The Heart's Content - Our true intentions

August 29, 2021 14th Sunday of Pentecost Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 The heart’s content – our true intentions Year B Opening Song Welcome Invocation God of all life, many of us are bored, apathetic or caught by our own “to do” lists. Surprise and challenge us today with Good News! Fill us with the compelling Word-made-flesh – Jesus. Help all of what comes from within our lives not defile our world, but be rich and engaging love for neighbor and for you. AMEN Stewardship Moment Mark’s Gospel text today tells of the Pharisees and some of the scribes who question Jesus about his disciples’ action (eating without first washing hands). “Why do your disciples not (live/walk) according to the tradition … but eat with defiled hands?” We’ve all been living in a culture in which we’ve been urged (vigorously!) to wash our hands multiple times a day – a particular action which makes sense, especially in this COVID pandemic. We’ll continue to exercise caution, and perhaps sing our ABC’s, as we scrub hands each day. But the Pharisees’ question is more than hand-washing. It urges us to question ourselves: “how do I (how do WE) live/walk? In our worship, we take time to demonstrate our desire to live/walk in step with Jesus, with glad and generous actions. This time of offering our gifts opens the door for us to actively show we’re not caught up in the evil things which come from within (“fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice…envy, slander, pride, folly”) but we’re caught by the good which dwells in us! So how will you live/walk in this moment? Let us each, let us all, act out our faith, as we share our tithes, offerings and gifts. Prayer of Thanksgiving With our faith in you, Generous God, we offer you these gifts. Receive them as signs of our desire to walk in the Way of Jesus. Use this financial support, and use each of us, to help smooth the path and broaden the appeal of those seeking to live beyond the expectations of society. AMEN Passing the Peace of Christ (James 1) You are God’s beloved children. Look into one another’s face to see the beauty of God’s presence. Share the Lord’s peace with gladness. Scripture Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Mark 7:1-8 Common English Bible What contaminates a life? 7 The Pharisees and some legal experts from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw some of his disciples eating food with unclean hands. (They were eating without first ritually purifying their hands through washing. 3 The Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat without first washing their hands carefully. This is a way of observing the rules handed down by the elders. 4 Upon returning from the marketplace, they don’t eat without first immersing themselves. They observe many other rules that have been handed down, such as the washing of cups, jugs, pans, and sleeping mats.) 5 So the Pharisees and legal experts asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples not living according to the rules handed down by the elders but instead eat food with ritually unclean hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you hypocrites. He wrote, This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. 7 Their worship of me is empty since they teach instructions that are human words.[a] 8 You ignore God’s commandment while holding on to rules created by humans and handed down to you.” Mark 7:14-15 14 Then Jesus called the crowd again and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing outside of a person can enter and contaminate a person in God’s sight; rather, the things that come out of a person contaminate the person.”[a] Mark 7:21-23 21 “It’s from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come: sexual sins, thefts, murders, 22 adultery, greed, evil actions, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, insults, arrogance, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from the inside and contaminate a person in God’s sight.” Sermon The Heart’s Content – Our true intentions There is a sign in the girl’s bathroom that says Jesus and germs are everywhere – be sure to wash your hands. Jesus and germs…hmm. In this day and age, a sermon about washing our hands is very relevant. You don’t have to tell any of us about the importance of washing our hands. Back in Jesus’ day they didn’t have access to hand sanitizer. When the pharisees criticize Jesus and the disciples for not washing their hands before eating – Jesus has to explain to them that their understanding of cleanliness only applies to wealthy urban people. People in the rural countryside would not have the same access to soap and water. We have all heard the saying that cleanliness is next to godliness. We all think of that as a biblical saying, and yet it appears no where in the bible. As a matter of fact, that is the point that Jesus is making to the pharisees. It is not even a biblical concept. Purity is a big concept in Judaism and even in Islam. So before you enter into the sanctuary – you wash your hands and feet. Before you meet God – you make sure that you are clean. Even for us – the baptismal fount is placed at the entrance of the sanctuary so that you can remember your baptism – a chance to get spiritually clean before facing God. So that is Jesus whole point – physical cleansing is the first step in spiritual cleansing. This is the place of confusion for the pharisees – they were confusing the two things. In actuality – Jesus and germs do not really go together. The concept of a germ that goes into your body and kills you would not have made sense in Jesus’ time. Germs are pretty modern, it wasn’t until 1850 the Europeans start studying germs. And it wasn’t until the 1920 when scientist developed a theory of germs and the importance of washing hands. Many ancient cultures would have had a theory that if you ingested certain things you got sick. Genesis, Deuteronomy and Leviticus spends a lot of time outlining conditions that make you sick, and how important it is for you to isolate yourself so that you don’t infect the rest of the community. But they didn’t think of germs as the culprit – but evil spirits. God is the opposite of evil – that is why it is so important to come to God with a clean spirit. Jesus reminds that pharisees that they have lost the whole point of spiritual cleanliness. Washing your hands before coming to church is not a biblical concept – it was known as a tradition of the elders. The traditions that have been passed on from the elders is a key part of Judaism. Honoring Hebrew traditions was everything. Even today – people don’t have a problem with Jesus as the Christ. They have a problem with the fact that Jesus seemed to dishonor the tradition of the elders. He was told that as a rabbi, he should know better than letting his disciples eat without washing their hands. They did not realize, that Jesus was not dishonoring tradition, he was questioning it. I mean, let’s admit it – even today we as Christians have the best of intentions in our religion, but let’s face it – we tend to get set in our ways. Tradition becomes everything – our tradition. Anyone who doesn’t do it the way we think it should be done is doing it wrong. Humor: A Tradition of Fighting There is a story about a young, newly ordained minister who went to serve his first church. He noticed that on the first Sunday, when he said the prayers, the congregation on the left side of the church stood at the beginning of the prayers, and the congregation on the right side remained seated. The young minister thought this was a bit odd, but he kept going in the prayers — until he began to hear some murmuring between the two sides, then the murmuring turned into grumbling and then people yelling at each other, proclaiming that they were doing the right thing when came to the tradition of the church. Distressed by what he had seen and all that was taking place, the young pastor went to seek the council of the former, now elderly pastor, who had served this congregation for years. He asked him, “So is it the tradition of the congregation to stand during the prayers?” The older minister, whose memory was now failing, stroked his beard, replied, “No, that is not the tradition, as I recall.” “So, the tradition is that they remain seated during the prayers?” To which the old minister responded, “No, that’s not the tradition either.” The young pastor threw his hands in the air in exasperation, and said, “There must be some solution to this! The way things are now, half stand and half sit and all end up screaming at one another during the prayers.” The old pastor’s face lit up in a smile; he lifted his finger high into the air and said, “Ahh, yes! Now I remember — that was the tradition!” Traditional I worry today because our world today is more and more polarized - in the church, in the community, between races. Who would have thought that washing our hands and the effect of germs would become a political issue in which we separate ourselves. Jesus messes with the pharisees and their using tradition a dividing point. He tells them that what germs that go into the body are not nearly as bad as the germs that come out of it. Now technically – we have to remember that Jesus is speaking in a very different time. Because the germs that we take into our body do hurt us. And it is more important than ever that we wash our hands. But Jesus us messing with us to. He is telling us that cleanliness goes much deeper than our hands. And we cannot let cleanliness separate us from the fundamentals of our faith – unity, moving beyond traditional religion and being intentional about loving, and moving beyond our natural responses to life. God is not so much concerned about our hands as God is concerned about our hearts. If we are not intentional about our faith, it is what comes out of our hearts that hurts. “It’s from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come: sexual sins, thefts, murders, 22 adultery, greed, evil actions, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, insults, arrogance, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from the inside and contaminate a person in God’s sight.” In prior years that I have preached on this scripture – I would define each of those sins that Jesus listed. Today I don’t think that is the Jesus point for us. We live in a world where we are all divided on some point looking for a way to move forward as a collective body in spite of our differences. In every age we struggle with the balance of tradition and contemporary. And it is as important as ever that we wash our hands. Jesus came into the world so that we have life. In the midst of our differences, sometimes that it all that is holding us together – Jesus. Let us be intentional about holding jesus in our hearts. It is not just what we put in our bodies, but what we put in our mouths, our minds, our spirits and our souls. What we put in, determines what comes out. Let us pray….. Prayer Compassionate God, we like to think that all we have to do is be “religious”, to speak the words, but that we really don’t have to “walk the walk”. We can get so caught up in ritual and rules, that we forget the essence of your word for us. We forget that we are called to truly be people of peace, not just to speak the words, but to practice lives of compassion and hope. So many times in this world, we are challenged to “take sides”, one against the other; but that is contrary to your will. You call us to stand for mercy, justice, love, forgiveness, hope, and peace. You want us to be people who care deeply about others and about this world. Help us to be ready to truly and joyfully serve you, O God. Free us from selfishness and self-centeredness. Lift us to lives of peace; for we offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN. Song Just as I am without one Plea UMH 357 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook God of abundant love, you delight us with your grace— grace expressed in the beauty of our world. God of truth and light, you challenge us to live faithful lives— to turn away from evil, to follow your ways, to serve your people. May your word of truth grow within us this day, that we may bring forth a harvest of peace. Amen. Community Time Benediction Arise, my fair ones, and come away! Where are we going? We go to the realm of God’s love, a place of great beauty. What will we find? We will find music and sweetness, an abundance of grace. We go with joy to meet our Lord! Children’s Sermon Object: Some cosmetics--especially a tube of lipstick Good morning, boys and girls. There is an old saying that you can't judge a book by its cover. What do you think that means? That's right. A book cover may not tell you what's really inside. We could say the same thing about people, couldn't we? A person may really look great on the outside. They may have their lipstick just right. (Pretend you are using the cosmetics). How many of you girls wear lipstick? You're a little young, aren't you? How about you fellows? You don't wear lipstick either? A person might have their lipstick on just right. Their eyeliner may be just so and they may have on beautiful earrings. (Male Pastor) What would you think if I came to church some Sunday with all those things on? I would look a little strange, wouldn't I? A person can have all their make-up just right and have on beautiful clothes and accessories--and guess what? They can be rotten to the core on the inside, can't they? They can be mean to other people and stingy. They can use foul language and abuse their bodies and just be generally no good. The Bible tells us Jesus doesn't worry about how we look on the outside. Jesus cares about how we are on the inside. Jesus doesn't care how religious we look on Sunday mornings. All He cares about is what He sees in our hearts. Let's pray that when Jesus looks beyond what we are on the outside-- when he looks into our hearts--he will see love for him and love for every person. That's what he values most--a heart full of love for God and for others. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Additional Illustrations I'd be the last person to give anyone dietary advice; what foods are good,and will product good health, and what foods are bad for you. A friend once said to me, pardon the expression, we shouldn't eat crap, and we all know what crap is. Likewise, we need to be careful about what we hear and see, what values we're exposed to, what values are crap, lest the wrong things come bursting out of our hearts.... The Rabbi and the White Horse A young man once came to a great rabbi and asked him to make the younger man a rabbi. It was wintertime then. The rabbi stood at the window looking out upon the yard, while the rabbinical candidate was droning into his ears a glowing account of his piety and learning. The young man said, "You see, Rabbi, I always go dressed in spotless white like the sages of old. I never drink any alcoholic beverages; only water ever passes my lips. Also, I live a plain and simple life. I have sharp-edged nails inside my shoes to mortify me. Even in the coldest weather, I lie naked in the snow to torment my flesh. Also daily, I receive forty lashes on my bare back to complete my perpetual penance." As the young man spoke, a white horse was led into the yard and to the water trough. It drank, and then it rolled in the snow, as horses sometimes do. "Just look!" cried the rabbi. "That animal, too, is dressed in white. It also drinks nothing but water, has nails in its shoes and rolls naked in the snow. Also, rest assured, it gets its daily ration of forty lashes on the rump from its master. Now, I ask you, is it a saint, or is it a horse?!?!" Which is more important – what goes into us or what comes out of us? Which defines us more – our outside behavior or our inside motivation? Carla Thompson Powell, Insides vs. Outsides? What Really Matters? Tradition Is a Powerful Thing Years ago Harry Emerson Fosdick told about a church in Denmark where the worshipers bowed regularly before a certain spot on the wall. They had been doing that for three centuries -- bowing at that one spot in the sanctuary. Nobody could remember why. One day in renovating the church, they removed some of the whitewash on the walls. At the exact spot where the people bowed they found the image of the Madonna under the whitewash. People had become so accustomed to bowing before that image that even after it was covered up for three centuries, people still bowed. Tradition is a powerful thing. The Pharisees had learned to substitute tradition, custom, habit for the presence of the living God. Traditionalism rears its head in many ways, in many times and in many places. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Which Flowers Are Real? The queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon, and one day she put him to the test. She brought artificial flowers so perfectly formed that no human eye could detect them from real flowers. She put them in a vase on Solomon’s table, in his throne room next to his flowers. As he came in, the queen of Sheba is reported to have said, "Solomon, you are the wisest man in the world. Tell me without touching these flowers, which are real and which are artificial." It is said that Solomon studied the flowers for a long time and spoke nothing, until finally he said, "Open the windows and let the bees come in." There are ways to tell the artificial from the real — let the bees come in; they will know where the real is. If we live with the authentic Jesus long enough, we will recognize the artificial when we see it. Brooks Ramsey, When Religion Becomes Real For Jesus the food laws became critical arguing points to challenge the exclusion of Gentiles from the kingdom of God. A new identity for Israel was unfolding and it required a shift in understanding the purpose of the law. Table manners are not after all meant for banishing to the basement those who aren’t worthy enough to eat. They are meant to help make dining a pleasurable experience for everyone. But the controversy over food laws persisted, and in the early Church reflected tensions between Jewish and Gentile Christians that kept them from table fellowship together. Today, for us, other controversies keep Christians from coming to the table together. Opinions about policies having to do with genetic research, war, medical care, education, the environment, and gender give us all the opportunity for violent disagreement, if we let them. Each of these areas of contention represents deeply held convictions about how we are to live. These convictions in part, tell us who we are. When they are challenged, we get scared. It feels as if our very existence is threatened. And it is fear, ultimately, that fuels the evil intentions of the heart. What defines us? Jesus perhaps might have said, it’s not so much that “you are what you eat,” but “what’s eating you.” Mary Ogus, untitled sermon Overcoming the Sacred Cows Every church has such traditions that have become sacred cows. In one church I pastored, the color of the carpet had become the sacred cow. We had always had red carpet, but now the property committee was going to change it to blue. Some people just weren’t sure they could worship God on a BLUE CARPET, God forbid. At another church, we had the Great Hymnbook Controversy of 1975. For twenty years, the 1956 version of the hymnal had been used and cherished in that church, but now the music committee wanted to purchase the newly updated 1975 version. This decision sparked a major debate on the quality of music in each hymnal. The final decision was made at a two-hour church-wide business meeting where we finally hammered out a compromise that barely averted dividing the church. The 1956 hymnal would be kept in the sanctuary, and the 1975 hymnal would be used in the chapel. I have heard about a church where a similar controversy erupted over whether the Communion would be served before the sermon or after the sermon. Other churches fight over where the piano is placed, where the Doxology is sung, or even how to take the offering. It seems that every church manages to elevate certain practices from the routine to sacred traditions. Church growth specialist Bill Easum once wrote about book about this phenomenon. He called it “Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers.” Churches that grow have to find a way to eat those sacred cows. Mickey Anders, Clean Hands or Clean Heart? Is It From Within or From Without? The Good News Bible version of the Gospel says: "what comes out of a person makes him unclean ... from the inside, from a person's heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things..." (paraphrase) What is inside has to come out! I saw a survey that compared the worst discipline problems in public schools in the 1940s and the 1990s. In the 1940s the worst discipline problems in public schools were: talking; chewing gum; making noise; running in the halls; getting out of turn in line; wearing improper clothes; not putting paper in wastebaskets! Some of the worst problems in the 1990s were: drug abuse; alcohol abuse; pregnancy; suicide; rape; robbery; assault. What an incredible shift in behavior patterns in only forty years. I was in public school in the forties, entered college in the late forties. I had grandchildren in public school in the 1990s. These harsh and shocking facts are calling us to make a corrective response. Can we, will we, make it? Clearly something is getting into our children that is coming out in intolerably destructive ways. What is it that in so short a time school problems have changed from "chewing gum" to drunkenness and drugs, from "getting out of turn in line" to getting out of life through suicide? What is defiling our children, if I dare use that term? Is it their fault or society's? Is it something within or without? Charles R. Leary, Mission Ready!, CSS Publishing Company

Protected from head to foot

August 18, 2021 Year B 13th Sunday After Pentecost Ephesians 6:10-20 Protected from head to foot Opening Song Welcome INVOCATION In this house of prayer, O God, we invoke your name. There is no one like you who keeps covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart. Not only have you lived on earth in Christ, but by the Spirit live in our hearts. Regard our prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen. Stewardship Moment The scripture reading from Ephesians 6 gives us a whole new picture of “Sunday-go-to-meeting” clothes! Do you remember having Sunday clothes, saved from all other occasions in order to offer God our best when we came into the sanctuary? I’ve often imagined what we could have worn if Ephesians 6 described our Sunday “best”, instead of lace socks and Mary Jane polished shoes! We would show up in the whole armor of God: a belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes for proclaiming the gospel of peace, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (the word of God). Gratefully, we’re not now so concerned about Sunday clothes, but what is the BEST we can offer to God today? Ephesians helps us hear we need resources to struggle against the powers which threaten to destroy the growing reality of God’s Realm in our midst. Our offering this morning is one means for you to participate in building up God’s Realm – with gifts which provide_____________________________. (name what your congregation is doing to live in love: food pantry? Providing space for AA, NA or other helping groups? Inter-faith conversations? Habitat for Humanity build?) What you give matters! Our offering today helps provide ways for each of us to stand FIRM, facing off against the powers and standing against the lethargy, ennui and fear which threaten to undo God’s desire for this world. So let’s offer our Sunday best as we pass the offering trays! Prayer of Thanksgiving Great Architect of the Cosmos, Thank you for the ways you’ve designed life to be rich and full and good. Thank you for each one who has participated in this offering, and for these resources, given so we (as believers) and this congregation might stand firmly on your side of the confrontation between good and evil. Receive these gifts and accept our desire to stand with you, even as we seek to walk in the Way of Jesus, the Christ. AMEN Song Standing in the Need of Prayer UMH 352 Scripture Ephesians 6:10-20 Put on the armor of God 10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. 11 Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. 12 We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. 13 Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. 14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, 15 and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. 16 Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. 18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. 19 As for me, pray that when I open my mouth, I’ll get a message that confidently makes this secret plan[a] of the gospel known. 