Below is the service I ha



center0Below 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-JaneThe words provided for the hymns are done with permission under One License # A-727596.00Below 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-JaneThe words provided for the hymns are done with permission under One License # A-727596.NEWCASTLE UNITED CHURCHOctober 25, 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 StatementSurely God is in this place. Help me notice.We Approach GodLighting The Christ Candle 49149001079500A Time of Centring – “Take, O Take Me As I Am” MV # 85 (Words and music Copyright 1995 WGRG, Iona Community, Scotland)Take, O take me as I am; summon out what I shall be; set your seal upon my heart and live in me. (sung through twice)Call to Worship (Responsive) We gather as God’s people.We are neighbours, all.We gather because we love God.We love God with heart, mind and soul.We praise to express our love.When we go, we live to express our love.Hymn of Praise “God, Reveal Your Presence”# 391-609605905500God, reveal your presence: as we now adore you and with awe appear before you.Here in this your temple: all within keep silence, gather now with deepest reverence.You alone God we own, you, our God and Saviour: praise your name for ever.God, reveal your presence: hear the harps resounding; see the crowds the throne surrounding.“Holy, holy, holy!” Hear the hymn ascending, angels, saints, their voices blending.Bow your ear to us here; hearken, O Lord Jesus, to our humble praises.O great Fount of blessing, purify my spirit, trusting only in your merit; like the holy angels gathered all before you, may I ceaselessly adore you.Let your will ever still rule your church terrestrial, as the hosts celestial.Prayer of Approach (Unison) Gracious God, we ask for your Spirit to infuse our worship and our lives. May we, your people, love with all we are, with all we have. You are with us, encouraging and inspiring our lives to live as you call us to do. Be with us we pray. Amen.We Hear God’s WordHymn “Let All Things Now Living” # 242(Words copyright 1939, 1966 E.C. Schirmer Music Co.)Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God our Creator triumphantly raise; who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us, by guiding us on to the end of our days.453771067945God’s banners are o’er us, pure light goes before us, a pillar of fire shining forth in the night; till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished, as forward we travel from light into Light.By law God enforces, the stars in their courses and sun in its orbit obediently shines; the hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains, the depths of the ocean proclaim God divine.We, too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing with glad adoration a song let us raise: till all things now living unite in thanksgiving, to God in the highest, hosanna and praise.A Time To Be ChildrenI don't know for sure, but I think there have probably been more songs written about love than about anything else in the world. Some of my favorites: "All You Need Is Love," "What’s Love Got To Do With It," and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight."?Oh, I almost forgot one of the best love songs ever written. I’m sure all of you know this song! If you know it, maybe you want to sing it through. As you sing, try making a heart shape with your hands every time you sing the word love. Here it goes:09525Jesus loves me, this I know,For the Bible tells me so.Little ones to him belong;They are weak but he is strong.Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!The Bible tells me so.What a wonderful song about Jesus' love for us. In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus teaches another very important lesson about love. People were always amazed at the teachings of Jesus. One day a crowd was gathered around Jesus when a man who was an expert in religious law tried 4770120327660to trap Jesus with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?"Jesus answered, "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,' this is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love?your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."?In other words, Jesus was saying that if we could love?God and love?others, we would not have any trouble keeping the other 10 commandments. Let's ask God to help us to love as we should.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.Deuteronomy 34:1-12 The death of Moses. Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 God, our help in ages past. VU # 805 Parts 1 & 3Sung Response:In every age, O God, you have been our refuge. God, you have been our refuge in every generation.Before the mountains were brought forth, before earth and world were formed, from age to age everlasting, you are God.You turn frail humans back to dust, saying: “Return, you mortals.”For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, a day that is past, a watch in the night.You sweep them away like a dream, like grass that is fresh in the morning, like grass which in the morning is green, but in the evening is dried up and withered. RTurn back, O God! How long? Have compassion on your servants.Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.1600201016000Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, as many years as we have suffered adversity.Show your servants your work, and let their children see your glory.Let the favour of our God be upon us, and prosper the work of our hands.Prosper the work of our hands. RMatthew 22:34-46 Love God, love neighbour.This is the Word of the Lord.Thanks be to God.Hymn “Lord, Speak To Me” # 58938328607620Lord, speak to me that I may speak in living echoes of your tone; as you have sought, so let me seek your straying children lost and lone. O lead me, so that I may lead the wandering and the wavering feet; O feed me, so that I may feed your hungering ones with manna sweet.O teach me, so that I may teach the precious truths which you impart; and wing my words, that they may reach the hidden depths of many a heart.O fill me with your fullness, Lord, until my very heart o’erflows in kindling thought and glowing word, your love to tell, your praise to show.Message How many books are there in the Bible? There are 66 in the Protestant Bible. I know because I counted them! How many words are there in the Bible? I have it on good authority that, depending on what translation is used, there are either 783,137 or 773,692 or 774,746 words in the Bible. Now, in case you are wondering what I do with my time, I DID NOT count these myself and am simply taking someone's word for it! However, there is not much of a sermon there. The Bible is full of stories, of songs, of love poetry, of warnings, of teachings, of prophets and preachers, of rules and regulations and some other stuff that is hard to categorize. While it might make for an interesting presentation at a confirmation class or a study group, there is not much of a sermon there either! When I was 9 or 10 my mother sent me to church with a question for the minister; she couldn’t answer it, so she did what many of you do, told me to ask the minister. It was "What is the name of Lot's wife?" (You may remember that she was the one turned into a pillar of salt when the family was fleeing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.) He could not answer the question and when I relayed the message my mother muttered, "He's not much of a minister if he didn't know that!" Later on, I found out that she knew as well as he did that Lot's wife is un-named in the biblical record. It was just good-natured ribbing when she chided him for not knowing this, or at least I hope it was. I suspect that the process of my carrying the question and answer back and forth was designed to teach me something about the Bible as well. But, alas there's not much of a sermon there either. In the passage that you read just a few moments ago from the gospel of Matthew we are told that some Pharisees had gathered together to ask Jesus a question. Apparently, they had heard that Jesus had beaten the Sadducees and, perhaps, they wanted to have their own turn! There were many rules and commands in the scriptural books that the Jewish people termed ‘the Law". There were the obvious ones such as the ten commandments and then there were the ones which had grown up in order to elaborate on and define these ten. Don't work on Sunday! But just what was work? Was it work if someone's life was at stake? Make a yearly sacrifice at the temple! What kind of animal was appropriate for a sacrifice? Raise God-fearing children! What means could you use to train or discipline a child? How long and wide was the temple to be? What kind of vestments were the priests to wear? There were all sorts of rules. Apparently, someone had counted them and had arrived at the number 613; 248 positive commandments corresponding to parts of the body and 365 negative ones corresponding to the number of days in the year. Some people even argued that all were of equal importance, so asking Jesus to choose could be seen as another trap. If this were a movie, that scary, suspense inducing music would be rising in volume right about now. Careful now, Jesus. Don't fall into this trap! They asked Jesus to choose which ONE was most important, however, at first glance he appeared to have chosen TWO: "love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind", and "love your neighbour as yourself". Yet it becomes clear that these two are really two sides of the same coin. He went on to assert that, to fulfill these two perfectly was to fulfill all others. Now there is a sermon!01059180In the church of Christ’s followers, we sometimes think that all of this stuff that Jesus preached about love was new, that the people had never heard it before, but that is not the case. These commandments which Jesus held up had come from their own scriptures, from the law handed down from generation to generation. These commandments were, by the time of Jesus, already over a thousand years old. It seems to me that Jesus' chief contribution was to expand the boundaries and definitions of love in ways that were new and, to many, shocking. For example, it seems that the people of Jesus day defined the term neighbour very narrowly: not just the people on their street, but certainly the word neighbour was limited to Jews, people just like they were. You will remember that the parable of the Good Samaritan was told to show what a neighbour was and how a neighbour was to act. It is of great significance, in that parable, that the one whose actions are praised is NOT a Jew but a hated and despised Samaritan. So, the law, as taught by Jesus was not exactly new, but its application certainly was! Sometimes, forcing other people to re-think old ways of looking at things can get you in trouble! Jesus called people to love one another with a love that had no limits and which was based in God's love for creation. During this encounter, Jesus called people to see a profound connection between love of God, love of self and love of neighbour. Of course, this love was not just a mushy feeling, but a way of being that resulted in action. Elsewhere, early church leaders who put pen to paper and wrote what is now in our Bible, sought to expand what this commandment meant. To show contempt or hatred toward a neighbour was also to show those same feelings toward God. To show love toward another, was part of showing love to God who called people to be in community. To worship God is to gather the community to praise God and to show love for and devotion to God, but it is also to connect this faith in, and love of, God to the issues of justice and mercy within the wider community. One of these ‘laws' cannot be fulfilled without fulfilling the other, they are so intertwined. We must be careful though, because the first one is not exactly the same as nor replaced by the other. While worship and devotion to God cannot be separated from issues of compassion and justice, there must be room for devotion. The life of a follower of Christ is not JUST action, no matter how laudable and self giving that action is. The best example that I can think of is that of the late Mother Teresa. As busy as she was and as busy as her Sisters were, they took time for private prayer and corporate worship. As great as the needs of those with whom they worked were, they took that time. It was a completely necessary part of their call. Even though we have not devoted our entire lives to the care of the poor of India, in each of our lives, there must be room for prayer, for study, for private and public worship, for an honest search for religious truth and understanding, and for serious wrestling with issues of faith. For Matthew and his community, the life and teachings of Jesus are the ultimate window to God. It is through his life and teachings that the community understands the ways of God and the call of God. It is through seeking an understanding of God’s words that we seek to understand the divine. It is through seeking to follow in God’s way that we show our love for neighbour as self. 5067300121920One of the tricky parts for many is the part of this commandment that talks about the love of self. I think we find it tricky because many of us have been warned against selfishness and self-centeredness. We have been taught that the Bible says that we are to think of others before ourselves, always, always, always. I think that this attitude can get carried too far and that a denial of self CAN sometimes lead to a denial of the worth of the self, a denial of the image of God that exists in each of us. Thus, we may allow ourselves to be abused by another, and allow it to continue instead of seeking to change the relationship to one in which God's image in each one is honoured and respected. Sometimes such abusive relationships cannot be healed and must be ended. Have you seen the T-shirt that says, "I'm GREAT! God doesn't make junk!" I think that this love of self, if it is based in God's love for us, is really the only way that we can truly love another, and it is not selfishness, but completely necessary. If we are not healthy and whole, we cannot give of that self to others in any healthy way. So, on this day we are left with the comfort and the challenge that the law of God is simple, yet all encompassing. God loves us with a love that we cannot even imagine and we are called to show that love to others, not matter who they are, because we feel this love within and want to share it with everyone we encounter and even those we have never met. We are challenged to put our feeling into action as that is the true test of love. We are called to make our faith and the things of faith a priority in our lives and let that faith invade and pervade all of our lives. As people of faith, let us then follow that call to love God with all of our heart, our soul and our mind. Let us expect that following this command will take us the rest of our lives. God will be with us as we seek to follow. Thanks be to God. We Respond To God’s WordOffering InvitationEvery day is a new beginning. Every day is another gift from God. God gives us life in abundance. In gratitude we share what we have for the work of God in our church and our community…The Offertory We praise you, O God, our Redeemer, Creator;in grateful devotion our tribute we bring.We lay it before you; we kneel and adore you;we bless your holy name, glad praises we sing. (#218 v. 1)Dedication Prayer (Unison)Creator God, in love you have given us these gifts to share. Please accept these offerings of who we are and what we have. May your blessing multiply the work they do. Amen.Prayers of the People 2286071628000For gifts, the simple and the profound, we thank you loving Friend. For the sound of waves, the laugher of children, the promise of love, thank you. For the sight of birds, the tastes and smells of fall, for travelling by faith, thank you. For the scent of warm fires, the flaming colour of fall leaves, the return of hope, thank you. For the fragrance of freshly made bread, the brimming cup of warm cider, the chance of pardon and forgiveness, thank you.You, wonderful God, whose glory the heavens declare and whose handiwork the whole earth sees;?be with astronomers and astronauts,?artists, and photographers.You, whose Spirit brooded over the face of the earth and brought breath to all that lives and grows;?be with health workers who control and battle viruses and bacteria,?or engineer genes and chromosomes.You, for whom truth is not mere facts and figures, but relationship and the gift of eternal love;?be with those whose science has left them empty?or whose technology has become a slavery.You, who give us faith that leads to many doubts, and deep doubts that lead to a larger faith;?be with all agnostics and those who despair,?and all the pure of heart who hunger for you.You, who have created us for fulfilment and joy, and do not rest while one lost person is in misery;?be with those who are lost in amusement arcades, and all who see no reality that leads to a smile.You, who should mother and father forsake us, cherish us as your very own family;?be with abused children and street kids,?social workers, magistrates and foster parents.You, who when thick darkness covered humanity, leapt into the night bringing light and joy; be with night-shift workers and police, counsellors and pastors.You, whose first-born, perfect Child covered our sins and bore our griefs;?be with mothers and midwives,?the falsely accused and sorely abused.You, who banish fears and bring a new dawn, who swallow up death in victory;?be with those who risk their lives for others?and all who today face death alone.You, who know our needs before we utter them and do far more than we can ask or imagine;?be with us as we offer these prayers?and with all who have forgotten how to pray…Through Jesus Christ our Brother and Saviour.?Amen(Inspired by and adapted from Bruce Prewer. Used with permission.)Closing Hymn “O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee” # 560O Master, let me walk with thee in lowly paths of service free; 39395409525teach me thy secret, help me bear the strain of toil, the fret of care.Help me the slow of heart to move with some clear, winning word of love; teach me the wayward feet to stay, and guide them in the homeward way.Teach me thy patience, still with thee, in closer, dearer company, in work that keeps faith sure and strong, in trust that triumphs over wrong, in hope that sends a shining ray far down the future’s broadening way, in peace that only thou canst give, with thee, O Master, let me missioning and Benediction We go into this new week with love for Godwho is easy to love.We go into this new week with love for Godby loving the neighbours who are sometimes difficult to love.God’s Spirit goes with us to inspire our love.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 “Go Now In Peace” (Copyright 1988 by Harold Flammer Music, a Division of Shawnee Press, Inc.)060960Go now in peace. Never be afraid.God will go with you each hour of every day. Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true.Know God will guide you in all you do.Go now in love, and show you believe.Reach out to others so all the world can see.God will be there watching from above.Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.And online we end together (wait for folks to get their mics unmuted) And the people say:Hallelujah and Amen!left111569500Mary-Jane, we appreciate your service and dedication to our Newcastle United Church Family of Faith. ?You have persevered in these strange and challenging times using your gifts of flexibility, creativity and steadfastness. ?Thank you for the blessings you bring to us each and every day.Please note: Although working mostly from home, Rev. Mary-Jane is always available on her cellphone (905-244-8453), through the church email (newcastleunitedchurch@bellnet.ca) or confidentially on her personal email (revmj@hotmail.ca). Please feel free to be in touch.5021580121920Pen Pals – If you are interested in being part of our new connecting initiative please send an email to the church office letting us know.HARVEST THANKSGIVING BOX FUNDRAISERWe are happy to let you know that $2418 was raised for the operating expenses of our church. Thank you!left-254000 FundScrip is back! Get ready for Christmas shopping! Order forms can be downloaded from the church website. They can also be dropped off to you if you do not have internet access. Payment by E-transfer, cash or cheque. First order can be dropped off to the church on Friday November 6th from 11am to noon or Saturday November 7th from 2pm to 3pm at the Emily Street entrance. Pick up will be Friday November 13th from 11 am to noon and Saturday November 14th from 2pm to 3pm.Second order can be dropped off to the church on Friday November 27th from 11am to noon or Saturday November 28th from 2pm to 3pm at the Emily Street entrance. Pick up will be Friday December 4th from 11 am to noon and Saturday December 5th from 2pm to 3pm.Cheques should be addressed to Newcastle United Church. E-Transfer to nucetransfer@.If you have any questions, please call Julie A. Kellman at 905 446 0168 or email julieak40@. Please click on file below for the order form.99060530225Our church YouTube channel. Is where you can find recordings of weekly worship services, Music to Wash Dishes By and episodes of our show “Investigation: Exodus” where we hear about the story and interview a character from the Exodus story. Here is the link - 5920740762000Bible Study – Our weekly, Wednesday morning online Bible Study starts at 10 am. Please contact Rev. Mary-Jane if you would like to join us.From the Stewards:2286035052000As we continue with a substantial overdraft, we would ask that 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@ or 905-987-3940. You can arrange 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 1H2. You can donate via CanadaHelps: through this link or the link on our website: “Donate” page, e-transfer: nucetransfer@. Post-dated cheques are yet another option.Thank you for considering these options. While we may not be gathering together, our expenses need to be met.Thank you to all who continue to send in their church givings – we very much appreciate it. “Then Moses hiked up from the Moabite plaints to Mount Nebo, the peak of the Pisgah slope, which faces Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land: the Gilead region as far as Dan’s territory;” – Deuteronomy 34: 1Newcastle United Church ................
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