You can't take it with you when you go

September 28, 2025 1 Timothy 6:6-19 16th Sunday of Pentecost You Can’t Take it with you when you Go Year C Prelude Greeting Call to Worship Come, all who live in the shelter of the Most High. Gather together, all who trust in God Almighty God reigns through all generations. We will praise God as long as we live. We trust in God, our refuge and our fortress. We can count on God’s faithfulness at all times. God lifts us up when we are threatened or afraid We call to God for protection and rescue. Worship God, who richly provides us with all things. Give thanks to the one who dwells in unapproachable light. God, who made heaven and earth, keeps faith forever. We will pour out our thankfulness in words and deeds. (Gathered by Love, Lavon Baylor) Invocation Ever-present God, let your Spirit fill this place, for we need to know that you are in charge. Throught the terrors of night, amid the arrows that fly during the day, we need to sense your power, your protection, your higher purpose. Show us here your saving, healing strength. Grant us such contentment and confidence that we may look beyond ourselves to be a blessing to others. Amen. (Gathered by Love, Lavon Baylor) Song Stand Up Stand Up For Jesus UMH 514 A Sermon for all Ages Materials Needed • A piggy bank or a small box labeled “Treasure” • A shiny coin or dollar bill • A cross or small Bible Script Start with the piggy bank/coin: (Shake it or hold it up.) “Look what I have here! A piggy bank. Do you like saving money? Maybe you’ve saved up for a toy or a game? Money is helpful — we need it for food, clothes, and to keep the lights on.” Hold up the shiny coin or bill: “But the Bible tells us something important: if we love money too much, it can trick us. We might start thinking money is the most important thing in life. Have you ever wanted a toy so badly that you forgot about your friends or even got mad at your parents? That’s kind of what happens when money becomes our treasure.” Now hold up the cross or Bible: “Paul told Timothy: ‘Be rich in good works, be generous, and ready to share.’ That means the real treasure isn’t money — the real treasure is loving God and loving people. When we help someone, share our toys, give to those in need, or say kind words, we are storing up treasure in heaven. And that’s treasure that lasts forever.” Simple Object Lesson: (Open the piggy bank/box — show it empty or with only a little inside.) “See this? If all I care about is what’s in here, I might end up empty one day. But if I fill my life with love, kindness, and Jesus — I’ll never be empty. That’s what Paul meant when he said we should take hold of the life that really is life.” Closing Question & Prayer “So kids, which treasure do you want to build? A treasure that runs out, or a treasure that lasts forever with God?” Prayer: “Dear God, thank You for giving us what we need. Help us to be content, to share what we have, and to remember that Jesus is our greatest treasure. Amen.” Would you like me to also give you a short, fun activity/game you can play with the kids after the children’s sermon that reinforces the idea of sharing and true treasure? Responsive Reading Psalm 91 UMH 810 Passing of the Peace Scripture 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Sermon You Can’t Take it With You When You Go It was the beginning of the stewardship season and the pastor came of with a very creative way to raise money for the church. Before taking the offering, he explained to the congregation that he would preach an interactive sermon Have you all heard about the Preacher who stood up one morning and told his congregation. "This morning we'll have an interactive service. I've prepared 3 different sermons for today. First I've prepared a fifty dollar fire and brimstone sermon which is about two hours long." "Second I've prepared a hundred dollar sermon on the evils of sin that should take about an hour to deliver. And finally I have a $500 fifty dollar sermon on love and generosity, it will only take about 10 or fifteen minutes. We'll take the offering and afterwards, I will let you know which message I'm going to be preaching this morning." (1) I thought that was funny, so this morning I've prepared three sermons. Just kidding. This morning is actually the kick off for our fall Stewardship Campaign titled "Called To Generosity." As I was looking at the Sunday lessons which have been prepared and thinking about generosity and giving, I kept think about what the apostle Paul wrote Timothy. By the way, I wont mention any names, but I will say that someone mentioned to me that the songs last week were absolutely awful. They may have been a little slow and hard to sing, but I thought everyone sounded good, and the words fit into the theme of the scripture. As a fundraiser, there are churches who let people block a song from being sang for a full year, if they make a donation. Our scripture for today is perfect for stewardship, this is the most direct message about money and the way we spend money in the church. In 1 Timothy – Paul tells us that money is the root of all evil, he actually says that our attitude toward money is the root of all evil. When money becomes the main focus of our life, then we are unhappy. In a television interview, Barbara Walters asked Ted Turner, “What does it feel like to be so wealthy?” He said, “It’s like a paper bag. Everyone sees the bag. Everyone wants it. Once you get the bag, you discover that the bag is empty.” (6) Contrast: Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men in America, once said, “The man who dies rich dies disgraced.” He gave away much of his fortune to build libraries and schools. He realized too late that hoarded wealth is wasted wealth. Illustration: John Wesley, founder of Methodism, said: “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Wesley made good money from his books, but he lived simply and gave most of it away. He died nearly penniless, but spiritually wealthy. Application: What are you doing with the wealth God has entrusted to you? Is it tied up in bigger barns — or invested in God’s mission, in people, in eternity? Thomas D. Lea tells of reading about a recipe book that had been recalled. It was recalled because they made a mistake in one of the recipes. In making a particular dish the way the recipe said to make it, they had neglected one of the basic elements. If you make it just as the recipe said, it would blow up in your face. They recalled the book to prevent that from happening. Some recipes for life are like that. They look good on paper, but an essential ingredient is missing. And that one essential ingredient makes all the difference in the world. There’s nothing wrong with honest hard work, with providing for your family or yourself. That’s part of the recipe for life. But that’s not everything. Paul is giving us the recipe for a happy and successful life. We will start our stewardship season next week, and we may or may not spend the next six weeks talking about money. Today, I wanted us to focus on the rest of the scripture. Where Paul is not focusing on money – but on our attitude toward life. He tells us that our attitude toward God effects every decision that we make in life, including how we spend money. The overall theme of this scripture is godliness. He starts the scripture out by saying Godliness is a great source of profit when it is combined with being happy with what you already have. “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Timothy 6:6, ESV) Notice the words, “great gain.” Those two words would be best translated in our vernacular today “success.” Great gain and success is what everybody is looking for. People just define it in different ways. For Wall Street, it is when the Dow goes up. For government, it is when tax revenues go up. For the nation, it is when the GDP is going up. For workers, it is when their income is going up. Then, Paul turns the tables. He says, “Do you want to know what real success is?” Amazingly he never mentions “stuff”, never mentions “wealth” and never mentions “money”. He says, “Great gain (that is success) is found in ‘godliness’ with contentment.” Do you know what real success is in God’s eyes? It is when you are surrendered to God and satisfied with what you have. Let me put it in the form of an equation. Surrender + Satisfaction = Success Now we have the wrong idea about godliness. We think godliness is going to church, being religious, keeping rules and obeying commandments. Those may be the results of godliness, but that is not godliness. Godliness is being surrendered to God and satisfied with God. That is why they go together. Real success and great gain is not found in wealth, money and stuff. It is found in godliness and contentment. Why is this true? Why is the equation Surrender + Satisfaction = Success just as true as 2+2=4? We find out in the next verse. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” (I Timothy 6:7, ESV) Godliness is becoming or attempting to become like Christ. Paul says that the recipe for successful life is godliness, righteousness and faith. They all seem like the same quality but they are not. Righteousness--being a good person. Godliness--developing a deep relationship with God. But wait. We're just beginning. There is a third quality. That quality is faith. Now someone's thinking, "Pastor, you're being redundant. Aren't godliness and faith the same thing?" And that is the sad mistake that many people make. You can meet the definition of godliness--spending hours each day reading your Bible and communing with God. That doesn't mean you are a person of faith. Remember a few weeks ago when we were dealing with Hebrews 11? Does nobody listen when I preach? "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval . . . By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going . . ." Faith is believing God's promises and setting out to do great things in God's name. This church was built by people of faith. If you're going to be a champion, you don't simply sit around being a nice person. You don't exhaust all your spiritual energy saying your prayers and reading God's word. Those are both important. But they are just a beginning. They are preparatory. A champion of faith is a person who is actively engaged in the work of God's Kingdom on earth. Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission. His life and witness have touched millions over the years. He once said something thought-provoking. "Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God," he said, "there is no need for faith." A. Rather than giving you lots of definitions about having, growing or developing a Generous Heart, I simply want to tell you about a man I knew. I want to tell you about Mr. Dick. That's what everybody called him. Mr. Dick very seldom went to church but that didn't stop him from being one of the best Christians I've ever known. Mr. Dick had a generous heart. You see, Mr. Dick worked at the local Exxon station and he was always encouraging the younger workers to go to church by saying "get yourself and your family to church so you could meet my God and Savior. Everybody needs that." Now, Mr. Dick could have been seen as a kook or a fanatic by those workers except for the fact that he always took the Sunday shift, so everyone else COULD go to church. And on Sunday morning, if you pulled into the full service bay, likely as not, you'd see Mr. Dick set his Bible down before coming out to pump your gas. I could always count on him to surprise me with his generosity. Not a lot of people knew this but Mr. Dick tithed. He tithed and he gave a generous regular offering. He tithed, gave that generous regular offering and at times gave some pretty extraordinary extra offerings as well. Why? Because Mr. Dick had a Generous Heart. And he understood what Paul meant when he wrote: "be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share." B. I got to know Mr. Dick first, because he was a member of the church and second because our Church had a set up with the local gas station. If someone came through needing gas, we'd give them a voucher which was good for $5.00 worth of gas. (This was back when gas was 79 cents a gallon.) Since I was the pastor, I was usually the one who filled out the voucher and then later went and paid for the gas out of our local missions fund or travel mercies fund. Not only that but there were times when Mr. Dick would call me because there was someone or a family in need. C. I'll never forget the family who was on their way back from Dallas to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. They had moved to Dallas nine or ten months before because of a job. The job paid well and it was well worth the move. But the job only lasted about six months. This husband and wife and teen young teenage daughters had tried to find work. Unfortunately it was in one of those down turns in the economy and a lot of people were have a hard time finding work. Finally, this family's money had completely run out and they were living hand to mouth. So much so that for the last two weeks they'd been living out of their care. In a phone call to a relative in Cape Girardeau, they found out about a job that the owner of the plant said he would hold for this man if they could get there the next day. They coasted into our community on fumes. The man asked if there was some work he could do to earn a little money for gas and to have a flat tire fixed, so he'd have a spare for the trip. D. Mr. Dick called me and Wayne, the owner of the local little store. Mr. Dick told us how this family had been living out of their car, living on water and raw potatoes. They'd sold most of their possessions to make ends meet. All they had what was in the car. He asked if we could help. I took them down to the church where we let them get cleaned up. I fixed them a hot lunch in our kitchen. And told Mr. Dick to fill their tank. Wayne began gathering the kind of groceries you can use when you travel. He made a bunch of sandwiches, gathered drinks, chips, crackers, cheese and fruit and put them all in a cooler along with a bunch of drinks. I did something I don't normally do, I gave the man money for gas. I told him, between the tank he had and what I'd given him he should make it to Little Rock, Arkansas. And I gave them the name of friend from Seminary. Who I had called and had agreed to help him get gas. When the family finished eating and we got them back to the station, the tank was full and the groceries were in the back. Mr. Dick had changed the oil and replaced all four of the man's bald tires with newer ones. They weren't new but they had about two years more tread on them than the old ones. He used the best of the old tires as a spare. Mr. Dick said he couldn't let that family leave on those old tires, it would have weighed on his conscience. E. The family was in tears. They all hugged the stuffing out of us and Dad nearly shook my arm off. Not only that, but after the family left, Mr. Dick called my friend and told him to have the car filled up so they didn't have to stop again and he'd cover it if need be. That's just the way Mr. Dick was. He had a generous heart. There was one widow in town who always came by and asked for $2.00 worth of gas. Mr. Dick knew that even $2.00 was stretching her budget out of shape. And he always put in $5.00 worth of gas and only asked for the $2.00. I know because I caught him doing it one day. F. Mr. Dick was generous and he sort of kept watch of those of us who tried to help others. I'll never forget the day I went up to settle for some of the gas vouchers. By my figures we owed $20. But Mr. Dick said we only owed $19. He said one guy came in with the voucher and asked for $4.00 worth of gas and one of the cold beers in the cooler. Mr. Dick pumped the $4.00 worth of gas and when the guy asked for the beer, Mr. Dick told him "No, you can't use my church's money for beer." So, the guy said, well put the other $1.00's worth of gas in my car. And Mr. Dick said, "Nope, you spent it on that beer I'm not giving to give you." Mr. Dick might not have been in Church very often but he had one of the most generous hearts I've ever seen. Not only that but as Paul told Timothy, Mr. Dick was "rich in good works, generous, and ready to share." And Mr. Dick was definitely "storing up for himself the treasure of a good foundation for the future." G. Now, what you need to know is that Mr. Dick's generous heart and all the good deeds he did in his life, aren't what won his salvation. Good works and giving never does. But because Mr. Dick's life had been changed, because he knew the love and forgiveness of Christ, Mr. Dick lived a joyous and generous Christian life that brought glory to God. All the good that he did, he did out of response to the love and grace he had experienced in his own life. That's the way of a generous heart. A generous heart has experienced the grace of God through Christ Jesus and gives thanks for that grace. A generous heart gives thanks by living a generous life. WE become generous because of God's generosity. When we "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness" we're able to "take hold of the life that really is life." And we're able to become a fragrant offering to God, the aroma of Christ. A mother tells how her daughter used to work for pizzeria place. And it was her job to her daughter after work each evening. When the girl would get into the car, she would smell so much like pizza that often times Mom would go back into the store and buy a pizza. When we "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness;" when we spend time with Christ and let his grace cover us, His aroma will be all over us and people will be hungry for Him. That is the essence of what the passage teaches us. It counsels us to concentrate less on what we have and more on who we are. It says to shun things like greed and to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. It tells us to fight the good fight of the faith. We can pursue those things no matter what our financial situation might be. Those things come from within. Even if we are struggling financially, that struggle cannot keep us from developing righteousness, from seeking a deeper faith, from calling up endurance from inside us, and from loving one another. Application: Friends, if we lost everything tomorrow — our homes, our jobs, even our health — would we still know who we are? Contentment means our identity isn’t tied to what we own but to Whose we are. Application: Friends, if we lost everything tomorrow — our homes, our jobs, even our health — would we still know who we are? Contentment means our identity isn’t tied to what we own but to Whose we are. Application: Where do you need to fight for faith today? Maybe it’s resisting envy. Maybe it’s choosing generosity. Maybe it’s trusting God with your future instead of worrying yourself sick. Application: What are you doing with the wealth God has entrusted to you? Is it tied up in bigger barns — or invested in God’s mission, in people, in eternity? Closing Image: Picture standing before God one day. He won’t ask, “How big was your house? How many zeros were in your account?” He’ll ask, “Did you love Me? Did you love others? Did you take hold of the life that really is life?” Conclusion So, what do we do with Paul’s words? • Practice contentment — trust that God has given you what you need today. • Resist the love of money — don’t let it rule your life. • Use your wealth — however much or little you have — to bless others and build God’s Kingdom. Closing Story: There was once a wealthy man who, when he died, was buried with all his gold. Another man at the funeral whispered, “How much did he leave behind?” His friend answered, “All of it.” Brothers and sisters — we all leave it behind. But we can send it ahead, storing up treasure in heaven by generosity, by love, by faithfulness. That is life that really is life. Song Take My Life and Let it Be UMH 399 Pastoral Prayer Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Prayer of Dedication All that we have is a gift from you. Lord, bless these gifts and inspire us to use them in ways that transform and enliven your people. May they be a blessing to those who need them most. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Rae Watson) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Receive again the promises of God: “Because you cling to me, I will deliver you; I will protect you because you acknowledge my name. You shall call upon me, and I will answer you. I will be with you in times of trouble; I will deliver you and glorify you and will show you my salvation.” Go from here with peace and confidence, knowing that God goes with you. Posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/02/benediction-psalm-91-14-15.html. Community Time Joys and Concerns Benediction Go, we cannot stay here, there is work to do. Go, there are people to love and people to serve. Go, be rich in good works for that will bring true joy! May the grace of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit uplift and uphold you now and always. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Rae Watson) Additional Illustrations Here is your homework: 1. Spend some time this week doing something for someone who cannot return the favor. 2. Give some of your extra to someone who needs it worse than you do. It doesn’t have to be a lot. It could be a $5 gift certificate to Chick-fil-a. It could be some clothes you never wear given to people who need your clothes. It could be some extra toys your kids never play with to kids who have no toys. To illustrate this, today I've put a legal document in your Worship Guide. It's a title deed. A title deed is the written document we use to signify ownership. If you own your car, you have a title. If you own your house, you have the deed. Today I'm going to ask you to do something. It's symbolic, but it's grounded in Scripture. This deed represents your life—all that you are, your possessions, your relationships, your talents and gifts—everything that you possess. I want you to take a moment today and acknowledge God as the owner of your life by signing it over to him. Literally. Fill out this deed, sign your name, and have it witnessed by a family member or friend. Then place it somewhere as a reminder to you that in our lives “everything must go” because God is the owner and He holds the title. You will find when you are totally surrendered to God, not just who you are, but all that you have and you are satisfied with what you have and understand that God gave it to you, and giving instead of getting and sharing instead of keeping is more enjoyable and fulfilling, you will have struck it rich. ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by James Merritt Paul, whom you might call “the patriarch of the early church” is writing a protégé of his named, Timothy, a young pastor, who has a heart that seeks after God, but a life relatively empty of pastoral experience. He is sharing with Timothy things he not only needs to know, but things that he needs to teach to his people. Knowing that money and stuff and wealth, then, have the same attraction for people that it does today and knowing how dangerous those things can be, Paul shares with Timothy an amazing truth – God put us here to strike it rich. Stop the presses! No, we are not talking about a health and wealth prosperity gospel, because Paul goes on to explain that God wants us to strike it rich His way which looks completely different. He boils everything down to one key lesson. Key Take Away: I can die rich if I live right. Paul, in his advice to a young pastor shares with him and his readers exactly how to do it. There are actually three groups of people that are addressed in these verses we are going to look at today. The first group are those people who are not rich. We have already learned that relatively speaking to the rest of the world we are rich, but compared to our definition of rich, most of us in this room would not consider ourselves rich. Here is the Word for you. To put it another way, everybody wants to live the American Dream. That term was first defined in 1931 by James Trumbo Adams. Here is the way he defined it: “In America, life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone. With opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” God works in mysterious ways. When you share what you have with others it always comes back to you in a blessing. It may not be monetary. It may not be a tit for a tat. In God's wisdom, the blessing comes in a form that makes your heart glad. I don't think I've ever seen a generous person lost in despair. They are often the happiest people I know. God keeps blessing them as fast as they can share what they have with others. A friend told me about a man in his congregation who accepted Christ and decided he was going to start tithing. He figured out ten percent of his income and wrote out a check to the church. That first week his check bounced. He was a little embarrassed but he made it good. He continued writing out checks for ten percent of his income and there were a few more mishaps. In time he began contributing the tithe and then made out checks for some special offerings. He also noticed that a few of his stocks started gaining rapidly. So he gave away even more. He started funneling some of his newfound wealth into the youth ministry at church. One day, he told his pastor that the scriptures were true when they said you cannot outgive God. He tried and God kept blessing him, not only with added wealth but also in the joy he had in seeing a ministry grow. He said he had never been happier in his life. Happiness has never been about money and possessions. It has to do with finding your place in life and living it. When you walk in the light of God's Word, you will always find peace and joy. You'll develop a glad attitude. Amen. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (Middle Third): God Is Rock Solid, by Clayton A. Lord Talking about money from the pulpit can end up sounding like scolding or begging. In reality, though, the passage offers us contentment. This isn't the contentment of counting our own money but not caring about the needs of others. For those who have decisions to make about money, this passage offers contentment as well. People who give are happier than those who do not. This passage offers the contentment of living with less, of spending wisely, and of investing in ways that don't trouble our conscience. It is the contentment of trusting God for our needs and not judging ourselves by our possessions. Only a financial advisor should give advice about investing money. This passage tells us that investing in our faith will always pay off. Amen. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (Middle Third): Faith, Hope, and Love: From Paul and After Paul, by Charles L. Aaron One day, the young son of humor writer Erma Bombeck surprised her with this question: “Mommy, are we rich?” This was Bombeck’s answer: • “You’re rich when you can have eight people to dinner and don’t have to wash forks between the main course and dessert.” • “You’re rich when your television set has all the knobs on it.” • “You’re rich when you can throw away a pair of pantyhose just because it has a large hole in it.” • “You’re rich when your dog is wet and it smells good.” (2) How about you? Are you rich? How would you even define the term? WE ARE A NATION OF STRIVERS. Our nation was built on the belief of self-determination, on pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. The Europeans kept score by tracing their lineage to royalty. If you weren’t born into the right family, then you were out of the race at birth. But we discovered another way of keeping score: by the amount of money in your pocket. It’s more egalitarian, but also more dangerous. There is an old Yiddish proverb that says, “With money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome and you sing well too.” We believe that the American dream is within anyone’s reach if they are just willing to put in the long hours. If they are willing to make money their first priority. But the price of the good life is rising at an alarming rate. So we just have to work harder, earn more, put our nose to the grindstone, whatever it takes to keep up with the Joneses. That’s the American way, isn’t it? A young man left the business world to become a monk. At first, he was shocked at how different this new life was. Suddenly, he was no longer striving for the things that society had always taught him to be important--“a good salary, a cool car and a pretty girlfriend. When all of that was suddenly gone,” he said, “and held of no account, I felt as if my whole life were a lie. It took me years to find out who God wanted me to be.” (5) This Bible passage tries to bring us back into focus. It challenges us to look at what will bring real satisfaction in life. Isaiah lived in a time when God seemed to be conspicuously absent. It was he who wrote that "the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light." (9:2) Darkness was a good description of the people's plight in Isaiah's time. Had God forsaken them? Isaiah longed for some sign of God's presence and power. The absence of God speaks almost as loudly as does God's presence. When you have been separated from the presence of God for too long, you either stop caring about it, or you hunger for a move from God that is so earth-shaking that it leaves no room for doubt or apathy. IN THIS PASSAGE, ISAIAH IS REACTING TO THE ABSENCE OF GOD AMONG THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. You and I can appreciate that. Many of us hunger for God to show Himself in our lives. Was there ever a time when you yearned to know that God was with you? Maybe there was a season of your life when doubt and anxiety crowded your every thought. You had to convince yourself to get out of bed in the morning. You tried to pray, and the words just wouldn't come. Have you ever sent up a desperate prayer like this, "God, just show me that You are real. Just show me that You are there. I can't make it without You." Christian singer Chris Rice begins a song about searching for God with these words: "I would take "˜no' for an answer, just to know I'd heard Your voice." Newspaper reporter Dennis Hensley once researched a story on pilot training in the Air Force. In these training sessions pilots are warned about "hypoxia," or lack of oxygen to the brain. The pilots are put in a simulation chamber that simulates the atmospheric conditions at 30,000 feet in the air. Then, the pilots are told to remove their oxygen masks. Next, they are asked to write out the answers to a few questions. Within a minute after they begin writing, their partner in the training exercise will move quickly to force the oxygen mask back on the would-be pilot's head. Why? Moments after receiving the oxygen, the pilot looks down at his paper and is shocked to discover that his answers are illegible. Here's what unnerves him. He thought he was writing clearly. As Hensley says, "Similarly, (spiritually starved people) may not know anything is wrong, but unless someone explains how to obtain the "˜breath of life,' those disconnected from God will never gain spiritual "˜consciousness.'" (3) The people of Israel were so caught up in their sins that they had lost "spiritual consciousness." Isaiah was begging God to revive them. Somebody once said that people will accept what you have to say much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first. (1) With that in mind Benjamin Franklin was famous for his wit and he thoroughly enjoyed trimming hecklers down to size. During the early days of the American Republic, he spoke many times on that great document, the Constitution of the United States. After one such stirring speech, one of those hecklers stood up and boldly walked a few paces toward the platform. "Aw, them words don't mean nothin' a-tall!" he shouted. "Where's all that happiness you say it guarantees us?" Franklin smiled benevolently at the man and then Old Ben replied, "My friend, the Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it for yourself!" (2) One day, an 8 year old boy was playing beside an open window while a neighbor confided to his mother about another person. When the visitor was gone, the mother, realizing how much her son had overheard, called him to her side. "If Mrs. Brown had left her purse here just now, would you give it to someone else?" "Of course not!" the boy replied. The Mom said: "Mrs. Brown left something far more precious than her purse. The story she told could hurt many people and cause much unhappiness. That story still belongs to her, and we shall not pass it on to anyone." (4) Is it so surprising that religion costs money? Not any more so than the fact that there's a cost attached to participating in the greatest miracle of life - the birth of a baby; or that food and water - necessary to living - are accompanied by a bill. Even in the solemn and tender experience of sorrow there are funeral expenses to be considered. Money is the high cost of living and the high cost of dying. It is indispensable, and everywhere we go we're asked to put up some money. Thank God for the int angibles that money cannot buy: hope, joy, trust, forgiveness, peace, concern, eternal life, sharing. I came across a story the other day about a man who came home after a hard day at the office and fighting the traffic and greeted his wife and little 3-year old daughter. He stooped down in front of his little girl and said, "How about a kiss for Daddy?" She must have had a hard day, too, for her only response was "NO, no." Seeing the hurt look on the father, the mother said, "I'm ashamed of you, Janie. Your Daddy works hard all day to bring home a little money and you behave like that?" Taking the cue, the father asked again, "OK, honey, come on now, where's that kiss?" The little 3-year old looked him in the eye and replied, "Where's the money?" First let's look at DOLLAR SIGNS, SYMBOLS AND YOUR LIFE. A study of symbolism in the history of man is a fascinating story. Symbols can be an evaluation or verdict on a life or signify an intention. We look back to the story of Adam and Eve and, rightly or wrongly, we visualize an apple, signifying their disobedience. Noah conjures up an image of an ark of safety and salvation. Jonah carries a symbol of attempted escape from responsibility - a whale. Tradition says King David had a six-pointed star emblazoned on the shields of all his soldiers - a symbol uniting the tribes of Israel into a nation. Christians ehose the symbol of the fish as a sign of allegience to Jesus Christ as God's Son, their Saviour. The symbol for Peter has become a rooster and also an inverted cross; for Judas, a sack of money. Emperor Constantine in 312 took a new life symbol, the Chi-rho symbol for Christ, and that act changed the entire course of history. We've got our symbols today. With some we can identify - with some we cannot. Some are political, some racial, some religious, some rebellious. There's the symbol