Living the Faith We have Inherited

October 2, 2022 World Communion Sunday 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Living the Faith we have Inherited 17th Sunday after Pentecost Opening Song Welcome The promises of the world turn to ashes and dust, but the promises of God last forever. The Holy One calls to us: “Come!” We come to rekindle the gift of God ablaze within us. Opening Prayer (Lamentations 1, 2 Timothy 1) Source of grace and peace, you call us into being; you keep us in safety; you hold us in life. Far too often, we turn from you, placing our trust in the frail promises of other human beings and the insecure security of wealth. Be with us now. Bring us into your presence. Comfort our pain. Challenge our pride. Enter into our prayer and our praise, that our worship may be pleasing to you. We pray these things in the name of the one who loved us first, Jesus Christ. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Mpho Tutu) Song Standing on the Promises UMH 374 Children’s Sermon Preparation Bring a globe or a world map. Choose some places where you have lived or visited or where you know someone. Prepare to locate and talk about these places. If you have a souvenir from another country, it may be fun to bring that to show to the children as well. Message Greet the children as you typically do. Say: I have brought something special for us to look at today. Does anyone know what this is? Take time for them to answer. Say: A map or a globe shows where all the countries are in the world are. Show the children where they are on the map. Ask: Has anyone here traveled to another country? Take time to find where the children have been. If the children have not been outside of the United States, ask about countries they might want to visit and why. You can also talk about one or two places you have visited and show them souvenirs. Say: Today is World Communion Sunday. Today we remember that God’s church isn’t just here inside our sanctuary. It is full of people from all around the United States and all around our world. We all do God’s work together! Each of us has something we can do to show God’s love to the world. Ask: What are some things that you can do? Take some answers. Say: No matter how big or small we are, we can all show God’s love. Just think about all the people around the world showing God’s love! Closing Prayer Loving God, thank you for big church full of your people from all over the world! Give us courage to show your love to everyone we meet. Amen. (ResourceUMC.org) Passing the Peace of Christ (2 Timothy 1) Hear the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” The peace of Christ is ours, through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Scripture 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Sermon Living the Faith we have Inherited Is there anything God can't do? It's a question that has been asked for as long as humanity has been searching for the meaning of life. God is omnipotent, we say, and omniscient ” all powerful and all knowing. There is nothing beyond God's power. There is nothing God cannot do. And yet, St. Paul tells us that there IS one thing God can't do. Listen closely to these words that he wrote to Timothy: "If we are faithless, He remains true, for He cannot deny Himself." Did you catch that? "He cannot deny Himself." There it is ” the one thing God cannot do. If you are ever on a television quiz show and the announcer says, "Now, for $1 million, is there anything God cannot do?" you will know the answer. "I've got it! I've got it!" you can scream while you hug your partner and dance across the stage. "What is the answer?" the announcer will ask. And you can look straight into the camera and reply, "God cannot deny Himself." Our task in life, is to be more like God. Our faith is the story of our striving to be connected to God. C.S. Lewis was an English professor, a prolific writer, and a lay leader in the Anglican church. We are familiar with many of his writings. Many which are secular, but with an intentional deep Christian message. The Screwtape Letters was one if his books. Like the books of Timothy – it is a series of letters written by the chief devil, Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood. Who as a young man, has just started his career as a devil. If there is a hierarchy of angels going up, there is a lowarchy of devils going down. Wormwood is troubled, because he finds that it is particularly hard to evangelize Christians to the dark side. There is one that his is working on, which he calls the patient. In one of his letters, Screwtape reminds Wormwood that his job is not to get the patient to commit some horrible sin, but to just distract him from his faith. Help him to forget to pray, to go to church, to put God first in his life. MY DEAR WORMWOOD, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian. Do not indulge the hope that you will escape the usual penalties; indeed, in your better moments, I trust you would hardly even wish to do so. In the meantime we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a I brief sojourn in the Enemy's camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favour. One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. (From the Screwtape Letters) This is written from the perspective of the devil, the enemy is God. In the preface of the book, C S Lewis says that the devil is always a liar and that nothing that he says is right. It is the exact opposite of what Paul says to Timothy in our scripture. Paul is encouraging Timothy to live in the faith. The letter is passed on to encourage pastors. 