Preaching to the Rich

September 21, 2025 15th Sunday After Pentecost Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1 Preaching to the Rich Year C Prelude Greeting Call to Worship Turn us, O God, away from the world’s temptations and distractions Return us, O God, to the quiet calm of your presence Restore us, O God, to the path you call us to follow Orient us, O God, to the hope of all that is possible through you (Presbyterian Outlook, Terri Ott) Invocation Great God, who gathers us together in spirit and in truth, sanctify our time together. Grant us wisdom and discernment. Open our hearts to receive and to give. Be glorified in our worship and the transformation that moves us forward as your people. In your glorious and precious name, we pray. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Cheryl Lindsay) Song There is a Balm in Gilead UMH 375 Children's Sermon jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1 For a children's sermon on Jeremiah 8:18–9:1, you can focus on how Jeremiah and God felt sad and hurt by the choices of the people. The key idea is that when we make bad choices, it hurts not only ourselves but also the people who love us, especially God. The main point: God and Jeremiah were so sad over the people's bad choices that they wept, showing us how much God's heart can be broken when we turn away from him. Children's Sermon: A story about a friend (Visuals: A happy face drawing or emoji, a sad face drawing or emoji, and a drawing of a heart with a Band-Aid on it). (Start with the happy face) "Imagine you have a best friend. You and your friend do everything together and have so much fun. You know what makes your friend happy and what makes them sad. But one day, your friend starts hanging out with new people who aren't very nice. These new friends start getting into trouble, and your best friend starts making some of those same bad choices, too. (Switch to the sad face) "You feel really sad about this, right? Your heart hurts because you know the good person your friend is, and you know these choices are going to get them into trouble. You want to tell them to stop, but they won't listen. When something bad happens to your friend, you feel their pain right along with them. (Show the heart with the Band-Aid) "This is a little bit like what happened to the prophet Jeremiah and God. Jeremiah was God's friend, and God's people were making some very bad choices. They weren't listening to God anymore and were worshiping fake gods instead. Jeremiah felt so much sadness and pain for the people he loved, the people of God, and he cried and cried. "In the Bible, Jeremiah 8 and 9 tells us about this. It's like Jeremiah and God are saying, 'Oh, if only my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night'. They were so, so heartbroken. Bringing it home • God's heart gets hurt, too: We sometimes think of God as so big and powerful that our choices don't affect him. But just like our hearts hurt when a loved one makes a bad choice, God's heart hurts, too. • The path to healing: Just like we would want our friend to stop making bad choices, God wants us to turn away from our sins and back to him. The Bible talks about a 'balm in Gilead,' a kind of medicine that could heal wounds. God is the only true physician who can heal our broken hearts and the hurt our sin causes. • Jesus wept: The sadness Jeremiah felt reminds us of Jesus. Remember the shortest verse in the Bible? 'Jesus wept' (John 11:35). He wept over the pain and sin in the world, showing us that God deeply understands and shares our suffering. (End with a question) "So, when we feel sad about a choice we've made or when we see someone we love making a bad choice, we can remember that God is with us and understands our pain. And most importantly, we can remember that turning back to God is the first step toward healing for our own hearts and for the world around us. What choices can you make today to show God and others that you care about their feelings?" (AI) Affirmation of faith (from a Brief Statement of Faith) We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church. In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. (Presbyterian Outlook, Terri Ott) Welcoming of Gary and Sherri Eich. – Page 50 Prayer for illumination Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us. Open us to your life-giving Word. Quiet the voices within us that do not align with your will. Focus our minds on the message you intend for us, so we may faithfully discern your way. Amen (Presbyterian Outlook, Terri Ott) Scripture Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1 Sermon Preaching to the Rich In 2023, the surgeon general listed loneliness as an epidemic in the U.S. More and more people feel isolated and disconnected. Theologian Henri Nouwen says The wound of loneliness (to repeat) is like the Grand Canyon - a deep incision in the surface of our existence, which has become an inexhaustible source of beauty and self-understanding. The Christian way of life does not take away our loneliness; it protects and cherishes it as a precious gift. The painful awareness of loneliness is an invitation to transcend our limitations, and look beyond the boundaries of our existence. The awareness of loneliness might be a gift we must protect and guard, because our loneliness reveals to us an inner emptiness that can be destructive when misunderstood, but filled with promise for him who can tolerate its sweet pain. Have you found some sweet pain in your own loneliness? Our primary task together in the church, as Nouwen puts it, is not to take away pain, but rather to deepen the pain to a level where it can be shared. In the sharing of our wounds will our healing come, not in the hiding of them, or the pretending that they do not exist. As God made visible in Jesus his wounded heart and showed us the stigmata way of suffering communication, so only as we are willing to suffer the baring, the sharing of our wounds, will the healing power flow; but it will flow. That’s when it flows. As Nouwen puts it, "The wound which causes us to suffer now will be revealed to us later as the place where God intimated his new creation." Henri Nouwen is famous for using the term wounded healer. For him, in our hearts, we all experienced some level of deep ache. ROBERT A. RAINES is a prolific author, currently Director of Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center in Bangor, Pennsylvania, following twenty years in parish work. His sermon, God’s Wounded Healers, was preached on a return visit to First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Pennsylvania, where he had been co-minister from 1961-1970. In it he lifts up the principle that our preaching has its greatest strength and integrity sometimes when we are speaking from the experiential knowledge of our own wounds such as loneliness; when we are invoking the compassionate authority of Henri Nouwen’s "wounded healer." One night several years ago, at a group meeting at our house here in Philadelphia, a man shared his personal pilgrimage with us, his own struggle with suffering, and he concluded with a comment that I remember. He said, "I am one of the walking wounded." When that man spoke those words years ago, I didn’t realize that I was one of the walking wounded, too. I wasn’t conscious of the wounds in my heart or in touch with my own inner ache. But today I realize that I, too, am one of the walking wounded. Are you also in the ranks of the walking wounded? Are you in touch with your inner ache? Kazantzakis writes somewhere, "Every woman has a wound which will never heal" - and every man does, too. Recently I came to know a young Dutch Roman Catholic at Yale Divinity School. Henri Nouwen is his name. He is a man of rare depth and warmth. He has written a little book called The Wounded Healer, in which he suggests that loneliness may be the deepest and most painful wound in the human heart. He writes: "The wound of loneliness is like the Grand Canyon - a deep incision in the surface of our existence, which has become an inexhaustible source of beauty and self-understanding." Robert Raines says that loneliness and other dark conditions of the soul can affect everything in our lives, and can have physical, mental and spiritual symptoms. I would imagine that a prophet or either ancient or modern times would know the ache of loneliness very well. In challenging people to think in a new way, they would feel isolated and alone. The bible records every season of the prophet Jeremiah’s life. And it seems that dark emotions followed him all of his life. There is no biblical character that embraces dark emotions like Jeremiah. As he gives God word to his community his words still haunt us even today. He says, no healing only grief. Listen to the weeping of my people. The harvest is past, the summer has ended, yet we are still not saved. Jeremiah so personifies that part of the human condition that we named it for him. The word for the words spoken by such a soul as Jeremiah's is "jeremiad." The dictionary defines a jeremiad as: "a lamentation; (or) mournful complaint."3 That's Jeremiah: a mournful complainer! One who laments even as he lambasts the situation of his people. Who cries as he cries out the wrath of God. One who is sorry for the sorry state of affairs in which he is called to minister, but to which he must still speak the truth. Jeremiah speaks the truth in tearful lamentation and in tender love. During Jeremiah’s lifetime, his country was being attacked and oppressed. The attackers prevented them from coming outside the city walls to get food. And when they tried to grow food themselves, it was so hot and it never rained. – nothing grew. So when it came time for the harvest, there were no crops. Jeremiah is so sad for his people that he says that he wishes his tears were a fountain to give water. Jeremiah’s tears were not just for the outside circumstances of life, he also cried for the soul of his nation. He saw that people started to live dark lives- there was no hope, no compassion, no love, no community. People lived isolated lives. Seeing this internal darkness leads him to ask the famous question – is there no balm in Gilead? His prayer was for relief – he prayed that people would be nicer. That they would put God first in their lives. The crisis was not the famine, the crisis was for people to return to the ways of God. I am sure that today we can all relate to that same prayer. There is a lot of things going on in the news. And no matter what side we are on, we are distraught. I have heard many stories of people who feel the need to come back to the church and to get in touch with God. The old testament asks the question is there no balm in Gilead. We sung the Christian response to that Question – there is a balm in Gilead. That balm, we profess, is none other than Jesus the Christ, the Great Physician. His was a ministry of touching the untouchable, embracing the social outcast, healing the bent-over, and forgiving the unforgivable. His was a death of suffering for the cause of the kingdom so that the unredeemable might find redemption. And, his was a resurrection which proved God's own commitment to the salvation of humanity. In Jesus we encounter a God who has not abandoned us even in our sin, but rather has become invested in restoring what has been broken. Our God stands not only for "Law and Order" but for mercy and compassion. Because of that, we find the strength to look beyond our fountain of tears and live for the day when joy shall be restored. Rather than the "ching-ching" of Law and Order we await the sound of the trumpet announcing the day when "he will wipe every tear from [our] eyes," when "death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things [will] have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (Middle Third): The Hard Task of Truth-telling, by Lee Ann Dunlap Christ’s message to us there is indeed a balm even today – the balm, the relief, the healing here in the church. Jeremiah spoke to the heart of a nation, Jesus speaks to the heart of the church. There is indeed salvation – and it is up to us. Salvation is in who we are, how we live, how we treat others, more importantly in who we bring into the arms of God. Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist, told a story of how one time he was preaching a crusade in a large city, and he was preaching on this text, Jeremiah 8:20. When he gave the invitation, the man's wife who was sitting next to him, who loved the Lord Jesus, begged him with tears to go forward and give his heart to Christ. But he adamantly refused to do it. Many many years later Moody was back in that same city preaching a crusade. There was an older man who had contracted a terminal illness, and he asked to see the great evangelist. Well, Moody and his song leader, Ira Sankey, went to see this man whose hair was now gray, whose face was now wrinkled, whose body was now withered with age and disease. When Moody walked into his bedroom, his sweet godly wife was kneeling beside his bed pleading with her husband. The man was mumbling something. Moody leaned down to hear what this man was mumbling. He was repeating over and over: "The harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved." Moody asked this wife why he was repeating that verse. She said, "You preached on that text the last night of your crusade here many years ago. My husband heard that sermon and adamantly refused to be saved. That's why he is repeating it now." Moody got on his knees and began to plead with that man to come to Christ. But the man just kept shaking his head and repeating over and over, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Dwight L. Moody said that man died about sundown with gritted teeth and clinched fist, saying as he went out into eternity, "The harvest is past." Is it too late? I heard about a young man that started out of his house and he was lost, rebellious, had no use for God. His mother who loved the Lord with all of her heart, with tears in her eyes, knowing that he was going out for a night of sin, placed a little gospel tract in his hand. He cursed through clinched teeth and said, "Why did you give me that?" Today at the job somebody gave me one of those blank things." He said, "I want to tell you I am so sick and tired of gospel tracts. Where can I go where someone will not give me a gospel tract?" His mother, with a broken heart, said, "My son, you can go to hell. Nobody will give you a gospel tract there." The sun is setting on the harvest. Even now the golden grain of the harvest is falling to the ground. That's why Jesus said, "We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work." (Jn. 9:4) Robert Moffett, a great missionary and a great statesman, said, "We shall have all eternity in which to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before the sun sets in which to win them." The sun even now is setting on the harvest. The harvest is passing and the summer is ending. The book of Jeremiah tells a tale of the seasons of a man. The seasons of a man are childhood, youth, maturity, and old age. Sometime in childhood we are supposed to learn about the Lord, so that we can begin to understand that the same God who made this world made us and provided for us all that we have and all that we need. Sometime in youth we are supposed to learn to love the Lord, just as we learn to love our father and our mother, our sisters and our brothers. We learn to love the Lord who gave us our family and included us in his family through Jesus. And then sometime in our maturity we are supposed to learn how to serve the Lord. As we appreciate what God has done for us, we begin to do things for him. As God has given to us, we learn to give to him. Then in our old age we can have joy in the presence of the Lord. We can then stand firm in the faith that God is with us and that, as the songwriter wrote, "He is very present help in the time of trouble." But in Jeremiah chapter 8, something has gone wrong with the seasons. In verse 13, God tells Jeremiah, "There will be no grapes on the vine, there will be no figs on the trees, and their leaves will wither." In verse 20, we find out what is wrong: "The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." There is something very special about the harvest. The harvest is the culmination of all the seasons that precede it, and the preparation for all the seasons that follow it. The reason that there is the season of Spring is so that the seed that is planted in spring will become fruit for the harvest. The reason that there is the season of Summer is so that the fruit will become ripe, and the vegetables will reach maturity. The reason that there is the season of Fall is so that the fruit can be picked, and the vegetables can be gathered, and then there will be food in the storehouse for winter. Friends and Family, Family and Friends, the Lord sent me to ask you this question: "Is this the season to seek salvation?" A single mother had to ask this question concerning her teenage daughter. At age eleven, her daughter began to ask questions about God. She told her mother she wanted to go to church. But her mother wasn't religious and did not see any reason why her teenage daughter should be so religious. So she kept her out of church, but she couldn't keep her from the parties. Two years later at age thirteen, her young daughter had a baby. As she looked at her teenage daughter, the mother had to ask herself this question, "Did I miss the season to seek salvation?" A young man had to ask this question concerning his family. The young man was 25, raising a good family. The woman was a good wife for a good husband. He had no faults, except that he worked all the time. He was trying to excel in his job so that he could build up his home and take care of his family. He never had time for church. He believed in God, but he also believed that he would have time for God after a while -- after he got his promotions, after he built his new home, after his family was settled. But one day before he got his life together, time and circumstances tore his life apart. A driver missed a brake pedal, and his car went out of control. The car struck the young man, paralyzing his body from the waist down. As he was lying in the hospital bed, he had this thought: "Is this the season to seek salvation? What happens if we don't have a season of salvation? What will happen to the abused child, if our children don't find salvation? What will happen to the motherless child, if our children don't find salvation? What will happen to the babe born out of wedlock, if our children don't seek salvation? What will happen to our youth, if we don't have a season of salvation? What will happen in our schools, if our youth don't find salvation? What will happen in the neighborhood, what will happen in the "hood," if our youth don't seek salvation? What will happen to our families, if fathers don't seek salvation? What will happen to our homes, if mothers don't seek salvation? Who is going to meet us in heaven, if our old folks don't seek salvation? Who is going to be left down in Hell, if we all don't seek salvation? Is this the season to seek salvation? Maybe winter is too cold. Nobody wants to go to church in winter. Maybe spring is too wet. Too much rain, we need to stay inside. Maybe summer is too hot. And we have to enjoy ourselves sometime. Maybe the fall is too busy with baseball and football. Maybe, maybe ... The harvest is past, and summer is ended, and we are not saved. The only place to seek salvation is here; the only time to seek salvation is now. So somewhere in the here and now, we need to seek salvation." CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, Lord, Send The Wind, by James McLemore The title of this sermon is preaching to the rich. That is not a physical statement, but a spiritual statement. Let us be rich in God’s love, in Christ’s teaching and in being the community of the church. When we live Christ for the world we can make a difference. There is hope in difficult circumstances. There is hope in Christ. Today is the last day of summer. Summer is over and the harvest begins. But the good news is that there is salvation. Last Friday, I was moved by Billy Graham’s sermon at the National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. He has been called The Nations Pastor. Presidents look to him for guidance and wisdom. And yet, even Graham struggles with the problem of evil in our world. Let me leave you with his thoughts, “I have been asked hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept, by faith, that God is sovereign, and He’s a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering. The Bible says that God is not the author of evil. It speaks of evil as a "mystery." In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 it talks about the mystery of iniquity. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" He asked that question, "Who can understand it?" And that’s one reason we each need God in our lives.” Though it is hard for us to see, especially during our sorrow, there is hope. There is a balm in Gilead. A physician whose hand can heal. A teacher whose words are sure. A healer who will make us whole. A savior to save our soul. He is Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. www.Sermons.com, Collected Sermons, by Brett Blair Let us pray….. Song Jesus, Lover of my Soul UMH 479 Prayer of the Day Healing God, when dismay is our daily companion, you come to touch us with your healing hope. When grief falls on us like a wall of bricks, you rebuild our joy with your comfort and love. Jesus Christ, Faithful Spirit, when bullies pick on us, you stand by our side. When neighbors taunt us for choosing to be faithful, you commend us for our wisdom. Teaching Spirit, when we are heart-sick over the brokenness of our lives, your compassion races to bring your gentle balm. When our joy is gone and we are stained by the world's cruelty, you bathe us in the tears flowing from God's broken heart. God in Community Hear our Prayer. (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment There are two things you will never have an opportunity to do in heaven. First of all, sharing is over in heaven. I mean by that, giving. There are no offering plates in heaven. That's why a lot of people will be happy to get there. There will be no talk of tithing. There will be no stewardship campaigns. There will be no buildings to build, no land to buy, no mission projects to finance. That's why you had better do your giving when you're living so you know where it's going. But also in heaven soul-winning will be over. There's is no more obligation for soul-winning in heaven, because there is no more opportunity for soul-winning in heaven. When the saint goes to heaven he can never rescue a sinner from hell. In heaven there is no sowing. In heaven there is no reaping. Therefore in heaven there is no harvest. But the summer's also ended when the sinner dies. You see, you can only have a harvest where seed is sown, and there is no gospel seed sown in hell. Prayer of Thanksgiving Generous God, you provide in abundance for us. Thank you! Help us make the decision each day to use our resources as opportunities to share your goodness with those who suffer from a lack of resources. Please receive these gifts and help us put them to full use as we seek to co-create your Realm on earth, as it is in heaven. AMEN (Disciple of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Sending Forth Prayer for Facebook God has filled us with joy and wonder. We will go to let it overflow in the lives of others. Jesus has filled us with comfort and hope. We will go to wipe away the tears of those around us. The Spirit sends us forward in faith to share the truth of God's presence in our lives. Alleluia! We will live everyday as God's own. Amen. (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Go out into the world to love and serve the Holy One In word and in deed In season and out of season In trust and in stewardship Go, faithful servant of God Go in peace (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Cheryl Lindsay) Additional