Now is the Time

September 29, 2024 Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 19th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Now is the time! Prelude Greeting Call to Worship L: It’s a great day to be here. P: There are so many things we can do to serve the Lord. L: Just listen for God’s call to you. Let God guide your life. P: We are willing to open our lives to God’s service. L: Come, let’s worship and celebrate God’s good news for us. P: Let us bring our hopes and prayers to God with joy. AMEN (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Opening Prayer (James 5, Mark 9) Christ Jesus, we come into your presence from many different places. We come with songs of joy and shouts of gratitude. We come carrying heavy burdens and sighs of suffering. As you welcome us into your house, lift our burdens and receive our praise. Salt us with your grace and flavor us with your mercy. Bind us together, that we may be at peace with one another and be strengthened to go forth in service to the world. In your holy name, we pray. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Mary Scifres) Responsive Reading Psalm 124 UMH 846 Song A Mighty Fortress is our God UMH 110 A Sermon for all Ages God created you and me. He tells us in His Word that He knit us together while we were inside our mother’s wombs. Psalm 139:13-15 He knows every little detail about us. He knows how many hairs we have on our heads. Matthew 10:30 He knows what we like and what we don’t like. He made each of unique and there is no one created exactly like us in the whole world. We live in a world that sometimes makes us think that we aren’t special because we are not popular, pretty, athletic, or as smart as others. Our value to God isn’t based on any of those things. He loves us because He created us and placed us in this world for a purpose. His purpose for placing each one of us on this earth is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. We glorify God when we live a life that pleases Him and points others to Him. When we live that kind of life we will enjoy God and all the blessings that come from Him. Because God’s purpose is for each of us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, He has given us gifts or talents that we can use to help others see that God exists and wants them to be a part of His family too. Sometimes we know clearly what our gifts/talents are and how God wants to use us in this life. Other times we may not know what our gift and purpose is in this life. (If possible take a gift-wrapped box out of a bag and set on your lap.) Our lives are like this unopened present. We have received a present but we don’t know exactly what is inside until we take the wrapping paper off the present. As each of us walk with God by faith day by day, obeying His Word He begins to prepare us for what is inside that present. In God’s perfect time He allows the wrapping on the gift we have to come off and He allows us to see what the talent/ability for serving Him will be. Whether we know what gift God has given us or not, we are to live a faithful and obedient life that pleases God. Because even though we might not feel like we have a purpose and are not useful to God, He sees all that is going on around us. He knows how your life will affect the people around you. We all influence the lives of others around us. Whether it’s your brother/sister or your classmates there is someone who is affected by the way you live your life. The question we need to think about this morning is: are you influencing people to want to know God and live for Him, or are you influencing people to disobey and rebel against God? Scripture Esther 7:1-6,9-10; 9:20-22 Sermon Now is the Time! I think it was the theologian Karl Barth who said that faithful people should practice their faith while holding the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. In other words, we should keep up with the signs of the times. I think in church, we try to do the exact opposite. We want the world to comply with biblical teaching. I know I intentionally try to do that in my sermons. I try to avoid making any comments on current events, since there are so many different opinions on matters going on in our world. Gayle and I usually look at the scriptures for the day well in advanced. When I looked at the scripture this week, and then looked all of the things going on the news, I got a little worried because it was all there in the scripture staring me in the face. How do I address all of these things. From Israel fighting Hamas at all cost to defend itself, to Puff Daddy getting arrested for having wild parties and disrespecting women, even a political climate that is divisive. It is all right there in this scripture. These are all topics that I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole in a sermon. And get this, all these things are mentioned, but in the entire book of Esther makes no mention of God, or prayer, or worship, or even faithful living. Many theologians and church fathers have