WELCOME
Communion Worship Service
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
We come, for God gathers us here,
with that community called faith:
where the hungry are served first,
where the thirsty drink life’s water.
We come, for God welcomes us here
into that home called grace:
where the naked are clothed in robes of hope;
where the stranger is embraced as the long-lost prodigal.
We come, for God reunites us here,
sisters and brothers in that family called love:
where the imprisoned model justice,
where the sick are cradled in God’s peace.
Good morning FBK – and welcome to Worship!
Songs
Prayer
Prayers of Confession & Assurance:
Merciful God, we get so caught up in our own lives and needs that we fail to see others for whom we might provide some help and relief. You challenge us to feed those who are hungry and to quench the thirst of those who are parched. You ask us to bring clothing to those who have none or for whom the clothing is inadequate for the weather; to visit people who are sick, alone, alienated, who are imprisoned either in cells with bars or in conditions of hopelessness and poverty that they see no way out; to welcome the stranger and reach out to those who are marginalized; to always bring your words of healing and redeeming love. We have failed in these tasks – we ignore the opportunities and claim that we are too busy to help, too busy to care. How this attitude must sadden you, O Lord. You lavish your gifts upon us that we might use them for the betterment of your realm, and we treat them as inconveniences. Forgive us, O God. Forgive us and heal our wounds of greed and selfishness. Let us greet this day when the hope of the Reign of Christ can be made manifest and we can be part of this glorious kingdom of peace and compassion. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
In the name of Jesus Christ who brings peace and hope to us, we are forgiven, healed and enabled to be part of the ministries of compassion in God’s world.
Rejoice! You are chosen and loved! AMEN.
How To Neighbour
Reach Out, Not Down
Today's Message: Pastors Marlee Page and Dave Page
In the shadows of our neighbourhood is poverty.
Poverty most often lurks in home’s where mom’s or dad’s only source of income is a government check or maybe only 1 min. wage income is what services the household. Poverty in our world today, in the very communities in which we live is taking it’s toll in many seen and unseen ways. Take for example substance abuse. Substance abuse in our country and yes even our own neighbourhoods is growing. Here is a quote from the Windsor Start from just 6 weeks ago:
“An “alarming” number of opioid addicts who stand criminally charged are dying of suspected fentanyl overdoses before they’ve even had a chance for their day in court…Drug trafficking charges were dropped last Friday in local Superior Court of Justice against a 35-year-old Kingsville woman…. The reason? The 35-year-old mother…died of a suspected drug overdose…, just days after being released from jail as part of her latest drug-related charges.”
This particular article also goes on to cite “The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has been regularly issuing opioid overdose alerts — the majority related to fentanyl — to sound the alarm whenever there are spikes in hospital ER visits. A recent special report by Windsor Star …quoted local paramedics saying they were responding to multiple opiate overdose calls on every 12-hour shift.”
Can I tell you that the scourge of opioid abuse that is rampant in our towns has a root cause – most of you know this…. it’s poverty.
The Ontario Government recently announced an initiative: Building a Strong Foundation for Success: Reducing Poverty in Ontario (2020-2025) This is the government’s plan for addressing poverty over the next five years. The reality of poverty for so many of our neighbours has become so prevalent that most governments in the country recognize it’s a danger to our society, on many levels. Issues like Poverty and Substance abuse are often intertwined with a great deal of complexity.
Poverty is well documented to increase Addiction Risk Factors. There are several ways in which poverty and financial struggles increase the risk of a person developing a substance use disorder:
Poverty increases stress.
Stress is well recognized as a risk factor for substance abuse and relapse after treatment. Worrying about how to afford shelter, food, and other basic needs causes a tremendous amount of stress. When you’re struggling to make ends meet, there is a great temptation to turn to drugs or alcohol to temporarily escape from your problems.
Poverty increases feelings of hopeless.
When meeting daily expenses is difficult, dreams of attending college, buying a home, opening a business, or traveling the world seem impossible. Feeling as though you are powerless over your own future creates a vulnerability to substance abuse.
