Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, November 12 2023
Remembrance Sunday
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: wwwheeler@sympatico.ca
Music Director Joan Simpson
Announcements
Gathering
Three things I promise Holy God,
In age and youth, in life and death:
To bless your Name and cling to Christ
And listen for the Spirit’s breath.
Call to Worship
One: Be silent before the Sovereign God for the day of God is at hand. Know that God our Creator is here with us.
All: We will put aside all that distracts us from our worship and service
One: Let us celebrate with joy and gratitude all that God has given us in Christ Jesus.
All :We will lift our voices to declare our faith and renew our commitment to share all of the gifts God offers.
Prayer of Approach
God whose love knows no bounds, you have invested your love in us. We pray that as we come to this sacred time that we may feel your presence hear your words and know that you have entrusted us with sharing of your love in the world. May we be strengthened in this time to be your servants in the world. Amen
One: Let us join together in lifting our voices up in psalms.
Our psalm is 123
All: (sung) In God we live and move and have our story.
In love God lives in us and makes us whole
O Jesus may we hear the Word that calls us near;
Your story makes a home within our soul.
Your story makes a home within our soul
One Come people of God and know inspiration of the Spirit
All We come as a people of God to know the Spirit in words of the Apostles
One Our lesson is taken form 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Come people of God and hear the good news of Jesus
All We come as a people of God to learn and be reminded of the ways of Christ.
One our Gospel lesson is taken from Matthew 25:14-30
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
Sermon
At one time in my life I was someone who would take the occasional risk. It is true I used to love winter. I used to toboggan down the side of the road and trick was to turn before you made it to the cross street. Then there was the time after an ice storm tobogganing the forest Hill. I missed a corner and hit a tree. Might have been my first concussion.
What did you do when you were young to make you a risk taker?
There is an email that makes the rounds every once in a while and it talks about how things have changed since we were young. Things like the fact that when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags or riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. Never thought twice about drinking from a water fountain We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We played games like Red Rover or British Bull dog in public school at recess and yes we sometimes got hurt but then that was part of the game. Not a law suit.
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were still no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell.
When we were young we were the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned How to deal with it all
I am not being nostalgic. And Yes there are many new innovations that I think that have truly made it safer for our children and for us.
For a lot of people somewhere between youth and adulthood the idea of stepping out of the regular and the known safe has been lost.
Now that’s not all bad. Age gives us wisdom and that’s not a bad thing either. In many ways we are still risk takers, When was the last time you drove down 6 talk about risk. We still take risks. But prefer to stick to the safe side.
Ask yourself the last time you went to a restaurant did you order what you always get or did you try something new and different. That in its self is taking a risk. If we can’t take a risk in what we eat well then how could we ever take a risk in our faith and what it means in being a place of faith.
Today’s gospel lesson speaks of risk.
Theologian Clayton Schmit writes about this parable.
This is a troubling parable. It does not deliver what the audience wants. But, while it alarms the listener it also brings the listener into contemplation of discipleship. And as Matthew’s gospel makes repeatedly clear, it show that discipleship is not easy.
The thrust of this parable is not on repaying a debt but on responsible action in light of the master’s eventual return.
Like last week its about being ready having the lamps trimmed not hiding our light under a bushel
Living out our Christianity is not just about coming to church on a Sunday It’s about a way of being. It also has to do with shrewd even risky action. It’s about taking a risk. Standing up for a belief. A follower of Christ does not simply wait in fearful anticipation of the coming of the end.
Barbara Brown Taylor’s description of fear is that Fear is a small cell with no air in it and no light it is suffocating inside and dark. There is no room to turn around inside it. You can only face in one direction but it hardly matters since you cannot see anyhow. There is no future in the dark. Everything is over. Everything is past. When you are locked up like that, tomorrow is far away as the moon.
We as Christians cannot live in fear we must give ourselves over to the Spirit step beyond our fear and trust in God. You know what this is like. You have done this. It means seeing the world differently. It means radical and at times frightening thinking and action.
