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May 2nd, 2021

4/30/2021

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May 2, 2021, Living the Resurrection
Make Your Home in Me

Greeting                 1 John 4:15 (NLT)
“All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.”       

Opening Prayer                  based on John 15     
God of love,
plant us in the soil of your grace.
Nurture us with the strength of Christ,
the vine of everlasting life.
Enlighten us with the wisdom of your Spirit,
which flows through us today and all days.
Abide in us,
that we may abide in you
and live in your love.
In your holy name, we pray. Amen.

Adapted from The Abingdon Worship Annual 2012, © 2011 Abingdon Press.  Posted on the Worship Elements page of the Ministry Matters website.

A Vineyard Call to Worship              for John 15:1-8
God is the True Vine,
And we are the branches.
Connected to God.
Connected to bear fruit!
Connected to God.
Or we wither away.
Connected to God.
Or useless!
We come to worship God, who is the True Vine.
God, teach us how to remain connected so that we might bear good fruit!

Safiyah Fosua, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/god-is-the-true-vine-21st-century-worship-resources-for-the-fifth-sunday-of.

Intercessory Prayer                         ACTS model
Creator God, you are the Alpha and the Omega, you are the beginning and the end.  You knew us before we were born and had a plan for our life from before the foundation of the world.
And we know that you hold the whole world in the palm of your hand.  In the blink of an eye Your eyes can see the whole earth.  And you show yourself strong on the behalf of those that love you.
Your Word tells us that we can come to your throne of grace to find help in time of need. Dear Lord, this is one of those times. Please hear us today.
Forgive us of the wrong things we have done, we lay our sins down at the foot of the cross.  Please forgive anything we have done that is separating us from your fellowship.  Forgive our hurtful words and actions. Forgive our evil thoughts.
Thank you for loving each of us. Thank you for dying for our sins and rising from the dead. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit who guides our life.
Gracious God, we lift up all who have been mentioned here today, and for those who are struggling quietly.  Grant them you healing and peace.  Show us the ways in which we can bring healing and peace to others.
Finally, God, we give you thanks once more for Jesus, the Vine, the Gateway to salvation.  Keep us strong and faithful to serve you, until He comes again. All this we pray in His name.  Amen.

Stewardship Prayer                    
Generous God, through your Son, Jesus Christ,
you have shown us what it means to love.
And you call us to follow Your example--
to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Continue to write your law of love on our hearts.
Give us an unwavering passion for justice,
and a tenacious faith that will not rest
until the hungry are fed,
the oppressed find relief,
and the outsider finds a welcome. Amen.
Christine Longhurst, in Hunger for Justice: World Food Day 2016, posted on the Canadian Foodgrains Bank website. http://foodgrainsbank.ca/product/world-food-day-2016-hunger-for-justice/

Scripture Reading            John 15:1-8 (MSG)    
1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.  4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.    

Morning Message             Make Your Home in Me
Key Point: Remaining in the Vine, that is Jesus, is about much more than membership and attending church once in a while.  It is about discipleship and a life of commitment that produces good spiritual fruit that brings glory to God and blesses the world we live in.

    I brought a dead branch with me today, and pictures of the tree it came from.  A healthy branch, as part of a healthy maple tree, provides many desirable things:  Shade from the sun.  A home for birds and insects.  Beauty-through trees like the maple we witness the circle of life through each passing season.
    Some species of maples produce sap that people make great maple syrup from.  Naturalists, and those who live strictly off the land, tell us that the leaves are edible-they can be cooked, or eaten raw, and they have a slightly sweet maple flavor.  And the little helicopter things (technical name “samaras”) that come off them, well seeds inside them are edible, too.
    So why do dead branches fall off a healthy tree?  All large trees will have some dead branches; it's part of their life cycle.  While it’s true that trees can become unhealthy from disease and fungus, and will die if left untreated, even the healthiest maple tree will naturally shed branches so that it continues to remain healthy.  Many property owners will prune their trees on a regular basis to ensure their health.  Either way, naturally or otherwise, pruning is a necessity for tree health.
    And it probably goes without saying, but a branch has to stay connected to the tree if it is going to stay healthy.  Once it comes off the tree, wind blows it off, something knocks it down, someone cuts it off, and it will soon look like this branch right here.  It will be dead wood, useless for anything other than kindling.
    Jesus talks about dead wood in our Bible passage today.  In the Middle East there aren’t trees like maples and oaks.  So, he used the illustration of the grape vine to make a point about being a disciple.
    In verses 4-6, he said, “Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.  I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you… the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire.”
    Just like a dead branch from a great maple tree cannot provide sap, or shelter, or places for birds to build nests, a dead branch separated from the grape vine cannot produce delicious grapes.  In other words, it cannot fulfill the purpose for which it was created in the first place.
    And guess what?  Just like with the maple tree, the grape vine needs a good pruning now and then, too.  Why?  So it can stay healthy and continue to grow AND continue to produce an abundance of fruit.
    When Jesus says “I am the Vine, you are the branches, make your home in me just as I make my home in you” his point is that to stay spiritually healthy, and produce spiritual fruit, we must stay connected to him.  If we don’t, we become dead wood just like this branch here, useless in the Kingdom of God.  And we cannot fulfill the purpose for which God created us, and that is to bear good spiritual fruit.
    Christ is the Vine, and God the Father is the Farmer who cares for the branches, and the branches are all those who claim to be followers of Jesus.  Jesus makes it clear this analogy that the branches are to remain in the vine for the purpose of bearing fruit.  When believers abide in Christ, and He abides in them, the result of this double abiding is that they bear fruit for His glory. 
    Two things about this fruit:  First, the fruit includes the fruitful character of Christ within us.  The fruit of the Spirit revealing the character of the divine life of Jesus is clearly stated here.  The word love is used nine times (15:9-17).  The word joy is used two times (15:11).  This aligns perfectly with the first two graces listed in the fruit of the Spirit that Paul talks about in Galatians 5:22-23.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.”
    Second, the fruit includes the fruitful ministry of Christ through us.  Jesus said He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (Matt. 20:28).  When we abide in Christ, He abides in us.  When He abides in us, we are experiencing Jesus. Yet while we experience Jesus, He is ministering to those around us through us, and they get to eat the fruit!  The fruit isn’t meant for just us so we can live the good life.
    Simply said, when we remain in Jesus, and make our home in Him, like he has already done in us, the results will manifest as spiritual fruit in our life, and it will be noticeable to the world around us, and the world will be blessed through us.
    One more thing, and we can’t miss it because it’s a part of Jesus’ analogy here, too, and that’s the pruning.  Verse 2, “He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes.  And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more.”  Living organisms that bear fruit, need pruning: maple trees, grape vines, and yes, as painful as it sounds, Jesus’ followers need pruning, too.
    In verses 2-3, Jesus makes a clear distinction between two kinds of pruning: cutting off and cutting back.  Cutting back: Fruitful branches are cut back to promote growth.  God must sometimes discipline us to strengthen our character and faith.  I think of Abraham in Genesis being asked by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.  Painful? Without a doubt.  But it was a test of faith that strengthened Abraham’s faith when he obeyed and then God provided the ram as the sacrifice instead.
    But there is also the cutting off that Jesus talks about here: Branches that don’t bear fruit are cut off at the trunk, not only because they are worthless, but because they infect the rest of the tree.  People who don’t bear fruit for God, or who try to block the efforts of God’s followers will be cut-off from his life-giving power.
    One thing I want you to take away from today is this: bearing fruit, and then more fruit, requires pruning: Following Jesus was not an invitation to follow him down easy street.  And the pruning tool of the father/Gardener is His Word, it is prayer and listening for His voice in prayer.  Allowing the Word of God to shape us brings forth a life-giving relationship with Jesus.  (Just like a branch that remains on the vine.)
    This is a relationship that promises an abundance of good fruit.  If five times we are told to bear fruit here and eight times we are told to remain in Jesus, how often do we need to be shaped by God’s Word, through the Bible and in prayer?
    I want to wrap this up with a brief discussion about membership versus discipleship.  I say brief because this is really a preview of a more in-depth study of it throughout the weeks to come.
    You see, I believe that somewhere along the way, the modern church became focused on membership and lost track of discipleship.  Many say, “Well, sure I’m a disciple.  I’ve been a member at Bethel (or McKendree, or Pine Grove Presbyterian, or St. Luke’s) for years.”  But here’s the thing: Jesus never said, “Join my church.  Take the membership vows.”  He said, “Follow me,” “walk with me,” “make your home in me.”  And I’m not saying you shouldn’t be a church member; what I am saying is that you can be a church member and never even come close to being a true disciple of Christ.
    And the distinguishing marks of the true disciple are the fruits of the Spirit, which only grow when we remain connected to the Vine that is Jesus Christ.  
We will talk more about the distinction between membership and discipleship in coming weeks, but let me say this much : 
Discipleship is an experience.
It involves more than a mere one-time belief.
It takes more than church attendance.
It is a life commitment.
It has to be practiced for a lifetime.
It calls for following Jesus in daily living, in word and deed.
 Discipleship is what making your home in Christ is really all about.
    One final:  Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the Gateway to salvation.  He told us that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Only through Him do we find forgiveness of sins, only in Him do we find eternal security.  And only through him are we able to live an abundant life in which we produce the fruit that glorifies His name and blesses the world around us.  Only by abiding in Him can we fully live out our purpose in life.  Only by claiming Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and believing that he rose from the dead that first Easter morning can you be a branch on the life-giving Vine that is Him. Let’s pray.
The Lord’s Prayer
All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Benediction            based on John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-21
Go now, and love one another.
Proclaim God’s salvation to every generation.
Remain in Jesus Christ,
and like branches of a vine, draw your life from him.

And may God the vine grower make you fruitful;
May Christ Jesus abide in you and give you life;
And may the Holy Spirit cast out all fear and fill you with God’s love.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
. . . In the name of Christ. Amen.

Copyright © 2003 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net. 

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April 03rd, 2021

4/3/2021

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April 4, 2021, Easter Sunday
Resurrection Sunday
 
Greeting                                Acts 118:22-24 (NRSV)  
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”        
 
Opening Prayer           
Creator of Life,
in raising Christ Jesus
up, through, out of, and beyond
the chains of death,
You opened for us the way
to eternal and abundant life.
 
May our Alleluias on this day
float high above the ceiling
of what we think we know
and transcend to the heaven of
what we believe--
and thus live.
 
