Surprise! Knox Bayfield Rev Dolson Dec 20
The Lord be with you … and also with you.
Remember… if you need to access the church building be sure to follow the pandemic protocols with face masks, hand sanitizer. Be sure to put your name and contact information on the Contact Tracing List.
Did you hear about the newest challenge to help two important Presbyterian organizations? There is a Challenge from St. Giles Presbyterian, St. Catharines to respond to the need at Crieff Hills and Camp Kintail. Both are experiencing financial challenges due to COVID 19. How can you donate?
Camp Kintail donate online: https://campkintail.campbraingiving.com/
Mail donation: Camp Kintail, Box 153, Goderich, ON N7A 3Z2
Call the camp at 519-529-7317 if you have any questions or need assistance.
Crieff Hills Retreat Centre donate online: https://crieffhills.com/support/donate/
Mail donation: Crieff Hills Retreat, 7098 Concession 1, Puslinch, ON N0B 2J0
Call Crieff Hills at 1-800-884-1525 email: accounting@crieffhills.com
We are thankful to Jean Walker, organist, for her efforts in performing the hymns for the YouTube video. Remember to go to the end of the printed material for the lyrics to the hymns. This worship service is on our website https://pccweb.ca/knoxbayfieldpc/ and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTYgIPqvkMsDNal0b1gCiPg
We welcome the newest member of Knox Bayfield …. Lois Kacsandi … into the worship service. She will lead us in the Call to Worship Advent reading today.
The focus of the Mission Moment … Preparing a Place of Welcome.
Being forced to flee from one’s home and ending up in a foreign land is terrifying. There are often language, social and cultural barriers in the new place that make settling very difficult. Rani Ibrahim, the leader of the Newcomer Mission at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Peterborough, Ont., sees it as his calling from God to make this transition easier for others in his community. He does this through social programming, accompaniment services and prayer gatherings. With support from Presbyterians Sharing, this mission has helped hundreds of people experience the love of God and provided people with a sense of belonging in Canada.
Did you know the Advent book study is well underway? I hope you are able to join in this week. We will explore the third chapter of the book “Light of the World, A beginners guide to Advent”. We will meet at 2 pm Sunday on Zoom. Join in the conversation regardless of whether you’re reading the book. Questions? Contact Rev Lisa (519) 572-8529 [call or text]
Income and Expense Update
Your contributions to the church and its ongoing work are appreciated. Your regular offerings allow the church to continue its good work. The Knox Bayfield Session and Finance committee are diligent in their efforts to minimize expenses and meet financial commitments. Our updated financial reports indicate November income $4,001 and expenses in $4,859 with a year-to-date deficit of $5,840.
The Presbyterian Connection newspaper unites Presbyterians across Canada through stories, reflections, interviews and articles that allow us to share and develop our faith. It is distributed four times per year, free of charge. https://presbyterian.ca/presbyterian-connection/ or contact the National Church Office at 1-800-619-7301 ext. 243 to set up a free paper subscription.
Fourth Sunday in Advent: LOVE
Reader: In this season of Advent, we celebrate God’s love.
All: Soon we will welcome the beautiful and radical love of God as Jesus Christ comes to live among us.
Reader: We embrace our identity as God’s beloved children and let this truth guide our decisions and relationships.
All: In our homes and in our church, we offer hospitality, welcoming those we don’t know, those who are in need, and those who are different from us.
Reader: We demonstrate our care for creation in real and tangible ways through the products we buy, the food we eat, and the way we live every day.
All: Together, we are a sign of God’s love for the world.
The candle of love is lit.
Unison Prayer: God of extravagant generosity, in Jesus we discover the depth of your care and the lengths you will go to save us. Forgive us when we ignore those in need, trample your creation and refuse to share all that we receive from you. Teach us to love our neighbours, caring for each other in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hymn #125 People, look east
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
God of wisdom, soften our hearts and direct our minds as we discern your holy scripture. May we be like fertile soil in which to plant your living Word. Amen.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. And also with you.
READINGS:
2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16; Psalm 89:1–4, 19–26
Romans 16:25–27; Luke 1:26–38, 46b–55
Hymn: # 165 O little town of Bethlehem
Surprise!