wondered why this book is even a part of the bible, what does it have to do with faith? Many preachers refuse to preach from this book – because they feel that there is no lesson. As a matter of fact, the lectionary, which gives us our readings every week only includes the book of Esther once in the three year cycle. I know that I have preached on this text before, but interestingly, I can’t even find it. So I am stuck preaching today with the bible in one hand and the newspaper on the other. First, it is important go back and to tell the whole story – our scripture is just the end to a much longer saga. It starts with a wild party that got out of hand. King Xerxes ( his name sound a lot like the word for big headache in Hebrew) had a big party for all of his friends. The party was so big and so intense he was the most beautiful woman in the world. Vashti was the hostess of her own party, when she get a message that her husband wants her to stop what she is doing at her party and come to the men’s party for a parade – literally just wearing nothing but her crown. Being a respectable married women, already doing an important role for her kingdom – she refuses and tells the king no thank you. When word gets to the men’s party that the queen disobeyed a direct order from the king. The men of the party convince King Big headache that this is a grave injustice. If the queen disobeys the king, then that would encourage all of the women of the land to disobey their husbands too. They convince the king to make an edict that wives disobeying their husbands will not be tolerated. Even though the king loves his beautiful wife, she has to go. In some versions I think she is beheaded, in other stories she is just deposed and banished. So not the king realizes that he is alone, and needs a new queen. So he has a nationwide beauty contest to find a new bride. Esther, a young orphaned Hebrew girl wins the contest. Esther is beautiful, but she is young, she is not Vashti – but the king is happy for awhile. After awhile, he gets bored with her and stops calling her to be by his side. Meanwhile, those who are close to the king think they are powerful too. One of his commanders, is so full of himself that he orders everyone who passes by him to bow. Everyone in the land does, but it seems that those Hebrew people seem to act to proud. One of them, a servant named Mordecai refuses to bow at all. Whenever he runs into Mordecai, there is tension. Haman gets do frustrated that he asks the king to kill not only Mordecai – but all of the Hebrews. Another of those strange edicts that once it is said it cant be taken back goes out that in a year all of the Hebrews will be killed. It just so happens that Esther, the new queen is Mordecai’s niece, or some say cousin. Mordecai reminds Esther that she is Hebrew, if the king kills her people, he will kill her too. Unless she uses her influence as the queen. She explain to Mordecai – that is just it, lately she has on influence as the queen. No one talks to the king unless he asks for them, even her. Mordecai convinces her that she had to do something or they will all die. In the meantime, Haman is so angry at Mordecai’s disrespect that he is building a special gallow in his back yard to hang him on. Meanwhile King Headache is doing some reading of some old records and realizes that Mordecai once saved his life and he never thanked him. The king asks Haman how to repay someone who did the king a favor. Mordecai is honored which makes Haman madder. Esther decides that the best way to the kings heart is to have a party, and to expose Haman in public. At the party, Hamans plan to kill all Hebrews is exposed, King headache kills Haman on the same gallows that were planned for Mordecai. The king realizes that he cant change the edict that all Hebrews will be killed, but he does make an edict that when the time comes – the Hebrews have a right to defend themselves from all personal threats. No one knows if this is a true story – but the story of how Queen Esther saved her people is still told every year. Every year in the spring, Purim is celebrated – it is kind of like Halloween. Everyone dresses up in costumes. They tell the story of Esther. You relive the story, laugh and joke and parade around the neighborhood asking for candy. Today the parties are always kid friendly – to make light of such a dark story. You boo whenever Haman is talking, you cheer for Mordecai. You celebrate Esther. This is a semi religious holiday – sort of like a church sponsoring a trunk or treat celebration. No God, no prayer, no worship. But that does this story have to do with us today? In convincing Esther to act, Mordecai explained to her that she had been placed in her role as Queen for such a time as this in order to go God’s work. I have a tshirt that says “For Such a time as this”. Reminding me that in God’s world there are no accidents or coincidences. We are all here for a reason. We all have purpose. And there is a reason that God placed us in this time, with these headlines, and each