HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-6-28, Page 17THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2018. PAGE 17.
From the Minister's Study
Hymers explores the magic and wonder
By Brian Hymers
Knox United Church, Belgrave
I don't usually title my sermons,
but this one is called "Magic and
Wonder".
Magic and wonder are terms we
use when we encounter things or
events we don't understand or
cannot grasp right away.
We wonder at the description of
Goliath. My Bible stated nine feet
tall, others say seven, either way he
was a huge man and the description
of his armour, bronze helmet and
bronze coat of chainmaille weighing
125 lbs., and bronze leg armour. He
also carried a bronze javelin and the
shaft of the spear was as heavy and
thick as a weaver's beam — about
seven feet long and four inches
square — the tip was made of iron and
weighed 15 lbs. He even had a shield
barrier with him.
It's interesting that all these
weights and measurements were
mentioned in scripture, which to me
can only mean one thing, this dude
was huge.
He was larger than anything they
had ever seen before, and so this
fellow comes out from the ranks and
shouts obscenities to the Israelites,
telling them to send one fellow if
anyone is man enough and we shall
do all the fighting.
His name was Goliath and he was
the champion amongst them all. He
was a winner and he was as good as
it gets for this army of thousands.
The Israelites were an army of
many soldiers loyal to the King of
Israel, Saul. They were not single
fighters, but a force of many, loyal to
their leader and their religious
values.
This single man sent a message of
fear to each soldier of the army of
many. This single person frightened
everyone in Saul's camp.
I have an uncanny way of reading
scripture with today's events and
news idioms as they pertain to today.
Replace Goliath with the word
cancer. We have all been witness to
the fear of this terrible disease, that
is not a single disease but a multitude
of problems and growths with the
body that attack us in different ways
with different results. The word
strikes fear into our hearts when we
hear it because of its ability to stop
our lives. It is as huge to us as
Goliath was to King Saul's army.
Fear starts to mount, the pressure
builds and our will to fight shakes
and trembles at the sound of the
word "cancer".
Yet, we have an army of doctors,
nurses and medical assistants
waiting for us to come in and receive
treatment. The medical field has
done wonders over the past 10 years.
We are so advanced in medicinal
treatment and diagnosis that we need
only to gather ourselves into the
grace of Christ, trust in God's magic
and wonder and trust in His
blessings as young David did when
he defeated the big bad monster with
a single small stone and a slingshot.
We need also to mention that
young David took five stones in his
pouch with him when he went into
battle against Goliath. He only
needed one, but he had five just in
case things didn't work out. We too
must take extra care and caution
with us as we prepare for the battle
with whatever disease or illness
attacks our health and wellness.
Victory will come if you pack Christ
in your suitcase.
Today is the Sunday set aside for
recognition of John the Baptist and
his crucial roll in the delivery of
Christ to the public. It was John in
his mother's womb that kicked
wildly upon Mary entering the house
of her aunt during her pregnancy. It
was Mary's uncle that too had a
visitor from the angel Gabriel to
announce his wife's pregnancy and
upon hearing of it was made deaf as
not to speak of it until John the
Baptist's birth.
The baptism of Jesus it is
mentioned by all four main book
writers in the new Testament: Mark
and John wrote about it in the first
chapter while Matthew and Luke
wrote about it in the third chapters.
The story starts long before his
birth, well over nine months before
his birth when his father, Zechariah,
a member of the priestly order of
Abijah, goes about doing his daily
chores. He is met by the angel
Gabriel, who tells him of God's
plan; a glorious plan of being
presented with a son, and Zechariah
literally laughs in the face of God.
Because of his reaction, he is
stricken with no voice. He loses his
voice for nine months until the child
is born and he instantly regains his
ability to speak once the child is
named John.
We end the reading with the
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SUNDAYS /
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
The Regional Ministry of Hope
Everyone Welcome!
Trinity Anglican Church St. John's Anglican Church
BLYTH BRUSSELS
9:15 am Closed for the month of July
MINISTRY OFFICE
519-357-4883
Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector
email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca
The Regional Ministry of Hope
COME WORSHIP WITH US!
You're Invited
to come worsh p
with us _
Sunday, July 1
at 10:30 a.m.
650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School)
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers
during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
Summer evening service 6:00 pm at various homes
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Vacation Bible School - July 2-6
9-11:30 am - Ages 5-12
HURON CHAPEL PRESENTS
PauLs*POW RFUL
PRE/G SIVE
EVERY SUNDAY IN AUBURN @ 10am PLAN
Life is full of choices and every choice you make will either take you in the
progressive, life-giving direction God has planned for you or rob you of the
opportunity to know the full life God intends for you to live.
This Sunday: "The Choice To See Life Differently"
huronchapel.com
father's prophesy of his son as
promised by God.
When we are troubled by the
unexpected, the unexplained or the
unnatural events of our lives, we are
told in today's messages to stand
firm in your belief in Christ as your
helper and saviour. He is always
with us no matter what befalls us. No
matter how strange or scary or
unfortunate, Christ is right there
with us.
6
BRUSSELS
Many of our Biblical readings
have little effect right away, but in
time the picture becomes clear and
recognizable. The scripture passages
tell stories from many years ago, but
each one has meaning today,
tomorrow, a few weeks or even years
to come but they all are relevant to
our lives and our modern day events
and troubles.
It's possible God will choose you
Continued on page 19
United Church
Join us July 1 at 9:30 am
Worship leadership by pastors
from Huron/Perth
Everyone Welcome
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, JULY 1
We invite you to join our church family in:
Worship & Sunday School - 11 am
Coffee & Snacks following the service
Come out and meet our new minister, Rev. Charmila Ireland
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
Nursery care available
519-887-6687
Blyth United Church
Est. 1875
Worship Service
at 11:00 am
Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday
9:30 am - 2:00 pm
blythunited @tcc.on.ca
6. Accessible in Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches
OFFICE: 519-523-4224
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph's
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.