Raise us up!
Renew our lives!
Resurrect our dreams!
Through Jesus Christ our Living Savior,
Amen.
~ written by Karen Turner, and posted on the Lifeway website.  http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/files/lwcF_PDF_LW_MaundyThursday.pdf
 
Moment of Silence                    welcoming Christ into our midst/light altar candles
Call to Worship for Easter
Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate
Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen
Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing
Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead,
the first of the sleepers,
Glory and power are his forever and ever.
Amen
Written by Hippolytus (AD 190-236), reposted https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2016/03/easter-call-to-worship.html.
 
Scripture                                   Mark 16:1-8 (NRSV)
 
Morning Message               Terrified & Amazed
Key Point: The first women to witness Jesus’ resurrection responded in fear.  What will our response be when facing this reality?
I want to ask you a question:  When you think about Easter Sunday, what words come to mind?  Celebration, joy, promises fulfilled, security, maybe? 
We think of Easter Sunday as a joy-filled day.  Which is interesting, because if you think about the last words of our Gospel reading today, Mark’s final word is “afraid.”  Verse 8, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”


Mark’s gospel, according to pretty much everybody, was the first gospel written, and the one that Matthew and Luke used as a main source for their own gospels.   Also, according to pretty much everybody, this first gospel originally ended at verse 8 of the 16th chapter, with verses 9-20 added on by someone else at a later date.  If we accept the conclusion that Mark’s writing ended at verse 8, the last word of the earliest written gospel iss “afraid.”
Not joy, not celebration, not any of the feelings we associate with this day.
According to Mark, these women were terrified, and it’s not that they weren’t expecting to encounter some problems, because they knew they had some overwhelming challenges to face.

​
First, there was the matter of the Roman guards standing watch at the tomb.  Matthew 27:62-66 says that Roman soldiers sealed the tomb. Then, they stood guard for the next three days.  How many Roman soldiers were involved we do not know, but tradition tells us it could have been two to four at a time, possibly in four-hour shifts.  It’s safe to say that getting past any number of Roman guards would have been a daunting, perhaps impossible, task for a few Jewish women.

Second, there was a huge stone blocking the entrance to the tomb.  The entrance to the average Jewish tomb needed a stone approximately 4’-6’ in diameter, and about 1’ thick.  Depending on the type of stone, it could have weighed as much as a ton.
These stones were rolled into channels that sloped downhill.  And while rolling it into place could be done by a couple of strong men, rolling it back up out of that space would have been one more impossible thing the women would have to face.
Still, they went.  But why?
The women had purchased spices on Saturday evening after the Sabbath had ended so they could go to the tomb early the next morning and anoint Jesus body.
There were no funeral homes back then.
When a family member or loved one died, they washed the body themselves, anointed it with spices, dressed it up in a burial shroud and laid the body in a tomb themselves.

And, months later, when nature and decomposition had taken their proverbial course, they returned to the tomb, gathered up the bones into a box and stored them, the way some of us do with ashes in an urn.
They knew, perhaps even more fully than we could ever know, that “dead” means dead, and they had no more of an expectation of any resurrection than we would.

They expected the guards and the stone to be their biggest obstacles.
So, again, why did they go?  Because of love, devotion, and respect for Jesus.  They set out to honor Jesus’ body.  They were urged on by love and gratitude, even though they had so many questions.
But when they got to the place where Jesus had been buried, guards and a big stone ended up being the least of their worries.  Because they were met with an open and empty grave, and greeted by an angel with an incredible message.  “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.”


With that stunning news, the women ran in “terror and amazement.”  They didn’t speak a word to anyone, because they were afraid.
Maybe you’re still wondering why?  Why were they not overjoyed at the news that Jesus had risen from the dead?
First, let’s keep in mind that we have the Bible, we have the whole backstory of God’s plan to redeem his people.


Second, close your eyes for a moment an put yourself in their sandals:
You go to the grave of a friend who was buried three days earlier.  You get there to find an open grave, an open casket, and no body.  Then some otherworldly man, dressed in white, taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, I know you’re looking for your friend, but he’s not here.  He went ahead of you to Red Lion and said to tell you to gather the whole gang up and meet him there.”
I think we can agree that would be pretty weird, and we would probably run away in terror and amazement.


The bottom line is that they were afraid because no one was expecting a literal, physical, bodily resurrection.  It wasn't even in anyone’s mind.
Yes, they'd heard Jesus say a number of times that he would be handed over to the chief priests and killed, and on the third day rise again.
At least eleven of them were there when he chewed Peter up one side and down the other for saying that such a thing could never happen to Jesus.
But none of them believed it.  They chalked it up as a figure of speech, set it alongside the other incomprehensible things Jesus said and did and followed along, waiting for the revolution that would drive the Romans out.

Yet, these women, despite their initial reaction, are a model for us.   We see in their response not something to frown upon, but a revelation of how people react, when they are first confronted, really confronted, by the Resurrection….…when they see it as something that really, actually did happen.  They were frightened because they didn’t know what to make of it.
But at some point, they got it together and remembered the other part of the angel’s message, “Go, tell his disciples, and Peter, that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 
And they followed Him.  They became true disciples who followed Jesus, many of them even unto death.

They experienced the power of the Resurrection and become disciples who lived out their faith every day, day after day.
Because they saw.  Because they believed in Jesus their Risen Savior.
Eastern Sunday is so important, not just because it’s a day of  celebration, but because the Resurrection itself is vitally important for many reasons:
First, Jesus kept his promise to rise from the dead, so we can believe he will keep all of his other promises, too.
Second, the Resurrection ensures that the ruler of God’s eternal Kingdom will be the LIVING Christ, not just an idea, a hope, or a dream.
Third, Christ’s resurrection gives us the assurance that we will also be resurrected.

Fourth, the power of God that brought Christ’s body back from the dead is available to us to bring our morally and spiritually dead bodies back to life so we can change and grow. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22, “So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.  Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.”
Finally, The Resurrection provides the substance of the Church’s witness to the world; we proclaim the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Until Christ comes again.

Paul writes this is 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, “ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus’ resurrection, his defeat of sin and death on the cross, allows each of us to be reconciled with our Creator God, if we call on his name and ask him to be Lord of our lives.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He empowers us to live transformed lives.  However, if we, too, are not a little bit afraid as we face the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, then perhaps we are missing something very important.
“He is not here,” said the young man dressed in white. Tell the disciples, tell Peter, “He is going ahead of you ...”
 “... going ahead of you” applies to us, too.   Jesus has gone on ahead of us, we don’t know exactly where, but our faith tells us we need to follow him there.  Going ahead of you could be our marching orders.
Jesus is, even now, going on ahead of us.  We can follow him to where he is going.
Tradition tells us he’s coming again, but still, we can’t just sit here and wait, and we can’t even expect him to wait for us.
The work of the Kingdom will go on with or without you.  This is a decision each of you have to make for yourselves: to join in this life-giving work, or to walk away from it.  We have to look for where he is — somewhere, ahead of us! — and figure out where he’s going and follow him. 
If the Resurrection is true, then everything Jesus said is true and he really does have a claim on your life.
Loving your enemies, living sacrificially, and becoming “fishers of men”-all true too.
There really is a heaven after we die — and with it, final judgement and accountability.
If Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, then everything he said is true, and that means that being a Christian, being a church, is about far more than coming to church, or taking care of those who are already here.  You are either about the building, or you are about building God’s Kingdom.  You are either a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples, or you are a church-goer. 
Friends, the church’s mission-to send the Gospel to all the world, is filled with overwhelming obstacles.
Any of them appear devastating.  Against human stubbornness, disease, danger, terrorism, loneliness, sin, greed, and even church strife and corruption, what can a few disciples hope to accomplish.
But like the women at Jesus’ tomb, we go out in love and gratitude for Jesus, and we leave the big obstacles to God.
We won’t win every battle we face.  But praise, God, we are not called to win.  We are called to be faithful.  Amen.
 
Prayers of the People for Easter Sunday       
Let’s offer our prayers and thanksgivings with one voice,
calling out the good news --
The tomb stands empty!
We look for our Savior among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive, and in our midst, today.
Gracious God, we pray for all faithful people --
for every human soul that turns to God in longing and in love.
Today and every day, pull us out of our graves and into your life.
The tomb stands empty.
We look for our Redeemer among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive and among us today.
We pray for the nations of the earth --
for those in authority, and for those under authority.
Come from the four winds, O Breath of Life,
and we shall live together in peace.
The tomb stands empty.
We look for our Mediator among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive and within us today.
We pray for this world, our garden home --
for the rain and the snow, the seed and the sprout --
for the birthing room and the last place of rest --
for every new creation.
The tomb stands empty.
We look for our Gardener among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive and beside us today.
We pray for those who are sick or suffering --
for anyone who needs extra help just now.
We pray especially for those named here today,
aloud and in our hearts . . .
(pause for names to be said or remembered)
Living Lord, renew them in Your love.
The tomb stands empty.
We look for our Sustainer among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive and with us today.
We pray for those who have died, and for all who mourn.
We pray especially for those named here today,
aloud and in our hearts . . . (pause for names) . . .
Eternal One, bring them home and gather them in.
The tomb stands empty.
We look for our Beloved among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive and in the midst of us today.
With joy and exultation,
we give thanks for the triumph of life over death,
offering special thanks for those joys, sorrows,
challenges and delights named here today,
aloud and in our hearts . . . (pause for thanksgivings) . . .
We are amazed at what has happened.
The tomb stands empty!
We look for our Creator among the living.
Jesus Christ is alive and, in our hearts, today.
Holy One, even before we call, you answer;
while we are yet speaking, you hear.
We offer up these prayers in the name of the Risen Christ --
our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.
Amen.
Written by Margaret D. McGee, and posted on In the Courtyard. www.inthecourtyard.com, reposted https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/02/prayer-for-others-easter.html.
                            
 
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
 Easter Benediction
May the loving power of God,
which raised Jesus to new life,
strengthen you in hope,
enrich you with his love,
and fill you with joy in the faith.
Posted on the Third Space website. http://third-space.org.uk/blog, reposted: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/02/easter-benediction.html.
 
 

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March 27th, 2021

3/27/2021

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March 28, 2021, Palm/Passion Sunday

Rend Your Hearts, Claim the Blessing!

Greeting            Psalm 118:1(NRSV)
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

Opening Prayer
Eternal God,
whose word silences the shouts of the mighty:
Quiet within us every voice but your own.
Speak to us through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ
that, by the power of your Holy Spirit,
we may receive grace to show Christ’s love
in lives given to your service. Amen.

