Demons in the Church

January 31, 2021 Mark 1:21-28 Demons in the Church 4th Sunday of Epiphany Year B Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer Open our hearts and spirits this day to hear the great good news of your power and presence with all your people. Fill our hearts with rejoicing as the words are proclaimed in song and story. Enliven us and remind us that you are with us, through the pillar of fire, through the magnificent words of the prophets, through the ministry and love of Jesus Christ. AMEN Stewardship Moment Offertory Prayer God of power and wisdom, we give you our eternal thanks for the gift of your Son, who came not only to save but to teach us about your kingdom and how we might live, readying ourselves for that kingdom. He taught with authority, and if we listen, we will live a life of generosity, mercy, and compassion. Bless what we give this day and help us be faithful in the use of all our resources, that we might live like those anticipating your kingdom. In Christ, we pray. Amen. (Mark 1:21-28) Scripture Mark 1:21-28 21 Jesus and his followers went into Capernaum. Immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and started teaching. 22 The people were amazed by his teaching, for he was teaching them with authority, not like the legal experts. 23 Suddenly, there in the synagogue, a person with an evil spirit screamed, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the holy one from God.” 25 “Silence!” Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon. “Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit shook him and screamed, then it came out. 27 Everyone was shaken and questioned among themselves, “What’s this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands unclean spirits and they obey him!” 28 Right away the news about him spread throughout the entire region of Galilee. Sermon : Demons in the church A friend of mine took on the task of organizing her father’s album collection yesterday. She would post her best find on Facebook. One of the albums that she posted was of the 70’s comedian Flip Wilson. Flip Wilson had a famous routine where he would always say the devil made him do it. Of course we would laugh at the routine because we don’t believe in demons controlling our behavior anymore. But in Jesus’ day it was common to blame your bad behavior on demons. It was believed that they were everywhere, and they affected all aspects of life. There was even a book called the Testament of Solomon, which outlined the behavior of demons, named them and told you how to get rid of them. I always enjoy preaching on the book of Mark. Mark is the only gospel writer who is not afraid to openly talk about demons. It seems the New Testament was unique in the way it talked about demons. Most literature of the day talked of a demon attacking a person. Whereas in the gospels, when Jesus speaks of demons- he speaks of them possessing the person. In the scripture story for today – Jesus calmly recognizes the demon. He does not attack of get mad – he just quietly asks for the demon to come out. When it comes out, the man seems to go back to normal. As I say, life has changed, now we don’t believe in demons possessing people. We have a little more control over life now. But have you noticed that in spite of our unbelief, evil still persist in the world? Demons in Our Modern World I was just as naive as I was sincere when I wrote a letter to a missionary in Papua, New Guinea. I was a 19-year-old college student trying to make sense out of the Bible. I was reading the gospels with an ardent desire to believe what I was reading but I kept getting hung up on these stories about demon exorcisms. If the gospels were true then there were real demons in the world and yet I didn’t see anyone but quacks and nut cases doing demon exorcisms on TV. Someone in my college campus ministry suggested to me that we no longer saw demons in the civilized world but that missionaries in remote parts of the world did. I knew the name of a missionary in the terribly primitive region of Papua, New Guinea so I wrote to him. I wanted him to validate the Biblical stories about demons by telling me that he had heard them speak, that he had witnesses an exorcism. I hope he could tell me some really hair-raising stories. It took him several weeks to answer my letter and it took me a few years to understand his response. He avoided my request for a description of face-to-face encounters with the demonic. He didn’t say anything about hearing them speak or of exorcisms. He did, however, say that there were demons in Papua, New Guinea and that he was shocked that I had not seen anywhere I lived in Memphis, Tennessee. "Do you not see the demons at work in pornography, prostitution, in racial hatred and in poverty?" he asked me. At first it seemed to me that he just didn’t understand my question...later it became obvious to me that I had not understood his answer. Racism, poverty and the whole abuse of women in the sex industry were certainly obviously present in the city where I lived and I accepted that these things were evil but they were everyday things.... things that were always there and always would be there. I wanted to hear about something more biblical...about a demon speaking to a missionary or some vision of demon possession.... he just wanted to write to me about everyday stuff. Roger Ray, Mr. Demon in His Pew I am reminded of a quote that I read in morning devotions this week – Evil does not have the power to do bad on its own, it needs the hands and feet of people to do damage. Evil needs to posses our feelings, our