Poverty decreases self-esteem.
In a culture that values material possessions and financial success, being poor can feel like a moral failing. This can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and diminished self-worth. According to Psychology Today, people struggling with low self-esteem have an increased vulnerability to developing substance use disorders.
Poverty decreases social support.
Having the emotional support of friends and family helps people cope with difficult situations in their lives. However, lower income adults are less likely to have strong social support networks simply because they are expending all of their energy on trying to survive from day to day.
Church, we can look around our neighbourhoods and see that there are a lot of people who are crying out for help. I suspect you know their names well.
So, today as we continue our How to Neighbour series, we are going to look at how we might respond to Jesus as He tells us pretty clearly how to do this.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-45
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
WHAT IS POVERTY?
MOST IN THE WESTERN WORLD DEFINE POVERTY AS A LACK OF SOMETHING MATERIAL. Not having a nice home, clothes or a car to drive. And while that may sometimes indicate poverty to those looking on from the outside, when asked specifically, those who TRULY identify as POOR DEFINE POVERTY AS A MINDSET. – they don’t talk about lack of material things, they talk about how they feel – lack of hope, shame, fear and dread…. for many people that deal with poverty as a daily fact of life, that’s how they define this issue.
So, in light of what Jesus has said in this parable and His teaching we must recognize then that WE, His Church, ARE CALLED – Called to what you ask?
Called to these three things:
1) TO SERVE OTHERS
Don’t miss this important point – it’s important to recognize what we are called to do and not to do. We are called to serve one another – Jesus Christ does the saving, He commands us to serve.
Do you know the difference between Relief and Restoration?
- Relief: immediate, temporary help during and after a crisis.
- Restoration: long-term relationship to rebuild wholeness.
There are two ways to serve our neighbours who are in need – relief and restoration. Think about our example of the Good Samaritan last week – he offered relief in the form of care, wine and oil…. but then he also offered restoration. By taking the beaten Jewish man to the inn and providing care for him, the Samaritan offered restoration.
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
— 1 John 3:17-18
Church we are called to be active in the service of our neighbours.
2) TO RELATE WITH PEOPLE
This is something I think a faith community is uniquely equipped to do, and do well. And this does not always have to be the church on its own but can often be those who are supported by the Church. We have community partners and international partners, pre-selected, where we don’t go and have to start something – we do need to support those who are doing though. We don’t need to start everything. Sometimes the best approach for us is to go and find someone who is doing it well and we partner with them. A core value of this church is Service:
Servants – men and women living generously out of our giftedness as a response to God’s grace in our lives, serving God wherever and whenever He call us to join Him.
We are called to relate to our Neighbours.
3) TO REACH OUT NOT REACH DOWN
Number 3, we’re called to reach out to our neighbours, we never reach down. We’re called to reach out, we must never ever reach down. We’re reaching out to our neighbours because we care. We’re never reaching down because we’re better than someone else. When we’re reaching out, what we’re essentially saying is “hey, I’m a struggler too. I’m not the hero. I don’t have all the answers. I’m reaching out simply because I love you and because I care about you.”
That’s how you love your neighbor. We never swoop in as the heroes reaching down. We’re always fellow brothers and sisters in Christ reaching out. We reach out because we care and because we love.
Almost all the attention of Act 20:35 is quite often focused on those last 9 words. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Let’s close this morning with the lesson we often miss. The first part of this verse is Paul saying: “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak.”
- Don’t rush on by the words “Hard Work.”
- It takes hard work to help the weak.
- It’s not easy to be a Summer Camp Counsellor for a week
- It is not easy to be a Sunday school teacher.
- It is not easy to come out at night and work with the Youth and Children.
- It is not easy to get up and be part of a Women’s group or Men’s group.
- It is not easy to share the Gospel.
- It is very hard work. Paul is teaching us that “it takes a lot of effort to be a good neighbour.”
- Biblical Neighbouring doesn’t just happen by itself. You have to work hard at it.
- Neighbouring is labor intensive.
- Neighbouring is not just giving…(it is more blessed to give than receive…)
- Neighbouring is sweat and toil and long hours of effort.
- Neighbouring is so intense Paul spent the next 18 months with Aquilla and Pricilla. What would happen if you spent the next year and a half working with just one of your neighbors? Inviting them into your home. Sharing with them the Gospel of Christ by living life with them. Camp Hermosa regularly spends more than 1 year with a camper – Showing them Christian hospitality.
- Teaching them about mercy.
- Teaching them about the Grace of Jesus.
Imagine praying every day for a year and half for or with one person or one family. Sharing the good news of the gospel in one home will always be more powerful than by saying we love all our neighbors and never really getting to share the message of Christ with any of them.
Here’s the question for you today: How could you come along a neighbour, maybe even someone struggling with poverty and Reach out to them – to be there to help them with real impacts of poverty – take away shame and fear – offer them hope.
Biblical neighbouring takes a deep commitment to your faith. It takes a powerful passion to obey the commandment to “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Biblical Neighbouring isn’t just a friendly smile to people who pass us by.
It is hard work.
We prove our love by helping not just when it is convenient, but by leaning in when it is not easy.
We prove our love by giving not just when we have plenty to give, but by giving when it means we have to sacrifice and work really hard to offer the help.
And, we prove it by not just when we have the time and energy, but when we ourselves are busy and that’s when Christ can really begin healing us, by saving them!
Reflect
Serve Others;
Relate to People;
Reach out, not down.
That’s How you Neighbour.
Prayer
Lord, in this season of growth, open our hearts to grow in your love. Help us to truly trust in your creative process in our lives. We look around and we see the beauty of your world, the blossoming flowers and plants, the growth of children, the joy of celebrations of graduation and marriage, of receiving new life. And we also see the sadness and sorrow that has invaded the world when systems of injustice, hatred and cycles of poverty lay claim to people’s lives. Prepare us, O Lord, to become ambassadors of peace and hope. Help us to place our trust in you, so that when we are serving others, they may come to know your abiding love and power.
We pray for all of those in our communities who suffer from poverty. May you generous hand of provision come to rest upon them.
We pray for all of those in our churches and families who are struggling – health, emotion, work – Lord bless each of them and provide healing and care according to your will.
Give us courage and great joy as we serve you. AMEN.
Communion
We come to the Lord’s supper together as children of our one God.
Jesus makes the guest list, not us.
Our family, chosen by God, is gathered from west and east, and includes everyone, even the lowest and the least.
Jesus, when he was resurrected from the dead, revealed himself to his disciples in the breaking of bread around a table.
May we see the face of God today as we come to the Lord’s Supper.
BREAD:
On the night he was handed over, the night before he was crucified, Jesus gathered with his friends for a meal.
He took the bread, and after blessing it, he broke it, saying, “This is my body, which is broken for you. As often as you eat it, remember me.”
CUP:
After sharing the bread, Jesus took a cup of wine, and gave it to them to drink, saying,
“This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many.”
Whenever you drink it, remember me!
PRAYER:
We are hungry, Lord! We come to church today with different types of hunger for you. Some of us sit down at the table eagerly, because we are hungry. Some of us have come because we know we should eat, even though we don’t feel like it. Some of us are ravenous. And some of us have lost our appetite, and we don`t even know why. And yet you have drawn us to your welcoming table, one and all, your arms open to embrace us just as we are.
As we take the elements this morning, fill us with your presence so that when we leave today, we can leave saying, “That is exactly what I needed!”
AMEN!
Take the elements and be thankful!
Song
Benediction
Hear the cries of those in need! Go into God’s world, enabled by Christ to be in ministries of compassion for all God’s people. Love this world as God has loved you. Care tenderly always for all of creation. Go and faithfully serve in the name of Jesus. AMEN.