illustrations Yes. Yes - again and again. Wherever we went there were children in search of visions and people in search of affirmation. Grief, steadfastness of soul, a yearning for the balm of Gilead. Laughter and picnics. Supper of Bread and Wine. The Book. The community which, when we make it our own, transforms the world and what we come to expect of it. CSS PUBLISHING COMPANY, THE ROMANCE OF PREACHING, by James Angell One night several months ago, I came into the garage and on into our house to sounds of fighting and arguing and hollering, and found Cathy, our eighteen-year-old, and Nancy, our thirteen-year-old, in a real fight. Quickly, too quickly, I felt for the younger, the littler one, and took her side, and went over to Cathy, by the sink. There must have been something else in me that day - some frustration, some emotional power, or whatever - because all of a sudden as I was talking with her and angry with her, I slapped her face. I was appalled at what I had done! She burst into tears and ran upstairs to her room. I thought to myself, "I’ve really blown it. She’s tough and strong, and she’ll hold that against me for weeks, and she’s got a right to." So I moped around for a few minutes and then went upstairs and knocked on the door of her room, expecting it to be locked. She said, "Come in," and I opened the door and walked in. There she was, sitting on the floor, with tears on her cheeks, and I said to her, "Honey, look, I’m sorry. Forgive me will you? Can you forgive me?" Through her tears she nodded and said, "I forgive you, Daddy." I stood there for a moment, receiving her forgiveness, and then through the evening, I tried to do little things, like ask her what time it was, or bring her some cookies, or - you know - something. One time I was standing in the doorway, and she grinned at me and said, "Daddy, you don’t have to do those things. I really have forgiven you." There’s nothing you and I have to do. God really has forgiven us. And there really is a balm in Gilead - and right here - to make our wounds whole. In biblical tradition, Jeremiah is known as "the weeping prophet." More than any of the others, he expressed the heartache, the tragedy, the sorrow of being right in his truth-telling. For years, he warned his people about the consequences of worshiping false idols and abusing the poor and the helpless. For years, he had ranted and raved to kings about placing their trust in political gamesmanship rather than the God of the covenant. For years, he had condemned the religious institution and its leaders for receiving the people's sin offerings without condemning sin or teaching righteousness. Sometimes, it is as devastating to be proven right as to be wrong in our warnings. For the hurt of my people, I am hurt; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears; so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people! — Jeremiah 8:21; 9:1 Even those of us who have committed ourselves to faithful living by God's commands may wonder at times if such faith makes any difference. We pray for years for the soul of a friend or loved one; we implore God to defend us amidst "office politics"; we tithe faithfully but still struggle to find a job that can pay the bills and provide for the family. We live the wholesome lifestyle prescribed by the scriptures but still experience chronic pain or sickness. We do our best to "trust and obey" but still we sometimes wonder if God even knows or cares. But clearly the scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian, reflect a God whose heart aches for the abuser as well as the victims; for the lawbreakers as well as the enforcers. That is a place where few of us are willing to go emotionally unless forced there by circumstances in our own lives and families. When the accused is someone we love, even when they are guilty as charged, we weep a fountain of tears. And, even when our fountains run dry and all our compassion is spent, God continues to care. I am afraid the church looks at buildings, budgets, and baptisms, and has frozen the ball of evangelism, when we ought to be in a full court press, because we really are behind. Let me ask you a question, the answer to which will astound you. Who is the best known person in the world today? If you said Billy Graham, you would be wrong. If you said Mohammed Ali, you would be wrong. If you said the Pope, you would be wrong. If you said Elvis Presley, you would be wrong. If you said Jesus of Nazareth, you would be wrong. The answer is Mickey Mouse!1 Think about it. A figure who does not even exist, is better known than the Son of God who died for the sins of this world. Someone has well said that they have no fear that the church will not succeed, but that it will succeed in those things that do not matter. No matter how many barns are built, how much cattle is bought, how much seed is sown, or how much land is cultivated, that farmer is a failure who does not bring in the harvest. We have here before us, one of the most haunting statements in all of the Bible. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jere. 8:20) Jeremiah warned the people that only God could deliver them from the armies of Babylon that were marching toward the city. But they did not listen. Instead they formed an alliance with Egypt to fight the Babylonians. But Babylon defeated Egypt and marched on Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and laid siege to the people. Now back in those days people lived within the walls of the city, and the crops were outside the walls. The army simply waited for the people to run out of food and surrender. All the people could do was watch the crops spoil, the harvest wither, the summer end, and say, "We are not saved." They learned the bitter lesson that there is no loss like the loss of the harvest. I want you to see in this text before us three things about the loss of the harvest. The first statement says "the harvest is past." Right before our very eyes the harvest is passing away. The harvest is passing globally. I want you to listen to these statistics. The unevangelized population of the earth called "World A" is growing at a rate of 23,600 persons per day faster than they are being evangelized. Of the 95 invitations given to people to become disciples of Christ, 87 will be extended to people claiming to be Christian already (World C); 7.7 will be extended to people who have already been evangelized, but are non-Christians (World B); only .3 will be extended to individuals who have never heard the gospel (World A).2 There are 4.4 billion people in the world who have never heard the name Jesus. Now think about this: 23 people a minute, 1,400 people an hour, 32,600 people a day, 235,000 people a week, 12,230,000 people a year will die without ever hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. The harvest is passing nationally. Here in America the harvest is passing. Listen to these facts: Fact: Since 1980 there has been no growth in the proportion of the adult population that can be classified as "born again" Christians. Fact: Since 1970 there has been no appreciable change in the proportion of adults who attend church services at any time during the week. Fact: The fastest growing churches in America are not Christian. Among those that are expanding most rapidly are the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and various cults.3 The harvest is passing individually. It is a proven fact that the harvest is greatest during the prime of life, that is, during the early years of life. Wise old Solomon said, "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth." (Eccl. 12:1) Several years ago a famous evangelist concluded after many many years of surveying the crowds that came to his crusades, that if a person isn't saved by the time he is 21, the chances are 5,000 to 1 that he will ever be saved. If he isn't saved by the time he is 30, the chances are 15,000 to 1 that he will ever be saved. If he isn't saved by the time he is 40, the chances are 30,000 to 1 he will ever be saved. If he isn't saved by the time he is 50, the chances are 150,000 to 1 that he will ever trust Christ as Lord and Savior. For some of you the harvest is passing, and you don't even realize it. You're getting older and your heart is hardening, and you don't even realize it. You think about it. We are a soul-winning church. We baptize hundreds of people a year, but how many do we baptize over 60? Just a few. How many over 70? Hardly any. How many over 80? None Why is the harvest past? Because "the summer is ended." The time to harvest wheat was primarily May and June. After that, the burning sun would dry out the wheat and cook the life out of it. So when the summer was ended the harvest was past. The reason the harvest was past was the season for harvest was gone. Just as there is a season for harvesting grain, there is also a season for harvesting souls, and when that season is over the harvest is past. When is the summer ended? When the saint dies his summer is ended. But the summer's also ended when the sinner dies. You see, you can only have a harvest where seed is sown, and there is no gospel seed sown in hell. I read a poem years ago that has stuck with me and it really is haunting. I want you to listen to it: When the choir has sung its last anthem, and the preacher has prayed his last prayer, When the people have heard their last sermon, and the sound has died out in the air. When the Bible lies closed on the altar, and the pews are all emptied of men, And each one stands facing his record, and the great Book is open, what then? When the actor has played his last drama, and the mimic has made his last fun, When the film has flashed its last picture, and the billboard displayed its last run, When the crowd seeking pleasure have vanished, and gone out in the darkness again, And the trumpet of ages has sounded, and we stand before Him, what then? When the bugle's call sinks into silence, and the long, marching columns stand still, When the captain repeats his last orders, and they've captured the last fort and hill. When the flag is hauled down from the masthead, and the wounded afield checked in, And a world that rejected its Savior, is asked for a reason, what then?4 I read a long time ago a true story of a young man and his wife who are very much in love. They lived in Alberta, Canada. They went out one moonlit night in the time of harvesting to walk in the golden moon as it was shining there upon the wheat fields. The wheat fields were like a golden ocean waving in the breeze and in the moonlight. It was so beautiful. They had their little son with them. This couple, so much in love with each other and that little boy, were walking through the wheat fields enjoying the beauty. They just forgot where the little boy was; he was just a little tot, not even old enough to go to school. All of a sudden they realized their little boy was no longer with them. At that particular moment the wife went in one direction and the husband went in the other. They started calling him, thinking they would find him immediately. But instead they got further and further away from the spot where they first missed him. They realized that they had misplaced him in thousands of acres. They realized that before long the coldness of that Canadian night would be settling in. Their little boy who was not heavily dressed would probably freeze to death. So while the wife stayed there, the husband hurried back to the village and called the people and said, "Would you please come help us? We've got to find our son." So as many of the people as could came there to that wheat field to help them look for that little boy. It seemed as though they literally were threshing the wheat as they were looking for that lost son. They prayed, they searched, they looked, they called, and finally as the night grew on in its bitterness, one man said, "I believe there is a better way to do this. Let's get organized. Let's make a human chain. Let's stretch out and join hand to hand and then sweep these fields. We will go up one side and turn around and come back the other and if he's in here we'll find him." Up and down they went until suddenly there was a cry "I found him." Everybody rushed together to find the lifeless form of that little fellow who had died of exposure. According to that story strong men wept, and one voice was heard to say, "Oh God, why didn't we join our hands together sooner?" There are people all around us and all over the world who are slipping out through the jaws of death into a Christless eternity. Would you say with me today, "We will join hands for the harvest that people might come to Jesus?" 