20 I’m an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. Pray so that the Lord will give me the confidence to say what I have to say. Sermon – Protected from head to foot As I was preparing for this week’s sermon, I looked back on other sermons on the armor of God. I found it interesting that I preached about this in 2018 – but also in 2012. But the same headlines that I used back then, are the exact headlines of today. First I talked about the American Casualties in Afghanistan and number of people who had been killed over the weekend in Chicago. All situations that are still very relevant today. Haiti would have been recovering from an earthquake in 2010 – and once again another earthquake in Haiti, another recovery. The more things change, the more things stay the same. In life, we deal with the same issues over and over again. That is why the words of the bible never go out of style – they are always important to us and to our situation. The book of Ephesians offers words of encouragement in what can many times be a very painful world, with painful circumstances. Be strong in the Lord and his powerful circumstances. As we read these verses, we are encouraged to stand four times. The history of the world seems to be the history of violence. So we are encouraged to prepare like a soldier in order to fight the forces of life. Scholars are not sure that Paul actually wrote the book of Ephesians, it was probably a disciple writing in his voice. But the Roman soldiers would have had a big influence on life at the time. The story behind the book is the Paul aledgely wrote this letter while he was in prison. He was in jail for encouraging a young girl to stop working for her enslaver. He was still a citizen, but being held until the trial. For some reason the authorities felt that it was necessary to chain him by hand to a Roman Soldier. If I remember correctly, they may have become good friends, since they spent a lot of time together. He started to teach the soldier. I want to say that the soldier became a Christian, but I could just be making that up. Paul would have been very familiar with his uniform. So he uses it as an example of how we are supposed to live as Christians. The armor of god The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the helmut of salvation. You will notice that there is nothing given to us to hurt other people. That is all protective armor, designed to defend ourselves against an attack. And if we are not careful it is a daily attack. Sometimes the enemies uses other people to hurt us, often times it uses ourselves, our own spirit, our own heart. If we are not steeped in the word of god everyday- we don’t know what the consequences are. We are given one weapon against the devil in our armor. The sword of the spirit – the word of God. Today we are not a fan of the images of war, and don’t want to associate the Christian life with fighting. But Paul or the writer, are taking these images and repurposing them. He specifically says that our fight is not about other people – our fight is about things that we cannot see. We are not fighting the Taliban, or the gangbangers or even the earthquake. Life is deeper than than. I don’t know about you, but I feel that I fight things that I can’t see every day. And everyday it is a battle. The underlying theme of this passage is power. Power over our lives. When we face life it is easy to thing that we are powerless over a lot of things – other people, our circumstances, the government, the list goes on. This verse talks about three forms of powers over our lives. In greek they are dunamis, kratos, and ischus. We get out modern word dynamite from dunamis – which means strength to get things done. Our form of government – democracy comes from kratos – which means governmental authority and ischus which is much harder to relate to, but it is what Christ calls the church to be – an influential personality that has the power to change things. So basically when the writer says be strong in the Lord – he is saying have physical strength, use the power of authority and have a personality that influences the world around you. Interestingly when the writer speaks of the forces that come to destroy us – he uses these same three words – we are not fighting humans - but rulers, authorities and forces of cosmic darkness. Schindler’s List was one of my favorite movies of all time. It is the story of a ammunition manufacturer who used his factory to hire and rescue the jews who were being persecuted by the germans. He made sure that all of his bullets used were defective, and his employees were jews, so that they could not be taken to concentration camps. All this was under the watchful eye of the German army. One general enjoyed using jews as target practice just for fun. One day the owner of the factory convinced him that anyone could point a gun and kill, but that the real power lay in our reactions to others. Instead of getting revengeful every time he saw a jewish person, why not get in touch with his anger and learn to forgive and give grace. This power hungry general bought into it for awhile – but eventually he returned to being controlled by his own emotions. That is the thing about power – most of the things that we think have power over us are things that are outside of us. things that we are convinced that we have no power over. We are powerless in the face of these things – strength, authoritie, and evil or distractive personalities. Dumanis, kratos, and ischus. But what we need to know is that in greek there are actually 4 words for power. Only three are used in this passage, but the 4th one is so powerful that it is implied in the text. The fourth word for power is energiea – we are familiar with it in the word energy. Electricity was not even invented back when these words were written. Energy is that stuff running through the power lines, but energy also runs through us, energy is what holds us together are a congregation, as a people, as a church as a nation. Energy connects us, energy heals us, energy guides us, energy motivates us, energy keeps us alive. Each of us have a physical body, but we also have an energetic body. It is that energetic body that keeps everything working together. Dumanis, kratos, and ischus are all found outside of ourselves, but the most powerful form of power – energy is only found within. Energia – is God’s power. The writer encourages us to put on the whole armor of God in order to deal with those other forms of power. – truth, justice, faith and salvation – after spending a week in vacation bible school I should know these by heart. But he also encourages us to do one more thing – offer prayers in the spirit all of the time. Finally, Paul comes to the greatest weapon of all—and that is prayer. We note three things that he says about prayer. (a) It must be constant. Our tendency is so often to pray only in the great crises of life; but it is from daily prayer that the Christian will find daily strength. (b) It must be intense. Limp prayer never got a man anywhere. Prayer demands the concentration of every faculty upon God. (c) It must be unselfish. The Jews had a saying, “Let a man unite himself with the community in his prayers.” We are instructed to put on the whole armor of God. everything from head to foot has a purpose. Even our shoes. Footprints No doubt you have heard the story Footprints: One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him, and the other belonging to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." It's refreshing to be reminded God is with us at all times. I ran across an update which is called "A Variation on Footprints": Now imagine you and the Lord Jesus walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily and consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your prints are disorganized, a stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this. But gradually, your footprints come more in line with the Lord's soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends. This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens. Your footprints that were etched in the sand next to the Master's are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints is the small "sand-print," safely enclosed. You and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles. But you notice another change. The footprint inside the larger footprint seems to grow larger. Eventually, it disappears altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one. Again, this goes on for a long time. But then something awful happens. The second set of footprints is back. And this time, it seems even worse. Zigzags all over the place. They stop. They start. Deep gashes in the sand. A veritable mess of prints. You're amazed and shocked. But this is the end of your dream. Now you speak: "Lord, I understand the first scene with the zigzags and fits and starts and so on. I was a new Christian, just learning. But you walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with you." "That is correct." "Yes, and when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps. I followed You very closely." "Very good. You understand everything so far." "Then the smaller footprints grew and eventually filled in with Yours. I suppose that I was actually growing so much that I was becoming like You in every way." "Precisely." "But this is my question. Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints went back to two, and this time it was worse than the first." The Lord smiles, then laughs. He says, "You didn't know? That was when we danced!" That's what happens when you're equipped. Robert R. Kopp, Golf in the Real Kingdom, CSS Publishing Company Leonard Sweet says it best…… God’s Armor There is a big difference between striving just not to die, and doing all you can to live a life of purpose and meaning. There are freeways, and factories, and families full of people who are just trying not to die. These people keep going to work, keep going on. But they don’t know why. Weekends and vacations become blurry, frantic “festivals” — parties devoted to trying to celebrate something other than the mere survival of another week, another season, another year. For Christians who feel the (enlightening) protective weight of “God’s armor,” there is a different goal: to “stand firm” and to “keep alert.” Christians recognize there are evil forces and genuine enemies. But Christians know that there is a protective layer of divine love that always offers the safety net of salvation. God’s armor does not so much keep us from dying as God’s armor keeps us alive — alive in Christ, alive to love, alive to hope, alive to peace. Leonard Sweet Amen….. Prayer Heavenly Father, I ask You to help me to be strong in You today and in the power of Your might. Today I need Your Armor that You have prepared for me so that I can stand against all that the devil will throw my way. I pray that I will stand with your truth gird around my waist; I put on the breastplate of righteousness for Your name sake. I pray that my feet will be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace and I take the shield of faith so that all the fiery darts of the wicked one will be quenched. I take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is Your Word. May I learn how to pray with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. May utterance be given to me so that I might open my mouth boldly to make know the mystery of the gospel. May our own peace of mind and trust in your providence be an example for those who are confused, depressed, or anxious. Great Physician, heal our illnesses and disease of body, mind, and spirit. Amen Special Music Announcements Closing Prayer (for Facebook) “Lord, I thank you for the spiritual weapons You have given me. I thank You that I don’t have to live in defeat but can stand in victory, not in my own strength but in your power. I recognize that people are not my problem but that I have a real enemy that I cannot see, but one who is seen by You. Right now, I assemble the armor You have given me. I will not be led by my emotions but by Your word which is truth. I submit, therefore, my emotional life to You and Your truth. I submit my heart to the righteousness of Jesus Christ and refuse to trust in myself for righteousness. All righteousness comes from You. Amen Community Time Benediction Let us go now, to share God's strength. We will do so by embracing the weakness of others. Let us go now, to be as alert as Jesus. We will do so by noticing the brokenness all around us. Let us go now, to share the life of the Spirit. We will do so by receiving the bread of life from the poor. Children’s Sermon Additional Illustrations I Step Out on the Word of God Poet Maya Angelou recalls the struggles of her grandmother living through the great depression. She remembers a lot of things about her grandmother: her wisdom, her stature. But it was her grandmother's faith that Maya remembers most. Clasping her hands behind her back her grandmother would look up into the distant sky and say, "I will step out on the word of God." The great depression was a difficult time for everyone, but "especially so for a single black woman in the South tending her crippled son and two grandchildren." But when faced with mountainous burdens, Maya's grandmother would face the sky and say, "I will step out on the word of God." "She would look up as if she could will herself into the heavens," Maya writes. And because of her grandmother, Maya Angelou grew up knowing that the word of God had power. And now, today, whenever she experiences the injustices of this world, Maya remembers the great faith of her grandmother. God gives us spiritual armor to protect us from the evil we face daily: He gives us truth, righteousness, the willingness to speak up for Christ, and, most importantly, faith. King Duncan, www.Sermons.com Robert Louis Stevenson once said: “You know the Caledonian Railway Station in Edinburgh? One cold, east windy morning, I met Satan there.” We do not know what actually befell Stevenson but we recognize the experience; we have all felt the force of that evil influence which seeks to make us sin. Being a Christian "survivor" — yes, there is