Get it While you Can - Repreach of 09/30/07

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington Repreach of 9/30/07 Luke 16:19-31 1 Timothy 6:6-19 16th Sunday after Pentecost Year C September 29, 2019 Children’s Time Warning! Luke 16:19-31 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' " Object: A warning device, like a siren or buzzer. (Begin with your warning device.) What was that, boys and girls? How many of you have heard something like that before? (Let them answer.) Do you know why we use a siren? (Let them answer.) That's right, we want to warn people to get out of the way, to tell them someone is coming who needs to get somewhere in a hurry, and that they want everyone else to get out of the way until they get there. Ambulances use them, fire departments use them, and sometimes the police use them. A siren is a very important thing, and it keeps us from having big wrecks and hurting other people. Of course, you must listen to the warning and pull over if you are driving. A warning is not any good if you don't pay attention to it. Some children do not pay attention to the warnings that their fathers and mothers give them, and they get hurt. I know a child who was warned not to play with matches, and he did. Do you know what happened? (Let them fill in the answer.) That's right, he was burned. Jesus tells us about the warnings that we have gotten in the Bible from God about the way that we should behave, and what will happen to us if we do not listen to the teachings. He said that the reason these things were written was not to scare us, but to warn us so that something terrible would not happen to us. I think that this is a very loving thing for God to do. He warns us about the bad things so that they will not hurt us and cause us great harm. Jesus told stories like this to the disciples and to everyone else who wanted to listen. Some people listened and did what he told them not to do anyway. Those people did not listen to the warning. They suffered what they thought was an awful accident. But it was not an accident, because they had been warned. If you hear a siren and still try to drive down the middle of the street where the fire engine or ambulance is coming, you will have a terrible accident and cause other people to get hurt as well. The same thing is true about not listening to God's warnings that he gives us in the Bible. If we hear the warnings and still cause the trouble, then it is not an accident. We will be hurt, and others will be hurt also because we did not listen. When you read the Ten Commandments, and they warn you about how to live, then you should pay attention to them the same way that you do to a siren. They are God's warning to teach us how to live safely. C.S.S. Publishing Co., CALL IN THE CLOWNS!, by Wesley T. Runk Stewardship Time There are two types of people in the world – those who are rich and those who are poor. This is another stewardship text. We are stewards of our lives and what God has given us. Story of two men, one well off, one suffering. Rich person never took care of the poor. Their fates reversed in afterlife. Rich is not about money – about how we treat others and what we do for them. Are you rich or poor in life, in death, in eternity. What does God call us to do? Luke 16:19-31 Common English Bible (CEB) 19 “There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20 At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. 26 Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’ 27 “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30 The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible There was a man, who spent his whole life dreaming of spending time in heaven, there were so many questions that he had of God, all he wanted in life was to sit at God’s feet and to listen to God’s word everyday all day. Well eventually his dream came true, he died and went to heaven. It was all that he had imagined it to be. He was so happy to see his Lord face to face and to be able to talk with him. There was just one concern that he had in the back of his mind. He noticed that on the first day, when it came time for dinner he was served a bologna sandwich and potato chips. And when he looked down on the people in hell, he could have swore that they were having lobster. The next day he was served a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and the people in hell had steak. And on the third day, while eating his hot dog- he noticed that the people in hell had a full blown buffet - with every good food that he could imagine. Finally, after dinner on this day he thought he would question God – God it seems that the people in hell seemed to have these fabulous meals. I am so happy in heaven, this has been a wonderful time – but I don’t quite understand why the meals are so bland – when the people in hell have a feast every night. God replied – well you know – it is just so hard to cook for two people. I told that story once at a meeting, and a really strict Christian woman looked at me in horror – how dare I talk that way about heaven. But that joke has special meaning for me- because I find that it really is difficult to cook for two people. At least when my son was home – I never really shopped for what I wanted because I knew that he would eat it before I got a chance. But at least when we had leftover – I could force him to eat them until they were gone. Now that it is just me, I get all of these cravings for all of the food that I really want. But after one day – it sits in the refrigerator forever, because I don’t want it anymore, I am not going to force myself to eat old food and it goes to waste. It is just so hard to cook for one or two people. But I guess that really religious woman at the meeting was right – the real point is about heaven. How do we live our lives in order to get there, what happens when we get there, and doesn’t going to heaven give us certain rights and priviledges over the people going to hell? (by the grace of God I am expecting to go to heaven, and I am expecting each of you to be given that same grace – but really, does that mean that we have more rights and priviledges over the people who are going to hell? I think that is a question that could be debated over and over again. Both 1 Timothy and Luke talk about the rights and priviledges of those who are going to heaven. In Timothy, Paul is giving advice to his mentee Timothy. He is addressing those preachers in Ephesus who loved to stir up controversy and to keep the people confused. We have all heard Paul’s advice whether we know anything about the bible or not. Most of us have heard to advice as money is the root of all evil. And yet that is not what Paul says – Paul was not talking about money at all. He actually says the love of money is the root of all evil. Your attitude toward money and all of your wordly possessions is what leads you to heaven or hell. Jesus would agree with that point. It is that craving inside to have more, to be better, to create bigger that drives us to steal more than our fair share of resources intended for all. It is our need to maintain the lifestyle that we think we are entitled to the leads us to forget about the needs of other people. We have to fill up our gas tanks on a regular basis. I have heard stories that in less than fifty years the world will have used up most of the natural oil supply. But when you depend on your car every day to get to work and there is no direct route of public transportation – using up all of the oil in the world is a very distant reality. What we need to get through our everyday lives – is just one example of how our needs and our desires and our cravings control our life. There is just no room for us to think of the big picture of how we affect others and our own future. The media thrives on creating needs in our lives – we are told everyday that it is time for us to buy a new car, - have you seen the Honda commercial where the man actually knocks on the tv and tells you that if you are seeing this commercial that its that time of year again – time to new car. We are also told that we need to update our wardrobe, and that if you really want to be cool – you need to drink Miller beer. These companies spend so much money creating needs for us because they depend on our attititude toward money to survive. They need us to need more, bigger, better, improved. The love of money is not the root of all evil, it is the feeling that what I have is not enough- so I need to get more that is the root of all evil. It is the root of our jealousy, our anger, our disappointment, our need to put our needs before the needs of other people. Because our needs are not only immediate, they are also important. It is 1 Timothy that reminds us that there is great gain in learning to be content with what you have. You came into this world with nothing and you will leave with nothing and God will supply what you all that you really need in the meantime. Paul says that there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment. There are many of us grace filled Christians, who think that God fulfilling our basic needs is a special blessing. When we are given extra money, when we are given more than what we need to survive, when we get that house that we have been praying for – we look at that as a sign that God really loves us, that God has given us special favor. Forgetting that on the day that we were given more, that there are countless others who don’t have enough money, who don’t have enough food, who were not cured of that illness that God loves just as much as God loves us. It is not what we possess that is evil, it is our attitude toward it that is. There is great gain in godliness – not in what we have- but in learning to be