NEWCASTLE UNITED CHURCHJune 28, 2020 10:30 a.m.

The Season of Pentecost“As followers of Christ, we are called to be a worshipping and learning, receiving and giving community of

faith, hope and love.” – Newcastle United Church Mission Statement

Surely God is in this place. Help me notice.We Approach God

Lighting The Christ Candle

A Time of Centring – “Spirit, Open My Heart” (chorus) MV # 79(Words Copyright 1996 The Pilgrim Press)

Spirit, open my heart to the joy and pain of living. As you love may I love, in receiving and in giving, Spirit, open my heart. (sung through twice)

Call to Worship (Responsive)

We gather with the light of Christ in our midst.We are filled with this light.Jesus, through the Spirit, invites us to shine our light.May worship renew us to shine in our world.

Hymn of Praise “Come In, Come In And Sit Down” # 395(Words and music copyright 1984 James K. Manley)

Come in, come in and sit down, you are a part of the family. We are lost and we are found, and we are a part of the family.

You know the reason why you came, yet no reason can explain; so share in the laughter and cry in the pain, for we are a part of the family. RThere’s rest for the weary and health for us all; there’s a yoke that is easy, and a burden

that’s small. So come in and worship and answer the call, for we are a part of the family. R

Below is the service I have created for this Sunday. I hope this is something you can use for personal/family worship. We are all worshiping together, no matter where we are. If you are joining us online this week then please have this resource with you so you have the words

to the responses and hymns at your fingertips in case you can’t see the screen.Rev. Mary-Jane

The words provided for the hymns are done with permission under One License # A-727596.

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Prayer of Approach (Unison)

Holy God, we are here. We are open to you and your call to us. We are ready to welcome as you welcome us. May we continue with open hearts, hands and minds to embrace all your children. Amen.

We Hear God’s WordHymn “God Is Here” # 389(Words copyright 1979. Hope Publishing Comapny)

God is here! As we your people meet to offer praise and prayer, may we find in fuller measure what it is in Christ we share. Here, as in the world around us, all our varied skills and arts wait the coming of the Spirit into open minds and hearts.God of all, of church and kingdom, in an age of change and doubt keep us faithful to the gospel, help us work your purpose out. Here, in this day’s dedication, all we have to give, receive; we, who cannot live without you, we adore you! We believe!

A Time To Be Children

The image today is of an invitation to dinner. This invitation is for Jesus to come to my house for dinner on Sunday. Now how do I get an invitation to Jesus? It’s going to be pretty hard to deliver this invitation to heaven, but there is a way I can invite Jesus to dinner. The answer is in the Bible. Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to tell everyone the good news about God’s love. But before they left, Jesus

gathered them together to tell them some important things.

In our gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus says to the disciples that anyone who welcomes them is welcoming him, and if you welcome

Jesus then you welcome God too. Even if you give a cup of cold water to the least of Jesus’ followers you will get a reward. Sounds good, and pretty easy to do.

Jesus told his disciples that whoever welcomes or invites them, welcomes Jesus. So how could I invite Jesus to my house? How can you? I can invite one of Jesus’ disciples, one of his friends, to my house. In our church you can find many disciples and friends of Jesus. Are you a disciple or friend of Jesus?Do you think you can find someone to invite to your house for dinner so that you can invite Jesus? Sure you could. Although for a little while longer you will have to limit which friends of Jesus can be at the dinner table with you. But when you invite a friend of Jesus home, you are inviting Jesus too. So now we all know how to give an invitation to Jesus, and we don’t even to have to travel to heaven or rely on Canada Post to get it to him!

You Are Invited!

JesusPlease Join us

for DinnerSunday, June 28,

20206 pm

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those that trespass against us.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,for ever and ever. Amen.

Genesis 22:1-14 The sacrifice of Isaac.

Psalm 13 How long will God forget me? VU # 734Sung Response: Be still, my soul, for God is on your side.

How long, O God, will you utterly forget me?How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I suffer anguish in my soul, and be so grieved in my heart day and night?

How long shall my enemy triumph over me? RLook at me, and answer me, O God, my God;

give light to my eyes, lest I fall asleep in death, lest my enemies claim to have prevailed against me,

lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.But my trust is in your mercy.

