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....
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.

PRELUDE:                 Chenaniah


CALL TO WORSHIP:                                                                  Glorious God, we come together as Your people.                                  We come as a praising people, singing Your goodness.                          We come as a hungry people, longing to be fed.                                  We come as a praying people, bringing our needs and our joys.              We come as a journeying people, looking for direction.                        In this sacred place of worship, empower us to be faithful. Let us worship the God of Life!

WELCOME:
          
SPECIAL MUSIC:     “Sing, Sing, Sing”   Norm Rennie & Rob Ireland

​
​WE LOVE TO SING:

CRIPTURE READINGS:    Psalm 149:1-6a                                      Ephesians 5:15-20 
Colossians 3:12-16

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH:
Together let us confess our faith. Do you believe in God, our Creator?   I believe in God, creator of all things, whose heavenly song sent the planets into motion. Even when we go astray, God calls us back, showing us the fullness of life and giving us new songs of praise for each new day. Do you believe in Jesus Christ?                                  I believe in Jesus Christ who lives for us and among us, healing the sick, easing the burdens of all people, and teaching us the new song of God’s kingdom. He showed His love for all God’s children in His death and the hope for eternal life in His resurrection.                                      Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?                                                  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of life who sings God’s grace through all time and space. I believe that God has a song for my life as well. Amen.

SPECIAL MUSIC:     “Joy is Like The Rain”        Gordon Furey
                

WHAT ARE YOU SINGING ABOUT? 

​SPECIAL MUSIC:     “I’ll Walk With God”          Howard Welburn
​

THANK YOU GOD FOR THE SOUND OF MUSIC:

​HYMN:     A Mighty Fortress Is Our God Vs. 1, 2 & 4  This hymn was written by Martin Luther 


SOLI DEO GLORIA:                       
HYMN:         
I’ve Got The Joy
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, 
Down in my heart, down in my heart,             I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,                                                              Down in my heart to stay.

Refrain:        
And I’m so happy, so very happy,                       
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart,               
And I’m so happy, so very happy,                     
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.
I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus down in my heart...

I’ve got the peace that passes understanding down in my heart..
I’ve got the wonderful love of the Blessed Redeemer 
Deep down in the depths of my heart....


CLOSING PRAYER:
CLOSING HYMN:                 Shine, Jesus, Shine
​
BENEDICTION & CHORAL AMEN:       
POSTLUDE:  Chenaniah

Bible reading:
 
Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…..
 
Jeremiah 29:11-14
God says, “I know my plans for you,  plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord and will bring you back from captivity..
 
 
 
Karma will get you
 
After the Ormstown Fair, it was reported that someone had stolen several hanging baskets of flowers from one of the barns. Apparently the baskets were loaned to the exhibitor to decorate their stall area, by a local business. In BC we had a farm shop, every year we hung up baskets of red and white flowers, which grew to be very beautiful, and featured in lots of photos from visitors from around the world. Every year at least 2 or 3 baskets out of about 20 that we had specially done for us at a local nursery, were stolen. The thieves even broke the light in the ceiling of the porch where the baskets were hanging, to do their work under cover of darkness. One year we used zip ties to fasten them, the next year we wired them to the hooks. You really have to wonder what is in a person’s mind when they make the decision to steal flowers. I have a hard time imagining the thieves enjoying the baskets without even a twinge of guilt. 
Do they hang them on their porch, then look at them and say “Oh look at my stolen flowers, aren’t I clever?”
 
One of our neighbours said “Ah well. Karma will get them”
 
Now Karma is part of the Hindu and Buddhist belief system about cause and effect. That your actions directly cause whatever happens to you thereafter, including the theory that there are many lives that we live, in reincarnation, and that what we have done in one life will affect our next life. So according to this belief system, the flower thieves will have something happen to them as a direct result of their theft, plus endanger the peace and success of their next life.
 
Christianity of course does not hold this world view, but rather teaches of one earthly life and after that, eternal life with God.  Christians are taught that actions have consequences, but not quite in the same context as Hinduism.  God has given mankind a Saviour, who knowing our fallibility as humans, stepped in on our account and paid that ultimate price. We are not required to keep returning to this life in order to continue learning lessons that will one day bring us to the ultimate state of peace, or oblivion, becoming one with the universe. In other religions, the onus is on the human to reach a standard or goal in order to be good enough. The problem with that belief is setting the standard. Who sets the standard? Which human gets to be the one who says their standard is the one? The one we are to emulate? The unfortunate truth is, there is no such thing as a human who is infallible. It has to be set by someone who is truly infallible, who is truly without any blemish. Christianity acknowledges that we will never be good enough so God needed to intervene on our behalf, and sent Jesus, who as God is infallible, and as man, can be sacrificed as the pure lamb without sin, for the world.
 
Even though Jesus taught that God is Love, there is a tendency in the broader Christian world to believe that God is a God of retribution who will “get you” in the end, and mete out His punishment. Or at the very least, allow things to happen in order to “teach us a lesson”.
The pastor of our church in BC became afflicted with prostate cancer, and later also suffered a small stroke. So many people asked him “What do you think God is trying to teach you? Why did He do this to you?”. His response was always NOTHING! We live in a fallen world where sickness and disease happens, so it happened to me”.
 
