Welcome (Isaiah 40:21-26)

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

Preparation: How how and how wide

Call to Worship (Psalm 147:1-11, 20c)

Praise the LORD! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre.

He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

All: Praise the LORD!

Hymn: Praise my soul the king of heaven

Prayer

God of never ending love,
We come before you offering our praise and thanksgiving. Your love perpetuates our efforts to love you and neighbours. Your love centres us in the world where there is little of it. Your love guides our morals in this depraved and deranged world where power and wealth are often misused to crush the lives of people of lesser means.

As we come, we bring cries and tears of those who are dying in this world of injustice and hatred. We come to remember before you horrific sufferings of so many people. We come bringing hearts of those who are in despair.

Be kind to us. Allow us to bring before you not only the voices of the dying, but also the powerless who are caught in terror beyond their imagining. Also permit us to plead on behalf of the hungry and thirsty in every part of this world.

May our prayers be lifted up in this worship in ways you may be glorified through all our praises.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!  For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Sermon: Meeting the people where they are at

Meeting new people is not an easy thing for us. We are very careful and mindful of how we approach a stranger. Our care is based on our life experience. If a person is outgoing with little or no concerns about what others think, they may approach strangers one way. If a person is shy and reserved, then, saying hello to a stranger can be a difficult task No matter how we look at it, meeting strangers can be full of intricate relational transactions. Yes, it is far more complicated for most of us to say hello to a stranger than we imagine.

When we meet each other for the first time, the main difficulty comes from the lack of knowledge of the other person. I may be attracted to you. I may have heard about you already. A friend or someone I know is introducing us. Whatever the case may be, we come as strangers not knowing the background, likes or dislikes when we come to say the first hello. As we do, we are mindful that based on what we do in this very first encounter, we may like or dislike each other, fear or be at ease with each other. Many books have been written on how to meet strangers to gain positive results. We take these first steps very seriously and carefully.

Smiling, inviting, open and welcoming gestures are the ways many of us greet strangers. When we do so, strangers also return our smiles with smiles and are not afraid of us or be less guarded. If we show little or no signs of welcome, strangers approach us with extreme care and caution. This is why good swindlers and dangerous people often appear to strangers as very friendly and caring. They take advantage of those who seek smiles and want to be received well. This is also why we work so carefully on the way we dress, behave and do our best to give the best impression possible. If all these sound somewhat strange, then, think of occasions when you go to an interview for a position that you want or going out for a blind date.

At the same time, we dress and talk appropriately based on where we are. For example, we have been talking about why we do not wear hats, caps, toques and headgear in worship service, especially for men and ask everyone to turn the phone off. Knowing this, if someone does not follow these unwritten agreements, we give them cold treatment in ways that they would soon follow the way everyone behaves in a particular setting. This group behaviour signals to everyone in the group whether a stranger is one of us or not. For example, one can easily spot a fellow tribal member by the way she greets and speaks.

It is easy to be who we are when we are in familiar surroundings with people who are our friends and family. It is not so easy when we are not one of the people in a particular situation. As an evangelist or a missionary, I was a stranger in many different places and circumstances. I was there to share the good news of God. Of course, “good” is very subjective. I may think what I am sharing is good, but those whom I meet may not think the same way. In order to overcome these divides, I need to assess those whom I meet quickly and try to understand how they communicate among themselves and what they value.

Why do we go to such a length to learn about strangers? Well, the more we know about them, the easier it is for us to understand each other and the better our relationships will be. I may be a stranger, but when strangers see me as one who knows at least where they are from and what they are like, they become more relaxed. Yes, I know. The good fraudsters and scammers are better at this than most of us. That’s how they disarm us so that we can be cheated on easily as we mentioned earlier. The difference is, we have no intention to harm others. Our goal is to be able to meet strangers where they are at.

This is what Paul meant by being everything to all so that he might save some. He was a stranger everywhere he went. However, by being an astute student of those whom he met, he could build trusting relationships through which something very precious could be shared and cherished. This sounds easy. However, if you want to do it with the intention of truly loving others, this is far more difficult than we imagine. It takes a way more energy and effort for us to be all things to all people than we can sometimes accept.

Before we think about taking on this challenge from Paul to be all things to all people, there is one thing we must realize and consider. We tend to think of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as something everyone should have. It is important to us. Faith, afterall, can be very helpful to each and every one of us. However, if the faith in Christ, the very Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the most precious and life-giving thing in our life, we would not simply offer it to everyone. Let me explain. Just like if you own the biggest diamond you know you are hesitant to show to everyone you meet. In the same way if the Gospel is so precious to you, you would be hesitant to share the Gospel so carelessly by giving it to everyone. If it appears to others that the Gospel is worthless as we offer it without cost to us, then others will treat it as such. Only when others see how valuable it is to us, then, they, too, are more likely to cherish it as we do.

