Creation is Waiting on us to Get Better

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington July 19, 2026 Romans 8:12-35 Creation is waiting on us to get better 8th Sunday of Pentecost Year A Prelude Greeting Call to Worship (in response to Psalm 139) L: Friends, come! Today we lift our hearts to praise God, who knows each of us, and all of us. P: God knows us, thru’ and thru’! L: No matter where we go, God is with us and for us. P: Even when the way seems fearful, God leads us. L: So we rejoice, for God knows us, loves us, and leads us! P: At home, traveling, moving to step into a new life chapter, wherever we are, in the day or in the night, God steps with us, ALL: Together we worship the Lord our God! (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer In the midst of summer, some of us celebrate the ability to slow down and relax; others find it a more hectic season. Thank you, God of all time, that you continue to lead us no matter how these summer days unfold. We give you thanks for your constant presence, and pause to drink in the wonder of you caring for each one. In this hour, fill us with awareness of you and of your desire for each of us and each one of ALL your beloved ones to be cherished and cared for in your love, AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song Swing Low Sweet Chariot UMH 703 A Sermon for all Ages Children’s Sermon: God’s Family Has Hope Scripture: Romans 8:12–25 Good morning, children! Have you ever waited for something exciting? Maybe you waited for your birthday, Christmas morning, summer vacation, or a visit from someone you love. Waiting can be difficult, but it is easier when we know something good is coming. In Romans 8, Paul tells us that we are God’s children. He says that God has adopted us into God’s family. Adoption means being chosen, welcomed, and loved. Because we belong to God’s family, we are never alone. We can call upon God just as a child calls for a loving parent. Being part of God’s family also gives us a responsibility. God wants us to help care for the beautiful world God created. Sometimes people harm creation. We waste food and water. We leave trash on the ground. We pollute the air and water. We may forget that trees, animals, rivers, and oceans are gifts from God. Paul says that creation is “groaning.” That means the world is hurting and waiting for things to become better. How can children help creation? You can pick up litter. You can turn off lights when you leave a room. You can avoid wasting water. You can care for animals and plants. You can share what you have instead of always wanting more. Most importantly, you can ask God to help you become a kinder, more grateful, and more responsible person. When God changes our hearts, we begin to treat other people—and the whole world—with greater love. Paul says that even though the world is hurting now, we have hope. Hope means believing that God is working, even when we cannot yet see everything God is doing. Paul tells us that today’s pain cannot compare with the wonderful future God is preparing. Something better is coming! We do not only keep this hope for ourselves. We share it with others. We give hope when we encourage someone who is sad, include someone who feels left out, help someone in need, and remind people that God loves them. Whenever you show kindness, care for creation, or help someone who is hurting, you become part of God’s good work in the world. You show others that something better is coming. Let us pray: Loving God, thank you for choosing us and welcoming us into your family. Help us care for your creation, become kinder people, and share hope with those around us. When life is difficult, remind us that you are with us and that something better is coming. In Jesus’ name, amen. (ChatGPT 6) Responsive Reading Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 UMH 854 Scripture Romans 8:12-25 Sermon Creation is waiting on us to get better Something Better Is Coming Scripture: Romans 8:12–35 Romans 8 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. It begins with freedom and ends with assurance. It begins by declaring, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” and it concludes with the promise that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Between those two declarations, Paul speaks honestly about sin, suffering, creation, prayer, hope, and the future. Romans 8 does not pretend that life is easy. It does not deny the pain of the present moment. Instead, it tells us that pain will not have the final word. Sin will not have the final word. Death will not have the final word. God’s love will have the final word. The message of Romans 8 in its entirety is this: Through the Holy Spirit, God is freeing us from the power of sin, adopting us into God’s family, renewing creation, helping us in our weakness, and leading us toward a glorious future from which nothing can separate us. In other words: something better is coming. We Are More Than Our Sin Paul begins this section by saying: “So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” When Paul speaks about “the flesh,” he is not saying that our bodies are evil. He is talking about that part of human nature that resists God. He is talking about our selfishness, our pride, our greed, our fear, our anger, and our desire to place ourselves at the center of everything. Sin is not just something outside of us. Sin is a part of us. We see sin in the world, but we must also recognize it in ourselves. It is easy to identify the failures of other people. It is harder to look honestly at our own hearts. We may criticize the greed of corporations while still buying far more than we need. We may condemn the hatred in society while carrying resentment against a neighbor. We may complain about the dishonesty of leaders while making excuses for the small ways we avoid the truth. Sin is a part of us, but thanks be to God, sin is not the only thing within us. God is also at work within us. A man and his wife once pulled into a gas station to refuel their car. As the tank was being refilled, the station attendant washed the windshield. When he finished, the driver of the car said, "The windshield is still dirty. Wash it again." "Yes, sir," the attendant answered. As he scrubbed the windshield a second time, he looked closely for any bugs or dirt he might have missed. When he finished, the man in the car became angry. He rebuked the attendant again saying, "It's still dirty. Don't you know how to wash a windshield? Now do it again!" The attendant cleaned the windshield a third time, carefully looking for any place he might have missed, but he could find no messy spots anywhere. By now, the driver was fuming. He screamed, "This windshield is still filthy! I'm going to talk to your boss to make sure you don't work here another day. You are the lousiest windshield washer I have ever seen!" As the angry driver was about to get of the car, his wife reached over and removed his glasses. After carefully wiping his glasses with some tissue paper, she then put them back on his face. The driver embarrassingly slumped down into his seat as he observed a spotless windshield! Critical people view others through their own dirty glasses. The dirt on their hearts causes them to see everything from an unclean, critical perspective. They become angry at what they perceive to be dirt on other people, when in reality they are looking at others through the dirt on their own heart. Their critical spirit will cause them to continue to find fault in others until the filth in their hearts has been cleansed. (5) That is what sin is: Sin is not on the outside, it is an inner condition that causes us to see life in a distorted way. The Holy Spirit lives in us. The Spirit reminds us that we do not have to obey every selfish desire. We do not have to remain trapped in old habits. We do not have to become the worst thing we have ever thought, said, or done. Paul says, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” The Christian life is not about pretending that sin is absent. It is about trusting that God’s presence is greater. There is a struggle within us, but we do not struggle alone. The Spirit gives us the strength to change, to grow, to repent, and to become more like Christ. We Have Been Adopted Paul then gives us one of the most beautiful descriptions of our relationship with God: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” We have not received a spirit of slavery that pushes us back into fear. We have received a spirit of adoption. Through the Spirit, we cry, “Abba! Father!” Adoption means that God has chosen us. God has welcomed us. God has brought us into the family and given us a place at the table. Adoption would have been an interesting concept for Paul the Jew. In that culture, you took orphans into your home, but they still maintained their identity. In the Roman world, the child would take on the identity of the adopted father. Biological children could disown their parents, but a legal adoption was permanent. So when Paul says that we are adopted into God’s family he is saying.. We are not strangers in God’s house. We are not temporary guests who may be asked to leave at any moment. We are God’s children. Some people live as though they must spend their whole lives earning God’s love. They believe that if they pray enough, serve enough, give enough, or behave well enough, perhaps God will finally accept them. But the gospel tells us that we do not work in order to become God’s children. We work because God has already adopted us. We serve because we are loved. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We care for others because they, too, are part of the family God is gathering. And if we are children, Paul says, then we are heirs—“heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” What an extraordinary promise! We share in the mission of Jesus. We share in his suffering, his service, and his hope. We also share in the future God is preparing. To be a joint heir with Christ means more than waiting to receive something in heaven. It means participating in Christ’s work now. God has made us partners in the work of healing, restoring, and renewing the world. We are not the Creator, but by God’s grace, we have become co-creators with Christ. We are invited to help cultivate the good future God intends for creation. Sin Wounds Creation Paul then moves from the human family to the whole created world: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now.” Creation is groaning. The earth groans under the burden of pollution. Rivers and oceans groan beneath waste. Forests groan as they disappear. Animals groan as their habitats are destroyed. Communities groan beneath storms, droughts, floods, extreme heat, and environmental neglect. Paul helps us see that there is a relationship between human sin and the suffering of creation. When greed becomes more important than stewardship, creation suffers. When convenience becomes more important than responsibility, creation suffers. When profit becomes more important than people, creation suffers. When we believe the world exists only for our consumption, creation suffers. The biblical stories tell us that there is a direct correlation between human sin and the condition of the world. In today's Romans text Paul joins the trajectory of human existence with all the rest of God's creation. Paul's text reminds his readers that the fate of the world and the fate of humanity have been intimately tied together since the beginning of creation. Paul reminds us that the transformation of the garden of Eden into a world of toil and sweat was, in fact, due to Adam's transgression. The perfect world God had initially created was made imperfect in order to house its now fallen, failed human inhabitants. Indeed, humanity's first toxic waste dump was the Garden of Eden - which had to be closed because human disobedience so perfectly fouled that perfect environment. From a biblical perspective, we can't escape this truth: the state of creation is intimately linked to the state of human actions and attitudes. Poisonous attitudes begat a poisoned environment. The rage of war leaves behind ravaged, savaged land. No ecosystem can remain in balance as long as the desires of humanity are imbalanced. Paul links together the fall of Adam and the consequent fall of creation with a poignant description. All creation groans, as he puts it, to be brought back into its God-created condition, its perfect relationship with human beings and the divine. All men and women who through faith have perceived the terrible brokenness that exists between God and God's children likewise groan at this brokenness of creation itself. Humanity and the whole of creation are bound together in their brokenness and are joined together as they await their final redemption and wholeness. Our redemption is tied to the redepemtion of all of creation. After reflecting on this text we read this morning, Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler concluded that our #1 ecological mistake as Christians is to separate creation and redemption. We can no longer put nature "out there" and grace "in here." It's not immaterial whether we preserve or pillage the earth. Let me end by quoting the late Pope John Paul II. It's a summary of both our text and our homily this morning. "Our responsibility within creation and our duty toward nature and the Creator are an essential part of our faith." - "Peace with All Creation," no. 15, Origins 19, no. 28 (14 December 1998), 468. ChristianGlobe