April 2nd 2023 – “Following Jesus”

2023-04-02 "Following Jesus" 11 AM

Dear friends, 

This Sunday Edythe Arnott will be leading us in worship. 

Our Special Easter offering (the yellow envelope in your envelope box) has been designated toward the work of Camp d’Action Biblique (CAB), our Presbyterian summer camp in Richmond, QC – a roughly 90 minute drive from the South Shore.  It is a camp where children and youth can spend a week in the summer and live in Christian community while having a great time.  For more information, visit: www.cabqc.ca

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, where we commemorate our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Our Gospel reading is taken from Matthew 21: 1-11, “The Triumphal Entry”.  Everywhere Jesus went, he seemed to gather crowds and followers.   As Jesus came closer to Jerusalem, he knew what lay ahead of Him, but probably most of those following didn’t.  Even the twelve disciples didn’t fully understand.  As we follow Jesus on our journey through life, maybe Palm Sunday and Holy Week are good times to reflect on what following Jesus means for us today.   


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Waving of the Palms Processional; Hymn 214: “All glory laud & honour”
Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 78: “This is the day”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 416: “Blessed Jesus, at your word”
Responsive reading: Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
Gloria Patri
New Testament reading Matthew 21: 1-11 (en français, English on the screen)
Sermon: “Following Jesus”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 379: “The servant king”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 218: “Hosanna, loud hosanna”
Benediction

March 26th 2023 -“Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh on Me”

2023-03-26 "Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me" 11 AM

Dear friends, 

This Sunday marks the fifth Sunday in Lent.  Our Gospel reading is taken from John 11: 1-48, “The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus.”  In this amazing event, Jesus went to the tomb where His friend Lazarus was buried for four days and called him out of the grave — miraculously bringing him back to life.  In John 14: 6, Jesus declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”  One commentator notes:  “The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead is a climax to all the preceding signs that have revealed God’s glory through Jesus.  Here death itself, the final enemy of humanity, is successfully confronted by the One who is Himself the resurrection and the life.  Yet even this glorious sign divides those who witness it.” 

As believers in Christ, we can confidently join the Apostle Paul and say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15: 55); for we know that in Christ Jesus there is eternal life, and resurrection hope, and glory! (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18). 


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 202: “We lay our broken world”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 352: “And can it be that I should gain”
Responsive reading: Psalm 130
Gloria Patri
Ezekiel 37: 1-14 (en français – English on the screen)
Romans 8: 6-11
The Gospel of John 11: 1-48
Sermon: “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 389: “Breathe on me, breath of God” (vs 3 en français)
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 358: “There is a redeemer”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

March 19th 2023 -“Hearing Jesus’ Voice”

2023-03-19 "Hearing Jesus' Voice" 11 AM

Dear friends, 

This Sunday Edythe Arnott will be leading us in worship. 

This Sunday marks the fourth Sunday of Lent.  Our readings continue through the Gospel of John, and is taken from John 9: 1-42, where Jesus heals a man born blind.  But why was the man born blind, His disciples ask?  “Was it for his sin or his parent’s that he was born that way?”  After all, the Bible gives many examples of people receiving affliction sent by God for their sins.  But what if His disciples weren’t asking the right question?  One commentator notes: “It is unwise and uncharitable to judge that the sufferings of others are specifically punitive (Matthew 7: 1) or to assume a direct correlation between individuals’ suffering and their degree of guilt (Luke 13: 1-5).  The question put to Jesus presents a false dilemma… [but] Jesus offers a third option.”  

This Sunday as we meditate on Jesus’ encounter with the man born blind, we can think about our own encounter with Jesus and what Jesus has done and is doing for us. 