—Book of Worship, United Church of Christ, © 1986 by United Church of Christ Office for Church Life and Leadership and reprinted © 2002 by United Church of Christ, Local Church Ministries, Worship and Education Ministry Team, Cleveland, Ohio. All rights reserved.

Moment of Silence          welcoming Christ into our midst     

A Call to Worship for Palm/Passion Sunday        Let Us Worship the Lord
Leader: Let us worship the Lord—not just with our voices, but also with our entire being.
People: We gather to worship the One who is highly exalted and whose name is above every name, Jesus the Christ.
Leader: Your presence demands our participation. Our worship is never wasteful.
People: Be gracious to us, O Lord. We are your servants; empty us for your use.
Leader: We are Christ’s servants and may we be of the same mind.

All: We declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Praise be unto God!

Alexis Carter, Lenten Liturgical Resources from Africana Writers, edited by Safiya Fosua, 2020.        
Intercessory Prayer       
Gracious God, we come before you today and proclaim Jesus as Lord and King of our lives, as Creator and King of all Creation.  The heavens and earth are full of your glory.  It is springtime and we are surrounded by growth, change, and beauty that can only come from you.  And we praise your name!
Like the crowd on that first Palm Sunday, we want you as King, we want you to make changes in our lives.  But also like that crowd, we confess, when your idea of change is different than our own, we become disillusioned and frustrated.  Strengthen us to follow you courageously, to show up, as you show up.  To serve the poor, the marginalized, those who are people we deem as being different.  Remind us that all are created in Your image, and all are valuable in your sight.
Creator, we lift up to you all who are sick or hurting today, all who mourn, all who suffer in anyway, and for those we have mentioned by name.  We ask that you touch them with you healing hand of love.
We pray, too that you be with us through our time together.  May we listen, and hear, and receive your message.  Then may we live it out in our own lives this week.
We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Scripture             Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV)
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.    
            
Morning Message             The One Who Comes
Key Point: Our God is a God who comes to us.  He shows up regardless of the situation.  He is the God of the covenant, and like the marriage covenant says, He will be with you “for better or for worse.”  Perhaps we see this most clearly in the New Covenant we have in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 21:1-11: Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the feast of the Passover.  At this point in Jesus’ ministry, he has gained great popularity.  He has healed the sick, fed the thousands, and socialized with the marginalized.
But this chapter, Matthew 21, and this day, would be a turning point in his ministry, a door would swing, and things would change dramatically within the course of a few days, including the opinion of the crowd.
If you read what follows in Matthew 22-26, you will see that Jesus goes on to:
Clean out the temple because it had been turned into a place of corrupt business practices by a “den of thieves.”
He would teach in parables that frightened and angered the religious leaders.
He would teach about obligations to the government and the national law, and to “render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.”
He would warn against hypocrisy and misuse of God’s Law, teachings that were specifically aimed at the religious authority of the day.
He would prophesy about the destruction of the temple and end times.
In other words, Jesus spoke hard and controversial truth that angered people, and he challenged the status quo of the religious and political systems of the day.  He became a threat and his popularity waned.  As the tide quickly turns, Jesus is then betrayed by his disciple Judas, he is arrested, he is abandoned by the rest of his disciples who are running scared, and even Peter publicly denied Jesus three times.
And soon, Jesus would find himself in the middle of another crowd, only unlike the Palm Sunday crowd, this crowd wasn’t planning to crown him King.
I’m going to read Matthew 27:11-26.
11 Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
12 But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. 13 “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. 14 But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. 16 This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. 17 As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)
19 Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”
20 Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. 21 So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?”
The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”
22 Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So, he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”
25 And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!” 
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
As Lent comes to a close this week, it’s good to remember that Lent was not invented as a 40-day build-up to Good Friday, but rather it was created to be a season of preparation to follow Christ as a disciple.
While Palm Sunday certainly invites us to shout our Hosannas to Jesus the King, it also turns us toward Holy Week, and reminds us that as we move closer to the cross at Calvary on Good Friday, we have decisions to make ourselves.
Will we gladly celebrate Jesus entry into our own life?  
Only to avoid the journey to the cross with him?
Will we, like the early disciples, abandon Christ when things become difficult, or if we are asked to make a sacrifice?  Will we, too, deny we know him?
Or, will we take up our cross and follow Jesus as a true disciple?  
Jesus showed up in both crowds: the one in which he was celebrated as King.  And in the second crowd: an angry mob who wanted him dead.  For better or for worse, he was there, and he didn’t have to be.
Where will we show up?
After all, Jesus’ kingly entry into Jerusalem during Passover wasn’t a first-century version of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jesus meant it as a statement. Matthew is clear in his Gospel: Jesus rode into town as a returning king, and the crowds greeted him as such.   And the hosannas the people cried that day had both religious and political overtones.  They greeted him as the Messiah AND they expected him to overthrow the Romans.
And the Romans take note. This helps to explain why, in fact, he was crucified.  It wasn’t just an accident. It wasn’t because he simply offended the religious authorities of the day.  It was because Jesus proclaimed another kingdom – the kingdom of God – and he called people to give their allegiance to this kingdom first, not to Caesar and Rome.
Will we as his followers proclaim God’s Kingdom above any other kingdom?  What will the evidence of that be? As individuals or as a church?

Jesus was a threat to the establishment and he would suffer the consequences of being such a threat, and remember that he suffered them on our behalf, too.
One tragedy of that first Palm Sunday is that the people were half right.  He did come as God’s Messiah. But they misunderstood what that meant.  It was not to be a “regime change” by violence, but rather the love of God poured out upon the world in a way that dissolved all the things we use to differentiate ourselves from others, and the formation of a single humanity that knows itself – and all those around them! – as God’s beloved people.
The other tragedy of the day is that the religious and political authorities were also half right because Jesus was a threat, and for that matter, he still is.
He threatens our penchant to define ourselves over and against others. 
He threatens the way in which we seek to establish our future by hoarding wealth and power. 
He threatens our habit of drawing lines and making rules about who is acceptable and who is not. 
He threatens all of these things and more. 
But the authorities were wrong in thinking that they could eliminate this threat named Jesus Christ by violence.  Because Jesus would overcome the violence.  Because three days later, Jesus, the One who comes, shows up again, at an open and empty tomb.
Jesus’ resurrection – which in Matthew is accompanied by the shaking of the very foundations of the earth – affirms that God’s love is stronger than hate, and God’s life is stronger than death. 
I’ll wrap it up by asking this question:  Will you walk as a true disciple of Christ, even when you are fearful, and even if it means a sacrifice on your behalf?  If you choose to follow Jesus, he will continue to be a threat.
Because he will threaten your reliance on anything – your wealth, position, political identity, good works, relationships or, for that matter, your limitations or life tragedies.  He will in fact challenge anything other than God’s grace, and mercy, and love. 
Now what’s hard about this message is that we have all at times sought for our identity and security in things other than God. 
But the blessing of this message is that none of these other things are up to the task.  Because no matter what we trust in, we will be disappointed, as only salvation through Jesus can declare us as not just acceptable, but as blessed and beloved children of God.  Jesus’ journey to the cross shows us just how far he was willing to go to demonstrate to us God’s unconditional love and acceptance. 
And once you hear that message of grace, mercy, and love, there is no doubt we have good reason to shout our hosannas on Palm Sunday with all the joy and hope we can muster.
Palm Sunday is a day to celebrate Christ as King.
But we must always remember that a lot happens between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
Christ’s death on the cross is the sacrifice for each of our sins.
No other sacrifice could bear the weight of the sins of the world.
We are redeemed by his shed blood.
And yes, our salvation in him by God’s grace is a reason to celebrate, too.
But we must never forget his loving sacrifice that day.
If we learn anything from Palm/Passion Sunday may it be that Jesus shows up for both crowds: the one where he is declared king AND the one where he ends up crucified…for us.
For better or for worse, Jesus shows up.  The question is, will you?  
For better or for worse, as a church, as people of God, where will we show up in this world?

Prayer of Confession for Palm Sunday
Like the people who greeted Jesus as he entered Jerusalem and later pronounced, “Crucify him,” we are fickle people who often deny Christ in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Remembering the events of Jesus’ last week helps us see ourselves for what we are: sinners in need of a savior, a savior—praise God—we have in Christ.
In honesty and hope, we confess now our sins to God.
—from The Worship Sourcebook

Words of Assurance        from Psalm 118:4-5, 14, 17, NRSV
Hear the Word of the Lord from Psalm 118:
Let those who fear the Lord say,
His steadfast love endures for ever.
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
In Christ, God answers us and sets us free!
In Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God.

    
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Sending for Palm Sunday
Now you have celebrated Jesus as King. 
Now you have followed him on the through the crowds. You have seen Jesus for yourself. 
You know that he is real. 
Go forth and continue to see him in the world! 
Go where he goes and do what he commands.
And may the peace of God rule and abide with you now and forever! Amen.
B. Kevin Smalls, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, 2007, p. 215.


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February 20th, 2021

2/20/2021

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Picture
​February 21, 2021, First Sunday in Lent
Rend Your Hearts: Claiming the Promise
This is the Sign
 
Greeting                                 Psalm 25:10 (NRSV)
“All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.”
                                     
Call to Worship for the 1st Sunday in Lent               You are Loved!
Now is the time for us to worship!
Now is the time for us to come!
So, come, you who in God’s sight are perfectly imperfect!
Come, you who want more of God!
Come, you who heard God remind you
that you are special and loved beyond measure!
Come, People of God, those unified in the waters of baptism!
Come!
*taken from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/rend-your-hearts-claiming-the-promise/first-sunday-in-lent-year-b-lectionary-planning-notes/first-sunday-in-lent-year-b-other-resources
 
Moment of Silence                             welcoming Christ into our midst
 
Prayer of Intercession                 based on Gen 9:8-17; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15
Almighty Creator of the universe, and loving Father of us all:
Every rainbow reminds us that you are in control of the earth, of nature, of the seasons, and of the end. Your Spirit enriches the earth with the gift of life to all creatures.
Help us to care for the environment so that the earth is a healthier place to live for our children and all the generations who follow us. Help us to live like as respectful people who leave the soil richer and more fertile after using it, so that your name is then respected and honored by all peoples.
We thank you for your Son, our Lord Jesus, who has taken all our sins, especially those we are ashamed of from our past, and paid for them on the cross even before we were born.  Renew us to be humbler and loving like he is, so that we can be walking advertisements for you wherever you lead us in the coming weeks.
By your Holy Spirit, help us to embrace and enjoy the waters of our baptism. Let us live with a good conscience along with all your people who flock to the living waters on the shore of eternity, as we anticipate the resurrection we share with our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Have mercy on
those who want to give up on life
those who are afraid of the future
those who look for fulfilment in evil
those who are addicted to destructive things,
as well as hatred or pride or other evils.
Send your Spirit to strengthen your us as we walk this Lenten journey together, moving on each day a little closer to their permanent home with Jesus in heaven.