1. D. James Kennedy, The Gates of Hell Shall not Prevail, p. 215. 2. Networker, April/May 1993, p.1. The name, Albert Einstein, is one of the most well-known names in all the world. Time magazine chose him as "Person of the Century." His influence is seen in every life around the world. The atomic bomb, the big bang, electronics, quantum physics all bear his influence. He will probably be considered for all time the standard by which all scientists measure themselves. But as tall as he was in scientific theory, he was equally as small in spiritual theology. Because even though Einstein believed in a being who had "superior reasoning power" he once said, "Certainly there is a God. Any man who doesn't believe in a cosmic force is a fool. But we could never know Him."1 Einstein believed in a "cosmic force" that was intelligent and powerful. But he denied that He was a personal God that could be known. Now contrast that to what the prophet Jeremiah was told by God Himself. "Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight,' says the Lord." (Jere. 9:23-24) This verse is not only an antidote to the wrong kind of pride; the pride that either denies God or denies that God is a personal God, or denies that God is a personal God that we can know. It is a prescription for the right kind of pride. There is a pride that is right, and it is the pride of knowing God. You see, there are two things about human wisdom that make it a poor place to place your pride or your trust. First of all, human wisdom alone can never know God. V.21 of this same chapter says, "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God." Prov. 1:7 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." But there's one other thing that we do not know that puts a limit on all that we do know, and that is the future. The most brilliant Ph.D. at Harvard University does not even know what is going to happen in the next sixty seconds. That is why no wise man should glory in his wisdom. When he was the Heavyweight Champion of the world, he got on an airplane, and he was walking up and down the aisles signing autographs and enjoying the adulation of the people on board. A stewardess walked up to him and said, "Mr. Ali, you'll need to take a seat and fasten your seatbelt. We're about to take off." Muhammad Ali said, "Listen, superman don't need no seatbelt." The stewardess said, "Superman don't need no airplane either, now sit down and buckle up." Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Well, the reason why God wants us to know Him is that we might become like Him. Because to know God in your heart is to show God in your life. Now that raises a practical question. How can you know God? I mean really know God; not know about Him, but know Him personally. Let me give you three steps: Number one: By listening to Him – God has given us His word not just to put facts in our head, but to put faith in our heart. This word is God's revelation to us. When you read it, not just with your eyes, but with your soul, you will begin to know God. Secondly, by living for Him – Did you know the more you obey God the better you'll get to know God, and the more you'll be like God. 1 John 2:4 says, "He who says, ‘I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Finally, by loving God – That is the real mark of knowing God, because to know God is to love God, and to love God is to want to listen to God and live for God. When there is nothing left but to grieve, as Christians our call is to accompany the suffering through their grief. We love them through their journey and grieve with them — but we grieve as a people who have hope. We grieve as a people who know that there is "a balm in Gilead" to make us all whole. We know that the Holy Spirit has the power to revive our discouraged souls. We know that the love of God shown us in the death and resurrection of Jesus will carry us through — through suffering and even through death to life and to peace. In the name of Jesus. Amen. When a person is diagnosed with a serious disorder, one that threatens their very existence, life as we know it is turned upside down. There is research to conduct about traditional and alterna¬tive treatments. There are specialists with whom to consult. Some¬times there are changes in lifestyle and in priorities to be consid¬ered, as Tim McGraw sang in his 2004 hit, "Live Like You Were Dying." I have watched this process in many parishioners over the years. Quite often everyone, including the person with the terminal diag¬nosis, is amazed when they outlive their prognosis by months and sometimes even years. Medical science and mental attitude can do amazing things to sustain and extend the quality of life and the number of months a person has to live. But there comes a point, when treatments can no longer fend off the threat ... or the prospect of death becomes more tolerable than the treatment of the disease. At this point, hospice organiza¬tions can be a tremendous resource to a terminally ill person and their family. Hospice care encompasses nearly every aspect of a dying patient's needs so that she and her loved ones can simply be with one another. Hospice's ability to manage pain is a great bless¬ing that enables loved ones to be as present with one another as possible until the end. It is at this point in a terminally ill person's journey that he and his family often truly begin to mourn. There has been grief work going on since the moment the words of the diagnosis fell upon the ears of those in the physician's office, but the stage of grief that Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross calls "acceptance" is the stage when there's nothing left to do but keep watch and mourn. nd now, for the first time, the prophet Jeremiah acknowl¬edges that there is nothing left for him to do but mourn. Although his ministry with the people of Judah will continue on for several years, he knows that no matter what he says or what he does, Judah will not listen. Judah will not own up to her condition. Judah will not seek healing. No, Judah will be destroyed, or at the very least, she will be severely debilitated. She will eventually fall to the forces of Babylon. The treaties previously forged with neighboring na¬tions will do her no good. Even her claim of holiness as the place that is home to the temple of the Lord will mean nothing to the Lord. The Lord can raise up another temple in three days. All of this is not to say that Jeremiah won't continue to warn the people of Judah, won't continue to call them to repent. Jeremiah will continue to serve God's purposes, even as it causes him pain and anguish and grief to do so. His life will be threatened. He will forego the joys of marriage and family. He will face ridicule and despair, but Jeremiah has been called of God, called to a ministry for which he would never have asked. And he cannot help but ful¬fill it. I don’t know why the suffering in Sudan is so widespread, so intense. Who could explain it? I don’t know. But I do know that Angelina is right. I do know that Christ is present there. I do know that Christ will help, even when no one else will, when no one else can. There is so much I do not know. But I do know that our lives are in God’s hands. I do know that God’s love for us has no boundary. I do know that there is someone to heal us. There is someone to make us well. There is someone to soothe the pain and mend the heart. I know it is so. The weeping prophet Jeremiah, who wishes his eyes might be like fountains because his need to cry for his people is so great, asks with sorrow in his voice, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” Is there nothing to make it better? Is there no one to save us? Know the answer? I do. This answer is yes: Yes, there is a balm to make the wounded whole. Yes, there is something, someone to make it better. Yes, there is someone to save us. Yes, there is a balm to heal the sin-sick soul. The answer is yes. I know it is so. That’s why I’m here. And I suppose that’s why you’re here, because you know it is so, too. Or you suspect it is so. Or you hope it is so. Friends, the tear-stained face of Jesus is a reminder that our suffering is God’s suffering. Our pain is God’s pain. God became flesh in Jesus because God has promised not to leave us alone. The cross is the sign of God’s commitment to this world, God’s commitment to us, God’s commitment to you. In the cross, God’s love intersects our sorrow. In the cross, our lives are inextricably linked with God’s life. You can see that for yourselves. You can see that in every cross. You can see that in your own life. The summer is past. The seasons are changing. Time is moving. The one whose love heals and soothes and makes us whole gives us a new chance to keep those promises and follow through on those good intentions and make those dreams come true and see those hopes come to pass. Friends, we have been saved. The news is good. I know it is so. There is a balm in Gilead. Hallelujah! Another season has come and gone. Promises that were made have not been fulfilled. Good intentions haven’t yielded any tangible results. Dreams have not come true. High hopes have proven to be only wishful thinking. Nothing has really changed; nothing has really improved. The time keeps moving along, but we seem stuck in the same ruts. Old routines remain, prejudices persist, dullness and anxiety continue to be constant companions. Lingering in the air is that nagging sense that things aren’t quite right, not as they could be, not as they should be. As Jeremiah says, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (8:20). Time has moved along, the seasons are changing, but nothing has really changed for us. Same old people in the same old lives. Sin still has us in its grip, running our lives, ruining our lives, confusing our sense of what matters, leading us away from God. Why aren’t things better? What about those promises God has made? Why haven’t we been restored? Why haven’t we been made whole? Is there not a balm in Gilead? Is there no one to heal us? Nothing to make us well? No way to soothe the pain and mend the heart? "There is a balm in Lima to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Lima to heal the sin sick soul." Thanks be to God for that balm, who is Jesus, his Christ. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved (Jeremiah 8:20). At the beginning of his ministry, Jeremiah hoped that the destruction would not come. But alas, he knew it could not be stopped. Israel had gone too far and God’s decision had now been made. In his grief Jeremiah remembered Gilead—a region to the east where great spices grow, which physicians use to heal wounds. Is there no balm in Gilead? He asked. Is there no physician, no healer, no prophet, no priest, no teacher that can cure Israel’s wound? The answer is “No.” Israel will not know healing until she has paid for her sins. Jeremiah stood at the crossroads of history. His great nation came face to face with an angry God and with good reason. They had forgotten God and worshiped idols. They stopped defending the fatherless and protecting the poor. They had become violent and sexually promiscuous. For these reasons and more God judged his people. But it is not the end of the story. There was a promise that God would one day forgive the people and heal the land if they would repent while in exile. So you see God’s relationship is no longer to a nation but to a people—his church. Does that mean that God is not somehow involved in the affairs of nations?

