Sunday (Zoom) message: Seeking certainty in a shaky world

Posted on August 23, 2020August 24, 2020 by Minister

Dayspring ZOOM Connect Worship, Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost,

August 23, 2020, 10 am MDT

Minister: The Rev. Dr. Heinrich Grosskopf

Welcoming Elder: Darlene Eerkes

Worship Arts Coordinator (Guitarist): Gord McCrostie

Pianist: Binu Kapadia

Soloist: Binu Kapadia

Gathering

Music: Jesus life of all the world

Jesus, life of all the world,
source and sum of all creation,
Son of God and Son of man,
only hope of our salvation,
Living Word for all our need,
life you give is life indeed.

Life of freedom, gladness, truth,
all our guilt and fear transcending,
life that leaps beyond the grave,
God’s own life that knows no ending;
life eternal, gift unpriced,
freely ours in Jesus Christ!

Yours is life that makes us stand
firm for truth, all wrong defying;
yours the strength by which we strive,
on your holy arm relying;
yours the war we wage on sin,
yours the pow’r by which we win.

Jesus, life of all the world,
you are Lord of ev’ry nation;
by your Holy Spirit’s pow’r
make your church your incarnation
till our lives of truth and grace
show our world your human face!

Words: Margaret Clarkson; 1983, © The Hymn Society, Hope Publishing Co.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

Welcome and announcements

Call to Worship
L: We give You thanks, O Lord, with all our hearts
P: for your faithful love endures forever.
L: We sing your praise, O Lord, with all our might
P: for your promises speak of your goodness to all the earth.
L: We place our trust in you, O Lord, with full confidence
P: for your salvation continues from generation to generation.
And so we come to worship You, O Lord, and lift up our hearts in praise.

Music: Be still and know

Be still and know
that I am God

words: Psalm 46
music: J. Bell; © WGRG 1998 Iona Community, GIA Publications Inc.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayers of Approach and for God’s Help and Prayer of Confession
Eternal God, You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and yet You come to us afresh each new day. You breathe new life into what has grown tired and discouraged. You offer healing for what is broken and worn. You restore hope for what seems impossible. You are the source of life and love for us and all your creatures, and so we worship you as Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit, one God, now and always.

As we turn to You for wisdom, we pray to You, Source of all wisdom and understanding, in the midst of all our distractions, still our hearts and minds. Amid competing voices, let us hear your word for our times. By the gift of your Holy Spirit, help us discern your will and follow your path.

Merciful God, we confess that we have strayed from your purposes. You set a path for us to follow, but we conform to the ways of this world. You offer us your transforming love, but we cling to familiar patterns and habits. You give each of us gifts to use for the work of your kingdom, but we wait for others to do what needs doing. Forgive us for taking the easy way out and failing to serve You with eager hearts. Now we turn to you in a few moments of silent prayers of confession…

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Minister
Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn us? Only Christ – and Christ died for us. Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and set free by God’s generous grace. So, let us make a fresh start today!

Music: Open our eyes, Lord

Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch him
And say that we love him

Open our ears, Lord
And help us to listen
Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus

Words and music: Bob Cull; © Maranatha! Music 1976; The Copyright Company
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Children’s time: Lynn Vaughan (Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)

Music offering: Breathe on me breath of God Binu Kapadia

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity.

Words: E. Hatch; Music: R. Jackson; public domain
arr. © Philip Keveren 2003; Hal Leonard Corp.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Scripture reading: Matthew 16:13-20

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Music: Glory to the Father

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning
is now, and will be forever
Amen, amen, amen

words: trad.; music: J. Weaver 1978
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Message: “Seeking certainty in a shaky world”

Human beings can be quite resilient. When our world becomes shaky and goes topsy turvy we have the ability to get back at it and adjust so that life can go on. We know how to fix things and how to find people who can fix them for us.

But there are times when everything goes haywire. You can be in a car accident and for a while, you lose all your bearings and can even suffer from the shock for months and even years afterwards. The question arises, “Where is God in this?”

There are even times when folks lose their job, slip on the proverbial banana peel, end up using or abusing substances and before they know it, lose all their sensibilities.

What about landing in quicksand? I’ve never encountered quicksand and have only read about it. This is, however, a situation where one can get stranded and if you’re alone it can take a long time to get out of it. It’s as if the sand sucks you in, and we’ve seen it in the films. A man is caught in quicksand, begging onlookers for help, but the more he struggles, the further down into the sand he is sucked until eventually, he disappears. All that’s left is sinister sand, and maybe his hat. There are so many films featuring death by quicksand, from Lawrence of Arabia to The Monkees. In the 1960s one in every 35 films had a scene with quicksand in them.^[i] Shaky for sure! Where is God in all of this, or is there really a God? This type of question lingers under the surface.

Then there is the uncertainty that the year 2020 brought us. We all know about it. Will we survive it? How is the pandemic going to affect me, we ask? We try to live safely and make the most of all sorts of safety measures and protocols. Still, what about the long-term effects? What about airlines, are they going to go broke? Our pension funds, will they be able to remain stable? What about the futures of our children and grandchildren? Then there is this alarming tendency for suicide to be on the rise. Are people saying it doesn’t help to believe in God?

The world has indeed become a weird and wild place. Is there any direction? Can anyone tell me where things will be going? Who is going to pull me out of the suction of the existential quicksand? There are signs out there. Though, it seems that they just show all directions and there is no direction to take. Do I go see a general practitioner or a psychiatrist? Do I keep my children out of school and home-school them? What if I go and study, will there be a work for me? Different folks deal with uncertainty in different ways. Some become stronger in their approach to life, others succumb to mental issues. Some become grumpy and even angry. “There can’t be a God if things go like this!” we might be tempted to say.

This brings me to our text for today. “(Jesus) said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:15-16, NRSV).

This isn’t just a speculative thing that Simon Peter says. He isn’t just putting out some kind of assumption or theory of some kind. Nor is it some kind of slippery, muddy statement that is floating in many directions.

Simon has a second name, it is Peter. In Greek, the word “petra, and petros” refer to “rock.” Now it doesn’t really seem that Peter is as solid as a rock. It may indeed mean that Simon Peter’s statement is based upon the real rock, the God of steadfastness, the cornerstone, the foundation, and even the stumbling block. How about it referring to Peter’s confession of faith in the Rock, the reliable One?

There is very little certainty to be found in the world we live in. Yes, we can still create some form of certainty. But in my estimation, there is the overpowering stability to be found in the One whom Peter is referring to. It appears that God, in the end, is the only real certainty.

When all the foundations, all the reliable financial plans, all the predictable outcomes start failing, there still remains this One, the rock-solid God who has been, is, and will always be. What an assurance!

Is this an awareness that everyone has? Unfortunately, not. How does it become a reality in one’s own awareness? I don’t think it is “something” to “have” or to “not have”. It is more a sense that grows in a person. It is God who makes us aware. “…flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, (Peter), but my Father in heaven” we hear in the 17th verse.

Yes indeed, it is a place we come to through the work of God, and not by our hard work or efforts. In a way, it happens to us. God reveals this acknowledgment in our inner being, so that we just know.

I personally find that it isn’t really a matter of I don’t care, it is more a matter of I trust. Trust and faith go hand in hand.

Do I tell others to believe the same way I do? I don’t think I can. Each of us goes through our unique struggles. When Jesus sternly orders the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah, this may be what Jesus refers to. People need to discover that Jesus was the anointed one on their own in their own time and in their own pace. It is not for us to shove these discoveries down others’ throat. Nor is it for us to expect everyone to believe the way we believe. God has a unique way of revealing this to human beings.

We are, however, assured that there is certainty in a very shaky world. To me, it seems to be a certainty that goes way beyond this life on earth.

Amen

Music: With the Lord as my guide

With the Lord as my guide
I will walk through the desert,
rest by the water, run in the wind.
With the Lord by my side
I will stand on the mountain,
drink from the fountain of love deep within.

With the Lord as my guide
I will see all the talents,
accept the balance of who I am.
With the Lord by my side
say yes to the calling,
fear not the falling, trust in God’s plan.

With the Lord as my guide
I will work with my sister,
care for my brother, bend with their pain.
With the Lord by my side
we will rise up together,
strengthen each other, courage regain.

With the Lord as my guide
I will rise in the morning,
praise for the dawning beauty of day.
With the Lord by my side
I will sing, sing forever,
always a lover, seeking God’s way.

Words and music: Jim Strathdee; © 1977, Desert Flower Music
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayer of gratitude

Reflection on giving:
We give to support the ministry and mission of our congregation.
During this time of COVID-19 restrictions, our members have been generous.
Thank you for that generosity. However, because we have lost the contributions to our budget from the organizations that use our building, we are running a shortfall.
So we all need to dig deep.
We do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Music: Now thank we all our God

Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices
Who wondrous things has done
in whom God’s world rejoices

words: M. Rinkart; music: J. Cruger
public domain

Prayer

Blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

Music: God to enfold you

God to enfold you, Christ to uphold you
Spirit to keep you in heaven’s sight
So may God grace you, heal and embrace you
Lead you through darkness into the light

Words: J. Bell, G. Maule; © WGRG Iona Community, GIA Publications Inc.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

^[i] Can quicksand really suck you to your death? and article at https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160323-can-quicksand-really-suck-you-to-your-death

Copyright 2020 – Heinrich Grosskopf, Minister of Dayspring Presbyterian Church
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Sunday (Zoom) message: Persistence and faith can make a powerful pair

Posted on August 16, 2020August 17, 2020 by Minister

Dayspring ZOOM Connect Worship, Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost,

August 16, 2020, 10 am MDT

Minister: The Rev. Dr. Heinrich Grosskopf

Welcoming Elder: Gina Kottke

Worship Arts Coordinator (Guitarist): Gord McCrostie

Pianist: Binu Kapadia

Instrumental Soloist: Kathleen de Caen

Gathering

Music: Be thou my vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art

High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

Words and music: Irish traditional
Music harmony copyright © 1975, Hope Publishing Co.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

Welcome and announcements

Call to Worship

L: Let the people praise You, dear Lord;
P: let all the people praise You!
L: Let the nations be glad and sing with joy,
P: for You guide the nations upon earth.
L: Let the people praise You, dear Lord;
P: let all the people praise You!

Music: I waited on you, Lord

I waited, I waited on you, Lord
I waited, I waited on you, Lord

You bent down low and remembered me
When you heard my prayer

words: Psalm 40
music: J. Bell; © WGRG 1987 Iona Community, GIA Publications Inc.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayers of Approach and for God’s Help and Prayer of Lament

Dear Lord, we come into your presence with praise and thanksgiving. You have searched us, known us, cared for us, and welcomed us as daughters and sons. In You, we find our home. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, and the inspiration of your Word, continue to work in us and through us. Transform us into your image. Make us signs of grace and hospitality to the world around us, so that your kingdom would come and your will would be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. We pray for an end to the waste and desecration of God’s creation, for access to the fruits of creation to be shared equally among all people,
and for communities and nations to find sustenance in the fruits of the earth and the water God has given us. We pray for all nations and people who already enjoy the abundance of creation and the blessings of prosperity, that their hearts may be lifted up to the needs of the poor and afflicted, and partnerships between rich and poor for the reconciliation of the world may flourish and grow.

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

God of all the ages, as we gather to listen to your Word today, silence the thoughts that distract us. Open our hearts to hear the challenge and the comfort You offer us in the name of Jesus Christ, your Living Word.

Hear our cry, Almighty God.
Listen to our prayer.

How long will we have to hide in our homes from this invisible enemy? Where will it strike next? And whom? And what if…? Our screens relay a continuous escalation of suffering and death around the world. Panic and anxiety abounds. Our souls are weary from the strain of the life-altering unknowns. Heavenly Father, from the depths of our pain and confusion, we cry out to You. From fear-filled hearts and anxious minds, we plead with You. Rescue us, Father of compassion and grace. We lift up our eyes to You, Lord God, the One who sits enthroned in heaven.

