Even the Winds Obey Him

June 23, 2024 Mark 4:35-41 Even the Winds Obey Him 5th Sunday After Pentecost Year B Greeting Land Acknowledgment Call to Worship (Listen in a state of silent prayer) (Do not print the prayer) We begin in silence, listening. Listen to your breath. Listen to the wind. We are connected through the breath of God. Take deep, grateful breaths, with an awareness that the presence of God is often described as the ruach—the wind, the breath. Your own breath is dependent on the breath of the tree. Slowly allow yourself to relax into this welcoming place. You belong here with this oak tree and the stones and the flies and scrub jays and poison oak. Listen for the water, arteries of life flowing throughout the planet mirroring the arteries of blood flowing through your own body. You are a welcome part of this ecosystem. They welcome us because they have not forgotten that we are related, that we come from the same dust and return to the same dust. Take another deep breath of gratitude to acknowledge that our lives are fully dependent on the healthy functioning of this particular bio-system. Victoria Loorz, Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred (Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2021), p. 221. An Invocation in nature ( Print if you are able) We gather together in this wild cathedral where there are no walls or windows to separate us from the land on which trees breathe and plants transform the sunlight where the spirited elements dance and desire, tousle our hair and play on our skin, where everlasting cycles of birth and death, and birth again, are engraved in the seasons’ turnings. With abundant gratitude and openness, quieted hearts and wandering souls, we pay attention as our senses reveal their ancient knowing, and call this sacred. Mary Abma, Wild Edge Offerings, leader of Sarnia Wild Church, maryabma.com. Used with permission. Song Morning Has Broken UMH 145 Sermon for all Ages Have you ever been outside and looked up into the night sky at the stars? Have you ever been on an ocean beach and looked out beyond the waves? It seems that the stars or the waves go on forever, doesn’t it? The stars and ocean waves are so much bigger than we can imagine. This psalm assures us that even though we might seem small, God loves us and has given us very important work to do. God shows us the beautiful creation, full of birds in the sky, fish in the water, and other animals as well. God entrusts each of us to love and care for all of God’s creation. Entrust means that we give care for something else. It means that we are in charge of something. God trusts us to take care of the earth and every living creature on the earth. God's creation is too important to be left to the care of strangers or those who do not worship God. Followers of Jesus are God's hands and feet on the earth! Read Psalm 8:3-6. Questions to ask: • "How do you feel when you think about everything God created and realize that people are God's most special creation?" • "I wonder about God's entrusting care to those who follow Jesus.” • “How do you feel knowing God placed us in charge of caring for the earth and all living creatures?” • “How can you care for God’s creation?” One way we can understand how God entrusts us to care for creation is to plant and grow something. (Provide each child with a seed that over time will sprout and grow based on the child taking care of it. Remind the children that it might take time for the seed to sprout. You could find a location on the church property and collectively nurture and care for the plants.) Encourage children to think of one way that they could become more involved in caring for God's creation. Perhaps the children would want to begin a recycling project or plant a garden. Suggestions might include: • Volunteering at the local humane society. • Beginning a recycling pick up in the neighborhood. • Adopting a stretch of highway as a family and regularly picking up the litter. • Helping other members of congregation to build a home through Habitat for Humanity. Prayer: Maker of ALL things, thank you for creating me and caring for me. Thank you for trusting me enough to give me the important work of caring for ALL creation. Show me something that I can do to make a difference. Help me to take care of your beautiful world. Amen. Questions for family discussion: • Why do some people take care of God's earth while others do not care for it? • How can we help Christians understand that God trusts them to care for all creation? • What are some ways children can make a difference in caring for God's creation? • What is one thing you would like to begin doing to care for God's earth? (United Methodist Board of Discipleship, Kevin Johnson) Profession of Faith We believe in God, who creates all things, who embraces all things, who celebrates all things, who is present in every part of the fabric of creation. We believe in God as the source of all life, who baptizes this planet with living water. We believe in Jesus Christ, the suffering one, the poor one, the malnourished one, the climate refugee, who loves and cares for this world and who suffers with it. And we believe in Jesus Christ, the seed of life, who came to reconcile and renew this world and everything in it. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, who moves with God and who moves among and with us today. We believe in everlasting life in God. And we believe in the hope that one day God will put an end to death and all destructive forces. (Gurukul Theological college, India / adapted by Keld B. Hansen 2009) Sharing of the Peace If we are in Christ, we are becoming a new creation. We see God around us. We see God within us. We give thanks to our Creator. Let us show the caring nature you have instilled within us by greeting each other as a sign of God’s justice of peace, love, forgiveness and grace. The peace of our Creator be with you in all things. And also with you. You are invited to care and share peace with your neighbor, and speak a word of peace to the land in which you gather, and the creatures who share this common home. (adapted from Celebrating Creation: Honoring Indigenous People, Kelly Sherman-Conroy, ELCA) Scripture Mark 4:35-41 Sermon Even the Winds Obey Him I think all of us understand the meaning of stress and anxiety. We live in a stressful world. Everyday it seems for me at least, that life gets harder and harder. The rules change, situations change, we are all getting older, and then when you listen to the news, it doesn’t help – because it is filled with more people who are dealing with stress and anxiety. Sometimes even the church is a source of stress and anxiety. There are still many things going on that we have no control over. In the midst of all of the stress and anxiety, God is constantly calling us to move forward. It is like being on the shores of a river, and God is calling us to get in the boat and row to the other side. The side that we are on is home, it is familiar we understand what is happening, and at any given moment, God calls us to go to the other side into new territory that we don’t know and we don’t understand. And yet God has given us work to do. Crossing Over The story is told of old Bishop Warren Chandler, after whom the school of theology at Emory University was named. As he lay on his death bed, a friend inquired as to whether or not he was afraid. "Please tell me frankly," he said, "do you fear crossing over the river of death?" "Why," replied Chandler, "I belong to a father who owns the land on both sides of the river." In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. That is our great salvation hope. I want you to know that God cares if you are immobilized by some fear in your life. He cares because that fear is intruding upon His destiny for you. It is perfect love that casts out fear. At the foot of the cross you can lean back into the arms of an ever loving and gracious God and echo the words of the old hymn: "God will take care of you, He will take care of you." Staff, www.eSermons.com God is on either side for those of us who are on this side of life. But we also know that on anygiven moment, in moving from here to there,that storms can arise. You can’t prove that by the weather lately – but the storms of life always come and they always cause anxiety. Sermon Opener – Calming of the Tempest- Mark 4:35-41 Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called "Ninety-Three." It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that it could cause the ship to sink, two brave sailors volunteered to make the dangerous attempt to retie the loose cannon. They knew the danger of a shipwreck from the cannon was greater than the fury of the storm. That is like human life. Storms of life may blow about us, but it is not these exterior storms that pose the gravest danger. It is the terrible corruption that can exist within us which can overwhelm us. The furious storm outside may be overwhelming but what is going on inside can pose the greater threat to our lives. Our only hope lies in conquering that wild enemy. Unfortunately storms that rage within us cannot be cured by ourselves. It takes the power of God's love, as revealed in Jesus Christ. He is our only hope of stilling the tempest that can harm our souls and cripple our lives. That’s what the disciples learned this day on the Sea of Galilee. They thought the danger lie outside the boat. They would soon learn the real danger lie within the boat, within their own hearts. In a word, they lacked faith. And without faith their lives were at risk to the storms which would inevitably come. And come they did and come they will. So what can we learn from this boat ride in the storm? 1. Storms Come Suddenly. 2. Storms Can Make You Lose Direction. 3. Our Fear of the Storm Has the Power to Paralyze. ________________________ Perhaps that is why a body of water in the bible always represents chaos and confusion. The Hebrew people of the old testament were always weary of water – water was the place where the sea monster lived, and he could appear any time to cause chaos – that was his name – chaos. Water represented unknown territory. That liminal place – there are alot of stories about water in the bible – such as Jonah and the whale. There are a lot of stories in the bible about Jesus in the water, and stories about how Jesus calms the sea. The disciples exclaim that even the wind and the waves obey him. Jesus has a way of calming and clearing up the chaos and confusion. And helping people in the water and the storm find peace. So now we are at the end of chapter 4 in Mark. And so far in the first four chapters, Mark has been showing us the gifts of Jesus. Jesus casts our demons, he teaches, and now we get to the part where Jesus performs miracles. The story of Jesus on the sea of Galilee is a popular story in the gospels, I have preached on it before. This story is in Matthew and Luke. And actually there are two stories in Mark about Jesus calming the sea for the disciples. The next story of Jesus walking on water is in chapter 6 Here in chapter 4, Jesus has been teaching and tells the disciples that it is time to go to the other side. To make that stressful journey from here to there. And sure enough, it happens every time – a storm comes up. Jesus always sleeps through the storm and everyone else starts to freak out. Jesus is supposed to be the savior, the one who can calm the storm and they have to wake Jesus up. And ask him to save them (what is that all about). Jesus wakes up, calms the sea and reminds that that they should just have a little faith. Holding on the faith is a hard thing to do when you are in the midst of a storm. In The Direct Path On May 31, 1985, a tornado system touched down in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania. The wind whipped at 250 miles-per-hour, tossing trees like matchsticks, throwing automobiles into the air, and killing fifteen people in two counties. What should have been a Friday afternoon of relaxation turned into a weekend of horror. The little town of Cooperstown, Pennsylvania, was in the direct path of a twister. A retired woman by the name of Isabella Stewart watched nervously as the low, black clouds blew in. The wind blew furiously. Suddenly a string of oak trees began to topple like dominos. The woman went for her car keys, but the wind was too wild to go outside. In a sheer act of panic, Mrs. Stewart reached for the only tangible means of comfort and order. She grabbed her purse. Then she sat in a chair and waited for the worst to happen. Fortunately she did not lose her life, although her dog and cat were never seen again. The brief storm was devastating in a region that was already under economic distress. Over ten years later, Mrs. Stewart says, "Whenever I see a black storm cloud coming, I fall apart inside. You can't know quite how that feels unless you have been through it yourself." William G. Carter, Water Won’t Quench the Fire, CSS Publishing Company. Mark tells this story to us about Jesus in the sea, to remind us that when we are going through the storms of life, that we should always look for Jesus to be in the storm with us. And where we are able to find Jesus, we are able to find peace. Holding Our Hand I Have Seen the Face of the Captain Robert Louis Stevenson delighted in the story of a ship tossed in a storm. The sea was rough and the rocky coast perilous. Danger was real and dread expectancy active among the seamen. One frantic sailor who was laboring below the water line could contain himself no longer. He rushed to the control room, closed the door behind himself, and stood frozen in fright watching the captain wrestle with the controls of the huge ship. Skill of mind and strength of hand enabled the captain to guide the vessel through the threatening rocks into open water. The Captain turned slightly, looked at the frightened sailor, and smiled. The youth returned below deck and assured the crew all danger was over. When they inquired how he knew, he answered, "I have seen the face of the Captain, and he smiled at me." If you will only "turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." When you know who is in control there is no fear. Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com Life is stressful, the storms of life are always sources of chaos and anxiety. In the midst of it – what are some ways they you are able to seek Jesus. If you can find Jesus, then you can find peace. Dr. Tony Campolo of Eastern College once told a delightful story concerning his friend's daughter. This girl had an incredible outlook on life. Tony tells: A friend of mine has an adorable four-year-old daughter. She is bright and talkative. If tryouts were being held for a modern-day Shirley Temple, I think she would win hands down. One night there was a violent thunderstorm. The lightning flashed and the thunder rumbled. It was one of those terrifying storms that forces everyone to stop and tremble a bit. My friend ran upstairs to his daughter''s room to assure her that everything would be all right. He got to her room and found her standing on the window sill spread-eagled against the glass. He shouted, "What are you doing?" She turned away from the flashing lightning and happily reported, "I think God is trying to take my picture!" Well none of us are that trusting in life anymore. There is nothing wrong with a little fear and anxiety in life. It is normal and can even protect us sometimes. The problem is that we can’t let it consume us. Fear and anxiety have a way of bullying us into complacency. Fear and anxiety have a way of compressing our faith. It stops us from taking that journey of life, because we don’t want to deal with the storms. It was Jesus who encouraged the disciples to go on the journey. Jesus was with them, and it was Jesus who calmed the storm. Jesus is with us today as we go through the storms of life – we just have to be intentional in looking for him in every situation. How do we find him so that we can find peace. While I was preparing for this service, I learned that there is a trend all over the world – of having church outside. There is forest church, and nature church, and outside church. There is all kinds of liturgy that encourages us to come outside and find God in nature. We do this once a year, but it is a chance for us to listen to the voice of God After the service, there is one more part of the service, there I encourage everyone to take a moment to be still and take in the beauty of God. To find the face of God in the scenery of the trees. To listen to the voice of God in the sounds of nature. To find the peace of God in the stillness before we have to go back into the stress and anxiety of the world. Our scripture ends by saying He got up and gave orders to the wind and he said to the lake Silence be still. The wind settled down and there was a great calm. Jesus asked why are you frightened. Don’t you have faith yet? Overcome with awe, they said to each other, who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him? If the wind and the sea obey him, ( and he has spoken to the weather a lot lately) then so can our spirits and our heart. In the midst of the storm, look for Jesus and find peace. Amen. Song For the Beauty of the Earth A Litany for the Planet (after each prayer please say Creator Have Mercy)( Don’t Print) With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Creator, saying, “Creator, have mercy.” On your earth, the garden of life, Creator, have mercy. On soil, that it may be fruitful in all seasons, Creator, have mercy. On your waters, which sustain a diverse community of life, Creator, have mercy. On the atmosphere of your planet earth, that it may sustain all that breathes, Creator, have mercy. On winds that carry seeds and spores; on breezes that warm and cool the earth, Creator, have mercy. On all the ecosystems of your earth and their intricate communities, Creator, have mercy. On forests of many kinds; on trees and shrubs and vines, Creator, have mercy. On grasslands, tundras, and plains, and on their varied plants, Creator, have mercy. For a city, town, or village On all who live and work and play in this city and this neighborhood, Creator, have mercy. On those who work around us, whose labor builds up our community and our world; on and [local work examples], Creator, have mercy. On the businesses and industries of this city, that they may profit the whole community; on and [local examples], Creator, have mercy. On the parks and green spaces of this city; on those who maintain them and those who enjoy them, Creator, have mercy. On the plants and animals of our ecosystem; on and ____ [local examples], Creator, have mercy. On those who produce food and energy for this city’s people and pets, Creator, have mercy. On schools and all places of learning; on all who care for and teach children and adults, Creator, have mercy. On the poor and homeless residents of this city, that there may be shelter and sustenance for them, Creator, have mercy. On visitors and immigrants; on all who offer welcome and shelter here, Creator, have mercy. On all places of reverence and prayer; on all who honor you and on those who do not yet know you, Creator, have mercy. On our ancestors, and on those who will come after us, Creator, have mercy. (The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering As evident through all of creation, God has given freely given to us. Let us continue to worship through the giving of our tithes and our offerings. Prayer of Thanksgiving God we know that you aren’t in need of anything we have to offer. However you desire for us to serve you in every aspect of our life. We pray that this offering was not a meaningless ritual but a true act of worship. Bless these tithes and offerings and guide us as we seek to use them to serve you in all of creation. Amen. ( Drew Gray) Announcements Charge and Benediction God send us out as a people that seek to honor you in all that we do, a people who look for you in creation, and a people who take care of that creation. Amen. (Drew Gray)

A Good Image of God's Kingdom

Father’s Day June 16, 2024 Mark 4:26-34 4th Sunday of Pentecost Year B A Good Image of God’s Kingdom Prelude Greeting Call to Worship One: Our relationships with our fathers are complicated. Many: For some of us, our father's love is like God's love -- too deep, too long, too wide, too strong to measure. One: Some of our dads are here; some were never here. Many: For some of us, God's love fills in the empty spaces our fathers left behind. One: All of us are shaped by the relationship or lack of relationship with our fathers. All: On this day when we remember what it means to have a father or be a father, we recognize the importance of fathers in our communities. We pledge as a congregation to love and nurture the fathers among us so that they will manifest the love of God in all that they do. ( United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, LaGretta Bjorn) Opening Prayer Mighty Lord, Today we lift our voices to praise you, for our pride is not in wealth or weapons, but our pride is in your name! Like the Hebrews of old, we ask you to answer us. Help us find victory over the challenges which surround us. Grant us confidence in your presence among us both here and in all the places we go this week. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song This is a Day of New Beginnings A Sermon for all Ages Have an apple, extra apple seeds, a knife, and a cutting board prepared in advance. Once the children are gathered around, ask them to describe the apple (e.g., taste, shape, colour, texture, smell). As you cut the apple open while separating out the seeds, ask them what you can make apples into (e.g., pies, applesauce, apple crumble). Talk about how those things are different from the original apple—they are transformed. Then give them each an apple seed to dissect once they get home to discover what is inside. (You might wish to provide a small envelope or bag for transporting the seed.) Invite them to discuss with their family the wonder of God’s design that the seed transforms into an apple tree big enough to climb and produces apples for us to eat. (Gord Dunbar, United Church of Canada) 1. What’s the best activity that you do/or have done with your Dad? 2. What do you think is your Dad’s best talent? 3. If you could give your Dad any gift in the world (no cost of course) what would it be? 4. What’s the most important thing that your Dad has taught you? Prayer for Transformation and New Life: Pastoral Leader: As we gather in worship, let us take this moment to consider our needs for transformation and forgiveness. I invite you to quietly reflect on our need for grace. (Allow a short moment of silence.) People: Dear God, the creator of all things based on love. You created us in your image of love and there have been times we have fallen short of that love, not only to you but to each other and all of creation. I ask for your forgiveness and from you, present today, my siblings, sisters and brothers in Christ. I thank you for the comforting strength and compassion of the Holy Spirit to do better in bringing love and grace and all I do. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. Words of Grace Pastoral Leader: Scripture tells us that we have been shown the way to reconciliation by the Christ which is within us whenever we turn to God for guidance and strength to transform our lives for a better kindom here on earth. Know the peace of the Divine grace that is always there for you in the name of Jesus. Amen. (United Church of Christ, Roberto Ochoa) Passing of the Peace God calls us in surprising ways, inviting us into a new creation. Share the good news with one another: The peace of Christ is with you. The peace of Christ is with you. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Peter Bankson) Scripture Mark 4:26-34 Sermon A Good Image of God Mortals Only See the Beginning All their lives the two young brothers had lived in the city behind great stone walls and never saw field nor meadow. But one day they decided to pay a visit to the country. As they went walking along the road they saw a farmer at his plowing. They watched him and were puzzled. "What on earth is he doing that for!" they wondered. "He turns up the earth and leaves deep furrows in it. Why should someone take a smooth piece of land covered with nice green grass and dig it up?" Later they watched the farmer sowing grains of wheat along the furrows. "That man must be crazy!" they exclaimed. "He takes good wheat and throws it into the dirt." "I don't like the country!" said one in disgust. "Only crazy people live here." So he returned to the city. His brother who remained in the country saw a change take place only several weeks later. The plowed field began to sprout tender green shoots, even more beautiful and fresher than before. This discovery excited him very much. So he wrote to his brother in the city to come at once and see for himself the wonderful change. His brother came and was delighted with what he saw. As time passed they watched the sproutings grow into golden heads of wheat. Now they both understood the purpose of the farmer's work. When the wheat became ripe the farmer brought his scythe and began to cut it down. At this the impatient one of the two brothers exclaimed: "The farmer is crazy! He's insane! How hard he worked all these months to produce this lovely wheat, and now with his own hands he is cutting it down! I'm disgusted with such an idiot and I'm going back to the city!" His brother, the patient one, held his peace and remained in the country. He watched the farmer gather the wheat into his granary. He saw him skillfully separate the grain from the chaff. He was filled with wonder when he found that the farmer had harvested a hundred-fold of the seed that he had sowed. Then he understood that there was logic in everything that the farmer had done. The moral of the story: Mortals see only the beginning of any of God's works. Therefore they cannot understand the nature and the end of creation. Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes, quoting from A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs of the Jewish People, Edited by Nathan Ausubel Copyright, 1948, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York We only see the obvious things about life, But God is able to see the bigger picture. We know what happens when you plant seeds, but the mystery of God’s kingdom and our place in it, not so much. That is why Jesus uses parables, or metaphors from every day life to help us to get a bigger picture. Mark 4 is the sharing of parables that help us to understand spiritual growth. Ordinary Objects To what ordinary object would Jesus compare the reign of God today — an object that we would recognize without having to have two minutes worth of explanation before we understand? How about these: The reign of God is like a tiny pebble. It doesn't look like much, but it can bring the strongest man to a stop if it's in his shoe. The reign of God is like a wasp. A wasp is a tiny insect that can be crushed with a fist. You wouldn't think that it's very strong. But introduce one into a crowded room and see how disruptive it can be! The reign of God is like a grain of sand. It can be so small that you can hardly see it. It's entirely insignificant, unless it gets in your eye. Traditional Illustration, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. Two other metaphors that I want to focus on today to help us think about what it means to grow spiritually are seeds and people. In Mark 4 Jesus uses the metaphor of seeds in 4 different stories. Sermon Opener – The Kingdom and the Seed - Mark 4:26-34 Most of us have planted a garden or lived on or near a farm. In my case, I grew up in Chicago where they have to put cows in zoos because so many city people are shielded from agricultural life and would never otherwise get to see one. But for eleven years I served as the pastor of a church in the agriculturally-oriented community of Davenport, Iowa. Davenport is located in Scott County which is Mississippi River land. It is reported to be some of the richest soil in the world. I learned a lot about farming while living there. I learned about soil and seeds. I learned about the need for cooperation and balance between the various parts of nature - the sun, the soil, and the rain. Having returned recently from a trip to Iowa, I was very mindful of the soil. As we drove along the highway we saw some fields which were completely washed away, others that were too dry. For all farmers, life is intricately linked to the soil. Having some agricultural background is helpful when it comes to looking at the three parables of the soils and the kingdom in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. The first such parable is called the Parable of the Sower (4:4-20). There are four different kinds of soil, Jesus said, • hard soil (a path); • rocky ground; • thorny ground; and • good soil. People, Jesus said, are like those four kinds of soil. The Word of God is the seed which falls into four different kinds of soil. The second parable in the fourth chapter of Mark is the parable of the harvest (4:26-29). The seed grows as the farmer goes about his work day by day. The day comes when the grain is ripe. Then comes the harvest. We must live with a knowledge that for each of us there will be a harvest day, a time of death, and a time of astounding change. Who would guess the wonders of heaven having seen the original seed of life? The third parable about soil is the parable of the mustard seed (4:30-32). The Kingdom of God, like the mustard seed, starts small, but grows into a large shrub with many branches. These parables of the soil are designed to take the familiar and use it to show something new. New perspectives are thus encouraged. New Kingdom participation is encouraged... Here in Illinois, we may not know a lot about mustard seeds, but we do know corn. A Seed for the Whole World In the Midwest, they plant more corn than mustard seed. One variety of corn is called Golden Bantam. Apparently, all the Golden Bantam corn in this country came from one stalk discovered on a Vermont hillside. How it got there is anybody's guess. But appreciating its special qualities, the person who discovered it carefully preserved its seed and planted it year after year. Now it is available to the whole world. That's how the kingdom of God works. Kristin Borsgard Wee, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (First Third): Do You Love Me?, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. What seeds in life have you planted lately? Not all seeds that we plant go into the ground. Everything that we do in life today is a seed planted for the future. We don’t always know the consequences of what we do, but whenever we do a positive act it makes a difference. When you do plant seeds in the ground, you have no control over the growth. When Paul talks about faith he says the he planted, another person watered and God gave the increase. Martin Luther said the whenever he preached a sermon, he would give it his all, and then go home drink a beer and let it settle in the minds of other people. What seeds of faith are you planting in the world? The second important metaphor for growth is people. It is said that Queen Victoria was fascinated by the brilliance of the scholars who made up England’s Royal Society. On one occasion she whispered to Prime Minister John Bright, “Where do all these learned men come from?” Bright replied, “From babies, your Majesty, from babies.” Every time a baby is born into the world a potential mustard seed of greatness is planted. It’s like a small church in rural Kentucky which over the years has produced several outstanding clergy. While interviewing a new slate of pastoral candidates, a member of the search committee mentioned the former pastors from that small church who had gone on to serve in prominent church positions one as president of a seminary and pastor of a large city church, another also as a seminary president, and a third as president of two denominational conventions and an international alliance. “How in the world did you find that many potentially great men in this little church?” the astonished candidate asked. “Find them!” said the committee member. “We didn’t find them. We made them!” (3) Growth Is in Our Reach A third-grader taught the teacher an important truth: The teacher asked, "How many great people were born in our city?" "None," replied the pupil. "There were no great people born. They were born babies who became great people." Greatness may not be within the reach of every one of us, but growth is. We are each capable of being a more mature person today than we were yesterday, and tomorrow can find us further along than we are today. And when we forget this vital truth, we lose sight of the essential meaning of life and the sources of its deepest fulfillment. If a seed in its dark, restless journey underground is not content until it breaks through the mountain of soil and strains ever higher toward the sunlight, will we human beings be content to have our faith remain simply a seed full of potential? Merritt W. Ednie, God’s Program In Process The job of planting seeds in the lives of others is the responsibility of us all. It has been said that the responsibility of all communities is to raise the children to become great. The bible says that directive comes to us straight from God. Don't Eat the Forbidden Fruit Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence didn't extend to God's kids. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was: "Don't." "Don't what?" Adam replied "Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said. "Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit? Hey Eve! We got forbidden fruit!" "No way!" "Yes way!" "DON'T EAT THAT FRUIT!" Said God. "Why?" "Because I am your Father and I said so!" said God, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making elephants. A few minutes later God saw his kids having an apple break and was angry. Didn't I tell you not to the fruit?" the First Parent asked. "Uh huh," Adam replied. "Then why did you?" "I dunno," Eve answered. "She started it!" Adam said. "Did not!" "Did too!" "Did NOT!" Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus, the pattern was set and it has never been changed. Morgan Murray ______________________________ It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said “The true test of a society is how it cares for its children.” Taken to its logical extension, it means that we cannot just be proud that OUR kids received a great education when other children receive a poor education. We cannot be satisfied that our children get fully nutritious meals when some children go to be hungry at night. We can be proud that our child has a spacious bedroom, but shouldn’t we also be concerned that 4400 children are homeless in our state alone? In our lesson from Mark, Jesus is describing the kingdom of God: "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how . . ." Now Jesus is not talking about fatherhood in this passage, but isn't this the very first area in which we participate in the coming of God's kingdom to earth? It is in the raising of our children. Raising good children is like scattering seed upon the ground…. Today as we honor the fathers in our lives, we should point out that our most endearing metaphor for god is life a father. Jesus called God abba, or daddy. Jesus looked to God for constanat advice about what to say to the people. Later today when we pray the prayer the Jesus taught us to pray – we will pray our father. Is God Like Daddy? Think of a four-year-old coming home one Sunday after a lesson that taught about God as our Heavenly Father. Sound theology would quickly note that God is neither male nor female, but youngsters do not concern themselves with theological niceties. A four-year-old hears "Father;" the only father he knows anything about is the one that lives with him and says, "Pass the biscuits, please;" so he asks..."Is God like Daddy?" Wow! What a heavy load! But a good load to consider on Fathers' Day...and a good one to consider when we realize that what Daddy is can become a role model for our children's concept of God. David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, When you think of your father for father figure in your life. Let’s talk more about fathers and what they mean to us. • What are some words you’d use to describe your father? It’s