The Ultimate Sacrifice

June 28, 2020 Genesis 22:1-14 The Ultimate Sacrifice 4th Sunday After Pentecost/Proper 8 Year A Children’s Sermon Good morning, boys and girls. I’m pleased to see each of you wearing your ribbons this morning. Let’s go over them together. The green ribbon reminds us of life and growth, doesn’t it? And the purple one? That’s correct, that Jesus is the King of kings! Very good. Notice that I’m wearing my green and purple ribbons this morning, too! Well, this morning’s color certainly fits the Christmas season, doesn’t it? What color is it? That’s right, it’s Red. Red is probably the best known color of the Christmas season. Can you name me some things that are red that we often associate with Christmas? Santa Claus. Yes that’s a good answer. Santa’s suit is bright red, isn’t it. Rudolf’s nose? That’s another good answer. Many of the Christmas presents under the Christmas tree are red, too, aren’t they? Red ribbons and bows, red wrapping paper, candy canes ... those are all good answers. Well, this morning I want to tell you about a few more items that make red such an excellent color for Christmas. Here are your red ribbons and one for me, too. Let’s ask the women of the senior choir to help you again as I talk about red as a color of Christmas. Red is the color of blood, of sacrifice. If you would cut your finger, even just a little bit, what would come out of the cut? That’s right, blood. And what color is blood? Yes, it’s red ... bright red. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of God’s Son, Jesus. And Jesus came to this earth to live, and to die. Jesus died on the Cross to save us from our sins. He sacrificed himself, gave his blood, that we might belong to God forever. So with red, we remember to celebrate Christmas, and what it means for God to love us enough that he would sacrifice, give up his own Son. So red is a good color of Christmas. It means a lot more than just Santa Claus, presents, and candy canes, though, doesn’t it? It reminds us that Jesus died on the Cross to save us all! Prelude Opening Prayer Invocation: O God of Christ, in Jesus you came into the midst of the Galileans as one of them. You lived among them as a neighbor. You spoke to them as a friend. You welcomed them as members of your family. And you treated them as brothers and sisters. Come now into our midst, dear God, as you entered into Galilee, and give us the grace to welcome you as neighbor, friend, and Father. Stewardship Moment Our Theme for this week is sacrifice The ram in the bush Nurturing God, who welcomes all who sincerely believe in your sustaining grace, we are grateful that you compassionately offer your children an eternal home. We recognize that this offering is only one way that you call us to practice Christian discipleship. So, combine these financial resources with our talents, prayers, and presence so that we may significantly influence the lives of others who seek your love. Amen. Scripture Binding of Isaac 22 After these events, God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” Abraham answered, “I’m here.” 2 God said, “Take your son, your only son whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him up as an entirely burned offering there on one of the mountains that I will show you.” 3 Abraham got up early in the morning, harnessed his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, together with his son Isaac. He split the wood for the entirely burned offering, set out, and went to the place God had described to him. 4 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place at a distance. 5 Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will walk up there, worship, and then come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the entirely burned offering and laid it on his son Isaac. He took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father?” Abraham said, “I’m here, my son.” Isaac said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the entirely burned offering?” 8 Abraham said, “The lamb for the entirely burned offering? God will see to it,[a] my son.” The two of them walked on together. 9 They arrived at the place God had described to him. Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 But the LORD’s messenger called out to Abraham from heaven, “Abraham? Abraham?” Abraham said, “I’m here.” 12 The messenger said, “Don’t stretch out your hand against the young man, and don’t do anything to him. I now know that you revere God and didn’t hold back your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a single ram[b] caught by its horns in the dense underbrush. Abraham went over, took the ram, and offered it as an entirely burned offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham named that place “the LORD sees.”[c] That is the reason people today say, “On this mountain the LORD is seen.”[d] 15 The LORD’s messenger called out to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I give my word as the LORD that because you did this and didn’t hold back your son, your only son, 17 I will bless you richly and I will give you countless descendants, as many as the stars in the sky and as the grains of sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies’ cities. 18 All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants, because you obeyed me.” 19 After Abraham returned to the young men, they got up and went to Beer-sheba where Abraham lived. Sermon Genesis means beginning. The book of Genesis is the story of how our faith began. The book of Genesis is the story of how our faith began in the context of a family. As that family grew, our faith grew. The book of Genesis is a story book. Many of us are familiar with those stories, we have learned about them as very small children – the story of Adam and Eve, the story of Noah and the rainbow, the story of Joseph and his technicolor robe. No one can tell a story better than a Hebrew father passing his faith on to his children. I try to use a lot of stories in my sermon, but the Genesis stories speak for themselves. Often the lessons that we should learn are within the story. No explanation is even necessary, as we listen to the story, we think of ourselves, we think of our own family – and we suddenly understand. Many of these stories, which are thousands of years old are outdated, but today in our situations we can still get the message. Our story for today – is a familiar story. But it is also a dangerous story – I have been instructed to send the kids out of the room when the talking about this story. Yet this is still a story that we all know – the story of Abraham taking his son Isaac up to Mount Moriah in order to be sacrificed. But once he is willing to sacrifice even his only son – he does not have to because a ram appears in a bush and that is the sacrifice. Times have changed, because I heard this story as a child. And I was not traumatized at the events. We have always been told that the lesson behind the story is God wanted to test Abraham’s faith. Would he really give up his most prized possession if God asked. When God saw that Abraham would indeed do whatever God said, God said that was okay. Somebody said that people are a lot like tea bags, you never know their real strength until you put them in hot water. On Mt. Moriah Abraham passed the test. Perfect score. But, you know something else? God passed the test, too. Abraham obeyed, but God provided and by faith you and I can discover the nature of the God whose hand has provided all that we need. The Lord will provide. Thanks be to God. When we are given a gift, is our relationship with the gift or the giver. Are we thankful as long as we have full use of the gift. This may be a simple child’s story – but the lessons that we teach are much deeper if we look behind the story. Who is speaking, why are they saying that they say, what is the history behind what they are saying, what does this story teach us about who God is, and how God works in or lives. We all have had moments in our lives when we have been tested by life, we have had to make a difficult decision. We had to do something that we do not want to do. And yet we had to decide to do what was right and not what was easy. Abraham was from Canaan, where it was customary that in times of deep stress on your life, we sacrificed your kids in order to appease the Gods. Isaac was Abraham and Sarah’s miracle baby. The child that he thought he would never have. But now it was time to sacrifice him to the Gods. That is what God would want. He was the first in his family to actually talk with God. He would hear God Speaking. And the God of creation actually wanted to have a relationship with him. God was telling abraham that faith was more than just a bunch of rules to follow just because we have always done it that way. It was a willingness to walk with God and to listen to what God is telling us about a situation. God Still Thinks about You Helmut Thielicke says that during World War II, his students often wrote from the battlefield saying, "I am so exhausted from marching, my stomach is so empty, I am so plagued with lice and scratching, I am so tormented by the biting cold of Russia and so dead tired, that I am totally occupied, without the least bit of inner space for any speculative thinking." Sometimes they would write that they were too weak to leaf through the Bible and were even lazy about the Lord's Prayer. Dr. Thielicke would reply, "Be thankful that the Gospel is more than a philosophy. If it were only a philosophy, you would just have it as long as you could keep it in mind and it could afford you intellectual comfort. But even when you can no longer think about God, he still thinks about you." Herchel H. Sheets, When Jesus Exaggerated, CSS Publishing Company In our journey with God, not only does God test us, but God also challenges our definition of sacrifice. Is God telling us to give up our prized possessions or is God telling us to learn to appreciate what we have and to realize that God has already made the sacrifice. For us. There was a young man who went off to college. He was living the life in college, going to parties every night, meeting his friends. He never went to class, he did not have to – he could just pay for the answers on his test. Things were moving along until his senior year. His father got sick, and not only could he not pay the tuition, the son had to come home from school and take care of his parents and their household. As he took over, and started to pay the bills – he saw how much his parents has sacrificed in order for him to go to school. When we saw the sacrifice for himself, he realized how much his parents loved him. Not only was he inspired to take care of himself, but he also was willing to love and support others. This realization of his parent’s sacrifice gave his life a sense of purpose. When abraham started to listen to God and to walk with God, he too got