How to get Angry

Rev, Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington August 8, 2021 Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2 How to get angry 11th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Leader: It is the beginning of a new school year, God is a God of new beginnings and new creations. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, new life, blessed it and called it good. People: We give thanks for a new year for new beginnings. We give thanks that you called it good. Leader: In the beginning, the heavens shone forth a star when our savior was born. In the beginning of his ministry the heavens opened up and called him God’s beloved. People: We give thanks that you know our pathways and what it means to be human. We give thanks that you call us your beloved children. Leader: O God of new beginnings, new life and new journeys – you set Abrahams and Sarah into a new land. You led Moses, Aaron and Miriam our of Egypt and into liberation, you led your son, our savior to the earth, to the cross and into resurrection. People: Walk with us, we pray we as we enter into a new year, a new path and new opportunities. Amen. Song Take my life and let it be Consecrated UMH 399 Stewardship Moment Community speaker one: We pray for all children—for their playfulness, for their curiosity and for their joyfulness. We pray, as they go beyond the boundaries of home, that they will find strong and true friendships. We pray especially for those called to lead and to care for them. Grant O God that our children and the adults who minister with them might grow in your love. Community speaker two: We pray for all young people, for the ways they test boundaries and question authority. We pray, O God that they will continue to develop and to use the gifts you have given them. We pray for those called to teach, to lead, to coach, and to mentor our young people. Grant your wisdom and generous spirit to these youth and adults as they commit to grow righteously in this complex world. Community speaker three: We pray for all college students, for the questions they are facing about their future. We pray for those called to lead and to care for them—for professors, counselors, administrators, and advisors. Nurture all students and leaders, O God, in communities of fellowship and protect them from isolation and loneliness. Grant your courage to these young adults and adults as they engage in critical learning and discovery for the stewardship of our world. Community speaker four: We pray for all those who teach and lead, O God. Inspire them with creativity and commitment. Give them energy to continue teaching and bringing forth the best from their students. Help us to appreciate their efforts and to treat them with respect. Provide opportunities, O God, for their refreshment and renewal. Community speaker five: We pray for all adults as they endeavor to live faithful lives in their homes and in their workplaces. We pray for all who are parents, stepparents, guardians, caregivers, and grandparents of children, youth, and young adults. Help them to find the time to sit and to listen to their young people. Give them hearts and minds filled with patience, understanding and wisdom. Enable them to share your wisdom and love, O God, in word and by example. Congregation Prays: We pray for all those who learn—children, youth, young adults and adults. Keep them from being discouraged when facing the trials of the day. Instill in them a desire to grow in wisdom and understanding. Grant them the discipline of study and the ability to concentrate. We pray for all of us as learners, O God. We know that we never stop learning about your love and faithfulness. We thank you, O God our creator, for teaching us through your word and through your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Prayer of Thanksgiving: Lord bless these gifts. Let these physical gifts be symbols of the love and support we give to the children of our community throughout the year. Help us to look upon every child in our community as one of our own, helping them to grow in character and knowledge. Amen. Scripture Ephesians 4:25- 5:2 25 Therefore, after you have gotten rid of lying, Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor[a] because we are parts of each other in the same body. 26 Be angry without sinning.[b] Don’t let the sun set on your anger. 27 Don’t provide an opportunity for the devil. 28 Thieves should no longer steal. Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need. 29 Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. 30 Don’t make the Holy Spirit of God unhappy—you were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Put aside all bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander, along with every other evil. 32 Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ. 5 Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. 2 Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God. Sermon How to get Angry It reminds me of the story I like to call “The Dean’s Dilemma.” An angel appears at a college faculty meeting and tells the dean, “In return for your unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward you with your choice of infinite wealth, infinite wisdom, or infinite beauty.” Without hesitating, the dean says, “Give me infinite wisdom!” “Done!” says the angel before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. All heads now turn to the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. “Well,” says a colleague, “say something brilliant.” The dean stands with a blank expression on his face, looks around the table, and confesses, “I should have taken the money.” (1) We laugh, but how many of us would have a hard time making a choice between those three things? Wealth and beauty are important in our culture. They are noticeable. They offer a way to “keep score.” But wisdom—what difference does that make? Wisdom isn’t going to get you a nicer car, or a bigger paycheck. Wisdom won’t win you any awards or make you the life of the party. And yet, there are so many verses in the Bible about the value of wisdom. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that the way of the foolish person leads to emptiness and even death, while the way of a wise person leads to joy, peace and eternal life. So, if an angel suddenly appeared to you and offered you the choice of infinite wealth, infinite beauty or infinite wisdom, which would you choose? The choice gets a little easier now, doesn’t it? When I heard this story, I had to stop and think about it a moment. I know that the bible says that Solomon asked for wisdom and was given everything else along with it, but I think I would just want the money – I don’t know that I would value wisdom. Being smart is not necessarily profitable, it also is not really exciting. The epistle lessons give great advice on how to life, but they are not exciting because there are no parables to attach to them. The writer of Ephesians is very much aware of all of the conflicts and troubles that we face in the world. He also knows that sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error before we settle on doing the right things. He gives good advice on what it means to