of the donkey; the symbol of the elephant; the clenched fist in the black glove; the peace symbol; a burning cross; a flag decal; a wilting flower - all symbols that take on a personal meaning for various people. Of course there are more homey symbols. One woman told me once that the symbol of her life was a refrigerator and her struggle was to put a padlock on it. During football season I have a feeling some wives may feel the most appropriate symbol for their husbands would be a TV set. Some person's lives are best symbolized by an achievement. I had a professor in college whose life symbol I'm convinced was AB BSed BD MA THM PhD - a string of six academic degrees. And what a crushing blow it was to his symbol when a man joined the faculty with seven degrees. Sometimes a personal habit can become the dominating symbol of a man's life: whether it's a glass in his hand, or a pair of dice. I remember before my wife and I were married, being in a wedding party. The service was an hour in length, but the thing I remember most vividly was one of the other ushers getting up from the pew in which he was kneeling and slipping out the side door of the church about half way through the ceremony. I figured perhaps he was ill, but soon he came back in. I found out later he just needed a smoke - needed it so badly he had to leave the wedding. Could that cigarette have been the symbol of his life at that point? Another step to take is participation in Christian stewardship. Recognizing that we are not the owners but the tenants of our wealth, our bodies, our time and talents leads us to stewardship. Stewardship is a grateful response we make to God's love and providence by using our resources and abilities to fulfill Christ's mission to the world. Giving away our wealth will help break its hold on us. That is what Jesus told the rich young ruler, but he did not want to pay that kind of a price. Every Christian should be sure he practices the art of giving. This is one of those areas where we have to learn by doing - where we act first, and then the right feelings follow. If we wait till we feel like giving generously, we may never break the stranglehold. Stewardship of giving doesn't mean salving our conscience; it's not buying God off; it's not giving till it hurts; it's not giving foolishly. It is an orderly, discerning, proportionate way of giving so that I am constantly reminding myself that God is the owner and I am his steward. Not that what I give is His and what I keep is mine - that's not it. It's all His and I am the trustee. And what I do with what I keep is just as much a part of my Christian stewardship as what I do with what I give away. Isn't it time to Christianize the use of our wealth, removing the dollar sign from our lives so that it can be reclaimed as an authentic Christian symbol? For it can be that, if it is not the symbol of the meaning of our lives. It was Pentecost Sunday. The ushers handed each worshipper a bright red carnation to symbolize the festive spirit of the day. The people listened attentively to the reading of the Pentecost story from the Book of Acts. They heard about the "powerful wind from heaven" and about the "tongues of fire." Then came the sermon. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon us," the preacher began. "Like the powerful wind from heaven!" shouted a woman sitting in the first pew. Then she threw one of the red carnations toward the altar. The preacher began again, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon us." The same woman''s voice rang out: "Like the tongues of fire, like tongues of fire!" Again, she threw a red carnation toward the altar. The preacher looked straight at her and said, "This time, instead of throwing a carnation, throw your pocketbook." The woman replied, "Preacher, you have just calmed the wind and put out the fire." (1)This morning I may calm the wind and put out the fire. Once upon a time there was a man who had nothing. So God gave him ten apples. He gave him the first three apples to eat. He gave him the second three apples to trade for shelter from the sun and rain. He gave him the third three apples to trade for clothing to wear. He gave him the last apple so that he might have something to give back to God to show his gratitude for the other nine apples. The man ate the first three apples. He traded the second three for shelter from the sun and rain. He traded the third three for clothing to wear. Then he looked at the tenth apple. It seemed bigger and juicier than the rest. He knew that God had given him the tenth apple so that he might return it to Him out of gratitude for the other nine. But the tenth apple looked bigger and juicier than the rest. And he reasoned that God had all the other apples in the world. So the man ate the tenth apple and gave back to God the core. (3) There are some of us who are taking from God blessings that would inspire awe and envy in the hearts of most of the world''s people and we are only giving Him back the core. That will rob you of your soul. 1 Timothy warns that the kind of winning that money can bring, this kind of gain and the love of things, will lead these false teachers, these would-be-winners into an endless snare, "...those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." (verse 9) Instead of succumbing to the temporary pleasures of life, the Pauline author lists those qualities possessed by true winners. "...pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness." (Verse 11) These qualities don't guarantee worldly success. They don't even make you a winner every time. In fact, winning isn't the goal at all here, the epistle proclaims. What is expected of the genuinely faithful is that we "...fight the good fight of faith..." Only then will we be able to "take hold of the eternal life, to which we were called" (verse 12). This is not winning. This is an uncontested victory – the victory of eternal life over death, the victory of supreme love over ultimate evil, the victory of divine strength over human weakness. In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional Jewish schools. At a Chush fundraising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection He seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shaya: One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son were chosen to play it would give him a sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game's in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first. Run to first!" Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman that would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But, the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, " Shaya run home!" Shaya did run home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a grand slam and won the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection." – (With thanks to Paul Stambach, via Jack Schierloh. This is the victory Christ wants us all to achieve. It's the true winning attitude. On 20 September 2001, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers met in a preseason game in Philadelphia the night President Bush spoke to the American people. As the intermission clock counted down the final seconds between the second and third periods, the speech could be seen in the outer concourses and the 19,117 fans began to chant "Leave it on. Leave it on." So they did. The President's address was put back on the scoreboard and a hush fell over the arena as the players and their coaching staffs remained on the bench and watched as the President spoke to the nation. As the Congress gave standing ovations, so the coliseum gave standing ovations. Until by the time the speech had ended, the players decided that there were more important things than playing hockey. So they called it a 2-2 tie and went home. There are some things more important than winning. ChristianGlobe Networks, Collected Sermons, by Leonard Sweet An old eastern fable tells of a man who possessed a ring with a beautiful opal. The ring bestowed upon the wearer qualities such as kindness, truthfulness, bravery and justice all the qualities to make a man much loved. The ring was passed from father to son until it happened that a man had three sons. Before his death he had two copies made so each of his sons would have a ring. The sons were disturbed. How would they know which had the original? They took the matter to court and the judge said, "We will know who has the genuine ring by the goodness of his life." (5) Somehow I believe that is also how we know that Christ genuinely lives in a person ™s heart. These, then, are the qualities of a determined disciple. Take responsibility for your life. Recognize the importance of righteous, Christlike living. Remember always that you are a representative of Jesus Christ.

