{"id":1027,"date":"2024-07-31T15:37:44","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T18:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainviewunited.ca\/?p=1027"},"modified":"2024-07-31T15:37:44","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T18:37:44","slug":"abridged-worship-july-28-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainviewunited.ca\/index.php\/2024\/07\/31\/abridged-worship-july-28-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Abridged Worship – July 28, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Breaking Down Barriers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abridge Worship Provided By:<\/strong> Rev. Mary MacPherson (Please note that this is not a verbatim account of our Sunday morning worship, but rather a condensed version for those at home to study and enjoy, Blessing)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening Prayer: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

???\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture Readings: Ephesians 3:14-21 and Mark 6:1-21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)

<\/strong>A Prayer for the Ephesians<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason I kneel\u00a0before the Father,\u00a0from whom every family\u00a0in heaven and on earth derives its name.\u00a0I pray that out of his glorious riches\u00a0he may strengthen you with power\u00a0through his Spirit in your inner being,\u00a0so that Christ may dwell in your hearts\u00a0through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted\u00a0and established in love,\u00a0may have power, together with all the Lord\u2019s holy people,\u00a0to grasp how wide and long and high and deep\u00a0is the love of Christ,\u00a0and to know this love that surpasses knowledge\u2014that you may be filled\u00a0to the measure of all the fullness of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to him who is able\u00a0to do immeasurably more than all we ask\u00a0or imagine, according to his power\u00a0that is at work within us,\u00a0<\/sup>to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark 6:1-21 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus left there and went to his hometown,\u00a0accompanied by his disciples.\u00a0When the Sabbath came,\u00a0he began to teach in the synagogue,\u00a0and many who heard him were amazed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere did this man get these things?\u201d they asked. \u201cWhat\u2019s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>Isn\u2019t this the carpenter? Isn\u2019t this Mary\u2019s son and the brother of James, Joseph,\u00a0Judas and Simon?\u00a0Aren\u2019t his sisters here with us?\u201d And they took offense at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cA prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.\u201d\u00a0He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on\u00a0a few sick people and heal them.\u00a0He was amazed at their lack of faith.
<\/strong>Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.\u00a0Calling the Twelve to him,\u00a0he began to send them out two by two\u00a0and gave them authority over impure spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/sup>These were his instructions:\u00a0\u201cTake nothing for the journey except a staff\u2014no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.\u00a0And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet\u00a0as a testimony against them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/sup>They went out and preached that people should repent.\u00a0They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil\u00a0and healed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/sup>King Herod heard about this, for Jesus\u2019 name had become well known. Some were saying,\u00a0\u201cJohn the Baptist\u00a0has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others said, \u201cHe is Elijah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And still others claimed, \u201cHe is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when Herod heard this, he said, \u201cJohn, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/sup>For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.\u00a0He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip\u2019s wife, whom he had married.\u00a0<\/sup>For John had been saying to Herod, \u201cIt is not lawful for you to have your brother\u2019s wife.\u201d\u00a0So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,\u00a0because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.\u00a0When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet\u00a0for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflection: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I want to talk about the prayer from Ephesians this morning but first let me say that prayer can be a very hot topic. It was the reason I left the UCC for a while in my late teens, early 20s. I left because I believed the United Church had not taught me how to pray, so I looked elsewhere to find a church that would impart this wisdom to me. What I discovered was not an answer on how to pray but other people who were willing to be examples of spoken prayer. I didn\u2019t become proficient at it in these different churches, – there were those who prayed in the UCC, so I went back to my church \u2013 listening for the prayers of others. Later, while in seminary my friends and I found that we were often asked on the spot to pray. I think folks believed that there was a class in extemporaneous prayer in seminary. I assure you there was not. My friends and I listened to our teachers, supervisors, and professors and got brave enough to utter prayers as we were inspired to speak. Because as I found in my time away from the United Church the best way to learn how to pray is to learn from examples, like the prayer we have this morning from Ephesians, listening to others praying, and by just opening our mouths and doing it.  The prayers we share out loud teach those around us how to pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s look at this prayer Paul wrote to the Ephesians. First, we have verse 14: \u201cIt is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who do we pray to? First our prayers are directed to God, in the Greek the meaning is more like The Creator, the Holy One who is caring for all of us, all families in heaven above and on earth below. We pray to our Creator, care giver, the one who is invested in us. Our prayers are directed to our Creator, the Holy One who cares for us and is invested in us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul then says, \u201cStrengthen your people\u201d. What people? Who is he talking about? In different translations of the bible the words may be read as tribes, clans, nations and so it is suggested that he is talking about all the peoples of the earth, regardless of their allegiance or faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul prays that all people will have the Holy One, the Creator in their hearts. The Holy One that knows no divisions, no separation between tribe or clan, male or female, slave or free \u2013 all people will have the Holy One in their hearts so that their souls are filled with the power of the Spirit in their hearts. This means, having the Holy One in their hearts means their lives will be lived out of God\u2019s love. God\u2019s love is the basis of all they do. The Holy One, God, or Creator is the power of love. That power, that love of the Holy One fills you and when that happens, when it is recognized, transformation comes. Transformation must happen. With the love of the Holy One rooted in our hearts as the basis of our lives we are then able to grasp the love Jesus has for us. But the prayer goes on to say that this love this profound and deep love fills us and flows through our entire being. This leads us to living and abundant life, a life full of goodness, hope, faith and love. Don\u2019t get me wrong here it doesn\u2019t mean that everything in our lives will finally work out the way we want but rather in the struggles of life we will not lose ourselves to despair. We have this undefinable love inside of us to fill us with the knowledge that we are enough, we are loved, we are free, we are valued, we are God\u2019s beloved. Did you hear that? Let me say it again. This is important to hear. No matter what goes on in our lives or around us we have this undefinable love inside of us to fill us with the knowledge that we are enough, we are loved, we are free, we are valued, we are God\u2019s beloved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we know and believe in our hearts in that kind of love for us, then it can change a life. Let that sink in. No matter what you have previously thought about yourself you are God\u2019s beloved right now. That love within us fills us with endless possibilities. Because the power of love is at work in us and through us as God is at work in this world. When you are filled with God\u2019s love you cannot help but make a difference in the world around you, and in the lives of the people around you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see this prayer has been passed down over the generations from a church in Ephesus to you the Church of Mountain View. Paul\u2019s prayer comes to you as individuals and as a church. Let yourselves be filled with God\u2019s love, recognize that love for yourself and be transformed into life affirming, life giving, abundant livers of God\u2019s love for this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brings me to the Gospel message today. We see that a community has gathered around Jesus, 5,000 they say, not including women and children in the other gospel stories. The crowd does not seem to say they are hungry and are looking to be fed by Jesus and the disciples but rather Jesus looks out at the crowd and sees through love and compassion that hospitality dictates that he cares for them. He wants to feed them spiritually and physically. There has been many signs and miracles going on where the people have come to him for transformation in their lives and he wants to fill them from a place of love. And so, as the story goes, a young boy offers his lunch. A small act of love and compassion, becomes the basis of the miracle of this feeding of over 5,000 people. It\u2019s a small act but people are fed and like that young person we are not always aware of how our actions change someone\u2019s life or the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack Schlatter, a retired teacher, tells this story about two of his former students. \u201cMark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove, and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped carry part of the burden. As they walked, Mark discovered the boy\u2019s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball, and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They arrived at Bill\u2019s home first and Mark was invited in for a coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed quickly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated. Three weeks before graduation, Bill reminded Mark of the day when they had first met. \u2018Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?\u2019 asked Bill. \u2018You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn\u2019t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother\u2019s sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a small thing to do, yet it\u2019s possible that Mark would never do anything \u2013 no matter how grandiose in the world\u2019s view \u2013 more important than he did that day. His little deed made a difference, fed a distraught life, and created a miracle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see the prayer from Ephesians teaches us that we are loved by God with a love which is immeasurable it is so large, that love fills us and recognized it transforms us to live our lives with God\u2019s love as our source of being. Then we become capable of transforming our lives and the lives of others. So pray your prayers, open your hearts, and fill this world with God\u2019s immense and undying love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Let us pray\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord, teach us to pray, not a lesson of stylitics or poetic structure, but a lesson of spiritual surrender into trusting the love you have for us, a love that longs for the hearts of humanity to respond in trust to the love which You pour out upon us. Help us to open ourselves to communing with your as often \/as we can. Amen <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homework: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pray… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need help on this reflective journey email: minister@mountainviewunited.ca<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing Prayer:<\/strong> 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 tresspasses, 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, forever and ever. Amen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Meme of the Week: <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for joining us this week. If you have any thoughts, feelings, or prayers, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. Please be respectful of others’ posts and make room for all those joining us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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