Good morning, and welcome to Sunday Worship! This week, we take a look at the story of David and Goliath. May the service be a blessing to you.
Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you trust in the strength of God, who goes with you into the battle.
Since this whole week Facebook has been showing me memories of my second trip to Israel in 2015, I’d like to start today’s worship resources with this selection from Hillsong UNITED’s album “Of Dirt and Grace – Live from the Land.” This is the album they recorded live at significant locations in the Holy Land. This song is called “Rule” and invites Jesus to “be the love casting out all fear – let Your love rule the atmosphere.” It was recorded at the ruins of the Ahava factory on the shores of the Dead Sea (sink holes have formed around the Dead Sea, and one famously swallowed the Ahava cosmetics factory a number of years ago):
This lovely reminder about how to pray:
This free resource poster of Isaiah 40:28-29 from illustratedministry.com, which is a great companion verse to tomorrow’s sermon, and reads:
“28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.”
This gorgeous song, entitled “Dawn” by Rebecca St. James (featuring Luke from For King and Country), which speaks to me of how many of us are feeling right now – tired of this pandemic, tired of feeling like there is no end in sight. The solution, of course, is to be held by God’s love, to allow him to lift and heal our hearts:
This lovely reminder about courage from none other than Billy Graham:
Until tomorrow, dear friends, may these resources help you prepare your hearts for worship!
Sometimes we use them carelessly, but words matter. We can all probably remember some of the most formative or most hurtful words spoken to us.
I think of my Dad, embracing me fiercely at a time when I was feeling a failure of a minister, and whispering in my ear, “You are a GOOD minister.” (I still tear up thinking about it…I didn’t even really believe my Dad’s words at that time – I still struggle to sometimes – but it MATTERED that he said them.)
I can still remember some of the hurtful and insulting words that certain bullies in my grade school days hurled at me. I’m 45 years old – I should be over it, but if I allow them to, those words echo in my ears as though they were just said yesterday, not 35 years ago.
I think of the story of one of my friends who honestly believed she was incapable of secondary schooling because one of her teachers told her she wasn’t cut out for it (she just got accepted to a third secondary-school program – having completed the other two – so that teacher has been proven absolutely incorrect in my opinion, and while I am convinced my friend needed a number of year of life experience to clarify what kind of secondary schooling she wanted to pursue, I’m just angry on her behalf that any teacher would discourage a kid from pursuing education.)
Words matter.
So today, I encourage you to choose your words carefully. Use them to build up. Use them to encourage. Use them to bless. Use them to bring light to a dark world.
That’s just what Jesus would do.
Until tomorrow, dear friends, think about the words you use and how they are affecting others.
I struggle in winter. This is just a fact. It’s a fact of my life that I’ve been well aware of for many years now. Pre-pandemic, I would deal with some of that struggle by getting out of Toronto – going to visit friends down South.
But this year, that’s not a choice available to me. And that’s hard – just as it’s hard for so many others who would love to be able to go away to seasonal homes, visit friends, take a cruise or go spend some time on a beach in warm sun.
Recently my friend, The Janet, said to me that one of the big lies that those of us in middle-and-upper-class North America have been sold is that we have to LIKE the choices that we have before us. That’s been rattling around in my brain ever since she said it. She said, “we don’t have to LIKE our choices to be empowered by making them.” (I used the example of Jesus going to the cross in a recent sermon – it wasn’t a choice he LIKED, but it was a powerful choice nonetheless.)
I don’t like that I don’t have the choice to go south right now. I don’t like that the choice is either stay cooped in my condo or suit-up, layer-up and get outside for some (FRIGID) fresh air. But I am still empowered every time I make the choice to take the time to do just that.
And so, as the first week of February rolls on, I’m making some choices. Even if they’re not necessarily the choices I LIKE. I’m making the choice to get out for walks. I’m making the choice to go to bed at a reasonable hour. I’m making the choice to invest in my health with good food and regular hydration. I’m making the choice to pray as I walk, because in doing so, I connect to my Creator, and am blessed.
And you know what? Good choices (even if they’re not the ones you WISH you could make), pay dividends.
Just this week, I’ve been graced with some gorgeous views on the Humber River Trail as I mentally kicked my own tail to get out there and get some miles walked. Here are a few, so that they might be a blessing to you, as well:
Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you make good choices and find them empowering!
(In which this sweet graphic tells you what I am praying for you, without me having to say another word!)
Pastors and church leaders have had to learn to do things differently during the pandemic. I’ve become a film editor as well as a preacher. This past Sunday, I recorded alone in the building on Saturday (rather than with our cameraman on Friday).
It wen well, but I had some bloopers. So just for the fun of it, I made a blooper reel! Enjoy!
And seriously, do pray for your pastors and your tech people – they make it look easier than it is!
Until tomorrow, dear friends, may God fill your mouth with laughter!
I mean, anyone else feeling tested by this new year?:
This little reminder that rewatching a fave show or movie is actually a form of self-care:
So Bernie Sanders memes are officially over, then?:
I mean, I think it’s just smart:
Let’s stick with the Yoda theme, for a moment, shall we? (And yes, this is 100% true):
Hee hee (non-Starbucks people: wrong names on Starbucks cups are totally a thing!):
This bit of free advice:
I mean, my girl hasn’t spent much time at home waiting for me, in the past year, but still:
Hahahaha! The poor sloth!:
And finally, a blessing for your day:
Until tomorrow, dear friends, keep laughing and thinking and drawing closer to God!
Welcome to Sunday morning worship! This week we are studying the story of Jacob and Esau. May the service we have prepared be a blessing to you.
Until tomorrow, dear friends, keep remembering that faith is greater than fear!
We all know I think Andrew Peterson is one of the finest lyricists out there. Tomorrow during the sermon, I’ll quote some lyrics from his song, “In the Night,” so I had to share that song as part of this week’s worship resources:
This prayer of comittment with artwork by Chagall of Jacob wrestling with God:
This lovely version of “Just as I am,” by the Mullet Family (listen to that bridge! Gorgeous!):
This very simple prayer, that touched to my heart:
And this lovely reminder:
Until tomorrow, dear friends, let us hope in all that God has planned for each of us!
I was recently discussing the idea of freedom in the Bible with my friend The Janet. We were agreeing that being free in Jesus doesn’t just mean you get to do anything you want. Instead, it means that you are no longer under the heavy weight of sin.
I was delighted when I found this:
Jesus dropped the charges, y’all! That’s what freedom means. The charges have been dropped. We are forgiven.
In the song, “Child Again,” one of my favourite bands, NEEDTOBREATHE sings these words:
Let my past mean nothin’
Make it powerless
I am free like a river
I am free like a river
You’re my hope unbroken
You’re my innocence
I am free like a river
I’m a child again
-Child Again, NEEDTOBREATHE
Its one of my favourite songs on one of my favourite albums of theirs (Out of Body, is the name of the album – go get it, you won’t be disappointed!). And every time I hear them sing those words, I can feel the weight come off of me. I sing along, directing my words to Jesus, who is my hope unbroken, my innocence because he chose to go to the cross for me (and for you).
And I feel free.
Because Jesus dropped the charges.
Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you know the freedom of being forgiven.
(and just because I cannot pass up the chance, here’s the song for your enjoyment)
Rebekah's World 