The Ram in the Bush

June 28, 2026 Genesis 22:1-14 The Ram in the Bush 5th Sunday After Pentecost Year A Prelude Greeting Call to Worship When our way seems unclear, and we are surrounded by loud and conflicting voices… God will provide. When we, like Abraham, are trying to be faithful and seem to have no good choices available to us… God will provide. When we, like Isaac, are led by those we trust into unjust and harmful situations… God will provide. Family in Christ, we gather today to worship God, who meets us in places of fear, confusion, and despair. We gather to worship God, who provides a way toward abundant life when no way can be found. Thanks be to God! Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, January 2026. Opening Prayer Lord, the hearts of all turn to You in hope; and You give them what they need. You open Your hand and satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. We, too, turn to You again, longing to be filled— to eat of the Bread of Life, to drink from Your life-giving streams, to taste Your goodness and live. May the time we spend together in Your presence nourish our hearts and minds; may it strengthen our relationship with You, and renew our commitment to live in this world as Your faithful disciples. For You alone are God, the Source and Sustainer of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Written by Christine Longhurst at the re:Worship blog, https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/07/opening-prayer-feed-us-lord.html. Song Rock of Ages, Cleft for me UMH 361 A Sermon for all Ages Children's Sermon: "God Loves to Hear You Laugh" Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14 Object: A smiling face emoji, a toy that giggles, or simply your own laughter. Good morning, boys and girls! I have a question for you. What makes you laugh? (Let the children answer: funny jokes, tickling, pets, brothers and sisters, cartoons, etc.) I love hearing children laugh. When children laugh, everyone around them smiles too. Laughter is one of God's wonderful gifts. Today we heard a Bible story about Abraham and his son Isaac. It is a story that can sound a little scary, but it also reminds us of something very important. God loved Isaac very much, and God made sure that Isaac was safe. God never stopped caring for him. Do you know something else about Isaac? His name means "he laughs" or "laughter." Before Isaac was born, his mother Sarah laughed because she thought she was too old to have a baby. Then, when Isaac was finally born, that laughter became laughter of joy! Every time Abraham and Sarah called Isaac's name, it reminded them that God had brought happiness into their lives. So even in today's difficult story, we remember who Isaac is—a beloved child whose very name reminds us of joy and laughter. God wants children to be loved, protected, and encouraged. Every one of you is precious to God. God has given you parents, grandparents, teachers, church members, and friends to help you grow strong, kind, and faithful. You know what else encouragement does? It helps people laugh! When someone tells you, "Great job!" or "I'm proud of you!" or "You can do it!" it makes your heart feel lighter. It helps you smile. Can you think of someone who encourages you? (Allow a few responses.) Now here's another question. Can you encourage someone else? Maybe you can tell a friend, "You're doing great!" Maybe you can thank your parents. Maybe you can make someone who's feeling sad smile or laugh today. When we encourage one another, we share God's love. So every time you laugh this week, remember Isaac. His name means "laughter," and it reminds us that God loves children, delights in their joy, and surrounds them with people who care for them. Let's try something together. On the count of three, everyone give your biggest smile... and then your happiest laugh! (Count to three and laugh together.) That's a wonderful sound! I think God loves hearing children laugh. Let us pray. Dear God, thank You for loving every child. Thank You for giving us families, friends, and our church to encourage us. Help us to make others smile, to share kindness wherever we go, and to remember that Your love fills our hearts with joy. Thank You for the gift of laughter. In Jesus' name, Amen. Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas Give us O Lord, steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thought can drag downward, unconquered hearts, which no tribulation can wear out, upright hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Saint Thomas, Italy, 13th Century) Passing of the Peace Scripture Genesis 22:1-14 Sermon The Ram in the Bush Sarah went without a child for over 73 years. When her son was born she named him Isaac – meaning laughter. She wanted to celebrate the joy that he bought to her life. She also remembered her laughter, when God said that she would have a baby at 90. When she thought of the ways that God works and the surprises that come upon us – she couldn’t help but to name the baby Isaac. In your life, what is it that brings you joy? What is it that makes you laugh? We know that for Sarah, it was her baby boy. But we cannot be sure about Abraham. The scripture for last week and for this week- Genesis 21 and 22 are two parts of the 2nd most difficult story in the bible. These two chapters are the stories of how Abraham tried to kill both of his sons and blame it on God. Our scripture for today is the story of a promise given, a promise taken away and a promise restored. In the Hebrew understanding, this story is a sacred story – it called the binding of Isaac, it focuses on the faith of the son Isaac, not the father Abraham. Young Isaac travels with his father, carrying the wood. He asks his father where is the sacrifice. When he sees the knife pointed at him, I bet he also asks why his father is trying to kill him, and how will he ever be able to move on from this and still love his father. The story is important because in the midst of the trauma, it is a story of love – How God saved Isaac. We are Isaac in our lives during those times when our dreams are threatened and God pulls us through. It is our story of hope when the Lord provides. In the story, as Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac, he notices a ram in the bush. And he trusts that God will give him the strength to continue to listen and to follow. In spite of the important lessons, this is strange and confusing. It seems that the people that should have been protecting Isaac, are the people who put him in danger. His mother, his father, and even God cannot be trusted in parenting. Last week It is God who tells Abraham to banish his oldest son, Ishmael. It seems God would rather Ishmael be banished in the desert than put in the family will. And this week it is God who tells Abraham to take his heir, Isaac into the wilderness to be sacrificed. That is not the God that we know. Does God call us to do mean things to people? To hurt innocent children? There are still a lot of people who say that this story was a test of faith. God wanted to see if Abraham would be obedient to an order that he did not agree with. Would Abraham put God’s word above all else, including family. I am not convinced that this is a test, I think it was a moment of discernment. A time to think through what God was really saying. Years ago, Abraham heard to voice of God telling him to step out on faith. God calls us to new places – but very rarely does God give us a road map. We don’t have all of he answers, and we have no idea of what will happen along the way. Sometimes along the way, we may get a clear sign that we are in the right place, but we won’t get a step by step instruction manual. I think Abraham was following God, listening to God, but not always sure of what he heard. At the time, it was pretty common to sacrifice children to the gods. Many people in many cultures believed that sacrificing their children bought them special favor. Child sacrifices were a thing for over 5000 years. It was practiced widely until the 1500’s. I recently heard a sermon that in many ways we still sacrifice our children to a wayward world. Children are exposed to trauma, they are held captive with their parents, they don’t have access to food, shelter and education. In 1965, Bob Dylan wrote a song called Highway 61 – the first verse says Oh God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son” Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on” God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?” God say, “You can do what you want Abe, but The next time you see me comin’ you better run” Well Abe says, “Where do you want this killin’ done?” God says, “Out on Highway 61” In the bible, As Abraham raises a knife in Isaac’s face and angel grabs his hand and says that is not necessary. Isaac probably lived with the vision of that moment for the rest of his life. This story is known as the akedah in Jewish tradition, because this is the moment Abraham realized that God didn’t call parents to sacrifice their children. God did not call people to hurt people. The Hebrews were the first culture in that part of the world to realize that God was not a God of hatred and violence toward children. What could have been a tragedy turned into a moment of grace. The moment where the promise could have disappeared from the world became the moment that the promise lives on today. The promise still lives in the children who make us laugh. I said that this was the 2nd worse story in the whole bible. Can you guess what the worse story