Networks, Collected Sermons, by Leonard Sweet The destruction of creation does not begin only in factories, government offices, or corporate boardrooms. It begins in the human heart. It begins with greed, selfishness, carelessness, impatience, and the belief that our choices do not affect anyone else. That is why caring for creation is about more than changing policies and practices, although those changes are important. It also requires changing people. How do we help creation? We begin by becoming better people. We become less greedy and more grateful. We become less wasteful and more responsible. We become less selfish and more concerned about our neighbors. We learn to distinguish between what we need and what we merely want. We stop treating the earth as disposable and begin treating it as a gift from God. A better world requires people with better hearts. Recycling is good, but we must also recycle our attitudes. Conservation is good, but we must also conserve compassion. Cleaning the environment is good, but we must also allow God to clean our hearts. When the Spirit transforms us, the transformation affects how we treat people, how we use resources, how we spend money, and how we care for the earth. The renewal of creation and the renewal of human character belong together. Creation Is Groaning—but It Is Not Dying Paul describes creation’s suffering as “labor pains.” That image is important. Labor pains are real, but they are not meaningless. They are pain connected to the arrival of new life. Creation is groaning, but creation is not groaning without hope. Paul says that creation itself “will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” God has not abandoned the earth. God’s plan is not simply to rescue a few souls and throw creation away. The God who looked upon creation and called it good is still working to redeem it. The earth belongs to God. Its future belongs to God. We belong to God. As children of God, we are called to live as signs of that coming renewal. Every tree planted, every river protected, every community garden tended, every resource shared, and every wasteful habit changed can become a small sign that we believe God is not finished with creation. We cannot repair everything by ourselves, but that is no excuse to do nothing. We do what we can, where we are, with what God has placed in our hands. We care for creation not because we believe we can save the world by our own power, but because we believe the world is loved by God. Saved in Hope Paul says: “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” Christian hope is not wishful thinking. It is not closing our eyes to suffering and pretending everything is fine. Hope looks directly at what is wrong and still trusts that God is working. We hope for what we do not yet see. We do not yet see a world without violence, but we work for peace. We do not yet see a world without hunger, but we feed people. We do not yet see a world without racism, but we practice justice. We do not yet see the complete healing of creation, but we care for the earth. We do not yet see the fullness of God’s kingdom, but we live according to its values. Paul says that we “wait for it with patience.” Biblical patience does not mean sitting still. It means remaining faithful while we wait. It means continuing to pray, serve, love, and work even when change comes slowly. The greatest gift we have to give the world is hope for the future. Years ago, in his book Success through a Positive Mental Attitude, business writer Napoleon Hill told about a successful cosmetic manufacturer—probably Charles Revson, the founder of the Revlon cosmetic company—who decided he would retire at the age of sixty-five. Each year thereafter, his friends and former business associates gave him a birthday party and tried to find out the secret of his success; in other words, the “secret” for his special cosmetic formula. But year after year he refused, good-naturedly, to reveal his secret. “Maybe I will tell you next year,” he would say. This went on for ten years until the businessman celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday. As usual, his associates begged him to share the secret formula with them so they could continue the business after his death. Finally, he yielded to their insistence. “In addition to the things which I use which are commonly known,” he said, “there is one secret ingredient that I package with every bottle.” By this time, everyone at the party was listening with rapt attention. “What is it?” an anxious friend inquired. “Please, don’t keep us in suspense any longer.” Revson replied: “I never told a woman that my product would make her beautiful, but I always gave her hope.” “Hope,” he said, “is the magic ingredient.” (1) Well, hope is the magic ingredient—whether in life or in death, in good times or times of sorrow. The magic ingredient is the assurance that regardless of how challenging today is, God is in charge and that, as St. Paul says in Romans 8:28, “all things work to the good for those who love Him.” That’s hope. People are surrounded by reasons to give up. Some have given up on themselves. Some have given up on their families. Some have given up on the Church. Some have given up on the possibility of justice. Some have given up on the future of the earth. The Church must not become another voice of despair. We are called to announce that God is still working, grace is still available, transformation is still possible, and something better is coming. The Spirit Helps Us Sometimes the suffering around us is so great that we do not know what to say. Sometimes our personal pain is so deep that we do not even know how to pray. Paul says: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” When words fail us, the Spirit prays for us “with sighs too deep for words.” There are tears that become prayers. There are groans that become prayers. There are moments of silence that become prayers. There are times when all we can say is, “Lord, help me,” and the Spirit carries even that broken prayer into the heart of God. We do not have to be strong all the time. We do not have to understand everything. We do not have to know exactly how God will bring us through. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. And then Paul gives us the familiar promise: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Paul does not say that all things are good. Sin is not good. Suffering is not good. Injustice is not good. The destruction of creation is not good. Paul says that God is able to work in all things and through all things for good. God can take what is broken and begin a work of healing. God can take what was intended for harm and create a testimony. God can meet us in our suffering and shape us into people who are wiser, kinder, stronger, and more compassionate. The Pain of Today Is Not the End Earlier in the passage, Paul writes: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” Paul is not minimizing our pain. He knew suffering personally. He was beaten, imprisoned, rejected, threatened, and persecuted. Paul was not speaking from a comfortable distance. He was testifying from experience. He was saying that present pain is real, but it is not permanent. The pain is great, but God’s future is greater. Somebody listening today may be in pain. You may be grieving someone you love. You may be waiting for healing. You may be worried about a child. You may be struggling financially. You may be tired of seeing suffering and injustice. You may be looking at the condition of the world and wondering whether there is any reason to hope. Romans 8 answers: Yes, there is reason to hope. Our hope is not based on perfect circumstances. Our hope is based on the character of God. If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can condemn us when Christ intercedes for us? Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Not hardship. Not distress. Not persecution. Not famine. Not danger. Not death. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God. Give Hope to Others It is not enough for us merely to possess hope. God calls us to give hope to others. We give hope when we remind someone that failure is not final. We give hope when we visit someone who is lonely. We give hope when we feed the hungry and help the struggling. We give hope when we encourage a child. We give hope when we forgive. We give hope when we care for creation. We give hope when we stand beside those who suffer. We give hope when our words say, “God has not forgotten you,” and our actions prove that we have not forgotten them either. Hope becomes visible through people who live as though God’s future is already on the way. As God’s adopted children and co-creators with Christ, we are called to help create signs of that future in the present. We help turn neglected spaces into gardens, loneliness into community, conflict into reconciliation, despair into possibility, and suffering into service. We cannot do everything, but we can do something. We cannot fix the whole world today, but we can allow God to change us—and changed people can begin to change the world. Something Better Is Coming Romans 8 begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation. Between those two promises, creation groans, people suffer, believers struggle, and the Spirit prays. That is where many of us are living: between no condemnation and no separation. We are loved and saved, but we are still waiting. We have received God’s promise, but we have not yet seen its complete fulfillment. So we wait with hope. We work with hope. We pray with hope. We care for creation with hope. We encourage one another with hope. Sin is a part of us, but so is the Spirit of God. Suffering is present, but so is God’s promise. Creation is groaning, but new life is coming. Today’s pain is real, but it cannot compare with the glory that will be revealed. Let us become better people through the transforming power of the Spirit. Let us live as beloved children in God’s family. Let us serve as co-creators with Christ, caring for one another and for the world God made. Let us not only hold on to hope but also place hope into the hands of others. For God is with us. God is working in us. God is working through us. And by the grace of God, something better is coming. Amen. (inspired by ChatGPT 6) Song Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise UMH 103 Pastoral Prayer Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment For many families, adoption is an important part of their story. If adoption has touched your life—whether you are adopted, have welcomed a child through adoption, are part of an extended family shaped by adoption, or love someone whose story includes adoption—take a moment to reflect on what that has meant to you. At its best, adoption is a powerful expression of belonging: the promise that someone is welcomed, loved, claimed, and embraced as family. In Romans 8, we hear, “When we cry ‘Abba! Father!’ it is the Spirit bearing witness…that we are children of God…heirs…” Yes! YOU are an heir and have already received part of your inheritance from God. As people who have inherited much, we respond with gratitude! We can share our delight in our adoption by offering some of that inheritance back to the One who has claimed each one of us. With your financial gifts, your time, and the sharing of your talents, you offer from your inheritance in order to live your life fully. So let us receive our morning offering. Prayer of Thanksgiving Abba! We give thanks for the inheritance we have already received from your gracious hand. Accept these gifts as an offering to identify ourselves clearly with you. Help us use them wisely to care for this part of the Body of Christ, and for those who struggle to find food, clothing, shelter, or even a cold cup of water. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube As we go from this place, let us look for God in unexpected places and unexpected people. Let us love and serve our Lord by loving and serving those around us. Let us honor the most vulnerable and lift up the weak, rejoicing in God’s presence among us. And may the grace of Christ Jesus, the love of the Creator God, and the connecting power of the Holy Spirit accompany us all on our journeys. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Gina Bairby) A Service of Farewell for Barry and Diane Oswald – see insert Community Time: Joys and Concerns Benediction Beloved, the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. May the Spirit bless us and empower us to reveal ourselves as the children of God as we work for the flourishing of all creation. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, January 2026. Additional Illustrations In today’s lesson, which is devoted to hope, St. Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Think about that for a moment. This is what hope is all about. It is the admission that the present times may not be perfect, in fact they may be heart-wrenching, but, if we trust in God, better days lie yet ahead. “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” St. Paul knew that none of us gets through life without wrestling at some time or another with some daunting challenges. [Could someone give me an “Amen” to that?] At times, all of us will face difficult challenges. Years ago, a husband, wife, and their grown son emigrated from Sicily to southern Illinois. There both father and son found work in a coal mine. But then tragedy struck. There was an explosion in the mine. The father was killed, and the son was maimed. While he was recovering in the hospital, the young man, along with his mother, came to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. This had such a profound effect on them that they changed their surname. The name they chose for themselves was Sperondeo. In Italian that means, “My hope is in God.” This phrase became the young man’s inspiration to complete college and graduate study and become a college professor. His name was the motto of his life—Sperondeo—“My hope is in God.” (3) Where else is such hope to be found? Do you know any other place? Government? Education? Science? None of these can reach where you hurt during dark times. Only faith in God’s promises can do that. It’s like a story that a Lutheran Pastor named Reuben Youngdahl tells. It is about a young man he met while visiting in Dublin, Ireland one summer. Youngdahl noticed this young man had on the desk in his study a plaque with two words on it. The words were “But God.” Pastor Youngdahl was so impressed by this plaque that he had one made up just like it for his own desk. Visitors to his office would ask him, “What do you mean by those two words— “But God”? He explained that in his hour of deepest need he had learned to say, “But God . . . will help.” In a moment of utter despair, he could say, “But God . . . will give me hope.” In a moment of loneliness, he could say, “But God . . . is with me.” When he felt insignificant and unwanted, it would help to repeat, “But God . . . loves me.” “That always turned the scale from despair to hope, from defeat to victory, from sin to salvation,” he reported. “But God . . . but God . . . but God . . .” (4) You see, that is much more than blind optimism that everything is simply going to work out all right. Such faith recognizes that life can often be hard—sometimes brutally hard—but if we maintain our faith, and if we will persist and not give up, God will come through for us. As long as there is hope—Christian hope—life is worth living. The late Emil Brunner once said, “What oxygen is for the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of human life.” And he was right. Really, a hope-filled life is the only life worth living. St. Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Do you have that kind of confidence in God? It truly is the magic ingredient that takes life to a whole new level. This whole world God made suffers because of human sin. But for those who receive God's redemptive act made personal in Jesus the Christ, there's hope. Paul envisions this hope as the first-fruit of the Spirit - a honey sweet sensation in our soul that brings the flavor of forgiveness and salvation to our lips and fills our hearts with hope. But first-fruits are also what we must give back to God. It's our way of acknowledging that all goodness and bounty in our lives come as a gracious gift from God. If we have received the first fruit of hope from the Spirit, what first-fruit can we offer back? Romans hitches our hoped-for-future to our disastrous past. The created world we live in shares in our suffering. As Christians it seems only right that we extend our hope of redemption to that creation. Christians who live in hope must in turn give hope to the created world as well. The earth isn't ours to do what as we want. The earth is the Lord's. Why isn't Christianity taking the lead to remind everyone that when God looked on everything God had made and said, "This is good," God was telling us that creation exists to bring God pleasure, and that it doesn't bring God pleasure when humans start acting like, as one writer put it, "a serial killer in Noah's ark." Creation doesn't exist alone to bring us pleasure. Creation exists primarily to bring God pleasure. And why isn't Christianity taking the lead to remind everyone that when God commissioned us to have dominion in Genesis 1:28, it doesn't mean to do what we want to do with what God has created, to treat earth, wind, sea and fire as if we owned them, but to tend and till, to care for and conserve what God created? And why isn't Christianity doing all it can to give Adam Smith's invisible hand a "green thumb" (as biologist E. O. Wilson puts it), rather than Christianity spending its time giving capitalism a middle finger? God has a green thumb. Poet Emily Dickinson called God's original creation "This Whole Experiment with Green." If God has a green thumb, why shouldn't we? And why isn't Christianity doing all it can to make red-white-and-blue more green? We sing patriotic songs like "America the Beautiful," and swear to defend America the beautiful. So why do we do so much to make the song "America the Ugly"? Why are those most dedicated to keeping America beautiful (some politicians are fond of calling environmentalists "green-green lima beans") often seen as the most unpatriotic? A "global positioning system" can tell you the fastest way to drive from Point A to Point B — which streets are one-way only, which streets to avoid due to construction or too much traffic, where to park once you get where you're going. Like a street map, it can show how the roads run north, south, east, and west; which roads are dead ends, or go over a bridge; how they curve and then straighten out again. Like the yellow pages of a telephone book, it can tell you where to find the nearest coffee shop, Chinese restaurant, or grocery store. Like a radio, it can give the latest traffic update. It even provides a bit of company in the form of an audible voice telling you where to turn right or left. For this Day Of Pentecost, our scripture text describes the Holy Spirit, who guides us as children of God. Only the Spirit's leading is not about getting from Point A to Point B in the fastest way possible. It doesn't necessarily mean hearing an audible voice, and it's not mainly about finding the right restaurant or grocery store, although it might make a difference in the way we make some of those choices, too. Instead, our scripture gives the big picture of what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. Instead of focusing more narrowly on the thousands of individual decisions we make each day, it describes more broadly a way of life. Whether we are at Cass Community, in the church, here in our living rooms, at the Knockpatrick village, sitting in our office, or working on the CCCD campus in Montego Bay, we can be living out our hope in God. We are living out our hope in God. A hope that God will redeem us, redeem the world, and make a difference in what we cannot see or hear. For God is at work in the world. Now we can be at work, too. Now we can be at work in the world. Oh, the places we’ll go to together. Amen. Prayers: Wherever we go, you are there. Dear Jesus, show us the way to go where you are leading. Help us to trust in you. Guide us to the place we can serve in your name. Bring us the courage to learn some sign language and find new people to laugh with as we expand our world. We thank you for your presence in our lives, Amen. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., The alchemy of hope: Cycle A sermons based on the second lessons for Lent and Easter, by James D. Monnett, Jr. My wife and I have three daughters and five grandchildren. (I had to tell you that.) One great model change in my life comes from a grandson. One night when he lived in California, he called me long-distance and said, "Grandpop, I want you to help me with my homework." I replied, "How are you able to do this?" He said, "My parents have to be away and they said I could call you once." We did homework together from New York to California! When I hung up, I thought, "If God gets as much joy out of our prayers as I received out of this young rascal calling me to help him with his homework, how much joy there must be in the heart of the Almighty!" Have you asked the Lord to help you with your homework recently? What I am setting before you is one word - the mode - in which you experience the changing, enriching, growing, expanding meaning of the facts. We believe by faith that this is a universe in which there is a divine Architect-Creator, a mathematical Intelligent Being, who holds it together, who redeems it, who renews it, who brings springtime after the winter, who brings renewal to the heart after the heartache, who brings us forward from medieval ages up to the Space Age and beyond that we know not what. We believe he brings us along in an orderly fashion, but we know this infinite God only in part. The teacher of a junior high class was trying to illustrate the word miracle. "Young people," he said, "Suppose I stood on the roof of a 10-story building, lost my balance and fell off. Then all of a sudden, in midair, a whirlwind swept me up and brought me safely to the ground. Now what word would you use to describe this?" After a long silence a boy raised his hand and asked, "Luck?" "True, true," replied the teacher. "It could be luck. But that's not the word I wanted. I'll repeat the story. There I am on top of the 10-story building again, and I fall. A whirlwind catches me in midair and places me safely on the ground. Think now, what word would describe the situation?" "Accident," cries out one girl. "No, no," answered the teacher. "Listen carefully for the third time. I'm on that same building, I fall and am swept to safety by a sudden whirlwind. What word would account for my safely reaching the ground?" The boys and girls shouted in unison: "Practice!" (1) There is a popular story circulating about a woman who had just learned her cancer was terminal. She invited her pastor over to help her plan the funeral. After deciding on the order of service, the woman made one final request: she wanted to be buried with a Bible in one hand and a fork in the other. The pastor couldn't hide his surprise. Why in the world would she want to be buried with a fork? The woman explained that the favorite part of any meal for her was when the hostess, while clearing away the dinner dishes, announced, "Keep your forks." That meant that there was something more coming, something special, a dessert. The dying woman wanted to remind her loved ones that she was looking forward to something more too. Some people look at Christian faith as a bitter pill they have to swallow. Mature believers recognize that it is the dessert. God loves us. Neither life nor death nor anything else in all creation can separate us from God's love. It is a gift. We only have to receive it. ONCE WE HAVE RECEIVED THAT GIFT, HOWEVER, SOMETHING INVARIABLY HAPPENS IN OUR LIFE. WE START LOOKING AT LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WAY. When we accept God's gift--the gift of God's Spirit--freely poured out on all who will receive it, we begin to see life in a different way. We start seeing possibilities we never saw before. Our bitterness is swept away and in its place we find hope for a better life. Paul preserves the Aramaic original of the word that Jesus used to address his father. Jesus didn't just call God "Father." He used the very intimate and personal word that first-century Jewish children used to call their fathers in the intimacy and familiarity of their own homes. There they called their fathers "abba." It is the equivalent of "daddy" or "papa." When Jesus dared to address God in this manner, eyebrows were raised. It caught people's attention. Who did this guy think he was to dare to talk to God like this? Did he actually think God was his papa? Did he really think he was God's child? You got it! That is exactly what he was saying! And Paul says that this same privileged status is ours. We can dare to believe and act and behave as if God was our very own daddy, which, of course, he is! Why? Because he has adopted us! There is something about adoption that is even is more powerful than actually being the biological child of a mother and father. I remember once reading a letter that a father wrote to his son on the occasion of his son's eighteenth birthday. In the face of his adolescent son's questions, doubts, and insecurities, he wanted to assure him that there was nothing wrong with being adopted. In fact, in some ways it made him more special. He pointed out that sometimes biological children come into this world unwanted. We all know about the plight of the children of single parents in our society and that so many of their children are unplanned and unwanted. Even children of two parents sometimes are unwanted. They come along at the wrong time. They weren't planned. They were "accidents," a "surprise" when mom and dad thought they were too old, an "oops" when proper precautions weren't taken. The father then goes on to assure his son that this can't be said about his son. His adopted status ought to be a source of pride and comfort. Because he was adopted, he is extra special. He became a part of his family purely because of the choice of his new parents. He was specifically and deliberately "chosen." There was no "oops," no bad timing, nothing accidental about this. This act of adoption was deliberately willed, an act of pure love, mimicking God's love for the world in Jesus Christ. With such adoption comes all the rights, privileges, and honors that belong to the biological children of the parents. Because God has adopted us, we are fully his beloved sons and daughters. Jesus is our big brother. We get to enjoy the life he lived. We get to have all the rights and privileges that he enjoyed. Martin Luther says it well in his explanation to the Introduction to the Lord's Prayer in his Small Catechism. Our Father in heaven.Our Father in heaven. What does this mean?What