Let my heart be joyful in your salvation.I will sing to you, O God,

because you have dealt so lovingly with me.I will praise your name, O God most high. R

Matthew 10:40-42 Welcoming.This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn “If You Will Trust In God To Guide You” # 286

If you will trust in God to guide you, and hope in God through all your ways, God will give strength, whatever betide you, and bear you through the evil days. Who trust in God’s unchanging love builds on the rock that will not move.Sing, pray, and keep God’s ways unswerving; so do your own part faithfully, and trust God’s word; though undeserving, you’ll find God’s promise true to be. God never will forsake in need the soul that trust in God indeed.

Message

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How much is our faith worth? What price do we put on it? That is the unsettling question the Genesis passage put to us this day.

Just in case your mind was wandering as you read the Old Testament passage (as mine has been known to do on occasions!) let me remind you. We heard again the primitive story of a man who was reluctant, yet willing, to offer up a human sacrifice to his god, with his precious son as the unsuspecting victim. Abraham took Isaac up a mountain and there bound him and placed him on an altar.

Now let me just say that I have major problems with this story; both emotional and intellectual problems. I remember being taught this story in Sunday School. I remember teaching it in Sunday School. It was always in whatever curriculum the church was using it seemed. No matter what the picture, or how the story was written to share with the class, it did not sit well with me. I especially struggled as a teen teacher with how could I be asked to tell such a scary story to little ones? This story was not telling us about family values I wanted any part of then, or now. I also have serious intellectual problems with the story. Putting it simply: Would a loving God ask a man to kill his child as a means of proving his faith?

What would we do with any man today who was caught taking his son up a mountain in order to sacrifice him?  We would arrest him and put him behind bars. If he continued to insist that he was obeying the Word of God, we would insist that he receive psychiatric care. The idea of human sacrifice is repugnant to us. We would see it as utterly immoral and suspect that the poor fellow was not dealing with God but with the Devil.

Does that mean that morally we are superior to the God of the Old Testament? How can one reconcile the Old Testament God with the God of Jesus? This is not a new question posed by us, the extra clever little citizens of the twenty first century, who are inclined to feel superior to the generations that went before us. It troubled early Christians too. One such person was a fellow called Marcion, the son of a bishop. Marcion went to Rome and taught that the God of the Old Testament was a fickle, cruel secondary being who had nothing in common with the true God of Jesus. Marcion formed a powerful sect, and only permitted a Bible made up of the Gospel of Luke and ten epistles of Paul. Marcion’s views were strenuously rejected by the main body of Christianity. His own father, the bishop of Sinope on the Black Sea, excommunicated his son Marcion. (Which no doubt confirmed Marcion’s opinion of the bad God of the Old Testament?)

The story of Marcion reminds us that we are not the first to have reservations about some of the Old Testament. His answer was unsatisfactory, but we can feel for him. Some passages are offensive to our sensibilities; the very same sensibilities that Christ Jesus has shaped within us.

There are two things of which I need to remind myself, and maybe remind you, today if we are to keep things in perspective. We need to listen the whole Old Testament and not get bogged down in the awkward bits. The Old Testament also reaches the mighty heights of belief:            The trusting, intimate faith of the twenty third psalm,            The opening of Genesis with the declaration that God’s own breath is in us,            The high morality of the ten commandments,            The glorious, honest faith of Job,            The universal love of God depicted in the little book of Jonah,            The lofty ethics of social justice in the great prophets like Amos, Micah, and Amos,            The compassion of Hosea and Isaiah and the loyal love of Ruth,            and the beauty and faith of psalm 139    “Where shall I go from your Spirit, where can I be outside your Presence? If I ascend into

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      the heavens you are there, if I make my bed in hell, you are also there with me.”(It is my favourite psalm.)

The things we find later, in what we see as the New Testament with the lovely, loving Jesus of Nazareth, is actually there to some degree, in the Old Testament.  For us as Christians, the Old Testament gets interpreted in the light of the New Testament. It prepares for Christ Jesus. It leads us to Christ Jesus.

I must tell myself to always keep in mind the importance of reading things in their context. When I remember this, I can see two possibilities in this story. The first is that Abraham stands at the early stage of the developing faith of the Hebrew people. His understanding is limited, but he knew that God must come first in all things. Maybe he got the way to express his faith wrong when he took his son up that mountain, but he did have his priorities right. He does show complete faith and love for his God.

