The love of God 14 March 2021 Knox Bayfield Rev Dolson
Call to Worship Psalm 107:1
O give thanks to the Lord, who is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Hymn# 651 Guide me oh thou great redeemer
Assurance of Pardon
God’s forgiveness shines into the world and the darkness scatters. Jesus knows our every strength, our every weakness, and loves us still. We are called to the promise of God’s amazing grace. Thanks be to God. Amen.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. And also with you.
Hymn # 189 As when the Hebrew prophet
Prayer For Illumination
John 3:21
Almighty God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, open your Word and illumine our world, that we may see clearly and live faithfully by the light of your truth in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Readings
Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
May God bless our understanding of this, God’s holy word. The Word of the Lord.
The love of God
The passage from the gospel of John is one of the best-known and loved verses in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” This passage has also caused great debate as we seek to understand it.
Does the good news proclaim God’s gracious love for the world, or is God’s love reserved for those who have faith? Scripture proclaims that God’s extravagant love for the world is an act of grace for all people. Despite this recurring message in scripture of God’s love for the world the idea persists that some are not worthy. God gave the incarnate, crucified, resurrected Jesus, yet there are some who feel unwelcome in faith communities. John’s Gospel assures us that “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Yet John’s Gospel also says that “those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Does God love all people, or only those who have faith in Christ as Savior? How do we place the emphasis in this passage? Do we see God’s love as a gift, available to all people?
In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul declared, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”. A gift from God. The gift that is openly available to all people. The gifts of God are not divied up by our rules and expectations. These amazing gifts are provided by God to all who will turn toward and follow in the ways of Christ.
John began this passage with reference to the passage from the book of Numbers. Moses was instructed by God to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole to save the people from the poisonous snakes.
The passage from the book of Numbers is referred to as a “murmuring” story. The murmur refers to the complaining and rebelling against Moses in the wilderness. They speak out over the lack of food and water. They are frightened by the poisonous snakes and their fear is increased when people die from the snake bites. Their fear leads them to beg Moses to intercede for them with God.
The deeply embedded fear of snakes persists long past the wilderness journey. Beyond a healthy fear of poisonous snakes, Ophidio-phobia [ow – fi – die – uh] is the most common phobia – it affects about a third of the population. This passage catches us by surprise when God tells them to look to a fiery serpent set on a pole. Anyone bitten by a poisonous snake can look to it and be cured. The plan worked so well that the snake sculpture became an ancestral treasure. This odd action may lead us to question whether Moses was lifting up an idol to protect against the snakes. This idea goes against teachings about idols, yet at first glance this explanation seems to fit.
Barbara Brown Taylor explores the meaning of the bronze snake and the link in John’s gospel to Jesus. If the people believed that the bronze serpent was responsible for their cure, then that snake was an idol. But was that God’s intent? What if it was considered from the perspective that God loved and cared for the people? The use of an idol that is reminiscent of Egyptian symbolism seems highly unlikely. What if the serpent is a reminder for the people to lift their eyes and hearts to God? Taylor writes that the snake then becomes a sacrament. “Looking up at it, they looked through it to their only Physician, who alone was their Health, their Salvation, and their Cure.”
In Scripture we discover the opportunity to be saved by grace and through faith. The opportunity to accept God’s grace and follow in the ways of Christ. In Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, we discover that God’s grace and human faith interact. We lack a concise understanding because we are seeking to understand our relationship with the Divine. It is a mystery that allows us to recognize the more we know, the more we realize that more is to be known.
For God so loved the world … is it is possible to read all Scripture within the context of God’s love? God’s love created the world and freed the slaves in Egypt. God’s love offered the guidance of the law and the security of the promised land. God’s love called prophets who declared God’s Word and God’s love. Prophets teaching God’s compassion for the outcast, the foreigners, the oppressed, and the insiders.
It was God’s love that created Jesus to be incarnate, in the flesh, to be human like us. Jesus, as a human, was able to teach and love in ways that we could understand. He was no longer a distant, untouchable God. In his human life he lived among us, experiencing life and teaching directly into the lived experience. Jesus continues to teach us that God’s love is for everyone, not just those who look and think the same. God so loves the world, the whole of creation, that he sent Jesus into the world. The light and the Word in human form. The good news of Christ, the love of God, is offered to all … yet some will turn away.
The books of the bible provide stories of lives impacted by the Divine. The ways in which we read and understand the stories shape our faith and our understanding of God. In John’s gospel, we are taught and reminded to look to the love of God as our primary perspective. We look to the teachings of Jesus to find the love of God for all people. Praise be to God.
Hymn # 274 Crown him with many thorns
The Offering Of Our Life And Labour To The Lord
Quote: Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with
whatever gift each of you has received. 1 Peter 4:10
With thanksgiving for God’s gifts to us, we offer ourselves and the fruits of our labour for God’s work in the world.