This is the fourth Sunday of Advent. The time of anticipation of the celebration of the birth of Christ. Our readings span across the centuries as we encounter the passage from the time of King David to Mary’s pregnancy.
The passage from the book of Samuel brings together the threads of history. It speaks of God’s covenant to be with David and his descendants forever. According to the text, both the king and the prophet have misunderstood the mind of God. The text reminds us that God baffles human expectations and surprises the faithful. It can be challenging to remember that our faith includes being open to the surprises that God presents in our daily lives. Surprising faith can be confusing.
“If faith responds to the living God,” writes Luke Timothy Johnson, “then faith is an open-ended enterprise, for the living God always moves ahead of us. If theology articulates faith, then theology also is a matter of constant catching up with the work of the God who acts before we do and most often catches us by surprise.”
Which leads me to a question that resurfaces again and again. How do we try to box up our expectations of God? There are so many stories of surprise within the scriptures, yet we keep trying to fit our understanding of faith into a structure. Are there ways in which you try to create a structure to control your expectations of God, your response to the Divine? Which leads to another question… Is it possible that during this time of physical isolation and disrupted patterns of life … is it possible that God could be leading us to consider new ways of being as individuals and as a church? During this time we can be more open to the movement of the Spirit when we look to the stories of Advent.
It is good to remember that the extraordinary thing about Mary is that … she is ordinary. In our protestant tradition, Mary is a member of the “priesthood of all believers” John Calvin rejected the idea that Gabriel’s description of Mary as “favored” meant that she was “worthy of praise.” Calvin noted that Gabriel recognized Mary as the “happy one” who has received “the undeserved love of God,” for God alone is to be adored.
Most of us, at one time or another has wondered what the purpose of our individual life might be. In the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo expressed in his Confessions, “For all I want to tell you, Lord, is that I do not know where I came from when I was born into this life which leads to death—or should I say, this death which leads to life? This much is hidden from me.” We look to the ancient writings of Isaiah and discover that God knows us before we are formed. Although we do not know how our lives will unfold, the Scriptures tell us that God is there at every point.
At this time just before Christmas, as we live in the midst of a pandemic that has created chaos in so many lives, we yearn for miracles. We turn our focus to an older woman in the sixth month of pregnancy and an unassuming teen virgin who is pregnant.
Mary sings of her people Israel, the lineage of Miriam, and the sisterhood of Hannah, Judith, and Leah. They sang of the reversals created by God during the exodus from Egypt, the forming of the nations during the time of the judges and Philistine oppression, and Roman occupation and oppression. In that time and place, Mary sings of the reversal of power … of the humble empowered and the once powerful humbled. This young woman chosen to mother the Christ child has often been portrayed as someone without a voice. She speaks for herself initially and then for all the lowly whom God has helped. It is wonderful to hear Mary sing of the blessings of God. Luke speaks of her as a role model, as the mother of the Savior and as one who speaks and sings of changes that God brings into this world.
We are reminded that God moves in the life of the world and everything changes. The old order becomes displaced and new order is created. The fourth Advent candle is lit as Mary sings her song of praise and liberation. This young Jewish girl responded to God’s call upon her life with praise and gratitude. Mary’s song points to the history of prophecy that is now fulfilled. She sings of revolution, of the great reversals that have unfolded and continue to unfold. Her very soul magnifies God as her spirit rejoices in God.
She tells of five reversals. Mary experienced reversal from that of an unmarried, peasant living in an occupied country … to one who becomes theotokos, the God-bearer. She speaks of the lowly being raised up as the powerful lose their status. God fills the hungry and the wealthy receive nothing. The lowly may also be understood as the oppressed, exploitated, and misery of individuals, such as Hagar, Leah, and Hannah. Mary’s song reaches out through the generations as her call for a better world connects with each of us. Mary sings of her trust in God, even when she does not understand. She sings of injustice, of unequal distribution of resources, of how we step away from God. Mary celebrates the beauty of stepping toward God and all that is life-giving in God’s creation.
Praise be to God.
