25th. September. 2022. Service.
Inverkeithing Parish Church linked with
North Queensferry Church
Worship 25th September 2022
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Prelude: “When peace like a river”
Bible Introit Hymn 774 “Jesus, Name above all names”
Collect:
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 112 “Thou whose Almighty Word”
Call to Prayer
Come and worship God Most High, our shelter from the storm.
We will trust our God!
God delivers us from temptations and troubles.
We will trust our God!
God heals us when disease and disaster strike.
We will trust our God!
God protects those who call out for help.
We will trust our God!
God offers us eternal life and shows us our salvation.
We will trust our God!
Prayer
All-powerful and loving God, we come into the forecourts of heaven in our worship during this hour to wait in your presence. We worship you, the Source of all life, the sustainer and protector of al who come to you, for you are our refuge, the One in whom we put our trust and confidence.
We come to you as we are, with our sorrows and our joys, and with our concerns and cares for ourselves and for each other as well as for your world which we carry in our hearts. For surely you are here with us: Your faithfulness covers us.
We come to you in glad response to your unfailing love for us. a love that overcomes sin, evil and death for us. As the Psalmist called upon you, we also come to you now asking for your blessing on our worship.
Prayer of Confession
We bring to you the times when we have failed to love others, and thereby failed to love you, and even failing to love ourselves. We listen for the Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In the silence, as we reflect, let Your Holy Spirit reveal our sins and failures, that we may repent and be healed.
O God, You have searched us out and known us, and all that we are is open to You.
We confess that we have sinned: we have used our power to dominate and our weakness to manipulate;
We have evaded responsibility and failed to confront evil;
We have denied dignity to ourselves and to each other and allowed ourselves to fall into despair.
We turn to You O God; and in doing so we renounce evil; we claim Your love; we choose to be made whole.
Assurance of Pardon
We hear again the assurance of pardon, as found in Psalm 103. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…as far as the east is from the west, so far God removes our transgressions from us.”
Father, keep before us the wisdom and love you have revealed in your Son. Help us to be like him in word and deed. Let your word enlighten us and raise our souls into a deeper understanding of you love, your compassion and the salvation that is ours in
our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, in Whom we pray…
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever Amen.
The Intimations
Coffee Mornings
Harvest Thanksgiving
Next Sunday 2nd October we will celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving during our worship. A retiring collection for the local food bank will be taken. Gifts of food for the local food bank will also be received. This week Inverkeithing Tuesday 20th 10am – noon; North Queensferry Wednesday 21st 10:30-noon.
Children’s Church Saturday Fun Club will be held in Inverkeithing on Saturday October 1st from 10am-12noon. Please help with this.
A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Late Queen will be held on Sunday afternoon 25th September in Dunfermline Abbey at 3 pm with the participation of the Lord Lieutenant of the County and the Provost of Dunfermline.
Christian Aid Concert
Saturday 22nd October 2pm Dalgety Bay Church
Tickets £6 under 18’s £4
Entertainers. Sing It – a group of 30 singers
Ivy Partridge (Ukuleles Group)
St Fillan’s Handbells Ringers
Tickets available from Liz Hunter.
Presbytery of Fife
Please see the Citation*below. Further details may be obtained from the Session Clerk or minister.
The Offering
Prophets and parables remind us again and again to share our wealth with those living on the margins. Your contributions to the life and mission of this congregation and to the Church of Scotland help change the world by bringing God’s love and goodness to those standing outside the gate. Let us bless God with our offering.
Prayer of Dedication
Beloved God, who richly provides for our needs and enjoyment,
thank you for your many gifts. You have trusted us with our lives, with this world, and with your love.
May the gifts we offer you todaybe used for your service and your glory.
Help us store up for ourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, that we may take hold of the life that really is life.
We offer these gifts, trusting in our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
All Age Talk
Do you use an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning? A lot of alarm clocks have a button on them called a snooze button. Can you see it in the picture? When your alarm goes off, you can hit that button and go back to sleep. In about 10 minutes, the alarm will go off again. You can just keep on doing this and go right on sleeping.
Maybe it is nice to get that extra sleep, but there are two problems with snooze buttons. The first is that if you keep on hitting the snooze button, you may be late or miss out on something completely. The second problem is that if you keep hitting the snooze button, you may get so used to the sound of the alarm that you don’t even hear it at all and you will sleep right through the alarm.
