Sunday, June 7th 2020
Welcome to Worship
Good
morning!
For those back worshiping in the building welcome. For those worshiping at home – Greetings.
You can follow the material written here. We hope to live stream the service on the churches facebook page https://www.facebook.com/stcolumbataradale
We will post the sermon on youtube and update this blog with the correct links by lunchtime (hopefully). There are no working links to youtube videos yet.
The God
who speaks comfort to us calls us here.
The God
who addresses us with tenderness meets us here.
The God
who guides us with gentleness cares for us here.
We come
to prepare a way for the Lord.
We come
to ready ourselves for the transformation of our lives.
For the
glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all
people will see it.
Our
opening prayer
We praise you God
for who you are:
You are the
comforter – who spoke to comfort your people – assuring them of your presence
and power.
You are the good
shepherd who tends to your flocks every need.
You are the God who speaks reassurance and peace, offering guidance
and wisdom.
We come with our brokenness, our pain and our failures – and you do
not turn us away
We come having been beaten and pummelled by the world and by life
itself - and you comfort us.
We come with our stress, our sorrows and our fears and like a
heavenly father you welcome us.
You have placed us in a family and a community of fellow Christians
to give us support.
So we have inner strength and the support of those around us.
So in the ace of every trouble we will not be afraid. In the face of
every failure we are not overwhelmed. WE know there is forgiveness, a new start
and new path that we can choose.
So thank you God for all the ways you make us strong and resilient.
Let us say the lord’s prayer
together
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come and your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins as we forgive
those who sin against us. And Lead us not into temptation
And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the Kingdom, the power
and the glory. Forever and ever amen
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 Songs at St Columba this week are
2.
Come Now
is the time to worship
Brett talks to the children about how a flat ball is not as much
fun and how you can inflate a balloon my mixing Baking soda and vinegar in a
bottle.
The children sing – he’s
got the whole world in his hands
Bible Readings:
Isaiah 40:1-15
Romans 8:1-11, 14-17
Brett’s
Message: Resilience –Advancing despite Adversity
My first argument with Sue was over a piece
of rubbish. We were going for a walk and I bought a can of drink and when I had
finished the drink I threw the can in the gutter. She would not take another
step until I picked it up. This was very
early in our relationship and it could have been over. I picked up the can. And today when we go for
a walk she still carried a bag to collect rubbish. On my bike ride yesterday I
saw a great pile of rubbish heaped on a side road. It made me think about all the plastic
bottles and beer bottles and cans you see everywhere.
As a boy scout I used to help with the
Bottle drives because bottles were valuable in those days. It made me think about the recent call to ban
plastic bottles- my thought was make them valuable. If you could cash for a plastic bottle or a
can or glass bottle, say 10c each there would be no litter anywhere. Rubbish we throw away today would be
valuable. And people would collect it.
It reminded me about a church I read about called
–scum of the earth. They take their name from 1 Corinthians 4:13 “We are no more than this world's garbage; we are the scum of the earth
to this very moment!”
This is a church that says if you feel like the
word is has treated you as garbage – the church is the place for you.
If you feel like you are washed up – finished,
failed, squashed and dented – the church is the place for you.
If you feel like you don’t fit in because you are
garbage – the church is a place for you.
When Paul wrote that line he was reflecting how the
world treated the Christians of his time, Garbage, scum – unimportant. But God
values things differently. He looks
beyond the failure, and brokenness and pain and sees potential, he sees his
children, he sees those he values and loves.
God is on a bottle drive – no – a people drive. What others throw away he sees as valuable
and precious. Sometimes when we go through adversity and we have taken a
beating – we wonder has God forgotten about us –has he thrown us on the garbage
heap. Or is this just a step in God building a new sense of resilience in us –
that we can advance despite adversity.
That our bruises and brokenness are beautiful in his eyes.
In Isaiah 40 we have the prophet announcing to
people who had been defeated, whose nation had been destroyed, its people
deported and who had endured 70 years in Babylon. They must regularly have thought
they had been forgotten by God. And God tells the prophet to announce the good
news. God does see them as defeated and
disillusioned – he sees his people and announces God is the one who will rescue
them and now is the time. This chapter
talks about the character of God
A God of compassion – speak tenderly to Jerusalem
v1
A God whose word is eternal (the grass fades and
the flower falls but the word of the Lord endures forever v8
A God who will take care of his flock like a
shepherd. v11
A God who is incomparable in power and wisdom (v12-14)
A God who is incomparable in power and wisdom (v12-14)
This is the same God who sees us in our brokenness and
troubles we are not destined for the scrap heap but for renewal and regrowth –
we can Advance Despite Adversity.
In Romans 8 – the power wisdom and compassion of
God is not external to people. It isn’t just
worked out in the history of nations as in the days of Isaiah. It is worked out in the lives of ordinary
people who get to experience the same compassion and care and incomparable
wisdom and power in their own lives.
It starts by announcing the great conclusion of the
first 7 chapters of Romans that there is no condemnation to those in Christ
Jesus (v1) for what the law and human effort could not do, God has done through
Christ. Removing our guilt, taking away
both the punishment for our sin and also the rule of the point scoring system
where one’s approval is measured by keeping the law.
God has done 2 things – he did away with sin by giving us Jesus who
lived the perfect life and therefore completing the requirements of the law,
and allowing all who believe in him to be credited with the same righteousness
Jesus achieved. V 10 describes this as being put right with God (made righteous
v4.)
And then giving us the Spirit of Jesus who enables
us to fulfil the law by allowing the Spirit of God to direct us. Paul reminds the Romans that “Whoever does
not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” v9. The Christian is to have the heart and mind
controlled not by our humans wants and desires but by the Spirit.
The Paul moves to the Central thrust of these
verses – How having Jesus and having the Holy Spirit – are central to a new way
of thinking and living (v14-17)
“Those
who are led by God's Spirit are God's
children. 15 For the Spirit that God has given you does not
make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's
children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, “Father! my Father!” 16 God's Spirit joins himself to our spirits
to declare that we are God's children. 17 Since we are his children, we will
possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with
Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will
also share his glory.
Paul is telling us that God has rescued us and
given us new value. Not based on human effort or merit but on God’s merit and
the spirits presence in our life.
This connects with our resilience
donut model I introduced last week. The center of which is the inner core of how we see ourselves. Today I want to
focus on “I am” or our self-belief.
In order to face adversity and overcome trauma and
difficulty – we need to believe that our lives matter to God and to others.
I would like to suggest that we take a personal
inventory.
Who am I? I
think this should be made up of 2 parts.
My sense of identity and my skills
My Sense of identity:
·
Do I think of myself as a child of God, one who God
valued so much that he sent Jesus, and even now gives me his Spirit?
·
Do I see myself through his eyes, a sheep of his
pasture, a person of promise and purpose?
My Skills: Someone suggested these 5 skills ae
helpful for resilience but what are yours?
- Do I have clarity – a sense of purpose about what God wants from Me?
- Can I collaborate – am I friendly, and able to work with others?
- Do I have composure (or do I awfulise). Can I stay calm and in control in the face of adversity?
- Can I reason and problem solve (Cognition)?
- Do I have commitment , tenacity?
Paul as he looks at this list would say – these are all good things to have but they are not the main thing.
DO you have God, are you connected to eh source of compassion, wisdom and power.
Christians look to Jesus for our sense of Clarity and direction.
Christians look to Jesus who has already connected us with God and with each other in the body of Christ.
Christians look to Jesus for our Composure – he is our peace and he gives the peace that passes understanding.
Christians look to Jesus for our wisdom,
Christians look to Jesus for our role model I commitment and allow the Holy spirit to grow his fruit including patience.
When I got my flat tyre and the car fell off the jack- there was no way I could solve that problem alone – I needed to call the AA. Just as we need to call on God, trusting he has sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and he has given us the family of the church.
One of the strengths of the resilience Donut is that while it emphasize the inner Core – it also talks about the Ring of other skills and more importantly other people, the parents, peers, partners who you can call on. Because to survive you are not this alone.
If I was designing this image I am not sure I would have used the word Donut because the centre is more like an hub than a hole . It is our core beliefs about who I am that help us to advance despite adversity. That enable us to recover and bounce back from trauma and trouble. But I wheel without a tyre full of air is also not that useful unless you like a bumpy ride.
Can I suggest you take the time to write down your core beliefs about yourself. What value to put on yourself – do you accept the words valuation – the scum of the earth – or do you accept God’s valuation – Forgiven Child of God , someone in whom God dwells by his Spirit
Maybe you need to add a second list of who around you brings what Skills, including what has God offered and given
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
This Prayer for others was written by
Keith Woodcock
Shall we pray
together
Loving, Holy God,
we ask for the gift of your Holy Spirit to help us to pray and for the peace
and joy of your spirit to over flow our lives with a peace that passes all
understanding.
We ask for the
hope and comfort of your Spirit as this pandemic sweeps all around and over us.
Precious lives have been lost due to the virus, families have not been able to
be at a loved one’s side to say their farewells as they have passed away. Work
has dried up and jobs have been lost due to the lockdowns causing unexpected
financial pressures to be placed upon us due to no income. Homes and businesses
have been lost through no fault of the owners or renters, and faith communities
have not been able to physically meet to worship and fellowship together.
We ask for the
energy and vision of your Spirit because we are all aware that it has been
difficult for all of us in one way or another. We lift up to you all who have
been affected by this virus. Wrap your loving, comforting arms around those who
grieve, those who have lost jobs or homes, and those whose lives have changed
dramatically over these past few short months.
We ask for guidance
and strength of your Spirit that we can read the scriptures that encourage and
enlighten our lives. For the stories of ordinary men and women like Jonah who
you called to reach out to others and to tell them about your love for all your
earthly children. We thank you for
technology that we have been able to think outside the box and have worship
services online and to be able to see each other in online meetings. We pray
for Brett who has so ably lead us through this difficult time involving not only
the adults but the youth as part of our worship together each week.
We ask for the
courage of your Spirit to help and guide our national and local leaders. Our
leaders have kept us informed and were ready to make the hard decisions that
needed to be taken during these troubling times. Give them the wisdom and the
courage to make these difficult and unpopular decisions that have affected our
daily lives until this crisis is over.
Loving God, we ask
for the assurance of your Spirit and that we as your earthly children come to
know your presence in us and with us in our daily lives, in our relationships,
in our work and service, in our daily worship, in times of joy and pain. Holy
Spirit help us.
We ask for the
love of your Spirit to be with us Holy God with your protective armour as we
commit our lives to each other and all those we love to your tender care.
In the name of
your Son Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
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
We express our
Sympathy to the Family of Bruce Gordon who passed away this week
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).
Ministers all the people Parish contact
details
Website: www.stcolumba-taradale.org.nz
Church office 8445004
Brett
Walker
Home 06 8442256
Mobile 0274083658
or go to
https://brett-walker.blogspot.com
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