thoughts, our actions to do its work. Demons inside of us Kathleen Norris – a spiritual writer says “when I think of demons that I need to exorcise, I have to look inward to my heart and soul. The demon inside of her was her anger. Her husband pointed out that she could be very mean at times. She realized that her anger was destroying her marriage. First she needed to recognize it, then acknowledge the damage it was doing and make a commitment to change. Another friend – a pastor. Talked about getting a divorce, and experiencing all sorts of negative emotions – anger, shame, jealousy, and pain. He didn’t have to strength to preach, but he needed to be in the church. He needed to be in the presence of God, in the presence of the Word, the worship, in the presence of Jesus. Most of us think of ourselves as good Christian people, and yet all of us have those sources of anxiety, anger, fear, and other negative emotions. Daniel Amen, an expert on brain health encourages us to get to know and name the dragons inside of us that affect our behavior. I am absolutely fascinated by this story in Mark. This the beginning of Jesus ministry. What better place to get encouragement for your calling but the synagogue. As soon as Jesus gets up to teach, a demon possessed man starts to speak. The synogue, like the church is a sacred place. What a strange place for a demon to appear. That is why we ring the church bells before church, not only to call the people to come into the church for worship, but also to call the evil spirits out and to tell them to stay away. (evil spirits don’t like loud noises). It was thought that evil spirits like to hang out in dark lonely places – so why would one be bold enough to come to church? Well when we bring our hopes, praise, and joy to church, we also bring our fears, our anger, our biases, our unresolved feelings with us. The church is the place of open doors, open minds, open hearts. The church is the place we come looking for acceptance and love. Jesus wants the demons to come to church – that is the place were they can encounter the healing word from God. At it’s best, the local church functions as an arena in which conflict and hurts among participants who choose to stay can open up possibilities for spiritual progress. Where else will people still accept me after I stand up in a church meeting and harshly criticize something? Ah that’s just Dave, they say. They know me, I learn about the Christian virtues of acceptance and graciousness even as I am not accepting and gracious. By not taking my toys and playing elsewhere – this is finding a church that connects with my spiritual journey – I move forward in my spiritual journey. I give up control. I forfeit my options, in an environment of choices. Dadiv Goetz, Suburban Spirituality, Christianity Today, July 2003, pp34-35. When we come to church we experience God in spite of ourselves. A pastor speaks of entering a program to become a spiritual director. He got overwhelmed and had to drop out of the program, but he got insight into his own demons and was able to experience true transformation. Mark is not afraid to speak of demons because he was anxious to help us to understand the healing power of Jesus’ teaching. As Mark tells of the transforming power of Jesus, each time he calls Jesus the teacher. The teacher heals, the teacher calms to storm, the teacher provides. It is interesting, in this story the leaders in church on that day, don’t seem to be impressed with the demon in church and Jesus calling the demon out. They are flabbergasted at Jesus’ teachings. Who gave the authority to speak like that they ask. You speak as if you know what you are talking about – who gave you authority to do that? This is a new teaching – even the demons listen to you and obey. All Jesus did was show the man love and compassion. He teaches with love and compassion. It was his love and compassion that had the power to transform the situation. There are several stories in the gospels about Jesus removing demons from people. In each story there is always more than one. The collective word for demons is mazzikin, which means one Mazzikin means one that does harm. In this story the demons ask – have you come here to destroy us. Yes. What things in your life that harm us? What things in community harm us? What things in the church that are harming us and keeping us from moving forward? Because it looks like after the demon left the church, everything returned back to normal and they just went on with their service. The Church Dare Not Have an Influence In his penetrating book The First Circle, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the famous Russian author who defected to America, makes an interesting observation about how the Russian authorities handle the church. He writes: "No one stops them from ringing their bells; they can break communion bread anyway they please. They can have their processions with the cross. But they will in no way allow them to have any connection with social or civic affairs." The church was allowed to go through the motions; it could have a presence, but it dare not have an influence. What bothered the scribes was not that Jesus prayed and preached. It was the fact that his prayers and his sermons were moving the people to action. I wonder if the church still has that concept of authority. So often our problem is not that we do not have authority, it is that we do not use the authority that we have. It is time that we quit defining the problems of the world and start applying the power of the church to the problems. We have been given authority by