Sept 11, 2022

Lighting the Christ Candle

Welcome and Announcements

Called to Worship:
When the lost are found,
there is joy!
When hope overcomes despair,
there is joy!
When we seek and find God’s faithfulness,
there is joy!

Hymn: 629 Salvation and Immortal Praise

Online: We give immortal praise

Prayer of Adoration
Unison Prayer of Confession:
Gracious and loving God, we find it difficult at times
to place our trust in you. Too often we rely on our own
strength, our own plans, our own devices, rather than trusting
in your hand to hold us, your love to sustain us, and your
wisdom to see us through. Forgive us, Holy One. Help us
turn to you when we are lost, that we might find our way
home. Help us navigate the world, so that we might
experience your abundant grace, mercy, and love. Help us
put our trust in you, that the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus may shine in our lives for all to see. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon
The Peace

Hymn: 670 Amazing Grace

Prayers for the Royal Family
Preamble: The Moderator of the Church of Scotland wrote: “The
faith, service and dedication of Her Majesty the Queen have been
the hallmark of her long reign. “
He, and many reporters and politicians have spoken of her deep
demonstration of faith. From her actions, to the Biblical stories
she reflected on during her annual Christmas addresses she has
lived her faith publicly in the midst of her duties. Over the years
we have sung, “God save our gracious Queen”, a payer for her and
her service. As I reflected on her life, it seemed that in many ways
her faith, her service and her passion for justice was a living out of
that graciousness. She has indeed given a clear public expression
of her deep personal Christian faith and the hope of the gospel.
Tireless in her duty, the Queen has demonstrated a life of selfless
dedication to faith and duty. Wherever the Queen went she
brought encouragement and appreciation as she showed a
genuine interest in the people she met.
She wasn’t just the Queen of Britain, she was the Queen of the
Commonwealth, an entity which she created, bringing all the
leaders of the Commonwealth countries together. Canada was for
her more than a Commonwealth country, she often referred to it
as her second home. She visited Canada more often than any
other country. Her respect for Canada and Canadians was given,
and returned.
She was a symbol of decency. She was a symbol of calm. She was
a symbol of reserve. She was a symbol of the ancient phrase,
“This, too, shall pass…” as she weathered storms within her family
and within her nation. She was a symbol of duty.
And she was a symbol of endurance.
Her death leaves a void for many of us, and for many of the
nations of the world. Her grace and her calm leadership will be
missed. That void will be hard to fill.
We send our heartfelt condolences to King Charles III, and all
members of the Royal Family, assuring them of our prayers and
remembrances in the days ahead.
Prayer
Eternal God, before you all generations rise up and fall away, and
in your grace, you provide leaders to serve and comfort us with
wisdom and dedication. We give thanks for the life of your servant
Queen Elizabeth, for her life of faith, Christian witness and service
and her dedication to duty.
Bless the people of Great Britain as they mourn her death. Bless
Canada as we mourn her death and may her example continue to
inspire us and the world.
We give you thanks that her earthly life is now ended and she has
entered into the joy and peace you have prepared through Jesus
Christ.
We pray for her family and those who will take up her duties and
responsibilities.
We pray for the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales, William
and Kate as they undertake their new duties. Give them strength
in the journey.
We pray especially for King Charles the III as he prepares to take
on his new duties in the midst of grief. Bless him with faith,
graciousness and sense of duty as he takes up those duties.
Send your Holy Spirit to comfort and give peace to all who mourn
the death Of Queen Elizabeth who has touched so many lives as
your servant. Amen.
The queen is dead.
Long live the king.
Long may he reign.

Hymn: 834 God save our gracious King

Scripture Lessons:
Psalm 51: 1-12 
1 Timothy 1: 12-17 

Sermon: MERCY AND GOD’S PATIENCE

I ran across this “general outline” of a Pauline Letter this week.
Grace.
I thank God for you.
Hold fast to the Gospel.
For the love of everything Holy, stop being stupid.
PS: Timothy says hi.
As I researched the letter to Timothy this week, I began to think
that Paul might have been talking to himself in many of those
letters. Especially when he refers to being a sinner and his need
for grace.
In this letter to Timothy, Paul uses the example of his life as one
who needed the mercy of God and the patience of Jesus. Even
those things of which he “could” boast were things that kept him
from fully knowing Jesus as the Messiah, and from choosing to
follow the way of Jesus.
Roman citizen. A Pharisee, trained by Gamaliel. Faithful in
worship and in teaching.
This pedigree gives him a great religious education and training
as a theologian. Clearly his grounding in what we call the Old
Testament bore fruit in his ongoing work in the fledgling Church
of Jesus. Yet, it also played a role in his persecution of the
Church.
It wasn’t just “persecution”. He was known for seeking out those
Hebrews who had left the “Temple” and even for being
instrumental in the prosecution of them, a prosecution that led to
many of them being stoned. We read in Acts that he stood
watching and approving as Stephen was stoned to death.
When you read biographies of his life many of them mention that
after his transformation, when he began to speak and teach in the
Church but that many neither believed him nor trusted him. He
had used that “tactic” many times as a tool in his persecution.
Is it a wonder that in regard to those years he wrote: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
We note that he says of whom I AM THE WORST.
This is in the PRESENT tense, not the past tense. Paul knows that
he remains a sinner.
We know from his story after his transformation on the Damascus
road, that he was still prone to all those parts of his nature that
was displayed in impatience, and anger. He often disagreed with
Peter and at one point he argued with Barnabus regarding asking
John Mark to once again join them in their travels.
Some of those difficulties we can understand as arising of how the
ministry to which he was called took a different path. Perhaps
because of his past history with the Hebrews followers of Jesus,
Paul’s ministry was focused on the emerging Gentile church.
He and Peter disagreed often and passionately that the Gentile
believers did not have to first be converted to Judaism; and that
rather Baptism was the way in which one entered the Church of
Christ.
Indeed, it was a divisive issue in the Church as well as between
Paul and Peter.
Baptism remains a divisive issue in the Church. Some don’t
practice baptism. Some practice infant baptism. Some practice
only adult baptism. Some sprinkle. Some fully immerse.
W are most aware of these differences and challenges as people
change denominations and are sometimes faced with the need to
have an adult baptism or a full immersion in order to become a
member. A friend of mine, who had been an elder in the
congregation she worshipped in; started worshipping with a
Baptist congregation after that congregation was closed. This
year, after 15 years of worshipping with the Baptists, she was
baptized and took her place as a member of the congregation. It
was not an easy decision.
I know of a person who joined his wife’s congregation after their
marriage and when he was baptized his father practically
disowned him.
And we all know of many other divisive things among the
churches that can cause misunderstanding, if not anger and
disassociation.
That’s why I like the position that the Mennonites take. Jesus, the
crucified and risen Redeemer is central—everything else is just
details.
Yet we all know that we like Paul and Peter can get caught up in
defending the details we cherish. And like Paul all of us struggle
with those parts of our nature that can emerge when we are
stressed, anxious,, tired or distracted.
We can be impatient, angry, sarcastic, judgmental and intolerant.
We speak without thinking. We act without understanding. We
withdraw our love and support.
We can resonate with Paul when he says: Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst, because we
can all say the same thing.
This is perhaps why Paul uses himself as an example of God’s
willingness to forgive even the most flagrant of sinners. He, and
we, are blessed to live in the grace, mercy, patience and love of
God.
When we come to confess our sins, he doesn’t say, “wow, you just
promised yesterday not to do that anymore.” Rather he patiently
and mercifully says to us, ,”in Jesus you are forgiven.”
We are reminded that none of us will ever be without sin and all
of us are ALWAYS in need of:
Mercy
Grace
Patience
Salvation
Forgiveness
All of which God chooses to give to us freely and without
measure.
Many of the commentators point out that Paul’s emphasis on his
need of patience and grace with his own sin, is a reminder to all of
us that if he, Paul, was called to mission and ministry, then we all
are called to mission and ministry. If God could love, forgive and
use Paul, then God can and will, love, forgive and use us.
This is a message of hope reminding us that no matter who we
are, or what we have done, or what mistakes mark our days, God
still forgives and calls us.
The commentators at Ministry Matters tell us that this passage
represents the 3 Lessons of Faith.
1. God has chosen you.
2. God has forgiven you.
3. God has strengthened you.
The mercy and patience of God is such that he has chosen us. We
are his chosen people.
God has chosen us, and there are times when we are deeply
grateful to have been chosen, and other times when we find it
hard to believe in our chosenness. We, like Paul, want to assert
that we are among the worst of sinners and should not have been
chosen. We are reminded that our feelings and our worthiness
have nothing to do with our chosenness. God’s grace, peace,
patience and mercy and especially love are what cause us to be
chosen. We have been chosen to be served and to serve.
This is why Jesus came. This is why we have been forgiven and
this is why we have been strengthened in the Holy Spirit.
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We are urged to remember that, like Paul, it is our history and our
place in the world that makes us uniquely equipped to be God’s
servant.
We all know people who need to know Jesus. We all have sinned
in ways that are unique to us. We all continue to sin despite our
determination to live a servant life.
That means that we can say:
I have had the same life struggles that you are encountering.
I am not perfect and you don’t have to be perfect either.
What I know is simply this, God loves me and forgives me.
God is patient with me when I fail. God gives me mercy every day.
And God is waiting to give you that same patience, mercy, love
and forgiveness.
This is the story of the Gospel and the story that Paul tells
again and again in the Epistles.
Grace.
I thank God for you.
Hold fast to the Gospel
For the love of everything Holy stop being stupid
Timothy (and the people at St Andrew’s) say “hi”
In our unique position in Salmon Arm and among our family and
friends across the nation and world we are the ones through
whom God can use our connections with people.
Not only do we know a lot of people, we know these people. WE
know how to speak to them. We share stories with them. They
see our life of faith.
All of that makes us uniquely perfect to be the ones to tell them
that in Jesus they are forgiven, to pray for them, to invite them to
worship.
And yes, we will likely mess up in this mission and calling. But
God is patient and merciful and will remind us, that we are called.
In that calling we are reminded:
Don’t just invite people to church.
Invite them to lunch.
Invite them to your home.
Invite them into your heart.
Tell them that you love them.
Tell them that you will always be there for them.
And remember:
That you are the Church.
This building is where we worship, but you are the Church.
Like Paul we know God’s patience and mercy, so that we can fulfill
our calling to use our abilities, power and energy to build the
kingdom.
If one of the greatest sinners can do that, then so can all the rest
of us greatest sinners. Amen

Hymn: 637 Take my life and let it be

Offering
Doxology
Offertory Prayer

Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer
Loving God, remind us that we are here because you invite us,
seek us, come to us, and embrace us. Teach us to give thanks for
your mercy, for these people with whom we worship, for those
people who you bring to us that we might speak to their need.
People of God, as we come to prayer let us remember that we do
not have to twist the arm of a reluctant God to seek good things
for this world, nor find ways to persuade a distant God to come
near and listen to us.
Let us remember that as we pray we kneel alongside Jesus Christ,
in the presence of God, with the help of the Spirit. Let us
remember that God is a God of miracles who waits to bless us.
So let us bring to mind now those people who are in need of our
prayers:
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*all those who grieve the loss of family or friend. Comfort all in
the strength of the knowledge that in Jesus and through your
mercy, eternal life is the gift to all whom you love.
We pray for King Charles that you will walk with him with patience
and mercy as he embarks on the next phase of his calling in
service, faith and duty.
God of love and mercy, may the truth you offer stay with us when
we leave this place; may all that is lost in our lives, be found
through your Spirit; may the brokenness of this world be healed
and turned to love and hope; and may we strive to be your
faithful disciples as the body of Christ, in whose name we pray
saying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And
give us this day our daily bread and forgive 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
for ever. Amen
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Hymn: 641 One more step along the road I go

Charge and Benediction
Sung Blessing

Take O take me as I am; Summon out what I shall be;
Set your seal upon my heart and live in me. (2x)