true, of course, that some fathers weren’t so good, but think about someone you love who acted like a good father in your life, such as an uncle, grandfather, friend, a friend’s father, or an older brother. What was that person like? What qualities did he have? o strength, integrity, care, love, providing for family, discipline, power • What sorts of things did your father or father figure teach you? • What did your father do for work? Around your home? In your community? • Why do fathers sometimes say “no”? How can we pass the seeds that have been planted in us on to others? The message for us to remember to today: God gives us a glimpse of heaven in the people that we meet and to work that we do. When we plant seeds of faith, we don’t always know the process in which they grow, we don’t make them grow. But in life we partner with God, and when it comes time for the harvest, we celebrate with God for bringing new and exciting things into the world. God's Garden Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow All it takes is a rake and a hoe And a piece of fertile ground That's the way a wonderful children's song by David Mallet starts. It's entitled "Garden Song" and continues this way: Inch by inch, row by row Someone bless these seeds I sow Someone warm them from below 'Till the rain comes tumbling down. Grain for grain, sun and rain, Find my way in nature's chain Tune my body and my brain, To the music from the land. Plant your rows straight and long, Temper them with a prayer and song. Mother Earth will make you strong If you give her love and care. Those words from the chorus which say, "Inch by inch, row by row, Gonna make this garden grow." remind me of our text for today. Jesus made clear that the Kingdom of God grows the same way. He says, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head." Mickey Anders, God's Garden, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. Amen Song This is my Father’s World UMH 144 Pastoral Prayer Lord, in this season of growth, open our hearts to grow in your love. Help us to truly trust in your creative process in our lives. We look around and we see the beauty of your world, the blossoming flowers and plants, the growth of children, the joy of celebrations of graduation and marriage, of receiving new life, the honoring of Fathers. And we also see the sadness and sorrow that has invaded the world when systems of injustice and hatred lay claim to people’s lives. Prepare us, O Lord, to become ambassadors of peace and hope. Help us to place our trust in you, so that when we are serving others, they may come to know your abiding love and power. Give us courage and great joy as we serve you. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Mark’s Gospel includes many parables, including the ones in Mark 4, known as the parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:26-32). Even for people who are not farmers, we understand it takes planting before anything can be harvested. Today we have the opportunity of planting “seeds” as we receive our morning offering. Do you remember the old song “Bringing in the Sheaves”? The images are there: “sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness…we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves” What we share, what we SOW, becomes the means by which we come to a time of harvest after our ministries grow into maturity. We especially see this in our ____________________ (name a particular ministry, such as: ”support of our choir”, “food pantry outreach”, “funding our youth group’s activities and minister”. Or, on this Father’s Day, highlight the congregation’s support for families, the men’s organization, or your counseling for men). Let us joyfully share our offerings, and rejoice when we come to a time of “bringing in the sheaves”. Prayer of Thanksgiving Gracious God, we offer these gifts as symbols of all we yearn to harvest. May these checks, coins and on-line gifts come vital seeds which will grow into a bumper crop of good as we seek to partner with you in the coming of your Realm. AMEN ( Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Life is a mystery. We walk by faith. God calls us when we least expect it, inviting us to be in Christ. Walk out into the world, knowing that you are part of God’s life-giving new creation. Life is a mystery. We walk by faith. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Peter Bankson) Community Time ( Joys and Concerns) Acknowledgement of our Graduates Benediction Pastoral Leader: Dear friends, we have been nourished and renewed this day, go out and spread the seed of God’s kindom and love to all you encounter in the Divine name who created us, who redeems us, and who sustains us. Go in peace in Jesus’ name. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Roberto Ochoa) Additional Illustrations

Jesus Siblings

June 9, 2024 Mark 3:20-35 Jesus’ Siblings 3rd Sunday of Pentecost Year B Prelude Greeting Call to Worship Some of us come today with hearts weighed down with anxiety, fear, despair, and hurt. Together we cling to this truth: God’s steadfast love endures forever. Some of us come today with hearts that feel light with relief, joy, comfort, and gratitude. Together we cling to this truth: God’s steadfast love endures forever. Some of us come today not knowing what we think about God, confused and disappointed that the world God made is so full of evils of every kind. Together we cling to this truth: God’s steadfast love endures forever. Be with us, God, in all that we bring with us, as we gather to encounter your unchanging love. We come today to enter the dance of the Trinity who is immutable in love. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, February 2024. Opening Prayer Lord, we come this day, having seen the miracles of everyday creation in our world. We have enjoyed both the bright sunshine and the gentle rains. We have marveled over the beauty of flowers and the complexity of your creation. Make our hearts ready to receive your word for us, that we may go forth from this place ready to joyfully serve you all of our days. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Song Sing Praise to God who Reigns Above UMH 126 Sermon for all Ages By Lois Parker Edstrom Object suggested: Map of Africa. Picture of the hippo and tortoise: We can learn a lot from animals. This is a heart-warming story that I would like to share with you: A baby hippopotamus, named Owen, was swept down a river and into the ocean when a tsunami struck and then was tossed back to shore by waves and landed on the coast of Kenya in Africa. Wildlife workers rescued him and took him to a shelter where he was adopted by a one hundred year old tortoise that acted as his mother. (Show picture.) Don’t they look happy together? Baby hippos like to be with and play with their mothers until they are about four years old. These two, the hippo and the tortoise, although very different from each other, are fast friends that eat, sleep and swim together. The tortoise likes being a mother and Owen likes his new mother. The two of them formed a family. How wonderful! What we can learn from this story is that close family members may come in many forms. Not all of us are blessed with families that include a mother, father, brothers, and sisters. Families are made of people who love and care for each other. We find friends, in our church and elsewhere, who are loving and caring. They make good family members. Jesus says, “For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother” (3:35). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible Copyright 2011, Richard Niell Donovan Prayer for Transformation and New Life: Pastoral Leader: As we gather in worship, let us take this moment to consider our needs for transformation and forgiveness. I invite you to quietly reflect on our need for grace. (Allow a short moment of silence.) People: Dear God, the creator of all things based on love. You created us in your image of love and there have been times we have fallen short of that love, not only to you but to each other and all of creation. I ask for your forgiveness and from you, present today, my siblings, sisters and brothers in Christ. I thank you for the comforting strength and compassion of the Holy Spirit to do better in bringing love and grace and all I do. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Roberto Ochoa) Words of Grace (2 Corinthians 4:13) Pastoral Leader: “Just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture— “I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and therefore we also speak” in the affirming knowledge that when we turn to God with our shortcomings, we are renewed in God’s Love by the grace of Christ. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Roberto Ochoa) Scripture Mark 3:20-35 Sermon Jesus’ Siblings Sermon Opener – Looking a Little Bit Crazy - Mark 3:20-35 A photocopied sign was posted inside a church office. It was one of those humorous full-page slogans that people in different offices duplicate and pass among themselves. Most of us have seen this particular message, I suppose, but posted in a church office, the words took on a new meaning. There it was, taped to the cinder blocks behind a secretary's desk. The sign read, "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps." At one level, why not put a sign like that in a church? Many churches are busy, hectic, confusing places. There are worship services to plan, educational programs to run, choirs to rehearse, fellowship dinners to organize, and outreach efforts to facilitate. There is a lot going on, and things can get frantic. The running joke in one church I know is that the staff keeps saying, "Next week it's going to get quiet," but the quiet week never comes. The work load can become a little bit crazy. On a deeper level, there is a great deal of truth to that sign. There is something strange about the church. We are not just another club or civic organization. The church's view of reality is increasingly out of phase from a lot of prevailing views. In the church, we do and say things that do not always make sense to people outside of this house... The church is a very busy place, there is always a lot going on, on the surface and underneath the surface. When you come to church there are a lot of personalities to deal with. Sometimes you may not be the crazy one, but you have to be comfortable with other people being crazy. And if that is not enough, you definitely have to be a little crazy to be willing to follow Jesus. Our scripture today in Mark explains why – Jesus has gathered the disciples as a group and he is ready to start his ministry and spread his message to his people. He is just getting started, but by this time, he has gained notoriety – people are talking about his teaching, preaching and healing. On the one hand they are impressed with his enthusiasm. With the profound truth in his words, they even celebrate all of the miracles they have witnessed – the man being able to see after years of being blind, the woman who had an issue for years and it went away. And that time that he saved that woman who was going to be stoned for adultery, his argument about judging her made a little sense. But on the other hand, sometimes he just stretched things way too far. Sometimes he took the tradition way out of context. Sometimes he would take everything sacred, and just turn it on its head. For instance, he claimed to be the son of God, nobody is the son of God, we are all the son of man. They prided themselves on seeking revenge on anyone who wronged them – and here this man was telling them to learn to forgive. Everyone knew that we were supposed to give God ten percent, and here this man was saying to give more if that what it takes to get the job done. Everyone knows to love your neighbor, but this man was telling us to love your enemies. Everything that we had been taught, this man took it too far – he must be crazy. That is why they called his mother and his siblings to come get him – he must be crazy. Interesting fact, the book of Mark never mentions the fact that Jesus had an earthly father. That might have been part of the problem in a culture where a father’s job was