is? It is the story of God’s only son being killed on a cross. Isaac was spared, Jesus was killed. Abraham and Isaac travelled 3 days to Mount Moriah, Jesus spen 3 days in a grave. Isaac returned home to his mom and went on with his life. Jesus rose from the dead and changed the life of the whole world. On Friday, Carol Hall and I watched a movie called the Great Awakening. It was how the message that Liberty was a gift from God was spread throughout the colonies. The movie started with a young Benjamin Franklin talking with his dad. He dad explained that he was the tenth child – destined to be a servant of God. His dad didn’t call Benjamin Franklin a sacrifice, he called his a tithe. His dad wanted him to become a preacher, but was willing to support young Benjamin’s dream of becoming a journalist/printer. Andrew Young, former Ambassador to the UN, was talking about his daughter's decision to work in a very dangerous part of Africa. Young said something like, "When we brought her to church and Sunday school, when we had her baptized, we didn't really know that she was going to take all of this religion so seriously! It's sort of scary to realize that you are putting your own child at risk when you bring her to the Lord!" (4) God doesn’t give us a road map to live, but God does give us a glimpse of the future. It unfolds in the eyes of our young people. It unfolds in the moments of grace, it unfolds in the things that make us laugh. When we see God in the situation, we can relax, because we know that God will provide. For twenty-six years my wife was a public school teacher. The last eight years she taught kindergarten in a very tough classroom. She spent more time in social work than she did in school work. It is hard to study even as a little child when you come to school hungry. Her students said to her one day, “Mrs. Olds, you don’t know how lucky you are. You live in a brick house. Bullets won’t go through brick houses. You are a very fortunate person.” On the second day of kindergarten one year, a little boy came up to her and said out of the blue, “Mrs. Olds, why didn’t you come?” And she not knowing what on earth he was talking about, knelt down to him and said, “What do you mean, why didn’t I come?” He said, “Why didn’t you come when my mama died?” She said, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know your mother had died, how did it happen?” He looked up to her and with tears in his eyes said, “Well, everybody knew it, it was on the television. My daddy choked my mama to death. Why didn’t you come?” I can never quite forget the echo of that child’s question in my mind—“Why didn’t you come in my hour of need?” Whatever you do with this story from Genesis, it is no invitation to mistreat children. You see, Isaac trusted his father completely. Can you? Abraham takes all the questions of his young son and answers them with a profound ritual that is repeated throughout this old story. With every question there is this answer: THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. Have you enough faith to proclaim that to your children? The Lord will provide. God will provide faith for the journey. God and Abraham had climbed too many mountains already for him to stop now. And as impossible as it all seems, Abraham gets up early one morning and sets out for Mt. Moriah. Somebody once said that when things get difficult, don’t pray for smaller mountains, just ask for increased climbing ability, because the Lord will go with you when it is difficult. In the end of the story, God is the hero – because God provides. We can be grateful that our understanding of God has evolved over time, and that he sent his Son Jesus to help us to see the meaning of grace clearly. There is a lot that we can get from this story of the binding of Isaac – the promise continues, we can follow even when we don’t have all of the answers, God will provide. GOD WILL PROVIDE AS MUCH HELP AS YOU WILL RECEIVE. So listen carefully, look for grace, trust the God in the process. This is essentially the end of Abraham’s story. Genesis chapter 23 is about the death of Sarah, and chapter 24 is about the death of Abraham and the beginning of Isaac’s family. Before returning home from Mount Moriah, Abraham told his son that they would return to this place, he named the place God will provide. I think I spend most of my life in that place- trusting God to provide. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord Will Provide." Maybe not the way we want. Maybe not the way we desire. But the Lord will provide. The Lord will give life again. Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given to you." But he also said, "Not as the world gives do I give to you." That means, the Lord will provide, but maybe not in the way that we anticipate. But he will provide at some time, and in some place, and in some manner, that we least expect. Maybe like this. James Angell, a Presbyterian minister, was awakened on Saturday night, in the middle of the night, with a phone call. It was the Saturday before Easter. The phone call was the Highway Patrol telling him that his twenty-one year old daughter, Susan, has been killed in an automobile accident. Susan was on her way home. She was going to spend Easter Sunday with her mother and father. She was killed on the way home. With courage and with faith that I can only marvel at, Jim Angell, just a few hours after receiving that news, entered his pulpit on that Sunday morning, and preached on the victory that Christ has given us over death through his Resurrection. Later he wrote a book about those days, a beautiful little book called, O Susan! It is a book that would be a help to other people as they try to make their way through that same dark valley. He said that there is a long period when the loss is almost more than you can bear. It is like you are at the end of the rope, and you have to tie a knot on the end of the rope so that you have something to hold on to. Then, he said, something happens. He warns that it will happen in different ways and at different times to different people. But for him it happened this way. A dear and trusted friend came into his study one day, and talked bluntly to him. He said, "Jim, you've got to face this. For the rest of your life this is a fact that you just have to live with. You can do two things about it. You can use it, use your fresh depth of feeling to make life finer, or you can let it crush you, and go through the rest of your life whimpering. Angell wrote that those words from his friend reminded him of the words of the hymn, "Shun not the struggle, face it. 'Tis God's gift." Not the accident. That's not God's gift. Not the tragedy. Not the sorrow. That's not God's gift. But the grace, the power to use those events to make life deeper and richer, that is the gift. When Jim Angell finally realized that, he let his daughter go, and found his life again. The end of sorrow comes when we can trust that no matter what happens to us, "The Lord will provide." ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by Mark Trotte In recognizing God’s grace, we find God’s laughter. Let’s pray….. Song Faith of our Fathers UMH 710 Pastoral Prayer Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Offertory Prayer Faithful Provider, we bring our gifts with trembling hands and trusting hearts. Like Abraham on the mountain, we don’t always understand the path ahead, but we believe in your promise: that you will provide. We offer these gifts, not as bargains or sacrifices to earn your love, but as signs of our trust in you. Use them, we pray, to bless others—to meet needs, to heal hurts, to build hope. And as you provide for the world through us, keep us faithful to your calling, even when the way is unclear. May our giving be our “Here I am,” ready and willing to serve. In Christ’s name, Amen. (Genesis 22:1-14) (United Methodist Board of Discipleship) Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube Be confident that the Holy One will provide For the promise of God is trustworthy And the presence of God is enduring Therefore, show up in the world With boldness and clarity That justice and righteousness will prevail In the name of Holy Love and Everlasting Peace May it be so for you and through you. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Cheryl Lindsay) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction May God go with you, blessing you with divine provision, making paths where there were none before, and leading you into flourishing in the most impossible of places. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, January 2026. Additional Illustrations A man named Victor Fried, in an essay titled “Too Broken to Be Fixed,” tells of how he grew up as an angry child who lashed out at others. His family had taught him that “if something went wrong, it was always someone else’s fault.” He learned to distrust people. And this distrust resulted in anger and alienation and lashing out at the world. The situation only worsened as Victor became an adult. He says of his mindset at that time, “Finally, you ask yourself the question: Why are so many people out to get me? And the only logical answer is that even God hates you. So, if you were like me, you return the favor and hate God right back. My belief that God hated me grew as the years passed, and I perceived each setback as further evidence that my belief was correct.” One thing that gave his life meaning was his job building custom furniture in a wood shop. One day, Victor spotted a man walking down the street carrying an elegant Queen Anne chair. He recognized it instantly as a valuable antique, and he asked the man if he could have it. It only had a broken rung, and Victor knew he could fix it. The man said, “No.” Then he threw the chair into a Dumpster, permanently breaking its frame and ruining it. This moment reinforced Victor’s belief that people are no good and God didn’t care about him. A year later, Victor’s anger and sadness finally drove him to burn out. He drove down to the Missouri River one icy-cold day with the intent to throw himself into the water and either drown or freeze to death. But as he stood on the riverbank, he suddenly recalled the angry man who had thrown the Queen Anne chair into the Dumpster. And he heard a voice say to him, “If you’re going to throw that away, may I have it?” Victor says he knew it was the voice of God. His lifetime of anger and fighting and broken relationships came to mind. And yet, now he could see how God loved him in spite of all these things. He suddenly understood that God is unconditional love and had loved him throughout his life. And now God was asking Victor to turn his life over to Him. So instead of falling into the icy river, Victor fell to his knees on that riverbank and gave his life to God. This moment was the start of healing a lifetime of anger and loneliness. (2) “If you’re going to throw that away, may I have it?” What do we have to believe about God to commit our entire lives to Him? We have to believe, first of all, in His goodness, in God’s unconditional love for us. If God is love, then God doesn’t want appeasement from us. He wants a relationship with us. If God is love, then His goal is not to leave our wounds and heartbreaks and challenges unredeemed. God’s goal is to work all things together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to God’s purposes (Romans 8:28). But if that’s true, how do we explain the sacrifice God asked Abraham to make? God rarely provides us with a road map for our faith journey. When you commit your life to God, you are taking a leap of faith. You have no idea where God will lead you. You have no idea what sacrifices you may be called to make. Like Jimmy, you don’t have to know what to do; you just have to be ready to do it. What would it take for us to be ready like that? We have to trust in the goodness of God and that God is working out His eternal purposes through our obedience. We will never see the end result of our commitment in this lifetime. We may never see how God works through our sacrifices to bring about His kingdom. But we can trust, as Abraham did, that the Lord who Provides will provide what we need to remain faithful to Him until the day we see God face-to-face. Until then, we will keep our eyes fixed on the cross as our guarantee that God so loved us that He gave His Son, His only Son, that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Both of Abraham’s sons had to go through a “passing of age” ritual. In the chapter before, we read about Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael, through Sarah’s handmaid Hagar, and his desert “christening.” In that story, Abraham is pained for Hagar and Ishmael to be sent off into the desert, presumably to die. But God reassures Abraham and calls upon his faith. Abraham allows for them to be sent away, and God rescues both Hagar and Ishmael from the glaring heat, training Ishmael to be a “leader” of other nations. Ishmael today is known as the father of Arab nations. Abraham had to first sacrifice his son Ishmael to death by desert banishment in faith that God would take it from there. The scriptures tell us that “God dwelt with Ishmael from that time onward.” A farmer was out driving his tractor one day when he rolled onto a stretch of gopher mounds. The earth crumbled beneath one tire and the tractor rolled over on its side. Luckily, the farmer escaped the situation with only a few bruises. He went home and told his wife. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Honey, the Lord sure was with you." The farmer surveyed his bruises and answered, "Well, if He was, He sure got a rough ride." In 1958, America's first commercial jet air service began with the flight of the Boeing 707. A month after that first flight, a traveler on a piston-engine, propeller-driven DC-6 airliner struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. The passenger happened to be a Boeing engineer. The traveler asked the engineer about the new jet aircraft. The engineer was wildly enthusiastic about this new, improved way to travel. He began speaking at length about the extensive testing Boeing had done on the jet engine before bringing it into commercial service. He recounted Boeing's experience with engines, from the B-17 to the B-52. When his traveling companion asked him if he himself had yet flown on the new 707 jet airliner, the engineer replied, "I think I'll wait until it's been in service awhile.'" Even enthusiastic talking about our faith doesn't mean much if we aren't also willing to put our lives where our mouth is. (3) The question for the day is: How much do you trust God? Abraham learned that behind the clouds of uncertainty God awaits. He placed his total trust in God and his trust was not misplaced. My guess is that Abraham was a different person when he descended from the mountain. From that moment on Abraham realized that God would take care of his son, Isaac. From that moment on he realized God would provide whatever was necessary for the fulfillment of His promises. Let us first of all consider this story through the eyes of Isaac. This dream child of Abraham and Sara is raised with love and unusual devotion. His name means laughter and he brings great joy to his parents. His mother even manages to excommunicate Isaac’s half-brother, Ishmael, into the wilderness so that there would be no sibling rivalry. Isaac had it all. When his daddy drags him out of bed before daylight to make this mysterious, frightful trip into the unknown, I can only imagine the kinds of questions that had to be on the young adolescent’s mind. The first question I would have asked is, “Where are we going? It is summer time. Years ago, about this time of the year, I remember loading our two boys into a borrowed station wagon and heading for Florida for a week’s stay in a loaned condominium. We were about 50 miles away from home when the questions started from the back seat. “Are we there yet? How much further? Can we stop now?” That is when our oldest son (back in the days before seat belts) leaned over the back seat and put his arms around my shoulders and said, “Dad, when we get to where we’re going, where will we be?” Inquiring children always want to know. “Is this a camping trip, Dad? Why isn’t Mother coming? How long will we be gone?” Questions like these had to come from Isaac’s lips. Teddy Roosevelt once said, “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.” [2] A pastor was making a wooden trellis to support a climbing vine. As he was pounding away, he noticed that a little boy was watching him. The youngster didn't say a word, so the preacher kept on working, thinking the boy would leave. But he didn't. Pleased at the thought that his work was being admired, the pastor finally said, "Well, son, trying to pick up some pointers on gardening?" "No," he replied. "I'm just waiting to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer." (1) That's a tricky position to be in, isn't it? Would you or I pass that test? I hope so. Sometimes, we don't even know when we're being tested. But that's not the case in today's Bible passage. Here is the second truth: The most important help he provides is for our greatest need—forgiveness and salvation. Because all of us are tainted by sin, there is no way we can spend eternity with a perfect God unless our sin problem is resolved. That requires someone able and willing to pay for our sin. That requires someone who has no sin problem of his own. That requires someone perfect and full of love for us. Indeed, that requires God himself. And so, Jesus, God in human form, went to a cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of all believers. The saga of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah was a preview of the cross of Calvary. The eternal Christ-Spirit, probably said to God the Father, “Father, we will come back to this same mountain one day, won’t we?” And God the Father said, “Yes, Son, we will return here.” And the Christ-Spirit said, “And when we return, I will be the sacrifice on the altar, isn’t that true?” And God the Father, who would not allow Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, was willing to sacrifice his Son for us, so great is his love for us. And so, many centuries later when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) God not only provides forgiveness and salvation, but also grace sufficient for every need. To call on God is to make the ultimate 9-1-1 call. God is instantly available to all believers to help in wise and wonderful ways. As one stands to the West of the temple area in the old city of Jerusalem and gazes upon the remains of the Temple of Herod now spoken of as the "wailing wall," then looks beyond to the domineering Dome of the Rock, it is to recall the great epochs of history and tradition associated with the place called "Mount Moriah." How much of human history and the traditions of the "people of God" is linked to that spot! One of the most moving and poignant of those traditions is the story of Abraham’s ultimate temptation recorded in Genesis 22.