Bless the work of those who minister like angels to the sick and dying, to the people who are depressed and to those who want to give up on life here in your world.  Watch over those who work in dangerous occupations to make the world a safer place for us to enjoy.

We pray for those in need, those who are hungry.  And we thank you for filling our deepest hunger with the bread of life, Jesus himself.  Quench our deepest thirst through the wine of his suffering, which was too deep for us to drink. We watch in wonder and praise as we focus on him during this Lenten season. In these days draw us closer to the one who died for us, for his sake. Amen.
 
Scripture Lesson                 Genesis 9:8-17 (NRSV)
                                   
Morning Message                   This is the Sign
Key Point: God does help us, even after we have made a total mess of things.   Only God can bring order out of chaos. 
As we begin our Lenten journey to the cross and the tomb, our Scripture reading takes us all the way back to the new journey of the human race after The Flood. 
In words that are very similar to the Genesis story of creation, the opening verses of Genesis 9 lay out God’s mandates for the new human race:
Verses 1-7 (NLT), “Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.  All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea…… I have placed them in your power.  I have given them to you for food….  But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.
“And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life……For God made human beings in his own image.  Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”
Very much like the Creation mandate to Adam and Eve.  Three things: Fill the earth.  Have dominion over the rest of creation.  And defend the sanctity of human life.

In those verses, God basically tells these lone representatives, of the new human race, to start over.   Let’s think about that for a minute. 
First, think about Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives stepping out of the Ark for the first time in about a year.  They stepped out of the boat into a world devoid of human life.  And most animal life.  We picture the dove and the olive branch, maybe we picture a scene of peaceful tranquility, with no human beings around to cause chaos.

But I believe a more accurate picture would be one of complete devastation: Floods strip the land, and its inhabitants, of everything.  There may have even been the stench of death and decay in the air.  I believe that is the more likely canvas that Noah and his family stepped out into.

Which brings us to the second point: Facing that scenario, how does one even begin to start over?  How can they do that?  Humanity had made a total mess of everything.  Now in the midst of the drying mud and the rotting death, how is it possible for humanity to make a new beginning and do better. 

Can they do it by sheer human effort?  Can we?  Scripture says no, we can’t, not by ourselves.  But we CAN start over, but only by the grace of God. 
That’s how it was for Noah as the journey of humanity began once again. 
That’s how it is for us as we begin our Lenten journey again.

In the Flood, the waters below and the waters above brought the original chaos of Genesis 1 back to the earth.  Now by making a covenant, God brings order and life out of the chaos.  The alternative to human sin is God’s grace.  God is the one who makes life possible in a chaotic world filled with mud and death. 
Or to put it in the terms of our Scripture reading, the alternative to chaos is covenant, and that’s the real message here.

Immediately after speaking His commandments for new life in verses 1-7, God secures the continuation of life on earth in a covenant, a covenant initiated and kept by God and God alone. 

Contrary to modern belief, the continued existence of life on our planet does not depend on human decisions and actions.  Although we are responsible to live by God’s commandments, BUT in the end, it is not up to us to make human history turn out right.  If right living determines whether life continues on planet earth, may God help us all, because we have demonstrated from the very beginning that we cannot do it.  Humankind’s legacy is a legacy of chaos and rebellion and disobedience and death. 
That is the real point of the story of the Flood: God does help us, even after we have made a total mess of things. 

“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘I now establish my covenant….’”  And it’s crucial that it is God who initiates this covenant, because God cannot fail.
Praise God, life does not depend on the whims of a fickle deity.  It depends on the firm promises of a faithful God.  Life does not hang in the balances of our choices and behavior.  Praise God it does depend on the fixed purpose and unbreakable promise of a holy and just God. 
God says, “I now establish my covenant….”  And we should be thankful for this! 

As Noah and his family step off the Ark into a decaying world, God set about to restore and renew, because he is faithful, by establishing a universal covenant with the whole human race, and with every form of animal life as well. 
And as if to underline the inclusiveness of this promise, God repeats four times the phrase “ALL living creatures” in verses 10,12, 15, 16.

God is saying that what just happened will never happen again!  That is unconditional.  No matter what humans do, never again will God respond with a world-destroying flood.  Never again will the cycle of nature be disturbed so totally.  The waters of chaos will never again destroy all life on this planet.
As history has shown, that promise does not mean that floods will never happen again.  They are as much a part of human existence as their dry counterpart, drought.  Floods will happen and, tragically, people will lose their lives.  But life will go on through flood and drought.  That God has promised.
And as subsequent Scriptures would reveal, this promise does not mean that God will never judge the human race again. 

As the next chapters of Genesis reveal, God’s effort to wash the earth clean of sin did not succeed.  We see almost immediately that sin surfaced right in righteous Noah and his family. 

But the holy and just God will not and cannot let sin run wild and ruin his world completely.  So, his judgment will fall upon a sinful world again….and again…and again.  We see it all the way through the nation of Israel’s story.
But never again will it take the form of a universal flood, it will, however, take the form of a universal fire that will completely cleanse the world of all sin. 
2 Peter 3:12-13 puts it this way: “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

God will keep this promise of continued life, even after the fire at the end of this earth.  In the meantime, life on earth is assured by this promise.  It is unconditional and eternal.  The alternative to chaos is covenant, no matter what humans do.

God assures us of that with the sign of a rainbow.
It is the sign of this covenant with all humans and all nature.  I find it so beautiful that God chose this aspect of creation, this natural phenomenon, to point to the certainty of his promise. 
Obviously, there were rainbows before this covenant.  But God chose this spectacular refraction of light after a storm to attest to the firmness of his covenant.

But interestingly, this sign wasn’t directed toward forgetful humans, but toward Himself, our faithful God. 
“Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant….’  Would God forget without the rainbow?  Certainly not.

But God wanted Noah and his descendants to remember what God had said about the rainbow.  Every time you see a rainbow, you can be sure that I am remembering my promise about life.  Every day, all over the earth, rainbows testify about God’s faithfulness to his covenant, because God sees them too, and remembers his promise. 
No matter how sinful humanity becomes, no matter how many storms and floods wreak havoc on the earth, God will not wipe out life on this earth by a flood.

Life will go on: that’s the covenant underlying life on this planet.  God promises physical life for all. 

But there’s a greater promise that we focus on during Lent—the promise of eternal life for all who believe in God’s Son.  The God who cares about all life in this world has sent his only begotten Son into this chaotic, disobedient, rebellious, deadly world to bring life abundant and eternal.

This is the connection for us as followers of Christ during this season of Lent: Jesus came as the rainbow personified.  He was the sign that God is present, and that God is our advocate and not our adversary.
Part of the work for us in this season is to assess how well we are doing in following that example and being that sign to the world around us.

The rending of our collective hearts is in the confession that we may have been more of an adversary to the work of God in the world than an advocate.  Whether we think individually, or corporately, we need to examine the condition of our hearts and ask whether we can look at us, look at the church and declare, “This is the sign!”

And then we need to claim the promise that says our faithful God does help us, even after we have made a total mess of things, and we can return to him once more, and we must.   

Our Scripture reading for this First Sunday of Lent reminds us of the destructiveness of sin. 

But it also reminds us of the persistent grace of God that keeps coming back to humanity, even after The Flood and even after the Cross. 
Together, let us consider the flood and repent. 
Let us remember the covenant and hope. 
​
Let us consider the cross and believe the words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  Amen.
 
A Prayer of Confession for the First Sunday of Lent
To you, Sovereign, do we lift up our souls. We often find ourselves struggling with shame, and we are afraid. Often, we do not know what to believe. We shrink from rigorous pursuit of your ways. Forgive us our laziness; and make us to know your ways; teach us your paths. Lead us in truth and be mindful of your mercy toward us. Deliver us from the sins of our youth; may they not haunt us as we seek you, for your goodness’ sake, O God. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus, the One full of grace and truth. Amen.
 
Assurance of Pardon
Friends, hear the good news: God through Christ has remembered us with kindness and steadfast love. As far as east is from west, so has God removed our sins. Believe the gospel: in Christ you are forgiven.
Valerie Bridgeman Davis, The Africana Worship Book for Year B, Discipleship Resources, 2007, p. 151.
 
Stewardship Prayer                
Righteous God, we mark these early days in the Lenten journey with reminders of your covenant with your people. In your judgement, you sent upon creation the great flood – yet you saved a faithful remnant. You followed with a covenant not to use the flood again. As we prepare to offer our gifts to you, we are reminded that we have been spared from judgment by the one, your son, our Savior, who took on our guilt and bore our judgement. May gratitude for his sacrifice move us to offer not only money, but our whole being. In Christ, we pray. Amen. 
 
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
 
A Sending for the First Sunday of Lent         Power Comes from God Alone
Now and always, may the God of your baptism be the God of your every blessing!
May favor and peace be multiplied to you so much that you have to give some away!
May you forever be reminded each time you encounter water that its power, which comes from God alone, sustains and makes you whole!
Michael Parker, Lenten Liturgical Resources from Africana Writers, edited by Safiya Fosua, 2020.
 
May God’s peace be with you this day.

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February 14th Options

2/13/2021

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Just a reminder that there will be no conference video/call tomorrow with me.
Here's the list of your alternatives:
​
1. Conference offered worship: The Power of One Samaritan
This is a full worship service and can be found on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrL3KFWUXPI&feature=emb_logo
 
This is the link for the sermon only:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcmEB_uLEk&feature=emb_logo
 

 
2. Sermon by Phone. 
Pastor Kim’s sermon for Transfiguration Sunday from February 26, 2017.  Simply dial 717-505-1696.  This is a local call for many of you.
  (I plan to have this done by 6pm today.)  
 
