Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church
Order of Worship
October 27, 2024 – 23rd after Pentecost
Prelude
Words of welcome, announcements
Lighting the Christ Candle
We light this candle as a sign of God’s Spirit that is still at work in the world. May its light brighten our spirits, and may the light of God shine through us to brighten the world.
Call To worship
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come, and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the nations argue and the politicians babble. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! For God is here among us; the God of healing and new life is our shelter from the storm. Come, let us join our hearts and voices in worship.
Hymn Come and Find the Quiet Centre VU 374
- Come and find the quiet centre
in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter,
find the frame where we are freed:
clear the chaos and the clutter,
clear our eyes, that we can see
all the things that really matter,
be at peace, and simply be.
- Silence is a friend who claims us,
cools the heat and slows the pace,
God it is who speaks and names us,
knows our being, face to face,
making space within our thinking,
lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we’re shrinking,
finding scope for faith begun.
- In the Spirit let us travel,
open to each other’s pain,
let our loves and fears unravel,
celebrate the space we gain:
there’s a place for deepest dreaming,
there’s a time for heart to care,
in the Spirit’s lively scheming
there is always room to spare!
Prayer of Approach
Open our eyes, dear Lord we pray. Help us to see Jesus as he reaches out to heal our blindness. Help us to let go of all those things that keep us in darkness. This day, as your word is proclaimed, may our hearts and souls respond with joy. Transform our lives to do your will. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
Scripture Reader: Susan Humphries
Gospel Reading: Mark 10:46-52
Hymn Jesus, Lover of My Soul VU 669
- Jesus, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last.
- Other refuge have I none;
hangs my helpless soul on thee.
Leave, ah! leave me not alone;
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenceless head
with the shadow of thy wing.
- Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
more than all in thee I find.
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name,
I am all unrighteousness:
false and full of sin I am,
thou are full of truth and grace.
- Plenteous grace with thee is found,
grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound;
make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art,
freely let me take of thee;
spring thou up within my heart;
rise to all eternity.
Sermon “The Healing Power of Faith”
Anthem
The offering
We give thanks for everyone who continues to support TSA and our many ministries. Your gifts of support and encouragement mean a lot to us. You can get more information about making a donation by contacting the church office or by visiting our website. For all the gifts you share, for all the people you bless by your serving and giving as a disciple of Jesus, we give thanks.
Offering Song God is So Good
God is so good, God is so good,
God is so good, He’s so good to me.
Offering Prayer
Almighty God, you have made us who we are, so we offer all of ourselves to You. We offer our talents, our energy and our joy, that we might share Your love. Take our mistakes, our regrets and our pain, and use us to bring Your healing. Magnify the gifts we offer before You today, to spread Your gift of peace in the world. Amen.
Hymn Come to My Heart VU 661
- Come to my heart, Lord Jesus;
teach me to walk in your way.
Come to my heart, Lord Jesus;
come to my heart today.
Give me the peace and joy
that only you can bring.
Come to my heart, Lord Jesus;
give me a song to sing.
- Fill me with love, Lord Jesus;
teach me to walk in your way.
Fill me with love, Lord Jesus;
fill me with love today.
Give me the peace and joy
that only you can bring.
Fill me with love, Lord Jesus;
give me a song to sing.
- Answer my prayer, Lord Jesus;
teach me to walk in your way.
Answer my prayer, Lord Jesus;
Answer my prayer today.
Give me the peace and joy
that only you can bring.
Answer my prayer, Lord Jesus;
give me a song to sing.
Pastoral Prayer,
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn For the Healing of the Nations VU 678
- For the healing of the nations,
God, we pray with one accord;
For a just and equal sharing
Of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
Help us rise and pledge our word.
- Lead us forward into freedom,
From despair your world release;
That, redeemed from war and hatred,
All may come and go in peace.
Show us through care and goodness
Fear will due and hope increase.
- All that kills abundant living,
Let it from the earth be banned;
Pride of status, race or schooling,
Dogmas that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice
May we hallow life’s brief span.
- You, Creator-God, have written
your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness
bring the life of Christ of mind;
that, by our response and service,
earth its destiny may find.Benediction
For all that God can do within us, for all that God can do without us, We give Thanks to God! For all who followed the way of Christ before us, for all in who follow Christ today, We give Thanks to God! For all the Spirit wants to bring us, for where the Spirit wants to send us, We give Thanks to God!
The blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, mother of us all, be with you and on your way together, now and forever. Amen.
Choral Amen Amen, Amen, Amen VU 967
Postlude
“The Healing Power of Faith” Text: Mark 10:46-52
Preached by Rev. James Murray at Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church, Renfrew. October 27 2024.
When ever I read the Bible stories about Jesus healing people, I’m always amazed at how easily Jesus is motivated to help people. Jesus doesn’t put up a lot of requirements before he is willing to heal someone. He doesn’t test them on their doctrinal position, on their religious affiliation or ethnicity. He doesn’t even need to know a lot about a person in order for him to care. Jesus just needs to know that this person is hurting and they need help. In many cases, all it takes is a brief encounter for Jesus to offer his assistance. The healing miracles in the Bible makes healing sound so simple, which it should be.