God, through Jesus Christ, to heal, to proclaim, to change, to bring redemption, and to expel. We are under an imperative from God and we need not fear either principalities or death for Christ has been given all authority over heaven and earth. Now we need to start applying that authority. Now the ball is in our courts. For if the claims of Jesus' authority are true, then that will require a response from you and me. In Shakespeare play King Lear, the Earl of Kent offers his services to the King. He wants, he says, to "serve him truly that will put me in trust, to love him that is honest; to converse with him who is wise, to fear judgment." Let us pray….. Prayer What have we done, Lord? We want to praise you, so we splash your words on screens on a wall, with brightly colored and powerful images. We shout your praises, with hands held on high. We teach and preach your word. But we don’t listen carefully for you. We are so busy trying to shout above the noise of the day, that we don’t take time to really listen and know you. The voices of the prophets spoke to people long ago who were too busy and anxious to hear. Their words streamed in the winds of time and have come to us. We need to pay attention to your message offered through them. You are our God, the God of all creation, the God of power and love, whose mercy is offered to us. In Jesus’ time, he proclaimed the good news through words and actions, reaching out to those who were troubled, alienated, cast aside. He offered healing and hope to those others turned away. Help us to learn that you alone can heal us and fix those areas in our lives that are wounded and twisted. Help us to understand that you alone can offer to us a new way of life through Jesus Christ. Remind us again that as we have spoken the names of people and situations that concern us, praying for your healing touch, that the same touch is offered to us in Jesus’ name. Lord, we need to let go of our control issues and place our trust wholly in you. Now and forever. AMEN. Lord’s Prayer Song for Reflection: Help us Accept Each Other UMH 560 Announcements Benediction Jesus comes to us, offering healing and hope, speaking and acting with authority. Listen to him. Go into this world, confident in God’s love and healing power. Go in peace and may God’s love and peace always be with you. AMEN. Children’s Time Object: a rolled up newspaper (Have someone in the congregation throw a rolled up newspaper to you as you begin to talk.) Good morning, boys and girls. Let's see what's in the news today. (Pretend to read the front page. Read in the style of a newscaster.) Here's what the headline says: Jesus Quiets Person In Church! Jesus and his friends were in the city of Capernaum and they went to church. While Jesus was teaching a class at the church a sick person came up to him and screamed in pain. Jesus calmly told the person to be quiet. The person instantly was quiet and the people watching were amazed at what they saw. (Show them the front of the newspaper.) Now would we really find this kind of news in our paper? (Let them respond.) No, of course we wouldn't. But our lesson today tells us that "the news of Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the province of Galilee." Galilee was one of the names of the places where Jesus was. How do you think the news spread about Jesus? (Let them respond.) They didn't have radio and television or magazines like we do. It probably spread fast just by people talking to each other. They went to the market place every day and they talked about Jesus there. They talked about Jesus when they gathered to eat. They walked with different people and talked to them when they went from place to place. But it's still pretty amazing at how fast the news spread. If Jesus had lived today, how would the people have spread the news? (Let them respond.) People would send reporters to interview the person who became quiet when Jesus spoke. The reporters would have interviewed everyone who was around what happened. They probably would have interviewed Jesus or at least one of Jesus' close friends. Then all those reports would be in the newspapers, on the radio and the television news programs. With all the computers it would be around the world in minutes. But even though our news spreads much faster than it did in Jesus' day, we still need to tell others about Jesus with our mouths just like the people did in Jesus' day. That is still a good way to tell people about Jesus - one person to another person. CSS Publishing Co., , by CSS Additional Illustrations Unsanctified - Mark 1:21-28 Ever have one of those days when you just feel miserable, awful, ornery, grouchy? Maybe something has happened to make you feel like you have the grumpies. Or maybe nothing in particular happened at all. We call that “getting up on the wrong side of the bed.” Some days, our spirits sag, and some days, our spirits soar. Even the steadiest, most stable and secure people have days when they just feel “off.” But there is a difference between feeling down in the dumps or even grouchy and feeling nasty, vicious, hateful, or revengeful. Unfortunately, some people have an ongoing case of the “nasties,” and nothing and no-one seems to make them happy. These are people who seem to harbor no empathy, feel no compassion, act upon compulsion, and house a frighteningly aggressive and sometimes even murderous spirit. Often, these are people, who have turned away from God. Cause let’s face it. When you are feeling close to God, you just don’t have the nasties! God is the ultimate “anti-nasty” pill. Someone with a “nasty” spirit may just be