Everyday is a New Day

Fifth Sunday of Easter Revelation 21:1-6 A New Day Year C May 15, 2022 Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship L: How wondrous! A new heaven and a new earth! P: The old, bruised and angered, fearful and alienated, will pass away L: In its place God will offer new hope and peace P: God will dwell with God’s people forevermore. L: Worship the Lord who is about to do a new thing. P: Praise God who establishes God’s reign in the heart of God’s people. AMEN. (Ministry Matters – Nancy Townley) Song This is a Day of New Beginnings UMH 383 Prayer of Reflection and Growth God of Awe and Harmony- We were given the great commandment to love one another the way you, the Christ, the Spirit loves us. And yet, the way we love becomes conditional. What events have distorted our view of Divine Love? How can we return to a simple but radical way of loving? Transform our hearts as we work to understand one another, creating an earth which reflects God’s heaven. Amen. Assurance of Grace The Spirit of God heals our hearts, blessing us with grace as the Divine One works to transform our world into a realm of peace and joy. Amen. (UCC Worship Ways – Rev. Michelle Torigian) Scripture Revelation 21:1-6 Sermon Every Day is a New Day When you think of the place that you live, what are the things that you love about it? What are the things that need to be improved? What are the issues that have been longstanding that only God can fix? Now is the place that you live a town, a village, or a city, or Or do you live in an unincorparated place, near a town, a village, or a city? Since the beginning of history – humans have gathered together in some form of municipality. Some have chosen to live in smaller clusters or villages, and some have chosen to live in larger gatherings called cities. Historically, cities have been known to be the center of business, the center of culture, but as more and more people flock to cities, they are also places of great need, places of crime, places where you can feel unsafe. there are so many jokes about the drawbacks of living in a city. Comedian Anita Weiss says, “I moved to New York City for my health. I’m paranoid, and it was the only place where my fears were justified.” In a standup routine about traffic in Boston, Massachusetts comedian Lewis Black said, “The last person to get across that town in under three hours was yelling, ‘The British are coming! The British are coming!’” A lot of us would agree with comedian Jason Love’s opinion of Las Vegas: “All the amenities of modern society in a habitat unfit to grow a tomato.” And my favorite putdown about cities is from comedian Richard Jeni: “This is how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, ‘Gee, I’m enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn’t cold enough.’” (1) The history of people, have been the history of cities. Jerusalem. Rome. there are so many jokes about the drawbacks of living in a city. Comedian Anita Weiss says, “I moved to New York City for my health. I’m paranoid, and it was the only place where my fears were justified.” In a standup routine about traffic in Boston, Massachusetts comedian Lewis Black said, “The last person to get across that town in under three hours was yelling, ‘The British are coming! The British are coming!’” A lot of us would agree with comedian Jason Love’s opinion of Las Vegas: “All the amenities of modern society in a habitat unfit to grow a tomato.” And my favorite putdown about cities is from comedian Richard Jeni: “This is how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, ‘Gee, I’m enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn’t cold enough.’” (1) Today, especially here in Illinois the lines between what defines a village, or a town or a city has become blurred. Wilmington has a population of a little over 5000 is considered a city. Cicero with a population of over 81,000 is a unincorparated town, elk grove village is a village of 31,000 people. So much for the definition being determined by size, I think it is more a distinction of the organization of the municipal government. Wilmington is one of 7 cities in will county. Parts of Aurora and Naperville are in will county. Braidwood, Wilmington, Joliet, crest hill and lockport are the only cities, everything else is a village. Coal City and Diamond , custer Parkof 32 villages in will county. Each of the places that we live have a very distinct personality, a distinct sense of what it community, they are organized differently, their way of providing services is different. And yet no matter where we live in the world – the basic needs of life are the same. And as borders inside our country become blurred – the issues are the same to a different degree. Whereever we are, the police get domestic violence calls. Drug calls. Fights, traffic accidents and the like. So it is interesting that revelation would say that salvation comes to us in the form of a city New Jerusalem. A new city, with a new form of government. In new Jerusalem, not only with the roads be free of potholes, the water pressure will always be great, and the internet access always 100 percent. But the good news is that all of the things that we have been struggling with will disappear. No one will get sick, no one will go hungry, we will live together in harmony, we will all be on the same page. Things that seem to be impossible in a human city, but possible in a city where God is the municipal government. The message of revelation says that in God’s city is the place of our hopes and dreams. Three things will be so- God will build it, God will care for our needs, and Jesus christ will be the center of everything. It will be the city of our dreams. It will be the city, village, town, township of our faith. New Jerusalem is the present whereever God’s people are. In rome, at the top of st peter’s cathedral, are what appears to be life size statues of the disciples, because that it believed to be the place that christ will come when he returns. The good news is that God is with us wherever we are in the midst of our ordinary lives. When we have faith, god is with us in the midst of our problems. While we deliberate, god reigns, when we decide to choose wisely, god reign, when we serve god in humble lpyalty, God reigns, when we serve god self assuredly, god reigns, when we have hope god reigns, when we pray God reigns. I truly believe that one day all people will see the new Jerusalem – the place where God reigns for all to see clearly. But in the meantime, it is important for us to work to make our city, our town, our village, our world a better place. To stay connected to God and to God hopes for the world. We have to serve where we are. Song Help Us Accept Each Other UMH 560 Prayer When the news is loudly proclaiming anger, hostility, hatred, we are called by Christ to love one another. How hard that is, O Lord! Prejudice abounds in our land, and it is our shame, as we proclaim our faith in you. You call us to love one another, but we put conditions on that love: some of these conditions regard race, economic status, gender, age, nationality. It is easy to love people with whom we feel comfortable. It is more difficult to love those who are different from us. And that, O Lord, is our dilemma. Teach us how to love and accept the diversity in our land. Help us to treasure each other for the wondrous gifts and talents each person has. Sharpen our ears to hear words of love when whispered and shouted. Tune our hearts to your healing message of acceptance and compassion for all. Help us to be the people of the Resurrection - who have been freed from the bonds of death. We place our lives in your care, merciful Lord. AMEN. (Ministry Matters – Nancy Townley) Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering (Acts 11, John 13) God has given us the gift of faith. Through this gift we see all people as God’s children. Respond to God’s generous love, that we may love one another as God has loved us. Let us share this love as we bring our tithes and offerings. (Ministry Matters – Mary Petrina Boyd) Offering Prayer (John 13) Loving God, you have given us the task to love one another. May the gifts we offer bring love and life to others. May the love we share bring hope to a world that has forgotten how to love. Amen. (Ministry Matters – Mary Petrina Boyd) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook As the week begins again, May we dance as we celebrate God’s presence. May we sing as we proclaim Christ’s love. May we create as we embrace the Spirit’s vision. May we love boldly, care radically, and share courageously to glorify the Spirit of God in our midst. Amen! (UCC Worship Ways – Rev. Michelle Torigian) Community Time Benediction from John 13 Jesus gave a new commandment: to love one another. Because Jesus loves us, we should love one another. Go forth to serve. Go forth to love. We go with God’s love and blessing. (Ministry Matters – Mary Petrina Boyd) Children’s Sermon Hello, children of God! You know what I’ve noticed? Life can be tough. It is full of challenges and difficulties. And there are a lot of things that we need in order to face the hardships that come our way. (As you describe, hold up items one by one.) For instance, tissues! Sometimes we feel sad, and need a tissue to dry our tears. Or you might get a cold and need that tissue to blow your nose. You might also feel sick and need medicine to help you get better. Or sometimes you get hurt, and you need a band-aid to patch things up. Or how about this? Flashlights! There are times when things get dark, or perhaps the power goes out. It’s important to have a flashlight ready to guide your way. Oh, and don’t forget about sustenance! We need snacks and plenty of water to keep us going. Phew, this sure is a lot of gear to lug around! Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t need all of this? In fact, wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t face sickness, or sadness, or darkness at all? Well, guess what? I have some great news for you. Someday we won’t need tissues or band-aids or medicine, or even water! We have some beautiful promises from God about how things will be in Heaven. God tells us that He is going to make all things new. When we finish this life on Earth, a new home awaits us, better than anything that we can imagine now. God says that He will wipe away every tear. We won’t need tissues! There will be no more sorrow or sickness. There won’t be pain. We won’t even need the light of flashlights or the sun, because the light of Jesus will shine brightly. We won’t need water, because God will give us living water. All of these things that trouble us now will be gone. No burdens, no hardships at all! Of course, we don’t know all of the details. We don’t know when we will go to Heaven, and we don’t know exactly what it will be like. But we have the hope that it will be wonderful. It’s sort of like when you have a rough week at school, but you know there’s something special or fun waiting for you when you get to the weekend. You can think about that special thing and feel a little better when times get rough. It is the same way in our lives. Yes, we have joyous moments, and we want to make the most of every day. But sometimes things get hard. When those times come, we know that this world is not our home, and difficulties won’t last forever. God promises us eternal life with Him, free from all trials and pain. We can rest assured that something spectacular is waiting for us! So when we feel sad or encounter challenges, we remember that there is hope in Heaven. God will make all things new, including our lives! Let’s say a prayer to thank God for the hope of Heaven and a future with Him. Children’s Prayer Moment: (Have kids repeat each line, if desired) Dear God, Thank you for the hope of Heaven We know you will comfort us with your peace And wipe away our tears. Help us to remember that when things are hard. Thank you for loving us We love you, God! Thank you for Jesus In His name, Amen! Additional Illustrations