Did you know that God sometimes sounds a “wake up” alarm in our lives? He speaks to our heart and says, “It is time to wake up and follow Me.” Some people hit the snooze button and say, “Not now Lord, call me again — a little bit later.” Some people hit that “snooze button” so many times that they get to where they don’t even hear God’s voice. When they finally wake up, they find out that it is too late. That is what happened in our Bible story today.
Jesus told a story about a rich man who wore the finest clothes and lived in luxury. A beggar named Lazarus lay outside the rich man’s gate. Lazarus was hungry and his body was covered with sores. He was hoping that the rich man might have pity on him and that he might be able to satisfy his hunger with the leftovers from the rich man’s table. But every day the rich man passed by Lazarus without even giving him a thought. I imagine that he passed by Lazarus so many times that he eventually got to the point that he didn’t see him at all.
The Bible says that Lazarus died and went to heaven. The rich man also died, but he went to Hades, the underworld. There he looked up and saw Lazarus in heaven with Abraham. He asked Abraham to let Lazarus dip his finger in water and come and touch it to his burning tongue, but Abraham said, “No.” Then he reminded the rich man how he had enjoyed such good things on earth while Lazarus had nothing.
The rich man then asked Abraham to allow Lazarus to go back to earth and warn his five brothers so that they would not end up in Hades with him, but again, Abraham said, “No.” The rich man finally woke up, but it was too late. (Luke 16:19-31)
God is still sending “wake up” calls to people today. Let us pray that they will listen to His voice and follow Him before it is too late.
Father, may we never be guilty of hitting the snooze button saying, “Later, Lord.” Instead, let us get up and follow You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Hymn 544 “When I need a neighbour”
Reading: Psalm 91:1-6; 14-16
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’
3 Surely, he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
14 ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honour him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.’ Amen.
Hymn 103 “Fill your hearts with joy and gladness”
Reading: 1 Timothy 6: 6-19
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might for ever. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 543 “Longing for light, we wait in darkness”
Sermon
At the very beginning of my ministry in Prince Edwards Island, after two weeks orientation I moved alone into a manse that sat next to the church. The old Trans-Canada Highway passed in front of the house and beyond the Presbyterian cemetery which lay just behind the Church and manse there were large potato fields and deciduous woods in every direction.I could see two other homesteads in the distance, each protected from the winter winds and snows by rows of tall conifers. It was an isolated situation which for the first few nights I found quite unsettling. Every hour until 1 am a stream of traffic from the ferry from the mainland whooshed by, but during the rest of the night it was eerily quiet.
As you may imagine, I found it hard to sleep until on the third night, my devotional reading was from Psalm 91. These verses settled my mind about living alone in a place that was both desolate and beautiful. In winter, the moonlight on the snow was magical, and even the cemetery had its charm. It never bothered me, except once, when I looked out and saw footprints in the snow coming out of it, but none going in! One of my parishioners had been cross country skiing and had climbed the picket fence from the fields and walked through the graveyard to get to the highway. You will not fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day. I became so used to it that even in winter I would sometimes lie outside and gaze at some of the most wonderful star fields in the northern hemisphere.
Psalm 91 is, to my mind, one of the most reassuring scriptures in the Old Testament. It speaks about God whose love and protection surround all who shelter in his shadow. One of the things which stands out is the number of different names for God the Psalm contains.
Something we have noted before is that a person’s name is a very powerful phenomenon. We are not talking about the letters and syllables that compose the name, nor how it is pronounced, but rather what the name signifies. When you say or think of a person’s name, the character of that person, everything about them good or bad, comes to mind. How many names are elevated or tainted in your mind because of people you associate with them? None of us knows the fulness of the Name of God, which is why God said to Abraham from the burning bush, simply, “I am that (or who) I am.” When Abraham called upon the name of the Lord, he invoked God as God in all his fulness, he did not know a secret word any more than we do. We use a similar expression in the “Name of the Law, or the King,” meaning all of what these expressions encompass.
As Christians we are given a name to call upon for salvation. In the Acts of the Apostles Peter declares an Old Testament truth from the prophet Joel… everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And then he goes on to define what this means by adding, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, Jesus Christ is the Name by which salvation is received. In the New Testament, then, the Name of God is expanded to encompass all that Jesus is in God. In our worship and prayers, we used expressions like, Father, Lord, Master, Jesus, Almighty, Saviour, and Emmanuel. Here is Psalm 91 we have some of the ancient names for God used by the Psalmist which I thought we might examine more closely.
The first of these is Elyon in Hebrew usually translated as the “Most High” This is an unusual expression in English it is not our normal modern usage. We prefer “highest” but retain this form to suggest that nothing and no one can be higher or greater. Elyon is, therefore, Strongest of the Strong – Superlative God – surpassing all others – Supreme. Above all other powers and authority. The image here is of coorieing into the side of God, sheltering from the blast of cold or danger or the finding relief from the glare and heat of the sun or of life in the shadow of the Almighty. This is God as protector, a place of refuge to which you may run and find shelter. It is the ultimate safe place.
We have discovered in husbanding our young African Grey Parrot that when she is anxious, frightened or subject to the complex array of emotions these birds experience because they are prey birds who are constantly watchful and easily startled, the best way to calm her is to put her into her safe place in her cage where she hides behind her favourite toy, a giant butterfly, until she calms down. We have the same need, and here God Elyon or El Elyon as he is sometimes called in the Psalm is our ultimate safe place. He is the place where we sort out the emotions and reactions of our lives. There we can be honest and await the prompting of the Holy Spirit to accept, change, or simply rest as we need. He is not necessarily going to assure us we are in the right, or justified in what we feel, for he may challenge us as much as comfort us, but he will keep us safe through it all.
Would you repeat this after me … “I live under the protection of the Most High God.”
The second Hebrew Name for God in Psalm 91:1 is Shaddai, or El Shaddai. “El” simply means God. It has been suggested that the name Shaddai means “All Powerful” Omnipotent, however its origin is a bit more complicated. There are three strands of etymology in the name. Shaddai can mean one who is exalted or worshipped on the mountains, which reflects the tradition of the holy mountain where God meets Moses, or it and mean the one who destroys, or has the power to destroy. The third meaning has to do with two mountains shaped like breasts which were associated with fertility rites. The Hebrew word for breast is “shed,” not too different from the Hebrew and Arabic word for strength which is “shad.” As a nurturer one Jewish tradition says that El Shaddai is the God who is enough, both in the sense of being the provider and the creator. He is the God who in creation stopped the process saying, it is enough. The creation is yet to be completed, brought to fulfilment which in Christian thinking will be when all things are united in Jesus Christ. You will see then that this points to a God who is both nurturing and disciplining, a Mother and a Father God if your like. Together in God is the power to be both. You can never come to God and be a favourite before any other. He will love each alike, and discipline each alike. He is thus the God of Justice. The promise inherent in the name Shaddai is that the Almighty can do everything He has promised. No man or other power can thwart His ways. He is an awesome or as they used to say a “dreadful” God.
Would you repeat this after me … “I dwell in the shadow of Almighty God”
Elohim is Hebrew for God the Creator. Elohim is literally, “the Gods” masculine plural which in time came to mean God as masculine singular. The El part comes from a tradition of a family of God who created all things that exist. It is the same name as the old Canaanite creator god and is the origin of the Arabic word for God, “Allah.” This is the God who brought all things into being and who sustains them. Interestingly Christianity speaks of a multiple God, the Trinity, the three in one, and the whole faith envisages Christ as the cosmic creator along with the Holy Spirit who proceeds from both being the agents of the work of creation. Once again, we are in the presence of the supreme being of all existence. The name Elohim was used to describe the God who met Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3, it is Elohim who says I am that I am who is mentioned in verse 2 of Psalm 91:2 Hebrew – Yahweh or Jehovah
His name means, “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be.” To be clear the actual meaning of Yahweh is uncertain. The name was first used of a local god who was a warrior on behalf of his people. Over time it came to represent the national and personal god of the Hebrew people and became ever more revered and holy with the passage of time. This is the name of the ultimate and most mysterious God the sound of whose name became to holy to utter except for one day of the year by the High Priest on the day of atonement. Its pronunciation was forgotten, and only in the last century has the name been given the vowels “ah” and “eh” which are perhaps more accurate than Jehovah.
This reminds us of the holiness of God, one ultimately beyond knowing in this life, but revealed by the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ, who appeared among His people as Emmanuel, “God with us.” Jesus was bold enough to apply the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew term, YHWH, Lord, to Himself but only in the most cryptic way. Awe and reverence are not what they used to be as even devoted Christians, “just Lord” him in careless prayers nowadays.
Knowing a Psalm like this is of great benefit in that it reveals the safe place to which each of us may go, not just when life is fraught, but to be close to its ultimate source. When this Psalm was written people were only just emerging into the certainty of the oneness of God. It gathers up the many legitimate ways in which people were found by God. It reminds us that he is more than we can imagine him to be, and that if he is that to any one of us is that and more to every one of us.
Psalm 91 reminds us about who God is and of everything that he provides for us ….
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
A few weeks ago, waiting to board a plane in Edinburgh I watched people going into the British Airways Lounge, exclusive to BA passengers. They are entitled to all that is in that lounge as they wait for their flight. They are sheltered from the queues and the scramble, they can sit quietly and be refreshed, have a shower, do some work or just be there away from the business of the airport. God is our airport lounge there we have Shelter, a secret place; Protection; a Covering
What does else does God provide? A Refuge – protection from rain, storm, or danger Shadow, a protection like an umbrella Shield – A protection against human danger – the hunters net, Psalm 91:3-6 Protection from the destructive plague or the deadly pestilence. We cannot take that literally, but we can take it from diseases of the soul: anger, envy, greed, resentment, hate, lovelessness, every damaging emotion that harms us.
He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and the fears that blight our hopes and destroy our peace. Yes, challenges will come, but we meet them with God and know that their outcome is still safety in God.
But the Psalmist’s mind was not obsessed with these things
Because when you realize who God is, when you know Him by name, when you know the kind of protection that he provides for you as a child of God living in his household, you can get your focus off of yourself, you can get your focus off the economy and your fears, and you can get your focus on others …
Paul said to Timothy, “God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. 2 Timothy 1:7
How do we get it? call Him by name, move back in with him and stay there.
During this time of great turbulence with the political, economic and environmental mess we are experiencing the world is going to be looking to you and to me and they are going to be asking, Do they really believe in God? Do they believe what they say they believe?
Max Lucado wrote, “If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human, and God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16: God loves. God gave. We believe. We live.”
Will you repeat this after me … “The Lord is my refuge and my fortress”? Amen.
Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession
Our God you have created a beautiful world in which to live.
With childlike eyes we see the beauty and grandeur
of mountain and forest, of river and seashore.
We marvel at the infinite variety of species that form the kaleidoscope of life among birds and beasts, flowers and trees.
We thank you for the variety of cultures that weave the tapestry of humanity east and west, north and south.
We thank you that among of all this you have a place for us
and we thank you for the richness of our own lives
things we can do and things we are learning,
for those we love and those who care for us.
We thank you for the variety of ways in which people serve us
with advice and learning, with skills and training,
with concern and understanding, with trust and sharing.
We thank you for all we have received
and that we are also given the opportunity to serve others.
Reveal to us a deeper awareness of who we are and what we can offer other people in your name.
Lord Jesus, you say to us, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” We pray for the world where there is no peace and where peace is threatened. O
Lord Jesus, you say to us, “Blessed are the meek.” We pray for local, national and international leaders, for business-leaders and decision-makers.
Lord Jesus, you say to us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” We pray for all refugees, asylum-seekers, political-prisoners and all who work to support them. O
Lord Jesus, you say to us, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” We pray for your church and for its leaders; we pray for our fellowship and our Church Scotland. We pray for people taking the first steps in faith, that they may be supported in fellowship and faith through our welcoming love.
O Lord Jesus, you say to us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… blessed are those who mourn.” We pray for all those who are unwell in body, mind or spirit. We name them before God in a moment of silence…
We remember before you those recently bereaved, and those for whom anniversaries of loved ones are near. May your love and comfort sustain them as they grieve and heal all their sorrow.
Lord, you say to us, “I came that they might have life.” We bring before God our own prayers in a moment of silence…
For the sake of Jesus, Our Lord, receive these prayers offered with faith, hope and love. Amen.
Hymn 517 “Fight the good fight”
The Benediction
Go into the world with assurance, hope and promise:
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord turn His smile towards you and give you peace. Amen.
May God’s blessing surround you each day
Postlude: “The glory of the Lord”
CITATION
The Presbytery of Fife
Saturday 1 October 2022
1000 am
The Presbytery of Fife will meet in person and will be live streamed online on Saturday 1 October 2022 from 1000 am, with an Order of the Day at 1030 am. At this meeting the Presbytery will determine and include formal approval of the completed draft Mission Plan. Your congregation is cited to attend for their interest and is entitled to respond to the report through the contribution of one person representing the congregation.
Indications of a desire to contribute to debate should be made to the Presbytery Clerk, Rev Dr David Coulter, by email at Fife@churchofscotland.org.uk prior to the meeting.
Signed by:
Rev Dr David Coulter Presbytery Clerk
- If you wish to make a spoken contribution during the debate, as is your right, it would be helpful to advise the Presbytery Office by 1200 noon on Friday 30 September 2022, at Fife@churchofscotland.org.uk, so that arrangements may be made.