Sunday, May 31st 2020
Welcome to Worship
If you want to look at some worship and videos before we post the livestream click here
Today is Pentecost Sunday. The
Birthday of the church or in our case the regathering of the church. We have
always known the church is not a building but the people of God so Church has
continued to exist in its scattered form.
You would have noticed this when the church called you or sent you
letters or helped in some way. The
church is Never about the church, but the people of god on the mission of God.
Hopefully the worship will live stream on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4nWebLBZTrJU2oT38-Or1w
or on youtube search for Minister Brett J Walker - Sunday Worship
Call to worship
When
I am empty and deflated
You fill me with life
When I feel alone and despairing
You come to me to reassure me I am never alone
You are the God who makes us alive, and fills us with purpose and
power
We will worship you
Lord, one the first day of Pentecost people who felt out of their depth
with the task before them were filled with a new power. People who were not sure where to turn
because Jesus wasn’t physically there to question knew the filling of the
Spirit of God, with the ability to hear and recall the words he said and to be
guided in the decisions they needed to make.
People who felt alone knew God would never abandon them and that they
were truly Children of God, loved and forgiven.
God in the past few months we have sometimes felt out of our depth, and
we didn’t know where to turn and we have felt alone, and you have given us the
same Holy Spirit you gave to those first disciples at Pentecost. Help us not to
neglect your gift but to open ourselves to your Power, your leadings and your
presence.
Forgive us when we try and live the Christian life without the Christians
power.
Forgive us when we have tried and failed to love others or forgive or to
serve and renew us with your power so that we may do what Jesus did. To love our enemies, to forgive and to serve.
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
1.
I will
enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart
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:
Acts 2:1-13
2 Corinthians 4:7-18
Brett’s
Message: Pentecost - Strength from your inner life
I have been struggling with more stress and
anxiety in the past few weeks of this lockdown.
More than I care to admit. I have been thinking about some of the
causes. There have been lots of new
technology to master. Zoom calls, video
recording and editing, writing out sermons for distribution (and todays new
challenge live streaming the service.) I
haven’t been able to do the things I want such as hospital visiting or
comforting those who are bereaved in a way that I think matters. These things plus the anxiety from a world
full of bad news and dangers and viruses.
I have been working on quieter devotions,
and relaxation activities but it is still a work in progress. It made me think
of the first disciples before Pentecost.
Words the bible uses to describe them is troubled and doubters – Jesus
frequently greets them with the word “peace” telling them not to be
afraid. SO while their confidence had
gone up over the 40 days Jesus was with them in his resurrected body his
ascension into heaven would have left them excited yet fearful. They had the
promise of the Spirit’s power (acts 1:8) but I doubt they knew what that would
be like.
The dawning of the day of Pentecost brought
3 phenomena. The sounds of wind, the
tongues of fire which rested on each head and they were all filled with the
Spirit and spoke in other languages as the spirit gave them words.
The first 2 were signs of God’s presence –
a Theophany from the Old Testament (the Hebrew word for the breath of God is
the same word as the spirit of God Gen 2:7 or see Exodus 24:16 for the fire on
the mountain when Moses was talking with God).
The speaking in other languages is a reversal of the curse of Babel and
a reminder that their mission is to make disciples of all nations.
The praise of the disciples left the crowd
amazed and astonished (v7) because they heard God being praised in their own
languages even though they could tell the speakers were all Galileans. And this
grows to being “amazed and perplexed” in v 12. The contemporary English bible
translates this as “excited and confused”.
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 finds Paul speaking to
people who are confused by his life and words.
They had thought that a Christian who is a child of god, and filled with
the Spirit of God ought to be experiencing the life of God and there was Paul
suffering and enduring persecution and generally not living what some might
think the victorious Christian life ought to look like.
Paul uses the great analogy that we have a
marvellous treasure the knowledge of God through Christ but this treasure is in
jars of clay. Our human weakness and
suffering coexist with God’s promises of power and a new identity as God’s
forgiven children. He identifies 4
threats
1.
We are
troubled (literally squeezed in).
2.
We
have doubts (the word means “perplexed”, we have problems we don’t know how to
resolve, problems where we see no escape route.)
3.
We
have many enemies
4.
We are
badly hurt
But we also have God power, God promise,
God’s provision
1.
So
when troubled and squeezed in we are not crushed
2.
When
assailed by doubts, problems and no apparent escape route. We do not despair
3.
When
we have enemies – we still have friends (God and those God sends)
4.
When
hurt we are not destroyed (Literally wounded on battlefield but not killed.)
Paul says as Christians we embody both the
cross and the resurrection at the same time.
The suffering and the glory. and without the suffering there are no
opportunities to see his life giving power to be manifest.
The power of God is not in the absence of troubles
or problems or caused of anxiety or beatings but in the ability to endure and
to rise up stronger. So Paul makes his
amazing statement in v 16-18
For this reason we never become discouraged.
Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being
is renewed day after day. 17 And this small and temporary
trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater
than the trouble. 18 For we fix our attention, not on things
that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a
time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.
What dynamic words – “we are
never discouraged” and “our spiritual being is renewed day after day” “Eternal
glory”
For the next few weeks we are going o be looking at Resilience. The ability Paul and the first disciples had
to recover from terrible setback and to face opposition and trouble and to come
back stronger than before. To know that
even our troubles help more people see the goodness of God, that we have been
given a power that sees us not crushed or falling into despair or without a
friend or not destroyed.
Lynn Worsley describes resilience as having 2 parts – an inner core of
beliefs (I am. I can ,I have) and some outer supports (People friends and
family) resources (skills, assets education)
We will look at this more over the next few weeks
But from our scriptures to day we can say if I am a Christian
I am – a child of God, filled with his spirit
I have the promise of his power and guidance, the support of his people,
an eternal hope.
I can endure all things through Christ who strengthens me.
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, on this special day in
the life of the church universal, 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.
Final HYMN Lord of the church (tune Danny Boy)
1 Lord of the church,
we pray for our renewing:
Christ over all, our
undivided aim.
Fire of the Spirit,
burn for our enduing,
wind of the Spirit,
fan the living flame!
2 We turn to Christ
amid our fear and failing,
the will that lacks
the courage to be free,
the weary labours, all
but unavailing,
to bring us nearer
what a church should be.
3 Lord of the church,
we seek a Father's blessing,
a true repentance and
a faith restored,
a swift obedience and
a new possessing,
filled with the Holy
Spirit of the Lord!
4 We turn to Christ
from all our restless striving,
unnumbered voices with
a single prayer:
the living water for
our souls' reviving,
in Christ to live, and
love and serve and care.
5 Lord of the church, we long for our uniting,
true to one calling,
by one vision stirred;
one cross proclaiming
and one creed reciting,
one in the truth of
Jesus and his word.
6 So lead us on; till
toil and trouble ended,
one church triumphant
one new song shall sing,
to praise his glory,
risen and ascended,
Christ over all, the
everlasting King!
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.
Ministers all the people Parish contact
details
or go to
https://brett-walker.blogspot.com
