Welcome: John 3:11-18
‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Preparation: A new commandment
Call to Worship (Philippians 2:1-11)
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Hymn: Amigos de Cristo
Prayer:
Great and gracious God,
your glory speaks in the beauty of creation,
your majesty stretches to the depths of space.
You are the wellspring of hope
and the fountain of healing mercy.
We marvel at your love that overflows in our lives
and into the world you have made.
We worship you in gratitude,
offering you our trust
because you have come to us in Christ Jesus.
Receive our love and loyalty,
offered to you each day as the Spirit prays within us.
Great and merciful God,
We confess we sometimes lose trust in you.
When we feel desperate, we wonder where you are.
In the face of tragedy or disaster,
we ask how you could let such things happen.
We forget to reach out to you.
Forgive us, O God, when we give up on your love.
Reassure us that your love in Christ Jesus will never let us go.
In our Lord’s name, Amen.
Scripture 1 Corinthians 11:17-32
Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you!
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgement against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Sermon: Together as one
I was ordained in 1987. I served in the First Church, Verdun (part of Montreal), Greenview in Ottawa, and Drummond Hill, Niagara Falls. As I look back I see how God bailed me out over and over again and allowed me to follow Jesus as best as I could. YoungMi and I thank God as we look back because each step of the way, God sent us saints from all walks of life to straighten me up, fill me with God’s wisdom and teach me to empty myself in imitation of Christ as we read in Philippians 2. Of course my attempt to empty myself was hardly a thing of beauty. Rather they were incomplete, ugly and sad displays of who I truly was and is.
More than ever I came to realize that being one with Christ and with all of you was not my doing, but first God’s grace tolerating me and your grace gently inviting me to be one with you in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is not just a pretence, but a deeply felt gratitude for God’s and your grace to letting me be part of this eternal life which I do not deserve. I know deep in my heart that without your patience, kindness, gentleness and humility, I would not be able to retire as joyfully as I do today.
These past few months have been one of the busiest times of my life. It was also the time filled with blessings as I looked back at my 37 years in an ordained ministry. As I see into the next few years, it is clear that I will be one with you in Christ in ways that we could only dream about in the past. This is so because I will have plenty of time to pray for you and with you in deep contemplation. You see, up until now, my prayers for you have been shallow and quick because I always had some other urgent or necessary matters to tend to. Now in my retirement, without distraction, I can hold you in prayer more fully as the Spirit guides me.
Thomas Merton, a Catholic monk, talked a lot about how in isolation from the world he could be in fuller solidarity with those who are suffering. He meant that away from everyone, he could pray for each one in ways that united him completely through Christ Jesus. I am slowly learning the wisdom of this contemplative prayer he spoke of so passionately. Emptying himself, Christ could do God’s bidding. Emptying myself, I could attempt to be one with you in Christ in the way the Spirit would lead me. Communion that Paul speaks of is this oneness in Christ. In Christ it is my prayer that the Spirit will lead me to this path so that I may be one with you always through Christ.
It will be a fascinating adventure for us to start this new chapter in our lives. I will be back on the second Sunday of July and will continue at least until the end of August. We will figure out what this means for us, you as a congregation that is headed in a new direction and I as a retired minister doing my best to learn to pray for you and with you. Again I am grateful to our Lord and to you for allowing me to journey with you even as I step away from the full time ordained ministry.
I go into this new direction knowing that God’s and your grace sustained me until now and will continue to sustain me in the future. It is my prayer that we will continue in communion in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are our source of peace and healing, and we are grateful.
Today we pray for each one who faces choices and decisions about their health – for those trying to follow good diets and exercise enough;
for all waiting for appointments or wondering if they should make another;
for any who find caring for their health frustrating ,
and for all facing pain or anxiety day by day.
(Pause)
Lord Jesus Christ:
You are our source of wisdom and generosity, and we are grateful.
Today we pray for each one facing hard choices about finances –
for those struggling with bills and budgets;
for those torn between covering necessities and enjoying a treat;
for those who want to be generous and yet feel overwhelmed by all the need.
(Pause)
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are our source of love and forgiveness, and we are grateful.
Today we pray for each one facing choices about their relationships.
We pray for people we ought to call but just haven’t;
for those with whom we feel a grievance and have been avoiding;
We pray for those we’d like to invite into closer relationship but haven’t yet;
and for those we miss dearly and need to tell how much we cherish them.
(Pause)
Lord Jesus Christ:
you are the source of rest and right relationship for God’s whole creation,
and we are grateful.
We pray for the earth, its many creatures and habitats competing for survival,
for its scarce resources and its abundant beauty.
(Pause)
Challenge us to live out our good intentions for the earth
in our lifestyle choices, big and small,
so that your kingdom may come on earth
not by disaster but through discipleship.
For it is as your disciples we pray together:
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering/Offering Prayer
Compassionate God, we offer you our gifts with grateful hearts, glad to know you keep reaching out to the world you love. Bless what we bring, and use us and our gifts to touch the world with your healing grace through Christ, our Saviour and friend.
Announcements
Drummond Hill Presbyterian Church is very excited to announce that we are starting a brand new chapter of our life as of tomorrow. As we shared with you, I have been with you for 18 years as your minister. I will begin my retirement as of July 1.
Next Sunday, the pulpit will be preached vacant. It is our way of saying that we will be on our own. The session and leaders will be working with the Presbytery Transition Team.
Starting July 1st, please contact Betty-Ann Endicott, Chuck McCrea, Gail Opie, Patrick KInyua and Verna for all pastoral needs including baptism, wedding and funeral as well as hospital visits.
Wally will be preaching on Sundays July 14, 21, 28 and August 4, 18, 25.
Things will continue as usual with all activities.
Hymn: I’m gonna live so
Benediction