Lent 3 – Spiritual Cleansing for Right Relationships

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March 7, 2020 Worship (Lent 3)

Opening Prayer

Jesus took the hard road that led to Jerusalem and his disciples were with him.

Jesus confronted the evil ones of his day. He had the courage to live by

your will and face the cross because you were with him, O God. We give you

thanks for his examples and teachings. We pray that you will guide us too in our

Lenten journeys and give us the courage to transform into your people who follow

Jesus. We give you thanks. Amen.

 

Scripture Reading 1: Exodus 20:1-17

20 Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before[a] me.

4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 You shall not murder.[c]

14 You shall not commit adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

 

Scripture Reading 2: John 2:13-22

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

 

Reflection

 Spiritual Cleansing for Right Relationships

Last week, I watched a documentary that my brother kept recommending to me. It is called Cowspiracy, which explores how animal farming and our meat-eating habits are the biggest cause for destroying the environment, more than fossil fuel. I felt uncomfortable and guilty. I eat meat. I love dairy and fish. But with the new knowledge I acquired from this movie, I cannot continue my old diet in ignorance. I have to be more conscious of the food I choose. It is surprising how we live in such tight interconnectedness today that it is so easy to do others and Mother Nature harm without realizing it. Especially watching this movie during Lent Continue reading →

Lent II – Turning the Soil

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Lent II– Black History Month – February 28, 2021
Lenten Liturgy of the Seven Candles:

On this Sunday morning, for a brief space of time, we leave behind the world of home, work, school – the world where our lists of things to do, activities to participate in, tasks to complete.  We come to this moment seeking something else.  We come seeking a shift – from ordinary to the sacred, from doing to being.  I invite you to leave your world around you and enter the sacred.  Let go of your list.  Recall that it is the season of Lent.  Remember the parable of the sower.  The sower throws the seed…and where it lands determines if it will grow or not grow.  Think of it this way, think of the season of Lent as the sower, the time when seeds of faith are thrown with special intensity, as a time when God calls to us in a low, urgent voice.  Listen…  Jesus is being drawn to Jerusalem.  Where is God drawing you in this time? What is God calling you to do?

(silent time)

As we imagine our seven candles of Lent, and for the second time one is extinguished, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of injury done to Jesus on the cross.

Let us pray:

Loving God, as we journey this holy season of Lent, may we be open to your presence. Give us strength to make changes that are needed in our lives and the courage to walk into new life.  Amen.

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

May the warmth of God’s love welcome us.  May the grace of Jesus’ life inspire us.  May the movement of the Spirit lift our hearts in praise.

PRAYER FOR FAITH AND HOPE:

God of mercy, there are times in our lives when broken dreams and crushed hopes threaten to overwhelm us. In the darkness of these times, we long for your presence. Enable us to follow your beloved Child, in faith and in hope, this is our prayer.  Amen.

ASSURANCE OF THIS FAITH AND HOPE:

Here the Good News: There is no darkness dark enough to put out the light of Christ.  God’s love is greater than our broken dreams and crushed hopes.  The will to reach boldly for the love of Christ is ours.  May it be so in your life and in mine.  Amen.

 

HYMN: https://youtu.be/C3pHXMk52sw

“Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery”

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Press ctrl and c and then go to your server (google) and press ctrl v and it will copy.

Second verse of Lent II

Seed that dies to rise in glory, may we see ourselves in you, if we learn to live your story we may die to rise anew. We may die to rise anew.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 8:4-8 – The Parable of the Sower

4 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

Mark 8:31-38 – Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel,[a] will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words[b] in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

 

MEDITATION: “Turning the Soil”

Knees bent, ashes smudged on foreheads, letting go and taking up our cross – the work of Lent is no less messy yet as necessary as the work of a farmer in early spring, muck boots stuck in the mire of melted grey snow, calloused hands reaching low to pull aside the mulch that blanked the garden beds, spades and shovels and yes, Continue reading →

Lent 1 – Beginning of a Journey

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February 21, 2020 Worship (Lent 1)

Call to Worship

 

Friends in Christ, Lent is a time to prepare and to renew our lives. We mark this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel. We are invited, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God.