The Greatest Among Us

September 22, 2024 Mark 9:30-37 18th Sunday after Pentecost The Greatest Among Us Year B Prelude Greeting Call to Worship L: Jesus calls us to servant ministry. P: We must be willing to help others, not counting the cost or rewards. L: Pretense, disharmony, greed have no place in discipleship. P: Serving God means receiving each person as though they were a beloved child. L: Lord, help us to truly become your disciples. P: Create in us hearts for ministries of compassion and kindness. AMEN. ( United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Opening Prayer Lord, be with us this day, helping us to put our priorities in order; so that we may faithfully serve you by serving your people. Heal our spirits. Enable us to follow your ways all the days of our lives. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Song Jesu Jesus UMH 432 A Sermon for all Ages Good morning, boys and girls. What's one of the biggest, strongest animals on earth? It's got a great big body, and thick legs, and tough skin, and a really, really long nose. Do you know what animal I'm talking about? That's right, it's an elephant. Elephants are one of the biggest, strongest animals on earth. They weigh thousands of pounds, and they can eat over one hundred pounds of food a day. Can you believe that? And elephants are so strong that they can knock over trees, or turn over a car with their long noses. But did you know that elephants are really gentle animals too? Elephants take care of one another. If one elephant gets sick, others will stay with it to protect it until it gets better again. Bigger elephants always stay around the baby elephants to keep them safe until the baby elephant is big enough to take care of itself. Elephants may be big and strong, but they can be loving too. Our Bible story today is about the disciples, the men who followed Jesus around and helped Him with His work. One day, the disciples started arguing over who was the best disciple. Who was the biggest, who was the strongest, who was the most important? But Jesus told them to stop arguing. Jesus didn't care who was the biggest, or the strongest, or the most important. Instead, Jesus wanted to know who was the most loving, the most gentle, the most caring. Those are the things that are important to Jesus. Jesus doesn't care if we're big or we're little, if we're rich or we're poor, if we're white or we're black. Jesus only cares if we love other people and do nice things for other people. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Affirmation of faith (from A Brief Statement of Faith) In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. Passing of the Peace Jesus came to bring peace among us. Let us sow the seeds for peace in our world by sharing the peace of Christ with one another, stranger and friend alike. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Rebecca Gaudino) Scripture Mark 9:30-37 Sermon The Greatest Among Us Today I invite you to listen to the lessons of Chapter 9. I will tell you 3 seemingly unrelated stories, each with a lesson of their own. They each have their own lesson related to Jesus lesson. The scripture begins, Jesus was on his way – his way to Jerusalem to be crucified. It started in chapter 7, and will continue to the end of the gospel lesson in November. Now that the disciples know who the messiah is, he is telling them that the messiah must suffer. This is not a time of hope and resurrection. But a time of suffering, of facing tough times, of dark days of finding faith in the everyday struggle of life. Jesus us preparing his friends and us – what it means to be disciples. What is means to follow Jesus to the Cross. The virtues for today – service and humility. First off – Jesus loves the little children. In the midst of his discipleship lessons, jesus always brings in the children. In church we are reminded that children are an important part of who we are. We have to make sure that the children are included in what we do. Including the children are important part of our discipleship journey. Children are the hope of the future. But sometimes in the church it can be hard to connect to the younger generation, they don’t always see life the same way we do. Dealing with them does not always turn out the way we expect. The Turtle Picnic A turtle family went on a picnic. They had prepared seven years for their outing. The family left home, searching for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey, they found it. For about six months they cleared the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. They discovered, however, that they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt at home. Although he was the fastest of the slow-moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on only one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left. Three years passed—and the little turtle had not returned. Five years. Six years. Then in the seventh year of his absence, the eldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich. At that point, the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, “SEE! I knew you wouldn’t wait! Now, I’m not going to get the salt.” Where to Take It from Here… Some of us, like that little turtle, don’t trust anyone or give anyone the benefit of the doubt. We waste away our whole lives waiting for Jesus loves the little children, and sometime so do we. Young people can challenge us, but they teach us valuable lessons about being family, especially being the family of God. Jesus will bring children into his discipleship lesson a few more times. But you have to know that in Jesus day, children were not anything special, they were not the hope of the future. They represented people with no power or control. Children were to be seen and not heard. People really didn’t care about children’s feelings, they were to work along side of adults, with no thanks and no acknowgement. Jesus uses children as the ultimate object lesson on service and humility. In God’s kingdom everything is flipped. The greatest among us must be like a child- a humble servant. The Measure of Greatness - Mark 9:30-37 Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president. Over one hundred candidates applied for the position. The search committee narrowed the list to five eminently qualified persons. Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man seeking to be our president. This was done and a janitor gave such a glowing appraisal of William MacElvaney that he was selected President of St. Paul's School of Theology. Somebody on that search committee understood, in a flash of genius, that those who live close to Christ become so secure in his love that they no longer relate to other people according to rank or power or money or prestige. They treat janitors and governors with equal dignity. They regard everybody as a VIP. Children seem to do this intuitively; adult Christians have to relearn it. It is a telling little piece of scripture in verse 32: "But they did not understand." That's a picture that can be hung in the halls of the museum of mankind. When confronted by true greatness, we simply do not see it… The president was picked based on his service and his humility. The janitor would have a similar status as the children. Jesus loves the little children. Jesus is patient and kind and understanding with them. Jesus also has to be kind and understanding with the disciples – who often act like children. In the scripture they are arguing amongst themselves, but refuse to tell Jesus what they are arguing about. They all want to be number one, because number one gets to sit closest to Jesus. Jesus reminds them that the greatest is the one who is able to serve and remain humble. In the God’s world, the first is last and the last is first. Everything is turned upside down. Even today we still struggle with what that means. – to strive to be humble and to put others first and to serve. The way up- is always to look down. The Way Up Is Down! - Mark 9:30-37 There once was a palace servant who longed for more than anything else in life to be a knight. He yearned to represent his king and vowed within himself that if he ever had a chance to be a knight he would serve his king as the noblest knight who ever lived. His dream came true. His great day came. At his knighthood ceremony, the former servant, now a knight, made a special oath within himself. He vowed that from that day forward he would bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to no one but his king. As a knight, he was assigned to guard a remote city on the edge of the kingdom. On the day he took up his duties standing at attention in full armor at the city gate, an elderly peasant woman passed by on her way to the market. In a rickety cart, she carried some vegetables she had grown and hoped to sell. As she passed the knight, her rickety old vegetable cart hit a bump on the road and turned over. Potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas spilled everywhere. The peasant woman scurried to get them all back in her cart to no avail. She looked toward the knight in hopes he would help her but already he had forgotten what it was to be a servant. The knight stood there, unmoved, holding his pose. He would not bend to help her. He just stood at attention keeping his vow to never again bow his knees or lift his arms in homage to anyone but his king. Years passed, and one day an elderly one-legged man hobbled by on his old crutch. Directly in front of the knight, the old man's crutch finally gave out and broke in two. "Sir knight," the old one-legged man begged, "please reach down and help me to get up again." The knight, unmoved by the old man's predicament, made no response. He held his pose proudly and remembered he had vowed that he would neither stoop nor lift a hand to help anyone but his king. Decades passed, and the knight grew older. One day his granddaughter came by and said, "Papa, pick me up and take me to the fair." But, even for his own granddaughter the knight would not stoop, for within himself he had made a vow to bow only to his king. Finally, the day came for the king to come. This was the day for which the knight had longed since the day of his knighthood. As the king approached to inspect him, the knight stood proudly and stiffly at attention. As he did, the king noticed a tear rolling down the proud knight's cheek. "You are one of my noblest knights," said the king, "why are you crying?" "Your majesty," the knight replied, "I took a vow that I would bow and lift my arms in homage to you alone, but now that you are here I am an old man unable to keep my vow any more. The years of standing here stiffly at attention, waiting for you to come, have taken their toll. The joints of my armor are rusted and I can no longer lift my arms or bend my knees." The wise king replied, "Perhaps if you had knelt to help all those people who passed by you, and lifted your arms to reach out to all the people who asked for your help, you would have been able to keep your vow to pay me homage today." Jesus Christ says, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all" (v. 35)… Discipleship is about service and humility. It is about how we live out those virtues in our everyday life. It is about practicing those virtues in everything that we do. It is making a commitment to follow Jesus in every situation, with every person. Following Jesus to the cross is the only way to see the hope of the resurrection. When we live as the children of God- we become the hope for the future. What is Hope? There is a theologian named Victor Havel who defined hope in this way. "Hope," he said, "Is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out." I believe that part of what that means is that hope looks to the intrinsic value of people and of whatever we do. Hope determines the worthwhile-ness of someone or something at the very beginning, so that outcomes become secondary to that person, or that project’s very existence. Edmund L. Hoener, Jr., Losing Place Discipleship, service, humility, hope. Let us pray….. Song Are You Able UMH 530 Prayer God, how amazed we are at the solutions Jesus offers to his disciples when they question their importance to him and his kingdom. They want to know if they will receive the great rewards, if they will be recognized and praised for their accomplishments or at least their efforts. We are still so much like those early disciples. We want you to know how hard we work. We want to be praised and recognized for our efforts and successes. And we want you to pass over our failures as though they were inconsequential. When Jesus was confronted with their fears and concerns, he responded that they should be ready for service rather than adulation, And then he placed a small child in their midst; a child with no guile, no pretense. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but the One who sent me.” Help us to reach out to others, not with thought of importance or gain, but in love and compassion; truly caring for each one we meet. When we have done this, we will have truly give our hearts and our service to our Lord. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Invitation to the Offering (Proverbs 31:20, Mark 9, James 3) (just print the title) The writer of Proverbs teaches that God’s Wisdom is present and active in our lives in this way: “She opens her hand to the poor, / and reaches out her hands to the needy.” Jesus lived this wisdom in his life, and called his disciples to this same generosity. Let us give out of this same generous wisdom—a wisdom that seeks a presence and purpose in our lives on behalf of all. Offering Prayer (James 3) You are the generous one, full of mercy and goodness for your creation. Send your wisdom with these gifts, that they may reach those who need your love and welcome. Bring about a harvest of goodness through these gifts sown in peace. Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Rebecca Gaudino) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage. Hold fast to what is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the afflicted. Honor all people. Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit nourish you, animate you and lead you — this day and forever more. (Episcopal Book of Common Worship) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Go in confidence and peace, joyfully serving the Lord who walks with you. Bring hope to the hopeless, joy to those who sorrow, peace to the afflicted. Be true witnesses to the love of God through Jesus Christ. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Additional Illustrations Teaching The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. William A. Ward Carry Someone with You There was a tribe of Indians who lived a long time ago in the state of Mississippi. They lived next to a very swift and dangerous river. The current was so strong that if somebody happened to fall in or stumbled into it they could be swept away downstream. One day the tribe was attacked by a hostile group of settlers. They found themselves with their backs against the river. They were greatly outnumbered and their only chance for escape was to cross the rushing river. They huddled together and those who were strong picked up the weak and put them on their shoulders; the little children, the sick, the old and the infirm, those who were ill or wounded were carried on the backs of those who were strongest. They waded out into the river, and to their surprise they discovered that the weight on their shoulders carrying the least and the lowest helped them to keep their footing and to make it safely across the river. Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, about servanthood, about leadership. He is saying to them and to us, "Have you lost the childlike joy and love and faith that once were yours?" He is also saying to them and to us, "If you want to walk on secure ground in this world it helps to carry someone with you." King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Good Enough to Teach Years ago, after a celebrated international career on the stage, the world-famous violinist Jascha Heifetz became a professor of music at UCLA. When someone asked him why he had left the glamour of performing to become a teacher, Heifetz answered, "Violin-playing is a perishable art. It must be passed on; otherwise it is lost." Then he went on to say, "I remember my old violin professor in Russia. He said that (if I worked hard enough) someday I would be good enough to teach." From a speech by William Graves, editor of National Geographic magazine, Speaker's Idea File The Disciples' Culture Shock In the summer of 1971 I had gone to Munich to study German. It was my first time in "the Fatherland," and I suppose I had half expected to find blond, blue-eyed kids yodeling on street corners, or adults heading to work in Lederhosen humming Beethoven’s 9th. Instead, blaring from every Italian Pizza Parlor, every Turkish shish kabob stall or ubiquitous McDonald’s was the 1971 Lynn Anderson hit song, "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden." Some of you may even remember the words: it was a rather banal ditty, uttering the commonplace wisdom that sunshine and rain are part of every life. But hearing this American hit song in Munich played havoc with my expectations. In fact, it was such a culture shock that the memory remains vivid even today, three decades later. Two millennia later Mark’s Gospel continues to recall the culture shock the apostles had when the cost of discipleship finally dawned on them; when their expectations of the reign of God came face-to-face with hard-nosed reality; when fascination and enthusiasm with this Jesus began to be transformed into self-sacrificing commitment. Father George Griener _________________ A Biblically Illiterate America Pollster George Gallup Jr. has long referred to America as a "nation of biblical illiterates." Only four in 10 Americans know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. A majority of citizens cannot name the four Gospels of the New Testament. Only three in 10 teenagers know why Easter is celebrated. Two-thirds of Americans believe there are few, if any, absolute principles to direct human behavior. A poll by the Barna Research Group suggested that religious illiteracy has increased. For example, three out of four Americans (and nearly half of "born-again" Christians) believe the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves." George Barna argues that self-reliance is not only not scriptural, but that it contradicts revelation. Only God determines a person's destiny, the pollster notes. To believe otherwise "exposes our false theological cornerstone - that we are the center of things, that it is up to us to determine our destiny, and that God is merely our assistant ..." A similar number of born-again Christians deny the existence of the Holy Spirit and Satan. One in five denies Jesus' physical resurrection and believes he was a sinner. Earlier surveys of mainline Protestants revealed that barely half of Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians believe in the devil, but 56 percent of Lutherans and 49 percent of Methodists believe in UFOs. One-third of Methodists and Presbyterians have faith in astrology. While nearly three-fourths of all Americans believe in hell, hardly any believe it to be their likely destination in eternity. This Barna poll is intended to help Christian pastors and groups focus their ministries. The sheer number of "errant theological positions" among believers underscores "the magnitude of the challenge facing churches today," Barna notes. University of Wisconsin historian Thomas Reeves indicts popular religious belief and service. "Christianity in modern America is, in large part, innocuous," he writes. "It tends to be easy, upbeat, convenient, and compatible. It does not require self-sacrifice, discipline, humility, an otherworldly outlook, a zeal for souls, a fear as well as love of God. There is little guilt and no punishment, and the payoff in heaven is virtually certain." Former Secretary of Education William Bennett concludes that "We have become the kind of society that civilized countries used to send missionaries to." These are harsh judgments. Perhaps we have been so busy pursuing the American Dream of the good life that we have neglected to nurture the faith on which the Dream is founded. If so, our only fault is inattention. If at the millennium our common faith has faltered, or has shriveled for lack of nourishment, or has been supplanted by sentimentality, at least we have not succumbed to cynicism. Faith has not been lost, only misplaced. As a people, we can retrieve it together. David Yount, "Beggaring Belief," September 04, 2000, Scripps Howard News Service. _________________ The Difficulty of Dealing with Death Russell Anderson tells a story about the time his father was nearing the end of his earthly life. He had finally realized the gravity of his situation. "I got some bad news," he said. "What's that?" Russell responded. "I'm not going to make it," he retorted. Summoning my store of knowledge from my Clinical Pastoral Education course and years of dealing with sickness and death, I asked, "How do you feel about that, Dad?" My father, who was always loathe to reveal too much of his feelings, shot back: "How do you feel about it?" (He had turned the question on me, asking me how I felt about my own death). I remained mute. My first thought was, "But, Dad, I'm not dying, you are." On a deeper level I knew that he was right, I too was dying. I needed to deal with my death as well as his own. Yet I wanted to deny that the shadow of my own death was looming ever larger. The reaction of Russell Anderson is about the same reaction that all of us have when reminded of our own mortality. And it was the same reaction as the disciples in our text for today. They did not know how to deal with Jesus' death or with their own. Denial had set in. Russell Anderson, Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Series V, Cycle B, CSS Publishing, p. 294 people to live up to our poor expectations of them—and they always do. We can be thankful that God doesn’t treat us that way. He accepts us just the way we are. He believes in us. He cheers us on. He thinks the best of us. He is proud of us. When we mess up, he forgives and forgets, and gives us another opportunity to do good. That’s how God treats us, and that’s how we are to treat others. Let’s not think the worst of each other. Let’s expect the best.