God did not tell us we are immune to all the ‘stuff” the world throws at us, but He did promise to always be at our side. The message about the Judgement Seat of God seems to be a powerful one that sticks in the mind. Once I was talking to a couple of friends in Switzerland about Christ-and in Switzerland there is no separation of church and state, so all young people attend Catechism and are confirmed in the church, either protestant or catholic- and at one point one said something to the effect that if a person didn’t meet the standard, “God would punish them”.
 
It is too bad though if our only perception of God is one of a fierce and remote God who is just waiting to punish us for our sins, and that Christian life is nothing more than just a long list of “Thou Shalt Nots”
 
Is that it? Is Christianity just a list of rules, and the breaking of them leading to punishment? is the “stuff” that happens in our lives really sent to punish us for sins, or to teach us lessons? I just heard yesterday that a colleague from the cheese-making community in BC died in a hiking accident last week. A lovey Christian guy, with a wife of 30 years, 3 great sons. Is God trying to teach someone a lesson? Of course we have the opportunity to learn from our experiences but do these things happen for that reason only?
 
God tells us in His word that He is a God of love, and it is because of this great love that He sent His son Jesus to actually die for us, so that, covered by His blood we will not be judged for those sins.  Jesus took them all upon Himself in our stead. So how do we bring these two pictures together? The powerful Judgement Seat of a God of retribution that we so often hear about and see in the great works of art etc, and that of a loving Father who gave his all to save us?
 
God tells us over and over again that He is our Father. Think about what that means. How many Fathers do you know who make rules for their children, for the sole purpose of punishing the children when they break those rules. Rules created just so the father can punish them? Meaning basically the father is just a mean tyrant looking for excuses to punish his children. I think as parents we can agree that is not the way it is, though we cannot deny there are certainly bad fathers.

Why do we give our children rules? We as fathers and mothers, and God as our Heavenly Father, have certainly established “rules”. The rules are there, not to find excuses for punishments, but to keep our children safe, because there is so much they do not yet know, so much their experience and maturity is not able to process. Rules are there to protect them from dangers they are not aware of, to allow them to grow and develop in safety, to enjoy balance and freedom and blessing as adults, rather than suffer from the consequences that certain behaviours can deliver.
 
Proverbs 4:1-4 “ Listen my sons to a fathers instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning so do not forsake my teaching. When I was a boy in my fathers house, still tender and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said,”Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live”.  These words were written by Solomon, King of Israel, whose father was David. The famous David who killed Goliath; shepherd, poet, musician, singer, warrior, leader, and King of Israel.. and one who was not perfect either. But he learned his lessons, and passed them on to his son, for his son’s sake, not his own.
 
The book of Proverbs is a great place to look for truths about life. It includes a lot of warnings about the consequences of behaviours, and rather than listing the various punishments God is just waiting to lay on us, it instead lists the many promises that come our way. In fact the book of Proverbs is the source of so many of our good rules for society, government and relationships.
Such as:

• it is wrong to use dishonest scales
• it is wrong to show partiality in judgement
• it is not good to brag about yourself, you should let others praise you
• it is not good to eat or drink to excess
• It is wrong to move a boundary for your own profit, and by extension do something like in the film or book by Marcel Pagnol, Jean de Florette. for those who don’t know the story, it is about an unscrupulous farmer who knew about a spring of fresh water hidden on an neighbours property. When the neighbour who had inherited the property returned after the war, his plans to farm it and have a peaceful life were constantly thwarted by the farmer in order to drive him off so he could get his hands on the land and the spring. He was finally successful, the man and his family had to leave out of poverty, the man died, and the farmer became rich from growing flowers for the lucrative market. Then retribution came in the shape of the man’s daughter Manon. She returned and found out what had happened to her poor father. and found the source of the spring. She blocked the spring and the whole community was suddenly without water. Karma truly “got” him.  Until they repented and made things right.
• It is wrong to treat the poor, the widow or disadvantaged with meanness, for God is on their side
• generosity will be blessed
• liars will not go unpunished
• and advice such as: starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out
• and one of my favourites: even a fool is thought wise if he keeps his mouth shut…the young woman I trained as cheesemaker was going to a provincial meeting to establish a BC cheese society. She was very nervous about being around all the “elite” of the craft, until I told her just to do a lot of listening, no one will know what you don’t know unless you speak.

 
 
In the book of Proverbs there is also a huge list of things that will bring a person into danger. God says He “hates” these things. We should look at the list from the perspective of a warning, that He cannot protect us if we engage in these behaviours. We remove ourselves out from under the umbrella of His protection. It must break His heart, to have his beloved children purposely remove themselves from His protection, with no concern for the very real consequences. God hates these behaviours because they bring harm to His children. Just like any parent hates the street drugs that can destroy a beloved child, God hates behaviours that destroy His children. In fact in Proverbs 9:35-36 he says: “Whoever finds me finds life and receives favour from the Lord. Whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death”
​
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. That means God will protect and deliver us if we throw ourselves into His arms.
 
Matt 6:33-34 says: But seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Isn’t that the truth! I don’t think Jesus is saying here to live in an irresponsible manner, but to trust in God for those things we absolutely have not control over. Like what might happen tomorrow.
That kind of worrying is essentially saying “God I do not believe you. Instead I believe you want to hurt me, and leave me vulnerable and unprotected…”
 
2 Corinthians 9:8 God is able to make a grace abound toward you, that you may have an abundance, and having all that you need, will abound in every good work.  Notice he offers us His grace, out of His love for us, but also that out of that position of grace, we can reach out to others.
 
Some of the many promises of God are:
-   long life if we respect the Lord, our parents and elders.