3. You are invited to Pastor Terry Robinson’s Zoom worship, Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
Note: the service starts at 9:00 a.m.  but people can log in anytime after 8:30 a.m. to listen to instrumental praise music.
Topic: Sunday Worship Service
Time: Feb 14, 2021 08:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)



 
4. You are invited to Rev. Jim Shuler’s conference call 9:00 a.m.
The service is 9am each Sunday through FreeConferenceCall.  It is not a toll-free number but you may have long distance either on your cell phones or house phones.
Dial-in Number is: (515) 604-9823                             
Access Code: 497652, followed by the # sign
(Note from Rev. Shuler: I suggest folks call in 5-10 min. ahead of start time to make sure they get on.  If for any reason, they are bumped off, just redial in). 
 
Also.......
Weds 2/17 at 7:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17.   Watch for the congregational mailing sent Monday.  It includes Lenten themes and plans, an activity for every family, and an additional special activity for our children and youth. 
 

Finally, please say a prayer for my sister-in-law Linda Cartwright.  
 
Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!  And remember the words in 1 John 3:18, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
 
God's peace
Pastor Kim
 
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January 3, 2021: Living the Celebration

1/2/2021

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 Greeting                                      Ephesians 3:1 (NIV)
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”                                                  
Call to Worship*         
Blessed be God! Praise to the Father of Lord Jesus Christ!
In Christ we are blessed, in Christ we are chosen
In Christ we belong in the family, adopted
to live in the praise of his glorious grace!
In Christ the great mystery of God is revealed;
In Christ we are called to be blameless and free,
to live in the praise of his glorious grace!
Blessed be God! Praise to the Father of Lord Jesus Christ!
*http://www.conversations.net.nz/ephesians-worship-resources.html
             
Moment of Silence                                  welcoming Christ into our midst
 
“There’s a Song in the Air”                                 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95qWl8LP-fk                                             
 
Scripture                                       
John 1:10-14(NIV)       Ephesians 1:3-14 (NRSV)
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.       
 
Morning Message                     Living the Celebration
Introduction
So, we spent Advent getting ready for the Company that would come: the Christ child born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger.
And now we celebrate that company, the Christ who came to earth to dwell among men.
​
As John said best in John 1, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

And it might seem odd that we now abruptly jump to the book of Ephesians, but really Paul’s writing here is a celebration of the Word becoming flesh: of Jesus who would live and then die on the cross, rise on the third day, and give all men, women, and children, the opportunity to become children of God.
Here in Ephesians 1, Paul celebrates, practically gushes, the blessings we have as followers of Christ, as God’s children.
AND, he reminds us that we are supposed to live out that celebration in our lives every single day.

There are plenty of Bible passages that need to be savored; to be read slowly, lingering on every word for every ounce of meaning and depth.
This is not one of those texts.
The beginning of Ephesians is designed to be read quickly, without taking a breath.

Paul wants you to get caught up in the emotion and the spirit of the words.
This is a passage that is meant to be felt more than understood.
It is to be poured out over the readers and listeners, like a fountain of sparkling water that bubbles and foams and lightens the heart.
When Paul wrote these words, it was done without hesitation or pause.
In Greek, this whole text is one sentence.

Clause after clause pours out as though ideas and thoughts and emotions were weaving together almost on their own.
It’s as if to stop them would be like trying to contain a waterfall, at the top, to keep any from flowing out over the edge.
I imagine the scribe working with Paul had trouble keeping up, because I don’t imagine he stopped to take a breath.
And when these words were written to the Ephesian church, they brought with them great hope and joy.

Joy that must be experienced before it can be believed.
This does not mean that there isn’t anything worth wrestling with intellectually in these verses.
There is plenty of depth here.
And time should be spent digging deep into the themes and promises and hopes tucked away behind the lines and phrases.
It’s just that you can’t move toward understanding, full understanding, until you enter into the spirit.
This passage is like a song that has to be sung before it can be examined, before it can really be understood.
And this morning, we’re going to focus on two specific themes: “blessing” and “believe.”

Blessing
It is first a song of blessing. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us . . .” (verse 3)
This is praise to the source of blessing.
It is an acknowledgement of the blessings that have poured down over us.
By “us” we mean the church, the chosen, the children of God.
Many commentators point out that this text is like the Jewish berakah, which is the formal language of blessing of God, that is common in Jewish worship and prayer.
So, Paul presents us with liturgy, an act of worship, as we read these verses.
Not only that, but there is a table of contents here for the rest of the letter to the Ephesians—topics that he will return to later are all here in summary form.
Ideas like the mystery revealed, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the will of God, are all touched on in this prelude of grace.
The exceptional thing about this text is that it is wholly God-directed, God-inspired, and God-drenched.
Yet, it also manages to invite us to explore the blessing placed within us.
It celebrates the God who is at work in us and around us.
We were blessed, chosen, destined for adoption, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace, taught the mystery, given an inheritance, so that we might live for the praise of God.

It is about living a life of praise, of celebration, for what God has and is doing in us.
And it is worth dwelling on a few things in this amazing list of blessings.
You can choose which ones speak to you most deeply, as you seek to live the celebration of Emanuel, God with us.
But consider theis first.

First the mystery: verse 9, “He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure”
Paul speaks of the mystery seven times in this short letter.
It is obviously central to the thinking in the letter.
In fact, it is a mystery that is no longer a mystery. 
In the Greek, mystery (musterion) has a number of meanings, but for Paul it refers to the supreme redemptive revelation of God through the gospel of Christ.

Paul presents it to us as a gift, as the knowledge that will lead us through this life, that God is working through Christ to gather all things together unto Himself.

Now let’s dwell on that for a moment.  Gathering all things.  Verses 9 and 10, “He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 
Gather up all things in heaven and on earth: We cannot imagine that gathering up, can we?

Especially when it comes to people: all political parties gathered up, all races gathered up, broken families gathered up, gathered up nicely in peace and in joy, united in Christ.
Even among Christians we struggle to see any of us gathering well, even our own denomination.
Yet, here we read that in the fullness of time, God will gather all things up.
We can’t, but God can because with Him all things are possible.
And He will.

Gathering has the meaning of unifying, making one under a single leadership, God in this case.
Scripture supports this: In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.
So, along with this passage, we now know that we are working God’s purposes, we are living out God’s will, when we ourselves are in the business of reconciliation, making one, uniting.
It’s not a mystery because we don’t understand it.
Or that it waits to be revealed.
It is musterion because it is the source of all that we do, the knowledge that drives us.
Above all else, we know that it is our calling and our joy to bind together, to bring together things of heaven and things of earth.
Or as Jesus puts it, to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength,
 and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Blessing.


Believe
The second word we will spend some time reflecting on is “believe.” 
Paul concludes our text by saying, “remember how this worked?”
Remember how you came to faith?
You heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation and you believed in him, and were sealed by the Holy Spirit. You believed in him.
Verses 11-13, “In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.  In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.”
The danger here is this: Too often, we reduce this word “believe” to the barest minimum of meaning.
You made an intellectual decision regarding the idea of Christ.
You agreed with an argument.
You accepted a fact or a truth.
You made the decision to believe that Jesus really did live, then die, then rise from the dead.
And you believe because you believe this you will go to heaven when you die.
And while all these things are true, and I believe them too, this is not the full meaning of the word “believe.”
We believe a lot of things in life.
Like that the Steelers are the best football team ever, or that country music is superior to rock and roll.

But the belief in Jesus Christ is something much deeper than that.
There is a weight to this word that many of us have lost.
What Paul argues here is that when you heard this Gospel, when I brought you this story, this person Jesus, and handed him to you like a gift from above, you changed everything about who and what you are.
You put your life in His hands.
You secured your future to his grace.
You wrapped yourself around him like he was now the air that you breathe and the bread that sustains you.
We cannot be satisfied with an intellectual nod of the head to some cliché belief about salvation.
True belief in Christ is more than head knowledge.  It is also heart knowledge that can be seen in how we live our lives, how we treat other people, how we embrace unity and forgiveness.

Conclusion
And so, we conclude our Advent/Christmas series with this idea once again that we are called to live our faith, not just accept it.
Not just think about it, but to live it fully and wholeheartedly.
Christ has come, and we are now called to open our doors (and hearts) to the wider community because we are called to gather all things together in God as a precursor to the gathering that will be done someday when Christ returns.
We live each day in celebration of that mystery, that hope.
Company has come. Jesus is with us.
My hope for you this year is that you make an unrivaled effort to carry on the spirit of Christmas this whole new year of 2021.
Not with decorations or carols or gifts or cookies.
But by remembering the hope that the arrival of the Christ child brought to the world that first Christmas night.
By living out the celebration of his arrival in your own life.
In the way you love, by being a peacemaker, and by living generously.
May this year be the year in which we all join the great choir of angels by bringing the Good News to all, and singing “Peace on earth.  Goodwill toward men.”
Amen.
 
Response to the Word                              Wesley Covenant Prayer                UMH 607
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
                                          
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
 
“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”                     Blue Hymnal 218
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj1w-a-SbDI
 
Benediction*                              
The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us.
Let Christ’s light shine in the darkest corner of your life.
Let Christ’s love shine in the darkest corners of our world.
God is with us. Alleluia. Amen.
*Ruth Duck, Bread for the Journey, Pilgrim Press, 1981, p.26.
 

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2nd Sunday in Advent, December 6, 2020

12/5/2020

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Greeting
                 Psalm 85:8 

“Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.”
            

Call to Worship            based on Isaiah 40:1-11
One: Listen! The voice of God calls out across the ages.
Many: We hear and respond. We rise up to worship God from the valleys, the mountains, and the plains.
One: Like a shepherd God leads us and tenderly gathers us together.
Many: Comfort, comfort O my people, says our God of love.
All: The grass withers and the flower fades; But the word of our God will stand forever!

https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/11/opening-liturgy-isaiah-40-1-11.html

Prayer of Invocation           in unison
O God,
You call to us from the wild places,
You call to us from the inner chambers of our hearts.
We come in answer to your call.
We come to pray, to praise,
To learn of your love for all creation.
Reveal your glory that we may see it together -
Inform and inspire us to seek your kingdom on earth in our time. Amen.

— From Valleys to Mountains, Service Prayers for the Second Sunday of Advent, was written by the Rev. Penny L. Lowes.  Posted on the Worship Ways website of the United Church of Christ.

Moment of Silence   
   
Lighting the Candle of Love
Our lists are long, even in this strange mess where we live these days. And we want to do it right, we want to be safe, but we want to be able to enjoy the season. We’ve got work to do to put right what has gone wrong, to heal what is broken, to mend the relationships, and to prepare for the company that will come.
The prophet Isaiah reminded us that there is work to be done. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” When God comes in, then healing is to be found, but we need to make the way; we need to open the door into our lives.
So, we light these candles as a sign of God’s love for us, and a sign of our faith that the God we worship is not far from us, and that we can clear the way for that God to come and dwell with us. We light these candles in faith that company is coming. Light candles
O Come, O Come Emmanuel.            

Scripture                                      Mark 1:1-8                   2 Peter 3:8-15a
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.    

Morning Message             Clean-Up Crew
“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Here Mark begins his Gospel by quoting the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40: “A voice cries out: 
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Then, verse 4, John the baptizer appears.  THIS is the beginning of the Good News of Jesus.
Isaiah’s prophecy was written some 800 years before the birth of Christ, and for the nation of Israel it had been four hundred years since they had heard anything from God.
And THEN John the baptizer appeared out in the wilderness, dressed in camel’s hair, eating a diet of locust and honey.
He probably seemed a little odd, but he caught Israel’s attention because he reminded them of someone: someone their parents and grandparents had told them about, someone they had learned about at the synagogue: the prophet Elijah.
John’s appearance stirred interest, but his message was compelling, too.
He preached repentance, and turning away from sin.  But he also preached something they desperately needed, and that was a message of hope.  A message that it wasn’t about him at all.  He was just the one God sent to make the way for that Someone Greater who was yet to come.  And this One, well, John wasn’t even worthy of bending down to fix his sandal straps.
John’s message was of hope: the coming of the Messiah was imminent.
And the people flocked to John in droves.
Last week we talked about the mess that Israel had made of their lives, and Isaiah’s call to clean things up:  A call to return, repent, and be renewed by God.  After years of silence from God, John had been sent in to help, to prepare the way for Jesus.

As Isaiah had said, there were things that needed straightened out.  He used the imagery of the earth: valleys lifted up, mountains leveled, and uneven ground made smooth.  This reminds me of route 322 which I have traveled my whole life.  Because it runs from my home town to State College.
In 1937, route 322 replaced PA-5 between Harrisburg and West Chester.  It has continued to change and improve through the years, and new construction continues even now outside of State College near Potter’s Mills.
But Route 322 didn’t just happen, it didn’t just magically appear one day.  It’s been a lot of work, mountains cut through, ground made even and smooth.  And it has been a process.

And what prophets like Isaiah and John were saying was that the Israelites had some work to do before the Messiah came.  It didn’t involve heavy equipment or asphalt, but there was a process: repent of your sins, return to God, and be baptized as a sign of a changed life.

John was in a sense the “clean-up crew” of the mess, or maybe the foreman of the crew: He was there to help the people through the process.  He was there to help them get ready for the arrival of the Messiah.
And when John challenged the people to confess sin individually, he signaled the start of a new way to relate to God, a personal relationship with Him.  And for that, change was necessary. 

Because to hear and understand Jesus’ message of forgiveness, you have to admit you need forgiveness in the first place.
So, John’s message was really the same as Isaiah’s:  Repent and prepare to receive Christ.  Turn away from the attractions of the world, sinful temptations, and harmful attitudes, and turn yourself toward Jesus.  Then God can work in your life to give you a new start.

For John, the call to baptism was a visible sign that a person decided to change, had decided to give up their old selfish ways, and turn back to God.  It was symbolic of washing away the old life.  BUT, he always taught that while he baptized with water, as a symbol of their changed life, the One who was yet to come would baptize them with the Holy Spirit.  And that baptism would bring about a true change of self, of spirit and mind:

In the Message, Mark 1:7-8 says this: John said, “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out.”

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’” (Mark 1:3).
John appears every Advent to remind us that we haven’t been paying enough attention.   He shouts to wake us up. He dresses oddly to capture our fascination.   He storms up and down the riverbank, asking us to now take the plunge.   He invites us into a changed life in Christ.  A life where Christ changes us from the inside out.

And John is also asking us to participate.  We’ve got streets to level and curves to straighten.  John reminds us that there is work to be done and a response is needed.  John wants us to be participants in the living out of our own salvation.  He asks us to be partners and contributors in God’s Kingdom.  He asks us to join the road crew.

John’s strange appearance and lifestyle drew people to him at first.
This in turn opened the door for him to draw people to the Savior Jesus.
 We are now called to changed lives: lives that are different and cause people to pause and pay attention, like John’s did.  Christ-like lives that offer love, security, and hope.  Lives that say to others “You are invited into God’s Kingdom because he loves you, and Jesus died for you, too.”  We are now to be the bearers of hope in this world until Christ comes again.  And if the world needs anything right about now, it is a message of hope.

I believe even in a year like this one, Jesus asks us to continue this work of making paths straight and smoothing out uneven ground.
I’m also pretty sure that I’m not the only one this year who has had thoughts of His second coming: Maybe this is the year.
Maybe we’ve even thought things like “Where on earth is He?” “What’s holding Him up?” “What can God possibly be waiting for?”  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” we sing.

2 Peter 3:8-15 offers us some assurance, although it may not be the assurance we want to hear:  The Lord isn’t slow, or lagging behind, no, and he hasn’t forgotten his promise.  No, the Lord God is patient.  We are the ones who are not.   We are the ones who get distracted and fall behind.
Verse 9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”
Peter reminds us that the second coming of Christ, His second Advent, is a sure and certain thing, but that day will come like a thief in the night.  Unexpected and surprising, so be prepared, and live a life that helps others to be prepared, too.

Peter writes, “Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.  So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace.”

The glory of Christmas is that there is a silent night, because there is a need to listen and to shut out the distracting noise of the world and our own brokenness.

But Mark reminds us that the Lord’s highway is a two-way street.  Our call is to listen and then to respond.  To announce, to proclaim. To make way:
Isaiah said this: “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" 
“See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”

“He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”
Company’s coming, and we need to make ready.   We need to make ourselves ready, and make our world ready, for the one who comes to lead us home. 
The joy is that we get to be a part of the clean-up crew.  This isn’t a menial task; this is the glory of the Lord. 
​

Our hope lies in the promise that Christ is coming again to take his children home.
May our deepest desire this holiday season be to bring this hope within us, to the world around us, as we wait for that day.  Amen.
        
Prayer of Response        He Came, Wrapped in Flesh Like Ours
One: Holy One, into mess you sent Perfection. 
Many: Wrapped in flesh like ours, flesh that is weak, flesh that makes mistakes, flesh that has a liking for wrong even more than it does for right, you sent Jesus for your people. 
One: However, he never messed up! He never went the wrong way! He never broke your heart! 
Many: May we, those whom you love more than we know how to love ourselves, strive to be more like him. We pray, God, that our lives make room for you to appear. 
All: Powerful God, we are unworthy of even unlacing your shoes, but let all we do bring you glory! In Christ’s precious name, we pray. Amen!

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive
us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.     

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”            performed by a traditional choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xtpJ4Q_Q-4
        
Benediction            God Has been Patient, You Be Faithful
You, with whom God has been patient
You, to whom God has been faithful
You, for whom God has come
Leave this place different than you came
Leave this place changed for the better
Leave this place convicted to live holy
Leave this place waiting for God to show up for you this week.
Go! Go forth happy!
Go forth filled!



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Harvest Home/Reign of Christ Sunday Worship, November 22, 2020

11/21/2020

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Greeting                                   James 1:17
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”                                         
 
Call to Worship for Harvest Home          (inspired by Psalm 100, Deut. 26:9-10)
Shouts of joy!
Songs of praise!
Sounds of hope and love!
These are moments of thanksgiving –
thanks giving to our God!

 
Adonai is our God. Our creator.
We are God’s people, led by God’s love.
These are moments of thanksgiving –
thanks giving to our God!

 
Enter God’s house thanks giving.
Enter God’s house full of praise!
These are moments of thanksgiving –
thanks giving to our God!

God’s love is never ending.
God is good! Alleluia!
 
On this day of the harvest –
we bring our gifts to you, God.
You have brought us into this place
and shared with us this land,
a land flowing with milk and honey,
a land flowing with good things,
Bless this thanksgiving, offered now to you!
In Christ’s name, we ask it. May it be so.
 
~ written by Richard Bott, and posted on Sharing Liturgy. http://liturgy.richardbott.com/
 
 
                      
 
Scripture                      Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT)
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
                       
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.       
 
Morning Message                         Seeing Christ
Main Point: Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

      In his own image.  What would our world be like if we saw every human being as one made in God’s image? What would life be like if we looked at someone, and instead of seeing a demographic, a statistic, or an inconvenience, we saw Jesus Christ?  Let’s begin a prayer for God’s message today.
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus tells of a coming day where the King will separate the people, like a farmer separates the sheep from the goats.
It is said that farmers who keep both sheep and goats do have reason to separate them at times.  While they can mingle together throughout the day, at night time they need separated.  Sheep, because of their wool, can withstand the cooler night temperatures.  Goats cannot, so they have to be herded together to keep warm.

Sheep and goats are used a number of times as illustrations in Scripture.
And, of course, sheep are used as a metaphor for Christians.  Jesus’ followers who know the voice of their Good Shepherd.  And the Good Shepherd who knows his followers by name.

This passage foretells of a final judgement: Not a parable, but actual prophecy from Jesus Christ.  When Christ returns someday, all nations will gather in his presence, and he himself will separate the righteous from the unrighteous.  Notice that while the nations are all gathered, he does not separate by nation, but by individuals, implying that people from all over the world will be part of God’s Kingdom.  Individuals will not be judged by race, ethnicity, or any other category.  They will be sorted out by their righteousness alone.
The sheep representing the righteous will be placed at the right hand of Christ, the goats, representing the unrighteous, will go to his left.
The fate of the unrighteous is made clear in verse 41, “Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.”
Verses 42-43 continue saying, “For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

And the people on Christ’s left are obviously shocked at this charge: “When?  When did we see you and not help you, Lord?’  Jesus replies, “When you didn’t help the least of my brother and sisters, you didn’t help me.”
The charge against those who are castaway, separated from God for eternity, centered on one thing: their indifferent attitude toward Jesus (and His people).
If you read all of chapter 25, you’ll find the parable of the ten bridesmaids, the parable of the talents, and now this scene of judgement after Christ’s return.  One point has been emphasized: the price of indifference is too high to pay.  Doing nothing with what God has given you is not acceptable nor is it excusable.