a sense of purpose. He did not have to kill his son in order to make God happy. When he saw that clearly, he also saw that God would provide if he did the right thing. He looked up and saw a ram – and realized that when God calls us to do something, God always provides. God makes the sacrifice, so that we can clearly see our purpose I life, more importantly, our purpose in faith. As we go through this story – we all follow the journey of father and son up the mountain. But there are no words exchanged. We are never told what is going through abraham’s mind as he travels to kill his most prized possession. We are never told what Isaac is thinking as he follows his father until Isaac asks one question, where is the sacrifice? How are we going to worship God if we don’t have a sacrifice. It never occurred to him that he was the sacrifice. We Replace the Lamb In that marvelous vision known as the "Peaceable Kingdom" (which we find in Isaiah 65), there is the image of the wolf and the lamb feeding together. Well, let me tell you a story about that. Back in the days of pre-perestroika Russia ... when hers was a name that made all of us tremble: the Russians brought an exhibit to the World's Fair that was entitled "World Peace." In it was a large cage. And in the cage were a little lamb and a Russian wolf ... feeding peaceably together. As an exhibit, it was most impressive. And as the fair unfolded, it was spectacularly attended. One day, however, somebody asked the curator the obvious question: "How in the world do you do it?" To which he replied: "Oh, it's really very simple. We replace the lamb every morning." William A Ritter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com He was the sacrifice. Just as Isaac was the sacrifice for Abraham. We all know that Jesus was the sacrifice for God. God gave his only begotten son so that we would have life. This story of Abraham and Isaac is a precursor to the resurrection story. God wanted Abraham to know that being faithful and having a relationship with God does not have to hurt. It does not have to be painful. And more importantly God would never ask us to hurt others to appease God. Sacrifice is not about hurting the one’s that we love, it is about giving from the heart. The Hebrew bible says God does not want sacrifice, he wants a clean and contrite heart. Jesus goes even further than that, and says that we should love the lord with our minds, hearts and souls and that we should love our neighbors just the same. As I said, there is very little dialogue in this story, there is just that one conversation with his son. But abraham hears his named called 3 times. First God calls him, then his son calls him and finally an angel calls him. And each time abraham hears his name he says the same thing – hear I am. God calls him to take this journey in the first place, his son asks about the sacrifice, and the angels calls him to say before doing something stupid, look around and examine the situation. The lesson for us? When God calls us – we should obey. When a person calls us we should answer, and when we pray and we hear from an angel – we should be ready to receive God’s grace in our lives. There are lessons for us to learn in this story – whether we are abraham or Isaac. Those lessons – in our daily walk we will be tested and have to make tough decisions, when God gives us a gift we can be grateful, God has made the ultimate sacrifice for us to have a full life, giving our lives to God does not have to hurt. And finally, listen to how God speaks to us through our children and others. There you have it, an outdated story told centuries ago still have a valuable lesson for us today. God is still with us. I want to end my sermon with the words of another pastor, Lori Wagner – she eloquently tells us how God speaks to us today. Today, in the midst of the worst pandemic the world has seen since 1918, we see signs everywhere of those with sacrificial hearts. Whether they are aware or not, these are people “after God’s own heart,” who are willing to put their lives on the line in order to save others. But these are not only people in healthcare, but people who pray for others sacrificing their time and energy, people who give of their limited resources to help others eat, people who risk their reputations to stand up for others who have been persecuted, people who challenge their own assumptions in order to follow God’s heart into a dangerous and unpredictable world. This week, I challenge you to learn from the story of Abraham and Isaac –to listen for God’s voice, to rise to the challenge of God’s call, whatever that may be in your life, to learn God’s heart, to emulate that heart yourself as you immerse yourself in the lives of others. Only when we take on the heart of God, the sacrificial heart of Jesus, and ask ourselves what that means for our own lives, can we truly walk the road of discipleship year after year. May God bless you in your travels. May you stay safe, even as you venture forth a disciple after God’s own heart. Let us pray…… Pastoral Prayer Remind us of the love of Jesus Christ with which you claimed us as your own and we claimed you as our own. Rekindle in us the oneness we experienced when we accepted your invitation to join you in covenant. And let us go forth, renewed and empowered, to enlarge the circle of your covenant people. Make us quick to greet hesitation with generosity, suspicion with acceptance, anger with gentleness, and defensiveness with friendliness. When people ask us who we are, let us reveal whose we are. The world in which we live suffers for want of many things. But the one thing it needs above all others is the love with which you have loved us and for which you call us to become channels. Give us, O God, the will and the wisdom to heed this summons. Reflection Announcements We are invited to come together as a church family next week Benediction O God, in Jesus Christ you taught us that, if we are intent on saving ourselves, we cannot save others. Crucify us unto self that we might glorify you and _____________________________________

The Challenge of Following Christ

June 21, 2020 Matthew 10:24-33 4th Sunday of Pentecost Father’s Day Year A The challenge of following Christ Children’s Sermon Object: A set of scales and a calculator. Good morning, boys and girls: (Father's Day) Have you ever heard someone say, "He's worth his weight in gold." That is one way of measuring value. Suppose I ask you to stand on a scale to find out how much you weigh. If you multiply that number by 16, you can find out how many ounces you weigh (multiply it). You weigh ( ) ounces. Gold recently sold for $1600.00 an ounce. That means you are worth ( ) in gold. That's a lot of money. Actually you are worth more than that. To your parents and other people who love you, you are worth more than all the gold in the world. Jesus was trying to explain to people how much each of us is worth to God, our Heavenly Father. He took a tiny sparrow. A sparrow was practically worthless to most people. You could buy two sparrows for penny. He said to them that God loves sparrows so much that when one of them falls from the sky, God knows it. Then Jesus turned to his listeners and said, "You are many time more important to God than are the sparrows." How much are we worth? You and I would walk a little taller and feel a little more important if we knew just how much we are loved. We are loved more than all of the gold on earth, more than all the birds in the air or fish in the sea. There is no way to measure how much we are worth to Sour parents or to God. In fact, God loved us so much that he gave His own Son in our behalf. Wow! We are loved. Now let's pass that love on to others. That is what people do when they know that they are loved. They pass it on. Why don't you find someone whom you can make feel like they are worth their weight in gold today as well? Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan\\ Prelude Opening Prayer Good morning, this is the first Sunday of summer. One of the longest days of the year – 17 hours of sunlight. As we begin worship this morning, I want to offer this special prayer for the summer God of all light, life and love, through the visible things in this world, you raise our thoughts to things unseen. You show us your power and your love. From the heavens where your dwell, refresh our hearts and renew our love with the lifegiving water of your word. Help us to see a new heaven and a new earth through the eyes of Christ resurrection! Stewardship Moment Scriptural theme for today is being sent out in mission. Knowing that it will not be easy, but that God will be with us. When we give, God will support us. We all know that there are a lot of hurting people – how can we support them? Being faithful with our offerings. Give to God in prayer and gifts and ask God to give relief and know that God hears our prayers. Giving to church is a part of our faith. On this lovely day, at the end of the month of June, we praise and thank you, O Lord. We bring before you our gifts, our lives, our talents. Take all these gifts and use them for work in your kingdom. Bless the gifts and the givers of all gifts. AMEN. Scripture Matthew 10:24-39 Common English Bible (CEB) 24 “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. 25 It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names. Whom to fear 26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open. 27 What I say to you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, announce from the rooftops. 28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a small coin? But not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it already. 30 Even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. Confessing Christ to people 32 “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Trouble in the family 34 “Don’t think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth. I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword. 35 I’ve come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 People’s enemies are members of their own households.