content with what we have. God had provided for us as a gift not at a special priviledge over others. Ephesus, where Timothy lived was a very wealthy town. I have walked down the streets of Ephesus myself – the sidewalks are made of marble, and each house actually had heated floors so that you could keep your feet warm in the winter. Paul reminds that people of Ephesus to take the blessings that they had been given to be rich not in possessions, but in good works generosity and the willingess to share. It is okay to have things, as long as you also have the right attitude. Paul would later point out that God blesses us, not because we are special – but so that we can cheerfully share with others. I read a quote from a bishop who put the concept of sharing in a very powerful way. To the hungry belongs the bread you keep, to the naked belongs the clothing in your closet, to the barefoot the shoes you leave to rot, to the needy, the silver you buried. I thought that was a harsh way to encourage us to share – yet definitely something to think about. Actually I learned that in greek the word for community and the word for generosity are the same root – koinania. Being the people of God means to live in both community and generosity. To be willing to not only see our needs, but also see the needs of others around us. There were two men who were in a second story apartment. One of the men encouraged the other to look out the window and to report what he saw. Well I see a woman playing in the park with her children. I see a couple taking a walk – I see, a man sitting on a bench. They walked away from the window – and there was a mirror directly opposite the window and he asked the man to look in the mirror and to once again report what he saw. The man reported – I see a reflection of myself. The other man responded – isn’t that interesting a window and a mirror – both are made on glass. It is just that one has a little silver behind it, and in the presence of that silver all that you see is yourself – when the reflection of all of the people that you saw in the mirror is still there- but you were not looking for them, so you didn’t see them. It is not the love of silver that is the root of all evil – it is our attitude toward silver that is the root of all evil. And I know that most of us here consider ourselves to be grace filled Christians – we think that we don’t have a problem with our giving – we give what we can – but let me ask you, How many of us look in the mirror everday – looking only for ourselves – being totally blinded by what we see. How many of us look in our lives everyday – looking at only our concerns, our needs for the day – never thinking to look for the presence of others. Jesus drives the point home by telling the story of Lazarus and the rich man. This is actually a very old story told in a new way. The Egyptian god of the underworld – Osirus was the one who would give the cup of life to the favored dead – so that they could indeed be renewed and refreshed with new life. Jesus takes this old concept and instead of Osirus giving the cup of life – it is Abraham the father of all of the faithful who gives the cup of new life to Lazarus who had a very tough life, but now that he is in heaven finds rest and comfort, while the rich man who had it all in life finds discomfort and painful realizations. The switching of fate that we expect in heaven. Now in life- the man was not mean, he didn’t do harm to Lazarus, he was not responsible for Lazurus suffering. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even see Lazurus – he didn’t even know that people like Lazurus existed. It wasn’t wrong – but when he got to heaven it was enough to make him feel connected to God. Hell is longing for something that you realize that you can never have. He missed an opportunity of grace that will never be offered to him again. In getting caught up in fulfilling his daily needs – he never even thought to listen to the call of God to be in generous community.- to share what he had with those who asked. Last week a man came into the church to ask for money to get back to Gary Indiana. He had been stuck in Oak Park for 48 hours and no one would give him the money to get home. I gave him $10 to get home and asked that when he got it that he be sure to give $10 to someone else. The day care director chastised me for giving the money – saying that he could have used it for drugs. I explained that I did not give him the money because I thought that he needed it. After 48 hours he could have walked to Gary Indiana, if he was that interested in getting home. But I gave him the money – because I am trying to change the way I see people in the world. How do I respond to people in need. When people are on the street asking for a donation – I make a point not to have anything to give. If I give it all to them – then there won’t be enough to take care of my own needs. Is it God who supplies for my needs or my money. Money is not the root of all evil – our attitude toward it is. How do we determine who much we spend on others and how much we spend on ourselves. How do we determine to trust God in our lives to bless us, not because we are special, but so that we can bless others. The rich man realized that in caring for his daily needs, he had forgot to care for his relationship with God. And now there was no fixing that gap in his life. The man realizes what he cannot redo, but he asks that Lazarus go to warn his brothers who are living the same way. Jesus responds with one of the most ironic lines in the bible – if they are not willing to listen to Moses and the prophets, then neither will they be convinced by someone who rises from the dead. It is Ironic because Jesus is that person for us, who has risen from the dead to give us a message of generous community. It is never too late for us to realize how we have been blinded in life by the things that we look for – and if we look for him, Lazarus is sent to us each and everday to give us a message of God’s love for us. Who is that Lazarus in your life?

A Place for you to be Found

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington September 15, 2019 Luke 15:1-10 Year C Children’s Time….. "'Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?' " Theme: Separation from God; children of God. Visual Aid: A cardboard box containing lost and found items (perhaps a sweater or cap, a pencil, a comb, and so forth). "How many of you have ever heard of a lost and found box, at your school or daycare center?" Several children raise their hands. "Have any of you ever lost anything and then found it again?" Again, several children raise their hands. One of the more outspoken ones says, "I lost my blanket once; it took two days to find it!" I suspect there is an interesting story here, but rather than get into unknown territory I just tell him I'm glad he found it after it was lost. "It's difficult to lose something you really care about, isn't it -- especially if you don't ever find it again. When I was your age, the whole idea of a 'lost and found' box just didn't make any sense to me. Obviously if something was lost, it was lost; if something was found, it was found. How could something be both lost and found? "Finally it dawned on me one day that in order to be found and get taken to the 'lost and found' box, an item first had to be lost by someone else. And since the person who lost it didn't know it had been found, it was still lost. Then the combination of 'lost and found' at last began to make sense. "Have any of you ever gotten lost in a department store or a grocery store?" Once again, several hands go up. Acknowledging their responses with a nod, I continue. "It's a frightening experience, isn't it? I used to be afraid that I might get lost like that when I was your age. I knew if I did, someone would eventually take me to the store's office. Then the store manager would use a microphone to ask in a loud voice, throughout the store, 'Would Kathleen's parents please come to the office. We have your child.' I did NOT want that to happen, so I was careful not to let my parents get away from me whenever we went shopping. Besides, if I did get lost and taken to the manager's office, what guarantee did I have that my parents would even know how to find the office? And if they couldn't find it, I'd really be stuck! It was better not to get lost in the first place. "You know, sometimes people get lost from God, just like in the store. At first I thought, 'God doesn't have a lost and found box to look in. And God doesn't have a store manager either.' Can't you just hear the announcement? 'Would God please come to the office? We have your child.' "However, I was talking with a friend the other day about these ideas and she said, 'But God DOES have store managers, lots of them!' She pointed out that every time any one of us knows of a friend who is hurting and feeling alone and we ask God in our prayers to be with that person, we are, in effect, doing the same thing the store manager would have done. We are saying, 'God, my friend is feeling lost and needing you right now. Won't you please come be with my friend?' "Well, eventually I did get lost in a store -- but it was only a couple of years ago." The children greet this confession with looks of surprise. "That's right!" I assure them. "I was an adult! I had been shopping with my husband and we had gotten separated. I really didn't want to go to the manager and hear the announcement: 'Would Mr. Fannin please come to the office. We have your wife!' "While I was looking for my husband, it occurred to me that he was probably looking for me too. Therefore, it would make more sense if I just stopped where I was and waited for him to find me. I did; he did. "I think sometimes our relationship with God is like my experience in the store. Something catches our attention and we wander away; often we don't know how to find our way back. But we are all children of God, and we need to remember that God is searching for us just as we are searching for God. Sometimes all we have to do is stand still and stop looking long enough to be found." CSS Publishing Company, Inc, Cows In Church, by B. Kathleen Fannin Luke 15:1-10 Common English Bible (CEB) Occasions for celebration 15 All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. 