The Work of Us all

September 11, 2022 14th Sunday After Pentecost 1 Timothy 1:12-17 The Work of us All Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Leader: We gather on a day of remembrance of 9/11. People: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Leader: We remember innocent lives lost and thoughts of revenge. People: And Jesus said: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Leader: We remember acts of courage and compassion by so many. People: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Leader: We gather to remember but we also gather in hope, for as Jesus said: People: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. All: Together we will sing God’s praise! (Rev. Dr. Ronald M Patterson, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Prayer O God of all the nations, we gather on this day of remembrance confessing that as your children, the events of twenty one years ago have not made us much wiser or enhanced our willingness to love one another without condition. Walls still divide, fear still separates, and strangers seem stranger than ever. Patient and loving God, look with mercy on your children gathered here today. Nudge us along the narrow way of Jesus, that we might be healed and become healers and helpers and leaven on this good earth you have given us to steward. Amen. (Rev. Dr. Ronald M Patterson, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Song Just as I am Without One Plea UMH 357 Children’s Sermon I am sure that most of you have seen one of these ribbons. Many people are wearing these red, white and blue ribbons right now as a way to help them to remember what happened on September 11, 2001. These ribbons help us to remember the people who died in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania during terrorist attacks against our nation and it reminds us to pray for their friends and families. It also reminds us to pray for those who are still working to clean up the sites of these terrible tragedies and recover the bodies of those who died there. The ribbon also reminds us to pray for our nation and for our President as he leads us. This ribbon is a very special way to help us to remember what happened on September 11th. Jesus has also given us a very special way to help us remember him and what he has done for us by his death on the cross. On the night before Jesus was betrayed, he met together with his disciples for a final meal. As he sat at the table with his disciples, Jesus took a piece of bread and broke it. He said, "This is my body which is broken for you. Eat this in remembrance of me." Then he took a glass of wine and said, "This is my blood which is shed for you. Drink it in remembrance of me." We still use the bread and wine as a way to remember what Jesus did for us when he died on the cross. The Bible also tells us that when we do this, we are telling others about Jesus' death. Just as wearing a ribbon is a good way to tell others that we remember what happened on September 11th, the bread and wine are a good way to tell others about Jesus. Dear Jesus, we pause today to remember the tragic events of September 11th and to pray for the families of those who died. We also pause to remember your death on the cross which gives us life. (Sermons4kids.com) In Remembrance of September 11th Leader: Let us light a candle and remember. God of mercy, even in our worst moments your loving kindness surrounds us. In those tragic days a decade ago, our confident faith that you were with us enabled us to go on. We give you thanks for the ways in which you comforted us in those grim days through a deepened sense of community. We trace the movement of your grace through those among us who risked their lives to save others. We are comforted by those who offered kindness and succor and shelter to persons in distress, and by those who would not let hatred overcome love. For those whose witness to a deeper wisdom and faith comforted us, we give you thanks. All: For public officials, neighbors, friends and strangers who brought to our troubled lives solace and clarity of purpose, we give thanks. For the calm and reassuring voices of the wise who gave us comfort and strength, we give thanks. Leader: Let us light a candle in tribute to those persons and also those places which gave us comfort and for the words and deeds that restored to us peace Leader: O God, you have taught us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We live by hope in the future you hold for us and the whole world. Grant us, we pray, hope for our children and our children’s children that they may not know or inflict the horror and terror we recall this day. Bolster our hope when it flags and teach us to strive in all that we do to realize the hope that is in your Word and witness. All: Eternal God, in you our hope is boundless. You renew hope in us through the promise of a future in which none shall be afraid or lift up sword against a neighbor. We pray in hope for the peace of the world among peoples and nations, religions and cultures, until we become a beloved community reconciled to one another under your sovereignty. Leader: Let us light a candle and give voice to our hopes for our lives in obedience to God. May these candles represent for us the light of our shared memories, the light of comfort and strength, and the light of our hope. In memory, comfort and hope God abides now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen. (Presbyterian Mission Agency, Jerry Van Mater) Passing the Peace of Christ (1 Timothy 1) Like a waterfall that descends down the mountain, open your hearts to receive God’s faith and love, as they flow into our lives through Jesus the Christ. Turn and share this abundance with one another! (Karin Ellis, United Methodist Ministry Matters) Scripture 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Sermon The Work of us All Did you know…. The next time you drink Welch's grape juice, just remember that a Christian by the name of Welch, was looking for a way to develop a non-alcoholic drink made with grapes so that people could take the Lord's Supper, and so he invented Welch's grapejuice.3 Many of us eat pretzels. Has it ever occurred to you why the pretzel is twisted into that well-known shape? The pretzel was developed by a godly Christian monk in AD 610 to reward students who would say their prayers to Jesus. He shaped the snack in such a way as to reflect the crossing of the arms for prayers to the One who died on a cross.4 Today from Europe to Latin America, from Asia to Africa, from Australia to North America, restaurant is the universal word for an eating establishment. Did you know that the origin of the word restaurant goes back to a Bible verse taken out of context? The "rest" in restaurant comes from the promise of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Prior to 1766, public places to eat were associated with inns or hotels. But in 1766 in Paris, an entrepreneur and chef named Boulanger opened an establishment to the public dedicated solely to eating food. He placed in bold letters outside of that first restaurant a paraphrase of this verse: "Come unto me all ye that are hungry, and I shall restore you."5 Robert Ripley writes, "From that word ‘restore' (in French restauri) the establishment became known as a ‘restaurant' and this name has since been applied to eateries all over the world."6 Now just think about it. Whether you go into a restaurant, eat a pretzel or drink grape juice, you cannot get away from Jesus. But did you know— Now Jesus came to save sinners. Did you know that we are all sinners, and that Jesus came to save us all? For the next 6 weeks, the lectionary includes 1 and 2 Timothy. I was surprised that as I chose the scriptures that I chose Timothy for at least 3 of the next 6 weeks. The books of Timothy and Titus are called the pastoral letters. These letters specifically spell out what it means to be a pastor. When I went to my fathers ordination service – the preacher used 1 Timothy as the text. The Pastoral letters are also the basis of the United Methodist book of Discipline and other books on church administration. But I thought it was important for us all to look at these letters this year – because the church is the the priesthood of all believers – so these lessons on church leadership are important to all of us. I don’t know if you have ever heard of the screwtape letters. This is a fictional account of the devil giving advice to a lesser demon on how to distract people away from their faith. Well the pastoral letters are the exact opposite – In Timothy. Paul gives advice to a young man, Timothy who wants to be a pastor. The book of Timothy is not quite fiction, but by the time these words were written Paul was dead, and Timothy had retired from being a bishop of the church. The intention of the book is to get us to think about our own lives and our own call to be faithful to Christ. It is a message about what it means to be a leader in the church – the message is for both clergy and lay people. Paul uses his own life to teach us two lessons – first everyone is a sinner, and in need of salvation, second Christ came into the world to save everyone, no matter who they are. I really think I told this story in this congregation, but I think that it fits here. There was a lady who had been invited to church. She came a few times before the lady who invited her asked her what she thought of the church. Her response was that she didn’t want to continue coming because she felt that all of the people in the church were hypocrites. She noticed that they seemed nice, but in the world they were all different. The lady was not sure she wanted to go to church with hypocrites. The lady who invited her, said I don’t see why not – it looks like you will fit right in with everyone else. In Timothy, Paul goes as far as to call himself a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man of violence. He probably wasn’t that bad – but it doesn’t matter, a big sin and a little sin is still a sin. Paul tells the congregation that if he can change, then anyone can change. Or more accurately, if God can change him, then God can change anyone. A colleague recently asked two questions – first is there anyone who is so bad that God cannot change them. And the question that is more appropriate to us here – are any of us so good that we don’t need God’s grace. God’s grace sustains us. In a Family Circus cartoon, Dolly is attending worship with her family. They are sitting on the front row and the congregation is standing and singing, as we did, America’s favorite hymn, “Amazing Grace”. Dolly looks up to her mother and asks, “Exactly what did Grace do that made her so amazing?” Every once in a while we ought to stop and remember what this unmerited, unearned, unconditional love of God has done for the likes of you and me. Grace hears our cry. Grace forgives our sins. Grace relieves our fears. Grace sets us free. Grace leads us home. It is God’s grace that qualifies us as a leader in the church. Leadership is not so much about serving on a committee( and yet this is a text on church structure and what we need to do to be a church) But church leadership is about being an example for others who are just learning about God to follow. Church leadership is about being able to face our own sins, church leadership is willing to be a disciple, it is about coming to Jesus for salvation. There was a beautiful lady years ago, who was playing the piano at a gathering of wealthy noble people at a lovely home. She sang like a mocking bird. She was the talk of the party. After the party was over, everybody went up to her to tell her how talented, beautiful and lovely she was. But a preacher by the name of Caesar Milan went up to this young lady and said, "Young lady, I don't mean to offend you, but I want to tell you that in the middle of all of this praise and adulation that you are receiving tonight, unless you are saved and born again, you are as lost as the most wicked harlot in London." What that preacher said went like a dart into the heart of that young woman. She went home that night not being able to get out of her mind what Caesar Milan had said to her. At three o'clock in the morning she got out of her bed, knelt down, and gave her life to Jesus Christ. That young lady's name was Charlotte Elliott, and she wrote that night these words: Just as I am, without one plea, But that thy blood was shed for me, And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, Lamb of God, I come. The challenge for us is to take Paul and Timothy out of this story and to put ourselves in it. What is your story? Where is grace in that story? What does the church of today need? What does it need from us? How have we been saved by grace? How do you respond to God’s grace? Jesus came into this world to save us, so that we could save others. Do you understand that the only reason Jesus came was to save you and take you to heaven. He did not come to build an empire. He did not come to be a part of the rich and famous. He did not come to raise money. He did not come to write books. More books have been written about him than any other figure in human history, yet he never even wrote one sentence. But the reason he came was to save sinners. If our problem had been knowledge, God would have sent a teacher; if our problem had been technology, God would have sent a scientist; if our problem had been money, God would have sent a philanthropist; if our problem had been peace, God would have sent a diplomat; if our problem had been health, God would have sent a doctor. But our problem was sin, and God sent us a Savior. People don’t need our judgement, they need our grace. Everyday that we are alive, we face three challengers: the world, the flesh and the devil. And yet every day the grace of God is with us. Mr. Wesley’s last words on earth were these, “Best of all, God is with us.” I want to commend that statement to you. Wherever you are in the journey of life you can have the blessed assurance that you belong to God. You can know where you are going. You can live in the sure and certain confidence that God will see you through. “There is no fear in love,” says the New Testament, “for perfect love casts out fear.” You do not have to live in guilt, you do not have to live in fear. You can live in faith as a child of God. That is our belief. It is that presence of grace that makes us come here to celebrate and praise God. Amen. A Prayer for the Anniversary of September 11, 2001 God of Memory, it has been twenty-one years since that tragic, awful day, when so many lives were lost. We grieve with those who grieve. We lament with those who lament. We know that anger and frustration still comes from the aftermath of this day. Call us into repentance for the ways our responses, collectively or individually, may have led to hate of others, especially our Muslim neighbors. May our memories of this day challenge us to love our neighbor even more, to build up communities of hope and peace rather than hate and war. Call us into Your peacemaking ways, to pursue justice, to practice loving-kindness, and to live humbly as Your people, for You are our God. As memories fade, help us to pass on the lessons we have learned in twenty-one years so we may not repeat the mistakes of the past, but build a future of love, compassion, and peace. Amen. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Prayer of Thanksgiving For the stories of a joy-filled shepherd, a rejoicing woman, and a “focused on others” young girl, we give you thanks, God. For this opportunity to dig deep and find joy in our giving, we give you thanks. Now receive these gifts, and help us transform them to spread your JOY in a world so often over-run by all that is lost. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Go forth, strengthened to do the work of Christ, sharing peace with justice, offering forgiveness building community; and inviting others to embark the journey into abundant life for all. Know that + the God who created you, the Christ who redeems you and the Spirit who empowers you will be with you this day and ever more. Amen. (Rev. Dr. Bob Cross, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Community Time Benediction In God’s providence you were created and preserved unto to this day for purposes unafraid. Let memory now reside in you at peace. Let comfort companion you in all your days. Let hope spring forth in you by the power of the Holy Spirit. May you serve God in all that you do and say, witnessing to the reign and realm of God to come. Amen. (Presbyterian Mission Agency, Jerry Van Mater) Additional Illustrations Paul reminds Timothy that he is in a war, and we are in that same war today. That war will never be over until our Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and wins the final battle. So every day we face three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Now if you want to fight the faithful fight and wage a winning war, you must have a good conscience. Otherwise, like some Paul spoke of in verse 19, you will shipwreck on the shores of sin. Did you know that if you are going to be saved, you must come to Jesus? Did you know that if you come to Jesus you'll have to come as a sinner? Did you know that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners like you and me? Wesley had an interesting question that he used to ask. “Are you not happy?” he would say. “Then you are not holy.” I find the wedding of happiness and holiness to be an interesting thing in twenty-first century America. Seldom do we think the two belong together. Happiness and holiness. In my background, some of the most unhappy people I have known have been people of holiness. But Wesley put the two together. “Are you not happy? It’s because you’re not holy,” he said.