Let the Children Come

September 23, 2018 Mark 9:30-37 Let the Children Come 18th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Children’s Time And he sat down and called the twelve, and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (v. 35) Object: A human pyramid. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like to be first? (Let them answer.) Almost all of us like to be first. I remember when Jesus was walking down the road and listening to his disciples talking about which one was first with him. They all wanted to be the most important person that Jesus had among his followers. Jesus didn't say anything while they were talking, but he listened to them as they each told why they thought that they were the most important person to Jesus. Each one thought that he was first with Jesus. I need someone to be first. Do I have a volunteer who would like to be first for a little experiment that I am going to do this morning? (Take the largest child who volunteers to be the first one and then each child after that so that you can build a human pyramid. Hold their hands so that they do not fall or hurt one another.) Isn't this fun? I wonder how the person who wanted to be first feels now. The first one is on the bottom and is helping to hold every one else up. He is not only the first, but also the hardest worker in the group. He is helping to serve everyone else by being first. That is the thing that Jesus told his disciples when they finished their walk. He asked all of them who wanted to be first to remember that being first with him meant that they had to be willing to serve everyone else. The person on the bottom of our pile wanted to be first, so he got the chance to hold up the whole group. Being a leader is fun, but it also has tremendous responsibility. You have to help others to be a leader. Jesus needs leaders, but he needs leaders who want to work and do things for others. That is the way it is to be with Jesus. The disciples thought about that for a long time. Most people want to be first because they like the other people who are already leaders. Most people forget that it took a lot of work to become a leader. If you want to be first, or be a leader, then you must also be ready to serve or help others. How many of you want to be first now? How many of you would rather be a follower than a leader? That is your decision, but whatever way you want to be with Jesus, he wants you to know that he loves you just as much as he loves the other. Amen. Mark 7:30-37 Jesus predicts his death 30 From there Jesus and his followers went through Galilee, but he didn’t want anyone to know it. 31 This was because he was teaching his disciples, “The Human One[a] will be delivered into human hands. They will kill him. Three days after he is killed he will rise up.” 32 But they didn’t understand this kind of talk, and they were afraid to ask him. 33 They entered Capernaum. When they had come into a house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about during the journey?” 34 They didn’t respond, since on the way they had been debating with each other about who was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all.” 36 Jesus reached for a little child, placed him among the Twelve, and embraced him. Then he said, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn’t actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me.” Footnotes: a. Mark 9:31 Or Son of Man Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible I can’t remember if I told this story before in this congregation, but there is a village in Africa, when they greet one another instead of saying hello, how are you- they say so how are the children. Children are dependent on their parents in order to be taken care of. So if the children are okay, then the rest of the society is okay. If the children are happy, then the rest of the community is happy. Children are an important part of our world, our community, our church. Once again, the way that we treat our children, determines the wellbeing of our church. The wellbeing of our souls. Jesus loves the little children. And our scripture for today is just one scripture where Jesus uses children to prove a point to the disciples. The most popular picture of Jesus is Always Jesus with a bunch of children on his lap. A member gave me this figurine. I treasure it because it had been a part of her family. In this scripture, in teaching a lesson. Jesus grabs the children and says that if we want to be great in the kingdom of heaven, then we must welcome the children. Actually Jesus grabs the children again in chapter 10. Jesus says let the children come, and whomever welcomes a child in their midst welcomes me. Children have not always been a treasured part of our society. As a matter of fact, thinking of children is a relatively recent development. In Jesus’ time children were considered lower than slaves. They were nonpersons that were tolerated. Even in the early church priest taught that if your house was burning, you would save your dad first, then your mother, then your wife, and if you had time then you saved the children. But if they were lost, you didn’t worry about it. So it was pretty controversial for jesus to tell us to welcome the children. When we welcome children, we welcome God. Author and business consultant Ken Blanchard tells the wonderful story of a little girl named Schia. Maybe you remember that beautiful story. When Schia was 4 years old, her baby brother was born. Says Blanchard, “Little Schia began to ask her parents to leave her alone with the new baby. They worried that, like most 4-year-olds, she might want to hit or shake him, so they said no. “Over time, though, since Schia wasn’t showing signs of jealousy, they changed their minds and decided to let Schia have her private conference with the baby. “Elated, Schia went into the baby’s room and shut the door, but it opened a crack--enough for her curious parents to peek in and listen. They saw little Schia walk quietly up to her baby brother, put her face close to his, and say, ‘Baby, tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.’” (8) This lesson about the children is actually the end of a very important lesson in Mark 9. Jesus explains to the disciples that he is going to die and be resurrected. They have no idea of what he is saying to them. They never get what is going on. As a matter of fact, instead of listening to Jesus, like children they start to argue amongst themselves. Jesus asks them why they were arguing. And like children that know when they are wrong – instead of answering, they get quiet and say nothing. If Jesus were amongst us today – and asks our church what we were arguing about – he would get a mouthful – we argue about the same things, who belongs, who is right who is wrong, who needs to be corrected, who is most like us, which one of us is greatest and deserve to it next to Jesus. We are still fighting to see who is going to be first in line. Sometime back, there was a story that came out of the Special Olympics. It seems that a contestant tripped and fell while running a race. Instead of just charging down the track oblivious to another competitor's distress, the other contestants stopped, went back, picked up their fallen comrade, then all ran together to the finish. First. Last. Who cared? Everyone made it across. That was all that mattered. We can learn a lot from our children about our faith and how we should treat others. Jesus uses the children to teach a valuable lesson to all Christians about greatness, leadership about being a good Christian. He turns the tables on what it means to be #1. I think that many of us can relate to this last story. The Way Up Is Down! - Mark 9:30-37 There once was a palace servant who longed for more than anything else in life to be a knight. He yearned to represent his king and vowed within himself that if he ever had a chance to be a knight he would serve his king as the noblest knight who ever lived. His dream came true. His great day came. At his knighthood ceremony, the former servant, now a knight, made a special oath within himself. He vowed that from that day forward he would bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to no one but his king. As a knight, he was assigned to guard a remote city on the edge of the kingdom. On the day he took up his duties standing at attention in full armor at the city gate, an elderly peasant woman passed by on her way to the market. In a rickety cart, she carried some vegetables she had grown and hoped to sell. As she passed the knight, her rickety old vegetable cart hit a bump on the road and turned over. Potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas spilled everywhere. The peasant woman scurried to get them all back in her cart to no avail. She looked toward the knight in hopes he would help her but already he had forgotten what it was to be a servant. The knight stood there, unmoved, holding his pose. He would not bend to help her. He just stood at attention keeping his vow to never again bow his knees or lift his arms in homage to anyone but his king. Years passed, and one day an elderly one-legged man hobbled by on his old crutch. Directly in front of the knight, the old man's crutch finally gave out and broke in two. "Sir knight," the old one-legged man begged, "please reach down and help me to get up again." The knight, unmoved by the old man's predicament, made no response. He held his pose proudly and remembered he had vowed that he would neither stoop nor lift a hand to help anyone but his king. Decades passed, and the knight grew older. One day his granddaughter came by and said, "Papa, pick me up and take me to the fair." But, even for his own granddaughter the knight would not stoop, for within himself he had made a vow to bow only to his king. Finally, the day came for the king to come. This was the day for which the knight had longed since the day of his knighthood. As the king approached to inspect him, the knight stood proudly and stiffly at attention. As he did, the king noticed a tear rolling down the proud knight's cheek. "You are one of my noblest knights," said the king, "why are you crying?" "Your majesty," the knight replied, "I took a vow that I would bow and lift my arms in homage to you alone, but now that you are here I am an old man unable to keep my vow any more. The years of standing here stiffly at attention, waiting for you to come, have taken their toll. The joints of my armor are rusted and I can no longer lift my arms or bend my knees." The wise king replied, "Perhaps if you had knelt to help all those people who passed by you, and lifted your arms to reach out to all the people who asked for your help, you would have been able to keep your vow to pay me homage today." Jesus Christ says, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all" (v. 35)… In other words we have to use it or lose it – our faith, not our knees. The more we are able to exercise our faith, the easier it becomes. The children are our future, they are