[a] 37 “Those who love father or mother more than me aren’t worthy of me. Those who love son or daughter more than me aren’t worthy of me. 38 Those who don’t pick up their crosses and follow me aren’t worthy of me. 39 Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives because of me will find them. Footnotes: a. Matthew 10:36 Mic 7:6 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon I have been a Christian for all of my life. My faith has grown throughout my life for various reasons. One of those really important times was my freshman year in college. I received a phone call very early in the year asking if I wanted to participate in a student led bible study. I am not even sure of why I said yes, but the next week I was in the room of Erica and Kathy studying the bible. I didn’t really consider Erica a big sister, but the bible seemed to make so much sense when she talked about it. I was really encouraged to read the bible for myself. For some reason, the first book that I started with was Matthew. Now, today as a pastor, I don’t know if I would encourage a new Christian to start out learning about the faith through the book of Matthew. As I read each chapter, I became more and more convinced that it was impossible for anyone to be a Christian. You have to give up all your possessions, them walk away from your family, you will be persecuted, all in the name of God. That does not sound like any fun. The good news is that 35 years after reading Matthew – I am still here a faithful Christian. I was willing to overcome all of the threats in order to follow God. That is the message of Matthew – God is bigger than all of the negative things that life can bring. Our lesson for today – chapter 10 is the story of Jesus teaching this first lesson to the disciples. Jesus is talking to the disciples about going out into the world and spreading the good news. There are five major lessons that Jesus teaches in Matthew. We know these five stories, because they all begin with the words “ Jesus teaches his 12 disciples this lesson” I have read these five stories over and over again for the last 35 years. But this time, I was really struck with what Jesus was really saying. Jesus uses familiar sayings to teach a new lesson. There are 4 sections of this scripture with 4 different lessons. And I have to warn you, they get worse not better. The first lesson – the teacher is not greater than the student. On the surface it seems that Jesus is telling us that we need to know our place. Let the teacher do all of the talking, and just sit an listen. Honor the pecking order, you have to earn your spot and wait your turn to lead. But what Jesus is really doing is preparing his disciples for real life mission. Jesus us saying that if they call the teacher a devil, then the students will be called devils also. If you go out in ministry be prepared to get attacked, be prepared for criticism. Each of these lessons is a threat of what happens when you help others, Jesus gives s threat and a promise. The promise is that criticism and painful words cannot stop the mission of God. Even when people are negative – God’s mission will prevail. The second lesson – don’t be stopped by fear. No matter how hard we try we cannot eliminate fear. Fear is a part of our DNA as persons. Fear, just like any other emotions teaches us valuable lessons about the world. Jesus does not tell us to get rid of fear – he tells us to redirect it. Our fear should not be directed at people on earth – but to God in heaven. People can take physical things away from us, but God can take away our soul. Which is a greater loss? Material things can be replaced. Once we lose our soul, only God can replace it. Fear of God keeps us honest and grounded. Throughout the bible – when God has a job for a person, God sends an angel to speak to that person and to tell them not be to afraid. Usually these conversations are said in private one on one to the person. Jesus chooses to shout from the rooftops – be not afraid, God is with you through all of this. Speaking of privacy – Jesus 3rd lesson is that all that is said in private will be eventually made public. Jesus start to meddle in this next lesson – Jesus like most people in his day – lived in a small community where everyone knew each other’s business. As a matter of fact, it was an expectation that you knew your neighbors business better than you knew your own. In that kind of atmosphere, in order to stop others from knowing your business, you would often lie or mislead people about what was going on in life. Which meant that you never knew if your neighbor was telling the truth or protecting their privacy. Which is why in the book of John, whenever Jesus makes a statement he started out his sentence by saying – truly truly I tell you. – in other words you can believe what I am telling you. In a small town where everyone knows your business- how can you develop a trusting community. Jesus says that everything that is said in private will be made public. If you love God in private it will come to light. Who's In Charge Here? A colleague shared about a church he served in Tennessee where an eccentric and flamboyant elder impressed him with her intense commitment to the faith. She did not have a pietistic bone in her body, but her devotion was nonetheless clear and articulate. One evening at a dinner party in her home we were animatedly discussing some theological idea. In the midst of the give and take her teenage daughter, probably frustrated with all of the high-blown discussion of religion, asked, "Mother, you talk about religion all the time. Why are you so religious anyway?" This query brought a loud hush to the dining table. Her mother paused dramatically, pushed her chair back from the table, stood and responded, "Every morning before you are awake, I rise and walk into the living room. I lift my arms and ask, `Who's in charge here?' The answer always comes back: `Not you!' That's why I am religious. Because I am not in charge!" Religious life begins with the realization that we are not in charge, and from there we can proceed to align ourselves to the One who is in charge. Jesus is declaring to the disciples: Go into the world knowing who is in charge and what it will mean to act upon that knowledge! Jesus is clear, however, that to act on that knowledge is not always easy. Author Unknown Now that last lesson is the one that I had a problem with when I first read Matthew – anyone who is not willing to give up family is not worthy to be a follower of Christ. Give up your family? Today, like Jesus times, family is everything. Every culture in the world recognizes the importance of family loyalty. A religious professor tells of a letter he got from a colleague. His sister has ALS and he had to watch her deteriorate. So a note from a colleague reminding him that it was good they were going through this as a family meant everything to him. He knew that bible, but was not afraid to say that his sister was everything. There was not anything that could take his loyalty to his sister away. For most of us family is everything. But family is also the place where tensions arise. Jesus says that he will bring strife between families. He specifically say that he brings a sword to come between parents and children. First you say we have to give up our family, and now you say that you will be the source of family fights. What is the good news in that message? The promise is that God is bigger than our family loyalties. If both sides are focused on God they will come together in Spirit, even though they have differences. Often times parents and children are parts of different generations, with different experiences and different value systems. Someone explained it sort of like in the summer, when cold air meets hot air, a front of resistance develops, and that front develops into a storm. Times of chance are always stormy. Whenever the old order and way of doing things encounters the new way of doing things there is resistance which turns into a storm. Parents and children are at each other’s throats. Yet God is bigger than the storm. God is in the storm. God takes us beyond the stormy weather. We don’t have to lose our families, we can find our families in the spirit of God. If our loyalty lies with God and not our family – we find true loyalty and love. So there you have it – the 4 truths of being a follower of Christ. You cannot overcome struggles of life, you cannot escape fear, you cannot escape small town gossip, you cannot escape family strife. The good news – is that God is in the midst of all of the struggles. We have to learn to love God more than the struggles of life. One person said we have to learn to invite our dragons to tea. A father tells of the time when their family went on a camping trip with their toddler. One morning that mother had to go into town, leaving the father and the son to play together for the day. In the afternoon, the father got tired and wanted to take a nap. The toddler wandered off into the forest by himself. Rather than call him back, the father decided to follow him to see what would happen. For a little while the toddler was having the time of his life, playing with the animals, playing in the grass. But all of a sudden the toddler realized that he was alone. He got quiet and sat on a log. The father showed up to tell his son it was okay – the son did not seem a bit surprised or moved – he expected his father to be there for him when he got lost. In life, we can learn to live with that same assurance, that when we are lost – God is already looking and found us. God is a part of the process. God is with us so that we can be there for others. My final story Another Sunday School story. Two very modern little girls were solemnly discussing the lesson while coming home after church one day. One asked, "Do you believe in the Devil?" The other promptly responded, "No, of course not. It's just like Santa Claus - he's your father." Hmm. Happy Fathers Day. David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons My only point in that story is to say Happy Father’s Day! Let us pray…. Prayer Father, we come before you today humbled and in awe of Your grace and mercy. Lord, we thank You for the way You have designed what a family is supposed to look like and the specific roles You have ordained to a mother and a father of how to lead their children. Yet Lord, through our sinful ways we have taken what You have made holy and created our own version of today’s families. Because of this, our children are suffering. It is for the fathers, families, and children of our nation that we do pray today. Lord, we pray specifically for fathers and fatherhood across our land. Your Word clearly instructs fathers to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). God, we thank You for the men who are leading according to Your statutes and the ones that are laying their lives down for Your purposes. We pray that You will continue to use these men to lead their families and other men. We pray You will strengthen the fathers of our nation and that You will continue to empower churches, organizations, and individuals to invest in fathers and fatherhood for the sake of our children. Announcements The reopening health team has been meeting diligently within the last week, and after church council will have a special announcement about worship on the first Sunday of July. There should also be some other options for worship upcoming. When we go to a version of in person worship, we will still have online options. There will be a special church council meeting this Thursday June 26th at 7pm – to talk about in person worship Happy Fathers Day to all fathers today. Benediction