On all who have contracted the virus,
Lord have mercy

On all who have lost loved ones to this sickness and are in mourning and anguish,
Lord have mercy

On all who are unable to earn an income because their jobs have been suspended
Lord have mercy

Assurance of God’s faithfulness

Nothing can separate us from the Lord’s unfailing love and kindness, not even sickness or the fear of tomorrow. The Lord is our Light as we walk in this darkness. We will remember to celebrate the beautiful gifts the Lord has given us in this present moment.

Music: Open our eyes, Lord

Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch him
And say that we love him

Open our ears, Lord
And help us to listen
Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus

Music: Open our eyes, Lord

Children’s time: Lynn Vaughan (Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)

Music offering: Prelude from J.S. Bach’s unaccompanied cello suite #1 Kathleen de Caen

Scripture reading: Matthew 15:10-28

Things That Defile

¹⁰Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.^[^a^] And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

The Canaanite Woman’s Faith

²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Music: His truth is marching on

Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
Glory, glory hallelujah
His truth is marching on

African American spiritual
public domain

Message: “Persistence and faith can make a powerful pair”

In a world where almost every single thing has changed due to a tiny virus, we might do well to know that there is One who hasn’t changed and never will change. It seems clear that admitting that God, our creator has and never will change.

We might feel like things have changed irreversibly, or something along these lines. God, I still believe, as believers have done throughout the centuries, will not change. God still remains faithful and almighty.

What does it mean to have faith in this faithful God? “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This is what the writer of the letter to the Hebrews said in the 11th chapter. Looking closer at it, there are three words in this statement that jump out at me. They are “assurance”, “hoped” and “conviction.” These are strong words.

When you’re in dire trouble as most of us are at this point in history, and you are being assured, of things hoped for, right there you have a lot!

And then to have a “conviction” of things not seen, this too makes a person able to persist. The best is that this type of faith is given to each believer by God. There is no way in which we can muster it up.

Jan Koum is the founder of WhatsApp which sold to Facebook for 19 billion dollars. He grew up very poor in Ukraine and didn’t even have running water. After finding his skills in Silicon Valley he was almost hired at Facebook but got passed over in the last interview. Instead of sulking, Jan went on to found WhatsApp. Jan is quite the epitome of hard work and never giving up.

What I learn from this is: Don’t take no for an answer. If you believe in yourself keep going towards your goal. Know that once you complete it you will have the satisfaction of succeeding when others doubted you or told you it was impossible. ^[i]

This is just one example. There are many more. Just page through the Old Testament of the Bible, and Moses persisting in getting the Israelites freed from Egypt’s Pharaoh. It took persisting through ten plagues. Ruth is another one. When her mother-in-law, Naomi, lost her husband and both sons she just didn’t give up. Naomi told her to stay in the country of Moab. But Ruth persisted. She ended up becoming the grandmother of King David and therefore became part of the lineage of Jesus.

The Canaanite woman that we read about in the gospel reading from Matthew, is one more example of a woman with persistence.

Just in the previous piece Jesus had been teaching the crowds and the Pharisees, along with the disciples that a person becomes polluted not by what she puts in her stomach, but by that which comes from inside her heart and which shows up in her life. The implication of what Jesus said, is that one’s race, ethnicity, gender, disability or class doesn’t make a person unclean or defiled. We might be surprised by Jesus’ silence and his response to the Canaanite woman. First, Jesus lets the Canaanite woman down by not acknowledging her plea for mercy.

There is something interesting that happens in our reading. Jesus’ response to the disciples’ urging to send her away, seems to affirm the disciples’ desire to dismiss her. He says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” What? How can Jesus be saying this?

Mitzi Smith from Columbia Theological Seminary ^[ii] speculates that Jesus is taking the disciples up on their view so that the Canaanite woman needs to struggle against the statement. This way she can demonstrate her persistence and faith against all the odds.

Life is never a straight and easy road. It’s complicated and often tough.

But so many anonymous women like the Canaanite woman have persisted as lone minority voices among a majority of authoritative and powerful men. She persisted!

Here at Dayspring, we too are invited to persist, especially from a place of weakness. It is God who will equip us with faith. Is it perhaps the other way around? That faith brings about persistence, or maybe persistence feeds faith. You see, whichever way we do it, persistence and faith make a powerful pair.

Whether it’s someone who is disenfranchised in whichever way, in trouble, struggling against impossibilities, persistence can take us to the opening up of new possibilities.

It doesn’t matter which congregation finds themselves in dire straits, the chances are that we will be like a seed that goes into a crack in a rock, with the sun blazing from above. Under normal circumstances, we might not make it. But with God’s help in nurturing our faith and persistence, we could still forge through and come out on the other side with renewed strength.

Nobody ever said it would be easy. In fact, it is going to be hard, it is going to be very much against all odds. Let’s leave aside complaints and moaning. Let’s live the love that Christ brought into this world. Let us be grateful and responsible for what we have. We are invited to look after each other and the communities we live in.

These times are uncertain and totally unpredictable. Nobody has it easy. Let’s support each other by spending locally. Help your friends’ businesses whenever possible. Help keep small businesses in your community going.

We may have limited chances to live out Christian love, and there may actually only be now to do it. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Today is the time to let our light and our love shine.

Amen

Music: Come my way, my truth, my life

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a way as gives us breath;
Such a truth as ends all strife;
Such a life as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a light as shows a feast;
Such a feast as mends in length;
Such a strength as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a joy as none can move;
Such a love as none can part;
Such a heart as joys in love.

Words: G. Herbert
Music: R. Vaughn Williams. © Stainer and Bell Ltd. 1911
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayer of gratitude:

Reflection on giving: ………….

We give because we are the recipients of God’s overflowing love. We give because our givings support our minister and the church staff who enable us to be a community of Faith and Care. We give in order to take care our building – an inheritance from those who have gone before us and from the Presbyterian Church in Canada – and the means by which we offer care to our community. We give in order to be able to meet together for worship via the internet. We give in order to support the ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada across our nation and throughout the world. And in these days of COVID-19 distancing, we do our giving in the various ways described in the Dayspring Weekly News. Thank you all for your generosity.

Music: In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful

In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful
In the Lord I will rejoice
Look to God, do not be afraid
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near

composer: Jacques Berthier; 1991 © Taize Community, GIA Publications Inc.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayer and blessing: Minister

Music: God to enfold you

God to enfold you, Christ to uphold you
Spirit to keep you in heaven’s sight
So may God grace you, heal and embrace you
Lead you through darkness into the light

^[i] 8 Inspiring Perseverance Stories to Make You Never Give Up, at https://www.inspireyoursuccess.com/inspiring-perseverance-stories/

^[ii] Mitzi J. Smith, (2020) Commentary on Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28, at workingpreacher.org

Copyright 2020 – Heinrich Grosskopf, Minister of Dayspring Presbyterian Church
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Sunday (Zoom) message: Out, and into the world

Posted on August 9, 2020August 10, 2020 by Minister

Dayspring ZOOM Connect Worship, Tenth Sunday after Pentecost,

August 9, 2020 10 am MDT

Minister: The Rev. Dr. Heinrich Grosskopf

Welcoming Elder: Jane de Caen

Worship Arts Coordinator (Guitarist): Gord McCrostie

Pianist: Binu Kapadia

Vocal solo: Glynnis McCrostie

Gathering

Music: She comes sailing on the wind

She comes sailing on the wind,
her wings flashing in the sun;
on a journey just begun, she flies on.
And in the passage of her flight,
her song rings out through the night,
full of laughter, full of light, she flies on.

Silent waters rocking on the morning of our birth,
like an empty cradle waiting to be filled.
And from the heart of God the Spirit moved up on the earth,
like a mother breathing life into her child.

Many were the dreamers whose eyes were given sight
when the Spirit filled their dreams with life and form.
Deserts turned to gardens, broken hearts found new delight,
and then down the ages still she flew on.

To a gentle girl in Galilee, a gentle breeze she came,
a whisper softly calling in the dark,
the promise of a child of peace whose reign would never end,
Mary sang the Spirit song within her heart.

Flying to the river, she waited circling high
above the child now grown so full of grace.
As he rose up from the water, she swept down from the sky,
and she carried him away in her embrace.

Long after the deep darkness that fell upon the world,
after dawn returned in flame of rising sun,
the Spirit touched the earth again, again her wings unfurled,
bringing life in wind and fire as she flew on

Songwriter: Gordon Light; 1985 © Common Cup Company
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

Welcome and announcements:

Call to Worship

L: Give thanks to the Lord!
P: We will tell everyone we meet what God has done!
L: Let us bring praise to the name of the Lord!
P: We will honour God’s holy name with shouts of joy!
L: Be mindful of all that God provides for us.
P: We will remember the world of wonders God has made!

Music: Be still and know

Be still and know
that I am God

words and music: anonymous
public domain, arr. G. McCrostie

Prayers of Approach and for God’s Help and Prayer of Confession

Surprising and mysterious God, You come to us when we least expect it, calling us out of our routines and our plans, inviting us to follow Christ on a great journey of faith.

We praise You for the many ways You comfort and guide us. In our moments of fear, You speak to us with words of reassurance. In our moments of doubt, You reach out your hand to save us. In our moments of turmoil, You bring calm to the storm. We place our trust in You this day and every day, and worship You as our Redeemer and Saviourin the name of Christ, our Lord and friend.

Gracious and loving God who hovers over the pain of your world. We pray for all who suffer or experience pain through the chemical explosion in Beirut yesterday. We remember especially this day the people of Beirut. Help the injured, protect those in danger, support the dying, bring comfort to the grieving and soothe the anxious whose families and lives are forever changed by grief and loss. Bless with your strength and comfort those who have survived the trauma and devastation of this disaster. We ask your blessing on all those who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their security and their hope. Strengthen and guide doctors, nurses, and all those who serve in emergency services and all who bring comfort and relief. God of wisdom, as we gather to hear your Word this day, calm our spirits and still our minds so that we are able to receive the fullness of your message and respond with faithfulness.

Merciful and patient God, we confess that we still live in fear and doubt, even though we have been touched by your saving grace. You call us to live with courage and perseverance, yet we give up too easily and opt for the safer route. You encourage us to be bold in our faith and steadfast in our fight for justice, yet we remain silent in the face of inequality and violence. Forgive us all the times we have let You down. Renew our lives through your mercy and grace. Amen

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Minister

Rest assured, God’s forgiveness and saving grace are for everyone. Accept these gifts for yourselves and offer forgiveness to others in the name of Christ our Lord.

Children’s time: ……………. Darlene Eerkes (Lord’s Prayer)

Music offering: Forever Glynnis McCrostie

Give thanks to the Lord our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong
Forever God is with us, forever and ever; forever

With a mighty hand and outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the life that’s been reborn
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise; sing praise, sing praise

Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong
Forever God is with us, forever and ever; forever

Songwriter: Chris Tomlin © Universal Music Publishing Group
Reprinted with permission under CCLI, License #3095377. All rights reserved.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from CCLI

Scripture reading: Matthew 14:22-33 (New Revised Standard Version)

Jesus Walks on the Water

²²Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,^[^a^] for the wind was against them. ²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Message: “Out, and into the world”
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught (Peter), saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Just before Jesus started walking over the Sea of Galilee, He had retreated to go up the mountain to be by Himself to pray. I’ve often had similar feelings to the ones, I think we sense in what Jesus was doing in our Scripture reading. When I want to flee into my own little fort, away from all the buzz, it’s just for my own sanity and serenity. Sometimes the busy-ness of all the daily things of life simply become a little bit too much. As one example, I have found the lovely flowers of summer that we have in our garden at home, to be a way of finding some form of escape from the madness of life.

Jesus was on the stormy Sea of Galilee and decided to try once again to find some solitude. He went up the mountain by Himself to pray.

Jesus is in need of a fort this week, I think. He wanted to get away from everything that was pressing in on Him.

As we saw in last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus, having heard of the gruesome murder of the man who baptized Him, John the Baptist, Jesus tries to get some time alone with his grief. But large crowds seek Him out, desperate for his healing, and so He tends to their sicknesses and their need for food to eat. This week, Jesus tries again for some alone time. He sends away the crowds and the disciples and goes up the mountain alone to pray. He was in search for some isolation, some time in his own little fort, so to speak.

What else is a lockdown than building forts, living in our own places of safety, away from all the danger, all the outside forces that bring fear into our lives? The pandemic has different effects on each person. Two people in a marriage, or mother and son, even brother and sister, can have radically different views on the coronavirus pandemic.

A parent would fully comply with children’s play parks being closed down and know it’s safer. Then there is another parent that wants children to play safely and develop naturally. One person might feel rather relaxed about protocols, while the next may indeed be fearing that the worst might happen to them. The one may wipe every surface down and the other may act quite oblivious to all these acts of the “new normal.”

One may see empty restaurants as the right thing to do, the other may be exuberant when restaurant patios start opening up.

It was during such an alone time that Jesus sent his disciples out on a boat onto the lake to go and fight the waves, rowing as hard as they can.

What if this boat full of disciples is the church? That the boat on the water is the church not only then, but also now, today in 2020? In our own times, the church is rocked by storms of one kind or another, from inside or from outside. There are forces of chaos and uncertainty that make us tremble at times. Financially, so many churches find it hard to get by. Viewing church attendance decade after decade one notices how it keeps dropping to lower levels. Can anything be done? And now the pandemic.

Early that morning, Jesus came walking toward the disciples struggling on the sea. The disciples saw this happening and were terrified, they said, “It is a ghost!”

Upon Jesus’ assurance, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid”, Peter replies, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus encouraged him to come on over. But when Peter noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

At this point Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him.

Peter was brave, but the heaving and tugging of the wind made him lose some of his bravado. We as the church of our Lord during this pandemic time can also lose a lot of our bravado. Nobody can blame us.

However, God wants to make things happen.

It is not the end. The church isn’t just collapsing. God has something in stall for us. God, Jesus’ Father, also reaches out his hand and catches us. Our own hands are in God’s. God uses us in the work that God’s church is called to do.

Jesus doesn’t stay on the mountain, or in the tent, even though He no doubt really wants to sometimes. Jesus strolls across the sea and out into the world. He shows compassion for the sick and the poor, hangs out with sinners and misfits, and acts with sacrificial love in life and ultimately in death.

Jesus also calls us out of our forts of security and calm and into the messy business of living out justice and mercy in the world. That is as true now as it was before the pandemic. Of course, “going out to the world” looks different now—we make connections over Zoom, or several feet apart in backyards and on patios. We preach on livestreams, and we wear masks wherever we go.

The world still belongs to God. The coronavirus pandemic that spews out Covid-19 and causes devastation, remains subject to the rule of God, whether we can see that or not. One day it too will pass, and the world will still be there. We, the people that follow Jesus Christ, will still, with the power of God’s Good News, continue to have a difference to make in a world in need of healing and repair. Amen

Music: There is a redeemer

There is a redeemer
Jesus, God’s own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Holy One

Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

Jesus my redeemer
Name above all names
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Oh, for sinners slain

When I stand in Glory
I will see His face
And there I’ll serve my King forever
In that Holy Place

Prayer of gratitude:

Reflection on giving: ………….

We give to support the ministry and mission of our congregation. During this time of COVID-19 restrictions, our members have been generous. Thank you for that generosity. However, because we have lost the contributions to our budget from the organizations that use our building, we are running a shortfall. So we all need to dig deep. We do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Prayer:

Faithful God, bless the gifts we bring to you today. Use them and us to plant seeds of faith, hope and love in the world so that your goodness will grow among your people, and your name be honoured for Christ’s sake. Amen

Blessing: Minister

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

Music: God to enfold you

God to enfold you, Christ to uphold you
Spirit to keep you in heaven’s sight
So may God grace you, heal and embrace you
Lead you through darkness into the light

Words: J. Bell, G. Maule; © WGRG Iona Community, GIA Publications Inc.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Copyright 2020 – Heinrich Grosskopf, Minister of Dayspring Presbyterian Church
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Sunday (Zoom) message: Small starts, surprising force

Posted on July 26, 2020August 10, 2020 by Minister

Dayspring ZOOM Connect Worship, 8^th Sunday after Pentecost,

July 26, 2020 10 am MDT

Minister: The Rev. Dr. Heinrich Grosskopf

Welcoming Elder: Heather Tansem

Worship Arts Coordinator (Guitarist): Gord McCrostie

Pianist: Binu Kapadia

Gathering

Music: God we praise you

God, we praise you for the morning;
hope springs forth with each new day,
new beginning, prayer and promise,
joy in work and in play.

God, we praise you for creation,
mountains, seas and prairie land.
Waking souls find joy and healing
in your bountiful hand.

God, we praise you for compassion,
all the loving that you show;
human touching, tears and laughter,
help your children to grow.

God, we praise you for your Spirit,
Comforter and daily friend;
restless searcher, gentle teacher,
strength and courage you send.

God, we praise you for the Saviour,
come that we may know your ways.
In his loving, dying, rising,
Christ is Lord of our days.

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Christ is Lord of our days!

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

Welcome and announcements

Call to Worship

L: Give thanks to the Lord and call on God’s name!
P: We will praise our God and tell of all God’s wonderful works.
L: Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
P: We will give glory to God’s holy name!
L: Seek the Lord, God’s strength and presence continually.
P: We will remember God’s mercy and justice in worship and praise.

Music: God of the sparrow

God of the sparrow
God of the whale
God of the swirling stars
How does the creature say Awe
How does the creature say Praise

God of the earthquake
God of the storm
God of the trumpet blast
How does the creature cry Woe
How does the creature cry Save

God of the rainbow
God of the cross
God of the empty grave
How does the creature say Grace
How does the creature say Thanks

God of the hungry
God of the sick
God of the prodigal
How does the creature say Care
How does the creature say Life

God of the neighbour
God of the foe
God of the pruning hook
How does the creature say Love
How does the creature say Peace

God of the ages
God near at hand
God of the loving heart
How do your children say Joy
How do your children say Home

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayers of Approach and for God’s Help and Prayer of Confession

Prayer of Approach

God of the past, present and future, we marvel at the wonder of your creation.
We praise You for the blessings of this season, for gardens growing, birds singing,
shouts of joy in times of play and restful evening sunsets.
Such good gifts all around us remind us of your faithfulness to us.
You promise us a life beyond anything we can hope or imagine,
a kingdom marked by grace, love and justice for all.
In Jesus’ name, by the power of the Spirit breathing within us,
We praise You for your loving kindness and the hope it brings to us day by day.

Prayer for help

God of wisdom, you teach us with your love, you touch us with your mercy, and you challenge us with your truth. Send us your Holy Spirit to help us understand the depths of your Word speaking to us through the scriptures this day.

Prayer of confession

As we consider your faithfulness to us,
we cannot but help think about the ways we have not lived faithfully.
So we confess together:

Merciful God, we confess that we feel more comfortable with the way things are,
rather than live out the challenges we meet in Jesus.
Tempted by the promises of our culture,
we rely on the status quo to protect and prosper some but not all.
Turning away from the cries of the hurting,
we fail to stand up for the justice they seek.
Afraid to speak of our faith and hope in you,
we remain silent and complacent.
Forgive us all the ways we let you down.

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Minister

Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn us? Only Christ— And Christ died for us; Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and set free by God’s generous grace. Thanks be to God!

Children’s time: Lynn Vaughan (Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)

Music: Sing a new song

Sing a new song unto the Lord;
Let your song be sung from mountains high.
Sing a new song unto the Lord,
Singing alleluia.

For God’s people dance for joy.
O come before the Lord.
And play for him on glad tambourines,
And let your trumpet sound.

Rise, O children, from your sleep;
Your Savior now has come.
He has turned your sorrow to joy,
And filled your soul with song.

Glad my soul for I have seen
The glory of the Lord.
The trumpet sounds; the dead shall be raised.
I know my Savior lives.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Scripture reading: Matthew 13:31–33, 44–52 (New Revised Standard Version)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³²it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in withthree measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” …

Three More Parables

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Treasures New and Old

⁵¹“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Message: “Small starts, surprising force”

Last weekend my dear better-half, Carina, decided to bake the equivalent to bannock on our new barbecue. She started out with some flour and prepared some dough in a wide plastic dish. Then she added in a tiny bit of yeast and kneaded it. I was upstairs and went down, and she was on her way up. I remarked “wow, you had quite a workout” upon which she said “yup” and continued walking upstairs.

After a little while, the leavened dough had expanded beyond any reasonable expectation and Carina was hard at it, rolling out pieces, cutting them up and carefully putting them on cookie sheets.

Wow, there were a lot of pieces to bake! She asked me to get the barbecue ready and sure enough, these risen pieces of dough were a lot and we all had about a week’s supply of “roosterkoek”, the Afrikaans word for “bannock” as we call it here, yumm! They’re the very best when they are fresh off the grill. It started off with a little flour which became just a little bit of dough, but when the tiny bits of yeast were mixed in thoroughly, it multiplied immensely into a huge amount of leavened dough!

According to the 33rd verse, Jesus told them another parable among the many: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in (or, actually literally, “hid in”) with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how something so small that it is invisible to the eye can grow rapidly and exponentially into a destructive force that consumes all our attention and resources, as individuals, communities, nations, and as a world.

As Holly Hearon puts it, “…the passage from our Scripture reading offers an image that counters this destructive force. The parables describe how the kingdom of heaven emerges from something almost invisible to the eye and grows exponentially, offering us sustenance. It’s a treasure worthy of all our attention and resources. ^[i]

Looking at this passage, we find it hard to pick up a specific focus. The first two parables in 13:31-33, about the mustard seed and the yeast both point towards enormous growth coming from tiny beginnings. Also, in a likewise fashion, the two parables in 13:44-46 both describe how discovering something of such great value would cause us to be willing to sell everything we have, to possess it. To top all of this, the two pairs of parables are linked by the word “hide” (krupto), because in the parable of the yeast the woman hides the yeast in the flour, while in the parable following this, the treasure is hidden in a field, Hearon continues. ^[ii]

So, guess what, in a very similar way, aren’t we at Dayspring the same in God’s eyes? It’s not up to us. In God’s eyes we are more than worthwhile. Through small beginnings, this parable teaches us, as Barclay puts it, “that with Jesus Christ and his gospel, a new force has been let loose in the world. Silently, but inevitably, that force is working for justness in the world. Isn’t God working God’s purpose out as year upon year follows up on one another?” ^[iii]

What does this perhaps mean for us as a congregation? We don’t know what the future holds. However, there is promise in the leaven. What we do know from the negativity of Covid-19, is that things that are small, can not be stopped or contained. What we do know from the growth of Good News, is that it too can not be stopped or reined in. This is a form of wonderful hope that the parable of the yeast in the dough brings to us.

As William Barclay puts it, “The whole point of the parable lies in one thing — the transforming power of the leaven. Leaven changed the character of a whole baking. Unleavened bread, bread baked without leaven, is like a water biscuit, hard, dry, unappetising and uninteresting. Bread baked with leaven is soft and porous and spongy, and tasty and good to eat. Introducing leaven causes a transformation in the dough. The coming of the Kingdom causes a transformation in life.^[iv] Interesting that this is a pastime that so many are rediscovering during this time of the pandemic. Let’s take note of this reality of God. Let’s observe how God works in spite of us. While we can’t just sit over backwards and wait for things to happen, so much of micro-managing, we have learned lately, also has very little guaranteed results.

We can plough, till and clean out the rocks in the soil, but it is indeed God who causes the miraculous growing process.

It’s indeed small starts, which we might be foreseeing in the future, that can bounce back with surprising force. Never underestimate God’s power. Never look down upon the work of God in a congregation with so much going for us.

Also, perhaps we need to allow God to do what is realistic for who we are.

William Barclay, in his The Daily Study Bible (on Matthew), also says, “The Kingdom, the power of Christ, the purpose of God is like a great river, which for much of its course glides on beneath the ground unsee, but which ever and again comes to the surface in all its power and its greatness, plain for all to see in its action. The parable teaches both that the Kingdom is for ever working unseen, and that there are times in every individual life and in history when the work of the Kingdom is so obvious, and so manifestly powerful, that all can see it.”^[v]

We can dream small, and God might cause the surprisingly forceful new beginnings.