does this mean? Here God encourages us to believe that he is truly our Father and we are his children. We therefore are to pray to him with complete confidence just as children speak to their loving father.Here God encourages us to believe that he is truly our Father and we are his children. We therefore are to pray to him with complete confidence just as children speak to their loving father. We get to talk to God in prayer about anything, just like we would talk to our abba, our papa. Our papa treats us just like we were one of his children. That means we can count on our papa to give us whatever we need to keep on believing that God is our papa and we are his kids. Because we are his children, we get to live just like our big brother, Jesus. We, too, get to live a cross-shaped, cruciform, life. We get to be a friend of sinners and outcasts. We get to offer justice and mercy to our neighbors and this world of ours. That won't be easy. There will be suffering and pain. But, remember what Paul says. Such suffering and pain are not random or purposeless. They are the pangs of birth, the labor pains of a new life. Isn't this typical? You get up and come to church -- and on your vacation, too -- on a pleasant summer day and what is the theme? Sin. "What did the preacher talk on today, Calvin?" asked Mrs. Cooledge. "Sin," said this taciturn president. "Well what did he say about sin," she persisted. "Said he was against it." Of course, that was another time when preachers still knew the word. Have you noticed? Today, progressive preachers think more positively. Yesterday's "I'm not OK, you're not OK," has changed to "I'm OK and you're OK." Think positively, says Dr. Peale. Dr. Shuller will teach you the "Be-Happy-Attitudes." Sin is something old fashioned that we have put behind us. If it's mentioned at all from mainline, liberal pulpits, sin is always social, corporate, systemic. Sin is what we're doing in Nicaragua, or the arms race, or the CIA. That's sin; these evil people in Washington or Moscow. Sin is not us, not you or me as individuals. You and I are doing the best we can. Lack of self-esteem is our real problem, says Dr. Shuller. We think too little of ourselves. The curious thing is that all this self-affirmation and self-esteem is being preached at a time when psychology is gathering a great deal of data which suggests that Paul was right: The good that we would do, we can't. We can, in our minds, want to do right, but when it comes to actually doing what we want; we can't. "A war is going on in me!" says Paul. Since psychology helped us to explain away our sin, let's ask psychology to help us rediscover its reality. Disciples of Jesus are called to experience and to share God's grace, even in circumstances that seem to scream out a reality of hopelessness. Author and church leader Lee Strobel, in his book God's Outrageous Claims, recounts an incident from his days as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, where he helped bring to light the sometimes-deadly consequences of riding in a Ford Pinto. From time to time this compact car would burst into flames when struck from behind. One of the landmark accidents took place in northern Indiana. A Chevy van ploughed into the back of a Pinto and killed three teenage girls. Two of them burned to death within moments. The driver, an eighteen-year-old girl named Judy, was thrown clear of the accident but was burned over 95 percent of her body. Somehow she was still alive when the paramedics arrived. The doctors at the hospital where Judy was taken quickly realized that they were powerless to save her. They elected to send her by ambulance to a burn center 75 miles away so at least she might receive some comfort. A nurse agreed to ride along with her. The trip unfolded as a nightmare. Because of damage to her nerve endings Judy didn't feel much physical pain. But as the reality of her situation began to sink in, Judy was overwhelmed with anxiety and sheer emotional anguish. She grasped that these were her last hours. She was separated from family and friends. She sobbed to the nurse beside her, "I'm not ever going to have children, am I?" What words of hope could possibly comfort this teenage girl? Nothing seemed to penetrate Judy's personal agony -- until she mentioned the name of Jesus. Discovering then that both she and Judy were Christians, the nurse came alongside her and provided the one medication that quieted her fears. From memory she recited these verses from Isaiah 43: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, And the flame shall not consume you, For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Strobel writes that it was in the hearing of those words that Judy slowly took on a calmness and courage that lifted her through the last difficult hours of her life. Once again she grasped that she belonged to God, and that no fire is able to destroy what really matters. If we belong to God, then God's gift to us is a living hope. Through the Spirit we grasp whose we are. No frailties in the present can keep us from the Lord, and no fears about the future can prevent God from blessing us. Most importantly, we discover that whatever power we have to never, never, never give up is ours only because God will never, never, never give up on us. CSS Publishing Company, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, by Glenn McDonald Have you ever done anything really foolish? I mean, something so stupid that years later you still cringe when you think about it. Dr. James Dobson tells of a friend of his during their days in medical school. One day this man was walking across campus laden with books and briefcase. He passed by a fast food stand, and ordered something to eat and a milkshake to wash it down. He balanced it all on top of his briefcase and began looking for an empty table at which to sit. While looking, the milkshake got the better of him, and he bent down without looking in order to take a sip from the straw. The straw missed his mouth and ended up in his nose. Embarrassed, but not at a loss, he thought that, if he straightened up, the straw would stay in the shake. But when he lifted his head, the straw came out of the shake and remained in his nose, dripping the milkshake down the front of his suit. In a moment, all his confidence evaporated. (1) Have you ever done anything that made you fell like an absolute Dork, as the kids say? Welcome to the human race. Make yourself at home. You are among family. And I have some Good News for you. That's why you came this morning, isn't it--to hear some Good News? Well, I have some really Good News for you. It comes to us from Romans, from the writings of St. Paul. He tells us that "those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." Did you get that? If you are led by the Spirit of God, you are a son or daughter of God. We may feel like a dork, a nerd, a twerp, a doo-fus, at times. But, if Christ lives within us, the scripture assures us that we are children of the Most High God. Now, what does it mean to be children of God? First of all, it means that we can walk with confidence. That makes sense, doesn't it? If we are children of the King, we don't have to fear anybody or any situation. When Carl Erskine, a former pitcher with the LA Dodgers, first came to the big leagues, he was asked a question by owner Branch Rickey. Rickey asked, "Do you go to church?" Carl said that he did. Rickey responded, "I ask that question of every young man that I sign. The reason that I ask it is that I've found if a person will discipline his life to sit in a place of worship and get his spiritual values in place, that person will develop a quiet confidence that he cannot get anywhere else." St. Paul writes, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship." (v. 15) When Ernest Hemingway was struggling to make it as an author, he had a stroke of bad luck. He lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts--manuscripts he had been working on for months and which he had been planning to publish in a book. He couldn't conceive of redoing his work. He shared his predicament with his friend, poet Ezra Pound. Pound called it a stroke of good fortune! Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts. The new version would be better than the old. He encouraged Hemingway to start over with a sense of optimism and confidence. Hemingway did rewrite the stories and eventually became one of the major figures in American literature. (2) All Hemingway needed was to hear someone say that he could do it. That is all we need sometimes in our lives. Our problems loom so large. But they are not insurmountable. All we need is the confidence to tackle them. All great people have faced times when their confidence waned. And we have a great inheritance. That's the second thing that it means to be children of God. Paul writes, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (16-17, NIV) A 6th grade teacher posed the following problem to one of her classes: "A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what," she asked her class, "does each get?" After a very long silence in the classroom, Little Johnny raised his hand. With complete sincerity in his voice, Little Johnny answered, "A lawyer!" Good answer. Where there is a will, there is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Inheritance can be a complicated matter in this world. Families have become split fighting over a wealthy estate. I hope each of you has a will, by the way. You can save your family lots of needless grief by simply planning ahead and taking care of necessary business. Inheritance in this world can be complicated. But in the kingdom of God, inheritance is simple--those who possess the Spirit of God get it all--all God has to give. It's like a man named Tom Stonehill who was speeding through a small town one night, looking for a public restroom. Finally, he came across a funeral home. Tom used the facilities, and then paid his respects to the deceased. The funeral director, spotting Tom, insisted that he sign the guest register. Tom thought it was a lot of trouble to go through just to use the bathroom, but he did it anyway. A few weeks later, Tom got a call from a lawyer in this small town. It turns out that Tom had visited the funeral home on the night that the town's richest citizen was being laid to rest. The rich man had no family or friends. In his will, this man had stipulated that whomever came to his funeral would inherit his fortune. Tom's was the only name in the guest register that night, so he received the full inheritance. (5) You and I are in that same fortunate situation. All we did was receive Christ into our life. Now everything that God has is ours. We are children of God, Paul tells us. We can have confidence. And we can look forward to a great inheritance. Just as importantly, we have a great opportunity. An opportunity to make a difference in the world. An opportunity to stand in that long line of saints who served Christ with dignity and determination even under tremendous hardship. Paul writes, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." What does it mean "to share in his sufferings . . . "? It means that as followers of Christ we have the opportunity to walk in Christ's footsteps in service to the world. This may or may not mean "suffering" as we generally mean suffering. Let's face it, most of us will never be crucified for following Christ. We may lose friends, we may get thrown out of the country club, we may have to take a stand that we would rather not take, we may have to put a few more dollars in the offering plate each week--but suffer? I guess it depends how you define the word. We are children of God, Paul tells us. We can have confidence. And we can look forward to a great inheritance. Just as importantly, we have a great opportunity. An opportunity to make a difference in the world. An opportunity to stand in that long line of saints who served Christ with dignity and determination even under tremendous hardship. Paul writes, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." What does it mean "to share in his sufferings . . . "? It means that as followers of Christ we have the opportunity to walk in Christ's footsteps in service to the world. This may or may not mean "suffering" as we generally mean suffering. Let's face it, most of us will never be crucified for following Christ. We may lose friends, we may get thrown out of the country club, we may have to take a stand that we would rather not take, we may have to put a few more dollars in the offering plate each week--but suffer? I guess it depends how you define the word. In the country of Thailand is a statue of the Buddha that is ten feet tall and made of solid gold. Estimates of its worth range around $200 million. But for many centuries, no one knew this statue's worth. When the Burmese invaded Thailand many centuries ago, it is believed that the Thai villagers covered the Buddha statue with layers of mud so that the Burmese wouldn't steal it. It wasn't until 1957, when workers tried to move the statue to a new location, that the mud began to fall away and reveal the true nature of the statue. For centuries, no one had known its true value. (8) Within the clay of your life and mine is a better person, a more complete person, that the world still has not seen, not in its perfect fulfillment. We are more than we appear--and one day we will be like Jesus. Even if sometimes we have straws dangling from our noses, we never lose sight that we are sons and daughters of God.

