Sunday, April 19th 2020
(If you want to watch the whole service via Youtube clicking on this opening link will start it automatically otherwise choose the elements you want to include. All the links to videos should be underlined)
Sometimes having to
endure the restrictions of lockdown are getting tiresome and we just want to go
out or buy the things we need or see our friends and not being able to do that
raises questions about what we are enduring and questions about why God is
allowing all this.
We invite you to have
your bible beside you for the service, and then take a moment to remember The presence of God is with you.
Callto worship
Jesus you come to us when we have doubts.
All the disciples doubted, even Thomas to whom you showed your hands and
side.
Jesus you come to us when we have fears
The disciples were hiding behind
locked doors and you spoke to them words of Peace.
Jesus you come to us when we feel
alone.
Lockdown is no barrier to you for you enter our bubble to announce Good
news – God loves us , He has forgiven us, He is with us, there is hope because
we serve a risen savior.
ALL – so let us worship God
Thank you God that you do not turn us away when we fail – but you sent Jesus
to be our rescuer, our saviour. To show
us from the cross that even our crucifying him would not stop God loving us or
forgiving us.
So thank you that we can bring not just our sins to you but also our
questions and doubts.
Thank you for the story of Thomas whose doubts didn’t offend you but in
love you reached out your hands inviting him to touch for himself.
We bring to you not only our gratitude for the Good things we have experienced
but also our troubles and questions.
So thank you for your openness and love
so we will say the prayer Jesus taught us
Our Father who is in
heaven, Hallowed by your name
Your Kingdom come
your will be done,
On earth as it is in
heaven
Give us this day our
Daily bread
Forgive us our
Trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from evil
For yours is the
power and the Glory, forever and ever Amen.
Delight & Awe
If you are with
others share your highs and lows for the week. If you are doing this with just
you and God, pause and ponder the things of your week that you are grateful
for: the people you know and love, the
company you have shared….
Don’t forget the low
points – what have you struggled with this week?
Opening Song (Click the underlined words)
Did you know in the 1900’s people doubted
airplanes could ever fly or that people could run a mile in under 4 minutes –
that was until those things happened. If
People doubt the resurrection, we should not be surprised because it is not an
everyday occurrence.
Bible Readings:
John20:19-35 a Lumo play/reading
& Acts2:22-35 read by Amy Argent
Brett’s Message
Are you more like bold Peter
preaching to the crowds or a doubting Thomas?
I am a little of both. The thing that caused me to doubt this week
was reading the Resurrection Stories in Matthew I wondered why there were not
quotes from the Old Testament. During
the birth stories and Jesus death Matthew has many references to the old
Testament but none in Chapter 28.
Why that was lead me to do
my own research and find several quotes other NT writers use like Psalm 16:10
or Dan 12:2-3 but also to a thought from William lane Craig who said that a
sceptic might think if there were lots of clear references to the resurrection
in the OT that the gospel writers would have taken those verses and “created” a
resurrection story, whereas the lack of many verses adds credibility to the
doubt and the thing that convinced them Jesus was alive was their experience of
the risen Christ.
Questions and Doubts like
mine are good when they lead you to do the research and take responsibility for
our own faith rather than just trusting the story told to you by some preacher
or your parents.
The other good news from
our readings are everybody doubts sometimes.
John the Baptist doubter
in Matt 11. Many disciples doubted and
walked away in John 6. Thomas doubts in
John 10 and also many other of the disciples.
Matt 28;17 reminds us that even after the appearances of Jesus some
doubter.
The good news all these
doubters found evidence that worked for them
John the Baptist was told
to look at the evidence of God’s power at work.
Peter and John were
convinced by an empty tomb. Thomas was convinced by seeing with his own eyes
and touching Jesus with his own hands. And
we and many have been convinced by finding these first eye witnesses as
credible witnesses.
WE find them trustworthy witnesses
because they were changed by he experience for fearful to courageous, and no
one would die as a martyr as most disciples did if they knew it was a lie.
They are credible witness because we see them
as frail doubters. If they were making
up the story you would imagine they would show themselves in a better light.