The glory will always belong to God.

Amen

Music: Lord Jesus you shall be my song

Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.
I’ll tell everybody about you wherever I go.
You alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.

Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.
May all of my joy be a faithful reflection of you.
May the earth and the sea and the sky join my song.
Lord Jesus, I’ll praise you as long as I journey.

As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.
To carry your cross and to share all your burdens and tears.
For you saved me by giving your body and blood.
As long as I live, Jesus, make me your servant.

I fear in the dark and the doubt of my journey;
but courage will come with the sound of your steps by my side.
And with all of the family you saved by your love,
we’ll sing to your dawn at the end of your journey.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayer of gratitude

Reflection on giving: ………….

Prayer: Minister

Blessing: Minister

^[i] Hearon, H. (2020) Commentary on Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, July 26, 2020. From http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4512
^[ii] Hearon, H. (2020) Commentary on Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, July 26, 2020. From
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4512
^[iii] Barclay, W. (1965) Gospel of Matthew Volume 2 – The Daily Study Bible, p. 91-92.
^[iv] Barclay, W. (1965) Gospel of Matthew Volume 2 – The Daily Study Bible, p. 88.
^[v] Barclay, W. (1965) Gospel of Matthew Volume 2 – The Daily Study Bible, p. 93.

Copyright 2020 – Heinrich Grosskopf, Minister of Dayspring Presbyterian Church
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Sunday (Zoom) message: “Wait…and watch what God is up to”

Posted on July 19, 2020July 20, 2020 by Minister

Dayspring ZOOM Connect Worship, 7^th Sunday after Pentecost, July 19, 2020, 10 am MDT

Minister: The Rev. Dr. Heinrich Grosskopf

Welcoming Elder: Gina Kottke

Worship Arts Coordinator (Guitarist): Gord McCrostie

Pianist: Binu Kapadia

Soloist: Linda Farrah-Basford

Gathering

Music: Jesus, life of all the world

Jesus, life of all the world,
source and sum of all creation,
Son of God and Son of man,
only hope of our salvation,
Living Word for all our need,
life you give is life indeed.

Yours is life that makes us stand
firm for truth, all wrong defying;
yours the strength by which we strive,
on your holy arm relying;
yours the war we wage on sin,
yours the pow’r by which we win.

Jesus, life of all the world,
you are Lord of ev’ry nation;
by your Holy Spirit’s pow’r
make your church your incarnation
till our lives of truth and grace
show our world your human face!

Words: Margaret Clarkson; 1983, © The Hymn Society, Hope Publishing Co.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

Welcome and announcements:

NOTE: Welcoming Elder always indicates that this is Dayspring Presbyterian Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Call to Worship

L: We gather in the presence of God;
P: We gather to worship and praise.
L: We gather in joy and expectancy;
P: We gather in beauty and wonder.
L: Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening;
P: Speak your Word of life to us, dear Lord.

Music: With the Lord as my guide

With the Lord as my guide
I will walk through the desert,
rest by the water, run in the wind.
With the Lord by my side
I will stand on the mountain,
drink from the fountain of love deep within.

With the Lord as my guide
I will see all the talents,
accept the balance of who I am.
With the Lord by my side
say yes to the calling,
fear not the falling, trust in God’s plan.

With the Lord as my guide
I will work with my sister,
care for my brother, bend with their pain.
With the Lord by my side
we will rise up together,
strengthen each other, courage regain.

With the Lord as my guide
I will rise in the morning,
praise for the dawning beauty of day.
With the Lord by my side
I will sing, sing forever,
always a lover, seeking God’s way.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayers of Approach

Creator God, in you we live and move and have our being: You alone have been our help and guide through good times and bad. You alone give us the strength we need to face the challenges around us. You alone will be rest for our bodies and souls. To you we turn for wisdom; in your presence, we will find the peace and comfort we long for. Fill us with your Spirit in this time of worship; Open our minds and hearts, so that we may see as you see, love as you love, and follow your ways for the sake of Christ our Lord.

Prayer for God’s help:

Lord, we know how much we always need to rely on You for strength. We pray for wisdom, for patience during these pandemic times. Would you guide us as peacemakers in a world of so much hatred and division. We pray for many who are dealing with illness, those who want it kept quiet, as well as those whom we now bring before you… We pray for peace and comfort for Chris Thomson while she is receiving home care. We also for Louis from Fort McMurray who is having radiation treatment at the Cross Cancer Institute. God of wisdom, your thoughts are not our thoughts, your ways are not our ways. As we listen to the scriptures, stir our hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit so that we understand your desire for the world and resolve to do your will in Jesus’ name.

Prayer of confession:

God who sees and knows our inmost thoughts and our thoughtless actions, The truth of our lives is this: we are often impetuous and do not seek your wisdom; we are often stubborn and do not practice mercy; we are often arrogant and do not act with love;

we are often anxious and do not trust in you. Forgive who we have been, amend who we are, and direct who we shall be. For the sake of Christ, our Lord.

Assurance of God’s forgiveness:

Dear friends, remember that God is slow to be angry and quick to forgive; kind and gracious to all. Know that your sins are forgiven through the grace of Jesus Christ, and forgive those who have sinned against you as he taught us.

Children’s time: Saúl Carvajal (Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)

Music offering: On eagles’ wings – Linda Farrah-Basford

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord
Who abide in His shadow for life
Say to the Lord: “My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!”

And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand

For to His angels He’s given a command
To guard you in all of your ways
Upon their hands they will bear you up
Lest you dash your foot against a stone

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Scripture reading: Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 (New Revised Standard Version) Gina Kottke

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

²⁴He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” …

… Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

Message: “Wait…and watch what God is up to”

I love it when the gospel speaks with lots of hope into our times. The many ways in which God works in our world can inspire us with awe. The parable of the weeds among the wheat is another inspiring parable. However, at first glance, it wouldn’t appear to be so hopeful.

It is so much easier to look at the parable by starting to think in “either-or” categories, a type of binary way of thinking, bad or good, evil or devout, weed or wheat, unsuccessful or successful. The problem with this is that we are only working with absolutes. Think of a successful person, does one only get that category, and then the opposite, unsuccessful? Of course, it doesn’t make sense. There is everything in between. There is always room for growth, at the beginning of one’s career, for example, there is a moderate measure of success. Later on, it could increase. Eventually, as a person matures, they could be described as fairly successful and sometimes very successful.

This is just a way of getting at the binary thinking that happens quite a bit in our society, making the people in the middle actually feel like they might not be measuring up.

God, through the parable of Jesus, is up to something else. God doesn’t work in binary terms. God loves us all just as we are, and will always, through Jesus Christ, love us fully. Of course, doing justice counts. Doing justice we see as a result of something else that happened first. When we do justice we are thanking God for first loving us so incredibly and unconditionally.

Now, when we look at our parable that we read this morning, we see that there is another party involved in Jesus’ description. There is an enemy. Matthew says, “while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed seeds among the wheat and then went away.” Without anybody being aware of it happening, the seeds sowed among the wheat occurred overnight.

Yesterday evening they weren’t there and this morning they appeared as if out of the blue. That feels quite unsettling.

There are three other times that we encounter the word “enemies” in the Gospel of Matthew. The first time is in 5:43-44, where we hear that we are told to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This should give us pause: If these enemies are destined for a “furnace of fire” as our parable describes it in verse 42, why should we love them in the here and now? Further, God – the one who judges all of us – causes the sun to rise on both the evil and the good (5:45), without distinction. What do we do with this paradox?

The second reference to “enemies” is in 10:36, where Jesus tells the disciples that He is sending them out as sheep among wolves, where “one’s enemies will be members of one’s own household.” This too stops us right in our tracks. What does it mean that deep divisions can exist even among those to whom we feel closest, including our church families? What would make us enemies of one another? And in such a situation, how do we know if we are the enemy or the good? What is it that shows which one we are, enemy or good?

The third occurrence of “enemies” is in Matthew 22:24, where Jesus speaks of the prophecy of David with respect to the Messiah, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” Ultimately, according to this parable, the enemies who sow weeds among the wheat will be defeated. They will be cast out from the presence of God where they will weep and gnash their teeth. Clearly, we can’t just turn “enemies” into nameless opponents on the other side of a sort of great divide. Rather, when Matthew speaks of enemies, it all points to something much more complex. The lines are blurred. ^[i]

Bear further in mind that “zizania” for weeds in the original language is a plant that grows in Palestine which resembles wheat in many ways but is worthless.^[ii] Some translations prefer the word “tares” for these weeds. Checking into that, I found that “tares” are actually darnel, a seed hardly identifiable from the wheat seed, and immature wheat and darnel look alike. To try and destroy the darnel would mean destroying much of the wheat, and separating one from the other would be beyond the servants’ abilities.^[iii]

By trying to pull out these weeds between the wheat would just be very foolish, Jesus says. Pulling out weeds prematurely could have many meanings. Wait!

Don’t be too hasty in judging over the people in this life. Wait, wait…!

You see, it’s so easy to read this scripture as though Jesus was simply talking about different kinds of people. But when we read it closely, it seems more that Jesus is describing two “natures” within one human being. Paul says something very similar in Romans 7 that we heard two weeks ago, on July 5, when John was leading worship. Paul describes the desire to do good inside yet also the sin that is at war against it within his body. Jesus recognizes that every human has the inclination to do both good and evil, to be both “wheat” (nourishment and seed of God) for the world and “weed” (bitterness and death) in the world.^[iv]

What’s really tricky, is that they both not only can exist and grow together at the root of our personality but sometimes the two can be unrecognizable. Sometimes it’s hard to see which one is which, especially in a complex world and in complicated situations.

That’s why only God, as Jesus explained it, has the ability to judge a good plant from a weed in the final harvest.

What examples do we have? In talking with a friend, he mentioned how easily we confuse a person’s role in politics with the person’s personality. It doesn’t matter which stripe or colour we are, we are often caught just wanting to axe some persons. Is that really the way to go? It turns out to show how impatient we are, we aren’t prepared to wait.

The wonder of it all is that God is up to something really different. Let us rather wait. God is indeed able to change weeds into wheat. It might well be a matter of God who has so much patience for us that is such that we might stop acting on God’s behalf and watch for what God is truly doing to set this world right again.

The chaos, all the disruption,^[v] is beyond what we would normally be able to fix. We want to weed the garden and the gardener is saying, “Wait! Watch what God is up to.” Amen

Music: I heard the voice of Jesus say

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
Your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found him in a resting place,
And he has made me glad.

Take my yoke upon you
And learn of me
For my yoke is easy
And my burdens are light.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto me; your morn shall rise,
And all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till traveling days are done.

Music arrangement Ralph Vaughn Williams; © Oxford University Press
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE

Prayer of gratitude:

Lord, our thanks go out to You for being the patient One, walking with us. You guide us from a state of being weed, towards maturity, toward what You want us to be. Thank you for your Son’s restoring work in our lives through the spirit. Thank you for the means of worshipping through Zoom. Thank you for life, for the beauty of summer, the beauty of sunrises and sunsets, for the birds in the air, the flowers in bloom. Thank you for each season, also for fall, winter and spring as they each bring forth the good that you have in mind for your children. Amen

Reflection on giving:

Let us pray: Minister

Gracious God, we offer you what we have, at least a part of it, thankful that your love is overflowing. Bless these gifts with your love so that their goodness will overflow to meet the needs of those who cry out to you and to us, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Blessing: Minister

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

^[i] Commentary on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, by Holly Hearon, on workingpreacher.org

^[ii] A description of what weeds (“zizania”) are at https://biblehub.com/greek/2215.htm

^[iii] How “tares” or “darnel” is used in the “parable of weeds among the wheat”, https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/5075Darnel.html

^[iv] The Complex Human, by Lori Wagner on sermons.com

^[v] “Stop Weeding and Start Watching” by Joy J. Moore on workingpreacher.org

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Sunday (Zoom) message: A heads-up, with assurances

Posted on June 21, 2020June 21, 2020 by Minister

Third Sunday after Pentecost, June 21, 2020

Scripture:
Matthew 10:24-39

Dayspring Zoom Connect Worship, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost,

June 21, 2020

Gathering

Music meditation:

God, we praise you for the morning

God, we praise you for the morning;
hope springs forth with each new day,
new beginning, prayer and promise,
joy in work and in play.

