December 20, 2009

Mr. Jim Stein

6:00 pm Worship Service

Covenant Christian Reformed Church

Winnipeg, Canada

Call to Worship:  Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
2      Worship the LORD with gladness;
       come into his presence with singing.
3   Know that the LORD is God.
       It is he that made us, and we are his;
       we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4   Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
       and his courts with praise.
       Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5   For the LORD is good;
       his steadfast love endures forever,
     and his faithfulness to all generations.

Opening Prayer
Hymn:  340 O Come All Ye Faithful
Greeting:   Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Confession of  Faith  -  Our World Belongs to God   #6  p. 1021
Hymn:  237 – We Praise You O God 
Prayer
Scripture:  Acts 4:32-37;  James 2:14-17
Sermon:   Distributive Justice
Prayer
Hymn:    544 - Lead Me, Guide Me 
Offering:   Hope Centre Ministries
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:  328  O Come, O Come Immanuel

Act4:32-37
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). 37He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Distributive Justice
The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible

“Distributive justice involves the appropriate assignment of such social goods as honor, money, property and all othr goods shared among the members of a society.”

“Biblical treatment of justice often challenges inequitable distribution of such goods on behalf of the poor 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 identifies with the poor, the suffering, the prisoner, action on their behalf become the standard of justice by which God judges humanity (Matthew 25:31-46).

Psalm 9:8-12
8  He judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with equity.
9  The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion.
    Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Psalm 10:17-18
O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek;
    you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
   so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 82: 3-4
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
    maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4  Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Isaiah 1:17
17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan,
    plead for the widow.

Isaiah 10:1-2
 1 Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes,
2       to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right,       that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!

Jeremiah 22:3
3Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.

Jeremiah 22:15-16    Amos 5:21-24     Micah 6:6-8