Have you stopped and pondered what is the impact of our amalgamation? It is something that is talked about, it is something that has been asked about. It has become that light on a stand. It has shown other what it is
To continue to strive to move forward in our understanding of what it is to be a people of faith. What it is to proclaim freedom from all those things we claim as our burdens and strive to move into living in a right relationship.
A freedom based on living out the great commandment. That is based on taking a risk and investing our talents. Even if it means stepping away from what always has been to further the gospel great message. That we should love one another as we have been loved.
We must not think too small, We are called to risk letting the Spirit take us in new directions even if it means risking leaving everything we have known behind.
My mind has come back to the reunion meeting of Presbytery. A story was told of a church that took a risk hired an out reach person, they have started new programs. Some have been very successful, and one needed more space to store what they used every week. The question was asked can we move the dishes which we only use once a year out of the kitchen and put them some other place to be stored until needed. The answer was…no.
I know what will happen to that ministry.
This risk taking involves faith. Faith is not something that is given in one firm measure but is something that ebbs and flows with our lives. A constant presence that is perhaps more knowable at those moments in our lives that we need to know faith. Faith in knowing that God is with us.
God calls each of us to our own pathways our own journeys. Yes sometimes they overlap with those around us. If we are lucky and blessed there is someone to walk that road with us And in time, we live with the knowledge that it will be the hand of God extended to us in Christ that will bring us home. That is a reality of life. We are finite. In taking the risk of being the church today we begin to seed the faith for those that will come after us.
We only need to look up the road. In telling there story St Ignatious writes on their website.
“After 16 years of patient waiting, we have reached a significant milestone - owning our own church! This achievement fills us with immense joy and gratitude, showcasing our community's dedication, perseverance, and unwavering faith. Together, we have established a sacred space where we can gather, worship, celebrate, and grow in our spiritual journey. May 23rd, 2023, will forever be remembered as the monumental day when we finalized the deal and received the keys to our new church. It's an incredible responsibility and privilege to steward this sacred space, and we are excited to build a vibrant and thriving church for generations to come.t
In our Journey it is up to us how we take this sacred space and see it as a place where we can gather, worship, celebrate, and grow in our spiritual journey To risk ourselves and be disciples We cannot be that place we say we want to grow as a community of faith and then sit back be critics of how things have changed knowing all to well that we will not do anything that could effect change. Because why would you want to change.
You are the city on the hill. That we can be a part of that forward momentum That we can dare to dream dreams and have visions Because we do no journey alone. We in all of our talents, in all of our faults in all of our triumphs in all of our failure are together. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
Prayers of the people
Slow me Down Slow me Down
Still my restless mind Still my restless mind
Quell my fears Quell my Fears
Quench my Thirsty soul Quench my thirsty Soul
Fill me with your love Fill me with your love
God of Truth God of Truth
God of love God of love
You O God of many chances. You have demonstrated to us again and again how you are willing to take a chance. In your time you took the chance of giving us your Son. In your time over and over again you have inspired those who have been called to be your People to lead the Church in directions unthought to move us towards your kingdom. May we be so inspired to take the chance the risk in being your church today. Send to us such boldness that we do not shy away from who we are called to be.
The World needs your presence. The world needs your presence to have the courage to seek peace and not division. The world needs your presence to see beyond labels on everything and everyone which causes nothing but division. We pray for that presence in the world.
We pray for your presence in the lives of those who we are called to walk with. Those that know grief, those that no un wellness. Those that long for something more. We name them before you.
God of Chances, you have helped us to invest in being your Church. We trust and know that you will walk with us in the times to come. May we have the courage to take the risks needed to continue to be the Church proclaim your love. We come once more in the quiet of these stones to offer you our own prayers of petition and thanksgiving knowing that in your time they will be answered. We offer you the great prayer which we say together. Our Father….
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
We bring before you, O God, this accounting of our faithfulness. You have entrusted much to us. We return some of it for the work of your church. Grant us imagination and generosity to use all you entrust to us in ways that build up rather than destroy.
Commissioning and Blessing
One: To those who have used well the gifts of God, the sovereign One entrust grater responsibility.
All: We will use our gifts for it is a joy to serve God through serving other, to build up and encourage our neighbours
One: Go and live as children of the day, worthy of trust and dependable in your outreach.
Blessing
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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