Where do your Loyalties Lie?

October 26, 2014 Where do your loyalties lie? Matthew 22:34-46 Year A Proper 24 The world series is going on now. I have paid attention to the world series in a while. But the church of the resurrection in Kansas City is excited that the Kansas City Royals are in the world series, and they talk about it on face book quite a bit. And then they made a big deal about the song Royal – San Francisco refuses to play the song as long as the world series is FIRST THINGS FIRST When Coach Bobby Bowden played baseball in college, he never hit a home run. His senior year at Howard College, he was the only player not to hit a home run. One day, he hit a line drive against Auburn. As he approached third, the coach was waving him on. As he made his turn, he heard his third base coach say, "But hurry!" When he touched home, the team was ecstatic, slapping his back and shaking his hand back in the day before "high fives." The first baseman yelled for the catcher to throw him the ball. The umpire yelled, "out." When he ran the bases, Bobby Bowden never touched first. Maybe that's why he became a football coach. Anyway, you can probably imagine he told his players, "If you don't take care of first base, it doesn't matter what you do." Our sermon for today is about first things first. All of the scholars of the time have been questioning Jesus, testing him. In today’s lesson, Jesus is being questioned by the pharisee’s. Jesus if you were to summarize the most important thing in the bible what would it be. Jesus says – First – you must love the lord you god with all of your heart, your mind and your soul. And then you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. The first thing about being a Christian is love. And if you don’t get that right, you can be the best person in the world, your can sing the most beautiful song, you can give the most wonderful gifts – but if it is not done in love, it means nothing. So the first question we may have is what does love mean? Why do we love? How do you love someone? ________________________ What Is the Will of God? "What, positively, is the will of God? The demand for love. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself!" as the second greatest commandment belongs together with the first: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mk. 12:28-34) There is no obedience to God which does not have to prove itself in the concrete situation of meeting one's neighbor, as in Luke (10:29-37), probably unhistorical but with the right of correct understanding of the subject matter, makes clear by combining the illustrative narrative of the Good Samaritan with Jesus' discussion of the greatest commandment. The demand for love surpasses every legal demand; it knows no boundary of limit; it holds even in regard to one's enemy (Mt. 5:43-48). Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, p. 18. Whatever the will of God is, that is also the will of Jesus. I think that it is interesting, that as the concept of love goes beyond our cultural understandings of love. I think that it interesting to note that the middle eastern culture of Jesus would have heard this commandment much different than we do. In the middle eastern culture – love means loyalty. It is not about how you feel inside, it is not even about your actions. When Jesus says love God – he is saying make sure that you are loyal to god in all that you do. To love someone, is to be loyal to them, and to hate them meant to be disloyal to them. To have no relationship with them, to not care about them, to not listen to them. But when you are loyal to someone, you take them into account in everything you think, do or say. So when Jesus asks Peter, do you love me – will you take my commandments into account in everything. Do you plan to be loyal to me. Jesus says if you do, them you will feed my sheep. Jesus made that challenge to Peter and Jesus makes that challenge to each of us. Do you love me? Where are your loyalties in life? What will you forsake, and what will you stick to no matter what. I think that it is important part of our faith to be clear about our loyalties. What is most important, and what do I need to let go of. When I come to church, when I am in service – why am I doing that and what does it mean. What does it really mean to love to the lord with all of my mind, my heart, my soul? And what does it mean to love my neighbor as I love myself? How do you love God with everything, when you are at church, at work, in your family, out in the world. What activities do you do because you love God? Do you sing in the choir? Or work with the kids? Or help to cook meals. Do you learn to forgive others? Do you depend on God for your strength? Do you feed Jesus Sheep? What does it mean to love God, and at the end of the day where are your loyalties – with God or with something else? In talking with Pastor Forbes, she pointed out that there was not just two commandments, but three. Love God, Love your neighbor, but to love yourself. You can only treat others the way you treat yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then you cant love somebody else, not even God. It has been said that a lot of suffer from poor I sight. Not eyesight