2 The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives. 8 “Or what woman, if she owns ten silver coins and loses one of them, won’t light a lamp and sweep the house, searching her home carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, joy breaks out in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who changes both heart and life.” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Stewardship moment We have the opportunity to join with God in providing for the poor and the oppressed. Our Gifts carry God’s mercy to people who don’t know God’s love in their life in any way. Because we have been blessed by you O God, We are delighted to share. Because there are many who do not enjoy your bounty, we search for ways to help them. Thank you for showing us how to give. As we give let us celebrate with you in helping others find their way. Sermon……… Many years ago a friend of mine who was a high school teacher went to the nearby city for a Saturday shopping trip. She and her young son, who was about 4, were in Woolco and they became separated. By the time she discovered that he was not where he was supposed to be an announcement came over the loud speaker - it was his voice - he gave his name and where he was from (though not exactly as an adult would pronounce the names) My name is ............. and I’m from ............. (adult translation My name is ............ and I’m from .................) for privacy reasons the names have been removed from the internet version and then said, “My mother is lost”. Well, by the time she arrived at customer service to collect him, every colleague from her school was there waiting for her and laughing. Seems that everyone from ............... went to Woolco to shop on Saturdays (I shopped there too, except I went on Mondays!) “My mother is lost” - as far as the little boy was concerned, that was the truth. His mother had wandered off and left him all alone in the aisle with the cars and trucks. All of us are familiar with the feeling of losing something or someone in our lives. All of us are familiar with the feeling of finding something or someone in our lives. I think losing something is one of the hardest things for me to do. Whenever I lose something, there is this urge to replace it, I don’t want to feel the emptiness of doing with it. I am learning to deal with it, sometimes you cant replace every single thing that you lose. Luke is actually the only person who reports these three stories of lost things. I think Mark or Matthew reports two of these stories. But Luke 15 is a story of a shepherd losing a sheep, a woman losing a coin, and a father losing a son. Apparently God hates to lose things also, because Jesus uses these stories to tell about God’s love for us. God always loves us, sometimes some of us, as a matter of fact, all of us get lost in the store by ourselves and we lose our way. Jesus wants us to know that is the whole purpose of Jesus mission here on earth. God feels a sense of emptiness when we are not close to him in relationship, and Jesus came to bring us closer to God. Life is a story of being lost and getting found. It is a story of grumbling in emptiness and celebrating when found, it is a story of feeling empty and then rejoicing. We all have a place in that story. But I think just like to little boy in the first story, sometimes, especially in the church we may be a little confused about where we fit in in the story. Are we the one who is lost, or are we the one who lost something. I wasn’t going to use this story, but it makes a wonderful point. What the World Expects of the Church On a cold, dreary December evening, several hundred people gathered at a large downtown church in Winston-Salem to celebrate the Christmas season. I had gone down a long hallway to help a small boy who was pushing against massive oak doors trying to get outside. The boy appeared to be about 2 years old. He was crying as if his heart would break. I picked him up, thinking he belonged to someone at one of the Christmas parties. Investigation, however, revealed nothing. I rushed outside and spotted an old-model car speeding away in the darkness. Gradually, it began to dawn on me that the child had been abandoned. I made a few calls, and soon the church was filled with people wanting to help in any way they could. Within moments, the local TV stations interrupted their usual programs to ask if anyone knew the identity of the little boy. The next morning, one of the city's newspapers had the child's picture on the front page. Under the picture there was an article describing the events of the evening before. The reporter began his story with this striking line: "Someone trusted the church last night, and the church came through!" It will be a long, long time before I can forget that newspaper headline. So much of the world's future depends on the faithfulness of the "People of God" to the "Great Commission." There is a deep hunger across our land as countless people grope for answers to the deepest questions of the human spirit. The message of Christ speaks to these questions, bringing hope and light to people who now stumble in the dark and live in despair. Our world will be changed as the hearts of people are changed. Evangelism is no longer an option for the church. It is essential to the survival of our world. The line in that Winston-Salem newspaper is a haunting reminder of what the world expects of the church. "Someone trusted the church last night, and the church came through!" May that always be true! Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald, "Someone Trusted the Church," Michigan ChristianAdvocate, May 5, 1997, p. 8. Unfortunately, sometimes in the church, we get convinced that we are the ones who find everyone, and that everyone else in the world that is lost. We know everything about Christ and it is our job to find everyone else. We become like the pharisees that Jesus would have been telling this story to. Even we in the church get lost sometimes. As a matter of fact we are like this little boy. Which Color Would You Be? Ralph Milton tells of the teacher who, for reasons of her own, asked the kids one day, "If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which color would you be?" Think about it. What color would you be? Red or Green? It is a tough question isn't it when you pose only two options. One very wise child answered the teacher: "Striped" The reason I am going on about this point is simple. It seems to me that in the frame of the story - everyone but Jesus is striped. It is the same in the world today. We are a curious combination of the lost and the found. We are striped. We are, in some sense, not completely complete. It is hard language, this language of lost and found, especially for folks in the middle, as most of us are most of the time. It seems too absolute. Rarely are we completely lost. And rarely are we completely found. There is always a part of us that needs to be dragged and cajoled into the light, and there is always a part of us that is already there in the light. For some it is more and for some it is less, but always some part. The wonderful thing is - that God wants us to enter fully into the light. The wonderful thing is that God wants to bless us all richly to keep us safe, to make us strong, to help us be like a Shepherd who really cares for his sheep, or like a poor widow who really values all her coins. Richard Fairchild, Seeking the Lost When I went to visit the Vatican, I took a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica. Even though it is the center of the Catholic Church, there is also a worshipping congregation in the building. The sanctuary as you can imagine is huge and has a lot of history. I don’t remember all of the technical terms of the parts of the sanctuary. I think it is over the altar, there are these four huge post in a square with a dome over it. I want to say there is a fence the connects the post, and there is a opening in the front for one person to come and kneel and pray. As each of us kneeled in that open space, the tour guide encouraged us to look at the fence and to notice that there were 99 candles on the fence surrounding us. The 99 candles represented the sheep in this story who were found, and as we kneeled next to the candles, we were the hundredth sheep that the shepherd has found – welcome home. At some point in each of our lives – Jesus says to each of us – welcome home. I have been looking for you all of this time, I am so glad that you returned to the fold. We are all sinners, Jesus welcomes us all home. Create Him Not The love of God is indescribable but a old Jewish legend does a pretty good job. It describes what happened when God created man. The legend says God took into counsel the Angels that stood about his throne. The Angel of Justice said; 'Create him not … for if you do he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man; he will be hard and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.' The Angel of Truth said, 'Create him not … for he will be false and deceitful to his brother and even to Thee.' The Angel of Holiness stood and said; 'Create him not … he will follow that which is impure in your sight, and dishonor you to your face.' Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy, God's most beloved, angel, and said; 'Create him, our Heavenly Father, for when he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness I will take him tenderly by the hand, and speak loving words to him, and then lead him back to you.' Brett Blair, Sermons.com There is just one more thing that I want to point out about this story of being lost and being found. First of all the first two stories, of the sheep and the coin, neither intentionally ran away, and neither of them did anything to get found. Jesus did all of the work. But the other thing in common in all of these stories is that these were not lone items. The shepherd had 99 other sheep, he could have done without the 100th one. The woman has 11 other coins, if she lost one she would not have been totally broke. Even the father has two sons, one who was very faithful. But they could not deal with the emptiness of losing something. The Paradox of Christian Life There's a strange paradox about the Christian life. Often, it's more about being lost than found. It's more about feeling incomplete than whole. It's more about feeling excluded than included, because many of us live in those places most of the time. But that's why we need redemption. That's why conversion is at the heart of who we are, because we all get lost in the desert, even when we're part of the fold. And we all need someone out there, willing to go looking for us. We're always in the process of trying to turn back, to find our way home again. And it's a struggle. But it's a joyful struggle, because repentance is a joyous activity. It's the endless way that we turn back toward the truth and wholeness. How great is that? And life becomes this process of shouldering one another, of walking each other home. And sometimes we're the carrier, and sometimes we're being carried. But all the time, it's a movement toward wholeness, toward being included again, toward being under one roof again. A sheep. A coin. Two sons. Us. And what joy at being found. Edward Beck, The Joy of Being Lost and Found Finding that one, made the situation whole and complete. That missing son coming home meant that they could be family again. We are found in the spirit of God – God is happy, but we are whole and complete. And that is ultimately all that God wants for us – is wholeness in mind, body and spirit and even in the community of the church. May we all live in the wholeness and wellbeing of God! Let us pray. Amen. Additional illustrations…….. God Loves Me There is a wonderful story about Maya Angelou. She was an active member of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco before her death. She wrote that when she first came to San Francisco as a young woman she became sophisticated. She said that was what you were supposed to do when you go to San Francisco, you become sophisticated. And for that reason she said she became agnostic. She thought the two went together. She said that it wasn't that she stopped believing in God, just that God no longer frequented the neighborhoods that she frequented. She was taking voice lessons at the time. Her teacher gave her an exercise where she was to read out of some religious pamphlet. The reading ended with these words: "God loves me." She finished the reading, put the pamphlet down. The teacher said, "I want you to read that last sentence again." So she picked it up, read it again, this time somewhat sarcastically, then put it down again. The teacher said, "Read it again." She read it again. Then she described what happened. "After about the seventh repetition I began to sense there might be some truth in this statement. That there was a possibility that God really loves me, Maya Angelou. I suddenly began to cry at the grandness of it all. I knew if God loved me, I could do wonderful things. I could do great things. I could learn anything. I could achieve anything. For what could stand against me with God, since one person, any person, with God form a majority now." Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com The Church Is No Place for Joy In church the other Sunday I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother's handbag. He was just smiling. Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said, "Stop grinning! You're in a church!" With that, she gave him a belt on his hind side and as the tears rolled down his cheeks added, "that's better," and returned to her prayers. I wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God, the God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us. Erma Bombeck Create Him Not The love of God is indescribable but a old Jewish legend does a pretty good job. It describes what happened when God created man. The legend says God took into counsel the Angels that stood about his throne. The Angel of Justice said; 'Create him not … for if you do he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man; he will be hard and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.' The Angel of Truth said, 'Create him not … for he will be false and deceitful to his brother and even to Thee.' The Angel of Holiness stood and said; 'Create him not … he will follow that which is impure in your sight, and dishonor you to your face.' Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy, God's most beloved, angel, and said; 'Create him, our Heavenly Father, for when he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness I will take him tenderly by the hand, and speak loving words to him, and then lead him back to you.' Brett Blair, Sermons.com Unconditional Love What is your view of God? The scowling judge waiting to convict you? The disapproving parent whose love you have to earn? Your view of God affects every decision and relationship in your life. Kathleen Chesto wrote to Catholic Digest to tell them about an incident that occurred in her family. Her five-year-old child approached her one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?" Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." I know this sounds trite to some of you, but have you ever really come to appreciate the wonder of God's unconditional love? I dare say that there are some people in this room who don't really believe in unconditional love. You have never received it, and you have never given it. Some of you are still trying to earn your way to heaven. And you are expecting others to earn their way as well. Relax, my friend, and let God love you. Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable that God's love doesn't depend on our goodness; it depends on God's character. Here is this truth expressed in I John 4: 10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com From Table Manners So if I were putting together a sinners table at the Huddle House, it might include an abortion doctor, a child molester, an arms dealer, a garbage collector, a young man with AIDS, a Laotian chicken plucker, a teenage crack addict, and an unmarried woman on welfare with five children by three different fathers. Did I miss anyone? Don’t forget to put Jesus at the head of the table, asking the young man to hand him a roll, please, and offering the doctor a second cup of coffee before she goes back to work. If that offends you even a little, then you are almost ready for what happens next. Because what happens next is that the local ministerial association comes into the restaurant and sits down at a large table across from the sinners. The religious authorities all have good teeth and there is no dirt under their fingernails. When their food comes, they hold hands to pray. They are all perfectly nice people, but they can hardly eat their hamburger steaks for staring at the strange crowd in the far booth. The chicken plucker is still wearing her white hair net, and the garbage collector smells like spoiled meat. The addict cannot seem to find his mouth with his spoon. But none of those is the heartbreaker. The heartbreaker is Jesus, sitting there as if everything were just fine. Doesn’t he know what kind of message he is sending? Who is going to believe he speaks for God if he does not keep better company than that? I saw them eating and I knew who they were. Barbara Brown Taylor, "Table Manners," article appearing in The Christian Century, March 11, 1998, page 257 In 1988, the poet Carol Wimmer, became concerned about the self-righteous, judgmental spirit she was seeing in some people because she felt strongly that being judgmental is a perversion of the Christian faith. So, she wrote a poem about this. It’s called “When I say I am a Christian” and it reads like this: “When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not shouting, ‘I’ve been saved!’ I’m whispering, ‘I get lost!’ That’s why I chose this way. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t speak with human pride. I’m confessing that I stumble – needing God to be my guide. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not trying to be strong. I’m professing that I’m weak and pray for strength to carry on. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not bragging of success. I’m admitting that I’ve failed and cannot ever pay the debt. When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t think I know it all. I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught. When I say ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I’m worth it. When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartache which is why I seek His name. When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I do not wish to judge. I have no authority – I only know I’m loved.” James W. Moore, quoting Carol Wimmer, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Looking for Me! There's an old, old story, that I think is still funny. The phone rings and a little boy answers in a whisper: "Hello?" The caller says: "Hi, is your Mommy there? "Yes!" "Can I talk to her?" "No!" "Why not?" "She's busy." "What about your Daddy, can I talk to him?" "No! He's busy." "Well, is there anyone else there?" "My little sister." "Is there anyone else there? Another adult?" "Uh, huh. The police." "Can I talk to one of them?" "No, they're busy." "Is there anyone else there?" "Yes, the firemen." "Can I talk to one of them?" "No, they're busy, too." Caller: "Good heavens, your whole family is busy, the police and fire departments are there and they're busy! What's everybody doing?" The little boy giggled and whispered: "They're looking for me." Today's passage of Scripture is about searching and finding. And that's an old story that illustrates the frantic nature of people who have lost something and are in search of it. Billy D. Strayhorn, Finders, Keepers