1 Timothy is a book about the order of the church. As we begin 2 Timothy – the emphasis is on personal faith – the way we live out the faith in our own lives. It is not just for pastors, but for us all. If we have the faith in our hearts, we are carriers of the faith and we are leaders. There is one thing that Paul and Screwtape agree on – that our faith connected to God is our power. The power that raised Christ from the dead is inside of each of us – if we hold onto the faith. Paul is writing Timothy from prison. But he reminds Timothy that his words are free – the gospel travels wherever it must go and it changes lives and it makes it point no matter what the circumstance. Paul reminds Timothy that he inherited his faith from his mother and grandmother. We don’t know about the circumstance, but Eunice raises her son Timothy alone. Eunice stays with her mother, and they make sure that Timothy grows up in the church. No matter what our story, each of us inherited our faith from someone, even if we didn’t grow up in the church. There was someone in our lives, who even if we never heard a bible story, we knew what it meant to be a Christian from their actions. We could see the spirit of Christ in them. For me, that person is my Aunt Maggie. When my mother and I moved from Arkansas to Illinois, we stayed with Uncle Chester and Aunt Maggie. My grandmother came with us for a while. As a two year old, Aunt Maggie explained that there were a lot of adults in the house, but that she was my person. I listened only to her, I went where she went. We were a team. Every Sunday we went to church. Not everyone in the household went to church every Sunday, but we were there. My uncle was a deacon, so he would be in the pulpit every Sunday. My mother and I moved out a year later, and my mother was not a church goer, but that experience still sticks with me. I had the strength to be in the pulpit every Sunday, because that’s where I saw my uncle. Now that I am grown looking back at that experience, I think it was my grandma’s design for me to inherit Aunt Maggie’s faith. Just a few days ago, Aunt Maggie sent me an encouraging message on Facebook. We are of different deniminations, but she still is my faith mentor. The faith that we inherit is longstanding, but it is still powerful, unchained and useful today. The scewtape letters are a classic today – because the devil still works to distract us from our faith. Pauls message in timothy is classic as well. There is power in our faith. And when we put that power to use in the world, we are making a difference. Bruce Larson tells an unusual story about a woman in their congregation who had been feeling for some time that God had given her a special ministry to those who are hospitalized. She loved calling on patients and trying to impart something of God's love through scripture messages, through prayer, through friendship and concern. She began to sense God wanted her to do this on a continuing basis in one of their local hospitals. This is a woman, mind you, with no special training in counseling or pastoral calling. Nevertheless, she presented herself to the administrator of a local hospital one morning and declared that she would very much like to come on staff as their chaplain--unpaid, of course. To her amazement, he responded positively. "That's just what we've needed here," he said. "I've been hoping we could find our way to make a chaplain available in an unofficial kind of role. You're on." That all happened over ten years ago. This woman now spends several days a week doing what she loves most, ministering to the sick. This untrained layperson is the hospital chaplain, the only one they've got, and an unofficial but integral part of all staff meetings. (3) You may not be able to make the kind of time commitment that this woman made, but God has called every believer to a ministry. It may be a ministry of caring, of music, of teaching or a host of other ways of serving God and serving God's children. But an integral part of living a fulfilling life is hearing God's voice in your life and of giving your life to something high and worthwhile. Paul reminds Timothy of his heritage and he reminds him of his high calling. I visited my dentist this week. Of all the rooms available he always puts me in this bright Tennessee orange room with a plaque on the wall that reads like this: I’d rather a see sermon than hear one any day. I’d rather one should walk with me than merely show the way. The eye is a better pupil, more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing, but example is always clear. And the best of all the preachers are the ones who live their creeds, For to see a good put into action is what everybody needs. God calls all us to have a rekindled spirit, to be an example, to trust in the power of our faith. I want to leave you with the words of our scripture – in a very simple form From Paul, and older preacher to timothy, whom I love very much and whom God loved:I thank God for you every day. I remember everything we did together and look forward to being with you again. I remember how much you love God, just as your mother and grandmother loved God. Because I remember all this, I also remind you that you have a job to do. God has given you the gifts to be a fine leader, and the church has elected you to be its leader. So do not give up. God does not want you to be too cautious about using your gifts. Instead, God fills you with power and love and self control. So use those gifts. Do not be ashamed to stand up for God’s ways. If people tease you, call you rnames, or even push you around, you can take it. Look at me – I am in prison for doing God’s work, but I do not mind. I know God will take care of me even in prison. And I know that God will take care of you. So remember everything you have learned about God’s love and plan for the world. Follow my brave example. And most of all, remember that God’s Holy Spirit lives in you and gives power to do amazing work for God. Amen. Song One Bread, One Body UMH 620 Pastoral Prayer Generous God, it is easy for us to comfortably imagine so many other Christians praying today and receiving the elements of Holy Communion. We like to think of this as a nice event; yet you remind us that when we have received these gifts we are also called to use the strength that they provide to witness to others through acts of reconciling love. This Communion is not a “nice” service, meant for our comfort. It is a challenge for us to truly accept the love of Jesus Christ, who gave to us his body and his blood, that we might be redeemed to do God’s loving will. As we have gathered here this day, bringing our prayer concerns to you, O Lord, help us to remember that you hold each one of us gently and lovingly, offering your healing mercies. Give us courage to be your witnesses, seeking peace in this war-torn world. For we ask this in the name of Jesus the Christ. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment We can teach people that. We can teach people how to be generous. A child by the name of William placed a dollar in the offering plate some months ago with this note attached: “Dear God, I love you much. When I get to heaven I want to love you even more. I want to give you something today and bow down to you forever. Signed, William.” He probably was no more than six years old. With this sense of generosity can you imagine what this fellow may accomplish as an adult; what kind of help he will be for the world when he grows up Moment for Stewardship Invite several folks to bring forward coins or bills from a variety of countries (or use visuals on the screen, or very descriptive language to help identify different currency), as you identify how congregations around the world are receiving an offering this morning. Whether we share kwatcha, francs, pesos or dollars, we are invited to bring an offering today, to support this congregation and our world-wide ministries. (Describe one or two specific outreach ministries which are underwritten by your offering) From the smallest coin to the largest check, every gift is valued, appreciated and will be used to sustain the work of Christ in the world. With generous hearts and open hands, let us share our offering. Prayer of Thanksgiving God of all good gifts, we’ve gathered to grow in faith, to share our voices and to offer our gifts. We’ve offered these gifts, grateful for all we’ve received from your hand. Receive this offering. Fill us once more with your Spirit, and help us spread the Table love known here to all we encounter in the coming days. AMEN Invitation to Communion God creates and sustains our world, connecting us more surely than any world wide web, binding us together more closely than any cable. On this World Communion Sunday, we gather around one extended table to give thanks for the beauty of God’s people, “church,” with all its varied denominations, with people of every color, nation, and culture. Gracias a Dios! We thank God for beautiful music, in various languages. Grazie Dio [Grat-zia Dee-O] (Italian) We offer thanks for worship in many forms. Sin isiyeo gamsahabnida (Korean) (Shin Ni Ye O Gamshab nit ha) We thank God for Jesus, whose compassion fills us, so we might share whenever we see brothers and sisters in need, whether next door or on the other side of the globe. All are welcome at this Table. It extends from this sanctuary all around the globe, and there is bread and juice for all who will feast with Christ. Come! The feast is prepared, and you have a place. Communion Page 13 Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook As God has poured God’s love on you, go now in peace to bring God’s love to all people. Rest in the confidence of God’s abiding presence with you and be joyful in your service to God. Go in peace and love. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Community Time Benediction As we go back into the ordinariness of the world out there, may God infuse our whole selves with the specialness that we’ve created here together. Let it shape everything we say and do as bearers of God’s image. May it be so! (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Phiwa Langini) Additional Illustrations Max Lucado relates a touching, true story about a mother named Maria and her daughter, Christina. Maria and Christina lived in a poor village in Brazil. Maria's husband died when Christina was an infant. Maria got a job as a maid in order to support herself and Christina. There were no luxuries, but they got by. For fifteen years things went rather well. But now Christina became a teenager and teenagers often have minds of their own. Christina was not interested in marrying young and raising a family like most of the other girls that she grew up with. Not that she couldn't have had her pick of husbands. Her olive skin and brown eyes, as well as her infectious personality, kept a steady stream of prospects at her door. But she kept them all at arm's length. Christina wanted to go to the city. She dreamed of trading her dusty neighborhood for exciting avenues and city life. Just the thought of this horrified Maria. "People don't know you there," she said with desperation in her voice. "Jobs are scarce and the life is cruel. And besides, if you went there, what would you do for a living?" This is what horrified Maria most. Maria knew exactly what Christina would have to do for a living. That's why her heart broke when she awoke one morning to find her daughter's bed empty. Christina had gone and Maria knew where. Maria set out immediately to bring her back. Maria threw some clothes in a bag, gathered up all her money, and ran out of the house. But not before she had an inspired idea. On her way to the bus stop she paused at a drugstore. She entered a photograph booth there and spent all the money she could afford on pictures of herself. With a purse full of small black-and-white photos, she boarded the bus to Rio de Janeiro. And there Maria began her search. Knowing what a girl would have to do to support herself in this cruel city Maria began with the bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with a reputation for street walkers or prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her picture ” taped on a bathroom mirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each photo she wrote a note. It wasn't too long before both the money and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. She wept as the bus began its long journey back to her small village. A few weeks later young Christina descended a flight of hotel stairs. "Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet the little village was, in too many ways, too far away. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again, and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina's eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling invitation. Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter. Please come home.' She did." (4) And so can you and I. We really can. And God cannot refuse us entrance back into His family. Perhaps it would help if, in our imagination, every time we see a cross, we could see it as a snapshot of God and on the back of every cross we could see these words, "Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn't matter. Please come home." Human parents may turn their back on their children. God cannot. Human beings may forget their promises and go back on their word. God cannot. Human beings may reject people because of past sins. God cannot. If anyone here this day would turn your heart over to God ” no matter what you've done, no matter what you have become ” God will receive you. God can do no other. For you see, God's nature and God's name is Love. There is one thing God simply cannot do. He cannot deny Himself. 4. Max Lucado, NO WONDER THEY CALL HIM THE SAVIOR (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah Press, 1986). pp. 157-59. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan A juggler with a circus was pulled over for speeding. The officer was suspicious when he looked in the back seat and saw several large knives. "What are you doing with those?" he asked. "I'm a juggler with the circus," said the man. "To make it more exciting I juggle those large knives." "Well, show me," said the officer. So the juggler started juggling six of these large knives all at once. Knives were flying everywhere, though amazingly all of them were expertly under his control. While he was performing, another car passed by. The driver of this car did a double take when he saw the juggler throwing six knives up in the air at one time and catching them. He turned to his wife and said, "That's it. I'm through drinking. Why, if I ever got stopped, I could never pass one of those new sobriety tests!" There's a ridiculous story about a young man who was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him around. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored her and continued on. Finally he went to the checkout line, but this older woman got in front of him. "Pardon me," she said, "I'm sorry if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you look like my son, who just died recently." "I'm very sorry," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?" "Yes," she said, "As I'm leaving, would you say "˜Good bye, Mother!'? It would make me feel so much better." "Sure," answered the young man. As the old woman was leaving, he called out, "Goodbye, Mother!" She waved back at him and disappeared through the supermarket door. As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was $127.50. "How can that be?" he asked, "I only purchased a few things!" The clerk looked over the top of his reading glasses and said drily, "Your mother said that you would pay for her." (1) In a sense we all pay for the strengths and weaknesses of our parents. Usually people of faith, love and integrity produce children of faith, love and integrity. As people use to say, "the fruit doesn't fall too far from the tree." Penelope J. Stokes in her book Simple Words of Wisdom gives us a beautiful picture of faith in its purest sense. She tells about a scene in the action-packed movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which Indy's quest is to find the Holy Grail, the original chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper. But in order to prove himself pure in heart, Indy must face life-threatening challenges that test his humility, his obedience, and his trust. In the final challenge, Indy finds himself teetering on the brink of a deep, vast chasm. The way across, according to the legends, lies right before him. But he cannot see it. He must step out in faith, with no tangible assurance of support. He must trust what his eyes cannot see. Fearful but determined, Indy steps out . . . and discovers himself standing on a bridge of rock, solid and firm beneath his feet but invisible to the eye. (4) I've stood on that rock, haven't you? Anyone who's ever turned a loved one over to God, anyone who's ever staked his life and his reputation on seeking God's will for his life, anyone who's ever sat in a doctor's room and said, "œLord, I'm scared. But I'm turning this over to you. I know whatever comes I will always be under your watchful care," knows what it is to step out on that unseen bridge. It comes to us all sooner or later and it is there where we discover whether we just believe in God or whether we have faith in God. St. Paul had faith in God. That is why he could write, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Young Timothy proved to have that kind of faith as well. Maybe it was because he saw that kind of faith in his mother and grandmother. In times of crisis the greatest gift we can give our children is the example of a peaceful, trusting spirit. Maybe it came from Timothy's sense of calling. When you believe you are seeking to do God's will in the world, you begin to sense God's presence in the world. And it gives you confidence that God is indeed in control. Whatever the source, Timothy was a special follower of our Lord. May we each be special followers as well. ________________________________________ 3. Bruce Larson, The Presence (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1988), p. 30. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan An army officer, his wife, and two children were living in a hotel while he was on a temporary military assignment. One day, a guest in the hotel saw one of the little girls playing house in the lobby. She was saddened for the little girl and said, I’m so sorry that you don’t have a home. The little girl responded quickly, oh we have a home, we don’t have a house to put it in. This is Mother’s Day and the festival of the Christian home and I want to talk about that word of the little girl. But I want to add to it and talk about the fact that families are to provide for us a house for our home and a home for our faith Not only do we know who we are, we need to know that we belong. Hoover Rupert tells a beautiful story about some friends of his who were foster parents of a little girl. One afternoon she asked her mother if she could go play in the park, and the mother told her she could if she would return home by 6:00 for dinner. Well, she came in at a quarter of 6, and the mother reminded her that she still had 15 more minutes to play. And the little girl responded, I know, but I wanted to come back early. And then the little girl explained that her natural parents never required her to come home at any particular time, she could home whenever she pleased. When she was playing with other children, she said, one of them would be called, would hear her mother call and know that she had to be home by 7:00. Another would hear a whistle and know that it was his dad reminding him to come home. And still others would be called and they would leave the park and she would be left there alone in the dark, waiting for her call, but that call would never come. She said, it makes me feel so good that someone wants me to come in, that I came in early. Now that’s what families are for. To let us know that we are wanted, that we are important, that somebody cares about us. Something that really only the family can give us in the kind of power that we need it to be given, and that is that we really belong, that we are in a relationship with others that are important.