with our eyes, but I sight with our heart. Text Illustration: POOR I-SIGHT We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see self too highly. Maybe it's the PhD or pedigree. A tattoo can do it; so can a new truck or the Nobel Peace Prize. Whatever the cause, the result is the same. "I have so many gifts. I can do anything." Brazenly self-assured and utterly self-sufficient, the I-focused have long strutted beyond the city limits of self-confidence and entered the state of cockiness. You wonder who puts the "air" in arrogance and the "vain" in vainglory? Those who say, "I can do anything." You've said those words. For a short time, at least. A lifetime, perhaps. We all plead guilty to some level of superiority. And don't we also know the other extreme: "I can't do anything"? Forget the thin air of pomposity; these folks breathe the thick, swampy air of self-defeat. Roaches have higher self-esteem. Earthworms stand taller. "I'm a bum. I am scum. The world would be better off without me." Divorce stirs such crud. So do diseases and job dismissals. Where the first group is arrogant, this group is diffident. Blame them for every mishap; they won't object. They'll just agree and say, "I can't do anything." Two extremes of poor I-sight. Self-loving and self-loathing. We swing from one side to the other. y bump us back and forth. One day too high on self, the next too hard on self. Neither is correct. Self-elevation and self-deprecation are equally inaccurate. Where is the truth? Smack-dab in the middle. Dead center between "I can do anything" and "I can't do anything" lies "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Neither omnipotent nor impotent, neither God's MVP nor God's mistake. Not self-secure or insecure, but God-secure -- a self-worth based in our identity as children of God. The proper view of self is in the middle. [Lucado, M. (2012). Life to the full: 3-in-1 featuring. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.] What are the things that I do to love myself, those things help me to love God. The things that I do to love God help me to love others, in spite of their unlovability. But I have to put first things first. Love – myself, God and others. If my I sight is right –it all falls into place. People say that you cant make someone love you. And Yet Jesus commands us to love. How can he force us to o something that we may not want to do? How can he command us to love? 3218 Love Makes Obedience Love makes obedience a thing of joy! To do the will of one we like to please Is never hardship, though it tax our strength; Each privilege of service love will seize! Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go, And eager to defend a name or cause; Love takes the drudgery from common work, And asks no rich reward or great applause. Love gives us satisfaction in our task, And wealth in learning lessons of the heart; Love sheds a light of glory on our toil And makes us humbly glad to have a part. Love makes us choose to do the will of God, To run His errands and proclaim His truth; It gives our hearts an eager, lilting song; Our feet are shod with tireless wings of youth! —Hazel Hartwell Simon 3219 He Chooses To Be Seraphim It is said that the young son of Bishop Berkeley once asked him the question, “Papa, what do the words, “Cherubim and seraphim” mean?” The bishop took time to tell the little questioner that cherubim was a Hebrew word meaning knowledge, and the word seraphim stood for flame, explaining that it is commonly supposed the cherubim are angels that excel in knowledge and the seraphim are those who excel in love for God. “Then I hope,” the boy said, “that when I die I will be a seraphim. I’d a lot rather love God than to know everything.” —Evangelistic Illustration Finally, I have one more illustration. Perceptions of Church: There for the Right Reasons In her book, Memories of War, Promises of Peace, Sister Mary Jo Leddy writes about her parents' World War II experiences. Her father, Jack, was a surgeon in the Allied army. Jack, stationed in a French town, often went to a nearby church for rest, refuge, sanctuary and prayer. For him it was a special and holy place. Forty years later, he returned to the village with his wife and daughters, insisting that they all visit the precious chapel. When they reached the church, Leddy was delighted and wanted to go inside right away. But the family was horrified by the homeliness of the building. Ugly was the word. The walls were beige stones, stained and covered with fungus. On the roof was something that looked more like a chimney than a bell tower. In any case, there was no bell to ring. Not a single flower or blade of grass grew in the grim clay ground around. Mother and daughters criticized the church's appearance. They remarked that it was like a scene from a Gothic horror movie. Leddy's Dad looked at them rather blankly. In 1944, he had never really noticed what the church looked like. "It looked pretty good at the time," he said. "It was a place to go and pray." Leddy eventually came around to her father's viewpoint. Speaking of the church she writes: "This was where he was at home in the world, where he knew who he was with God." It is amazing how much better a church looks when you are there for the right reasons. Some people use putdowns, and criticism to keep from confronting their own spiritual poverty. When we are in the church for the right reason, and when know where our loyalties lie, when we put love before all other acts, then God promises that we will be happy and live a good life. God’s commandments are always for our own best interest and I sight. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Jesus lesson on love is part of a much bigger story. As I said at the beginning of the sermon – the Pharisees were intentionally testing Jesus. They were asking questions in order for him to slip up. After he gave them the most important lesson on love – scripture says the they could not argue with him and they did ask him any more questions. The stopped talking to him and started plotting against him. Obviously they did not get the message. We can be grateful that we did. Let us pray…. The Greatest Commandment by Brett Blair Passage: Matthew 22:34-40 • Lectionary: Proper 25 Item 4 of 14 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: A working understanding of the Greatest Commandment. Props: None Lesson: I need your help this morning. I am trying to figure something out. Jesus said we need to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. First of all who can tell me about love? What do we do when we love someone? (response) If they answer by describing feelings ask the question again. You have just described feelings of love can you tell me what you DO when you love someone? (response) Now, can you tell what you do when you love God? (response) Maybe this will help: Can you tell me what it means to love God with all your strength? Hold your arms up like your making muscles. (response-if needed, help them with ideas) What does it mean to love God with all your brain? Point to your mind. (response) Alright, what does it mean to love God with all your heart? Hand over your heart. (response) Last one, what does it mean to love God with all your soul? Cross your arms over your chest.(response) Use your strength to help someone this week. Love God with your mind and memorize the Ten Commandments this week. Use your heart and care for someone by telling them you like them. And, love God with your soul this week and pray for someone that is sick or in trouble. These are all things we can DO to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Let's Pray: Lord we love you and we want to love others. Show use how to use every part of body to do your will. Amen. Brett Blair, ChristianGlobe, 2000

Come to the Party

October 12, 2014 Matthew 22:1-14 18th Sunday after Pentecost Year A Come to the Party Text Illustration: Five brothers were walking along a road when they saw a sign: “party tonight!” It announced. “Free food, drink, music, dance.” And best of all, at the bottom it said, “hosted in person by The King.” The first brother read the poster and said, “I’m not interested.” I’m going to stay home and eat leftovers and go to bed early. This is as close to the King as I ever want to be.” The other four were excited to go, and spent the rest of the day choosing their best clothes and getting cleaned up and talking about what it was going to be like. The appointed time came and they set out together. As they neared the hall they could already hear the music pouring out of the windows, and they could see the smiles on people’s faces as they walked in. It was a glorious sight, and they could feel the excitement. The second brother stopped and sat down on the curb. “This is close enough,” he said. “I can sort of hear the music and I can see the people going in. This is pretty good, I don’t want to go any further because I’m not sure what I’ll find. And maybe I’ll get a glimpse of the King going in.” The three remaining walked into the hall together, and the sight was amazing. The smells were incredible, the food unbelievable, the music was supreme. They sat and feasted and enjoyed the party, and could see the King at the head table feasting and laughing and radiating joy. As they finished the meal, the tables were cleared away to make room for the dance floor. The third brother got up and said, “I’ve had enough. My belly is full, I enjoyed the meal, I’m leaving before I have to really join in the party. I got to see the King, this is close enough for me.” As the last two sat there, they saw a beautiful woman walking across the dance floor straight towards them. As she got closer they recognized her as the daughter of the King, who had been seated beside Him at the head table throughout the meal. She approached the two and reached out her hands to them both and said, “Come and dance! My Father saw you and wants you to come and join He and I and the others in dancing for joy!!” One brother looked down at his feet. “No, thanks. This is close enough. Besides, I don’t know how to dance.” “Just let go, I’ll teach you!” said the Daughter of the King. “No,” he replied, I might get embarrassed. This is close enough.” And he got up and left. The last brother also bowed his head. “I’m not worthy. I’m not good enough to dance with the King, and besides, I don’t know how to dance either. I’m afraid He will send me away, or I’ll get it