of us have a responsibility to live faithful lives and to witness to what is going on in the world around us. When we listen to the news, it is easy for us to wonder where is God in the midst of this situation. Why doesn’t God speak up and stop all of this chaos and confusion. Why does God allow human misbehavior to get so out of hand. If God is a God of grace and peace, why are so many people getting killed. Why are people and property being destroyed in the name of God? Where is the respect for life, where is the spirit of God, where is prayer, where is worship. Far be it from me to be able to explain why the book of Esther is even in the bible. Far be it from me why we only hear this story in the lectionary once every three years. But I think the point of the story is to help us realize – that God works in mysterious unspoken ways. Even in the most human of story – God is working, sometimes behind the scenes. We have to learn to look for the presence of God. Sometimes we have to be reminded that We were placed in the middle of that story for such a time as this. The presence of God is inside of us – God’s faithful people. I think that the moral of the story of Esther – in the midst of the booing and cheering for the characters, to remember that we are called to be Esther. – to speak up for injustice, to remember that our actions are about others and not ourselves, and most importantly to look for God in the midst of struggle. God is always there. Let us pray. Song What Gift Can we Bring UMH 87 Prayers of the People Prayers of the People (James 5, Mark 9) (Any person may offer a brief spoken prayer or lift a name following each petition. The unison response may follow individual prayers or the group of prayers.) (United Methodist Board of Discipleship) (Just print the instructions, but not the prayer) God of love and power, hear our prayers as we raise our thoughts and our voices to you. We pray for those who suffer and are sick . . . God of love and power, hear our prayer. We pray for those who struggle with temptation and sin . . . God of love and power, hear our prayer. We pray for those who lead and guide others on the journey of faith . . . God of love and power, hear our prayer. We pray for those who serve and share in ministry around the world . . . God of love and power, hear our prayer. We pray for the world and its leaders . . . God of love and power, hear our prayer. We give thanks for those who are cheerful and who bring joy to our lives . . . God of love and power, we give you praise. We give thanks for those who are loving and kind . . . God of love and power, we give you praise. We give thanks for those who serve and lead us in our journeys of faith . . . God of love and power, we give you praise. We give thanks for this earth and its bounty . . . God of love and power, we give you praise. We give thanks for Christ’s grace in our lives, and for the presence of God in our world . . . God of love and power, we give you praise. God of love and power, hear our prayers as we raise our thoughts and our voices to you. Amen. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering Offertory Gracious God, we dedicate these offerings to your service, inspired by Esther's wisdom and courage. Just as she sought deliverance and found grace, may our gifts bring hope and relief to those in need. Guide us to use these resources to promote justice, mercy, and compassion in our community. May we always act with gratitude and wisdom, recognizing your providence in all we do. Bless these gifts and those who give them so that, together, we may reflect your love and grace in the world. In Christ, our savior and redeemer, we pray. Amen. (Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22) (United Methodist Board of Discipleship) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook May the holy wisdom of God Guard your ways and guide your paths May the living truth of God Enlighten your hearts and open your minds And may the living Spirit of God Give you life, and life to the full! Amen! (Posted on Literature & Liturgy) Community Time – joys and Concerns Benediction Go in peace to serve the Lord. Remember the healing love that has taken place in your life.. Be open to all the wonders and opportunities that God puts before you. Go in peace. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley)

In the Family of God

