May 14 – Worship Service – Enduring Hope

May 29, 2023

May 28 – Worship Service – Pentecost

May 29, 2023

May 7 – Worship Service – A Fundamental Faith

Rev Lohnes

Sunday May 7, 2023

Introit VU#158
Christ is alive, and comes to bring good news to this and every age,
till earth and sky and ocean ring with joy, with justice, love and praise.
©Hope Publishing Company used by permission OneLicense #A723256

Acknowledging the Territory
Once again, we acknowledge that the land upon which we live, work and worship is the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. We offer our deep gratitude for this land and we commit ourselves to use and share it wisely.

Lighting the Christ Candle
In the light of this Candle, we see reflected the light of Christ. And as it shines for us, it reminds us that we too must shine with the light of Christ wherever we go.

Call to Worship
In all our weakness and strength, with youth-filled spirits and aging bodies,
we come together to worship God.

Strong in faith and eager with questions, singing our praise and whispering our prayers,
we come together to worship God.

Filled with saintly determination yet mindful of our human limitations,
we come together to worship God.

Made strong by God’s endless love for us,
we come together to worship God.

And so on this day, in this time and in this place,
we come together to worship God.

Opening Prayer ~ written by John Birch
God of the past, accept the people we have been and the baggage we drag behind us. God of the present, accept the people we are now and the potential that lies within us. God of the future, accept the people we could be and by your Spirit transform us. Amen

Gift of Music There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy #271

Scripture Reading
Today we begin to look at Paul’s letter to the Romans. The passage we hear today is the greeting and opening words of this letter.

Romans 1:1-17 Contemporary English Version

From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.

God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me to preach the good news that he promised long ago by what his prophets said in the holy Scriptures. This good news is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! As a human, he was from the family of David. But the Holy Spirit proved that Jesus is the powerful Son of God, because he was raised from death.

Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be an apostle, so that people of all nations would obey and have faith. You are some of those people chosen by Jesus Christ.

This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people.

I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

First, I thank God in the name of Jesus Christ for all of you. I do this because people everywhere in the world are talking about your faith. God has seen how I never stop praying for you, while I serve him with all my heart and tell the good news about his Son.

In all my prayers, I ask God to make it possible for me to visit you. I want to see you and share with you the same blessings that God’s Spirit has given me. Then you will grow stronger in your faith. What I am saying is that we can encourage each other by the faith that is ours.

My friends, I want you to know that I have often planned to come for a visit. But something has always kept me from doing it. I want to win followers to Christ in Rome, as I have done in many other places. It doesn’t matter if people are civilized and educated, or if they are uncivilized and uneducated. I must tell the good news to everyone. That’s why I am eager to visit all of you in Rome.

I am proud of the good news! It is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith. It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”

Favorite Hymn Request Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee #232

A Fundamental Faith

Paul’s letter to the Romans is very different from his other letters. It is the only time he writes to a church he himself had not founded. All of his other letters were written to churches or to individuals with whom he had a close personal relationship. Often, his letters appear to be in response to questions or concerns that have been sent to him by the various churches.

But Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is not a response to a letter he received from them, nor is it a renewal of relationship with old friends. Although Paul undoubtedly knew some of the followers living in Rome, this would be the first time he visited them there. His plan was to stop in Rome on his way to Spain where he hoped to continue the work which he had been doing throughout Asia Minor. He was likely also hoping for some support and assistance in his plans to travel to Spain. And so, Paul wrote a letter to officially introduce himself and to explain his understanding of God’s call to him.

We need to remember that, at the time, there was no such thing as the Christian Church. Those who followed the teachings of Jesus were part of a fringe sect within the Jewish faith, known as “Followers of the Way”. From the beginning it had been assumed that those who wished to join the “Way” would first convert to Judaism and then would become part of what became the emerging “church”. But Paul had spent the majority of his time among gentiles and, despite any objections he might run into, Paul accepted anyone who professed faith in Jesus as a follower.

This put him at odds with many of the early disciples who believed that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and his message applied only to the Chosen People of God. Stories of Paul’s travels and his inclusion of Gentiles in the churches he helped to establish had certainly reached Rome. This, combined with the fact that he had originally tried to wipe out the followers of Jesus made him a very controversial figure for many people and there were certainly those who hesitated to trust Paul or to believe his intentions. So, as he made plans to visit Rome, Paul sent a letter ahead to explain to them exactly what he believed and what he felt God had called him, through the Risen Christ, to preach.

Paul was also a man who was well trained in both spoken and written word. He knew that he needed to win over the church in Rome if he had any hope of winning their support and help. He needed to explain to them his beliefs, but he needed to do so in a way that would not be seen as challenging their beliefs or their authority.

