No Worries

Matthew 6: 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

“Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.” This line from the catchy song by Bob Marley is one of encouragement and hope. As we celebrate our second Thanksgiving during the pandemic, it has been hard at times to believe that everything will be alright again. And yet, even when we worry about the future, we can continue to give thanks for unexpected joys, small mercies, and acts of kindness that we’ve known over the last two years.

In the Bible, Jesus encouraged people to leave their worries behind and trust that God would know and provide them with what they really needed. Imagine if our worry was transformed into hope, trust, and gratitude so we could live each day in the fullness of life promised by Jesus. Imagine if our last thought every night was one of thanksgiving for the day that had passed and a firm belief that in the end, “every little thing gonna be all right.”

A World of Bread

John 6: 33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Pita, Naan, Roti, Focaccia, and Chapati are all flatbreads from different places in the world. For centuries, bread has been a staple food for many people from a variety of cultures. It is no wonder that in the Bible, Jesus used the image of bread to help people understand his true identity as God’s Son. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” He went on to say that the bread he offered would fill and satisfy people more than any kind of bread one could eat.

Being filled with the bread of life means we fill our lives with Jesus. From Jesus we receive the nourishment and energy to live in the peace, hope, and grace that connects us with God and connects us with one another. On World Communion Sunday each year, churches across the globe gather (safely) around the Lord’s Table to remember and give thanks that Jesus is the bread of life who continues to fill and satisfy our hunger. Thanks be to God.

Returning Home: A New Beginning

The Reflection: A New Hope

The Encounter: Redefining Strangers as Friends

Quest: Travel as a Spiritual Act

“Leaving Home”

Good morning,

With Rev. Tobey away for the next couple weeks we will be joining Living Faith in Baxter. Rev. Jonathan will start a 4 week sermon series this called “A Time Such as This.”

Close Connections

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.….let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”

For many people, the pandemic meant isolating away at home alone without the usual visits of family and friends or social outings. For some, the pandemic meant being at home 24 hours a day with family or roommates, spending more time together than they may have wanted. At times, they might have felt their loved ones were a little too close for comfort. In reality, we need each other. We need connection with each other, especially in difficult times.

The Christians of the early church faced many challenges and they needed reassurance that they were not alone. The Bible describes a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ who had known God’s presence and promise and who have inspired and encouraged people of faith throughout the ages. It’s that kind of connection to the past that teaches us the importance of being connected with each other today. We learn from those who have gone before us as we turn to each other to help us through the challenges of life.

Come to worship this Sunday to sing, pray, and explore what connects us together as a community.

Staying Power

John 15: 4 “Abide in me as I abide in you.”

As the delayed 2020 Olympics get under way as safely as possible, we’ll spend the next couple weeks admiring the staying power of the athletes. Staying power is the ability to keep doing something even when it is really difficult, and you just want to give up. Elite athletes learn, train, and compete in their various sports over years and years with a staying power that overcomes all kinds of obstacles. While most of us are not elite athletes, I think we can all relate to what it means to persevere in hard times. We’ve all needed a little extra staying power this past year and a half as we’ve adjusted to new routines during the pandemic. As things open up again, we’ll continue to need staying power to keep following guidelines that will keep us all safe.

In the Bible Jesus uses the word abide to describe the relationship God has with human beings, a relationship that has staying power. Abide means to continue, remain, or stay with someone or something. When we abide in God and God abides in us, we trust that God’s promises of love, grace, peace, and hope remain. We believe that there is nothing that will separate us from God. We believe that even if our faith may falter, God’s staying power is big enough and strong enough to overcome anything.

Please join our ONLINE only worship service where we will abide in God as God abides in us. We will also lift our hearts in prayer and continue to learn about the hymns we sing.

Give it a rest!

Psalm 23: 1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”

Mark 6: 31 “Jesus said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

We all need rest. In the Old Testament, the very well-known Psalm 23 is about trusting in God as the shepherd of our lives, it is about the promise of eternal life, and it is about resting and restoring ourselves when we are weary. In the New Testament, we learn that Jesus and the disciples also needed rest and a chance to get away from the crowds who followed them. They needed to take the time to be renewed in body, mind, and soul.

Rest from our routines, from work, from stress, and from the busyness of life is necessary for our physical well-being, our mental and spiritual health, and for the benefit of our relationships with others. Rest may look different for everyone. Maybe rest for you is getting away in nature, having a nap, taking time for meditation and prayer, or turning off your technological devices. In these summer days, as we hope the pandemic is nearing the end, I encourage you to just ‘Give it a rest!” in whatever way that restores your body, mind, and soul.

Please join Knox Alliston, St. Andrew’s Mansfield, and Living Faith Baxter Presbyterian Churches for our ONLINE only worship service where we’ll rest in the presence of God, lift our hearts in prayer, and learn more about the hymns we sing.

Outdoor Fellowship at Knox

Come out on Wednesday July 21^st at 10am with a lawn chair to enjoy some in-person fellowship. No need to register ahead and we’ll social distance as necessary. All welcome!