ST ANDREW’S CHURCH
March 26th 2023 Lent Five

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thank you Rev. Shirley Cochrane for leading and guiding our worship today. St. Andrew's also welcomes and thanks you for joining our online worship. May you be blessed! If you are ever in Salmon Arm please look us up, our in-person worship starts at 11am and we would be delighted to see you.

CALL TO WORSHIP
More than those who watch for the morning,
we wait faithfully for God.
With our questions and our cries, in our hopes and expectations,
we wait faithfully for God.
Come, let us worship the Lord our God together,
and offer our prayers and praise in faithfulness.

HYMN 384 O Breath of life, come sweeping through us

PRAYER OF ADORATION
God in whom we live and move and have our being, we praise you. In
the face of all that wearies us and worries us, your Word echoes across
the centuries with hope. As we follow the footsteps of Jesus in this
Lenten season, his Cross standing before us, we trust you are never far
from our sorrows, walking with us; sharing our tears.
You stand beside us when we don’t know which way to turn. In this time
of worship, renew our trust in your resurrection promises .Draw near to
us when we need you the most with love that will never let us go.
And so we offer you our wonder and our praise in the name of Jesus
who is the Resurrection and the Life. Hear now our confession to you ..

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God who knows us through and through,
we confess our memories can cause us to struggle with our faith.
We remember difficult times and wonder where you were.
We remember tragedies and ask how you could let them happen.
We remember our own mistakes and wonder how you could love us.

Forgive us when our memories turn us away from you.
Remind us that your love never lets us go
and that its power holds us and heals us in every desperate moment.
In Jesus Name AMEN
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Jesus said, “Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I
will give you rest.” Trust that peace and forgiveness are God’s gift to
you this day, whatever burden you carry. Be renewed by the breath of
the Holy Spirit that will bring you into each new day.

THE PEACE

HYMN 292 Father I adore you

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130

SERMON
In the name of the Father , Son and Holy Spirit
Imagine, if you can, Israel in the times of Ezekiel. Unlike many of the
prophetic Biblical stories, which are difficult to date – Ezekiel is
precisely dated during the exile of the Israelites in Babylon 593 to 571
BC . The known world is a political wreak .The nation is captured ,
divided and many are finding themselves in a foreign land - under the
thumb of a strange and frightening regime
The book of Ezekiel is one of the most complex and baffling writings
within the old testament . Of the author, we know only a little. He was
born into the priestly lineage, the son of Buzi - in the year 623 BC in
Jerusalem . In 597 at the age of 26, he was amongst the 8000 Israelites

captured and taken to Babylon. Contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah ,
Ezekiel is called by God to serve as a prophet to the captives.

During the first of his 22 years as a prophet, Ezekiel proclaimed
basically the same message as Jeremiah and Isaiah. Because of the
sinful and idolatrous behavior and attitudes, Jerusalem and the temple
will be destroyed . During his years of prophetic service Ezekiel records
a lot of bizarre events and visions which he experiences . It is recorded
in later years that in some rabbinical circles, because of the weird nature
of his writings, people under the age of 30 were forbidden to read the
Book of Ezekiel.
During Israel’s exilic years, God’s people have lost their most cherished
theological realities: their land, their temple, and the monarchy. It is a
nation shattered and scattered beyond seemingly redemption
–Everything is a nightmare --it is as if they are dead and buried.. They
find themselves in a theological crisis. The anchors for their relationship
with God are gone. Their traditional theologies—based on God’s
covenants with Moses and David—are failing. Zion is no longer the
home for God and God’s people. This new experience of exile calls forth
a new reconceptualization of God and God’s dealings with the people.
Yet, in the book’s second half, the prophet turns to consolation and
oracles of promise Ezekiel 37 is probably the most well-known passage
from this prophetic book.
Ezekiel is dropped into the middle of a valley full of dry bones—some
sort of mass grave, perhaps a battlefield—where animals and the
elements have stripped the bodies of all flesh, so that only broken, sun-
baked, skeletal remains are left - representing the people in exile . Verse
11 clarifies that the bones are “the whole house of Israel.” By
emphasizing physical details, the story underscores that the dead bodies
in question are really, really dead—“

In the midst of this strange valley the Spirit asks “ can these bones live?”
The befuddled man replies “O sovereign Lord you alone know “
Yet Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones is one of these places of
promise within the book. The vision serves as a promise to God’s people
that they will be restored. God will take the dry bones and create a new
future—a future with God’s spirit within, a future in the land of Israel
(verse 14).
When God tells Ezekiel, to prophesy over the dry bones ,they hear the
Word of God and come to life. You see, God does not leave them as dry
bones!
The dry bones reverse their decay, forming a skeleton and gaining
sinews, flesh, and skin. These newly re-formed bodies are then animated
by breath (ruach) from God.
Ezekiel’s vivid vision of transformation provides hope in the middle of a
complex and painful calamity. Dry bones are not the last word.
The reanimated skeletons in the valley of the dry bones function as a
symbolic action; God’s restoration of Israel in the wake of the
Babylonian exile will be like the re-forming and resuscitating of these
dry bones.
All of this work of the restoration of Israel is simply God’s doing. All
there is for the people to do—or rather, what will happen- is a
consequence of God’s action and not of their own- the people are to
know that the LORD is God, and to live.
It may be , that we sitting in the pews, think in terms of individual
resurrection when hearing this passage; This is a reading based, of
course, on the Christian and Jewish traditions, which have frequently
understood the issue present to be one of literal resurrection. I believe
there have been times we have all experienced life as a valley, a
hopeless and destitute reality. Hardship and trouble are not unknown

concepts to God’s faithful people. The faithful life is not without its
serious challenges. . It is true that God is everywhere but we can be
separated from His manifest presence.
The main news today is about the suffering and death of many people
through wars and political manipulation , through rapid ecological
change – through natural disaster and through the pathways many have
chosen to live . When devastation is complete there can seem to be no
hope and history is scattered with dead and buried
The nations need to hear the Word of God and believe that every good
and perfect gift comes from Him.
As Christians we face uncertain times. We look at what once was in
Christianity and are amazed at how God has moved in the past. We see
that many have forsaken God or watered down his word to the extent
that we have felt only the bones have remained. The state of the world
today can also be described by the same vision given to Ezekiel, .
However it is important that we must be careful so that we don’t see
ourselves in the role of exiles.
Exposing the current situation is really important. If you want new life
with Christ you need to understand where you are now. We need to
understand the manifest presence of God is the source of our strength
and source of our protection.
The prophetic vision intervenes in each depressing situation with good
news: God brings life from death. God restores the broken! Likewise
God does not leave us where we are. God is present with us in the
struggle. The Psalmist reminds us: “Even though I walk through the
darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).
Our belief in Christ restores the manifest presence of God in our lives
The prophetic vision intervenes in this depressing situation with good
news: God brings life from death. God restores the broken! Our belief
in Christ restores the manifest presence of God in our lives We need to

live in reality. What is the situation, not just in the church or the nation,
but in our own lives? You cannot live on what God did yesterday.
However globally Christianity is in the greatest shape it has ever been -
Christianity has the most followers worldwide with over 2.2
billion believers. the Gospel is flourishing – God is able to overcome
the impossible But it requires faith. to know that the LORD is God,
and to live.
Can these bones live? The scriptures are full of encouragements to
understand God can do it.
Can these bones live – the answer is a resounding yes.
The something more in Ezekiel 37 is the power of God to move the
world in the direction of life: - toward hope and restoration, toward a
world infused with the breath of God
If we pay attention, then with God’s help we will see and know— in the
life that teems around us—the glory of God. AMEN

Lent 5

One of the things Lent teaches is that you, too, are a sanctuary. There is
inside you a place for sacred things, a place where God abides. (Silent
time.)
As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of
war and oppression in the world.
(A candle is extinguished.)
Let us pray: Loving God, we open our hearts to you. We invite you into
our inmost being, only to find you already there. Strengthen us in our
quiet places and then lead us into the work of justice and peace. Amen.

HYMN 389 Breathe on me, breath of God

OFFERING

God breathes the power of new life into the world through Christ who is
both Friend and Saviour to us. We offer our gifts in gratitude for God’s
renewing breath, trusting its power will move through our gifts into the
world God loves.
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

OFFERTORY PRAYER
We place our gifts into your hands, O God. With the power of your
Holy Spirit make them seeds of new life, springing up with hope and
healing for weary souls. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
God of the loving heart, thank you that in Christ, you call each of us by
name and unite us in his body, the Church. Give us love enough to make
a difference in your world, and trust enough to follow even when the
way ahead us is a challenge. Christ of majesty and mercy, Bring your
compassion to this world once more.
God of peace and promise, in Christ you call us to love our enemies and
to be peacemakers in the world you love. we pray today for people and
places divided by ancient bitterness and current hostility, especially we
remember …
O God of the bruised and broken, we are grateful that, in Christ, you
have taken up the cross and know by heart the things that bring us
suffering and pain. We pray today for all those in need of healing and
comfort, whatever the source of their pain....
We thank you for calling people to helping professions. May God guide
and empower them as they prepare for this important work.

O God of the lonely and sorrowing, in Christ you faced the loss we
know when loved ones die or when friends let us down. We remember
before you those who grieve the loss of their beloved and those who face
a lonely future....
O God of hope and new possibility, in Christ you opened the way into
the future for us through the power of your redeeming love. Give us the
courage we need to face our future, assured of your presence and power
to sustain us. We offer all that we are and all that we hope for through
Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together as his people:

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom
come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

HYMN 211 Take up your cross

BENEDICTION
As we move toward Holy Week and turn towards the Cross, remember
the words of Jesus: "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who
believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives
and believes in me will never die." So may the tears of the Lord Jesus
wash over your sorrows, the Spirit of God dwell in your hearts, and
God’s promise of new life lead you through each day ahead.

CLOSING SONG 209 Verse 1

 
O Love that wilt not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.