ST. ANDREW’S  CHURCH                       May 15th , 2022

 

LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

We at St. Andrew’s Church welcome you to this online worship service on the Fifth Sunday of Easter. May it be a blessing to you and bring glory to God throughout the week to come.
We also thank Rev, Shirley Cochrane for leading our worship today as Rev. Ena van Zoeren continues her healing and recovery process.
We thank the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada for his visit on Friday. What a joy and pleasure it was to get together once again, after what seems like an eternity thanks to covid, and enjoy one another’s company and fellowship over a meal. Thank you Rev. Dr. Daniel Scott for bringing to us words of encouragement, as well as the the warmth of your gentle spirit, we were blessed. May God go with you Daniel as you continue your journey as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise God in the heights!

Praise God, all you angels; praise God, all creatures high and low!

Rulers of the earth and all peoples, praise God’s holy name!

 Young men and women alike, old and young together!

With voices united, let us praise the Lord!

 

HYMN           730  Oh for a world where everyone

 

Oh for a world  where everyone respects each others  ways

Where love is lived and all is done  with  justice and with praise.

 

O for a world where goods are shared and misery relieved

Where truth is spoken , children spared, equality achieved.

 

We welcome one world family  and struggle with each  choice

That opens us to unity  and gives our vision voice.

 

The poor are rich. The weak are strong, the foolish ones are wise,

Tell all who mourn outcasts belong , who perishes will rise.

 

O for a world  preparing for  God’s glorious reign of peace,

Where tine and tears will be no more  and all but love shall cease.

 

OPENING PRAYER

Holy God, the first and the last, beginning and end of all things, you are worthy of praise from all your creation. Sun, moon, and stars praise you.  Earth, sea, and sky praise you.  Every living thing praises you in its own way.  And so we praise you in our human diversity,  joining our varied voices with all your creatures in heaven and on earth. You fill our lives with the wonder of your love in Christ Jesus.  Your Spirit moves throughout the world to reveal your purposes for every living thing.  Receive our prayers and praise this day, for you are the Source of our life and our hope,  Holy God, ever Three and Ever One. We  lifr our prayers of confession  to you  …

 

UNISON PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Loving God,

Jesus commanded us to love one another

so the world would know we follow him.

Yet we confess we do not always love one another,

not the way Jesus loves us.

The world has seen our squabbling,

our history of hypocrisy,

and our lack of compassion for those who don’t measure up.

Loving God, forgive us.

Lord Jesus, continue to love us.

Holy Spirit, fill us with love,

so that the world will witness your love in our words and actions.

in Jesus’ name.   Amen.

 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Jesus taught us that no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  Christ has laid down his life for us and invites us to love one another as he has loved us. Let us rejoice in his forgiving love and share it with each other day by day.

 

THE PEACE

 

HYMN           248  At the dawning of salvation

 

1 At the dawning of salvation;
in the morning of the world,
Christ is raised, a living banner
by the love of God unfurled,
Through the daylight, through the darkness,
Christ leads on his great array:
all the saints and all the sinners
he has gathered on his way.

2 He is risen in the morning,
he is risen from the dead;
he is laughter after sadness,
he is light when night has fled.
He has suffered, he has triumphed,
life is his alone to give:
as he gave it once he gives it
evermore, that we may live.

3 For the glory of salvation
in the dawn of Easter day
we will praise you, loving Father;
we rejoice to sing and pray
with the Son and with the Spirit
Lead us on, your great array,
saints and sinners celebrating
your triumphant love today.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Psalm 148                               page   982

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b]
the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.

Praise the Lord.

 

Acts 11: 1-18               page   1711

11 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[a] water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

SERMON

O God, Fill us with your Spirit as we listen to your Word read and interpreted, so that it satisfies our thirst for wisdom and truth. Amen.

Sometimes  the lectionary readings  tell only half the story  This is how I feel about  todays  reading . So  I have backtracked and am  starting  with what happens  to  Peter  before  he’s verbally assaulted  by  his contemporaries in the Jerusalem church  It is a watershed moment in the expansion of the Church’s ministry and the shape of their community.

Up to this point, the church in Acts is a Jewish phenomenon—and for very good reason. Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who did his ministry largely among Jews. Most of his followers,  understandably, are primarily Jewish. Acts 11:1-18 narrates the continuation of a lengthier story in Acts 10.

The story  begins with Cornelius, a Roman centurion who is described in  positive terms: “He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly” (Acts 10:2). This pious man of war receives a vision of an angel who directs him to send for man named Peter.

While Cornelius’ servants are on the road, Peter himself receives a vision – elaborate, symbolic, and steeped in Jewish tradition. [SC1] The heavens open and a large sheet descends, containing all sorts of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds. A voice tells him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replies “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice speaks to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean (Acts 10:13-15).

This weird  happening leaves Peter deep in thought . Then the Holy Spirit interrupts Peter’s reflection and tells him to go with the men who are looking for him. The vision’s significance becomes  apparent as Peter meets with people he would have otherwise avoided.

Peter  travels to the house of Cornelius, where he is met by a large crowd. His opening address is something of a confession: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection” (Acts 10:28-29). Cornelius relates his own visionary experience to Peter and then says they have gathered in God’s presence to hear what Peter has to say.

Peter outlines his change of heart: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” (Acts 10:34-35).

His sermon is suddenly disrupted by the Spirit, which “came on all who heard the message” (10:44). Astonished by these events, Peter concludes that “surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have” (10:47).The text culminates with those in Cornelius’ household believing the good news, receiving the Holy Spirit, and being baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah

News of these remarkable events reach Jewish believers in Jerusalem, and they initially criticize Peter for entering the house of Gentiles and eating with them (Acts 11:3). The church of Luke-Acts is being asked to rethink its identity in fundamental, identity-altering ways.

Questions of who belongs within communities are among the most important but challenging ones to ask. This is especially true in contexts like the one experienced by first-century Jews, whose communities offered solidarity, strength, and belonging in a world that was utterly arrayed against their flourishing.

Peter responds to these accusations: When challenged, he does not stand on his own authority, or argue from the Scripture, for neither really covers the situation. He simply narrates his own experience.

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way. When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life. (Acts 11:15-18)

We would think this would be cause of both wonderment and celebration! However Luke shares the almost expected response: When Peter went  to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?!”

Peter’s careful, deliberate reply, recounting “step by step” his vision from God and the events to follow, lead to the key point of his defense: “So if  God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that could oppose God?” (verse 17). When Peter’s critics hear this, , they are silenced. The celebration that we might have expected back in verse 1 erupts: “And they praised God, saying, So then God has granted even the Gentiles  repentance that leads to life.’”

The events of todays story subtly echo the end of Peter’s own sermon in Acts 2 when Peter tells his audience, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).

We witness a miraculous change of heart, that will now infuse the early believers with a radically transformed sense of the kind of community that is possible in God’s new realm. This transformation is far from complete.

Several important lessons about discernment emerge from these texts. First, the work of the Spirit can often be deeply disruptive, divisive, and hard to recognize. Many church leaders are deeply uncomfortable with conflict and disagreement in their communities. These are often interpreted as signs of sin and dysfunction. As complex human systems, human communities tend to strain after equilibrium and stability, and often this is a helpful and constructive impulse. Part of making a community trustworthy is making it predictable. However sometimes  disagreement and division are what emerge when the Spirit is doing something new. Growth inevitably involves pain, and part of our calling is to name and interpret these realities.

The Spirit’s work often challenges our deepest assumptions about how Christ is present and at work in the world. Things like the cross, the sacraments, and prayer as reliable places where God has promised to be available and gracious. But there are also times when the Holy Spirit works in ways that are unexpected, offensive, and even downright transgressive. The fact that a thing is transgressive can—and often    means the case that Christ frequently calls us into encounters that upend our deepest theological commitments.

Scripture matters., experience matters, memory matters, conversation matters, testimony matters. When the church in Acts is faced with a fundamental theological dilemma, it makes space for voices and influences that span the human experience. When faced with challenging seasons of discernment, we should also make space for a variety of testimonies as we attempt to understand the Triune God’s work in our world.

The church continues to struggle with the Spirit’s calling to reframe their sense of who belongs, and how each are to serve and share the table together. Human barriers  of ideology and identity may keep us from being the proclaimers of salvation that God calls us to be.

Believing that others who do not look like us, think like us, act like us, worship like us, talk like us, live where we live, or any other  barriers that we have built – believing that those others are not worthy of receiving the gift of salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord is sinfulI-   it is against all the teachings of Christ our Lord. In short, taking time and taking interest in the humanity of others, realizing that they, like us, are beloved children of God with hopes and dreams, with struggles and defeats. Like us, though considered undeserving, Christ died for all of us. God has enabled us and God has enabled all the “thems” of this world to change our hearts and to turn them to the Lord. Let us be the messengers of this good news.  Amen.

HYMN                       694 This is my commandment                     X2

 

This is my commandment, that you love one another
that your joy may be full.
This is my commandment, that you love one another
that your joy may be full,
that your joy may be full, that your joy may be full.
This is my commandment, that you love one another
that your joy may be full.

 

OFFERING

The season of Easter is unfolding while the gifts of spring also remind us of God’s generosity in Christ and in creation. May the gifts we offer our gratitude for God’s goodness to us, and the hope for new life we have in Christ Jesus.

 

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

Generous God, we bless you for your gift of life renewed through Christ’s love, and through springtime growth in fields and gardens. Bless the gifts we bring and designate them signs of hope and renewal in the world we serve in the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord. Amen.

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Lord our God, you have given us so many wonders in this world you created. We thank you for spring sunshine and refreshing rain; for colours exploding in blossoms opening, grass greening, and gardens sprouting. Thank you for all the signs of new life around us this Easter season.

Make the earth fruitful in this growing season, so that food will be plentiful for the hungry.

 

God of new life, We pray that we might learn to care for our planet as your gift before it’s too late.  We pray for scientists and all those who work tirelessly to teach us how to look after the environment. Renew their energy for the responsibilities they carry. We pray for leaders in government, business and communities, that they will make care for the earth a priority for the sake of generations yet to come. Inspire each of us to do all we can no matter how small or insignificant our efforts may seem, to walk more respectfully on the face of your creation.

 

God of the small and insignificant as well as powerful and influential, we thank you for our families and friends who offer us love and encouragement as we move through life. We pray for those families and communities whose lives have been disrupted by war and conflict, who worry about safety each day and what the future will hold for them. We  especially bring to you the people  of Ukraine, of Russia,  and  other  places  of intense turmoil , fear,  anger – It is so difficult Lord  fro us who have never  experienced  such  things  to even imagine  what  these people are  facing  Give  them courage , hope  and  a clear path forward

 

Guide all those with decision making power to consider the lives of the vulnerable as very precious, and make policies that protect the future for them.

 

God of the vulnerable, we pray for all those whose future is uncertain: for those are facing illness or waiting for treatment, for those mourning the loss of someone dear, and those who feel lonely or discouraged.for all who know hunger or despair, homelessness , caught in the chains of addictions  and for those facing danger or discrimination every day.

We pray for those who have suffered racial discrimination. May we, as a church, take action to repent of the harm that has been caused by acts of discrimination.

 

Empower us with your Spirit to reach out to those in need, in this community and in places distant from us, so that we can make your love tangible in their lives  We give thanks for Presbyterian World Service & Development partners who teach farmers in places like Malawi about conservation agriculture, helping them to protect and revitalize life-giving soil and cultivate plentiful harvests.

 

We lift  to you  the concerns  we have voiced today ….

Giving thanks  for ……….

 

Sick – in treatment …….

 

Travel ………….

 

Grieving ………………

 

It’s the end of the school year  for  students and teachers  in the colleges and universities . We pray for new graduates of our theological colleges who are patiently listening to God and seeking a call to congregational ministry.

 

God of our Lord Jesus Christ, We thank you for this community that gathers in Jesus’ name, for the warmth and welcome offered here, for friendship and faithfulness discovered, for learning and leadership shared with each other.  Thank you for the hope that rises in us through the resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. Make us expressions of that hope to each other and to the world you love for his sake, as we join our voices with his followers around the world,  praying the words he 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                       475  I am the church, you are the church

Refrain:
I am the church! You are the church!
We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus,
all around the world!
Yes, we’re the church together!

1. The church is not a building;  the church is not a steeple;
the church is not a resting place;  the church is a people.
(Refrain)

2. We’re many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces,
all colours and all ages, too from all times and places.
(Refrain)

3. Sometimes the church is marching; sometimes it’s bravely burning,
sometimes it’s riding, sometimes hiding; always it’s learning.
(Refrain)

4. And when the people gather, there’s singing and there’s praying;
there’s laughing and there’s crying sometimes,all of it saying:
(Refrain)

5. At Pentecost some people received the Holy Spirit
and told the Good News through the world to all who would hear it.
(Refrain)

 

BENEDICTION

Go out into the world in peace, be of good courage;  honour all people  , love and serve the Lord  rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.  May you  abound in hope  love and  joy in the name of the Father  Son and Holy Spirit  AMEN

 

CLOSING SONG

Take O take me as I am; summon out what I shall be

set your seal upon my heart and live in me