• success from being diligent
• respect from being kind-hearted
•  healing from listening to the words of the wise
• hope for the future
• peace even where there is struggle
• the presence of God always in our lives
• He will meet all our needs, if we simply cast all our cares upon Him

 
 
If we doubt this, God has also reminded us of the fact that it is actually He who is in charge:
Isaiah 55: 9-13..As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts……
 
God does have a plan for us. and He also adds that it is His will that none should perish. He is interested in Eternal Life for us human beings.
 
Another famous Bible passage, Psalm 23, promises the following:
That God will supply our needs
He gives us refreshing and peace
He is our guide
He removes fear
He comforts us
In spite of negative circumstances, he looks after us
He shows us how much we are loved and cherished
He promises us a life of goodness and a future
 
So it appears that though some may fear the Karma will “get” them, the Lord tells us otherwise. It appears that he allows certain things to happen, with the goal of always leading us to Himself, to be there for eternity.
Clearly this is not a God who is just waiting to “get us” for being bad, but a God of Love who never tires of telling us what we are worth to Him, and the lengths He will go to bring us to Himself and keep us there.
 
 

ALL TO WORSHIP  (congregation reads words in bold)
Come and worship!
Be still and aware of God’s presence
within and around you.
 
(Pause)
 
Come and worship!
Be still and aware of Jesus’ presence
within and around you.
 
(Pause)
 
Come and worship!
Be still and aware of the Spirit’s presence
within and around you.
 
(Pause)
 
Be still and know the presence of the Triune God,
the Father to whom we come,
the Son through whom we come,
the Spirit by whom we come.
 
(Pause)
 
Hear his word:
Be STILL and know that I am God.
 
Message:  Let it Be   Colossians chapter 3 
 
 Introduction 
 This morning I would like to see ourselves as “God seekers“  I am going on the assumption that we are here this morning wanting to know more  of the God we serve.  Wanting to know more of who he is and what he wants from us. 
 
 Question one. Where do you see yourselves and you’re  seeking? 
 In other  words, how’s your life going how was your Christian journey? 
 Perhaps it would help if we could Magine the Lord Jesus himself asking you. How are things? 
 
 Going further on this premise of us being “seekers/followers of Christ, who want and desire  to live victorious and have success.
 
 If heaven is ultimately what we seek. How are we achieving it? Do we have a plan? 
 It’s a fair question.  Most people plan for their future. Job, housing, family, where to go to school, where to live etc. And we should. But what about our eternal state? 
 
 Some feel it’s out of their control the eternal question. Oh well do your best. When asked the deep questions  if anybody should have the answers it should be us! We have the word of God with all his promises.
 All too often we hear expressions like “just do your best“ God knows my heart.  These are all truths, but incomplete truths that can lead us down the wrong path. 
 How many times have we heard people say “I’m a good person“ what they really mean is I’m better than so-and-so.
 Remember we’re talking about eternity. Let’s not take it lightly! 
 
 Then again  some field as long as we are religious or we are well disciplined. That’s the key...
 
 On and on I can go with countless ideas, religions, philosophies that propose to be the method, the way. So I’m going even further and teach well, all roads lead to heaven or to God. 
 But that’s not what the Scriptures teach. 
 
 My point today is not to judge but to see what the Scriptures say what they declare. What Jesus taught. In this case what the apostle Paul taught by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and his letter to the Colossian church and  to us this morning. 
 
 The epistle of Colossians can be outlined this way. Who Christ is. What he is done  for us. How we ought to be. 
 Chapter 1 verse 9 ff  The preeminence of Christ 
 Verse 13. Delivered, conveyed redeemed 
 
 Verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God. 16 creator of all things. 17 sustainer. 20 reconciler 
—————-
 Chapter 2 vs 1ff not philosophy but Christ.
 Verse 11 and following. Not legalism but Christ 
 Chapter 3 verse 1. not carnality but Christ 
 So what then? 
 
 The answer  to the problems in our life and our Christian walk is that we have to put on the new man. We have to let it be. 
 When you can see Christ for who he is.  When you realize deep in your soul what he is done. When you know what he can do. Then you will have victory 
 Here is the key verse. Set your mind 
 Chapter 3 verse 12 to 17 
 Then it’s the picture  of something we do every day. Dressing and undressing. Putting off the old man. Putting on the new Man.
 Let it be, let it be. Let the love of Christ. Notice how love is the glue that holds all these things together. 

OPENING PRAYER & THE LORD'S PRAYER: Loving God, we come together on this Father's Day, reminded not just of our earthly fathers, but of You. You tell us that all who believe in You shall be called Your children, and You invite us to address You simply as "Our Father." For the wonder of Your love, we praise You. Prepare our hearts to receive Your Word and our spirits to respond in eagerness to serve You, as together we pray:
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.
​

TRIBUTE TO FATHERS: STRENGTH OF A MOUNTAIN:
God took the strength of a mountain, the majesty of a tree, the warmth of the summer sun, the calm of a quiet sea, the generous soul of nature, the comforting arm of might, the wisdom of the ages, the power of the eagle's flight, the joy of a morning in spring, the faith of a mustard seed, the patience of eternity, and the depth of a family. Then God combined these qualities. When there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete. And so, He called it................................ Dad!