2. God, we praise you for creation,
mountains, seas and prairie land.
Waking souls find joy and healing
in your bountiful hand.

3. God, we praise you for compassion,
all the loving that you show;
human touching, tears and laughter,
help your children to grow.

4. God, we praise you for your Spirit,
Comforter and daily friend;
restless searcher, gentle teacher,
strength and courage you send.

5. God, we praise you for the Saviour,
come that we may know your ways.
In his loving, dying, rising,
Christ is Lord of our days.

6. Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Christ is Lord of our days!

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…” Jan Ray Moncada (Welcoming elder)

Welcome and announcements:

Call to worship:

L: Gladden the souls of your servants, O God!
P: To you, O Lord, we lift up our hearts.
L: The Lord is good and forgiving, abounding on steadfast love.
P: Listen to our cries, O God, and answer.
L: God is great and does wondrous things,
P: So we come to worship and bow down before you, O Lord.
L: Let us glorify God’s name together.

Music meditation:

Be Thou my Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art

High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

Prayers of approach and for God’s help and of lament:

Lord of grace, you created our minds to grow in wisdom.
You created our hearts to expand with love for you and your world.
You created our voices to sing your praises forever.
Fill us to overflowing with your Holy Spirit,
so we may worship you in spirit and in truth,
bold and unafraid to follow you
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dear Lord of wisdom, by the power of your Holy Spirit, open our minds to your truth, our hearts to your gospel, and our hands so that we can do your will. In the name of Jesus, your Living Word, we pray….

Now let’s continue with a Neighbourhood Psalm of Covid Lament and Gratitude

Oh Lord, our Lord, how majesty is Your Name in all the earth….
You made the scent of flowers and freshly cut grass,
The birds’ sing of your love with cheerful songs at dawn
The sun as she rises and brightens the sky
Reminds us that your mercies are new every morning
And yet there are moments, when we don’t see it…
The clouds, the fog, the grey hide the sun
Like face masks hide our smiles
And You, Lord… are You there, Lord? Do You care?
The smell of pain and loss covers up the freshness of spring
The taste of tears and trauma,
The emptiness of days meant to be spent
With neighbours, at festivals
At the lake, the theatre, travelling
And discovering more of your world, your presence in every place and people
They’re gone like the twilight’s last bright streaks in the evening
Instead we’re here. Just here.
At home. With a sameness, a zoomness that doesn’t seem to have an end
But Lord, did you not hover over the emptiness in the beginning?
Did not the cloud of Your Presence stay with and guide Your people in the wilderness?
Are not You, Lord of heaven and earth moved into the neighbourhood?
Have you not made Your home amongst us?
May we not find You, right next door?
Right where we are, in the places You have sent us to remain?
What might we discover as we are attentive to where You are in this place…?
In this home, on this street, in this neighbourhood.
The God who lives among.

All: What are you up to, Incarnate One?

Is that not You in the neighbour who dropped off the baking?
At my door delivering a package?
Across the street as I exchange stories with my neighbours?
What are You inviting us to notice now that we have slowed down and have ‘nowhere to go’
Your Voice in the laughter (and the screams?!) of the children next door?
Your Creation care in the gentle tending to beauty and bounty of those in their gardens?
And what of the families painting rocks and chalking sidewalks with messages of hope and encouragement?
Or the grace and ‘embrace’ of every neighbour – no matter our age, race, ability or gender– when it’s to time to celebrate birthdays, graduations — or lament…
We’re in this together, we say…
And so we lament
Together…
Our losses – where have our health, our jobs, our school and family connections gone?
What do we do when community events, sports, even serving opportunities– have been diminished, depleted or dumped entirely…
When there is more hurt than we can handle…
More violence, hate and prejudice than we can bear
When every door is locked and every contact virtual—

All: We trust.

And in trusting we seek to discover the good
And pray for it with gratitude…
We declare every day, three things for which we are thankful
For gratitude changes things- changes me. Makes me present. Gives me hope.

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Minister

I invite you to embrace the goodness of God in the midst of the pandemic.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end.

Children’s time: Lynn Vaughan (Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)

Music meditation: There is a redeemer

There is a redeemer
Jesus, God’s own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Holy One

Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

Jesus my redeemer
Name above all names
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Oh, for sinners slain

When I stand in Glory
I will see His face
And there I’ll serve my King forever
In that Holy Place

Scripture reading:

Matthew 10:24-39 (New Revised Standard Version) Reader: Jan Ray Moncada

²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

Whom to Fear

²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Message: “A heads up, with assurances”

“Happy Father’s Day” to all dads, stepdads, dads in heaven and granddads, with all that this may mean to you in your circumstances.

Families and in particular parenthood in all its facets have never been straightforward. Yes, there are many positives, of course, and this is what Father’s Day wants to reinforce.

In our reading, there is something of this theme of parenthood and loyalty woven into the lines of our text.

Perhaps we could imagine that Christ’s relationship with us is also that of a Parent. My son, my daughter, life is beautiful, Christ says to his followers. By following Me you’ll be going on a journey. Have plans, be optimistic, it’s all great. Be opportunistic, full of vim and vigour, grab the proverbial bull by the horns! Life is good for those with courage.

My son, my daughter, I also want you to know that there will certainly be times when people will speak badly about you. If they speak badly about Me, don’t expect it to be easier for you than it was for Me. This journey isn’t for the fainthearted.

Even though you have lots of hope and are full of great plans for this life, I want to give you a heads-up. It will not be all that rosy. Don’t give up, though. Please don’t turn off and get weary, dropping out halfway.

When we approach a project or a career of some sort, it’s always great to have lots of optimism about it. How would it work out if, for example, I go hiking in the mountains and even before I start, I go and sit on a bench and say this is too hard? It’s going to be way too dangerous. There might be bears that will attack me. I don’t think I should embark on this at all. It’s too tough. Let’s take off those boots, they are too heavy, let’s walk with flip-flops, let’s float in a jacuzzi, I don’t want any hardship. Or I take on a marathon. It’s a tough event that I train for over many months and even years. Here too, I could say, oh no, this race is just going to be way too much.

Jesus is speaking to his disciples, and in the same sense to us, saying that this journey of following Him might sound attractive. It is attractive, but don’t become too disillusioned. There will be some challenges, some huge ones. Know that without any doubt.

It is, however, a privilege. It’s a privilege to be counted as part of the followers of the one who was crucified. Part of the followers of the very Son of God, part of the divine God’s costly possession.

Jesus warns that following Him and living for God’s New Reality will go along with lots of resistance. This is to be expected and should never come to us as a surprise.

Now, how many people would want to be part of having trouble while following Christ? Is this something we are cut out for? Do I have enough stamina and energy for this journey? I have a hunch that many would rather give this up as way too much of a commitment. That’s why Christ says to his children. My son, my daughter, there is a flipside. It is the flipside that you need to hold on to. This is what will keep you fighting the good fight.

The flipside of this is that we are assured that God will protect us. The work that is done, is God’s work and it happens according to what God has in mind for us in the larger picture. Even if it’s not going to be easy, please, “…do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” What a call to commitment this is! Adhering in faith to Christ means trusting fully in Him.

How many of you have said about the coronavirus “I didn’t sign up for this”? How often does life not throw curve balls at us? We like to be in control, we even prefer to be able to determine our future, plan for it and reach certain outcomes.

Our trust in Jesus Christ is constantly tested. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hair of your head are all counted. So, do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

How do we translate this trust when faced by a global pandemic? I can see how it’s important for each of us to make up our personal view of trust in Christ.

We do want to live in ways that will protect not only ourselves but also others.

Nobody can see a virus, except under a microscope. The only visible part of a virus is the way it affects people’s health when they are contaminated with the virus. Then you see how ill they get.

Our fear of this happening, can, however, overshadow and cloud all our thinking.

How much trust and commitment to our real Parent, Jesus Christ, are we truly willing to give? In our prayer life, are we willing to surrender ourselves to the One who has our best interests in mind?

The warning, the heads-up, becomes even clearer when Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Due to your allegiance with Me, my son and my daughter, family relationships, relationships on earth in general, will become clouded and murky. This too will prove to be a trial to overcome. “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

The theologian and preacher Barbara Brown Taylor ^[i] calls these words a “burr from Matthew’s Gospel…one of those passages I wish he had never written down.”

However, she wrestles with the text and comes out with an elegant understanding of its claim on us: “I am a daughter,” she writes, “a wife, a sister, an aunt, and each of those identities has shaped my life, but none of them contains me. I am Barbara. I am a Christian. I am a child of God. That is my true identity, and all the others grow out of it.” According to her interpretation, she draws a sharp distinction between our identity as a child of God and any role we may have in life.

Jesus gives us a heads-up that it’s going to be difficult. And He assures us that in the long run, those who lose their life for his sake will find it. No matter what things are happening in your life, keep believing, keep trusting, keep seeking, keep loving, keep praying, keep praising, and leave the rest to God.

Music meditation: I heard the voice of Jesus say

Take my yoke upon you
And learn of me
For my yoke is easy
And my burdens are light.

Music arrangement Ralph Vaughn Williams; © Oxford University Press
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE, License #A735555. All rights reserved.

Prayer of gratitude:

Reflection on giving: Jan Ray Moncada

We give to support the ministry and mission of our congregation. During this time of COVID-19 restrictions, our members have been generous. However, because we have lost the contributions to our budget from the organizations that use our building, we are running a shortfall. So we all need to dig deep. We do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Closing prayer: Minister

Blessing: Minister

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

^[i] Kathryn Matthews on “Sermon seeds” at https://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_21_2020

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Sunday (Zoom) message: Compassion, yet also a task

Posted on June 14, 2020June 15, 2020 by Minister

Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 14, 2020

Scripture:
Matthew 9:35 – 10:15

Dayspring Zoom Connect Worship, 2^nd Sunday after Pentecost,

June 14, 2020

Gathering

Music prelude: Jesus loves me (arranged by G. McCrostie & B. Kapadia)

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

(Welcoming elder: Sam Malayang)

Welcome and announcements: Sam Malayang

Call to worship:

L: Holy and generous is God,
P: the author of all things;
L: Loving and gracious is Christ,
P: the bearer of our salvation;
L: Gentle and wise is the Holy Spirit,
P: the breath of new life.
L: Come, let us worship God,
Creator, Saviour and Breath of New Life,
with joyful praise and hopeful hearts!

Prayers of approach and for God’s help and of confession: Heinrich

You, dear Lord, are overflowing with love, infinite in kindness, and incomparable in glory. You are the source of all good things. There is none like you in all our imagining. You bring new life forth from death and offer us hope. In You, all things work together for good. Your presence breaks into our lives in many ways and you touch us with wonder. In this time of worship, we offer you thanks with our prayers, praise with our hearts and honour with our lives, this day and every day, now and always.

We pray for Denise Schmidt as she heals from her recent surgery. Carina and I thank You for the safe arrival of our grandson Ryker in the early hours of yesterday. Now Lord, amid the distractions of these days, give us undivided hearts and attentive minds, dear Lord, so that we might listen for your truth and discern your guiding Word, through Christ, your living Word.

We turn to you in confession…Wise and patient Lord. We confess that we often stray from your presence. You have offered us peace, yet our lives feel frustrating and unsettled in these times. You offer us compassion, yet we feel neglected and resentful amid life’s challenges. You offer us a mission with meaning and purpose, but we become preoccupied with our own plans and desires. Forgive us, dear Lord, and draw our attention back to You so that we follow your guidance and trust you as our Shepherd, we now pray personally…

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Heinrich

The Lord our God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace with God, with yourself and with one another.

Children’s time:

Story time:
Peter introduce the topic: 2020 Graduation Celebrations
Peter: Introduce Mongeh
Saul: Introduce Fionna and Sylvanna and present the Bibles
Darlene: Introduce Saul
Darlene will close with a short prayer.