be wise and to live a righteous life. the book of Ephesians is not so much about being a goody too shoo – but how to handle real life problems in a wise way. When we finally realize that imitating God in all things is good for us, we get started in a new journey. Every day is a new beginning. Today, we think about starting a new school year – it is a new beginning for all of us. As I was preparing for the blessing of the back packs I found a prayer that said everything that I would want to say and pray for. It mentioned the role all of us play in school life. But I chose not to use the prayer because it used a curse word for the word anger. I have never known anyone to use a curse word in a prayer. After thinking about it I thought that would defeat the purpose of my whole sermon. We go to church in order to learn how to not use curse words when we are angry. How to express our anger is a major point in this scripture. Verse 26 expressly tells us that there is nothing wrong with being angry – anger is a normal part of life. Not only is it okay for us to be angry – Jesus got angry pretty frequently. Anger is not the problem it is how we express our anger that becomes the problem. Do we use our anger to strike out at a person or situation, or do we use our anger to change the situation. Jesus turned a whole community on its edge, just by getting angry and saying that things need to be done differently. We should never let our anger interfere with our relationships. n the first place, we can recognize the tremendous harm we do to ourselves through being angry. E. Stanley Jones once reminded a person that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry that it will bite itself." That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is: a biting of oneself. We think that we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.3 What happens to us when we get angry? Hate pumps up our blood pressure. More sugar pours into our system. The heart beats faster. More adrenaline is secreted to dilate the pupils of the eyes, and chemical changes occur in the blood. Even tissue changes take place. In fact, a good optometrist will not examine the eyes of an angry person. You see, anger distorts the retina through abnormal blood flow. Consequently, it is correct to say that a person who is angry most of the time is a sick person. The first part of that formula is this: look inward. That is, take care of what is inside you. Consider those words again, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.” Do you have any of those negative emotions within your heart or mind? Let’s face it. There are many otherwise committed Christians who have a great deal of anger within them. There are committed Christians who are quite bitter. There are others with malice in their hearts. Paul asks us to look within at any negative emotions that may dwell there. The late great radio personality Paul Harvey once told about a medical student who was doing a rotation in toxicology at a poison control center. A woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. The medical student quickly reassured the mother that the ants were not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. The medical student told this mother that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right way. (2) Anger is like ant poison. It needs to be dealt with immediately or it could cause serious damage to our soul. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that this is easy, but it is possible. Before sitting in the electric chair, Sonnier said, “Mr. LeBlanc, I want to ask your forgiveness for what me and Eddie done,” and Lloyd LeBlanc nodded his head to signal a forgiveness he had already given. LeBlanc said that when he arrived with sheriff’s deputies there in the cane field to identify his son, he knelt by his dead boy and prayed the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven . . .” He said that when he came to the words: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” he did not halt or equivocate. “Whoever did this, I forgive them.” But he acknowledged that it was a struggle to overcome the feelings of bitterness and revenge that welled up within him from time to time, especially as he remembered David’s birthday year by year. It was like he was losing him all over again: David at 20, David at 25, David getting married, David standing at the back door with his little ones clustered around his knees, grown up David, a man like himself, whom he will never know. “Forgiveness is never going to be easy,” says Sister Prejean. “Each day it must be prayed for and struggled for and won.” (3) I don’t know any other way for us to forgive and accept others who have done us wrong than to remember that God has accepted us and forgiven us. The ultimate help for us in meeting the challenges of each day is not only to look inward or outward, but also to look upward. If we are to live a new life, if we are to be new people, we must be aware of those emotions within us that must be kept under control, we must have our eyes open to the opportunities for service and witness through kindness and tenderheartedness and forgiveness directed toward the people that we meet. But we must also focus our eyes on Him who comes to us with love, forgiveness, and mercy and grace. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” The advice of Ephesians 4 - Put away falsehood - Be angry but don’t sin - Give up taking things that don’t belong to us - Let no evil talk come out of your mouth - Do not frustrate the holy Spirit - Be imitators of Christ - Finally live in love If we strive to do those things every day – then every day is a new beginning, because we do not let nature take its course, we allow the love of Christ to work in the world. Anger and revenge do not take over our lives – but we have a spirit of joy that makes all of the difference in the world. - - They say you cannot smile without cheering yourself up a little. Likewise, you cannot perform a random act of kindness without feeling as if your own troubles have been lightened if only because the world has become a slightly better place. And you cannot be a recipient without feeling a shock, a pleasant jolt. If you were one of those rush-hour drivers who found your bridge fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later? Might you wave someone on in the intersection? Would you smile at a tired clerk? Or could you do something larger or greater? - Some folks will have great difficulty understanding this process, but not us Christians. After all we have been recipients of the greatest kindness, that act of love that brought the God of the universe to a manger in Bethlehem, a sinless life on the hills of Judea, a sacrifice on a hill called Calvary. His kindness continues as he sustains us through his body, the church, and as he nourishes us at his table. This same one, through the apostle Paul, told us to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (vv. 4:32—5:2). - In the 70’s there was a saying that gained popularity – practice random acts of kindness. Last week I went to the new drive through at McDonalds- those double drive through always frustrate me, because you have to make sure that you don’t