SCRIPTURE READINGS:         Proverbs 2:1-5             
                                          Luke 18: 18-30​

​Father's Day Litany

Blessed are You Lord, our God, Creator and Redeemer of all. You father
us from all eternity, giving life to creation and pouring Your love into all You have made.
From the beginning we have known You as "Father" and all our families have their origin in You. Through the love of earthly fathers You give us a glimpse of Your everlasting love.

We give thanks for those fathers who strive to balance the demands of work, marriage and children with an honest awareness of both joy and sacrifice. And we pray for those fathers who, lacking a good model for a father, have worked to become good fathers themselves.

We thank You for those fathers who by their own account were not
always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.

We also give thanks for those fathers who, despite divorce, have
remained in their children's lives and for those fathers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing. We thank You for those fathers who, as stepfathers, freely choose the obligation of fatherhood and earn their step-children's love and respect.

And we ask Your special blessing on those fathers who have lost a child to death, and who continue to hold those children in their hearts.

We also give thanks for those men who have no children, but cherish the next generation as if they were their own. We pray for those men who have "fathered" us in their role as mentors and guides. We ask Your blessings on those men who are about to become fathers; may they openly delight in their children.

And we continue to pray for those fathers who have died, but live on in
our memories and whose love continues to nurture us.

MEDITATION:   Shopping

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and he hid it again in the field. The man was very happy to find the treasure. He went and sold everything that he owned to buy that field.

Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. One day he found a very valuable pearl. The man went and sold everything he had to buy that pearl. (Matthew 13:44-46)

Jesus taught many parables about the kingdom of heaven. He taught that the kingdom of God is a treasure more precious than anything in this world. Our little church is precious and valuable because Jesus paid for the Christian church with His life.

Children, and even adults, like to hear stories about treasure, and I'm sure Jesus caught the attention of His audience when He began talking about a man finding buried treasure. The man in the parable somehow stumbled upon a treasure. He didn't own the field where he found it, so it's possible to assume that he was working in the field for someone. He might have been planting or building something. Whatever he was doing, it must have been a huge surprise to find a buried treasure.

We don't know what the treasure was, but it might have been a pottery jar full of money or jewels. The people of the time often did this to keep their valuables safe from thieves. Perhaps the person who hid it had died without telling anyone where the money was buried.

We know that the man who found the treasure thought it was worth
everything he possessed, and, as the scripture tells us, he joyfully sold everything he owned in order to buy the field.

When we truly realize the worth of our salvation, we will joyfully give up everything to serve God. Anything that we give up will be nothing in comparison to the treasure of God. The kingdom of God is the reign of God. The parable teaches us that the kingdom of God is so valuable that losing everything we possess on earth in exchange for getting into the kingdom of heaven, is nothing less than a joyful sacrifice.
 
Anyone who receives the kingdom of God treasures it more than anything else. You don't have to buy it. You get it freely. Earlier in the book of Matthew he says: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It's not easy to think of doing this sort of thing in our society today. We can be tempted to ignore the parable and treat it as just a story, but as Christians we can't.

Let's recap this mini parable. A man finds a jar or box in a field filled with coins, jewels, gold silver — we can only speculate. He covers it up again and he joyfully goes out and sells everything he owns in order to buy the field where the treasure is hidden. Why does he do this? Because the treasure is worth 10, 20 or maybe 100 times more than what he possesses. He sold, or exchanged what he had for something that was so much more valuable.

We're going to pause for a moment and present this parable in a modern day format. This little skit is called Present Day Parables: Hidden Treasure and was written by Rob Courtney and Ryan Shirck.

Just like the man in the parable, Ron stumbled upon a treasure of some
kind. And when you stop to think about it, there are some people who stumble upon God. Perhaps they accept a friend's invitation to come to church. Or maybe there's an illness, or even the death of a loved one that might suddenly lead them to God.

There are other people who search for God, knowing that there's something missing in their life but not knowing how to fill the void. Some might try reading the Bible. Others may go to different churches, trying to find the right fit. Hopefully, these people will finally find the truth a find the love of God. And it's this kind of searching that happened to the merchant in the second mini parable.

A merchant is someone who is experienced. He's always looking for things to buy and sell. The merchant in the Parable of the Pearl of Great Value probably already had great wealth, and when he found the precious pearl he immediately recognized it's value. He was ready to sell everything he owned to buy it.

Jesus told His disciples that the kingdom of heaven was like the merchant, and he was trying to find pearls of good quality. Finally, he found a beautiful pearl, a perfect pearl, but it was very expensive. So he went and sold everything he had and then went and bought the pearl.
 
That precious pearl is like the kingdom of God. The merchant gave up
everything he had to own it. The kingdom of God is so valuable that we'll want to give up everything to be in it.

How many of you like to go shopping? Sometimes, when shopping for
necessities like groceries, it can be a bit of a chore. But shopping for something special, a new outfit, a baby shower gift, new furniture, or maybe a new pair of shoes can be fun and exciting. However, there's a down side to shopping — you need money. You can buy just about anything if you're willing to spend enough money. Suppose you're not willing to spend your money. Or maybe you don't have the money to spend. What then? Well, you'll just have to do without. You know, I heard the other day of some gold nuggets which anyone can have if they want to pick them up. May be you won't have all you want of them, but you'll have some, and then you can spend them just as you do money.

They'll buy about almost everything money can buy. Doesn't it sound interesting? Would you like some of these gold nuggets?

I can tell you where the map is that will help you find them. All you need to do is look at your watch or clock. Don't tell me you're disappointed. But let's see if seconds and minutes and hours aren't really gold nuggets.