Music meditation: Lord Jesus, You shall be my song …

(composed by: Les Petites Soeurs de Jesus; arranged by G. McCrostie & B. Kapadia)

Scripture reading: Sam Malayang

Matthew 9:35-10:15 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Harvest Is Great, the Laborers Few

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

The Mission of the Twelve

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. ⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Message: “Compassion, yet also a task”

When you hear the word compassion, it rings a bell that’s on a similar level to love and empathy. Caring comes along with it. It’s so heartwarming to experience genuine compassion. It’s equally delightful to pour out compassion to people who are in dire need of someone caring for them. Compassion can be defined as “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” ^[i]

That is what Jesus had for the crowds when He saw them. Jesus had compassion for them, “…because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

The word used here, refers to the “bowels” or the “heart”, Jesus’ entire inner being, to his stomach, or his gut feelings. That which moves Him fully so that He showed a heartfelt mercy, not just sympathy, rather real compassion.

Here’s an anonymous quote on what the difference is between sympathy and compassion:

Sympathy looks in and says, “I’m sorry.” Compassion goes in and says, “I’m with you.”

Sympathy look in and says, “I would like to help.” Compassion goes in and says, “I am here to help.”

Sympathy says, “I wish I could carry your burden.” Compassion says “Cast your burden on me.”

Sympathy often irritates with many words. Compassion helps and hears in quietness and understanding.

This is the heart of God. This is the reason why God became flesh and blood and walked in our shoes on earth in the person of Jesus. How does Jesus’ compassion happen in our lives? I think it helps seeing what Jesus said next. We read: “Then (Jesus) said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Human beings like us get to be those labourers. The Spirit of God plants compassion in us, the same Godly compassion that Jesus was showing. Not just sympathy, real compassion.

There is a story that I think illustrates the difference between sympathy and compassion and demonstrates what a huge impact the act of compassion can make in another person’s life.

There was a young boy, let’s call him Mark, who was walking home from school one day when he noticed that another boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove, and his cellphone.

Mark knelt and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped the boy carry part of the burden. As they walked, he found out the boy’s name was, let’s say, Bill, that he loved video games, baseball, history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects.

They arrived at Bill’s home first, and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to hang out and play some games. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk; then Mark went home.

They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once in a while, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally, the long-awaited senior year came, and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills, and I was going home to complete suicide. But after we spent time together talking and laughing, I realized that I didn’t want to die. I would have missed that time with you and so many other good times in my life that followed. What I am trying to say, Mark, is when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”

Compassion is something you can develop with practice. It involves two things: intention and action. Intention is simply opening your heart to others and action is what you do about it.

Mark made a decision to open his heart to another person in need. Once he did that he made a decision to help that person.

It was a small gesture and only took a few moments for all that to happen but that is how compassion works. As Mother Teresa reminds us, “We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love.” ^[ii]

People with compassion are moved by God’s Spirit to live out the compassion that Mark showed towards Bill, totally unaware what the effects would be.

The task is out there, for each of us, to be Jesus’ hands, eyes, ears, feet, going out to make this world a place where people may know that they are listened to, understood, cared for and supported.

This is the reason why Jesus calls us along with the twelve disciples, along with Mark in Bill’s life, to make God’s compassion credible.

In this time, someone has to live and bear witness to the fact that God lives, even in these times. In this time, someone has to live as a clear sign of Christ’s love.

Yes, we may ask ourselves, “Why shouldn’t that witness be me?” ^[iii] Amen

Song:

Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.
I’ll tell everybody about you wherever I go.
You alone are our life and our peace and our love.
Lord Jesus, you shall be my song as I journey.

(composed by: Les Petites Soeurs de Jesus; arranged by G. McCrostie & B. Kapadia)

Prayer of gratitude: Heinrich

Thank You for inspiring us as followers of Christ to grow in compassion. Thanks for compassionate folks in our congregation. Thank You, Lord for guiding us on a daily basis. Thanks for your protection.

Reflection on giving: Sam Malayang

We give because we are the recipients of God’s overflowing love. We give because our givings support our minister and the church staff who enable us to be a community of Faith and Care. We give in order to take care of our building – an inheritance from those who have gone before us and from the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Our building is one of the ways in which we offer care to our community. We give in order to be able to meet together for worship via the internet. We give to support the ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada across our nation and throughout the world. And in these days of COVID-19 distancing, we do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Let us pray: Heinrich

Dear Lord, our Good Shepherd, we are so grateful that You guide us through even the most difficult times. Bless our gifts and make them signs of your presence at work in the world for those who need to be embraced by your love and your strength through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing: Heinrich

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

Visiting

^[i] Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary

^[ii] Deana Landers, “The power of compassion”, https://www.morningcoffeebeans.com/2019/10/07/the-power-of-compassion/

^[iii] Yme Woensdregt, “Sacraments of Christ’s love”

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Sunday (Zoom) message: A deployed Spirit and a deployed church

Posted on June 7, 2020June 8, 2020 by Minister

Trinity Sunday

Scriptures:
Genesis 1:1 – Genesis 2:4a
Psalm 8
Matthew 28:16-20

Dayspring Zoom Connect Worship, Trinity Sunday and Communion,

June 7, 2020

Gathering

Music prelude: Morning Has Broken (Instrumental)
songwriters: Eleanor Farjeon / Yusuf Islam, performed by: Gles Fuerte

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…” Ransford Kusi-Menkah (Welcoming elder)

Welcome and announcements: Ransford Kusi-Menkah

Call to worship: Ransford Kusi-Menkah

The high point has been reached.
The stone has rolled.
The grave cloths have been folded.
So now simply remember what He has told you…
All authority in Heaven and on earth is His.
As we go from here, let us keep faith in Him

Opening praise song: How great is our God

The splendor of a King,
clothed in majesty
Let all the Earth rejoice
All the Earth rejoice

He wraps himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

songwriters: Chris Tomlin / Ed Cash / Jesse Reeves

Prayers of approach and for God’s help and of confession: Heinrich

Creator God, we gather with joyful hearts to remember all You have done for us and to seek your holy presence. You spoke, and the world came into being, in beauty and in balance between all things. In loving partnership, You made humankind in your image and called us to walk with You in creation. When we wandered away, You came to us in Christ, to show us how to live in this world and how to love You and each other more fully. Your Holy Spirit keeps coming to us, to guide us in the work of your kingdom. In all ways and for all time, You are with us, and so we worship You in love and gratitude, trusting You will never leave us, ever Three and ever One.

Dear Lord, we are constantly in need of your wisdom, especially, and even more in times when our lives are in upheaval. We continue to hold our frontline workers before You in prayer. We pray for our government, for the persons doing deliveries, those that are more exposed to the threat of infection than the average person, the pharmacists, the people who work in grocery stores, the postal carriers and so many more.

Now, eternal God, as we are praying, hearing Children’s Time, listening to songs, read your Scriptures, help us to hear your Word in these words; to listen and understand. May we embrace your truth, which You give us in Jesus Christ, through the patience of your guiding Spirit.

God our Creator, we confess that we have not lived wisely in your creation, and so the earth suffers. God our Redeemer, we have not valued ourselves or one another as those made in your image, and so our relationships are strained. God our Sustainer, we have not trusted in your loving guidance, and so we follow paths that lead to foolish ends. Forgive our mistaken choices and selfish desires. Call us back to your loving presence and teach us again how to follow You. Now we become silent for a few moments to mention our personal thoughts and words of confession to You…

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Heinrich

Dear friends, the apostle Paul declared to us that, from now on, we regard no one from a human point of view. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. Everything old has passed away. See, everything has become new! Thanks be to God that we can all make a new start this day and every day.

Children’s time: Lynn Vaughan (Prayer & Lord’s Prayer)

Music meditation: Morning has broken

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word

Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dew fall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight
Mine is the morning
Born of the One Light Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day

songwriters: Eleanor Farjeon / Yusuf Islam
performed by: Gles Fuerte

Scripture readings: Ransford Kusi-Menkah

Genesis 1:1-2:4a (Contemporary English Version – CEV)

The Story of Creation

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
²The earth was barren, with no form of life;
it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness.
But the Spirit of God was moving over the water.

The First Day

³God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. ⁴God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness ⁵and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came and then morning—that was the first day.

The Second Day

⁶God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” ⁷And that’s what happened. God made the dome ⁸and named it “Sky.” Evening came and then morning—that was the second day.

The Third Day

⁹God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that’s what happened. ¹⁰God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.

¹¹God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that’s what happened. ¹²The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹³Evening came and then morning—that was the third day.

The Fourth Day

¹⁴God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. ¹⁵I command them to shine on the earth.” And that’s what happened. ¹⁶God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹⁹Evening came and then morning—that was the fourth day.

The Fifth Day

²⁰God said, “I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” ²¹So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²²Then he gave the living creatures his blessing—he told the ocean creatures to live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to live everywhere on earth. ²³Evening came and then morning—that was the fifth day.

The Sixth Day

²⁴God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that’s what happened. ²⁵God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.

²⁶God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.”

²⁷So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸God gave them his blessing and said:

Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.

²⁹I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds.

³¹God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning—that was the sixth day.

2 So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.

The Seventh Day

²By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. ³God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.

⁴That’s how God created the heavens and the earth.

Responsive Psalm 8 (CEV) –

L: Our LORD and Ruler, Your name is wonderful everywhere on earth!
P: You let Your glory be seen in the heavens above.
L: With praises from children and from tiny infants, You have built a fortress. P: It makes Your enemies silent, and all who turn against You are left speechless.
L: I often think of the heavens Your hands have made,
P: and of the moon and stars You put in place.
L: Then I ask, “Why do You care about us humans?
P: Why are You concerned for us weaklings?”
L: You made us a little lower than Yourself,
P: and You have crowned us with glory and honor.
L: You let us rule everything Your hands have made.
P: And You put all of it under our power –
L: the sheep and the cattle,
P: and every wild animal,
L: the birds in the sky,
P: the fish in the sea, and all ocean creatures.
All: Our LORD and Ruler, Your name is wonderful everywhere on earth!

Matthew 28:16-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Commissioning of the Disciples

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Message: “A deployed Spirit and a deployed church”

Have you seen that meme that says, “the church is not empty, the church has been deployed”? Yes, I know that this may be a bit of an overstatement, as we as churches haven’t exactly gone out and upended everything and conquered that which is to be “conquered”, so to speak.

However, in another sense, a lot of this has actually been happening, in a general, but also a specific sense. We would love to believe that what we do as a church still goes on, although since March 15 none of us are in the church on a weekly basis. We have been restricted, we have gone inside and indoors. We have sat behind our computers, or with our iPhones, Tablets or Androids in our hands. Church life has – in a sense – become much more active in that we care for one another, check-in with folks, which had often become things that we trusted that church attendance would take care of.

When we look at what’s been happening lately, at how much of the world is suffocating under Covid-19, how drastically unemployment has ballooned, we have been, in many senses, thrust into crisis mode. There’s no way to deny it. People are suffering in so many ways, physically, and also mentally.

Last week we celebrated “Pentecost Sunday.” This is, in a sense, the culmination of all that we as Christians believe. The Spirit of God was sent out 50 days after the resurrection.

If it weren’t for God Spirit present among us, we would be hard-pressed to address what’s been happening right now in the world and news. The events that have been happening lately call for us to be sent and used by the Holy Spirit. In one sense, I would dare to say that God’s Spirit has been “deployed” throughout history, to be God with us, Jesus Christ with us.

Now, who is this Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit some abstract presence that only a few, the very holy ones have access to? When God brought light from the deepest night, God, through the Spirit was moving over the water, bringing order from chaos.

As Kathryn Matthews describes it so eloquently ^[i], “The sun and the moon and the stars were set in the over-arching sky as signs of beauty and the changing of the seasons, providing light and direction and the keeping of time. God filled the earth with vegetation that was fruitful and nourishing, moved the waters back from the land and provided a home for the creatures that crawled across it, walked upon it, and flew over it. In the midst of this loveliness, the garden of this earth, God tenderly placed human beings, blessing us and calling us to be caretakers and stewards of God’s work. And then God looked upon all of this and found it good — pronounced it good.