also amongst us as the present. Let the children come. Other illustrations..... I like what Robert Fulgrum, a Minister Emeritus in Edmonds, Washington, said: "Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain but there in the sand box at nursery school. Think of what a better world it would be if the whole world had cookies and milk around three o'clock every afternoon and then laid down with our blankets for a nap or if we had a basic policy for our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. It is still true no matter how old you are when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together." (4) That's good! That's really good! I don't want to get too nostalgic with regard to this point. I've always loved the story about the grandmother who got a note from her son and daughter-in-law that her grandchildren would be coming to spend a week with her. She loved her precious little granddaughter and lively little grandson, and when she thought about the pleasures that awaited her with them in her home, she went to church and put five dollars in the offering plate as a token of thanksgiving. She kept her grandaughter and grandson for that week and what a week it was. When they went home, she went back to church and put in a twenty dollar bill in the offering plate in thanksgiving. We're aware of that side of it, but what would we do without children; children to teach in Sunday School, and children to run through the halls on the way to worship. As we seek to minister to them, we grow. They keep us in touch with what really matters in life. When we think that life is a matter of accumulation, domination and accommodation the sound of a baby's cry can bring us back to earth. Jesus is trying to teach the disciples an object lesson about greatness, about servanthood, about leadership. What would we do without children--children to teach in Sunday school, and children to run through the halls on the way to worship? As we minister to them, we grow. They keep us in touch with what really matters. When we think that life is a matter of accumulation, domination and accommodation, the sound of a baby’s cry can bring us back to earth. A child’s laughter can brighten our entire world. A child’s love can give us something to live for, and a child’s faith can help keep a parent on the right track. “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me,” says Christ. “And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” Amen. Today’s lesson reminds us that children are great teachers. An anonymous author has made a list of some things you don’t know until you have kids. For example, without kids you wouldn’t know: Who John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt is. You wouldn’t know how to change a diaper in the dark, in a parked car, on a standing child, and all of the above simultaneously . . . You wouldn’t know which lines of “The Cat in the Hat” and “If I Ran the Circus” can be skipped over without a child noticing. Or the locations of public restrooms all across town. Or, how little sleep a human body truly needs to function. You wouldn’t know almost every Disney lyric ever penned. Or why they call them Happy Meals. Or the blessedness of naps. And finally, without children you wouldn’t know how much you can love one human being. (3) Business writer Ann Crittenden tells about a friend who found a three and a half year old boy sitting and staring at a little box containing wooden figures around a table, depict¬ing the Last Supper. She asked him what he was thinking. The three and a half year old looked up and said, “You know, if Jesus could give a friend a party, he’d invite the whole world.” (7) Dick Gregory, a very controversial figure, a black comedian and activist, once told about taking his oldest son to Mexico to a place where there is no electricity. He said they lived in a hut. He was in the hut one night when his son ran in and said, "Dad, Dad come here. I'm scared. I want to show you something." Dick Gregory says he went out and his son showed him the stars. It suddenly dawned on Dick Gregory that having been born and raised in Chicago the boy had never seen a sky full of stars. All of the lights and all of the buildings simply blotted out the wonder of the nighttime sky. Dick Gregory said he laid on his back with a straw in his mouth and together they looked at the Big Dipper and the Milky Way. They saw some shooting stars even. He said, "I cried that night; not for him, he had never seen that many stars, but for me." He said "I grew up looking at the stars and got so hooked into the vicious cycle (of living) I never remembered the day they left. I got so hooked into this chase that I never missed the stars." (3) That is gospel, my friend. What matters is that we all make it across, even the least among us. That was Jesus' message that day in Capernaum. That is Jesus' message today. And remember, "Whoever welcomes one such...in my name welcomes me..."

The Power of Baptism

April 21, 2018 Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B Acts 8:26-40 The Power of Baptism Children’s time: the children will welcome a new child for baptism. Acts 8:26-40 Common English Bible (CEB) Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch 26 An angel from the Lord spoke to Philip, “At noon, take[a] the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27 So he did. Meanwhile, an Ethiopian man was on his way home from Jerusalem, where he had come to worship. He was a eunuch and an official responsible for the entire treasury of Candace. (Candace is the title given to the Ethiopian queen.) 28 He was reading the prophet Isaiah while sitting in his carriage. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Approach this carriage and stay with it.” 30 Running up to the carriage, Philip heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?” 31 The man replied, “Without someone to guide me, how could I?” Then he invited Philip to climb up and sit with him. 32 This was the passage of scripture he was reading: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent so he didn’t open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was taken away from him. Who can tell the story of his descendants because his life was taken from the earth?[b] 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35 Starting with that passage, Philip proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 36 As they went down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look! Water! What would keep me from being baptized?”[c] 38 He ordered that the carriage halt. Both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water, where Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Lord’s Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip found himself in Azotus. He traveled through that area, preaching the good news in all the cities until he reached Caesarea. Footnotes: a. Acts 8:26 Or travel south along b. Acts 8:33 Isa 53:7-8 c. Acts 8:36 Critical editions of the Gk New Testament do not include 8:37 Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you can be.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son.” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible They say that there is a reason that God gives us two ears and only one mouth. It is twice as important to use our ears to hear, than it is to use our mouth to speak. In order to have a relationship with anyone, we have to be able to listen to them. Our relationship with God starts with God listening to us. When we pray, we are asking God to listen to us. We become a Christian when we realize that God cares about us. Before we can care for God, God tells us the God cares about us. When we are finally able to listen to God, we are called to help others to listen also. We get them to listen, by informing them of God’s love. Our lives depend on it. That is what evangelism is all about – spreading the good news of God’s love for us. It is interesting that for most people in the pews today, evangelism is a bad word. None of us want to go up the strangers and start talking about God. None of us want to tell others about our faith. Telling others about Jesus Christ is just something that you do in this day and age. What if I told you that spreading the good news of Jesus Christ is not so much about what you say, as it is your ability to listen. Remember you only have one mouth, but you have two ears for a reason. I am excited as I read this story of Philip in the book of Acts – because it is a story of Philip learning to listen. It was in his ability to listen, that he learned to respond to the situation. Remember the book of Acts is the story of how the holy spirit started the church. And the main character in this story is the holy Spirit. The spirit told Philip to travel down this road, and the spirit told him to minister to whomever he met. Philip listens to the Ethiopian official before saying anything. He hears that the man is trying to understand the book of Isaiah. Philip never really leads the conversation, he answers the mans questions. Being that the man feels that he is heard, and that God cares, he is willing to become a believer himself. The spirit tells Philip that his work is done and he can move on. To listen to the lives of others. Our lesson is that when we are trying to bring others to Christ, all we have to do is listen to their story, and then to be willing to tell them our story. When we are able to listen the Holy Spirit is willing to speak and show others God’s love. Listening to others is not just the secret to bringing others to Christ. It is the secret to all of our relationships. A woman went to see a divorce lawyer. Frantically she told him, "I must have a divorce from my husband immediately!" The lawyer asked, "Do you have any grounds?" "Yes, about five acres." "I mean, do you have a grudge?" the lawyer questioned. "No, just a carport." Then the lawyer asked, "Does he beat you up?" "No," the woman replied, "I get up before he does." Exasperated, the attorney demanded, "Madam, why do you want a divorce from your husband?" "Because it is impossible to communicate with that man!" Question: How well do we hear God's voice? If we want someone to respond to us, we have to do that by learning to listen, then the words that need to be said will all fall into place. A boy with a record of juvenile delinquency spelled out clearly what he really needed in a letter, just before he ran away from home. Dear Folks, You asked me why I did those things and why I gave you so much trouble, and the answer is easy for me to give you, but I wonder if you will understand. Remember when I was about six or seven and I used to want you to just listen to me? I remember all the nice things you gave me for Christmas and my birthday. I was really happy with the things — for about a week — at the time I got those things, but the rest of the time during the year I really didn't want presents. I just wanted for you to listen to me like I was a somebody who felt things, too, because even when I was young