For the unrighteous on the left, their indifference sealed their doom.
The lesson for us is clear: We cannot afford to be indifferent towards Jesus and His return.  We cannot afford to be indifferent towards the Holy Spirit who makes us ready for the return of Jesus.  We cannot afford to be indifferent towards the resources that God gives us.  We cannot afford to be indifferent towards the needy people all around us.  And we cannot afford to be indifferent towards lost humanity that will stand in judgment.
R. T. France said this: “The ‘guilt’ of the cursed arises not so much from doing wrong things as from failure to do right…to do nothing is seen as the road to condemnation.”

And then there’s the folks to Jesus’ right: the sheep who know him by name.  To them, Jesus says, “Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

I was hungry and you fed me.  I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was in prison and you visited me.  And so on and so on and so on……
And the curious thing is this, something I never noticed before: the righteous asked Jesus the very same question that the unrighteous asked:  When? 
When did we see you and help you, Lord?  And Jesus said, “When you helped the least of my brothers and sisters, you were helping me.”

These are the people who DID see those who were struggling: the cold, the tired, the hungry, the imprisoned, the thirsty.  They saw them and they gave their time, their money, and their resources to help them through their struggles to get them to the other side.  They gave of themselves willingly and generously because they saw the reality of the world around them.

And they didn’t cringe or back away because they were uncomfortable or afraid.  They trusted their Shepherd Jesus to guide them.  They responded to the voice of the Holy Spirit who dwelled in them.  And they pushed through whatever challenged them to help someone else.
And they didn’t even realize that the poor of the world represented Jesus.  They, too, missed that connection.

And notice that Christ didn’t say, “You righteous folks go to my right because you spotted me all over the place, in every man, woman, and child.”
No, the righteous are not commended for spying Jesus in the poor, the hungry, the prisoners.   Because they didn’t.  They just treated all such folks with love.  As God had first loved them, they, in turn, chose to love others.  “Love God and love your neighbor as you love yourself” in action.
And their reward was an eternity in the presence of God Himself, in the home their Savior had prepared for them.
For those who know Christ, that is our hope, too.  And my question to you today is this: what are you thankful for?  How has God blessed you?  Are you thankful for your very life? The life that God breathed into you?  If you are it will be apparent in how you live that life.

Brene’ Brown is a researcher, author, and professor who has done a lot of research on the connection between joy and gratitude.  She says this: "To become fully human means learning to turn my gratitude for being alive into some concrete common good.  It means growing gentler toward human weakness.  It means practicing forgiveness of my and everyone else's hourly failures to live up to divine standards.  It means learning to forget myself on a regular basis in order to attend to the other selves in my vicinity.  It means living so that "I'm only human" does not become an excuse for anything.  It means receiving the human condition as blessing and not curse, in all its achingly frail and redemptive reality."

Sounds a lot like “Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as you love yourself” if you ask me.

Conclusion
Created in God’s own image: What would our world be like if we saw every human being as one made in God’s image?  What would life be like if we looked at someone, and instead of seeing a demographic, a statistic, or an inconvenience, we saw Jesus Christ?  The mark of a true disciple is the love we show for others, Christ-like love.

Henri Nouwen has said this about the disciplined life of a follower of Jesus, “Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you're not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn't planned or counted on.”

Creating a space in which the unexpected can happen.  The elderly man next door who could use help getting groceries: Is there space in your life to help him?  The disabled woman down the street who could use some help cleaning up his yard: Is there space for her?  For the person you never met who frequents the food bank because they can’t afford groceries for their family: Is there room in your budget to help that person?  The person who cuts in front of you at the grocery store: Is there room in your heart to not respond in anger, but to say a prayer for that person instead?

Do you see these people as burdens, or as people God created in his own image?
In John 13:34, Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Is there space in your life to pray with someone, pray for someone, share the Good News of Jesus Christ with someone?
We cannot afford to be indifferent towards the resources that God gives us.  We cannot afford to be indifferent towards the needy people all around us.  And we cannot afford to be indifferent towards lost humanity that will stand in judgment someday.
We simply don’t have time.  Judgment day will come and those who don’t know the Lord as their Savior will be condemned into darkness, separation from God, and eternal suffering.
Are you willing to share the very thing you say you are most thankful for? That6 is forgiveness and salvation by faith in Jesus through God’s unlimited grace.
If we take Matthew 25 seriously, and more-or-less at face value, then we cannot help but be reminded of the famous line from St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.”  
We know that we are saved by grace, and not by what we do.
But grace opens our eyes to see things that maybe we would miss otherwise.  
Grace opens our hearts to see everyone as people made in the image of God, people Jesus died for just like he did for you and me.
And Grace lets us know that if one day we ask the question, “Lord, when did we see you?”  Jesus’ answer will quite probably be, “When not?” Amen.
           
Prayer of Confession During Harvest
Lord God, as we celebrate your goodness so we confront our own sin,
our greed and insensitivity,
our failure to appreciate what we have
and the opportunities you have given,
our readiness to complain,
our unwillingness to praise.
Father, forgive and renew us.
 
Food taken for granted,
work unappreciated and poorly rewarded;
self-centered blindness to other’s needs.
Deliberate deafness to the cries of the hungry,
coldness of heart to those deprived of affection,
Father, forgive and renew us.
 
A landscape threatened and an economy at risk;
a countryside disheartened,
its communities uncertain and confused,
its isolation and exclusion ignored.
Father, forgive and renew us.
 
May our sins be forgiven,
our blindness, deafness and coldness of heart be healed.
May your renewing spirit rest on us
and fill our nation with your love and hope.
In Jesus’ name. 
Amen
~ posted in Resources for the Celebration of Harvest Festival,” from the Farming Community Network.  http://fcn.ehclients.com/assets/Resources_for_the_Celebration_of_Harvest_Festival.pdf
 
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.       
 
“Come Ye Thankful People, Come”        Mormon Tabernacle Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msOzJ6DY7EA
 
Benediction Prayer
Risen Lord of the harvest,
as the wild flower scatters its seeds far and wide,
so may your people scatter the seed of hope in the soils of despair,
bringing to growth those good things that are your gift and promise.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
rest on us and on all our work and worship done in his name. Amen.
~ Christopher Burkett, Harvest for the World, 2002.  Posted at http://www.mothersunion.org/
                            
                        
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November 1st Sermon

11/1/2020

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Sunday Worship, November 1, 2020
 
Greeting                               Matthew 22:37b-38 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
 
Moment of Silence                            welcoming Christ into our midst
 
Call to Worship                  (inspired by Gen. 22: 1-14; Micah 6:8; Deut. 6:5)
What does the Lord require of you?
To do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with our God.
What does God command of us?
To love God with all our heart,
and all our soul,
and all our mind,
and all our strength,
and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
God does not call us to ease or to comfort.
But to presence, and abundance,
and grace in our struggle.
Let us worship the God who believes in us,
and trusts in us, and abides with us.
Let us worship the God who will ask much of us,
but will be beside us every step of the way. 
~ written by Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, Pastor at First Church Congregational, Rochester, NH.  She blogs at http://sermonizing.wordpress.com/
 
Scripture              Matthew 22:34-46           Galatians 5:13-26
This is the Word of God for the People of God.
Thanks be to God. Amen.       
 
Morning Message             Simple Truths
Swiss-born Karl Barth, who died at the age of 86 in 1968, is considered by many to be one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century.
He is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of Christianity.
He breathed new life into Protestant theology during the grim realities of the 20th century.

And he was considered the intellectual leader of the German Confessing Church, which was the Protestant group that resisted Hitler’s Third Reich.
Barth’s writings are extensive and have been translated into practically every language imaginable.
Point being, Barth was not only a Christian, he was a respected, intellectual giant.

He knew all the big words, the words that young men in seminaries love to challenge each other with on a regular basis.
 But here’s the thing, Barth was smart enough to know that some truths are very simple.

Simple enough that even a child can understand.
One day Karl Barth was challenged by someone who asked him what he thought was the most profound of all theological truths.  
Instead of giving some wordy, academic answer using ten-dollar words, Barth simply said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
The person asking the question found Barth’s answer rather charming, but he was also taken back by it.

I mean, what do you say to that?  As a Christian, there’s no debating it.
Barth went on to say, “The greatest truth is the one you already know, the one all Christians know, the one a three-year old can sing about.”
“Jesus loves me.  This I know.”

In Matthew 22:34-46, Jesus was being challenged by the Pharisees.
The Pharisees approached him with this question, “Which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Keep in mind that Jewish Law had more than 600 commandments.
And they wanted Jesus to narrow it down to one.
Verse 35 tells us the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus.
And maybe their question concerning the greatest commandment seems pretty simple, to us anyway.

First, we tend to think of “the Law” not as 600+, but as the Ten Commandments; how hard can this be?  You got a one in ten chance here.
Second, we are Christians, we are Methodists, we are Wesleyans, and we have heard the greatest commandment hundreds and hundreds of times in our life: “You must love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
We’ve heard it, and said it, so much that sadly, it’s become a bit cliché.
So cliché that we neglect to see how profound, and yet simple, Jesus’ answer really is.

And we certainly miss how clever his reply was.
Because in this case, Jesus was cleverly insulting the Pharisees by quoting what is known to all Jews as the Shema.
In Jewish circles the single most famous verse is the so-called Shema from Deuteronomy 6.  

“Shema” is the Hebrew word for “hear” or “listen” and it comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  
The Shema was traditionally recited by every Jewish child and adult at the start of each day and at the conclusion of each day.
In other words, there was no single verse that the average Jew knew better than this one.
So, when Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ trick question by quoting a portion of the Shema, he was throwing back in their faces something they themselves took to be exceedingly basic, something that was second-nature to even the youngest Jewish child.

By quoting the Jewish Shema, Jesus was demonstrating to everyone there that the Pharisees were not really interested in seeing if he could answer their question since even the youngest person there already knew the answer.  
Like the question posed to Karl Barth, this was not a difficult question.  
Like Barth, Jesus took it back to basics.  He kept it simple.
It was like asking Albert Einstein, “Do you know what 2+2 is?”  

And in this case Jesus makes it clear that just asking that question makes them look like the foolish ones.
Because even the youngest child within earshot could answer it.
Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

If you do these things, all other commandments will automatically fall into place in your life.
It is interesting to me that no matter how often we hear these words, no matter how second-nature they become, we still find ourselves asking the question, “Who is my neighbor?” as if we are looking for a way out of this commandment.