Pray for Everyone (God Save the Queen)

September 18, 2022 15th Sunday of Pentecost 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Prayer for Everyone (God Save the Queen) Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship One: Divine Parent, you feel what we feel. Many: Our joys and our pains are yours too. One: Divine Healer, you delight in our wholeness. Many: You are the balm for our heavy-laden hearts and souls. One: Giver of life, you are able to renew us Many: We open ourselves to you, have your way within us.( Rev. Tena Nock, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Invocation Divine Nurturer, we are thankful that we can come to you any time. You have made it possible for us to come, as we are however, we are. We rejoice in knowing that you walk with us whether the road is rough or smooth. You are steadfast. Help us to nurture our relationship with you, ourselves, and each other so that we may be a balm when none can be found. Amen. ( Rev. Tena Nock, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Song – O Master Let Me Walk with Thee UMH 430 Children’s Sermon 1Timothy 2:1-7 Learning to be Peaceful By Lois Parker Edstrom The Bible teaches us that we should pray and give thanks “… for all men: for kings and all who are in high places…” (2:1). We understand why we would pray and give thanks for our parents and other family members, our friends, teachers, doctors, and the leaders of our country. We are thankful for their care. We want the best for them and we ask that God would give them wisdom to do their work in the best possible way. It is difficult, however, to understand how to pray for those who hurt us. We know there are evil people who do evil things. We don’t give thanks for the evil things they do, but we can pray that they will accept God’s love and turn their lives around for the better. Why would we do this? The Bible teaches us that we do this so that “we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence” (2:2). When we pray for others we learn about respect. We understand that “there is one God” (2:5) and that God is in charge. We learn about how to be peaceful. Deer come into my fields and after they have had enough to eat, they lie down to rest. I wish you could see them. They are very quiet and still. They look so peaceful. There is much wisdom in the Bible. One of the reasons we pray for everyone, including ourselves, is that we learn about respect and we learn about having a peaceful life. Find time to be quiet and still. Think about God’s love and how good it feels to be peaceful. Scripture quotations from the World English Bible Copyright 2013, Richard Niell Donovan Prayer for Transformation and New Life Source of Wholeness, we confess that sometimes our goals don’t align with yours, and we get lost. At times, we have pursued power, knowledge, and wealth instead of you, who are the source of all. We know that you are the balm we need, and we turn ourselves towards you. You are steadfast in your love and justice. Help us to be the same, help us to be a balm to others as you are to us. Amen. Words of Grace The Divine one is steadfast in love, justice, and righteousness. Know that we are called and empowered to do the same. In a chaotic world, we can know peace, and in a chaotic world, we can be at peace. May God’s grace be a balm for us, and may we be a balm to and for others. Amen. (Rev. Tena Nock, United Church of Christ, Worship Ways) Scripture – 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Sermon Pray for Everyone (God Save the Queen) A brawny man stood in front of a painting by the great artist John Singer Sargent in an art gallery in New York City. He kept muttering to himself, “I’ve been given a place at last. I have a place at last.” Artist Robert Henri was standing nearby. Henri was mystified at the man’s words. “Are you in this sort of work?” he asked the man. “Oh, yes,” said the man, “but this is the first time I’ve been displayed like this.” Now Henri really was disturbed. “But I thought that this work was by the great painter Sargent,” he said. “That’s right,” said the man, “but it was me that made the frame.” St. Paul saw himself as the frame, but Christ was the painting. It was the power of the risen Christ working through him that was the source of his great accomplishments. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,” wrote St. Paul on one occasion, “but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Is that a truth too great for our little hearts? It is to say that if we will but surrender our lives, there is a source of power available to us—that can flow through us—and help us to accomplish more than we ever dreamed possible. This morning, we look at the second chapter of Timothy – the book written to help us to know what it means to be a church leader. And no matter what we do in church, we are all Christian leaders. I think the lectionary developers started last week with Timothy 1 and now skips to chapter 2 to help us to understand that prayer is the framework of our faith and what we do as Christians. No matter how much we talk about prayer, I think it is the one thing that we all struggle with in some way. When I talk with family and friends who don’t go to church and say I am praying for you – they look at me as if I have three heads. I try to pray in some way everyday – and yet I struggle with what it means. There are prayer that I have been praying for 15 years daily, and yet I feel like nothing changes. I always ask God what that means. My beautiful daughter, to whom this volume is dedicated, had a bedtime prayer one night when she was in kindergarten — having heard in school of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the danger it posed for the environment, she prayed, "Dear God, those people who are cutting down the rainforest, please kill them." If regime change is your heart's desire, then of course you can pray for it. Remember though, prayer is not a labor-saving device — no matter which way you are praying, your prayers commit you to working toward the end you have in mind. Prayer brings hope to every situation. Hope for the good of all. Paul sees every encounter as an opportunity to invite God into the situation. What a wonderful way to live. The truth is that everyone we know is either struggling to remain faithful to Christ or hasn't been introduced to him yet. Everyone we know is facing trials, and tests, looking for a route to happiness and meaning in life. Our text is short, but it is very rich with lots of lessons. But I want to talk about three of them: That we should pray for everyone, especially our leaders. That prayer is the foundation of our peace, and that Christ is our intecessor, who brings our prayers no matter what they are to God. If your look at the title of the sermon – it is – Pray for everyone (God Save the Queen). Since her funeral is tomorrow, I just thought that it would be appropriate to pray for her. She is not our queen, but she is a part of everyone. We can pray for our mayor, the city council, the governor, the legislators and all fo those seeking office. A friend of mine belonged to a prayer group that received permission to meet in city hall to pray for the city. They prayed for the mayor, the city council, the police and fire departments, the school board, teachers, and social workers. Not many of those people knew they were being prayed for but my friend said he saw things begin to happen in the city. He claims prayer made all the difference. Be assured that God uses them and opens doors for us to share our witness. Do you know what an intercessor is? It is a person who stands in the gap between the world and God. Paul says that is our role. We are to be praying for the deliverance and salvation of the people all around us. We have no idea how our prayers impact our workplaces, our city, our state, our country, or our world. Praying for others is called intercession. To intercede is to mediate on behalf of another. It is to represent another in the hour of need. It is to stand in the gap in the time of need and the moment of despair. Christ is our ultimate Intercessor. He is the Priest acting on our behalf. He is the living bridge between humanity and God. Because Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, he is our Mediator. This is why we pray in Jesus' name. We cannot cross the breach between God and us. But Jesus is God come to our side. He is united forever to our humanity, so we can speak to him and be heard, uniting us with his divinity. It is God made present in the hour of trouble. Timothy chapter 2 starts out by saying request, prayers, thankgiving, be made for all people. Pray for kings and everyone in authority so that we can have quiet and peace. If we read further one verse beyond our scripture – verse 8 says Therefore, I want men to pray everywhere by lifting up hands that are holy, without anger or argument. Most of our worship service is intended to be a prayer for God – we have all of those prayers included in our service. It is not a common practice for this congregation – but lifting our hands is a devotion to God. III. TO PRAY IS TO COMPLETELY SURRENDER Verse 8: “I want people everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." Henri Nouwen says we come to God with tightly clinched fists. So prayer at first is painful because we discover we do not want to let go of the things that hold us and bind us. We want to box with God over what is. If you are Almighty why do you seem so feeble? If You will our good, why is there so much bad? If You came to save the world, how come it isn't saved yet? Like Job, we reduce God to our perceptions then curse God for being impotent. It is not always easy to believe. Often we pray “God help our unbelief." Pain and suffering continue to be problems near and far. Questions leave us with clinched fists. We cling to our hurts. We still haven't gotten over the girl that rejected us or parents who ignored us. We are still jealous of the colleague who got promoted over us; disappointed that we didn't receive a letter; angry that we were ignored. Oh yes, we've learned to live with it. It is pushed back into the recesses of our heart. But there is something about prayer that opens the soul and makes you conscious of the pain that is inside. So, suddenly we are faced with these hurts of our lives and to pray is to face the hurt, the jealousy and the disappointment. We come to God with clinched fists when he invites us to come with open hands. We have treasures we do not want to part with. You know how it is. You have to get a grip on what is yours and hold your own against those who would take it from you. We make excuses. “That's just how it is with me," and we say it as if we have given up on the belief that there may be plenty for everyone. So here we stand, with balled-up fists trying to protect what time will ultimately take away. To pray is to open our hands. It is opening our hands to God's promises. We are not alone. We live in God's world. He will not leave us nor forsake us. When you pass through the waters, he will be with you. The rivers will not sweep over you. He is the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God and he will direct your paths. We need to open our hands to our own weaknesses. A boy prayed: Dear God, please help me be a good boy and if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. A man prayed: please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am. Open our hands to be led. Prayer is not a magic means by which we control God but a humble means by which God can release his power and purposes through us. Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, help me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. So let us pray. Let us be a church that really prays, that takes a request for prayer seriously. Let us pray for one another. Let us pray for ourselves. Let us pray that God's kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Faith Breaks, by J. Howard Olds When we pray together in public it is a way for our minds, body and spirit to become centered in one place. When we lift our hands up – it centers everything else in our body. Did you know that your feet takes its cues on how to move from the hands. I learned that in my running club. That if you want to run faster, you don’t move your feet faster, you move your hands. When you are swimming and you just move your feet you don’t get very far. You have to move your hands and feet to move forward. When we pray with our hands lifted up open and welcoming the spirit of God in our lives, our actions and our hearts. The scripture says that we are to pray for others, especially our leaders so that we all can live a life of peace and quiet. If only peace in life was just that simple. In the time that this was written, it was leaders who were the biggest enemy of Christians and living a Christian life. And sometimes they are not always concerned about the peace and quiet of others. On my birthday I travelled to Evanston, where I went to school in search of peace and quiet. Coming from a chaotic family – one of the most important parts of my college experience was going to the library to study. Being in the quiet really helped me to collect my thoughts and to calm down. As an adult, every year I try to go back to the university library and just sit on fifth floor, where there is just quiet. This year I spent the whole day, walking into libraries, walking into churches, gardens, along the lake all in search of some peace and quiet. What I found was there is no such thing. Everyplace outside all you could here was crickets. Even inside of the library, I was not listening to silence, but always the air conditioner in the back ground. And not that I have come home, the crickets are moving inside my house, and they chirp at all hours of the night. Even if I come here in this sanctuary to pray – it is not quiet, because the ceiling fans are always running. And yet the peace that I feel when starting to pray – doesn’t mean that the noise goes away – it means to my focus us beyond it. The peace and quiet is in here and not out there. The Greek word for prayer means having an open conversation with God about whatever is on your heart. Trusting that God is a trusting, compassionate involved God who listens. The peace and quiet that we pray for is not just for us, it is for everyone in the world. That is the mission of every Christian to play a part in God bringing salvation to all of the world – everyone. In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, a 26-year-old Briton by the name of Derek Redmond was favored to win the race. Halfway into his semifinal heat a torn hamstring sent fiery pain through his right leg, causing him to crumple to the track. As the medics came to his rescue, Derek scrambled to his feet hopping, pushing, in a crazed attempt to finish the race. That is when a big man pushed through the crowd toward the track. He wore a t-shirt with the question “Have you hugged your kid today?" He wore a cap that said, “Just do it!" The man was Jim Redmond, Derek's dad. When he got to his son he said, “Derek, you don't have to do this." Derek replied, “Yes I do." That is when big Jim put i True peace starts with a footstep . . . . a stride forward into God’s future. Or as Dante put it in one of the greatest quotes in the history of literature, “In his will is our peace.” ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Leonard Sweet Sermons, by Leonard Sweet We intercede for ourselves and others, because Christ is the great intercessor for us. • All means all - God in Christ erases the dividing lines and unites us, prayer practices and reinforces that belief (Thomas Oden, Interpretation: First and Second Timothy and Titus) : o All people should be prayed for (v.1) o All people should be saved (v. 4) o God is God of all people (v. 5) o Christ died as a ransom for all (v.6) o “Paul” proclaims this truth to all (v.7) One God, One mediator, One Christ It says that there is One God, One mediator, One Christ for all people. If there is one God for all people – then our hearts should be in one place. That is on the things of God. Prayer helps us to center our mind, body and spirit in that place. Amen. Song Take My Life and Let it Be UMH 399 Prayer Weeping God, we come to join in your tears for those people who are suffering. We weep for those fleeing from violence and oppression; for those falsely accused of rebellion, when only seeking for justice; for those searching for freedom to practice their faith; for those escaping from famine, flood, earthquake, or other natural disaster; for those seeking a better life, for all those looking for acceptance, hope and love in new places. Compassionate God, as we join with you in sorrow for these and other situations where fear, despair and danger are the ruling factors, show us how we can help. Guide us as we search for practical ways of offering assistance. Strengthen us in our fight against injustice and evil. Fill us with your Spirit of life, love and grace, so that we may become a part of your healing, comforting presence to those who need to find refuge and security. Amen ( Based on the Weeping God by ©Marjorie Dobson) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering (Luke 16) (don’t need to print) God, in Jesus Christ, has given us much to be faithful for. Our tithes, gifts, and offerings may seem little in comparison to God’s gifts to us, but we are called to be faithful over all that we have: our time, our talents, our gifts, and our service. When we give of ourselves, we practice the spiritual discipline of stewardship. When we are faithful over a few things in this life, in the life to come we may be faithful over much, much more. May God bless us in our giving, that God’s kingdom may be here with us on earth. Offering Prayer (Luke 16) Lord, we got up this morning, ate our breakfast, got dressed, and came to church— all to give you praise and thanksgiving. May these gifts be a blessing for those who had no bed this morning from which to arise; for those who had no breakfast and are hungry this day; for those who have no new clothes; for those who long to worship you but cannot. Take these gifts and use them as you will, O God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. (Erik Alsgaard, United Methodist Ministry Matters) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Be faithful with little. Be faithful with much. Be faithful with what belongs to another. Be faithful with what is your own. Serve only one master. There is one God. We will serve this God alone. And may the grace, mercy, and peace of the one God be with you. Amen. (Nancy Townley, United Methodist Ministry Matters) Community Time Benediction Friends, our worship continues even as we leave this moment. Friends, we have gathered in joy to sing and pray and hear God’s word. We have come as friends, called friends by the Christ we follow. And now we are sent out into the world, to make friends. Let us be about the business we have been given. Let us go with God. Amen. (Derek Weber, United Methodist Discipleship Ministries) Additional Illustrations The best illustration of the cross is a story told long ago by that great British preacher, Charles Hadley Spurgeon. The radio newscaster Paul Harvey tells this story each year before Easter. Spurgeon was walking the streets of London deep in thought when he saw a young street boy. The lad was carrying an old, bent birdcage. Inside was a tiny field sparrow. Spurgeon stopped the boy and asked him what he was going to do with the bird. "Well," the boy said, "I think I'll play with it for a while, and then when I'm tired of playing with it- I think I'll kill it." He made that last comment with a wicked grin. Moved with compassion for the bird, Spurgeon asked, "How much would you sell me that bird for?" "You don't want this bird, mister," the boy said with a chuckle. "It's just a bloody field sparrow." But then he saw that the old gentleman was serious. "You can have this bird for two pounds," he said slyly. Two pounds at that time would be worth more than a hundred dollars today--an astronomical price for a bird worth only pennies. Spurgeon paid the price, and let the bird go free. The next morning, Easter Sunday morning, an empty bird cage sat on the pulpit of the great Metropolitan Tabernacle where Spurgeon preached. "Let me tell you about this cage," Spurgeon said as he began the sermon. Then he recounted the story about the little boy and how he had purchased the bird from him at a high cost. Then with great seriousness Spurgeon said, "I tell you this story because that's just what Jesus did for us. You see, an evil specter called sin had us caged up and unable to escape. But then Jesus came up to sin and said, 'What are you going to do with those people in that cage?' "'These people?' sin answered with a laugh. 'I'm going to teach them to hate each other. Then I'll play with them until I'm tired of them--and then I'll kill them.' Jesus asked, "'How much would it cost to buy them back?' "with a sly grin, Sin said, 'You don't want these people, Jesus. They'll only hate you and spit on you. They'll even nail you to a cross. But if you do want to buy them, it'll cost you all your tears and all your blood--your very life!’” Spurgeon concluded, "That, ladies and gentlemen, is just what Jesus did for us on the cross. He paid the ultimate, immeasurable price for all who would believe, that we might be free from the inescapable penalty of death." You have just heard the heartbeat of the Gospel, the best news that has ever warmed the hearts of humanity. If you have never personally received the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, come down front in just a moment, kneel here, and whisper to Christ these words: "I a sinner receive you as Savior and will follow you as Lord." ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by Bill Bouknight The pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus were not to be read as theological edicts on the nature of church structure. These letters were directed toward real faith communities wrestling with particular problems. Like that group of Separatists at Plymouth Rock, these congregations were seeking to forge a life of faith and obedience to Christ amidst unfamiliar and sometimes hostile territory. Since Christ had not returned to take his followers to heaven's realm, the church was forced to grapple with the very real challenges of establishing heaven's dominion in their earthly domain. Imagine you only have a short time to prepare your successor in ministry. In that time you can only share a few of your insights. What would you tell him or her? There is a story told about a group of seminary students that went to visit an old historic church they had heard a lot about. When they entered the huge building, they were met by a gray-bearded gentleman they thought was the janitor. He offered to lead them on a tour through the facilities and answer any questions they had. They walked through the sanctuary, stood in the pulpit, and looked down from the balcony. When they had seen just about everything and asked every conceivable question they could come up with, the old gentleman asked a strange question, "Would you like to see what fires up this church?" They weren't really interested in touring the basement and seeing the boiler, but just to humor their host, they followed. They went down a narrow stairway to an area beneath the pulpit. As the gentleman opened the door, he said, "Behind this door is the secret of this great church. Everything that happens upstairs starts down here. This is where the fire in the pulpit begins." The old man, actually C. H. Spurgeon, the great preacher himself, opened the door to reveal several dozen people on their knees in fervent prayer. Spurgeon would always insist that the secret of any church, big or small, was the prayers of the people. It was Spurgeon who said, "I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach." Ernest Hemingway wrote a story about a father and son who had a serious misunderstanding. In the story, the boy finally runs away from home. The father however, is not content to let his son go. In an effort to find the boy, the father puts an ad in the Madrid, Spain newspaper. It contained these words: Dear Paco, Meet me at the town square at noon on Sunday. All is forgiven...Your father That Sunday, 800 males by the name of Paco showed up at the town square. They all came seeking forgiveness from their fathers. Alexander Pope said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine." At the heart of the Christian faith lies the principle of forgiveness. Come let us take a closer look. A visit to Yellowstone Park discovered the only animal a bear would not fight for food is a skunk. With one swing of his powerful paw the bear could crush the skunk. So why does the bear allow the skunk to eat with him? Because he has discovered the high cost of getting even! When you check into a Sheraton hotel room these days you have a new message you can hang on your doorknob to keep the housekeeper away. Instead of “Do Not Disturb” the message now reads “Peace and Quiet.” The sign at Sheraton’s more upscale sister, The Westin, simply reads “Peace.” People are not just looking to keep disruptions and disturbances at bay. They are looking to find something positive. They are searching in life for some “peace and quiet.” Or if “quiet” is too much to ask, just some “Peace.” E. Stanley Jones, that great missionary/evangelist/writer once said that this is the great divide between Christianity and the world religions. Not that they do not have truth, not that they lack noble sentiments, gracious teaching, or gifted leaders. But in them, said Jones, the Word became word—a set of teachings, a morality, a religious framework. Only within Christianity does the Word become flesh. And it is that Word become flesh that offers human beings access to the Father. O Lord, our governor, your glory shines throughout the world. We commend our nation to your merciful care, that we may live securely in peace and may be guided by your providence. Give all in authority the wisdom and strength to know your will and to do it. Help them remember that they are called to serve the people as lovers of truth and justice; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[2]

Mutual Love - the key to life

August 28, 2016 Hebrews 13 This is the 4th week that we have been looking at Hebrews. Each of the last chapters of the book have a special message on what it means to be a Christian. Many scholars believe that the author takes a very sharp turn in the last chapter of the book, chapter 13. Some wonder if it was added later, but I think that it just wraps up the Christian life perfectly. When Christ is the head of your life, things are different. Your whole life just takes a different turn. You have different relationships, for different reasons and with different results. The theme of the Christian life is faith, hope and love. In chapter 11 we talked about faith, in chapter 12 we talked about hope and today in chapter 13 we put it all together with love. But not just any love – mutual love, the type of love that you can only get in community with other Christians. I got into an argument with a church member at church council, because I said that you cant be a Christian on a desert island. Reading the bible and thinking nice thoughts does not make you a Christian. The only way to truly be a Christian is to go to church and participate. What makes you a Christian is how you deal with people. How you interact with people. Not just any people, but people who have come together for a common cause. If the church is what it is supposed to be, it is not just a group of friends. The church should be a group of strangers, who have nothing in common, but who God called to journey to the same place together. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Worshipping with People We Didn't Hand-Pick Writer and NPR commentator Heather King, a recovering alcoholic who has come to faith in Christ, reflected on her initial experience with the church: My first impulse was to think, My God, I don't want to get sober (or in the case of the church, worship) with THESE nutcases! (or boring people, or people with different politics, taste in music, food, books, or whatever). Nothing shatters our egos like worshipping with people we did not hand-pick …. The humiliation of discovering that we are thrown in with extremely unpromising people!—people who are broken, misguided, wishy-washy, out for themselves. People who are … us. But we don't come to church to be with people who are like us in the way we want them to be. We come because we have staked our souls on the fact that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the church is the best place, the only place, to be while we all struggle to figure out what that means. We come because we'd be hard pressed to say which is the bigger of the two scandals of God: that he loves us—or that he loves everyone else. Adapted from Heather King, "The Better Church," Shirt of Flameblog (10-23-11) If your patience is not being challenged, then it is not Christian community. The test of how well we are doing as a church is how well we are able to reach out to new people, and make them feel welcome. Not as we expect them to be but as God expects them to be. How well do we let them explore and use their relationship with God. And if we are all truly finding God in our lives, we are able to get along with one another. That is mutual love. The book of Hebrews gives several examples of places where mutual love is important. In prison, in encounters with strangers, with mentors, even while shopping and in marriage. Did you know that there is only one insurance company in America that will sell you marriage insurance, where you get a pay off if your marriage fails? You can have your fingers insured if you are a pianist, you can have your face insured if you are a model. But when you are applying for a marriage license, you cant buy insurance in case your marriage fails. You can sign a prenuptial agreement in order to protect your property. You can buy life insurance in case your spouse dies. But even money hungry insurance agencies realize that if you don’t have mutual love, then you don’t have a marriage. Your relationship with your spouse if between you and them, and God. All three of your all have to work at it. Mutual love means that God has to be a part of all of your relationships. And part of everything that you do. The scripture says Marriage must be honored in every respect, with no cheating on the relationship, because God will judge the sexually immoral person and the person who commits adultery. God will judge the person who does wrong, so that you don’t have to. We can love them even in the midst of doing what needs to be done for our wellbeing. That applies to our relationships with others as well. We need God in order to get along and connect with anybody. God should be a part of our relationships and our lives. In verse 5 and six, the scripture says Afterall he said that I will never abandon you that is why you can say the lord is my helper I will not be afraid. Because God makes a promise to us, we can rest assured, stay faithful and make the promises that we need to make. God said I will hold you in the palm of my hand, so we can say everything will be okay. God said I love you, so we can say I love you to others. God said I will provide for you, so we can freely give to others. As a Christian everything that we do should be about God. What God says to us, so we can do the same for others. That is mutual love – love where God cares for both of us equally. Hebrews chapter 13 starts out by saying treat each other life family. Open our doors to guest, because by doing so, we have entertained angels. That is a reference to the Abraham story, where Abraham invited three men into his house, not knowing that they were angels with a message from god. Tradition says that Abraham had a tent, and that he intentionally kept all four flaps of the tent open at all times in order to keep an eye out for strangers in need, in any direction. He was able to spot the 3 strangers in need from over a mile away. Now remember, the word angel means messenger from God. Angels come in all shaped and sizes. You never know who you are going to meet, who will bring a message from God. Just as I have learned to look for pennies on the ground everyday. I have learned to look for angels. Messengers who god sent into my life. There was a fascinating story in Time magazine sometime back about Melissa Deal Forth, 40, a film maker in Atlanta. It was about the day her husband Chris Deal died. It was exactly one year after he had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The last months had been gruesome: treatments that could not save him, nights when she could not sleep. But Melissa was sleeping soundly at his hospital bedside on the morning of Jan. 4 when Chris managed, somehow, without being seen or heard, to maneuver himself and his portable IV pole around her, out of the room and past the nurse's station with its 360-degrees view of the ward. All Melissa remembers is being shaken awake at 3:00 a.m. by a frantic nurse who was saying something about not being able to find Chris. Melissa hit the floor running. As she approached the elevator she happened to glance toward the chapel, where she glimpsed Chris sitting with a man she had never seen before. Frightened and furious, she burst through the door, firing off questions. "œWhere have you been? Are you okay?" Chris just smiled. "œIt's fine," he told her, "œI'm all right." His companion remained quiet, his eyes on the floor as though not wanting to be noticed. He was tall, dressed rather like Chris usually did, in a flannel shirt, new Levis and lace-up work boots that appeared as if they, too, had just been taken off the shelf. "œThere was no real age to him," Melissa says. "œNo wrinkles. Just this perfectly smooth and pale, white, white skin and ice blue eyes. I mean I've never seen that color blue on any human before. They were more the blue like some of those Husky dogs have. I'll never forget the eyes." Chris seemed to want to be left alone, and so she reluctantly agreed to leave. When he came back to his room, she says, "œHe was lit up, just vibrant. Smiling. I could see his big dimples. I hadn't seen them in so long. He didn't have the air of a terminally ill and very weak man anymore." "œWho was that guy?" she asked. "œYou're not going to believe me," Chris said. "œYes, I will," she answered. "œHe was an angel," Chris said. "œMy guardian angel." Melissa did believe him. "œAll I had to do was to look at him," she says now, "œto know something extraordinary, something supernatural had happened." She searched the hospital to find the man. There was no one around, and the security guards hadn't seen anyone come or go. "œAfter the visit, Chris told me his prayers had been answered," she says. "œI worried for a while that he thought the angel had cured his cancer. I realize now it wasn't the cure, it was the blessing he brought with him. It was the peace of mind." Chris died two days later. In the 11 years since Chris's death, Melissa says not a day has gone by when she has not thought about the angel and what he did for her husband. "œChris' life could not be saved, but the fear and pain were taken from him," she says. "œI know what I saw, and I know it changes lives. Never, never, never will anyone be able to convince me that angels don't exist." (1) Not everyone feels like that, of course. In the movie Red River, tough guy Walter Brennan looks out across the horizon and sees a stranger approaching. He has no idea what the man's intentions are, but he's not looking forward to the meeting. He explains his reasoning to John Wayne, "œNo stranger," he says, "œever good-newsed me." (3) Well, I've been "œgood-newsed" by many strangers. And so have you. One of the reasons that we ought always to be kind to strangers is that some of these strangers will bless us mightily. You see, angels come to us in many forms. I have been good news by a stranger many times. The message is for us to be hospitable to others, but it is much deeper than than. We have to live each day with God in our lives, we have to include God in all of our relationships. With family, with church members, with spouse, with others, and sometimes even with ourselves. When we have God with us, then we also have mutual love present. In order to be happy we have to have faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love. God is present when we show love. Amen, Other illustrations…. SERMON ILLUSTRATION 'One Another's' You Can't Find in the New Testament Pastor Ray Ortlund writes, "The kind of God we really believe in is revealed in how we treat one another. The lovely gospel of Jesus positions us to treat one another like royalty, and every non-gospel positions us to treat one another like dirt. But we will follow through horizontally on whatever we believe vertically." Ray then goes on to identify the "One Another's" he could not find in the N.T.: Sanctify one another, humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, judge one another, run one another's lives, confess one another's sins, intensify one another's sufferings, point out one another's failings … Ray Ortlund, "'One Another's' I Can't Find in the New Testament," The Gospel Coalition blog (5-24-14); submitted by: Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky ERMON ILLUSTRATION Our Brains Are Wired to Connect with Others A 72-year-long study conducted at Harvard tracked what really makes human beings happy. The study's longtime director, George Vaillant, when asked what has been learned, answered pointedly, "That the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people." In the last two decades, scientists have discovered that this truth is even wired into our brains. Researcher Daniel Goleman summarizes it this way: "The most fundamental revelation of [the discipline of neurobiology is that] we are wired to connect. Neuroscience has discovered that our brain's very design makes it sociable, inexorably drawn into an intimate brain-to-brain linkup whenever we engage with another person." Children’s time…….. Adapted from Glen Stanton, The Family Project (Focus on the Family, 2014), pgs. 299-300 Object: If you can find one, a ladybug. If not, a piece of fruit happiness into another person's life. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought this piece of fruit with me not because I want you to think about fruit, but because I want you to think about ladybugs. "œLadybug, ladybug, fly away home!" we say in the little rhyme. But we better know that ladybugs don't heed that advice. Ladybugs were imported to this country because they destroy pests that can kill fruit trees. They also protect other crops, like alfalfa. They're tiny little insects. You can cram 70,000 ladybugs into a gallon container. But without them, we would be in trouble. Who would think that such a small and seemingly gentle creature could be so important to us? They are like tiny angels watching over the food we eat. Looking at ladybugs we would never think of them being so important to us. But they are. Sometimes we look at other people and we don't see anything important about them either, but they are. The Bible tells us that other people can be like angels to us. They can bring good things into our lives and we can bring good things into theirs. Hey, that means we can be angels too. Everyone is a potential angel when they do their best to bring happiness into another person’s life.

A Faith Pleasing to God

September 1, 2013 Hebrews 13:1-6 15th Sunday after Pentecost “A Faith Pleasing to God” Year C Things that we need in life There are certain things that we need to have in our lives every day in order for us to be able to function. There are the obvious things like clean air, food, water, a safe environment, we need to sleep, we need to be able to take care of ourselves, we need to have family or others who love and encourage us, we need to do something that is meaningful for us, we need to have a safe space to feel ourselves. We spend a lot of time fulfilling those physical and mental needs. But we have to remember that we have a mind, and a body, but we also have a soul. Spiritual things that we need And just as the mind and body have needs – the soul has needs also. And without those things – we may not realize it, but our day does not go well. In order for us to live – we need prayer – it can be ours or someone elses, we need forgiveness, thankfulness, humility, hospitality, and charity. Because we cant always see those things – we tend to take them for granted. But we need them and we need them everyday. The book of Hebrews sums our spiritual needs in one word- we all need to have faith in order to survive. We need to have faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is the thing that we need to most, and there are moments that it is the hardest thing to hold onto. Hudson Taylor on Contentment "The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One," said A. W. Tozer. 1. You have His assurance - "for he hath said..." Hudson Taylor the founder of China Inland Mission, was facing a lack of finances in his ministry. He retreated to office and read the Bible awhile, then prayed a while, and then looked again at the finances. Then he would pray a while, read the Bible awhile, and look again at the finances. Then he prayed awhile and read the Bible. After a while he left his office. His wife asked him, "What are we going to do?" "We have a twenty seven cents and all the promises of God...what more do one need!" (From a sermon by Jimmy Chapman, Covetousness, 1/30/2010) Faith and Fact Faith is not credulity. It is not believing in something you know is not true. Neither is faith a substitute for knowledge. Christian faith operates in the realm of meaning, not in the realm of fact. Faith recognizes fact but it is not out to obtain, contradict, or prove facts. Saint Augustine knew this when he said, “I believe in order that I may understand.” Faith Is: Hearing with the Heart An American missionary in Africa wanted to translate the English word faith into the local dialect. He could not find its equivalent. So he went to an old sage, who was himself a fine Christian, for help in rendering the needed word into understandable language. The guru studied it, and finally said, “Does it not mean to hear with the heart?” Strangers in our midst Hebrews 13 starts out with a message that may be familiar – be careful about how you treat strangers, because you never know when you are entertaining angels. In Hebrew culture, they looked forward to strangers. They believed that strangers were always sent from God to give them an important message. Every stranger that you met, you took care of because you just never knew what God had in store. I like this prayer that one woman prays every time their food pantry opens – Lord we know that you will be coming through this line today. So help us to treat you well then we see you today.” Put it briefly, the message of our text for today…. Let brotherly love continue, show hospitality, remember those who are being oppressed and tortured, hold marriage in honor, keep free from the love of money, remember the leaders of the past, continue to praise God, and to do good, it is pleasing to God. It is telling us how to live as Christians and how to treat others. Love those that we are with This message is good advice, and it is a good way to treat others. But the strangers that the message is referring to, are actually not visitors, not people that we don’t know, not people who have not met yet. The strangers the author is talking about are the strange people in this room with us now. Scripture says let mutual love continue – continue to be concerned about those who are in church with you. Always be open and understanding what you speak to one another. You might see that person’s face all of the time, but you never know what is really going on in their life, what they may be struggling with. And the difference a kind word from a fellow Christian might make in their life. Dangers without create dangers within You see, the Hebrew church was a persecuted church. There were a lot of people outside the church who were critical of Christians. There were a lot of threats to the church. There were a lot of people who were willing to attack people for being faithful. I think that we still face many of those threats today. Sometimes having to fight outside demons, creates inside demons which can be just as destructive. Sometimes when are are joined together to deal with the things going on outside the church – we don’t realize that those same issues are going on inside the church. Williams Barclay – who was a bible professor ways that there are two intentional threats to congregations who are trying to be faithful. First people get so concerned about being faithful, that they start analyzing and judging the behavior of fellow Christians. They think if I am being faithful then you are not. They feel justified in accusing others. And secondly, when they see someone else who is weak and doubtful, who is waivering in their faith, instead of supporting that person, they attack them and make then feel even worse. Without Christ as our center, the persecuted church can very easily become the persecuting church. So the message is to love one another, to help one another, to be understanding of one another. Keep the faith and to remember that those strangers sitting next to you are angels that God sent to walk with you on your journey. There are three types of organizations on the world. There are organizations that resolve around a strong leader, and the people get their power based on how close they are to the leader. There are organizations that resolve around the common needs of the people – they feel safe together and they all stay together in order to protect their common benefit. Third there is the organization that is centered around solid teaching, harmony and a way of life that honors, and respects, and loves those in it. There are churches of all kinds. But the kind of church that God wants is one that is centered about the teachings of Christ. One where people can come to be loves, and understood. Where people are intentional about the way they live on the inside, so that they can have some type of affect on the outside. The church is the place to find faith. Solid faith is our foundation for living our lives are a committed disciple of Christ. Discipleship means living a life of humility, hospitality and charity. Jesus does not change Verse 8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Ironically, no matter how hard we try – even in the church we are a part of a changing world. The world out there, throws the church in here in a tailspin. The church has to change on the inside just to survive in this world. It is during those times of church and transition that the people of the church are most likely to lose their faith. In a changing world we forget that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This was said 2000 years ago and it is still a message for us today. There are five things in the world that will never change – God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan for salvation. My personal faith challenge You know I had been an associate in well off churches for 10 years of my career. And as an associate, I was very happy. I slept well at night, because whatever problems the church had, it was not my problem to worry about, I enjoyed my weekends because I did not have to worry about a sermon. I was in very stable churches – so I got paid very well. In 2007, when I was placed in a sole church – I had a big fight with God, because I just knew that he has placed me in the wrong church. I have always loved God, and never thought about leaving the ministry – but I just yelled at God to put me in a better situation. Something that I deserved, and would be happy. I wanted to be faithful, I just didn’t want the struggle that came with it. I told God that I wanted to be anything in the world but Methodist. God reminded me that it was my choice to join the Methodist Church and now that things were not going my way that it was my choice to leave the Methodist Church. God told me that I was free to walk away at any moment and find something else- that would make me happy. God reminded me that God had been faithful to me- and all he asked in return was to be faithful to the church. If I was baptized and of I took vows of membership- what did that really mean to me? More importantly what did that mean to God. If I was to leave in times of trouble – was I really being faithful. In the midst of a changing world there are five things that don’t change. God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan for salvation. God’s answer God reminded me that in life there are no accidents, no coincidences, and no mistakes. What happens in my life, and where I am and who I am with – is where God intended me to be. And that the quickest way out of situation is not to walk away, but to persevere and endure and to walk through it to the other side. There is no place in the bible that says that walking away from the church makes things easier. And when we submit ourselves to God, them God always puts us to work bringing about his plan, God knows the needs of the world better then us, and he creates us as vessels to carry out his plan in his salvation. Bloom where are you planted, and finish the work God gave you. One thing that I have learned as an ordained minister, is that when God makes up in his mind that you are to do something, and he gives you a message to give to the world – just like Jonah in the belly of the whale – you can run, but you cant hide. You can argue with God – but in the end you will not win. There are five things in a changing world that never change – God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan of salvation. God will always wins Sometimes it is easier to just be faithful in the first place. That is the lesson of Hebrews. Our only success is faithfulness Mother Teresa was once asked, "How do you measure the success of your work?" She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, "I don't remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts." Amen. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. • Faith is to accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, and bear the intolerable. • Faith is idle when circumstances are right, only when they are adverse is one’s faith in God exercised. Faith, like muscle, grows strong and supple with exercise. • Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. —David Lloyd George • A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul. —Spurgeon • Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will! • Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. • Faith in God is indispensable to successful statesmanship. —Abraham Lincoln be described as follows: (1) High intelligence—Rev. 13:18; Dan. 7:8. (2) Great speaking ability—Dan. 7:8; Rev. 13:5. (3) Crafty political talents—Dan. 9:27; Rev. 17:12, 13, 17. (4) Strong physical appearance—Dan. 7:20. (5) Military genius—Rev. 13:4; 17:14; 19:19. (6) Morally, the worse personage (a) Materialistic—Dan. 11:38 (b) Blasphemer—Rev. 13:6 (c) Against the Law—II Thess. 2:8 (d) Selfish ambition—Dan. 11:36, 37; II Thess. 2:4. (e) Tries to change prophecy and history—Dan. 7:25 (f) Substitutes self for God—Dan. 11:36; II Thess. 2:4. Success that Counts Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com The Christian way When former British prime minister, Tony Blair, was running for office, his political philosophy was often called the “Third Way,” which has been described as a global movement dedicated to modernizing progressive politics for the information age. In May 1999, Blair was in Washington to attend a summit on Third Way policies. He tells the following account of what happened after he entered the large building where the meeting was to be held. He was unsure of which way to go in the building. So he asked a janitor, “In which room is the Third Way meeting?” The janitor, according to Blair, replied, “There ain’t no third way, sir; there ain’t but one way, and it’s straight ahead.” ebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Among the many parenetic admonitions in this text are the requirements of providing hospitality for strangers and care for those who are afflicted. Each of these admonitions is said to be especially important because of our faith in Jesus perceived as the Christ, who is the same person yesterday, today, and forever. It is through Jesus perceived as the Christ that we offer up our sacrifice of praise to God and share our resources with those who are in need. ILLUSTRATION… Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92 A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them: 1. Materialism 2. Pride 3. Self-centeredness 4. Laziness 5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness 5. (Tie) Sexual lust 6. Envy 7. Gluttony 8. Lying Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when… they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).