And so, Paul begins his letter by affirming that, like them, he preached the Good News of Jesus Christ, and he affirmed that Jesus was human … from the family of David, but that he was also the powerful Son of God. This was exactly what the other disciples were preaching and Paul wanted them to know that he was not preaching something that was in opposition to what they preached. Rather he was reaffirming all that they themselves believed.

Paul then goes on to flatter them by reminding them that, like him, God loves [them] and has chosen [them]. He compliments their faith and assures them that they are continually in his prayers.

He then slips in a bit about wanting to help strengthen their faith but he tempers it by saying, we can encourage each other by the faith that is ours. He also reminds them of his belief that,It doesn’t matter if people are civilized and educated, or if they are uncivilized and uneducated. In other words, he reminds them that his mission is not just to the Jews, but to all people.

He ends this introduction portion of his letter by saying, I am proud of the good news! It is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith. It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”

This reinforces one of the strongest and most fundamental aspect of Paul’s ministry, his conviction that it is faith and faith alone that has the power to save. Unlike the Jewish tradition of the time that demanded adherence to the law, sacrifices for sin and the giving of alms, Paul says only faith matters.

Now this doesn’t mean that Paul believed that people didn’t need to obey the law and give to the poor. In many ways Paul was very much a man of his culture and a devout believer in the principles he had been taught as a faithful Jew. For Paul it was not enough just preach the Good News and to say that he had faith. Paul also needed to live a life of faith that included obedience, self-sacrifice and giving, the very principles he was raised with and believed deeply in. But for Paul these things should flow naturally from faith. Without faith, all the sacrifice, obedience, and good deeds in the world, could never save you.

And there is one more thing in the closing words of our reading today that sometimes gets missed. Paul says, I am proud of the good news! or in other translations, I am not ashamed.

The Good News that Paul preached included the crucifixion of Jesus on a Roman cross. In Roman society this was the most shameful and humiliating death possible. To be crucified on a cross was to be stripped naked and put on public display as a criminal and a traitor. To be crucified was to be stripped, not only of your clothing, but of every bit of honour or status within society. If was a horrific and painful death and once you were dead, your body would be left hanging for the birds and wild animals to pick at. You would not receive a proper burial and your family and friend could not mourn you. There was no more humiliating death possible.

Yet Paul says, I am Not ashamed. This was about as counter-cultural as it was possible to be. Honour and shame were a fundamental part of Jewish culture and the shame of Roman crucifixion could not be denied. And yet Paul says, I am not ashamed, I am proud!

This statement went against everything Rome stood for; power, control, and obedience to authority. To suggest that someone should actually be proud to be nailed to a cross was to undermine the very power and control that the Romans used crucifixion to achieve. So how did Paul get away with saying something that was so counter-cultural and so challenging to Roman authority?

Well, we sometimes tend to think of Paul as being an very influential man within his own time. He was, after all a Roman Citizen and a Pharisee within the Jewish community. But we forget that, despite his citizenship, he was still a Jew living under Roman occupation. Not only that, but as a follower of Jesus, he was part of a minority group within Jewish society. The truth is that Paul was very much on the fringes of society.

And yet, Paul, arguably, became the most important influence on what the accepted theology of the Christian church would eventually be. It is the teaching of Paul, more than any other disciple, that have shaped and molded the Christian faith. His letters, which take up almost half of our Christian scriptures, are the earliest record we have of the formation of Christianity.

Despite all of this, Paul was never a man with a lot of power and influence. As a Pharisee he may have had some influence in the Jewish community, but that community was only a small fringe group in the larger society. And although he was a Roman Citizen, that made little difference in how he, as a Jew, was viewed by Roman culture.

We sometimes think that we could never make any real difference in our world because we don’t have power and influence. The truth is, neither did Paul. And yet he changed the very foundations of his world. Whether you like Paul or not, whether you agree with his theology or you struggle with it, it is Paul who, in many ways, laid the foundation on which the Christian Church is built.

And for Paul the fundamental principle upon which everything he said or wrote was based, was faith in the living God through Jesus Christ, the risen son. For Paul, that was the most important thing, the foundation upon which everything rested. And perhaps, that is the most important foundation for us today. Regardless of what else we might learn from Paul, this is one lesson I think we can all benefit from. Amen.

Gift of Music All Praise to Thee #327

We Offer Our Gifts

Offertory Response VU#549

For all your goodness, God, we give you thanks.

And so, we offer you, all that we have and do,

to serve and honour you and give you thanks.
© Daryl Nixon 1987. All rights reserved. Used with permission OneLicense #A7323756

Offertory Prayer

We Offer Our Prayers

Minute for Mission

Prayers of the People

As we gather here in prayer, as we call to mind other people in their numerous needs.

Somewhere at this moment there are thoughtful, kindly men and women who are staring at prison walls because they dared speak out for truth and justice.