God is the root of everything

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington July 25, 2021 Ephesians 3:14-21 9th Sunday After Pentecost Year B God is the root of everything Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer Lord, we come into your presence this morning with the busy schedules of summer activities crowding our lives. Our souls need to be fed and yet we seem powerless to find nurture and feeding that will sustain us. Open our ears, our eyes, and our hearts this day to hear your words of hope and healing for us. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship An old song has the lyrics “such as I have, I give you, willingly”. That describes the gifts of the nameless boy in John’s Gospel who brought five barley loaves and two fish with him when he came to hear Jesus teach and watch him heal those who gathered. Willingly, he put what he had into Jesus’ hands. Look what happened! As we come to the time of receiving our morning offering, let’s imagine what could happen if each one of us would act on these words: “such as I have, I give you, willingly”. (use the specifics from your own situation, or use these ideas, below) What time would you give to share God’s love in our congregation? In our tutoring program? In our Vacation Bible School? What talents would you offer to spread the Good News beyond these walls? Your IT skills? Your musical talent? Your ability to build a ramp for someone unable to leave their home because the stairs are too steep? What treasure would you place in the offering plate, or text, or give on-line through our web-site, today? How will you offer the treasure of your time and talent? What will you offer to add to your will or leave as an inheritance for this congregation. Such as you have, will you give, willingly? Prayer of Thanksgiving God of abundance, We give you thanks for all you provide for us, day by day. Thank you for these gifts, now offered back to you from the lives of your gathered people. Please accept them, and help us find the best ways to utilize them, that our living faith will be marked by the same generosity as that young boy offered. Such as we have, we give you, willingly. AMEN Song Be Still My Soul UMH 534 Scripture Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians 14 This is why I kneel before the Father. 15 Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. 16 I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. 17 I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, 18 I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. 19 I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. 20 Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; 21 glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. Sermon God is the root of everything Sometimes bizarre stories make the newspapers. Like the one in New York involving Daisy Fernandez. It seems Daisy won $2.8 million in 1981. Subsequently she was sued by her son's teenage friend. Why did he sue her? It was because she had asked him to pray for her. The friend, Christopher Pando, prayed to his favorite saint. When his prayer was answered, Christopher claimed half of Fernandez's jackpot. The case went before a panel of five State Supreme Court judges, who ruled against the boy, declaring soberly that in a modern court, there was no way to prove the efficacy of prayer. (1) After comedian George Burns played God in the movie OH GOD! He received some interesting mail. He received one letter from Milwaukee. It was addressed "God ” Beverly Hills." It was from a six-year-old boy. It started out: "Dear Mr. God. I know you're very busy, but I have a big favor to ask. This Sunday is our championship baseball game, and I would be very happy if you would make it not rain. Don't forget, it's this Sunday." Burns said it evidently didn't rain, because he got another letter from that boy. It said, "Thanks, but we lost." (2) One of the grand things you can do for another human being is to pray for them. St. Paul prayed for people. In our lesson for today he prayed for the church at Ephesus. But, in a sense, he was also praying for you and me. Listen to his words: "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man . . ." (RSV) Prayer is the lifeblood of who we are and what we do. Prayer is our connection to God. When we care about someone, prayer is one way to show that care. In the Jewish tradition, you would pray standing up, with your hands lifted up. But Paul is so fervently in prayer that he kneels and prays for the church He prays that something would shift in our lives and in our faith and most importantly in our faith. As the writer falls on his knees, he says this is what I pray for 3 things 1 – he prays that each of us will strengthen our inner selves. NOTICE, FIRST OF ALL, THAT ST. PAUL PRAYED THAT WE MIGHT BE STRENGTHENED. Is there anyone in this room who would not like to be stronger? Young fellows have always rejoiced in flexing their biceps. Now that it is socially acceptable for young women to be in the weight rooms, they may be having people admire their muscles as well. We all want to be stronger. Is there anyone who wants to be weak? Of course not. Having said that, I hope you realize that the greatest strength is not a strong body. It is strength of the mind and spirit. ou have seen people with bulging biceps, but have you ever had the privilege of meeting anyone as strong as Kenneth? Here is a more important question: Do you have that kind of strength? You and I, for the most part, live such easy lives. Such living is rarely conducive to building spiritual and moral muscles. Many of us need to pray for strength. Strength for carrying heavy burdens, yes. But also strength for facing moral dilemmas. St. Paul's first prayer is that we will be strong. PAUL ALSO PRAYS THAT WE WILL KNOW THE LOVE OF GOD. He writes, " . . . that you being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge . . ." In 1972, a young man from India set out to bicycle around the world. On one leg of his journey, he was accosted by a mugger. The mugger held him at gunpoint and demanded some money. "Why do you want my money, brother?" the Indian asked. "What you do mean 'brother'?" the mugger asked, bewildered. "Well, we are all brothers," the Indian replied. "Who are you? What are you doing?" the mugger asked. "I am bicycling around the world on $23," said the Indian. "How are you going to make it around the world on $23?" the mugger asked. "With the help of kind people like you," the Indian replied. At this, the perplexed, would-be mugger pulled out his wallet and said, "Can I help you, brother?" (6) It is amazing when you approach people with love how they will respond with love. Not always. There are evil people in this world who have never known God's love and who have, therefore, no reservoir of love from which to draw. But that is the exception. Paul prays that we will be made strong. He also prays that we might be filled with the love of God. FINALLY, HE PRAYS THAT WE WILL BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD. Here is the good news you have come to this house of worship to hear. You and I can be filled with the fulness of God. The last prayer for us is the most powerful one of all. That prayer is that we will know the width, the length, the height and the depth of God. In other words, we will come to understand just how big God is. Whereas the First Commandment prohibits the worship of other gods, the second warns against reducing God to manageable size. It commands that we not try to limit or tame or restrict God. God Almighty must not be reduced to some kind of handy helper or good- luck charm. omeone taught me this very meaningful prayer: "0 Lord, I don't ask you to bless what I am doing. Instead, help me discover what you are doing and get with it." After comedian George Burns played God in the movie OH GOD! He received some interesting mail. He received one letter from Milwaukee. It was addressed "God ” Beverly Hills." It was from a six-year-old boy. It started out: "Dear Mr. God. I know you're very busy, but I have a big favor to ask. This Sunday is our championship baseball game, and I would be very happy if you would make it not rain. Don't forget, it's this Sunday." Burns said it evidently didn't rain, because he got another letter from that boy. It said, "Thanks, but we lost." God can be so much bigger than our expectations and desires. That is a good thing. Because there are so many things in the world beyond our control. Corrie Ten Boom was a Christians imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding jews. After the war,during a service at which she spoke about forgiveness, a man she recognized as a cruel prison guard came to shake her hand. She did not want to touch him and felt no forgiveness for him, even though she knew that she should. She willed her hand to meet his, but it would not move until she felt a power from beyond her travel from her shoulder down her arm toward the man. With that power, she was able to not just shake his hand, but to really forgive him. She knew that power was Christ’s love. We worship a God that is so much bigger than anything that we will ever know. But somehow that God shows love for us. So it looks like we will be looking at lessons from the book of Ephesians throughout the next two months. These are always hard lessons because there are no bible stories, but bible lessons. Lessons on who Christ calls the church to be in the world. The change agent always on the cutting edge of live, living in outside of our comfort zone, going against common sense, and always seeking God’s sense. Jonathan Edwards put it this way, "The Christian way of life is more than what we do. It is who we are by the power of the Spirit." We can change. We were made to change. One of the bicentennial books was Liberty Tavern.2 It is an interesting story of the Revolution. A little girl from the Colonies was nursing a wounded British soldier back to life. In his hopelessness and defeat he didn’t want to live. He said to her: "Some people can’t change their natures." She responded, "That is what I refuse to admit. People do change. I am a living proof. A country can change. If America can have a revolution, why not a person? History is nothing but a story of changes." There is hope for anybody - that is the business of Christianity! • Accepting the love of God is not an intellectual venture but will require us to surrender the mystery of God’s love. This doesn’t mean checking our brains at the door, but rather realizing, humbly, that there are things we can and will never understand. God love and grace are beyond our comprehension. We can choose to accept God’s love as it is freely given to us and to others or to reject it. We can hope to know that love, but we can never understand it. The message of our scripture today – For this cause I pray – that you will be strengthened inside, that you will know the love of God and that you will know just how big our God is. When we come to know those things about God, we know them about ourselves and others. Vacation Prayer - To Reassess My Spiritual Walk Forgive me Lord, for the many times that I seem to forget or ignore You in the midst of my busy working life, when I am rushing from one important issue to another or find myself consumed with getting the job done, rather than resting my anxious thoughts on You. Lord, I know the importance of quietness, of resting in You and being still in Your presence, and I pray that You would use this vacation to help me reassess my relationship with You, so that in the future I am able to look to You and depend on You, rather than on myself. Teach me Lord, how to rest in You rather than wearing myself out with my own self-effort. Thank You for Your loving patience with me. Thank You for having waited for me to come to this important decision and for prompting me to do so, for I know that my priority in life is to get right with You and to keep You at the center of all that I do. Teach me Lord, to be quiet before You. To be still in Your presence and to cast all my burdens upon You, even those that I have while at work. Search my heart I pray, during this quality time I have with You over this vacation period, and may I emerge from it more ready and able to cast all my burdens upon You, knowing that you are interested in every area of my life, including my working life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Song In the Garden UMH 314 Announcements Benediction Let us go now, foolish enough to believe in God. We will see God in everyone we meet. Let us go now, foolish enough to follow Jesus. We will share grace with those who need it the most. Let us go now, foolish enough to be filled with the Holy Spirit, We will serve with the Spirit in calming the fears of the world. Children’s Sermon Object: Some plant roots from some different kinds of plants. Good morning, boys and girls. Has anyone ever told you to get to the root of a problem? Do you know what they mean when they talk about the "root" of the problem? [Let them answer.] Those are some pretty good answers. When people talk about the "root" of anything they are talking about starting at the beginning. The root is a very important part of anything that grows in the ground. Let me show you. [Take out some of the roots you have brought and pass them around.] What are some of the things that you know about roots? [Let them answer.] When you look at a root what does it make you think about? [Let them answer.] All of us have seen roots before, but it is hard for us to see them work because a root lives in the ground and is generally covered up with dirt and rocks. But while you can't see it, the root is hard at work. The root searches out food for the plant and takes it in so that the plant can live and grow strong. The root buries itself deep in the ground so that the plant remains firm and can grow in one place. A root is a most important part of the plant, and even though you cannot see it work, we know that the plant could not live without a good root. The reason that I showed you the roots and talked about them is because St. Paul spoke of Christians and their roots. He said that we should live in love like a root lives in the ground. Living in love means that we must be surrounded by love like a root is surrounded by the earth. How are you surrounded by love? [Let them answer.] That's right, by loving everyone and everything around you. Loving your friends, loving your family, loving your neighbors, loving your teachers, loving your enemies, and most of all, loving your God. That is how a Christian grows, becomes firm in his faith and helps others to grow. He does all of this by being like a root. Now you may not always be able to see your love or the love of others, but a good root is there beneath the surface growing. I hope that all of you are good roots. I hope that you are expanding and reaching out with new ways to grow. Make sure that you are being surrounded by love and your Christian growth is assured. CSS Publishing Company, PATCHED PEOPLE, by Wesley T. Runk Additional Illustrations If Oliver Wendell Holmes had seen the real thing, it might have turned out differently. May others rediscover the abundant life for themselves by really seeing it in some of us. I saw a cartoon somewhere picturing two Army trainees standing in front of a military chapel. On the chapel bulletin board was the sermon topic for that Sunday. It read: "The Second Commandment--Thou Shalt Not Make Any Graven Images.” One soldier said to his buddy, "Now there's a commandment I haven't broken yet." Maybe you're thinking similar thoughts this morning. Surely we haven't worshipped any graven images lately. But let's take a closer look at what the Second Commandment means before deciding whether or not we obey it. (2) One of the grand things you can do for another human being is to pray for them. St. Paul prayed for people. In our lesson for today he prayed for the church at Ephesus. But, in a sense, he was also praying for you and me. Listen to his words: "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man . . ." (RSV) FINALLY, HE PRAYS THAT WE WILL BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD. Here is the good news you have come to this house of worship to hear. You and I can be filled with the fulness of God. And that is my prayer for you ” just as it was St. Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus. That you will become a stronger person within. That you will be able to see others through the rose-colored eyes of God's love. And that you will be filled with the fulness of God ” through prayer, through working to live within God's will, through worship, and reading the Bible, and hanging out with God's people and going to the Lord's table. Isn't that what you really want? Isn't that why you are here? May it be done to you according to your need. According to those whose job it is to know such things, it only takes three weeks to become blind to the presence of stationary objects in our everyday worlds. Hang a new picture on the wall, and one is likely to notice it for about 21 days. After that it has become part of the scenery. It simply doesn't leap into the foreground any more. At the 1996 Promise Keepers gathering of 42,000 pastors in Atlanta, an assembly that represented myriad different church groups and denominational affiliations, author and pastor Max Lucado stood at the speaker's podium and made a simple request. "On the count of three," he said, "would you please shout out loud the name of the group or tradition or church body of which you are currently a member? One, two, three ..." Those present voiced their affiliations. Some were fortunate. All they had to shout was "Methodist" or "Presbyterian." One fellow rattled off "The Church of God of Prophecy Incorporated." What everyone heard echoing through the Georgia Dome was an undifferentiated blob of sound. Lucado followed with a second request. "On the count of three," he said, "would you please shout the name to whom you have trusted your heart, your soul, your ministry, and your entire spiritual future? One, two, three ..." And there rose, in unison, the sound of just two syllables that filled the entire dome: "Jesus!" In the memorable moment that followed there was absolute silence -- as if the leaders of God's people were suddenly struck dumb by the realization that perhaps they have more in common than first assumed. Perhaps the walls can fall down after all. For around that name, the name of the One who dares to share his grace with those on both sides of our most unyielding barriers, we have more in common right now than we have often allowed ourselves to dream. In Christ alone, by his immeasurable grace, there is power to turn dividing walls into dust. CSS Publishing Company, Sermons for Sunday after Pentecost, by Harold Warlick Now the way we are to attain fullness of being, or would you prefer a more modern term, wholeness, the way we are to attain wholeness is clear. Christ dwelling in our hearts in love. So we continue to talk about the shaping power of the indwelling Christ. Let’s do it today by focusing on the most fundamental of all our needs. The indwelling Christ is an affirming presence. The indwelling Christ is an affirming presence. One story that reflects this love is about little Willie, the smallest child of a sharecropping family in the 1940s. They had just enough money to survive. One time through the mother's careful saving, they had an extra dollar. She sent it into the Sears Roebuck catalog for their first luxury, a small mirror. When it arrived, each family member looked at it. When it got to Willie he gasped in horror. His face was full of scars. As an infant he had been bitten by a dog. As a toddler he had been kicked in the head by a horse. He looked at his mother: "Mama, did you know I looked like this all along?" "Yes, Willie, I knew." "And you still loved me?" "Yes, of course I loved you, Willie, and I do love you, and I will always love you, because you are mine. You are mine!" There are times when I look at the scars of my sinfulness and I have to ask the Lord: "Can you love me the way I am? Even though I neglect you and come to you only at my convenience?" And then in the solitude of my prayers I hear him whisper, "Yes, I love you. I love you because you are mine." As one preacher put it: "There is nothing you can do to make God love you. There is nothing you can do to make God stop loving you." For this reason I kneel before the Father ... and I pray that he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Amen. • Is Christ a visitor in our life? Do we put on show of hospitality and good manners; temporarily pushing our “junk” into the closets of our lives? OR do we invite Christ to live with us? To be challenged by Christ’s constant presence in time that are good and times that are bad? Will we allow ourselves to be transformed by Christ? o “Conversations change. Relationships realign. Household tasks increase and responsibilities shift. So it is when Christ moves in to the hearts of Christians. This isn't merely tweaking old patterns; everything changes.” Karen Chakoian, Feasting on the Word – Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16). A man opens a bar, right across the street from a church. The church is very unhappy about this. As they meet for administrative council meetings, for bible study, even Sunday service, every time they pray as a church, they pray that some how this bar will be shut down. One night during a storm, lighting strikes the bar, it catches fire and is destroyed. The bar owner takes the church to court, saying that they were responsible for the damage to his property They asked God to destroy the property and God answered their prayer. The churches defense was that they had no control over acts of God. The lightening had nothing to do with them. Listening to the case, the judge felt that he had to be very careful in how he proceeded and how he answered this case. While weighing the evidence of the case, he says – now let me get this straight – in this case we have a bartender, who believes in the power of prayer and this side, and other the other side we have a church who doesn’t. hmmmm.