All that we have, All that we are

September 22,2019 Luke 16:1-13 15th Sunday after Pentecost Year C All that we have, All that we are Children’s Sermon: Object: A dollar bill Good morning, boys and girls. Our lesson from this Bible is about a man who used his boss' money to win friends. People use money in all kinds of ways. This morning I am going to use a dollar bill to talk about God. Have you ever noticed the pyramid in the left circle on the back? Look at the top of the pyramid. Do you see that eye? The Founding Fathers of our country believed that our strength was rooted in God, and our progress must be under His watchful eye. And so, at the top of the pyramid which represents our strength as a nation, they placed an eye to stand for the eye of God. So, the next time you are feeling very lonely and unloved, ask your Mom or Dad to loan you a dollar bill. Take that dollar bill and turn it around and look at the eye on the pyramid and say to yourself, "God is watching me right now. He loves me so much that everywhere I go His eye follows me. I am never alone, because I am God's child." Stewardship Moment: There’s an old story you may have heard before – a $1 bill and a $20 bill meet each other in a bank teller’s drawer. The $1 bill asks the $20 where have you been? “ Oh I’ve been to places that you have never dreamed of says Jackson’s head to Washington’s head. I have been to fancy restaurants, casinos, shopping malls – every week there is a new place to explore. How about you? Oh my life isn’t nearly as exciting as yours says the one, every week it’s the same old thing: church, church, church. Actually the church dollar has the more exciting life – because it get used for the practical things in life, like keeping the ultility bills on, ensuring that we have a place to gather every week, helping those in needs. The church dollar has a meaningful life. people depend on it, and it helps us to prioritize the important things in life. the money that we give to God has special powers to open the doors of heaven to see past our needs, and know that we have an eternal home to strive for in heaven. Luke 16:1-13 Common English Bible (CEB) Faithfulness with money 16 Jesus also said to the disciples, “A certain rich man heard that his household manager was wasting his estate. 2 He called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of your administration because you can no longer serve as my manager.’ 3 “The household manager said to himself, What will I do now that my master is firing me as his manager? I’m not strong enough to dig and too proud to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I am removed from my management position, people will welcome me into their houses. 5 “One by one, the manager sent for each person who owed his master money. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil.’[a] The manager said to him, ‘Take your contract, sit down quickly, and write four hundred fifty gallons.’ 7 Then the manager said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’[b] He said, ‘Take your contract and write eight hundred.’ 8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted cleverly. People who belong to this world are more clever in dealing with their peers than are people who belong to the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it’s gone, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes. 10 “Whoever is faithful with little is also faithful with much, and the one who is dishonest with little is also dishonest with much. 11 If you haven’t been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 If you haven’t been faithful with someone else’s property, who will give you your own? 13 No household servant can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Footnotes: a. Luke 16:6 Or one hundred jugs (approximately nine gallons each) b. Luke 16:7 Or eighty measures (ten to twelve bushels each) Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible I have to confess that there are weeks like this when Jesus makes my life miserable. Sometimes Jesus says stuff that is just outrageous. And as a pastor I am expected to stand here and make sense of it. Most of the time, the commentators can do damage control and explain the craziness away. And this week they have really tried, but it has done no good. There is no helping this one. Jesus tells the story of a manager, who the boss discovers that he has been doing something wrong and is going to fire him. And he protects himself by calling on all of the people who owe the boss money and lessoning their bill. In their world – saving face and making money is everything so the owner leaves him alone. He actually pats the manager on the back and says good job. But in my bible, cheating is cheating is cheating. And this guy was a cheater. I have been fascinated at how many of the commentators have explained away his behavior – but none have really convinced me. Why would Jesus tell us a story about a cheater. Jesus has a way of telling people what they needed to hear, and saying it in a language that they would understand. The End of the Value of Money In his book, How to Preach a Parable, Eugene Lowry says that in order to understand a parable we must look for the itch before we can feel the scratch. We must sense the tension before we can receive relief from the tension. We must place ourselves in the puzzling setting before we can see the resolution to the puzzle. Lowry calls this "finding the focus of the story." All this talk about participation and finding the focus notwithstanding, what do we do with the steward who is a rascal, making deals with shady debtors and a master who commends the shrewdness of his steward for the deals he makes? What's the sharp point Jesus is trying to make? The sharp point of this parable is that the master commends the use of money for people, instead of for pride, power, position, and possessions. In other words, the value of money and possession comes to a dead end when we die. The sharp point of this parable is that money and possessions will do us no good when we arrive at eternity and face the judgment of God. Ron Lavin, Sermons for Sundays After Pentecost (Middle Third): Only the Lonely, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. I think that there are some important lessons for us as today’s church to get out of this scripture. Fall is the time for us to think about what it means to be good stewards – or wise managers – so we can think about these stories, and how we would handle these situations with all that Jesus has taught us. Like Running a Business There was an interesting legal question posed in The Saturday Evening Post recently. It seems that one lovely Sunday when the sermon was overlong, the congregation rushed, as usual, from its pews on the first syllable of "Amen!" Faithful Abigail, the only worshiper held entranced by the sermon, moved slowly and was trampled. She sued the church and its officials for damages. "Those in charge of the church knew that most of the congregation stampedes after long sermons," Abigail argued. "They should have recognized the danger in the situation. Not being prepared to cope with it, they were negligent." The church's attorney argued like this in response: "A church is a nonprofit organization manned for the most part by volunteers. No one has a right to expect it to be run with the smart efficiency of a business concern. Abigail, therefore, has no real claim." If you were the judge, asks the writer, would you award damages to Abigail? What I found interesting in this hypothetical situation was the characterization of the church. "A church is a nonprofit organization manned for the most part by volunteers. . . No one has a right to expect it to be run with the smart efficiency of a business. . . ." Why not? What if we were as good at what we do as McDonald's is at what they do, or Coca Cola or Microsoft? What if we were as committed to spreading the good news of the kingdom of God as American business is to winning new customers? This is the point Jesus is trying to make. He wants people who bear his name to not only be nice people but to be people who make a difference in the world. Imagine what the world would be like, if the church was just as determined to be the body of Christ, as Apple was to make money? If everybody was as excited about the church as they were about the new apple phone – think of how many people we could reach. This lesson is also about learning to make friends with the world. Everybody was greatful to the conniving steward because he did them a favor, they all wanted to be his friend and welcome him onto their homes. How can we help people understand that Jesus has done so much more for them and they should be grateful. Even in our own lives – where do we