God's Investment Plan

September 25, 2022 Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15 God’s Investment Plan 16th Sunday After Pentecost Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Come to this place and time of promise. We are becoming the house of hope, the field of sunflowers, the vineyard of great caring. Come to a shared commitment to abundance possible for all people. We are an earthenware jar, to keep safe the tomorrow of children. Our security question is – the word of God, and our password is love. Invocation God, we give you thanks that you make us redeemers, not just receivers of redemption. You bring us among friends and then ask for each one of our signatures to change your world. We hold the earthenware jar you call the church and fill it with all your promises. amen. (Rev. Maren Tirabassi, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Song God will take Care of You UMH 130 Children’s Sermon Leah Pittsinger – Ministry to Children It’s hard to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes God asks us to do challenging things as a part of his plan. In “The Story of Jeremiah for Kids,” children will learn that Jeremiah obeyed God and shared a message of impending judgment (even though the message was not welcome and Jeremiah himself didn’t escape the consequences of the message). Life can be tough, but God promises that we can trust his methods and his will. So, will we obey the Lord even when it’s difficult? Reiterate to the class that even though Jeremiah was obedient to God, he experienced some hard things (such as being taken to Egypt and having to share bad news with God’s people). Comment, “We’ve all experienced some hard, heart-breaking, and frustrating things because we are God’s children. So, we’re going to make a craft to remind us that the Lord is greater than anything bad we could ever experience.” Give each child at least three stones and ask them to carefully write the name of something that has challenged their faith on each stone (e.g. sadness, loss, death, insecurity). Then give each child a plastic favor bag and help them write, “GOD IS GREATER!” on the bag. Help the class understand that placing the stones inside the bags (and sealing the bags with a tie or knot) symbolize our trust in God to take care of even the deepest hurts. Say, “The Lord knows we have these ‘heavy’ stones in our hearts! But he asks us to trust him anyway and make the choice to serve him, like Jeremiah did, even when things are hard.” Conclusion (5 minutes) RECAP: Jeremiah obeyed God even when it was hard and God protected him. We can trust that God will help us when we experience a challenge, especially when we are seeking to obey him! CLOSING PRAYER: “Lord, give us the desire to obey you know matter what. And please help us trust your plan for our lives. Amen.” Prayer of Illumination God, your holy word invites us to place our trust in you. May the words we hear here today, take root in our lives. May the words we receive in our hearts, strengthen us to live more boldly in faith, that we may trust you in disaster and boon, in good times and bad, in death and in life. “The word of the LORD came to me.” I know this is the word of the Lord. (Amy Hunter, United Methodist Ministry Matters) Scripture Jeremiah 32:1-3,6-15 Sermon God’s Investment Plan I was listening to a lecture on leadership by Dr Ron Heifetz, where he says that people can only take so much bad news. We can only handle so much. If we are in darkness and can see no light at the end of the tunnel – then we lose hope and no longer thrive. If we are asked to change and to do something different – the only way we can move forward, is if there is something that remains the same that we can relate to. Our world has gone through a very stressful time within the last few years. The pandemic has changed so much of our everyday lives. It has even changed the way that we do church. Every year, there are more and more churches that are closing, because of the changes of the pandemic. In our lives, in many ways we are looking for that light at the end of the tunnel. I and many people thought that it was interesting that the president declared that the pandemic has ended. I did not get a chance to listen to his speech, I just heard about the headlines. I hope that we are entering into a time of healing and moving forward from all of this. But we all know that the virus is still out there. And not only does it affect the lives of people, it’s still defines our life. Where do we look for the light at the end of the tunnel? What role does our faith play? The book of Jeremiah is actually a genius in giving us advice at how to find hope in the midst of despair. The book of Jeremiah is kinda like a book of sayings from an old uncle. It has no rhyme or reason, the stories are not really in order of time, and it is a story of how the nation that he was trying to help rejected him. And yet the book remains in the bible generations after it was written, because it tells us how our faith can help us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. God is our light. Cynthia stood before a church group in a neighboring town. She had been invited to share the story of her faith in her successful struggle against death. She stood before the group with a candle in one hand and a pocket lighter in the other. She began, "Three years ago I went to the hospital for a series of tests and I was told that I had malignant cancer. I was also told that, although it was possible for me to take chemotherapy treatments, the chance of them offering any help at all was very slim. My doctors said treatments would most likely only bring misery to my final days. This was, of course, very bad news for me. I fell into a deep despair. I was ready to give up. All I could see was darkness. "As I lay in this dark despair in my hospital bed, I started reading a Bible that was in my room. I happened to turn to the book of Jeremiah. What I read there changed my life. It also literally gave me life. "In the darkest moment of my life, I read about the dark times that Jeremiah and the nation of Judah experienced. Following directions that he had received from God, Jeremiah prophesied for 12 years that Jerusalem would be destroyed. Finally, having angered the king by saying such things, Jeremiah was sitting in prison watching his prediction of doom come true. The Judean nation was on the brink of destruction. Her enemies were making their final assault upon the city. The Judeans who had already been killed lay unburied and those who were still alive suffered from famine and pestilence. The end was very near. Soon the enemy would break through and drag the survivors from their homeland into a captivity in a foreign land. It was a very dark time for them. As I read, it was easy for me to relate to the despair of their situation. "In the midst of this hopeless and despairing situation, God led Jeremiah to do an incredibly hopeful thing. At the moment when things looked the worst, God led Jeremiah to purchase a field. He bought land in a country that was about to be taken over by the enemy. In this action Jeremiah was making an investment in the future. In the midst of a very bad time, he looked with hope to a better future of better times. Jeremiah knew that the hard times of exile were about to come upon the people of Judah, but God also led the prophet to symbolically proclaim that things would eventually get better and that God would return the people to their home. In faith Jeremiah saw that future. As a symbol of hope, he invested himself in that future by buying a piece of land." Cynthia said, "When I read about Jeremiah's purchase of the field, it was as if God had suddenly brought a light into my darkness." At this point in her story Cynthia lit the candle she was holding. She continued, "I had a candle brought into my hospital room and I lit it that day as a sign of my hope -- a sign that I was going to trust God like Jeremiah and invest in the future. Cynthia continued, "Against the recommendation of my doctors I took chemotherapy treatments. In the process I got very sick and I came quite close to death. But, as I stand before you today, my cancer is in total remission." She raised the lit candle in front of her. "God gave me hope during my darkest times, during my bad times. Like Jeremiah, I put my faith in God and invested in the future. Now I praise God and celebrate the good times of health that the future has brought me." At this point in her talk everyone in the group broke into spontaneous applause. Everyone, that is, except for a quiet man in the back row. After a moment he raised his hand and asked to speak. He said, "Your story sounds similar in many ways to a story that was a part of my life. It is very similar, but only up to a point. My wife also had cancer. She too had hope that God would move her through the dark times into better times. She invested in that future. She trusted God as the light to see her through her darkness. She took all kinds of treatments and she too got very sick. Together we hoped, together we prayed, and then she died." He said, "Please don't get me wrong. I am very glad that the future in which you invested turned out to have good times in it for you. But as you stand there holding that candle, I have to ask you -- what do you think Jeremiah's hopeful action of purchasing a field has to say for my wife?" All eyes were upon Cynthia. It was very quiet as they waited for her response. She also waited for her response, and then, discovering that she did not have one, told the man that she was sorry for his loss, blew out her candle, and sat down. How are we to make sense of the man's question? Cynthia did understand this story correctly, didn't she? The purchase is a symbol of hope, is it not? The small plot of land that Jeremiah bought is a symbol of the whole land and the prophet is a symbol of all who will own property in the new age when Yahweh will restore the fortunes of Israel. Cynthia heard the story saying that we can make it through even the very worst times by focusing on the future -- the time when God will finally set things right. Jeremiah's symbolic action seems to proclaim that there will be better times ahead. So, how do we respond to the man in the back row whose wife lit a candle in her darkness only to have it snuffed out by unsuccessful cancer treatments and finally by death? What can be said to the people who join Jeremiah in hoping for those better times, but then never experience any better times? Pamela's pastor went to see her in the hospital. The pastor took Pamela's hand and said, "I'm so sorry. Is there anything that you would like me to do for you?" Pamela said, "Yes, there is." The pastor said, "Just name it." Pamela said, "I would like a candle." The pastor was considerably surprised by the request, but said, "Fine, I'll be sure to bring one when I come next time." Pamela said, "No. I want one now." The pastor said, "Don't you even want to talk a little bit first?" Pamela shot back, "If you really want to do something for me ...." The pastor interrupted, "Okay. I see that it is important to you. I'll go get one right now." It was a 15-minute drive back to church from the hospital, but the pastor made the round trip and returned to Pamela's room with a candle in hand. Approaching her bed the pastor asked, "Do you want me to light it for you?" Pamela said, "Oh, no. Just hand it to me." She took the candle in her hands gripping it tightly. She then clutched the candle against her and said, "During these last months I have often thought of myself as a candle about to go out. I thought that everything I am is tied up in being able to see. I expected that when blackness came then there would be nothingness." She then said, "Now I'm blind. It's dark." She held the candle tightly. "But the candle is still here. I'm still here. I'm still me. God is still God. It's going to be okay somehow." Perhaps in her blindness Pamela was able to see something in her candle that eluded Cynthia when she held up her lit candle before the group. Cynthia saw the flame of her candle as a symbol of hope. The flame was the symbol of light in darkness -- God helping us out of bad situations. This can be a powerful symbol for people who have passed through darkness on the way to better times. But it did not speak to the man in the back row. And there may be times when this will not speak to us either. Pamela, however, experienced the candle in a different way. She discovered that a candle is more than a fragile light. Flames come and go on candles. But, as Pamela discovered, a flame doesn't make a candle. It's the candle itself that makes a candle a candle. For her, the candle proper was a symbol of hope, because, regardless of whether there is a flame or not, her hope came in the promise of candleness itself. She came to realize that hope is not grounded in what will happen to us, but in who we are. Each of us have our own terrible times. You know what yours have been. Perhaps you are in the middle of some pretty bad times right now. Yet, when things go badly for us that is not a time to despair, but a time to invest ourselves in the future. When Jeremiah bought the plot of land, he invested in the future. In the middle of terrible times he made a symbolic purchase -- a statement of hope grounded in God. Yet, ultimately, Judah's hope did not rest in whether or not good things would happen to them, but in who they were, a people grounded in a covenant with their God. Yes, the land was an important issue, but its importance lay in the fact that it was a part of the covenant promise. Their hope came not in what would happen to them, but in who God had made them to be -- a people of the covenant. We, like Jeremiah, are called to invest in the future. We do so not because we are certain that God has something better in store for us, but because we know who God has made us to be. Like Pamela, we can think of ourselves as a candle. We have good times and we have bad times. The flame may come and the flame may go. Ultimately it does not matter. Our hope is not grounded in the promise of good things happening to us. Our hope is grounded in the fact that we have become children of God. The hope we receive from God is not a promise of a constant and steady flame that will take away all the dark times. Our hope comes in the promise of candleness itself. Our hope comes at the core of who our God has created us to be. We are a people washed in the waters of divine forgiveness and acceptance. We are a people who live in and live through the church -- a community based in love and service and justice. That is the very essence of who we are. Our identity is in Jesus Christ and his church. That is the core of who we are. That is our candleness. That means that even in the worst of times we can invest in the future, for in the love of Jesus Christ, God has invested everything in us. CSS Publishing Company, Stepping Inside, by Thomas G. Rogers For me, Jeremiah in all of its imperfections, is the place that I go to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Jeremiah was put in jail, because he told people that things were not going to get better. He gave them bad news, when they were looking for good. But he reminded them that God was there on the journey with them. This story shows how he gave them hope in the midst of despair. Jeremiah was actually sent to Egypt and never returned. And yet the day came when Jerusalem was free and life went on. Jeremiah never had any children of his own, but the land that belonged to his family was still in the family name. And his family was able to reclaim the land that they had lost – because of Jeremiah’s act of redemption. Jeremiah’s message to us, that in the midst of despair, God is our redeemer. Christ came to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes if we don’t claim the future – it wont happen. Sometimes hope for the future is bigger than our pain. Where are the fields of faith that we need to reclaim and redeem. How do we pass that hope on to the next generation? Let us move forward in faith. Amen Song A Charge to Keep I Have UMH 413 Prayer Holy One, our world moves at a rapid pace of work, school, care of loved ones, paying bills, and all the other things that are important but can overwhelm us. Help us to find the holy in the midst of it all: the brief moments of quiet, the time to read a chapter of a book, the sunshine breaking through the clouds, the task of watering plants. Wherever we find a bit of Sabbath rest, O God, may we find it a holy moment. Whenever we find a bit of good, O God, nurture that goodness in us. May we seek the holy in our daily lives, for it escapes us in the world that pursues values away from You. May we find the holy moments already among us. Amen. (Rev-o-lution Resources by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment We so often look to scripture for words of encouragement or comfort. It seems few of us look deeply into the words of the Bible for counsel about how to live our lives as daily followers of Jesus, especially if it would mean making big changes. But occasionally we find a particular text which speaks directly to us. I had that happen when reading I Timothy 6:17-18 (NRSV), and want to share that today as we prepare to receive our morning offering. “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provide us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.” Friends, that’s US! How grateful I am to know we have a fine opportunity this very moment to step into alignment with this teaching. Setting our hopes on God, let us take this time to do good, to be generous, and to share a portion of what we identify as “ours”. Prayer of Thanksgiving Merciful God, It’s not easy to hear some parts of the teaching of Jesus, especially when we’re directed to let go and share our finances. Renew in us a sense of gratitude for Jesus, for the lives he impacted in the flesh and for our lives, which we (at least sometimes) want Jesus to impact on a daily basis. We pray you will bless these gifts, bless each one who has made a gift, and strengthen us to follow more clearly the Way of Jesus, AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook May you be as blessed as Jeremiah – with a word-of-God whisper when you are waiting, a glimpse of freedom when you are confined, a friend to show you the way forward, an earthenware jar of God’s love in which your signature is precious. (Maren Tirabassi, United Church of Christ Worship Ways) Community Time Benediction Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Live boldly, trusting God with everything you are and everything you have. Take hold of the life to which God calls you. Go forth, rejoicing in God. Thanks be to God! (Amy Hunter, United Methodist Ministry Matters) Additional Illustrations For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. — Jeremiah 29:11-14 In the tiny town of Flushing, Ohio, amidst the coalfields of Belmont County, stands a brick building which used to house the Citizens' National Bank. Like a lot of community financial institutions of its day, this bank specialized in small loans made to local farmers, sheepherders, and working-class folks in the nearby area and harbored the hard-earned dollars of their working-class neighbors. Their capital was fortified with investments of some local coal tycoons and a congressman from the area; and for nearly two generations, it served the community well until it was swallowed up by a much larger financial institution from a much larger city. Instead of the local farmers and businessmen who originally constituted the board of directors, financiers who have likely never set foot in the town, and probably couldn't even find it on the map, now operate the bank. The story of this little bank is not much different from a lot of community banks in lots of small towns across the country that have similarly been bought by larger financial corporations. But what is most noticeable about this bank was its founding date — smack in the middle of the Great Depression! One has to ask — who would invest money in a financial institution at a time when banks were going belly up and in a place where cash money was so scarce? Yet, that is precisely what this group of farmers, shepherds, and small-business operators did. And, for nearly two generations they succeeded in providing the capital that built homes, purchased equipment, expanded businesses, and paid college tuition for folks in that tiny town. But you have to wonder — in 1931 was it optimism or insanity that inspired the investors? For the founders of that little bank in that little town, investing their hard-earned cash money in the future of their community proved to be a good deal despite the economic climate of the Great Depression. But God offers us so much more. In Christ, we are given the strength to stand on hope when others are bailing out. In faith, we sign the deed to our lives over to him in full view of a skeptical public just as Jeremiah did so long ago. In confidence, we lay his claim on us out for all to see, even as he takes us unto himself to preserve us safe and secure for all eternity. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (Middle Third): The Hard Task of Truth-telling, by Lee Ann Dunlap The weekend is shot (almost). Tomorrow it is back to the “real” world, back to the grind, at least for most of us. Where will God be in all that? Be honest with me: Do you feel God’s Presence on the job, as you go through the usual Monday routine? Is God directing you as you attend to your e-mail, run through your voice mail, review the reports, or check your assignment? Let us be frank with each other. The businesses which employ most of us are part of the “secular” realm, not of the “sacred” realm that concerns God. That is the way most Americans see it. Religion is one thing; business is another. Our commitment to the principle of separating church and state has led to a “culture of disbelief,” one in which it is all right to be religious in private, but not publicly when we are on the job.1 But that is not the way that the Bible views the world of business! This morning’s First Lesson makes that clear.

God knows you better than you know yourself

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

Lost and Found

September 12, 2010
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Luke 15:1-10
Lost and Found
Year C
16th Sunday after Pentecost



A man walks out of the hospital, prepared to go to his car. But he cant find his car, frustrated that his car has been stolen, he calls security. They look around for his car and sure enough it is no where to be found. Until the man realizes that the door he just came out of is not the door that he walked into. And this is not the parking lot where he parked his car. In the midst of his frustration and pain, he has somehow lost his way…

A colleague of mine tells a story of being in seminary in new York, and being invited to a professor’s house for a gathering. She was given instructions on how to get there on the subway system. But once she gets on the subway, discovers that it is an express train, which takes her a few steps past where she is supposed to go, into a section of town that she is not familiar with. She panics as she gets out of the train, and it is obvious to others that she is lost – because one woman walks up to her and tells her to be careful, this is a dangerous neighborhood, the last time she was in this neighborhood someone set her hair on fire, so she has better be careful. This frightens her that much more, and she runs out of the subway station to see if there is another way to travel. The cab never shows up, and the bus seems to take forever.
She remembers her fear and resentment while sitting at the bus stop. Everyone was suspect – anyone around her could be the person who was going to set her hair on fire. She is white, and the neighborhood that she is lost in is black. Which only adds to her sense of uneasiness, and her mistrust of everyone around her.
We have all gotten lost in our lives somewhere. I think we have all been stuck somewhere where we are unfamiliar, but we have heard the stories of the people there. And as ludicrus as it may sound – we have been in that situation , where everyone we don’t know is a potential enemy to protect ourselves against.
The man who lost his car eventually realized that he had come out of wrong door, and that his car was even in that particular parking lot. He had been in such pain and frustration when he left the hospital, he was not paying attention.
The seminary student was finally put at ease in waiting for the bus when a group of ladies, all in their hats and dressed – came out of the building next to her, singing and celebrating at what a wonderful workshop they had just been too. They were all from the same church- and helped her to see the humanity in that neighborhood, before her bus finally came and she went on to her destination.
Being lost is not so much about the neighborhood we are in, or the people we are around, or even whether we know where we are going or not. Being lost is a feeling in the soul – it can a place of fear and uncertaintly, it can be a place of mistrust of others just because you don’t know them. I think at some point in our lives we all know that sense of fear we experience in making sure that no one sets out hair on fire.
I think that goes on in our world on a global scale. The anniversary of September 11th reminds us of that. Nine years later there is still a lot that we don’t understand about others. And that it is easier for us to condemn them then it is to understand them.
We have all seen the story of Pastor Terry Jones as it unfolds on the news. His instistance to burn the Koran on September 11th. And the reactions of so many all around the world – that would only make matters worse not better. It is a perfect excuse for retaliation in a situation that has been simmering for more than nine years.

I see the arrogance
I see the fear of being lost
I see insensitivity to danger.
But what does the bible say about how to treat others? The bible is full of paradox – opposites. It says that Jesus is the way – but also says to love unconditionally. The way to bring people to Christ is love – not punishment and condemnation.
Jerimaiah is full of despair. There is no hope for people. Things are so bad there is only destruction of created order. An yet even he says that not God’s final word.
The end of our world is not the end of the world. God has more in story for us.
Know what it is to lose – now what it is to be lost. Wants us all to know what it means to be found.
God is in the business of finding the lost. Giving us a home – making us useful. Jesus tells the story of sheep. 99 found, but one lost.
Kneel for prayer
Symbolism is that God is waiting for you in this place – now you are found. You are the 100 candle.

Wishing more people could be in that place. Being found not visiting the Vatican. Being lost about where you are – is a feeling in your heart.

99 candles surrounding your life now. God giving you a place to call home. To be found, love and accepted.

Give up fear – turn on the trust.
Turn from your old ways – accept the new
Rejoice – so that God is our there to find everyone. Rejoice when they come to church, when they come home.