Living God's Passion in your life (repreach of 8/27/10)

11th Sunday After Pentecost Jeremiah 1:4-10 Living our God’s Passion in your life Blessing of the Back Packs Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship ONE: Calling all children of the Living God: the gospel is good news for every age and every stage. ALL: Let us worship together, the young and the old. ONE: The good news is proclaimed in God’s words, and also with crayons, silly songs, snacks, and rest time. ALL: Let us worship together, every generation. ONE: We come together with different abilities and disabilities, learning in a rainbow of ways and styles. ALL: Let us worship together, with our family of faith. ONE: All are welcome in the arms of Christ who proclaimed, “Let the children come!” ALL: Let us worship together, united in our eternal hope. Opening Prayer Let us pray: God our teacher, who helps us to understand the world around us, Thank you for the privilege of education. You have blessed our communities with teachers who take new skills and concepts and pass them along to each new class of young people. God who came as a child to show us how to be fully human, to show us how to be children of God, You have given our children minds that grow and develop in unique ways, at unique speeds, and we are astounded by that miracle. You speak to us through the words, actions, play, and feelings of children. You call us to listen to the Spirit speaking through our young siblings in Christ. We celebrate the beginning of this school year and ask for your blessings upon the children, the educators, and the families who support them all. But in this celebration of education and learning, we do not forget there are children and families and teachers who do not have the resources they need. When systems are unjust, the outcomes are unacceptable. Today we remember those who are beginning school this year: those who have what they need to learn and grow in safety, and those who lack supplies, teachers, safe buildings, and accommodations for all needs and abilities. We come to worship together, to lift up our young people and all those who care for them and teach them. Open our hearts to what you are saying to us today. Amen Song Lord of the Dance UMH 261 Scripture Jeremiah 1:4-19 Sermon Living out God’s Passion in your life Gordon McKenzie worked for the Hallmark company for over 30 years, one of his ways of giving back to the community was to go into the schools and to give creativity workshops. Over the years he says that he noticed a pattern that never seemed to change. He would work with the first graders and ask who was a artist – and every hand would go up. He would go to the second grade and notice that when he asked that same question, only about half of the kids would raise their hands – by third grade it was down to ten, and in the six grade only about 2 would be brave enough to raise their hand just because they asked. I would think that there is just something about life, about peer pressure, about the way we relate to one another that holds down our creativity. Once we start to get rational and think- we also start to limit ourselves and our opportunities. We start to think that we have an obligation to do somethings, so we put aside that creative side, that exciting side of ourselves, the side that is willing to take risk and to step out of our comfort zone. Because that spirit of being stifled is not just in the schools – it is in the church. If I were to ask you all how many of you are called by God – I would get the same response. We have made up in our minds that those words mean something specific, and whatever it means it does not apply to me How many of you feel that you have a calling from god on your life? Every hand in the room should go up- but it doesn’t for some reason. Why is that, Mr Makenzie concluded that there was a time in our lives, perhaps when we were very young when each of us believed that we could do anything. We were genius at everything and we were not afraid to show it. We were also not afraid to be wrong, to make a mistake, for someone to tell us that we did not know what we were talking about. We were willing to take risk at what we wanted to believe we were called to do. But something happened in life. He said that we were waiting for the authority figures in our lives to validate us – to tell us that we were the best, that we could indeed make our dreams come true – and for some reason the validation never came- no one cared, no one patted us on the back and we gave up on our dreams. We assumed that maybe we were not a genius, and that perhaps the world did not need us – and we gave up on our call. That is devastating for that to happen to anyone in the schools – and perhaps that is a wonderful back to school message to think of as our children go back to school – to do everything that we can to encourage them, to tell them that they are genius – and that the world does indeed need them. We need to give all of the opportunities that we can to express their creativity and their willingness to grow and to learn. We need to do that in the schools and in the homes, but more importantly we need to do it in the churches – where else can you encourage a relationship with the divine, the unknown, the new, the ultimate creator. Where else do we get our inspiration to do anything in the world, if we don’t get it from God. Where else do we get our instructions from God to go out into the world and do anything – unless it comes from God? That’s what I want to talk about this morning – is being called by God – exactly what does that mean anyway? What special qualities do you have to have in order to have that relationship with God? What qualities do we need in order to do the special work of God – to perhaps be a prophet? Jeremiah was a prophet of god – I like him the best, because he seems to be the most grounded. Prophets did a lot of strange things in order to get the attention of the people – Hosea gave his kids strange names like – bad luck or something really unfortunate, Isaiah was willing to die by being stretched apart, Amos constantly criticized the government. People even criticized John the Baptist for wearing strange clothes. Jeremiah got the attention of others, by living with them, by addressing the issues of his time, and by giving hope to the people. I mentioned a few weeks ago that Jeremiah considered himself to be a prophet of the people, his message was not to the leaders, but not the people, it was not his job to preach gloom and doom to a sinful people who did not listen – but to preach walk with a people in trouble an distress and to give them hope by encouraging them to stand strong until things changed. Most prophets were concerned with only saving the chosen people. Jeremiah realized that in order to save them, that he had to save everybody – he reached out to the rest of the world. Many of the prophets and others talk about how they came to be “called” by god – how god gave them a special task to reach out. Many didn’t start their jobs until they became adults, some as children, Only Jerimiah says that his story started way before he was born. That his relationship with God started with god, and not with his awareness that there was a God. When we read the prophet section of the bible, I will tell you a secret. The books are ordered from longest to shortest. Jeremiah is the first prophet, with the longest book and the most important message. Jeremiah was afraid to speak up, because all of the popular prophets were telling people that no matter how threatening things look that everything was going to get better. Jeremiah’s message was that before things got better, they