Good Seed

July 23, 2023 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Good Seeds 8th Sunday after Pentecost Year A Prelude Welcome Call to Worship One: As we harvest our growing abundance in this time of mid-summer, may we relish in the fruit of our labor, Many: As we harvest the fruitful seeds of nature and God’s Garden, let us share in the bounty with our neighbors. One: While we channel resources – water, light, fertile ground to the produce we desire in our gardens, Many: May we also recognize that the weed, the rabbit, the caterpillar also has needs for sustenance. One: We have enough, and an attitude of plentifulness increases through sharing. Many: For what our land grows with our tending, is only ours for a moment in time, filling a short term and immediate need. All: May we share the harvest by tithing back to nature, feeding the hungry among us, storing for the future without hoarding, and setting enough seed aside for the next season of planting. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Invocation God of many names, mother of all creation, father of all that is, womb of life, and wellspring of all that we can ever know, we invite your presence here as we seek to embody your loving spirit and create your presence among us. We are in need and we turn to you to be with us as we practice creating the kin-dom of heaven here on earth. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Song Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah Children’s Sermon Have some very small pots of dandelions or other native weed ready to be given to each child. Today our Bible message is about God as the gardener. Jesus told this story to his friends to help them to understand how the love of God workd. He told them that the farmer lavishly scattered seeds in the field. There were weeds already in the field and the good plants and the weeds grew up together. When it came time for the harvest, God separated the weeds from the good plants. At first some people would say that God should have thinned out the plants earlier and gotten all the weeds out, casting them into the fire. But that didn’t happen. Weeds and seeds grew up together. Then came the time of harvest. Each plant was harvested with the others, weeds and good plants alike. God will decide what to do about the weeds. God is loves us all very much and wants the best things for us. We have a lot to learn. Life isn’t always just good things; sometimes we encounter difficult times. We can learn about courage, perseverance, hope, and forgiveness in these times. I’m going to ask each one of you to take a special plant home with you. Take good care of it. Give it just the right amount of sunlight so that it will grow. Make sure to water it, but not too much. Take time to get to know your little plant. Think about the ways in which that plant is very special. Talk with your parents about planting your little weed in a place of its own where you can care for it. Thank you for coming up here today. Good luck with your plants. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Prayer for Transformation and New Life God of creation and plenty, it can be easy for us to forget the abundant nature of your love. We forget that there are ample riches from this earth if we manage your resources you and we share generously among all your beloved children. We forget that we are all created in your divine beauty, perfect specimens of your holy vision for a people who can love without bounds, share without tallying, and celebrate among the great diversity you created to thrive together. Guide us to give of that abundance, to receive with grace and gratitude, and to turn our hearts from the perception of scarcity. We confess that we fall short; and we ask that you show us the path again to your fruitful garden where all things grow and flourish. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Words of Grace Let us know that God has always provided us with growth and abundance and will continue to guide us in the care of bounteous fields that spring forth with plant and animal, both weed and seed. We are all worthy of this enduring joy and sustenance as beloved children of God. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Passing of the Peace Scripture Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Sermon Good Seeds Some of you can relate to one unknown homemaker who wrote: I don’t do windows because . . . I love birds and don’t want one to run into a clean window and get hurt. I don’t wax floors because . . . I am terrified a guest will slip and get hurt then I’ll feel terrible (plus they may sue me.)I don’t disturb cobwebs because . . . I want every creature to have a home of their own. I don’t Spring Clean because . . . I love all the seasons and don’t want the others to get jealous. I don’t put things away because . . . my husband will never be able to find them again. I don’t do gourmet meals when I entertain because . . . I don’t want my guests to stress out over what to make when they invite me over for dinner. I don’t iron because . . . I choose to believe them when they say “Permanent Press.” And finally: I don’t pull weeds in the garden because . . . I don’t want to get in God’s way, He is an excellent designer! So, what is a weed anyway. I have heard many different definitions over the years. The dictionary defines a weed as any plant that is growing in the wrong place. Of course we can add other criteria, such as a plant that is invasive. A plant that you do no want. And you definitely don’t intentionally plant weeds. And yet interestingly when Jesus refers to weeds and planting goods seeds for the harvest. Jesus says that the weeds are intentionally planted by the devil. He says that just as you plant wheat in neatly controlled rows – the devil did the same thing. Wheat is broadcast – you just throw it out on the ground. So perhaps Jesus wasn’t a farmer, so he wasn’t clear about technique. Or perhaps he wasn’t talking about plants at all. Perhaps he was talking about the weeds that grow inside of the church. In chapter 13- Jesus is talking to the disciples about the kingdom of heaven. They have never seen heaven, but they live in a world where seeds, plants and harvest are common. So Jesus is just explaining heaven in terms that they have heard. I just learned that all weeds are volunteers, but not all volunteers are weeds. Volunteers could be people or plant. So Jesus may be saying that in the church some of us are sincere and here for the right reasons and some of us are not. Some of us are good seed planted here by God and some of us are bad seed planted by God. But Jesus gets it wrong again when he says that you harvest weeds in the same way that you harvest good plants. Usually you pluck up the weeds long before you pluck up the harvest. Yet Jesus says to hold off on the weeds and pull up the weeds and the harvest at the same time. He says to burn the weeds. Once again it is only the human weeds that get thrown into the fires of hell so that they can burn. The question or question of the day is – which one of us here are weeds and which ones are good seed? And who is it that is responsible for the harvest? In Matthew, Jesus takes the time to explain the players in the story. The landowner who does the planting is Jesus. The enemy is the devil. The harvesters are the angels. You and me are just the seed. Some of us good seed and some of us bad. A Glorious Mess Hear now a recasting of the parable (courtesy of the wonderfully innovative work of Barbara Brown Taylor): One afternoon in the middle of the growing season, a bunch of farm hands decided to surprise their boss and weed his favorite wheat field. No sooner had they begun to work, however, than they began to argue ... about which of the wheat-looking things were weeds. Did the Queen Anne's lace, for example, pose a real threat to the wheat, or could it stay for decoration? And the blackberries? After all, they were weeds. But they would be ripe in a week or two. And the honeysuckle ... it seemed a shame to pull up anything that smelled so sweet. About the time they had gotten around to debating the purple asters, the boss showed up and ordered them out of his field. Dejected, they did as they were told. Back at the barn, he took their machetes away from them, poured them some lemonade, and made them sit down where they could watch the way the light moved across the field. At first, all they could see were the weeds and what a messy field it was ... and what a discredit to their profession. But as the summer wore on, they marveled at the profusion of growth. Tall wheat surrounded by tall goldenrod, accented by a mixture of ragweed and brown-eyed Susans. Even the poison ivy flourished beside the Cherokee roses. It was a mess. But a glorious mess. And when it had all bloomed and ripened, the reapers came. Carefully ... gently ... expertly ... they gathered the wheat and made the rest into bricks for the oven where the bread was baked. And the fire the weeds made was excellent. And the flour the wheat made was excellent. And when the owner called them together ... farm hands, reapers, along with all the neighbors ... and broke bread with them (bread that was the final distillation of that messy, gorgeous, mixed up field), they all agreed that it was like no bread they had ever tasted before. And that it was very, very good. Let those who have ears ... and half a brain ... hear and consider. Barbara Brown Taylor, www.Sermons.com _______________________ Jesus lesson for us today is not about the good seed and the bad. It is about our favorite hobby in the church – judging. As Christians we are obsessed with the thought that we are the good seed. And if we are the good seed, anything that does not look like us, that we don’t agree with, that we don’t understand, or doesn’t fit into our picture must be bad seed. Jesus is reminding us that we are just seed – we don’t have the power to judge. That is not our place in the story. A Word of Caution to Champion Weed-Pullers I'll never forget the day I became a champion weed-puller. It was a little embarrassing. About thirty summers ago I was a young boy of eight or nine, living with my family on a farm in rural Wisconsin, not far from Milwaukee. My older brothers used to spend a good deal of June and July helping the neighboring truck farmers weed their gardens. I don't know how they do it today, but then it was a matter of doing everything by hand. You got down near the ground and pulled the weeds one by one. The pay was about a dime for a row of radishes a hundred feet long. One day I thought I would get in on this money making venture, so I too presented myself to the neighboring truck farmer, who agreed to pay me a dime for each row of radishes I would weed. He quickly inquired whether I knew what a radish plant looked like. I quickly replied that I did, not wanting to be turned down for the job. So I went to work, and about an hour later, I stood before the farmer, expecting a shiny silver dime. But sure enough, I had picked all the tender young radish shoots and left the ignoble weeds standing there gloriously in the sunshine. Clearly it would have been better for this farmer and his radishes if I had never pulled his so-called "weeds" at all. A champion weed-puller indeed! Richard Patt, Challenge of Christ's Harvest As Christians we like to think that we have some special power to judge others, and we forget that in the bigger story – we are just seeds. We don’t even know how to determine if we ae even considered a good seed. We ae just seeds. A Line Through Every Heart I have colleagues who continually want to cull the field, making decisions on the basis of belief ... behavior ... even baptism. As many of you know, my wife is into genealogy. She's traced portions of her family back over 500 years. Just a few months ago, we learned that she had a relative who was burned at the stake in Switzerland. Why? Because he had the wrong understanding of baptism, that's why. They weeded him out. Then they burned him up. As for me, I don't always know whether I am weed or wheat. Wasn't it Alexander Solzhenitsyn who said: "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being." Which, I suppose, includes my heart. For all I know, I may even be the weed in somebody else's garden. Perhaps in your garden. Collected Sermons, William A. Ritter, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. Sometimes we are the weed, and sometime we are the wheat. A Limerick for the Wheat and the Weeds I enjoyed the book by Archibald Hunter, Parable Then and Now. In his comments on today's parable, he had one limerick that I really enjoyed: "There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly becomes any of us, to talk about the rest of us." Edward F. Markquart, www.Sermons.com The kingdom of heaven is like a field, but the kingdom of heaven is in God’s realm. And Fields only grow on earth. How to determine between the weed and the harvest is an earthly question. Weeds are only a negative thing in our own minds. In heaven every volunteer has a unique purpose and place. We have all heard the term, judge not and be not judged. That comes in Matthew 7. But in practical terms what does it mean not the judge others. How can you possible go through life without judging. We have to be able to identify the bad seed, the dangerous