North Queensferry Church

9th October. 2022. Service.

Inverkeithing Parish Church linked with

North Queensferry Church

Worship 9th October 2022

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Prelude:

Prelude “Come Christians join to sing”

Bible Introït 755 Be still and know that I am God

Collect:

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Hymn 192 “All my hope on God is founded”

Call to Prayer

Happy are those whom God chooses and brings near to remain in his courts.

Grant us in abundance the bounty of your house, O Lord.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord

For his love endures for ever.

 

Prayers of Adoration and confession

Loving and gracious God, source of all goodness,

on earth and in heaven, we praise you for your love for each one of us, love seen in the offering of yourself in your Son Jesus Christ, love that surrounds and uplifts us in our struggles and suffering. We praise you that you inhabit our lives by your Holy Spirit, bringing us healing from the things that wound us and giving us courage to go forward on the pathways of our lives meeting the future with faith and your peace within our souls.

Living God, one in three and three in one, we praise you that you call us to share in the relationship of the love this is among the Holy Trinity, to reach out with that love to those we meet day by day.

But as we come before you, we are also aware of our own shortcomings. Patient Lord, you know how easy it is for us to resent and complain bitterly about the difficulties that best our lives which we focus on as though they were the only things that ever happened to us. We forget so quickly the many blessings that you have given to us and the opportunities you create for us to serve you. We feel alienated, yet you call us beloved. We feel lost, but still, you look for us. We feel broken and battered and your love comes as a healing balm to us. Forgive us when we forget that you have promised that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. Remind us to s look to you for our healing and to return thanks to you by praise and by serving others in your name. For we offer this prayer of confession of our failures and gratitude for your blessings. God knows your voices.

God hears our cry for mercy; God turns his ear toward us. God is gracious and righteous; God is full of compassion; in our need God has saved us. Let us be at peace in God’s forgiveness through the saving power of his Son, our Lord.

Prayer for Understanding

Lord, give us grace to focus our minds upon your word today that its transformative power piercing to the joints and marrow of our being may make us more like Jesus, our Saviour in whom we pray…

North Queensferry

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.

Inverkeithing

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen

The Intimations

Coffee Mornings 

Inverkeithing Tuesday 11th 10:00-noon North Queensferry Wednesday 12th 10:30-noon.

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 (Ukulele Group)

St Fillan’s Handbells Ringers

Tickets available from Liz Hunter or Chris Duguid.

Kirk Session Meetings

The Inverkeithing Kirk Session will meet on Wednesday 19th October 2022 at 7pm in the Sunday School room.

The North Queensferry Board and Session Meeting will be held on Thursday 20th October 2022 at 7pm in the Church.

The Offering

Today we are challenged to have faith in our daily walk. Let us give our gifts with faith that God will multiply them for the work of his kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer of Dedication

Gracious God, we thank you for every outpouring of love in our lives. As we have freely received, so may we freely give. Help us to use your gifts for the strengthening of your church and the care of your people. Receive now what we offer from our own lives and all that we have as we dedicate them to your service today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

All Age Talk

Mustard Seeds

A Mulberry Tree

Mulberries

Have you ever seen a mustard seed?  The mustard seed is one of the smallest of all seeds.

Some people think of faith when they think of mustard seeds. Faith is when we believe in God and His power.

The reason some people use mustard seeds as a symbol of faith is because of something Jesus said in the Bible.

When Jesus’ friends asked Him how they could have stronger faith, Jesus said, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!” (Luke 17:5-10)

Jesus said that God is so powerful that if our faith is even as small as this little seed, then we can do incredible things with His power.

Maybe we should try that. If Jesus said we could pray and ask God to move a tree from our front yard to the sea, then we need even smaller faith to just move this plant a little bit.

Jesus didn’t say someone with the faith of the mustard seed can move trees to the sea so that a bunch of people would start uprooting trees. That wasn’t His point. He was teaching us that it doesn’t take a great faith for great things to happen. Why? Because what happens doesn’t depend on us, but instead on God. God has the power to do anything, and God is for us so we can trust whatever He does.

Hymn 349 “In our lives plant seeds of hope”

Reading:  Lamentations 1:1-6

1 How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. 2 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 3 After affliction and harsh labour, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish. 5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe. 6 All the splendour has departed from Daughter Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer. Amen.

Hymn 191 “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you”

Reading: Luke 17:5-10

5 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’

6 He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it will obey you.

17 ‘Suppose one of you has a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat”? 8 Won’t he rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink”? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”’’ Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.

Hymn 550 “As the deer pants for the water”

 Sermon

The small auditorium in the Fine Arts Centre began to fill up with people. Shortly, there would be about 100 friends and family settled in their chairs and preparing to hear a few elementary students put on a piano recital. These kids would not be plinking out “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “Chopsticks.” Many of them would be playing complex pieces composed by Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.

Their teacher was especially concerned about one of her students who had A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder). This 9-year-old was an excellent pianist, but no one was quite sure how she was going to do in front of a crowd. This teacher had done a great job “desensitizing” her students, in the most positive sense, to the pressures of performing in front of an audience. When one of her students was asked how he felt on the stage, he replied, “I think I play better when there are a lot of people watching me.”  That’s a gift.

But this A.D.D. student had just joined the studio, so the teacher wasn’t sure how she was going to do. When it was her turn, she came out onto the stage, gave a polite bow and sat down in front of the magnificent Steinway grand piano. The lid had been raised so that the sound would carry across the room. She began to play her piece with grace and ease.

And then, as she was playing, she noticed the hammers hitting the strings inside the piano, something she had never seen before. She had always played on an upright piano in which the mechanical intricacies of the music she created remained hidden.

Soon the audience realized that this attention-challenged child was completely focused what was happening inside and not on the keyboard. As she continued to play, she slowly rose from the piano bench to get a better view of the mechanics behind the music. In a matter of a few seconds, she was standing at the keyboard and leaning over the piano, oblivious to the audience in front of her.

But she did not miss a single note in the entire piece of music. In fact, her performance was technically perfect and full of emotional expression. The music was so engrained in her fingers and in her heart that it just came out of her automatically. Her faith in the ability God had given her was simple. And since the music was taking care of itself, she could focus on other things that interested her.

Hearing this story helps us in understanding why Jesus often pointed to the unaffected ways children think and behave to help adults understand the simplicity of faith and expectation. Today’s passage talks about how we often make things more complex than they need to be — and how our expectations often follow suit. If there’s a number-one cause of bitterness and frustration in life, it’s unmet expectations — ones that were probably not too realistic in the first place.

The faith we need

In the context of today’s passage, Jesus had just told the disciples that he expected them to forgive those who sinned against them, each time they sinned and repented.

The logical implication of this teaching is reflected in this quote by C. S. Lewis:

To forgive the incessant provocation of daily life – to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son — how can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers each night, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse God’s mercy for ourselves. There is no hint of exceptions and God means what he says.

That is a very hard thing! Sometimes it seems as if God is asking us to do the impossible. No wonder the disciples registered shock and dismay over such a teaching. They cried out to Jesus, “Increase our faith!” as if to say, “How could you possibly expect us to do this overwhelmingly difficult thing — it would take the supersize faith of a spiritual mega-giant to accomplish such a task!” Calmly, Jesus responds that to be effective in the kingdom of God has nothing to do with the size of one’s faith. What matters is the object of our faith, that is, our Father in heaven. According to Jesus, your faith only needs to be the size of a mustard seed.

Do you believe that God exists? Do acknowledge that Jesus is Lord? If so, you have the faith you need. Simply move forward (in that simple expression of faith) and go do the most responsible thing. If it’s being kind and compassionate to your spouse, just do it. If it’s disciplining a child in love, just do it. If it’s forgiving a long-standing grudge caused by a blame-shifting offender who will never acknowledge responsibility for what he or she did, just do it. Don’t wait until you feel spiritual enough. The mountain will move because of the power of God not because of the depth of your belief.

Here is a Mulberry Tree illustration of faith at work from Janet Hunt:

This summer in the town next to where I serve, on a busy street someone hung out a confederate flag.

This display coincided with a new mail carrier being assigned to the route which included that house, a mail carrier who was black.

It seemed to be no mere coincidence.

Within days I found myself in a group conversation on how to respond for the sake of the mail carrier and more than that for the sake of all of us as we seek to live together.

Now you know this as well as I do.  We live in a world marked by great division and a whole lot of fear.  We do not necessarily even know our neighbours and in a climate where too often we hear of things de-escalating quickly into violence, understandably no one in the conversation felt it would be wise to directly address the situation. And of course, there is nothing that can be done legally in terms of what one displays on one’s own property.  So, the group decided it best to respond in kind and together ordered one hundred “Hate Has No Home Here” (hatehasnohome.org) signs to be distributed to anyone who would put one in their yard.  At the very least this would communicate to the mail carrier (and others) that the viewpoint of the one who had hung a symbol of hate from their porch was a minority one.  It would be a visible reminder that there are more safe places and people than not.  These signs were a bit like ‘mustard seeds,’ I suppose.

Only the flag still flew.  And the community and relationships were still broken.

Now of course, flags can be just outward signs of what is broken between us and without a doubt in this world now a whole lot more ‘mustard seeds,’ a whole lot more turning toward one another in acts of hope, a whole lot more taking first steps towards the forgiveness which Jesus calls us to are needed. Even so, I am struck now by how just one small step, one knock on one door, one conversation, all done in faith, can begin to shift the world. Like uprooting a mulberry tree even.

From simple faith should come simple expectations

Jesus next asked a rhetorical question about what his followers should expect to receive from God. Remember that Jesus sometimes used parables involving disappointed persons who thought they had more coming than they did receive. Think of the older son in the story of the prodigal son, who complained that even though he was unfailingly loyal and obedient, his father never through a party for him. Consider the parable of the generous vineyard owner who gave just as much to the labourers whom he hired later in the day as he did to those who worked for him all day. The full-day workers complained because they assumed they would get more than they agreed to because they fell into a comparison trap and allowed their expectations to be shaped accordingly.

Along that same line, Jesus now made the same point using his rhetorical question.  He asked his disciples to consider what an ordinary servant would expect from a master who had hired him to take care of things. Is it reasonable for such a servant to fulfil only part of his duties while the master does the rest? And after only doing part of his job, should the servant expect to be thanked by a master, and then be excused from doing the rest? The obvious answer is no.

Instead, the servant should take the humble attitude of a rescued soul who is merely fulfilling what is reasonably expected of him. So, what should his followers anticipate receiving from God? In a nutshell: nothing. Not even a thank you.

There’s a true story of an older couple visiting an enormously successful church in Los Angeles. Between services, they peeked into one of the Sunday school classrooms and saw the pastor’s wife picking up used coffee cups from the table and even the floor, by herself, before the next class came in. Immediately, the couple decided that this was going to be their church home because there was clearly no pretence about “rank and privilege” in this house of worship. People served God because it was the right thing to do, not because they were assured of a pat on the back, or a plaque on the door.

Similarly, there’s a small church in Georgia that can’t afford a janitor, and so everyone pitches in when it comes to cutting the grass and cleaning the bathrooms — even former president and Nobel Laureate Jimmy Carter (and his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn). For these folks, servanthood knows no privilege.

The Master who serves

Now is it true that there will be no rewards for faithful service to God? Clearly not. Scripture is full of indications that the faithful will be rewarded for using their spiritual gifts appropriately. Probably the most fulfilling affirmation will be hearing the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Surprisingly, earlier in the gospel of Luke, Jesus describes a master doing the opposite of what the master in Jesus’ rhetorical question expects. Those who are ready when the master returns will be waited on by the master, as unexpected as that may sound.

What Jesus is telling us in the passage before us, however, is that we should take a humble attitude toward our service, so that in the end, we’re not standing in front of God with our hand out. Instead, we are to willingly taking “the most humble seat at the banquet” and be asked to move up to a better place, rather than grabbing the best seat for yourself and being asked to step down.

Let’s keep our faith and expectations simple. We should no longer depend on the depth of our belief, but rather in the depth of the One we believe in. And let us do our duty without the expectation of reward, so that we may be rewarded richly when the Master returns. Amen.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession

Loving God, we give you thanks for the blessings in our lives,

– for the smile of friend and stranger

– for the days when we have enough to eat and drink

– for a roof over our heads

– for your healing touch

– for companions in the faith with whom we can share our lives

– for your promise of hope in even the most difficult times

We take a moment of silence to reflect on the blessings we have received in the week that is past.

Loving God, open our hearts and lives to be attentive to you

and to welcome all that you give us. Our lives are in your hands, and we submit in faith to the future as it unfolds for each of us.

Gracious God, when we feel troubled and overwhelmed by the difficulties that confront us, may the power of your Spirit come to us to help and heal us.

In the silence we name before you all that weighs upon our lives today.

Healing God, we bring before you our hurts, and the illnesses and struggles of the people around us. We pray that you will touch each one’s life with your love and bring comfort and healing.

In the silence we place into your hands the people for whom

we are particularly concerned this morning.

Peace-making God, we bring before you our troubled world,

Where in too many places there is conflict rather than reconciliation, war rather than peace, oppression rather than justice. We think of Ukraine, Russia, Syria, Palestine, Taiwan and so many countries in Africa where there is conflict and oppression. Thus, we pray for countries and governments across the world in need of new beginnings and new ways forward.

In the silence we remember people in places where violence, flood, drought, fire and storm are particularly on our hearts and minds today.

God of justice, we bring before you the people who suffer from injustice, through abuse, racism, homelessness and hunger.

We pray for better ways to be inclusive and caring. In the silence we commend all such folk to your love.

Creator God, as we thanks you for the diversity of the of creation, we ask forgiveness for the way in which our planet has been misused. Help us to be more aware of the fragility of the earth and its many ecosystems. Inspire humanity to work together to restore the climate and to find ways to stop the damage caused by our carelessness.

In the silence we call to mind places of your created world that give us life, and all who are working for a better and fairer approach to your creation.

God of new life, we bring before you people we know who are dying and the bereaved in our community; people who are struggling with the approach of death, either for themselves or amongst their families and friends; In the silence we remember those we know.

Loving and merciful God, by faith we know that you hear all our spoken and unspoken prayers. May be your will be done, and your kingdom come in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

 

Hymn 237 “Look forward in faith”

The Benediction

As God has poured his love on you, go now in peace to bring God’s love to all people. Rest in the confidence of God’s abiding presence with you and be joyful in your service to God. Go in peace and love. Amen.

 

May God’s blessing surround you each day

 

Postlude:

“Lift high the cross”