to teach the children moral behavior. But nevertheless, Jesus family still does not understand his message. When I went to Israel, I remember so many people saying- we don’t hate Jesus, and we are not against Christianity. The problem is, nothing that Jesus says makes sense to us. A lot of what he says is such an affront to our culture and tradition. No self respecting Hebrew would come up with those ideas. Except Jesus was a Hebrew, and he did. And it got him into a lot of trouble. Outside of Himself As some commentators have pointed out, it appears that it was particularly Jesus’ engagement with the demonic that was causing Mary and Jesus’ brothers to arch their eyebrows the sharpest. It all seemed a little bizarre to them. In verse 21 they say literally that they had to get him on home because Jesus was exeste, a word meaning to stand outside of yourself. Even today we may refer to a person who is an emotional wreck as being “beside himself” with grief. The idea is that someone has taken leave of his senses (or his senses have taken leave of him) and so what remains for the time being is a person whose emotions are unchecked and unregulated. This is the family’s assessment of Jesus. Apparently all Jesus’ talk about invisible kingdoms of God and the casting out of demons led members of his own family to the conclusion that Jesus was seeing things that no one else could see and the reason was simple: he was out of his ever-loving mind! And it does appear that it was especially Jesus’ emphasis on the demonic that yielded this opinion because no sooner does Jesus’ family accuse him of being mad, and the religious leaders chime in with their own verdict. Because they limit their comments to the demonic, it’s a good bet that it was this aspect of Jesus’ ministry that was generating the most discussion. In the opinion of the scribes, Jesus was himself a devil. If Jesus seemed to have inside information as to the goings-on in the demonic realm, the explanation was simple and obvious: pulling a page from the old “it takes one to know one” playbook, the religious leaders lambaste Jesus as being himself a demon incognito. It was a ridiculous thing to say, and finally completely foolish, too. Why would the devil be shooting himself in the foot? What kind of military commander blows up his own tanks? No, if Jesus seems to be plundering the realm of the devil, it’s because he had already bound and gagged the devil himself and so now his lesser hosts were easy targets for Jesus. Jesus did his work not because he had the power of the devil but because he had already demonstrated power over the devil. Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations Have You Ever Tried to Discredit Someone? Isn’t there a tendency on our part to try to discredit the experience of others when we are intimidated by their experience? Think about it for a moment. Haven’t you ever felt threatened by a close friend, or even a family member, who moved to a new level of Christian commitment, and began to take his or her Christian discipleship more seriously? Maybe she began to talk more - to witness. You’ve not heard this sort of language before, not from a person like her, President of the Junior League or the Garden Club. She talks about “being born again” or about prayers being answered in such an explicit manner...and somehow, we feel threatened. Or, he decides he needs to deepen his involvement with Jesus, and so he goes to serve in the Salvation Army’s Soup Kitchen or to help build a home for a poor family. It's so out-of-character with this white-collar executive. He even talks about meeting Jesus in the poor whom he serves! And maybe he even begins to criticize the church for its self-serving attitude and low level of involvement in community issues - like homelessness, hunger, child abuse.... Both of them join a weekly prayer or Bible study group and they love to talk about how they see Jesus changing people's lives, and that’s just a bit much! That's taking this "Jesus thing" too far! You see, our religious neutrality, our middle of the road faith, is threatened “whenever someone we know well takes spiritual commitments seriously and refuses any longer to play hide-and—seek and touch-and-go with the living God.” (Carl F. H. Henry, Ibid, p. 149) So we try to discredit it all. “He’s beside himself”. Maxie Dunnam, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com __________________________________________ What is interesting, is those misunderstandings of what Jesus taught still exist today. You don’t have to be crazy to follow Jesus, but it sure helps. The craziness protects you against the criticism that other people give you. Ministry Everywhere Let me tell you about a man named Paige Patterson. Paige's style of ministry and even his theology may not exactly fit ours, but Paige cares about people. Paige ministered to troubled youth in ways that no one else did. He would go to places where youth were, like bars, nightclubs and the streets. At first the people in his church were in shock. This was a new experience and a new ministry for them. But soon they got over their shock and got on board and began a campus ministry to reach out to youth. And the youth responded positively: they liked having people from the church meet them where they were without getting obnoxious. One night Paige was asked to leave a nightclub because, the manager told him, he was running off his business. Paige says it was no big deal. Anyway, as he stepped out onto the front porch, Paige noticed a big man sitting there with a can of beer in his hand, who was a bouncer for the club. "Looks like it's been a rough night," Paige said casually. The big man nodded and said it indeed had been. "I don't want to offend you," Paige told him, "but if you died where you're sitting right now, would you be in heaven or hell?" The man instantly crushed the can he was holding, and beer shot everywhere. "I can't believe you asked that question," he said in disbelief. "I was just sitting here thinking how I was going to kill myself when I got home." "There's no reason to do that," Paige told him, "nothing's that bad." Then Paige began to witness to the man about his faith in Jesus Christ. He told the man that God still loved him. And the two men talked for the next thirty minutes. The next Sunday this man went to church and committed his life to Jesus Christ. Somehow I can see Jesus doing that kind of ministry if he were with us here physically today. Oh, not just in night clubs. But in offices and in living rooms and at Little League ball games - any place he could be with and get to know people. Jesus cares about people. That means he cares about you and me. Don't be put off by the formality of "church." Look beyond the robes and rituals. Look to a risen Savior who gave his life for only one purpose: people. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, When Jesus family comes to get him, he says something interesting – he says that only those who do the will of God are his real family. He calls those of us who follow him to remember to do the will of God, and to bring others into the family with us to do the same. Yesterday, I was watching the Tamron Hall show, and the theme of the show was those who dared to tell the truth and bare it all- was it really worth it. Her first guest was Jerrod Carmichael – who uses confessional comedy to challenge his family. In his hit show on HBO he likes to challenge his family. He is gay and his family are very conservative Christians, and he likes to say shocking things to embarrass them on camera to get their reactions. One episode was about his father’s infidelity. On another show – he asked his mom to accept him with calling him a sinner. His mom has not spoken to him since. The show caught my attention, because Tamron asked where the grace was in embarrassing his mother on national tv – and she pointed out that he was asking her for grace, but did he give her the same grace that he was asking for. Was he willing to understand her perspective the way he wanted her to understand him. Things have changed much, because I would think that this Jerrod’s mother must have felt a lot like Jesus mother did in Mark. Jesus wanted her to understand who he was, and his mother just wanted him to be normal and come back into the fold. Like Jerrod Carmichael, Jesus liked to used shock therapy to get people to see his point. Sometimes Jesus would say things that would challenge the most faithful of followers. Mark 29 is one of those sayings for me. Jesus talks about an unforgivable sin, the one sin that God will not forgive. But what is that sin. How do you offend the Holy Spirit? When I was a chaplain, I remember visiting a man, who was catholic, but had not gone to church in years. His sister had committed suicide and the priest refused to do her funeral because she has committed the unpardonable sin. Some say the unpardonable sin is being gay, some say it is using God’s name in vain, some say it is refusing to believe in God. Is there anything that we can do, that God does not forgive? If there is no on earth that understands us – does our creator still understand? Is there anyplace on earth where grace does not live. The good news is that grace is everywhere, God always understands, and there is always a road to God’s forgiveness. Some people say that if you have to ask what the unforgivable sin is, then you are not capable of commiting it. If you are willing to listen to God, then grace is always there. Some say that the unforgivable sin is asking for forgiveness, but not being willing to change, and continuing to do the same thing again even though you know it is wrong. And yet Jesus says that we should forgive again and again. God’s grace is available for repeat offenders. So what did Jesus mean when he speaks about the unforgivable sin? Was he just using shock therapy, or confessional comedy? I do not know. But I do think the his words are a reminder for who follow him that we need to put God first in everything that we do. That we should always seek grace in our lives. That we have to take seriously our place in the family of God. And that we Should always do God’s will. Training to Hear the Voice of God There is a positive message to be learned from these words of Jesus. The lesson is that we must keep ourselves alert to the way God is working in the world. Remember that those who were seeking to discredit Jesus were religious people. Their problem was that they just didn't expect God to be acting as Jesus said he was acting, so they missed the movement of God in their midst, and in fact, they called it evil. Today God may be speaking to us in causes that are unpopular, or in political events that cause us to feel threatened and insecure. The cries for justice and fairness in the world may come from quarters that we are not accustomed to listen to. We need to exercise diligence so that we don't miss the voice of God today just because it happens to be spoken by unfamiliar lips. I once sat in on a class my wife was taking in music appreciation. The instructor was asking the class members to listen for the recurring theme as it was passed from one instrument to another and was modified. I quickly lost it, but others in the class, who had benefited from their training, were able to keep track of the theme and even state which instrument was playing it. It is a law of life that we hear what we have trained ourselves to hear. What we must do is to train ourselves to listen for the voice of God in areas where we have not expected to hear it. We hear that voice only by attentive listening: by asking ourselves whether there is a valid message in those things which make us uncomfortable. Jesus spoke of an unforgivable sin, not because any act is unforgivable, but to warn us that our own hardness of heart can close the channels through which God's forgiveness flows and, as a consequence, leave us feeling alienated. Let us, therefore, affirm the good that is in others, so that our own hearts become generous and accepting of others, even as God is generous and accepting of us. David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company When we are able to find God in everything