Is there any more beautiful, more inspiring, more powerful poetry than this ancient story about who we are, what creation is, and most importantly, who God is?

In this morning’s reading from Psalm 8, the voice of the psalmist puts the praise and wonder of ancient Israel into the mouths of us as worshippers, looking up at the moon and the stars, who are astounded by God’s amazing creative powers, God’s splendid works, even as they appreciate the place of humans, just “a little lower than the angels,” in the midst of God’s plan for all of these things.”

This is the Spirit of God that wants the best for us. This is the Spirit, that, in a sense, is continually being deployed over all that is threatening to fall apart. When the pandemic struck, the Spirit continues to move over the water, over the chaos that threatens our whole existence on God’s beautiful earth.

This Holy Spirit is clearly present in the church, in the lives of Christians. We needn’t feel as if we are obligated to do extraordinary things. The softness of the Spirit is present in our lives merely deploys us in our attitudes, our words of kindness, of respect and empathy for whoever we encounter.

Our reading from the gospel according to Matthew, speaks into another aspect of our lives as followers of Christ, “…the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” “Some doubted.” I wonder how much doubt fills our lives right now. Is doubt threatening to take over all the goodness that God intends for us? The important thing to grasp is that doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. Doubt is rather the one thing that grows our faith. If we just knew it all, our faith wouldn’t stand the test of time.

When we as the church are deployed by the Spirit, and I say “deployed” very cautiously, we are allowed to be present in the lives of so many who are doubting. It is okay to doubt. We all doubt, and we doubt often. Being present for our fellow believers doesn’t mean we need to have all the answers. We can just be. Just as the Spirit of God, according to the Creation Story was moving over the water, it wasn’t with all the certainty that we expect. Water in the Creation Story in Genesis 1 depicts chaos.

It is in this that Jesus said: “…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus is with us through the Spirit, every moment. Being with us can happen through each of us. Don’t be shy or hesitant to connect with friends and loved ones, because, through you, the Spirit still moves over the endless chaos we encounter.

God’s Spirit shows up in the lives of our fellow believers, through each of us. It happens in the life of the homeless. It happens in the life of the self-assured ones who are now thrown into despair. It happens in the lives of the mobs, the criminals, the destitute, we have no right to look down upon any person struggling.

Let the Spirit move through us, every day! Amen

Song: Creation sings the Father’s Song

Creation sings the Father’s song;
He calls the sun to wake the dawn
And run the course of day
Till evening falls in crimson rays.

His fingerprints in flakes of snow,
His breath upon this spinning globe,
He charts the eagle’s flight;
Commands the newborn baby’s cry.

Hallelujah! Let all creation stand and sing,
“Hallelujah!” Fill the earth with songs of worship;
Tell the wonders of creation’s King.

Creation gazed upon His face;
The ageless One in time’s embrace
Unveiled the Father’s plan
Of reconciling God and man.

A second Adam walked the earth,
Whose blameless life would break the curse,
Whose death would set us free
To live with Him eternally.

Creation longs for His return,
When Christ shall reign upon the earth;
The bitter wars that rage
Are birth pains of a coming age.

When He renews the land and sky,
All heav’n will sing and earth reply
With one resplendent theme:
The glories of our God and King!

songwriters: Keith Getty / Stuart Townend / Kristyn Getty

performed by Keith & Kristyn Getty

The Lord’s Supper:

Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, you formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made a covenant with us to be our sovereign God and spoke to us through your prophets. So, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you, and blessed is your Son, Jesus Christ. Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.

[Let us all come to the table of the Lord!]

Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died,
and was buried;
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
He is seated at the right hand
of the Father,
and he will come to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen

Institution

Luke 24 (institution)

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us, while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ ‘The Lord has risen indeed,

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’

Communion:

The Communion

These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
(Breaking of Bread)
Because there is one bread,
we who are many are one body,
for we all partake of the one bread.
When we break the bread,
it is a sharing in the body of Christ.
The body of Christ, broken for you, take eat.

(Offering of the Wine)
When we bless the cup,
it is a sharing in the blood of Christ.
The blood of Christ, broken for you, take drink.

Prayer of gratitude:

Reflection on giving: …………. Ransford Kusi-Menkah (Welcoming elder)

We give because we are the recipients of God’s overflowing love.

We give because our givings support our minister and the church staff who enable us to be a community of Faith and Care.

We give in order to take care of our building – an inheritance from those who have gone before us and from the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Our building is one of the ways in which we offer care to our community.

We give in order to be able to meet together for worship via the internet.

We give to support the ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada across our nation and throughout the world.

And in these days of COVID-19 distancing, we do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Closing prayer: Heinrich

Blessing: Heinrich

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

^[i] https://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_7_2020

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Sunday (Zoom) message: Contagious Holy Spirit

Posted on May 31, 2020May 31, 2020 by Minister

Pentecost Sunday – May 31, 2020

Scripture:
John 20:19-23 and John 16:20-22

Dayspring Zoom Connect Worship, Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020

Gathering

Music prelude: Spirit of the living God

O Spirit of the living God, thou Light and Fire Divine
Descend upon Thy Church once more and make it truly Thine
Fill it with love and joy and power, with righteousness and peace
Till Christ shall dwell in human hearts, and sin and sorrow cease

Blow, wind of God, with wisdom blow until our minds are free
From mists of error, clouds of doubt, which blind our eyes to Thee
Burn, winged fire, inspire our lips with flaming love and zeal
To preach to all Thy great good news, God’s glorious commonweal

So shall we know the power of Christ, who came this world to save
So shall we rise with Him to life which soars beyond the grave
And earth shall win true holiness which makes Thy children whole
Till, perfected by Thee, we reach creation’s glorious goal

written and performed by Audrey Assad

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…”

Welcome and announcements: Gina Kottke

Call to worship:

L: Breathe upon us, Holy Spirit,
P: and inspire our thoughts and actions.
L: Stir in our hearts, Holy Spirit,
P: and fill us with energy to spread joy in the world.
L: Strengthen us, Holy Spirit,
P: and move us to bring hope to those in despair.
L: Breathe in us, Holy Spirit,
P: as we worship and witness to God’s coming reign.

Opening praise song: Holy Spirit you are welcome here

There’s nothing worth more
That could ever come close
No thing can compare
You’re our living hope…
Your presence, Lord

I’ve tasted and seen
Of the sweetest of loves
Where my heart becomes free
And my shame is undone…
Your presence, Lord

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord
(Your presence, Lord)

written and performed by Francesca Battistelli

Prayers of approach and God’s help and of confession: Sarah Smuts

Loving God, compassionate Son, healing Spirit, with tender kindness You transform our lives with your presence. You turn weeping into laughter, sorrow into joy, and death into life. We come in adoration this day and pause to worship You. We rest from our work and responsibilities; we set aside our distractions and activities to praise You for the beauty that fills your world and to enjoy our life in You.

Dear Lord, on this Pentecost Sunday, we acknowledge how dependent we are on You as our Maker. Spirit of God, at Pentecost You moved among the gathered disciples to create new understanding. So, move among us this day to fill us with a fresh understanding of the Scriptures. Energize us to act on this holy wisdom faithfully, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Living Word.

Holy One, source of our lives, we confess that we have not always listened for your Spirit’s call. You call us to love our enemies, but we cling to animosity old and new. You call us to unity in the body of Christ, but we remain divided. You send us into the world to be witnesses, but we avoid opportunities to share our joy in Christ. Loving God, You know us better than we know ourselves. Hear us as we share with You the secrets of our hearts in these following moments of silence:…(silence)

Assurance of God’s forgiveness: Heinrich

Friends, hear and believe the good news of the Gospel! In Jesus Christ, God’s generous love reaches out to embrace us. In Christ, we are forgiven and set free to begin again in the renewing power of the Spirit. Thanks be to God for this most generous gift.

Children’s time: Lynn Vaughan

Music meditation: He leadeth me

He leadeth me, O blessed thought
O words with heavenly comfort fraught
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom
By waters still, over troubled sea
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me

He leadeth me, He leadeth me
By His own hand He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me

performed by Den Vichakyothin

Scripture reading: John 20:19-23 and John 16:20-22 Gina Kottke

John 20:19-23 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples
¹⁹When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

John 16:20-22
²⁰Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. ²¹When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. ²²So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Message: “Contagious Holy Spirit” The Rev. Heinrich Grosskopf

This week, and for about ten weeks up until now we’ve seen many instances where viral things have happened. Virusses have a way of spreading quickly and working destructively.

The week’s anger flaring up because black lives are being treated as if they don’t matter has gone viral. The anger and the chaos has spilled over from Minneapolis to roughly two dozen other cities in the United States. When something negative goes viral, it can become ugly. It’s like a domino-effect. The one domino topples the one next to it, then it topples the next and the next and eventually they all get toppled.

The same has been ongoing for roughly ten weeks here in Alberta. The coronavirus has been spreading and our main goal was to “flatten the curve,” which has happened. It wasn’t easy, because virusses are known for their viral spread as far as they can. Physical distancing has made it possible to stave off the spread of this contagious coronavirus.

For the most part, we have been very fortunate. It was a lot of diligence on the part of careful citizens, and I’m sure we can be thankful to God for protecting us. It still isn’t over yet, and we are warned to be cautious, especially while we start letting our guards down.

It’s interesting how all that the Spirit does, appears to be contagious. It’s of course not like with the coronavirus, because it’s not a negative contagion, it is a positive contagion and moves outward, spreading God’s goodness into the world through God’s incarnation, through Jesus Christ who is God who became flesh in the shape of a human being like us.

In our passage from John 20, we see how Jesus came into the disciples’ presence in spite of the door being locked. The only reason He could go in is that Jesus is the door Himself, as we saw a number of weeks ago according to John 10. In a sense, God sent the risen Christ to go into their presence. That’s the first domino. Then this results in Him saying “Peace be with you.” Imagine this being the second domino. After He said “Peace be with you”, He showed them his hands and his side. Then another domino topples, “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” This joy doesn’t stay there. It spreads and nobody can prevent this spread.

This is what we read in our second reading from John 16 when Jesus says: “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” The result is an enduring joy that can’t be stopped. Yes, the pain, the suffering and the anguish will be replaced with rejoicing. The joy continues further and further.

Back to John 20, and we hear Jesus spreading more of the contagion. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’” This promise “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you” has proven to be true throughout all the ages. Twenty centuries and the gospel has continued to pop up all over the planet earth, and there hasn’t been any stop to this expansion. Ministers and pastors have been called to proclaim the good news, laypeople as well, it just could not be stopped.

What we might notice here, is how John’s gospel has a different Pentecost than the one Luke shares in the Book of Acts. It’s less of a fire and more of a presence. The Spirit is much more of a pastoral presence according to John. John’s Pentecost doesn’t wait, it happens on the same evening of Jesus’ resurrection. This doesn’t have to bother us that there’s an apparent contradiction. It could rather just be seen as a different interpretation.

The Spirit’s pastoral sensitivity according to John’s gospel, I believe, is present with us during this very same pandemic that we are experiencing. When Jesus had said, “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you”, He breathed on the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Why did He breathe on them? Actually, a truer translation would have been, “He breathed into them,” which makes so much more sense. It is the same thing that happened in Genesis 2:7 when “…the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Therefore the reason Jesus breathed into them, was to equip them with this exact same Spirit that takes us every step further into life. All that we do, all that we are enabled to do, every single bit, all the encouraging work we do, is made possible by the Holy Spirit who now lives in and through us. Through this Spirit we live, breathe and have our being. This is the new life that Christ makes possible in you. It’s a dynamic power that spreads virally, and the whole church, the whole world benefits from this Holy Spirit who walks alongside us.

Christians have a very precious calling to counter the negative anger and devaluing of Black lives across the whole planet. We can’t sit still, we can’t allow hatred to spill over from one news article to the next, as one woman put it so powerfully, “the knee that was on George Floyd’s neck was on the collective necks of all of black Americans.” Whether we believe this or not, this is proof of another contagion, a negative contagion that doesn’t serve humanity well at all.