someone, whose spirit has been somehow corrupted, overtaken by anger, or destroyed by abuse. Or in cases we know exist, it may be somehow who appears to be downright soul-empty. Whatever the reason, whether we call that person disturbed, angry, or evil, we know those people exist. They exist in our culture. And they can even exist in our churches.... The Authority of Jesus The church in the world is a lot like the story that E. Stanley Jones tells of the missionary in the jungle. He got lost with nothing around him but bush and a few cleared places. He finally found a small village and asked one of the natives if he could lead him out of the jungle. The native said he could. "All right," the missionary said, "Show me the way." They walked for hours through dense brush hacking their way through unmarked jungle. The missionary began to worry and said, "Are you quite sure this is the way? Where is the path?" The native said. "Bwana, in this place there is no path. I am the path." Our path out of the jungle of this world is God in Christ. We may have some Rabbis, Masters, Father's, Teachers, and Reverends but we are all like the missionary. We rely not upon men but Christ who is our path. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com Help in Facing Our Fears Leslie Weatherhead once told a parable of a little boy who fled from a witch who had turned herself into a cat. As the boy ran, he kept glancing fearfully over his shoulder. The first time he looked back, the cat was the size of a calf. The next time he looked, it had grown to the dimensions of an elephant. Then the boy fell, and was unable to go farther. Resolutely he got up and faced the pursuing horror. It stopped. So he took a step toward it. It backed away. As he continued to advance toward it, it began to shrink in size as it retreated from him. Finally it changed into a mouse and ran under the door of the witch's cottage to be seen no more. The moral is clear: it pays to face up to your fears. But sometimes that is hard to do. That is when we need to turn to Christ. He can help us stand up to our fears and conquer them. He can cast out demons. Adapted from Leslie Weatherhead. A New Kind of Authority In Mark's gospel Jesus himself is the content of the teaching. The authority is not in particular speeches, but in this particular life. Jesus lived as one who had authority, an authority radically different from that of tradition. Different from what had been expected. To understand this authority we must not only listen, we must also look. Barbara Lundblad, Lutheran Speaker: The Protestant Hour A Rabbi Talks with Jesus Jacob Neusner is one of the world’s preeminent scholars on first-century Judaism. He has written more than 500 books on the subject. And one of them is a little book entitled, A Rabbi Talks with Jesus. Jacob Neusner calls this book “an inter-millennial interfaith exchange.” In it he engages the Jesus he finds in the Gospels in a conversation about matters of Jewish faith and practice. And while there is much about Jesus that he says that he respects and admires, he says that the point of his personal separation from Jesus would come at the point of Jesus’ separation from tradition. He understands that Jesus spoke “on his own say-so, and not out of the teachings of the Torah.” He understands that Jesus saw himself “as Moses, or as more than Moses”. He understands that Jesus taught as one having authority, and not as one deriving His authority from another. And for Jacob Neusner that crosses a critical line. It’s blasphemous. When Jesus speaks on His own authority He is putting Himself on the level with God. Unknown Jesus Christ Marked Down 50% Chuck Swindoll tells about a commercial product put out by one of the largest department stores in our nation. It proved to be disastrously unsuccessful. It was a doll in the form of the baby Jesus. It was advertised as being unbreakable, washable and cuddly. It was packaged in straw with a satin ribbon and plastic surroundings, and appropriate biblical texts added here and there to make the scene complete. It did not sell. The manager of one of the stores in the department chain panicked. He carried out a last ditch promotion to get rid of those dolls. He brandished a huge sign outside his store that read: “JESUS CHRIST – MARKED DOWN 50% - GET HIM WHILE YOU CAN.” And that is the constant danger – that we will remake Christ into a meek, harmless figure – discounted 50% to attract the masses. Brent Porterfield, www.Sermons.com How are we to understand this? Apparently, the Gospels and New Testament are unique in Jewish literature in the way they talk about spirits not as attacking people from time to time, causing odd or evil things, but as possessing people – coming to dwell within them, to reside in the heart, and over time, to give a certain shape and direction to a person’s life, become part and parcel of who they are, how they act, and how they are known by others in the world. Become their persona – their image or reputation, you might say. Does it make sense to say that in our lives we all accumulate a particular cluster of personal habits, practices, defences, priorities, values, assumptions and expectations of life and of others and even of God, that become our persona, our spirit? A spirit that at best is aligned with the way God desires we live. But that almost always, at some point also gets in the way and starts restricting, limiting, opposing and undermining our freedom to live in the way God intends, and in the way that God’s kingdom, if we are to be part of its coming, calls us to live.

Are You Listening to God?