I felt things. But you said you were busy. Mom, you are a wonderful cook, and you had everything so clean and you were tired so much from doing all those things that made you so busy, but, you know something, Mom? I would have liked crackers and peanut butter just as well if you had only sat down with me a while during the day and said to me: "Tell me all about it so I can maybe help you understand." If Donna ever has children, I hope you will tell her to just pay some attention to the one who doesn't smile very much because that one will really be crying inside. And when she's about to bake six dozen cookies, tell her to make sure first that the kids don't want to tell her about a dream or a hope or something. Thoughts are important to small kids, even though they don't have so many words to use when they tell about what they have inside them. I think that all the kids who are doing so many things that grown-ups are tearing out their hair worrying about are really looking for somebody who really and truly will treat them as they would a grown-up who might be useful to them, you know — polite-like. If you folks had ever said to me: "Pardon me" when you interrupted me, I'd have dropped dead! Your son Someone with time, someone who will listen and hear — that's what young people want today. That's what all of us want. Jesus heard the cries of the weary. He calls us to do the same. He wants us to hear what he says and what people are really saying. That's why he died on the cross — to open our ears and our minds to what is really happening instead of what seems to be happening. Philip was able to listen to the Ethiopian Official in a way that actually changed his life for the better and made a difference. As I was preparing for today – I realized some interesting lessons in this story. We don’t know why the Ethiopian was in Jerusalem. Or even what drew him to even have an interest in the Jewish faith. He had been castrated, probably at an early age. Deuteronomy 23 specifically says that a castrated male cannot be a part of the faith. But for some reason, something spoke to him about this faith. He wanted to know more, in the midst of all of the human exclusion, he heard that God loved him. God sent someone to teach him and to baptize him. That is the good news of the faith -we are able to give love, because God loves us first. God has a plan for us that goes all the way back to before we were born. God watches that plan unfold in our lives, and God is leading us, God is speaking to us, God sends people into our lives to show us even more love. Even though he was excluded from joining the church, somehow he knew that God’s grace was working in his life. That is what baptism is all about, us experiencing the grace of God that has been there even before we were born. God’s grace comes upon us before we are born. If our parents recognize God’s grace, we are baptized. Baptism brings more grace into our lives. And as we live, and God sends people into our lives, that grace grows until we are able to speak for ourselves. Once we can speak, and we can think that grace continues to grow, it gives us a better life, and it empowers us to give that better life to others. And when we finally stand before God, it is that grace that unites us with God. The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch reveals what true evangelism is about and how it's carried out. It's one of the best resources for unpacking what Florence Nightingale meant when she said that all of Christianity could be expressed in 8 one-syllable words, four of which are spoken by God, and four spoken by us: "Lo, it is I" (God's initiative) and "Here I am, Lord" (our response). It's God's work to ready the heart. It's God's work to set the stage. It's God's work to let the Spirit blow where it may. It's our work to help people hear God speaking in their lives, "Lo, it is I." And it is our work to help people speak to God in reply, "Here I am, Lord." Baptism is God’s way of saying – I am listening to you. I care about you. And I am sending my grace to you life, so that you can know that you are never alone. Whenever your heart speaks – I care. Some Christians believe that baptism is something one agrees to when one becomes a believer. Other Christians believe that baptism is a sacrament, that it bestows faith. It doesn't matter. Baptism is a sign of one's faith. The eunuch went back to Ethiopia, cleaned by baptism, in union with Christ, and ready to start a new life. The existence of the Ethiopian Orthodox church today might be a witness to the eunuch's powerful witness. Who knows? The point is this: The Ethiopian eunuch found identity in Christ and probably shared the hope of a meaningful new identity with others. What identifies us is our unity in and with Christ. He called us; we answered; we have returned to him. We are his. What does it mean to belong to him? I think that as we welcome Henry into the Christian family it is important to remember that helping him to understand what it means to be a Christian is not so much about teaching him as it is about listening to him. It is not in telling him who to be, but in listening to who he is. He is a child of God, loved by God, God has a plan for his life, and we get to be a part of that plan. Our confirmand have also started their journey this week – our young people need to know that they are valued and that they have something to contribute. And that God speaks to all of us on the journey- so we all have something to contribute to the faith. Faith is remembering that it is twice as important to listen as it is to speak. It is knowing that God is listening, and God sends people in our lives to remind us that God cares. A teenage virtuoso pianist played his heart out to a large audience. At the end, as he walked off the stage, the audience stood and applauded. The man behind the curtain told the boy to go out and take a bow. "No," the boy replied, "I can't." "Why not?" asked the man. "They are all standing and applauding." "Not all of them," the young pianist replied. "The man in the back row in the balcony is still sitting." "That's only one," the man said. "What's so important about him?" "He's my teacher," the boy meekly replied as he watched from behind the curtain. "I was playing for him." Just then the man in the back row stood up and joined in the standing ovation. Isn't that what life is all about? Not pleasing everyone, but keeping our eyes on the one we call our Lord, our leader, our teacher? Think of the end of your life and imagine the Lord giving you a standing ovation and saying, "Enter into the joy of your master." Isn't that the most important thing of all? May God bless our children. May they go through life knowing that there is always someone listening to them, supporting them, guiding them. That is the secret to bringing more people in from the outside. God has heard your cry – will you hear the cry of others. Listening is what gives us life. Let us pray……. Additional illustrations… When we see what our leader and teacher has done for us, we want to serve him. We want to be like him. We can ignore the cheers or boos of the crowd and seek only to please Jesus, the servant leader. Back in the '60s, a real "hip" kid attended the morning service of worship at an upper-class church. The pastor greeted him at the door. The groovy kid grabbed the minister's hand and said, "Dad, I really dug that sermon!" The staid pastor was taken by surprise and said, "Young man, I don't understand." The beatnik answered, "Dad, I really ‘went' for that sermon; it really came down the middle, man, loud and cool; it was like, gone, man." The minister's dignity was rattled and he decided to confront the young man with some propriety. He said, "Son, I just don't understand what you are trying to say; perhaps you could use some appropriate English." The loose-shirted, blue-jeaned, and sandaled lad tried again. "Dad, what I really mean is, I really went for what you had to say, so much so that I put 100 smackeroos in the collection plate." Suddenly the cast of enlightenment crossed the face of the minister and he said, "Crazy, man, crazy!" Some years ago, in the '80s, a tour director led some of the older ladies in his group after the evening meal down Kurfuerstendam, the main street of Berlin. The streets were crowded by punkers, one outfit more outrageous than the other. As the leader approached one particular punker, she noticed something furry on his shoulder chained by a pin to his ear. She was startled to discover that it was a rat. A bit of a mean streak seized her and she quickly stepped aside in order to observe the reaction of the lady next in line. The punker also attracted the interest of the tourist. The woman approached him with curiosity, closing in order to figure out what he had on his shoulder. When she realized that she was almost within kissing distance of a live rat, she yelled and jumped backward a considerable distance. The punker, of course, loved it. He delighted in shocking the people walking along Kurfuerstendam. He had found identity and he wanted to flaunt it. In a city that, before the reunification of Germany, was a symbol of lost hopes and futility, the punker found "success" with purple hair, with an outrageous costume, and with a rat pinned to his ear. All Philip asked was what God gave him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" I can guarantee that people are more ready to talk about spiritual things than we are ready to initiate it. Dr. Waylon Moore encourages us in witnessing "never to presuppose a negative response" in speaking to people about Jesus! 3. Listen to them and then answer them with Jesus: You don't have to have all the answers. Just listen and then tell them about what the Bible says about Jesus. "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." Philip hadn't had years of training or school; Christianity had just begun. But he knew and had experienced Jesus. So he listened and then testified. The eunuch knew God, but now he knew Jesus! 4. Don't make it harder than it is: Obviously Philip told him more specifics than we have recorded because the hungry eunuch knew enough to ask to be baptized. But he had faith and he wanted to fulfill God's wishes for him, so he asked to be baptized. "Why shouldn't I be baptized?" Yes, why not? God had done his job in giving faith. Let's not add any more than Scripture does to give people assurance of faith! 5. Keep at it: Philip had the privilege of baptizing a new Christian, but he didn't get to see the eunuch grow up spiritually. That's okay, Philip just kept on doing what God was calling him to do: "preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea." Don't give up. Every day ask God to help you find a eunuch! Each morning as you put in your spiritual hearing aids, be sure you turn them loud enough to hear God say to you what he said to his Son at his baptism: "You are my beloved child. I love you and I am well pleased with you!" Ooh, I like that. Now I can take on the world for Jesus! "