# 110 Come, thou Long Expected Jesus
THE OFFERING OF OUR LIFE AND LABOUR TO THE LORD
QUOTE: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Hebrews 13:5a
Our souls proclaim the greatness of God and our spirits rejoice in our Savior. With humble and grateful hearts, we bring our offerings to God.
BLESSING OF GIFTS & PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Join me in prayer:
Eternal God, nothing is impossible with you. We pray for the mission of your church, that we may proclaim the good news as we rejoice in the gift of our Savior. We pray for all who suffer, that we may feed the hungry and lift up the low through the power of your holy and life-giving Spirit. May the offering of our gifts be a source of healing for this world in need.
We pray for your creation, that we may safeguard its well-being from generation to generation to your honor. We remember those who have died and pray for those who will die today, that they may rest with you eternally.
Gracious God, teach us to give thanks in all circumstances, for you are always with us. Thank you for the privilege of sharing what we have with others, of giving ourselves away in love, and of receiving the gifts that others share with us.
Almighty God, you have made us for a holy purpose, to comfort and care for each other. There are many within our church family in need of your special care at this time. We lift up Ron, Sandy and their family as Ron continues to struggle in his healing. We lift up Peggy, Betty Lou, Jane, Bonnie, Jessie, Marlene, Rob, Courtney, 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.
We lift up the care-givers and those who receive care during the pandemic. We pray that your Spirit will linger with your people during this challenging time. A time of isolation that has left many feeling fragmented and in despair. May they sense your protective love. Through Christ, with Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we magnify you, almighty God.
O holy One, we pray for clarity, passion, and true fellowship to awake us to your presence. May your face shine upon the church and all this weary world. We pray
in the name of the One born in a manger, 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.
Amen.
# 621 God be with you till we meet again
BENEDICTION
Luke 1; Romans 1
Do not be afraid, for God is with you and will strengthen you in your journey through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Magnify the Lord and rejoice, for nothing is impossible with God. May the blessing of God, who creates, redeems, and restores, be with you now and always.
Postlude
Let There Be Peace on Earth
Questions for Reflection
How will the readings impact you this week? Mary’s song proclaims that God is lifting up the low while scattering the proud, and feeding the hungry while sending the rich away with empty hands. How does this change the way you think about God’s justice and favor?
Morning Prayer
Expectant God, Mary sings because she has new life in her, the promise of your salvation. Fill me with hope this day as I lift my life to you and seek to do your will. Look with favor on our world and all who are in need, that your love may be magnified as I follow humbly in your way. Amen.
Evening Prayer
Lord, as I come to you seeking rest this night, I pray that all may find a home in you, be disturbed by no one, and be free of the afflictions of the evil one, for you, O God, are mighty to save. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Mighty God, your faithfulness is magnified in the coming of your Son, in the long-awaited birth of the promised Messiah. May we, like Mary, proclaim your greatness
as we rejoice in our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture readings next week:
Longest Night Dec 21st: Isaiah 40:1–8; Psalm 121; Matthew 11:28-29
Christmas Eve Dec 24th: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
Dec 27th: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 148; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:22-40
Hymns:
125 People, look east
165 O little town of Bethlehem
110 Come, thou Long Expected Jesus
621 God be with you till we meet again
#125 People, look east
People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able;
Trim the hearth and set the table
Refrain: People, look east and sing today:
Love the guest is one the way.
Furrows, be glad; though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength, the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish. Refrain
Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen Refrain
Stars keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together. Refrain
Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming. Refrain
#110 Come, thou long-expected Jesus
Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us;
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art,
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver;
born a child and yet a king;
born to reign in us forever;
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all-sufficient merit
raise us to thy gracious throne.
621 God be with you till we meet again
God be with you till we meet again
Loving counsels guide, uphold you
with a shepherd’s care enfold you
God be with you till we meet again
God be with you till we meet again
Unseen wings protecting, hide you
daily manna still provide you
God be with you till we meet again
God be with you till we meet again
When life’s perils thick confound you
Put unfailing arms around you
God be with you till we meet again
God be with you till we meet again
Keep love’s banner floating o’er you
Smite death’s threatening wave before you
God be with you till we meet again
Let There Be Peace on Earth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGoEJyV7Snw
Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Chet Akins, Michael McDonald
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be
With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With ev’ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me