What's Inside

March 22, 2020 1 Samuel 16:1-13 What’s Inside 4th Sunday of Lent Year A Children’s Sermon Object: Box of chocolates with mixed fillings and Card stock printed with 1 Samuel 16 (reference only) (Open the box of chocolate. Take one out, bite it, and announce its filling. Take out a second piece of chocolate, bite it, and announce its filling.) These pieces of chocolate are very good! From the outside, they very much alike, but when you bite into them, you find out that they are very different. Without the map that sometimes comes with the box, you have to break or bite the chocolate to know what’s inside. Sometimes we judge people by how they look on the outside, but a story in the Bible lets us know that God looks at us differently. (Hold up the card stock with 1 Samuel 16 printed on it.) In 1 Samuel, chapter 16, God told Samuel, his prophet, to anoint a new king for Israel. Anointing is an old practice that involved pouring oil onto the head of a person chosen for a special job. God sent Samuel to the town of Bethlehem, where he was to meet a man named Jesse. Jesse didn’t know it yet, but one of his eight sons was going to be chosen as the next king. So Samuel came to town, and Jesse called together his sons. First, Samuel met Eliab. The Bible doesn’t tell us what Eliab looked like, but Samuel was impressed. After seeing Eliab, Samuel thought that he must be the next king. But do you know what God said? In verse 7, God said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Samuel looked at Eliab on the outside and was sure that he would be the next king, but God told Samuel that he was looking at our hearts. Finally, Samuel met David. David was the youngest. Usually, the Bible doesn’t say much about the way a person looks, but in this case, it does give us some clues. The middle part of verse 12 says, “Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.” Do you know what ruddy means? It means “red.” We don’t know if verse 12 means that David had red hair or if he had a reddish complexion from being out in the sun while he was watching the sheep, but the Bible says that he was ruddy and handsome. The Bible doesn’t say this, but it’s possible that David was short. Remember that in verse 7, God told Samuel not to consider Eliab’s height. Saul, the first king of Israel, was tall, so Samuel and the other people might have expected another tall man to be the new king. When Samuel saw David, he probably thought, “He’s young, he’s short, and he smells like the sheep he watches all day. He couldn’t possibly be the next king.” But remember what else God said in verse 7. God looks at our hearts, not our faces or our heights or anything else on the outside. God knew that David loved him very much and that David was the best choice for the new king. So God told Samuel to anoint David. Stewardship Moment When Alaska experienced a terrible earthquake a couple decades ago, the governor’s wife said that she had received many letters and phone calls asking her to help people’s relatives and friends. She also received many offers of help. But she received one letter she won’t forget. It was from a ten-year-old boy from Bemidji, Minnesota, who sent her two nickels. He said he hoped it would help some of the suffering the quake had caused. In a postscript to his letter he had written these words: "P.S. If you need more, please let me know." scripture 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Common English Bible (CEB) Samuel anoints David 16 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found[a] my next king among his sons.” 2 “How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!” “Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked. 5 “Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well. 6 When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the LORD’s anointed right in front. 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God[b] doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.” 8 Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one.” 10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t picked any of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?” “There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.”[c] 12 So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The LORD said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The LORD’s spirit came over David from that point forward. Then Samuel left and went to Ramah. Footnotes: a. 1 Samuel 16:1 Or seen b. 1 Samuel 16:7 LXX; MT lacks God. c. 1 Samuel 16:11 MT; LXX we won’t sit down (that is, to eat) Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon Speaking of Facebook, there was a facebook post that said, when I decided to give up something for lent, I wasn’t planning on giving up quite this much. Lent, the season of preparation for Easter, now there is a concept. It seems like so much has happen since the beginning of lent. This is the fourth Sunday of lent. There are some years, where I get to do lent, and then there are years like this where lent does me. Lent is definitely doing me this year. It seems like the whole world has changed, every day there is a new development in this coronavirus pandemic. In the next few moments, I am going to invite us to put all of that stuff aside, and get back to the lent at hand. Let us focus, and think – where do we find God in the midst of all of the things going on in the world. And how do we continue in our busy lives to develop a relationship with God. Our scripture for today is an invitation for us to look at David as an example of someone with an awesome relationship with God. Whatever David did in life, whereever he was – he always stayed in touch with God. He found God in every circumstance. The stories of David are some of the most lively in the bible. David was the king of Israel, but he was also a father, a husband, a sinner, a child of God – given a purpose in life. There are many stories of David, - David and Goliath, David and Bathesheba, David and Jonothan, David and Saul. The psalms are David’s writings about how we went through life and hound God in the good and the bad. Our scripture is the story of how David was chosen and anointed by God. – God must have know all along that God wanted David to be king. But it was not obvious to Samuel the prophet. He sets out on a journey to Bethlehem. He does not know who he is looking for. And since Saul was tall, and strong, he assumed that the new king would be also. When he went to the house of Jesse, the father of 7 sons, Saul assumed that the oldest would be God’s choice, or at least the second or even third choice. Michael Jordan was actually not the first choice of the bulls, ot even the second, but the third choice – but I am sure they picked him, even though he wasn’t the first choice. Our ways are not God’s ways – we look at outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Sometimes God does not look for A people, or even B people. God looks for C people – ordinary people who are committed, consecrated and compassionate. God chose David because he was humble, good hearted and filled with the Holy Spirit. When we look at people how do we judge them worthy? What do we look for? What God Sees In the midst of our Lenten journey, God doesn't see us as everyone else sees us. People around us may see us as cool, successful, unattractive, popular, old, whatever. It doesn't matter at all how others may see us. God sees our hearts, sees us as we really are. Perhaps we wish we had him fooled, like those we've led to believe that we're less frightened, more confident, happier than we really are. Or perhaps we're deeply grateful that God sees through all the shallow, negative judgments which so many people have placed on us. Probably it's both. Our Lord, to our joy and to our sorrow, looks into our hearts and sees us as we really are. In Lent, that's a call for introspection: to confess that we have not loved our Lord with our whole hearts, nor loved our neighbors as ourselves. In Lent, it's especially important that we confess our sinfulness as specifically as we're able. In what ways have we failed God and ourselves? Because we can't hide from God, we dare not use all our usual ways to avoid our sinfulness. We're used to denying our sins, minimizing them, excusing them, blaming them on others. This Lent, let's examine ourselves, asking God to search our hearts. We benefit from naming our sins, our needs, and losses, and failings. And we admit to God that only by his grace and guidance can we find healing and help. G. Edward Whetstone, Caught in the Acts, CSS Publishing When we look at people it is important that we look at them as God sees them, not as we see them. God sees the inner heart. That makes all of the difference in the world. Jim Eaton, looks back on his life and remembers being in high school in 1965. His family moved around a lot so as Freshman, he was a little insecure. Until they moved to small town in Michigan. His English teacher was Mrs. Sonnebonne. He remembers her as a short lady who always wore high heals, but she had a spunky personality. Everyone’s desk was arranged in a circle. And everyone, the boys and girls has long hair. It was important for Mrs. Sonnebonne to look you in the eye, if your hair was in your face, she would take a hair clip and pin it back so she could see you. It only took one time for the students to get the point. One of their assignments was to rewrite a fairy talk. This student took that task seriously, and wrote a play. Not only did he get an A – the teacher had students in the class perform the play. After class, she had the student stay after. She said to him, Jim I didn’t know who you were until today – not I know that you are truly a writer. Those words meant the world to a young insecure man looking for identity. That was who he became from that day forward – writer - he went on to write several more plays for Mrs. Sonnebonne’s class. He continued to write, he still writes for the church as an adult. He will always be grateful – that teacher gave him a very special gift – the gift of himself. The Lord sent Samuel into a small desert town – to anoint a king. I small, insecure you shepdherd boy became the king of Israel. When Samuel anointed David, he gave David the gift of himself – a man after God’s own heart – and he lived that role for the rest of his life. How does God see you? What gift of self has God given you, how are you using it? We cant’ love anyone else until we love ourselves as God loves us. We cant give to others that we have not given ourselves, we cant see the gift of light in others, unless we see the light within ourselves. In the mist of the chaos and confusion – get back to finding God in every person and every situation – especially within ourselves. That is God’s gift to each of us. Let us pray….. Amen. Take a moment to remember God’s grace as we listen. Not go forth. Additional illustrations Humor: It's The Blind Man Mrs. Smith was stark-naked and just about to step into the shower when the doorbell rang. She hollered, "Who is it?" He shouted back, "It's the blind man." She figured it was safe, so she opened the door. He looked at her in shock and asked, "Where do you want me to hang these blinds, lady?" Ann Landers, The Washington Post, October 13, 1998. Years ago, there was a story of a candidate for Congress who never missed an opportunity to go after a vote. Just before election time, he would tear all around his district getting acquainted and passing out campaign brochures. On one occasion, he walked into a backyard where a little girl happened to be milking a cow. As usual, he introduced himself and explained that he was running for Congress. Just then the mother stuck her head out the back door and called, "Mary, who is that fellow you're talking to?" Mary explained that the visitor was a man running for Congress. "You come right in the house," commanded the mother, with great concern in her voice. And then as an afterthought, she added, "And if that fellow is a politician, bring the cow in with you." Politics, politics - vote when the time comes, but do it as properly as you can. Not on the basis of simple partisan politics, not on the basis of pure self-interest, and not on the basis of image. Paul makes it clear that, whether we are voting or doing anything else, as Christians we should "do it as unto the Lord." Wilma, 20th of 22 children, suffered from polio as a very young child. By age six, Wilma had also survived double pneumonia, scarlet fever, and whooping cough. She was frail and weak, often needing assistance to accomplish even the smallest tasks at home or school. Based only on her outward appearance, Wilma was destined for a life of poverty, dependence, and frustration. However, Wilma had a fierce determination to overcome this crippling illness. Through grueling exercises and relentless discipline, Wilma not only began to walk, she started to run. Then Wilma not only ran, she ran fast, faster than anyone in her school. The little girl with frail legs and a fragile body had become a young woman with a powerful body and a courageous heart. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Wilma Rudolph didn’t just run, she sprinted her way to three Olympic gold medals: for the 100 and 200 meter dashes and as anchor in the 400 meter relay. “The Lord does not see what mortals see… the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Second, our scripture lesson reminds us that the Lord’s presence and power are deep inside our own hearts. Few, if any of us, will become great world leaders like David or Olympic champions like Wilma Rudolph. Nevertheless, it is the Lord’s power within us that prepares us to enter the new and challenging spaces that lie just before us. The world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, were on a camping trip. They were in their sleeping bags looking up at the sky. Holmes said, "Watson, look up. What do you see?" Watson answered, "Well, I see thousands of stars." "And what does that mean to you?" Holmes inquired. "Well," said Watson, "I guess it means we will have another nice day tomorrow." Watson paused for a moment and then asked, "What does it mean to you, Holmes?" "To me," said Holmes somberly, "it means someone has stolen our tent." This world is governed by "C" people - not "the best and the brightest" only, but the committed, the consecrated, and the compassionate. In scriptures you find over and over again that "C" people also prevail. Indeed, God chooses ordinary people to achieve extraordinary tasks. The things we say we'll never do - "It's not in me" - become the very things God's grace leads us into. God gives us the resources we need at the time we need them.

God Calls Everyone - repreach of 8/27/10

August 25, 2019 (repreach of 8/27/10) God Calls Everyone Year C Jeremiah 1:4-10 15th Sunday after Pentecost Children’s Time Text: Jeremiah 1:4-7 The word of the Lord came to me saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak, I am only a child." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I commend you." Materials: There are no materials required; however this sermon has been designed for presentation by two people (designated I and II), if desired. Message: I. Today we are going to talk about the things we do as we start to get older. We thought we would start by asking how old all of you are. II. That's right. When I say your age I want you to raise your hand. We are going to start with the youngest ... How many of you are three years old? How many are four or five years old? Is anyone here six years old? And how many of you are seven years old or even older than that? I. You were all really great at that. Before we move along I want you to take a close look at each of us and tell us how old you think we might be. (Encourage numerous guesses, but, of course, there is no need to disclose ages.) II. One of the things we all know is that as you become older you get to do more and more things. When you were a baby you slept in a crib, but now you have a bed. Your moms and dads used to push you in a carriage, but now you can ride a tricycle or a bike. And it won't be too long before you all start to go to school. I. And as you get even older, you will do even more things in grade you will begin to take communion. And when you reach grade you will be confirmed. And when you get to be sixteen you can even start driving your parents' car! II. So the bigger you become the more you get to do. But we were wondering how old you need to start telling other people about how great Jesus is. Do you have to be ten or fifteen or even a grown up before you can talk to people about God? I. Not at all! In fact the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament tells us that God chose Jeremiah to tell people about God when he was only a young boy. And each of us can do the same! CSS Publishing Company, FROM A MUSTARD SEED, by Mark A. Hultquist Jeremiah 1:4-10 Common English Bible (CEB) Call of Jeremiah 4 The LORD’s word came to me: 5 “Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I made you a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Ah, LORD God,” I said, “I don’t know how to speak because I’m only a child.” 7 The LORD responded, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a child.’ Where I send you, you must go; what I tell you, you must say. 8 Don’t be afraid of them, because I’m with you to rescue you,” declares the LORD. 9 Then the LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, “I’m putting my words in your mouth. 10 This very day I appoint you over nations and empires, to dig up and pull down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Our Creativity as a child Gordon McKenzie worked for the Hallmark company for over 30 years, one of his ways of giving back to the community was to go into the schools and to give creativity workshops. Over the years he says that he noticed a pattern that never seemed to change. He would work with the first graders and ask who was an artist – and every hand would go up. He would go to the second grade and notice that when he asked that same question, only about half of the kids would raise their hands – by third grade it was down to ten, and in the six grade only about 2 would be brave enough to raise their hand just because they asked.
I would think that there is just something about life, about peer pressure, about the way we relate to one another that holds down our creativity. Once we start to get rational an dto think- we also start to limit ourselves and our opportunities. We start to think that we have an obligation to do somethings, so we put aside that creative side, that exciting side of ourselves, the side that is willing to take risk and to step out of our comfort zone.
Because that spirit of stifliness is not just in the schools – it is in the church. If I were to ask you all how many of you are called by god – I would get the same response. We have made up in our minds that those words mean something specific, and whatever it means it does not apply to me How many of you feel that you have a calling from god on your life? Every hand in the room should go up- but it doesn’t for some reason. Why is that?
Mr Makenzie concluded that there was a time in our lifes, perhaps when we were very young when each of us believed that we could do anything. We were geniouses at everything and we were not afraid to show it. We were also not afraid to be wrong, to make a mistake, for someone to tell us that we did not know what we were talking about. We were willing to take risk at what we wanted to believe we were called to do. But something happened in life.