were going to get worse. But God would be present in both the challenges and the rewards. The lectionary will deal with the book of Jeremiah for nine weeks. I think I only chose it as our scripture for this week. So today, we start with chapter 1 – how he came to have this special relationship. He didn’t do anything t was given to him. He talks of being that young boy – full of ideas and creativity waiting for an adult to validate his call – he talks of being too young to really make a difference in the world. As I read the verse this year, that is one thing that stood out to me – when Jeremiah says I can’t be a prophet because I am only a boy. The Hebrew word that the writer uses is the word for a young boy not old enough to join the army and bear weapons. That would have been a boy about the age of 14. But then I thought about the world of our churches, where many times the youngest person in the room is 40-50 years old and they still don’t feel that they have to power to speak and make a difference. God’s message to Jeremiah – that his age does not matter when God gives him a job. He also talks of god’s response to him and his need and his fear – that he was not to be afraid of what people would say to him, how they would shoot him down and tell him that he was too young to make a difference. God says that if I give you something to do you are not too young to do it, as a matter of fact- you have an obligation to listen and to respond. God calls all of us to do something. We have a calling to do something – to be a prophet, or a writer, or a teacher, or a carpenter, a bus driver, or a preacher or something to further the world and the kingdom of God. But as Christians, we also have a calling to be something in the world – something that the world needs. A doctor speaks of god calling him to be a plastic surgeon, why a plastic surgeon – changing your appearance, what does that have to do with building the kingdom ? most of his clients could care less about God. But he was also called to pray and to start prayer groups for those who worked in the hospital and to reach out to other plastic surgeons to encourage them to live a life of faith. In his call to be a faithful Christian in the workplace – he made a difference in the lives of others. To be called could mean doing a specific job, but it can also be to respond in a Christian way to life, it can be to encourage and support others in what they are trying to do, most importantly it means being willing to listen to God at all times in all circumstances. That is our biggest and more important calling – to obedient to the will of God. And we are all a part of that. Every body is called, not everyone has the ears to listen attentively. If we listen, we may not get that validation from the world – but we always get it from God. The bible is full of the stories of God calling people to a certain task. In each story, God approaches them, gives them a task that they are afraid of, and then gives them a sign or symbol that it is really God talking to them. Most of the stories of being called also have another thing in common, the response that they are not the right person for the job. Moses said that he couldn’t really speak, Isaiah said that he was not from the right family, Jeremiah said that he was too young. Each of them resisted God, and yet God gave each of them the assurance that it could be done. For me, my call was a lot like Ezekiel, I didn’t resist, I accepted the call. But one thing that all calls have in common, they are a challenge beyond anything that you can expect. God always says it is okay – I will help you. The Borden family is from Chicago – the company that makes milk and other products. I do believe that the factory is on the Westside. But anyway – William Borden was being groomed to take over the family fortune. He worked hard, he went to school, and a graduation present was a trip around the world. But as he went around the world and learned the conditions of most of the people in the world – he wrote a letter to his parent explaining that God was leading him to be a missionary to those in need. He wrote two words in his bible – no reserves. Through prayer he realized that he wanted to go to China to work with people there. His parents convinced him to go to graduate school and get more education – he went to yale and started several bible studies. He was offered several high paying positions, but turned them down. He needed to in China - he wrote in his bible – no retreats – and he left. He went to China, he also went to the middle east to learn Arabic to talk with the Muslims. A few months later he contracted spinal meningitis. He died from it at age 25 – a few months before is death he wrote in his bible – no regrets. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. That was his answer to gods call in his life. What are your responses to gods call on your life? The question is not have you been called, the question is are you listening? Jeremiah want us to know that the need to be creative starts way before we are in the first grade.- it starts before you were born, it starts in the circumstances that you were born into, it starts in your willingness to listen and to say yes. The good news is that when god calls, he commissions – he tells us what we have to do and why – he tells us what we are up against and what we have to overcome. We are also always given validation – an assurance that you can do this, an assurance that others recognize gods call in you. A test that in the midst of circumstance, your work will not be in vain. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. So what is it that you need to do now? This is a new day for us all – we all have to face challenges in life that we did not expect. None of us have ever faced this moment – and yet we have been called to move forward. The most popular phrase in the bible – is be not afraid. When we encounter the holy – that is the first thing that we hear – be not afraid. If be not afraid is the most popular command of the bible – do you know what the most popular promise is? Be not afraid, because I will be with you. Whatever challenge that you must face, you never face it alone – God is always there with you. As we step into a new day, new challenges you are called to face – know that God is with you. Amen. Song Here I am, Lord UMH 593 Prayer God, we praise You for who You are. We give You thanks because You created us in your own image. Also we pray for knowledge and understanding for us all this new school year. We pray that you will be with each of us at the start a new school year. We pray that you will give us endurance as we seek understanding and new revelations in our pursuits and studies. Father we also pray for families as we support students, by building a closer working relationship with teachers and staff and all those involved in the learning process. This we ask in Jesus Name. (Inspired by Pray Ray Prayer Journal) Lord’s Prayer Blessing of the Back Packs ( See Insert) PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE ONE: With you, every transition and new start is a reminder of your goodness, for you are always creating fresh, amazing things in us and through us. Though we are sad about the summer ending, we are grateful for this school year. We appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow, knowing it is one of the biggest privileges we have. With thanks and love, we now offer everything we are to you, asking for your blessing. ONE: We pray as and for students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. We pray for our hearts and all they hold—excitement and nervousness, disappointment and hope. We give you all our loves and fears. We pray for steady self-esteem and deepening resilience. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our minds, that they will expand in wonder and celebration, learning not just from the books studied but the people beside us. Open our minds with a willingness to be changed in unexpected ways, and settle our thought loops in peaceful places. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our hands, that they will reach out to help welcome and care. Bless our hands with patience and dedication as they grip pencils and type on keyboards, swish paint brushes and clap in song, grip monkey bars and lunch box handles, spin wheelchair tires and basketballs. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our mouths, that they will speak words bringing life and connection. Help us use our mouths to honor the dignity and belovedness of all. Remind us to open our mouths for deep belly breaths when we’re feeling anxious or afraid. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our feet, that they will move toward those different from us and help others in safe ways. Plant our feet next to those who feel alone, and bless our steps down hallways and sidewalks. We know you are with us wherever our feet go or stay. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our eyes, that they may see ourselves and others with compassion. Point our eyes toward those who are forgotten or struggling. Grow us in flexibility to see from all kinds of angles. Bless what and how we see, whether we’re looking at a screen, a whiteboard, or the beauty of a person’s face. And help us see with the most important eyes—the eyes of the Spirit within us. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We pray for our ears, that they will genuinely listen to all voices, especially those that haven’t been listened to much. When things get noisy, help us listen extra carefully for your voice. Help us hear with the most important ears—the ears of the Spirit within us ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We say a special prayer for parents, as the start of a new school year is always another leap of faith. Wrap them with your reassuring love as they entrust their children and trust in you. When questions remain unanswered, and the realm of control is finite, bless them with peace and the promise you are right there with their child, whether heading to preschool or driving to college. ALL: Loving God, hold us and our prayers. ONE: We also pray now for teachers, staff and administrators. Bless these faithful servants with courage and confidence, knowing you are in their classroom with a steady hand on their shoulder. Give them peace, patience, and balance in the pressures they face, and bravery to build structures and systems which justly serve all your children. Give them delight in the young ones before them, and recognition of the sweet ways children are also teachers. ALL: Loving God, hold us all and our prayers. ONE: We pray for health and wholeness, fun and growth, surprise and amazement, for this school year ahead, knowing you will hold us all the way through. ALL: We thank you, God, and love you. Amen. Blessing of the bench Dear God, We ask for your blessing for this park bench and all who make use of it. We now consecrate it for holy service. May it provide rest to those who are tired, may it be a seat of inspiration for those who sit and seek your presence. May it even be a support for the squirrels and other animals who play upon it. Lord as the rays of the Sun and the drops of rain fall upon it, may your blessings continue to flow upon all who come in contact with this bench. We thank you for the opportunity to do our part in building your kingdom. Help us to use this project and others to do all that we can to clean up the earth and make the world a better place through our service. Let this bench watch over the play of our children, support teachers and parents, and bless our church. Just as Jesus upholds us in all that we do, may this bench uphold all who sit upon it and honor it. Amen Stewardship Moment Luke records the story of Jesus healing a crippled (bent over) woman on the Sabbath, in the synagogue. What a gift! When the one in authority griped about Jesus “working” on the Sabbath, Jesus responded with an appeal to ordinary actions everyone took on the Sabbath (leading animals to water), and an acknowledgement of the woman being set free from bondage as a similar action. Jesus gave what he had: both the capacity to teach, and the capacity to heal. Today, each of us is invited to give what WE have. Some of us may offer the work of our hands, perhaps on a Sunday, or perhaps on another day of the week. Some of us may offer to share a talent: creating new banners, playing an instrument for worship, visiting in the hospital, reaching out to visitors, cooking for our neighbors (list specifics which are part of YOUR particular setting). And all of us are invited to share from our finances. Whether your gift is $25 or $2500, we invite you to make an offering to support the work of this congregation and to confirm your understanding that ALL we have is a gift from God…so we return a portion of that gift, as our way of saying “thank you”. As we make our offering, may each of us experience being set free from the bondage we’ve known (particularly from the bondage of such addictive attachment to our time, our talents and our treasure that we’re loathe to share). Prayer of Thanksgiving Release us, God, from the bondage of holding too tightly to “our stuff”. Receive these gifts, and help us use them wisely. Receive the intention of our hearts to model our lives on the life of Jesus, who poured out his time, his talents and his love, always seeking to lift up the least, the lost and the left-behind. AMEN (Disciple’s of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Loving God, Coat the year before us with miracles of your mercy and strength, and help us appreciate most of all the bedrock miracle of your presence with us in every single ordinary, sacred moment. Lead us this school year into life-giving rhythms of grace and light, where our regular routines become the framework for worship and blessing. Amen. Community Time Benediction Children, families, and all who love them, go out into the beautiful world that God has made! Go and play! Go and learn! Go and love others! May you be filled with lovingkindness for yourself and everyone around you. May the prayers of your faith community keep you safe, healthy, and full of joy. Amen. Blessing of the Back Pack and Back to School Liturgy provided by© 2022 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. illustratedministry.com This content is provided under a limited license. May not be reproduced outside of license terms. See copyright page for license terms. Children’s Sermon(not included in service) To emphasize the pencil parables, start by giving each child an unsharpened pencil and piece of paper. Ask them to do something simple, like write their names. Why doesn’t the pencil work? It has not been sharpened! Well, how can that be fixed? Talk about how we can sharpen a pencil quite easily, whether we use a handheld, hand-cranked, or electric sharpener. Then we can use the pencil in various ways—writing, drawing, filling in bubbles on a test sheet… Explain that our lives can be sort of like these pencils. God wants to use us in all sorts of wonderful ways to serve Him and His people. But we first must be “sharpened” for His purposes. How does this happen? Well, most importantly, we can sharpen ourselves through the sword of the Bible and the power of prayer… (Ministry to Children.com by Kristin Schmidt) Additional Illustrations