Opening Prayer

 

Beginner of all things, begin in us again: take these tired limbs and rouse them to dance your joy from sunbreak to sundown. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

O God, we confess that we often come to you reluctantly, afraid of what we might have to give up or change when we enter your presence. In our reluctance, we often miss opportunities for your grace to touch us, and through us to touch others. Touch us that we might be healed; forgive us that we might be born again. Amen.

Words of Assurance

God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God has compassion for our fears and failures; God stays with us on Continue reading →

Transfiguration Sunday – Black History Month

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Transfiguration Sunday – Black History Month,  Rev Gloria Christian

LIGHT A CANDLE if you have one!

The light of Christ comes in the sunrise and in the song of the morn, in the blessings of the noon day, and through the stars in their courses. The light shines day and night and tells of Christ’s glory on this Transfiguration Sunday.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Jesus said: Love one another.  God’s Love calls to our spirits that we may learn to love one another. We are called by name.  We are called to grow in faith. We are called to be made new; to be transfigured by love; to become all that God created us to be.

OPENING PRAYER

We feel your presence Holy God for your kingdom of love is close at hand.  Somewhere someone is kind when others are unkind, somewhere someone shares with another in need, somewhere someone refuses to hate, while others hate, somewhere someone is patient and waits in love, somewhere someone returns good for evil, somewhere someone serves another in love, somewhere someone is calm in a storm, somewhere someone is loving everybody.  May that someone be me! In joy Continue reading →

God’s Call, Our Leap of Faith

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Rev Sunny Kim January 24, 2020 Worship

Call to Worship

We are summoned by our holy God, who calls us each by name, and gathers us together in the unity of Jesus Christ. Together, we are called into God’s presence.                                 .

Opening Prayer

In joy and in trouble, help us, gracious God, to trust your love, to serve your purpose, and to praise your name. Amen.

 

Psalm 62:5-12

5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. 10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
12     and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.

 

Mark 1:14-20

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news[a] of God,[b] 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;[c] repent, and believe in the good news.”[d]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Reflection

God’s Call, Our Leap of Faith

When I was called into ministry, I was teaching English at a private elementary school run by a Methodist Church. It was a Christian school and all the  teachers were Christian, but I had left the church for some years by then. Something happened during my second year at that school, which led to two of our teachers being wrongfully fired. Our grade six children cried and protested in the school playground in the rain demanding their teacher back, and the national news crew came to cover the story; it was heartbreaking and troubling. The wife of the minister who ran the school verbally abused the two teachers instead of supporting them. It is in this stormy situation that I started praying again. I prayed for the teachers and our children. But, unexpectedly, in the silence of my prayer time, I heard God’s voice. I felt God was calling me into ministry, but I could not believe God would make someone like me a pastor. Thus, I kept praying. When it became more and more obvious that God wanted me to be a minister, I quit my job and prepared for my theological school application. And as they say, “the rest is history.” Eighteen years later, here I am, never having stopped being led by God. Despite all my weaknesses, I learned to always trust God in wherever I am led, including D-Dutchmen Dairy’s chocolate milk that led me to Sicamous.

Today, we hear Mark’s account of how the first disciples were called. Jesus said, “Follow me,” and Continue reading →

Discerning Our Calls

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January 17, 2020 Worship  Rev Sunny Kim

 

Call to Worship                                      .

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. God’s love was revealed among us when Jesus came into the world. Since God loved us so much, we are called to love one another. Come, let us worship and love with all our hearts.

Opening Prayer

Eternal God, radiant with grace, thaw our fears and snow-bound spirits; make us shine with your Word, our hope; shine with your communion, our life; shine with your peace, our joy; through Christ, who is our light. Amen.

 

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity

3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!”[a] and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

 

John 1:43-51

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you,[a] you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

 

Reflection

Discerning Our Calls

Every beginning of the New Year, we learn about the stories of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the stories of his baptism and calling of first disciples. I remember my beginning too. Remembering my beginning can snap me out of my complacency and spiritual laziness. It is like a New Year’s resolution for us as Christians meditating on the stories of Jesus’ beginning. According to my experience, Continue reading →

Baptiam of the Lord Sunday

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January 10, 2020 Worship (Baptism of the Lord Sunday)

 

Call to Worship                                      .

All who thirst, come to the water and drink deeply of these living streams. Come, all who are weary; come, all who yearn for forgiveness. As the waters of the Jordan washed over Jesus, so the Holy spirit washed over you and me. Our gracious God beckons and blesses us. Let us give praise for new life in Christ.