place God amongst our priorities? We give to our hobbies, we give to the interest that capture our hearts, we give to our lives – what do we give to God? It is not so much about how much we give, it is about how much of our hearts do we give to God? Do we put God in one corner, and our lives in the other, or do we realize that God comes first in all things. And that we can give to God from what we have. Jesus has a way of using real life examples to teach us, because he reminds us that we live in real life. the church is an institution here on earth, and we have to live in real life sitations. The situations are not different, but how we handle them are. Humor: You Took Me In Henry Ford was known for both his frugality and his philanthropy. He was visiting his family's ancestral village in Ireland when two trustees of the local hospital found out he was there, and they managed to get in to see him. They talked him into giving the hospital $5,000 dollars (this was the 1930's, so $5,000 dollars was a great deal of money). The next morning, at breakfast, he opened his newspaper to read the banner headline: "American Millionaire Gives Fifty Thousand to Local Hospital." Ford wasted no time in summoning the two hospital trustees. He waved the newspaper in their faces. "What does this mean?" he demanded. The trustees apologized profusely. "Dreadful error," they said. They promised to get the editor to print a retraction the very next day, stating that the great Henry Ford hadn't given $50,000, but only $5,000. Well, hearing that, Ford offered them the other $45,000, under one condition: that the trustees erect a marble arch at the entrance of the new hospital, with a plaque that read, "I walked among you and you took me in." Billy D. Strayhorn, Let's Make a Deal In the story of the shrewd manager, the manager was saved by taking a money transaction and making it a friends transaction. He made friends by doing a favor for them. He knew that in the future they would have to return the favor. He insured that he has a lot of friends for a very long time. I still don’t think there is any salvation for his actions. But I think that lesson for us is to conscious that in this world – money is important but it isn’t everything. There are many things in life that money cannot buy – like real friendship, real integrity, a real relationship with God, a real future that we can trust and be careful. We all have to face those decisions and we all have a choice to make. The final words of this verse – is that you cant serve two masters – either you follow the ways of God or the ways of the world. Place for Money Jesus seems to be saying there is a place for money in our lives. It would be foolish to imagine that we could get by without money in a society like ours. As we have noted before, there are some things only money can do. Pay for health care, for example. Many people in our society are facing a crisis because they either can’t get or can’t afford decent health insurance. Fifty years old? Diabetic? Laid off from your job? Just try to find a health insurer who will cover you . . . at any price! I guarantee you that even if you can find it, you can’t afford it. There are some things only money can do. Put a roof on our heads, put food in our tummies, fill up our car with gas. Try to do it without money. Impossible. There is a place for money in our lives. Jesus knew that. He was a most practical man. He knew that there are some things only money can do. Jesus is saying, however, that we are in deep trouble if money has first place in our lives. Money is a nice servant but a terrible master. King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com As we begin to think about our church, stewardship and making decisions about how we support the church all good things to consider. Let us pray….. Additional Illustrations...... The sons of light Luke calls Christians the sons of light. For Luke, sons of the age where the Jews, sons of the world were others, and sons of the light were those who were able to put God first in their lives. When Shrewdness Wins the Day Dan Miller in his book No More Dreaded Mondays tells a delightful story about a farmer many years ago in a village in India who had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the village moneylender. The old and ugly moneylender fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter, so he proposed a bargain. He would forgive the farmer’s debt if he could marry the farmer’s daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal, but the cunning moneylender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. The girl would have to reach in and pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble, she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail until the debt was paid. They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. The sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble. Now, imagine that you were the girl standing in the field. What would you have done? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: (1) the girl could refuse to take a pebble--but her father would then be thrown in jail. (2) The girl could pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from debt and imprisonment. Or (3) the girl could pull out both black pebbles in the bag, expose the moneylender as a cheat, and likely incite his immediate revenge. Here is what the girl did. She put her hand into the money bag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path, where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. “Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble was black, it would have to be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl would have changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one. Don’t we all love stories where the good guy uses his or her wit and cunning to defeat a villain? It may disturb us when a villain uses that same wit and cunning. And yet Jesus once told his disciples a parable about a dishonest man who did just that. Dan Miller, No More Dreaded Mondays, Broadway Books, 2008. Adapted by King Duncan _______________________ I Have Never Told the Half of It! Sometimes people tease me about speaking about God’s love and grace so much and when they do, I think of Marco Polo. In the 14th century, when he came back to Venice from his travels in Cathay, Marco Polo described the incredible wonders he had seen there. People didn’t believe him and for the rest of his life (and even on his death bed) they tried to get him to confess that he had lied and exaggerated about the wonders he had described. His last answer was: “I never told the half of it!” That’s the way I feel about God’s love and grace – “I have never told the half of it!” James W. Moore,www.Sermons.com

Wonderful Creations

September 8, 2019 Psalm 139 Year C Wonderful Creations 13th Sunday after Pentecost Children’s Time Let the children take turns to look at themselves in a mirror as they pass it around. What parts are you thankful for? God created each of us to be just as we are. God created each part of ourselves to work together as a whole. Thank God for all of us – our face, body talents, personality - gift from God. 3. Give the children pots of bubbles to blow over the baby being dedicated or handfuls of flower petals to throw over the baby and the baby’s family. Explain that, as they blow the bubbles or scatter the petals, they are to pray a silent prayer for the baby or think of a special blessing (give them an example of a blessing to spark their creativity) for the baby. You can do this outside after the service if it isn’t appropriate to blow bubbles in your church. A sheet on the floor can catch drips from bubbles or the flower petals for easier cleanup. If your tradition includes question/s to the congregation asking them to take responsibility for the child, add a question addressed especially to the children and youth of the congregation, e.g. “Will you be a big kid friend (or big brother/sister in Christ) to NAME? Will you look out for him/her? Will you show him/her how to live like Jesus?” Scripture will be read from United Methodist Hymnal - #854 Stewardship moment – Brian McIntyre is the ministry director for Shine FM – he was with us last week. He tells the story of a father who took his son to McDonalds. He bought a large helping of fries and set it in front of his son to eat. He watched his son eat the fries. And decided to grab a fry to eat for himself. The son immediately grabbed the container, and said dad, no get your own fries. These are mine. That is our relationship with God. God provides for us, but when God asked us for that one fry – we grab ahold of the container and say that this is ours – when everything that we have was given by God. Stewarship lesson is that we can share what we have with God as a way of saying thank you. Our chance to give God one fry – excited to give . When we think of God, we think of God as King, as a ruler, as a old man with a white beard. But how many of us think of God as President of the knitting circle. I recently saw a picture of God as a old man sitting down knitting. Psalm 139 says that God knit each of us as a wonderful creation. James Limburg wrote that he has a mother-in-law who has knit Norwegian sweaters for each of the six members of his family. They are beautiful and warm, able to keep out both the cold and the rain. Limburg watched as she knit those sweaters. The process is very complicated, keeping the pattern straight, getting the design just right. But as Limburg points out: “It is complicated to knit a Norwegian sweater. But it is much more complicated to knit a Nowegian! Or an African, or an American.”2 No wonder David exclaims: “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are