Order Of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 203: “When Jesus the healer passed through Galilee”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 507: “Break now the bread of life” (vs 3&4 en français)
Responsive reading: Psalm 23
Gloria Patri
1 Samuel 16: 1-13 (en français – English on the screen)
John 9: 1-41 (Narrative reading)
Sermon: “Hearing Jesus’ Voice”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 374: “Oh for a thousand tongues to sing”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 649: “How clear is our vocation Lord”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

March 12th 2023 -“Divine Appointment Blessings”

2023-03-12 "Divine Appointment Blessings" 11 AM

Dear friends, 

Last week we announced the death of Rowena Van Seters, here is the link to the livestream of the funeral service that will take place Sunday (tomorrow) at 5 PM in Toronto.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAUk2lD9mD4

This Sunday marks the third Sunday of Lent.  Our gospel reading is taken from John 4: 5-42, where Jesus passed through Samaria on His way to Galilee.  He found His way to an old well that once belonged to Jacob, and providentially, a Samaritan woman came down to draw water from the well.  Jesus asked her to draw fresh water from the well to drink, and opened up a conversation about the one true God and the Messiah.  He spoke to the Samaritan woman about “living waters”, but, like Nicodemus, the woman at the well didn’t understand the key terms he was using.  What does Jesus mean by “living waters”?  Jeremiah 2: 13 gives us a clue: “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Jesus was revealing His true identity as God and Messiah!  John 4: 26 “Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”

Not long after, the Samaritan woman begins to witness and spread the good news to the nearby town, “and many more believed.” 


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 676: “Jesus Lover of my soul” (vs 2 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 670: “Amazing grace” (vs 2&3 en français)
Responsive reading: Psalm 95
Gloria Patri
Exodus 17: 1-7 (en français – English on the screen)
Romans 5: 1-11
The gospel reading: John 4: 5-42
Sermon: “Divine Appointment Blessings”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 671: “I heard the voice of Jesus say”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 420: “Je louerai l’eternal” (vs 1 en français)
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

March 5th 2023 – “New Life”

2023-02-26 "New Life" 11 AM

Dear friends, 

This Sunday Edythe Arnott will be leading us in worship. 

It is with great sadness that we write to inform you that Rowena Van Seters, wife of Art Van Seters, a past minister at St. Andrew’s church, died on February 23, 2023, in Toronto only three weeks before her 90th birthday.  Her dear husband, Arthur predeceased her in 2011.  She will be deeply missed by her five sons; David, Stephen, Tim, Philip and Tom and their families.  Her life will be celebrated at 5:00 PM on Sunday, March 12th, 2023, at Armour Heights Presbyterian Church in Toronto. 

Here is a link to her obituary: https://cremationcare.ca/tribute/details/522/Rowena-Van-Seters/obituary.html#content-start

This Sunday marks the second Sunday of Lent.  Our gospel lesson is taken from John 3: 1-21, where Nicodemus, a Pharisee and teacher of Israel comes to meet Jesus in the night to speak to Him.  This is the famous passage where Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or born from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3: 3).  Ezekiel 11: 19–20 may help us with this passage, “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”  This is the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in believers.  But like Nicodemus, we have questions, uncertainties and maybe even doubts, yet Jesus welcomes them and ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7: 25).  What do Jesus’ words to Nicodemus mean for us today?


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 194: “Come, let us to the Lord our God”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 400: “Spirit of the living God” (vs 2 en français)
Responsive reading: Psalm 121
Gloria Patri
Numbers 21: 4-9 (en français – English on the screen)
John 3: 1-21
Sermon: “New Life”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 202: “We lay our broken world in sorrow at your feet”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 665: Lord Jesus, you shall be my song (vs 2&3 en français)
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

February 26th 2023 – “Why Forty Days?”

2023-02-26 "Why forty days?" 11 AM

Dear Friends,

This Sunday Linda Faith Chalk will be leading us in worship. 

This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Lent, where we commemorate the 40 days our Lord spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).  The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). “When Satan tempts us, his sparks fall upon tinder; but in Christ’s case, it was like striking sparks on water; yet the enemy continued his evil work”, adds one commentator.  Jesus Christ alone is the “Lamb without blemish”.  In this season of Lent may we pray for ourselves and for one another, that our faith, hearts and minds may be renewed and made whole, and may we delve deeper into relationship with God. 

Everyone is invited to join us downstairs after the service on Sunday to enjoy coffee, cookies and conversation.