wrong and look silly.” He paused, and looked up into the eyes of the daughter of the King. She repeated the invitation, “Just let go, I’ll teach you!” She reached her hand a little closer, and though his was shaking, he reached up and took her hand. Her faced came alive with a smile, he saw joy in her face, he felt life and boldness and love and exuberance come flooding into him and with joy he followed her across the dance floor to the King, who embraced him like a long lost son and then took both of them by the hand. And then they all danced. That story describes a lot of how we go to church, and more importantly how we manage our relationship with God. God extends the invitation to all people to come to the party. We are all excited about the party, but we don’t all show up. Sometimes we think that just being invited us enough excitement, we don’t even bother to show up. And then there are those who think being near the party is enough for them. And them some of us come to the party, but are determined not to do anything. That is me – I don’t like to dance at parties I will come and sit around and talk about people, but not dance. Some are invited to dance and still say no. Only those who are willing to dance with God, come to know the true joy of God. when was the last time God invited your to dance? And how did you respond? How far were you willing to go? And when did you decide that it was time to sit down? Today I am going to do something a little different, because I want our sermon time to be interactive. I don’t want to be long because I want us to think about our invitiation to dance, and to respond to God’s invitiation. I want us to have time for our new member celebration, but I also want us to remember that the celebration is for all of us. As they take their vows, it is our chance to remember our vows, and to think about what God is calling us to do to get involved in the building of the kingdom of God When I went to the church of the resurrection, in one of our workshops I was struck by one instructor, who said there there is a difference between us saying that we want to grow as a church, and that we are growing. It is a decision, just like coming to the party. Either we are going to stand outside of the party – or we re going to decide to come in and have fun. But growth starts with our relationship with God, and how much fun we want to have to the party. I think that this celebration is a sign that God has invited us and all that we have to do is come. 1266 Record Banquets The largest recorded banquet was given by President Loubet of France to every one of the 22,000 mayors in France in 1900. Indoor banquets, however, is topped by the 10,158-guest, $15-a-plate extravaganza in support of Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago in 1971. Living with God in our lives is a big feast. When we become a part of God’s family, there are thousands of people who are able to come. Some who don’t know that they have been invited. We wont see all of them present here – it would be good if we could get a hundred, and them 200 to come and party with us Jesus liked to party – Jesus especially liked to go to weddings. Because there was always a lot of good food, good music and an opportunity to dance. One king, took pride in his musicans. So he asked to question of them, what instrument was the most beautiful sounding. And the orchestra started to brag about their insturments, of course the clarinet is the best, and the strings spoke up, and the organist talks about all of the beautiful instruments. The drums thought they had to most compelling sound. Even the cymbal player thought his instrument was the best. The king would not choose between them. But he said wait until the party, and I will tell you what the sweetest sound of the party is. The party came, and the instruments were so nervous about being the best, no body played. There was silence, no chatter, no dancing, nothing. Until it was time to eat – the cymbal player led the procession – and the plates started to come our. There was rattling of bowls and dishing, the swoosh of the water, the clanging of silverware. And then the king announces, when you re hungry, the sweetest sound is the sound of a feast being prepared. When you are hungry, it is not the band that you listen for it is the sound of food coming to the table that is the sweetest sound of all. When we are hungry in our soul – the sound of god preparing our feast of joy and fulfillment is the greatest sound of God – How hungry are you in your soul? I invite those who are joining the church to come…… Perhaps you have heard of the family that moved into the neighborhood and the little country church decided to reach out to the family. When they arrived at the doorstep the members of the church were surprised to find that the family had 12 kids and were for the most part poor. They invited the family to services and said goodbye. Later that week the church responded to their need. They delivered a package to the family and said, "We want you to know that you and your entire family are welcome at our church anytime. We have bought you these gifts and we want you to feel comfortable and at ease in our congregation. We hope you can use