seed, those who are fake and phony. Better to Have Weeds than Nothing at All I asked the people at my last church to imagine what would happen if we adopted a policy of weed-pulling, if we drew a circle around the little town of Wingate, North Carolina, and made a vow that no evil would cross that line, that no weeds would grow within that border. I said, "You know, you and I could spend the rest of our lives protecting that boundary, standing shoulder to shoulder with pitchforks and clubs, making sure that we kept drugs and alcohol and pornography and gambling safely on the other side. I think it would take all of our energy and most of our time. But what if we did it? What if we succeeded? What would we have? We would have a town characterized by the absence of evil, which is not the same as a town characterized by the presence of good. And maybe this is what Jesus was talking about all along, that it's better to have a wheat field with weeds in it than a field with nothing in it at all. When a church in Wingate, North Carolina, began a ministry to the children of a nearby trailer park, they had to decide what kind of ministry it would be. They could have chosen to root out all the sources of evil in that place-to chase down the drug dealers and the deadbeat dads, to confiscate handguns and arrest child abusers. Instead, they chose to put up a basketball goal, to tell stories from the Bible, to put their arms around little children, and sing songs about Jesus. And two years after they started that ministry, two years of going out there Saturday after Saturday to do those things, the pastor got a note in his box at church with five words on it: "Adrian wants to be baptized." Adrian. The terror of the trailer park. That little girl who had made their work most difficult during the previous two years. Who would have guessed? Instead of pulling weeds in the field where she lived, they just tried hard to be wheat, and somehow Adrian saw that and fell in love with it and wanted it for herself. After she was baptized, there was a little more wheat in the field. And because she was there, soon, there was even more. James Somerville, A World Full of Weeds God has a dream for us , Jesus told his friends, God wants us to live in a way that makes everybody happy – It is called God’s shalom – God’s Peace. It is called the kingdom of God. Let us love everyone and let God sort it out when we get to heaven. . Song This is My Father’s World Morning Prayer Summer is just about halfway over. Some of us have been able to travel, to spend special time with family and friends; but for others there is a sameness about this season. It brings pressures to work to provide for our families; it reminds us of the many people who are ill and who are unable to enjoy some of the special delights that this season is supposed to bring. This morning we take a few minutes to name our dear ones and situations of pain and loss as we ask for prayers from this congregation. Some people will remain unnamed because of the anguish we feel about their difficulties. But you are with them, every step of the way, even when they don’t feel like you care. You are there with them, offering them peace and hope. Let us turn our hearts to you as we silently offer these special people to your care. [Silent Prayer]. Lord, you have heard the cries of our hearts. You see our tears and feel our pain. Be with us all. Give us healing for our broken spirits and bodies, for we ask these things in the name of Jesus, the Master Healer. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Stewardship Moment Moment for Stewardship (inspired by Romans 8) One of the legal realities of adoption in the United States is that the person being adopted becomes an equal heir with others born to or adopted bythat family. The law sees a legal adoption as the mechanism by which the adoptee is seen in the same relationship as a child born into that family. So when Paul uses language of adoption, it’s to assure Gentiles they have the same status before God as Jews. We are ALL children of God. That makes each of us an “heir”, and joint heirs with Jesus. Of course, not all families are the kind of family we might want to claim. But God’s family takes us away from fear, slavery, and living as debtors to the flesh. In God’s family, we no longer live in futility, but we’re set free, by adoption, to redemption and salvation. These big words mean we can live our lives buoyed up by HOPE. Claiming this as our truth leads us to a natural inclination to want to offer our thanks to God. That may come in a variety of ways, but it certainly includes an eagerness to share what we’ve been given with the Giver. We can give our time, our energy/talent, and our finances as offerings to the God who has created us and claimed us in Christ Jesus. So this Sunday, and EVERY Sunday, is a day to offer our gifts. With joyful hearts, filled with gratitude that we’ve been adopted into God’s family, let us share our gifts. Prayer of Thanksgiving Gracious God, you’ve named us, claimed us, and call us “my beloved daughters and sons”. With thanksgiving, we return to you these symbols of our live. Help us breathe in the assurance of our adoption, which will inspire us to offer all we are and all we have to your service. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook God’s people, you are called to go forth and appreciate the weeds among us, as we have each been in the wrong place at times. Go from this place during this harvest time and taste the ripeness of a plump tomato, the sweetness of fresh steamed corn, the crisp coolness of cucumbers. Please go in the knowledge that there is enough for all, be it God’s earthly blessings that are so delicious and nourishing or God’s love that connects us. Share in these gifts and know that we are all enough. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Dr. Sherry Warren) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Get ready to go into God’s world. Bring messages of hope to all. As we have been blessed, may we bring blessings to all in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations

The Victory is in Jesus

July 30, 2017 Romans 8:26-39 Year A The Victory is in Jesus 8th Sunday after Pentecost Romans 8:26-39Common English Bible (CEB) 26 In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. 27 The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will.28 We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 We know this because God knew them in advance, and he decided in advance that they would be conformed to the image of his Son. That way his Son would be the first of many brothers and sisters. 30 Those who God decided in advance would be conformed to his Son, he also called. Those whom he called, he also made righteous. Those whom he made righteous, he also glorified. 31 So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them. 34 Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us. 35 Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, We are being put to death all day long for your sake. We are treated like sheep for slaughter.[a] 37 But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. 38 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers 39 or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. Sermon Opener - Super-Size Your Faith - Romans 8:26-39 “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…in a most delightful way” How many of you can hear Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) singing that? How many of you have no idea who Mary Poppins is? There’s the generational divide right in front of us…although Broadway introduced a new “Mary Poppins” musical to catch those of you who only know the more postmodern Nannie McPhee version of the story. Nanny Mary Poppins sang this song in the 1964 movie to get her employers’ closed-mouth children to open up and swallow down their daily dose of nasty-tasting stuff. Could any nanny get away with that today? Given the skyrocketing rate of childhood obesity, I suspect that any child-care worker caught shoveling spoonfuls of sugar down their charge’s throats would be instantly sacked. Still, we “sugarcoat” everything. “It smells like money” is how we sugarcoat the sickening stench of a slaughterhouse or the cloud of sulphur dioxide that spews out of paper-mill smoke stacks. Ironically, in the case of pulp mills, we are sugar-coating the release of sugars (and sulphur) in the wood. “Sugar-coating” is our attempt to disguise that which is truly awful with an artificial top-coat of sticky sweetness. We do this with everything from chocolate-dipped grasshoppers to 5 mpg SUV’s that run on Big Diesel. We love to take our sourest lemons and turn them into lemonade. But this attempt to “sugar-coat” the negative is not a part of biblical faith. A faith that is founded on the crucifixion of its founder as a blasphemous criminal cannot be good at cutesy coverups. Jesus never sugarcoated. He spoke openly to his admittedly uncomprehending, sugar-jonesing disciples about his impending arrest, conviction, and execution. Jesus baldly declared that “the poor will always be with you” and advised the rich, young man that the cost of discipleship was to “sell everything” if he wished to follow Jesus. Discipleship was never advertised as anything but a big-ticket item by Jesus, a commitment that, as its reward, demanded that followers “take up their cross,” embrace the real probability of suffering and death. Paul had first-hand, hard-core, hard-time experiences of the “hardship” that discipleship could bring to one’s life…. I think that we have gotten used to wanting our life to be sugar coated. We want everything to be good news. And that is not what Paul is talking about when he tells us to have hope. Christ did not come to the world for everything to be wonderful in our lives, Christ came to tell us that what is bad does not last forever. And that when things go wrong, we have a means for dealing with it, without needing the sugar coating. This is the last part of Romans 8 – this is a pivotal chapter for all of us. Paul originally wrote this for Christians who were being persecuted, and trying to make meaning out of what was happening to them. Paul answer to them, not to dwell on the meaning of the bad, but to look not necessarily for the good, but to look for the God in the event, and to always be clear that God is on your side if you are on God’s side. This whole conversation is called theodicy. Theo means god, dicy means justice. But the word theodicy means a question that we all seem to have – if God is so good, then why is life so lousy? Why do bad things happen to good people. We have been asking that question for centuries. The bible is full of stories of people asking that question. We all ask the question, but let me give you some advice – the question has its own word – because there is no answer. No matter how strong your faith is, the question will come up in your life. And there are people out there called hope hustlers – who will be happy to give you an answer, but the answer that they give will never satisfy you. The best advice that I can give you is – don’t get stuck on asking the question. Because you can stay there for the rest of your life. What you have to do is just move on and leave the question unanswered. Whatever it is, you have to just accept it, deal with it and find the strength to move on and live with the question. Romans 8 give us the tools to be able to do that – that is why the lectionary takes so much time with Romans 8. We dealt with this one verse for three weeks. In the first week we were told to live in the spirit and not the flesh, the second week was to have hope, and this week the message is that nothing separates us from the love of God – not even despair and suffering. I have been looking for a sign to put in my house it says bidden or unbidden God is there. In other words, no matter whether we intentionally pray for God or not God is in the process. We just have to look for the God in everyday and in every situation. There is a spiritual practice where every night you ask yourself, where did I meet God today. There is a less well-known behavioral syndrome that has been dubbed the “Stockdale Paradox.” Admiral Jim Stockdale was a prisoner of war at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. He remained a prisoner there from 1965-1973, eight endless years. He was the highest ranking US military officer imprisoned during the Vietnam War. He is perhaps better known as the running mate for H. Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election. During his imprisonment he was repeatedly beaten and tortured, but he refused to be “broken” by his captors. He devised mental exercises to keep his mind resilient and created ingenious tapping codes that allowed all the American prisoners held captive with him to secretly communicate with each other. The “paradox” Stockdale is famous for is his unflinching attitude of utter faith and absolute realism. When asked how he managed to continue day after day for eight years Stockdale explained, “I never lost faith in the end of the story,” he said . . . “I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.” When asked by the reporters if he could describe those who failed to survive under the same torture and mind-breaking abuse, Stockdale’s reply was quick: “Oh, that’s easy, he said. The optimists.” “The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.” Then who were the ones who survived? What was his key to survival. Stockdale said it was one word: “Faith.” Stockdale’s final reflection, his key more-than-survival skill for not just surviving, but truly LIVING in and through those grueling ordeals, was precise. “This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end, faith which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” Did you hear it? Did you hear the echoes of our Scripture lesson reverberating in these words? Faith is not optimism. Faith is not foolish naïveté. Faith is not pretending bad times or genuine suffering are not real. Faith does not insist that everything’s coming up roses, or that stinking circumstances smell like strawberry shortcake. Faith is best expressed in the words our 17-year-old son is fond of saying: “Deal with it, get over it, or get help.” The Stockdale realists faced the facts “We’re not getting out by Christmas! Deal with it, Get over it, and Get help!”— but they faced the facts with faith, faith in the ultimate “end of the story,” which enabled them to survive in some of the works circumstances the mind can imagine. In today’s epistle text, Paul is speaking to Christians who have experienced real suffering, Christians being persecuted by a power no less than Rome, the greatest empire ever seen. And in these oft-memorized verses, Paul is giving the message that a Stockholm Syndrome culture needs to hear: the Stockdale Paradox of “Deal With it, Get Over It…and Get Help!” We find the answer in Christ, or we do not find it. Emily Dickinson says: "No person can be truly happy until they can say: ‘I love Christ.’ " Scripture does not teach us that Christians will escape tragedy and turmoil. In fact, in our scripture lesson for today, Paul uses words like suffering tribulation, persecution, peril, the sword. Suffering in the Greek means “pressure.” Persecution in the Greek means “To be squeezed.” All of us can relate to those things. The Bible is not a book that whistles in the dark and denies pain. Quite the contrary, the Bible is a book that was born out of pain. Every night since I moved here to Wilmington I have noticed that it has been so much easier for me to go to sleep. I have rested so much better here, for a number of different reasons. But every night when things get dark and quiet, my mind starts to talk to me. It reminds me of all of the bills that I have to pay, and all of the loose ends that I still have to deal with, of all of the people who are “patiently” waiting for me to take care of something for the, of all of the bags that I still have to unpack. And every night I wake up and sit with my thoughts, and I am convinced that they are right – we are not going to survive this, my problems are just too big to deal with, they are going to get the best of me. But every morning I wake up, its time to open the house up to the sun, start my daily routine, to pray, to plan, and to do what I can to move forward. My problems don’t get any better, but all there is to do is to deal with them, and to trust God, and live according to my faith. Faith is when I look up to God, Grace is when God looks down on me. William Barclay says that the faith that helps us to face the struggles of life is only available to those who believe in God. Who know that God prevails in every situation, and if we are with God, then we will prevail also. Another pastor says that prayer is the divine in us, appealing to the God above us. Our victory is in God, and in Christ as our intecessor. This is one of my favorite stories to tell… Dr. Robert Ozment tells a touching story. A man is looking in a window at an art display including the crucifixion. He becomes conscious of another person. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that it was a little street urchin. He asked the lad, "Do you know who that is?" "Yes, sir, that’s our Savior." The boy looked at the man, surprised that he didn’t know. Then the child went on to explain, "Them’s the soldiers, the Roman soldiers, around the cross." The boy paused and then continued: "That woman crying over there is his mother." He paused again and said, "They killed him, Mister. They killed him." "Where did you learn all this?" asked the man. "At the mission school, sir." The man walked away. But before he had gone far, the voice of the little boy caught up with him: "Mister, Mister! I forgot to tell you. He rose again!" Paul says that our victory is in Christ. Paul says that we are being killed every day. We all have problems, we are all asking why is this happening to us, we are all asking where is God. But our ability wont save us, our hard work wont save us, as a matter of fact our faith wont save us. We are saved by the grace of God through Christ. Christ saves us. That is the real truth, no need for sugar coating. Let us pray….. Additional illustrations……. Dr. Robert Ozment tells a touching story. A man is looking in a window at an art display including the crucifixion. He becomes conscious of another person. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that it was a little street urchin. He asked the lad, "Do you know who that is?" "Yes, sir, that’s our Savior." The boy looked at the man, surprised that he didn’t know. Then the child went on to explain, "Them’s the soldiers, the Roman soldiers, around the cross." The boy paused and then continued: "That woman crying over there is his mother." He paused again and said, "They killed him, Mister. They killed him." "Where did you learn all this?" asked the man. "At the mission school, sir." The man walked away. But before he had gone far, the voice of the little boy caught up with him: "Mister, Mister! I forgot to tell you. He rose again!" It is in this description of the movement of the Spirit of God in our struggles that Paul's language is most powerful. He speaks of the Spirit interceding in our prayers, in our longings, in our fears, in our hopes, and in our inability to pray. In those places that are so overwhelming and scary that we can hardly articulate them — in those places, Paul emphasizes God's movement, the Spirit moving in us "with sighs too deep for words." I remember one such moment in my ministry, although there have been many similar moments. One of our elders in his forties was near death in the hospital, dying from a rare blood disease that would not allow his blood to clot. This disease had thinned his blood so much that it was coming out of his body in many places. On this particular day, as the nurses and doctors worked frantically to save him, his wife came and pleaded with me to go to the hospital chapel and pray with her. We went, and she fervently prayed for God to spare her husband's life. We held hands, and I did not know what to pray. I groaned inwardly — her husband's death was imminent, yet his wife and I both wanted him to live. So, I prayed, too, for his life to be spared, though I felt inwardly that this prayer would not be answered in this way. At that moment, I felt the sting of death in his wife's despair, and I felt my own weakness that Paul describes in these verses — I did not know how or what to pray at that moment. I hoped that God's Spirit would intercede — the situation was clearly beyond my control; indeed it was beyond my power to comprehend enough to even know what to pray. Our elder died a few minutes later. I discerned the intercession of God's Spirit in his room after his death. His mother came in to view his body and to say, "Good-bye." I sought to console her by saying that her son was a good man and that we would all miss him. She thanked me, and then the Spirit spoke through her to me and to his wife and to many others. She prayed with the power of the Spirit, thanking God for this son, thanking God for all the gifts that she had received from God through her son's life, and asking now for God to give her son safe passage into the arms of Jesus. As the tears flowed down my cheeks, I thanked God, too, for this reminder that death is not the final word, that loving is the final word. Here in this most painful moment of the death of her son, this momma had reminded us all that the point and the meaning of life is loving, is engaging, is the connection. In that very engaging comes pain because of the power of death, but the promise of the Spirit is that it is in the loving and the engaging that we find our lives and that we find our meaning as the adopted daughters and sons of God. It is in loving that we are found by God. In those places where we groan in travail, in those places where our inward groaning causes us to begin to lose hope and not know what or how to pray, may we, too, find the intercession of the Spirit who moves with sighs too deep for words. Amen. We don’t live life very long before many of our illusions are shattered. I recall a cartoon that appeared in The Atlanta Constitution after a man named Mark Barton walked into an Atlanta business office and shot and killed several people. In the cartoon, a small boy is sitting next to his mother, and a newspaper is lying on the table. The headline reads, “Atlanta Murderer: Mark Barton.” Confused, the boy is looking up at his mother saying, “You said monsters don’t exist.” We are all like that boy, and we ask about this monster in many ways: “Why do the innocent suffer and the wicked prosper?” “Why does God allow evil and suffering?” “If God is great and good, why is there suffering?” Another way it is put is: “If God can’t stop suffering, then he is not great. If he can, then he is not good.” In the study of theology this wonder is called the theodicy question, and it is at the foundation of our question today – “Why is Faith so Hard?” Unfortunately, there are some Christians who are so desperate to have this question answered that they are seduced by hope hustlers. These hope hustlers churn out cotton candy theology that teaches that if you really have faith in God you will never experience tragedy in life. And then when pain and tragedy comes they blame their suffering on a lack of faith. Some may even give up on God all together. As a result, they are left with no inner resources with which to battle the trials of life. Were These Not Warnings? There was once a man who was always afraid of death. He was afraid that death would suddenly overtake him and find him unprepared, so he made a bargain with the Grim Reaper that death would give him clear, repeated notices before he would come. One day, however, unannounced and altogether unexpectedly, the Destroyer appeared to demand his life. "How could you break your pledge?" the man protested bitterly. "You sent me no warnings." Slowly the skeletal figure replied, "But how about your failing eyesight, your dimmed sense of hearing, your gray and thinning hair, your lost teeth, your furrowed face, your bent body, your dwindling powers, and your weakened memory? Were these not unmistakable warnings?" James D. Kegel, God's Surprises Children’s Lesson…. Lesson: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life. nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Object: A life-size cut-out of a person Good morning, boys and girls. I'll bet you can't guess who this is! (Hold up cut-out of person. Let them guess.) Those are good guesses but they are wrong. I'll just have to tell you. This is my shadow! Isn't he a nice fellow? (Let them answer.) What kind of a person is a shadow, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Right. A shadow belongs only to you. It goes wherever you go, regardless of where that might be. If I go home, my shadow is right there with me. If I have to go to the hospital, my shadow will go along, too. If I am in danger, so is my shadow, and if nice things happen to me, my shadow is there to be happy right along with me. What if I wanted to get rid of my shadow, boys and girls? Would I be able to? (Let them answer.) Not really. My shadow is always with me and if I get tired of having it around, that's just too bad for me. My shadow and I are never going to be separated. Today, in our scripture reading, Paul tells us that the love of God in Jesus is very much like my shadow here. It is always with us. If we are having a bad day, the love of God is right there having a bad day with us. If we don't feel well, or have to go to the doctor, the love of God goes right along with us. If we are happy because it is our birthday, God's love is happy with us, and if we are sad, God is there to help us feel better. The love of God is just like my shadow here. It will never leave us. I could probably tell God to go away if I decided I didn't want him around anymore, but God's love would remain. I could become a really nasty person and do all sorts of bad things -- like rob banks, cheat people, tell lies -- but God would not leave me. God wouldn't be very happy with me, though, would he, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) No -- God would rather have us live lives that are filled with good things -- good words and good deeds. God's love is with us all the time to help us live those kinds of lives. Boys and girls, the next time you see your shadow following you around (Hold up cut-out of shadow.) remember that there is someone else who is also always with you -- the love of God in Jesus our Lord. God bless you all. Amen.