People talk about spending time. If they spend it, then they must get something — that's common sense. When we spend money we get something for it too. Well, when you spend time we get something for it too. The value of the thing we get, either for money or for our time, shows how much of a businessman we are.

I can think of a lot of things we can get if we are willing to spend the time. We can get health, we can get knowledge, we can get music, we can get friends, we can get happiness, just to name a few. Unfortunately, some people spend time for other things, like lying, stealing, cheating and being selfish or a bully, or things too awful to think about. These people are poor businessmen because they let themselves be cheated.
 
Would you throw away sixty dollars a day, just throw it away like you often throw away sixty seconds? I certainly hope not. God's minute is worth as much as 3600 dollars and more, much more. We think that because we have "X" number of years to live, it doesn't matter if we waste a few. Well friends — it does matter. Hours are God's gold nuggets and they buy our way into the kingdom of heaven if we spend them wisely.

There are many wonderful things we buy and treasure here on earth, but the greatest treasure that we could ever obtain is the kingdom of God. As Christians, we should be content to give up our earthly treasures so that we can store up our treasures in God's kingdom.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, You challenge us to set ourselves high goals. We are seeking Your salvation, living in obedience to You and sharing the Good News of the Kingdom with others. God, help us to keep our eyes fixed on You. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

BENEDICTION & CHORAL AMEN:   The amazing grace of Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

ALL TO WORSHIP        (congregation reads words printed in bold)
Welcome, friends, to this holy day.
We come to offer thanks; we come to sing and pray.
Welcome, friends, to this time set apart,
A time to remember those we love, and time to remember the holy promises of God.
Welcome, friends, to this table of remembrance and joy,
The table where we are fed, the feast we share with many.
Welcome, friends, and let us worship God.
WORDS OF WELCOME
OPENING HYMN:           “We Are One In The Spirit” 
OPENING PRAYER
Scripture:  Exodus 16: 1-5

SERMON:                          “Leaving Hungry” 
          
        WE PREPARE FOR HOLY COMMUNION
 

Revelation 21:1-6 & John 13:31-35
​
An elderly couple passed away and found themselves at
the pearly gates. Peter was there to welcome them. First
he showed them their mansion. The husband,
overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of it all, asked, "How
much does this place cost per night?" Peter replied, "Sir,
this is heaven, it doesn't cost anything." Then Peter took
them to the dining room where table upon table was piled
high with the most delicious foods you could imagine.
Again overwhelmed by the glory of it all the man asked,
"How much for the meals?" Peter said, "You forget, this is
heaven, it's free." Peter then took them out back where
they saw a fantastically beautiful golf course. As the man
stood there open-mouthed Peter said, "Now before you
ask, there are no greens fees, this is heaven, everything is
free." The man looked at his wife and said, "You and your
confounded bran muffins, I could have been here 10 years
ago!"
 
Indeed, we imagine heaven to be a glorious, peaceful,
beautiful place, and this vision we heard just a few
moments ago from John's Revelation gives us an idea of
why we imagine heaven in the ways that we do. And
doesn't it sound truly amazing?
Beautiful like a bride dressed for her groom. No pain. No
tears. No death. Yet did you notice the fact that John's
revelation doesn't include pearly gates, or streets of gold,
or golf or mansions filled with succulent food? And in this
final imagery of heaven in the Bible, something else is
emphasized; something, which I find to be far more
glorious —a new heaven and a new earth, joined together
around a Holy City, and at the center of this new city sits
God, living (again) among humankind. Now that really
sounds like heaven!
 
But for us to really appreciate the vision of heaven that we
get in this passage from Revelation, I think we have to
contrast it with the world we live in now.
For example: 5 years ago, right around this time of year, 2
young men committed a heinous act of terror at the
Boston Marathon, that took the lives of 5 people, injured
scores of others and drove an entire city into chaos and
fear. The entire Watertown neighbourhood of Boston was
locked down while a search went on for the suspects.
People hunkered in their houses, afraid to go outside.
And what about us? What are some of us going through
this morning? Is there pain in your heart that is nearly
unmanageable? Has someone hurt you deeply? Are you
suffering from an illness, a disease? Do you have a daily
battle with depression and anxiety? Are you so disgusted
today's seemingly continual occurrences of hate-filled
acts: acts of terror, shootings at schools, churches and
 
other places of worship. Acts designed to make us cower,
to make us afraid. Do you weep over the state of the
world? Do you feel like you can't go on, like you'll never
make it?
A woman shares a story about her 7-year old daughter,
Jessica. Jessica is a deep thinker when it comes to
theological questions. Recently, as they were re-reading
the story of Adam and Eve and how sin came into the
world, Jessica and her mother discussed why bad things
happen. Later that week, Jessica was sick and had to stay
home from school. Feeling quite miserable, she told her
Mom, "If only Adam and Eve hadn't eaten the fruit, I
wouldn't be sick." And before her mother could answer,
Jessica added, "Of course, if they didn't eat it, we'd all be
sitting here naked!"
 
innocence, that purity, has been lost and distorted
because of the ways and events of the modern world:
Because of sin.
We live in a broken world. Every time we turn on the TV or
open the newspaper, our hearts are torn out of our chests.
We read about children who have been abducted and
trafficked, or mass shootings, or devastating earthquakes
or weather. It's just about too horrible to even imagine.
And yet, this is the world we live in.
But the promise of John's vision is that we can have hope
in something far better, and at the center of it all is God,
"the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end."
The Presbyterian author and Minister Eugene Peterson
said: "The biblical story began, quite logically, with a
beginning. Now it draws to an end, not quite so logically,
also with a beginning,"
 
"The sin-ruined creation of Genesis that we know and
experience is restored in the sacrifice-renewed creation of
revelation," The result in the first creation was "the
heavens and the earth." And the result in this ending
creation is a "new heavens and new earth."
And friends, this is not just some rosy description of
heaven that prompts one to comment, "Oh, isn't that
nice?" This is a passage of strength and hope for
desperate times! This is a promise about something
better, far more wonderful than we can imagine.
This vision is about change, and newness, and wholeness,
and life! This is a promise that can lift us out of whatever
devastation we may be experiencing and strengthen us
with the knowledge that something new and wonderful
lies ahead.
 
