Call to Worship

Songs of Worship

No longer slaves
You unravel me with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance from my enemies
‘Till all my fears are gone

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

From my mothers womb you have chosen me
Your love has called my name
I’ve been born again into your family
Your blood flows through my veins

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m not longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

You split the sea so I could walk right through it
You drown my fears in perfect love
You rescued me so I can stand and sing
“I am a child of God”

You split the sea so I could walk right through it
You drown my fears in perfect love
You rescued me so I can stand and sing
“I am a child of God”

I am a child of God
I am a child of God

Our God Saves
In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we come
We’re gathered together to lift up your name
To call on our saviour
To fall on your grace

In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we come
We’re gathered together to lift up your name
To call on our saviour
To fall on your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down as your people sing
We will rise with you lifted on your wings
And the world will see that

Our God saves
Our God saves
There is hope in your name

In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we come
We’re gathered together to lift up your name
To call on our saviour
To fall on your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down as your people sing
We will rise with you lifted on your wings
And the world will see that

Our God saves
Our God saves
There is hope in your name
Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves
Our God saves

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down as your people sing
We will rise with you lifted on your wings
And the world will see that
Yes the world will see that

Our God saves
Our God saves
There is hope in your name
Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves
Our God saves

Kids’ Minute

2 Peter 1:5-9 says:

You must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.

Peter tells us our faith needs to be supported by goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. These characteristics help us be effective and fruitful in Jesus. If we don’t have these things it is like we cannot even see the forgiveness of our sins.

Try it out: Tie a blindfold around your eyes and try to walk through your home. Is it easy? Can you do it safely? Do you forget exactly where everything is? Now walk through your home without a blindfold. Is it easy? Can you do it safely? Do you forget exactly where everything is? By having faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, and love we show we remember clearly the grace and love of Jesus for us.

Scripture Reading – 2 Peter 3:8-9

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 

Offering

2 Peter 3:8-9 reads like a passage to read for communion or another time of confession. Indeed, it is a good word for repentance, however, it is also a reminder that in our giving of our financial gifts we can trust the One who works in his own time. We can trust that our giving will be used for God’s glory and for neighbour’s good even if we cannot see the results immediately. God is at work in and through the Church. He is at work in and through you. Give freely to the Lord from whom all blessings come.

Sermon

Confession of Sin

Jude uses a quartet of poetic images to describe those people who have misunderstood and abused the grace of God, thinking it gives them the right to live however they please. He says of these people:

They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever. (Jude v.12-13)

Focus in on these images – both the words and the visual representations below – as you prayerfully consider some of the ways you too may have failed to properly respond to God’s grace in your life.

Waterless clouds carried along by the winds…

This image could point toward words and actions not meeting up, or even failing to meet spiritual commitments – just like clouds blowing over a parched land that give the promise of rain but the rain never falls. Where have your words and deeds not met up?

Autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted…

Jude’s companion piece, 2 Peter, talks about fruitfulness as kindness and love for one another. The image of fruitlessness, dead trees could point toward lives without love and kindness. When and to whom have you failed to show kindness, or offer true love?

Wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame…

This image points toward wildness and carelessness. It perhaps speaks to the ways our self-indulgence and lack of holy discipline can be so destructive to ourselves and those around us. How have you allowed self-indulgence to cause a ruckus in your life or the lives of others?

Wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever…

What defines the stars of this fourth image is their wandering nature and their destination – namely eternal darkness. We too at times wander, seeking to forge our own path rather than have our way set by another. How have you disregarded God’s direction in your life?

After some reflection and confession, you are invited to pray this prayer:

Our God and Father,
We are your beloved, and you have called us into a new life by the grace of your Son, Jesus Christ. You desire that our lives be made sincere, fruitful, holy, and faithful through that grace we receive. Forgive us, in Your mercy, for our half-heartedness, our selfishness, our self-indulgence, and our waywardness. We trust that you are willing and able to keep us from falling, and to give us strength to stand before you without blemish – even in the presence of your incredible glory.
Amen.