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 197: “Forty days and forty nights”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Anthem: Homeward Bound (Arr. Henry Cobb Howes)
Children’s Time
Hymn: “One person’s sin changed every life”
Responsive reading: Psalm 32
Gloria Patri
Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7 (en français – English on the screen)
Romans 5: 12-19
The Gospel – Matthew 4: 1-11
Sermon: “Why forty days?”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn: “Our Lord you were sent”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 205: “O love, how deep how broad how high”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

April 10th, 2022 -“A service of readings and songs”

2022-04-10 Sunday Worship 11:00 AM - "A service of readings and songs"

Dear all,

This coming week, Holy week, is the center of the Christian year and Christians believe that it is the pivot around which all world history turns. If, for whatever reason, Christmas disappeared, that would be an impoverishing loss – especially for the merchants. But it would not be fatal to Christian faith. Christmas was a later (and not essential) development in the Christian calendar. Two of the four gospels don’t mention the Christmas story : Matthew and Luke tell it differently, one with with wise men, the other with shepherds and angels. But Holy Week takes us to the core of Christian faith. All four gospels tell the same story with only slight variations. Without the Last Supper, Good Friday and, of course, Easter, there is no Christian story. The wild claim that we celebrate every year is that the broken and scourged man on the cross is actually the human face of God.  If true, it is a remarkable revelation of God and of the the world we live in. Without it, the suffering love of God for the universe is not obvious. Because of Easter and a Jesus who is alive, the story of Holy Week is not just history.  It is present reality.

Sunday’s service consists of two readers (Beth Chittim and me) reading an (abridged) version of Luke’s gospel interspersed with familiar hymns.  The aim is tell the whole story from the Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem, the prophetic cleansing of the temple, the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, Jesus’ arrest and Peter’s denial, the Trial and Crucifixion.  Everything up to the miraculous reversal of Easter –  when the verdict of human judges was overturned by God and life emerged triumphant from the tomb.


Order of Service

SUNDAY, April 10, 2022 Psalm Sunday
Prelude:
Responsive call to Worship:
Hymn 216: “Hosanna”
Reading #1: Luke 19: 28-40 (Entry into Jerusalem)
Reading #2: Luke 19: 45-47 (Jesus cleanses the temple)
PWS&D Lenten Liturgy
Prayer of Adoration and Confession
Declaration of Grace
Reading 3: Luke 22:7-14 (Preparing the Passover”)
Hymn 708: “When Israel was in Egypt’s land”
Reading 4 Luke 22: 14-23 (The Last Supper)
Hymn 224 “An Upper Room did our Lord prepare”
Reading 5: Luke 22: 31-34 (Warning)
Reading 6: Luke 22: 39-46 (Praying in the Garden”)
Hymn 230 “Go to Dark Gethsemane “ (vv1,2)
Reading 7: Luke 22: 47-53 (Arrest)
Reading 8: Luke 22:54-62 (Peter’s denial)
Reading 9: Luke 22:63-23:25 (Trial)
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of the People Response: “O Lord, hear my prayer“ Hymn 446
Reading 10: Luke 23: 26-42 (Crucifixion)
Hymn 206: “Jesus, remember me.”
Reading 11: Luke 23: 44-49 (Jesus’ death)
Hymn 239: “O sacred head sore wounded”
Silence
Postlude

April 3rd, 2022 – “Outrageous extravagance”

2022-04-03 Sunday Worship 11:00 AM - "Outrageous extravagance"

Dear all,

Grace is sometimes hard to stomach. It seems excessive, reckless, over the top.  Impractical or unnecessary. That is what bothered the older brother about his father’s behaviour last week in relation to the undeserving son. This week it is Judas who gets upset with Mary’s extravagant lavishing of love on Jesus.  The perfume is as outrageously expensive as her uncovered hair is scandalous. But Jesus handles an awkward situation with grace and affection. Grace is met with grace in a way that points to the God’s kingdom in the days leading up to his death.


Order of service

SUNDAY, April 3, 2022 Lent 5
Prelude:
PWS&D Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 174: “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace and Lord’s Prayer
Responsive reading: Psalm 126
Philippians 2: 12-18
Anthem: “Psalm 126”
John 8: 1-8
Hymn 87: “When God restored our common life”
Meditation: “Outrageous extravagance”
Hymn 637: “Take my life and let it be”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 202: “We lay our broken world”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

March 27th, 2022 – “Two sons and a father”

2022-03-27 Sunday Worship 11:00 AM - "Two sons and a father"

Dear all,

Lent, as we said last week, is a penitential season in the church year. As we follow Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem, we are supposed to take stock of our lives and repent. Repent of  what we may ask?  Perhaps we are not conscious of breaking God’s law in any particular way. We are not aware of bad habits that need to be given up. Lent is often thought to be a season for practising denial: giving up chocolate, alcohol, rich foods. But again this week, Jesus spells out repentance in a different way by pointing to the heart rather than to external behaviour. Sometimes sins are subtle. In the parable of the father with two sons, repentance means returning home from a far country in the case of the younger son. Both his distance from his father and his misdeeds are obvious to all. For the dutiful older son, repentance requires careful self-examination and a transformation of the heart  –  of which he may not be capable.  The parable leaves us dangling about the outcome of the decision he faces – as far from his father as the younger son ever was.  


Order of Service

SUNDAY, March 27, 2022 Lent 4
Prelude:
PWS&D Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 201: “We come to ask your forgiveness”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Responsive reading: Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5: 16-21
Anthem: “Mon père, je m’abandonne à toi ”
Luke 15: 1-3; 11-32
Hymn: “10,000 reasons”
Meditation: “Two sons and a father”
Hymn 194: “Come, let us to the Lord our God”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn: “Praise with Joy the World’s Creator”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

March 20th, 2022 – “Repentance as Fruitfulness”

2022-03-20 Sunday Worship 11:00 AM - "Repentance as Fruitfulness"

On Sunday, we will celebrate Communion. Just a reminder: if you are joining us on YouTube for this communion service, please provide your own elements of bread (or a cracker) and wine (juice). For those participating in-person,  the inner glasses of the tray contain white grape juice.

Lent, as we follow Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem, is a penitential season in the church year. We are supposed to take stock of our lives and to repent.  Repent of  what we may ask?  Perhaps we are not conscious of breaking God’s law in any particular way. We are not aware of bad habits that need to be given up. Lent is often thought to be a season for practicing denial: giving up chocolate, alcohol, rich foods. But in this parable Jesus points us in a different direction.  Here repentance involves a turning around, a turning to God, a transformation so that a barren life becomes a fruitful one. Something positive rather than something negative.

Tomorrow’s gospel lesson starts with people coming to Jesus with a question about God’s judgment, “when a building collapses (say, the theater in Mariupol) and some survive but others are killed, is it because they have angered God and are being punished for their sins?  Hardly a common opinion in our time,  but apparently not unusual in theirs.  Misfortune was interpreted as God’s judgment. Don’t think like that, said Jesus. God is not out to get you for your sins.

Then he tells them a parable about God’s judgment and repentance.  A fig tree has not borne fruit for three years. The owner decides that is it time to chop down this unproductive tree to make space for one that may bear fruit. But the gardener intervenes,  “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.  If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” God’s judgment includes mercy and a reprieve. Not forever, but time enough so that, with proper care and nurture, the tree can become fruit bearing. That, rather than punishment, is the objective.  

In communion. Jesus invites us to the table to repent, to turn to God and be nourished so that we can become more fruitful disciples. The reality of God’s grace abounds. In the words of our Old Testament lesson for tomorrow: “Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best, fill yourself with only the finest. Let the wicked abandon their way of life and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.” The good news of God’s grace is not confined to the New Testament. It is there all through the Bible from the beginning, for those who look for it.


Order of Service

Prelude:
PWS&D Lenten Liturgy
Hymn 665: “O Worship the Lord”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Responsive reading: Psalm 63
Isaiah 55: 1-9
Anthem: “O God you are my God” (Psalm 63)
Luke 13: 1-9
Hymn: “Comme un cerf altéré brame”
Meditation: “Repentance as fruitfulness”
Hymn 524: “We come as guests invited”
Offering and Offertory
Communion
Hymn 371: “Love divine, all loves excelling.”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude