Mr. Jim Stein
6:00 pm Worship Service
Covenant Christian Reformed
Church
Winnipeg, Canada
Call to Worship: Psalm 99:1-5
The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he! 4Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
Opening Prayer
Hymn: 329 Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Greeting: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Confession of Faith - Our World Belongs to God #44 p.1033
Hymn: 436 - This is my Father’s World
Prayer
Scripture: Amos 5:14, 15, 24 Matthew 25:31-46
Sermon:
Prayer
Hymn: 633 - He is Lord (sing twice) 195 – Our God Reigns
Offering: Office of Social Justice
God's Blessing:
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6
Hymn: 543 - Guide Me O My Great Redeemer
Amos 5:14, 15, 24
14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said. 15 Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,£ you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Justice - Old Testament
The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
“Justice has to do with impartial arbitration, equitable treatment, or adherence to an ideal of what is right. …the biblical nuances of ‘justice’ focus on the highest values of a right relationship to God and to others.”
“…justice can mean ordinance or regulation. (Exod. 15:25; Lev. 5:10; Num. 15:24)”
“Justice also contains the notion of entitlement, privilege, or the claim that an individual has a legal right to something. (Deut 18:3-5)”
Justice is to weigh the evidence “honestly” and to reach “a decision impartially about an issue in a legal proceeding.” (Deut. 24:17)
“The prophets and the Psalms, therefore, suggest that justice or humanization is what is needed to correct the circumstances of widows, strangers, orphans and other marginalized groups in ancient Israelite society.”
Justice – New Testament
The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
Justice = Righteousness
“Ordinarily the NT employs some variation of the love command rather than justice to refer to complete virtue.
Local administration of justice for the Christian was to seek reconciliation with “fellow believers” rather than court.
Distributive justice involves the appropriate assignment of such social goods as honor, money, property and all other goods shared among the members of a society. Biblical treatments of justice often challenge inequitable distribution os such goods on behalf of the poor and or other disadvantaged persons. God becomes the powerful patron who will hear the cry of the lowly and overthrow their human oppressors. (Luke 1:47-55)”
“Insofar as Christ indentifies with the poor, the suffering, the prisoner, actions on their behalf become the standard of justice by which God judges humanity. (Matt. 25:31-46)”