Encouraging one another through good deeds

Prelude Greeting Welcome to our worship service this morning, this is the 26th Sunday of Pentecost, third Sunday in November. Welcome to those joining in person, and those who are all over the globe joining us on Facebook. Today is a very special service – both the choir and the bells are a part of our service. But we also have special guest with us this morning as we have the priviledge of commemorating the 150th Annivsersary of Aoyama Guikin in Japan. Welcome to all of our special guest. We will have a special prayer service during this service to honor that anniversary. The organization which educates people of all ages started from the efforts of one Methodist missionary – Dora Schoonmaker. She was commissioned to go to Japan in 1874. She began her school on November 16, 1874. As we honor Dora’s spirit, begin our time of worship. Call to Worship (1 Samuel 2, Mark 13) Let our hearts rejoice in the God of hope and faithfulness. Our strength is in the maker of heaven and earth. Our foundation is the cornerstone that never fails. The rock of ages is a foundation like no other. Hope arises, as the tools of war are broken and the weak are given strength. Hope lives when the hungry are fed and the poor are lifted up. God comes bringing judgment to the ends of the earth, calling us to hope and faithfulness. Come, rock of ages, come quickly now. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Mary Scifres) Opening Prayer (1 Samuel 1) God of possibilities, fill us with your hope and faithfulness. Listen to us as we pour out our souls before you. Grant us the grace to be your people and to live your teachings. Live in us, that we may arise with hope and walk in love. In the name of Christ our rock, we pray. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Mary Scifres) Song My Lord what a Morning UMH 719 A Sermon for all Ages Dora’s family moved here to Wilmington when she was 5 years old. Her family lived near Phelan Acres. She spoke fondly about going to Sunday school every Sunday with her mother. Many of the churches all over Illinois started as Sunday schools. Even at a very young age she had a relationship with God. At about 8 years old – she read a pamphlet about a woman who accompanied her husband to India as a missionary. She was so inspired by the womans life, that she told her mother that she was going to be a missionary. As she got older, and she started to learn her place as a woman in this society, she thought it was an awful idea. She got so frustrated that she threw the article in the Kankakee River. But the dream lived on in her heart. Her family moved on the Channahon when she was about 11, and she became a teacher in Morris. But that dream never left her heart. She really did become one of the first missionaries sent to Japan at age 23. Dora’s story speaks wonderfully to our lesson today in the book of Hebrews. Jesus talks about the laws of God written down in our hearts and not on a piece of paper. Dora thought that if she threw the words of her calling away that they would disappear. She didn’t realize that God had written down the calling inside of her in her heart. That way, no matter what happened in her life, they would not be lost. She shared those words in love. A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition UMH 607 Before missionaries are sent out into the field, they go through a commissioning service – where they are prayed over, and they say a covenant to serve God faithfully in everything that they do. Dora was commissioned in Evanston in 1871 by the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Here at the Wilmington Church, a unit of the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society was formed in 1900. This church has several women’s missionary groups. In 1940 – they all united into the Women’s Society of Christian Service. I will share with you their pledge from 1940. Pledge I desire to become a member of the Woman’s Society of Christian Service of the WILMINGTON Church. As such it is my purpose to join in helping to develop and support Christian work among women and children around the world; to develop the spiritual life; to study the needs of the world; to take part in such service activities as will strengthen the local church, improve civic community and world conditions; to enlist others in this Christian fellowship, and secure funds for the activities in the local church and the support the work undertaken at home and abroad for the establishment of a World Christian Community. To this end I will give prayer, service and an annual contribution to the total budget of the Society. Thus I will contribute to educate for, and promote the threefold program of the women of Methodism. Now I invite us to read part of the John Wesley Covenant Prayer that would be said by current United Methodist missionaries. Passing of the Peace Scripture Hebrews 10:10-25 Sermon Encouraging one another through Good Deeds Some years ago an English journal ran a contest. A prize was offered for the best definition of a "friend." A friend. How would you define a friend? Thousands of replies poured in: A friend is someone "who multiplies joys, and divides grief!" said one. No, thought another; a friend is someone "who understands our silence." A third person suggested: "A friend is a volume of sympathy bound in cloth." But the publishers picked this one as the winning entry: A friend is "the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out."That's it, isn't it? One who comes in when the whole world has gone out. The ancient Jewish wiseman, Ben-Sira, said a faithful friend is a sure shelter ” a rich treasure. (Ecclesiasticus 6:14) There's no better way to describe the idea of "faithfulness" than that. The fruit of the Spirit, says Paul in Galatians 5, is faithfulness. When God takes hold of our lives, when His Spirit molds and shapes us, there's a quality about us that people call faithfulness. There's a faithful person, they say. They might just as well say: She knows what it means to be a good friend! But faithfulness tends to be a tedious word in our society. Not long ago, the best-selling book across North America was HABITS OF THE HEART by Robert Bellah. He said individualism has won our hearts today. We honor the kingdom of self, and resent the claims others might try to lay on us. We lie to gain ” not just financially, but even in our relationships. If I don't think I'm getting anything out of a friendship, then it's my duty to myself to move on. If a marriage isn't working for me, there are no moral holds that bind me! I'm a free person! I have a right to my happiness, and the bonds of fidelity may not cramp my style! Friendship is costly. Faithfulness in our relationships, to each other, and even to God, requires a lot of us, and we're not so ready to pay the price! But a world without faithful friends takes its toll on us But a world without faithful friends takes its toll on us. A funeral director notes funerals have changed a lot in the last decades. People don't come to funerals anymore. Years ago you couldn't have a service at the funeral home for someone who had died; there just wouldn't be enough room for the family and the friends and the business associates who showed up. In fact, it was strange when somebody died alone, friendless, without someone to pay last respects. But now, he says, it happens all the time. We live for ourselves, and we die by ourselves. Those are the habits of our poor hearts. The message of the book of Hebrews is that when we have Christ in our lives, that we should never get tired of being friends. The whole point of church is to be a place where people can come and no matter who they are, they can be among friends. They are welcomed, they are loved, they are free to be faithful. The book of Hebrews talks about Jesus as our high priest. Except Jesus is different from other priest. Other’s had to keep doing rituals over and over again to have any power. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice one time – and not only did he have the power to change things, he passed that power on to his followers. If Christ is our savior- we have that power today in our everyday lives. With Jesus power in our lives, we can have a bold relationship with God and go an live our lives in confidence. The book of Hebrews encourages us to come together and to be the church for one another and for the world. The book of Hebrews encourages us to not be afraid to pester one another into doing good works for the world. We don’t have to ever be afraid to be a friend. I could have imagined that for Dora Schoonmaker, it would have taken a lot of courage at 23, to travel alone to a foreign country- but her faith has told her that she was not alone, and that whatever the challenges – not to be afraid to be a friend. Over the summer, the Grundy County Historical Museum opened a permanent exhibit honoring Dora. There were several women from the Northern Illinois Conference Women of Faith Organization attended the ribbon cutting. They were inspired by Dora’s boldness. Many of them had the same concern. Today, when missionaries are deployed – they go through extensive cultural and language training before going to a country. Dora had little to no preparation. Many of the women asked how did she survive, without knowing Japanese. While on the tour of her life, I was able to ask, the author of the book about her, Rev. Keiko Tanamura, that question. She explained that she would have had an interpreter with her all of the time. She also said that when she was teaching her students – her would have communicated with them through love – the language of the heart. She taught the students how to be productive in life, but she also taught them about the love of Christ and her faith. Many of those students carried on her faith, long after she returned to America. An effort that started with a few girls, spread to an organization that educated thousands of students a year from kindergarten to grad school. Her story is an example of the power of Christian friendship. Christian Friendship is a bold combination of living in faith, holding on to hope and caring for one another in love. The greatest of these is love. Let us Inspire one another, give each other hope Create a space where people can come together, Gather, care, do goods deeds Let us pray…… Song Here I am Lord Prayer Service honoring the 150th Anniversary of the founding of Aoyama Gakuin in Tokyo Japan, through the missionary efforts of Dora Schoonmaker Anthem Invite us to say the Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (inspired by Hebrews 10:19-25) In the letter to the Hebrews we read how the death of Jesus gives us assurance that our own lives are built up by faith, hope and love. Coming together for worship allows us to encourage each other to good deeds. Here we have opportunity to share our passion and enthusiasm for the work to which we are called. Today, let me describe one way this congregation acts out our faith. (describe one mission/outreach ministry, hopefully with a strong story of how a life has been strengthened because of what this congregation does.) OR, if you don’t have a particular ministry you can lift up from your congregation, speak for a minute of a ministry of the larger Church (your region, area, or a collection of congregations in your community). This might be your appeal for a special Thanksgiving offering. Your financial gifts, your time, and your “good talk” about this ministry all work to strengthen the witness we make as disciples of Jesus, the Christ. Let your energy, your financial support and your positivity come together today to build up not only this ministry, but also all the people who are impacted by the work which goes on week after week! With confidence, let us offer our gifts, knowing they support not only this particular piece, but also the work of the whole Church. Prayer of Thanksgiving Giver of all good gifts, thank you for this opportunity for each one of us to offer back a portion of what you give to us. Help us find ways to faithfully give from our resources as a sign of our faith, our hope and our love. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Charge and benediction May we leave this house of worship reconciled, redeemed, and renewed by our time spent in the presence of God. May we leave this house of worship full of the hope our Savior provides. May the grace, hope, peace and love of the God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer be with us now and always. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Terri McDowell Ott) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Pat Wise has several issues, Jean Stickel is recovering from a fall Benediction May the Spirit that leads through fire and flood The Spirit that baptizes with power The Spirit of expectation and hope Lead, strengthen, and guide you This week and always. Amen. Written by Valerie Bridgman in The Africana Worship Book, Year B (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007), 221.