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:
- set aside 15-20 minutes for prayer, imagination (“consider” time)
- invite God to guide the process.
- think of a friend, family member, coworker or fellow churchgoer who appears to be disengaging in their faith
- 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.
- ask the Spirit to lift the best idea(s) for this moment to the top
- Thank God for guiding the process.
- Do it! Get after it! Be Bold! Let the Spirit work through you!
Winnipeg Covenant 