January 17, 2021 1 Samuel 3:1-20 2nd Sunday After Epiphany Human Relations Sunday Year B Repreach of January 18, 2009 Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer O God, you call to us today, just as you called to the boy Samuel so long ago. Gathered here today, we are many different ages, but we pray for the maturity of faith to hear your call and respond to your Word. Open our ears and our hearts as we worship, as we work, and as we care for one another. We ask that you would give us courage and integrity to answer your call with the heart-felt words, “Here I am!” Amen. Stewardship Moment Scripture 1 Samuel 3:1-20 Samuel’s call 3 Now the boy Samuel was serving the LORD under Eli. The LORD’s word was rare at that time, and visions weren’t widely known. 2 One day Eli, whose eyes had grown so weak he was unable to see, was lying down in his room. 3 God’s lamp hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was lying down in the LORD’s temple, where God’s chest[a] was. 4 The LORD called to Samuel. “I’m here,” he said. 5 Samuel hurried to Eli and said, “I’m here. You called me?” “I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go lie down.” So he did. 6 Again the LORD called Samuel, so Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?” “I didn’t call, my son,” Eli replied. “Go and lie down.” (7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD, and the LORD’s word hadn’t yet been revealed to him.) 8 A third time the LORD called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD. Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down where he’d been. 10 Then the LORD came and stood there, calling just as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel said, “Speak. Your servant is listening.” 11 The LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of all who hear it tingle! 12 On that day, I will bring to pass against Eli everything I said about his household—every last bit of it![b] 13 I told him that I would punish his family forever because of the wrongdoing he knew about—how his sons were cursing God,[c] but he wouldn’t stop them. 14 Because of that I swore about Eli’s household that his family’s wrongdoing will never be reconciled by sacrifice or by offering.” 15 Samuel lay there until morning, then opened the doors of the LORD’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel, saying: “Samuel, my son!” “I’m here,” Samuel said. 17 “What did he say to you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide anything from me. May God deal harshly with you and worse still if you hide from me a single word from everything he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. “He is the LORD, ” Eli said. “He will do as he pleases.” 19 So Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not allowing any of his words to fail. 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was trustworthy as the LORD’s prophet. Sermon Are you Listening to God? I Samuel 3: 1-10 (11-20) I Corinthians 6:12-20 Year B I think that we would all agree that 2021 definitely has a very strong personality. We have only had 17 days of this story, and I feel like I have been through enough drama for ten years, and in the coming days there is even more to come. But I think that it is more important than ever for us to seek to be followers of Jesus. It is more important than ever to be able to identify the voice of God. And God speaks in so many ways. Last Friday, I was returning home by driving on 53. I felt like I was driving through heaven. It was really foggy and you could look and see the fog all around the horizon, but as I looked around in the fields, it looks like the cloud formations were on the ground. And then I was able to look up in the sky and see the moon. It was truly a surreal moment. But a moment when I knew that God was present here on earth. God comes to us in so many ways everyday. We have to be spiritual enough to recognize those God moments and to be encouaraged from them. Our scripture today is the story of how Samuel was able to hear the voice of God in the midst of the chaos of life. This is the day that Samuel recognized God speaking to him. Scripture points out that not only did God not speak very often to others, but Samuel did not know God either. He was a young man, he didn’t know his own greatness, or his destiny, nor the urgings of his own heart. God calling him was the beginning of his relationship with God Wayne Dyer story Wayne Dyer tells the story of a family with two small children. One very rambumcous 4 year old boy – who was always into everything. When his little brother was born, he was a little happy, but he seemed to think he was a toy to play with. There didn’t seem to be any acknowledgment that the younger child was a human, until one day the mother found the 4 year old sitting over the crib talking with the child. He was asking the baby to remind him of what heaven was like because he was beginning to forget. Children have a special connection to God, as we get older we get more attuned to what is happening in front of us, and we forget to look within ourselves to talk with God. St. Augustine’s quote also St. Augustine went on the say that God is within us, but for some reason as we get older, we start to step outside of ourselves our hearts in order to please others. This puts us out of touch, with the one thing that we are looking for – our relationship with God. The point is that Samuel as a young child, was beginning to look within himself – to be quiet to learn to listen to what God was telling him. Samuel went on to become the greatest prophet God ever knew, leading them into a new era. His Journey Started with addressing the situation. He Addressed the sinful nature of his life and the world. Eli was well intentioned, but his sons had forgotten what it meant to serve God and were literally taking advantage of others, by being priest. We are good at addressing sin in others, but we are not good at identifying the sin in ourselves. Paul helps us with that. This is not my favorite verse, but I think one of the most important – summarizes our life at a Christian. As a Christian, I can do whatever I want, there is nothing wrong, but there are some things that are not in my best interest. Our bodies are a temple of God, honor it. But not just our bodies, but our minds and our souls. It is our thoughts that determine the state of our minds and souls, and it is the state of our minds and souls that determine what we do with our bodies. Sin, missing the mark, not doing what is in your best interest is what stands in the way of our relationship with God, our call in the world. Can’t get rid of sin unless we address it honestly and we realize that our bad behavior is only a stand in for good intentions. We all mean well, we just don’t always do well. Why we need to be willing to listen to God’s call to us. Paul makes one more important point about the Christian life. Being called by God is not about you- or what you think is right. Being called by God is about God. A lot of us misunderstand that. If you find that you are the hero to your own story – you are not being called by God. If you are convinced that you have all of the right answers to someone else’s life you are not being called by God. If you are more concerned about taking away the pain of others – not called, if you need to build yourself up by intentionally discrediting others you are not called by God. Living the Christian life is never about you – it is about the good of the community. Salvation is being reminded that you are absolutely nothing without being connection to the entire body of Christ. Mother Theresa’s call Mother Theresa speaks of her call to go out into the streets of India to help people who had literally been thrown away by society. There was a voice who told her that it would be much easier to just go back to her convent and live in peace for the rest of her life. But she listened to the voice which told her these people needed her, and that she needed to be there for them, to help and heal them and make sure that they knew that no matter what their circumstance they were children of God. Borden’s call story William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school in the 40’s. as a graduation present, his parents gave him a trip around the world. He was heir to the borden dairy fortune. While on the trip, he was introduced to the living conditions of others around the world – and he decided that the had to become a missionary. When he went to seminary, he wrote in his bible about his call – no reserves. He had given his life to God. As he graduated, he started bible studies all over America, and still travelled throughout the world – he wrote again in his bible – no retreats. No matter who hard things got, he was not turning around. He served all over the world – in Egypt he acquired spinal mennengiitis. Months before his death at 25 he wrote again in his bible – no regrets. He call led to sacrifice, pain and eventually death- and yet he knew he was willing to follow Christ wherever it led, even to death. Being called by God is never an easy job. Called by God there are a lot of days when you don’t have all of the answers, lots of people who are convinced that if they were in your shoes they could do ten times better than you, lots of days when you find that you fail more often then you succeed. All good indications that you are following God. But through it all – you know that no matter what – you will be faithful and continue to God calling in your heart. When we live life for others, when we answer their questions, when we take away pain instead of giving them the tools to live for themselves- we deprive them of listening to their call. Of their relationships, and from coming up with the answers for themselves. God calls us all to be – our best selves, in our best relationship with God. A journey we take together, but we can only take walking on our own two feet. Final word in this verse is – not said by God or by Samuel – but Eli – the sinner, the one blind and unable to hear He says: It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him. The Lord is here – doing what seems Good to him –How are we responding. Prayer Patient and Wise God, you have called this church into being to serve you in this world by helping others. We rejoice in the many ways we are able to be of help. We offer our prayers for each other, for those near and dear to us, for the situations of difficulty and strife in community and world. You hear our voices cry out and with your eternal compassion you respond in loving care to each of us. We gather here this day, meeting and greeting each other, celebrating fellowship and friendship, welcoming each other in your name. You remind us that you are with us always. What have we to fear? But we fear far too often the unknown tasks that lie ahead of us. We always want to be assured of the happy out come of our efforts. Help us to trust your guidance and presence, Lord. Help us remember that there is no time in which we are out of your care. Enable us to be in serving ministry and mission with joy and confidence. Heal our wounds, bind up our bruises and broken spirits. Put us on a pathway of peace. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. Lord’s Prayer Song for Reflection Here I am Lord UMH 593 Announcements Benediction Go into God’s world, aware of God’s call in your life. Follow our Lord Jesus Christ who will lead you in paths of service and hope. Lean on the power of the Holy Spirit to give you courage and strength. May peace, joy and love flow through you to others, in God’s name. AMEN. Children’s Sermon Object: A watch (Would be helpful if you had one from which the back could be removed to show the inner workings) Good morning boys and girls: A little girl came home from school one day crying because she had been given only a small part in the school play. She had hoped to get the leading part. After drying her tears, her mother took off her watch and put it in her hand. Opening the back of the watch, her mother asked her what she saw. The little girl answered that she saw many tiny wheels. "This watch would be useless," her mother said, "without every part--even the ones you can hardly see." The little girl suddenly understood that even though she did not have the leading role in the play, her part was just as important as any of the others. Our lesson from the Bible today is about young Samuel. God came to Samuel and called him to be a great priest. God calls people do many different kinds of work. Some are called to be farmers, some truck drivers, some doctors or nurses, some teachers. But all of us are important in God's kingdom. We can all serve Him--even if our calling is to go to kindergarten or school and be His boy or His girl there. We are all important in God's work. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Additional Illustrations