pull up at the same time as the other person in the other lane. Sure enough it happened, we pulled off at the same time. Not wanting to have an accident, I stopped and let the other car go in front of me. As I pulled up to pay for my meal – the cashier had to go and get her manager – the person in front of me paid for my meal – so now it is my turn to spread the love and help someone else. Maybe wisdom - wisdom about the ways of God does pay off. Prayer Thank you, God, for new opportunities to learn and grow whether it be in an actual classroom, a virtual classroom, or from our homes. Be with our teachers, leaders, caregivers, and administrators as they guide us into the new school year. Give them the tools and energy to create engaging ways for all of us to learn and grow. Help us to open our hearts and minds to new ideas, new friends and leaders, and new ways of learning. Show us how to seek joy in all things. When things don’t go as planned, help us rejoice in the newness. When we have technical difficulties, help us rejoice in simple things like books and crayons. When we feel lonely or isolated, remind us that you are by our side . When our teachers and caregivers seem worried and wary, help them to be gentle with themselves. As we begin to explore the unknown of this school year, let us rejoice with new friends, in new ways of learning, in knowing that you are with us through it all. God of joy and light, pour out your blessing upon these students, families, teachers, and leaders. Bless their backpacks, Chromebooks and computers, virtual classrooms, school buildings, and all preparations that help build a strong and safe year for everyone. May each of you be a blessing and light in your new year! Go and light up the world! Amen. Blessing of the Back Packs (Pour out your spirit Lord) Song Let there be Peace on Earth UMH 431 Announcements Charge to us all To our families, students and school leaders: Go into the world, your schools, your homes and be Christ’s light! Let your lights not be diminished in the midst of change. Let them find ways to shine even brighter. Be the light of love to all. Be the light of patience when days are long, when technology does not work, when new ways of doing things are hard. Be the light to shine on new ideas and new ways of learning. Be thankful for the lights of others who work hard to create fun, engaging, and challenging ways to lead our students. Be the light of joy for a new school year, new friends, and new ways of learning. You are the light of the world! Go into the world and shine bright with kindness, patience, energy and love! Benediction Children’s Sermon Object: A measuring tape. Good morning, boys and girls. How tall are you? I mean, how tall is each one of you? Do you know how tall you are? (Speak to one child at a time.) How tall are you? Sometimes we know how tall we are and sometimes we just guess. But I brought with me this morning a measuring tape so I can tell you just how tall you are. Let me measure a couple of you now and after the service is over, if you would like for me to, I will measure every one of you. (Proceed to measure several of the children and tell each one how tall he/she is.) Have you always been that tall? Were you this big when you were born? How did you get to be as tall as you are? (Let them answer.) You grew. How much have you grown in the last year, would you say? (Let them answer.) Growing up is fun. It really is fun. Someday you are going to be as tall or taller than your mom and dad. You may weigh as much or even more. You will be big enough to drive a car, wear a suit as big as your father's suit or your mother's dress. You may even be tall enough to dunk a basketball in a 10-foot basket. That's what happens when our bodies grow and we get big. But there are other ways to grow besides just getting big in our bodies. When we learn in school, our minds grow. We can spell bigger words and do harder math problems. Our voices grow also. They get bigger, deeper, or higher, and they will become more beautiful if we practice with them. There is still another way to grow and that is to grow in love so that our love is more like Jesus' love. Jesus was filled with God's love. He loved everyone, even those who hated him. Jesus had a love so big that he could forgive even the people that crucified him. Growing in love will let you share the things you like the most with other people. You can share your time in love. You can share your money in love. You can share your games and your friends in love. You can even share your mother and dad with other people when you are growing in love. That is a real grown-up kind of love' when you can share it with others. Growing up is so much fun when it is filled with love. It allows you to be free and do what God wants you to do. A measuring tape is one way to find out how big we are getting. Three feet tall, four feet tall, five feet tall, or more means that we are eating the right kind of food and taking good care of our bodies. But growing up in love cannot always be seen so easily, but it is a much more important kind of growing than just getting tall. One of the first things that Jesus taught all of his disciples was to grow in love. And one of the things that you and I must find out who want to be followers of Jesus is to grow in love. The next time we see someone trying to find out how tall they are or to measure someone else, see if you can think about how you could measure someone growing in love. If you can see someone else grow in love, that means that you are growing in love as well. Try it, you'll like it. In Jesus' name, Amen. C.S.S. Publishing Company, ON THE MOVE WITH JESUS, by Wesley T. Runk Blessing of the back packs Additional illustrations Most young people know the artist, Chance the Rapper. Chance is one of the most successful artists in the music industry right now. He’s won a Grammy award, his concerts sell out, he is an anti-violence activist in the city of Chicago and has donated over $1 million to Chicago’s public school system. Professionally, he is a tremendous success. He tells an interesting story of his grandmother’s reaction to his career. In his early days, when he was first starting to experience some success, his grandmother took him aside and told him that she didn’t like the way his lifestyle was changing. She told him that she was going to pray for him. In an interview with GQ magazine, Chance shares his grandmother’s prayer. She prayed, “Lord, I pray that all things that are not like You, You take away from Chance. Make sure that he fails at everything that is not like You. Take it away. Turn it into dust.” What would you think if someone you loved prayed that prayer over you? What if I prayed over you today, “Lord, please let my brothers and sisters in Christ fail at any endeavor that is not perfectly within Your will”? Most of you would not come back next week, would you? I have the greatest respect for Chance’s grandmother. She cared more about her grandson’s soul than his success. She cared more about him knowing God and living in God’s will than she cared about offending him. What a powerful witness she is to the value of knowing God! And it was this prayer that led Chance the Rapper back