Service Sunday August 25, 2024

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Worship Leader: Debbie Sherwin, LLWL

All are Welcome!

“Watch a recording of the whole service through YouTube below”

The Gathering

Welcome and Announcements.
Focusing Moment.

Acknowledgement of Land

The land on which this building sits is land that has been walked on, hunted on, and lived on for thousands of years. It is the traditional land of the Williams Treaties people, and it is with humility and respect that we give thanks that we are here, in the space where we are in touch with Creator who made it and who made us. May our worship honour the relationships that are celebrated and invited here, and may we always remember the story of this land, the people who live here, and the call to live with respect and thanksgiving.

~Written by Peter Chynoweth, Gathering. Pentecost 1 2021, p. 37.

Call to Worship:

CALL TO WORSHIP:

One: We look with awe and wonder at the beauty of the highlands and the land between.

ALL: Captivated by the many lakes, the star-filled skies, the fireflies, and the full-moon beam shining across the water,

One: Joy fills our hearts with the gifts of creation.

ALL: On our pilgrimage of life, we give thanks for the support and encouragement of our friends and family.

One: Gratitude overflows for all that God has given us.

ALL: We come to give thanks and to worship God.

Hymn: “For the Fruit of All Creation” VU #227

1 For the fruit of all creation, thanks be to God.

For the gifts to every nation, thanks be to God.

For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,

silent growth while we are sleeping,

future needs in earth's safekeeping, thanks be to God.

2 In the just reward of labour, God's will is done.

In the help we give our neighbour, God's will is done.

In our worldwide task of caring

for the hungry and despairing,

in the harvests we are sharing, God's will is done.

3 For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God.

For the good we all inherit, thanks be to God.

For the wonders that astound us,

for the truths that still confound us,

most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.

OPENING PRAYER: (Spoken In Unison)

God of Power, God of Peace, you equip us to face the existential, political, and spiritual challenges of this and every era. May we be mindful of your protection, and help us to share your word in ways that promote love, grace, and justice. Amen.

~ Prayers for All Seasons, Edited by Ellen Turnbull, Year B, p.137

MINISTRY OF MUSIC:

LEARNING TOGETHER:

HYMN: “There’s a Spirit in the Air” VU#582

1 There's a spirit in the air,

telling Christians everywhere:

'Praise the love that Christ revealed,

living, working in our world.'

2 Lose your shyness, find your tongue,

tell the world what God has done:

God in Christ has come to stay.

Live tomorrow's life today!

3 When believers break the bread,

when a hungry child is fed,

praise the love that Christ revealed,

living, working in our world.

4 Still the Spirit gives us light,

seeing wrong and setting right:

God in Christ has come to stay.

Live tomorrow's life today!

5 When a stranger's not alone,

where the homeless find a home,

praise the love that Christ revealed,

living, working, in our world

THE WORD

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10 - 20

Leader: Hear and listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

MESSAGE

“Warriors of the Light”

There is no audio recording today but the message can be read below at the bottom of this page.

OUR RESPONSE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken VU #921)

Hymn: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” VU #262

1 A mighty fortress is our God,

a bulwark never failing;

our helper sure amid the flood

of mortal ills prevailing:

for still our ancient foe

doth seek to work us woe;

with power and malice great,

and armed with cruel hate,

on earth he has no equal.

2 Did we in our own strength confide,

our striving would be losing,

were not the right man on our side,

the man of God's own choosing:

dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is he;

Lord Sabaoth his name,

from age to age the same,

and he must win the battle.

3 And though this world, with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God hath willed

the truth to triumph through us:

the prince of darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

for lo! his doom is sure,

one little word shall fell him.

4 That word above all earthly powers,

no thanks to them, abideth;

the Spirit and the gifts are ours

through Christ, who with us sideth:

let goods and kindred go,

this mortal life also;

the body they may kill:

God's truth abideth still,

God's kingdom is for ever.

PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY PRAYER:

In Unison:

We bring before you, God, our gifts --- gifts of our labors, gifts from our hearts, gifts that remind us that life is to be shared with others as we face our hopes and our challenges. Bless these offerings, and the spirit in which they have been given, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

~ Written by Bill Steadman & Catherine Somerville, Gathering. Pentecost 1 2018, p.44.

SUNG BLESSING: (VU #642 - verse 3)

Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;

be thou my dignity, thou my delight,

thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tower;

raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Sending Forth:

One: Go from here and enjoy what is left of this summer season: at home or away, God’s armor of protection will be with you. In good times and challenging times, the peace that passes all understanding will support you.

Go today, strengthened in your faith. Go encouraged, to seek justice and resist evil. Go with softened hearts, to see God in all people. Go in peace to love and serve others. Amen.

A Time of Fellowship

MESSAGE: “WARRIORS OF THE LIGHT” Ephesians 6: 10 – 20

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he invites them, and us, to put on the whole armor of God, and to be spiritually awake to the danger we are facing…the empire of power-hungry rulers, tyrants, authorities, and forces of evil.