God has given you all that you will need as you reach out in love and caring to others. Go into God’s world bringing the good news of redemption and hope. In Jesus’ Name, go in peace and may the God of Peace go with you always. AMEN. Chrysostom's Commitment Chrysostom was the patriarch of Constantinople in the fourth century. One of the stories surrounding this faithful witness concerns the occasion when the Roman emperor had him arrested and charged with being a Christian. If Chrysostom did not renounce Christ, then the emperor would have this Christian leader banished from the kingdom. Chrysostom responded to the threat by saying that the emperor could not do so, “because the whole world is my Father’s kingdom.” “Then,” replied the emperor, “I will take away your life.” To which Chrysostom said, “You cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God.” Next threatened with the loss of his treasure, this saint replied, “You cannot, for my treasure is in heaven where my heart is.” The emperor made one last effort: “Then I will drive you away from here and you shall have no friend left.” But again Chrysostom responded, “You cannot, for I have one Friend from whom you can never separate me. I defy you for you can do me no harm.” Living as we do in our Western, religiously-tolerant society, we may never face a crucial moment such as Chrysostom 16 centuries ago. We do, however, face similar temptations to renounce our faith, ignore our commitments, or compromise our loyalties. We will be tempted to deny we ever heard of the one called Jesus the Christ. We will be enticed to deny his power over our lives with phrases like: “Come on, everyone else is!” or “It will be fun, and no one will ever know.” We are daily forced to choose between the easy way, the quick fix and the promise of glamour and the way of Christ. Those who choose to acknowledge Christ must do so not just with lips but also with hearts and minds. Larry M. Goodpaster, Like a Breath of Fresh Air, CSS Publishing Company No Higher Duty Henri Nouwen, the great spiritual writer was going to a monastery for a retreat. The monks observed vows of silence and the retreat was to be meditative and prayerful. Nouwen was delayed and was late getting to the monastery on that miserable, rainy night. He rang the bell, well after bedtime, and was met at the door by one of the brothers. The brother warmly greeted him, took his wet coat, brought him to the kitchen and made him a cup of tea. They chatted in the late night hours and Nouwen began to relax and feel ready for the retreat. But he knew this monk was supposed to observe silence, so he finally asked him, "Why are you willing to sit and talk with me?" The monk replied "Of all the duties of the Christian faith and the rules of my order, none is higher than hospitality." J. Burton Williams, The Reward of a Disciple A New Social Order By the fourth century, the churches in Rome were feeding an estimated 20,000 poor people each week. The church at that time presented to the world a visible alternative to the prevailing social order. As Georges Florovsky has written in "Empire and Desert: Antinomies of Christian History": Christianity entered human history as a new social order or, rather, a new social dimension. From the very beginning, Christianity was not primarily a "doctrine," but exactly a "community." There was not only a "message" to be proclaimed and delivered and "Good News" to be declared, but there was, precisely, a New Community, distinct and peculiar, in the process of growth and formation, to which members were called and recruited. Indeed, "fellowship" ("koinonia") was the basic category of Christian existence. Jay M. Terbush, The Significance of the Insignificant Sent to the Lost Sheep A number of years ago I heard the story of a country preacher who asked his new little rural congregation to obey the call of Christ Jesus. He gave them all index cards in worship and asked them to write down the names of every family member, every neighbor, and every co-worker they knew that didn’t go to church anywhere. He stopped long enough for them to do just that in worship. When they got through writing, they had identified 1200 names. Then the preacher asked them to begin to pray for all the people on their card – to place it on the refrigerator or in their Bible as a prominent reminder to pray daily for these people. Then he asked them to invite the people to come to worship, and keep inviting, and keep inviting, and keep inviting. That dying little church suddenly had new life, because the disciples in that little church had been sent to the lost sheep of their community! The Church is not about us. It’s about God. God wants to save us from ourselves. God knows who among us have been possessed by unclean spirits (somebody is going to all those so-called adult video stores and so-called gentlemen’s clubs; somebody is frequenting those prostitutes that keep getting arrested). God knows who is sick and what’s ailing them. God knows who is dead in their faith and damned near close to death in their bodies. God knows who is a modern-day leper and needs to be healed. God knows what kind of demons have hold of lives, and God wants to save people from hellish lives and from hell itself. And you may have been sleepwalking through worship so long that you don’t know that God cares about all that stuff! Samuel Zumwalt, Scattered Reign How We View Our Fathers 4 years: My daddy can do anything. 7 years: My dad knows a lot, a whole lot. 8 years: My father doesn't quite know everything. 12 years: Oh well, naturally Father doesn't know everything. 14 years: Father? Hopelessly old-fashioned. 21 years: Oh, that man is out-of-date. What did you expect? 25 years: He knows a little bit about it but not much. 30 years: Must find out what Dad thinks about it. 35 years: A little patience, let's get Dad's meaning first. 40 years: What would Dad have thought about it? 50 years: My Dad knew literally everything. 60 years: I wish I could talk it over with Dad once more. Paco's Father There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13. We All Need Dads! Some years ago, South Africa's game managers had to figure out what to do about the elephant herd at Kruger National Park. The herd was growing well beyond the ability of the park to sustain it. And so they decided to transport some of the herd to a nearby game park. A dozen years later, however, several of the young male elephants (now teenagers) that had been transported to the game park began attacking the park’s herd of white rhinos, an endangered species. They used their trunks to throw sticks at the rhinos, chased them over long hours and great distances and stomped to death a tenth of the herd--all for no discernible reason. Park managers decided they had no choice but to kill some of the worst juvenile offenders. They had killed five of them when someone came up with another bright idea. They brought in some of the mature male elephants still residing in the Kruger Park and hoped that the bigger, stronger males could bring the adolescents under control. To the delight of the park officials, it worked. The big bulls quickly established the natural hierarchy and reduced the violent behavior of the younger bulls. "The new discipline, it turned out, was not just a matter of size intimidation," says Raspberry. "The young bulls actually started following the Big Daddies around, yielding to their authority and learning from them proper elephant conduct. The assaults on the white rhinos ended abruptly.” Raspberry's point was that young males--whether they are wild animals or human beings--need Dads. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com, adapted from October 11, 2005, Washington Post Writers Group. I'll Always Be There for You! It's a fascinating story that comes out of the 1989 earthquake which almost flattened Armenia. This deadly tremor killed over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of all the confusion of the earthquake, a father rushed to his son's school. When he arrived there he discovered the building was flat as a pancake. Standing there looking at what was left of the school, the father remembered a promise he made to his son, "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!" Tears began to fill his eyes. It looked like a hopeless situation, but he could not take his mind off his promise. Remembering that his son's classroom was in the back right corner of the building, the father rushed there and started digging through the rubble. As he was digging other grieving parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: "My son! "My daughter!" They tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying: "It's too late!" "They're dead!" "You can't help!" "Go home!" Even a police officer and a fire fighter told him he should go home. To everyone who tried to stop him he said, "Are you going to help me now?" They did not answer him and he continued digging for his son stone by stone. He needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead?" This man dug for eight hours and then twelve and then twenty-four and then thirty-six. Finally in the thirty-eighth hour, as he pulled back a boulder, he heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "ARMAND!" and a voice answered him, "Dad?" It's me Dad!" Then the boy added these priceless words, "I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised that, Dad. 'No matter what,' you said, 'I'll always be there for you!' And here you are Dad. You kept your promise!" Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul he Flip Side of Love A lot of damage can occur in a family. Parents can be hurt. Children can be hurt. But there is always hope in a home where forgiveness is present. John R. Aurelio, in his book Colors!, gives us a beautiful portrayal of this side of God. On the sixth day, God created Father Adam and Mother Eve. On the seventh day, as God was resting, they asked Him if He would give them something special to commemorate their birthday. So God reached into His treasure chest and took out a sacred coin. Written on it was the word "LOVE." On the eighth day, Father Adam and Mother Eve sinned. As they left the Garden of Eden, they asked God for an assurance that He would not abandon them. "You have the coin," He told them. "But, the coin says LOVE," they answered. "We have lost love. How ever will we find it again?" "Turn it over," God said. On the other side of the coin was written the word "FORGIVENESS." Aurelio goes on to say that there is no love without forgiveness and no forgiveness without love. They are the two sides of the same coin. John R. Aurelio, Colors!, New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1993, p. 133. Is God Like Daddy? Think of a four-year-old coming home one Sunday after a lesson that taught about God as our Heavenly Father. Sound theology would quickly note that God is neither male nor female, but youngsters do not concern themselves with theological niceties. A four-year-old hears "Father;" the only father he knows anything about is the one that lives with him and says, "Pass the biscuits, please;" so he asks..."Is God like Daddy?" Wow! What a heavy load! But a good load to consider on Fathers' Day...and a good one to consider when we realize that what Daddy is can become a role model for our children's concept of God. David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com When James the Sixth threatened to hang or exile Andrew Melville, Melville’s answer was: “You cannot hang or exile the truth.” When the Christian is involved in suffering and sacrifice and even martyrdom for his faith, he must remember that the day will come when things will be seen as they really are When James the Sixth threatened to hang or exile Andrew Melville, Melville’s answer was: “You cannot hang or exile the truth.” When the Christian is involved in suffering and sacrifice and even martyrdom for his faith, he must remember that the day will come when things will be seen as they really are Further, this passage tells us that there are things which are worse than death; and disloyalty is one of them. If a man is guilty of disloyalty, if he buys security at the expense of dishonor, life is no longer tolerable. He cannot face men; he cannot face himself; and ultimately he cannot face God. There are times when comfort, safety, ease, life can cost too much. “Almighty God, give us grace to be not only hearers, but doers of thy holy word, not only to admire, but to obey they doctrine, not only to profess, but to practice thy religion, not only to love, but to live thy gospel. So grant that what we learn of thy glory we may receive into our hearts, and show forth in our lives: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Sent out to be a disciple

June 14, 2020 Matthew 9:35-10:8 Sent out to be a disciple 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Year A Children’s Sermon Object: A collection of old toy cars (one in good condition, the remainder with obvious problems). Other toys can be substituted if cars are not available. Have you ever lost something for a long time and then found it again, almost by accident? That still happens to me sometimes when I put something somewhere for safe keeping. Sometimes I just can't seem to remember where in the world I put it. Then I find it again when I'm looking for something else altogether! Not long ago, I came across this box in a closet and I knew immediately what was in it. This is an old collection of cars that we had at our house when our children were younger. We used to have a lot of fun with these. In fact, I can remember when they were shiny and new. I'll bet they look just as great today. Let's take a look. This is not exactly what I expected. The first one I've taken out of the box is kind of dirty and old looking. It has lost most of its shine. That is not a very exciting looking car to me. This next one is missing a wheel. And this one looks like it was probably in an accident of some type. In fact, only one of these looks good at all. The rest should probably just be thrown away. Who would ever want to play with them? Did you know that sometimes people look at other people just the way we looked at these cars? Someone may not be very pretty or handsome. They may not dress just as we would like them to. Perhaps they may speak differently than we do. That doesn't mean we can push them aside and act as though we are better than they are. The Bible reminds us that Jesus looked upon every person he ever met with compassion. Jesus loved them. He wanted to help them. He was concerned about the needs in their lives. When we look at other people, God wants us to see them just as Jesus would see them. He wants us to view them as people who need the love of God and as people we should love just as He does. CSS Publishing Company, FROM A MUSTARD SEED, by Mark A. Hultquist Prelude Opening Prayer L: We are being called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ! P: Lord, guide our feet as we enter this pathway of service for you. Choir: singing Verse 1, “Guide My Feet” – [don’t drag the tempo on this song, sing it with a little swing!] L: It’s not going to be easy; there are dangers out there! P: Lord, help us to face those dangers with powerful faith! Choir: singing verse 3 of “Guide My Feet” L: Some people are going to misunderstand P: Help us to be clear and faithful in bringing your message of redemption. Stewardship Moment The theme of those morning is the deep compassion of Jesus. Jesus looked at the things going on in the world and he had deep compassion for the hurting people in the world. He knew that had to do something to make a difference. Jesus realized very quickly that a community could do so much more working together, than he could do alone. So Jesus invites others to join him in supporting those in need. Jesus still invites us to join in his ministry – he reminds us that we have been given gifts from God so we can give to others just as freely. Giving our time, talents and gifts is a part of following Jesus. Prayer of Dedication Lord, we know that there is much work to be done; far more than we ever imagined. We ask that you bless these gifts that they be used for the work you have set before us, for we place our lives and trust in you. AMEN. Scripture Matthew 9:35-10:8 Common English Bible (CEB) Compassion 35 Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.” Mission of the Twelve 10 He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness. 2 Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter; and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee; and John his brother; 3 Philip; and Bartholomew; Thomas; and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean;[a] and Judas, who betrayed Jesus. Commissioning of the Twelve 5 Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. 6 Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. 7 As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment. Footnotes: Sermon As I watched the news last night, and saw another building being burned to the ground, a police chief resign over the behavior of an officer, and another African American brother being killed while in custody, I am convinced that the scripture for today is a gift from God. After weeks of festival readings in John, we are finally back to journeying through the book of Matthew. This particular scripture has not come up in the lectionary since 2008. Most years because of how Pentecost falls, we never get to this scripture. I say that this scripture is a gift because it speaks to our times perfectly. Jesus looks around at the situation in his times and he says that the people are running around like sheep without a shepherd. And he realizes that he has to do something to change things. He looks at the people, and calls them harassed and helpless. Jesus saw the horrible conditions that the people were living in and he had a deep compassion for them. The Greek word moved with compassion (splagchnistheis) It is formed from the word splagchna, which means the bowels In other words, Jesus was moved in his bowels. One colleague says Jesus was so emotional that he had a bowel movement. But anyway – this word means that he was moved to the very core of his being. He had deep compassion for the people and for their condition. Jesus was inspired to start a three pronged ministry. A ministry of preaching, teaching and healing. In other words – a ministry of shalom – peace, justice and wellbeing. He wanted to touch them mind, body and spirit. In order to address the situation that created such despair he had to proclaim the truth. William Barclay says There never was a time when this certainty was more needed than it is today. Geoffrey Heawood, headmaster of a great English public school, has written that the great tragedy and problem of this age is that we are standing at the cross-roads, and the signposts have fallen down. Beverley Nichols once wrote a book composed of interviews with famous people. One of the interviews was with Hilaire Belloc, one of the most famous of English Roman Catholics. After the interview Nichols wrote: “I was sorry for Mr. Belloc because I felt that he had nailed at lease some of his colors to the wrong mast; but I was still sorrier for myself and for my own generation, because I knew that we had no colors of any kind to nail to any mast.” We live in an age of uncertainty, an age when people have ceased to be sure of anything. Jesus was the herald of God, who came proclaiming the certainties by which men live; and we too must be able to say, “I know whom I have believed.” He also had to do some teaching, so that the people would take responsibility for their lives and make a difference. And he had to heal the bodies that were affected by the stress of the situation. This scripture is called the missionary discourse. This is the speech and teaching that Jesus gave as he commissioned his disciples to enter into their own ministries of healing. Matthew tells 5 story lessons of what it means to live as a child of God. Each of these story lessons tells us what characteristics we have to have in order to be a part of Jesus ministry of salvation. This particular story is how Jesus chose his 12 disciples. This story is told in all 4 gospels. But none have the same detail that this story in Matthew does. The gospel story is a story of how one man changed the world. We all know that the world cannot be changed by one person, it takes others to spread the lesson of one person. During the protest, George Floyd’s daughter proudly announced that daddy changed the world. He did, with the help of the millions of others who have stepped up all over the world to demand justice. Jesus chose 12 people to help with his ministry. It is interesting that scripture names all twelve, along with the personal qualities that Jesus saw in that person. From 12 to 1 Billion From the twelve, the group grew to 120 by Ascension Day. A little over a week later, on Pentecost, it increased to over 3,000. By the time the last of the twelve died, there were an estimated half-million followers of Jesus Christ. That was the end of the first century. By the end of the second century, this number had increased to almost ten million. By the end of the third century, all heathen temples were destroyed or converted into church sanctuaries. By the close of the ninth century, there were 100 million Christians. Today, the number has grown to over one billion believers around the world. None of this growth would have been possible had Christians not been excited and supportive of missions or prayed to "the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Dennis Kastens, Laborers Needed for the Harvest It has been said that Evangelism is not on the agenda of the church; it is the agenda of the church. Brett Blair Today Christianity is the predominant religion of the world with 2.2 billion people worldwide. The second most predominant religion – Islam has 1.2 billion people. The country with the most Christians is the US with 243 million. It all started with one man’s deep compassion for the people of in his neighborhood. What's Your Purpose in Life? An executive hirer, a "head-hunter" who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, "When I get an executive that I'm trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed. Then, when I think I've got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye and say, "What's your purpose in life?" It's amazing how top executives fall apart at that question. "Well, I was interviewing this fellow the other day, had him all disarmed, with my feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then I leaned up and said, 'What's your purpose in life, Bob?' And he said, without blinking an eye, 'To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.' For the first time in my career I was speechless." Josh McDowell The time is right for each of us to join the mission and ministry of Jesus. The harvest is here, people are standing around looking for answers. The church is essential during this time, and it always has been. There is a place for each of us in the mission and ministry of having compassion for the harassed and helpless. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is an invitation to get involved. Jesus says that the first step to accepting that invitation is to pray – pray for workers, because the harvest is plentiful. Jesus lived in a farm community, so many of hos metaphors for live come from farming. Pentecost was a celebration of the first harvests of the season. So it is not an accident that we read this story two Sundays after Pentecost. One pastor tells the story of harvesttime when his father was a child. During the harvest, all types of people came to help with the harvest. The family was so grateful for the help, that they would prepare food for all of those who helped out. Hospitality and taking care of one another was a way of life during these times. As everyone was gathered, it was a perfect time to not only help others, but to also get them involved in the ministry of helping the harassed and helpless. In other words working together to change the world for themselves and everyone else. All Jesus did was to call the 12 to help with the harvest – and each of us is called too to spread the good news of a messiah with great compassion for the harassed and helpless. Right now that is all of us! Let us pray….. Prayer Listen: cries of sorrow, shouts of justice from bold voices rallying a cry of love and peace! Listen closely. Can you hear the feet and wheelchairs rolling out in the street to protest violence and promote a cry for peace to say, "Hello police, stop using your badges for shooting and killing innocence rather than protecting us!" Let us- pause to pray, plan to protest, and purpose to push out the devils and educate our children how to have courage and ability to survive and not die! Lovingly, let us seek justice and certainly not give up the struggle to strive for life, love, and liberty!!!! No, No More, NO NO NO MORE! Save our sons and share our need to speak up and stand strong Moment of reflection Announcements We received many surveys of what it means to reopen the church. It is not too late to turn in your survey. At church council it was decided that we would form a health committee to talk about what it means to open safely. They will report at a special church council meeting on June 25th at 7pm. We are shooting for reopening in some form when the state enters into stage 4 – potentially the first Sunday in July. But will let you know Office hours changed this week to allow Debbie to take a break. But if need something can call church or the parsonage. Benediction When you leave this place, go with confidence in God’s gracious love and mercy. Go, ready to proclaim the good news and serve our Lord by caring for others. AMEN. Additional illustrations Making a Difference Made a difference to that one! The story was told about two men walking down a Mexican beach, talking with one another. They could see a man in the distance throwing something into the ocean. As they got closer, they saw that he was bending over, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean. The closer they got they noticed that he was one of the natives. There were starfish on the beach which were left by the outgoing tide. The native was throwing them out where they could swim away. One of the two men asked, "What are you doing?" The man replied, "I am throwing the starfish back out to sea. If they don't get back into the deeper water, they will die." The other man replied, "I understand that part, but look at this beach. It is covered with starfish. There must be thousands stranded out here. How do you feel that this will make a difference?" The native bent over, picked up another starfish, hurled him out to sea, and with a smile on his face said, "Made a difference to that one!" There are thousands who need the Lord and need the care of Christians. Each one of us can "make a difference" to someone. Chicken Soup for the Soul Relationship Evangelism There is an old story told about a man by the name of Ali Facid. He had a small farm and a family. One day, the story goes, a Buddhist priest came by and said to Ali Facid: You know, there are valuable stones called diamonds, and if you get one of these you could be a wealthy man." Ali Facid went to bed that night, but the words of the old priest haunted him. He was so obsessed that he felt that he must find him one of these diamonds so that he could become a ruler. He sold his farm, put his family out to neighbors and went out to find his acres of diamonds. Months passed. He was broken in body and spirit. His funds were gone. And at the Bay of Barcelona, he threw himself into the water, never to walk this earth again. Meanwhile, the man who bought his farm bent over one day and picked up a little stone. He laid on the mantle that night not knowing what it was. A few days later the old Buddhist priest cam by and saw it and exclaimed: Ali Facid must be back from his search. No, came the response. Then where did that diamond come from? The farmer replied: I was out plowing in the garden and found it there. And friends, did you know that from that very garden, for this is not a legend but a true story, came the jewels and diamonds that today adorn the crown heads of Europe and Russia. In Ali Facid's own back yard there were acres of diamonds and he knew it not. My friends, I know that the [your church's neighborhood] is not like [name two neighborhoods in your area that are experiencing growth] in terms of extensive growth. But friends, I also know that there are acres of diamonds right here in our own back yard. There are people right here in our area that do not have church families, who are not committed to Christ, and who are waiting to be asked. We don't have to look to other areas of the city. All we have to do is pick up the diamonds that are right beneath us. Staff, www.Sermons.com Slaving for Nothing Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" tells the sad story of a young woman named Mathilde who dreamed, as many do, of making it in high society. However, she was the wife of an ordinary French citizen. One day Mathilde's husband obtained an invitation to attend an elegant ball. Thoroughly delighted, Mathilde borrowed from a wealthy friend a beautiful necklace to wear to this elegant occasion. The stunning necklace drew many compliments from the aristocratic guests. However, the worst possible thing happened. Mathilde lost the beautiful adornment. Panic stricken, she and her husband borrowed thirty-six thousand francs. They bought a necklace that looked exactly like the one Mathilde had worn. Mathilde returned this to her friend, telling her nothing of what had happened. For ten agonizing years, the couple slaved and toiled to pay back the vast amount of money they had borrowed. They sold their home, dismissed servants, worked at two jobs, and lived in a slum in order to raise the necessary funds. After it was finally paid, Mathilde saw her friend one day. She confessed what they had done. She revealed the hardship through which they had come in paying for the replacement. It was then that her friend explained that the necklace Mathilde had borrowed was only made of paste. It was worth five hundred francs or less. What a parable of contemporary life! People frantically slaving for values that turn out only to be paste. Harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. King Duncan, Where Are The Laborers? Evangelism Has Fallen on Hard Times "Evangelism" is a beautiful word that has lost its winsomeness [effectiveness]. Somehow on its journey from the Jerusalem of yesterday to the Jericho of today it has fallen among thieves that have wounded it and stripped it, departed, leaving it half dead. It takes a rather rash Samaritan, therefore, to dare turn aside to set this poor chap upon his beast and take him to an inn and take care of him. This is especially true because a veritable procession of Priests and Levites are passing by, not only refusing to lend a hand, but, we fear, inwardly chuckling at the plight of the poor fellow, and secretly hoping that they are soon to see the last of him. Clovis G. Chappell, Evangelistic Sermons of Clovis G. Chappell, p. 40. Travel Light James Michener, the famous author used to hitchhike when he was a young man. Michener didn’t live in a happy home. He was also unhappy at school. When he was fifteen he hiked westward from Detroit with only 35 cents in his pocket. He said, "The simple fact seems to have been that once I saw that mysterious road outside my house, the eastern part leading to a dead end, the western to worlds unknown, I was determined to explore the latter." (from Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul) Most all of us have had experiences when we just wanted to get away from it all, venturing into the unknown with out a care in the world. That’s easier to do when you are young and you don’t have lots of obligations and responsibilities. Youthfulness tends to make us more carefree. And there is a tendency to think that nothing will happen to us. When Jesus told his disciples to head out into the world he told them to travel light. "Take nothing with you, no bag, no money, no sandals, no extra clothing, not even a staff," he instructed them. Perhaps he wanted them to learn to trust in the providence of God. Perhaps he wanted them to experience strangers in strange lands, thereby making new relationships. Or, perhaps he wanted them to be free from the burdens of the world. I believe it was most likely a combination of all three. Keith Wagner, Low Budget Faith?