into a relationship with God. Many of his song lyrics reflect his faith. At his sold-out concerts, he speaks about God and his spiritual journey. His phenomenal success now is rooted in knowing God and living in God’s will. (4) Like most wise folks, he knows that every moment of your life is an opportunity to know God and live in God’s will Two shoppers in a supermarket got in a fistfight over who should be first in a newly opened checkout lane. An airline flight returned to a major American city after a passenger was accused of throwing a can of beer at a flight attendant and biting a pilot. One father in an eastern state beat another father to death in an argument over rough play at their sons’ hockey practice. A high school baseball coach in the South turned himself in to face charges that he broke an umpire’s jaw after a disputed call. All these events were reported by USA Today over the span of just a few months. “Bad tempers are on display everywhere,” wrote reporter Karen S. Peterson. And who can doubt that it is true? The media is constantly reporting incidents of road rage, airplane rage, biker rage, surfer rage, grocery store rage, and rage at youth sporting events. This has led scientists to say the United States is in the middle of an anger epidemic. This epidemic rattles both those who study social trends and parents who fear the country is at a cultural precipice. (4) I Maybe you remember the old story about the guy who got into the bad habit of cursing all the time. Every time he got angry he let out a phrase that he should have kept to himself. After he had let out a tirade in the presence of his young son and his son echoed back some of his choice words, he decided he needed to get rid of this vile habit. He went to his pastor for help. His pastor said that every time you get angry why not try singing a hymn? That way you won’t express your anger in an inappropriate way. The young father said he would try this, “But,” he said, “I don’t know many hymns.” So the pastor gave him a hymn book to use, and the man took it and tried it. In a couple of weeks he came back to the pastor. The pastor said, “How are you doing?” The man said, “I’m doing pretty well.” The pastor said, “That’s great!” The man said, “There’s only one thing.” And the pastor said, “What’s that?” The man said, “I’m ready for a new hymn book.” There is a wonderful story that comes from the life of the great missionary Albert Schweitzer. A number of years ago on his way to Aspen, Colorado, Schweitzer changed trains in Chicago. As he was standing on the station platform he was being questioned by reporters. A woman carrying a heavy suitcase walked past. Immediately Dr. Schweitzer excused himself. He walked over to the lady, took the heavy suitcase from her and accompanied her to the car of the train she was boarding. Then he turned and walked on back to where the clustered group of reporters had been. They were no longer there. Seeing Albert Schweitzer’s helpfulness, they started looking for some lady with a heavy suitcase whom they might help on to a train, too.

Faith in the time of Coronavirus

Matthew 16: 13-20 August 23, 2020 Faith in the time of CoronaVirus Year A 11th Sunday After Pentecost Prelude Welcome L: Welcome! It is good to have you here this day. P: Thank you. We come seeking healing and peace for our spirits. L: God is with us, giving that wondrous healing love to each one. P: Blessed be God who watches over us. L: Come, let us praise God with thankful hearts. P: Lord, we come to you in gratitude for all you do for us. AMEN. Opening Prayer Opening Prayer (Romans 12) Loving God, call us together as your people; transform us with your love. Transform our hearts, that we may love generously. Transform our eyes, that we may see your grace. Transform our hands, that we may serve others. Transform our spirits, that we may be the body of Christ, gathered to worship and sent out to serve. Amen. Stewardship Moment Authority What did Jesus mean by "the keys of the kingdom?" The day in which Jesus spoke there were religious teachers known as scribes. These scribes were the teachers of the bible. The scribe wore around his waist a belt and on that belt hung some keys which were symbolic of the knowledge of that scribe. Jesus said, “I am going to give you keys that will unlock heaven and will lock up the powers of hell and bind the devil and loose the power of God." What are those keys that Jesus gave to Simon Peter and what are those keys he has given to you. The keys of the kingdom are the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. Adrian Rogers, Sermon on Matthew 16:13 Invitation to the Offering (Romans 12) God has blessed us with an abundance of gifts. We are called to offer all that we are to God—our bodies, our spirits, our minds, our time, and our money. As the body of Christ, we are called to be in ministry with others. With true generosity, let us give of ourselves this morning. Offering Prayer (Romans 12) Generous God, you have given us many gifts and drawn us together into Christ’s body, the church. You have blessed us with generous and cheerful spirits. May the gifts of our money, time, and talents support the ministry of your church. Amen. Scripture Matthew 16:13-20 Common English Bible Peter’s declaration about Jesus 13 Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One[a] is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” 15 He said, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. 18 I tell you that you are Peter.[b] And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. 19 I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ. Sermon Since we cannot meet inside, my tai chi class has been meeting along the river every week. Some of the participants have been asking about the church lately. This week one of the participants came up to me after class to ask if our church was worshipping inside yet. He said that his church was still meeting online. And even though he has been watching every Sunday, he like many people said that he misses worshipping outside. He said that without the contact within the church, he has really gotten out of shape spiritually. I would imagine that there are a lot of people who feel the same way. It has gotten easy to just watch service on the television, without getting dressed. I have to admit, it was really fun when we were just worshipping online to come to church in my blue jeans, without having to get dressed up. And I am getting used to being totally done with worship by 10:30 on Sunday and to have the whole rest of the day free. Faith in the time of the coronavirus has been more than a notion. Not only are we getting out of the habit of going to church, but we are getting out of the habit of being the church. And I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t have a solution to make this situation more spiritual. It is what it is, we cannot change the circumstances. What I do know is that the feeling of being spiritual is inside of each one of us, it is really not inside of a building or a community unless we put it there. Each of us has to look for the spiritual feeling in our hearts and souls. Scripture – the Word of God is one of the keys to help us to navigate life and to