these," and they left. The family opened the package to find 14 suits of clothing, beautiful clothes for every member of the family. Sunday came and the congregation waited for the family, and they waited. The family never showed. Wondering what could have possibly happened, after lunch the members of the church returned to the home and found the family just getting back, all dressed in their new clothes. "We don't mean to be nosey but we would like to know what happened. We had hoped to see you this morning in church," the leader of the church inquired. The father spoke up. He said, "Well, we got up this morning intending to come. And we sure do appreciate your invitation. But after we showered, shaved, and dressed, why we looked so proper we went to the Episcopal Church." God doesn’t care what we wear on the outside, it is the inside our soul that God wants to see. Children’s Sermon…… Invited To A Feast by King Duncan Passage: Matthew 22:1-14 • Lectionary: Proper 23 Item 5 of 10 | Back to Results Object: envelope that is addressed, a postage stamp (don't put stamp on envelope yet) Good morning, boys and girls. I want you to pretend with me for a moment. Let's pretend I'm going to have a really big party, and I wanted to invite you. How would I send you the invitation? That's right, I'd mail you the letter. Okay, here's my envelope, and I've got your address on it, and I'm all ready to send it out, right? Can I send the invitation out like this? No, I can't. You know why not? It doesn't have a stamp on it. The post office won't deliver mail that doesn't have a stamp on it. (Affix your stamp to the envelope) That stamp shows that you've paid for the mail. After you put the stamp on, then the post office will deliver the invitation. Our Bible story today is about a very special invitation. God invites us all to be a part of His kingdom. He invites us all, every last one of us, to follow Him and live the life He's planned for us. And He put a very special postage stamp on that invitation: Jesus! I bet you never thought of Jesus as a postage stamp, did you? Well, Jesus came to earth to deliver God's invitation to us. He wanted to tell us that God loves us, and God wants us to be a part of His family. And just like a postage stamp shows us that the piece of mail has already been paid for, Jesus tells us that He's already paid for our sins, so there's nothing standing between us and God. So let's pray and tell God that we accept His invitation; we want to be a part of His family. Collected Sermons, King Duncan, Dynamic Preaching, 2005, 0-000-0000-20 Extra illustration Text Illustration: THE MICROSCOPE AND THE BIBLE Many years ago, while on a visit to America, a wealthy Chinese businessman was fascinated by a powerful microscope. Looking through its lens to study crystals and the petals of flowers, he was amazed at their beauty and detail. So he decided to purchase one of these devices and take it back to China. He thoroughly enjoyed using it until one day he examined some rice he was planning to eat for dinner. Much to his dismay, he discovered that tiny living creatures were crawling in it. Since he was especially fond of this staple food in his daily diet, he wondered what to do. Finally he concluded that there was only one way out of his dilemma -- he would destroy the instrument that caused him to discover the distasteful fact! So he smashed the microscope to pieces. "How foolish!" you say. But many people do the same thing with the Word of God. They read it and would like to get rid of it because it reveals their evil nature. (From a sermon by Billy Bevan, Making Light of God’s Call, 5/26/2011)

Anointing

Anointing Exodus 30:22-31 1 Peter 2:4-5 1 John 2:24-27 (Prepared for Student Pastor Jacqueline Forbes) October 5, 2014 God Preparing his people Exodus is the story of God preparing to live in the promisedland. God said that he wanted to bring his people out of slavery and to bring them out into the wilderness, so that they would be free to worship their God. Worship is not just what we do, or what we say – true worship of God is who we are. God wants to have all of our being, and God knew that as long as they were in slavery, they could not give their whole selves to God. We have been looking at Exodus as a part of our lectionary readings. But I am going to take us a little beyond the lectionary today. Once the Isrealites were free of Egypt, Moses needed to teach them how to prepare a tabernacle in order to worship God. Once the tabernacle was completed, God said that everything and everyone that was used for worship must be set apart and made holy in order to be of service to God. Ingredients for anointing In Exodus 30 God gives Moses instructions on how to make special oil to anoint people and things for worship. He gives Moses 5 ingrediants: myrhh, cinnamon, calamus,cassia and olive oil. As I was doing research for this sermon, there are many meanings of these particular ingrediants. Myrhh was used in anointing people for death. In order to serve God, we have to be dead to our own wishes and desires. In looking for these ingrediants, I was reminded to be careful with this oil because cinnamon is hot. We have to be hot with the spirit of God. Calamus is a root the