The Stars Align

January 3, 2020 Matthew 2:1-12 John Wesley Covenant Service The Stars are Aligning Epiphany Sunday Opening Song Welcome This is communion Sunday as well as the Sunday where we renew our covenant with God. Opening Prayer O God, Searcher of all our hearts, You have formed us as a people and claimed us for your own. As we come to acknowledge your sovereignty and grace, And to enter anew into covenant with you, Reveal any reluctance or falsehood within us. Let your Spirit impress your truth on our inmost being, And receive us in mercy, for the sake of our Mediator, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen. Stewardship Moment Leader: Let us gathered here before the Lord now in covenant commit ourselves to Christ as his servants. Let us give ourselves to Him so that we may fully belong to Him. Jesus Christ has left us with many services to be done. Some of these services are easy and honorable, but some are difficult and disgraceful. Some line up with our desires and interests, others are contrary to both. In some we please both Christ and ourselves, but then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. Jesus Christ, we offer You this prayer: People: Let me be Your servant. Let me follow your commands. I will no longer follow my own desires. I give myself completely to your will. Scripture Matthew 2:1-12 Coming of the magi 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah, because from you will come one who governs, who will shepherd my people Israel.”[a] 7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” 9 When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. Sermon The Stars are Aligning So the Christmas Star has come and gone. Saturn does not rise above the horizon, and Jupiter is not really close to the horizon. Of course lately there has been so much cloud cover that you wouldn’t be able to see it anyway. I am looking forward to the spring able to see in the sky. Even Venus is beyond the horizon now, It has been really cool to live in a house that is facing the eastern sky. I just open my front door and the sun, the moon, and anything else that rises in the sky is right there. Everyday morning, afternoon or night there is some heavenly body right there waving at me. Sometimes I truly feel that God is putting on a show meant just for me to see it. That must have been how the magi in Matthew 12 felt. The heavens were speaking with a message just for them. There had been a general feeling that a special king was due to be born. This king would be different, because he would bring change, not just to one land, but to the whole world. This star that they saw was the message for them that the king was here. That was the story of how they ended up in Bethlehem on the doorstep of Mary and Joseph one day. They bought gifts for their new baby. Not practical things that struggling new parents could use – but gold, frankinscense, and myrhh. It is believed that the story of the magi originates in numbers 22-24 when a foreign king blesses the people of Israel. And Psalm 72 speaks of a king that is coming to Israel, and nations from all over will come and bring his gifts because not only does he take care of the people of Israel, he takes care of people in all nations. So if gold, frankinscense and myrhh are a bit much for a baby, seriously, what do you give to a baby that literally has everything? This baby was not just any normal king. This is the son of God. a baby that was present at the creation of everything in heaven and earth. Perhaps the stars followed him because God put each star in the sky one at a time. Jesus was not just the messiah of all in this world – but he is the messiah of the whole universe even the planets and the stars. Here on earth, we place a high value on precious metals like gold, silver and platinum. We place a high value on precious jewels, which is why they are gifts for a king. Many believe that the precious metals that we find on earth are really dust that fell from stars that burned out and exploded. So this baby didn’t really need stardust as a gift, he already had it as king of the universe. Seriously, what gifts do you bring to a baby that has everything? Well his request of us is that we give him everything – everything that we are. Not only does he ask for our gifts, but he also asks for our service, our loyalty, our hearts. Everything that we are – Jesus asks of us. We are made of the same elements as the stars. The divine spark that moves the stars, also moves us and our lives. Our everything is worth a lot –in the hands of God it is worth much more. Christ came to the earth to gather us together as a family, as the children of God, to do the work of God The king works to take care of all nation, based on our gifts – the gift of our heart. The message of this passage is not so much about how God moved the stars to guide the wise men to the doorstep of Jesus. The message was that Jesus was able to unite the hopes of dreams of the Israelites with the hopes and dreams of people of distant lands. Strangers came knocking on the door and they became friends. We are all God’s children – where ever we are in the world. Through Jesus we are able to be united at one. One of my colleagues, Ron Graham put this poem on facebook. I thought it was a great way to end. Names Carl Sandburg There is only one horse of the earth and his name is All Horses. There is only one bird in the air and his name is All Wings. There is only one fish in the sea and his name is All Fins. There is only one man in the world and his name is All Men. There is only one woman in the world and her name is All Women. There is only one child in the world and the child's name is All Children. There is only one Maker in the world and His children cover the earth and they are