May 18, 2014 I Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Fifth Sunday of Easter In the Family of God God in the Stone story Theologian Megan McKenna tells of a story that circulates in Italy about Michelangelo and stones. Whether it is true or not is not debated. What it means though is open to interpretation. This is how she heard the story. You decide what it means. Every day, it seems, God would look down from heaven on the earth to watch over his people and to see what they were up to. And every once in awhile God would go to visit his people and dwell with them, though usually no one recognized him. Sooner or later, however, someone would come along and find him and then he would disappear from their sight and return to the heavens. And it seemed that some of his best hiding and watching places were in rocks, stones, canyons, caves, wells, and tombs. Soon there were stories about a stone that Jacob used for a pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending to earth and where he wrestled all night before receiving a blessing from a mysterious angel. And the one about Jacob's well or Sinai's mountain and many about the Temple in Jerusalem. Then Isaiah the prophet promised the presence of a cornerstone (but was it a rock or a person?). "Therefore, says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; the one who puts faith in it shall not be shaken" (Is. 28:16). Then, not so long ago, Jesus came and told his people that it wasn't necessary to worship in certain places anymore. He told a woman at a well: "Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... an hour is coming, and is already here, when authentic worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth" (John 4:22-23). But then Jesus died on the place of the skull and was buried in a rock-hewn tomb, but escaped from that cave to free us from our caves. It wasn't long, though, before people began building high places and piling stones up to go and worship there. Many years passed and God grew uncomfortable again. People were having trouble recognizing him; they seemed to be looking only in these places that they had built for his honor and glory for his presence and he wondered what he should do about it. One day God's attention was drawn to a commotion that was going on around a man in Italy. This man loved stones. All day he would chisel away at the barren slabs and after time, energy, and painstaking effort, the stone would live. It was almost as if he discovered something alive inside the stone and went about freeing it with a passion. He had set many people free already and this time he was attempting to set God himself free! For years he had been working on one huge piece of marble, and slowly over the years the figure of a woman holding the body of her dead son was emerging from the rock. And this time even God was surprised at what was being born out of stone. He went to Michelangelo and spoke to him. Michelangelo, God said, what are you doing? Lord, he answered, I am setting you free, so that everyone will recognize you not only in stone, but in everything, everyone that dwells on earth, but especially in all those who suffer unjustly and die violently at the hands of others and in those who mourn for the loss of such vibrant life. I don't want people to forget you. And the Lord spoke again to Michelangelo: Do I really dwell in that stone? I know in the past I have often gone to rocks and mountains, wells and tombs, but I don't remember going to dwell in the stone you are working on. And Michelangelo answered God: But my Lord, since your child came to us, you don't have to pick and choose your places of rest; he left your Spirit everywhere we just have to discover it, touch it and reveal it to others. That's what it means to live. The stone is rolled away. Don’t roll it back. Leonard Sweet Sermon, Leonard Sweet, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2014, 0-000-1415 God in the stone in this building I needed to tell that story this morning, helps me with a puzzle. As I have been looking at the narthex outside, fellowship hall, and even the walls here inside of the sanctuary. I have been trying to get into the mind of the architect, and I have been asking him for a few months – what in the world were you thinking when you built this whole structure with concrete. Why concrete? You cant do anything with concrete, but paint it white. The insurance company loves it. But for practical purposes – you cant do presentations in here, because the signal cant travel through the concrete. You cant decorate it. This part of the church will never burn down. St Benard hospital may have plans for the neighborhood, but there is no way that they could knock down these walls. This structure will stand forever. What in the world was the architect thinking. And after hearing that story – I got it. God is in the concrete. And once the building was consecrated, and God was in the building – there was no way he was going to be able to leave. He will be stuck here forever. God is the bedrock Now before you think that is a totally crazy idea, consider Isaiah 28:16 which says - I lay in Isreal a foundation stone. A primodial stone, a rock that does not move. A rock that like this building isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. You can’t move it, or do anything with it. There is a town in the middle east called Petra. Petra means bedrock. And the town is build within the bedrock of a mountain. The people are long gone, but the structure is still there. Peter the rock When Jesus was talking to the disciples, he said to Peter, upon this rock I build this church. But the word for rock that Jesus used was not Petra – it was petro. Petro