He said that were were waiting for the authority figures in our lives to validate us – to tell us that we were the best, that we could indeed make our dreams come true – and for some reason the validation never came- no one cared, no one patted us on the back and we gave up on our dreams. We assumed that maybe we were not a geniious, and that perhaps the world did not need us – and we gave up on our call. That is devastating for that to happen to anyone in the schools – and perhaps that is a wonderful back to school message to think of as our children go back to school – to do everything that we can to encourage them, to tell them that they are genious – and that the world does indeed need them. We need to give all of the opportunities that we can to express their creativity and their willingness to grow and to learn.
We need to do that in the schools and in the homes, but more importantly we need to do it in the churches Our calling in the church – where else can you encourage a relationship with the divine, the unknown, the new, the ultimate creator. Where else do we get our inspiration to do anything in the world, if we don’t get it from God. Where else do we get our instructions from God to go out into the world and do anything – unless it comes from God? That’s what I want to talk about this morning – is being called by God – exactly what does that mean anyway? What special qualities do you have to have in order to have that relationship with God? What qualities do we need in order to do the special work of God – to perhaps be a prophet? Jeremiah the prophet Jeremiah was a prophet of god – I like him the best, because he seems to be the most grounded. Prophets did a lot of strange things in order to get the attention of the people – hosea gave his kids strange names like – bad luck or something really unfortunate, Isaiah was willing to die by being stretched apart, amos constantly criticized the government. People even criticized John the Baptist for wearing strange clothes. Jeremiah got the attention of others, by living with them, by addressing the issues of his time, and by giving hope to the people. I mentioned a few weeks ago that jeremiah considered himself to be a prophet of the people, his message was not to the leaders, but not the people, it was not his job to preach gloom and doom to a sinful people who did not listen – but to preach walk with a people in trouble an distress and to give them hope by encouraging them to stand strong until things changed. Most prophets were concerned with only saving the chosen people. Jeremiah realized that in order to save them, that he had to save everybody – he reached out to the rest of the world. Many of the prophets and others talk about how they came to be “called” by god – how god gave them a special task to reach out. Many didn’t start thier jobs until they became adults, some as children, only jerimiah says that his story started way before he was born. That his relationship with god started with god, and not with his awareness that there was a god. We will be able to read and listen to what jerimiah has to say to the people of god for the next nine weeks. But today, we start with chapter 1 – how he came to have this special relationship. He didn’t do anything t was given to him.
He talks of being that young boy – full of ideas and creativity waiting for an adult to validate his call – he talks of being too young to really make a difference in the world. He also talks of god’s response to him and his need and his fear – that he was not to be afraid of what people would say to him, how they would shoot him down and tell him that he was too young to make a difference. God says that if I give you something to do you are not too young to do it, as a matter of fact- you have an obligation to listen and to respond God calls all of us to do something. We have a calling to do something – to be a prophet, or a writer, or a teacher, or a carpenter, a bus driver, or a preacher or something to further the world and the kingdom of God. But as Christians, we also have a calling to be something in the world – something that the world needs. A doctor speaks of god calling him to be a plastic surgeon, why a plastic surgeon – changing your appearance, what does that have to do with building the kingdom ? most of his clients could care less about God. But he was also called to pray and to start prayer groups for those who worked in the hospital and to reach out to other plactice surgeons to encourage them to live a life of faith. In his call to be a faithful Christian in the workplace – he made a difference in the lives of others.
To be called could mean doing a specifc job, but it can also be to respond in a Christian way to life, it can be to encourage and support others in what they are trying to do, most importantly it means being willing to listen to God at all times in all circumstances. That is our biggest and more important calling – to obedient to the will of God.
And we are all a part of that. Everydbody is called, not everyone has the ears to listen attentively. If we listen, we may not get that validation from the world – but we always get it from god. The call of Willie Borden The borden family is from Chicago – the company that makes milk and other products. I do believe that the factory is on the Westside. But anyway – William borden was being groomed to take over the family fortune. He worked hard, he went to school, and a graduation present was a trip around the world. But as he went around the world and learned the conditions of most of the people in the world – he wrote a letter to his parent explaining that god was leading him to be a missionary to those in need. He wrote two words in his bible – no reserves. Through prayer he realized that he wanted to go to china to work with people there. His parents convinced him to go to graduate school and get more aeducation – he went to yale and started several bible studies. He was offered several high paying positions, but turned them down. He needed to in china - he wrote in his bible – no retreats – and he left.
He went to china, he also went to the middle east to learn Arabic to talk with the muslims. A few months later he contracted spinal meningitis. He died from it at age 25 – a few months before is death he wrote in his bible – no regrets. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. That was his answer to gods call in his life. What are your responses to gods call on your life? The question is not have you been called, the question is are you listening? Jeremiah want us to know that the need to be creative starts way before we are in the first grade.- it starts before you were born, it starts in the circumstances that you were born into, it starts in your willingness to listen and to say yes. The good news is that when god calls, he commissions – he tells us what we have to do and why – he tells us what we are up against and what we have to overcome. We are also always given validation – an assurance that you can do this, an assurance that others recognize gods call in you. A test that in the midst of circumstance, your work will not be in vain. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. So what is it that you need to do now? Let is pray…..Amen.