Song of Response

Take my life and let it be
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Let them flow in ceaseless praise

Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of thy love
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for thee
Swift and beautiful for thee

Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold
Take my intellect and use
Every power as thou shalt choose
Every power as thou shalt choose

Take my will and make it thine
It shall be no longer mine
Take my heart it is thine own
It shall be thy royal throne
It shall be thy royal throne

Take my love my Lord I pour
At thy feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only all for thee
Ever, only all for thee

Take my love my Lord I pour
At thy feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only all for thee
Ever, only all for thee

Benediction – 1 John 3:1a

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!

Missional Challenge

2 Peter 3:11 asks the question “What sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness?”

Identify a specific area of your life that needs to look more like Jesus’ life. What practical change can you make this week to take a step towards leading a life of holiness and godliness?

Song of Worship – “Hosanna”

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to you
We turn to you
Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for you
We long for you

‘Cause when we see you we find strength to face the day
In your presence all our fears are washed away
Washed away

Hosanna! Hosanna!
You are the God who saves us
Worthy of all our praises
Hosanna! Hosanna!
Come have your way among us
We welcome you here Lord Jesus

Hear the sound of hearts returning to you
We turn to you
In your kingdom broken lives are made new
You make us new

Call to Worship – 1 Peter 2:4-10

If you are meeting with others, read the following responsively with one person (or group) reading the plain print and the other reading the bold.

As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

and also,

“A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Song of Worship – “Thy Mercy”

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep for the praise of the mercy I’ve found

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine

Confession and Assurance – 1 Peter 2:24

He personally carried our sins
    in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
    and live for what is right.
By his wounds
    you are healed.

This time of confession of our sin is God’s will and a blessing for us. Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we might die to our sin and live righteously. Confession is an integral part of dying to sin in order to embrace righteousness.

Take a few moments to confess whatever you need to before God. If you’d like some music to accompany your time of prayer, play the instrumental track below.

1 Peter 2:24 ends by saying “by his wounds you have been healed.” Recognize the finality of this statement. Jesus has already died on the cross to set you free. The price has already been paid. Live into the freedom that is yours! Amen.

Kid Minute

Offering

Kid’s – if you still have your gratitude journals, take a few minutes to write down or draw some pictures of something your are grateful for today.

Pray this prayer as you prepare for the offering:

When we have heard the word of God, we respond with song and prayer, and also with witness and money, for all things we are and have are small yet tangible offerings of ourselves to the Lord. We desire that this offering express careful and willing sharing on our part, with fruitful blessing on God’s part, as together we seek to build God’s kingdom among the nations and God’s will among the peoples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture Reading – 1 Peter 1:3-12

Sermon – 1 Peter 1

Song of Worship – “We’re Praising You”

When we see the wonder, the beauty of each day
For all that you’ve provided and how you’ve made a way
We’re praising You, God we’re praising You
Oh, our Lord and God, we’re praising You

And when we see Your glory, in those who call You friend
Yes we are reminded Your love it never ends
We’re praising You, Oh God we’re praising You
Oh, our Lord and King, we’re praising You

And when we are discouraged and trouble rules the day
We have not forgotten, that You are here to stay
We’re praising You, we’re praising You
Oh, our Lord and God , we’re praising You

Benediction – Jude 24-25

There is One Who can keep you from falling and can bring you before Himself free from all sin. He can give you great joy as you stand before Him in His shining-greatness. He is the only God. He is the One Who saves from the punishment of sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. May He have shining-greatness and honor and power and the right to do all things. He had this before the world began, He has it now, and He will have this forever. Let it be so. Amen.

Missional Challenge – 1 Peter 2:15-17

For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

The last verse will form our missional challenge for the week. It has instructions to 4 groups. Use your Kingdom Imagination to try to live this verse out with colour and vibrancy. Here are some examples to get you thinking.

Honour Everyone – perhaps let people have the spot in line ahead of you or drive with extra courteousness. Go out of your way to thank those essential service workers that often go unnoticed (the gas station attendant, cart collector at grocery store or server in the drive-thru window. Be intentional!

Love the family of believers – do something loving or kind for someone in the church family. Run an errand, bake something, help with someone’s yard. Be creative!

Fear God – this is maybe better expressed as living in awe filled reverence. Begin or end your day in prayer and Scripture. Serve the poor out of fear of God. Listen to the Wednesday Bible Convo podcast and do your own reflecting. Sing the Doxology after each time you go to the bathroom. Be imaginative!