find our spirituality in the midst of difficult times. In today’s lesson, we are continuing to follow Jesus in the book of Jesus. He is working to make sure that the disciples and us have the keys to being faithful. Jesus is still trying to get away from the crowds, so that he can talk to God. He knows what he has to do, but he is intentionally taking to long way to get to Jerusalem. So now, he is in Ceasura Phillipi - a region about 20 miles north of the sea of Gallilee. This is a non-Jewish province, so he is pretty safe here. (as he thinks) This is sort of a graduation for the disciples, when Jesus has taught them all that he knows. He asks the disciples some important questions. And if we are trying to find our faith in tough times we have to find the answers to those same questions. We have to ask ourselves those questions, not just not, on a regular basis. Jesus asks his disciples what the grapevine is saying about him. Who do people say that I am. The disciples have all heard all fo the stories, some say that world is about to end and Jesus is Elijah, some say that troubling times are coming and he is Jeremiah coming to rescue them. Jesus then asks them and us who do you say I am. That is the key question to our faith – Who is Jesus to you? How important is Jesus to you? Is Sunday you day to worship Jesus or your day to rest and get ready for the coming week? Each of us has to answer that question for ourselves. For me, Jesus is my motivation for getting up every morning. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. One Word: Jesus William J. Bausch tells a story that says it as well as it can be said. The story says that God created the heavens and earth and everything in them. He created them by His words. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. This happened with everything. God was proud of His work. He was especially proud of the man and woman which He made. But the devil was jealous and angry. One day when God was enjoying the man and woman, the devil slithered up to God and asked him why he liked those strange human creatures so much. When God opened His mouth to speak, the devil craftily put a bond upon God's tongue. God could not speak, not even oneI word! Since God's creative power was in His words, the sly old devil had bound God's power. The devil laughed at God and then proceeded to corrupt man and the woman. Aeons went by, and the devil came back to scoff at the silent God and mock Him. God responded to this by holding up one finger. "One?" asked the devil. "Are you telling me that you want to say just one word?" God nodded. The devil, thought, "I suppose that even God could not do much with just one word." So the devil removed the bond from God's tongue. Then God spoke His one word in a quiet whisper. He spoke it for the man and the woman. It was a word that gathered up all the forgiveness, love, and creativity God had stored up in His heart during His long silence. His one word was "Jesus." And that is the word that changed everything. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com I heard another interesting question on the radio. A radio announcer asked that material was the gates of heaven made of. I had to look it up- the book of Revelations says that the gates of heaven is made of pearl. We have heard a lot of stories about the pearly gates of heaven. Usually in these stories Peter is standing in the waiting room of heaven with the keys to heaven. In order to get into heaven people have to be interviewed and judged by St. Peter. That image comes from the bible story, where Peter answers the question and says Jesus is the messiah. And Jesus gives him the keys to heaven and calls Peter the rock of the church. Peter was eventually crucified in Rome. He was hung on an upside down cross because he refused to be killed the same way his Lord and Savior was killed. Today, Peter’s grave in located in a subbasement of the Vatican. It is a crypt that is closed off to everyone except the Pope. The crypt is directly under the main altar of the sanctuary. Peter is literally the foundation of the church. In Matthew’s stories, In the catholic understanding of the story – Peter is the rock. In the protestant understanding, Peter’s confession that Jesus is the messiah is the rock of the church. In either understanding, Peter represents us all. We all have to make that confession for ourselves. This is the first time in Matthew that someone says that Jesus is the messiah, the anointed one. The one who brings a little bit of heaven to the people here on earth. When Peter holds the keys to heaven – he is given the power to do the same for others. But each of us have that same set of keys. Just as Peter has the power to bind and to loose, so do we. We have the power to choose service and beautiful behavior over greed, mercy over vengeance, trust over distrust, vitality over just sitting around, being poetic over bullying. We have to make that choice every day. We have the power to bind and to loose just in how we choose to live out love in every situation. It just depend on who Jesus is to you. Because of Jesus Mother Teresa was asked by a young man why she always talked about this Jesus stuff. He said he was going to work among the poor like her, do the good works of charity, but without the Jesus baggage. Mother Teresa responded something like, "Go and work 20 years or a lifetime among the poorest of the poor. Then come back and tell me how you did it. I know that the only way I have been able to do it is because of Jesus." Her faith, her understanding of Jesus gave her the ability to be a doer, a doer not just for a week or a season or a year, but for a lifetime. Neal R. Sadler, Faith in Expected Places Who Do People Say You Are? I have a friend who’s principal of an elementary school in North Texas.One day there was a minor altercation on the playground – a second-grader pushed one of his classmates off the slide, and, while she wasn’t hurt, it could’ve been dangerous. The teacher sent for the principal. She talked with the children in the hallway outside their classroom. She got their story and then explained the seriousness of playground safety and how important it was to be nice to each other. When she finished, the little boy apologized, and that was that. A couple of days later, she happened to see the little girl with her mother in the checkout line at the grocery store. She smiled and they waved discreetly to each other. She got into the adjacent checkout line, but was in earshot of the little girl. She overheard the mother ask her daughter, “Who was that lady who just waved to you?” The little girl said, “She’s works at our school.” “What does she do?” the mother asked. The little girl said, “She helps people apologize.” My friend told me later, “It helped me to think much more clearly about what I do in my work, beyond titles and status, to what actions I take that make it meaningful.” A band director friend told me about going back to a community where he’d once taught. He said it was fun getting reacquainted with band parents and friends he hadn’t seen for years. He said he was standing on the sidewalk downtown when a young man came up and asked, “Do you remember me?” He didn’t have a clue, but then, he’d taught a lot of students, and they had long-since grown up. He said, “You’re going to have to help me out here.” The young man told him his name and said, “You’re the one who introduced me to the world of music, and I just wanted to say thank you.” Who do people say YOU are? Philip W. McLarty, The Unspoken Question A Pastoral Prayer Dear Lord Jesus Christ, today we echo Peter in proclaiming you as the son of the living God. All glory is yours Jesus Christ, for you are the Holy One, you are the Christ. Thank you Lord Jesus for placing us in the Church, your body, and giving it the power to stand against the gates of Hell. Send the Holy Spirit to guide us, especially in our church life, so your body grows and becomes stronger. Lord, help us persevere in the face of temptation and keep us from the talons of the evil one. Lord like Peter, we have denied you at times, especially those times when we have sinned. Forgive us Lord Jesus, help us with our repentance and lead us back to you and your friends, our fellow Christians. Keep us on the righteous path and cleanse our hearts and make them a worthy throne room for you. In the name of the Father and of His Son Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. James Kiefer Amen. Prayer Morning Prayer Lord, we hear the wonderful words from Matthew’s gospel in which Simon Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God. He is given the name Peter, the rock upon whom the church will be built. We would like to be the kind of “rock” that Jesus could count on – to be strong in the face of adversity; brave when danger is present; compassionate when sorrow and strife prevail. You have called us to be your church and we ask for your transforming love that we might be better witnesses for you. Today we name in our hearts before you people that we love who are dealing with sorrow and illnesses; people who feel abandoned and alone; people who are entering schools and colleges, military service, the workforce. We also name those people and situations filled with joy and hope; a new home, the birth of a child, celebrations of special occasions, and often just a beautiful day. Hear the cries of our hearts to you, O God. Heal and transform lives. For we ask these things in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. Moment of Reflection Rock of Ages UMH 361 Announcements There are no major announcements. Things are pretty much going the same as they were last week. You can expect your newsletter by the end of next week. Prayers for all of our teachers, students and workers who are returning to school this week. God be with you all, we say a special prayer of safety for all. We pray that this will be a productive school year. If you know of anyone who needs school supplies – call the Nazarene Church, they will be happy to supply them. The scripture for next week is Romans 12:9-21 Benediction Benediction (Exodus 1–2, Psalm 127) Resist the powers that use people. Hear the cries of the weak. Dare to work for justice. Know that God—Source, Word, and Spirit— is your help, will keep you safe, and will bring you new life. You are blessed by God and sent to serve. Children’s Sermon Object: A set of keys. Good morning, boys and girls. Last week we had a ticket as our object. This week we have a set of keys. You may remember that last week in talking about tickets, we said that a ticket can get you into a movie or an amusement park or somewhere else, but tickets can also keep you out if you don't have one. Now what do keys do? That's right, they let people get into locked doors. In our Scripture lesson today Jesus gives to Simon Peter the keys of the Kingdom. Jesus was starting the Christian church and he was starting with Simon Peter. Jesus was giving Peter and his whole church the keys to the Kingdom of God. Now there are several ways of looking at this. We might imagine the Kingdom of God as Heaven that beautiful place where people go when they die. You may have seen pictures in cartoons of St. Peter standing there with his keys letting people into heaven. That's one way of looking at it. But there are others. I believe that the church of Jesus Christ has the key to being happy right here in this world. I believe the church has the key to understanding what life is about. I believe we have the key to what God is like. These are keys (hold up the keys), that only the church of Jesus Christ has. People come here to learn about God. They come here to meet people who know how to truly love them. They come here to put their lives back together again. We have the keys. The church has the keys. In fact, we believe that Jesus Christ is the key to life and love and truth in this world and in heaven. Christianglobe Networks, Inc., Dyanmic Preaching Sermons Third Quarter 2008, by King Duncan Additional Illustrations Our Greatest Need If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. Traditional, www.SermonIllustrations.com I Didn’t Know His Name One of my favorite stories about Helen Keller concerns her introduction to the Christian message. When Helen learned to communicate, Anne Sullvan decided it was time for her to hear about Jesus Christ. Being a Bostonian, she summoned the most renowned clergyman of his day, Phillips Brooks. Brooks came, and with Sullivan interpreting, he talked to Helen Keller about Christ. Soon a smile lighted Helen's face and she beckoned for a chance to respond. Through her teacher she said, "Mr. Brooks, I have always known about God, but until now I didn't know His name." Helen Keller was more fortunate than most people in her spiritual sensitivity. She knew God's nature but not His name. Most people without Christ know His name but not His nature. Jesus is the revelation of the nature of God. King Duncan, Collected Sermons Hearing the Voice of God How would you react if you really heard the voice of God? Once there was a man who had the habit of going to a barn every evening, taking off his hat, and saying, "Howdy God, I am here." Then he would begin to preach to an empty barn. Some pranksters plotted to pull a trick on him. They hid in the barn, and when he said, "Howdy God, I am here", with a deep voice they answered, "Howdy, Jim, I am here." Well, Jim dropped his hat and took off, and never again was he seen at the barn. When we confront the holiness of Jesus as Peter did, we will have a sense of awe and unworthiness before the purity and perfection of Christ. Peter fell on his knees and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." Haven't we in the church lost something of this unworthiness in the presence of the holy Christ? It is not uncommon to hear no confession of sins in a worship service. If you come to the pure Jesus, why do you not instinctively say, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner"? John R. Brokhoff, Jesus ... Who?, CSS Publishing Co., Inc. Personal Understanding of Jesus' Identity Who do you say that I am? I would suggest to you this morning that that is the most urgent, the most relevant, the most theological question that confronts us today. Where ever we turn in life we are faced with the implications of this question. Throughout the ages various individuals have attempted to answer that question posed by Jesus. Ernest Renan, a French writer, answered it by saying that Jesus was a sentimental idealist. Bruce Barton, an American businessman, said that who Jesus was the greatest salesman who ever lived. William Hirsch, a Jewish writer, responded that Jesus conformed to the clinical picture of paranoia. A musical drama was performed some years ago that answered this question by saying that Jesus was a Superstar. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, referred to Jesus as the "man for others." The Gospel writers also attempted in their own fashion to answer this most fundamental question. They bestowed upon him numerous titles and claims: Son of God, Son of man, Divine physician, king, prophet, bridegroom, light of the world, the door, the vine, high priest, the firstborn of creation, the bright and morning star, and Alpha and Omega. All of these were attempts to answer this question posed by Jesus. But these are attempts made by others. Jesus is more concerned what your answer is than what their answer is. Martin Luther, another German theologian, wrote: "I care not whether he be Christ, but that he be Christ for you." Peter responded: Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com. Why Didn't You Tell Us This Before? A couple of years ago Rev. Martin Copenhaver, of Wellesley Congregational Church, preached on this same passage. He had been to a pastor's seminar where Michael Greene from Britain, a scholar of the history of evangelism, had challenged a group of pastors with "When is the last time you told your congregation what Jesus means to YOU?" Later Pastor Copenhaver wrote in his study "As a pastor I talk a good deal about Jesus, but do I say what Jesus means to me?" He decided he would try to do just that. In his sermon he said, "As a pastor in the UCC our forebears in the faith worried that they might be taken for heretics. Today we UCC people seem to be more worried about being taken for fundamentalists" So in personal, devotional terms Pastor Copenhaver tried to tell his people what Jesus Christ meant to him. Evidently the sermon was quite a personal testimony. After the service Pastor Copenhaver noticed a dear lady whom he respected as one of the 'saints in Zion'-- she came past to shake his hand, and could not speak. So she went around and came past again, to give herself time to compose herself. When she finally came the second time she simply said, "Why didn't you tell us this before?" Copenhaver wrote: "I did not know how to respond. Now her question, along with Michael Greene's, continues to haunt me." Russell F. Metcalfe, Jr., The Question of Questions The Greatest Building When you think of great building projects, what typically comes to mind? We might think of great buildings that were built centuries ago that still stand today. The Kremlin was built 500 years and was an architectural marvel of its day. The Great Wall of China as we know it today was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is over 4,000 miles long. The main construction of the Taj Mahal took 20,000 workers 11 years to build and the whole project spanned 22 years. Sometimes these projects took several decades to complete. Herod’s temple, the one destroyed in 70 A. D. , took over 80 years to build. Construction on St. Peter’s Basilica began in 1506 and was not completed until 109 years later in 1615. But as spectacular as any of these are in the eyes of man, there is one building project that far eclipses all of them. Its design is so spectacular that it couldn’t be drawn by even the best architects. It has been under construction not for decades or centuries, but for millennia, and it still is not finished. Its size is not mere acres or square miles, but encompasses all parts of the earth. What is more amazing is that this building has no steel, bricks, concrete, or windows. Its construction is with very unique, precious stones called "living stones." Unlike all of these other projects, this building will not fade with time. In fact, it will endure forever. What is this greatest of buildings? It is the church, God’s master project. Chris Bayack, Christ Will Build His Church True Greatness Napoleon knew that great as his military power was, it was eclipsed by a greater albeit different power. Hear his words: "I know man and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love: and at this hour millions of people would die for him." Napoleon Bonaparte True Greatness Napoleon knew that great as his military power was, it was eclipsed by a greater albeit different power. Hear his words: "I know man and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love: and at this hour millions of people would die for him." Napoleon Bonaparte What Doors to Unlock In our I.D.-electronic-cryptic-cyber-coded age, keys are not only physical things that plague our pockets and puncture our purses. Many keys are mental, hauled about in the mainframe of our minds. "Hey, what's the key code to open the garage or raise the gate or log onto the computer or access the ATM or retrieve the messages or unlock our memories?" I wonder if Peter ever thought about returning the keys to Jesus, tossing them back to the Fisher King and saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." On the one hand, the vote of confidence must have been nice. Everybody loves to get a promotion, to feel that affirming slap on the back, to pocket the key to the executive washroom, to get the strong handshake and have a superior say, "OK, you're in charge now." Everybody loves it until they are in charge and they can't figure out which key goes to what door and everybody needs them to open every door right now or to lock every door right away. No one cares that the keys aren't labeled and there are a thousand of them to sort through. You've got the keys. You're in charge. Act like it! I can't tell you how Peter felt that day when Jesus promised him the keys or how he felt a few days or weeks later, because I'm not Peter. Not only am I not Peter, I'm a Presbyterian. So, I'm not standing in line hoping to be handed the pontifical keys to the entire church of Rome one day. In fact, as a Protestant Christian I happen to believe that I've already been given the keys and that's a major part of my problem. To the extent that you and I are key holders to the church of the risen Christ and provide some sort of access to the glorious realm of God, we've got a key problem and a much more serious one than how to haul all of them around. As keepers of the keys, we've got to figure out what do with them, what doors to open, what windows to unlock. That's the whole point, isn't it? Gary Charles, Keys This House for You Once there was a rich man who wanted to do something good for someone in his community. He spent a few days just traveling around his neighborhood and the general vicinity. During his travels, he noticed the poor living conditions of a certain carpenter who lived nearby. So the rich man went to the carpenter and hired him to build a house. "Now this isn't just any old house you'll be building," the rich man said to the carpenter. "I want you to build this house for a very special person. I want you to use only the finest building materials, hire the best workmen you can find, and