is a movable rock, a rock that can be picked up, that can be changed. Rock that is not reliable, but is still usable. Jesus did not build his church upon petra, but petro. Living Stones It is Peter’s words that I want us to consider this morning. He advises us to become living stones. Once again that is a strange term. Afterall stones are dead and lifeless. There is nothing that lives inside of a stone, except God. The story of Jesus reminds us that what was dead and lifeless can e bought back to life, with the power of God. Jesus calls himself living water. Now there is a such thing as living water. A river, a stream a creek is living water, because the water is moving. So a living stone is a stone that moves. Remember, Genesis says that he formed man by taking some dirt from the ground and breathing life into it. So there is regular dirt on the ground that does not move and breathe. And there is living dirt that breathes, walks and talks. You and me, we are God’s living stones. The church is not these concrete blocks, it is these living stones that do the work of God inside of here. GOD WANTS TO LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." Peter’s words of encouragement I Peter was not written to address a specific issue, it was written to all struggling churches to remind them of their task. To remind them of their faith. Peter believes that those who believe the gospel, must live the gospel. Cant read, and pray and go to church without being convicted of who Christ is. And when you know Christ, you love Christ, you live in Christ. When someone ask who you are – your answer is not about where your hometown is, it is not about what you do for a living, it is about who you are in the Spirit of Christ. God is the bedrock of your life, Christ is the cornerstone of your life, and you are God’s living stones. A piece of God lives in you. And you are a small piece of God. There’s a story that is often told in management textbooks about a man who was walking in the countryside one day. He happened upon a building site where three people were all working vigorously. Two were stonecutters; the third was an old woman, sweeping The traveler stopped and asked what they were doing. The first stonecutter answered, “I am making a living.” The traveler proffered his question to the second stonecutter. He didn’t look up, but kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire county.” Then our traveler turned to the old woman with her broom. “What are you doing?” he asked. The old woman paused, set down her broom, and looked toward the heavens. With a visionary gleam in her eye she said, “I am building a cathedral to the glory of almighty God.” It’s a parable that rings true for us today, one that this extended metaphor of stones brought to mind. Of course, our text imagines us as stones, not as stonecutters. What could it mean to be a living stone? The first stonecutter thought he was his work, the second thought he was his own effort, but it was the third who realized that she was part of a larger whole. And that what she gave, contributed the the building of God’s kingdom. In this chapter – Peter gives us the ultimate encouragement. You are a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation. All of these images are in the old testament. As a matter of fact, Hosea names one of his children nobody – to remind the children of Israel that when they don’t have God inside of them- they are nobody. But with God’s help – they are somebody. They are a royal priesthood set aside for a special purpose. A Royal Preisthood A priest is one who leads others to the glory of God. A bridge, an intercessor. When we live God’s word in our lives, we lead others to God. The basis message of 1 Peter 2 is to have hope, to live holy, to love one another, to seek God like a baby seeks milk. And to live as God’s spiritual house. Living stones reflect the bedrock of God, the cornerstone of Christ. We are building used for God’s purposes. Let us pray… Amen. Children’s sermon…. (From a sermon by Glenn Durham, I Simply Must Have, 4/4/2011) We Are The Church by Wesley T. Runk Passage: 1 Peter 2:4-12 • Lectionary: Easter 5 Item 8 of 12 | Back to Results Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. Object: Toy building blocks Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. How are you all today? (Let them respond.) Good. Do you see what I have with me today? What are these things? (Let them answer.) That's right. They are blocks. What do we do with them? (Let them answer.) Right. We use them for building things. What kinds of things can I build with these blocks? (Let them answer.) Yes, I could build all of those things, couldn't I? What if I wanted to build a church? Do you think I could do it with these blocks? (Let them answer.) Why couldn't I build a church with these blocks? (Let them answer.) That's right. I don't have enough blocks here. Besides that, I need blocks that are made out of brick or stone. These are too small and too weak to become part of a big building like a church. Boys and girls, did you know that Jesus and his disciples told us what to use when we are going to build a church? A long time ago we were told exactly how to put a church together. We don't use blocks like these, or bricks or wood. Can you guess what we should use to build our church? (Let them answer.) Those are good guesses, boys and girls. Jesus and his disciples told us that we are the blocks that are needed for our church! What do you think of that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) That's right. You and I and your moms and dads and brothers and sisters -- all of us are the blocks that make up the church. That means each one of us is very important, doesn't it, boys and girls? Let me show you how important each one of us is. (Build a small pyramid, using your blocks.) Now, let's pretend that this is our church and that each one of these blocks is one of you. Every time we add one block we come closer to building our church. By ourselves we are only a block but when God puts us together we can be a wall and as he adds more and more we become a great building that Jesus calls his church. You see, boys and girls, that's just how important each one of you is to the whole church. Did you know you were that important, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Well, you are! So let's all try to remember that every time we come to church. The whole church needs each one of us and we need one another. Will you try to remember that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) Good. God bless you. Amen. WE ARE THE CHURCH, Wesley T. Runk, CSS Publishing Company, 1994, 0-7880-0101-9 Extra illustration You Know Your Master Is There There is a story told of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer. "Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. "It's my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn't it the same with you? You don't know what lies beyond the Door, but you know that your Master is there." Alan Carr, Biblical Facts about a Place Called Heaven

God knows you better than you know yourself

September 8, 2013 Jeremiah 18:1-11 Psalm 139: 1-6; 13-18 Year C 16th Sunday of Pentecost God knows you better than you know yourself Are you a salmon or a jellyfish? ((This jellyfsh and salmon illustration was borrowed from another Sermon Central contributor, Joel Smith) This will sound like a strange question to start off with, but let me ask you: Are you more like a salmon or a jellyfish? Okay maybe you don’t know much about them. I’ll describe each one and then you can decide. Salmon begin their lives in the fresh water rivers of the frigid Northwest. Not long after they’re born they begin a long swim down stream. Their destination is the ocean. It is here that they spend the majority of their adult lives. Then something strange happens. Scientists don’t even understand how, but at some point the adult salmon begins to swim back home. Though they may have swum thousands of miles from that original river location they head back home. That’s right! They swim upstream, against the current of the river. You’ve probably seen nature programs on TV that show them leaping out of the water to overcome waterfalls and other barriers impeding their progress. They face predators like bears and people. Incredibly, though they’ve been gone for years many of them return to the exact spot where they were born. I saw a documentary on one determined salmon that even swam through a maze of pipes and nudged open a grate to re-enter the hatchery where it was born. After an incredible effort the fish spawn and then does it and how He chooses to do it. God’s will is a way beyond our understanding, yet it is a way in which we are called to think and live. die. The new salmon are soon born and repeat the process. Does that describe you? Does your life have a destination? Are you going in a specific direction and are you willing to face all the obstacles to get there? If so, you’re like the salmon. Then there’s the jellyfish. There are numerous species of these yucky-looking little creatures. Some of them are tiny. Others have tentacles that can be measured in feet. Jellyfish are born in the ocean and die there too. They have limited movement, but never really use that ability to go in any particular destination. They’re moved along primary by the wind and waves and tides. They drift about stinging and surviving. Occasionally one will wash up on the beach and, if you’re not careful, you’ll step on it and mess up your vacation. circumstances or other people’s plans, but you really have no particular destination of your own. The difference between salmon and jellyfish is the same as the difference between people. Some have a direction. Most just drift. Which one are you? A salmon or a jellyfish? Someone who lives out your call or someone who just goes along with what is going on? The world expects us to be jellyfish It is not as easy as you think to live a life being called my God. As a matter of fact, the world encourages us all to be