The description we have of this new heaven is a Holy City.
But why a city? Cities are busy, and impersonal, and
stressful. Cities are where gang fights and bombings
happen.
True, very, very true. But look: Following the tragic events
of the Boston Marathon bombing, there was a well-
circulated photo of a police officer carrying two gallons of
milk last Friday to a home in Watertown under lockdown:
In it lived a family with a small child who had run out of
milk. On that same day in that same community, a gigantic
parking lot was filled end-to-end with federal agents, cops,
emergency responders, and soldiers. They were working
together, methodically going door-to-door in a twenty-
block radius in what was an unprecedented manhunt. On
the evening news that night, looking exhausted and
 
defeated, the chief of the Massachusetts State Police
shared the disappointing news that there was still no
apprehension of the bombing suspect. But within an hour,
a break came, and less than an hour after that, the suspect
was in custody. And then did you see what happened?
People in the community flooded the streets and they
clapped and cheered as all those cops, and soldiers, and
agents cleared the area and headed home.
It was beautiful; a picture, I think, not unlike the one John
paints for us here.
The New Jerusalem. A Holy City. And perhaps we can
understand better now why. Because cities are places
where people live together in dependence on one
another. A city works when everyone in it does something
to contribute to its welfare: when a cop delivers some
milk, when a citizen reports suspicious behavior, when
citizens emerge from their homes to cheer the first
 
responders and civil servants who have helped keep them
safe.
A city can be a place that works. A city can be the welcome
place where people arrive home at the end of a long and
confusing journey.
And, John's Revelation tells us, this Holy City is where God
lives. And it is because of God's presence that pain,
suffering, mourning, and crying are ended. Through Jesus
Christ, God wipes away everything that terrorizes us.
In fact, the vision describes the Holy City (in one way, at
least) by noting what is not in it. After the first heaven and
the first earth have passed away, John says, "the sea is no
more."
 
The sea is often a powerful biblical symbol for chaos, and
for good reason: You see, the Israelites and new Christians
in the ancient Middle East were not seafarers. They were
more or less land-locked, and except for the fishermen
who would row a little ways out and drop their nets, they
were not equipped to handle the tumultuous waters of
the open seas. They didn't know how to pilot great ships,
most people didn't even how to swim. To them, the sea
was a dark and scary place full of evil. And the sea also
represents what separates humans from one another.
So part of the beauty of this dry, new Jerusalem is that
there are no stormy seas to terrorize lives and keep people
from one another. Here, God and human beings live in
peaceful, harmonious relationship with one another.
And this is where we really get to the wonderful promise
of this passage. The sea was the terror of these ancient
peoples, but we all deal with different terrors today.
 
Relationships grow cold and sour, and end; hurt and
disappointment come from those we love; life seems to be
unjust or senseless; we don't get the answers we hope for;
failure and discouragement mar our great intentions. We
know chaos and terror quite intimately: John reminds us
that we know all too well the reality of tears, pain,
sadness, darkness, suffering, and death.
But here is our hope.... Here is the great promise of John's
vision: Just as God takes away the sea that was the sign of
such chaos in the ancient world, in the new heaven, God
promises to take away our modern chaos—the bombs, the
explosions, the hurricanes, the earthquakes, the
depression everything, all the way through to death.
If we can have faith in that truth, then the words that we
hear today in Revelation have the power to become such
life-altering words for God's people, and especially for all
who find themselves in the midst of struggle and turmoil.
 
"Then the one seated on the throne said, 'Look! I'm
making all things new.'...Then he said to me, "All is done. I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
These are words that matter at the heart of life, where we
question who we are and who God is. These are the words
that give hope when all seems lost. They promise us that
there will be a new day when all that has hurt us will be
gone, and we will live face-to-face with the God who loves
us immeasurably.
"Behold! I am making all things new!"
Praise be to God. Amen.

Introduction
Today we take a look at the life of Paul. Starting with his conversion in Acts chapter 9. I wanna look at his relationship with his Savior. Jesus had specific plans for him. Plans it would ultimately take him to many parts of the world to testify concerning The Lord that would ultimately, Nate and him going to Rome. I want us to take note how Paul reacts to being faced with the resurrected Christ!

Title
Who are you Lord?. What do you want me to do?