We are instruments of God, into whom the Spirit of God has been breathed. “If (we) forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The only way for God’s goodness to spread is by not holding on to the sins, a lack of a relationship with God, and of all the other people, that share this planet earth with us.

We are called forth to allow God to send us, as the Father has sent Jesus.

The Spirit spreads faith in Jesus, spreading peace and forgiveness from one person to the other, making this world a better place for us all.

Still, the two types of viral movements keep happening. The Holy Spirit’s spread is the stronger of the two, always conquering over the other. The negative viral movement, though, seems to keep going on.

Let us allow the Spirit to spur us on by these words found in Romans 12:20 and 21: “… ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Amen

Song: O church arise

O church, arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is “Love!”
Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev’ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died—
An inheritance of nations.

Arise, shine
For your light has come
Arise, shine
For the risen Son
Lift your eyes
We are his radiant bride
Arise, O Church, arise

Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet,
As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away,
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This vict’ry march continues till the day
Ev’ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev’ry stride,
Give grace for ev’ry hurdle,
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

songwriters: Townend Stuart / Getty Keith
sung by Kristyn Getty

Prayer of gratitude:

Reflection on giving: Gina Kottke

We give because we are the recipients of God’s overflowing love. We give because our givings support our minister and the church staff who enable us to be a community of Faith and Care. We give in order to take care of our building – an inheritance from those who have gone before us and from the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Our building is one of the ways in which we offer care to our community. We give in order to be able to meet together for worship via the internet. We give to support the ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada across our nation and throughout the world. And in these days of COVID-19 distancing, we do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Closing prayer: Heinrich

Blessing: Heinrich

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

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Sunday (Zoom) message: Jesus, praying for us

Posted on May 24, 2020May 24, 2020 by Minister

Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 24, 2020

Scripture:
John 17:1-11

Dayspring Zoom Connect Worship, May 24, 2020

Gathering

Music prelude: You raise me up

Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you…” Jim Jeatt (Welcoming elder)

Welcome and announcements

Call to worship:

L: Let us be joyful before God! Let us be jubilant this day.
P: We will sing praises to God’s holy name.
L: Let us lift up a song to the One who rides upon the clouds,
P: For God also protects orphans and widows, and gives the desolate a home.
L: Sing to God, O nations of the earth;
P: We will sing praises to the Lord, our God!

Opening praise song: I lift my eyes up

I lift my eyes up
to the mountains.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from You,
Maker of heaven
Creator of the earth.

Oh, how I need You, Lord
You are my only hope.
You’re my only prayer.
So I will wait for You
to come and rescue me.
come and give me life.

Prayers of approach and for God’s help and of confession: Heinrich

God of history and eternity, you came among us in Jesus, so that we might come to know you and love You, as He did. Through Jesus’ life, You have given us a pattern for living and taught us to love one another and forgive as we have been forgiven. By his death and resurrection, You promise that nothing can separate us from your love. In ascending to be united with You, He is now present to every creature in every corner of creation. And so we wait with hopeful anticipation for the fullness of your redemption, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, now and always.

Dear Lord, when your Son was praying to You for his disciples, we notice that this prayer includes us. We are humbled by the realization that we have the potential to be part of this intimate relationship with Christ and with the Father. Would You have mercy on us! Would there be a way for us to learn from You, while we wrestle ourselves out of the pandemic we are experiencing right now?

Dear Lord of our days and all the days to come, we confess that we feel lost, waiting for your promised redemption in such uncertain times. You made us for unity in community, yet we have nursed grievances and settled for unresolved tensions. You commissioned us to be witnesses to Christ’s ministry, yet we find it hard to share our experience of your love and grace with others. Forgive us for accepting disunity, instead of working through differences. Forgive us for failing to share the good news of Christ’s love, even with those closest to us.

Assurance of God’s forgiveness:
Friends, hear the good news! Jesus Christ is our High Priest and Advocate, interceding before God the Father on our behalf. Know that his love for us is undying. Trust that you are forgiven through his grace, and with his courage, forgive one another.

Children’s time: Shane Johnson

Music meditation: You raise me up

When I am down, and, oh, my soul, so weary
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains

You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas

Scripture reading: John 17:1-11 from the New Living Translation (NLT) Jim Jeatt

The Prayer of Jesus

17 After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. ²For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. ³And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. ⁴I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.⁵Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

⁶“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, ⁸for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

⁹“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. ¹⁰All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. ¹¹Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.

Message: “Jesus, praying for us” Rev Heinrich Grosskopf

I recently watched a movie that depicts vividly how our society’s attitude to death can be shaped in various ways. In this movie, the wider family concealed imminent death from their matriarch. According to the fourth Gospel, John describes Jesus as fully aware of his imminent death, disclosing it to his disciples. He brings comfort and prays for the protection of his followers.

This movie was released last year and brought both spontaneous laughter as well as, sometimes, a few unexpected tears to my eyes in short succession. The plot is about Billi’s family that returns to China under the facade of a fake wedding so that they can say goodbye to their beloved matriarch Nai Nai. This is all while she is the only person that doesn’t know that she only has a few weeks to live. The film’s name is The Farewell, written and directed by Lulu Wang. Besides the film receiving numerous nominations and awards, I recommend it strongly.

The dilemma we all face is that one day the inevitable will happen. We will all die at some time or another, whether we like it or not. The problem is that we often make life harder for ourselves than is necessary. By keeping the grandmother in the movie, I mentioned uninformed of her lung cancer diagnosis, she was able to live life to its fullest. What was hard, was for the family to know that she has the diagnosis, and Billi, her granddaughter keeps on walking around with a long face. In the movie, Billi’s parents moved to America when she was a young child, and she is conversant in English and Chinese. The two cultures, East and West are at odds with one another, as the tendency is for Chinese folks to spare their loved ones the bad diagnosis, giving them so much more zest for life. The bystanders, children and grandchildren take the burden upon them to bear through the time of illness. This is very unlike the way we do it in the West. We tend to take the whole burden of such a terminal illness upon ourselves.

Let’s not I spoil the movie, I’ll stop describing any more, and I know that the little I told won’t interfere with experiencing the film to its fullest.

According to John’s gospel, Jesus undergoes the exact opposite. Around every turn and along with every conversation in the Farewell Discourse, Jesus makes it very plain that He is about to die. It is an open and a rather uncomfortable reality for the disciples to entertain. Right at the 17th chapter, Jesus is offering his final prayer and He is praying for his disciples, his friends and followers. Let’s imagine now, this prayer is one that Jesus is indeed praying for us. It doesn’t need any imagining, as Jesus is actually including all of us as believers in this prayer.

When, in the third verse, Jesus says to the Father, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one You sent to earth,” Jesus is telling the one vital part of our faith. Knowing God and knowing Him Jesus Christ is the most real way that we can believe. Having a personal knowledge, which is not just a faith of admitting the factual existence of God and Jesus, but living it, is what makes the difference. Do I allow God, and God’s Son Jesus Christ into my budget, into my future? Or do the two have very little to do with one another? I bet that our lives may look much different when we actually know God through Jesus.

The disciples who know Jesus are able to overhear Jesus praying to the Father. As from 17 verse 6, they are being entrusted into God’s care. More than this, the believers to come, still to be born are being entrusted into the Father’s care.

Interesting that in this prayer, called the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus also refers to the world. The world does not mean one thing in John’s gospel. There is rather a wide range of meanings that get used, as the gospel according to John unfolds. It is dynamic and moves from one meaning to the next. The world was positive to God as God’s creation. Then the world turns hostile toward God by rejecting Jesus. The Gospel also points out how God works to break down the rift that there is between God and the world. People who encounter Jesus are invited to believe.

Dear friends, we too are invited to believe. As you know, we are enduring an excruciating pandemic. At this very moment, let us know that Jesus is entrusting us into the capable care of God. God, who became human, who trod the roads of Israel 2000 years ago, in the person on Jesus Christ, is entrusting us into the care of God.

Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, Immanuel, God incarnate, reaches out to each of us as He puts the love of God into action.

He prays and He wants to heal us. What do we need healing from? There is a poem that Sarah Bourns from Nyack College in New York wrote, it is titled Exposed.

Many of the things we seem to need healing from have been exposed by the coronavirus.

“Exposed” – by Sarah Bourns

We’ve all been exposed.
Not necessarily to the virus
(though maybe…who knows)
We’ve all been exposed BY the virus.
Corona is exposing us.
Exposing our weak sides.
Exposing our dark sides.
Exposing what normally lies far beneath the surface of our souls,
hidden by the invisible masks we wear.
Now exposed by the paper masks we can’t hide far enough behind.
Corona is exposing our addiction to comfort.
Our obsession with control.
Our compulsion to hoard.
Our protection of self.
Corona is peeling back our layers.
Tearing down our walls.
Revealing our illusions.
Leveling our best-laid plans.
Corona is exposing the gods we worship:
Our health
Our hurry
Our sense of security.
Our favorite lies
Our secret lusts
Our misplaced trust.
Corona is calling everything into question:
What is the church without a building?
What is my worth without an income?
How do we plan without certainty?
How do we love despite risk?
Corona is exposing me.
My mindless numbing
My endless scrolling
My careless words
My fragile nerves.
We’ve all been exposed.
Our junk laid bare.
Our fears made known.
The band-aid torn.
The masquerade done.
So what now? What’s left?
Clean hands
Clear eyes
Tender hearts.
What Corona reveals, God can heal.
Come Lord Jesus.
Have mercy on us.

What a telling poem! I am struck by many of the words. Words like, “Corona is exposing the gods we worship:
Our health
Our hurry
Our sense of security.
Our favorite lies
Our secret lusts
Our misplaced trust.”

Where do I put my trust? The gods we trust are often misplaced. Where do I find my sense of security when I don’t even know where the economy, as one example, will be going in the next year?

“Junk is laid bare” is another line that stabbed at me. Why do I hold on to so much junk? Corona, such a tiny, tiny virus is indeed exposing me. Where is my trust in Jesus who made God known? How do I live my life?

Did we hear what Jesus was saying in the 11th verse? “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to You. Holy Father, You have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.” Isn’t this maybe a blessing that speaks into our lives right now? These words seem to me to be addressing our real role in this world. We will be protected; Jesus is praying for that. Now we can live fully, not holding back at all. Like people who know that they have eternal life. Similar to the grandma in the movie I mentioned at the beginning, she was living happily and fully, for this moment, for this day! Jesus is no longer in the world. The incarnation is over. Jesus has risen. But we are still in the world. Jesus’ works are now in our hands. We are called to live our faith in Him!

Let us live with trust in God. God gives us life to live now, while we are here. When we live life to its fullest now and we embrace life, love life, we draw people closer to the faith we have in us. Jesus prays for our lives, and Jesus prays for our protection. Amen

Song: Christ our hope

Christ our hope in life and death

What is our hope in life and death?
Christ alone, Christ alone
What is our only confidence?
That our souls to Him belong

Who holds our days within His hand?
What comes, apart from His command?
And what will keep us to the end?
The love of Christ, in which we stand

O sing hallelujah!
Our hope springs eternal
O sing hallelujah!
Now and ever we confess
Christ our hope in life and death

What truth can calm the troubled soul?
God is good, God is good
Where is His grace and goodness known?
In our great Redeemer’s blood

Who holds our faith when fears arise?
Who stands above the stormy trial?
Who sends the waves that bring us night
Unto the shore, the rock of Christ?

Unto the grave, what will we sing?
“Christ, He lives; Christ, He lives!”
And what reward will heaven bring?
Everlasting life with Him

There we will rise to meet the Lord
Then sin and death will be destroyed
And we will feast in endless joy
When Christ is ours forevermore

Prayer of gratitude:

Reflection on giving: Jim Jeatt

We give because we are the recipients of God’s overflowing love. We give because our givings support our minister and the church staff who enable us to be a community of Faith and Care. We give in order to take care of our building – an inheritance from those who have gone before us and from the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Our building is the means by which we offer care to our community. We give in order to be able to meet together for worship via the internet. We give to support the ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada across our nation and throughout the world. And in these days of COVID-19 distancing, we do our giving in the various ways described on the screen and in the Dayspring Weekly News.

Closing prayer:

Blessing:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:13)

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