Don't Worry Be Happy

November 2, 2014 All Saints Day Matthew 5:1-12 Don’t Worry Be Happy There seems to be a lot of talk this morning on the news about the spaceship crash on Friday. For $250,000 you can take a personal flight to the moon. And people are signing up, in spite of the accident that happened. I wish them well, me I prefer to keep my feet grounded here on earth. But as I was thinking about the meaning of All Saints Day - the founder of the Virgin company – Richard Branson said something that made me think. He said that we stand on the shoulders of giants, and yet we have failed. I think that we all stand on the shoulders of giants – that is why we are here. There is someone in our life who believed in us, someone who always gave us words of encouragement. Some of the very people that we honor today – made a difference in who we are. There was a rabbi who also said words of wisdom to me this morning and made me think – He said the only direction that God gives us to go is forward. The only thing we can do in life is to go on. There are times when we would like to be able to go back, and yet God does not give us that choice. No matter what we may be dealing with in life – we have to move on, we have to go forward. I think that is why the words of Matthew 5 – stood out to me this All Saints Day. Blessed are those who…. Says the King James version of the bible, and the New revised standard version says happy are those who….. This is the sermon on the mount. Where Jesus goes up to the mountain, the disciples follow him. And he gives them this special message. Be happy when you are hopeless, when your mourn, when you are humble, when you are hungry, when you are harassed for righteous sake. For your reward is in heaven. But how can you be happy, when you are hopeless, or hungry, or grieving, or treated unfairly? That is the question that plagues us all throughout this life. No matter who we are, no matter how long we go to church, no matter how much family we have, no matter how much money we have – there are going to be times when life causes us despair. This is one time when I feel that the later translations of the bible, don’t do justice to the meaning of the text. The first blessing in the NSRV says – Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Yet the King James says blessed are the poor in spirit, for your shall inherit the kingdom of God. The difference. The original greek word for poor – tochos – means a person who is dirt poor and has nothing but God to depend on. Who has ever been in a situation in life when you felt that you didn’t have nothing. You could not depend on anything or anyone. And yet it was at that moment that you realized that in the midst of your nothingness – you still had God. And God was all that you needed to get through. Into every life sadness will fall. And Jesus says that it is okay to mourn, to mourn the loss of our people, to mourn the loss of situations in life. But when you believe in God, it is in those times of sadness, when you invite a special kind of joy to come beside you and give you comfort. It is not the joy of getting a something new, or winning the lottery. It is a joy of knowing that in times of sadness that you are not alone. And that the holy spirit will come to you in ways that you did not expect, and give you the strength to move forward. To help us understand that the only direction that we can go is forward. I like this verse for All Saints Day – because as I look at the blessings, the blessings are not just for those who have passed on – they are for all of us. Those in our lives who have gone on before us have had their hard times, but so have we. Those that we honor today have sacrificed so that we can have, but so have we. They are children of God, but so are we. And Jesus says that the now have their reward in heaven. And yet the struggle continues. Life is still hard for us. Jesus says that there will be times when you will be harassed, just because you are a Christian. And yet you are guaranteed comfort in the midst of the struggle. The only way that we can go is forward. Dr. Earl Palmer is a biblical scholar. And he says that Jesus got his inspiration for the sermon on the mount from psalm 1. Psalm 1 starts out by saying blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. But who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate in his law day and night, they are like a tree planted by streams of water. Like sermon on the mount, Jesus takes a blessing and turns it into a story. He says that the word that Jesus uses for the word blessing is Ashur. Ashur means headed in the right direction, or on the right journey. Remember, the only way for us to go in this life is forward. When we know that we have God in our lives, we are headed in the right direction. The key is – just that – we have to believe that God is with us in the midst of our struggles. Only then can we truly be happy, - when others are stuck in sorrow. Dr. Carlyle Marney once remarked that a person can be understood as being similar to a house. We have our living rooms, where we entertain, and our basements, where we hide the trash. The way to observe All Saints’ Day, he suggested, is to walk out into your front yard and salute the people on your balcony. The balcony people in our lives are those who have gone before us, who have been our encouragers, who have left a legacy. (1) That’s what we do on this Saints’ Day. We salute all the saints who have gone before us, whose faithfulness provided us with the faith we have today. Amen

Worship the God you Know

Acts 17:22-34 Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A Worship the God you Know What is Memorial Day It is Memorial Day Weekend, and that can mean a lot of different things. It can mean a long weekend, cook outs, parades. Maybe it is just me, but it seems that the retailers have discovered a new holiday. Memorial Day has always meant sales, but this year I have noticed that every other email that I have gotten this weekend, and every other commercial on tv is an advertisement for someone one’s special sale. Memorial day is the first unofficial day of the summer. For us in the black community, that is a scary thing. It means that it is about to get hot, and that tempers are about to rise. Who knows what the summer will bring. We have to pray. In the midst of all that we have made Memorial Day to mean, let us not forget that there is a real meaning for the day. It is to remember our servicemen who have passed on, in order to preserve our ability to have fun, and our ability to be free. It was actually the black community that first celebrated Memorial Day. They would lay wreaths on the graves of soldiers, whether they were in the union army or the confederate army. From there is seemed to catch on to other communities. It is important for us to remember that we did not get where we are alone. We are here because of the sacrifice of others. In order to remember, we often build memorials, or monuments, or even buildings. So it is fitting that our scripture is about a monument. A monument to an unknown God. Mars Hill A few years ago, I took a trip following in the footsteps of Paul. The trip started in Athens, and the first place that we visited was Mars Hill. I remember there were monuments to different Gods everywhere. And we stood at the monument that Paul stood, dedicated to an unknown God. Legend has it that the city of Athens was in danger, so they set a bunch of sheep to roam around, and they sacrificed them wherever they were. They build monuments where the sheep fell and worshipped the God near that sheep. They noticed that one sheep was