The second possibility is that it may be that God is limited, in each generation, to dealing with us (foolish creatures of limited understanding) in the limited ways we can comprehend? Maybe even today God has to settle for using aspects of our life which will be repugnant to future generations, in order to help us grow in faith. If human sacrifice in Abraham’s day was the high expression of devotion to the gods, and if the offering of one’s own child was widely seen as the highest expression of devotion, then maybe God had to use that context to stretch the faith of Abraham to the fullest extent. We are in the midst of re-examining contexts as we see the systemic racism in our world. We look back and see that what was accepted previously, is not

something we can consider accepting any longer.And always, I must remind myself that at no point did God actually intend for Isaac to be killed. It was a test of Abraham’s faith.It is right that we today, followers of Christ Jesus, should find the idea of human sacrifice repugnant. But that does not mean that it would have seemed wrong to Abraham that God wanted him to do such a thing. So what in this story should speak to us and challenge us? For Abraham, God came first.

Absolutely first. No conditions. No fine print. Is our faith and love anywhere near that level? If it is not, then let us be humble in the presence of the story of Abraham.

In most cases, putting God first will enable us to express our love for dear ones much better than we ever have before. God first. We are willing to lose all in the cause of Christ. That is what matters most. Whatever the faults in the story of Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain, there is an admirable message there. 

We hear the voice of the curious child asking: “Father, I can see the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice? To which the poor father, already grieving, can only say: God will provide a lamb for the offering, my son.”

Abraham had it right in putting God first. God had it right in providing another lamb for the sacrifice. After that event, Abraham experienced an even greater sense of blessing. It was the blessing of those who, being prepared to lose their life, everything most precious, find life in greater fullness. That is a blessing we work to possess. Amen.

We Respond To God’s WordOffering Invitation

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As the Spirit blows through our lives and our world, we are moved to share the good news. Part of that good news is that we have life, the abundant life Christ offered us. It is from that abundance that we offer our time, talent and treasure, each and every day…The Offertory (As we are not together, take a moment to think of all you can offer to God this week, even cooped up in your own home. Dedicate those things to God now.)

Your work, O God, needs many hands to help you everywhere, and some there are who cannot serve unless our gifts we share. (VU #537 v.1)

Dedication Prayer (Unison)During the season of Pentecost, we are reminded, O God, that the church is not a physical place, but a people, your people. You fill your people with your Spirit and send us into the world. Send all we have to offer into the world that our church, our community and our world may know the power of your Spirit. Amen.

Prayers of the People We give thanks, Lord for your goodness and everlasting mercy. For all you provide us we give thanks:That there is a planet circling the sun, which we call earth, our wonderful home;That the earth is full of loving gifts, beautiful scenes, and complex creatures;That from earliest days you, God, spoke to people and called them into faith and service;That your people are called to be friends of the earth and stewards of its bounty;That you came uniquely to us in Christ Jesus, bearing our sins and healing our diseases;That we belong to a community called the church, where Christ lives on in love;That no evil can finally win out against you, O God, and that complete reconciliation is assured;That through Christ’s ministry even death has lost its sting and the grave its victory;That we are surrounded by a crowd of heavenly friends, whose lives are yours.For all this and more we are grateful. 

Most loving God, you have put it in our hearts to pray for one another.Please hear our prayers, correct their errors, and bless all that is wise and loving.We pray for the young and the strong, and all who are full of joy and high hopes;for the elderly and the weak, and all who are utterly weary and disheartened today.We pray for the wise and the generous, and those who are looking for new challenges;for the foolish and the selfish, and those who evading their responsibilities today.We pray for peace-keepers and peacemakers, and all who work for justice and peace;for the hostile and the treacherous, and all who will resort to

violence today.We pray for the well housed and well fed, and those who share their good fortune;for the homeless and the hungry, and all whose plight is ignored today.We pray for the patient and the merciful, and all who will make new friends;for the hasty and the judgmental, and all who will create some misery today.We pray for the healthy and the buoyant, and those who will share much happiness;for the dying and the sad, and those who will weep inconsolably today.

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We pray for the faithful and the loving, and all who will worship with delight;for the faithless and the cynical, and all who will find life a drag today.We pray for our loved ones and our friends, and those whom we will meet casually;for strangers and enemies, and those who will think evil of us today.We pray for all that is seemingly overwhelming to us and our world: disease, systems which perpetuate racism and all other isms, for violence, poverty and for those things that may touch only us and those close to us. We know you hear all prayers for the vast issues and the personal ones. Hear us now as we pray… 

Loving God, please bring the day nearer when our prayers and our deeds will work in perfect harmony, and we will be a blessing to all those whose lives touch ours. Through Christ Jesus our Saviour. Amen.(inspired by and adapted from Bruce Prewer and used with permission.)

Closing Hymn “Amazing Grace” # 266

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.The Lord has promised good to me, this word my hope secures; God will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Commissioning and Benediction

Go out ready to welcome Jesus, through those who are his friends.May you also find welcome.Put God first and all will fall into place.And may the grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you, and the Holy Spirit keep each one of you, now and always. Amen.

Sung Blessing “Dance With The Spirit” MV # 156(Words & Music copyright 1995 Desert Flower Music)

Dance with the Spirit early in the mornin’, walk with the Spirit throughout the long day. Work and hope for the new life abornin’, listen to the Spirit to show you the way.

And online we end together (wait for me to get your mics unmuted) And the people say:

Hallelujah and Amen!

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Vacation: Rev. Mary-Jane will be on vacation from June 29 – July 12. During this time Rev. Anne Meredith will provide emergency pastoral care if needed. You can reach Rev. Ann at 905-434-6705.

While Rev. Mary-Jane is away you are invited to attend worship with another church. Perhaps you would like to check out how others are doing online worship. If you are interested:

Faith United in Courtice does a live stream of their service. Find it Sunday morning on their YouTube channel - [faithunitedchurch] or with one click - https://www.youtube.com/user/faithunitedchurch;Kedron United does their service by FaceBook Live – simply head over to their FaceBook page;Brooklin United combines Zoom and FaceBook Live

– head over to their FaceBook page; and Dunbarton-Fairport United pre-records their service and then posts it Sunday morning for all to watch together – available from their FaceBook page. These are just a few options the internet can offer you many, many options.

May God bless you wherever you may ‘go’.We return to our worship July 19 and the usual Friday email will arrive in your inbox with all the details.

Faith in Motion (FIM) enjoyed take-out this weekend. Take-Out Church! The young people in the church were each delivered a special box containing activities they can do with their family throughout the summer. Inside each box were activities sheets relating to our bible readings this summer, a thankful beach ball they can make, conversation starters, a prayer cube, helping your neighbour challenge and skittle prayer. Our families are encouraged to take Flat Jesus with them on their adventures this summer to reinforce the idea that Jesus is always with us! We can’t wait to see some of the activities Flat Jesus does this summer! Please email us your pictures: newcastleunitedchurch@bellnet.ca. If you would like to join us, there are some Flat Jesus’ in the mail-slot in the Emily St. entrance.

Vacation Time – Cottage Rental OpportunityHeather Griffin is offering a chance for you to get away with a chance to stay at her cottage. This is one of Heather’s ‘Grow Your Dough’ activities. She is looking at a cost of $50 per night, for one to four nights.

Also, it’s never too early to be thinking about Christmas! Heather is interested in taking orders for winter planters for delivery in late November. $30 each or two for $50.

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For either item please contact Heather at 905-440-0038 or hgriff551@gmail.com.

Tuesday Tea & Talk is taking a break over the summer.

Music to Wash Dishes By will be taking a break for a couple of weeks while Joanne gets some well-deserved vacation time.

A Special Request: While you are enjoying the summer should you take any pictures you might be willing to share please send them to the church office email (newcastleunitedchurch@bellnet.ca). It would allow us to use our own photos instead of all those stock photos from Google to create the pictures to accompany Joanne’s playing. Maybe even some Flat Jesus pictures?

Please note: During this time, and if you are able, please continue giving your church donations regularly. You can contact Lorna McSwan, our treasurer, at le.mcswan@bell.net or 905-987-3940. You can arrange for drop off or pick up of offering envelopes or to register for Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) which can be cancelled at any time. You can mail your donations to the church at: 84 Mill St. South, Newcastle, ON L1B 1K2. You can donate via CanadaHelps: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/newcastle-unted-church/ through this link or the link on our website: www.newcastleunitedchurch.org “Donate” page, e-

transfer: etransfer@gmail.comPost-dated cheques are yet another option.Thank you to all who continue to send in their church givings – we very much appreciate it. Thank you for considering these options. While we may not be gathering together, work is still being done and bills still have to be paid.

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NEWCASTLE UNITED CHURCH