a contest going on, not against Rich and Kelly and Rudy and Sue, but, as Paul says, "Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil ..." against everything that would make life less than the Lord intended for all creation, even you and me. Our "tribe has spoken." We must survive. We can survive. And, we will survive. George MacDonald, in one of his great children's fantasies, told about a girl who grew up in a messy home, where everyone was always angry and mean and selfish. Her hair never got brushed, so they called her Tangle. And her clothes never were cleaned, even though they were of the typical fashions in her world. One day Tangle was sent away from home. And she was left alone and hungry in the great forest. She would have died, if she hadn't been led by a kind bird to a house in the middle of the forest. There she met a kind woman. And the kind woman took her in. She gave Tangle a delicious meal. And she washed Tangle's clothes. And she gave Tangle a place to sleep. And when Tangle woke up the next morning, she sent Tangle on a grand journey, with many strange experiences. And her new clothes helped her along the way. Till she finally came to a palace so beautiful, that she stayed there forever. But George MacDonald's story is really not just about a little girl at all. He is writing about you and me. He is talking about the homes we have in this world, not just our homes, but the home of this world itself, which is often mean, and ugly, and unkind. It can make us feel dirty and alone and helpless. But there's a kind lady in this world. She's the Church! The Church of Jesus Christ! And the Church bathes us in the waters of baptism. And the Church feeds us with the Word of God and sacrament. And the Church helps us to put on these clothes that Paul talks about. And the Church sends us on many adventures. Till one day we find ourselves led into the very palaces of God! It's a wonderful story! And it's happening to you and to me right now! But here's the thing: we're still traveling with Tangle. We haven't yet arrived at the palace. And what we need to help us along is the clothing that the church can give. The belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. The shoes of the Gospel of Peace and the shield of faith. When Queen Victoria ruled in England, she had several daughters. And her daughters were just like girls are today. They went to school, and saw the latest fashions, and they wanted to wear their dresses just like the girls down the street. And so they'd come shouting to their mom, who just happened to be the queen of the British Empire. And they'd tell her they wanted to wear their clothes like this and their hair like that. And she stopped them short one day. She said to them: "You are the daughters of the Queen, And the Queen's daughters do not follow fads. They establish fashion!" And that's a good word for us. We are to live in society but not to be of society. We are to be trend-setters and difference-makers until that day comes when this world becomes the kingdom of our God ” a kingdom of peace, justice, individual dignity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Have you got your armor? Then, forward, march! One of my favorite stories, that God uses whenever my head start to swell because everybody keeps telling me I'm such a good preacher is about the preacher who died and went to heaven. This preacher was known as one of the best preachers around. Thousands of people had come to Christ because of his sermons. And he knew it. St. Peter was showing him around and they passed through this huge section of humongous homes. These things were so big, they were nearly Castles, not mansions. Either outside or looking out the window of each of them was a little widow lady or widower or a teenager or a child. And they all looked somewhat overwhelmed by the size of their mansion. The preacher was getting excited, if these people, just you're ordinary every day kind of Christians got those kind of mansions. Imagine what he was going to get. As they ended their trek through the neighborhood, they came upon a large Texas style ranch house. It was gorgeous but wasn't huge. It had everything you could imagine but it was nowhere near what he was expecting. So he asked why? St. Peter sort of grinned and said: "Oh, we appreciate everything you did. You're a great preacher and thousands upon thousands came to Christ because of you. But truthfully, you were just the distraction. The real work, the tough work was done on the knees of every one of those people we passed. They were our prayer warriors. And that's where the real battle was fought." Prayer brings us into the very presence of God. Through prayer we are brought to the throne of grace and we are enabled to stand before God. Not presumptuously but in all humility and because we've been invited there. And once there, God wants to know everything on our hearts and minds about everyone we know and love. And even those we don't love. You and I have been called to Dress For Faithfulness, not Success. We're called to live a life that is pleasing to God in all that we do. Jesus didn't die on the cross so you could be successful by worldly standards. Jesus died on the cross because of our sin, because we couldn't be faithful. God doesn't want us to pursue worldly success. God wants us to pursue faithfulness, even in the midst of the confusion of life. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., From the Pulpit, by Billy D. Strayhorn

The Gifts of the Congregation

August 15, 2021 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 The gifts of the congregation 13th Sunday After Pentecost Year B – non lectionary Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Leader: There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; and there are different ministries and the same Lord; People: Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many parts. Leader: We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free. People: We were all given one Spirit to drink. Come, Holy Spirit! All: Let us worship God! Stewardship Moment Every believer has a calling. In order to fulfill our calling to the utmost, God has provided each of us with a unique set of spiritual gifts. Knowing and leveraging our spiritual gifts enables us to be more effective members of the body of Christ. According to 1 Corinthians 12, the Spirit of God, acting in a direct and intentional way, desires to bring fullness and balance to every body of believers. This is His will, and it can only be realized through the sharing of our spiritual gifts with one another. The concept is both profound and exciting. We are commanded by God to be good stewards of the gifts He has given us. Good stewardship therefore compels us to know, understand and utilize our spiritual gifts to better fulfill our calling, and by doing so, bring our unique contribution to the body of Christ. Serving with our gifts is a powerful form of stewardship. You would think that Christians already know everything there is to know about serving. After all, we are taught from a very early age that serving others is the path to pleasing God. While there is a fair amount of truth in that statement, there is also much confusion as to what actions best constitute Christian service. At the basic level, serving is giving—giving of our time, talents and treasures, and giving of our prayers and affections. To think deeply about acts of service is to come face to face with the heart and message of Christ. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). This knowledge compels us to always seek ways to achieve a fuller expression of our life of service. Ministries and churches have long sought to increase the volume and effectiveness of the service we provide in the name of God. The sobering reality is that, unless each of us accepts and learns to function within the framework of our giftedness, the church as a whole will not maximize its impact. Who will benefit from better stewardship of this collective giftedness? The answer is simple. Everyone we come into contact with. The ripple effect is endless. For our local brothers and sisters in faith, the sharing of our gifts builds them up. Our individual gifts mesh with theirs to produce a rich and beautiful tapestry of service. Leveraging our spiritual gifts, we all contribute to the experience of a healthy and whole family of Jesus Christ. “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God,” (1 Peter 4:10, NASB). Significantly, without each of us serving with the full knowledge and power of our unique spiritual gifts, the Kingdom experience is incomplete, and the resulting outcomes are partial rather than whole. The criticality of spiritual gifts to our collective well-being has been neglected for far too long. It’s time to embrace and be good stewards of the unique gifts God has endowed each one of us—with arms and hearts wide open. Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to understand and use my unique spiritual gifts to glorify you and build up others. Amen. By Diana Myers Prayer of Thanksgiving Almighty God and everlasting Father, we thank You that You are our bountiful Provider and for the many gifts that we enjoy so freely from the fruit of the earth. May we be wise servants and faithful stewards with the many blessings that we have received at Your hand. May we take of what You have given to us with a grateful heart, and cheerfully give back to You a small portion of the abundance of Your grace, that we have received at Your hand. Keep our hearts ever thankful towards You, and give us a tender compassion for those around us that are hurting or in need. May we be willing to share our portion with others and may we show forth the love of God in our lives, with a cheerful and gracious disposition, especially to those who are disadvantaged and needy. Accept our offering of prayer and praise and thanksgiving for all that You have given to us, and receive we pray, these small tokens of our love, knowing that all things come from You and we offer back to You of the bountiful goodness that You have given to us. In Jesus' name we pray Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/prayer/offertory-prayer-for-gifts-and-giving-1134 Song Whom Shall I send? UMH 582 Scripture 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 Common English Bible Spiritual gifts 12 Brothers and sisters, I don’t want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. 2 You know that when you were Gentiles you were often misled by false gods that can’t even speak. 3 So I want to make it clear to you that no one says, “Jesus is cursed!” when speaking by God’s Spirit, and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; 5 and there are different ministries and the same Lord; 6 and there are different activities but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7 A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. 8 A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, 9 faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, 10 performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues[a] to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another. 11 All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person. 12 Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. Sermon The gifts of the congregation So yesterday I started to read this book. Someone gave this book to me as a gift, probably about 3 years ago. The title is called The second mountain – the quest for a moral life. Judging from the title, it did not seem like something that appealed to me. I am still not sure of why the person (another pastor) gave it to me. But it was a brand new book, and it cost $28, so I felt obligated to read it before getting rid of it. It turns out I love the book, once I started reading it yesterday I couldn’t put it down. the author is a writer for the new York times. And basically he says that in life all of us have to climb two mountains in life. First we climb the mountain of establishing our life. Our parents tell us and prepare us what we should be in life, and we set off on our life journey establishing a career, a family, a lifestyle, we get a job, get a car or other transportation, we buy a house of find someplace to live, we start a family – that takes up a lot of our life, - that is the first mountain that we must climb. but once we get there we look around and wonder if that is all that there is to life? Usually once we have climbed that mountain in life, we are still fairly young and we still have a lot of life left and we really start to question our lives and what our purpose is – according to the author that is the second mountain that we must climb. “It all started with two questions put to me by my grandmother during one of our family’s regular Sunday afternoon visits with her in the nursing home where she spent the last 3 years of her life. She was always glad to see us. There were smiles and hugs all around every Sunday. But once in a while she would let her guard down and tell us just how difficult life had become for her. Grandma had outlived her husband and two of her sons, and she was bedridden. One day she said to me, “Why doesn’t God let me die?” That was the first question. Naively, I said what many of us have said in response to questions like that; “Maybe God has something more for you to do.” These words would prove to be prophetic. Years later I would recognize that moment as the beginning of what was to be a great change in my life. “The second question was much less dramatic than the first. Grandma simply asked, “What did the preacher say in church today?” We had to admit that we didn’t know, because we hadn’t been in church that day. We knew that we didn’t dare tell her any stories, because the pastor called on her regularly and she was sure to find out the truth. We went to worship the following Sunday, and every Sunday after that, so that we could give Grandma accurate reports about the content of the services. Sometimes we actually took notes during the sermon so that we wouldn’t forget what the preacher said. “This went on for about a year, and as the Sundays passed we found ourselves more and more drawn to the gospel message. One day, my wife and I both realized that we were going to worship for ourselves, because we wanted to go, and not just so we could give a good report to Granma. We became excited about god and the church. It was a genuine conversion experience for both of us. Christ became real to us for the first time in our lives. Grandma didn’t have to pump us to tell her about church anymore. We shared without being asked, because we couldn’t help ourselves. “That’s how it all started, but that was only the beginning. God wasn’t finished with me yet. A few months later, at the end of the ordination service at Annual Conference, the Bishop invited everyone who felt called into ordained ministry to come forward to the altar. I had a very strong feeling that I ought to go. It felt like someone was tugging at me, urging me to go. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. My father and I had just purchased a business together. It was no time to be thinking of a career change, so I overruled the feeling. I remember literally hanging onto my chair to prevent myself from going forward.” [Lectionary Stories: 40 Tellable Tales for Cycle A by John Sumwalt] Well you can imagine how this story ends. Once God starts knocking on your door for one thing or another, God can be pretty persistent and Stephen Groves, the man in the story, did in the end get both a college and seminary degree and become an ordained pastor. But what I liked about his story was that it wasn’t only about his calling. It also was about the struggle his grandmother was having the discern what God was doing in her life and how with a simple question she planted a seed in her grandson that would have an impact on many people. You know it is usually God who encourages us to climb that second mountain – to start to think about how we can use our gifts, our talents, our life in order to help others to make that climb. It is usually that small still voice inside of us that is edging us on, telling us to do more, hinting that there is something more to life. the church is the place where we start to climb that second mountain of meaning and I guess you could say a moral life. The church incidently is also God’s storehouse of good things. It is the place where God cooks up those plans that will change the world. It is the tool shed for tools that will be used to do some amazing things in the world. We are the tools by the way. God has whispered in the ear of each one of us. God has give each one of us a job to do, God has given each one of us special gifts and talents to use in the world. One thing that I like about this book is that the chapters are really short – so that I don’t get bored. But in one chapter he says that there is that one thing in life that as a child we are drawn to, it fascinates us and keeps our attention. And that as we grow older, we may have less and less time for it, but we do not forget it. And as we get older – that is the thing that we are drawn to when we want to wind down and get in touch with our spirits. That is our god given gift Most of us have heard the bible story of Jonah and the whale – and how God called Jonah to do something and he ran away, but God persisted until he finally answered God’s call. Close: years ago in a revival service at Evangel Temple a man stood up and told how at a young age he felt the call to ministry. But his family own a successful business and his dad wanted him to take over that business, which he did. He said, even though I am a successful businessman in Montgomery, I am one of the most miserable men alive, because God won’t uncall me. Tonight, obey God’s call, obey God’s voice, and go dig up that buried talent and use it for God. Paul speaks of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians. Paul says that there are 3 types of people in the world and in the church - those that can hear and talk with God and know what their gifts are, those who can’t hear God directly but still know what their gifts are, and those who can’t hear God and have no idea of what their gifts are – we all fall in one of those categories. And even though Paul says that we have gifts, he also tells us that gifts are not given to individuals but to communities. That is one reason why when we learn what our gifts are – we have to climb that second mountain – be willing to give and help others. God gives each community a gift, so that the community – the church – the congregation can fulfill its mission to reach out to others. In chapter 12, Paul specifically mentions several gifts – words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, the gift of healing, the gift of prophecy, the gifts of miracles, the gifts of discernment, the gift of speaking in tongues, the gift of being able to interpret tongues. When those things are present – you know that the holy Spirit is with that congregation. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 – one of the most famous bible chapters in history – Paul says that the greatest spiritual gift present in a congregation is the gift of love. This month we have been celebrating the gift of music that is present in this congregation. And today we honor the 50 year ministry of Marcia Mellott. We are truly grateful for her gift of music, of leadership, of creativity and a willingness to give in a kind hearted caring matter. Her ministry has been a perfect example of what it means to climb that second mountain. She worked diligently in the school system teaching music, but also worked diligently in the church and the community – freely giving her talent to the world. She also has that greatest gift – the gift of love. I have been grateful for her cheerful, fun, and loving spirit that comes through in all that she does. Marcia thank you for your service and may God continue to bless you. You are truly an inspiration to all who know you. You have touched us as a community – let each of us be reminded that we are the tools that God will use to make the world a better place. Let each of us check that small still voice that encourages use our gifts each and every day to make a difference. Prayer God of love and of life, let us take time to look deep within ourselves and discover the gifts you have blessed us with. May we take the time to direct our lives in a way that best uses our own unique combination of gifts. May our education help us discover where our strengths and interests lie. May our faith guide us in realizing our gifts. May we always be open to the direction of the Spirit and never forget the love you have for each of us. Give us, O Lord, the perception we need to look within ourselves and discover the beauty and gifts we posses. Give us the courage to show others the talents they have. Help us serve others in the community and in so doing build up your kingdom. We ask this through Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Song Many Gifts, One Spirit UMH 114 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to live and die for me, and thank You for bringing me into Your family because I have trusted Jesus as my Saviour. Thank You that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that You have sent Him to indwell my heart and to lead and guide me into all truth. I pray that You would take my life and use every part of me, to Your praise and glory. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to live and die for me, and thank You for bringing me into Your family because I have trusted Jesus as my Savior. Thank You that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that You have sent Him to indwell my heart and to lead and guide me into all truth. I pray that You would take my life and use every part of me, to Your praise and glory. Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-about-Spiritual-Gifts Community Time – Joys and concerns Benediction Children’s Time See what this is? It's a gift. You know if you get something covered in pretty paper or the big bow, you're getting something pretty special. We give each other gifts on birthdays and holidays, because we care for that person. They may be a family member or a friend. We love gifts. They're usually something we want. Your family member specifically picks out that gift with you in mind, because they want you to like it. Well when you were born, you were given gifts specifically picked out for you. These gifts were given to you by God. We also like to call them talents. The talents God has given you can be whatever you're good at. Sometimes it involves a sport, maybe you have a musical talent, or maybe you're good at science and math, or maybe you are more artistic and can draw really well. Whatever the case, God made you good at something for a reason. He wants you to serve Him with your talents. The Bible says in Colossians 3:23-24, “whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord not for men since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward it is the Lord Christ you are serving.” What that verse says is that with your gift you can serve the Lord. It doesn't matter what other people think of you, as long as you're doing what God wants you to do. So don't be ashamed of your gift, or try to use a different gift that's not yours. Use the talent God gave you and you can bless others with your talent just as if you're giving them a wrapped gift. Additional Illustrations

How to get Angry

Rev, Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington August 8, 2021 Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2 How to get angry 11th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Leader: It is the beginning of a new school year, God is a God of new beginnings and new creations. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, new life, blessed it and called it good. People: We give thanks for a new year for new beginnings. We give thanks that you called it good. Leader: In the beginning, the heavens shone forth a star when our savior was born. In the beginning of his ministry the heavens opened up and called him God’s beloved. People: We give thanks that you know our pathways and what it means to be human. We give thanks that you call us your beloved children. Leader: O God of new beginnings, new life and new journeys – you set Abrahams and Sarah into a new land. You led Moses, Aaron and Miriam our of Egypt and into liberation, you led your son, our savior to the earth, to the cross and into resurrection. People: Walk with us, we pray we as we enter into a new year, a new path and new opportunities. Amen. Song Take my life and let it be Consecrated UMH 399 Stewardship Moment Community speaker one: We pray for all children—for their playfulness, for their curiosity and for their joyfulness. We pray, as they go beyond the boundaries of home, that they will find strong and true friendships. We pray especially for those called to lead and to care for them. Grant O God that our children and the adults who minister with them might grow in your love. Community speaker two: We pray for all young people, for the ways they test boundaries and question authority. We pray, O God that they will continue to develop and to use the gifts you have given them. We pray for those called to teach, to lead, to coach, and to mentor our young people. Grant your wisdom and generous spirit to these youth and adults as they commit to grow righteously in this complex world. Community speaker three: We pray for all college students, for the questions they are facing about their future. We pray for those called to lead and to care for them—for professors, counselors, administrators, and advisors. Nurture all students and leaders, O God, in communities of fellowship and protect them from isolation and loneliness. Grant your courage to these young adults and adults as they engage in critical learning and discovery for the stewardship of our world. Community speaker four: We pray for all those who teach and lead, O God. Inspire them with creativity and commitment. Give them energy to continue teaching and bringing forth the best from their students. Help us to appreciate their efforts and to treat them with respect. Provide opportunities, O God, for their refreshment and renewal. Community speaker five: We pray for all adults as they endeavor to live faithful lives in their homes and in their workplaces. We pray for all who are parents, stepparents, guardians, caregivers, and grandparents of children, youth, and young adults. Help them to find the time to sit and to listen to their young people. Give them hearts and minds filled with patience, understanding and wisdom. Enable them to share your wisdom and love, O God, in word and by example. Congregation Prays: We pray for all those who learn—children, youth, young adults and adults. Keep them from being discouraged when facing the trials of the day. Instill in them a desire to grow in wisdom and understanding. Grant them the discipline of study and the ability to concentrate. We pray for all of us as learners, O God. We know that we never stop learning about your love and faithfulness. We thank you, O God our creator, for teaching us through your word and through your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Prayer of Thanksgiving: Lord bless these gifts. Let these physical gifts be symbols of the love and support we give to the children of our community throughout the year. Help us to look upon every child in our community as one of our own, helping them to grow in character and knowledge. Amen. Scripture Ephesians 4:25- 5:2 25 Therefore, after you have gotten rid of lying, Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor[a] because we are parts of each other in the same body. 26 Be angry without sinning.[b] Don’t let the sun set on your anger. 27 Don’t provide an opportunity for the devil. 28 Thieves should no longer steal. Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need. 29 Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. 30 Don’t make the Holy Spirit of God unhappy—you were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Put aside all bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander, along with every other evil. 32 Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ. 5 Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. 2 Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God. Sermon How to get Angry It reminds me of the story I like to call “The Dean’s Dilemma.” An angel appears at a college faculty meeting and tells the dean, “In return for your unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward you with your choice of infinite wealth, infinite wisdom, or infinite beauty.” Without hesitating, the dean says, “Give me infinite wisdom!” “Done!” says the angel before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. All heads now turn to the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. “Well,” says a colleague, “say something brilliant.” The dean stands with a blank expression on his face, looks around the table, and confesses, “I should have taken the money.” (1) We laugh, but how many of us would have a hard time making a choice between those three things? Wealth and beauty are important in our culture. They are noticeable. They offer a way to “keep score.” But wisdom—what difference does that make? Wisdom isn’t going to get you a nicer car, or a bigger paycheck. Wisdom won’t win you any awards or make you the life of the party. And yet, there are so many verses in the Bible about the value of wisdom. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that the way of the foolish person leads to emptiness and even death, while the way of a wise person leads to joy, peace and eternal life. So, if an angel suddenly appeared to you and offered you the choice of infinite wealth, infinite beauty or infinite wisdom, which would you choose? The choice gets a little easier now, doesn’t it? When I heard this story, I had to stop and think about it a moment. I know that the bible says that Solomon asked for wisdom and was given everything else along with it, but I think I would just want the money – I don’t know that I would value wisdom. Being smart is not necessarily profitable, it also is not really exciting. The epistle lessons give great advice on how to life, but they are not exciting because there are no parables to attach to them. The writer of Ephesians is very much aware of all of the conflicts and troubles that we face in the world. He also knows that sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error before we settle on doing the right things. He gives good advice on what it means to be wise and to live a righteous life. the book of Ephesians is not so much about being a goody too shoo – but how to handle real life problems in a wise way. When we finally realize that imitating God in all things is good for us, we get started in a new journey. Every day is a new beginning. Today, we think about starting a new school year – it is a new beginning for all of us. As I was preparing for the blessing of the back packs I found a prayer that said everything that I would want to say and pray for. It mentioned the role all of us play in school life. But I chose not to use the prayer because it used a curse word for the word anger. I have never known anyone to use a curse word in a prayer. After thinking about it I thought that would defeat the purpose of my whole sermon. We go to church in order to learn how to not use curse words when we are angry. How to express our anger is a major point in this scripture. Verse 26 expressly tells us that there is nothing wrong with being angry – anger is a normal part of life. Not only is it okay for us to be angry – Jesus got angry pretty frequently. Anger is not the problem it is how we express our anger that becomes the problem. Do we use our anger to strike out at a person or situation, or do we use our anger to change the situation. Jesus turned a whole community on its edge, just by getting angry and saying that things need to be done differently. We should never let our anger interfere with our relationships. n the first place, we can recognize the tremendous harm we do to ourselves through being angry. E. Stanley Jones once reminded a person that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry that it will bite itself." That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is: a biting of oneself. We think that we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.3 What happens to us when we get angry? Hate pumps up our blood pressure. More sugar pours into our system. The heart beats faster. More adrenaline is secreted to dilate the pupils of the eyes, and chemical changes occur in the blood. Even tissue changes take place. In fact, a good optometrist will not examine the eyes of an angry person. You see, anger distorts the retina through abnormal blood flow. Consequently, it is correct to say that a person who is angry most of the time is a sick person. The first part of that formula is this: look inward. That is, take care of what is inside you. Consider those words again, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.” Do you have any of those negative emotions within your heart or mind? Let’s face it. There are many otherwise committed Christians who have a great deal of anger within them. There are committed Christians who are quite bitter. There are others with malice in their hearts. Paul asks us to look within at any negative emotions that may dwell there. The late great radio personality Paul Harvey once told about a medical student who was doing a rotation in toxicology at a poison control center. A woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. The medical student quickly reassured the mother that the ants were not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. The medical student told this mother that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right way. (2) Anger is like ant poison. It needs to be dealt with immediately or it could cause serious damage to our soul. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that this is easy, but it is possible. Before sitting in the electric chair, Sonnier said, “Mr. LeBlanc, I want to ask your forgiveness for what me and Eddie done,” and Lloyd LeBlanc nodded his head to signal a forgiveness he had already given. LeBlanc said that when he arrived with sheriff’s deputies there in the cane field to identify his son, he knelt by his dead boy and prayed the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven . . .” He said that when he came to the words: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” he did not halt or equivocate. “Whoever did this, I forgive them.” But he acknowledged that it was a struggle to overcome the feelings of bitterness and revenge that welled up within him from time to time, especially as he remembered David’s birthday year by year. It was like he was losing him all over again: David at 20, David at 25, David getting married, David standing at the back door with his little ones clustered around his knees, grown up David, a man like himself, whom he will never know. “Forgiveness is never going to be easy,” says Sister Prejean. “Each day it must be prayed for and struggled for and won.” (3) I don’t know any other way for us to forgive and accept others who have done us wrong than to remember that God has accepted us and forgiven us. The ultimate help for us in meeting the challenges of each day is not only to look inward or outward, but also to look upward. If we are to live a new life, if we are to be new people, we must be aware of those emotions within us that must be kept under control, we must have our eyes open to the opportunities for service and witness through kindness and tenderheartedness and forgiveness directed toward the people that we meet. But we must also focus our eyes on Him who comes to us with love, forgiveness, and mercy and grace. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” The advice of Ephesians 4 - Put away falsehood - Be angry but don’t sin - Give up taking things that don’t belong to us - Let no evil talk come out of your mouth - Do not frustrate the holy Spirit - Be imitators of Christ - Finally live in love If we strive to do those things every day – then every day is a new beginning, because we do not let nature take its course, we allow the love of Christ to work in the world. Anger and revenge do not take over our lives – but we have a spirit of joy that makes all of the difference in the world. - - They say you cannot smile without cheering yourself up a little. Likewise, you cannot perform a random act of kindness without feeling as if your own troubles have been lightened if only because the world has become a slightly better place. And you cannot be a recipient without feeling a shock, a pleasant jolt. If you were one of those rush-hour drivers who found your bridge fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later? Might you wave someone on in the intersection? Would you smile at a tired clerk? Or could you do something larger or greater? - Some folks will have great difficulty understanding this process, but not us Christians. After all we have been recipients of the greatest kindness, that act of love that brought the God of the universe to a manger in Bethlehem, a sinless life on the hills of Judea, a sacrifice on a hill called Calvary. His kindness continues as he sustains us through his body, the church, and as he nourishes us at his table. This same one, through the apostle Paul, told us to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (vv. 4:32—5:2). - In the 70’s there was a saying that gained popularity – practice random acts of kindness. Last week I went to the new drive through at McDonalds- those double drive through always frustrate me, because you have to make sure that you don’t pull up at the same time as the other person in the other lane. Sure enough it happened, we pulled off at the same time. Not wanting to have an accident, I stopped and let the other car go in front of me. As I pulled up to pay for my meal – the cashier had to go and get her manager – the person in front of me paid for my meal – so now it is my turn to spread the love and help someone else. Maybe wisdom - wisdom about the ways of God does pay off. Prayer Thank you, God, for new opportunities to learn and grow whether it be in an actual classroom, a virtual classroom, or from our homes. Be with our teachers, leaders, caregivers, and administrators as they guide us into the new school year. Give them the tools and energy to create engaging ways for all of us to learn and grow. Help us to open our hearts and minds to new ideas, new friends and leaders, and new ways of learning. Show us how to seek joy in all things. When things don’t go as planned, help us rejoice in the newness. When we have technical difficulties, help us rejoice in simple things like books and crayons. When we feel lonely or isolated, remind us that you are by our side . When our teachers and caregivers seem worried and wary, help them to be gentle with themselves. As we begin to explore the unknown of this school year, let us rejoice with new friends, in new ways of learning, in knowing that you are with us through it all. God of joy and light, pour out your blessing upon these students, families, teachers, and leaders. Bless their backpacks, Chromebooks and computers, virtual classrooms, school buildings, and all preparations that help build a strong and safe year for everyone. May each of you be a blessing and light in your new year! Go and light up the world! Amen. Blessing of the Back Packs (Pour out your spirit Lord) Song Let there be Peace on Earth UMH 431 Announcements Charge to us all To our families, students and school leaders: Go into the world, your schools, your homes and be Christ’s light! Let your lights not be diminished in the midst of change. Let them find ways to shine even brighter. Be the light of love to all. Be the light of patience when days are long, when technology does not work, when new ways of doing things are hard. Be the light to shine on new ideas and new ways of learning. Be thankful for the lights of others who work hard to create fun, engaging, and challenging ways to lead our students. Be the light of joy for a new school year, new friends, and new ways of learning. You are the light of the world! Go into the world and shine bright with kindness, patience, energy and love! Benediction Children’s Sermon Object: A measuring tape. Good morning, boys and girls. How tall are you? I mean, how tall is each one of you? Do you know how tall you are? (Speak to one child at a time.) How tall are you? Sometimes we know how tall we are and sometimes we just guess. But I brought with me this morning a measuring tape so I can tell you just how tall you are. Let me measure a couple of you now and after the service is over, if you would like for me to, I will measure every one of you. (Proceed to measure several of the children and tell each one how tall he/she is.) Have you always been that tall? Were you this big when you were born? How did you get to be as tall as you are? (Let them answer.) You grew. How much have you grown in the last year, would you say? (Let them answer.) Growing up is fun. It really is fun. Someday you are going to be as tall or taller than your mom and dad. You may weigh as much or even more. You will be big enough to drive a car, wear a suit as big as your father's suit or your mother's dress. You may even be tall enough to dunk a basketball in a 10-foot basket. That's what happens when our bodies grow and we get big. But there are other ways to grow besides just getting big in our bodies. When we learn in school, our minds grow. We can spell bigger words and do harder math problems. Our voices grow also. They get bigger, deeper, or higher, and they will become more beautiful if we practice with them. There is still another way to grow and that is to grow in love so that our love is more like Jesus' love. Jesus was filled with God's love. He loved everyone, even those who hated him. Jesus had a love so big that he could forgive even the people that crucified him. Growing in love will let you share the things you like the most with other people. You can share your time in love. You can share your money in love. You can share your games and your friends in love. You can even share your mother and dad with other people when you are growing in love. That is a real grown-up kind of love' when you can share it with others. Growing up is so much fun when it is filled with love. It allows you to be free and do what God wants you to do. A measuring tape is one way to find out how big we are getting. Three feet tall, four feet tall, five feet tall, or more means that we are eating the right kind of food and taking good care of our bodies. But growing up in love cannot always be seen so easily, but it is a much more important kind of growing than just getting tall. One of the first things that Jesus taught all of his disciples was to grow in love. And one of the things that you and I must find out who want to be followers of Jesus is to grow in love. The next time we see someone trying to find out how tall they are or to measure someone else, see if you can think about how you could measure someone growing in love. If you can see someone else grow in love, that means that you are growing in love as well. Try it, you'll like it. In Jesus' name, Amen. C.S.S. Publishing Company, ON THE MOVE WITH JESUS, by Wesley T. Runk Blessing of the back packs Additional illustrations Most young people know the artist, Chance the Rapper. Chance is one of the most successful artists in the music industry right now. He’s won a Grammy award, his concerts sell out, he is an anti-violence activist in the city of Chicago and has donated over $1 million to Chicago’s public school system. Professionally, he is a tremendous success. He tells an interesting story of his grandmother’s reaction to his career. In his early days, when he was first starting to experience some success, his grandmother took him aside and told him that she didn’t like the way his lifestyle was changing. She told him that she was going to pray for him. In an interview with GQ magazine, Chance shares his grandmother’s prayer. She prayed, “Lord, I pray that all things that are not like You, You take away from Chance. Make sure that he fails at everything that is not like You. Take it away. Turn it into dust.” What would you think if someone you loved prayed that prayer over you? What if I prayed over you today, “Lord, please let my brothers and sisters in Christ fail at any endeavor that is not perfectly within Your will”? Most of you would not come back next week, would you? I have the greatest respect for Chance’s grandmother. She cared more about her grandson’s soul than his success. She cared more about him knowing God and living in God’s will than she cared about offending him. What a powerful witness she is to the value of knowing God! And it was this prayer that led Chance the Rapper back into a relationship with God. Many of his song lyrics reflect his faith. At his sold-out concerts, he speaks about God and his spiritual journey. His phenomenal success now is rooted in knowing God and living in God’s will. (4) Like most wise folks, he knows that every moment of your life is an opportunity to know God and live in God’s will Two shoppers in a supermarket got in a fistfight over who should be first in a newly opened checkout lane. An airline flight returned to a major American city after a passenger was accused of throwing a can of beer at a flight attendant and biting a pilot. One father in an eastern state beat another father to death in an argument over rough play at their sons’ hockey practice. A high school baseball coach in the South turned himself in to face charges that he broke an umpire’s jaw after a disputed call. All these events were reported by USA Today over the span of just a few months. “Bad tempers are on display everywhere,” wrote reporter Karen S. Peterson. And who can doubt that it is true? The media is constantly reporting incidents of road rage, airplane rage, biker rage, surfer rage, grocery store rage, and rage at youth sporting events. This has led scientists to say the United States is in the middle of an anger epidemic. This epidemic rattles both those who study social trends and parents who fear the country is at a cultural precipice. (4) I Maybe you remember the old story about the guy who got into the bad habit of cursing all the time. Every time he got angry he let out a phrase that he should have kept to himself. After he had let out a tirade in the presence of his young son and his son echoed back some of his choice words, he decided he needed to get rid of this vile habit. He went to his pastor for help. His pastor said that every time you get angry why not try singing a hymn? That way you won’t express your anger in an inappropriate way. The young father said he would try this, “But,” he said, “I don’t know many hymns.” So the pastor gave him a hymn book to use, and the man took it and tried it. In a couple of weeks he came back to the pastor. The pastor said, “How are you doing?” The man said, “I’m doing pretty well.” The pastor said, “That’s great!” The man said, “There’s only one thing.” And the pastor said, “What’s that?” The man said, “I’m ready for a new hymn book.” There is a wonderful story that comes from the life of the great missionary Albert Schweitzer. A number of years ago on his way to Aspen, Colorado, Schweitzer changed trains in Chicago. As he was standing on the station platform he was being questioned by reporters. A woman carrying a heavy suitcase walked past. Immediately Dr. Schweitzer excused himself. He walked over to the lady, took the heavy suitcase from her and accompanied her to the car of the train she was boarding. Then he turned and walked on back to where the clustered group of reporters had been. They were no longer there. Seeing Albert Schweitzer’s helpfulness, they started looking for some lady with a heavy suitcase whom they might help on to a train, too.

The Miraculous Sign of Jesus

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington August 1, 2021 John 6:24-35 10th Sunday after Pentecost Year B The Miraculous Sign of Jesus Opening Song Welcome (no need to print) Leader: Today we give thanks to God for our musicians and for their faithful service in the ministry of music. Called in baptism and equipped with musical gifts, they have led the people of God in singing the new song of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Call to Worship O Lord, open our lips, and our mouth will proclaim your praise. It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. - Psalm 92:1-2; 95:1-2 Stewardship Moment In the life of every congregation, the recognition comes of the variety of gifts which have been given to different individuals. Some gifts might be over-looked until they become necessities. Knowing how to use a wet vac may seem superfluous until the basement floods! Aptitude with a tow truck may seem an unlikely gift until the church van breaks down with five youth and their sponsors on board. And who knew how important You Tube and Facebook would be for a functioning congregation until COVID closed down our “normal” means of communicating and sharing worship! Every individual has received gifts for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of ministry! How will you share the gifts you’ve received? Perhaps in direct action, and perhaps also in monetizing your gift and sharing financially from the work of your hands/hearts. As we receive our morning offering, consider how your gift/s will build up the body of Christ. Without you and your gift/s, we cannot come to maturity, Paul writes. It takes ALL of us, working and sharing together, to help reach the full stature of Christ! Let us receive our morning tithes, gifts and offerings. Prayer of Thanksgiving Holy Giver of every good and perfect gift, Thank you for this opportunity to claim the gifts we’ve been given. Challenge each one of us to recognize what we have received and how we can best use these gifts to proclaim our love for you. Thank you for this time to offer our gifts to build up of the body of Christ. AMEN Song In Christ there is not East or West UMH 548 Scripture John 6:24-35 John 6:24-35 Common English Bible 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Bread of life 26 Jesus replied, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One[a] will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life.” 28 They asked, “What must we do in order to accomplish what God requires?” 29 Jesus replied, “This is what God requires, that you believe in him whom God sent.” 30 They asked, “What miraculous sign will you do, that we can see and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[b] 32 Jesus told them, “I assure you, it wasn’t Moses who gave the bread from heaven to you, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said, “Sir,[c] give us this bread all the time!” 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Sermon The Miraculous Sign of Jesus So it looks like the COVID saga continues – we continue to struggle with what it means to return to normal. I hope that as we each work to answer that question for ourselves that we all stay safe. One of the favorite pastimes of the COVID era has been eating. Statistics say that most people have gained 10 -20 pounds more this past year – because what do we do when we are stressed – we eat. Eating is a basic need in life for all of us. And the basic staple of any meal? Bread. I think that most of us at some point in this last year has went to the store to get a loaf of bread ( even if it is a low carb bread – we still have some sort of bread. At $2 a loaf, many of us take the loaf of bread for granted. But in reality, throughout human history it has been one of the most important things in life. Perhaps that is why When Jesus was trying to tell others about who God is – the first metaphor that he can think of – a loaf of bread. When people want to know who he is – he says I am the bread of life. The lectionary spends 5 Sundays on this one symbol of God. We are only going to look at the gospel lesson this one Sunday. This is the only chapter in the bible that is stretched out this long. Usually, when John 6 comes up I wonder, how you can get 5 sermons out of one metaphor. But this year as I reviewed this lesson, I got so much more out of it besides bread, food, being hungry and being fed by Jesus. There is a whole story behind this metaphor. John’s point in telling this story is that there are two levels in every situation in life. There is the obvious things that we see with our eyes, and there is a sub story to look at where the real message is. Jesus is traveling throughout the countryside teaching and meeting needs. When he feeds the people when they are hungry – they want to make him king. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could be fed all of the time. This is a man of God with special powers, we need him in our lives. Jesus wants no part of this plan, first he escapes with his disciples. When that doesn’t work, he hides by himself. And the people still find him. Give us this bread all of the time! Moses gave the people manna when they were hungry. Give us the same signs so that we can believe in God. Jesus has to explain to them that Moses did not give them bread – God provided for them. All throughout the new testament Jesus tells his followers not to look for signs. God is not in miracles and signs, God is in our faith. Time and time when Jesus tries to explain who God is, the people get so caught up on the obvious story they get it wrong. When Jesus tells us that he is the temple of God – the people start to look at a building, when Jesus tells Nicodemus about being born again – we tries to figure out how to go back into his mother’s womb. When Jesus tells the woman that he is living water, she looks at Jacob’s well looking for water. So when Jesus says I am the bread of life – the people think he is a bread maker that will produce bread at will. This story would be funny if it didn’t apply to all of us – still looking for a sign and a miracle. We still pray that God will end COVID, we are still hoping that once it is over that God’s gift will be losing 10 pounds without doing exercise. If God will just give us brighter days – our problems will be over and we will praise him. Jesus says that He is the bread of life – but Jesus also tells us what that does not mean – it does not mean a lifetime of free bread. It does not mean the answer to all of our prayers. It doesn’t mean someone who constantly gives in order to justify going to church. The miracles of life and the hope is deeper than that. O Benjamin Sparks, “We are accustomed to inviting people into the community of faith for all the wrong reasons: for the "right" kind of worship; for political engagement on behalf of the poor and downtrodden; for the sake of a Christian America; for a strong youth and family ministry; for the opportunity to practice mission in a downtown location, or to go on mission trips to Africa or Central America. Yet what we have to offer—in Christ and by Christ and because of Christ—first and foremost is "soul food," which lasts forever and does not change with the changing circumstances of the church or the world. It is soul food that we desire, and soul food in which we will rejoice, long after our bellies are full of rice and our lives know justice in a free society.” Feasting on the Word – Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) A few years ago, there was this bread company called Great Harvest bread company – they had stores in a few places that I used to live. Actually, I really don’t care much for bread. But I would love to go to this store – because whenever you went in there was an employee who would cut any piece of bread that you wanted and let you put butter on it and eat it right there. That is what the church is – a bread store – giving out free pieces of Jesus – butter and all! All of us come to church for many different reasons, we are looking for different things, we have different expectations. Jesus is here for us all – not with easy answers, but with faith answers. When the people are looking for bread in this lesson, Jesus tells them that he is the bread of life. all we have to do is believe. Believe God. Believe that Jesus is the son of God. We don’t know when this saga will end, we do not know anything about the future. But we do know that God is the God of peace, of wholeness, of love. That all things come to be in God’s time. Jesus is the bread of life – if we believe then we will be hungry no more. As we take communion – let us remember that Jesus is the bread of life – if we believe we will have more than enough to get by. Amen Prayer and acknowledgement of all who are a part of the music Ministry Creator God, because you make all that draws forth our praise and the forms in which to express it, we praise you. Because you make artists of us all, awakening courage to look again at what is taken for granted, grace to share these insights with others, vision to reveal the future already in being, we praise you. Because you form your Word among us, and in your great work embrace all human experience, even death itself, inspiring our resurrection song, we praise you. Yours is the glory. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, In the waters of baptism you have gifted us for ministry in your church and in the world. We give you thanks for the ministry of music and faithful service of these your children. To all whom they have inspired in the arts, bring your blessing. Strengthen them in every future endeavor and bring to fruition their work to enliven your Word in us through music. Empower us to sing your resurrection song with fervor and to regard music as a lively expression of your gospel and a gift of your making. Amen All join together: Be with all your servants who make art and music for your people, that with joy, we on earth may glimpse your beauty, and bring us to the fulfillment of that hope of perfection, which will be ours as we stand before you. Amen Song One Bread One Body 620 Communion Invitation to Communion (from John 6:35) (don’t print) For many, bread has become part of the “eat sparingly” list, because of gluten, calories or too many other good things to fill our bellies. But for most of the world today, and for the people of Jesus’ world, bread is/was an essential — a basic part of every meal. So it makes sense Jesus uses “bread” as a way of describing his essential nature – “the bread of life”. When we come to the Table today, we find the essentials here: some symbolic or emblematic form of food and drink. Behind these simple elements is the solid truth of Jesus as essential to life. For those present in the sanctuary, our bread is ________________. If you’re worshipping online, I hope you have some essential elements (bread, cracker, chip, cookie, along with wine, juice, milk&honey). Together, let us “come to Jesus”, sharing these emblems of life, and actively remembering our Lord as our hungry hearts are satisfied. Announcements Closing Prayer Creator God, you have made us in your image to reflect your goodness. You have called us to use our gifts to build your kingdom. As we begin this day, we seek to reflect your image. Help us not only to focus on how to develop our creativity, but also to seek the wisdom to use our skills to your glory, and for the building up of the people we serve. In the name of Christ and through the Holy Spirit we pray. God of majesty, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be with your servants who make art and music for your people, that with joy we on earth may glimpse your beauty; and bring us to the fulfillment of that hope of perfection which will be ours as we stand before your unveiled glory. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Benediction Children’s Sermon God's recipe John 6:42 Object: a bowl of flour Good morning, boys and girls. (Show them the bowl of flour.) What do you think I have in this bowl? (Let them respond.) It's flour. What is flour made from? (Let them respond.) It's made from wheat. It grows in the field and when it's ready, the farmer harvests the wheat and grinds it into flour. What is flour good for? (Let them respond.) It's good for cooking! It looks pretty ordinary to me. What can we cook with flour? (Let them respond.) We can make bread, gravy, cookies, crackers, pancakes, waffles, cakes and pies. We can also make a play clay from flour and even paste can be made from flour. How can I do that with just an ordinary bowl of flour? (Let them respond.) We have to add other things to the flour to make different foods from flour. If I had an egg, some milk and a little oil, I can make pancakes. If I add the same things; egg, milk and oil, it can also become cake! Does a cake LOOK like a pancake or TASTE like pancakes? (Let them respond.) No, it doesn't. So what is it that makes it a cake or a pancake? (Let them respond.) It's how many eggs, how much milk and how many spoons of oil that makes it a cake or a pancake. But it all starts with plain, old, ordinary flour! Our lesson today is a story about Jesus. He was talking to some people that knew him when he was just plain old ordinary Jesus. The people were surprised at the things he said. They talked to each other and said, "Isn't this Jesus? We know his parents. Who does he think he is?" They knew Jesus and decided that Jesus was ordinary. They decided that ordinary people wouldn't say the things he did. They wouldn't listen to him. They got angry with Jesus. They didn't realize how special Jesus was! Sometimes we think and act like we're ordinary. But we're not ordinary like the people thought Jesus was supposed to be. We're special because we have some other ingredients mixed up with us just like this flour gets other things added to it to make different foods. What do you think we have added to us? (Let them respond.) We have a special ingredient - it's love. Just stir us up. Add a little love from God and mix well. That made Jesus special, too. He was following God's recipe and we can, too. God's recipe says to add love and mix well. Love makes us all special and not ordinary at all. CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, , by CSS Additional Illustrations • . • Sometime this week you will make a trip to the grocery store to get a loaf of bread. It will be readily available on the shelf. There will be quite a variety to choose from. You will pay little attention to the price, not realizing that the packaging that the bread is wrapped in actually costs more than the wheat that is in the bread. All in all, you will think it a very uneventful trip, but you will be wrong. • • It is quite difficult for me, as an American, to understand the importance of bread unless I turn on my TV and watch what is going on in so many parts of the world today. When there is no staff of life there is suffering and famine. A simple loaf of bread: Something, which we do not give a second thought, but in certain parts of the world it means life itself. • • It is only as we comprehend that situation that we can really begin to understand the importance of bread not only now but also in the time of Jesus. Just think for a moment how so many significant theological events in the Bible revolve around the subject of bread. The most important event in the Old Testament of course, was the Exodus event--the trip from Egypt to the Promised Land. But what caused the Hebrews to be in Egypt in the first place? It was for want of bread you will recall. The wheat crop had failed due to drought, and the Hebrews had migrated to the land of the Pharaoh because there was a surplus in storage there. It was bread, or the lack of it, that initiated this whole chain of events... • One of everyone’s favorite past times during this past Covid year and a half, especially during lock down, was food! Eating. And eating. And eating. And eating. • • The average person reported gaining 10 to 20 pounds during the past year in the US alone. Some even more. Why? Three factors stand out. 1) Increased stress about the virus or to be exact “stress-eating,” 2) lack of gym access and general exercise, and 3) lack of socialization (loneliness, isolation, depression, and separation from loved ones and friends). Never before have we realized just how much we depended on each other for our mental and physical and emotional and spiritual health. • • Covid not only reminded us about what happens economically and culturally when we function in the extreme as individual units instead of as communities but what happens to us mentally, spiritually, and emotionally when we are confronted by isolation, when our relationships are cut off and socialization shuts down. • • In 1943, a psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow in his paper on human motivation, laid out a chart called the human hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s theory tells us that our most basic human needs are physiological. We need food, water, and rest to live....