Like them our questions
are good if we take the opportunity to learn and grow.
We can look at the
evidence we see for ourselves but sometimes we need to trust others. I was reading about Frank Morrison who like
Lee Strobel and others set out to prove Christianity false and the resurrection
a hoax. He was convinced by the evidence
and became a Christian.
My wife wants us to buy a
Nissan Leaf for our next car. I am ok
with that as though I have never driven one she has and I trust her judgement. Sometimes the evidence for God being at work
is not in my own experience but in others.
Sometimes the evidence I seen by looking backwards. I may not notice God is working in the moment
but often as I look back I can see God’s hand in all sorts of ways.
It seems to me that the
resurrection is not only well proven but the resurrection proves a number of
other things.
1. That Jesus is a trustworthy teacher. He taught
that he would die and be raised. If he
wasn’t raised why would we believe anything
else.
2.
He is proved to be the song of God - “as to
his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by
being raised from death. Romans 1:4
3.
The resurrection proves Jesus has
defeated sin and death. Fear not, I am the first and the last, and
the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore,
and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Rev 1:17-18
As
Romans 8:38-39 says “I am certain that nothing
can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other
heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, nothing will
ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus”
So take your questions and
your doubts and use them to learn and grow.
Bring them to Jesus as Thomas did and ask God to reveal himself to you.
Is there
other connections between your bible readings and your highs and lows for the
week?
·
Was there a word, sentence, or phrase that
stood out to you in the readings today?
Pray for those who shared
their highs and lows giving thanks for the blessings and asking for God’s help
with the struggles.
A further Prayer
Written and spoken by Joanne Magill
Prayerfor Ourselves and Others – 19 April
Almighty and merciful God, Thank you for all you have given each of us and
for the tiny blessings we receive daily. This morning we especially pray for
each of our families, our wider whanau, and particularly our church family here
at St Columba’s. This is a unique time for everyone in the world and when we
start to count our blessings let us start locally. We pray for Brett and Sue
and all the work they do at St Columba’s, particularly the new and regular ways
Brett has been reaching out to individuals over the last week. Bless our
Session and Board of Managers who continue their efforts at this time. Bless
all those who continue to participate in the everyday workings of our church. Lord we are very thankful for their
efforts.
Loving God, We bring before you our offerings with grateful
hearts, the visible gifts and the invisible gifts given. Please Lord God let
these offerings be used wisely and stewarded with care. Bless the cheerful givers and their offerings and may they be used together
in your holy name.
Lord
we pray for our local community here in Taradale, in Napier, and in Hawkes Bay
and all those groups that we participate in locally. We feel in some ways very
isolated and in others we are sometimes able to connect with others which is a
blessing and a privilege. Thank you that the sun is still coming up and we are
able to stay in touch with one another. While the Covid-19 situation is
constantly in our prayers now we especially think of those in our local
community affected in new and difficult ways by this virus.
We pray for those alone, overwhelmed, anxious and
distressed. We pray for those challenged by life beyond Covid-19 in our
communities. Those who are facing the same life challenges that continue to go
on within the backdrop of the virus. Losing loved ones, unpredictable health,
difficult relationships, those awaiting important news. Those undergoing
challenging personal circumstances. Some of these individuals are on our minds
and we pray for their challenges this morning [pause, reflect, and think]. When we think of those we used to see
regularly we pray for their immediate needs today and in the coming week. We
especially pray for the local essential workers. Those turning up to risky
situations, routine situations and truly new experiences. Those frontline
workers in emergency services come to our minds but also the carers, drivers,
cleaners, chemists, doctors, hospital workers and the supermarket staff who
continue to provide us a safe community. Lord
let us pray for those in our community working hard.
Heavenly Father we now look wider than those in our local
community and to our country, and we pray earnestly for all leadership in New
Zealand. Our Government leadership has been helpful during this Covid-19
outbreak for which we are grateful, but we also pray for the health leaders and
the science leaders who have become so important in recent weeks. We think now
of those high profile individuals who hold influence in New Zealand society and
pray that each of them will continue to show wisdom and concern for others.
Bless their sincere efforts. We live in a country rich in both natural resources
and people who care. Lord we pray for the wise use of those resources each and
every day. Lord we are very grateful for
all you have given us here in Aotearoa.
Almighty God of Peace we look now to our whole earth, countries who have
faced a massive emergency situation such as Italy, Spain, China, the United
States, United Kingdom and others we have been watching from a distance. We
pray now for their leaders and especially think of their health services and
health workers who have been under immense pressure. We see people all over the
world taking risks and trying to fight this virus and we hope the scientists
working hard find good news have success. We pray for the individuals making
small actions that turn into global rays of light. I think particularly of
Captain Tom Moore who felt the best use of his impending 100th
birthday was to do a fundraising walk in support of the National Health Service
in England which this led to him raising millions of pounds. These kinds of
individuals give us hope in the human spirit at this unprecedented time. We pray
this morning for those grieving throughout the world for the loss of loved ones
and the inability to grieve, or be near them in the usual ways. Lord we pray
for peace in the hearts of those people through the world who are anxious they
may have Covid-19, that have already found themselves to have Covid-19 or have
loved ones directly affected by this virus. Lord we pray for understanding and patience with others as we go about
our interactions with people.
Holy Lord of All, as another week unlike any other time in our
history starts we especially think of those who have very different lives to
ourselves, both in New Zealand and beyond. Those overwhelmed by the increasing
demands this time has put on them. Those isolated and feeling alone. Those
unwell and anxious. Those with perilous living situations. Those feeling
distant from you and your peace. We especially pray for those thinking of
others and trying to make a difference. We ask that you help us all count our
blessings at this difficult time and we pray for grace and kindness in helping
others with the challenges they may be facing. Lord we pray we show grace and understanding.
Loving God We start this week with gratefulness for all we
have been given here in Aotearoa, and we really do praise you with thankful
hearts for each of our blessings, Please Lord bless each of us as we go forward
to shine your light of love into a dark situation.
We ask this all in your holy name and
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Final HYMN Willyour anchor hold in the storms of life
We
close reading, praying or singing the hymn:
Click
the underlined words
Say this to one
another – (and yourself)
The Lord bless you
and keep you;
May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;
May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;
the Lord look upon
you with favour and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24ff
Go now in peace, Go
now in peace. May the love of God surround you, Everywhere, everywhere, you may
go.
=====================================
NOTICES
Help during the health crisis: We are wanting to be able to offer help where
we can and where it is needed. For
example, this might be to pick up some groceries and leave them at the door of
someone who feels unable to be in contact with people at that time. It might be a ride to an appointment. If you wish your name to go onto a list of
those willing to help please let anyone Brett or the church office know. Please note - in order to protect everyone,
you must be in good health yourself to be involved in this.
The Prayer Team: If you or someone you know would benefit from having some prayer
support we have a prayer chain so please feel free to send your requests to office@stcolumba-taradale.org.nz
and the team will spring into action. (You can be assured of confidentiality).
Zoom Meeting after worship (BYO cuppa and chat)
We are having a get together on Zoom on Sunday after worship at 10:30am.You can also use your regular phone and dial in the numbers below and add the meeting id when asked.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/953292967?pwd=Y2kwNDNSRDdDWnRQU0ZTcTN3eFBEQT09
Meeting ID: 953 292 967
Password: 018936
+6448860026,,953292967# New Zealand
Dial by your location
+64 4 886 0026 New Zealand
Ministers all the people Parish contact
details
Website: www.stcolumba-taradale.org.nz
Church office Will be unstaffed but Anna will answer
emails for all needs or questions Phone Brett Walker
Home 06 8442256
Mobile 0274083658
TV and Online services on Sunday
St
Columba’s
Look for the link on the church face book
page
or go to
https://brett-walker.blogspot.com
Other
online and TV Church services
·
TV
One 8am Praise be
or 9am on Tv1 plus 1
·
Shine TV Sundays
·
Radio
Radio
Rhema 99.1 FM
LifeFm
– more modern music 93.5 FM
Southern
Star – more traditional music 909am
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