that we do, we also find grace. Grace is all that we need. Amen. Let us pray….. Song I’m going to Sing when the Spirit says Sing UMH 333 Prayers of the People (do not print) Great God, in you is more love than we can imagine and more grace than we can fathom. You have shown yourself in Jesus Christ as a God who meets us where we are and loves us as we are. We are glad for this day and grateful for your many gifts. You bring good things into our lives, more than we can name, more than we can number. You give us the bread of life, sustaining our souls and feeding our deepest hungers. You accompany us on our way. Thank you for your abundant faithfulness. p2 Our hearts are full with many things today. Disease and death and pain and sorrow are constantly among us. The journey through these days is marked by uncertainty and heartache. We are frequently overwhelmed by the needs around us and within us. Some need healing, some need encouragement, some need comfort, some need assurance, we all need hope. So we turn to you asking you to hear our prayers and grant what we need for the living of these days. We pray for our nation. We pray for renewed commitments to our common life. Refresh us in the values of your heart: justice, righteousness, compassion, mercy, peace. Help us to find a unity of purpose as citizens and neighbors. We pray for your church in places near and far. May the waters of your grace continually refresh and empower us to extend the love of Jesus to all people. We pray for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), for the clarity of our witness and the success of our mission. We pray for our congregation, for our life together, and for our efforts to follow in the way of Jesus. Hear us. Hold us. Heal us. Help us. Amen (John Wurster, Presbyterian Outlook) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment In the early chapters of Mark’s Gospel we read of Jesus coming into his own clear identity, baptized and claimed as God’s beloved Son. He begins to heal, to teach, and to surround himself with his chosen disciples. At the end of chapter 3, Jesus makes clear he’s claiming this community of chosen individuals (those who do the will of God) as his family. As one part of the Body of Christ, this congregation becomes our family when we do the will of God, loving each other and those whom we serve. Week by week, we have opportunity to build up this faith family with our gifts of financial support, our shared talents, and our commitment of time. If Jesus were standing among us, I wonder if he would claim each of us? Would he claim this congregation? Would we be identified as “my brother, my sister, my mother”? Yearning to be claimed, let us share our gifts, our tithes and our offerings. Prayer of Thanksgiving Creator God, In the name of your beloved Son we’ve gathered to sing your praise, hear the words of scripture, and offer back a portion of our financial resources, our talent and our time. We’re eager to build up your Realm on earth as it is in heaven, so please accept our gifts and help us put them to best use. Such as we have, we give you, willingly! 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 forevermore. Amen. (John Wurster, Presbyterian Outlook) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Dear friends, we have been nourished and renewed this day, go out and share the kin-dom of God to all you encounter in the love of God who created us, God who redeemed us, and God who sustains us. Go in peace, sharing the Good News. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Roberto Ochoa) Additional Illustrations Humor: Differences of Opinions Dr. Eugene Brice tells a delightful but disturbing story about a minister who returned to visit a church he had once served. He ran into Bill, who had been an elder and leader in the church, but who wasn't around anymore. The pastor asked, "Bill, what happened? You used to be there every time the doors opened." "Well, Pastor," said Bill, "a difference of opinion arose in the church. Some of us couldn't accept the final decision and we established a church of our own." "Is that where you worship now?" asked the pastor. "No," answered Bill, "we found that there, too, the people were not faithful and a small group of us began meeting in a rented hall at night." "Has that proven satisfactory?" asked the minister. "No, I can't say that it has," Bill responded. "Satan was active even in that fellowship, so my wife and I withdrew and began to worship on Sunday at home by ourselves." "Then at last you have found inner peace?" asked the pastor. "No, I'm afraid we haven't," said Bill. "Even my wife began to develop ideas I was not comfortable with, so now she worships in the northeast corner of the living room, and I am in the southwest." King Duncan, quoting Eugene Brice, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com John Power says this in a delightful way in his book, The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice Cream God. In the form of a letter from a father to his teenage son, he writes, "Dear Son: Ever since the day you were born, I have made your life worth living. Make no mistake about it. I have done everything for you. And during all those years, just by being my son, you have made life worth living for me. I would have lived without you, but I would have never lived so well. Let's call it even. And if we see each other after today, let it be because we're friends, not family." (p. 243) Here's the bottom line: Jesus clearly defined the boundaries of parenthood when he asked the question, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" There could be no mistake about it, his relationship to God came first and foremost, and so must ours. Philip W. McLarty, Who Are My Mother and My Brothers? Johnny Cornflakes Comes to Dinner Timothy George says he never understood the radical nature of Jesus' ministry until it was driven home in a dramatic way. He was in his first year as pastor of the First Baptist Church in, Chelsea, Massachusetts. Chelsea, says George, is one of the most isolated, economically deprived, inner-city sections of greater Boston: there are 27,000 people crowded into less than two square miles. Chelsea is a receptacle for all kinds of dropouts - prostitutes, pimps, drug addicts, all the people who have not "made it" and probably never will. Every new minister to Chelsea at that time soon became acquainted with one of these drop-outs, an alcoholic known to everyone as Johnny Cornflakes because he often rummaged through the trash, looking through the cereal boxes or whatever to find a bit of food. George's church sometimes gave Johnny Cornflakes food and clothes and tried to see that he had a place to spend the night. One Sunday after church Timothy George and his wife held their first dinner party in Chelsea for out-of-town guests. They had worked very hard to make everything perfect: they had brought out their best linen and their finest dishes in order to make a good impression. But right in the middle of the main course the front door of the parsonage burst open. Into their dining room in all of his inebriated glory sauntered Johnny Cornflakes. Everyone was startled! Timothy later wrote that he suddenly knew what the Pharisees must have felt like. "Johnny Cornflakes was someone you'd hand a sandwich to at the back door, someone you'd deliver a CARE package to at the inner-city mission, but definitely not someone you would invite to a Sunday dinner! Yet," George continues, "this is exactly what Jesus did, he invited all the Johnny Cornflakes of Jerusalem to Sunday dinner with the best linen and the finest dishes." It was because of acts like these that Jesus' family, his mother and other family members, were concerned about him. They thought he was overdoing it a bit. They came to talk some sense into him, and possibly take him with them. We know how that worked out, don't we? King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com ou and I may differ on definitions of family and what constitutes family values, but we all know we can learn something indispensable from Jesus. He teaches us to put God first. When you fall back into the habit of loving flesh and blood more than God, don't worry too much. God is always at work redeeming and expanding our earth-bound loves to make them heaven-sent. Kristin Borsgard Wee, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (First Third): Do You Love Me?, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. A Harsh Statement Midway into this confrontation Jesus said a very harsh thing. What did he mean when he said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin?" (Mark 3:28-29) One commentator, Halford E. Luccock, noted that this is one of the things he wishes Jesus had never said. Jesus' statement has produced hard emotional scars upon some sensitive persons. Not many months ago I had a conversation with a man who was deeply disturbed. He was emotionally sick. He needed professional counseling - much more than I could provide. What he continually talked about was his belief that he had committed that eternal sin, that unpardonable sin. He never shared what it was or what he believed it was. "I just can't speak it," he said. It was a thought that he had held since his youth, and for thinking that terrible thought he believed Jesus was condemning him eternally. The whole gospel message was - for him - focused on that single verse, that single eternal condemnation by Jesus. I worry about how such a phrase is taught to young people, to young lives just forming serious religious understandings. Biblical literalists, from their position of self-confidence, refer to it as if that single verse stands all by itself. That is known as "taking something out of context," or isolating one small part from the rest of a bigger picture. These words are simply a small part of the total confrontation that took place that day between Jesus and the Pharisees. Leonard H. Budd, The Spirit's Tether, CSS Publishing Company When A Clown Was Just Right A friend named Bill is a minister. He also has been accused of being a little bit nuts. Bill does workshops for churches on clowning. Not long ago, he was in a distant city, packing up after a workshop. The phone rang. Nobody was around. He answered. "Are you a minister?" somebody asked. "Yes, actually I am." "Come quickly," said the voice, "our child is dying of leukemia." Bill dropped everything. He ran out to his rental car and drove to the hospital. He parked the car, ran up the steps, through the double doors, and down the hall. Suddenly it hit him: he was still dressed as a clown, with a white face, red nose, orange hair, and green suspenders. He didn't have time to change. It was an emergency. He kept going. He found the room, knocked on the door, and entered the room where a young girl in a hospital bed lay surrounded by her family. "We called for a minister, not a clown," said the father. The child replied, "He's better than a minister. Can he stay?" No one dared to deny her request. Bill sat on the edge of the hospital bed. He sang songs. He told Bible stories. He cradled the little girl in his arms until the end. When the last moment came, she made a final request. "Would you come to my funeral?" So that's how it happened. On the third day, crazy Bill stood with white face, red nose, orange hair, and green suspenders. He never spoke a word, yet he led the people as they laughed, and cried, and remembered the little girl's life. A few people present thought it was wrong to have a clown at a funeral, much less lead the service. They murmured afterwards, "That minister is out of his mind! He's crazy!" By all the proper canons of pastoral protocol, they were probably correct. But there he stood, acting as if God's joyful power has already defeated death. Was he crazy? Who can say? All we know is that Bill heard Jesus say, "I am the resurrection and the life," and he acted accordingly. "You don't have to be crazy to work around here, but it helps." Likewise, you don't have to be out of your mind to do the work of Jesus Christ, even though a faithful life can provoke the world to think of you that way. Should evil conspire against you, listen