The Day you Got all that you need

Peace With Justice Sunday 2 Corinthians 3:11-13 Trinity Sunday June 7, 2020 The day we got everything we need Children’s Sermon Object: A pair of boxing gloves Lesson: ... agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Good morning, boys and girls. Do you see what I have with me today? (Hold up the boxing gloves.) That's right. I have a pair of boxing gloves here. As you know, boxers use these when they fight. Do you think that these can hurt you if you get hit with one? (Let them answer.) People who wear these are usually out to hurt another person, so if you don't want to get hurt, it's best to stay away from people who are wearing boxing gloves. Did you know that there is something else that can hurt you even more than these boxing gloves? (Let them respond.) Well, there is. Let me tell you a little story and maybe you can guess what it is that can hurt more than boxing gloves. Once upon a time there lived a family -- a mom and dad and six children. From the time they got up in the morning until they went to bed again, these people were always arguing with each other. The father usually started it all by yelling at his wife to get breakfast ready. Then she would start throwing things in the kitchen because she was so angry at her husband. When the kids came down to breakfast, the dad would yell at them for being too noisy or too quiet, for not eating enough or for eating too much. They couldn't do anything to please him or their mother. So, when they left for school they started to argue with each other. Either they would steal one another's lunch, or call each other names, or do lots of nasty things that brothers and sisters sometimes do to each other. Do you think this sounds like a happy family, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) No, this family wasn't a very happy one. Well, one day there was a knock at their door -- and were they ever surprised when they opened it! There stood Jesus. He had come to visit them. In fact, he asked if he could join them for supper. What would you do if Jesus come to visit for supper? (Let them respond.) Yes, you would probably be very happy and do everything you could to make him feel at home. Well, this family tried very hard to do just that. When they were all seated at the table, Jesus looked at each one of them and said, "My friends, I have come to remind you of my special commandment. Love one another as I have loved you." Naturally, every person at that table felt very uncomfortable because everyone knew that this commandment had been totally forgotten. The members of this family were not hurting each other with boxing gloves. What were they using to hurt each other, boys and girls? (Let them guess.) Very good. They were using nasty words. Words can hurt people more than anything else, can't they? So this week I want all of you to remember this unhappy family and to try very hard to make your own family a happy one. God bless you all. Amen. CSS Publishing Company, WE ARE THE CHURCH, by Wesley T. Runk Welcome and opening prayer – stay tuned for announcements INVOCATION Sovereign God, We give thanks For the majestic creation that you called good. Open our hearts and minds to be creators of your peace with justice. Remind us of the responsibility with which you entrusted us to care for the work of your hands. Move us to repair what is broken in your world and to plant holy seeds so that your garden will flourish once again. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Stewardship Moment – Peace with Justice Sunday God created a world that was in balance. A world where we have enough if everyone lives fairly and with respect for what God created. How do we restore the dignity of those who experience injustice, acknowledging that each person is of sacred worth, made in the image of God? As bearers of God’s image, we know the magnificent power of the one who created us. We celebrate that God’s love was powerful enough to resurrect Jesus after the Roman government executed him. The good news is that God’s love is so powerful that, together, as people created by God, we can repair the damage being done to creation. In recognizing the image of God in our neighbor who is weighed down by injustice, we can begin the process of restoration. We can respond with healing in places where slavery, racism, environmental pillaging and political corruption have interrupted God’s vision of a flourishing garden. Today, we have an opportunity to do that as a congregation. The Peace with Justice Sunday special offering allows The United Methodist Church to repair the harm in communities that face systemic injustice. When we are part of building gardens of Peace with Justice, we honor the divine goodness in one another. God made each of you. And God said you are good. Please turn to the person next to you and say, “God made you. And you are good.” (God made you. And you are good.) Thanks be to God Scripture 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 New International Version (NIV) Final Greetings 11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings. OUR SOCIAL CREED We believe in God, Creator of the world; and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, through whom we acknowledge God’s gifts, and we repent of our sin in misusing these gifts to idolatrous ends. We affirm the natural world as God’s handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind. We joyfully receive for ourselves and others the blessings of community, sexuality, marriage, and the family. We commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging, and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; and to the rights and dignity of all persons. Sermon The 3 Rs of a Holy Life – 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 by Leonard Sweet An old adage warns, “bad things always come in threes.” Have you found this true in your own experience? That bad things (and good things) like to happen in community, in bunches? You say: we invent this connection by suddenly realizing that we got a flat tire on the same day that a computer glitch devoured our hard drive, shortly after our last contact lens just slid down the drain. I say: there seems to be something significant about the power of three. Today the church celebrates the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—on this “Trinity Sunday.” We recognize God as power (the Father), God as person (the Son), and God as presence (the Holy Spirit). Paul’s final benediction to the Corinthians switches this order a bit to better express each person’s unique experience of the divine. For Paul, Jesus Christ comes first, for it is through the grace of his life, death and resurrection that humans may be reconciled to God. Only grace enables us to experience “the love of God.” As we stand renewed and redeemed before this loving God, yet another gift is made available, “the communion of the Holy Spirit.” The person, the power, and the presence of God come to us in a threefold design-package. Those forces that work AGAINST the divine have also traditionally been divided into the “big three.” How many of you remember preachers warning their flock to be on guard against the three evils—“the world, the flesh, and the Devil.” If we really do experience bad things in clusters of three, it is the result of these Big Three: The World, The Flesh, The Devil. The Trinity of Evils The World: This is not the world that the God of Genesis brought forth at creation. This is the “world” that turned deadly force against tens of thousands in Myanmar (Burma) this past week. This “world” is the broken world where tsunamis and cyclones and tornadoes and hurricanes pulverize the landscape. This “world” is the barren world where food disappears and famine grips every living thing. This “world” is the bleak worlds where pestilence hunts its prey. The Flesh: This is not the Adam-flesh created in the Garden of Eden by the God of Genesis. This is the “flesh” that now knows disease and death and decay. This “flesh” is fragile, subject to infection, physical fodder for plagues and pandemics. This “flesh” breaks down, breaks apart, and breaks our hearts and spirits with its decay. The Devil: There is no Devil, no antithesis to God’s creative power in the first creation story (Genesis 1:1-2:4a). This Devil doesn’t make an appearance until the second creation story, the tale of the serpent and the forbidden fruit and the draw-down of desire. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit so that they might become “like God,” knowing good from evil. Willful disobedience, a passion for power, seeking to de-throne God, this was the origin of the Devil. Our own irrationalities, hatreds, fears, and despairs bring the “devil” to life. These three evils—the world, the flesh, and the devil---look like an unbeatable team, dooming humans to a mere scratch-and-claw existence. It was subservience to this spirit, to this “tooth and claw” combativeness, that kept the Corinthian community from experiencing the full embrace of Christ. The apostle Paul was so troubled these caustic Corinthians that he penned at least two (some say three) lengthy letters to this community, offering advice, admonitions and out-and-out orders. The world, the flesh, and the Devil were doing a booming business in Corinth. In his final letter, in his final words, in his final benediction, to this contentious community, Paul offered a positive, powerful, alternative Trinity to this struggling church. Paul’s closing command lays out a new kind of three-fold pattern, a pattern that will lead to wholeness and holy living. I call them the 3-Rs of holiness, or the 3-Rs of godly living. Here are the 3 essentials of holiness: Respect, Responsibility, and Relationship. If you want to live a holy life, a life of godliness and truth, you must learn the elementary but elemental 3-Rs of life: Respect, Responsibility and Relationship… If bad things can come in three’s, we can also think of good things that come in 3’s. We naturally think of things in triangles, to three’s. If you look at the celtic knot – it is a trinity knot with three strands of rope that are intrically connected together. So it is natural that we think of the trinity – the father, the son the holy spirit. Mentioned only twice in the bible. Jesus did not specifically mention the trinity. But is it a concept mentioned 12 times in both the old and new testament. This is the only festival day in honor of a church concept. It is interesting that there are twelve places in the New Testament where the three names are grouped together. They are arranged in six different ways, and each of the three names occupies each of the three places twice. There is nothing sacred about the order. We must not think of any person in the Godhead as being inferior to the other one, or in any way less than fully God. We all know that the Lord is God. 1 Kings 8:60 says, "all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other." But Phil. 2:11 says that "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." In 2 Cor. 3:17 it says "the Lord is the Spirit." Well, is the Lord God? is the Lord Jesus? or is the Lord the Holy Spirit? The answer is yes. Paul mentions that concept in our scripture for today. This is a very short bible verse, but it is a powerful message for today. Paul founded churches all over Europe. But it seems that the Corinthians church was his problem church, he was always having to write letters to them in order to correct come problem. Paul says that he had to write three specific letters to them. Today, we can only find two of those letters, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. This was a very contentious congregation, they were always fighting with each other, and Paul had to remind them of the peace that Christ gave them and all of us as a gift. The primary message of second Corinthians are: 1. Put things in order This is Paul's attempt to get the Corinthians to prioritize. When we put our lives in proper order, "last things" (the things that "last") will go "first." That which is important will separate out from the extraneous "junk" we find cluttering up our lives. We can't "sleep loose" if our beds are hidden under piles of this junk. 2. Listen to my appeal The most important word here is listen. We can't hear if we won't be quiet and tune in. Listening saves us from the risk of going off half-cocked, misinformed and misdirected. To "sleep loose," we must listen for the message of God's love which comes to us through the sounds of the Holy Spirit. 