In the Meantime be Good

December 10, 2023 2 Peter 3:8-15 2nd Sunday of Advent In the Meantime, be Good Year B Prelude Greeting Lighting the Advent Candle Today, we light two candles, Remembering the God can always begin anew. We respond and plan for the coming of Christ, During this holy season of Advent. As we consider all the plans we have made For our upcoming celebrations, May we share in God’s generosity And always plan for more siblings Who might come to feast at the table. (Kara Eidon, Stay Awhile) Call to Worship People of God, listen! A voice cries out in the wilderness. What does the voice say? People of God, look! The time has come to plan for the coming of God’s kin-dom. When will the kin-dom come? The kin-dom of God is near at hand, And the glory of God shall be revealed. We will plan and prepare for the way of the Lord. (Kara Eidon, Stay Awhile) Opening Prayer Creator God, all too often, We put too much faith in our own plans. Help us to trust in the plan you set forth In the covenant of baptism. As we continue to pan For the coming of Christmas Day, Help us trust in the plan of salvation You created by coming to live among us. As we prepare our hearts and minds For the coming of Jesus, in the past, present, And future, May we share in God’s generosity And always plan for more siblings Who might come to feast at the table. (Kara Eidon, Stay Awhile) Song Angels from the Realm of Glory UMH 220 Children’s Sermon Object: a box of salt (Appropriate for Advent) Good morning, boys and girls. Do you know that today (or last Sunday) begins a new year in church? (let them answer) Everything starts over with the first day, the first week, and even the first month. It all seems fresh to us as we wait for Jesus to come into our hearts all over again. Have you ever wondered how many times Christians have done this? (let them answer) I wonder why God doesn't send Jesus so that we can be done with all of our waiting. Most of us are ready, aren't we? (let them answer) Doesn't everyone know about Jesus and love him as their Savior? (let them answer) The reason that God doesn't send Jesus is that he wants everyone to have a chance to receive Jesus as their Savior. That's what the Bible says. But you may think it is taking too long for Jesus to come. I brought with me some salt this morning to help us learn something about our waiting for Jesus. There is a lot of salt in this one box, but we are going to pretend that every one of these pieces of salt is a day. Now the Bible says that one day is like a thousand years to God. A thousand years is a long time to us since none of us will ever live that long. But one day doesn't seem like a very long time since we have already lived many days. But the Bible says God has lived so long that time doesn't make much difference to him. If one of these pieces is a day and you would have to count out 365 of the pieces of salt for one year, then you would have to have 365,000 grains to make a thousand years. But if we counted out 365,000 of them we would not have all of the pieces of salt in this one box. And if you think of all the boxes of salt in one grocery store and then think of all of the grocery stores, then you see how little that one piece of salt is compared to all of the salt in the world. One piece of salt in a box (put the piece back into the box) is not much, but it is important to that box just like one day is important to you. We may get tired of waiting, but God knows just the right time to send Jesus back to us so that everyone will have an opportunity to know Jesus as Savior. We must be patient and trust God since only he knows when it is just the right time. The next time you put some salt on your food, you can think of what the Bible means when it says: one day is like a thousand years. Will you do that? God bless you. (Wesley T. Runk) Prayer Lord, we have pulled out the Advent wreath, the Christmas tree, the poinsettias. We dusted off the hymns, unsung for a year, and unearthed the words of your prophets. Yet, in your eyes, these efforts are for nothing without the regular, persistent, deep pursuit of justice for all people. Our efforts are hollow without consistent work toward peace, reconciliation, and participation in your mission for creation. In our hearts, we do long to be your people, to carry out your mission, to be lights in the darkness— proof that no darkness can overcome your truth. Awaken us to action. Stir us to courage. Rouse us to prepare a way in the wilderness for your coming, clearing the brush of oppression, racism, injustice, and hopelessness— so that all may see your light and perceive your coming. Amen. Posted on the Pilgrim Uniting Church website Scripture 2 Peter 3:8-15 Sermon In the Meantime, be Good Phillips Brooks, the 19th century Christian leader who composed the beautiful Christmas carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," once wrote: "The coming of the Lord has been the inspiration of the Christian world. The power of any life lies in its expectancy." (3) "The power of any life lies in its expectancy." What are you expecting this Christmas season? Are you expecting crowds of people, jam-packed schedules, family tensions, stress-filled shopping expeditions? Are you expecting a big Christmas bonus, or a Martha Stewart-inspired party? Or are you expecting to meet Jesus? What are you expecting to happen this Christmas? What needs to happen in the world, in our lives, in the church. I think that most of us go through all of the trouble and stress of the holidays, because we are expecting a meaningful and heartfelt day with family and friends. It is the second week of December, by now, the season is in full swing. All of the radio stations are playing Christmas music, the decorations are up, the traditions have started, we may not be done with our shopping, but we have certainly gotten started. Advent is an invitation fur us to take a step back from all of that and the get a bigger perspective on life. We are invited to see life from God’s eyes for a minute. We are asked to find a bigger meaning in our celebrations and our faith. Getting ready for Christmas is not just about the here and now, but in the time to come. The only way to get to the time to come is to have patience. ohn Ruskin once said, “Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.” Ruskin was born in London in 1819. As an adult, he continued in the family business as wine merchant, which made him very wealthy. As a child, his father interested John in art, and his pious Protestant mother created an interest in John to study the Bible. As a merchant, Ruskin traveled to many countries, and in each country, he took the time to study art of the native land. As a Bible scholar, he took time to learn about the people in each country he did business in. From these two perspectives, he wrote a number of books that interpreted the great paintings through history. Perhaps this is why Ruskin considered patience as a form of beauty. Again, I will repeat the quote, John Ruskin said, “Endurance is nobler than strength and patience than beauty.” To help put patience into perspective, Peter wrote a line that I think most everyone has memorized. Peter wrote, “That with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” We have inappropriately applied this verse to everything but what Peter intended. We have used it to try to justify the seven days of creation, saying those seven days are not like our seven days today. We have used it to give a reason for unanswered prayer, that God’s time in answering prayer is not the same as our time. The list could be extended for several more minutes. Peter understood “that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day” is a confession that God’s concept of time is not contained within our human perspective of time. It is a confession that we cannot understand the mysteries of God. If we cannot understand the mysteries of God as it relates to time, then we must have patience. And patience, remember, is beautiful. Patience is beautiful, as patience is a quiet steady perseverance. The message of quiet steady perseverance is what Peter wants to instill in those who hear his letter read during worship. As congregations were illiterate and every letter had to be reproduced by hand, the letters were only made available to the Christian populace as they were read from the pulpit. Patience is the key to our faith. We have to learn to be patient, with ourselves, with others, with time. It is important for us to remember that God is always patient with us. Patience is the perfect theme for the second Sunday of Advent. So I felt that 2 Peter was the perfect theme. The gospel lesson for today is Mark 1 – Mark starts out telling us about John the Baptist. John the Baptist is important to advent because he tells us to expect something more. The Hebrew bible text is Isaiah which tells us the importance of prophecy and how God works in the future. The main character of 2 Peter is patience, God’s patience. So let me give you some background to this story. There are 2 letters from Peter in the bible. The second one was written later than the first. Some say that it is Peter’s last words of wisdom before he died. The letter could have been written as early as 80 AD, or as late as 120 AD. We know that Peter would have been considered an apostle – or one who actually witnessed the life of Jesus personally. These were the ones who had an urgent message for the rest of the world. Get your lives together and be a part of god’s movement before it is too late. Jesus is coming back, very soon and there will be confusion and chaos. The early church was formed by those who listened to this message. Well remember that I said that this book was written around 80 AD? Well if Jesus was crucified about 30 AD, then how many of those original apostles were will around in 80AD? Or what about 120 AD. Probably none of them. All of them eventually died waiting on Jesus. Many of those who formed the early church and who worked so hard to form the church also died, waiting on Jesus. So what is the point of a faith where you work hard, and you wait for something to happen and it never happens. Well the 3 chapters of 2 Peter help us to understand. Living a life of expectancy teaches us to have patience. Not just any patience, but God’s patience. Today as we watch the church decline, as we see empty seats where faithful followers used to sit, as we see less and less children come to church, we can relate to the early church watching the apostles die one by one. What is the point of us sitting here – praying for nothing, singing and giving to a dying church. What are we giving to? Those who told us to wait, died waiting, so why are we still sitting here? If God is an all powerful God – what is God waiting on? 2 Peter reminds us that God patiently waiting on you- and your neighbor, and those around you – to put their lives in rhythm with God’s patience and God’s time. There are a lot of faithful followers, who like the apostles have gone on to their reward. But there are so many other people out in the world – who are alive and well and have heard nothing about Jesus. Jesus is waiting on us to tell them. 2 Peter reminds us that our ways are not God’s ways. Our patience is not God’s patience. God’s patience takes into account a bigger picture, a picture where there is a place for everyone. How long can God wait. Well lets put time into perspective. The sun is 4.57 billion years old and it has not completed its life cycle. The earth is slightly younger at 4.54 billion years give or take 50 million years. If you were to take the history of the earth and put it on a 24 hour timeline. People did not come into existence until 11:30 at night. Jesus was crucified 10 minutes before midnight. And the clock is still ticking up to midnight. God’s patience for everything to fall into place is beyond anything that we know, and yet, God is calling us to fall in line and get with the program. And most of us are not even listening, watching, working or paying attention. I heard the story of an atheist who stood before a congregation and said, "If there is a God, I dare him to strike me dead within sixty seconds." He then took his pocket watch in his hand and began to count off the seconds. Some people fainted. Others thought that surely within sixty seconds the man would be dead. They were convinced that God would not put up with such foolishness. Well, when the allotted time was up, the atheist said, "You see, I told you there is no God." A sweet little Christian lady stood up in the back of that group and said, "You fool, you cannot exhaust the patience of an infinite God in sixty seconds." Well I thank God that His patience has not yet been exhausted, but we don't know when it will be; and one day even His patience will come to a close. This world will come to an end. Jesus will come back, and you can take it to the bank. Returning to the question with which we began -- "Will it end with a bang or a whimper?" Dear friends, after listening to Peter, it really doesn't matter, does it? Amen. One of the most often quoted lines from the Bible is when Peter wrote: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” We often associate this line with unanswered prayers, a delayed healing, asking why I can’t find someone to marry, or when will God rescue me from my plight. This is just a very short list of how we have used this verse when God seems unresponsive in our lives. And, perhaps, this is a meaningful interpretation. Though, for Peter, in the five preceding verses, informs us of his meaning for composing a standard of time for God. Peter wrote, “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word, the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” Peter is saying that God is delaying the second coming desiring that as many who are willing to be saved are saved. The “slowness” will allow unbelievers to turn from their secular ways and live spiritual lives. It is the hope that they will no longer live in darkness but will come and live in the great light. The line expresses the hope that everyone will invite Jesus into their lives as Lord and Savior. To put this into perspective, Advent is only 4 weeks of our life. Our themes for this year – is stay awhile. Our themes are invitation, plan, prepare, welcome and stay awhile. This week we are planning. I said that each week we would have a interactive project. Our project for today – look around the sanctuary – see who is here. But also look at how many seats are empty- who is God calling to fill those seats? The good news is that it is not up to us to fill those seats. There are notices in the narthex with all of our activities on them – we are all invited to share them and invite people to church. But ultimately, God will do the work to fill those seats. God is wing in the hearts and minds of people to come. Our task for this week is to plan and pray. Expect God’s spirit to move, be patient, and be prepared to experience God in a whole new way. On Christmas Eve when they come – invite them to stay awhile. God is patient, God is giving us all a chance to come to the table and sit down. Our scripture says Therefore dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found by him in peace – pure and faultless. Consider the patience of the Lord to be your salvation. This second Sunday of advent, may we find our meaning in being patient. Amen. Song Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming UMH 216 Morning Prayer (just print title) How things will change on the day of the coming of the Lord! Every valley will be lifted up and all the mountains will be made into a plain. Equality will exist for all God’s people. O God, we long for that day of hope and peace. We strain our ears to hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness of our lives; the wilderness of despair and discouragement; the wilderness of anger and fear; the wilderness of alienation and selfishness. The voice cries to us to make ready the pathway for our God, to remove the obstacles which we have placed there; to respond with acts of compassion rather than react in violent ways. Lord, attune our ears to hear the voices of those who cry out in their need. Open our hearts to respond in caring ways. Teach us again the great truths about how we should live as your children. Forgive our failings and help us to try again and again to be the kind of faith-filled people you would have us be. As we cry to you, offering the names of loved ones who are sick, who mourn, who are lost, who live in anguish and in anger, keep us mindful of the ways in which we can be of help. Likewise, as we rejoice with all those who are happy, who dance with delight at the wondrous gifts you have given, remind us that joy and peace is what we all seek and what we can accomplish. In the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, we offer this prayer. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment You may already be tired of hearing advertisements counting down the days until Christmas (hint: 2 weeks from tomorrow!) Between television, emails, radio announcements, piles of mailers and newspaper ads, we’re all inundated to be “prepared” with gifts for family, friends, neighbors and assorted others (including postal employees, Uber drivers, hair dressers, teachers…) And for many of us, we have an internal sound track putting an extra push: “God loves a cheerful giver.” Beyond that, we also know we’re nearing the end of the calendar year, and recognize this congregation would be delighted to receive a year-end financial gift from us. Let me put all that behind a big “STOP” sign! Instead, today let’s remember sharing gifts is one way to build up relationships of care and love. Supporting this congregation with both regular and year-end financial giving is a positive action. Without pressure, but in recognition of the privilege it is to be able to give from our hearts, let us share our tithes, offerings and gifts as expressions of our love for God, for this congregation, and for the ways we reach out with Good News for those yearning for peace in their lives. Prayer of Thanksgiving Receive this offering, Great and Giving God, as one way of acting out the peace which comes from you. Accept what we’ve brought. Inspire us to regularly share a portion of what you’ve given us, so our witness as followers of Christ will go beyond the limits of our physical presence. AMEN (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook (Inspired by Psalm 85) Send us forth to become to peace we wish to see in this world And as we go, May Steadfast love and faithfulness meet May Righteousness and peace embrace May Faithfulness spring up from the ground And May righteousness look down from the sky. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Mia McClain) Community Time - Joys and Concerns Benediction (Isaiah 40, Mark 1) Go out to a world that hungers for righteousness. Prepare the highway for our God: make ready the paths of peace. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Deborah Sokolove) Additional IllustrationsLouis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9-year-old boy, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy's mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days with his new rabies vaccine--and the boy lived. Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED. Our greatest legacy will be the lives of those who know God's love because of our efforts. (7) Whose life will be transformed because you shared with them the love of Jesus? Claim this moment for God. Let that be the true present you give this Christmas. The present of a life lived out in service to God and service to others. The Christmas season, as most of us experience it, seems almost designed to distract us from God-centered living. There is so much pressure to shop, shop, shop and rush, rush, rush and spend, spend, spend. And all for what? How many of us remember the Christmas presents we got last year? The gifts of Christmas are temporary; the message of Christmas is eternal. The Almighty God came to earth in the form of a man. Christ lived among us and shared our suffering and pain. He died a horrible death in order to save us from our sins. He opened up the way to eternal life for us. And someday, he will come again to establish his perfect and eternal kingdom here on earth. Until that day, our job is to share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone we know. The Qiche Indians of Guatemala take the concept of purposeful living very seriously. Each Qiche tribe has a person who serves as a "day keeper." The day keeper's job is to show the other members of his tribe how to use each day well, making every moment count. To the day keepers, living each day well is an art form, and it requires concentration and guidance. The day keepers remind the people to do every job, no matter how mundane, with a sense of purpose. (6) Journalists Bill and Judith Moyers did a documentary on death and dying in the U.S. They discovered that many of the terminal patients they interviewed found peace in the face of death. In fact, many of them found greater meaning and beauty in life after learning that they would die. One man lived four years past his doctor's prognosis. In that time, he learned to cherish every moment of life. As he said, "If you are told you will never see spring again, and you live to see spring, spring takes on a whole new life." (5) Nothing focuses our priorities quite like the knowledge of our own mortality. Advent is not a season for focusing on a morbid subject like death. But it is a season for looking beyond the present moment to the eternal, and then evaluating our life in the perspective of eternity. So the question for this Second Sunday in Advent is, what do you want to do with your life? For the Christian, there is only one answer: to live in a loving relationship with God and with everyone else with whom we share this planet. THAT'S WHAT ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS ARE ABOUT--CLAIMING THE MOMENT--TAKING TIME TO NURTURE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT MATTER MOST. What do you hear in Paul's words? Grace or judgment? Law or gospel? Hope or despair? Advent is a time of waiting. Often we wonder, "How long? How long can I wait for his coming? How long can I look off to the horizon? How long can I proclaim his return?" When we see Paul's words through the filter of grace, we realize the answer is just a little bit longer. During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to Christianity. They began with the obvious — the incarnation? The resurrection? The cross? The debate droned on until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room and asked, "What's the fuss about?" They told him that they were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among the world's religions. Lewis responded, "That's easy. It's grace." Contemporary preacher, Fred Craddock, preached a sermon on the prodigal son but with a twist. Instead of the father honoring the younger, rebellious son, he slipped a ring on the older brother, thanked him for his faithful years of service and killed the fatted calf in honor of doing what was right. And from the back of the sanctuary, a woman yelled out, "That's the way it should have been written." But it wasn't. That's why Christianity is so unique. It's not written the way we would have written it. Christianity is for the person who feels like the younger son — unworthy, unloved, not good enough. And yet there's a place at the table. It was written for the person who feels like a thief on the cross — out of time, out of luck, out of hope. And yet there is a place at the table. It was written for the person who feels like Judas — my life is a lie; this smile covers the deceit; I've sold my soul to the devil. And yet, Jesus welcomed him to the table. It was written to the person who feels lost, excluded, and forgotten by God and yet, like a lovesick father, God makes sure there is a place at the table. Grace. That's what makes Christianity unique. Jesus came not for the well people but for the sick people, not for the righteous people but for the unrighteous people, not for the good people but for you. "Come and eat." . H. Auden was arguably the greatest writer of the 20th century. Auden came to America in 1939. He found himself lonely for family. In New York he was befriended by Ursula and Reinhold Niebuhr, Reinhold whom some would say was the greatest theologian of the 20th century. Auden would often spend holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas – with the Niebuhrs and their children. Auden loved to play the piano and sing hymns and carols, belting out 19th century Anglican hymns and songs that Ursula Niebuhr knew and could sing along with him. Reinhold Niebuhr didn’t like the old-fashioned English hymns, or the singing of carols before Christmas, so he would go into the study and close the door to drown out the noise, refusing to succumb. While the season of Advent is steeped in tradition, Advent craziness is such that we also prepare ourselves and our communities for the newest, most revolutionary changes ever experienced on earth. There is an ancient tale of three horsemen riding across the desert one evening. As they crossed the dry bed of a river a loud voice called to them out of the darkness, commanding: “HALT.” They obeyed. The voice then told them to dismount, pick up a handful of pebbles, put them in their pockets . . .. And remount. Again they obeyed. When they remounted, the voice said, “You have done as I have commanded you. Tomorrow at sunrise you will be both glad and sorry.” Mystified, the horsemen rode on. When the sun rose, they reached into their pockets and found that a miracle had happened. The pebbles had been transformed into diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems. They remembered the voice, and they were both glad and sorry. Glad they had taken some . . . Sorry they had not taken more. God’s gifts are only gifts if we receive them and open them. Advent prepares us to accept the sacrament of matter. With the birth of Jesus, physical matter doesn’t just “matter,” but is deemed good. Even more than that, this incarnated physical matter is not just good, it is as sacred. As Paul put it (Romans 5:5), “the love of God is poured into our hearts.” God poured the divine essence into human flesh. Somebody once said to Mark Twain: "I'm afraid the world is coming to an end." Mark Twain just laughed and said, "That's all right, we can get along without it." Well, we can and one day we will, because there is a new world coming. There is going to be a new birth for planet earth. Now there are many who doubt that this world is coming to an end, and many who wonder why it has not already come to an end. C. S. Lewis had an answer for both people. This brilliant thinker said: Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it! Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely….God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere opening and directly in our world, quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens it is the end of the world. When the author walks onto the stage, the play is over. One day this play called life is going to be over, and this stage called the world, is going to be destroyed. Peter gives us three reasons why we can "take it to the bank." You see, if this world is a created world, then there must be a Creator. If there is a Creator, then there must be an absolute standard of what is right and what is wrong, and therefore you cannot "walk according to your own lusts," you must walk according to His righteousness; and that is exactly what people do not want to do, because as one great philosopher once said: "Without God, anything is permissible." Go all the way back to Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolutionary thought. This is what one scholar said about him: There are some who think that Darwin accepted the theory of evolution only after many many years of studying the subject. This, however, is not the case. As his religious faith ebbed, his faith in evolution developed. It came in to fill up the void that was being left by his rejection of creation.1 You see, the root cause of skepticism about spiritual truth, is sin and a rebellious heart. Julius Huxley, of the famous Huxley family, who championed the cause of evolution, was once interviewed on television. He was asked why evolution was accepted so quickly. Instead of saying something like: "The scientific evidence led any rational person willing to look at the facts to come to that conclusion," he said, "The reason we accepted Darwinism, even without proof, is because we didn't want God to interfere with our sexual mores."2 Aldous Huxley made this startling admission: I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning…because the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation. This liberation we desired, was liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom…most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know.3 Now we get down to the real reason why these scoffers reject the fact of creation—because they don't want anyone to interfere with their own personal brand of morality. That is, they want to "walk according to their own lusts." I am reminded of a story of a man who was fishing, and every time he caught a large fish he threw it away, and every time he caught a small one he kept it. Well, somebody watched him for a while, and after he couldn't stand it, walked over to him and said, "What in the world are you doing throwing the large fish away and keeping the small one?" The man said, "Well, I only have an eight-inch frying pan and the larger fish won't fit!" Well, there are a lot of so-called scholars who are nothing more than skeptics and scoffers who simply reject truth that doesn't fit their eight-inch frying pan.

Why are we Here Today?