The word “armor” conjures up mental images of guns, tanks, drones, and bombs. The whole metaphor of battle is troubling for many of us in the church, and the military imagery doesn’t sit well. Remember how we used to sing “Onward Christian Soldiers” marching as to war? We don’t hear, or sing that hymn very often anymore, and it’s not even listed in our Voices United or More Voices hymn books.

But the military imagery is common in the Bible, for in biblical times, people would have seen soldiers daily. And in our day, there are many countries that experience the same. We have only to look to the troubling and hurting places of the world.

Here in Canada, we will probably never forget the sight of police officers, armed with batons and face shields, and mounted police, advancing on the protestors, slowly and methodically pushing them out of the downtown core till they left the city of Ottawa.

Conflict and forces of evil surround us in today’s world. Misinformation and disinformation go viral on the internet, conspiracy theories abound, the number of people who have had their social media accounts hacked is shocking, numerous lies are touted on election campaigns without fact-checking, and keyboard warriors are active, even on church and theological sites, where the administrators have had to weigh in and remind us of the rules of conduct.

How quickly we lay down the armor of faith and pick up the armor of the world. How quickly we become desensitized to and resort to bullying, blaming, distrust, hatred, and manipulation than we do with kindness, patience, love, forgiveness, compassion, hope, and joy.

It reminds me of Paul Coffey’s comment in the 1999 movie, The Green Mile: “I’m tired, Boss. Mostly, I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There’s too much of it.”

Stephen King wrote the classic novel that became the Oscar-nominated film. He was on to something…proposing that we lay down the armor of the world and put on the armor of light. We are being called to be Spiritual Warriors or Light Bearers, but in a world of multiple wars, the term “warrior” is often misunderstood. It is the warrior that is both the protector of life, and the one who forges the way to express new human potential.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul puts out a call to arms. He tells us that our strength must come from God. In An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament, verse 10 states: “Let your strength come from our Great Warrior Chief.”

Paul is essentially telling us that when we get up in the morning to get dressed, we are to mindfully put on our belts, our breast plates, and our shoes…to take up our helmets, our shields, and our swords. It’s a tough world out there; we need the whole armor of God to be strong, to stand our ground, to be prepared for whatever faces us each day, and the forces that threaten to pull us off the path. We all know that it hasn’t been easy keeping on track in a rapidly-changing world.

We are fitted for battle, that we might work for peace and rely on prayer to strengthen and build our faith. Russell Kendall Carter reminds us that “as part of God’s army, we are called to continually assist those in need, but we cannot do this alone. A community of faith must come together to pray and work for those left behind by society.”

The traditional tools of combat are not what is needed for the conflict at hand. As a Warrior of the Light, the armor of God has a whole new meaning.

Scripture instructs us to put on our BELT OF TRUTH. While some people can’t handle the truth, we all need to hear it. For some of us, truth is in short supply these days, and it keeps the fact-checkers on their toes during presidential rallies, interviews and debates! We all know how easy it is to get away with that little white lie, but it has the potential to turn us into a compulsive liar, caught in a web of lies, where we don’t even know the truth anymore. A Warrior of the Light learns to speak the truth in love, and at times, with ruthless compassion.

We are to put on our BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. It protects the heart space from unkindness and verbal abuse, which can make us hard-hearted and broken-hearted. Body armor in this place is sometimes never healed in a lifetime. The heart space is the seat of our faith…the place of LOVE. One of the virtues of being a Light Bearer requires that we have open and honest heart-to-heart communication with ourselves and others.

We are called to pick up the SHIELD OF FAITH, for there will be times that we will be attacked or criticized for who we are…for our motives…for standing in our truth. The shield of faith can give us confidence and assurance that we are not alone, that God is with us in the storms of life. With God on your side, your shield of faith will deflect the dark arrows hurled at you.

We are instructed to put on COMFORTABLE SHOES that will carry us on the path. Having walked a couple of pilgrimages in my life, I can attest to the necessity of comfortable shoes in the mission field!

We are told to put on the HELMET OF PROTECTION, for God’s love is with us to protect us from the doubt that is sure to arise on the battlefield.

Every one of these pieces of armor are defensive in nature, but the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT is an offensive weapon. A sword in battle is used to attack the enemy, but the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. It is the words of our mouths coming from the Creator. Those words may be spoken or written, for we all know that sometimes “the pen is mightier than the sword.”

Essentially, we need the whole armor of God; there isn’t one part of it that you would want to neglect…which moves us to consider our own armor. In the margins of my study Bible, the Serendipity Bible, the following questions were suggested for reflection:

What parts of your armor are in good shape? What’s moldy and rusty?

What are the battles going on in your life? Your church? Your community? Your nation? The world?

What do you need to do to get ready for battle?

What would it mean for you “to stand” in the light of these particular battlefields?

How does prayer fit into these battles?

It was almost three years ago when I was holding sacred space at my father-in-law’s bedside, when a prayer shawl and card were delivered to his room. The front of the card’s biblical passage reminded me of today’s message:

“When you draw close to God…with your faith…with your prayers…with your heart…God will draw close to you with protection, with guidance, and with love.” (James 4:8)

May it be so. Amen.