gives off a sweet aroma – Christ calls us to live a life of sweetness. Cassus is the bark of the cinnamon tree- it is very fragrant – out faith should stick out and make others aware of our presence, and finally there is olive oil. In the mediterannean world – olive oil is the essence of life. There is nothing without it. I think it is interesting that none of these ingrediants would have been readily available in the wilderness, but they would have been very familiar with them in Egypt. Also, there was nothing special about each of these ingredient alone. But together they were holy. God tells Moses that this oil was so holy, that no one should try to make it. And that it should be used for only special purposes. In the Isrealite tradition, anointing was reserved for priest, prophets and kings. And eventually, only kings were to be anointed. Eventually they began to speak of the anointed one who would come and save his people. The anointed one was the messiah. Jesus the anointed one The messiah was definitely not Jesus. Jesus was a layperson, not a priest, not a prophet, and he was a carpenter,not a king. Jesus was never anointed with God’s special oil. As a matter of fact, when Jesus begins his ministry, he does not use oil – he says that it is the spirit that anoints him to heal the sick, feed the hungry, free the captives, and to preach the good news of salvation. We call our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is his name, Christ is his title. Now we have always been told that the Jewish word messiah and the greek word Christ mean the same thing – the anointed one. Well I did a little research and discovered that is not true. Messiah is a special person, give a special task anointed with a special oil. Oil that was literally poured over the persons head. Christos does not mean anointed one- it means smeared with ointment. Jesus the common messiah Last week when we went to the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas – Leonard Sweet was the keynote speaker. And he gave an inspiring sermon on the anointing of Jesus. Now according to him – I couldn’t find this anywhere else – but he says that Christos was the name of a common grease that you would keep around the house. It was cheap and easy to come by. In modern times we have become afraid of any type of grease or oil. Never mind the fact that our bodies need to have oil in order to function. Our brain needs it, our hearts need it, our joints need it – but health experts are constantly telling us that greasy stuff is bad for you. It all depends on what kind of grease you use. Christ who can take the heat About 14 years about – I went on this health kick and decided that I would only use healthy ingrediants in my kitchen. I got rid of all of my butter, Crisco, corn oil. I decided that I would only use olive oil in the kitchen. A few years ago I decided being healthy was nice, but being practical made more sense. You see, you cant heat olive oil. Heat makes olive oil break down and disintegrate. So recently I had to make the decision that if I couldn’t use olive oil to fry chicken, then there was really no need to have it in my kitchen. I don’t saute a lot of vegetables. Now mind you, I only fry a about two or three times a year, but my point is that when I do fry, I need something that can take the heat. So common everyday cooking oil came back into my kitchen, along with my butter and other greasy things. Now if olive oil is the high grade oil of today – what is the common everyday oil that used to be in every household kitchen in America – Crisco. They took transfat out of Crisco in 2004 – but I still don’t use it, so if someone wants it they can have it after service, if not I will put it in the food pantry. But I wanted us to think about Crisco – because there is a lesson in this can for us today. Jesus is the Christ of the common person. He is the practical messiah that can be used by the common person. He intentionally didnt want to be anointed with the good stuff – olive oil – he wanted to be anointed with every day Crisco. Paul was the first to call Jesus Christo. Christo was a joke at the time. The jews would have been scratching their head when they heard Jesus Christ. They would be thinking –if he is not a priest, a prophet or a king. Of he has not been ordained – then how is he the anointed one – themessiah. The greeks would have been scratching their heads - Christos means the smeared one. They would be wondering why would you smear a man with Crisco? Why would you smear a man with Crisco? Because we the common people live in a world full of troubles and concerns. I need a Lord and Savior who can take the heat. An olive oil messiah wont do me no good. A messiah smeared in Crisco, prepared to deal with the realities of life is what we need. Christos. Jesus Christ. Why we are Christians And now to take it even further. We are to follow Christ into his anointing. That is why they started calling his followers Christians. We are Christians, not resurectionists, or Easter people, or Jesusonians. Christ means the anointed one – Christians are those who take on his anointing in their own life. 1 Peter says that we are the priesthood of all believers. 