Having too many neighbors, after all, could be a burden.
If we had too many, we may have to sacrifice too much in order to care for them.

It’s the very same question the expert in the law asked Jesus in Luke 10.
Jesus answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The moral of that story was pretty clear: You are not supposed to ask who your neighbor is; instead, you are to be a neighbor to everyone you meet.
So, while Jesus’ simple answer shut down the Pharisees that day, the simple truth of his message still stood.
And it still stands today.

And regardless of how many times we hear it or say it, no matter how we try to make it work so that it fits better into our lives, so that it eases us of our responsibilities, Jesus was still teaching a fundamental Christian truth.
It’s the truth that says if we first truly love God with everything we have, then we will love people as He loves people.
 And we will see all people as being made in God’s image, and as individuals Christ came to save.

And the evidence of this belief will be seen in the way we live our lives.
Can we do this on our own? 
No!  God forbid we even try.
We are saved by faith through God’s grace, and we are sanctified in the same manner.

Galatians 5:22-25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
We cannot attain any of this on our own.
But with God’s help, we will!

Matthew 22:37-39 is not a suggestion, it’s is a commandment of God.
It is THE commandment.

Upon which all other commandments hang.
At the end of Matthew 22, in verse 42, Jesus asked the Pharisees this question, “What do you think of the Messiah?”
This is a question we all must answer, and our very lives and eternal security hinge on the answer.
If you believe Jesus, the Messiah is the fully human, fully divine Son of God…
If you believe he shed his blood and died on the cross as atonement for your sin…
​
And if you confess him as Lord and Savior, Scripture says that you will be saved, and born again into new life.
And as God daily works his cleansing power in you, you will grow every day into a more Christ-like human being, and your deepest desire will be to please him in everything you do.
As you grow through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will show you who you really are: a beloved child of God; a sinner saved by the grace of a God who loved you first.  Amen.
 
Prayer of Confession                                Book of Worship 476
O holy and merciful God,
            we confess that we have not always taken upon ourselves the                                    yoke of obedience,
            nor have we been willing to seek and to do your perfect will.
We have not loved you
            with all our heart and mind and soul and strength,
neither have we loved our neighbors as ourselves.
You have called to us in the need of our sisters and brother,
            And we have passed unheeding on our way,
In the pride of our hearts, and our unwillingness to repent,
            We have turned away from the cross of Christ.
            And have grieved your Holy Spirit.
 
Silent confession
 
Words of Assurance                     Book of Worship 476
Church, may almighty God, who caused light to shine out in darkness,
            Shine in our hearts, cleansing us from all our sins,
            And restoring us to the light of the knowledge of God’s glory,
            In the face of Jesus Christ, our Savior.  Amen.
  
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
 
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”                          sung by Fernando Ortega
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl1nL6M7ogc
 
Benediction                             1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NLT)
“And may the Lord make your love for one another, and for all people, grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 13 May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father, when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.”  Peace be with you this day.            
                       
 
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September 27th Message

9/27/2020

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​Sunday Worship, September 27, 2020
Greeting                   Psalm 32:11
“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”          
           
Opening Prayer     
Creator God, you are righteous and merciful; your works are mighty.  As we gather for worship, clear our minds of distractions.  May our thoughts be centered on you. May your word be etched on our hearts; so that our lives may testify to our Savior Jesus Christ. In His name.  Amen.
 
Call to Worship                              Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
    that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
    we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done.
In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels
    in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
    and made the waters stand like a heap.
In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
    and all night long with a fiery light.
He split rocks open in the wilderness,
    and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
He made streams come out of the rock,
    and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
 
Scripture                  Exodus 17:1-7 .            
Morning Message             A Lasting Legacy        
Key Point: Where God leads, God will provide.
Questions:  How does the world see us, and what will we be remembered for?
Is the Lord among us, or not? (Verse 7)
In Exodus 17:1-7, the issue is water: “The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink” (verse 1).
The first thing to note is that they began this journey under God’s leadership (“as the Lord commanded”).  We can assume this refers to the pillar of cloud and fire which guided the Israelites on the various legs of their journey thus far.  God’s very presence was with them, leading them, not only in the form of verbal promises, but visually and tangibly.
In addition to God’s visual presence, the Israelites also had the daily reminder of God’s caring provision in the form of manna, which arrived wherever they were, six days a week.  Signs of divine activity were everywhere.
And yet, with dry, thirsty mouths, the Israelites lash out against Moses: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (verse 3).
The decision to blame Moses points to the central problem in this story.  Israel had still not learned a crucial lesson: where God leads, God provides.
God had secured victory over the Egyptians.  He had enriched Israel with the wealth of their former captors.  He made a dry path through the Red Sea  And God provided regular supplies on their journey through the desert. (Manna, quail, water, protection, his presence 24/7)
If the wilderness stories teach us anything, it is that God provides in every situation.
And still, the Israelites quarrel, complain, and accuse Moses, their divinely appointed leader, for their current situation.
Not once does anyone offer a solution or idea.  No one suggests they pray for mercy from the God who had been with them all along.  In fact, in accusing Moses, they were, in a sense, acting like God wasn’t even there.  Instead of crying out for mercy to God, they questioned his existence, “Is the Lord among us, or not?’
How quickly we, as humans, forget what God has already done.  How sad, that although God did miraculously provide water that day, the Israelites are remembered NOT for their celebration of the miracle, but for their complaining and quarreling.
That would become their legacy.  The naming of this place as Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling) would be forever reminders of their lack of faith.
So, the Lord answers by giving them a sign (Moses’ staff), saying, “Yes, I am with
you in this place, too.”
Since the Israelites seemed to be suffering from selective memory, God gave them a visible sign of his power and might, of what he had already done on their behalf.
Verse 5 & 6, “The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.  I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.”
In response to Israel’s arguing and complaining, God doesn’t just send rain, He stages a dramatic miracle using Moses’ staff. 
The inclusion of Moses’ staff is a significant detail.
The story begins in Exodus 4, when God turns this ordinary shepherd’s staff into a sign of his divine power by transforming it into a snake.  The staff was designed to convince the Israelites that the God of their ancestors had heard their cries and had sent a deliverer.   But it also did something for Moses, who had expressed concern that nobody would believe his story.  God’s promise was attached to this concrete thing—this “sacrament”, this reminder of God’s grace—that gave confidence in God to both Moses and the Israelites.
Even more significantly, however, is the fact that Moses’ staff was used in Exodus 7 to turn the life-giving Nile into a deadly river of blood.   According to Ex. 7:21, the bloodied Nile produced such a horrendous odor that “the Egyptians could not drink its water”.
In Exodus 17, the Israelites needed a similar miracle, but in reverse.   Under pressure to satisfy Israel’s thirst, Moses is told to “strike the rock” at Horeb in the same way that he struck the Nile.   Water came forth and the people were able to drink.
The crisis is averted by divine generosity.  God’s love prevails despite the people’s lack of faith.  Because where God leads, he will provide.
Today, this story is a timely reminder, especially for congregations experiencing disruption, transition, or adversity.   Which is all churches to some degree, thanks to COVID-19.  Because this story has the ability to make us look at ourselves as a church, and reveal how we, too, often struggle to believe that where God leads, God provides.
Like the Israelites, the Church, too, often forgets that God has been there all along.
That God has always provided a way through difficult times, that He most certainly is among, and ahead of, and behind, His children.  God’s people too often fail to remember all that God has already done and begin to quarrel and accuse, instead of seeking God’s face.  We forget the “shepherd staffs” in our own lives and church history.
And unfortunately, many local churches throughout history are remembered for their infighting and divisions.  Sadly, these become their lasting legacy.  These are the things they are most remembered for.  Sadly, every community has its own churches that are modern-day Massahs and Meribahs.
What will we be remembered for?
Bethel Church, let’s be remembered as people who loved God with all our hearts, minds, and strength.  Let’s be remembered as people who loved our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Let’s be remembered as people who rejoiced in all things, people who found the good in difficult situations.
Let’s be thought of as people who refused to quarrel and make accusations against leadership and each other; and instead sought solutions and new ways of doing things.  People who chose to trust God and did not dwell on what has been taken away, who did not forever mourn what can no longer be done.
Let’s be a church who rejoices in what we have been given and embrace these things, using what we’ve been given for God’s glory.
Bethel United Methodist Church: In the Bible the place called Bethel is mentioned 70 times, all in the Old Testament.  Bethel was a place where God could be encountered.  A place where people worshipped and offered sacrifice to the Lord.  A place of promise and hope and transformation.
Let’s move forward into the future not only as people who attend a church named Bethel, but as true Bethel people.
Church, may we be people who seek God every day, and because we seek him, encounter Him daily.  May we be people who worship him in every area of our lives, in our very living and breathing and doing.  May we be generous people who give of ourselves fully and sacrificially, to God, to each other, to our neighbors and community.  May we be seen as God’s people who always trust Him to provide our every need.
In the original Hebrew, Bethel means “house of God.”  A house of God is an earthly, physical place that is seen as the dwelling place of God.  As earth-bound humans, we often need something solid and physical to remind us of God’s presence.
Let’s also remember that in Scripture, Bethel was a place of new beginnings, a starting point really.
So as true Bethel people, may our legacy also be that we are a church who knows that God cannot really be contained in a physical building or location.  That God truly is among us wherever we are.  That He is with us whatever way we gather to worship.  And that where God leads, he most certainly will provide.   Amen.
 
Pastoral Prayer
Merciful God, like the Israelites in the wilderness,
we too have known Your love, and experienced Your care and provision.
You invite us to extend that love to the world around us--
to care for others as deeply as we care for ourselves.
And so we bring the needs of our world before You now.
We pray for the many who do not have enough: enough food to eat, or shelter to keep warm; enough employment, or money to pay their bills; enough medicine or medical care.
We also pray for those who have more than enough, but who still struggle to find meaning and purpose in life; who indulge in dangerous, addictive things to dull their pain or loneliness.
We pray for your blessing and healing on those mentioned here today.  And in these next few silent moments we pray for those on our hearts.  (Silent prayer)
God, your grace reaches out to all of us.
You call us to live as citizens of heaven, working together with one heart and mind.
Strengthen us to live in a manner worthy of the Good News we have received,
offering our lives in service of Your kingdom, where the last are first, and the first are last, and there is grace enough for all.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, Amen.

~ Christine Longhurst, re:Worship
 
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive
us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
 
Benediction                         based on Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen.
Go in peace!
             
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