laying near a place with no monument, so they built one to an unknown God. Paul was in town trying to tell gentiles about Jesus. He wanted them to become Christians. So he appealed to what he already saw – that they were religious. They were obviously in search for God – but did not know Who God was. Paul wanted them to know. God is the creater. God is the maker, not the made. A monument is not enough to explain who God is. The point of Acts 17 As a matter of fact, Paul reminds us that we live in God, God does not live in us. Our being is dependent on God. God is a judge. As long as we don’t know, things are okay. But once we know God we have to obey God. God is a savior – who saves us through the sacrifice of his son Jesus. The point of the book of Acts The book of Acts is a book of the first sermons about the power of Jesus Christ. Each disciples went our into the world to tell gentiles what they saw in the miracle of Christ. Each disciples depended on the power of the holy spirit in order to change hearts. Paul is talking. Telling his story. After telling his story, most people sneered, some wanted to hear more, only two were willing to give their life to Christ. Most wanted to rely on their own understanding. They were not willing to change. There is a story about Richard J. Daly. We Need Help Some of you are old enough to remember Richard Daly who was mayor of Chicago for 21 years (1955-1976). Mayor Daly was known as a rather forbidding guy to work for. One story goes like this. One of Mayor Daly’s speech writers came in and demanded a raise. Mayor Daly responded as could be expected. He said “I’m not going to give you a raise. You are getting paid more than enough already. It should be enough for you that you are working for a great American hero like myself.” And that was the end of it...or so the mayor thought. Two weeks later Mayor Daly was on his way to give a speech to a convention of veterans. The speech was going to receive nationwide attention. Now one other thing Mayor Daly was famous for was not reading his speeches until he got up to deliver them. So there he stood before a vast throng of veterans and nationwide press coverage. He began to describe the plight of the veterans. “I’m concerned for you. I have a heart for you. I am deeply convinced that this country needs to take care of its veterans. So, today I am proposing a seventeen point plan that includes the city, state and federal government, to care for the veterans of this country.” Now by this time everyone, including Mayor Daly, was on the edge of their seat to hear what the proposal was. He turned the page and saw only these words: “You’re on your own now, you great American hero.” I don't know if Daly learned anything at that moment. With his great ego perhaps he did not. But he should have learned that all of us, no matter how great we think we are, need help. We need advocates who work behind the scenes to make us who we are. God has an advocate for you. He is the Holy Spirit. Story of Daly taken from: Journey Toward God, New Community Small Group study on Exodus (Zondervan), p.33. Brett Blair,www.eSermons.com Sometimes when I think of a monument to an unknown God, I think of the church. Because there are still so many people outside of the church who don’t know God, and don’t know what they are missing by not coming inside of the church. The book of Acts was written to give us hope. To help us to remember that the power of God is not in us, but in the holy spirit. We just have to be willing to be used by the spirit. Acts has a very important message for those who call themselves Christians. Being a Christian is more than just feeling good, smiling and being nice. It is more than having peace of mind, givng and going to church. It is worshipping God in Jesus Christ. It is about remembering that our whole being is inside of God. Without the spirit of God in us, we are absolutely nothing. But the good news is that when we look for God, God is very near by. He is always with us. He always helps us. Always Alongside Us A student named Steve Winger from Lubbock, TX was taking a challenging class in Logic. The course and teacher were known for exacting and demanding exams. The final exam was looming, and the professor mercifully told the class that each student would be permitted to bring in a single 8 x 11 ½ inch sheet with as much information as they could put on that one sheet for help during the test. On exam day, each student came to class clutching their precious pieces of paper with as much information as possible. Some students had crammed lines and lines of font so tiny and so numerous onto that single sheet that you had to wonder how they could read it. But Steve walked in with a single blank sheet and a friend who was a senior student and who had an ‘A’ in logic. Steve bent down and placed that single, blank sheet of paper on the floor next to his desk. His expert friend stood on the paper. The professor noticed the extra body in the room and asked what he was doing. Steve piped up, “You said we could bring in whatever we could fit on a single piece of paper for help on this test, well, this is my help and he can fit on the paper!” He had followed the instructions to the letter and was the only student in that class to score an ‘A’ since he had his expert friend standing alongside him. The Holy Spirit is like that friend, standing alongside us, supporting us, and guiding us. Adapted from an unknown source, Staff, www.Sermons.com The message of all of Acts for us is that the spirit is promised to those who live in God, the spirit is knowable in the risen Christ, the spirit makes a difference in our lives. Paul reminds us that our life does not have to be a monument to an unknown God. We have to know that God is present in the resurrected Christ. If we remember that, the spirit will do the rest. I want to end as I started, with a story about memorial day. An anonymous e-mail tells a story we need to hear on this Memorial Day weekend. It’s about an old man and his wife sitting in the parking lot of a supermarket. The hood is up on their car. Evidently they are having engine problems. A young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walks in the direction of the elderly couple. The old gentleman emerges from the car and takes a few steps in the young man’s direction. He points to the open hood and asks the young man for assistance. The young man puts his grocery bag into his expensive SUV, turns back to the old man and yells at him: “You shouldn’t even be allowed to drive a car at your age.” And then with a wave of his hand, he gets into his car and speeds out of the parking lot. The old gentleman pulls out his handkerchief, mops his brow and goes back to his car. Again he looks at the engine. He then goes to his wife and appears to reassure her that things will be okay. A stranger approaches the old man. “Looks like you’re having a problem,” he says. The old man smiles sheepishly, and quietly nods his head. The stranger looks under the hood of the car, but he has no more expertise with automobile engines than the old man. He assures the elderly gentleman he will return and heads to a nearby service station. He explains the situation to a mechanic and says he will pay him if he would help the elderly couple with their car. Returning with the mechanic, the stranger gets into a conversation with the old gentleman. The stranger is wearing a ring signifying that he had been a Marine. Coincidentally, so had the old man. He confides that he had served in some of the harshest battles in our nation’s history, including Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He had retired from the Marine Corps after the war. After the car was repaired and running, the old gentleman handed a card to the stranger and they shook hands and parted. A little while later the stranger happened to look at the card. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was written: Congressional Medal of Honor Society. It was only then that the former Marine realized that he had come to the aid of one of America’s heroes. Just a reminder this Memorial Day weekend that there are men and women who have served their country, and received very little in return. It is only right that we recognize their sacrifice and honor their memory this holiday weekend. As we remember the sacrifice of those unnamed men and women – let us remember the sacrifice of Jesus crist for our sins. So that we can have life and have it abundantly. Amen. Children’s Sermon WHAT IS GOD MADE OF? by Wesley T. Runk Passage: Acts 17:16-34 • Lectionary: Easter 6 Item 26 of 36 | Back to Results Objects: A statue in marble or bronze, a painting of some classical origin depicting God or a likeness of Him, and then maybe a rock, leaf or wood carving. A four leaf clover or a lucky penny Good morning (evening) to you boys and girls and how are you on this beautiful day? This is our third time together and so that means that we get to talk about one of the questions that you have wondered about so often. Remember we have already asked where God is, and how old is God? Today we have an especially difficult question for you and for everybody. We want to know what God is made of, and that is especially hard since no one has ever felt God. For instance if I could tell you that God felt like steel or fur or mud you would know what kind of material God is made of. A long time ago, boys and girls, people thought that their God's were made of things like this statue I have here. Do you know what I mean'? People thought that this statue was a god and they put the statue on a shelf and everybody thought that their house was protected from any kind of evil spirits. This statue is made of marble. Other people liked to think their god was made in the form of a painting and they had a great artist paint them a copy so that everyone would picture god in the same way. A real long time ago, boys and girls, there were people who believed that their god lived in a rock like this or in a tree or in a very fast running river. That's what people used to think. Today some people have other kinds of gods, although they don't call them gods. Some people have to have something that they can feel. Let me show you what I mean. Have you ever seen someone carry one of these? (Hold up a four leaf clover or a rabbit's foot). What is it? That's right, a rabbit's foot. People think if they rub that rabbit's foot nothing will happen to them and that everything will be all right. They trust the rabbit foot, or a four leaf clover. Or some people I know carry a lucky penny in their pocket and rub it whenever they need something to happen. People like to feel their god and know what He is made of, but our God tells us that He is a spirit, something that you cannot even see, or touch or smell or feel. He is different than anything else that we know. And that is one of the reasons that He is God. There is nothing else like him in the whole world. He does not like us to make other things and call them god and when people trust in pennies or rocks or gold or anything else, then God gets very angry. What is a Spirit? That is a good question. You know that He is near and He speaks to you in prayer but you can't reach out and touch Him, nor can you hear Him. Do you remember what it's like when you go to school or away from home and you get lonely and wish that your mother was very near but you can't go and find her? When you think about her you get very warm and just thinking makes you feel better all over. Well in a way that is a spirit because even though you can't feel or see or hear or taste her you still know that she loves you and will be there when you get home. God is a spirit and while we don't know what He is made of we do know that the Bible teaches that He is not made of anything like rocks, or pennies. God is a spirit. Questions Children Ask About God, Wesley T. Runk, CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1971, 0-89536-199-X Back to Results | Item 26 of 36 Other illustrations not used…… I’ve purchased a town lot in heaven On the city not built with hand, I’m sending material daily To build in that happy land. I’d like a mansion on Main Street, Where streets are all paved with gold. With a clear view of the pearly gates Where Christ takes care of the soul. I want to send good material That will stand the test of time, So I’ll not be disappointed When I reach that home sublime. Prayer is for the foundation, Faith and love for the walls, Good deeds for the reinforcement, That will stand when the Saviour calls. I would like you for my neighbor In that city so divine— Maybe just across the street Or your home close to mine. Up there we will know no sorrow, Tears will never dim the eyes. There we will rest in peace forever In that happy home on high. So my friends, start to building Your home beyond the sky Where we can all be together In the sweet by and by. —Author Unknown In the nineteenth century people who passed the Rothschild mansion in the fashionable quarter of London noticed that the end of one of the cornices was unfinished. The question may be asked: Could not the richest man in the world afford to pay for that cornice, or was the lack due to carelessness? The explanation is a very simple yet suggestive one when it is known. Lord Rothschild was an orthodox Jew, and every pious Jew’s house, tradition says, must have some part unfinished, to bear testimony to the world that its occupant is only, like Abraham, a pilgrim and a stranger upon the earth. —Selected Acts 17:22-31 -- Good and Bad “Magical Thinking” – by Leonard Sweet We live in an age where incredible scientific advancements take place everyday. Take GRIN, the acronym for (G) genetic engineering, (R) robotics, (I) information technology and (N) nanotechnology. The human genome has been mapped. Nanotechnology is constructing miniscule machines that can deliver inter-cellular messages or make molecular level repairs. Astrophysicists have mapped the curvature of the universe, delved into black holes, listened to the echoes of the Big Bang. Scientific inquiry and experiment have revealed the “hows” and “whys” and “whats” never before known. We think we’re so smart. We think we have a handle on how the universe works. So why did the builders of the new Yankee Stadium spend five hours and $50,000 digging through two feet of concrete last week? They did this to extract a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey that had been secretly buried in the concrete floor of the visiting team’s dug out. A construction worker, an unrepentant Red Sox fan, had slipped the jersey into the concrete in order to permanently “jinx” the new Yankee stadium. The story of the jersey finally came to light because another construction worker who had seen the shirt go into the slab got worried and confessed: “I don’t want to be responsible for sinking the franchise,” he said. The stadium, a 1.3 billion dollar project, was brought to a screeching halt; the glowing new future for the Yankees was endangered; immediate, expensive action was taken: why? Because everyone believed in the jinxing power of a piece of cloth submerged down in a concrete floor in a locker room. That was one high-powered hex! Or not. No one can completely escape what has been called “magical thinking” (see Matthew Hutson, “Magical Thinking,” Psychology