The flowers in the Sanctuary today are to the Glory of God and in loving memory of special parents Glenn and Betty Whittington, and sister Susan, given by Mary-Liz and Joe Whalls.
*Bishop Todd Next Sun September 22 11:00 AM
*Bake Garage Rummage Sale October 5 9:00 am – 12:30 pm Donations Friday October 4 1:00 till 4:00 pm. Hot dog stand in the lobby. Sorry, no large items. We just can’t carry them. Thank you for donating your good saleable items. Help needed to pack up, take away. Please price items over 2$.
*109th Anniversary Sunday. Sunday October 6.
*Trivia Night –Saturday October 12 7:00 – 10:00 pm Tickets at alvegoroottheatre.com. Fundraiser theatre lights for the hall.
*Harvest Thanksgiving. Sun. October 13. Decorating Sat. 10 a.m. How about give thanks by donating to our food cupboard.
*Our food cupboard needs help. Looking for: Microwave rice or pasta. Pancakes & syrup. Cereal. Juice. Crackers. Jam. Peanut butter. Pasta and sauce. Butch 519-615-9106.
*Penny Social. Friday October 18 at 6:30 for 7:30 All ages fun!
*All Saints Nov. 3. New list of names by Barb at church .
*Remembrance at our Cenotaph. Mon. November 11 10:30
*Mint smoothies Sandra $3
*Meat and Veggie Pies. 5$ for a great meal
*There are three ways to support our church. Volunteering at events. Generosity. Prayer. Our church is a team
*Craft Club. Third Saturday at 10 a.m. All welcome.
* Cancelled stamps. Gloria Thompson.
*Rinsed empty drink containers Dan Davies
*If you wish, our regular weekly donations or special donations may be sent to our Envelope Secretary:
O God, Wisdom of the universe,
you bear the pain of your people.
Grant us the gift of wisdom,
that we may discern your way
and live justly and graciously
amid the struggles of this world. Amen.
Reading Mark 8:27-38
Peter’s confession of faith
8:27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
8:28And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
8:29He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”
8:30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
8:31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.
8:32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
8:33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
8:34He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
8:35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
8:36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
8:37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
8:38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Sermon
Mark 8:27-38
The gospel lesson
gets close to the bull’s eye.
Jesus draws his disciples
into a conversation about who he is
— their relationship to him.
He starts with a wide circle,
“Who do people say that I am?”
The answers the disciples give him
are that he is thought of
as a forerunner of the Messiah.
But Peter said, “You are the Messiah.”
There’s a huge difference between
the one who has come before —
the one who announces the coming of the Christ —
and the Christ himself.
For Instance
In just about every way,
the Christ who is about to come,
but is not yet here,
is a lot easier to deal with!
All we can do
while we await Christ
is to be ready.
—
Like a bumper sticker that says
“Jesus is coming; look busy.”
==
That’s where the disciples were
That is where the rest of the people
who thought of Jesus as a forerunner ……were.
===
But Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ,
the Messiah —
the one they had been waiting for,
has arrived.
===
But Jesus does not react
As we might expect.
Notice:
It’s not what you’d expect,
Jesus doesn’t say,
“yes you are right” or
“no that is not it” …to Peter.
The Gospel says,
“Jesus sternly ordered them
not to tell anyone about him.”
He went on then to explain
that he would suffer terribly,
be rejected by the religious authorities
be killed,
but rise again after three days.
Jesus is totally, transparently honest about this.
So Peter speaks for many of us,
perhaps for most of us,
who want a relationship with Christ
without the suffering,
the agony,
the betrayal,
the abandonment of the cross.
Peter reprimanded Jesus,
resisting the dreadful reality
that Jesus foretold.
It’s as though Peter said,
“It can’t be that way, Jesus.
We won’t let it be that way!
You won’t suffer, die”
Remember later in the story it is Peter,
who said he’d always be faithful,
yet denied Jesus three times.
And Jesus’ response
to being told he would not need suffer
was stunning:
“Get behind me Satan!”
This is the one disciple
who ten seconds before
had correctly identified him as the Messiah!
Now this one disciple
is called God’s adversary —
that’s what “Satan” means.
All because he can’t
or won’t imagine that his friend
would be tortured and killed.
==
Jesus used the same language with Peter
that he used in driving demons out of people.
It’s as though Peter’s wrong notion of Jesus’
is as crippling as demonic possession.
==
What does it say about Jesus’ way in life
= that someone so close to him
=could be so wrong
about the path that lay ahead,
Peter wants to hold onto his friendship
and not let Jesus walk his journey
in this world —
That’s not a happy message,
it’s not the basis
for the feel good movie of the fall.
==
But it’s how God is alive
It is how God is at work in our world .