closely. You may hear Christ say, "You're my brother -- you're my sister -- you're my family." William G. Carter, Water Won’t Quench the Fire, CSS Publishing Company Sermon Opener – When You Are Wrongly Criticized - Mark 3:20-35 by Leonard Sweet Anyone here like criticism? How do you respond to criticism? Does being criticized bring you down or fire you up? Do you want to hunker in your bunker or lob your own volley of vitriol back at your critics? Learning how to respond to criticism is a lifetime journey. That's because critics will be accompanying you from cradle to grave! In every election year there is no shortage of negative, critical remarks flying around the airwaves. Of course all politicians virtuously claim they hate "negative" ads. And, of course, every candidate uses them. The justification for both sides is "Negative ads work." Surveys allegedly show that those nasty, negative, often highly personal attacks are the most effective way of swaying public opinion. Negativity, bad-mouthing, accusatory honking profoundly changes the way we think and the way we act. In a Charlie Brown cartoon, little brother Linus, looking very forlorn, asks big sister Lucy, "Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?" Lucy, looking very self-righteous, replies, "I just think I have a knack for seeing other people's faults." Linus turns indignant. "What about your own faults?" he asks. "I have a knack for overlooking them," says Lucy. Unfortunately, those best at hurting and critiquing us are those closest to us. In today's gospel text Jesus is beset by critics. The first in line? His own family members… Are You Out of Your Mind? Have you ever accused someone of being out of their mind? Probably. We are not unaccustomed to making such a statement about people we know today. A friend of yours takes a bungee jump off a high tower, and you ask, "Has he gone out of his mind?" On a lark, another friend takes a sky diving lesson and jumps out of a perfectly good airplane, and you ask, "Has she gone out of her mind?" A person of modest income decides to purchase a house obviously beyond his means, and you ask, "Has he gone out of his mind?" There are lots of situations in which we might ask that question of someone we know, but we are shocked when someone asks that question of Jesus. In verse 21, we find the statement, "People were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind." Some people believe Jesus performed many miraculous deeds all of his life. They believe Jesus was so divine that everyone who knew him would be amazed at this perfect human being. I prefer to emphasize the humanity of Jesus and believe that the first miracle he ever performed was at the wedding in Cana. I believe he grew up as a normal boy. His brothers who lived with him just thought of him as a brother. They were surprised when he began preaching (my own brothers were in total SHOCK when I announced my intention to enter the ministry!). When they learned of some of the things he was saying, they wanted him to quit (ditto). They came as a group ready to seize him, get him away from the crowds, and have him deprogrammed (mine never went that far, but I'm almost certain they were tempted!). When they finally arrived, there was such a crowd that they could not get in to see him. They sent him a message, but he left them standing on the outside, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" He acknowledged no special ties or obligation to them. Mickey Anders, Was Jesus Out of His Mind? A Harsh Statement Midway into this confrontation Jesus said a very harsh thing. What did he mean when he said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin?" (Mark 3:28-29) One commentator, Halford E. Luccock, noted that this is one of the things he wishes Jesus had never said. Jesus' statement has produced hard emotional scars upon some sensitive persons. Not many months ago I had a conversation with a man who was deeply disturbed. He was emotionally sick. He needed professional counseling - much more than I could provide. What he continually talked about was his belief that he had committed that eternal sin, that unpardonable sin. He never shared what it was or what he believed it was. "I just can't speak it," he said. It was a thought that he had held since his youth, and for thinking that terrible thought he believed Jesus was condemning him eternally. The whole gospel message was - for him - focused on that single verse, that single eternal condemnation by Jesus. I worry about how such a phrase is taught to young people, to young lives just forming serious religious understandings. Biblical literalists, from their position of self-confidence, refer to it as if that single verse stands all by itself. That is known as "taking something out of context," or isolating one small part from the rest of a bigger picture. These words are simply a small part of the total confrontation that took place that day between Jesus and the Pharisees. Leonard H. Budd, The Spirit's Tether, CSS Publishing Company ____________________________

God is Calling

June 2, 2024 1 Samuel 3:1-20 2nd Sunday After Pentecost Year B God is Calling Prelude Greeting Call to Worship The psalmist declares, “Lord, you have searched me and known me.” Will you open yourselves to be searched by God? Search us, O God, and know our hearts. God searches you, knows you, and loves you, and invites you to search out God in return. Will you seek the heart of God? We will search you, O God, to know your heart. The Triune God who creates all and knows all is revealed in running rivers and fluttering butterflies, in warm sunshine and the smell of the earth. Will you pay attention? We will pay attention, O God, to your fingerprint of love on all of creation. Open our hearts today to encounter your love, holiness, and glory that create and sustain all that was, is, and will be. We come today to enter the dance of the Trinity, the all-knowing Creator and Sustainer of life. (Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, February 2024.) Song Open my Eyes that I May See UMH 454 A Sermon for all Ages how children your headphones and ask, Why do people use headphones? One reason people use headphones is to hear something better. If it’s noisy around you, you can put your headphones in and hear what you’re listening to. That’s kind of what we need to do if we want to hear God speaking to us. In the Bible, there was a little boy named Samuel. He lived at the Tabernacle serving Eli the priest. One night, God called to Samuel. “Samuel,” God said. But Samuel didn’t know it was God calling him. He thought it was the priest, Eli. So, he got up and went to Eli’s room. But Eli said he didn’t call him, so he sent Samuel back to bed. God called Samuel two more times, and Samuel kept thinking it was Eli calling him. Finally, Eli figured out that God was calling Samuel. He told Samuel that the next time God called him, Samuel should say… (Read 1 Samuel 3:9.) “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” God did call Samuel again and when Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening,” God talked to him! In fact, God talked to Samuel a lot after that. But he had to learn to listen to God’s voice first. It’s the same in our lives. If we want God to speak to us, we have to listen for Him. We might not hear a voice as Samuel did, but we’ll hear God speaking in our minds and in our hearts. What do you think are some ways we can listen for God’s voice? We can read the Bible and pray and pay attention in church. God speaks to us through all of those things. And when we read the Bible or pray or pay attention in church, it’s like we’re putting our headphones in to listen to God. (Ministry to Children, Stephen Wilson) Responsive Reading Psalm 139. UMH 854 Scripture. 1 Samuel 3:1-20 Sermon. God is Calling The first event that I attended at General Conference was a briefing that was held by The national Women of Faith group, they wanted to encourage the women delegates to pay attention to legislation that affected women. They started out with the general secretaries giving an encouraging and inspiring speech. One of them asks the crowd to think of the women in their lives that inspired them and encouraged them in life. Who was it that mentored you and told you that you were important, the general secretary asks, as the recognizes me and walks toward me to answer the question in the mike. I look at her and shake my head, and say nobody, I cannot think of anyone who ever encouraged me in life. Now of course, there are many people in my life who encouraged me, mentored me, and helped to open doors for me. But at that moment, I had been up the night before packing, I had to catch a ride at 6am in the morning catch a 9 am flight, figure out how to get to my hotel and it was 3 in the afternoon and my day had just begun. Under different circumstances, I would have been happy to answer her question and name all of the important people in my life, but at that moment, I was just too tired and exhausted to even think about the answer to her question. Unfortunately, it happens a lot in life, when there are things going on in life, but because of the circumstances, we are not able to process the information that is given to us. Our scripture for this morning is a story which clearly demonstrates how God is always speaking to us – but we are not able to listen. The passage starts out by saying this this story takes place at a time when the Lord’s word was rare and visions were not widely known. It was a time of corruption, when the leaders were more concerned about lining their own pockets, then helping the people around them. It wasn’t that God’s presence was not around, but the religious leaders had forgotten about their personal relationship with God. In the midst of all of this chaos and confusion, a young mother had put all of her trust in God. She prayed for a son, when he was born she gave him to the temple priest to raise and to mentor. Even though his own sons had turned out to be very bad individuals, she trusted God to take care of her son. One night her son Samuel hears a voice calling him in the night, - it takes his mentor Eli to recognize the God does indeed still care about this world and God still speaks with a voice of justice, peace and healing. Samuel goes on to become a very well respected priest and prophet for the nation, who does a lot of good for his community. But it was the night that he heard God’s voice – that God became real to him. When he was finally able to listen to God, he understood his pathways and purpose for life. He understood his calling. He say how God was leading his life forward. Unfortunately for most of us – when we think about God, when we think about our calling, about our purpose. God is far more willing to speak, then we are to listen. Over 80 years ago, Jed Harris was a successful producer of plays. One of his successful works was the production of Thornton Wilder’s play, “Our Town.” In the middle of a lengthy season mixed with the intense pressure of many details, Harris began to lose his sense of hearing. He could not even hear what other people close to him were saying and so he was missing crucial details during conversations. As a result, Jed Harris decided to pay a visit to a renowned audiologist who listened attentively as the producer narrated the sad account of his declining ability to hear. After a thorough examination of Harris’ ears, the hearing specialist drew out from his vest an expensive gold-coated pocket watch and placed it against the producer’s ear. “Do you hear this watch ticking?” the audiologist asked. “Absolutely,” the producer responded. The audiologist moved farther away and held the watch up to his office door. Harris focused and remarked, “Yea, it is quite audible.” The physician then walked into the next room and asked, “how about now?” “It’s still audible,” Harris replied. The specialist stalked back into the office and returned the watch to his vest. “This phenomenon is quite commonplace,” he said, “especially among successful individuals. Your hearing is excellent Mr. Harris. You’ve simply quit listening.” (1) God speaks to us all of the time, in so many different ways. The most important lesson of those story is to listen for God to speak to you. This story also tells us that we have to have ears that listen, but we also need a heart that has faith and hands that are obedient. When God calls our name, we have to be prepared to respond. If you know who Eydie Gorme is, you’ll know she is a wonderful singer - what we might call a torch singer. On a television talk show a few years ago, Eydie Gorme told some things about how her career got started. Her inspiration and idol was Judy Garland. So Eydie Gorme studied and tried to copy everything that Judy Garland did - the sound of the voice, the style, the mannerisms. Eydie Gorme’s first big break came at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, where she played to packed houses, and received rave reviews. Her next booking was not so elegant. It was somewhere around Pittsburgh in a not-so-classy nightclub - the kind with beer signs flashing in the windows and a pool table in the back. If that were not a come-down enough, there was a terrible blizzard on her opening night and most people, who might have been there, stayed home. Her second night the weather was even worse. She was there, but there was no audience. The third night she didn’t go either. The owner of the nightclub telephoned her and said, "I pay you to sing, and if you don’t sing you don’t get paid." It made no difference that nobody else had shown up either. She needed the job, so on the fourth night she bribed a taxi driver to get her there through the snow. Besides her there was just the manager, the guy who worked the lights, and part of the band. Some of the players didn’t make it either. When it was time for her to sing, the place was still empty, but the house lights were dimmed, the stage lights came on, she cued the band to play her opening music and she began to sing - to an empty house. She said that she told herself, "If I can sing to a packed house at the Waldorf Astoria, I can sing to an empty house here." Part way through the first song the door opened and in the glow of the lights from outdoors she saw the silhouettes of five people who came in and sat at a table in the middle of the room. So she began to sing to those five people. And again she said to herself that she could sing to these five people as she would sing if this was the largest audience Carnegie Hall ever turned out. She said she sang that night with a richness and a passion and an energy that was as good or better than she had ever sung in her life - to those five strangers. She finished her set, and the spotlight went off and the house lights came on, and she looked out at those five people who had been her audience. Four of them she didn’t recognize, but the one in the middle was Judy Garland, who surely had no idea of the power and influence and inspiration she had been in the life of an aspiring young singer named Eydie Gorme.1 God calls us through one another. God leads us through people who sometimes serve as angels unaware, by simply going about doing ordinary things but with the extraordinary presence of God implicit in what they do. How wonderful that God is not off somewhere ignoring us, but calls us in the common events of every day. That call comes to us in the subtle urgings we glean from things we read or see, in the beauty and wonder of creation. It comes in the simple words and lives of people who point beyond themselves to show us the way to God as John did for his disciples. What a wonderful and awesome concept it is that if we listen God can call us to our own destiny through common people like ourselves, and by that same token can call others through us. We’ve all had the experience of being put on hold. Perhaps that is where we have put the call of God in our own lives. Old Eli’s advice to his young servant Samuel is good advice for us all, to open the communication lines and listen, and say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." 1. With appreciation to Reverend Robert Morley who brought this story to my attention. CSS Publishing Co., Inc., Why Don't You Send Somebody?, by Frederick C. Edwards Yes, we are images for one another. We are influenced by people who may never know it, and others of whom we have no idea may in turn be patterning their life in some small way upon us. Think of those who become a part of you. Think of those who awakened your ideas, and quickened your spirit and encouraged and inspired you. Sometimes we are called to be the Judy Garlands of the world, sometimes we are called to be Eydie Gome. Sometimes in life we are called to be the Eli’s of the world leading the way and encouraging others, sometimes we are called to be the Samuel’s of the world – listening to God’s call. In all that we do in life we are called to have a faithful heart, a listening ear, and an obedient hand. I can’t stress enough how important it is for us to listen for God’s voice in our everyday lives. God leads us, we just have to be able to listen. I may have given this challenge under different circumstances before, but I think that it fits again today. I have don’t this challenge myself a few times over my years of preaching, but I think it is good to do it again. It is a challenge to engage in prayer – to listen for God’s call to us and to watch it unfold in our lives. John Ortberg is a pastor, who used to work for Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Church, he is now a Presbyterian pastor – his wife is also a pastor. She tells one of my favorite stories. Nancy Ortberg tells of going out to dinner with a man named Doug Cole in Washington D. C. years ago. Doug told her about a 30-year old insurance executive he met at a party. Doug learned that this young man, Bob, was a new Christian. Intrigued, he asked how things were going. Have you found a church? He asked. Yes, Bob said. Have you found a Bible Study? Yes, I have one of those too. Finally Doug asked, How about your relationship with God in prayer? Bob didn’t have much going on there, and said that he didn’t know much about that. So Doug laid out a challenge for him: to pick something to pray over every day for the next six months. The prayers could be elaborate or simple, structured or free form, listening to or speaking to God, whatever. But Bob must pray at least briefly every day. “If at the end of six months God has not done something truly significant,” Doug told him, “I will then pay you $500.” “Hmm,” Nancy told Doug, “That doesn’t sound very biblical.” “No, but I do it all of the time,” Doug answered her. Bob accepted the challenge, but didn’t know what to pray for. Bob and his wife lived in DC. What with the city’s international flavor, they chose a different land to pray for every day. So along those lines, Bob decided to pray daily for Kenya. Not much happened for four or five months. The prayer experiment was yielding little. Then one night he sat next to a woman at a dinner party. She was from Kenya. She ran an orphanage. Bob related that he felt as though ice water was suddenly running through his veins. He had been fantasizing about how to spend the $500 Doug had promised him, but suddenly he had a strong image of a wad of $500 sprouting wings and flying away. He asked for details about the orphanage and listened to her answers for a full intense hour. She told Bob that no one had ever shown such interest. Would he consider flying to Kenya to see it first hand? To make a long story short, Bob ended up providing for the care of those Kenyan children and seeing to the supplying of that orphanage. He made such a splash that the President of Kenya invited him to his palace. There Bob advocated for prisoners of conscience in that country. Later those prisoners were released. The US Secretary of State called Bob and asked him how he did it. The United States government had been unsuccessfully seeking their freedom for some time. It was no mystery to Bob how it came about. God had guided him to pray for Kenya and wonderful things were happening. (6) If you and I were truly listening to God, we would see wonderful things happen in our lives too. If you could think of one thing to pray for six months, what would it be? Without giving it much thought, the thing that comes to mind is probably the area that God is calling you to serve. My challenge is to actually pray that prayer for the next six months and watch how God’s calling unfolds in your life. How is God calling you? Who are the people that encouraged and influenced you in that call? Who are the people that you are influencing, just by being faithful to God? This is the time when God’s words are an every day occurrence and God’s visions are widely known. Listen for God to call your name. Amen. Song. 451. Be Thou My Vision. UMH 451 Prayer A Prayer of Thanksgiving (Ps. 139) God, we cannot escape your love. We can find no place to hide. You search us out wherever we may be. Your love is like a mother’s blanket, protecting us wherever we go. Your love shields us from evil. We may travel to the moon or to the depths of the ocean: your love is there. We may think ourselves to greater levels of sophistication: your love is there. We may fall in the pits of sin: your love is there. Thank you, for steadfast mercy. Thank you for being there, wherever we may be. Lord, on this communion Sunday we come to you to cleanse our hearts and to lay our concerns at your altar. We pray that you will listen to our concerns. Today we pray for conditions, for situations in the world and in our community, we pray for the people in our hearts. We ask for your healing touch upon all that we pray about now. (a moment of silent prayer) Written in part by John H. Danner in Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, Updated, ed. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2012), 277. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Prayer of Dedication Provider God, we give you thanks for all your good gifts to us: for work and rest, for creativity and play, for this community in which to practice our faith together. Take these offerings that we bring today and use them to meet the needs of those around us. May our work and witness reflect our beliefs in your compassionate care for us and for all you have created. In Christ name we pray. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Ellen William Hensle) Communion Hard hearts have a way of angering Jesus, as we hear in Mark’s Gospel. Just the reverse is recognized when we come to a time of sharing in this simple meal. This communion time is an opportunity to welcome one and all to a feast “in remembrance” of Jesus. He is the host. We are all invited to participate, recognizing the table is large enough for all who are eager to be in fellowship and communion with Jesus. So come, repentant people. Offer your short-comings and your brokenness to the One who is able to forgive and heal. Offer your hard-heartedness to the One who is able to soften our spirits. Offer your yearning for abundant Life to the One who tasted death and was raised up to new life. Come to share in this feast with others who are broken, hard-hearted, full of desire for life. Come, for the table is prepared, and you are welcome. Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook As we prepare to leave this place, turn to a neighbor or, if you are at home, look in a mirror. Now, look into the eyes of the person in front of you and say, “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” May this truth be a blessing to you this week: the Creator who knows you better than you know yourself fearfully and wonderfully made you just as you are. Let us go now to speak truth, share love, and recognize the Creator’s fingerprint in all of creation. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, February 2024. Community Time. – Joys and Concerns Charge and Benediction As you go out from this place, remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Make time to savor God’s creation, to rest from work and worry, and to bask in the goodness of all God’s gifts to us. Remember that the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit follow you wherever you go. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Ellen William Hensle)