complicated, sophisticated, welldesigned creatures. Fearfully and wonderfully made—I guess! God the knitter does some kind of knitting. I’ve seen a Frank and Ernest cartoon where the title characters are leaving church wearing less than spectacular clothes. And one says to the other: “The way I understand it, though our clothes may be plain, we have famous-maker bodies.” Yes we do—thanks to the love of God the Knitter. This psalm has one of the most important messages of the bible. Because even though God loves to sit with his friends and knit wonderful creations – God is still the most powerful force in the universe. God is omnipotent, - all powerful, but also God is omniscient – all knowing. God knows everything there is to know. Have you ever been around a know it all – sometimes it can be aggravating to be with someone who thinks they know everything. But God is the real thing – does know everything. God knows everything about everything – since God created everything. But the most important thing that God knows is you and me – God knitted each of us by hand, one by one – God knows every little detail about us. How many hairs we have have on our head, our fears, our hopes , our talents, our future. Everything. Sometimes we may not know those details about ourselves, but God knows. The lesson of Psalm 139 is that God is all powerful, God is all knowing, God is also all present – omnipresent. At the beginning of the serving line in front of the apples at a church picnic, an adult had written a big sign that said: "God is watching, take only one." Well, at the end of the line, next to the chocolate chip cookies, a little boy had written a little sign that said: "Take as many as you want, God is busy watching the apples." The truth is, God is busy watching everyone and everything. I heard about a skeptic who was trying to persuade a little boy that there was no God. He said, "Son, you show me where God is, and I will give you an apple." The little boy replied, "Mister, you show me where God is not, and I'll give you a whole box of apples." In his presence, God is omnipresent. The good news for us according to psalm 139 is that there is nothing that we can go through in life or death that God is not there for us – to support us. One day while out for a walk, he came to a beautiful estate. He saw a little girl (about five or six years old) come running out an iron gate. She closed the gate behind her. Suddenly, she realized that she had locked herself out. She began to cry and beat on the gate hysterically. Quickly, her mother came running to the little girl. She opened the gate, took the little girl in her arms, carried her back inside and comforted her saying, “Everything is all right, honey. You know I wouldn’t leave you out here all alone. You know how much I love you. You knew I would come, didn’t you?” As Rufus Jones saw that young mother coming to rescue her daughter, he remembered that God is like that… and that no matter what the situation is… even at the place of death, “He is there for us”… and Rufus Jones said: “In that moment, I saw with my spirit that there was love behind my shut gate also.” God is there to support us, to lead us, but most importantly to invite us to the knitting circle. No matter who we are – man or woman, whether we know how to knit or not – God still wants us to be a part of the knitting circle. Each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made – Saint Augustine once said, "People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars—and they pass by themselves without wondering."1 More wondrous than the stars that twinkle, the sun that shines, the moon that glows, the lightning that strikes, the thunder that roars, the snow that falls, or the ice that freezes, is what you can see in the mirror. This is a wonderful day – as we celebrate the love of God in the life of these five young men – excited about what God does in their lives, and what they do for our community as they grow together. As they are reminded that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. Made to make a difference in the world. With an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God on their side. They have been invited to join the knitters circle. Each of us have been invited to that sacred circle – God can knit, so can we. A friend recently told me about a popular pastime among some of the young women who attend her daughter’s college. Experienced knitters, they will go to a thrift store and look for a sweater that is past its prime and unravel the yarn to make something new. The practice is known as “frogging,” from the words “rip it, rip it.” In the process, something old and shopworn sees new life in unexpected forms. I thought of frogging when I recently reread Psalm 139, that beautiful paean to the intricate ways in which God has fashioned the human form. The Psalm contains one of my favorite Bible verses: “For you yourself created my inmost parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” It’s always nice to find a proof-text that nicely fits your life, and so I enjoy the fact that here, beyond any doubt, we have conclusive proof that God is a knitter. Now there’s a verse that makes knitters like me happy. Let us all take our place in the knitters circle – the church. Let us pray……Amen. Additional illustrations. Her name is Pascale. She is five years old. She is a very important part of our church family. She is here in the 8:30 service most every Sunday morning. One evening recently, Pascale was watching television with her mom and dad. Suddenly, a news flash showed President Bush walking to a meeting. The President was surrounded by a group of men in dark suits. Pascale asked her parents: “Who are those men with the President? Why are they with him?” Her parents answered: “They are members of the secret service. They go with the President everywhere he goes. They travel with him always. They protect him and take care of him and keep him safe at all times.” And Pascale said: “That’s what Jesus does for me!” Read more at https://www.beliefnet.com/wellness/2006/01/the-god-who-knits.aspx#Xx4Z3QMhd0gsFUhP.99

Living our Best Life

September 1, 2019 Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16 12th Sunday after Pentecost Year C Living Our Best Life Object: If you can find one, a ladybug. If not, a piece of fruit happiness into another person's life. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought this piece of fruit with me not because I want you to think about fruit, but because I want you to think about ladybugs. "œLadybug, ladybug, fly away home!" we say in the little rhyme. But we better know that ladybugs don't heed that advice. Ladybugs were imported to this country because they destroy pests that can kill fruit trees. They also protect other crops, like alfalfa. They're tiny little insects. You can cram 70,000 ladybugs into a gallon container. But without them, we would be in trouble. Who would think that such a small and seemingly gentle creature could be so important to us? They are like tiny angels watching over the food we eat. Looking at ladybugs we would never think of them being so important to us. But they are. Sometimes we look at other people and we don't see anything important about them either, but they are. The Bible tells us that other people can be like angels to us. They can bring good things into our lives and we can bring good things into theirs. Hey, that means we can be angels too. Everyone is a potential angel when they do their best to bring happiness into another person’s life. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Hebrews 13:1-8 The Message (MSG) Jesus Doesn’t Change 13 1-4 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you. Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. 5-6 Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me? 7-8 Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he’s always totally himself. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson Hebrews 13:15-16 The Message (MSG) 13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name. 16 Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson Do you believe in angels? What do angels look like anyway. There was a fascinating story in Time magazine sometime back about Melissa Deal Forth, 40, a film maker in Atlanta. It was about the day her husband Chris Deal died. It was exactly one year after he had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The last months had been gruesome: treatments that could not save him, nights when she could not sleep. But Melissa was sleeping soundly at his hospital bedside on the morning of Jan. 4 when Chris managed, somehow, without being seen or heard, to maneuver himself and his portable IV pole around her, out of the room and past the nurse's station with its 360-degrees view of the ward. All Melissa remembers is being shaken awake at 3:00 a.m. by a frantic nurse who was saying something about not being able to find Chris. Melissa hit the floor running. As she approached the elevator she happened to glance toward the chapel, where she glimpsed Chris sitting with a man she had never seen before. Frightened and furious, she burst through the door, firing off questions. "œWhere have you been? Are you okay?" Chris just smiled. "œIt's fine," he told her, "œI'm all right." His companion remained quiet, his eyes on the floor as though not wanting to be noticed. He was tall, dressed rather like Chris usually did, in a flannel shirt, new Levis and lace-up work boots that appeared as if they, too, had just been taken off the shelf. "œThere was no real age to him," Melissa says. "œNo wrinkles. Just this perfectly smooth and pale, white, white skin and ice blue eyes. I mean I've never seen that color blue on any human before. They were more the blue like some of those Husky dogs have. I'll never forget the eyes." Chris seemed to want to be left alone, and so she reluctantly agreed to leave. When he came back to his room, she says, "œHe was lit up, just vibrant. Smiling. I could see his big dimples. I hadn't seen them in so long. He didn't have the air of a terminally ill and very weak man anymore." "œWho was that guy?" she asked. "œYou're not going to believe me," Chris said. "œYes, I will," she answered. "œHe was an angel," Chris said. "œMy guardian angel." Melissa did believe him. "œAll I had to do was to look at him," she says now, "œto know something extraordinary, something supernatural had happened." She searched the hospital to find the man. There was no one around, and the security guards hadn't seen anyone come or go. "œAfter the visit, Chris told me his prayers had been answered," she says. "œI worried for a while that he thought the angel had cured his cancer. I realize now it wasn't the cure, it was the blessing he brought with him. It was the peace of mind." Chris died two days later. In the 11 years since Chris's death, Melissa says not a day has gone by when she has not thought about the angel and what he did for her husband. "œChris' life could not be saved, but the fear and pain were taken from him," she says. "œI know what I saw, and I know it changes lives. Never, never, never will anyone be able to convince me that angels don't exist." (1) The word angel – means messenger. Someone sent by God to give us a message. I believe that angels come to us in all forms. My favorite kind of angels are living breathing angels that God sends to us in the form of friends. God always sends people into our lives to help us out. Ancient people were always on the look out for angels to come to them. They loved strangers knocking at their door, they believed they were from God. When our scripture says to be on the lookout for angels, he is referencing a story in the Hebrew bible where three strangers come to the tent of Abraham and sarah – Abraham is so excited to see them he offers them hospitality and asks for that special message from them before they leave. – they tell them that sarah is going to have her first child. Hebrews message to us to not only believe in angels, but to expect them. But to always be ready to entertain them. As a matter of fact – that is what church is all about. The Church Is Like a Hospital There was a minister who had a favorite slogan that he often repeated in his sermons. He said, "The church is not like a country club; it's more like a hospital." That's what Jesus was saying here when he gave us the direction, "... do not invite your friends ... or your rich neighbors ... invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind...." You and I are not in the church to impress one another or to win power struggles; we are here to minister to one another in our weaknesses. We are here to be hospitable. Richard W. Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing We are not sure of where the book of Hebrews came from, or even who Paul is talking to. But it is a very special book, with a very special message. It tells us who to be, or more important how to be as followers of Christ. Show love to one another, just like family. Philadelphia – brotherly (and sisterly) love – or we can call it mutual love. A space where there is a giving and a take-. Paul point out that we should extend that mutual love to one another, to the world, and even to those who are not out equal. Soup Like Bread and Wine I love Fred Craddock stories and I haven't told you one in a long time. So here goes. A few years back, Fred was invited to lead some kind of preaching mission in Winnipeg (Friday night ... Saturday morning ... Saturday evening ... twice on Sunday ... you know the drill). When he finished Friday night, he noticed that it was spitting snow. His host told him not to worry, given that it was only mid-October. "Good," said Fred, "because all I brought from Atlanta was this little, thin jacket." Fred went to bed. But when he got up the next morning, he couldn't open the door for all the white stuff that was piled against it. Snow driving. Wind howling. Temperature falling. Phone ringing. It was the host calling Fred's motel room. I hate to tell you this, but we're going to have to cancel this morning's session. Can't tell about the evening. But things look pretty bad. Nobody saw this coming. City's not ready. Plows, not ready. Crews, not ready. Nothing's ready. Worse yet, nothing's open. In fact, I'm stuck in my driveway, meaning that I can't come down to fetch you. So I don't know what you are going to do about breakfast. But I do have an idea. If you can make it out of your room, walk down to the corner ... turn right ... go one block ... turn right again ... and you should be standing within shouting distance of the bus station. There's a little cafe in there. And if any place is gonna be open, it's gonna be open. So Fred curses his luck, zips up his jacket, busts out his door, and goes in search of the little cafe. Two rights. Bus station. There it is. Wonder of wonders, it's open. But it's also crowded. It seems as if every stranded soul in the universe is crammed inside. There is no place to sit. But some guy slides down the bench and makes room for Fred to squeeze in. Waiter comes over ... big burly guy ... non-shaven ... wearing half the kitchen on his apron. "Whatcha want?" he snarls. "Can I see a menu?" Fred asks. "Don't need no menu," the waiter answers. "Didn't get no deliveries this morning. All we got is soup." "Well then," says Fred, "soup it is. I like a little breakfast soup from time to time." So the soup comes in a rather tallish mug. Looks awful. Shade of mousey gray.Fred half-wonders if that's what it could be ... cream of mouse. So he doesn't eat it. But he does use the mug as a stove ... cupping his fingers around it ... warming them on it. Which is when the door opens once more. Wind howls. Cold surges. "Shut the blankety-blank door," someone shouts. Lady enters. Thin coat. No hat. Ice crystals in her hair and eyebrows. Maybe 40. Painfully skinny. Men slide over to make room for her at another table. "Whatcha want?" shouts the guy with the greasy apron. "I'll just have a glass of water," she answers. "Look lady," he says. "We're crowded in here. We don't give no glasses of water. Either you order something or you leave." Well, it quickly becomes apparent that she isn't able to buy something. So she rebuttons her coat and commences to leave. Whereupon a funny thing happens. One by one, everybody at her table gets up to leave, too. Followed by others ... at other tables. Even Fred (who still hasn't touched his soup) gets up to leave. "All right ... all right," says the soup master. "She can stay." And he brings her a bowl of soup. With order restored, Fred turns to his table mate and says: "Who is she? She must be somebody important." To which the guy says: "Never saw her before in my life. But I kinda figure if she's not welcome, ain't nobody welcome." Which pretty much settled the matter, to the point where all you could hear (for the next few minutes) were soup spoons clinking against the sides of the mugs. Even Fred broke down and ate his soup. Which wasn't half bad, really. Some might even call it tasty. Later on, he still couldn't make out the taste ... but he felt as if he'd had it before. But what was it? He couldn't remember. For the life of him, he couldn't remember. Then it hit him. Strangest thing, really. That cream of mouse soup tasted, for all the world, like bread and wine. That was it ... for all the world like bread and wine. William A. Ritter, quoting Fred Craddock, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Hospitality has been described as creating space for people. Allowing people to be themselves – to feel comfortable in their own skin, around you. Things happen, people start to get the messages that were intended for them. There is a story of a young school boy who went to a Christian school – who said that he wanted to grow up and to become a minister. – when asked why because in chapel listening to the minister, that was the place that he saw Jesus for the first time. He didn’t remember what he was talking about, or even what the ministers name was – but he god God’s message. So my question to all of us – what type of hospitality do we need to be showing to the world today. This week I am just overwhelmed with all of the things that are going on. All of the people and places that need prayer. All of the people in the world that need a space to call their own. When we show mutual love – we are angels, but we are entertaining angels as well. We need to give them the message of Hebrews. Chapter we puts it all together. We are all God’s children – we need one another. We need to reach out to one another. Cross lines – and be willing to help out. Some of the most memorable lines in the bible are in the book of Hebrews. Entertaining angels. God is the same today yesterday and forever. In an everchanging world- there are 5 things that do no change – God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan for our lives. People need to know that. That last line of Hebrews – give God the sacirifice of praise. Hebrew religion was of sacrifice animals, then it moved to ritual. But Jesus came to tell us not what we do, but why we do it. Praise is not just what we do together in worship, it is what we do in our lives. How we carry it out in our lives. Come together in love – be minister to. But the message for the world in so much turmoil – never give up on love. Show it to others – more importantly be willing to give it to others in all that we do. Amen.