must rely on some force beyond what we can see. No, our existence relies on nothing but physical forces. Why should I think otherwise? Since I couldn’t make up my mind, I couldn’t fly free of my doubts. And I think most people go through similar struggles. But I still prayed. I still prayed to a God I couldn’t see. I still prayed to a God I couldn’t hear, to a God my other senses wouldn’t reveal to me. And then, one early morning, half awake, I came face to face with my questions and my doubts. And I made a decision. I decided that from that day on, I would believe, and that no matter what, I would never stop believing. And I trusted that God would be with me every step of the way from that day until my death.

Here’s the interesting thing. Like a huge stone rolling off me, I was suddenly flying. I was being carried to a new land, a new existence. My free will that God blessed me with at creation allowed me to make a choice. And once made in favour of belief I gave myself up to the results of that choice. There was no turning back. My faith rescued me, bore me away, from fear of consequences, from fear of pain, from fear of death even. What, after all, is death but an end to a temporary existence and a free pass to a permanent one that is forever better. Of course, that belief requires faith. Nothing else will work.

I am reminded of my step-father, William Hevesy. my favourite mentor. I have many examples of this man’s never diminished faith. But one I like that I will never forget. Some years ago, my stepfather sold his business prior to getting his immigration papers to move to California. Unfortunately, the people who bought his business were unable to pay more than a fraction of what they owed him and declared bankruptcy. My stepfather had to find a job at age 50 to make ends meet temporarily. When I found out what had happened, I went to him and asked, “Apu, what will you do?”
“Joe,” he replied, “I will go back to work and raise the money your mother and I will need.”
“But what if you can’t?” 
He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I will do it because I have to. Can’t is not an option.”
And he did. Never had a doubt. Never allowed a doubt, He was No. 1. His faith carried him away.

Life is a never-ending series of challenges. We all face something often on a daily basis. Will we have doubts? Of course. Will we win at everything we try. No, certainly not. Will God be there for us always? Yes, always. How do I know? I let my faith carry me. Let your faith carry you.
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THE FAMOUS BENEDICTION BY ROBERT SCHULLER
February 20, 2012 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. And may God give you His peace in your going out and in your coming in, in your lying down and in your rising up, in your labor and in your leisure, in your laughter and in your tears… Until you come to stand before Jesus in that day in which there is no sunset and no dawning. Amen.