1 John 27 says that the anointing that you have received of him lives in you. Christ intentionally chose to be the messiah of the common person. He choose to remain a layperson. And he chose to give us his power, his anointing so we can continue his work in our everyday lives. Honor student pastor On this day we want to honor the ministry of our sister, Jacqueline Forbes. At his point in her life, Jacqueline is a layperson. She has not been ordained. Yet she is in seminary, which means that she has started her journey to some type of service to God. While she is here, she is Pastor Forbes, or Pastor Jacqueline. The terms pastor and Reverend are not synomous. Pastor is a role, a job description. Reverend is a title for someone who has been ordained by some denominational church. Pastor Forbes has chosen to wear a robe for worship, which is well within her right. She is not however entitled to wear a stole. A stole is a symbol of ordination. A lot of new clergy like to brag that they have been appointed as Senior Pastor of a church. In the United Methodist Church, Senior Pastor is term for a pastor who has an appointed associate pastor serving under them. My official role in this congregation is pastor. (unless you all want to pay me more money to be senior pastor). But a pastor is simply the shepherd of the flock. I am going through this all pretty quickly. When we use the words anointing, consecration, ordination, these are all terms that have varied meanings according to the situation, the denomination, and who you ask. Today – consecration simply means our acknowledgment of the beginning of Jaqueline’s walk toward specialized ministry. And acknowledgement of her work with us in the coming year. She may share her journey and indeed why this is a time of being set apart. Jacqueline I want to share this story 820 Take All The Keys, Lord Dr. F. B. Meyer came to a crucial, transitional time in his ministry. He sat dejectedly in his study. “My ministry is unfruitful, and I lack spiritual power,” he said to himself. Suddenly Christ seemed to stand beside him. “Let me have the keys to your life,” Christ said. The experience was so realistic that he reached into his pocket and took out a bunch of keys! “Are all the keys here?” “Yes, Lord, all except the key to one small room in my life.” Christ said: “If you cannot trust me in all rooms of your life, I cannot accept any of the keys.” Dr. Meyer was so overwhelmed with the feeling that Christ was moving out of his life because he was excluding Him from one interest in his life that he cried out, “Come back, Lord, and take the keys to all the rooms of my life!” —Walter B. Knight Let this be a moment to be reminded that we are Christians – we share in Christ anointing to heal the sick, feed the hungry, free the captives, and to spread the good news. Amen. Children's Sermon: A New King by Patricia Hatfield Can anyone tell me what a king is? (Listen to the children's answers.) Yes, a king is a leader or someone who is in charge of a country. Do you know what a king does? (Makes laws; leads the army; speaks for the people.) So what do you think a king looks like? (Old or young; tall and strong; wears a purple robe and crown.) Someone who looks like that we expect would surely be a strong and powerful king, able to lead the people in war and in peace. In our Bible story today, we hear how God chooses a new king for the Hebrew people. God tells the priest, Samuel, to go to Jesse, a father with eight sons. The Lord would tell Samuel which one of the eight boys would be the new king. When Samuel arrived at Jesse's house, he saw the oldest son, Eliab. Eliab was very tall and handsome. Samuel was sure this was the son who would be the new king. But God said to Samuel, "Don't pay attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have not chosen this son because I do not judge by how a man looks on the outside. I look at the heart." One by one, Jesse brought seven of his sons before Samuel, but each time Samuel said, "No, the Lord hasn't chosen him. Do you have any more sons?" Jesse answered, "There is still the youngest, but he is out taking care of the sheep." "Tell him to come here," Samuel said. So Jesse sent for him. He was a handsome, healthy young man, and his eyes sparkled. The Lord said to Samuel, "This is the one!" And right in front of the older brothers, Samuel marked David with special olive oil to show that he would be the new king. Did you expect God to choose the youngest son to be king? It doesn't matter to God how old we are, or how tall we are, or what we look like. We can still be a king for God if we have a good heart. Do you think there are any kings here today in our congregation? (Children will probably think this is funny. Mention some of the church leaders such as Sunday school teachers, the board moderator, or the elders.) All these people were called by God to be leaders in our church, to make rules for our church, and to speak for the people of the church. Do any of you think that you will be called by God to be a leader in our church? Probably David didn't expect to be chosen. Perhaps some of our leaders didn't expect to be chosen either. But they are serving God through their good hearts and by what they are willing to do. Let's pray: