Canadian Baptist Ministries Solidarity Sunday

[0:00] Welcome, and thank you for joining us for Solidarity Sunday.

[0:18] This special service is an opportunity for Canadian Baptists across the country to come together and worship as we stand alongside our global church partners who serve the most vulnerable people in our world.

[0:31] For the next few minutes, we will give thanks to God for His faithfulness, even in this challenging time, and hear more about how He is at work through His church all over the world.

[0:42] We will also pray together and give thanks for the work of the Spirit that's transforming lives and restoring hope where it's needed. Let's pray together. God, our Father, we come today recognizing Your presence with us.

[0:58] You are here. You're with Your people as we gather together in person and virtually across our country and around the world. We thank You, Lord, that even as COVID-19 continues to separate us, You do not leave us alone, and You continue to unite Your people as one body.

[1:18] Lord, You are light in the darkness. May we as Your people always reflect Your light in our communities, our country, and our world.

[1:31] In our time together, Lord, we pray that You would be lifted up. May Your name be praised and glorified as we join together in worship. Lord, speak to our hearts through Your Holy Spirit and give us all that we need to listen, obey, and follow You.

[1:49] We thank You, Lord, that You are here. In Jesus' name. Amen. And now let's worship together. You are here.

[2:15] Moving in our midst. I worship You. I worship You.

[2:26] You are here. You are here. Working in this place. I worship You.

[2:38] I worship You. You are here. Moving in this place. I worship You.

[2:52] I worship You. You are here. I worship You. I worship You. I worship You.

[3:04] I worship You. I worship You. I worship You. You are. We make a miracle worker.

[3:15] I promise King. Light in the darkness. My God. My God. That is who You are. You are here.

[3:29] I worship You. My God. That is who You are. You are You.

[3:40] Touching every heart I worship you I worship you You are here Healing every heart I worship you I worship you You are here Turning lives without I worship you I worship you You are here Mending every heart I worship you I worship you Oh, you are Waymaker, miracle worker Promise keeper

[4:41] Light in the darkness My God, that is who you are You are Waymaker, miracle worker Promise keeper Light in the darkness My God, that is who you are You are Waymaker, miracle worker Promise keeper Light in the darkness My God, that is who you are You are Waymaker, miracle worker Promise keeper Light in the darkness Light in the darkness My God, that is who you are That is who you are Is

[5:48] Are That is Are Miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness My God, that is who you are You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper

[6:58] And I will not be able to make my own help I will not be able to make my own help I will not be able to make my own help I will not be able to make my own help My God and my God are one way maker I am in them and you in me.

[7:39] So they are perfect in unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. In the 17th chapter of his Gospel, the Apostle John records the prayer our Lord prayed on the night before going to the cross.

[8:11] The prayer Jesus prayed in the upper room standing in the presence of his first disciples. In his prayer, Jesus asks the Father for many things, both for himself and for us, his disciples.

[8:27] At the heart of the prayer is the request for which the prayer is most well known. His prayer for the unity, the solidarity of his church in the world.

[8:40] Father, I want them to be one. He prays it three times, verse 11, that they may be one even as we are. Verse 21, that they may all be one even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may be in us.

[8:58] And then verse 22, that they may all be one just as we are one. What is Jesus asking for? What does Jesus want?

[9:10] Well, before we press into this central request of his high priestly prayer, as John 17 is called, we need to wrestle with a line that puzzles many disciples.

[9:23] It's back before the text we heard read by the children. It's in verse 9. I do not ask on behalf of the world. What?

[9:34] Jesus does ask on behalf of the first band of disciples. I ask on their behalf, verse 9, for those you have given me. Jesus does ask on our behalf, verse 20.

[9:48] I do not ask on behalf of these alone, the first disciples, but for those also who believe in me through their word. But he does not ask on behalf of the world. Why not?

[9:59] And how does this square with John 3, 16? God so loved the world. If the Father so loves the world that he sends his Son into the world, why does the Son not pray for the world?

[10:16] In John's Gospel, the word translated world is the word cosmos. It comes into the English language in words like cosmic and cosmology. And in John's Gospel, cosmos has a technical meaning.

[10:28] Cosmos refers to human society organizing itself without God. That's how William Barclay defines it. Human society organizing itself without God.

[10:42] Anyone know cosmos? Cosmos is human society indifferent to God. Cosmos is human society defiant of God.

[10:52] Cosmos is human society seeking to live in rebellion against God. Cosmos is human society choosing to organize itself without the light.

[11:06] Indeed, against the light. Which is why cosmos tends to get dark. Which is why cosmos becomes such a dark place. I do not pray for the world, for the cosmos.

[11:17] Why not? Well, let me ask you. How should Jesus pray for the world? Should he pray that the world be one?

[11:30] That the world be one in its indifference and antipathy to the light? Should he pray that the nations be united in their indifference and defiance of God?

[11:41] That the cosmos be united as cosmos? New Testament scholar C.K. Barrett put it so clearly. The only hope for the cosmos is precisely that it cease to be the cosmos.

[11:53] The only hope for human society organizing itself without God is to stop organizing itself without God. Another New Testament scholar, Raymond Brown, also gets at the fundamental issue.

[12:06] He says, Jesus does not come to change the world. Jesus comes to challenge the world to no longer be the world.

[12:17] The only hope for the world is for the world to lay down its resistance and surrender to the saving lordship of Jesus. In which case, the world is no longer the world. Now, all of this helps me pray right now.

[12:32] In the midst of this pandemic and in the midst of all the uprising around the world. We want to see an end to all this, right? But we must not want to return to normal.

[12:48] Normal was good in a lot of ways, but normal was massively cosmos. Am I right? So much selfishness, so much injustice, so much immorality, so much rejection of God's good law and good ways.

[13:02] Who wants to go back to that normal? Who wants to go back to human society organizing itself without God? Let's move on from normal to a new normal.

[13:14] Now, although Jesus does not explicitly pray for the world, his whole prayer is world-oriented. His whole prayer is cosmically oriented.

[13:26] Verse 18, you sent me into the world. Verse 18 again, I've also sent them, the disciples, into the world. Verse 21, that the world might believe you sent me.

[13:37] Verse 23, that the world might believe you sent me. In which case, the world ceases to be the world. Because when the world believes that Jesus was sent by the Father, the world will no longer be the world.

[13:48] Now, so back to the central request Jesus makes in John 17, that they, Jesus' disciples, we, may be one.

[14:01] Why? Well, for one thing, it is blessed to be one. Psalm 133, Behold how good and pleasant it is for sisters to brothers and brothers to dwell in unity.

[14:12] For there, the Lord commanded the blessing, life forever. But for another, the world will then believe the gospel when we are one.

[14:24] That they all may be one. Not that they may all be alike. Boring. Not that they all may be uniform. Jesus is too creative for uniformity.

[14:36] But be one. United. As we've already noted, he prayed it three times. Verse 11, that they may be one. Verse 21, that they may be one. Verse 22, that they may be one.

[14:48] Now, take careful note. Each time he prays for our oneness, he gives a definition of the oneness for which he prays.

[14:59] Listen carefully. Verse 11, even as we. Verse 21, even as you and I. Verse 22, even as we.

[15:12] Literally, it is just as. Not just also. Not just also as we are, but just as we are. In the same way that we are.

[15:25] To the same degree that we are. Father, I want my disciples to be one. In the way we are one. And to the same degree that we are one. We.

[15:35] We. We. He's speaking of that relationship at the center of the universe. The relationship between the Father and the Son in the Spirit. And the Son prays that we disciples might be one, just like the oneness of the relationship at the center of the universe.

[15:54] Holy moly. How? By being in the oneness of the Trinity. Let me say that again. By being one.

[16:05] By being in the oneness of the Trinity. He's praying that we might be one in the oneness of the relationship at the center of the universe.

[16:16] So, listen again. Listen carefully to how Jesus prays. Verses 21 and 23. That they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.

[16:29] That they may be in us, that the world may believe you sent me. That they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, you in me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may believe you sent me and love them, even as you love me.

[16:47] Now, did you hear that little word in? In me, in you, in us. Amazing. There's nothing in all the universe like the oneness of the Father and the Son.

[17:02] One because in. The Father and the Son are one because they are in one another. The Son and the Father, the Father and the Son.

[17:12] Not just the Son with the Father and the Father with the Son. Not just the Son hand in hand with the Father and the Father hand in hand with the Son. But the Son in the Father and the Father in the Son.

[17:24] The oneness Jesus wants for his disciples, for the church, is not simply modeled on the oneness of God. The oneness of the disciples participates in the oneness of God.

[17:38] It's because disciples participate in the oneness of God that they and we become one. Now, this is crucial to grasp.

[17:50] In the latter decades of the 20th century, the worldwide church was caught up in Jesus' prayer for unity. Major church conferences were held all over the world to talk about how the church is one and how to grow into that oneness.

[18:03] Now, if my memory serves me correctly, the discussion turned on God's oneness as a paradigm for the church's oneness. And missed the astounding wonder of Jesus' prayer.

[18:18] We are not called to become one like the Father and Son are one. We are called to join the Father and Son in their oneness. In. In. In. To be in Jesus is to be in Jesus being in the Father.

[18:32] To be in Jesus is to be in the Father being in Jesus. We're not called merely to imitate Jesus. We are called to participate in Jesus. And therefore, not merely to imitate the Trinity, but to participate in the Trinity.

[18:48] The oneness for which Jesus prays is the oneness experienced in the life of the Trinity. Once any one of us enters into that oneness, we are one with everyone else who has entered into that oneness, whether we like those people or not.

[19:09] That is what Jesus wants for us. That is what Jesus is praying for. And this will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings us to the Son and the Son brings us to the Father.

[19:20] Actually, it's more powerful than that. The Spirit brings us into the Son. And the Son then brings us into the Father. To live in the eternal love the Father has for His Son and the Son has for His Father.

[19:36] We do not become one by choosing to be one. We're just simply too selfish for that. We become one by living in the oneness of the God who is one.

[19:47] In the oneness of the three who are one. We do not become one by agreeing on every doctrine of faith. Oh, that would be wonderful. It would be lovely. But that is not what will make us one in the way Jesus prays we be one.

[20:02] We are one because we are in Him and in the Father through the Spirit. Father, I pray that they whom you've given me may be one just as we are one. I in them, you in me, that they may be in us.

[20:16] And He prays this for the sake of the world. For the cosmos. That the world may believe you sent me. He prays it twice.

[20:28] Verse 21. That the world may believe you sent me. Verse 23. That the world may believe you sent me. Do you hear what Jesus is saying? Jesus is saying the world will believe because the world will see something emerging in the world that is not world.

[20:43] The world will see something so radically different from the world that it cannot but take notice. The world will see the emergence of a love it had never seen before.

[20:54] Groups of human beings learning how to live for one another. Learning how to lay down their lives for one another. And the world will conclude that something must have happened in the world from outside the world to make this not world community come into being.

[21:12] They will conclude that something must have come from outside ourselves to transform people in the world into something that is not the world. And the world will be open to the explanation.

[21:23] The Father sent His Son. God so loved the world that He sent His Son. I in them. You in me. That they may be brought to complete unity.

[21:37] Literally. That they may be perfected in unity. Verse 23. Perfected in unity. It's the same word Jesus uses earlier in His prayer when He says, I finished the work you gave me to do.

[21:48] I perfected the work you gave me to do. I think Jesus is telling us that we will always be growing into the oneness of the oneness of the Trinity. We enter into that oneness when we enter into relationship with Jesus the Son.

[22:05] But that oneness is so different from anything we have ever known. And so massively expansive. That we will spend the rest of our lives growing into it.

[22:16] Being perfected into it. Growing into Him and into His Father. Being perfected into Him and into His Father. In the meantime, we celebrate the answer to Jesus' prayer the Apostle Paul saw taking place just a few years after Jesus prayed it.

[22:38] You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, he says to the Galatians. For all of you who were baptized into Christ, into Christ, have clothed yourself with Christ.

[22:53] There's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

[23:04] One because in. And once we are in, we are one with everyone else who is in forever and ever.

[23:19] Amen. Thank you, Daryl, for sharing with us from God's Word today. We're pleased now to be joined by CBM field staff in Bolivia, the Philippines, India, and the Democratic Republic, Congo.

[23:39] Let's hear together how God's at work around the world and take some time to pray together for the needs of our global partners. The emergency relief CBM was able to provide during 2020 and earlier this year was a lifeline for many families who found themselves in really difficult situations.

[23:58] When the quarantine was at its height and people were only allowed outside for a few hours a week, access to food was a large concern. As we coordinated with our partners to provide relief and support to those facing hard times, we've heard many stories of the immense impact offered by churches.

[24:13] We were able to visit one woman who had health concerns that put her at high risk. She knew that her kids wouldn't have anyone to care for them if she got sick, but she was contemplating breaking the quarantine so she could earn a bit of income.

[24:25] And earlier that day, she spoke of praying while she prepared the last food she had, not knowing where their next meal would come from. Together with church volunteers, we knocked at her door to bring encouragement and a care package full of enough food to get them through a few more weeks.

[24:39] She spoke of how she felt God had seen her, heard her prayer, and sent the help that she needed. Thanks to God's grace, we've heard and witnessed many stories like this. In fact, through your support and the effort of many local Bolivian churches, CBM was able to deliver emergency food and care packages to more than 3,000 people across the country who found themselves in desperate situations.

[25:01] While some restrictions have been lifted, the pandemic is still very much a reality. Currently, we're working to remain adaptable and launch creative initiatives that best address our difficult situation.

[25:13] Students effectively lost their entire 2020 school year and are now attempting online school without the appropriate resources. So we're partnering with churches to help provide technology and educational support to families on the margins at risk of losing their education.

[25:27] In rural areas, we're also trying to launch an agricultural program to help families earn income through beekeeping and honey production. We continue to navigate the situation with our Bolivian partners as we look to God for direction and wisdom.

[25:42] Your donations will enable our partners to recover and rebuild in the midst of and post-pandemic as they reach out to share Christ through word and deed. Mission of God, we are grateful that you call us to participate in your work of healing and justice, of restoring and renewing, of mercy and compassion for those on the margins.

[26:03] Thank you for the beautiful nation of Bolivia, for its warm and loving people, for its geographical beauty and rich culture, for a nation that has shown resilience amidst its challenges. We lift up Tim and Kali, our global field staff, who've been challenged this season.

[26:18] We remember Paddy Nacho and her staff as they continue to serve and we ask that you be with them as they reimagine ministry and serve others in these unique times. Thank you for the incredible work and amazing staff of CASA and JIRE, for the CHAGAS project and other intergrammation initiatives.

[26:36] We ask that they will gather the resources they need to flourish. We lift up the seminary students for whom pivoting into a new learning environment has come with remarkable challenges. We ask that you would intervene and provide a way forward for them to complete their studies.

[26:51] As we seek your kingdom, may we continue to embrace a broken world in word and in deed. And we ask all this on behalf of the people of Bolivia, in the name of the one who sends us to serve, Jesus Christ.

[27:05] Amen. We want to tell you about Pastor Willie, a pastor of a small church in a remote community of Capice Province in the Philippines. Like many pastors in the Philippines, Willie and his wife live in a community that is quite far from the church where he serves.

[27:22] As a result, when communities locked down and travel restrictions were imposed, Willie was not allowed to report to his church to provide pastoral care or to tend to the spiritual needs of his church and community.

[27:34] Gatherings for Sunday worship were not allowed. Non-essential work was forced to stop. Like so many other churches, they were unable to provide financial support for Pastor Willie, which was already not enough to meet the needs of his family.

[27:46] Pastor Willie, like so many other rural pastors, augments his income by farming. As a senior citizen, though, he was forced to stay at home when the quarantine restrictions were imposed. He wasn't even allowed to leave his home to tend to his farm work.

[28:00] Thankfully, due to the faithful generosity of Canadian Baptists, our partner, Cabo Ganaan Philippine Ministries, with the support of CBM, was able to provide much-needed financial aid for pastors in Capice Province, which helped them provide for the needs of their families.

[28:18] Pastor Willie wanted us to share this message with you. Thank you so much for giving me this rare opportunity to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to CBM, to the people and the churches in Canada, for extending us your loving support in this time of crisis.

[28:34] You've helped us a lot to overcome and survive this crisis. As we pray for you, please continue doing your good work in you. We are so grateful that through CBM's network of partners around the world, we're able to respond in times of crisis to support the needs of the poor and the most vulnerable.

[28:51] Stories like Pastor Willie's give us hope for a better tomorrow, but sadly, the needs around the world today are still great. CBM continues to receive requests from our partners and we are only able to respond because of the faithful generosity of people like you.

[29:06] Let's pray for the Philippines. Our Father in Heaven, we praise you for the life-giving truth that you love the world and we thank you for the joy of shared mission that we have in the Philippines.

[29:24] So we ask for your hand to be upon Reverend Job and Phoebe Santiago as they continue to provide leadership and support for people in need throughout the Capice province.

[29:38] We pray for Michael and Melanie Waddell, asking that you would supply them with wisdom and patience as they serve you here in Canada and as they serve by reaching out remotely to their ministry partners and friends in the Philippines.

[29:57] We pray today for the indigenous people groups in Campiis and Ilo Ilo, that they would live in safety and ultimately we pray for them as we pray for us that your kingdom would come and your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[30:19] Amen. COVID-19 pandemic created a havoc in India. Among the worst affected were poor migrant workers seen in majority of our 950 plus Soura Baptist churches and Utkal Baptist churches and then the daily wage workers among the Telugu Baptists, Mishin Baptists in Assam and Baptists in Mokokchong, Nagaland.

[30:46] For example, just in Kurada village of the Telugu Baptists, we saw around 1,400 daily wage worker families affected. We also saw many losing jobs and small businesses closed.

[31:00] We thank you for your COVID relief support that helped around 7,000 families including around 2,000 widows. Your support provided food provisions to sustain families for around a week.

[31:16] Your support provided chicken and pig feed for income generation. Your support provided hygiene products like soaps for bath and laundry, sanitizers and masks to protect from COVID virus.

[31:32] Although things are getting better, the majority of the poor continue to struggle. In addition, we see the challenges of anxiety, stress, depression, uncertainty, greater unemployment, less income, more deaths.

[31:49] All of these have become a reality. Please continue to pray for us and if your heart continues to be burdened for the needy here, please stretch out your hands for the kingdom of God.

[32:03] We do continue to pray for you, your family, and the churches. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we lift up in prayer our brothers and sisters in India.

[32:17] We are so inspired by their love for you and their love for their communities. Thank you for giving them the strength to continue ministry in this difficult year.

[32:28] Jesus, you came to proclaim the good news to the poor and to set the oppressed free. You call us to do the same, to love the least of these, to look after those who are so often forgotten.

[32:45] Our partners in India have answered that call. Please continue to lead them and strengthen them as they educate widows and girls as they help those with HIV and AIDS, support those with addictions, help the unemployed, and so much more.

[33:00] May many lives be changed, be enriched by their ministry. We pray specifically for Siraj and CP as they provide leadership to this ministry.

[33:12] Keep them close to you. Keep them safe and healthy as they travel around the country doing your will. may India find peace and healing in you.

[33:27] May they experience your love and your truth through our faithful partners in ministry. In Jesus' name, Amen. Today, the whole world is being shaken by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[33:49] In Africa, where the living conditions are already difficult, the pandemic has come to contribute to make it even worse. Elderly people, especially, and people living with handicap are the most affected as they have no other source to resort to.

[34:12] Fortunately, with support from CBM, partners in Africa have been able to provide food, not only food, but also accompaniment to elderly people and people living with handicap, especially counseling against the traumatizing misconception according to which elderly people might be the probable carriers of the virus.

[34:43] one of the beneficiaries, a retired pastor, was so grateful that he said a touching prayer in favor of the generous people of Canada who continue to think about vulnerable people being affected by COVID-19, even though those donors are also affected by the same problem.

[35:09] people are becoming more and more vulnerable, so more efforts are still needed to assist and accompany them.

[35:24] On this Solidarity Sunday, let's pray for our partners in the DRC. Heavenly Father, we just thank you that you are the God of peace, that you are the God of reconciliation. We thank you that you reconciled us through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior.

[35:39] And we lift up our brothers and sisters, our partners in the DRC, the community of Baptist churches in Eastern Congo. We pray for reconciliation and we pray for reunification in families, in tribes, in churches, in the country where there is violence and conflict.

[35:56] Bring healing and reconciliation. We pray for Gato. We pray that you would bless Gato with courage and wisdom as he leads others in bringing healing to the community and to the country.

[36:09] And we pray for this COVID season where it has affected those who are most vulnerable. We pray that you would provide for those who are vulnerable. We pray for the food supply chain and I know that this season has made food security difficult, getting food to the marketplace, getting supplies.

[36:28] And so we pray for your providence. Give us this day our daily bread. Thank you, Heavenly Father. We pray in your precious name, Jesus. Amen. It is incredible to hear how God is at work around the world and how his people serve together.

[36:48] God has been faithful and all over the world the gospel is growing and bearing fruit. Even as we start thinking about life after COVID, we know that this pandemic continues to disproportionately affect people living in poverty in the Global South.

[37:04] As needs have grown exponentially during this past year, we at CBM are committed to assisting even more people and making a greater impact on behalf of Canadian Baptists.

[37:14] It is your prayer and financial support that enables us to do that. So thank you for allowing us to be your mission partner. We ask that you continue extending compassion and generosity in places of need as you are able.

[37:29] together, let us continue to embrace a broken world through word and deed. And now let's worship together and sing of God's goodness. I love you, Lord.

[37:46] Oh, your mercy never fails me. All my days I've been held in your hands From the moment that I wake up Till I lay my hand I will sing Of the goodness Of God All my life You have been faithful All my life You have been so So good With every breath That I am able I will sing Of the goodness Of God I love your voice You have led me

[38:47] Through the fire In the darkest nights You are close Like no one I know I've known you As a father I've known you As a friend I have it In the goodness Of God All my life You have been faithful All my life You have been so So good With every breath That I am able I will sing I will sing Of the goodness Of God Your goodness Is running after It's running after me

[39:49] Your goodness Is running after It's running after me If I might lay you down I surrender now I give you everything Your goodness Is running after It's running after me Your goodness Your goodness Is running after It's running after me Your goodness Is running after It's running after me With my life Laying down I surrender now I give you everything Your goodness Your goodness Is running after It's running after me It's running after me It's running after me All my life All my life You have been faithful

[40:51] All my life You have been so So good With every breath That I am able I will sing Of the goodness Of God Oh we will sing Of the goodness Of God Thank you for being part of Solidarity Sunday As co-workers in God's kingdom work Every day we are called to be in solidarity with one another and the global church And now may God our creator renew in us the creative spirit that brings healing and life to our world May Jesus the Christ uphold us in grace and love And may the Holy Spirit fill us with courage to be bearers of God's song of hope in the world

[41:53] Amen It all comes down to this What you require of me Love my neighbor as myself And you above all things Actlessly Love mercy Walk humbly With you God In all things In all ways Walk humbly With you God It all comes down to this

[42:53] To be your hands and feet Good news to all the world The truth will set us free I just leave I just leave Have mercy Have mercy Walk humbly With you God In all things In all ways Walk humbly With you God It's beauty for ashes It's morning to dancing Closer and closer The kingdom of heaven It's beautiful It's beautiful It's morning to dancing Closer and closer The kingdom of heaven It's beautiful Ashes It's morning to dancing Closer and closer The kingdom of heaven Closer and closer The kingdom of heaven Years from now We'll see The fruit of heaven For the world

[43:54] Years from now we'll see The fruit our hands have sown Faith just like a seed The only way it grows Act justly, have mercy Walk someday with you God In all things, in all ways Walk someday with you God In all things, in all ways Walk someday with you God Walk locally along the school

[44:59] Walk someday with you God Walk someday with you God Walk someday with you God Walk someday with you God Walk someday with you God Act what you love 꿈 Walk slowly