3. Agree with one another We are not just to tolerate each other's company (some of the Corinthians apparently could not even do that). We are called to celebrate one another. Since God's love extends to each of us, there is reason to celebrate every individual. Instead of criticizing shortcomings and highlighting the negatives of each other, try emphasizing the positives. Just because we have differences doesn't mean we can't agree to disagree in love. 4. Live in peace When differences are celebrated instead of castigated, we can experience harmony instead of discord, shalom instead of shouting. "Sleeping loose" takes place in such peace and quiet. 5. Receive the gift of love Susan Stiles' 4- and 6-year-old daughters are probably better at receiving love than we are. Children receive love graciously and unselfconsciously. For adults, it is more difficult to relax and "sleep loose" in the offer of God's love after we have spent the day keeping our vulnerabilities tightly locked away from view. We can accept that God is love, but it is far more difficult to accept that God is love for us. The joy and bliss of the Holy Spirit is ours. 6. Join the cloud of witnesses Paul invoked the presence of "all the saints" in his farewell to the Corinthians. Likewise, we must feel a part of all the saints, the entire community of faith. It is in feeling the strength of all that support that we can relax and "sleep loose." We too are living in perilous times, and we too are looking for answers. We started out with a killer virus, and the whole nations closed down, and then there were the killer hornets, earthquakes, the riots , the marches, a very exciting presidential election and if I am not mistaken there is supposed to be an asteroid that comes dangerously close to earth this year. But seriously, we are all looking for answers and understanding as we watch the whole word marching to speak out about racism that has plagued our nation for years. The anger and pain the we see freely expressed today has always been a part of our community life, it is always just beneath the surface, waiting for a reason to come out, and it is coming our now in full force. This is an opportunity for our church, our community, our nation to have some honest dialogue about our relationships. The things that separate us, the things that we have in common the solutions, the answers that we all need to move forward. In a Peanuts cartoon, Peppermint Patty steps up to the store counter. "Yes, sir, I need some school supplies: some pencils, some paper, a loose-leaf binder and some answers. I need lots of answers." Perhaps we feel a little like Peppermint Patty on Trinity Sunday. We need answers! Lots of answers! Or, do we? A Chinese proverb says, "The bird does not sing because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song." We may not have all the answers we need but we do have a song. We are all asking ourselves where is God in the midst of this situation. When a small business owner looks at the shop that they worked all of their life to build falling apart in shambles, they can easily ask where is the God in this situation. When we look at our lives, we all are looking for the presence of God. And as we look through the eyes of faith, we realize that God comes to us in many ways. We find God in our relationships, we can find God in church, we can find God in nature, we can also find God in the tough times in our life. We can find God in people and cultures that we do not understand. The is the point of the trinity – God is present in the world in three persons in three different ways – the father, the son the holy spirit, - the creator, the sustainer, the redeemer. All of them represent love that comes to us in different ways. All of them represent the mystery of God. In preparation for ordination, I had to explain the concept of the trinity, I said it is like having three different snickers. They are in three different packages, but at the factory it was just one batch of snicker mix. Basically, God is such a big concept, that we have to use three different ways to explain the presence of God. Augustine was walking along a beach one day puzzling over the Trinity, when he observed a young boy with a bucket running back and forth pouring water into a little hole. He said, "What are you doing?" The boy said, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." Augustine said at that moment he realized he had been trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. My friend, you cannot do that. The infinite will not fit into the finite. You really can never understand the Trinity, but as one person has wisely said: "Define the Trinity, you will lose your mind, but deny the Trinity, you will lose your soul." As we look at the events of the day unfold, it is not a problem to unfold, but a mystery to behold. It’s a Mystery, and Always Will Be Garrison Keillor, modern American prophet from the radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” said of love, “We should not think that we have figured this out, because it is not a problem, it’s a mystery and always will be.” “It is not a problem, it’s a mystery, and always will be.” Doesn’t that offend you just a little — the suggestion that there are those things in life we have not, and furthermore, will not ever, figure out? Now that we’ve become so advanced that we can put fax machines in cars and can send ourselves messages back from Venus, we are not really open to the suggestion that there are those things that always have been and always will be mysteries to us. We assume that our only limitations are time and energy, and, given enough of the two, there is really nothing we can’t ultimately know. So when we come to a doctrinal matter like the Trinity, the temptation is to want one neat analogy that will make it all clear, one concise statement on the Trinity that will settle it for us and allow us to move on to the next problem. Well, I hate to disappoint you so early in my sermon today, but if that is what you are expecting I suggest that you join those of your friends who are already daydreaming this time away. You see, it’s just not all that easy. It’s not so simple to describe the Trinity in any meaningful way. The Trinity just isn’t one of things we can settle in short order. Maybe if we can’t figure out the Trinity in these few brief minutes (and, given that the church in two thousand years hasn’t been able to get it straight, it’s a fairly safe bet we won’t have the last word on it today,) if we can’t settle the issue today, maybe we can at least try to point to what the doctrine of the trinity is attempting to say about God and how we experience God. James C. Leach, Naming God, Pulpit Digest, January / February 1991, p. 55. THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. In this last chapter of the severe letter Paul finishes with four things. (i) He finishes with a warning. He is coming again to Corinth and this time there will be no more loose talk and reckless statements. Whatever is said will be witnessed and proved once and for all. To put it in our modern idiom, Paul insists that there must be a show down. The ill situation must drag on no longer. He knew that there comes a time when trouble must be faced. (ii) He finishes with a wish. It is his wish that they should do the fine thing. If they do, he will never need to exert his authority, and that will be no disappointment to him but a deep and real joy. Paul never wanted to show his authority for the sake of showing it. Everything he did was to build up and not to destroy. Discipline must always be aimed to lift a man up and not to knock him down. (iii) He finishes with a hope. He has three hopes for the Corinthians. (a) He hopes that they will go onwards to perfection. There can be no standing still in the Christian life. The man who is not advancing is slipping back. The Christian is a man who is ever on the way to God, and therefore each day, by the grace of Christ, he must be a little more fit to stand God’s scrutiny. (b) He hopes that they will listen to the exhortation he has given them. It takes a big man to listen to hard advice. We would often be a great deal better off if we would stop talking about what we want and begin listening to the voices of the wise, and especially to the voice of Jesus Christ. (c) He hopes that they will live in agreement and in peace. No congregation can worship the God of peace in the spirit of bitterness. Men must love each other before their love for God has any reality. (iv) Finally, he finishes with a blessing. After the severity, the struggle and the debate, there comes the serenity of the benediction. One of the best ways of making peace with our enemies is to pray for them, for no one can hate a man and pray for him at the same time. And so we leave the troubled story of Paul and the Church of Corinth with the benediction ringing in our ears. The way has been hard, but the last word is peace. Imagine if this was your last sermon that you ever heard. What if you this was the last word that you heard. This is actually the final words of Paul’s letter, just before this Pauls tells the Corinthians that he will not be with them much longer, he must leave them – he says finally brethren….may the grace of God, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. I call trinity Sunday to the Sunday that God gave you everything that you need for faith. God tells us to go on with our lives, go forward in the confusion, the questions, the pain. We have everything that we need in order to face whatever comes next in life – which at this point no one knows. But we can know that the we the father, the son, the holy spirit. The creator, the sustainer, the redeemer = all forms of the love that will bring us through. Let us pray……. Prayer Today is the day God embraces all hues of humanity, delights in diversity and difference, favors solidarity transforming strangers into friends. And so shall we. Today is the day God cries with the masses of starving people, despises growing disparity between rich and poor, demands justice for workers in the marketplace. And so shall we. Today is the day God deplores violence in our homes and streets, rebukes the world’s warring madness, humbles the powerful and lifts up the lowly. And so shall we. Today is the day God calls for nations and peoples to live in peace, celebrates where justice and mercy embrace, exults when the wolf grazes with the lamb. And so shall we. Today is the day God brings good news to the poor, proclaims release to the captives, gives sight to the blind, and sets the oppressed free. And so shall we. From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church — 2016. Copyright 2016 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission. Time of meditation Announcements Church council meeting on Thursday at 7pm. We will talk about what it means to reopen the church. Probably will still be a few weeks before open. At moment, only 10 people in the building. Want input from everyone. Will have to social distance. If want the zoom link to the meeting, call the office and you will be sent one. Also survey about what it takes to make you feel safe, encourage everyone to fill out and return to the church. Normally communion Sunday – will have communion on some way in July. Scripture for next Sunday will be Pray for peace and justice Benediction BENEDICTION Friends, go from here filled with the breath of our creator, plant a garden of justice and peace and infuse the earth with the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit.