A whole new ballgame 30 May 2021 Knox Bayfield Rev Dolson
The Lord be with you … and also with you.
Welcome to worship at Knox Presbyterian Bayfield on the 1st Sunday after Pentecost
Announcements
Mission Moment … Supporting Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Four years ago, the Myanmar military began a campaign of violent attacks against the Rohingya. Widespread killing, torture, robbery and assault forced over 700,000 Rohingya from their homes into neighbouring Bangladesh. Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D) responded and continues to do so. We are providing lifesaving food assistance and temporary shelter, and ensuring that psychosocial support is available to those who need it. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the crowded refugee camps, PWS&D is helping ensure families have access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Families are also receiving food vouchers to help meet nutritional needs and boost the local economy.
Church Signs: Honk if you love Jesus. Text and drive if you want to meet him.
Have you noticed an interesting or amusing church sign in your journeys? Share with the congregation by sending them to Rev Lisa.
We are thankful to Jean Walker, organist, for her efforts in performing the hymns for the YouTube video.
Join the conversation on Zoom! Our spring book discussion will focus on The Book of Joy-Lasting Happiness in a Changing World on Tuesday 2–3 pm.
The people of Knox Bayfield acknowledge that our community worship, live, play, and work on the traditional lands of the Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk (Neutral), and Mississauga peoples within Treaty 29, of 1827.
Hymn # 389 Breathe on me, breath of God
Call to Worship
Psalm 103:1
Bless the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me, bless God’s holy name.
Assurance of Pardon
Join me in prayer… Holy God, we know that you are always there to lead us, yet we somehow lose our way and fall back into fear. We confess that we stumble and recognize our need for you to lift us up to start again. Forgive us our failings, reconcile us with you, ourselves, and each other, through the power of Christ and the gift of your Spirit. Amen.
Siblings in Christ, hear the good news: We did not receive the spirit of slavery, but rather the spirit of adoption. You are God’s beloved children—forgiven, loved,
and free. May God’s peace be with you. And also with you.
Hymn# 436 God we praise you for the morning
Prayer For Illumination
Come, Holy Spirit, giver of life; breathe into us that we may hear a word of truth this day. Draw us into communion, enable us to love, conspire to make us one with you for the world you so deeply love. Amen.
Readings
Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17
May God bless our understanding of this, God’s holy word. The Word of the Lord.
Hymn # 411 Stand up and bless the Lord
A whole new ballgame
Trinity Sunday invites us to reflect on the nature of the triune God.
The readings today allow us vastly different perspectives encounters with the divine. Isaiah and Nicodemus struggle with teachings that tend to catch at all of us. We seem to get pulled up short and may even give in to the need to give our head a shake.
Isaiah has a vision where he is in the presence of the Trinity, the Lord of Hosts, the Divine Other lifted so high in glory and splendor that even the seraphs must cover their faces.
While he is surrounded by the awe and terror of God, Isaiah experienced a sense of unworthiness of himself and of his people. He feels unworthy to stand in the presence of God, yet, he is in there. He feels unworthy to serve, yet believes that he must. He is faced with this dilemma of feeling unworthy and feeling the deep call to serve when he exclaims, “Woe is me! I am lost.” Isaiah’s equilibrium is in deep upheaval. It is when he proclaims his sin that he is cleansed and receives a clean heart. It is then that there is clarity to God’s call.
Both passages remind us of our struggle to feel worthy of God’s call on our life. I am reminded of the instability that occurs when we are learning new skills. We can feel inept and not up to the task. It may feel overwhelming when we try to learn a new way or skill set. Learning new skills can help us to better understand what we already know. Some coaches will use a form of this to help their players develop new ways of understanding the sport and deepen the relationships between the players. I have watched baseball coaches take the baseball team out onto the diamond to explain a new set of rules for that practice. The familiar routines are set aside and a new of playing is introduced. A major shift will be to reverse the order of running to the bases. When the batter hits the ball, they run to third, then to second, first and onto home. All the same equipment and players are on the familiar field yet a significant change has occurred. The struggle to understand and shift into the new game is real. They have fun working together as a team and they begin to see the game differently.
Nicodemus struggled to understand what Jesus was teaching him. Perhaps he was struggling in part because he was a religious leader and teacher of the law. The traditions, his understanding of scripture, his way of being in his community were well established. Yet, he saw the presence of God clearly with Jesus. He was curious about the teachings of this Rabbi and he was aware of the risks in following him.
In the safety of the night Nicodemus went to gain a better understanding of Jesus and discovered that he was called to a new way of being. He discovered that religion was more than the observance of practices and rituals. It is a lesson that we learn as people throughout our lifetimes. When practices become routine, they may thwart spiritual sensitivity and awareness. Jesus spoke of being born from God’s realm which Nicodemus considers from the plain, literal meaning of birth of the flesh. Jesus is speaking of spiritual birth. Perhaps we can understand the struggle from a 21st century setting. There is often a struggle between science and spiritual faith. One is pitted against the other in a debate style argument. It seems that there need not be a debate of which is more true or real. There is spiritual faith and there is science. Both and. There is physical birth and there is spiritual birth. Both and. There is the need to form traditions and a need to engage in transformative overhaul of our ways of seeing and being.
Both Isaiah and Nicodemus discover God’s intention is to love and to make life whole. That love is ever constant and faithful. The invitation is given to each of us with the hope that we will respond.