At the end of the healing miracle we heard this morning, Jesus goes so far as to say to Bartimaeus “your faith has made you well”. They only exchanged a few sentences on a crowded street before Jesus heals him. The faith Bartimaeus expresses is not built upon his knowledge of church doctrines and correct theology. It is not a faith based upon years of attending a fancy church with a famous preacher or a talented organist. His faith is based on the simple, yet persistent belief, that Jesus has the ability to make a positive difference in his life.
In the Gospel of Mark, Bartimaeus is the only person Jesus heals who has a name. It’s a Greek name that means ‘the son of Timaeus.’ Now the most famous Timaeus of all time, is of course the title character in a play written by the philosopher Plato. Plato wrote the Dialogue of Timaeus back in 360BC. It was so popular it was still being performed in the time of Jesus. Plato’s Timaeus tells of how the world was made and the eternal truths which shape it. It is from the Timaeus that we get the story of the lost city of Atlantis, which is a symbol of the perfect unchanging world that Plato believes we should all aspire to.
So there is a certain irony at play here. The son of Timaeus is asking the son of David to cure his blindness. This is ironic because in Plato’s Timaeus, the great philosopher says most people are blind to the eternal truths of nature, so they do not know the true nature of God. According to Plato, only the rich and the wise can truly see the world for what it is. Yet here on a dusty street in Galilee, by faith alone, the son of Timeaus is healed by the son of David. This is the last healing miracle Jesus performs before his crucifixion. Once he is healed, the son of Timaeus is invited to follow Jesus and become his disciple. So Bartimaeus follows Jesus straight to Jerusalem and to the cross. And it is at the cross that the true nature of God is revealed for all to see.
We read stories like this in the scriptures to help us to see God’s true nature, so we can look at the world differently. By offering himself up to the service of God, and facing all the consequences that comes with it, Jesus helps us to see how God is present in the world. For God is present and at work in all the challenging new situations we find ourselves facing in these complicated days. The good news Jesus shares with us is that God is seeking our healing in every moment of each new day. And best of all, God is still inviting us to put our trust in Jesus. Despite all the challenges our world is facing, hope is still possible. For our faith can still be based on the simple yet persistent belief that Jesus has the ability to make a difference in your life here today.
We need to have such a faith in something bigger than ourselves, because it can be hard to make sense of the world around us on our own. The truth is, there are so many variables at play in any situation we cannot control everything that happens in this life. Despite our best intentions, bad things can happen. Good people can do great evil without even realizing the harm they are doing to others. Despite our great knowledge and technology, we cannot prevent every bad thing that might happen in the future. This applies to big tragedies in the world. It also applies to events in our own lives. We don’t know why we get sick when we do. No one expects an accident to happen. So are left to wonder what we should do. No one wants to be a fatalist and just give up. No one wants to be a stoic who just meekly accepts all the bad things they cannot control. This is why we turn to God in the face of such unknowable tragedies as we try to make sense of it all.
One piece of scripture that can help us make sense of this world is found in the Gospel of John. When Jesus helps Nicodemus to see the world in a new way, we hear the familiar words that tells us “For God so loves the world.” That gospel goes on to say that Jesus did not come to condemn or destroy the world, but to save it. He comes to bring healing and hope to us all. In the Jewish tradition, this attitude is known as ‘The mending of the world.’ They believe God calls us to heal the world, to mend what is broken, to save what is lost, and to bless this world by our actions.
Now a sewing needle might not strike you as the most powerful of tools. We’d often rather have a flashy tool like a hammer or a sword if we want to accomplish something big and important. That’s because we live in a world that often overlooks the power small things have. But without the help of a tiny sewing needle, we wouldn’t be able to survive the cold Canadian winter. In their own small quiet way, sewing needles have transformed how we live and move.
In the same way, the belief that God so loves the world may seem to be a small and insignificant concept. But it too has helped to transform our world. When scientists were faced with trying to understand the vastness of the universe, they wondered if they could ever figure out how the universe works. Albert Einstein believed that God had created all of the universe, and since we can know God, he reasoned we should be able to figure out something God has made. From this simple starting point, some of the most profound and important insights we have about the universe and all of life were deduced.
When we trust in the power of this simple belief as our starting point, it gives us a way to face what happens to us in the world. Even when tragedy strikes, when our best laid plans fall apart, when we get sick or accidents happen, we can approach this imperfect world with a spirit of healing, mending and hope. We are not here to condemn or blame or tear apart. As disciples of Jesus, we are here to help God mend the world. We are here to help make this a more humane world.
When your faith based on the belief that Jesus has the ability to make a positive difference in your life, this changes what is possible for the world. The political, economic and social forces that shape our world can be used to tear us apart. They can also be mended so they bring us together. The healing power of your faith changes how you look at the events going on in the world around you.
Best of all, it’s not just Jesus who has the power to heal and to mend that which is broken. Jesus came to teach us how to love this broken down world as much as God does. This is why God is inviting each of us to be part of this healing process. Each of us has a needle we can use in our own small way to help mend that which is torn, worn out and broken down. God is inviting each of us to be part of the mending of this big old goofy world, for it is always worth saving.