November 12, 2023 24th Sunday after Pentecost Joshua 24:1-3,14-25 Why are we here today? Year A Prelude Greeting Call To Worship God is great, and greatly to be praised! We thank you, God, for families and friends. We thank you for the warmth of kitchens, quilts, and good neighbors. God, how great is your name throughout the earth! We thank you, God, for newborn kittens and faithful dogs, for pine trees and sunlight and crisp, clean air. Blessed be God, the rock of our salvation! We thank you, God, for the sound of laughter and the touch of love, for brand new mornings and for dreams held close. Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise with songs of praise. Come! Let us worship God. Written by Janice Jean Springer, found in Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, Updated, eds. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2012), 103-104. Invocation Wisdom, your presence illuminates our path. Shine your light into dim spaces so that we do not stray from your teaching. Help us discern what you are calling us, your church, to do and be in this moment in time. Give us urgency to be good news in the world and for our neighbors. Let your glory reign among us and your Spirit lead us into truth, justice, and love. For your name and in your name, we pray. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Cheryl Lindsay) Song My Lord What a Morning UMH 719 Responsive Reading Psalm 78 UMH 799 Children’s Sermon Decisions with middle schoolers (NEED EXAMPLES) Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Decision Time By Lois Parker Edstrom Object suggested: A wallet. Let’s talk about the decisions we make each day. We decide what to eat, when to go to bed, what clothes to put on, what to read, who will make a good friend. Can you think of more examples? Most of the examples we listed would allow many choices. When you decide what to eat you could choose between a peach or an apple, bread or a cracker, soup or yogurt, or you could choose one of each. Now let me give you an example of having two choices, but you must choose just one thing. Suppose you see a wallet lying in the street. It might have a lot of money in it. You can keep the wallet or you can try to return the wallet to its owner. This is a right or wrong decision. You must choose to do one thing or the other. The Bible tells us the story of Joshua, a leader of a group of people called the Israelites and it is a story about making an important decision. This group of people, the Israelites, had been slaves in Egypt and Joshua was one of the men who led them out to a new land. God had protected and helped the people during this journey, but some chose to worship other gods which, in this story, are called foreign gods. Joshua wanted the Israelites to understand that they must choose to serve God or the foreign gods; they could not worship both. They had two choices and Joshua asked them to make one decision. He told them, “… choose this day whom you will serve…” (24:15). Joshua made this important decision for himself. He said, “… as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh (the Lord)” (24:15). Each one of us is also given this choice. We can choose to serve and worship God or do our own thing without God. It is the most important decision you will ever make. Scripture quotations from the World English Bible Copyright 2012, Richard Niell Donovan Baptism of Chandler Stickel (Call children up to think about baptism first – don’t print this) Scripture Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25 Sermon Why are we here today? Perhaps you have heard about the man who died, then awoke in a splendid city of golden streets and fine homes. He was shown to one of the finest, one with a rolling front yard, lovely flowers, luxuriant shrubs. Wondering how to care for those things, he was told that others would do that for him. So, he climbed into a hammock and spent the day contemplating his happy state. Days passed, then weeks. Finally, bored, he sought to do some yard work, but was told that he might not. He then inquired what kind of work he could do. He was told by the follow in charge that he was not allowed to do anything but rest. Finally, the man complained, he said, I never thought that heaven would be this boring. The man in charge stared at him for a minute, then said, what made you think that you were in heaven? I don’t want to say that you have to work hard in order to get into heaven, but I will say that God expects us to keep busy. Most definitely, we are not expected to get comfortable with boredom. The verb “to serve” is repeated seven times just in these last two verses, verses 14-15. It appears fifteen times in this one chapter. Joshua clearly believes that the purpose of his life, the purpose of everyone’s life, is to serve the Lord with all faithfulness. But before they could wholeheartedly serve their Redeemer God, they had to deal with some garbage in their lives. There was something they needed to throw away. This is a fitting message for the stewardship campaign as we are encouraged to love the lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and spirit. And we are encouraged to support the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, witness and our service. This is also a fitting scripture as we welcome baby Chandler into our church family. Baptism is stewardship in action – we have a chance to remember our commitment to God, but we also make a new promised to pass on our faith to the next generation. God challenges us to build a house big enough for all. God is the center of the house, but the house is big enough to include all of God’s children from the littlest to the oldest. When the multimillionaire, Andrew Carnegie, was building a new home for his family, he instructed the architect to place the following inscription over the living-room fireplace: "This hearth is our family altar - its warmth reminds us of Christ's presence in our home." After the house and fireplace were completed, the architect went to Carnegie and said, "You'll have to choose another motto, that one is too long to fit over the fireplace." "No!" said the millionaire, "I want those words. If you must, then tear down that fireplace and build a bigger one." The architect informed him, "Sir, you cannot build a bigger fireplace without building a bigger room!" "All right," was the reply, "tear out the walls and build a bigger room!" The architect then said, "But a bigger room will throw the entire house out of proportion!" "Then tear the entire house down and start over," the millionaire said, "for we must have that motto as a constant reminder that Christ is in our home!" We could say that Andrew Carnegie built his home around the conviction that Jesus Christ was central in his family. Are you building your home around that same conviction? Does your daily life reflect the truth that you really believe Christ is present in your home? Do you show your family that Christ is central to your praying with them? Or is the Lord's Prayer in worship the only time your family prays together? Sometimes we have to build a bigger house with our spirits. Including God in everything that we do can take a lot of work, a lot of effort, and being willing to make the right choices. • We don’t get to read a lot about Joshua’s leadership. Joshua took over leading the Isrealites after Moses retired. Near the closing verses of Joshua. One of the last things he does alive. Before it closes, they bury the bones of Joseph in the promised land • Promise of Genesis: You will be a great nation in this land. • Genesis closes with a great nation in the wrong land • Exodus closes with the nation on the border of the land. • Joshua is the story of possessing the land. It contains some of the most disturbing parts of the Bible. They are now a great people in the land A side note- I think that one of the reasons that we don’t read a lot of the book of Joshua – is because it is a violent book about how they destroyed a lot of people in order to posess the promiseland. Nevertheless, Joshua reminds the people of how far they have come and how far God has brought them. Joshua reminds them that all of the way – it has been a covenant partnership – God and dedication has fulfilled their destiny. Just Friday, I heard a jewish family saying for the second time this week – that I think sums up the message of Joshua – You are not responsible for building the kingdom all by yourself, but you also are not free to walk away from the work that needs to be done. It is all about service, obedience and commitment. Imagine this story – Joshua is an old man, about to retire. He had led the community for many years, he has watched children grow into productive adults. He has seen babies born, he has seen the community grow and change. What started out as a budding dream has become a full blown reality. And many of the children living in that reality, take it for granted. But just before he retires he calls this complicated society together and gives them some words of wisdom – those words have lasted until today. Father Joshua tells us to put aside the Gods that are constantly vying for our attention, concern and duty – and to choose to serve God. Everyday we have to intentionally choose God, or someone or something else will make that choice for us. We have to choose who is going to be God in your life. He encourages us to think about how God has proven to be faithful than the other Gods in our life. We each have to decide who is going to be God in our life. We have to be willing to make a commitment to that God. And to be an example for someone to make that same choice. Many years ago, near the royal English residence on the Isle of Wight, stood several homes for the poor and aged. A missionary, visiting one of the homes, asked a lady, "Does Queen Victoria ever call on you here?" "Oh, yes," was the answer. "Her Majesty frequently comes here to see us." Then, wondering if the woman was a Christian, the missionary inquired, "Does the King of Kings ever visit here?" The lady immediately gave him a happy smile and said, "No sir, he doesn't visit here. Praise God, He lives here! That's why we are so richly blessed!" Does the King of Kings live in your home? Does it have a spiritual atmosphere? Do the plaques on the wall, the books on the shelves, and the records on your stereo announce to those who visit that Christ is central in your home? If you want to have a strong Christian home, your family life must revolve around the powerful presence of Jesus Christ. What are some ways in your life that you choose God? Joshua chose God by choosing to be an example to us all – he says as for me and my house we will choose God. God is calling the Church and saying.... “Church, I have a project for you –a mission that will repurpose, redesign, remodel, renew, and restore one of my fields. Are you up for it? Can you do it? Will you be my creative, innovative “minds in the field”? How many of you have seen an episode of “This Old House”? How many know what I’m talking about? The show, on television for nearly 40 years (since 1979), now also has a website and a magazine. The innovative show has developed a “buzz” as the “go-to” site for creative hands-on remodeling --for men and women alike! Its premise is simple: how to take an ordinary, drab, old, crumbling, or even condemned house, a “fixer-upper” if you will, and renovate and revision that house into a new, sound, and exquisite piece of art based on the identity and style of the homeowner, still while remaining true to the feel of the neighborhood or context. For many, the proposed renovation of a home becomes more than a hobby or a project. It becomes a mission driven by passion, desire, commitment, confidence, a little bit of risk-taking, and a lot of faith in the finesse of your master designer. Creative designer and imagineer Russell Morash conceived of the idea for “This Old House” as he was designing and renovating his own 19th century home. He wanted to help other people do what he could do. But he also wanted to jumpstart others’ imagination and innovation. He dreamed of encouraging people to draw upon their own creative potential! He wanted to help people learn and discover ways of making the house of their choice into a unique reflection both of owner identity and the style of a certain “place and space.” He didn’t just want to show people the nuts and bolts of renovation. He wanted to, as he puts it, “expand the viewers’ perceptions of what a home can be.”* In fact, Jesus is the ultimate Designer and Blueprint all in one. He’s put down the downpayment on the House, He’s given us the blueprint for Eternal Life. And He’s asked us to join Him on an awesome and challenging mission –to repurpose lives, build bridges of communication, connect people in love, beautify relationships, install windows to the world, restore hearts to God. He’s even pointed us to mission “fields” within His Vineyard that need restoring. The choice of fields is up to us. All we need to do is follow along, learn, and try it all out! Right? Granted, home remodeling takes time, dedication, imagination, and a lot of faith. Life remodeling does too. Just ask Jesus! But He’ll be working right beside us. He is our “go-to” master craftsman who knows how to revision, re-mission, re-beautify life! And the Church! He’s got the grand design. And He’s ready to break ground! So why aren’t we excited? What are some ways that we can work to build a home, with God in the center of everything that we do? We can still welcome the next generation into the family, we are still faced with choices that make a difference, we still have a job to do for the community. Is you’re the world important enough to you to give it an extreme home makeover? Former President George Bush was asked the question, "What is your greatest accomplishment in life?" He could have replied that as a fighter pilot in World War II, he was shot down and survived. He could have mentioned that he was the U.S. Ambassador to China, the Vice President of the United States or the President of the United States. He could have talked about his victory in the first Gulf War or the fact that he had two sons that served as governors and one son who is now President, but he didn't say any of that. When asked what his greatest accomplishment in life was George Bush said, "My children still come home." Children will always want to come home, when that home is always under the extreme home makeover that God alone can give. ________________________________________ [1] Cited by Steve Farrar, Getting' There, p. 150 ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by James Merritt It is up to us to be the Joshua people of today – Jesus, Yshua is actually named after Joshua. Jesus calls us to be obedient disciples in service to those around us. We are called to create a home with God as the center, to choose God above everything else and to serve God with everything that we have. We have to be intentional about serving God everyday. I will leave you with this prayer of encouragement. There is a powerful prayer by a man named Joe Seremane that expresses how much we miss out on when we hold back from yielding our hearts to the Lord. Seremane writes, “You asked for my hands that I might use them for your purpose. I gave them for a moment then withdrew them, for the work was hard. “You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice. I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused. “You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty. I closed them, for I did not want to see. “You asked for my life that you might work through me. I gave a small part, that I might not get ‘too involved.’ “Lord, forgive me for my calculated efforts to serve you only when it is convenient for me to do so, only in places where it is safe to do so and only with those who make it easy to do so. My prayer is that we each have to strength to choose God everyday. Amen. Song The Summons TFWS 2130 Pastoral Prayer (Just print the title, not the words) Lord, we are a stubborn and impatient people. We always want to know how things will end. We want to know what the schedule is. We want a "daily planner" from you so that we can be ready. It is interesting that you have already given us a daily planner. The Holy Spirit, who has been given to comfort and guide us, is our daily planner. Daily we are called to come before you in prayer and praise; daily we are challenged by your Holy Spirit to find ways to serve your people in your world. And we do acknowledge this, somewhat. But we still would like to know when we need to have all the "oil for our lamps". Why is it so hard, Lord, for us to be continually ready? Is it because we have placed you to one side in our lives, and when we think you are coming we take our faith down from the shelf and dust it off? Help us to place you at the center of our lives, seeking to daily prepare ourselves for your coming again in glory. As we have brought before you the names of those people who are near and dear to us, we ask your healing love and blessing for them. Their needs are great and our abilities are limited. But we know that with your love, all things are possible. Give us such courage and perseverance that we may faithfully proclaim your love to all creation. Make us ready to receive you, now, in this place and everywhere we are. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (explain campaign) Offertory Prayer (Print) Loving God, you are our strength. Thank you for your wondrous works. May our praise to you continue from generation to generation. Lord speak to us and teach us new ways to reach new generations, so that they may know the love and care that you have given to us. Use these gifts to develop programs that will draw new people to you. Bless these gifts, Thank you for all that you have given us and for all that we will receive. Let it be used to glorify Your Holy Name. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Litany [Pentecost 25, Witness, Discipleship, Growth & Change, Commitment, Grace & Mercy, Personal Holiness, Personal Service] L: Ready! Set! Go! P: Wait a minute! Ready for what? L: The Lord is coming to us. We need to be ready P: Just a minute. What is the date? Do you have an arrival time? L: That’s not important. We just need to be ready. P: Listen! That’s not the way the world works. You have to plan these things out. L: But it is the way the Lord works. P: And this "set" business.....what is that all about? L: Taking stock of our lives, healing old wounds, reconciling relationships, forgiveness, service to others, most of all practicing God’s love as Jesus taught us. P: Right now, I have all I can handle. Relationships, old wounds, angers, work for God. I have to see if I can fit it into my schedule. Anyway, won’t God give me a little "grace" period? L: God has always given you a "grace" period. It is your life! P: What do you mean? L: God has offered you blessings and given you gifts. God asks you to be ready to serve, to make a choice. P: Ready to serve God or my schedule? L: Ready to place God first in your life. If you do this, the other things will fall into place. P: I need to reconsider the choices I have made. L: Choose God. Be ready to Go into God’s world to serve. P: Ready: the Lord is Coming. Set: Get your priorities in order, placing God first. Go: serve God. I can do that. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Announcements Closing Prayer for those on Facebook God has called and chosen you to be witnesses to hope and peace in God’s world. Go in peace and this same healing, reconciling love and peace will be with you. Go and serve the Lord your God in all that you do. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Invite congregants to turn and face the closest doorway and/or threshold. As you prepare to cross the threshold from this place out into the world and as you encounter doorways and thresholds throughout your week, repeat this blessing: May gratitude abound as I meet God and neighbor in this place. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, May 2023. Additional Illustrations A family moved to a new city where the father's company had transferred him. This meant that little Sharon would enter the first grade in a brand-new school. On the first day of class, the teacher was asking each student to provide her with some information as she called the roll. After asking for the proper spelling of her name, the teacher asked Sharon for her address. The youngster replied, "Miss Smith, we don't have an address yet!" "Oh," said the teacher, "your family doesn't have a home yet?" Sharon replied, "Yes, ma'am, we have a home; we just haven't found a house to put it in!" A little boy asked his busy mother to help him find something to do. So the mother found a large map of the United States on a page in a magazine. With a pair of scissors, she cut up the map into small pieces like a puzzle. Then she gave the pieces and some tape to her son and challenged him to put it together. The youngster returned in almost no time with the map together. Mother was amazed and said, "Son, how did you get that entire map of the United States together so fast?" The youngster said, "It was easy. On the back of the map was a picture of a family. So I turned it over and started to work. Once I got the family put together, the country turned out just right." How true that is! The strength of our nation depends on the strength of our families. Let us be challenged today to work hard to make our houses into homes,... where positive Christian values are transmitted from one generation to the next;... where friends are welcomed and children are more valuable than furniture;... where undesirable pressures are kept out, and where Jesus Christ is kept centralThat's how you make a house a home! C.S.S. Publishing Company, HOME IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD, by R. E. Lybrand Last week we began a series titled The Joshua Principles. And the first Principle was Joshua People Always Look Forward With Hope. We talked about how Hope is based on Trust and Trust is based on Faith and the implications that has in our daily lives and in the life and future of the Church. Today the Joshua Principle I want to look at is "Joshua People Obey and Serve." I think this falls right in step with where we left off last week. You see Faith in God builds Trust which builds Hope. When we Trust God and are Faithful, then God is Faithful too and that deepens our Hope. When we Trust God and are Faithful, then we will Obey God and follow God's Will. I want us to look at two passages this morning. When that happens, within that family of faith we are supported and strengthened and sometimes even rescued. Some of you may have seen this clip form KruegerNational Park on Youtube. The full length version might be a little scary for the little ones, so I've tried to edit it so it still makes its point. And it does have a great ending. (Water Buffalo Clip) I loved how the entire herd came back to rescue that calf. They knew the power of the claws of the lions but they also knew the greater power of the herd. And those water buffalo who sent the lions running and flying, knew the rest of the herd was behind them. That's the way it should be in every church, every faith community. It's good to have a herd. And when the Herd trusts God and is faithful to God through Obedience there is a strength that can't be destroyed. If you remember the 1984 movie, Ralph Macchio plays a new kid who gets crossways with a group of school in crowd bullies. They make his life miserable. The custodian, Mr. Miyagi played by Pat Morita, is a Japanese man who takes an interest in Daniel and says he will train him in Karate. When Daniel shows up, Mr. Miyagi doesn't give him any Karate instructions, he simple gives Daniel a series of what appear to be useless chores. Feeling a little like slave labor, Daniel confronts Mr. Miyagi. (CLIP) The results, of course, are Daniel's ability to transfer that the muscle memory into the needed defensive moves in karate. Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, who some are calling "Captain Marvel" is a former Air Force fighter pilot who has flown for US Airways for 29 years. He has over 19,000 hours in the air and runs his own safety consulting firm. After 29 years of flying, after 29 years of pre-flight checks, safety checks and all the minutia of flying, you would think maybe someone might begin to take shortcuts, right? And Captain Vince Lombardi (that's his real name, in an interview on Today said he and his crew devote two hours a month to practicing safety drills, man overboard rescue drills and the like to prepare for events like this which we all hope will never happen. It would be easy to say, "Oh, you know for the last six months all of our drills were perfect, we don't need the practice anymore." Shortcuts seem easy. We all tend to do it. Driving on the highway for example. When we were younger, the fear of getting a ticket kept us from speeding. But then we started driving to work every day and when we did the speed limit we felt like we were getting run over by the traffic. Then we began driving fast enough to keep up with the traffic so we didn't impede the flow. And pretty soon you're screaming and hollering at the idiot in front of you who won't get out of the way, right? These two men, their crews and all of the people involved in this event, were diligent in their obedience to following the proper procedures and drills. My contention is that because that, when it came to a time of testing, they were ready to serve and give everything through that service. They didn't have to stop and think about what was right or wrong, they knew and they did almost instinctually. And that only comes from Faith, Trust and Obedience. Why aren’t we excited to “remodel” the Lord’s house? Or in our scripture for today –both Jesus and Joshua call it the “Lord’s Vineyard.” But whichever name you choose, God is the owner and grand designer. We are the tenants, the ones who live on God’s great earth, in God’s house, on God’s vineyard. We are God’s resident tenants, attendants, and staffers. God invests in us and bequests us with creativity to carry out some renovations on God’s behalf. In our scriptures for today, God tells people (through Joshua) at Shechem that it’s time to design and contract a new house in a new place! Time for renovations. Time to put down roots in a “vineyard” they did not plant, to restore people to life in a town they did not build! Are they up for this new project? Are they game for this new contract? Do they have the passion for it? The strength? The daring? The heart? Another issue just as important as the generation gap has to be brought up before we dive into the story told in Joshua 24. The issue in mind has to do with the relationships we nurture across the years. Some people say that all of us give attention to at least four basic relationships throughout our lives: our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves, our relationship with others, and our relationship with what’s around us, or in other words, our relationship with things. Each of these relationships takes some of our time and demands a certain portion of our energies. Figuring out which relationship matters most can be tricky. Kathleen Kolar was an experienced hiker, having hiked in several popular west coast locations. When visiting Hawaii, she decided to hike a trail that was a grueling eleven miles long. The trail has stream crossings, lava ridges, lush valleys, and 100-foot drop-offs to rocky beaches below. The trek was everything Kathleen had heard — "difficult but spectacular." On her way back, she found herself a "little off trail." She wasn't concerned, all she would have to do is retrace her steps and she would be fine. She was sure the trail would loop around. She continued for a while before realizing that she was well off the trail — in other words, lost. She climbed a steep wall, which used to be a waterfall, hoping to once again find the trail. "It's just you and me, Lord," she prayed. "You alone can get me out of this mess." Things went from bad to worse. She found herself on a small foot-and-a-half perch. She was horrified. It was then that Kathleen realized that she needed to stop so rescuers could find her. It was getting dark; she would have to spend the night on the perch. "I cried and was angry at myself for being so stupid." The next morning, she felt God show her that this hike was similar to her life. She realized how at times her choices had led her away from God. And how those choices would affect her "further down life's path." "On that tiny ledge, I realized that if I were to truly live for God," she explains, "I would have to get to know him better." It took most of the day before anyone found her because of where she was. Unfortunately, the rescuers could not reach her. She would have to spend a second night on that ledge. "I was tired, thirsty, very sunburned and spent," she recalled. Before she was rescued by a helicopter the next day, she felt God remind her of the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. "I'd loved Jesus since I was eleven," she said, "but I hadn't yet surrendered my claim on my life. I was still going my own way. Those nights on the ledge, I determined to make knowing God's heart, thoughts, and purposes my passion in life." Another lesson she learned from her experience was that you cannot continue down a wrong path and remain untouched by the consequences. From now on Kathleen says, "I'm letting God lead — and following his path for my life."2 Joshua challenges us today asking what kind of people will we be and to whom will we commit ourselves? Commitment is one of those words that either makes us feel uncomfortable or something that we can easily dismiss as not all that important. While Jesus calls us to be faithful, the choice remains with us this day. In a sense it is a daily choice, a daily commitment, because there are so many things that deceive us, tempt us, and lead us astray. Choose the Lord. Amen.

Questioning Authority

October 26, 2023 Matthew 22:34-46 Questioning Authority 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Year A Stewardship Week 1 Prelude Welcome Call to Worship (Inspired by Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17) One: The Holy One has been our hope and our home. Many: God has been with us from generation to generation. One: We flourish and fade, bloom and renew in God’s time. Many: Our lives are temporal and precious and glorious. One: May the compassion and favor of the Holy One be with us. Many: May we be glad and prosperous in our work for our God! (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay) Invocation Righteous God, your law is love. Your message is love. Your presence is love. May Love fill our atmosphere and our interactions as we gather together in your name. May Love transform us, renew us, and revive us. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay) Song Make me a Channel of your Peace TFWS 2171 Children’s Sermon Then ask a volunteer to come forward and draw/color each of the following body parts while you come up with ways that you can use them to show love. Then see if they can think of another body part they can use to show love. • Ears (example: listening when others are talking, listening in church) • Eyes (example: paying attention to others needs, reading the Bible) • Nose & Mouth (example: singing hymns and praise music, speaking kind words) • Mind (example: learning about Jesus, thinking of new ways to help) • Heart (example: praying to God, telling your parents you love them) • Hands (example: holding the door, cleaning up the sanctuary) • Feet (example: going on mission trips, walking with someone to their car) • Before we get started, there are a few actions you need to know. When I say ‘LOVE’ I need you to cross your arms over your chest like your giving yourself a great big hug. When I say ‘HEART’ I need you to make a heart shape with your hands. When I say ‘SOUL’ I need you to point both thumbs at your chest. When I say ‘MIND’ I need you to put your hands on your head. And when I say ‘NEIGHBOR’ I need you to point at anyone else in the room. Now let’s get started. • The Bible has a lot to say about LOVE. It tells you God LOVES you. It tells you that God wants you to LOVE him. It tells you to LOVE your NEIGHBOR. There is so much in the Bible about LOVE that some people call it a LOVE letter. A long time ago when Jesus was on earth, people thought the Bible was just about rules. Do this. Don’t do that. Say this. Wear that. Go here. Worship there. Rule after rule after rule. • There was a little bit about LOVE, but there were so many rules that was all people cared about. • But LOVE was all Jesus cared about. He came here to show each one of us just how much He LOVES us. He LOVES us so much that even died for our sins so we can live with Him forever and always. • There were a whole bunch of people who really liked Jesus’ message of LOVE, but there were also a bunch of people who really liked the rules. They thought following the rules was all that mattered, but they forgot that everyone makes mistakes sometimes and disobeys those rules. And then what?!? Is that it? One broken rule and it’s all over? No way! Jesus came so that even when we make mistakes, He can save us. It’s such an amazing way to show just how much He LOVES us. • One day the rule followers wanted to know what Jesus thought was the most important one of all. If we could only ever follow one single rule, which one would it be? They expected Jesus to say one of the 10 Commandments; like obeying your parents, or keeping the Sabbath a day only for God. But Jesus had an even better one. The best rule of all, and it’s all bout LOVE. • Jesus said, “LOVE the Lord your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your MIND. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: LOVE your NEIGHBOR as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40 NIV • Jesus turned all of those rules into just two simple ones. LOVE God. And LOVE others. When you keep the Sabbath as a day for Jesus, that’s a way of loving Him. And when you obey your parents, that’s a way of loving them. Every single rule can fit into one of those two. It was so simple. • Now what do you think it means to LOVE God with all your HEART, SOUL, and MIND? It really just means that you LOVE Him completely. So you can’t just say you LOVE God, or just put money in the offering, or just listen to the sermon; you need to LOVE God all the time and in every way. • And thankfully, Jesus LOVES us so much that forgives us when we forget to LOVE Him and our NEIGHBORS like we should. Which is great news, because everyone could use a little more LOVE. (Ministry to Children, Stephanie Fernandez) Prayer of Brokenness Loving God, we confess that we are quick to judge and move to judgment at breakneck speed. We do not slow down to consider another point of view or give pause to allow compassion to open our hearts. We want to do right and to be right, sometimes at a cost. Remind us of how deeply You love us, how Your Son bent down to draw in the dirt before the crowd that wanted to condemn another. Call us into that same sacred pause, to remember that we are all human beings, all made in Your image, all Your children. May we withdraw our sharp words and judgments and instead break open our hearts for compassionate, deep listening to one another. In the name of Christ, who in all humility laid down his life for each of us, that we might have abundant life full of pauses, full of compassion, full of love, we pray. Amen. Rev-o-lution.com, Rev. Mindi) Blessing You are precious to God, so loved and so worthy of love. I know you may not feel it all the time, but it is true: God loves you madly. God’s love is written inside your heart and can never be removed, never changed, never diminished. Know this, in your heart of hearts, that you are made in God’s image and that image is love. Go share that love with the world. Amen. (Rev-o-lution.com, Rev. Mindi) Scripture Matthew 22:34-46 Sermon Questioning Authority Benjamin Franklin had 13 virtues that he felt necessary for every person to have in order to live a productive life – Temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility. Franklin did not consider himself a particularly religious person, but he did occasionally go to church, and even though he probably could not name the verse, they are all included in the bible. I think sometimes we would all like to have a short summary of what the bible is all about – it would be nice to have a little chart that tells us what the bible is all about. Well if you look at psalm 15 – it gives you the bible in 11 easy points, in Isaiah 35 – it gives you 6 easy points. In Micah 6:8 there are three points – what does the lord require of you – act justly, love faithfulness and to walk humbly with God. Amos says that there is only one thing – seek God and live. Jesus gets it down to 2 principles – love God with everything and love your neighbor. John Wesley and Martin Luther get it to one – grace. Rabbi Hillel (Died 6 years before Jesus was born) said,(when challenged by a Gentile to repeat the entire Torah on one foot) "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn" As we come to the last days of the Christian Year (December 1st is the new year), we come to the end of Matthew and the end of Jesus’ earthly life. Matthew has been following Jesus’ life, but mostly his earthly journey – when we realized that he was a prophet, all he has wanted to do was to go to Jerusalem – to question the powers that be and to teach the people. His dream has come true- he is teaching and people are listening. He has gotten the attention of the religious authorities – and now they are questioning him. Questioning is a great honor – it means that his teaching is worthy of debate. Matthew 22 is the chapter about that debate. Two weeks ago he talks about the kingdom of heaven – being a great party where everyone is invited and no one wants to come. In the middle of the chapter – he challenges the sadducees on resurrection and explains that in life after death that we are all equals – we stand before God. The saducees are mad because they don’t believe in life after death. The pharisees are impressed because they do – they want to hear more from this Jesus. Who seems to know the torah law, even though he never studied with him. He does well in talking about the shema – love the lord with all of your heart and soul. He even does well when he talks about loving your neighbor – that is in Leviticus how the treat the migrants amongst you. But does he really understand the 10 commandments – Jesus even says that they are testing him now. Who is the messiah? After all – the ten commandments says to honor your mother and father. If David says that the messiah is his lord in psalm 110, how could anyone today be the messiah. The messiah can’t be alive today – because we are all sons of David, thus less then him if we respect him as an elder. Jesus reminds him again that in the resurrection, all people are equal – we all have to stand before God on our own. He had just had this conversation with the saducess. In god’s world, there are no elders. The messiah could be anyone – and still respect his elders. Scripture says that at this point they stopped asking questions. This man was way too smart for his own good. Jesus does not say anything that is not already in the bible – he just presents it in a whole new way for a whole new generation. We are the generation the loves jesus and remembers his words to live by. Jesus reminds us that all of the bible be summed up in one word – used in two sentences. Love – which comes from God – receive it from God and give it to your neighbor. Yes, that is two sentences – but Jesus actually tells us about three loves. Love God, Love your neighbor and to love yourself. That is important – because I really think that a lot of time – we forget about the third one. As Christians we tend to think that love is selfless, and not selfish. We neglect our own self care. We think that if we show love to others, then we should not include ourselves. We think that is we are focused on God that we are not focused on ourselves. Loving Ourselves She was a beautiful Scandinavian girl. She had come to the hotel room of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Trobisch for counseling, just one day after they had given a lecture at one of the universities of northern Europe. As they talked about her problems, one basic issue kept coming up – one that seemed to be at the root at all her problems. She could not love herself! In fact, she hated herself so much that she was only a step away from ending her own life. She had been raised in a very religious home. Her parents were sincere, no doubt, but they had given her a terribly distorted understanding of the Christian life. Because of what her parents and pastors had taught her, she was afraid of affirming any good thing about herself. She was afraid that self- appreciation would lead to pride, and pride would lead to alienation from God. So, for her, the life of faith required self-depreciation – putting herself down! She believed that rejection of the self was the only way to God! That’s why her religious convictions led her to the brink of suicide. During the counseling session there in the hotel room, Dr. Trobisch led her to a mirror where he asked her to look carefully at her image. She turned away, unable to look at herself. He held her head gently but firmly and made her look into her own eyes. Obviously the experience was painful for her emotionally. Dr. Trobisch asked her to repeat after him: “I am a beautiful girl – I am a beautiful girl.” But she couldn’t do it. She just couldn’t do it - because in her eyes that was sinful. Where did we ever get the idea that to affirm ourselves, to appreciate ourselves is wrong? Certainly we didn’t get that from Jesus. When we read the gospels carefully, we discover that Jesus went around day after day looking for the good in people, pointing it out to them, and asking them to celebrate it. And, in the scripture from the 22nd chapter of Matthew, Jesus tells us to love our neighbors. How? As we love ourselves. Notice that Jesus does not say we are to love our neighbors instead of ourselves. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It is inarguable: Jesus wants us to love ourselves! James McCormick, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Being Compassionate Is More than Kindness Being compassionate involves more than kindness. It is the passion to develop strategies and structure to lift up those who are down. If our political and economic systems allow the marginalized to fall between society's cracks, then we who have been loved into action by a compassionate God are encouraged to challenge the existing order or to find ways to alter their predicament. To fail to do this is to lose God in the chaos of society. The great Norwegian novelist, Johan Bojer, makes that point powerfully in his story, The Great Hunger. It happened that an anti-social newcomer moved into the village and put a fence around his property with a sign saying, “Keep Out.” He also put a vicious dog in the fence to keep anyone from climbing it. One day, the neighbor’s little girl reached inside the fence to pet the dog and the dog grabbed her by the arm and savagely bit and killed her. The townspeople were enraged and refused to speak to the recluse. They wouldn’t sell him groceries at the store. When it came time for planting, they wouldn’t sell him seed. The man became destitute and didn’t know what to do. One day he saw another man sowing seed on his field. He ran out and discovered it was the father of the little girl. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.” The father replied, “I am doing this to keep God alive in me.” David Zersen, Searching for Better Questions Keeping God alive inside of us takes practice, preparation and perspiration – act justly, love faithfully, walk humbly. I want to give you some scenarios – and in each one I want you to think about what you would do. But the challenge is to be as selfish as possible. You are having lunch with two friends. And when it comes to dessert there are only two cakes – and you love cream cakes. What do you do? You family has had a dinner party – and now that the guest have left, there are tons of dishes in the sink and there are five people in the family. What do you do? Remember to be selfish. Whatever you thought of to do for yourself – Jesus challenge to us – do it for others. When Jesus says that we should love God and Love our neighbor – he is not just talking about 2 loves, or three loves, but 4 loves. Love God, Love neighbor, love ourselves – and love Jesus. When we think of those 4 loves – everything else falls into place. In Love with Christ Legend has it that a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean world looking for the distinguished Pharisee, Paul, encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally the merchant left with Paul's blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, "What is the secret of this man's power? I have never seen anything like it before." Did you not guess?" replied Timothy. "Paul is in love." The merchant looked bewildered. "In Love?" "Yes," the missionary answered, "Paul is in love with Jesus Christ." The merchant looked even more bewildered. "Is that all?" Smiling, Timothy replied, "Sir, that is everything." G. Curtis Jones, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, Nashville: Broadman, 1986, p. 225. One way to cope with the abundance of laws is to just use your common sense and to work by rules of thumb. For example, for driving: go the speed limit, yield to the right, stay to the right unless passing, etc. When you are filling out your income tax: don't cheat or lie! What about your daily life? Well, maybe the so-called golden rule: treat others the way you would want to be treated by them. L. Gregory Bloomquist, Remembering to Do the Right Thing If we wanted to sum up the bible and keep a cheat sheet of what the bible teaches us to do in every situation – let us remember the words of a song that all of us learned a long time ago – Jesus Loves me this I know – for the bible tells me so. Amen. Song Pass it On UMH 572 Pastoral Prayer Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Gary Chapman wrote a book for couples, and another for children, identifying “5 love languages”. In these books, Chapman demonstrates how learning the language of your loved one/s and acting out your love in that particular way demonstrates your deep connection. The five languages are physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time and gifts. When Jesus was asked about which commandment was the greatest, his answer came in 2 parts: “love God” and “love your neighbor”. I want to use Chapman’s languages as a way to help us consider an answer to “HOW do I act out my love of God and neighbor?” We can demonstrate our love with physical touch: Shaking hands, providing a hug, squatting down to be on eye level with a child and responding positively if that child wants to come sit with you in worship! Words of affirmation: in our worship, our prayers, our meditations, and in our encounters with others on the street, at school, at work, or in our home, words of affirmation speak our love: “well done!” “you’re the best!” “you make me happy” “you fill me up” Acts of service: coming early to host at church, stepping up to serve a meal, helping an elderly person get their leaves raked, bringing cold water to the charity walk participants Quality time: focused time in worship, Bible study, Sunday School, one-on-one time at home, at work, or on “date night” Gifts: a simple flower, a thank you note, and yes, your weekly offering of a portion of what God has first given you. How will you show your love for God and neighbor as we receive our morning offering? Prayer of Thanksgiving All things come from you, O God. Receive and accept the gifts we now offer you. Help us use them wisely, that our love for you and for our neighbor might be made known as we utilize these gifts in the ministries of this congregation. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook We do not leave this sanctuary and leave God behind. God’s law is clear. We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. May this commandment be ever before us; guiding us, inspiring us, enabling us to be Christ’s body – his hands, his feet, his heart – in this, God’s world. May the grace, hope, peace, and love of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer be with us all, now and forever. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Terri Ott McDowell) Community Time - Joys and Concerns Benediction Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Go forth into this aching, hurting world with God’s love, offering healing, hope, and peace to all. Go in peace and may God’s peace surround you always. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener – The Two Most Important Questions a Christian Can Answer – Matthew 22:34-46 Isidor Isaac Rabi, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, and one of the developers of the atomic bomb, was once asked how he became a scientist. Rabi replied that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She wasn't so much interested in what he had learned that day, but how he conducted himself in his studies. She always inquired, "Did you ask a good question today?" "Asking good questions," Rabi said, "made me become a scientist." In order to ask a good question I think you need to have noble motives behind the question. You have to want to know the truth. The Pharisees, by contrast, already had the answers to their questions. They felt they already knew the truth. How many times have we had it in for someone, asking a question designed to trap them? We do it to our loved ones all the time. In a moment like this we are not trying to learn; we are trying to injure. The Pharisees come to Jesus once again with a question designed to do damage to the reputation of Jesus. And once again Jesus proves he is equal to the task. Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? Now, even though this question was used to test Jesus, it is nonetheless an important question. Perhaps in the life of Israel at that time it was THE most important question. But Jesus had a question of his own. A question, which signified that the times were changing; a new theological season had come. He put this question to the same Pharisees who had tested him: “What do you think of the Messiah. Whose son is he?” These were the two most important questions of that era and my friends they are the two most important questions of our time. Let us consider… 1. Which Commandment Is the Greatest? 2. What Do You Think of the Messiah? The Right Kind of Devotion In order that we may know how to love ourselves, an end has been established for us to which we are to refer all our action, so that we may attain to bliss. For if we love ourselves, our one wish is to achieve blessedness. Now this end is to cling to God. Thus, if we know how to love ourselves, the commandant to love our neighbor bids us to do all we can to bring our neighbor to love God. This is the worship of God; this is true religion; this is the right kind of devotion; this is the service which is owed to God alone. Augustine, City of God ____________________________ In Love with Christ Legend has it that a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean world looking for the distinguished Pharisee, Paul, encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally the merchant left with Paul's blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, "What is the secret of this man's power? I have never seen anything like it before." Did you not guess?" replied Timothy. "Paul is in love." The merchant looked bewildered. "In Love?" "Yes," the missionary answered, "Paul is in love with Jesus Christ." The merchant looked even more bewildered. "Is that all?" Smiling, Timothy replied, "Sir, that is everything." G. Curtis Jones, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, Nashville: Broadman, 1986, p. 225. ____________________________ Practice, Preparation, and Perspiration In a wonderful little book, "Dudley's Dog Days: Joining Faith to Life," by Harley G. Rusch, the family has just bought a cocker spaniel puppy named Dudley. On their way to grandma's house to show off the newest member of the family, they stop at an ice cream store. It was a hot summer day -- and, of course, Dudley was given an ice cream cone, too. Next they stopped at a hamburger stand for some food, which, of course, Dudley had to eat, too. Dudley had hardly gotten the hamburger down, when it came right back up -- along with the remains of the ice cream and cone. They get to grandma's house, who quickly gave her grown son a tongue-lashing: "How could you give a puppy an ice-cream? Don't you know anything about taking care of a puppy?" The author writes about his experience: We were inexperienced at showing love to a dog. Although we loved him at first sight, the technique by which we showed that love needed a lot of improvement. It would not be the last time either. The first walk, the first trip to the vet, the first night, all proved that some expertise was needed in the art of loving a puppy. Society has told us by means of movies and television that love is something that just happens. Caring for another is something you just do. How wrong can they be? To love takes the desire but also a lot of practice, preparation, and perspiration. We discovered with Dudley that there are proper and correct ways to show love. There are also acts that can be motivated by love, but can in effect be unloving -- like ice-cream cones for puppies. The love Jesus calls for is more than just warm feelings. It can often involve "practice, preparation, and perspiration." In some cases loving others means giving a dose of "tough love.” Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes The Complexity of the Situation The Constitution of the United States started off with only 7 articles and 21 sections that took up only four handwritten pages including signatures! 4 pages! But to that we added 27 amendments. Today, the United States Code, which is all of the laws in this country, fills up around 80 volumes of books, nearly 800,000 pages, and this doesn’t even include the Federal Regulations. In 1942, the Virginia Code was a single book that had 2800 pages. Today, the Virginia Code is a 25-volume set of books with 15,000 pages, nearly 20,000 separate laws! And that is just Virginia! But, let’s not think for a moment that we are the only ones to take something simple and make it complex. God gave the Israelites something simple to follow, the Ten Commandments. Just ten simple rules to follow. Nothing complex about it. But were the Israelites content with just ten commandments? Oh, no. They ended up making 613 separate commandments, 365 negative and 248 positive. Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? Try following all those laws in order to be considered faithful and righteous, and you probably thought the original ten was hard enough. For the lawyer and the Pharisees there was certainly a complex issue at stake. The Israelites were under assault from a man who claimed to be God, and who did God-like things. But this man was a Jew; he should have known better, no one is God, but God. Yet, he was a man who knew and quoted the Hebrew scripture, who knew the laws and commandments better than any religious leader. The Pharisees had to put a stop to it, the situation was getting out of control, it was becoming too complex to let it go on much longer. This man must be stopped and the only why to stop him was to discredit him. And what better way to discredit Jesus, the Jew, than to ask him such a question, on a complex issue about the greatest commandment, that any answer he gave would spell defeat. Author Unknown Love: Committing Oneself Fully One of my professors spoke of a young couple who wanted to write their own wedding vows. Instead of vowing to stay together "until death," they wanted to say, "For as long as our love shall last." As my professor noted, "Mistaking affection for love could mean they would divorce following their first real argument.” If we allow our culture’s definitions of "love" to define what Jesus meant, then surely we will miss his point. Neither lust nor affection is at the heart of the faith. So what then did Jesus mean when he said that we are to love God and neighbor? Scholar Douglas Hare points out that "love" in the biblical tradition is marked by concretely expressed commitment. To love is to have an unwavering commitment to another, a commitment that expresses itself tangibly. "Love," as Jesus uses it here, is a call to commit one’s self fully and concretely to both God and neighbor Donald M. Tuttle There Is More Than You Know In her book Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Kathleen Norris recounts [her own spiritual] journey: Even as I exemplified the pain and anger of a feminist looking warily at a religion that has so often used a male savior to keep women in their place, I was drawn to the strong old women in the congregation. Their well-worn Bibles said to me, 'There is more here than you know,' and made me take more seriously the religion that had caused my grandmother Totten's Bible to be so well used that its spine broke. I also began, slowly, to make sense of our gatherings on Sunday morning, recognizing, however dimly, that church is to be participated in . . . The point is not what one gets out of it, but the worship of God; the service takes place both because of and despite the needs, strengths and frailties of the people present. How else could it be? "There is more here than you know." Could this be the real message of Jesus' perplexing question to the Pharisees? His riddle illustrates that unlearning things is sometimes necessary before new and true learning can occur. More specifically, it points to the way that Christ both fulfills and transform our expectations and definitions. Anthony B. Robinson, article in The Christian Century, October 6, 1993, “Encountering a Riddle” Give Me Jesus Dr. Paul Wee, a staff member of the Lutheran World Federation, recalls standing at the bedside of dying archbishop, Janis Matulis, of Latvia. A visitor had just sung, at Matulis’ request, an old spiritual with the words, “Oh, when I am alone, when I am alone, give me Jesus.” Matulis then asked those around his bed: “Do you know why this song means so much to me? Three times war passed over Latvia, killing two-fifths of our people. They burned down my church and destroyed Bibles and hymnals. They took away my wife, and I never saw her again. When it was all gone, I realized that I had nothing else in this world but Jesus Christ. [That realization] was like a breath of freedom. From that moment on, I learned how to use whatever came my way--little bits of medicine left over, a piece of coal, apples, spices--so that somehow the sacrament of God’s love would be shared with the larger community because of Jesus Christ.” That’s what happens when we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. We come to a new understanding of who Christ is. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com ________________________________________________________ Remembering to Do the Right Thing How's your memory? Do you have difficulty remembering to do certain things? How about names? What about when it comes to laws? Do you always remember all the laws that apply when you are driving? How about when you are filling out your income tax? What about your daily life: do you always remember what is involved in doing the right thing? Do you always remember to do the right thing? That presupposes that you even know all the laws that are out there. But I find that I have difficulty not only REMEMBERING everything that I'm supposed to remember, but even KNOWING everything that I'm supposed to KNOW! For example, I didn't know for a long time that in Ottawa you could turn left from a one-way street on to a one-way street. I saw people doing it and I thought they were just taking a short-cut. Someone going to North Carolina might not know that of the 100 counties in North Carolina you cannot swear in public in 98 of them, but that you can in 2 of them, nor might they know which 2 they are! Or what about situations that arise that are not covered by any law? What about when you go out for a meal? What about at work? What about when you are getting on an airplane? One way to cope with the abundance of laws is to just use your common sense and to work by rules of thumb. For example, for driving: go the speed limit, yield to the right, stay to the right unless passing, etc. When you are filling out your income tax: don't cheat or lie! What about your daily life? Well, maybe the so-called golden rule: treat others the way you would want to be treated by them. L. Gregory Bloomquist, Remembering to Do the Right Thing Short Quotes on Happiness Opera diva Beverly Sills asked why so bubbly–“Are you always as happy as you appear to be? "No, I'm not a happy person. I am a cheerful person. A happy woman has no cares. A cheerful woman has plenty of cares but handles them." “A man is occupied by that from which he expects to gain happiness, but his greatest happiness is the fact that he is occupied.” French philosopher Alain (1868-1951). “If, as claimed by humanism, man were born only to be happy, he would not be born to die.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn Being Compassionate Is More than Kindness Loving Ourselves She was a beautiful Scandinavian girl. She had come to the hotel room of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Trobisch for counseling, just one day after they had given a lecture at one of the universities of northern Europe. As they talked about her problems, one basic issue kept coming up – one that seemed to be at the root at all her problems. She could not love herself! In fact, she hated herself so much that she was only a step away from ending her own life. She had been raised in a very religious home. Her parents were sincere, no doubt, but they had given her a terribly distorted understanding of the Christian life. Because of what her parents and pastors had taught her, she was afraid of affirming any good thing about herself. She was afraid that self- appreciation would lead to pride, and pride would lead to alienation from God. So, for her, the life of faith required self-depreciation – putting herself down! She believed that rejection of the self was the only way to God! That’s why her religious convictions led her to the brink of suicide. During the counseling session there in the hotel room, Dr. Trobisch led her to a mirror where he asked her to look carefully at her image. She turned away, unable to look at herself. He held her head gently but firmly and made her look into her own eyes. Obviously the experience was painful for her emotionally. Dr. Trobisch asked her to repeat after him: “I am a beautiful girl – I am a beautiful girl.” But she couldn’t do it. She just couldn’t do it - because in her eyes that was sinful. Where did we ever get the idea that to affirm ourselves, to appreciate ourselves is wrong? Certainly we didn’t get that from Jesus. When we read the gospels carefully, we discover that Jesus went around day after day looking for the good in people, pointing it out to them, and asking them to celebrate it. And, in the scripture from the 22nd chapter of Matthew, Jesus tells us to love our neighbors. How? As we love ourselves. Notice that Jesus does not say we are to love our neighbors instead of ourselves. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It is inarguable: Jesus wants us to love ourselves! James McCormick, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Shema In Jewish circles the single most famous verse from the Torah is the so-called Shema from Deuteronomy 6. "Shema" is the Hebrew word for "hear" or "listen" and it comes from that verse, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." The Shema was traditionally recited by every Jewish child and adult at the start of each day and at the conclusion of each day. In other words, there was no single verse from the entire Torah that the average Jew knew better than this one. So when Jesus responded to the Pharisees' tricky question by quoting a portion of the Shema, he was throwing back in their faces something they took to be exceedingly basic, something that was second-nature to even the youngest Jewish child. It reminds you of the time Karl Barth is said to have been asked what he thought was the most profound of all theological truths. But instead of giving some jargon-laden, academic answer that used words like perichoresis, kenosis, or the insuperable transcendence of God's prevenient grace as it comes through the vicarious supererogation of the Son, Barth simply said, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." That answer was charming and disarming. Barth said, "The greatest truth is the one you already know, the one all Christians know, the one a three-year old can sing about." In Jesus' case, he was slyly insulting the Pharisees, demonstrating to everyone there that the Pharisees were not really interested in seeing if Jesus could answer their question since even the youngest person there knew that answer already. This was not a difficult question. It was like asking Albert Einstein, "Do you know what 2+2 is?" This was basic, elementary stuff. Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations _________________________________

You are invited to the Party of Faith

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington October 15, 2023 Matthew 22:1-14 You are invited to the party of faith 20th Sunday after Pentecost Year A Prelude Welcome Call to Worship L: You have been invited to a special feast. P: We need more details, for our schedules are very busy. L: This is celebration of commitment between God and God’s people. P: Maybe next time, we have other plans. What is God going to do if we don’t come? L: Your response is noted. There are many others who would be delighted to come, even on a last minute notice. God looks forward to greeting them and celebrating with them. P: Will we get a second chance? God forgive us for placing our schedules and other plans before coming to your celebration L: Patient and persistent God, we are grateful that even when we get sidetracked, you are with us. Be in our hearts and spirits today as we learn of your love through creation. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Opening Prayer Lord of diversity and union, we call upon you this day to open our hearts to your love, our ears to your words, our eyes to see the needs of those both near and far, and our spirits to do your will. Be with us and give us courage and inspiration for the future of your world, O Lord. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Song Lord Listen to your Children Praying TFWS 2193 Children’s Sermon Greet children, with plenty of fun “party props” such as hats, streamers, balloons, gift wrap, noisemakers, etc. Hello, children of God! Look at all of this fun stuff! I’m ready to go to a party…have you ever been invited to a party before? I love birthday parties, and I also enjoy Christmas parties, or welcome home parties or going away parties, or…well, any kind of celebration, really! What do you like about going to parties? (Allow for quick responses.) I like getting cake, or playing games, or having a good time with people…and you know what I really love? I love getting goody bags! Isn’t it fun to take home free treats after a party? Well, it just so happens I have a goody bag here. There are some great little items inside… (Remove several small toys or treats from the bag. Lastly, take out a cross) Well, this is interesting. I don’t usually see these in birthday party treat bags, do you? Hmm… Well, in our Gospel story today, there was a party of sorts going on. Jesus told a parable about a man who was having a big party for his son. The man throwing the party was the king, and his son was getting married and having a feast. The king sent out a whole bunch of invitations to people, but a lot of them said no. They refused his invitation and rejected going to the special feast, with silly excuses. Nobody wants to go to a party with no people, right? So instead, the king went out into the streets and invited anyone and everyone to his feast. All they had to do was put on a special piece of clothing to be presentable. A lot of people got to go to the party! But some people refused to wear the special clothing. Because of that, they couldn’t stay at the feast. What does this mean for us? The parable was an explanation of how God invites us to be part of His Heavenly family. God wants everyone to be at the “party” of Heaven. And we don’t have to do anything special to do that! All it takes is accepting the free gift of salvation. Our “wedding garment” is the blood of Jesus. As long as we recognize His sacrificial death and what it means for us, our lives can be changed and made new. That’s much better than a goody bag! Because of Jesus, we are all invited to share in God’s grace. Anyone can believe and receive new life. We can also share that news and invite other people to be part of God’s family. The Gospel is a powerful and wonderful gift for all! Why don’t we thank God for that right now? Let’s pray: Children’s Prayer Moment (Have kids repeat each line) Dear God, Thank you for inviting us into your family Help us to reach out and invite others Thank you for clothing us with Christ Thank you for your love We love you, God! In Jesus name, Amen! (Ministry to Children – Kristin Schmidt) A LITANY PRAYER FOR PEACE (adapted from the United Methodist Book of Worship, #520) Jesus, Prince of Peace, hear our prayers for all the peoples of the world. Deliver us from every evil that opposes your will for peace. From the curse of war and all that creates it, O Lord, deliver us. From willful ignorance and selfish isolation, O Lord, deliver us. From fear and distrust of those not like us, O Lord, deliver us. From false pride and self-justifications, O Lord, deliver us. From the lust for riches, power and status, O Lord, deliver us. From a poverty of compassion and lives of shallow love, O Lord, deliver us. From putting our trust in the weapons of war and from want of faith in the power of justice and good will. O Lord, deliver us From every thought, word, and deed which that the human family and separates us from the perfect realization of your love Forgive us and heal us, O Lord, that we may live daily in your image. Amen Passing of the Peace Scripture Matthew 22:1-14 Sermon You are invited to the party of faith My son’s first field trip was in kindergarten, they went to the Kenosha County zoo. At the time, my son was staying with my mother, I had just moved back into town. We were both in contact with his school, and when this field trip came up, I thought it was a perfect way to bond with him. The teacher asked for parent chaperones. I was so excited when the teacher sent home chaperone instructions, and it said that we needed to have a bagged lunch just like the kids. I had memories of going on field trips as a child and my mom would pack all of my favorite snacks in the bag, so that I would have fun things to eat all day. So, on the day before the trip, I had so much fun going to the store buying things for my lunch. I was young, so I had to be economincal as well. I remember buying Wonder bread, and mayonnaise and stuff to put on the sandwich, picking out the cookies, and they had a sale on pop. You did not get pop every day for lunch, but remember, on field trip days you would get one. And in order to keep it cold all day, your mom would wrap it in foil. I even had to buy the baggies and paper bags to put the lunch in. I was so excited, I went home and fixed my lunch and put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. On the day of the trip. You had to put your name on the bag so that you could get it back for lunch. When lunch time time came, each chaperone got a group of kids that they had to eat with and there was a list of questions that we had to ask to help the kids process the trip. I remember I had a group of all boys, and as I am trying to connect with them and talk, I open my bag and realized that there was not one thing there that I was actually going to eat. I don’t eat white bread, don’t eat cold food, don’t eat store bought cookies, and I was not going to drink the 15cent generic pop that had no flavor. I closed the bag and told the boys that I would not be eating today – and I had to go hungry. The funny thing is, I realized – that I knew I wasn’t going to eat anyof that stuff when I went to the store and bought it. I knew I didn’t want it when I prepared it. And yet for some reason, I really believed in my head, that by putting all of that stuff in a brown paper bag and taking it to the zoo – that somehow things were going to change. I was going to eat – things that I know I don’t even like. I tell that story as an allegory – a story with a truth and a lesson about life. I think that is how a lot of us go to church. After it is over, we go home hungry and unfulfilled. We say – I didn’t really get anything out of church, church doesn’t move me, church is boring, church doesn’t mean anything to me. And we are convinced that it is all about the church, and not about the attiude that we bought with us when we walked in the door. We don’t think about what it is that we put in our brown paper bag to feed of when we came. If we bought preconceinved notions, expectations of people, disappointments, and frustrations with us – that is what we are going to experience while we are here. If we come with questions then we are going to leave with questions, if we dome dobtful, then we are going to leave doubtful, if we come suspicious, then we are going to leave suspicious. If we remember to pack joy, peace, and an open mind, and a willingness to meet God in a fresh new way – we don’t have to be surprised when we find it. In today’s lesson – that is what Jesus does – he tells us an allegory about real life – he tells us the story about the king’s son’s wedding. Everyone is invited – but no one want to come. This is the party of the the year, of a lifetime – where only the elite of the elite would come to be seen. And no one comes. At least in Luke’s version of the story – people give excuses why they cant come – they have family obligations, they have to work, they are sick. In Matthew’s version – they just don’t show up. Matthew gives us a glimpse of what life is like in his world. We all know that Jesus tends to be peaceful and tells us to stay away from violence. And yet Matthew takes the liberty to add his commentary to the story. This story takes place with very violent undertones – first, the people who give the invitation are killed by the people, and then the king goes out and kills them and destroys their city. This is a very important detail in light of current events. Matthew is telling this story in the midst of a revolution – so he wants us to understand the conditions. In spite of all of the violence going on – the wedding continues. Things are a little different, but the wedding still goes on. The guest list is different – not just the elite, but anybody and every body The story teaches us, or at this point reminds us that God extends an invitation to everyone to come into God’s presence. We can come as we are. And yet Matthew makes it very clear that the invitation is not just to come and show up. God Enjoys AND Enjoins Us- Matthew 22:1-14 by Leonard Sweet Director/actor Woody Allen is known for a lot of quotes. But maybe his most famous quote is this one. Anyone want to guess what it is? “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.” But Woody Allen is famously wrong. Ninety percent of life is what we do AFTER we show up. Why do we want to believe Allen’s computations so badly? We eagerly embrace Woody’s calculus because it takes us off the hook for all but ten percent of our lifetime of screw-ups, fall-flats, and melt-downs. It is easy to just “be there.” It is much harder to be there for the long haul, the hard times, the big tests, the final curtain. Just “showing up” at your wedding might get you married, but it doesn’t build a living, loving, fighting, mortgage paying, in-law juggling, overdrawn, children challenged, lifetime relationship. Just “showing up” at the birth of your child might make you a “parent,” but it does not make you a changing diapers, up-all-night, learning dinosaur names, cheering at rain-soaked side-lines, doing Algebra homework, enforcing curfews, saving for college, Mom or Dad. Just “showing up” at church every Sunday morning might make you a member-in-good-standing, but it does not automatically put feet on your faith. G. K. Chesterton used to say that “Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.” To be a Christian takes action; it takes a day-to-day commitment to follow Jesus wherever he leads… Put on Your Party Hat In her novel A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley shows readers a highly dysfunctional family which nevertheless attended churcheach Sunday. Yet this is how the novel's narrator sums up this religious practice: "We came to church to pay our respects, not to give thanks." When faith becomes a compartment of life instead of life's vibrant center, when you're just stopping off to put in your time or pay your respects, squeezing God in between everything else that you clearly value much more highly, then you reveal yourself as an ill-clad impostor. You haven't put on a festive wedding garment, you're still refusing to wear that funny party hat because you fail to realize that the kingdom of God is a high, holy, hilarious feast thrown by a king who has prepared the best of everything. Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations In Jesus’ allegory – there is more violence in the wedding. A guy shows up without party clothes and not only is he put out he is tied up and thrown into hell. Apparently hell is right outside of the doors of the party. In light of present event, I would wonder if it was obvious in the way that he was dressed that he was a spy or something. But I also know that in other stories, that the proper attire at a wedding was important. If you read through the new testament – you will see that proper attire is important to our faith. Maybe that is where the tradition of wearing your Sunday best comes from. But the clothes that the bible talks about is usually in our hearts. Clothing and Spiritual Change Clothing is a common New Testament metaphor for spiritual change. Paul wrote in Romans, "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Rom 13:14). And in First Corinthians, "The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53). In Colossians, we read, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12). Finally, in First Peter we are admonished, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'" (1 Peter 5:5). Being clothed anew is a consistent New Testament expression for holiness and righteousness. The old clothes have to come off and new ones put on. This text confronts us with the paradox of God's free invitation to the banquet with no strings attached and God's requirement of "putting on" something appropriate to that calling. The theological point is that we are warned of the dire consequences of accepting the invitation and doing nothing except showing up. Mickey Anders, When Showing Up Isn't Enough I have a new respect for Matthew – I have always felt that the book of Matthew could be a little harsh in it’s lessons. But perhaps that was just the world that Matthew lived in, and he was just trying to give us a glimpse of the difficulties that he was facing. The last line of our scripture says – Many are invited, but few are chosen. That does not sound very hospitable – what does that mean? It means that God extends grace to all of us – but we have to be careful – because grace is not cheap. – nor is it to be taken for granted. If We Miss a Deadline A tough, old cowhand sauntered into a saloon and began drinking whiskey by the bottle. The more he drank, the more unruly he became, shooting holes in the ceiling and floor. Everybody was afraid to take on the old cowhand. Finally, a short, mild-mannered storekeeper walked up to the unruly cowhand and said, "I'll give you five minutes to get out of town." The old cowhand holstered his gun, pushed the whiskey bottle away, briskly walked out, got on his horse, and rode out of town. When he left, someone asked the storekeeper what he would have done if the unruly cowhand had refused to go. "I'd have extended the deadline," he said. Many Christians have that concept of God: if we miss a deadline, God will simply extend it. They do not take the judgment of God seriously. "I sin, God forgives," is their attitude. They wallow in what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls "cheap grace." Grace is not cheap. Grace can be understood only as it stands in relief of God's judgment. God examines us and finds us unfit, unprepared for the wedding feast. But by faith in Jesus Christ - Christ, who gave himself for the expiation of our sins - we are made recipients of God's unconditional acceptance of us as worthy, fully dressed. But that grace has been dearly purchased. Our sins are serious business. It is only because of God's great love for us that God forgives us of our sins and dresses us in new, more appropriate clothes. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com We are all invited to God’s party. It is not just about lunch in a brown paper bag – it is a feast, a feast of a lifetime. We will not be disappopinted. But when we show up, we have to be active participants – not just looking for love and peace, but finding it in our hearts. Rhoda Boggs, The Strawberry Lady, touring with a theater company in Leningrad several years ago, was quoted as giving this report of a visit to a Christian Church in that Russian City. This was while communisim still reigned over that nation. I’m tore to pieces. I’ve been going to church since I could walk, but I’ve never known Jesus like I knew him today. Oh child, he was there – he was out in the open. He was written on every face. He was singin with us, and you’ve never heard such singin. It was old people mostly, and old people can’t sing like that unless Jesus us helping them along. And then the pastor asked that we, the black members of the cast our sing a spiritual. And they listened so quiet, all those rows and rows of faces lookin at us like were were telling them that nobody’s alone, that Jesus is everywhere on this earth – which is a fact they know already, but it seems to me they were glad to hear about it. Anybody doubts the existence of our savior, he should have been there. Well it came time to go and you know what happened? They stood up. The whole congregation stood us and they took out white handerkercheifs and they waved them in the air and they sand God be with you till we meet again. The tears just pouring down their faces, theirs and ours. Oh child it really churned me up. May the Jesus we have in our heart, show up in our worship in our faces and in our lives. Amen. Song I want Jesus to Walk with me UMH 521 Prayers of the People (Just print the title, I will read) Gracious God, we thank you for all that you provide and the blessings we receive daily from you. We know that, at times, we feel hopeless amid so much uncertainty in our world, but we trust you, O God, to bring us peace. And to give us comfort when we are overwhelmed with anxiety. Please help us be calm in the chaos around us and give us the strength to overcome. Gracious God, we bring all our concerns, doubts, and insecurities with the confidence that you are walking with us and guiding us with your Holy Spirit. Mold us into the vessels you want us to be, full of hope and joy. Gracious God, we lift prayers for the homeless, the hungry, the lonely, the rejected, those left behind, and all suffering injustice in our community and the world. Hear their cries for healing, wholeness, and acceptance, O loving God. Gracious God, we ask that your Holy Spirit accompany and protect our brothers and sisters in communities dealing with violence and hatred. We pray for continued strength and courage for all being persecuted by society. Let us not be afraid to stand boldly to speak against all hate and violence. God, you call us beloved, even when we stand in the face of violence and fear. Please help us to continue to be agents for transformation and equity. Gracious God, help us live according to your word’s mandates that call us to love one another as you love us. Help to show mercy and offer compassion and forgiveness to all in our care. Help us acknowledge when we have not been good stewards or loving to our neighbor or the stranger. Gracious God, we pray that our hearts will be open to the change that needs to happen here on earth so your Sovereignty will be a reality and all your creation will sing your praises. Please help us to see each other as gifts from you. Let us enthusiastically embrace your love to share the good news with those who need to hear and receive your amazing grace. Amen. ( United Church of Christ, Worship Ways, Rev. Persida Rivera-Mendez) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (use your own experience to share in this moment, or utilize this more generic statement) Many people participating in church life began learning about stewardship as children. Part of learning about money and sharing our money came from parents (and others), teaching about tithing, or about regularly setting aside “first fruits” to contribute to the weekly offering. Paul, writing to the believers in Phillipi, urged them to “keep on doing the things you have learned and received and heard and seen…” We might encourage the same for each one here, today. You may have learned as a child, or it may have been when you began your life in the church. When, and from whom, did you learn about sharing financially? Who urged you to keep on doing the things you learned? Paul reminds the early Christians when they keep on doing what they’ve learned, “the God of peace will be with you.” And I’ll second that! When I regularly do what I have learned about giving generously to the life of this congregation, I delight in my awareness of the God of peace giving me a sense of inner peace. Let me encourage you to try it! Here’s your opportunity, as we receive our morning gifts, tithes and offerings. Prayer of Thanksgiving Gift-giving God, thank you for the abundance you share with your beloved sons and daughters! We ask you now to receive what has been offered here – a portion of what you have first given us. Accept our gifts. Help us put them to their best use. And encourage us to grow in our capacity to be more like you, so each of us might regularly offer the best we have to help build up your Realm here and now. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Let us go from this place trusting that God is with us and for us in every place. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you and abide with you this day and forever- more. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, John Wurster) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Build a fire under us and within us, O Lord. Enable us to joyfully go into your world to serve your people and in doing so serve you also. Go in peace, dear friends. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - The King’s Reception (What Are you Wearing to the Wedding?) Perhaps you have heard of the family that moved into the neighborhood and the little country church decided to reach out to the family. When they arrived at the doorstep the members of the church were surprised to find that the family had 12 kids and were for the most part poor. They invited the family to services and said goodbye. Later that week the church responded to their need. They delivered a package to the family and said, "We want you to know that you and your entire family are welcome at our church anytime. We have bought you these gifts and we want you to feel comfortable and at ease in our congregation. We hope you can use these," and they left. The family opened the package to find 14 suits of clothing, beautiful clothes for every member of the family. Sunday came and the congregation waited for the family, and they waited. The family never showed. Wondering what could have possibly happened, after lunch the members of the church returned to the home and found the family just getting back, all dressed in their new clothes. ”We don’t mean to be nosey but we would like to know what happened. We had hoped to see you this morning in church,” the leader of the church inquired. The father spoke up. He said, “Well, we got up this morning intending to come. And we sure do appreciate your invitation. But after we showered, shaved, and dressed, why we looked so proper we went to the Episcopal Church.” That's a funny way of talking about a serious problem. Invitations are sent to many to come to church but so few people respond. It's frustrating. Many of you have reached out to neighbors or friends and asked them to come to church and you know all too well the disappointment, how few respond. Maybe that is why we find this morning’s parable so familiar… All Night Long . . . Some years ago, a friend of mine from church pulled me out into the parking lot to listen to a tape in her car. Darlene Malmo wanted me to hear her favorite Lionel Ritchie song. There was this song about life being like a party, “all night long.” She said, “I am going to party all night long with God.” That is what being a Christian is. Some Christian say that it is not right to have such a mood of happiness and joy. Especially when there is so much starvation. When there is so much hunger. When there is so much suffering in the world, it is not right to be happy. But that is not true. I think of the hymn, “This Is My Father’s World” and the great words to that hymn. “This is my father’s world, o let me ne’ver forget. That though the wrong be oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father’s world, o let my heart by glad, for the Lord is king, let the heavens ring. God reigns, let the earth be glad.” Yes, in this world there is so much suffering and so much starvation, but it is also a banquet. Joy, in the middle of suffering, is at the core of being a Christian. Edward F. Markquart, Excuses to Avoid a Wedding Humor: No, I’m Just Seasick The writer Bill Henderson recalls meeting a man aboard a cruise ship who claimed to be an expert in guessing professions. "See that man over there," he said. "He is a physician." Bill checked and sure enough that was right. "How could you tell?" he asked the man. "Well," he said, "I saw the caring lines on his forehead and could tell he was a person of great compassion." Bill Henderson pointed to someone else and said, "What about him? What does he do?" "That's a lawyer," the expert said. Bill checked and sure enough, he was. The expert explained that the man had a scholarly look and was somewhat formal, indicating an attorney. Then Bill pointed to another man. The expert studied him and said, "That's a preacher." Bill approached the man and asked, "Are you a preacher?" "No," said the man. "I'm just seasick; that's the reason I look so sad." How strange that many Christians have a long-faced reputation. Jesus could not have been that way; if he had been, children would not have clung to him so readily. Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com Our Hope, Our Terror Several summers ago I spent three days on a barrier island where loggerhead turtles were laying their eggs. One night while the tide was out, I watched a huge female heave herself up on the beach to dig her nest and empty her eggs into it. Afraid of disturbing her, I left before she had finished. The next morning I returned to see if I could find the spot where her eggs lay hidden in the sand. What I found were her tracks leading in the wrong direction. Instead of heading back out to sea, she had wandered into the dunes, which were already as hot as asphalt in the morning sun. A little ways inland I found her: Exhausted, all but baked, her head and flippers caked with dried sand. After pouring water on her and covering her with sea oats, I fetched a park ranger who returned with a jeep to rescue her. He flipped her on her back, wrapped tire chains around her front legs, and hooked the chains to a trailer hitch on his jeep. Then I watched horrified as he took off, yanking her body forward so that her mouth filled with sand and her neck bent so far back I thought it would break. The ranger hauled her over the dunes and down onto the beach. At the ocean's edge, he unhooked her and turned her right side up. She lay motionless in the surf as the water lapped at her body, washing the sand from her eyes and making her skin shine again. A wave broke over her; she lifted her head slightly, moving her back legs. Other waves brought her further back to life until one of them made her light enough to find a foothold and push off, back into the ocean. Watching her swim slowly away and remembering her nightmare ride through the dunes, I reflected that it is sometimes hard to tell whether you are being killed or saved by the hands that turn your life upside down. Our hope, through all our own terrors, is that we are being saved. But this does not mean we lie down before the terrors. For as long as we have strength to fight, it is both our nature and our privilege to do so. Sometimes God's blessing does not come until daybreak, after a full night of emptying ourselves and wandering in the wrong direction. Our job is to struggle with the terrors, neither surrendering nor stealing away until they have yielded their blessings. Barbara Brown Taylor, The Other Side – Tales of Terror, Times of Wonder There was a doctor who received a call late at night to come to the hospital. Someone was near death and needed a physician's attention or death was certain. The hospital was 30 miles away in another town. The doctor dressed and took off in his car. At a stoplight a man jumped into his car, pulled a gun, and told the doctor to get out. "I need your car. Get out," was all he said. The doctor got out and had to find another way to get to the hospital. When he finally arrived the nurse met him and told him the woman just died. "You are too late, Doctor. But would you go and say a word to the husband. He is weeping uncontrollably in the family lounge." When the doctor entered the lounge he found the husband in a corner. To his great surprise he discovered that the husband was the very man who pulled the gun on him because he needed his car. Sometimes we push out of our lives the very thing that can help us. It might be the church, it might be the Bible, Christian friends, a nudge to make a clear commitment. It might be taking the step of accepting the invitation to the marriage feast. George S. Johnson, Critical Decisions in Following Jesus, CSS Publishing Company _______________________________ Everyone Is Invited The writer Drew Duke recalled from her childhood her second grade Valentine's Day party. Several days earlier a big decorated box had been placed at the front of the room by the teacher. It had a slit in the top. Each student had been invited to bring valentines addressed to friends and to drop them into the box. Then on Valentine's Day, one student was designated by the teacher as the postman to distribute the cards. Earlier that week Drew's mother had bought a package of 35 valentine cards. Drew asked her, "Why did you buy so many?" She replied, "So you can give one to each person in your class." "No ma'am," Drew said, "We don't do it that way. We only give cards to our special friends. I only need four cards. I don't even like some of the people in my class." Her mother said nothing else. Drew signed four cards and put the names on the front. Everybody was excited when the Valentine's Party began. The girl designated as postman began calling the names and handing out the cards. Some very popular children got bunches of cards. Drew heard her name called quite often and was having a wonderful time. But then she became aware that the little girl sitting in front of her had received no cards. Her head was drooping lower and lower. Then suddenly the postman called this little girl's name and delivered to her one valentine. Her face lit up like morning sunshine. She tore open that valentine, hurrying to see who had cared enough to send it. Drew looked over her shoulder and saw that it was signed "Your secret admirer." The little girl smiled and glanced around the room, wondering who it could be. "But", said Drew, "I knew who it was but I didn't tell. I recognized my mother's handwriting." Her mother had obtained a class roster and had sent a card to every child in the class. Drew learned from her mother what her mother learned from God: that God's love reaches even the unlovely, and everybody is invited to God's party! Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com Time for God’s Banquet Our first priority is God. If you are too busy to heed God's voice then you are too busy. If you are too busy to perform some service in His kingdom, then you are too busy. We must not forget that there will come a time when our relationship with Him will be the only priority that will matter. In the famous French story, The Little Prince, the dearest friend the main character makes on the fictitious planet to which he has been banished is a fox. When the fox must leave the little prince forever, he offers to tell him the most wonderful secret in the world if the prince meets certain conditions. When the little prince has met all the conditions, he asks to be told the greatest secret. The fox replies, "Only that which is invisible is essential." Think about that for a moment. It is true. "Only that which is invisible is essential." In A Journey with the Saints, Thomas S. Kepler has written: "The secret of the revolution in the lives of the saints lies in the fact that their lives are centered in God. They never seem hurried, they have a large leisure, they trouble little about their influence; they refer the smallest things to God. They live in God." That is the great secret to successful living the realization that when one reserves time to come to God's banquet, all of the rest of life will fall in place. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, Sermons.com _______________________________ What Do We Want to Tell the Children? The parable of the Wedding Banquet teaches us that we must be prepared and that character (both these symbolized by the proper clothes or lack thereof) is important in the Kingdom of God. But that does not mean that the party, the wedding banquet) is not meant to be a party. The kingdom of God is a great and exciting event. But what do we teach our children about this Kingdom? Do we teach them that the party will be bore. In a poetic parody of "serious" instructions to children, Ann Weems writes, "What do we want to tell the children? Jesus Christ says, comb your hair. And what do we tell the children? Jesus Christ says, sit on your chair. And what do we tell the children? Jesus Christ says, be polite. And what do we tell the children? Jesus Christ says, do everything right! Jesus says, please sit down Jesus says, do not frown. Jesus says, don’t cry if you’re hurt. Jesus says, don’t play in the dirt. Jesus says, don’t have any fun! And what do we want to tell the children? We want to tell them shhhhh!" From Ann Weems’ Reaching for Rainbows Thankful for God’s Gifts Jenny Lind always spent a few minutes alone in her dressing room before a concert. Her maid, who locked the door and stood guard, has told what happened in those last moments of preparation. Miss Lind would stand in the middle of the floor, her shoulders back, and her head up, draw a deep breath, strike a clear, vibrant note, and hold it as long as her breath lasted. When the overtones had all died away, she would look up and say: "Master, who has given me this undeserved gift, let me ring true tonight." When we realize what a gift this invitation to God's kingdom is to us, we too will try our best to ring true. We have been invited to a grand feast of worship today, and as we come, our lives ought to be changed. If we come prepared to worship, ready for prayer, conscious of our sins, then worship will be worship indeed. Jerry L. Schmalenberger, When Christians Quarrel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.