Today, March-April 2008, 90-95. The subtitle is “Even Hard-Core Skeptics Can’t Help But Find Sympathy in the Fabric of the Universe----And Occasionally Try to Pull Its String”). We “knock on wood,” throw spilled salt over our shoulders, can’t resist reading our horoscopes, always take notice of a “Friday the 13th.” Or if you think you’re immune to “magical thinking,” answer me this: how many of you here this morning wouldn’t think twice about wearing the jacket of a murderer? Little children have that special “blankie” or stuffed animal that magically imparts peace and serenity. But big corporations hire specialists to organize the “feng shui” in their work spaces. Musician George Michael bought the Steinway piano that John Lennon composed his best know work on: “Imagine.” Michael ships this piano off to places that are in need of some kind of spiritual support: to New Orleans after Katrina; to Virginia Tech after the shootings. The piano is put on public display, with its pedigree, open for any and all to sit down and plunk out a few notes, to seek out a bit of solace in its noteworthy presence. No matter how much scientific knowledge we acquire about the world we live in, physical reality is never enough. The human spirit knows there is always more to be revealed, that there is something more out there if we could only lift the veil. Paul’s speech to the Athenians gathered at the elite Court of the Areopagus was designed to get his audience thinking about that inner yearning for “something more,” that “groping” for the “unknown God.” But Paul also warned them that there was a difference between religiosity and righteousness. The God who created the universe, who gave life to human beings, “does not live in shrines made by human hands” (v.24) and is not “an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals” (v.29). Idols of gold, silver, or stone will never contain God, and can never move beyond the “magical” to real faithfulness… _______________________ Service Is Our Highest Honor It is Memorial Day weekend. More than a weekend to frolic in the sun and picnic on the grounds, Memorial Day is a day to remember. Remember we have been bought with a price. Thousands of people have died that you and I might live in the freedom that we regularly take for granted. In World War II alone 406,000 Americans gave their lives. We are bought with a price. So let us not reduce freedom to licentiousness nor rights to unrestraint. Remember there is a reason to be born save to consume the corn, eat the fish and leave behind a dirty dish. Not selfishness, but service is our highest honor. J. Howard Olds, Faith Breaks,www.Sermons.com

Footprints in the Sands of Time

Joshua 1:3-7 October 14, 2012 70th Anniversary Celebration Footprints in the sands of Time Story of 3 sisters who didn’t know if they were coming of going 3 sisters lived together. One was 96, one 95, and one 94. The oldest sister ran some bath water, began to step in the tub but she got confused, she couldn’t remember if she was getting in the tub, or out of the tub. Her middle sister decided to come up the steps to help her. But she had to stop halfway up the stairway. She couldn’t remember if she was going up the steps table eating breakfast. All she could do was shaker her head and knock on wood. Thank God her memory was not as bad as her sisters. I will be there to help you two figure out what is going on, just as soon as I see who it is that is knocking at the door. The importance of church anniversary Are we coming, or are we going? Is it time for us to remember the past or to walk toward the future? Are we old School or new school? Today we acknowledge the 70th anniversary of Rust Church. It is important in the black church to celebrate church anniversaries. It is a celebration in the church, that no one can quite remember how it got started. And yet it matters – the church has always been an important part of our culture. The church has given birth to opportunities for people, for our call to justice in the world, to education, to dignity. The church has given us a lot of gifts. Rust Church has given a lot of gifts to the community and the kingdom of God. In its history it has produced and prepared many lay and clergy for ministry, it has given to gift of song and fellowship through its choir, it has reached out and mentored and trained many young people for service. Today is a time to acknowledge what God has done through this church. It is a time for us to remember the gifts of those before us, it is a time to accept the challenges ahead. But it is also a time to mark the present – to marvel at the grace of God. Not everything is going as expected, may not be as far as we would like, but praise God we are here for yet another year- to serve in His presence. Amen. Church anniversary is time to hear a message of hope, to hear good singing, to see old friends, and to be in fellowship over good food. I don’t want to keep us from the food – this is a time of celebration – celebration of what God has done. The context of Joshua chapter 1 The message for this morning comes from the book of Joshua – chapter 1. Three times in this chapter God says to Joshua - be strong and courageous. And that is the message for us this morning – be strong and very courageous – for God is with us! In the beginning chapters of Joshua- the people are in a sad and confusing time because they discover that Moses has died. He was the one they looked up to for leadership for years, and now he is gone. No one could possibly take over his authority. Moses spoke of the promises of God, they followed him experiencing miracles, and walking toward the promiseland. With him gone, who would lead them now. Shavet – in intimate minister The bible uses an interesting word when talking about Joshua – they call him a shavet – a minister. One who not only serves, but serves in an intimate way. Joshua serves Moses as a minister – carrying our his every command. But now Joshua is a shavet to God. God has a plan for his people – and he needs Joshua to carry out that plan. But the only way Joshua can do that is be a minister of God. To serve God with all of his being. A minister is not necessarily a pastor. A minister is a lay person, with a heart for God and for God’s word. In this chapter, Moses was important, but Moses was a part of the past. The promise he gave was about yesterday. Joshua was a man of action – a man of the present. Moses yesterday, Joshua today In the time of Moses, the children of God were a people. They were preparing themselves to come into the promisland. It was under Joshua – that they finally laid eyes on the land – when the land came in sight – they united into a nation. When the future becomes real for us – we will step into destiny. We don’t have to stand on the promises, because we live in the reality. As long as we have God on our side, all things are possible. AS LONG AS GOD IS AWAKE A mother and her little four-year-old daughter were preparing to retire for the night. The child was afraid of the night. The child was afraid of the dark, and the mother, alone with the child, felt fearful also. When the light was out, the child caught a glimpse of the moon outside the window, "Mother," she asked, "is the moon God’s light?" "Yes," said the mother, "God’s lights are always shining." The next question was, "Will God blow out His light and go to sleep?" "No, my child, God never goes to sleep." Then, out of the simplicity of a child’s faith, the little one said that which gave reassurance to the fearful mother, "Well, as long as God is awake, I am not afraid." (Source: Sunday School Times. From a sermon by Bill Butsko, "Bread from Heaven" 7/28/2009) It is time… Take