Welcome to this time of worship.
- Our service begins with the singing of one of two hymns, the more contemporary song being found here and the traditional hymn being here.
- The video and audio-only versions of the service are both located above.
- Following the blessing you are again invited to join in the singing of either a contemporary song or a traditional hymn.
Leading in worship today are: Andy, Fiona and James.
To view the sermon only, copy & paste this link into your browser: https://youtu.be/OcUDzvGbt9M
Sermon Summary and Questions: In Matthew 22, Jesus is surrounded by questions. Religious leaders question his authority, challenge his teaching, and try to determine where he fits. When he is asked which commandment is greatest, Jesus reaches back to the ancient prayer of Israel: love God with all your heart, all your life, and all that you have—and love your neighbour as yourself.
The Hebrew behind that prayer gives us a wonderfully unusual word: me'od—“very,” “much,” "all you've got". It invites us to consider what it might mean to love God with all our “muchness.”
But perhaps our muchness is not something we can measure. Perhaps it is a direction: as we encounter God more deeply, are we becoming willing to open more of our lives to him?
Then Jesus turns the questions around: “What do you think about the Messiah?” The people who have been examining Jesus suddenly find themselves confronted by him.
That question still reaches us. Who do we believe Jesus is? And as we continue to discover who he is, what parts of our lives might we still hear him inviting us to open?
There is always more of Christ to discover—and always more of our lives to open to him.
Questions:
- HEAR
Jesus begins with Shema—“Hear. Listen. Pay attention.”
What caught your attention in the passage or Sunday's sermon?
Was there a word, image, question or idea that has stayed with you?
- NOTICE
The sermon suggests that wholehearted love may be less about an amount we can measure and more about a direction.
As you look at your life right now, where do you notice yourself becoming more open to God?
Where might you still be holding tightly?
- DISCERN
Jesus connects love of God with love of neighbour. Our love of God begins to become visible in the way we live with and respond to the people around us.
As you look at your relationships and the people God has placed around you, where might God be inviting you to love differently—to become more patient, generous, forgiving, attentive or present?
And perhaps the harder question:
Is there someone—or some kind of person—you find particularly difficult to see as your neighbour?
- ENCOUNTER
The religious leaders knew Scripture extraordinarily well, yet struggled to recognize what God was doing right in front of them.
Then Jesus turns the questioning around:
“What do you think about the Messiah?”
What assumptions, expectations or familiar ways of thinking about Jesus might make it difficult for us to encounter him as he actually is?
And then, more personally:
Who is Jesus becoming for you at this point in your life?