The reason we are so careful to put so much energy into being all things to all people is not because we do not know how to communicate the importance of the Gospel. We see millions and millions of people doing it everyday. The trouble is, because we give the Gospel out as if it costs us nothing, God’s grace shown through the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ becomes cheap and meaningless talk. Yes, when everyone has it and takes it for granted, no one cherishes it. Just imagine how we treat oxygen. We don’t think about the value of oxygen until we have little. Most of the time we forget what oxygen is.

Indeed, if we are to pass on what is most valuable to us because it is the source of our life we would take care of how we want others to receive it and care for it just like we do. We put so much effort into being all things to all people precisely because we want others to receive and enjoy the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the same way it gave us life that is full of love and care. If we simply throw the Gospel around as words that we can give at no expense to us and are not really costing us to give to another, but a sales pitch to transmit a decent idea, then others will buy it and soon put it on a shelf like all other good ideas that will be used only when they need it rather than be the very thing that drives them to love others. It is through the way we live the Gospel that helps us to approach them as ones who can be trusted with the most valuable thing in our lives. Then, they will accept it with grace and thanksgiving.

When we meet strangers and put our efforts to meet them where they are at, this humble gesture shows the strangers how God’s love is being shared with them through the way we receive them and do our best to include them in God’s love. Then, those who see the value of the Gospel to us will make the Gospel the very centre of their lives, too.

Prayer

Dear Lord,
Today we give thanks for all your blessings. Though our lives are filled with many difficulties and challenges when we look around, we see much more suffering happening everywhere else. We also witness so many others being oppressed, abused and maligned by their leaders. All cries of isolation, loneliness and pain remind us we are much blessed by you. Receive our thanksgiving. We lift up our hearts and offer you from our meagre presence gratitude.

Hear us Lord for we pray for our loved ones. We are separated by distance, wrapped in our daily concerns, lacking the presence from one another.  Though we know most of our loved ones are well, yet our hearts are sorrowful when we realize we cannot be together side by side. We pray that you will fill the distance between us, make us one in your Son our Lord and bring us closer in love and care. May we be made one in your Son our Lord and keep us as your family always.

Hear us Lord for we pray for our loved ones who are not well. We know their health is less than full. We know they suffer in silence. Medication and care are often inefficient when pain and fear taunt their frail bodies. Be with them. Give them strength to withstand diseases. Bring them healing. Use doctors, nurses and all who care for them as your healing hand. Be present with them.

Hear us Lord for we pray for our neighbours who suffer hunger and poverty. So many are struggling in this world. Though they desire to live life well contributing to this society, being productive and willing to share, many lack jobs that pay adequately to supply in ways that their families may flourish. Many try so hard to get better jobs. Many are doing their best. Yet, in this world of unequal wealth, a few people benefit disproportionately while the vast majority live day to day seeking a better life. Be with all who are trying so hard. Open the future for them in ways that they may provide plentifully for their families with integrity and dignity. Give them hope that you are with them as they search for better job opportunities.

Hear us Lord for we pray for us. We need your guidance. We require your provisions. We do our best by relying on you to open the future for our family members. We seek you in all that we do. As we search for jobs, support and love, we can only rely on you. Without you we are nothing. Without your grace and mercy all our efforts are nothing more than a breath blown in the wind. Do not neglect us. Know our cries. Know our desires. Know our hopes and dreams. Guide us. Bless us. Lead us.

Each day our minds confront worries, fears, loneliness and isolation. Each moment we stumble through despair and distress. Sometimes we have no one to lean on. Other times we feel totally alone. Be with us always. Fill us with your Holy Spirit. Make us to sense that your steadfast love is always with us without fail.

As we search for words to express our needs to you, we realize how lacking our words are. Hear our individual prayers when we use your Son’s prayer to lift up all our needs and concerns. Look into the depths of our hearts when we say together…

Lord’s Prayer

Offering/Offering Prayer

Announcements

Valentine Soiree on Sat. February 10 at 5 pm $25/ticket

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Tue. Feb. 13, 4 pm - 6 pm

Ash Wednesday Service, Wed. Feb. 14 at 10 am

Lent Devotions, Wednesday until the Holy Week, at 10 am

Prayer Time: Every Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 pm

Hymn: All the way my Saviour leads me

Benediction