Angels Among Us (repreach 8/28/16)

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington August 28, 2022 Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 12th Sunday of Pentecost Year C Angels Among Us Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship L: Jesus said, "Love one another, even as I have loved you." P: Love is more powerful than fear; it is mightier than hatred. L: Let the love which God has lavished upon us be poured out to those in need. P: Help us, O Lord, to witness to you by the ways in which we care for others. L: Remind us, Lord, that we are called to be your disciples. P: As we worship this morning, heal our hearts and spirits and prepare us for service. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Invocation God, we come this gathering of community where there are no barriers, and all our abilities are celebrated as gifts. We come to receive your hospitality of caring for each one of us and to learn from you how to offer such a celebration to stranger, friend, chosen family, those whose faces are unfamiliar to us, and the face who meets us in the mirror. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Maren Tirabassi) Song Shine Jesus Shine TFWS 2173 Children’s Sermon Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 Most of you probably know what this is. It is a kaleidoscope. When you hold a kaleidoscope up to the light, you see beautiful colors and designs. When you twist the end of the kaleidoscope, the designs are constantly changing. I can remember when I was a child. I would spend hours looking at the beautiful colors and designs in a kaleidoscope. Sometimes I would see a design that was so beautiful that I would want to save it, but when I would move the kaleidoscope ever so slightly, the image would change. No matter how long or how hard I tried, I could never recapture that image again. That is the way it is with a kaleidoscope, it is never the same. It is always changing. We live in a world that is like that. Our world is constantly changing. People change, the seasons change, knowledge changes. Nothing ever seems to stay the same. In a world that is constantly changing, it would be nice if there was at least one thing that we could count on to stay the same when everything around us is changing. Well, there is something that never changes. The Bible tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." When everything around us is changing and we don't know what to believe or what to think, we can always know that Jesus remains the same. His love for us remains the same. His truth remains the same. That is one thing we can count on. Thank you, Jesus, for your love that never changes. We are so thankful that we can count on you to remain the same when everything around us is changing! (Sermons4Kids) Prayer for Illumination Eternal God, your Word speaks truth into our lives. When we humble ourselves to listen, you mature us with knowledge and strengthened faith. Open us to your Word read and proclaimed today, so we might hear and embrace the message you intend for us. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Teri McDowell Ott) Scripture Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Sermon Angels Among us August 28, 2016 Hebrews 13 This is the 4th week that we have been looking at Hebrews. Each of the last chapters of the book have a special message on what it means to be a Christian. Many scholars believe that the author takes a very sharp turn in the last chapter of the book, chapter 13. Some wonder if it was added later, but I think that it just wraps up the Christian life perfectly. When Christ is the head of your life, things are different. Your whole life just takes a different turn. You have different relationships, for different reasons and with different results. The theme of the Christian life is faith, hope and love. In chapter 11 we talked about faith, in chapter 12 we talked about hope and today in chapter 13 we put it all together with love. But not just any love – mutual love, the type of love that you can only get in community with other Christians. I got into an argument with a church member at church council, because I said that you cant be a Christian on a desert island. Reading the bible and thinking nice thoughts does not make you a Christian. The only way to truly be a Christian is to go to church and participate. What makes you a Christian is how you deal with people. How you interact with people. Not just any people, but people who have come together for a common cause. If the church is what it is supposed to be, it is not just a group of friends. The church should be a group of strangers, who have nothing in common, but who God called to journey to the same place together. Worshipping with People We Didn't Hand-Pick Writer and NPR commentator Heather King, a recovering alcoholic who has come to faith in Christ, reflected on her initial experience with the church: My first impulse was to think, My God, I don't want to get sober (or in the case of the church, worship) with THESE nutcases! (or boring people, or people with different politics, taste in music, food, books, or whatever). Nothing shatters our egos like worshipping with people we did not hand-pick …. The humiliation of discovering that we are thrown in with extremely unpromising people!—people who are broken, misguided, wishy-washy, out for themselves. People who are … us. But we don't come to church to be with people who are like us in the way we want them to be. We come because we have staked our souls on the fact that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the church is the best place, the only place, to be while we all struggle to figure out what that means. We come because we'd be hard pressed to say which is the bigger of the two scandals of God: that he loves us—or that he loves everyone else. Adapted from Heather King, "The Better Church," Shirt of Flameblog (10-23-11) If your patience is not being challenged, then it is not Christian community. The test of how well we are doing as a church is how well we are able to reach out to new people, and make them feel welcome. Not as we expect them to be but as God expects them to be. How well do we let them explore and use their relationship with God. And if we are all truly finding God in our lives, we are able to get along with one another. That is mutual love. The book of Hebrews gives several examples of places where mutual love is important. In prison, in encounters with strangers, with mentors, even while shopping and in marriage. Did you know that there is only one insurance company in America that will sell you marriage insurance, where you get a pay off if your marriage fails? You can have your fingers insured if you are a pianist, you can have your face insured if you are a model. But when you are applying for a marriage license, you cant buy insurance in case your marriage fails. You can sign a prenuptial agreement in order to protect your property. You can buy life insurance in case your spouse dies. But even money hungry insurance agencies realize that if you don’t have mutual love, then you don’t have a marriage. Your relationship with your spouse if between you and them, and God. All three of your all have to work at it. Mutual love means that God has to be a part of all of your relationships. And part of everything that you do. The scripture says Marriage must be honored in every respect, with no cheating on the relationship, because God will judge the sexually immoral person and the person who commits adultery. God will judge the person who does wrong, so that you don’t have to. We can love them even in the midst of doing what needs to be done for our wellbeing. That applies to our relationships with others as well. We need God in order to get along and connect with anybody. God should be a part of our relationships and our lives. In verse 5 and six, the scripture says Afterall he said that I will never abandon you that is why you can say the lord is my helper I will not be afraid. Because God makes a promise to us, we can rest assured, stay faithful and make the promises that we need to make. God said I will hold you in the palm of my hand, so we can say everything will be okay. God said I love you, so we can say I love you to others. God said I will provide for you, so we can freely give to others. As a Christian everything that we do should be about God. What God says to us, so we can do the same for others. That is mutual love – love where God cares for both of us equally. Hebrews chapter 13 starts out by saying treat each other life family. Open our doors to guest, because by doing so, we have entertained angels. That is a reference to the Abraham story, where Abraham invited three men into his house, not knowing that they were angels with a message from god. Tradition says that Abraham had a tent, and that he intentionally kept all four flaps of the tent open at all times in order to keep an eye out for strangers in need, in any direction. He was able to spot the 3 strangers in need from over a mile away. Now remember, the word angel means messenger from God. Angels come in all shaped and sizes. You never know who you are going to meet, who will bring a message from God. Just as I have learned to look for pennies on the ground everyday. I have learned to look for angels. Messengers who god sent into my life. There was a fascinating story in Time magazine sometime back about Melissa Deal Forth, 40, a film maker in Atlanta. It was about the day her husband Chris Deal died. It was exactly one year after he had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The last months had been gruesome: treatments that could not save him, nights when she could not sleep. But Melissa was sleeping soundly at his hospital bedside on the morning of Jan. 4 when Chris managed, somehow, without being seen or heard, to maneuver himself and his portable IV pole around her, out of the room and past the nurse's station with its 360-degrees view of the ward. All Melissa remembers is being shaken awake at 3:00 a.m. by a frantic nurse who was saying something about not being able to find Chris. Melissa hit the floor running. As she approached the elevator she happened to glance toward the chapel, where she glimpsed Chris sitting with a man she had never seen before. Frightened and furious, she burst through the door, firing off questions. Where have you been? Are you okay?" Chris just smiled. "It's fine," he told her, "I'm all right." His companion remained quiet, his eyes on the floor as though not wanting to be noticed. He was tall, dressed rather like Chris usually did, in a flannel shirt, new Levis and lace-up work boots that appeared as if they, too, had just been taken off the shelf. "There was no real age to him," Melissa says. "No wrinkles. Just this perfectly smooth and pale, white, white skin and ice blue eyes. I mean I've never seen that color blue on any human before. They were more the blue like some of those Husky dogs have. I'll never forget the eyes." Chris seemed to want to be left alone, and so she reluctantly agreed to leave. When he came back to his room, she says, "He was lit up, just vibrant. Smiling. I could see his big dimples. I hadn't seen them in so long. He didn't have the air of a terminally ill and very weak man anymore." "Who was that guy?" she asked. "You're not going to believe me," Chris said. "Yes, I will," she answered. "He was an angel," Chris said. "My guardian angel." Melissa did believe him. "All I had to do was to look at him," she says now, "to know something extraordinary, something supernatural had happened." She searched the hospital to find the man. There was no one around, and the security guards hadn't seen anyone come or go. "After the visit, Chris told me his prayers had been answered," she says. "I worried for a while that he thought the angel had cured his cancer. I realize now it wasn't the cure, it was the blessing he brought with him. It was the peace of mind." Chris died two days later. In the 11 years since Chris's death, Melissa says not a day has gone by when she has not thought about the angel and what he did for her husband. "Chris' life could not be saved, but the fear and pain were taken from him," she says. "I know what I saw, and I know it changes lives. Never, never, never will anyone be able to convince me that angels don't exist." (1) Not everyone feels like that, of course. In the movie Red River, tough guy Walter Brennan looks out across the horizon and sees a stranger approaching. He has no idea what the man's intentions are, but he's not looking forward to the meeting. He explains his reasoning to John Wayne, "No stranger," he says, "ever good-newsed me." (3) Well, I've been "good-newsed" by many strangers. And so have you. One of the reasons that we ought always to be kind to strangers is that some of these strangers will bless us mightily. You see, angels come to us in many forms. I have been good news by a stranger many times. The message is for us to be hospitable to others, but it is much deeper than than. We have to live each day with God in our lives, we have to include God in all of our relationships. With family, with church members, with spouse, with others, and sometimes even with ourselves. When we have God with us, then we also have mutual love present. In order to be happy we have to have faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love. God is present when we show love. Amen, Song Pass it On UMH 572 Pastoral Prayer For some of us here today, Lord, we wish the summer would never end. We have enjoyed opportunities to travel, to relax, to break away from schedules and hectic calendars. For others, there is the thrill of entering the new season; looking forward to the challenges ahead. On this Labor Sunday we gather to receive your blessings once again, that we may recognize your presence in our lives and use the gifts that you have given to us in service to others. As we have offered names and situations to you in prayer for your compassionate healing love, we add our names as well. Heal our wounds, we pray. Enable us to be strong in our commitment to you by serving others in need. Keep us open always to your abiding love. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship (from Hebrews 13:16) “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (tell your own short story of sharing, or use this one) In another congregation, a man came to my office and asked if we could talk. “Of course”, I responded, and showed him to a seat. Before sitting down, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Jumping right into the reason he had come, he declared, “I was given an unexpected bonus at work, and I want your help, to pay some bills.” “I’d be glad to help.” “I want this to be anonymous. Would you take this cash to the utility company, and pay for a month of utilities for Elizabeth and another month for Thomas?” Dumb-founded, I saw he was handing me several hundred dollars to pay bills for two members of our congregation! I agreed to be the courier, and assured him this gift would be anonymous. He smiled, got up, lit up the room with his grin, and declared, “I think this is something that would make Jesus smile!” As we share our tithes, gifts and offerings, consider how you are doing something good as you share what you have. Imagine how your sharing will be pleasing to God! (or “Imagine how this moment would make Jesus smile!”) Prayer of Thanksgiving Holy Giver of Life, thank you for Jesus! Thank you for the teaching we continue to receive through the words of scripture. And thank you for this opportunity to “do something good”. May our gifts, and our lives, be sacrifices which are pleasing to you. AMEN (Disciple’s of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Practice humility and hospitality. Invite the lowly to your table. Remember the imprisoned and the tortured. Honor your covenants. Be content with what you have. Love God, and walk in God's ways. May the way we live offer praise to God, our helper and our strength. And may God feed you with the finest wheat and the sweetest honey. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Rebecca Gaudino) Community Time Benediction Beloved of the Lord, go in peace, knowing that God's peace will be with you always. Go in service in God's world, helping those in need, sharing the gifts you have been given. Go in love, bring hope to all. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations

Living God's Passion in your life (repreach of 8/27/10)

11th Sunday After Pentecost Jeremiah 1:4-10 Living our God’s Passion in your life Blessing of the Back Packs Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship ONE: Calling all children of the Living God: the gospel is good news for every age and every stage. ALL: Let us worship together, the young and the old. ONE: The good news is proclaimed in God’s words, and also with crayons, silly songs, snacks, and rest time. ALL: Let us worship together, every generation. ONE: We come together with different abilities and disabilities, learning in a rainbow of ways and styles. ALL: Let us worship together, with our family of faith. ONE: All are welcome in the arms of Christ who proclaimed, “Let the children come!” ALL: Let us worship together, united in our eternal hope. Opening Prayer Let us pray: God our teacher, who helps us to understand the world around us, Thank you for the privilege of education. You have blessed our communities with teachers who take new skills and concepts and pass them along to each new class of young people. God who came as a child to show us how to be fully human, to show us how to be children of God, You have given our children minds that grow and develop in unique ways, at unique speeds, and we are astounded by that miracle. You speak to us through the words, actions, play, and feelings of children. You call us to listen to the Spirit speaking through our young siblings in Christ. We celebrate the beginning of this school year and ask for your blessings upon the children, the educators, and the families who support them all. But in this celebration of education and learning, we do not forget there are children and families and teachers who do not have the resources they need. When systems are unjust, the outcomes are unacceptable. Today we remember those who are beginning school this year: those who have what they need to learn and grow in safety, and those who lack supplies, teachers, safe buildings, and accommodations for all needs and abilities. We come to worship together, to lift up our young people and all those who care for them and teach them. Open our hearts to what you are saying to us today. Amen Song Lord of the Dance UMH 261 Scripture Jeremiah 1:4-19 Sermon Living out God’s Passion in your life Gordon McKenzie worked for the Hallmark company for over 30 years, one of his ways of giving back to the community was to go into the schools and to give creativity workshops. Over the years he says that he noticed a pattern that never seemed to change. He would work with the first graders and ask who was a artist – and every hand would go up. He would go to the second grade and notice that when he asked that same question, only about half of the kids would raise their hands – by third grade it was down to ten, and in the six grade only about 2 would be brave enough to raise their hand just because they asked. I would think that there is just something about life, about peer pressure, about the way we relate to one another that holds down our creativity. Once we start to get rational and think- we also start to limit ourselves and our opportunities. We start to think that we have an obligation to do somethings, so we put aside that creative side, that exciting side of ourselves, the side that is willing to take risk and to step out of our comfort zone. Because that spirit of being stifled is not just in the schools – it is in the church. If I were to ask you all how many of you are called by God – I would get the same response. We have made up in our minds that those words mean something specific, and whatever it means it does not apply to me How many of you feel that you have a calling from god on your life? Every hand in the room should go up- but it doesn’t for some reason. Why is that, Mr Makenzie concluded that there was a time in our lives, perhaps when we were very young when each of us believed that we could do anything. We were genius at everything and we were not afraid to show it. We were also not afraid to be wrong, to make a mistake, for someone to tell us that we did not know what we were talking about. We were willing to take risk at what we wanted to believe we were called to do. But something happened in life. He said that we were waiting for the authority figures in our lives to validate us – to tell us that we were the best, that we could indeed make our dreams come true – and for some reason the validation never came- no one cared, no one patted us on the back and we gave up on our dreams. We assumed that maybe we were not a genius, and that perhaps the world did not need us – and we gave up on our call. That is devastating for that to happen to anyone in the schools – and perhaps that is a wonderful back to school message to think of as our children go back to school – to do everything that we can to encourage them, to tell them that they are genius – and that the world does indeed need them. We need to give all of the opportunities that we can to express their creativity and their willingness to grow and to learn. We need to do that in the schools and in the homes, but more importantly we need to do it in the churches – where else can you encourage a relationship with the divine, the unknown, the new, the ultimate creator. Where else do we get our inspiration to do anything in the world, if we don’t get it from God. Where else do we get our instructions from God to go out into the world and do anything – unless it comes from God? That’s what I want to talk about this morning – is being called by God – exactly what does that mean anyway? What special qualities do you have to have in order to have that relationship with God? What qualities do we need in order to do the special work of God – to perhaps be a prophet? Jeremiah was a prophet of god – I like him the best, because he seems to be the most grounded. Prophets did a lot of strange things in order to get the attention of the people – Hosea gave his kids strange names like – bad luck or something really unfortunate, Isaiah was willing to die by being stretched apart, Amos constantly criticized the government. People even criticized John the Baptist for wearing strange clothes. Jeremiah got the attention of others, by living with them, by addressing the issues of his time, and by giving hope to the people. I mentioned a few weeks ago that Jeremiah considered himself to be a prophet of the people, his message was not to the leaders, but not the people, it was not his job to preach gloom and doom to a sinful people who did not listen – but to preach walk with a people in trouble an distress and to give them hope by encouraging them to stand strong until things changed. Most prophets were concerned with only saving the chosen people. Jeremiah realized that in order to save them, that he had to save everybody – he reached out to the rest of the world. Many of the prophets and others talk about how they came to be “called” by god – how god gave them a special task to reach out. Many didn’t start their jobs until they became adults, some as children, Only Jerimiah says that his story started way before he was born. That his relationship with God started with god, and not with his awareness that there was a God. When we read the prophet section of the bible, I will tell you a secret. The books are ordered from longest to shortest. Jeremiah is the first prophet, with the longest book and the most important message. Jeremiah was afraid to speak up, because all of the popular prophets were telling people that no matter how threatening things look that everything was going to get better. Jeremiah’s message was that before things got better, they were going to get worse. But God would be present in both the challenges and the rewards. The lectionary will deal with the book of Jeremiah for nine weeks. I think I only chose it as our scripture for this week. So today, we start with chapter 1 – how he came to have this special relationship. He didn’t do anything t was given to him. He talks of being that young boy – full of ideas and creativity waiting for an adult to validate his call – he talks of being too young to really make a difference in the world. As I read the verse this year, that is one thing that stood out to me – when Jeremiah says I can’t be a prophet because I am only a boy. The Hebrew word that the writer uses is the word for a young boy not old enough to join the army and bear weapons. That would have been a boy about the age of 14. But then I thought about the world of our churches, where many times the youngest person in the room is 40-50 years old and they still don’t feel that they have to power to speak and make a difference. God’s message to Jeremiah – that his age does not matter when God gives him a job. He also talks of god’s response to him and his need and his fear – that he was not to be afraid of what people would say to him, how they would shoot him down and tell him that he was too young to make a difference. God says that if I give you something to do you are not too young to do it, as a matter of fact- you have an obligation to listen and to respond. God calls all of us to do something. We have a calling to do something – to be a prophet, or a writer, or a teacher, or a carpenter, a bus driver, or a preacher or something to further the world and the kingdom of God. But as Christians, we also have a calling to be something in the world – something that the world needs. A doctor speaks of god calling him to be a plastic surgeon, why a plastic surgeon – changing your appearance, what does that have to do with building the kingdom ? most of his clients could care less about God. But he was also called to pray and to start prayer groups for those who worked in the hospital and to reach out to other plastic surgeons to encourage them to live a life of faith. In his call to be a faithful Christian in the workplace – he made a difference in the lives of others. To be called could mean doing a specific job, but it can also be to respond in a Christian way to life, it can be to encourage and support others in what they are trying to do, most importantly it means being willing to listen to God at all times in all circumstances. That is our biggest and more important calling – to obedient to the will of God. And we are all a part of that. Every body is called, not everyone has the ears to listen attentively. If we listen, we may not get that validation from the world – but we always get it from God. The bible is full of the stories of God calling people to a certain task. In each story, God approaches them, gives them a task that they are afraid of, and then gives them a sign or symbol that it is really God talking to them. Most of the stories of being called also have another thing in common, the response that they are not the right person for the job. Moses said that he couldn’t really speak, Isaiah said that he was not from the right family, Jeremiah said that he was too young. Each of them resisted God, and yet God gave each of them the assurance that it could be done. For me, my call was a lot like Ezekiel, I didn’t resist, I accepted the call. But one thing that all calls have in common, they are a challenge beyond anything that you can expect. God always says it is okay – I will help you. The Borden family is from Chicago – the company that makes milk and other products. I do believe that the factory is on the Westside. But anyway – William Borden was being groomed to take over the family fortune. He worked hard, he went to school, and a graduation present was a trip around the world. But as he went around the world and learned the conditions of most of the people in the world – he wrote a letter to his parent explaining that God was leading him to be a missionary to those in need. He wrote two words in his bible – no reserves. Through prayer he realized that he wanted to go to China to work with people there. His parents convinced him to go to graduate school and get more education – he went to yale and started several bible studies. He was offered several high paying positions, but turned them down. He needed to in China - he wrote in his bible – no retreats – and he left. He went to China, he also went to the middle east to learn Arabic to talk with the Muslims. A few months later he contracted spinal meningitis. He died from it at age 25 – a few months before is death he wrote in his bible – no regrets. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. That was his answer to gods call in his life. What are your responses to gods call on your life? The question is not have you been called, the question is are you listening? Jeremiah want us to know that the need to be creative starts way before we are in the first grade.- it starts before you were born, it starts in the circumstances that you were born into, it starts in your willingness to listen and to say yes. The good news is that when god calls, he commissions – he tells us what we have to do and why – he tells us what we are up against and what we have to overcome. We are also always given validation – an assurance that you can do this, an assurance that others recognize gods call in you. A test that in the midst of circumstance, your work will not be in vain. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. So what is it that you need to do now? This is a new day for us all – we all have to face challenges in life that we did not expect. None of us have ever faced this moment – and yet we have been called to move forward. The most popular phrase in the bible – is be not afraid. When we encounter the holy – that is the first thing that we hear – be not afraid. If be not afraid is the most popular command of the bible – do you know what the most popular promise is? Be not afraid, because I will be with you. Whatever challenge that you must face, you never face it alone – God is always there with you. As we step into a new day, new challenges you are called to face – know that God is with you. Amen. Song Here I am, Lord UMH 593 Prayer God, we praise You for who You are. We give You thanks because You created us in your own image. Also we pray for knowledge and understanding for us all this new school year. We pray that you will be with each of us at the start a new school year. We pray that you will give us endurance as we seek understanding and new revelations in our pursuits and studies. Father we also pray for families as we support students, by building a closer working relationship with teachers and staff and all those involved in the learning process. This we ask in Jesus Name. (Inspired by Pray Ray Prayer Journal) Lord’s Prayer Blessing of the Back Packs ( See Insert) PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE ONE: With you, every transition and new start is a reminder of your goodness, for you are always creating fresh, amazing things in us and through us. Though we are sad about the summer ending, we are grateful for this school year. We appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow, knowing it is one of the biggest privileges we have. With thanks and love, we now offer everything we are to you, asking for your blessing. ONE: We pray as and for students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. We pray for our hearts and all they hold—excitement and nervousness, disappointment and hope. We give you all our loves and fears. We pray for steady self-esteem and deepening resilience. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our minds, that they will expand in wonder and celebration, learning not just from the books studied but the people beside us. Open our minds with a willingness to be changed in unexpected ways, and settle our thought loops in peaceful places. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our hands, that they will reach out to help welcome and care. Bless our hands with patience and dedication as they grip pencils and type on keyboards, swish paint brushes and clap in song, grip monkey bars and lunch box handles, spin wheelchair tires and basketballs. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our mouths, that they will speak words bringing life and connection. Help us use our mouths to honor the dignity and belovedness of all. Remind us to open our mouths for deep belly breaths when we’re feeling anxious or afraid. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our feet, that they will move toward those different from us and help others in safe ways. Plant our feet next to those who feel alone, and bless our steps down hallways and sidewalks. We know you are with us wherever our feet go or stay. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our eyes, that they may see ourselves and others with compassion. Point our eyes toward those who are forgotten or struggling. Grow us in flexibility to see from all kinds of angles. Bless what and how we see, whether we’re looking at a screen, a whiteboard, or the beauty of a person’s face. And help us see with the most important eyes—the eyes of the Spirit within us. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our ears, that they will genuinely listen to all voices, especially those that haven’t been listened to much. When things get noisy, help us listen extra carefully for your voice. Help us hear with the most important ears—the ears of the Spirit within us ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We say a special prayer for parents, as the start of a new school year is always another leap of faith. Wrap them with your reassuring love as they entrust their children and trust in you. When questions remain unanswered, and the realm of control is finite, bless them with peace and the promise you are right there with their child, whether heading to preschool or driving to college. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We also pray now for teachers, staff and administrators. Bless these faithful servants with courage and confidence, knowing you are in their classroom with a steady hand on their shoulder. Give them peace, patience, and balance in the pressures they face, and bravery to build structures and systems which justly serve all your children. Give them delight in the young ones before them, and recognition of the sweet ways children are also teachers. ALL: Loving God, hold us all and our prayers. ONE: We pray for health and wholeness, fun and growth, surprise and amazement, for this school year ahead, knowing you will hold us all the way through. ALL: We thank you, God, and love you. Amen. Blessing of the bench Dear God, We ask for your blessing for this park bench and all who make use of it. We now consecrate it for holy service. May it provide rest to those who are tired, may it be a seat of inspiration for those who sit and seek your presence. May it even be a support for the squirrels and other animals who play upon it. Lord as the rays of the Sun and the drops of rain fall upon it, may your blessings continue to flow upon all who come in contact with this bench. We thank you for the opportunity to do our part in building your kingdom. Help us to use this project and others to do all that we can to clean up the earth and make the world a better place through our service. Let this bench watch over the play of our children, support teachers and parents, and bless our church. Just as Jesus upholds us in all that we do, may this bench uphold all who sit upon it and honor it. Amen Stewardship Moment Luke records the story of Jesus healing a crippled (bent over) woman on the Sabbath, in the synagogue. What a gift! When the one in authority griped about Jesus “working” on the Sabbath, Jesus responded with an appeal to ordinary actions everyone took on the Sabbath (leading animals to water), and an acknowledgement of the woman being set free from bondage as a similar action. Jesus gave what he had: both the capacity to teach, and the capacity to heal. Today, each of us is invited to give what WE have. Some of us may offer the work of our hands, perhaps on a Sunday, or perhaps on another day of the week. Some of us may offer to share a talent: creating new banners, playing an instrument for worship, visiting in the hospital, reaching out to visitors, cooking for our neighbors (list specifics which are part of YOUR particular setting). And all of us are invited to share from our finances. Whether your gift is $25 or $2500, we invite you to make an offering to support the work of this congregation and to confirm your understanding that ALL we have is a gift from God…so we return a portion of that gift, as our way of saying “thank you”. As we make our offering, may each of us experience being set free from the bondage we’ve known (particularly from the bondage of such addictive attachment to our time, our talents and our treasure that we’re loathe to share). Prayer of Thanksgiving Release us, God, from the bondage of holding too tightly to “our stuff”. Receive these gifts, and help us use them wisely. Receive the intention of our hearts to model our lives on the life of Jesus, who poured out his time, his talents and his love, always seeking to lift up the least, the lost and the left-behind. AMEN (Disciple’s of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Loving God, Coat the year before us with miracles of your mercy and strength, and help us appreciate most of all the bedrock miracle of your presence with us in every single ordinary, sacred moment. Lead us this school year into life-giving rhythms of grace and light, where our regular routines become the framework for worship and blessing. Amen. Community Time Benediction Children, families, and all who love them, go out into the beautiful world that God has made! Go and play! Go and learn! Go and love others! May you be filled with lovingkindness for yourself and everyone around you. May the prayers of your faith community keep you safe, healthy, and full of joy. Amen. Blessing of the Back Pack and Back to School Liturgy provided by© 2022 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. illustratedministry.com This content is provided under a limited license. May not be reproduced outside of license terms. See copyright page for license terms. Children’s Sermon(not included in service) To emphasize the pencil parables, start by giving each child an unsharpened pencil and piece of paper. Ask them to do something simple, like write their names. Why doesn’t the pencil work? It has not been sharpened! Well, how can that be fixed? Talk about how we can sharpen a pencil quite easily, whether we use a handheld, hand-cranked, or electric sharpener. Then we can use the pencil in various ways—writing, drawing, filling in bubbles on a test sheet… Explain that our lives can be sort of like these pencils. God wants to use us in all sorts of wonderful ways to serve Him and His people. But we first must be “sharpened” for His purposes. How does this happen? Well, most importantly, we can sharpen ourselves through the sword of the Bible and the power of prayer… (Ministry to Children.com by Kristin Schmidt) Additional Illustrations

Faith in Jesus Part 2 (repreach of 8/15/10)

August 14, 2022 10th Sunday After Pentecost Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Faith in Jesus Part 2 Year C (repreach of 8/15/10 Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship One: In a world uprooted at every turn, come beloved of God for replanting. Many: Our hope and weariness are mixed together, yet we come, trusting ancient promises. One: The Holy One who led the people out of Egypt, yearns to lead us, too. Many: God will not rest until all are rerooted, restored, and renewed for rejoicing. One: Let us be joined to God’s song of justice, bearing beauty into the life of the world. Many: May our lives be formed for faithfulness by the One who is always faithful. (Rev. Dr. Dave Long-Higgins, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Opening Prayer Holy, Restoring God, we gather this morning to praise your name. Eagerly we tell of your mighty actions, building up your people. You’ve made us strong, and we offer our thanks, Giver of Life. In this hour, receive our prayers, our songs, our declaration of you as our God. Let your face shine on us and through us. Let the love we’ve been given in Jesus, the Christ, shine through us so others may be drawn to Jesus, whom we claim as Messiah, and in whose name we pray. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song O Jesus I have Promised UMH 396 Children’s Time The Hall of Faith – Kristin Schmidt – SundaySchoolWorks.com Children’s Sermon: The Hall of Faith Greet children, prepared with several pictures of well-known figures from sports or media. Hello, children of God! Can you think of someone who might be considered famous? Who are some people that are well-known and recognized? I have a few examples here to consider… (Display pictures of celebrity figures such as sports stars and movie or music greats. Use examples who have won major awards over time, and explain who they are if students are not familiar.) Now, all of these people have gained a lot of recognition and won some pretty impressive awards. How did they become so famous? Well, they probably worked very hard to get where they are. They practiced and performed a great deal in order to become well-known and earn the awards they have. We celebrate their achievements and honor the work they’ve put into their sport or trade. What do you think it takes to be famous in the eyes of God? Is that a trick question? Can we achieve notoriety for our beliefs? Well, the awesome thing is that we can be “famous for faith”, but it doesn’t take any work on our part! When we demonstrate genuine trust in the Lord, He can do great things through us, but it’s not about us. There’s a passage in the Bible that we sometimes call the “Hall of Faith.” It’s in Hebrews 11, and describes several figures who exhibited tremendous faith in God and were blessed because of it. Some of the people listed included Abraham, who was promised a big family when he had no children; or Noah, who built an ark before it started to rain and flood. Moses rescued the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Rahab trusted that God would rescue her family when the rest of Jericho was destroyed, and He saved her. Gideon believed that God could do great things with just a small army. There were a lot of people in the Bible who encountered hardship and suffering, but did amazing things for God’s kingdom. These people were not so special on their own power, but they had faith in the power of God. The people listed in this passage of Scripture lived and died, but after them came someone who lived so that we don’t have to die! Jesus lived a perfect life and gave Himself for us. We can have faith that His blood cleanses us and gives us hope. We can put our trust in God. We don’t have to do special things to be great in God’s eyes. He makes all things possible! Being strong and “famous” in faith does not depend on our ability or strength, but on God’s. Why don’t we say a prayer to thank God for faith and love? Children’s Prayer Moment (Have kids repeat each line) Dear God, Thank you for giving us faith And for being with us through tough times Help us to trust in you Thank you for your love We love you, God! In Jesus name, Amen! Passing of the Peace Prayer for illumination Open our ears and humble our hearts as we approach your Word read and proclaimed today, Great God. May we listen, discern and follow the path you intend for us. Amen. (Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott, Presbyterian Outlook) Scripture Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2 Sermon - Faith in Jesus Part 2 (repreach of 8/15/10) What it takes to run a 4000 mile marathon For 111 days, Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab, and Kevin Lin ran across the Sahara Desert. They went through Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, Libya, and Egypt until they reached the red sea. During the race of endurance, they faced 100 degree weather, freezing nights, sandstorms, tendinitis, sickness, aches pains and many blisters. In spite of all of that the hardest part for them was to find water clean enough to drink – it wasn’t like there was a water station waiting for them at any point. This was all a part of a 4000 mile marathon across the Sahara. This was quite an accomplishment. I try to be a runner, but am in no means a ready to do a marathon. But I do know that running takes a lot of practice, endurance, and perseverance. Running a race is a lot like being a Christian, a faithful Christian. Someone who was able to keep the faith, serving God until the end. Church members who weather conflict and remain joyful, loving and faithful. The epistles use the metaphor a lot of running a race who knows if Paul was a runner himself, but we know that running was an important part of the culture of the time. The Greeks were always running somewhere. Hebrews uses the running metaphor to encourage us to be ready to run the race before us. What faithfulness does As I said earlier, the message of Hebrews is for us to be faithful – to live faithful. But what does that mean. Before I talk about what faith means – let me talk about what faithfulness does. Faithfulness is loving, kind, understanding, patience, willing to wait, willing to endure. Faithfulness is the 7th of nine fruits of the spirit. Galatians list the nine fruits as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Fruit because these are qualities which take time for us to acquire, none of us are born with them, they develop as a faithful response to life circumstances. Faithfulness waits, faithfulness is disappointed and hurt, faithfulness makes a decision to be loyal anyway. The Book of Isaiah as an example of what faith does That is the message in the book of Isaiah. It starts out as a love song – let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard. Any who heard those words would have known that a vineyard is a metaphor for a bride – someone worthy of being loved, looked after, and fruitfully enjoyed. They would be expecting a happy song about a love fulfilled, instead that get a lament about a love unfulfilled, and owner who took the time to loving grow a field, who cared for it tended it, and waited for the day when the field would give good fruit. Instead the fruit was rotten and not even fit to eat. The owner is angry and vows to destroy the field for disappointing him. Jesus even talks of a fig tree which does not produce fruit and must be destroyed. The owner is so hurt that things did not turn out the way he was expecting that he vows to not only stop taking care of it, but to not rain upon it. The story reveals that the vineyard is the people of God and that God is the keeper who was expecting justice and found only bloodshed amongst his people. How is that a story of love? When the lover was hurt by those he loved? Because this is also a story of God. Love is the nature of God. Sometimes you have to love people enough to be honest with them, to tell them that they are wrong and to call them on their sin. People have to be reminded that no matter how much I love you, I can’t save you from the consequences of your actions. Sometimes we have to be told that no matter whom you are, and how stuck your are in your sin, I may be hurt, but I will never give up on you or your ability to do the right things when held accountable. That God love for us – to love us just the way we are, through the good times and bad times, always patiently waiting for the good times. A couple and their example of faithfulness A husband, who was going through early onset Alzheimer’s disease – wrote a letter to his wife of his fear of losing her, of the day coming when he would no longer recognize her, or speak to her – he didn’t want to lose her that way. She responded back to him in tears that I will continue to love you and care for you, not because you know me or remember our life, but because I will remember you. I will remember the man who proposed to me, I will remember the man who fathers and helped raise my children, I will remember the things he loved to do, the movies we watched and cried over, the times he held me hand, the times we prayed together. I cherish the obligation, commitment, and opportunity to care for you, because I remember you. And she did all throughout his illness. When he did forget her, he did forget his life, he did forget his own name and he eventually died. How is that a love story? That is a love story because that is a story of what faith does. It endures through it all. What Faith is That is what faith does – now let’s talk about what faith is. In the bible, in both the Hebrew bible and the New Testament – faith and faithfulness are used interchangeably. The Greek word is pistos. The word epistle – is a letter of faith sent to the people. Faith is to give oneself over to wholly to be loyal, to trust, and to be dependable. Faith for Christian means to have an insatiable appetite for god, to be in constant pursuit of holiness. To stay in the situation for the long haul- to endure. Those who have come before us The writer of Hebrews reminds us that faith is not just about us – it is about those who come before us. Our role models, our teachers, our parents, our mentors, those who hung onto the faith throughout the ups and downs of history. Especially in African American culture, we know that many of those who fought so hard for us to get where we are had to make a lot of sacrifices. Many of them never saw the world they were hanging onto – and we are the fulfillment of what some never saw for themselves. And yet through it all, they hung onto faith for something in the future. We can learn a lot from those who run before us. Someone once said that as we get older, running the race of faith means being determined to run no matter what, sometimes we have to be urged to lift our drooping arms, finding strength to move our aching knees and being determined to find a straight and flat course to run so that we don’t have to struggle to get up the hills in life. Running the course of faith is not a short dash to glory, but endurance and perseverance to the make it to the end. We are never alone in our race – because we have those who have gone before us, always cheering us on being an example for us. Hebrews says the our greatest example of faithful endurance is Jesus Christ, who went to the cross on our behalf, confident that one day we would understand and follow his in his journey and his example. Setting a faithful example for those behind us Our most important task in the race called life is to remember the example we set and the path we pave for those behind us. I volunteered for the Chicago marathon last year, the only way to get a jacket and a hat was to volunteer on Sunday. My job was to stand at the front of the starting line before the race. My friend criticized me and said that I should have been running, I explained that if I had run, I would have been at the back somewhere struggling all day knowing good and well that I was in over my head and would not finish. But instead I was at the start line in front of 30,000 people. With that many people in order to prevent a stampede, you have to order the runners, and put the very fastest in the front. Our job was to form a human chain so that no one started too soon, and as soon as you heard the buzzer, to get out of the way and watch the wave of humanity cross the start line on the way to finishing a race. What an amazing feeling it was to channel the energy of the fastest people on earth – a lot of people choose to run in the Chicago marathon because it is a straight flat race, where you don’t have to strain yourself to run. But to watch that energy and power go forward for that moment believing that anything is possible and that they can conquer anything in life was amazing. My point is that there 30,000 saints or more in the race who have gone before us and shown us the way. But there are 30,000 saints after us looking to us for an example of faith. God is always faithful to humanity, God is always going to understand, god is always going to call people, and God is always going to be present in the lives of the people. When we look around the room we may ask, but where are these people- how is God as work in their lives, How is Christ bringing salvation to their lives – it is a matter of faith for us to realize that they are out there, they are coming, they are discovering faith, and they are joining the race. We don’t have to step aside; the we have to step forward to lead to run the race of faith that has been set before us. Let us pray….. Amen. Song How Firm a Foundation UMH 529 Pastoral Prayer We are such a fickle people, O Lord. It is easy for us to accept greedily your blessings in times of peace, and to cry for mercy in times of difficulty. We want you to pamper us. We want to be your special people. We don't like the idea that you might indeed care for those whom we would reject. Such is our lot! We need once again to be reminded of the many ways in which we have chosen to be the "wild grapes" rather than the faithful vines. We have been given opportunities time and time again to serve you by helping others. Today we have gathered in worship to praise you and to offer our gifts. But it is our commitment and our lives of service that you would appreciate. Witness and service to you are not easy. They may require some sacrifice. We may face some misunderstanding and ridicule from others. But you call us to be faithful, to be steadfast. Help us, O Lord, to make the kinds of commitments which will bring healing and hope in this troubled world in which we live. In Jesus' Name, we pray. AMEN. (Nancy Townley, United Methodist Ministry Matters) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Scripture often uses images of athletes to encourage people in their faith journey. In Hebrews, we’re given the image of runners, surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses”, seeking to run with perseverance, looking to Jesus to lead the way. Life as a disciple of Christ (a follower/learner) demands regular training and repetitive action. We cannot be legitimate followers if our connection to Christ was only in the fifth grade, when we decided to be baptized. Rather, it’s a daily opportunity to grow in faith, to love more clearly, to model our life on the self-giving life of Jesus. Perhaps that’s part of the blessing of regularly participating in worship with a community of others seeking to be disciples/followers/learners. Here we engage our minds, use our ears, sing out our praise. Here we physically present our offering, deliberately sharing financial resources which represent the work of our hands. Imagine a board game, where each time it’s your turn, you have specific directions: “move ahead 2 spaces”, or “take a short cut”, or “lose a turn”. It takes perseverance to continue, and a willingness to keep participating. So it is in our lives as Christians. Gratefully, we’re surrounded by others who provide encouragement and support, AND we have Jesus who goes before us. Surrounded, and led, let us act out our faith this morning as we share our gifts, our tithes and our offering. Prayer of Thanksgiving Creator God, you have formed the earth and each of us, and called your creation “very good”. Thank you for all you provide for us. Thank you especially for the great cloud of witnesses who surround us (perhaps name some well-remembered, specific folks from the congregation who have died but whose lives witnessed to their faith), and for Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Receive these gifts, and bless us as we continue to persevere in this race. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook May you remember, God has planted Your life and given you a song to sing into the world. May it be a song of healing and hope, of justice and joy. And may you discover yourself blessed again and again as you find yourself joined on the journey with Jesus. Blessings on you, beloved of God. (Rev. Dr. Dave Long-Higgins, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Community Time Benediction During this hour of worship, we have known forgiveness, restoration and grace. Now we are sent from this place to share and to serve. May God our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer go with us, guiding and blessing us as we seek to be a blessing to others. Amen. (Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell, Presbyterian Outlook) Additional Illustrations

Things We Can't See - (repreach of 8/10)

August 7, 2022 (repreach of 8/10/10) Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16 Things that we Can’t See 9th Sunday after Pentecost Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship L: The Lord comes to us this day. Are you ready? P: We are ready! L: The Lord challenges us to be in ministries of peace and hope. Are you ready? P: We are ready! L: Let us praise God who calls us to serve God by helping others. P: Praise be to God who has given us hope and peace. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Opening Prayer (Hebrews 11, Luke 12) Creator God, maker of stars and seashores, reveal your word to us this day in which all things were made. Redeemer God, caller of disciples, light our lamps this day, dress us for action, and open the doors of our hearts and minds. Sustainer God, sender of the Holy Spirit, renew in us the faith of our ancestors, that we might claim it as our own in covenant with you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Hans Holznagel) Song Faith of Our Fathers UMH 710 Children’s Sermon Our theme for worship this morning is faith. What does faith look like? Hello! I want to start with a little guessing game…what do you think I have inside this bag?? (Allow possible guesses). Do you think it’s…a puppy? Maybe a pillow? Why not? How about a book? Or a flower? Well, what if I told you that this bag had a cookie inside? Would you believe me? (Allow possible answers). How could you know for sure? Well, I guess I could prove it to you. Why don’t I take it out of the bag? (Remove cookie/treat from bag). Okay, here it is! You can see it…looks like a cookie, right? You could touch it if you wanted to, and see that it feels like a cookie. You could smell it. You can even take a bite and taste that it is definitely a cookie! But what if I didn’t take it out of the bag? You would have to trust me, and believe that it was a cookie even if you couldn’t see it. You’d have to have faith that I was saying the truth. Do you know what faith means? (Allow responses) The Bible talks about faith, and says some great things about people who demonstrated faith. The Bible says that faith is being confident and assured of things we hope for, but cannot see. Having faith means that we believe even if we cannot be physically a hundred percent sure. Can we see God? Not necessarily…we see evidence of what He has done and continues to do. But we cannot always see His face or touch him with our bodily hands. Faith means we still know He is there and that He does wonderful things for us. The Bible talks about people who demonstrated faith. There were people like Noah, who built an ark in anticipation of a flood that hadn’t started yet…or there was Abraham, who left his home to follow God; or Rahab, who trusted God when her whole city was collapsing around her. And we can be like those faith “heroes”, too! But do you know the truly wonderful thing? We don’t have to do anything special to have faith. It does not depend on us or any sort of actions we might do. Faith is not about us; it’s about God. It is about what He has already done and what He promises to do. You see, trust has to do with what we are believing. To trust someone, it helps to know they are worthy of trust. If you know me well, and you know I tell the truth, you might not have much difficulty believing there was a cookie in the bag. But if you had just met me, it might be harder to trust me. We know that God is worthy of our trust. He has already proven it, because every promise of the Bible came true! Because of Jesus, we have all we need and our lives are covered in God’s grace. That’s a pretty amazing thing to put our faith in. It’s also important to know that faith gives us hope. Sometimes our lives as Christians are not easy. Some of the people in the Bible who demonstrated faith had extreme challenges. Some of them even died! Trusting God does not mean our lives on earth will always go smoothly. But it does mean that we have a future hope for something greater. We know that there’s a Heavenly home awaiting us, and that God has promised us something much better than a cookie. We trust in Him and put our hope in what He has already done for us. Our Heavenly treasure awaits us one day, and in that we can place our faith! (Ministry to Children – Kristin Schmidt) Scripture Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Sermon Thing’s that we Can’t See Introduction A missionary family went to dinner with some other missionaries. The small children are outside playing before dinner, and when it is time to come in the hostess reminds all of the children to make sure that they wash their hands. They have been playing in dirt, she reminds them and they don’t want to get germs in their bodies. One of the little boys replies, germs and Jesus – that is all I hear about all day. You cant see either of them, but they seem to be all that anyone ever talks about. It is interesting that none of us have ever seen either, but there are people who seem to know that germs are a reality of our lives. List of things that we have never seen…. Germs, never seen outer space, never seen Australia – but we don’t question whether they exist or not. But for some reason, we love to question Jesus – is he real, what does he do, what role does he play in life. The real question is not about jesus, but about faith. Hebrews says that faith is something that you cant see, or touch, but you have to know that it is there and you have to use it. There is a difference between religion and faith. Religion is what you do, faith is why you do it There is a value to having faith in Jesus The situation of Hebrews. They were discouraged. There were told that this man Jesus was going to return and make everything better and instead things were getting worse. They wanted to start to see results – results that they could see and touch. Paul reminded them that if they were looking for the real evidence of faith – they needed to look in the lives of those who had it. We will hear more of the faith story later – but today he uses the example of Abraham. He stepped out on faith and a command from God – and he gave us all faith. There are times when we question God, we question what going on in our lives, we question why things are happening. The antidote for anxiety – is to believe to have faith. To be watchful, ready, and willing to serve. Faith is a journey – that never ends. You alre always going somewhere, trying to dosomethings for God. If you know god. The one thing that you realze that you never know god. F you have ever been called by god – you know that there is a danger of being stuck. Just because you talked to god yesterday, doesn’t make you prepared for god today. Circumstances of faith are always changing. Hebrews says something important about the people of faith. Abraham never fully saw his promise fulfilled that his ancestors would be as prosperous as the stars – he only saw that one miracle baby. He didn’t have to see the promise fulfilled, to lve by the promise. He was a foreigner, a stranger, if we are on a journey – we are supposed to be uncomfortable, feeling out of sorts, not quite fitting in or making things work – that is the nature of the life we live. But most importantly – he points our that Abraham started his journey at home – he was with family, he had a job, he had a place, he understood what was going on – and god called him to do something more- to find a new home, a new family, a new sense of direction. The home he was seeking was a new home a better home, a home with god. When we feel stuck in life it is to have a sense of homesickness – a yearning to be with god, a yearning yo be near god. To believe in the promises of god. An understanding that iam not there yet, but that is always where I am headed. Faith is a journey – where I am a foreigner in this land – makng my way home. To know that the fathers good pleasure is to give you the kingdom. But you are not there yet. What happens when you get comfortable – and start to think that you are at home, you get lazy. Carl sagan was a famous author – be he was also an atheist. If he could not see god, did nto believe in him. Once asked a pastor- you seem like a really intelligent person, why would you believe in god. You seem like a really intelligent person, why don’t you believe in god. He died, never confessing, never questioning, never having an inkling tht just maybe there s something that he cant see. Someone asked his wife why he never confessed god. She said because he was the type of person who was not comfortable believing – he needed to know. I like this quote from rick warren – god doesn’t respond to begging, bargaining, bribing, badergind of bemoaning. God only responds when we believe – when we have faith in what we cant see or understand. We can never know God – or truly what god is going in or lives. But we gotta believe in the the peace that passing all understanding. Whatever we may see in the world – we can belive that god is working it out for the good of those who believe. Everyday is a new day – every day we have to step out on faith, believing in the promises of God, never really knowing if we will see god or not. But always prepared, always vigilant. I would leave you with a a wonderful prayer by Thomas Merton that goes well with this reading, and we can almost imagine the letter-writer including it as a closing: "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone" (Thoughts in Solitude). Song Through it All UMH 711 Pastoral Prayer Lord of peace and justice, how easy it is for us to fall into the trap of complacency. We get used to doing things the way we have always done them before. We celebrate your love and rejoice in your gifts through our ministry of worship and sacrament. We place our abundance before you in offerings to enable ministries of hope to flourish. Yet we hang back. We feel that we have done enough. We think that we have met the challenge of your call to us. Wake us up! Shake us up! Get us excited about all the wondrous ways in which we can serve you! Do not let our awareness of the needs of others be expressed only in our prayers for healing and compassion. Shape us to be people of justice and peace, bringing the glorious news of your love to all people. Stretch us out! Make us truly disciples who are always ready to help others. Create in us a new spirit and a joyful energy to serve you. For we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley Lord’s Prayer UMH 894 Stewardship Moment So often we want only to hear words of encouragement and support from scripture. We love to focus on the “Jesus loves me” positives. Yet much of the Bible challenges readers with hard teaching and difficult directions. Luke records some of this in Jesus’ teaching found in Luke 11:33-34: “sell your possessions, and give alms (offerings for the poor) … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” How counter-cultural is this? For so many of us, we delight in adding to the possessions we own. And we’re often flummoxed by the idea of creating treasure in heaven. In addition, surely there are moments when most of us question why it is we should give money to those who are poor. Yet Jesus points out giving alms to the poor is one way to build up treasure in heaven. So you are invited to share financial gifts today, knowing some of what you give will, in fact, go to those who are poor (here name at least one of the specific ways your congregation gives to the poor). Your freely-offered gift will serve both _________ and will allow you to build up treasure in heaven. With gratitude for the challenge in Jesus’ teaching, let us receive our morning offering. Prayer of Thanksgiving Generous God, you give us so much! Thank you for giving us Jesus, who challenged his followers with so much of what he taught. Thank you for giving us the promise of your Realm, which is already here, but not yet fully known. Thank you for this opportunity to give, allowing each of us to act out our desire to have our treasure and our heart in perfect alignment. AMEN (Disciples of Christ – Center for Faith and Giving) Communion Invitation to Communion Jesus’ instructions for his disciples included his blessing for followers who were prepared and alert when the master returns from a wedding banquet. In a radical word picture, Jesus declares the master will have these vigilant slaves sit down to eat, and the master will serve the servants! How blessed WE are, when we receive an invitation to come to this Table! This is a feast prepared for Jesus’ followers, with the Risen Christ as our host. Are we prepared? Are we alert and eager for Christ to enter here? Friends, come as guests, invited to share in this meal of remembrance! Communion UMH 13 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook People of God, made ready by God's love and mercy: Go forth into God's world to serve in ministries of justice, kindness and peace. Know always that God's peace is with you. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Community Time Benediction Live in the abundance of God’s treasure, spreading the love and peace of Christ in the world to the glory of God. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay)