Fourth Sunday of Advent - B

The church, that is, the ekklesia, the called out ones, has taken some hard knocks both from its friends within and its foes without, from chilly indifference inside and arrogant cynicism outside. All kinds of people have condemned it for its navel-gazing, and its lack of concern for the world. Some years ago in Russia, two meetings took place simultaneously. In one, a group of Marxists discussed how they could overturn the world. In the other, which took place only a few doors away, a group of Christians fervently debated the color of their church's choir robes.

This priestly account of God's creation of the world has been called the most theological chapter in the whole Bible. Written down in the sixth century B.C., its every word is carefully thought through. But it is not intended to be a scientific account of how God made the cosmos. The endless creationist attempts to make it into science and to foist it on our schools are invalid.

Seasonal Theme
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.

Theme For The Day
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity. God as Holy Parent, Son and Savior, and the Spirit with us here and now.

A Suggestion: For the next thirteen Sundays, the First Lesson will be from the book of Genesis for those who use the Revised Common Lectionary. Now might be a good time to introduce these readings to the congregation by putting an outline in your worship bulletin.
1:1-2:4a -- Creation of the Universe and Adam and Eve

Theme For The Day
The great Trinitarian benediction of 2 Corinthians 13:13 -- "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" -- provides an outline for teaching the doctrine of the Trinity.

Old Testament Lesson
Genesis 1:1--2:4a
The Creation

Trinity Sunday begins the second half of the church year. The first half of the church year beginning with Advent and ending with Pentecost focused on the life of Christ. We call this second half ordinary time but there is nothing ordinary about it. It is an extraordinary time of the year when we focus on the church's life and mission. Some have called Trinity Sunday the "great hinge" of the church year. Others have called it the "great pain"! Why?

Things are. The world is. The universe, whatever that is, is. I am. You are. That didn't just happen. Some people believe that is the result of an awesome succession of accidents but I just can't believe that. All of this didn't just happen. It must have been the result of some kind of a miracle. And if there was a miracle, there must be some miracle worker. Nothing that Darwin or anyone else has discovered can deny that.

In the middle of March, 1961, a minister named Duffy splashed water on my head in the middle of a Sunday morning worship service. I was only one of a half dozen "Baby Boomers" whose parents had recently petitioned the Session for the sacrament of baptism. Having recently moved to a trailer park in Akron, Ohio, my parents thought the time seemed right to make their firstborn infant a Presbyterian.

Call To Worship
One: God, who created all things and named them "good,"
has shaped us in the divine image.
All: We come, with grace-filled hearts,
into the presence of our Creator.
One: Jesus, who led the way by carrying a cross,
has brought us into the kingdom of God.
All: We come, our brokenness made whole,
into the presence of our Redeemer.
One: The Holy Spirit, who brings us together from many places, calls us to be the household of God.
All: We come, all walls broken down,

Hymns
Sois la Semilla (You Are The Seed) (NCH528, MH583)
Lord, You Give The Great Commission (MH584, PH429)
We Shall Overcome (NCH570, MH533)
God, Who Stretched (CBH414, MH150, PH268)
Lord, Our Lord, Your Glorious Name (CBH157, PH163)
All Creatures Of Our God And King (LBW527, NCH17, PH455, MH62, CBH48)
All Things Bright And Beautiful (CBH156, MH147, PH267)
Wind Who Makes All The Winds Blow (NCH271, PH131, MH538)
I Sing The Mighty Power Of God (CBH46, MH152, PH288)

Call To Worship
This world is no accident, but the product of design and purpose. Our presence here is no accident as well, but planned before time by a God who loves us.


Collect (Psalm 8:9)
(Unison) O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Amen.


Prayer Of Confession

For May 31, 2026:

• God Is In Three Persons!

Toby was playing with his favourite toy. His family's new television had come packed in a large cardboard box, and now the box was empty Toby loved playing with it. Today it was a bus. Since his family had a car, Toby had only once travelled on a bus. It had been the highlight of his life. Now his big cardboard box was a bus, and Toby was the proud driver. Sometimes he would allow it his baby sister Samantha to sit in his bus as a passenger. But if she started to cry he got fed up and turned her out.

Contents
"God, Faith, and Science Fairs" by Craig Kelly
"The Road Much Traveled" by Keith Hewitt


* * * * * * * *


God, Faith, and Science Fairs
by Craig Kelly
Genesis 1:1--2:4a

Contents
"The Critic" by Keith Hewitt
"That's Just Not Him" by C. David McKirachan
"Getting Crowned" by C. David McKirachan


* * * * * * *


The Critic
by Keith Hewitt
Genesis 1:1--2:4a

"So, what do you think?"

Good morning! This morning I brought with me a person some of you know very well. Who is she? (Let them answer.) To some of you, she is your "mother." To others of you, she is a friend. And others know her as a neighbor. Perhaps you know her as a nursery helper. You might also know her as a member of the choir. She is also a wife, a citizen of the land, and a businesswoman.

The sun is always with us. We can't see it here this morning because we are inside the church building, but we know the sun is outside. Sometimes clouds hide it from our view. At nighttime it seems like the sun is gone, but it isn't. Where is the sun when it's nighttime? (Let them answer.) We always have the sun -- whether we see it or not.

The more I listened, the more I heard desperation.

"It is possible for there to be light and darkness without the sun and the moon," she said as she launched into a long explanation gleaned from some dubious website. "And of course the days are not real days, but eras," she concluded.

"But the days are defined as alternating periods of light and darkness," someone replied. "Are you trying to tell us that there was darkness for thousands of years, and then light for another thousand?"

"That's one possibility," she said.

All of my life, as I am sure of that in most of your lives, I have had to live by the numbers, and it has only gotten worse. There was a time when if you could manage to keep your social security number and telephone number in your head you could pretty well count on getting through the day unscathed. Those days are gone forever. I believe that the downward slide began with the invention of the area code. All right, I innocently went along believing that little harm would come and that could even be some benefit. What did I know?