The misunderstandings and feelings of unworthiness may catch us in a familiar place. It is like our mind is running down a familiar path and we are unaware of the scenery. Jesus tells Nicodemus, and us, that God’s kingdom is here. It is not a privilege to be earned in a far off galaxy in the distant future. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It is a gift from God, here and now, in our relationship with the triune God and with one another. Peace be with you.
Hymn # 592 I, the Lord of sea and sky
The Offering Of Our Life And Labour To The Lord
Quote: Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 – 1894), author
Psalm 81:6; Deuteronomy 5:13
God lifts the burdens from our shoulders and frees our hands from work, giving the gift of regular rest. What, then, shall we lift up to God in thanksgiving? In freedom and joy we give back to God a portion of all we have received, that others may rest in fullness of life.
Blessing Of Gifts & Prayers Of The People
Psalm 81:6, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Mark 3:5–6, Colossians 1:20
Join me in prayer:
Mighty God, you lift our burdens and free us from the oppressive weight.
We pray for people who long for freedom and wait for justice. We pray for all who are trapped in the violence of war and abuse; for those struggling against unjust laws; and those who are burdened with debt and unemployment.
Bring us out from every form of slavery into the abundant life you offer.
Healing God, you know the frailty of our human bodies and minds. You know the limitations we face. The fear and the pain, the loss of unclaimed gifts and abandoned dreams. We pray that we may be set free. Give us courage to face our challenges and to heal from wounds that linger from the past. Help us to see ourselves clearly, to put to good use what you have entrusted to us, and to boldly follow your voice and vision.
God of Sabbath rest, grant peace to your world wearied by the ravages of the pandemic. There are many within our church family in need of your special care at this time. We lift up Ron, Sandy, Rudy, Jane, Bonnie, Rob, Courtney and Kyla. 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. By your Spirit who breathes within us, strengthen our faith, use our gifts, and work in our lives to bear witness to Christ who taught his disciples 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 #687 Blessed Assurance
Benediction
Isaiah 6:8, Psalm 29:11
God said, “Whom shall I send, and who shall go for us?” And Isaiah said, “Here am I; send me!” Life-giving God, free us from our fear, fill us with your love, and send us forth in peace. May the Lord give strength to the people. May the Lord bless the people with peace! May the blessing of the God who creates, redeems, and restores be with you now and always.
Postlude #623 Holy, holy, holy
Questions for Reflection
Jesus invites us to be born from above to receive new and abundant life. Salvation, or abundant life, is understood as a present reality in the Gospel of John. If the gift of God’s love made known to us in Christ through the Spirit is stirred up by gratitude, what daily practice could increase your sense of gratitude? How could a simple practice of thanking God at any given moment in the day enliven your experience of salvation?
Morning Prayer
Life-giving God, awaken me to your threefold presence in the world this day
that I may share your love with others as freely as you have done for us in Christ. Amen.
Evening Prayer
Abba, I give thanks for the immeasurable gifts of this day, above all, for the gift of your love made known in Christ. How grateful I am that by his love I am counted as a precious member of your family. Mere words cannot convey the wonder of this love. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Holy God, source of all goodness, you gave your Son for the life of the world
and sent your Spirit that your love might abide within us. Teach us how to love each other this day, that we may have life, and have it abundantly, with you, in Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Scripture readings next week
1 Samuel 8:1-22; 11:14-15; Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35
389 Breathe on me, breath of God
Breathe on me, breath of God; fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love and do what thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, breath of God, until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will, to do and to endure.
Breathe on me, breath of God, till I am wholly thine,
until this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, breath of God, so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life of thine eternity.
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
436 God we praise you for the morning
God, we praise you for the morning; hope springs forth with each new day,
new beginning, prayer and promise, joy in work and in play.
God, we praise you for creation, mountains, seas and prairie land.
Waking souls find joy and healing in your bountiful hand.
God, we praise you for compassion, all the loving that you show;
human touching, tears and laughter, help your children to grow.
God, we praise you for your Spirit, Comforter and daily friend;
restless searcher, gentle teacher, strength and courage you send.
God, we praise you for the Saviour, come that we may know your ways.
In his loving, dying, rising, Christ is Lord of our days.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Hallelujah, hallelujah! Christ is Lord of our days!
411 Stand up and bless the Lord
Stand up and bless the Lord; God’s people now rejoice;
Stand up and bless the Lord your God with heart and soul and voice.
Though high above the praise, above all blessing high,
Who would not fear God’s holy name, and praise and magnify?
Oh for the living flame from God’s own altar brought,
To touch our lips, our minds inspire, and wing to heaven our thought.
God is our strength and song; Now is salvation ours.
God’s love in Christ we now proclaim With all our ransomed powers.
Stand up and bless the Lord; The Lord your God adore;
Stand up and bless God’s glorious name henceforth forevermore.
592 I, the Lord of sea and sky
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin my hand will save. I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. 8Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send? Refrain
Refrain: Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.,
I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain. I have wept for love of them: they turn away. I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone. I will speak my word to them. Whom shall I send? Refrain
I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame. I will set a feast for them; my hand will save. Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send? Refrain
687 Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain: This is my story; this is my song: praising my Saviour all the day long;
this is my story; this is my song: praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Refrain
Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Saviour am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with his goodness, lost in his love. Refrain