Honour the Emperor – pick a local, provincial, federal or world leader that you don’t like and pray for him/her! Make extra effort to live by laws or rules that you normally dismiss as a way of honouring leaders. This might be the toughest one of all for us…

Scripture Reading – Psalm 15

Opening Prayer

Living God,
As we gather together in time and space that belongs to You,
as warmly invited but somewhat wary guests,
we recognize that you are a holy God:
righteous,
full of truth,
kind to Your people,
but not blind or ignorant to our many faults.
You keep your word, at all times, no matter the cost, and it is into Your presence that we now come.
In the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Giving Thanks and Offering

James 1:17 says, “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.”

Set your timer to 1 minute. Write down as many gifts that you have received from the Father as you can. Share them with each other.

Do you have a long list? Is your list short? Is it just certain kinds of gifts as coming from the Heavenly Father? Do you see your hard work as primarily responsible for the good things in your life?

It is a curious thing that those who are generous tend to also be the kinds of people who are grateful and who have come to know the source of every good and perfect gift!

As you give your offering do so with a conscious awareness that you are simply returning a part of the gift that was so graciously given to you.

To God, the Father of Lights, be all the glory! Amen.

Song of Response – “Psalm 23”

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd I have all I need
Oh plant me by waters where vain strivings cease
Lord set me in pastures where souls will be free
Where all who were proud now find rest on their knees
Where all who were proud now find rest on their knees

Restore my soul and remark the right path
And guide me through darkness with your shepherds staff
The Lord is my comfort still help my eyes see
Though evil encroaches you’re still shading me
Though evil encroaches you’re still shading me

Surely your love and your goodness will sustain my life
Surely your love and your goodness will sustain my life
Surely your love and your goodness will sustain my life
Surely your love and your goodness will sustain my life

The fare has been set now a gift of great price
But will you choose goodness or fear’s hollow vice
The enemy tries to entice you away
Oh reset your eyes now let God be your strength
Oh reset your eyes now let God be your strength

Surely your love and your goodness will sustain my life

Game for Kids – “Doing the Word”

Scripture Reading – Matthew 7:24-27

Sermon – James 1:22

Reflection on the Sermon

Take some time to reflect upon the sermon, specifically giving attention to one or two ways that you have come up short as a “doer” of the word. Use the first slide below to guide you through some areas to which James points his audience. Then, reflect upon the question in the second slide about what next steps you could take. If you’re feeling bold, talk about this with others (in your small group, from your church, with a friend or a pastor).

Call to Confession of Sin – From James 1:12-16

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters

Spend a few moments getting honest about how sin is at work bringing death in your life and relationships. Listen to this piece of instrumental music as you pray and confess.

Assurance of God’s Saving Work – From James 4:7-10

So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil and he will run away So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Friends, because of Christ’s amazing love for us: know that you are forgiven, and live in peace.

Interceding for Others

James draws to a conclusion reflecting on the importance and effectiveness of prayer. In James 5, it says:

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

Before we close this time of worship and reflection, take a couple minutes to pray for those who know who are suffering and sick, and give thanks with those you know who are experiencing happiness.

Benediction – 1 Peter 1:3-5

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen

Missional Challenge

James 1:19 says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…”

The challenge is this: in your conversations this week focus more on the listening part than the speaking part. Notice your own tendencies to jump in and usurp another in conversation. It has been said that there is a “ministry of listening others to life…” Try to listen others to life. Show them you care about what they say and engage with their life, not just your own. If you tame your tongue in this way, even in the midst of a heated situation your anger won’t be permitted to come out in unhealthy ways!

Grace and peace to you; we extend a special welcome our brothers and sisters from the Minnedosa Covenant Church who are joining us online for worship. We pray for you and with you as your town has experienced such hardship through the recent flooding. We trust that God himself – and by his people – will care for you in your need. We’re with you.

Call to Worship

Song of Worship – “In Christ Alone”

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The love of God was glorified
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the pow’r of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand

Confession and Assurance

Scripture Reading – Hebrews 6:10-12

God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.

Offering

Apparently, the audience of Hebrews was in danger of being Jesus-and-_________ Christians. Jesus-and-Moses.. Jesus-and-angels… Jesus-and-prophets… The book of Hebrews eliminates the hyphen and add-ons and instructs the people of God to hold Jesus as the only and ultimate authority in their lives. We, like the Hebrews, fall too often into the trap of trying to serve two masters. The offering reminds us that we serve One. We cannot serve both God and money. The giving of our gifts is a tangible way that we show we are not God-and _______ people, trying to hold both as authoritative in our lives. The offering reminds us that we serve God alone. 

Prayer:
O God, let us live and give in such a way that there not be any confusion; that we not hold on to possessions that belong to you and your hopes for the world. May, all know that, tempted and captured as we often are by money, you are our one and only God. Amen.

The buttons below will take you to more information on how you can give to your church.

Matching Game – Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11)

OK…. Let’s have some fun. This is for kids and adults too. Hebrews 11 tells the story of how some of God’s people have lived by faith through the story of the Old Testament. Faith, according to Hebrews, “shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (11:1).

Flip to the second slide below and try to match the characters from the Old Testament with their acts of faith. Don’t flip to the third slide until you’re ready to check your answers!

What are some of the ways that you are living out faith that shows the reality of what you hope for?

Message – Hebrews 10:19-25

Prayer for a New Stance

Hebrews 10:22-24 speaks of three ways in which are invited to approach and draw near to God. The classic triad of faith, hope, and love are the invitation.

In this season, rather than faith, hope, and love, many of us have been more prone to fear, despair and self-preservation. We invite you to a simple prayer practice with two parts. The first involves naming what is tripping us up and weighing us down. The second is asking God to grow the virtues of faith, hope, and love which invite us to deeper relationship with God and neighbour.

Living God,

We are a scared, self-focused and distracted bunch. We want to strip off the weight that slows us up and holds us back from encounter with you.

God, in this season:

• we have given much of our head attention to the fears of _________.
• we have given much of our heart to despairing over _______.
• we have held back our helping hands as we focused on preserving ourselves in these ways ________.

God we acknowledge that this plan has not given birth to the abundant life you promise. We are tired and worn out and we need a new stance and some renewed focus as we continue to run the race to which You have called us.

God in this next season:

• we ask you to grow our faith through __________.
• we ask you to bolster our hope in __________.
• we ask you to encourage our love of one another by _________.

We pray these things in the name of Jesus who for the joy set before him endured the cross. Amen.

Song of Worship – “Better”

All the things that the world could offer me
They are nothing compared to you
All the promises that the world can give me
They hold nothing next to yours

All my hopes and dreams, all my offerings
Only satisfied once in you
All the things that I could boast about
They will kneel before you

But if I boast let it be
In the one who saves me

Jesus you are better than
All the things his world can give me
A better choice
A better life
Better hope, eternity

You’re the better promise through suffering
You’re my strength, security
You’re my better future
My better love
And you come and you call me
To better

All the things that the world could offer me
They are nothing compared to you
All the promises that the world can give me
They hold nothing next to yours

All my hopes and dreams, all my offerings
Only satisfied once in you
All the things that I could boast about
They will kneel before you

But if I boast let it be
In the one who saves me

Jesus you are better than
All the things his world can give me
A better choice
A better life
Better hope, eternity

You’re the better promise through suffering
You’re my strength, security
You’re my better future
My better love
And you come and you call me
To better

Better is Jesus
Holy is He

Benediction from James 5:7-8

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen

Missional challenge

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” The Message says, “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out.”

The challenge is to pick one person. Do some considering and get provoking towards love and good deeds!

If you want a little more of a process for this, here is a step-by-step one:

1. set aside 15-20 minutes for prayer, imagination (“consider” time)
2. invite God to guide the process.
3. think of a friend, family member, coworker or fellow churchgoer who appears to be disengaging in their faith
4. take out a sheet of paper (yes, you are still praying) and start imagining all the ways you can provoke, encourage, get inventive in motivating this person you care about towards taking a step in drawing near to God.
5. ask the Spirit to lift the best idea(s) for this moment to the top
6. Thank God for guiding the process.
7. Do it! Get after it! Be Bold! Let the Spirit work through you!