Blessing Of Gifts & Prayers Of The People
God of love and compassion we bring to you the need of this world, the needs within your amazing creation. We pray that you will gather us, protect us, help us to grow to be the people you intend us to be as a reflection of your image, of your goodness. We bring our prayer for peace in this world of conflict. May we seek peaceful resolution of political conflict and peace within our nations and our relationships.
Almighty God, we have opened our hands to you, and our hands have been filled with good things. Receive the gifts we bring in gratitude and help us to bless you with dedication of our lives; in Christ and through Christ.
We pray for all who suffer in body, mind, and spirit. Those who suffer with pain, with grief, with mental illness. Those who are victims of greed, injustice, and violence. God of grace and light, we pray for those who are overwhelmed with hopelessness We pray that your spirit will touch our hearts and minds when we struggle with temptation. May we turn toward you and away from unhealthy appetites.
God of love and nurture, we pray for all who are uncertain in their spiritual journey. Those who are newly discovering their faith and those who are struggling with accepting your will in their lives. We pray for those who are spiritually lost, who wander, blind to your presence in their lives.
There are many within our church family in need of your special care at this time. We lift up Ron, Sandy, Rudy, Peggy, Betty Lou, Jane, Bonnie, Jessie, Marlene, Rob, Courtney and Kyla, and Grace’s daughter Lisa. We lift up all those who prefer to remain un-named as they face immense challenges of health and finances.
O holy One, we desire to hear your voice of love, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to see you clearly. Make us true neighbors to one another and true children of your own calling. Lead us to serve others faithfully as disciples of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray…Our Father who art in heaven, hallow’ed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn # 765 We’ve a story to tell the nations
Benediction
Numbers 6:24-26
May God bless you and keep you. May God be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look upon you with favour and give you peace. May the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the light of the Spirit bless you and keep you in the way of truth.
Postlude #623 Holy, holy, holy
Questions for Reflection
What does the light of God’s truth reveal about your life? Are there parts of your life that you want to hide from God? Can you imagine what it would be like to live completely transparent to God’s piercing light?
Morning Prayer
Loving God, draw me to your light, that I may receive the freedom of your grace in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Evening Prayer
Lord Christ, as shadows of night draw near, sustain me. Help me believe in you with all my heart that I may know the freedom of salvation and receive the joy of eternal life. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Ephesians 2:10
Almighty God, through Jesus Christ you bring salvation to the world. Give us strength to believe in him that we may fulfill the purpose for which you have made us, for he dwells with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Scripture readings next week
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 119:9-16; Hebrews 5:5-10;John 12:20-33
623 Holy, holy, holy Words: traditional Music: F Schubert
Refrain: Holy, holy, holy, God almighty, Lord!
Holy, holy, holy, everywhere adored!
God without beginning, God eternal One
reigns and rules forever all beneath the sun [Refrain]
Power and love and wonder circling round God’s throne
Praise our God most holy, Lord of Life alone [Refrain]
189 As when the Hebrew prophet
- As when the Hebrew prophet raised the brazen serpent high
the wounded looked and straight were cured; the people ceased to die,
- so from the Saviour on the cross a healing virtue flows;
who looks to him with living faith is saved from endless woes,
- for God gave up the Son to death, so generous was that love,
that all the faithful might enjoy eternal life above.
- Not to condemn us, or to judge, the Lamb of God appeared;
no weapons in his hands are seen, nor voice of terror heard.
- Christ came to raise our fallen state, and our lost hopes restore;
faith leads us to the mercy seat and bids us fear no more.
651 Guide me oh thou great redeemer
Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak but thou art mighty; Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
Feed me now and evermore; Feed me now and evermore.
Open now the crystal fountain, Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
Be thou still my strength and shield, Be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan, Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell’s destruction, Land me safe on Canaan’s side:
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee; I will ever give to thee.
274 Crown him with many thorns
Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne:
Hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died to be
Your Saviour and your matchless King Through all eternity.
Crown him the Son of God, Before the worlds began;
Let all who tread where he has trod, crown him the Son of Man,
Who every grief has known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for his own, that all in him may rest.
Crown him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, And lives that death may die.
Crown him the Lord of peace whose kingdom is at hand;
From pole to pole let warfare cease and Christ rule every land!
A city stands on high; Christ’s glory it displays,
And there the nations “Holy” city cry in joyful hymns of praise.
Crown him the Lord of years, the Source, the End of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres in majesty sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail, for you have died for me;
Your praise shall never, never fail through all eternity!
765 We’ve a story to tell the nations
We’ve a story to tell to the nations that shall turn their hearts to the right,
a story of truth and mercy,
a story of peace and light, a story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noon-day bright,
and Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.
We’ve a song to be sung to the nations that shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
a song that shall conquer evil and
shatter the spear and sword, and shatter the spear and sword.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noon-day bright,
and Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.
We’ve a message to give to the nations, that the Lord who reigneth above
hath sent us his Son to save us,
and show us that God is love, and show us that God is love.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noon-day bright,
and Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.