the Life that you have ~ and give it your best... Think positive be happy ~ let God do the rest... Take the challenges that life ~ has laid at your feet... Take pride and be thankful ~ for each one you meet... To yourself give forgiveness ~ if you stumble and fall... Take each day that is dealt you and give it your all... Take the love that you’re given and return it with care... Have faith that when needed it will always be there... Take time to find the beauty in the things that you see...Take life’s simple pleasures let them set your heart free... The idea here is simply to even the score As you are met and faced with Life. The man and the lion tale Adrian Rogers tells about the man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Asked why he hadn't cut off the lion's head, the man replied: "Someone had already done that." God has cutoff the head of our deepest fears, and asks us to claim the victory. Take the tail with pride it is yours. Take on what God has challenged you to do. Live life in fear Lately live a life of fear, not sure if I am up to the challenge of today. Spend all night working over one sermon. Realized I didn’t have any old sermons – spent all night working on two different sermons in two different directions. Every day is like that. Everyday – have to rely on God for strength. The good news is that he has not let me down yet. Joshua took on daunting task of leading after Moses. Took on daunting task of leading people don’t want to go, and have no idea of where they are going. Joshua like Martin Luther King – I have seen the promiseland – time for us to go. Each of us asked to take on the Joshua spirit in our lives. Become the Joshua generation. Be willing to be a minister, not of the church but of God. Not enough to know the word, not enough to feel the presence of God in our lives – act on what God has called us to do. Generation to make promise a reality. Everything you step on will be claimed for God. Everyplace you step will be claimed for God Rest on your feet all over the church and repeat after me, “Every place the sole of your foot shall tread God has already given it to you!” Now lift your left foot and put it down. ‘A’: “Ask and it shall be given. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will be opened!” (Every place the sole of your foot treads!) Now lift your right foot and put it down. ‘B’: “Be thou faithful unto death and I shall give thee a crown of life!” (Every place the sole of your foot treads!) Lift your left foot and put it down. ‘C:, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!” (Every place the sole of your foot treads!) Lift your right foot and put it down. ‘D’: “Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” (Every place the sole of your foot treads!) Lift your left foot and put it down. ‘E’: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,…” (Every place the sole of your foot treads!) Lift your right foot and put it down. ‘F’: “Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious of the workers of iniquity for they shall soon be cut down!” (Every place the sole of your foot treads!) Lift your left foot and put it down, ‘G’: “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!” I tell you, EVERY place the sole of your foot shall trod God has already blessed for YOU! God tells each of us to be strong and courageous. One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child. Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child's arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray's free hand felt something--possibly a rock-- protruding from one bank. He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. "If I can just hang on until help comes," he thought. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard's Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship can't swim. God wants you to be strong and courageous, because God is about to do a new thing in you, in us, In Rust Church. God says be strong and courageous because I will be with you wherever you go. God is the source of our strength. God was with us in the past, God is with us now, and God will lead his people, his ministers into a new and challenging future. Let us stand strong and see what God will do. What new gifts God will bring to the world through the people of Rust Memorial Church. Let us pray this prayer together…. This is material not used…… IV. Moves/Points Move/Point One – God blesses our courageous, faithful obedience to God’s commandments. a. Our Church was built on biblical principles; b. We must trust those teachings that have sustained our congregation; and c. Faithfulness to Godly teachings will grant to us success. Move/Point Two – God promises to be with us today as God was when we began our journey. a. God guided and blessed Moses; b. God has guided the Church and blessed her labors; and c. God will guide and bless you! Move/Point Three – No formidable foe will deter God’s people. a. God has not promised that there would not be challenges on our journey; b. God has promised that no challenge will prevail against us while we remain in God’s will; and c. The promises of God are for a lifetime. V. Celebration Listen to God’s voice as God speaks to us even now, “Every place the sole of your foot shall tread, I have given unto you!” God’s promise to Israel is still God’s promise to us today. We are the New Israel, the Ransomed and Redeemed Community of Faith. We are God’s twice-born children. We are the Ekklesia, the called out, sanctified servants, and therefore, blessed of God to be called “the Church.” God’s promise belongs to us as well! It was delivered on the Cross of Calvary. It was written with the blood of our Savior. It was sealed in the power of his resurrection. It is available to us even now! As a child growing up, my mother taught me that the Bible is a book filled with God’s promises, “but you cannot claim even one of them,” she cautioned, “if you do not know them.” VI. Illustration(s) Rerouting, Rerouting Now, you don’t have to go to a gas station to ask what is the quickest way to get from point A to point B. All you need to do is pull out your handy Global Positioning System (GPS). Plug in the address and simply follow the directions. One day as I was driving with a friend, we decided to use my GPS to get where we were going. The GPS said turn right and we turned right. The GPS said enter I-85 and we entered I-85. However, when the GPS said make a right, I was running my mouth so I did not hear the GPS correctly. Instead of making a right, I told my friend to make a left. Because we were listening to my voice and not the voice of the GPS, when we turned left, the GPS said “You are now off track.” But I’m so glad the GPS did not stop there. A second later, it said, “Rerouting, rerouting.” Isn’t that like the GPS? I’m not referring to the Global Positioning System. I’m talking about God’s Positioning System. When we get off track God starts rerouting. “Celebration stands at the very center of our lives. Sociologists as well as Christians say that it is essential to the ongoing of our lives. It not only keeps life from being hum-drum, boring, needlessly repetitive, but it enables us to discover again and again who we are, from whence we came, and what we need to be about in our daily lives. In remembering and doing the essential works of the Faith bound up in the sacraments and in the Sunday morning liturgy, we recapture the faith.” Dow, Norman. “A Number of Ways to Celebrate an Anniversary.” Centennial Celebration Committee, First Presbyterian Church. Cisco, TX. Online location: http://synodresourcecenter.org/evang/committee/anniversary/0001/celebrate.html accessed 2 January 2011