Sauls conversion acts chapter 9:3-7/. 
Sauls conversion was three hours out of the resurrection of our Lord. 36 AD
Acts chapter 9 verse 15-16
A. Gentiles
B. Kings
C. Children of Israel
D. Suffer for my namesake
The lesson for us. We can go to people before us and testified bear witness to what the
Lord has done and will do as well
——--
Paul went to the Gentiles. Pivotal moment
But  he went to the Jew first then to the Greek
Acts ch 13: 44-47
——--
Acts 23:11-21
Here we read of the plot to kill Paul
Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, you must also bear
witness at Rome.
The lesson for us. Though it seems like everything‘s against us. When we are for Christ.
He is standing right by us. He has a plan for you, and he will fulfil it. The Lord is standing
right by us. I will never leave you nor forsake you said Jesus. 
——--
Paul before Felix. 59 AD ish
Acts chapter 24:11-21
Here we see Paul accused of sedition by the leading Jewish authorities and religious
leaders
What is Paul‘s main defence? “The resurrection of the dead“
24:16-21
——--
What kind of person is Felix?
Procrastinator
Corrupt
Fearful
Yeah unrepentant or unwilling to believe./ on the contrary what kind of people are we. Or
ask yourself what kind of person am I?
Act 24:24-27
——--
Fast forward, Festus two years later.
Paul appeals to Caesar 25:11-22
——--
Paul testifies to King Agrippa 26:1-21
What is a testimony. Former life. Conversion. Present life
—-
God has a plan for Paul to go to Rome and testify before Cesar
It was an amazing thing that Paul was under house arrest in Rome. Has he gone to Rome
as I can with the preacher his message more than likely would’ve been just one among
many other preachers. And got lost but he was under house arrest in Caesar’s
household. Speaking to the praetorian guard relatives of Cesar great and intellectual
people
God’s ultimate plan for him was achieved
If you are a believer but your faith in Christ learn how to model this example. Everywhere
you go you can testify of your former life. Your conversion and your life now. Trust in
him he has a plan

And if you’re on the fence. Why?.
Ask yourself. Who is this Jesus? Who are you Lord? What do you want me to do?
Those are the two greatest questions we can ever ask. They are so important eternity
depends on it!

Special note from the webmaster: That morning upon entering the church, we were told about Nelson's passing. The atmosphere in the Church was quite somber as the last we had heard,  Nelson was in good spirits and fighting against that terrible cancer...

​Beyond Our Horizons


(I dedicated this service to Nelson Weippert, my favourite preacher and good friend. Nelson was a true Christian gentleman, unselfishly giving, together with his wife, Sharon, to the community around him. Nelson looked at God not as the grand old man with a long white beard, but more like an unseen deity without regard to gender or any other human limitation. This is made clear by the benediction Nelson always used, which I include after this message).

When I was a young boy living on Argyle Ave. in Verdun, my father and I had an interesting talk about the future, specifically my future. I had asked him a few questions in the past, but those were the questions of a toddler, like “Will I keep growing until I hit the clouds?” or “will I be hundreds of years old some day?” He had answered all my questions, but sometimes he’d say, “OK, that’s enough. Let’s pick this up another time.” I sensed a degree of frustration at times like that.

But this time, it was different. This time I wasn’t a toddler any more, but a regular young man of around 10.This time he was asking me questions. Questions like, what did I want to be when I grow up? Where did I want to live? Have I thought of being a farmer, or a scientist? And so on. Well, after a little thought, I said to him. I think I want to be an engineer, and I want to build cars. I’ll work for a big company like GM. I’ll make a good salary, get married, have kids, and buy a nice house, maybe a split-level, and when I turn 65 I’ll retire with a good pension.

This kind of floored him for a bit, but then he bit into a question I’m sure he figured I couldn’t handle. He said, “What about after that?” “After that,” I said, “I’ll have a really good retirement for ten years…and then I’ll die.

Say what? Ten years old! He wasn’t even asking me a question about it. No, I laid it all out for him. This was the master plan by the 10-year-old master. He didn’t really want to question it because for the 1950’s it wasn’t really such a bad plan.

So, let’s fast-forward 65 years, shall we? That would be to today! If the master plan by the 10 year old were to be fulfilled, some time this year you folks would be singing, “Nearer My God to Thee” over my casket. 

But let me be frank. Given a choice, I’d sooner stick around a bit longer.

Is that any different for any of us? Even the strongest believer wouldn’t say, hey! Take me. I want to be with God. Not if we’re still in reasonable health. Not if we’re not suffering. Not if we still have loved ones close by. You see, God made our earth for our pleasure. He made it for us not only to exist from day to day, but so that we can take pleasure in His creation. He never meant for us to make it easy to leave. God gave us this wonderful earth so that we can immerse ourselves fully in its fruits. And that includes using all our talent, all our skills, all our waking moment to appreciate what we have and to make sure it is preserved for the next generation, and the one after that, into a limitless future.

At least that is what I believe!

We are approaching Lent, a time when Jesus Christ looked carefully into his coming ministry. He knew the hour of ministry was at hand. He knew it had to start, that he had to make a start. But he had to be very clear he would go about it right. He already knew that he was about to embark on a journey greater than any man – or any woman – had ever taken before. He also knew that the end of that journey would culminate in a great sacrifice, one that would require him to go to the covenant, the agreement made by the prophets with God, that he, Jesus Christ, would give up his life on God’s altar. 

Isn’t that a humbling thought? And for what? What possible reason would Christ have to give up his own life in such a manner. 

He said:
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

There is our answer. Jesus gave up his life out of love for us, his children, his brethren, his friends. He did it out of love. Maybe that’s what drove the apostles from the upper room, when they too realized that Christ’s reason for such a sacrifice was unselfish love to all of them, to all of us. When the apostles were troubled by the seeming finality of their lord’s coming death, he said to them in John 14, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me.2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Yet we are still troubled. We don’t see this place. We don’t see the Father. We think of him as remote, as in the clouds or in the ether somewhere. We refer to him as a ‘He’ because Christ referred to him in that way. But why should we get bogged down by gender? 

I have mentioned before that when my mother-in-law was close to death she asked me in these very words: “What do you suppose happens when you die?” Yes, what do you suppose happens? It was a tough question. I myself have allowed that question to be asked in my prayers, in my meditations, in my dreams. The answer I gave her came out of those meditations, out of those dreams. I said to her, “I believe you come face to face with God in the most amazing experience you have ever known. You become one with God.”

And she said, “I hope  so,” and her eyes told me she was content. Remember these words by Christ in John 17. Jesus prayed for all of us, not only for his apostles, but for everyone. For you. For me. For every man, woman, and child under creation
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [j]will believe in Me through their word;  (In other words, by their example, they will show their belief) He goes on to say “21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

See, the answer again is found in love. We leave our doubts behind when we cross the street to help another in any unselfish way we can. When we concentrate on the needs of our neighbour over our own, when we reach our hand to the refugee, when we offer food to the starving, when we push a stranded stranger out of a snow bank, when we strive to remember a name (one of my personal challenges}, when we turn our attention to the elderly, when we begin to realize that there is no colour barrier, that there is no gender inequality, when we speak to our children as equals, when we decide to say every day as we rise, “I believe, I believe, I believe.”

This life here on earth, in our material world, is not all there is. In the late 1800’s in Concord, Massachusetts, a group of men and women met to meditate and to pray. They called themselves, the transcendentalists. Quite a mouthful, I know. They were the first of the hippies, in a sense. They were the legacy of the apostles in another sense. They studied the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu holy book which included the thoughts of the Hindu religion. They found that Christ’s words resonated throughout this book also. And why shouldn’t it? The truth about God is a universal truth. The truth about love is a universal truth. These men and women, Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, and others were philosophers. They were vegetarians. They were Spartan in the simplicity of their lives. And they were deep believers. Bronson Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott who wrote the classic novel, Little Women, was so strict that at one point in his life he and his family refused to wear leather shoes because leather came from animals. Bronson kept himself and his family in poverty because he truly believed what we often say only in prayer, that God will always provide. Let me quote these line from a book I have read in the past, “In the bitterness of one harsh winter, such as we are familiar with, the Alcotts ran out of firewood. Bronson brought his family together and asked that they all pray for help to God who never failed them. The next morning, looking out on the snow-covered road, the family saw a huge jumble of tangled firewood. With shouts of joy, Alcott’s ‘little women’ gathered it up. During the night a cart laden with firewood had collapsed and the carter had gone on empty with his  disabled wagon. While it may have seemed like an accident to some, to Bronson it was no accident but the hand of God.
Too often, nowadays, we fail to see the hand of God in our daily lives because we are impatient, we don’t slow down to measure the pulse of the universe, of God himself, living within us. This is not a male God, nor a female God, but the God of love. And we must approach him in a way that acknowledges his oneness with us. When David Thoreau, another of these transcendentalists lay dying, a friendly caller dropped in on him and said, “Well, Mr. Thoreau, we must all go – nice man, what? The sick man looked up with a smile and said faintly. “Yes, but death is as near to you as it is to me.”
Now, God may decide not to take me yet, so my master plan of age 10 may not turn out exactly as I foresaw it in 1954. In fact, I won’t be disappointed if I messed up miserably with my prediction because, in the words of Robert Frost, the American poet, “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Nelson’s Benediction: May the love of God, our father, the comfort of God, our mother, and the joy of Jesus, our brother, be with each of us as we leave this place. Go now, in peace.



When I was looking through my computer notes for some inspiration to write about Nelson, I came across this file simply labelled ‘Nelson’. I opened it up to see what it contained and found a poem I had written two years ago but had forgotten. At the time, I had seen and heard Nelson a couple of times, but couldn’t remember his name:


Nelson -

One day I went to church when I wasn’t going to,
and I heard a man with a message, 
and I saw him loud and clear.
You see, it wasn’t the content or the way he said it,
it wasn’t the scripture though he knew it well.

It was the man himself, he spoke like a friend
and I saw in his eyes - I see them clear -
I saw a small twinkle like a jolly Kris Kringle
and I knew that this coming to church to just hear him
was the event of my day, this one holy Sunday.

Now, this man made me feel like I’d known him forever,
and yet I’d just seen him a time or two before.
And this day when he spoke he spoke of a whole people
who suffered together beset by the strong.
I turned to my wife, ”Do you remember his name?”
“Who?”

“Who? Why him. The one with the beard like the Baptist.
The one up there in the pulpit, speaking of injustice.
Speaking in a way I picture Christ himself might speak,
kindly, and softly, not like a preacher, but drawing a picture,
more like a neighbour speaking of crops, telling a story
of a great man in Africa, one called Mandela,
who suffered in jail a very long time.”

“No,” she replied, “I don’t remember his name.”

But then he kept talking, and he spoke of his subject again,
this Mandela who suffered more than any ten men should,
but survived, and forgave, and showed the world
the profile of a real Christian, one who perseveres like Job
and loves like Christ…and then…and then I remembered.
The man he referred to with whom he shared a name.

And the name, it was Nelson. And I sighed. 
I was finally satisfied.

• Joe Hevesy, Apr.2, 2017