spare no expense. I'm going to be out of town for a couple of months, and I would like to see the house finished when I return." The carpenter saw this as a great opportunity to make some extra money. He skimped on building materials, hired winos that hung out at the local bus station to help with the work, paying them as little as he could. He covered their mistakes with paint and plaster and cut corners at every opportunity. When the rich man returned from his trip, the carpenter brought him the keys to the house and said, "I followed your instructions and built the house just as you told me to." "I'm glad you did," the rich man said. Then he handed the keys back to carpenter saying, "The special person I wanted the house for is you. It's yours! You and your family can have it as my gift to you, and I'm sure you want to move in right away!" Perhaps one of the most difficult factors of Christian living is that we never know how or where or when God will act. We don't know exactly how God might help us, regardless of the time we spend in prayer. The God we worship and serve is a God who constantly surprises us. And this inability to predict God's movements can be very frustrating sometimes. Johnny Dean, The Pop Quiz This passage teaches that our discovery of Jesus Christ must be a personal discovery. Jesus’ question is: “You—what do you think of me?” One thing is clear. To call anyone a rock was the greatest of compliments; and no Jew who knew his Old Testament could ever use the phrase without his thoughts turning to God, who alone was the true rock of his defence and salvation. What then did Jesus mean when in this passage he used the word rock? To that question at least four answers have been given. (c) All these New Testament pictures and usages go back to a picture in Isaiah (Isaiah 22:22). Isaiah describes Eliakim, who will have the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and who alone will open and shut. Now the duty of Eliakim was to be the faithful steward of the house. It is the steward who carries the keys of the house, who in the morning opens the door, and in the evening shuts it, and through whom visitors gain access to the royal presence. So then what Jesus is saying to Peter is that in the days to come, he will be the steward of the Kingdom. And in the case of Peter the whole idea is that of opening, not shutting, the door of the Kingdom. “Don’t tell anyone.” This wouldn’t necessarily be a great evangelism technique. Or would it? What if we followed the model of the gospel of Matthew, and didn’t go around proclaiming “Jesus is the Messiah.” But instead offered the signs of Jesus - the kindness, mercy, healing, forgiveness, abundance, justice, just come. Instead of approaching someone with Jesus first, you approach someone with Jesus’ way first. Instead of the hard sell, act now response; we go with the slow roll, build relationships, and go deeper.

God Calls Everyone - repreach of 8/27/10

August 25, 2019 (repreach of 8/27/10) God Calls Everyone Year C Jeremiah 1:4-10 15th Sunday after Pentecost Children’s Time Text: Jeremiah 1:4-7 The word of the Lord came to me saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak, I am only a child." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I commend you." Materials: There are no materials required; however this sermon has been designed for presentation by two people (designated I and II), if desired. Message: I. Today we are going to talk about the things we do as we start to get older. We thought we would start by asking how old all of you are. II. That's right. When I say your age I want you to raise your hand. We are going to start with the youngest ... How many of you are three years old? How many are four or five years old? Is anyone here six years old? And how many of you are seven years old or even older than that? I. You were all really great at that. Before we move along I want you to take a close look at each of us and tell us how old you think we might be. (Encourage numerous guesses, but, of course, there is no need to disclose ages.) II. One of the things we all know is that as you become older you get to do more and more things. When you were a baby you slept in a crib, but now you have a bed. Your moms and dads used to push you in a carriage, but now you can ride a tricycle or a bike. And it won't be too long before you all start to go to school. I. And as you get even older, you will do even more things in grade you will begin to take communion. And when you reach grade you will be confirmed. And when you get to be sixteen you can even start driving your parents' car! II. So the bigger you become the more you get to do. But we were wondering how old you need to start telling other people about how great Jesus is. Do you have to be ten or fifteen or even a grown up before you can talk to people about God? I. Not at all! In fact the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament tells us that God chose Jeremiah to tell people about God when he was only a young boy. And each of us can do the same! CSS Publishing Company, FROM A MUSTARD SEED, by Mark A. Hultquist Jeremiah 1:4-10 Common English Bible (CEB) Call of Jeremiah 4 The LORD’s word came to me: 5 “Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I made you a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Ah, LORD God,” I said, “I don’t know how to speak because I’m only a child.” 7 The LORD responded, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a child.’ Where I send you, you must go; what I tell you, you must say. 8 Don’t be afraid of them, because I’m with you to rescue you,” declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, “I’m putting my words in your mouth. 10 This very day I appoint you over nations and empires, to dig up and pull down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Our Creativity as a child 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 an 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 an dto 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 stifliness 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 lifes, perhaps when we were very young when each of us believed that we could do anything. We were geniouses 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 were 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 geniious, 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 genious – 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 Our calling in the church – 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 the 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 thier 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. We will be able to read and listen to what jerimiah has to say to the people of god for the next nine weeks. But 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. 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 plactice 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 specifc 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. Everydbody 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 call of Willie Borden 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 aeducation – 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? Let is pray…..Amen.