jellyfish. To wallow on our desires, abilities. Freedom means doing what we want and depending on ourselves for everything. A sense of call in our time is profoundly counter cultural.. the ideology of our time is that we can live an uncalled life, one not referred to any purpose beyond one’s self. Walter Bruggeman A man on tin roof prays for salvation until… A man was fixing his roof, a tin roof that had nothing to hold onto. He made a wrong move and started to fall off of the roof. And of course he called out to God to save him, until his pants got caught on a nail, and he was saved. He called out never mind God, I got it, I saved myself. Never even realizing that God can provide the nail, it was not just a coincidence. But that is how the world wants us to think- things just happen, they have nothing to do with God’s will. And unfortunately, the church does not make it any better. When we talk about being called, we save that term just for clergy. We think that there are special requirements to being called. Being called is something that applies to certain people. Bing called means living a life in the presence of God. It means living faithfully according to your relationship with God. God is present with everybody in the church, everybody has a calling, a meaning, a purpose. Martin Luther was one of the first to rediscover the ancient, biblical doctrine of vocation. The medieval world drew a sharp boundary between the sacred and the secular, but Luther said no, it isn’t meant to be that way. It isn’t just priest and monks, and nuns who have a vocation, but every Christian. Curiuosly, Luther uses the word vocation more often in his writing to refer to things like marriage, and familu then it does to paid employment. Vocation to him has to do with all of life, with it living it faithfully. We can have a calling to do anything, so long as it glorifies God. 1. 3446 “We Are Everywhere” 2. The growth of Christianity in the early centuries was phenomenal. By mid 2nd-century, an apologist said, “We are everywhere. We are in your towns and in your cities; we are in your army and navy; we are in your palaces; we are in the senate; we are more numerous than anyone.” 3. By AD 300, the church was spreading so fast that it appeared the entire civilized world could be evangelized by AD 500. 4. But Constantine decreed that every one in the empire was already Christian. And slowly the idea prevailed of a division between laity and clergy, for pagans could not evangelize nor did they know how. And Christianity’s movement was checked. When we started to put the presence of God in the church and not in our lives, we changed to definition of what it meant to work for God. More importantly we forgot that God is everywhere, in everything and in everyperson. It is like the young boy who was moving from Kansas to Minnesota. On the night before he moved, he prayed – God when we move we are going to miss you, but we will always remember what you have done for us while we were here. Not realizing that God was in Minnesota, long before he was. God is in Kansas and Minnesota at the same time. God is omnipotent and everywhere. Psalm 139 – reminds us that God is everywhere – where can I go that your presence is not already there?- nowhere because God is everywhere. It also reminds us that God knows everything. But more importantly, God knows you, God knows your purpose. in Psalm 139:1-6 You Examin You Know You Know You See You Know You Know You Go You Place 5. God Examins Your Heart Psalm 139:1 A. What is it to examin? B. What will God Find in Your Heart? 6. God Knows You Psalm 139:2 A. Your Actions B. Your Thoughts C. Your Words 7. God Sees Psalm 139:3 A. Your Travels B. Your Rest 8. God Goes Psalm 139:5 A. Before You B. Behind You 9. God Places Psalm 139:5 A. His Hand on You B. His Blessing My favorite verse in psalm 139 is that I am wonderfully and fearfully made. That is a reminder of God’s love for us. In a world that would like to tell us that we are uncalled. That we are unworthy of God’s service. That what we do is nothing special, and that work that we do is not sacred. There's a Great One Inside You During a practice session for the Green Bay Packers, things were not going well for Vince Lombardi’s team. Lombardi singled out one big guard for his failure to "put out." It was a hot, muggy day when the coach called his guard aside and leveled his awesome vocal guns on him, as only Lombardi could. "Son, you are a lousy football player. You’re not blocking, you’re not tackling, you’re not putting out. As a matter of fact, it’s all over for you today, go take a shower." The big guard dropped his head and walked into the dressing room. Forty- five minutes later, when Lombardi walked in, he saw the big guard sitting in front of his locker still wearing his uniform. His head was bowed and he was sobbing quietly. Vince Lombardi, ever the changeable but always the compassionate warrior, did something of an about face that was also typical of him. He walked over to his football player and put his arms around