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

February 19th 2023- “Jesus Revealed”

2023-02-19 "Jesus Revealed" 11 AM

Dear friends,

This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, where we come to celebrate and worship together the manifestation of God’s glory in His Son, our Lord, and witness Jesus’ divine nature on full and resplendent glory.  “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.” – Matthew 17: 2

The image above is called “Transfiguration”. 

Vie de Jesus Mafa (Life of JESUS MAFA) is a response to the New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa.  Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members.  Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings.

In this theatrical representation of Jesus’ transfiguration, Jesus is robed in a dazzling white garment, as the story in the gospels describes.  He appears to be greeting Moses and Elijah like old friends as they are surrounded by a cloud that makes the whole scene feel ethereal.  Peter, James, and John look on with flabbergasted and fearful expressions, bewildered at what they should do.  This painting invites the viewer to imagine what it would be like to have seen such amazing things.  Undoubtedly, it would inspire one to follow and obey Jesus, just as God commands in the story: “This is my son, the beloved.  Listen to him!”


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 176: “Songs of thankfulness and praise”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 442: “Speak, Lord, in the stillness”
Responsive reading: Psalm 99
Gloria Patri
Exodus 24: 12-18 (en français – English on the screen)
Matthew 17: 1-9
Sermon: “Jesus Revealed”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 341: “Before the world began”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 574: “With the Lord as my guide”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

February 12th 2023 – “Just when we think we have it right”

2023-02-12 "Just when we think that we have it right" 11 AM

Dear friends,

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

Our gospel lesson continues from Matthew chapter 5. Thousands of people have gathered to hear Jesus preach on the mount, and He calls His followers “salt of the earth” and “light of the world”. The lesson picks up in verse 21, where Jesus proceeds to reveal the true and full extent of the Law handed down by Moses. Jesus is not reinterpreting the Law, but is correcting the prevailing errors of the scribes and Pharisees that twisted the Law and God’s intent down to a low and superficial understanding. One commentator notes: “Jesus is teaching the necessity of having a heart to follow God. Putting on an act and going through the motions of serving God is dishonest. It is also futile, because God sees through the masks we wear (Mark 7: 6). A person who pretends to be holy on the outside yet nurtures a sinful heart is a hypocrite. The Pharisees, who everyone thought were holy, were guilty of just such dissimulation. God doesn’t want more religious activity; He wants a heart dedicated to Him. Holiness starts on the inside.”

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119: 105.

We look forward to worshiping together this Sunday, and listening to the sermon “Just when we think that we have it right!”


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 321: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (vs 2&4 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 637: “Take my life and let it be” (vs 2&5 en français)
Responsive reading: Psalm 119: 1-8
Gloria Patri
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 (en français – English on the screen)
1 Corinthians 3: 1-9
Matthew 5: 21-37
Sermon: “Just when we think we have it right”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 496: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 333: “I sing the almighty power of God”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude

February 5th 2022 – “Lessons from my Flashlight (and God’s Word)”

2023-02-05 "Lessons from my flashlight (and God's word)" 11 AM

Dear friends,

We would like to thank everyone who attended the 98th Anniversary of St. Andrew’s Church last week. Your presence, delicious food preparations and support have made for a truly memorable experience for us all. We pray that God would continue to bless His church and our community in the coming years.

As created beings made in the image of God, our lives are directed to holiness (1 Peter 1: 14-16). Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, not only reveals to us the path of life in Scripture, but also enables us and empowers us to be the people who we are called out to be. In ancient times God led the Israelites through the wilderness “by day in a pillar of cloud” and “by night in a pillar of fire to give them light” (Exodus 13: 21); so, God continues to call us from the darkness and into the light, ever walking before us like a good shepherd. Yet, as we continue our pilgrimage on this earth, we face many trials, disappointments and tribulations. Jesus said to his followers: “You are the light of the world.” How can we be light for others without burning ourselves out?


Order Of Service

Prelude
Welcome
Call to Worship
Hymn 73: “Praise to the Lord” (vs 2 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 773: “Jesus bids us shine”
Responsive reading: Psalm 112
Gloria Patri
Isaiah 58: 1-9a (en français – English on the screen)
Matthew 5: 13-20
Sermon: “Lessons from my flashlight (and God’s word)”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 376: “Lord, the love of your light is shining”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 769: “Lord of light, whose name and splendor”
Benediction
Go Now in Peace
Postlude

January 29th 2023 – “A Shockingly Different Kind of Power”

2023-01-29 "A Shockingly Different Kind of Power" 11 AM

Dear friends,

Today we are celebrating St. Andrew’s Church 98th anniversary!  Please plan to stay after the worship service and join us downstairs in the church hall for a special potluck lunch, and please also consider bringing either a main course or dessert treat to be shared with everyone. We look forward to this time of fellowship and hope to see you there. 

Last week the Rev. Linda Faith Chalk preached about Jesus’ public ministry beginning in the region of Galilee of the Gentiles (Matthew 4: 15), and how the movement of the Gospel moved from the Jewish community to the Gentile world.  Jesus called his disciples and immediately they dropped their nets and followed him, and their lives were forever changed.  God is continuing His work of redemption today and calling a people to Himself, to everyone who repents and believes. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1: 16


Order of Service

Prelude
Welcome & announcements
Call to Worship
Hymn 467: “Praise, my soul, the God who crowns you”
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Anthem: “God is here”
Children’s Time
Hymn 709: “What does the Lord require of you”
Responsive reading: Psalm 15
Gloria Patri
Micah 6: 1-8
1 Corinthians 1: 18-31
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5: 1-12
Sermon: “A Shockingly Different Kind of Power”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 624: “Blest are they”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 291: “Thou whose almighty word”
Benediction
Postlude

January 22 2023- “Life Defining Moments”

2023-01-22 "Life defining moments" 11 AM

Dear Friends,

Our gospel lesson this week is taken from Matthew 4: 12-23, where Jesus officially begins his public ministry in “the land of Zebulun and Napthali”, which were the former land allotments given to the two northern tribes of Israel (Jacob’s descendants), also known as the region of Galilee. 

The Light of the World, Jesus Christ (John 8:12), came to fulfill the Old Testament Messianic prophecies of the coming Saviour, the One who would humbly and graciously come into the darkness and reveal Himself by casting a light into the fallen world, to seek, find and gather a people to Himself.  

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4: 6

What consolation and assurance we have in Jesus; the light of the gospel continues to shine in the world and in our hearts today! 


Order of Service

Prelude
Call to Worship
Hymn 479: “The church’s one foundation” (vs 2 & 4 en français)
Prayer of Adoration
Prayer of Confession
Declaration of Grace
The Lord’s Prayer
Children’s Time
Hymn 267: “Rejoice, the Lord is king” (vs 2 & 4 en français)
Responsive reading: Psalm 27: 1, 5-13
Gloria Patri
Isaiah 9: 1-4 (en français)
1 Corinthians 1: 10-18
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 4: 12-23
Sermon: “Life defining moments”
Confession of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
Hymn 480: “In Christ there is no east or west”
Offering and Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 634: “Will you come and follow me”
Benediction
Go now in peace
Postlude