The Meaning of a Blessing

Genesis 32:22-31 August 3, 2014 8th Sunday after Pentecost The Meaning of a Blessing We acknowledge to You, O Lord, that You are our God, as You were the God of our ancestors, forever and ever. Rock of our life, Shield of our help, You are immutable from age to age. We thank You and utter Your praise, for our lives that are delivered into Your hands, and for our souls that are entrusted to You; and for Your miracles that are with us every day and for your marvelously kind deeds that are of every time; evening and morning and noon-tide. Thou art good, for Thy mercies are endless: Thou art merciful, for Thy kindnesses never are complete: from everlasting we have hoped in You. And for all these things may Thy name be blessed and exalted always and forevermore. And all the living will give thanks unto Thee and praise Thy great name in truth, God, our salvation and help. Selah. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, Thy name is good, and to Thee it is meet to give thanks. This is the final benediction of the amidah- the standing prayer that one should say every day. It is 19 blessings to God. It is 19 acknowledgements of what God does for us daily. In the Jewish tradition every blessing is a blessing of God. We are the ones to bless God. Blessing simply means a praise, We praise God for what he had done for us. And we can admit that God has done a lot for us. Today, I want to talk about another Jacob story. This is the story of how Jacob became Israel. The name Israel means one who strives with. But us not Jacob who strives with God, it is God who strives with Jacob. God strives with each one of us and we are all better because of it. Everytime that I hear this story –I love it more and more. This is the story of each of us –sinners who reach a point in our lives that we need God’s help to survive. To prevail over our circumstances. Jacob had finally reached the point in life – where his chickens had come home to roost. He stole a blessing from his older brother, he had spent his life running, now it was time to come home, and in order to be at home, he had to face his brother. He had ruined his brother’s life, and would his brother pay him back by ruining his. He wouldfind that our tomorrow, but tonight he encountered someone else. Some people say the stranger in the night was God, some say an angel, some say God, some even say it was leviathan, the river demon that God defeated in the creation story to bring order out of chaos. Jacob was next to a river, and there was a belief that every river had a demon that lived in it and protected the water. If you got too close to the water, then the demon would rise up and attack you. Some one attacked Jacob in the night and they fought all night. This story is in Genesis, intended to answer a lot of questions about the history of the Jews. According to the story, they do not eat meat surrounding the hip, because that was where Jacob was injured in this fight. There is a lot of symbolism and mystery in this story. Jacob fights this man all night, neither win, but neither give up. When the man is tired and ready to walk away, Jacob will not let him go until he gets a blessing. Only God can give blessings, so Jacob names the place Panuel – the face of God. We are all a lot like Jacob, we know what we have done in life, we know who we are – but all we want in life is a blessing. Someone to say that they care and that they love us. This is from a writer named Mary Ann Bird: I grew up knowing I was different. I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate. When I started school, my classmates made it clear how I looked to others. Little girl, misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, garbled speech. When schoolmates asked, 'What happened to your lip?' I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than been born different. I was convinced nobody outside my family could love me. Then there was a teacher in the second grade we adored, Mrs. Leonard. Annually we had a hearing test. Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everybody in the class. Finally, it was my turn. I knew from past years as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper, and we'd have to repeat it back, something like, 'The sky is blue' or 'Do you have new shoes?' I waited there for the words. God must have put in her mouth those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said in a whisper, 'I wish you were my little girl.'" To people made ugly and twisted by sin, God whispers through Jesus, "I wish you were my little girl. I wish you were my little boy." All those blessings flow from the Cross; Blessed,blessed, blessed, blessed. It was those words of blessing that made all of the difference in the world. That is why Jacob was looking for a blessing. And the only person who could fill the hole in his soul completely was God. Jacob says I prayed, I persisted,I prevailed, and Iwas preserved. That is life for all of us. The request for a blessing was the request of a desparate man in a desparate situation. This is the story of all if humanity. We have to strive with God day by day. We wake up. Face the day and we prevail. Things are not perfect, but as long as God is with us, we have enough fight in us to deal with the day. Is it my strength that helps me to prevail, or God’ strength, it God blessing me or am I blessing God. Jacob becomes Israel because God and man went toe to toe and both prevailed. That is what it means to be blessed – to be in God’s favor. In the Jewish understanding of blessing, we bless God, in the Christian understanding God blesses us. But what does that mean. It is just a difference in focus. All things in our life come from God. So we say thank you. Christ reminds us that God blesses us, so that we can be a blessing to others. John Ortberg, a Presbyterian pastor says that the story of Jacob is important – because the people of God identified with this story. They themselves became Israel- ones who strive with God. Jacob was blessed his whole life, but he didn’t know what to do with it. He received his blessing from his dad. In those days there was only one blessing –for the oldest child. But Jacob took it. When it was time for Jacob to pass the blessing on, he gave it to all twelve of his sons. He loved them all. He even blessed his grandsons. He crossed his hands so that he could bless the younger one before the older one. Joseph assumed because his dad was blind he didn’t know what he was doing, so he uncrossed his hands. But Israel crossed his hands back – and gave the least the blessing. Jesus continues that tradition with us – which is why we are blessed. Jesus spread the blessing to all, even those who were outsiders and sinners and didn’t deserve a blessing. Through God’s grace we got it anyway. At age 16 Andor Foldes was already a skilled pianist, but he was experiencing a troubled year. In the midst of the young Hungarian's personal struggles, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to Budapest. Emil von Sauer was famous not only for his abilities; he was also the last surviving pupil of the great Franz Liszt. Von Sauer requested that Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann. When he finished, von Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. "My son," he said, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss--it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it." Source Unknown. There are actually three elements to a blessing. First there is a touch, a kiss or a hug. That is why we lay hands on people- touch is a part of the blessing. Then you give positive words of encouragement, then you promise to do all you can to make the blessing a reality. – all of this is in the story – God touches his hip, God gives him a new name, and them God gives peace that surpasses all understanding so that Jacob can face the challenges of tomorrow. God blesses us, so that we can bless others. The blessing of Israel was extended to all who strive with God and who through God’s grace are able to prevail. Who have you blessed today? It is not too late – the day is still early, and there are still those in your life who need to know that they are loved. Bless someone – because you have been blessed. Here are some of the blessings promised in the bible. F.E. Marsh has enumerated some of God's blessings: An acceptance that can never be questioned. (Ephesians 1:6). An inheritance that can never be lost (I Peter 1:3-5). A deliverance that can never be excelled (2 Corinthians l:10). A grace that can never be limited (2 Corinthians 12:9). A hope that can never be disappointed. (Hebrews 6:18, 19). A bounty that can never be withdrawn. (I Colossians 3:21-23). A joy that need never be diminished (John 15:11). A nearness to God that can never be reversed (Ephesians 2:13). A peace that can never be disturbed (John 14:27). A righteousness that can never be tarnished (2 Corinthians 5:21). A salvation that can never be canceled (Hebrews 5:9). F.E. Marsh. One morning R.C. Chapman, a devout Christian, was asked how he was feeling. "I'm burdened this morning!" was his reply. But his happy countenance contradicted his words. So the questioner exclaimed in surprise, "Are you really burdened, Mr. Chapman?" "Yes, but it's a wonderful burden--it's an overabundance of blessings for which I cannot find enough time or words to express my gratitude!" Seeing the puzzled look on the face of his friend, Chapman added with a smile, "I am referring to Psalm 68:19, which fully describes my condition. In that verse the Father in heaven reminds us that He 'daily loads us with benefits.'" Source Unknown. Amen. Extra illustration…… Historically, God has always worked with people, and through people, to get things done in the world. Remember, please, that it was with the food the disciples brought to Jesus that he fed the multitude. And he didn't feed them, really; it was the disciples who did that; it was from their hands those people received that food that day. It is the way of God to use human instrumentality to accomplish his purpose. Perhaps he could by-pass the human instrumentality and get his work done without the participation of his people, but he rarely does, if ever. A story has long been told concerning a country preacher who came upon a member of his parish working in his newly-made garden alongside the road. With an air of great piousness, the preacher said, "Brother William, you ought to be very grateful to God for all the beautiful tomatoes and potatoes and beans the Lord will give you in your garden this year." Glancing up and down along neat rows of planted vegetables, Brother William slowly replied, "Yes, Parson, I suppose so, but, you know, you really should have seen this patch of ground last year when the Lord had it all by himself." Leonard W. Mann, Life-Size Living, CSS Publishing Company Children’s Sermon…… Some Things Money Can Buy, For Everything Else There's Grace by Brett Blair Passage: Isaiah 55:1-13 • Lectionary: Proper 13 Item 2 of 2 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: God's gift of mercy is given without cost. Props: Give everyone a nickel, a dime, or a quarter. The money should work out so that the children can make the first two purchases. Additional props: Can of Sprite, a toy from a gumball machine (e.g. small deck of cards or one of those gooey toys-leave the toy in the container), a freshly cut tree branch that is budding, and a communion chalice. Optional: A small table to set the objects on while they are being sold. Lesson: Good morning. (response) How much money do you have on you this morning?(response) Everyone dig in your pocket count your money and tell me how much you've got.(response) That's not a lot. Let me give you some more. Give everyone a dime. Ok, I am the store and I brought some things with me to sell but now I don't know if you can afford them. The first thing for sell this morning is this. What is it? (can of sprite) How much is a can of sprite? (fifty cents) Does anyone have enough? (response) If no one has fifty cents suggest that some of them team up to buy it. Here is a hard question for you: Why is that can of sprite worth fifty cents? (response) The second thing for sell this morning is this. What is it? (small deck of cards) How much is the small deck of cards? (fifty cents) Does any body else have enough? (response) Suggest again that some of them team up to buy it. Why is the small deck of cards worth fifty cents?(response) The third thing for sell this morning is... What is this? (a stick) What is it worth? (nothing, it's a stick) Ok, now look a little closer. What's on the ends? (buds) What do those buds mean?(getting close to summer) It means spring is almost here. In fact this Tuesday is the first day of Spring. Now I would like to sell spring to you. How much is Spring worth? (you can't sell spring) Why not? (response) Place the chalice on the table The last thing for sell this morning is God's forgiveness. How much is God's forgiveness worth? (response) I can't sell God's forgiveness either? (response)Why not? (response) Application: You are right. And the Old Testament book of Isaiah tells us that there are things money can buy but for everything else hold up the branch there is grace. We can't buy Spring but we can enjoy it because God gives it to us. We can't buy God's Forgiveness but we can receive it because God in his mercy gives it to us. Let's Pray: Lord, we thank you for all kindness and mercy you show us. And, we thank you that there is no cost for them. They are worth more than we could pay! Amen. OT Children's Sermons, Brett Blair, ChristianGlobe Network, 2001, 0-0000-0000-1