Although we do not understand it.
Although like the Hymn says
we hope one day
We will all understand it by and by.
==
One prominent preacher said,
“You cannot succeed preaching the cross.
People do not want to hear it;
they already have enough problems.”
And at one level he’s correct.
What do we mean when we say,
“We all have our crosses to bear?”
You’ve said that;
I’ve said it.
We mean everyone’s got problems.
“You want to complain,
go ahead,
but you’re not alone.
In fact,
if it’s a contest,
my problems are probably worse than yours!”
===
So, what was Jesus thinking
trying to get people to follow him,
denying themselves
to follow him to the cross of suffering?
Losing one’s life to save it?
Even rejoicing
when we suffer for righteousness?
Is anyone going to sign up for that?
It’s easy to believe in God’s message
when we’re alone,
looking at the beauty of the sky
as the psalmist described.
It’s even easy to be grateful to God
for the gift
of the instruction we find in the Bible.
If we’re studying alone
We can smugly say to ourselves,
“Think how wonderful the world would be
if everyone obeyed God’s word.”
But faith in Christ calls us
out of solitary pursuits.
Faith in Christ
calls us to bring Christ
where the hurt is the worst,
where despair is the deepest,
where hope struggles.
====
We can’t sit at our desk
and respond fully to Christ.
We have to be aware of
the brokenness around us.
We have to be touched,
even affected by it.
====
A young person in college
was in the midst of despair.
They found themself sitting in a church,
sure that no one understood
what they were going through.
Like many people
They struggled with painful moments
of doubt and uncertainty.
It was his dark night of the soul.
The certain knowledge that he was failing,
not just his classes,
but also failing to live up to the expectations
of his loved ones.
As a student,
This person felt broken.
They looked up in the chapel
and saw a cross
with Jesus’ body on it.
Most people prefer crosses,
empty crosses,
because we emphasize the resurrection,
not the torture of the crucifixion.
The student looked up
saw a crucifix and said,
“You do understand, Lord!”
You have been here.
You understand us all.
The student suddenly
in a life-changing way
understood that God’s love.
Suddenly he saw,
God’s love embraces us,
seeks us out,
as beloved children.
Even in this most difficult world,
On this most difficult,
Sorrow filled journey
We are loved and understood.
===
This is what we need to remember:
that the God of the earth and stars loves us,
passionately, personally, deeply —
That love changes us,
makes us strong and brave enough to care for others.
strong and brave enough to trust
in a power and strength beyond ourselves.
It gives us power and strength displayed
in Christ on the cross.
It gives power and strength
that allows us to face our world
pick up the cross of Christ.
It is this power and strength
that sets us free from ourselves
that releases us for loving service to Christ.
In this world of difficulty.
Hymn: Sing a New Song
Sing a new song unto the Lord let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia.
Yahweh’s people dance for joy. O come before the Lord. And play for him on glad tambourines, and let your trumpet sound.
Sing a new song unto the Lord let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia.
Rise, O children, from your sleep your Savior now has come. He has turned your sorrow to joy, and filled your soul with song.
Sing a new song unto the Lord let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia.
Glad my soul for I have seen the glory of the Lord. The trumpet sounds the dead shall be raised. I know my Savior lives.
Sing a new song unto the Lord let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord,
singing alleluia.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers:
Friends in Christ,
God invites us to hold the needs of our sisters and brothers
as dear to us as our own needs.
Loving our neighbors as ourselves,
we offer our thanksgivings and our petitions
on behalf of the church and the world.
Prayers: Debbie R. (Mary Liz)Jamie;Jackie M (Gloria); Paul; Suzanne; Peter (Ron and Jan);Kenny; Jim T.; Norma A,;Dave F.; Peter T.; Dan B.;. (Garfield & Diane Mike J.; Scott H.; Lisa (Keeling), Roger & Maxine M.; Wendy;Eric P,; Beverley P.;,Sarah-Jane P.; Linda H.; Jacquie and Cam .; Janice & Darrin R; .(Suzie D.)
Hear our prayers, God of power,
and through the ministry of your Son
free us from the grip of the tomb,
that we may desire you as the fullness of life
and proclaim your saving deeds to all the world. Amen.
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 who 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.
Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and in Christ Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer based on Scripture:
Wisdom of God,
from the street corners and at the entrances to the city
you proclaim the way of life and of death.
Grant us the wisdom to recognize your Messiah,
that following in the way of the cross,
we may know the way of life and glory. Amen.
Blessing from the Book of Common Prayer:
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.
Our Parting Blessing Song:
May God’s blessing surround you each day
As you trust Him and walk in His way
May His presence within guard and keep you from sin,