named All God's Children Let us pray. Prayer Of Thanksgiving Let us give thanks for all of God’s mercies. O God, our Covenant Friend, You have been gracious to us through the years of our lives. We thank you for your loving care, Which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place. You have given us life and reason, and set us in a world filled with your glory. You have comforted us with family and friends, and ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers. You have filled our hearts with hunger after you, and have given us your peace. You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus. You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit and the witness of your church. You have been our light in darkness and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation. You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys And the all-sufficient reward in our labors. You remembered us when we forgot you. You followed us even when we tried to flee from you. You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you. For all your patience and overflowing grace. Song for Reflection - O God our Help in Ages Past Jesus asks for our everything – everything that we are is a gift from God. We are all children of God – we are all called to fulfill Jesus mission of salvation for all. We have to make that step for ourselves. John Wesley did not take that step for granted. We have to constantly be aware of our relationship, he invited us to think every year about our service, our gifts our hearts. Take the covenant before we take communion. Each have a copy so that you can keep it with you all year and review it in your personal study time. John Wesley Covenant John Wesley Covenant Service Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants. Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him. Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy and honorable, Others are more difficult and disgraceful. Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, Others are contrary to both. In some we may please Christ and please ourselves. But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ. Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray: Let me be your servant, under your command. I will no longer be my own. I will give up myself to your will in all things. Amen. Communion Announcements Benediction May our God, who establishes covenant relationship with those who seek to enter the Kingdom, be with you always. May Jesus Christ, who seals the new covenant with his blood on the cross, bring you peace. May the Holy Spirit guide your life both now and for ever. Go in peace to serve the Lord! Please Put this on the back of the bulletin John Wesley’s Covenant Service Christ will be the savior of none but his servants. He is the source of all salvation to those who obey. Christ will have no servant except by consent; Christ will not accept anything except full consent to all that he requires. Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing. Confirm this by a holy covenant. To make this covenant a reality in your life, consider these admonitions: 1) Set apart some time, more than once, to be spent alone before the Lord; In seeking earnestly God’s special assistance and gracious acceptance of you; In carefully thinking through all conditions of the covenant; In searching your heart whether you have already freely given your life to Christ; Consider what your sins are. Consider the laws of Christ, how holy, strict, and spiritual they are, and whether you, after having carefully considered them, are willing to choose them all. Be sure you are clear in these matters, see that you do not lie to God. 2) Be serious and in spirit of holy awe and reverence. 3) Claim God’s covenant, rely upon God’s promise of giving grace and strength, So that you can keep your promise. Trust not in your own strength and power. 4) Resolve to be faithful. You have given to the Lord your heart, you have opened your mouth to the Lord and you have dedicated yourself to God. With God’s power, never go back. 5) Be then prepared to renew your covenant with the Lord. Fall down on your knees, lift your hands toward heaven, open your heart to the Lord, Covenant Prayer Lord, make me what you will. I put myself fully into your hands: Put me to doing, put me to suffering, Let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, Let me be full, let me be empty, Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and with a willing heart give it all to your pleasure and disposal. Your Signature: Children’s Sermon Object: Large silver star stickers Good morning, boys and girls. (It may be appropriate to say a few words about the meaning of Advent or Epiphany.) One of the most interesting and familiar stories about what happened at the birth of the baby Jesus is told to us by Matthew. It is the story about a special star and of a group of men who were led by it to where the young child was. We even sing a song about these men. Who knows the name of the song? (Response -- "We Three Kings.") The three men were known as Magi. They were followers of a man named Zoroaster, and they were astronomers. Can you tell me what an astronomer is? (Response -- You may get some guesses but someone will say it's someone who studies the stars.) These men were wise. They not only studied the stars, they also studied the writings of the prophets. They knew that a new leader was to be born to Israel, and they wanted to come and worship him. When they followed their special star, do you know what happened? (Response.) Yes, it led them right to the place where Jesus was, and they presented very precious gifts to him out of their joy and respect. We may not have special stars in the sky to lead us to Jesus today, but we can find our way to him, too. The Bible tells us all about who Jesus was and is, and what He did when He came into the world. We can come to him in faith and receive him as the King of our lives today, even as wise men did so many centuries ago. (Prayer to encourage us to seek Jesus in our lives today.) (Give them a star to remind them of the Wise Men and the star of Bethlehem.) CSS Publishing Company, Let The Children Come, by Robert B. Lantz Additional Illustrations