ST ANDREW’S  CHURCH

February  5  2023

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CALL TO WORSHIP

Just as sunrise breaks through the darkness each day,
So God’s grace, mercy and justice shine forth.

We gather together, with devotion and doubt, with

weariness and wonder;

trusting that God’s peace and love are present here. 

Come and worship as you are, knowing you are loved.

We come, rejoicing, to praise God’s holy name.

HYMN           712 Arise, your light is come

OPENING PRAYER

Holy One, Light of the world, In the sparkle of the snowflake, we see your beauty.  In frosted treetops, we delight in your splendour.  Even in the cold of winter, your creation amazes us.

We praise you for blessing the world with such beauty and giving us a place within it. Just as months of winter renew creation for springtime growth, renew us with your Spirit in this time of worship to grow in faithfulness and service. Grant that our lives can shine the light of Christ into these challenging times. Hear us as  we confess before you saying…

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy One, we confess we have taken your creation for granted. 

We squander its resources as if they were only for us.

We consume whatever we want, selfishly and carelessly. 

Forgive us, we pray. 

Shine your light on us so we see the ways of your

wisdom more clearly

and follow the path Jesus sets before us with

more humble hearts. In Jesus name we pray  AMEN

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Christ is the first born of creation, shining a redeeming light into the darkness of human sin. In him we are forgiven, restored and made new. Thanks be to God, we can make a fresh start today.

THE PEACE

HYMN           648  I’m gonna  live so God can use me

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Psalm 112:1-9 10         Page  952     This is the same as last week purposefully

Matthew 5:13-20         page  1501

SERMON

( John  you might want to say this was  written by Shirley  so the personal statements are from her)

Every Sunday , as we  begin worship, we symbolically light a candle  and proclaim  “ Christ is the light of the world “

This week  our Matthew  text  informs us in the first major piece of teaching within the Sermon on the Mount  Jesus  says  to the  folks gathered around him  “You are the salt of the earth;… You are the light of the world.

If we believe that God commands us to be salt and light, we need to take a look at what that means.  Once we make that decision to follow Christ, people are watching. This passage about salt and light is one of those commands from God that isn’t optional.

Firstly  the pronoun in the  original text is not simply  pointing  to  one person. This is an encompassing  “you” including a community, No one individual embodies salt or light. Rather, the full community is needed to exemplify that which most resembles the salt and light of which Jesus speaks.

Our world doesn’t have a clue how important salt was to the people of Jesus’ day. Less than a dollar at any grocery store will buy you enough salt for a year. Most people eat far more salt then they need. It’s in everything. So we don’t view salt as the ancients did. The Romans believed that only the sun itself was more valuable than salt, and many Roman soldiers received their pay in salt. That’s where the phrase "not worth his salt" originated. The word salary comes from salt.

Salt has two primary functions. First, salt adds flavor. We all know how bland and tasteless food are without salt.. But the second function is even more important, especially in Jesus’ day. Remember, they didn’t have refrigerators. They didn’t even have cans. There were only three ways to preserve food for the long-term: you could dry it, or pickle it, or salt it. Salt is a preservative. It keeps food from rotting. And we as Christians do add a distinctive flavor to society - one that, I might add, does raise some people’s blood pressure! But our more important function is to preserve it from corruption.  But the last thing to remember about salt is that it stings. If you get salt water in an open wound, it will hurt. And the open wounds in our society do scream loudly when Christianity is applied. Salt is an active ingredient; salty Christians are activists. . . Salt is no good if it never leaves the salt shaker, it is only a decoration on our table. The same is true of our faith in Christ. If it is never shared or used, it is worthless.   We are useless if we are not out there in the world. If, when we are in the world, nobody winces, maybe we’ve lost our saltiness

Now the world is a dark place, as the psalmist makes clear in several places (verses 4, 7, 8 & 10).

Light is a form of energy. It removes darkness, reveals danger, shows the path and illuminates both blemishes and beauty. The first thing to remember is that light requires a power source. Without a steady flow of , light bulbs don’t give off light. They have to be plugged into the source and turned on.  The same is true for us as believers. We must be plugged into the source and turned on to reveal the light of Christ, the source of light for a dark world. Jesus encourages his audience to let their good works be seen by others

Light is visible. Our culture has adopted the attitude that religion is a personal matter. Now, Christianity is unquestionably a personal relationship, and each person must make their own decision about whether they are going to believe in Jesus Some insist that it’s personal , because they’re made uncomfortable by other people’s beliefs. Others buy into that position in order to excuse their failure to share what they believe, keeps from others being made uncomfortable. But Jesus teaches that a Christian is to be live their faith out loud, openly before the watching world. Personal doesn’t mean private.

Jesus says we are not just light; we are the light of the world. Like the light, we are to work openly not in a closet of “under a bushel” but openly casting the light of Christ in the world.

Baptized at six weeks  old   I was  born into the church. I have always believed and felt  God  has been  my support , teacher  and comfort  in all the mountains and valleys  in my life.  Congregations  have been  my family and field, nurturing me in  all that  I learned  But somewhere  along the way , I also  learned  the church  over all the centuries   has  not behaved  in gospel ways  right down to  the present day.  In fact  “the church “ has  conducted what we  could consider criminal atrocities  in the name of Jesus

Yes  we  know  scripture   states  Jesus said I am thee way the truth and the life  No one  comes to the father  except through me  .”Did Jesus give  permission  to murder  folks of other beliefs??  I’m thinking not

God is a God of  love and mercy.  Does he also  judge and punish .

Again yes 1Clearly God does . I have  heard  theologians  on radio and TV  make horrendous  judgements  obviously with the belief  they are  sharing  gospel truth   For  example   “Women  who  wear  trousers and makeup are going  to hell  as that is against  biblical dress code. Another  -   Roman  Catholics are  heretics , therefore all  are condemned to hell   If  that  were the  preaching from the pulpit, no wonder folks are abandoning going to church

Of course we disagree, sometimes vehemently, with the ways others practice the Christian faith or what others say in the name of Jesus Christ. Of course we are divided by differing interpretations of the gospel message. If only it was as easy as recognizing that we can order our worship differently and still be faithful. We are, it seems, hopelessly divided. Except that God is faithful

A  couple of weeks ago  I was listening to a regular  CBC  broadcast  by  Terry O’Neil  -  called  “Under the influence “  He  began  by playing part of the pop song from the 1970”s  in which the lyrics  questions  why there are so many  negative signs dictating  how  and what  people  need to act  upon . The final verse of that pop song says  the  only good sign seen  was  one outside a church  stating “Everyone Welcome”

Terry  went on  to talk about  church  signs  Originally  they simply stated Worship  time, name of the  minister  and occasionally an upcoming event.  IN the  80’s and 90’s  signs began to change. A    Sentence  was posted . Unfortunately  many were  judgemental in tone . It didn’t take long though  before sign folks  realized  that the message  they were  sending  was off putting  to those passing  by  This was not invitational.  Then Signs began to change

These one sentence  sermons needed to reflect  the joy of the  Lord – not condemnation.  After all  most people  who  drove or walked  by  do this  daily.  Why not  encourage  folks  to  come  and  hear , share and enjoy worship

 I actually wrote  down  some  of  these one sentence sermons Terry quoted  Here are a couple of examples :

Lent is not the fuzz in your navel

Exposure to Son prevents burning

God wants spiritual fruits – not religious nuts

During the pandemic , this one was posted ;  Don’t hoard  Even Noah  took only two of each kind

Signs are  a small mission outreach  with the job of shining a light  to attract folks  to come and  see – of course  its important  to  have as good a theology inside the worship service  as  you post on the outside  Judgement turns people away  but laughter  and love builds up.  It is  the light we share

Census taking  and other  studies  show  that  particularly in north America there is a 12%  drop yearly  in church  participation  Terry said  that  so I don’t know  where his team  gets the stats . However  I think we have  heard and seen many denominations are  wringing their hands  at the diminishing folks at worship

John Wesley emphasized that “a secret, unobserved religion, cannot be the religion of Jesus Christ. Whatever religion can be concealed, is not Christianity.” it is impossible to keep our religion from being seen, unless we disown it. We can only hide the light by putting it out.

The challenge of living a faithful, righteous life is just as acute today as it was in the ancient world; We have work to do on Jesus’ behalf. He has saved us with a price, and he has saved us for a purpose. Jesus said that “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” [John 14:12] The work of salvation was finished on the cross, but the work of carrying the good news of our reconciliation with God to the rest of the world is our job.

Now we don’t have a sentence sermon posted on a sign outside by the road . What we do have is a congregation that  reflects  the light of Jesus  by our participation in the community. Still we may ask -as together we reflect  the light -  Is your lamp on shining the light of Christ in the world? Does your faith add “flavor” to the lives of others?  AMEN

HYMN         773 Jesus bids us shine

OFFERING

The prophet Isaiah issued a call to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and house the homeless. We give in response to this call, praying that every gift accomplishes more than we can ask or imagine through the power of God at work in us and through us.

DOXOLOGY (sung twice)

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

Lord Jesus Christ, your love makes us salt for the earth and light for the world. Bless our gifts so that they bring light into dark days and salt to flavour the earth with your justice and mercy. Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

God of justice and righteousness, Thank you for the gift of your son Jesus Christ who came to live out your love in this world. Thank you for his words and deeds which continue to challenge and guide us today. He called us to be light for the world and salt for the earth.

Holy God, Your mysteries surround and astound us each day. Send your Holy Spirit to open the mysteries of Scripture for us so that our understanding is refreshed and courage to follow Christ renewed

We thank you for the ministries undertaken through Presbyterian World Service and Development and its many partners, for the light they bring to lives under so many different pressures, and the necessities they provide to sustain communities and make hope tangible.

And so we pray for your world with all its wonders and its worries,

which rest on our hearts and yours:

We pray for those who need your justice, Lord: For those who sleep on the cold streets, those who do not have enough to eat, and those who worry about how to make ends meet for their families.

We pray for all those facing violence, In their homes or communities, for nations engulfed in conflict and for places struggling to recover after flooding, drought, storm or unrest.

 

We pray for refugees and political prisoners; for children who must work instead of going to school and for parents who long to give their children a better life.

 

Sustain each of these people with your hope that their needs can be fulfilled and rights restored.

Empower us to use our resources to do what we can for them, and give strength and courage to advocates and aid workers who bring hope  in many places.

We pray for all who need your healing touch, Lord: For people who are confused or afraid, for those in hospitals and nursing homes and those who care for them, for all who are dealing with long-term disability or mental illness, long Covid and the many illnesses circulating this winter. and for those who have encountered loss through the death of a beloved,

change in circumstance or disappointed hopes.

Surround each one with your peace and comfort so that hope for healing will be renewed each day.

Compassionate God, Make us salt and light for the world, not by presuming we know best how to fix others but as compassionate and caring neighbours, unafraid to reach out. Encourage us with your grace and inspire us by your Holy Spirit, for you are always with us.

We gather all our prayers into one voice, praying as Jesus taught us:

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           376 Lord, the light of your love is shining

Although  we sang this  last  week -  it  is a wonderful  reminder  of the precious  Light  leading us

BENEDICTION

Go in faith to be salt for the earth and light for the world in Jesus’ name.

May God’s love restore you;  May Christ’s teaching inspire you;

May the Holy Spirit equip you to serve in a world that is ready to receive you, blessed by God, holy One and holy Three. Amen.

CLOSING SONG

Go now in peace