his shoulder. "Son," he said, "I told you the truth. You are a lousy football player. You’re not blocking, you’re not tackling, you’re not putting out. However, in all fairness to you, I should have finished the story. Inside of you, son, there is a great football player, and I’m going to stick by your side until the great football player inside of you has a chance to come out and assert himself." With these words, Jerry Kramer straightened up and felt a great deal better. As a matter of fact, he felt so much better he went on to become one of the all-time greats in football and was recently voted the all-time guard in the first 50 years of professional football. God often uses the least gifted people when some great service is neede. Because people who know their own weakness are fully open to the power that God offers God uses the least likely. A practical application of this is right here in the church. We are all gifted, we all have something that we can give to help the church, and there is a place in the structure of the church for us to be a part. When we see people participating, and helping, I think that we still place a value on that person, and what church they are from. It is not that individual who is doing a certain job, but a representative. As God is reshaping us, remolding us into a new church with a new mission, it is important for us to remember that we all have gifts, and the church is the place for us to explore and grow in those gifts. And it is our job as church members to honor the gifts of all people. We wouldn’t be here, if God was not using us. It is our collective gifts that do the work of the church. That is the message of Jeremiah – as God called him to go into the potter’s house. God often does not speak in words, but in images. Jeremiah saw that his nation was being remolded and reshaped for a new time and a new mission. God did not give up on them for their sins, God took the time to give them a new life. But many of us don’t want to be touched by God, we don’t want to be reshaped. And yet God sees the best in us, and prepares us for our destiny. I thought this poem said it best….. Written by Irenaues from the 2nd Century. From God’s Hands It is not you who shape God; it is God that shapes you. If then you are the work of God, await the hand of the Artist who does all things in due season. Offer the Potter your heart, soft and tractable, and keep the form in which the Artist has fashioned you. Let your clay be moist, lest you grow hard and lose the imprint of the Potter’s fingers. He is the potter; we are the clay. He is the shepherd; we are the sheep. He is the Master; we are the servant. No matter how educated we are, no matter how much power and influence we may think we possess, no matter how long we have walked w/ Him, no matter how significant we may imagine ourselves to be in His plans, none of that qualifies us to grasp why He does what He does when He God takes our sin and turns it into service, God takes our weakness and uses it as a strength. God takes what is least, and makes it into the most important. God calls clergy, but God calls laity also. Remember when 5000 people on the beach needed to be fed. Jesus asked his disciples to feed them, but they were too stuck in their doubts and what makes sense with the world that they couldn’t do it. God used a little boy with 5 loaves and 5 fishes. When God needed someone to take care of his son as he came into the world – he didn’t send an angel to an older woman, but to a young girl. A young girl who willingly accepted his word, that she would be the mother of Jesus. She didn’t think about the consequences, she just accepted God’s word for her. We all have value in God, God knows us, God knows what we are capable of, God knows what we have trouble with, he knows what we cant do. And he uses all of that to shape us into a faithful servant, who can answer God’s call. It is in our willingness, our obedience, that we respond to God’s touch. Amen. Whither shall I go from Thy Presence? From thee is there some hiding place? The deed is a thing so private, so inside the prefect working of desire that its inward part seems known to me, to me alone. The ebb and flow of thoughts within my hidden sea, the forms that stir within the channels of my mind, keep tryst with all my hidden hopes and fears. The ties that hold me fast to those whose life with mine makes one, The tangled twine that binds my life with things I claim as mine, are held in place by folds of my embrace. The sealed stillness that walls around the heartaches and the pain, is held against all else that would invade. Awe-filled contrition emptied clear of violence and sin, seeps slowly from the wilderness of my deserted soul. Almighty joy mounts to the brim and overflows in wild array, with music only ears attuned can hear. And yet, always I know that another sees and understands every vigil with me keeps watch. The door through which He comes no man can shut, He is the Door! I cannot go from Thy Presence, there is no hiding place from Thee.