 

Opening Prayer

Baptized in the Holy Spirit, O Christ, you are the fountain of life; refresh us. You are the cleansing spring; heal us. You are the well from which we drink and never thirst again; fill us. Amen.

 

Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning when God created[a] the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God[b] swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Mark 1:4-11

4 John the baptizer appeared[a] in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with[b] water; but he will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[d] with you I am well pleased.”

Reflection

Preparing for a Dangerous Journey

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and New Year’s. Finally, the Season of Christmas is over with Epiphany, which was last Wednesday. We celebrate Epiphany after Christmas because we start witnessing the light of God revealed in the person of Jesus. The stories of Jesus – his birth, public ministry, death, and resurrection – reveal God’s light and kingdom. Through the life and teachings of Jesus, we can understand God’s reign. We are en-light-ened through Jesus.

Light is often used as a metaphor for knowledge and wisdom. When we learn or suddenly realize Continue reading →

Christmas 2

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CHRISTMAS 2 – Rev Gloria Christian

CALL

Silent and Holy was the night.  Come and worship the Word who is born anew each Christmas.  Come let us join in joyful worship in this blessed Christmas time.

PRAYER

Holy God, we come together from homes and places, near and far, to worship you.  We seek your presence in our lives as this year winds down with all its challenges; covid-19 illness and death, death from over-dosing on drugs, accidents, and on the list goes…   You have given us life and you continue to give meaning to our lives.  Be with us as we seek the comfort of your everlasting arms in this time of worship. Amidst the worry and stress of lock downs in our area, help us to slow our minds, that we might know the promise of peace you offer in this Holy Season of Christmas.  We pray in the name of the Bethlehem Baby.  Amen.

HYMN https://youtu.be/Wk4iy6cKLLg “Love Has Come”

SCRIPTURE  John 1: 1-18

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

 

MEDITATION: “Right Before Your Eyes”

Have you ever looked for something, turning everything inside out and upside down to find that one thing you seek to no avail? That one thing eludes your grasp and frantic search only to materialize when you stop your feverish hunt.  You realize somewhat humbled Continue reading →

Children and Heirs at Christmas

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Reflection 122720 December 27, 2020  Rev Sunny Kim

Luke 2:22-40/ Galatians 4:4-7

Children and Heirs at Christmas

After blessing my best friends’ wedding, they had been trying hard and waiting long to adopt a child. They went to parenting classes, wrote their profiles, and waited till they got a match. It was a long waiting period, and they had an “almost” case that ended up being taken away from them. Mike was especially devastated since he was the one who strongly wanted children. Then three years later, they had good news. They were given two children, biological siblings. Their biological mom is a broken woman, abused as a child by her father and went through the foster system herself. Their biological dad has a drug addict for a mother and has a tendency towards violence. They were taken away from their mom the day after their births and placed in a foster home. When they first came to live with my friends, they looked like they were straight out of a Dickensian orphanage. When I received their photos several months later, they looked noticeably different. Now that they are psychologically settled and happy, they look like Continue reading →

Being God’s House of Love – Advent 4 December 20, 2020

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Reflection 122220 (Advent 4: Love) Rev Sunny Kim

Luke 1:26-38/ 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Being God’s House of Love

This past week, I read a sad and unfortunate piece of news coming from my home country and my home church, the Korean Methodist Church. A young Methodist minister, Rev. Lee, got suspended from duty for 2 years for offering a blessing at the Queer Festival. According to the Methodist policies, the act of offering a blessing at the Queer Festival is considered condoning a lifestyle incompatible with God’s teaching. Of course, I and many of our United Church members disagree with it. We believe that God’s love and blessing are for everyone, and we are taught not to judge or persecute others. I was heartbroken at the news from Korea. Some United Church folks are sending him letters of support. I thought the Korean ministers who belong to the United Church should send a collective letter, which will be more powerful than anyone else’s letter. I am currently pursuing the support of our Korean ministers. When he was invited to offer a blessing at the festival, Rev. Lee followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit and made a difficult decision to do what is right, knowing that he will be persecuted by the Church and society. He said he would do it again; he believes in the universal love of God.

It was serendipitous hearing the story of Rev. Lee as I was reading the story of Mary being chosen Continue reading →