The Plight of a Prophet

February 2, 2025 Luke 4:21-30 The plight of a Prophet 4th Sunday after Epiphany Year C Prelude Greeting A Call to Plenty Leader: Our call to “plenty” today on this third week of our worship series is to plentiful healing. Indeed there are plentiful wounds in this world, and plentiful threats of more wounds to come. It was as true in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. People came to Jesus carrying wounds of body, mind, and spirit. This week we continue the story of Jesus in his own hometown. Especially when wounding hits “close to home,” we tend to panic. Fear and anger may set in. The antidote? Join Jesus in his economy of healing for all people. God’s abundance is for all, no one is left outside, kin-dom come, all people one in trust and love abide. In this world of striving, we feel the yearn to earn. The world measures our worth in those earnings. But Jesus had different ideas. When they demanded special treatment, he offered healing and wholeness for all – not just for some. When we feel our own resources are lacking, we can view our lives and practices again from the economy of Jesus. Let us pray: God of Restoration, we come to you today, bringing a laundry list of things that we wish we could change about the world, ourselves, and each other. In the midst of our longing, remind us that your goodness is not earned by our being good, and that we are called to share your mercy with everyone inside and outside of this faithful community. Amen. Song Take My Life and Let it Be UMH 399 A Sermon for all Ages Children, we are so glad you are here [and for those joining us through the screen, welcome to you, too]. Remember these six big stone jars from last week? We are talking about the generosity of Jesus and these BIG jars represent how BIG the heart of Jesus is for each one of us. He wanted everyone to have plenty of everything they need, and now it is up to us to keep helping him do that. Have you ever read the story about Winnie the Pooh? And do you remember what his favorite snack was? [let them respond] Honey! And his honey was in a stone pot, maybe not as big as these, but big enough for his big appetite! Do you like honey? [let them respond] What if these jars were filled with honey? Oh, my goodness, that could get really sticky! But I’ll bet honey is something Jesus would want us to share. Jesus wanted people to feel better, and honey was one of the medicines of his day. People would use it for sore throats. Maybe our Jesus Piggy Bank jar for this week has honey in it! Let’s see [pick up the third piggy and shake it gently] Hmmm…. I’m not sure that sounds like honey… not that honey would sound like anything! Just like the last two weeks, there is a note on it [open a note that has been taped to the piggy bank]. “Dear children. You are practicing really good sharing… thank you! Remember that instead of putting things INTO this piggy bank, we take things OUT of it so we can share. We don’t keep things locked up all the time just filling our banks with more and more and more. We look at what we already have, and the fun is in figuring out how to give it away! Always yours, Jesus.” I wonder what is in this one! [open it and take out the notecard for each child] Oh, look! It has a jar of honey on it with something Pooh said once, “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.” Let’s see what it says inside: “Dear ___________ [name of a health worker or facility], this is your friend _________ [your name].” I am thankful that you help make people better. Thank you for the healing you provide when people are sick or injured. Here is a snack of appreciation to help give you more energy and more love for your work.” So cool! We can deliver a snack this week to care for someone who helps care for others! Maybe that is a school nurse or someone who works at the hospital, doctor’s office, or nursing home. It will be so fun to decide what snacks to share to encourage those who help people every day and thank them for what they do to make the world a better place. I can’t wait to hear what happens when you give away all of this goodness! Let’s pray a repeat-after-me prayer, and then we’ll go [instructions per usual for your church]. Dear Jesus… [children repeat, etc.] thank you for showing us… how to to share… thank you for showing us… how to to care… help us to know… that there is no doubt… the gifts that you give us… can never run out… there’s so much in store… that we’ll give it away… making sure there’s enough… for ALL every day… Amen… Responsive Reading Psalm 71:1-6 UMH 794 The Peace Leader: Just as our worth as humans is not dependent on the bottom line of our bank accounts, our relationships are not dependent upon the earning of favors and the limitations of “quid pro quo.” The peace of Christ has no limits, and we get more just by giving it. So may jar-fulls of peace be with you today. People: And also with you. Leader: You are invited to pass the “plethora of peace” among you, remembering to pass it to those joining us remotely. Scripture Luke 4:21-30 Sermon The Plight of a Prophet Imagine, it is football season – and you are all set to go to the game and to cheer your team on to victory. You have on the right colors, you even have your seat picked out at the stadium so that you can sit next to your friends. You are ready for a good game – and the first half of the game is perfect. That young man, Jesus doesn’t disappoint you. He is out of the field and he is doing everything right. His technique is perfect. You are so proud of this young man, he grew up in this town, you know who his parents are, you watched him play in the field as a child. He scores his first touchdown and everyone is cheering, every one is excited. Then halftime comes – and he doesn’t allow the band to come out on the field – he has something important to say. He tells announces with a bull horn that you are doing it all wrong. This is not how you play the game. He points out that before the game everyone prayed to God that your team would win – that is not it. God does not take sides – God wants both teams to win. At this point, you are a little irritated, but this is a hometown guy, so you listen. Then he says that we shouldn’t be on opposite sides. He insists that the other side come across the field and find a place in the hometown bleachers. You know this is highly unusual – but he is a hometown guy, so you tolerate it. Then he tells everyone that instead of cheering when your team does something, everyone is going to cheer for every child. Afterall, they are all our children, and we have to encourage them all. The last straw – halftime is over with and this guy is still talking. He won’t let the game continue. This time the crowd runs down from the stands, and physically removes this guy – so that the game can go on, the way everyone is used to playing it. This is the scene that plays out in scripture. Jesus comes home to speak to his hometown crowd. At first they are happy and excited to hear what he has to say. Little Hometown Jesus has become a big time prophet. But after awhile, things get nasty. So nasty in fact that they want to throw him off of a cliff. Somehow when the crowd comes to get him, Jesus manages to escape, he goes on to spread the gospel to another hometown and another, and people are listening to his preaching and changing their lives. The good news of God’s love is spread all over the world – but Jesus never returns to his hometown. Lucky for us. Luke is a master story teller – he wants us to truly understand the message of this hometown messiah. He is not what we expected. He didn’t come to make us happy – he came to show us the meaning of grace. Grace goes beyond our selves, our beliefs, our feelings. Grace that is revealed to us, is shown to all people. That is a hard lesson, we want to believe that grace is just for us. Remember last week I said that Luke likes to tell us about the spirit. In every story that Luke tells, somehow the spirit always shows up as a character. The spirit shows up in the anger of the hometown crowd. The crowd gave up on Jesus, Jesus never gave up on the crowd. In and Out of Favor How quickly the opinion of crowd can change (cf. Acts 14:8-19). Amazingly, these were the same people who, moments ago, "were speaking well of Him". Fast forward three years and we witness another extreme shift in attitude during Jesus' last week of ministry. "Hosanna" (an expression of adoration to God) would swiftly turn into the deadly cries of "Crucify Him!" Sonny Jurgenson (former QB for the Washington Redskins) was being interviewed by a reporter after winning a game and the losing the next. The reporter asked him, "don't you ever tire of the yo-yo nature of the press?" He said, "nah, I've been around long enough to know that each week you are either in the penthouse or the outhouse." Source Unknown, ChristianGlobe Illustrations Epiphany is the season of seeing the light, but it is also the season of recognizing the dark. Luke wanted to tell us the story of Jesus winning, but also losing. The story of the messiah as a hero, but also as an outcast. So that we could hear both sides of the story. In this story is a foreshadowing of the whole passion and resurrection. Jesus teaches, Jesus is crucified by the hometown crowd, Jesus is resurrected to keep spreading the good news. Devine Defiance Many of us have heard the story about Abraham Lincoln. He was defeated seven times for elective office before winning the Presidency of the United States. He certainly defied the odds. And he did not give up. Then there was Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh earned all of $85 from his paintings during his lifetime. One hundred years after his death, just one painting alone, Dr. Bachet, sold for the incredible sum of $82.5 million. Then there was this itinerant, middle eastern preacher who lived some 2,000 years ago his ideas were definitely rejected by the people of his hometown, as well as the religious leaders of his time and country. Yet he continued his ministry as he understood it to be Devine Defiance? The point is clear. If Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, or Jesus of Nazareth had let rejection rule their lives, and let it keep them from doing and saying what they felt sure to be right our world would be incredibly impoverished today. Dianne O, Devine Defiance We can be grateful that Jesus’ hometown rejected his message – so that the message could go out into the world and spread the message of grace and love and peace to our hometown right here. A part of their anger, what that Jesus told them what they already knew about God in their hearts, but they didn’t want to accept in their actions. The most effective messages are the ones that we already know. They knew that scripture that Jesus was telling him, they just didn’t want to believe that it was to be fulfilled in this moment. Reminding Us of What We Already Know When I began my work as a preacher, I spent a lot of time poking around the pages of Scripture for something unusual. My only objective was to find something that would prompt me to say, "This will get them." I would find something in the book of Obadiah and preach on it, murmuring, "I'll bet they have never heard this before." I was right; they had never heard it before. As a result, it had no power. No authority. No sense of importance or urgency. Once in a while, I would give in and turn to a text that everybody had heard before. At coffee hour, folks would say, "Whew! You really gave it to us today!" Little by little, it began to dawn on me: The power of the prophetic word does not come from roaming a far country where no one has gone before. The real power of the gospel comes from reminding the people of God of what they already know. William G. Carter, Praying for a Whole New World, CSS Publishing Company _______________________________________ Are We Ready for Revelation? Our hymnals contain a variety of hymns which plead for an epiphany -- a moment of revelation. "Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart," we sing. Or, "Open my eyes, that I may see / Glimpses of truth thou hast for me." And again, "Talk with us, Lord, thyself reveal, / While here o'er earth we rove." But I'm not sure how ready we are for such a revealing. Often the revelation begins with new insight into ourselves; and that "revealing" is usually a painful process. The people of Nazareth managed pretty well with Jesus' revealing of himself; they found his words gracious. It was when he began to reveal their own persons to them that they became upset. His suggestion that they were like their ancestors in Elijah and Elisha's day -- who were bypassed for blessing while "outsiders" were favored -- was utterly unacceptable. J. Ellsworth Kalas, Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company As we hear the word of God – to bring peace and healing to all, not just to some. Let it resonate with what we already know about God. God loves us all, enough to send his Son Jesus to show us the way. Let us pray……… Song What Does the Lord Require of You TFWS 2174 Prayers of the People Leader: In the economy of Jesus, we are not running a for-profit industry. God’s love cannot be earned, and no one gets special treatment, even the people who follow all the rules. We welcome all people into the healing experience of witness and connection that we find in this community. Leader: Each week of this series we will be focusing on naming gifts of abundance we have received in the week, instances where we have seen the abundance of Christ at work in the world, and we will ask for the wisdom and strength to change so that abundance is more available to all. In this pause, O God, we ponder the many gifts you have given us. Our gratitude seems never enough for the plenty you provide. We call to mind the gifts of creation, of relationships, of sustenance. [pause] In this pause, Christ Jesus, we ponder the ways your love is still at work in the world. Our awe and wonder at the goodness of others is profound. We call to mind acts of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. [pause] In this pause, Holy Spirit, we come asking you for strength. The temptation to live by the economics of not-enough is so strong in us. We ask for revelation in our thinking and doing, so that we might live with healing in the house. [pause] Loving God, Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit, we are yours. We bring to you now the concerns of our day, of our communities, knowing that already you are present, already you are working to bring about comfort and healing. Today we pray for…. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment In Luke 4 Jesus returns to his home synagogue, is invited to read and then reflect on the scripture text. The listeners hear his sharp words declaring Jesus doesn’t expect to provide special action for his “homies.” For us, that points the way to recognizing Jesus’ message and actions aren’t limited to the people connected to that one community of faith. We live out that truth, knowing the gifts you bring Sunday by Sunday as our offering, include financial support for this congregation, but also go beyond these walls. (Name one or two ways the offering becomes a blessing for others. (Through your food pantry? Your support of a mission outreach? Your connection to caring for those impacted by fire, hurricane, power outages? Your engagement with warming spaces for people living on the streets?) We worship a loving God who is served in a variety of places and supported through use of the dollars we freely provide. Let us receive our morning offering. Prayer of Thanksgiving Giving God, We recognize the reality of Jesus’ work in our lives today when we lovingly share our offering. Thank you for the week-by-week awareness that your love isn’t limited to this congregation, this community, or this country. Please help us utilize these gifts to continually expand our horizons, reaching out to share bread, clean water, safety and love not only here but to the ends of the earth. AMEN Invitation to Communion The gifts we have before us each time we come to the Lord’s Table include this congregation (both here and online), musicians, clergy, and the simple, basic elements placed here. They may be presented in chalice and paten or in special trays and plates, but they are simply bread and grape juice. However, they carry significant meaning: bread which points us to the body of Jesus, and juice which reminds us of his blood. The call before us is this: “Remember!” We’re invited to put the elements into the bigger picture, re-membering the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This comes from the one who spoke clearly in the synagogue, and later in the upper room, nearly 2000 years ago. His words echo down the millennia: “This do in remembrance of me”. Paul reminded the church in Corinth “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.” All is ready; come! Communion Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook The jars are full in the Kin-dom of God. The house is full of the healing we need and the healing we are called to give away. We are transformed in the economy of Jesus, bearing the witness of dividends of grace. We have heard the call to invest our interest in the transformation of our communities. And so we go, doing likewise in the world, with the help of God, the guidance of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Now and forever. Amen. Community Time – Joys and concerns Benediction May God our Creator renew in us the creative Spirit that brings healing and life to our world. May Jesus the Christ uphold us in grace and love. May the Holy Spirit fill us with courage to be bearers of God’s song of hope in our hometown and beyond. Amen. Adapted from the Pilgrim Uniting Church website. https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/?p=256. Additional Illustrations Good and Mad - Luke 4:21-30 Before we start the message this morning I need you to do something for me. I want everybody on this side (point to the right side) to move over here (point to the left side). I want everybody in the center to move there (point to the right side). And I want everybody on this side (point to the left side) to move to the center. OK, let's go. After everyone has moved, and is uncomfortable, mad and grumbling. Did that make you mad? Of course it did. It probably made you "Good and Mad" We don't like change. We don't like being told what to do. We don't like being inconvenienced. Do we? And we get angry. We get "Good and Mad" when are. Today we find out a little bit about a time in Jesus' life and ministry when the crowds got "Good and Mad" at Him. Let's look at Luke 4:21-30. (Read the Scripture) The people of Nazareth, the people Jesus grew up with, the ones He had probably built furniture for or repaired a roof for. The people who He had attended Synagogue with, got "Hopping mad" when He confronted them about how unaccepting they were. They got "Madder than a hornet" and attempted to throw Jesus off the cliff upon which the town was built. They weren't just irritated, they weren't just mad, they were "Good and Mad"... _________________________________ Tell the Cats to Turn Around We despise people who challenge our cherished myths and kick us out of our comfort zones. The truth is that when Jesus sets about the task of saving us, he has to heal us of any myth or prejudice that is contrary to the spirit of Christ. Billy Sunday was the Billy Graham of a previous generation. He was conducting a crusade in a particular city. In one of his sermons he said something critical of the labor conditions for workers in that area. After the service, several prominent businessmen sent a message to him by one of the local pastors. The message was this---Billy, leave labor matters alone. Concentrate on getting people saved. Stay away from political issues. You’re rubbing the fur the wrong way." Billy Sunday sent this message back to them: "If I’m rubbing the fur the wrong way, tell the cats to turn around." Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, eSermons.com _______________________

Why are we Here Today?

November 12, 2023 24th Sunday after Pentecost Joshua 24:1-3,14-25 Why are we here today? Year A Prelude Greeting Call To Worship God is great, and greatly to be praised! We thank you, God, for families and friends. We thank you for the warmth of kitchens, quilts, and good neighbors. God, how great is your name throughout the earth! We thank you, God, for newborn kittens and faithful dogs, for pine trees and sunlight and crisp, clean air. Blessed be God, the rock of our salvation! We thank you, God, for the sound of laughter and the touch of love, for brand new mornings and for dreams held close. Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise with songs of praise. Come! Let us worship God. Written by Janice Jean Springer, found in Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, Updated, eds. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2012), 103-104. Invocation Wisdom, your presence illuminates our path. Shine your light into dim spaces so that we do not stray from your teaching. Help us discern what you are calling us, your church, to do and be in this moment in time. Give us urgency to be good news in the world and for our neighbors. Let your glory reign among us and your Spirit lead us into truth, justice, and love. For your name and in your name, we pray. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Cheryl Lindsay) Song My Lord What a Morning UMH 719 Responsive Reading Psalm 78 UMH 799 Children’s Sermon Decisions with middle schoolers (NEED EXAMPLES) Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Decision Time By Lois Parker Edstrom Object suggested: A wallet. Let’s talk about the decisions we make each day. We decide what to eat, when to go to bed, what clothes to put on, what to read, who will make a good friend. Can you think of more examples? Most of the examples we listed would allow many choices. When you decide what to eat you could choose between a peach or an apple, bread or a cracker, soup or yogurt, or you could choose one of each. Now let me give you an example of having two choices, but you must choose just one thing. Suppose you see a wallet lying in the street. It might have a lot of money in it. You can keep the wallet or you can try to return the wallet to its owner. This is a right or wrong decision. You must choose to do one thing or the other. The Bible tells us the story of Joshua, a leader of a group of people called the Israelites and it is a story about making an important decision. This group of people, the Israelites, had been slaves in Egypt and Joshua was one of the men who led them out to a new land. God had protected and helped the people during this journey, but some chose to worship other gods which, in this story, are called foreign gods. Joshua wanted the Israelites to understand that they must choose to serve God or the foreign gods; they could not worship both. They had two choices and Joshua asked them to make one decision. He told them, “… choose this day whom you will serve…” (24:15). Joshua made this important decision for himself. He said, “… as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh (the Lord)” (24:15). Each one of us is also given this choice. We can choose to serve and worship God or do our own thing without God. It is the most important decision you will ever make. Scripture quotations from the World English Bible Copyright 2012, Richard Niell Donovan Baptism of Chandler Stickel (Call children up to think about baptism first – don’t print this) Scripture Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25 Sermon Why are we here today? Perhaps you have heard about the man who died, then awoke in a splendid city of golden streets and fine homes. He was shown to one of the finest, one with a rolling front yard, lovely flowers, luxuriant shrubs. Wondering how to care for those things, he was told that others would do that for him. So, he climbed into a hammock and spent the day contemplating his happy state. Days passed, then weeks. Finally, bored, he sought to do some yard work, but was told that he might not. He then inquired what kind of work he could do. He was told by the follow in charge that he was not allowed to do anything but rest. Finally, the man complained, he said, I never thought that heaven would be this boring. The man in charge stared at him for a minute, then said, what made you think that you were in heaven? I don’t want to say that you have to work hard in order to get into heaven, but I will say that God expects us to keep busy. Most definitely, we are not expected to get comfortable with boredom. The verb “to serve” is repeated seven times just in these last two verses, verses 14-15. It appears fifteen times in this one chapter. Joshua clearly believes that the purpose of his life, the purpose of everyone’s life, is to serve the Lord with all faithfulness. But before they could wholeheartedly serve their Redeemer God, they had to deal with some garbage in their lives. There was something they needed to throw away. This is a fitting message for the stewardship campaign as we are encouraged to love the lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and spirit. And we are encouraged to support the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, witness and our service. This is also a fitting scripture as we welcome baby Chandler into our church family. Baptism is stewardship in action – we have a chance to remember our commitment to God, but we also make a new promised to pass on our faith to the next generation. God challenges us to build a house big enough for all. God is the center of the house, but the house is big enough to include all of God’s children from the littlest to the oldest. When the multimillionaire, Andrew Carnegie, was building a new home for his family, he instructed the architect to place the following inscription over the living-room fireplace: "This hearth is our family altar - its warmth reminds us of Christ's presence in our home." After the house and fireplace were completed, the architect went to Carnegie and said, "You'll have to choose another motto, that one is too long to fit over the fireplace." "No!" said the millionaire, "I want those words. If you must, then tear down that fireplace and build a bigger one." The architect informed him, "Sir, you cannot build a bigger fireplace without building a bigger room!" "All right," was the reply, "tear out the walls and build a bigger room!" The architect then said, "But a bigger room will throw the entire house out of proportion!" "Then tear the entire house down and start over," the millionaire said, "for we must have that motto as a constant reminder that Christ is in our home!" We could say that Andrew Carnegie built his home around the conviction that Jesus Christ was central in his family. Are you building your home around that same conviction? Does your daily life reflect the truth that you really believe Christ is present in your home? Do you show your family that Christ is central to your praying with them? Or is the Lord's Prayer in worship the only time your family prays together? Sometimes we have to build a bigger house with our spirits. Including God in everything that we do can take a lot of work, a lot of effort, and being willing to make the right choices. • We don’t get to read a lot about Joshua’s leadership. Joshua took over leading the Isrealites after Moses retired. Near the closing verses of Joshua. One of the last things he does alive. Before it closes, they bury the bones of Joseph in the promised land • Promise of Genesis: You will be a great nation in this land. • Genesis closes with a great nation in the wrong land • Exodus closes with the nation on the border of the land. • Joshua is the story of possessing the land. It contains some of the most disturbing parts of the Bible. They are now a great people in the land A side note- I think that one of the reasons that we don’t read a lot of the book of Joshua – is because it is a violent book about how they destroyed a lot of people in order to posess the promiseland. Nevertheless, Joshua reminds the people of how far they have come and how far God has brought them. Joshua reminds them that all of the way – it has been a covenant partnership – God and dedication has fulfilled their destiny. Just Friday, I heard a jewish family saying for the second time this week – that I think sums up the message of Joshua – You are not responsible for building the kingdom all by yourself, but you also are not free to walk away from the work that needs to be done. It is all about service, obedience and commitment. Imagine this story – Joshua is an old man, about to retire. He had led the community for many years, he has watched children grow into productive adults. He has seen babies born, he has seen the community grow and change. What started out as a budding dream has become a full blown reality. And many of the children living in that reality, take it for granted. But just before he retires he calls this complicated society together and gives them some words of wisdom – those words have lasted until today. Father Joshua tells us to put aside the Gods that are constantly vying for our attention, concern and duty – and to choose to serve God. Everyday we have to intentionally choose God, or someone or something else will make that choice for us. We have to choose who is going to be God in your life. He encourages us to think about how God has proven to be faithful than the other Gods in our life. We each have to decide who is going to be God in our life. We have to be willing to make a commitment to that God. And to be an example for someone to make that same choice. Many years ago, near the royal English residence on the Isle of Wight, stood several homes for the poor and aged. A missionary, visiting one of the homes, asked a lady, "Does Queen Victoria ever call on you here?" "Oh, yes," was the answer. "Her Majesty frequently comes here to see us." Then, wondering if the woman was a Christian, the missionary inquired, "Does the King of Kings ever visit here?" The lady immediately gave him a happy smile and said, "No sir, he doesn't visit here. Praise God, He lives here! That's why we are so richly blessed!" Does the King of Kings live in your home? Does it have a spiritual atmosphere? Do the plaques on the wall, the books on the shelves, and the records on your stereo announce to those who visit that Christ is central in your home? If you want to have a strong Christian home, your family life must revolve around the powerful presence of Jesus Christ. What are some ways in your life that you choose God? Joshua chose God by choosing to be an example to us all – he says as for me and my house we will choose God. God is calling the Church and saying.... “Church, I have a project for you –a mission that will repurpose, redesign, remodel, renew, and restore one of my fields. Are you up for it? Can you do it? Will you be my creative, innovative “minds in the field”? How many of you have seen an episode of “This Old House”? How many know what I’m talking about? The show, on television for nearly 40 years (since 1979), now also has a website and a magazine. The innovative show has developed a “buzz” as the “go-to” site for creative hands-on remodeling --for men and women alike! Its premise is simple: how to take an ordinary, drab, old, crumbling, or even condemned house, a “fixer-upper” if you will, and renovate and revision that house into a new, sound, and exquisite piece of art based on the identity and style of the homeowner, still while remaining true to the feel of the neighborhood or context. For many, the proposed renovation of a home becomes more than a hobby or a project. It becomes a mission driven by passion, desire, commitment, confidence, a little bit of risk-taking, and a lot of faith in the finesse of your master designer. Creative designer and imagineer Russell Morash conceived of the idea for “This Old House” as he was designing and renovating his own 19th century home. He wanted to help other people do what he could do. But he also wanted to jumpstart others’ imagination and innovation. He dreamed of encouraging people to draw upon their own creative potential! He wanted to help people learn and discover ways of making the house of their choice into a unique reflection both of owner identity and the style of a certain “place and space.” He didn’t just want to show people the nuts and bolts of renovation. He wanted to, as he puts it, “expand the viewers’ perceptions of what a home can be.”* In fact, Jesus is the ultimate Designer and Blueprint all in one. He’s put down the downpayment on the House, He’s given us the blueprint for Eternal Life. And He’s asked us to join Him on an awesome and challenging mission –to repurpose lives, build bridges of communication, connect people in love, beautify relationships, install windows to the world, restore hearts to God. He’s even pointed us to mission “fields” within His Vineyard that need restoring. The choice of fields is up to us. All we need to do is follow along, learn, and try it all out! Right? Granted, home remodeling takes time, dedication, imagination, and a lot of faith. Life remodeling does too. Just ask Jesus! But He’ll be working right beside us. He is our “go-to” master craftsman who knows how to revision, re-mission, re-beautify life! And the Church! He’s got the grand design. And He’s ready to break ground! So why aren’t we excited? What are some ways that we can work to build a home, with God in the center of everything that we do? We can still welcome the next generation into the family, we are still faced with choices that make a difference, we still have a job to do for the community. Is you’re the world important enough to you to give it an extreme home makeover? Former President George Bush was asked the question, "What is your greatest accomplishment in life?" He could have replied that as a fighter pilot in World War II, he was shot down and survived. He could have mentioned that he was the U.S. Ambassador to China, the Vice President of the United States or the President of the United States. He could have talked about his victory in the first Gulf War or the fact that he had two sons that served as governors and one son who is now President, but he didn't say any of that. When asked what his greatest accomplishment in life was George Bush said, "My children still come home." Children will always want to come home, when that home is always under the extreme home makeover that God alone can give. ________________________________________ [1] Cited by Steve Farrar, Getting' There, p. 150 ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by James Merritt It is up to us to be the Joshua people of today – Jesus, Yshua is actually named after Joshua. Jesus calls us to be obedient disciples in service to those around us. We are called to create a home with God as the center, to choose God above everything else and to serve God with everything that we have. We have to be intentional about serving God everyday. I will leave you with this prayer of encouragement. There is a powerful prayer by a man named Joe Seremane that expresses how much we miss out on when we hold back from yielding our hearts to the Lord. Seremane writes, “You asked for my hands that I might use them for your purpose. I gave them for a moment then withdrew them, for the work was hard. “You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice. I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused. “You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty. I closed them, for I did not want to see. “You asked for my life that you might work through me. I gave a small part, that I might not get ‘too involved.’ “Lord, forgive me for my calculated efforts to serve you only when it is convenient for me to do so, only in places where it is safe to do so and only with those who make it easy to do so. My prayer is that we each have to strength to choose God everyday. Amen. Song The Summons TFWS 2130 Pastoral Prayer (Just print the title, not the words) Lord, we are a stubborn and impatient people. We always want to know how things will end. We want to know what the schedule is. We want a "daily planner" from you so that we can be ready. It is interesting that you have already given us a daily planner. The Holy Spirit, who has been given to comfort and guide us, is our daily planner. Daily we are called to come before you in prayer and praise; daily we are challenged by your Holy Spirit to find ways to serve your people in your world. And we do acknowledge this, somewhat. But we still would like to know when we need to have all the "oil for our lamps". Why is it so hard, Lord, for us to be continually ready? Is it because we have placed you to one side in our lives, and when we think you are coming we take our faith down from the shelf and dust it off? Help us to place you at the center of our lives, seeking to daily prepare ourselves for your coming again in glory. As we have brought before you the names of those people who are near and dear to us, we ask your healing love and blessing for them. Their needs are great and our abilities are limited. But we know that with your love, all things are possible. Give us such courage and perseverance that we may faithfully proclaim your love to all creation. Make us ready to receive you, now, in this place and everywhere we are. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (explain campaign) Offertory Prayer (Print) Loving God, you are our strength. Thank you for your wondrous works. May our praise to you continue from generation to generation. Lord speak to us and teach us new ways to reach new generations, so that they may know the love and care that you have given to us. Use these gifts to develop programs that will draw new people to you. Bless these gifts, Thank you for all that you have given us and for all that we will receive. Let it be used to glorify Your Holy Name. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Litany [Pentecost 25, Witness, Discipleship, Growth & Change, Commitment, Grace & Mercy, Personal Holiness, Personal Service] L: Ready! Set! Go! P: Wait a minute! Ready for what? L: The Lord is coming to us. We need to be ready P: Just a minute. What is the date? Do you have an arrival time? L: That’s not important. We just need to be ready. P: Listen! That’s not the way the world works. You have to plan these things out. L: But it is the way the Lord works. P: And this "set" business.....what is that all about? L: Taking stock of our lives, healing old wounds, reconciling relationships, forgiveness, service to others, most of all practicing God’s love as Jesus taught us. P: Right now, I have all I can handle. Relationships, old wounds, angers, work for God. I have to see if I can fit it into my schedule. Anyway, won’t God give me a little "grace" period? L: God has always given you a "grace" period. It is your life! P: What do you mean? L: God has offered you blessings and given you gifts. God asks you to be ready to serve, to make a choice. P: Ready to serve God or my schedule? L: Ready to place God first in your life. If you do this, the other things will fall into place. P: I need to reconsider the choices I have made. L: Choose God. Be ready to Go into God’s world to serve. P: Ready: the Lord is Coming. Set: Get your priorities in order, placing God first. Go: serve God. I can do that. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Announcements Closing Prayer for those on Facebook God has called and chosen you to be witnesses to hope and peace in God’s world. Go in peace and this same healing, reconciling love and peace will be with you. Go and serve the Lord your God in all that you do. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Invite congregants to turn and face the closest doorway and/or threshold. As you prepare to cross the threshold from this place out into the world and as you encounter doorways and thresholds throughout your week, repeat this blessing: May gratitude abound as I meet God and neighbor in this place. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, May 2023. Additional Illustrations A family moved to a new city where the father's company had transferred him. This meant that little Sharon would enter the first grade in a brand-new school. On the first day of class, the teacher was asking each student to provide her with some information as she called the roll. After asking for the proper spelling of her name, the teacher asked Sharon for her address. The youngster replied, "Miss Smith, we don't have an address yet!" "Oh," said the teacher, "your family doesn't have a home yet?" Sharon replied, "Yes, ma'am, we have a home; we just haven't found a house to put it in!" A little boy asked his busy mother to help him find something to do. So the mother found a large map of the United States on a page in a magazine. With a pair of scissors, she cut up the map into small pieces like a puzzle. Then she gave the pieces and some tape to her son and challenged him to put it together. The youngster returned in almost no time with the map together. Mother was amazed and said, "Son, how did you get that entire map of the United States together so fast?" The youngster said, "It was easy. On the back of the map was a picture of a family. So I turned it over and started to work. Once I got the family put together, the country turned out just right." How true that is! The strength of our nation depends on the strength of our families. Let us be challenged today to work hard to make our houses into homes,... where positive Christian values are transmitted from one generation to the next;... where friends are welcomed and children are more valuable than furniture;... where undesirable pressures are kept out, and where Jesus Christ is kept centralThat's how you make a house a home! C.S.S. Publishing Company, HOME IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD, by R. E. Lybrand Last week we began a series titled The Joshua Principles. And the first Principle was Joshua People Always Look Forward With Hope. We talked about how Hope is based on Trust and Trust is based on Faith and the implications that has in our daily lives and in the life and future of the Church. Today the Joshua Principle I want to look at is "Joshua People Obey and Serve." I think this falls right in step with where we left off last week. You see Faith in God builds Trust which builds Hope. When we Trust God and are Faithful, then God is Faithful too and that deepens our Hope. When we Trust God and are Faithful, then we will Obey God and follow God's Will. I want us to look at two passages this morning. When that happens, within that family of faith we are supported and strengthened and sometimes even rescued. Some of you may have seen this clip form KruegerNational Park on Youtube. The full length version might be a little scary for the little ones, so I've tried to edit it so it still makes its point. And it does have a great ending. (Water Buffalo Clip) I loved how the entire herd came back to rescue that calf. They knew the power of the claws of the lions but they also knew the greater power of the herd. And those water buffalo who sent the lions running and flying, knew the rest of the herd was behind them. That's the way it should be in every church, every faith community. It's good to have a herd. And when the Herd trusts God and is faithful to God through Obedience there is a strength that can't be destroyed. If you remember the 1984 movie, Ralph Macchio plays a new kid who gets crossways with a group of school in crowd bullies. They make his life miserable. The custodian, Mr. Miyagi played by Pat Morita, is a Japanese man who takes an interest in Daniel and says he will train him in Karate. When Daniel shows up, Mr. Miyagi doesn't give him any Karate instructions, he simple gives Daniel a series of what appear to be useless chores. Feeling a little like slave labor, Daniel confronts Mr. Miyagi. (CLIP) The results, of course, are Daniel's ability to transfer that the muscle memory into the needed defensive moves in karate. Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, who some are calling "Captain Marvel" is a former Air Force fighter pilot who has flown for US Airways for 29 years. He has over 19,000 hours in the air and runs his own safety consulting firm. After 29 years of flying, after 29 years of pre-flight checks, safety checks and all the minutia of flying, you would think maybe someone might begin to take shortcuts, right? And Captain Vince Lombardi (that's his real name, in an interview on Today said he and his crew devote two hours a month to practicing safety drills, man overboard rescue drills and the like to prepare for events like this which we all hope will never happen. It would be easy to say, "Oh, you know for the last six months all of our drills were perfect, we don't need the practice anymore." Shortcuts seem easy. We all tend to do it. Driving on the highway for example. When we were younger, the fear of getting a ticket kept us from speeding. But then we started driving to work every day and when we did the speed limit we felt like we were getting run over by the traffic. Then we began driving fast enough to keep up with the traffic so we didn't impede the flow. And pretty soon you're screaming and hollering at the idiot in front of you who won't get out of the way, right? These two men, their crews and all of the people involved in this event, were diligent in their obedience to following the proper procedures and drills. My contention is that because that, when it came to a time of testing, they were ready to serve and give everything through that service. They didn't have to stop and think about what was right or wrong, they knew and they did almost instinctually. And that only comes from Faith, Trust and Obedience. Why aren’t we excited to “remodel” the Lord’s house? Or in our scripture for today –both Jesus and Joshua call it the “Lord’s Vineyard.” But whichever name you choose, God is the owner and grand designer. We are the tenants, the ones who live on God’s great earth, in God’s house, on God’s vineyard. We are God’s resident tenants, attendants, and staffers. God invests in us and bequests us with creativity to carry out some renovations on God’s behalf. In our scriptures for today, God tells people (through Joshua) at Shechem that it’s time to design and contract a new house in a new place! Time for renovations. Time to put down roots in a “vineyard” they did not plant, to restore people to life in a town they did not build! Are they up for this new project? Are they game for this new contract? Do they have the passion for it? The strength? The daring? The heart? Another issue just as important as the generation gap has to be brought up before we dive into the story told in Joshua 24. The issue in mind has to do with the relationships we nurture across the years. Some people say that all of us give attention to at least four basic relationships throughout our lives: our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves, our relationship with others, and our relationship with what’s around us, or in other words, our relationship with things. Each of these relationships takes some of our time and demands a certain portion of our energies. Figuring out which relationship matters most can be tricky. Kathleen Kolar was an experienced hiker, having hiked in several popular west coast locations. When visiting Hawaii, she decided to hike a trail that was a grueling eleven miles long. The trail has stream crossings, lava ridges, lush valleys, and 100-foot drop-offs to rocky beaches below. The trek was everything Kathleen had heard — "difficult but spectacular." On her way back, she found herself a "little off trail." She wasn't concerned, all she would have to do is retrace her steps and she would be fine. She was sure the trail would loop around. She continued for a while before realizing that she was well off the trail — in other words, lost. She climbed a steep wall, which used to be a waterfall, hoping to once again find the trail. "It's just you and me, Lord," she prayed. "You alone can get me out of this mess." Things went from bad to worse. She found herself on a small foot-and-a-half perch. She was horrified. It was then that Kathleen realized that she needed to stop so rescuers could find her. It was getting dark; she would have to spend the night on the perch. "I cried and was angry at myself for being so stupid." The next morning, she felt God show her that this hike was similar to her life. She realized how at times her choices had led her away from God. And how those choices would affect her "further down life's path." "On that tiny ledge, I realized that if I were to truly live for God," she explains, "I would have to get to know him better." It took most of the day before anyone found her because of where she was. Unfortunately, the rescuers could not reach her. She would have to spend a second night on that ledge. "I was tired, thirsty, very sunburned and spent," she recalled. Before she was rescued by a helicopter the next day, she felt God remind her of the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. "I'd loved Jesus since I was eleven," she said, "but I hadn't yet surrendered my claim on my life. I was still going my own way. Those nights on the ledge, I determined to make knowing God's heart, thoughts, and purposes my passion in life." Another lesson she learned from her experience was that you cannot continue down a wrong path and remain untouched by the consequences. From now on Kathleen says, "I'm letting God lead — and following his path for my life."2 Joshua challenges us today asking what kind of people will we be and to whom will we commit ourselves? Commitment is one of those words that either makes us feel uncomfortable or something that we can easily dismiss as not all that important. While Jesus calls us to be faithful, the choice remains with us this day. In a sense it is a daily choice, a daily commitment, because there are so many things that deceive us, tempt us, and lead us astray. Choose the Lord. Amen.

Making our Way Home

March 27, 2022 Fourth Sunday of Lent Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Making our Way Home Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship L: Come, let us celebrate the forgiving, reconciling love of God. P: For once we were lost and felt so far away; now we have been found and welcomed home. L: Know that God’s love is lavished upon you forever. P: We rejoice at the news of forgiveness and hope! L: Come, let us celebrate and praise the God of Love. P: AMEN! (Nancy C. Townley) Responsive Reading Psalm 32 (UMH 766) Hymn of Praise Lift High the Cross UMH 159 Prayer of Reflection and Growth Holy Breath of Life, There are moments when our decisions do not take into consideration the well-being of our neighbors. There are times when our reactions turn inward instead of building healthy reconciliation. How is it that we are holding back our neighbor’s rebirth? How are our implicit and explicit biases restricting God’s grace and radical love? How do our actions and biases impede our own spiritual growth? Urge us to be life-giving agents of your love. May each of our steps be healing not only to us, but to our siblings on the journey. Amen. Assurance of God’s Grace God, our Divine Parent, runs towards us with infinite love and grace. May the mercy we experience transform our minds, hearts, and souls. May we extend God’s grace as we run towards our Divine Parent. (Rev. Michelle Torigian) Passing of the Peace The God of love forgives you, accepts you and enfolds you in his peace. The peace of the Lord be always with you And also with you. (Taken from “Glimpses of Glory” by David Adam) Scripture Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Occasions for celebration 15 All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. 2 The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Jesus told them this parable: Read full chapter Luke 15:11-32 Common English Bible 11 Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ Then the father divided his estate between them. 13 Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away. There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living. 14 “When he had used up his resources, a severe food shortage arose in that country and he began to be in need. 15 He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to eat his fill from what the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, but I’m starving to death! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son. Take me on as one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. 21 Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! 23 Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting 24 because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field. Coming in from the field, he approached the house and heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. 27 The servant replied, ‘Your brother has arrived, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he received his son back safe and sound.’ 28 Then the older son was furious and didn’t want to enter in, but his father came out and begged him. 29 He answered his father, ‘Look, I’ve served you all these years, and I never disobeyed your instruction. Yet you’ve never given me as much as a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours returned, after gobbling up your estate on prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ 31 Then his father said, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.’” Sermon – Making our Way Home This is one of those stories that we have heard over and over again. Some have called the story the prodigal father, some have called it the prodigal son, I have even done a monologue on the story called the prodigal mother. Prodigal means spendthrifty or overly generous. The common understanding of the story is that the son is the sinner like us, and God is the prodigal father who gives us the overabundance of forgiveness. I just this year heard one story that the older son represents the jews who were in the family of God and the younger son represents Christians who live under grace. The bible uses family dynamics to teach us many lessons about ourselves, and about how we relate to God. When I hear this story I always relate as the older sibling, who had a younger sister who seemed to get away with everything. Where do you see yourself in the story? I wonder if Jesus knew this story personally, watched this dynamic play out perhaps in the neighborhood, or even in his own family. And thought it was the perfect story. In Luke 15 the pharisees are questioning Jesus, why is he bothering to talk to sinners, outcast, women, people who are not a part of God’s society? Jesus tells a series of stories of lost people who have been found. Jesus is tells this story to help us realize that God loves all people equally, but he does not love us all the same. There is a difference between equality and fairness. As children of God, God gives us what we need at the time, which does not seem fair to some people. It is not so much important as to who we are in the story – what really matters is who we are today. The story is left kinda openended. After the party – did the younger son finally stay with his father and take care of him? Did the older son forgive his brother and learn to live along side of him? In the father’s last days – which son was by his side – all questions which we will never know. I asked earlier, what if Jesus knew this family personally, because Jesus knows each of us. The story is left incomplete, so that it can include us, and our situation. The father did not love his sons the same, but at the end of the story the party was for both of them. Each of them played a part in the situation, but the party was to call each of them home. The sinner and the self righteous all have a journey to make during the Lenten season. We all have to do the work of reconciliation, with ourselves, with our family, with our community and most importantly with God. Easter is a celebration of coming home. What road will we take this month to get there? Prayer Holy God, when we wander from the way, call us back; When we stray from the truth, redirect us; When we do not live life to the full, inspire and refresh us. May we and your whole church follow him who is the way, the truth and the life. We pray for all who have wandered away from the faith, for all who have lost touch with you and your love. We remember all who are pilgrims and seekers. Lord, we turn to you. Lord we pray for all who are separated from loved ones, through war or circumstance, for those who have left home or become lost. We pray for all who live in poverty and debt. Lord, we turn to you. We give thanks for our families, our parents and all who love us. We pray especially for those who are dear to us but with whom we have lost contact. We pray for all who are called home into your kingdom where sorrow and pain are no more. We remember especially whom we hold within our hearts. Lord We ask for your mercy. Amen (Taken from “Glimpses of Glory” but David Adam) Lord’s Prayer Hymn of Dedication What Wondrous Love is this UMH 292 Stewardship Moment Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son seems so familiar, we find it easy to gloss over. However, what happens if we title this text “The story of a father and his two sons”? When we put the focus on the father, we see: he is a GIVER! He gives his younger son his portion of what will be his when the father dies (by tradition, the younger son receives less than the older). The father mourns when the younger son disappears, but he gives thanks when the son returns. No matter that the son wasted his inheritance. The father celebrates, killing the calf and he gives a party for the son, who “was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” When the elder son angrily objects, the father gives assurance; “all that is mine is yours”. The whole of what remains will go to this son! When we breathe in this parable, does it inspire you to be givers? Because we have been loved, and given so many gifts (you might name some of them, i.e. life, air, food, water, relationships, communion, the church, salvation…), our instinctive response to this abundance is generosity (because I’ve received, now let ME give!). Today, let’s joyfully share our resources, knowing we, too, could be known as GIVERS. Prayer of Thanksgiving Good and gracious God, Receive these gifts, offered from the abundance we’ve received from you. Help us recognize the needs around us and then respond in faith. Encourage us to grow in our desire to give, even as we rejoice in the father’s generous giving to both his sons! AMEN (Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for those on Facebook May our spirits come alive in this season of Lent When we run to God, our Divine Parent, with the hopes of strengthening our bonds, When we embrace the Christ, our Divine Neighbor, with the hopes of reconciliation, When we breathe with the Spirit, our Divine Encourager, in the hopes of peace. Amen. ( Rev. Michelle Torigian) Community Time Benediction The Father comes to meet you in love. The Son comes to you with forgiveness. The Spirit comes to refresh and restore you. Go on Peace (Taken from “Glimpses of Glory” by David Adam) Children’s Sermon Have you ever run away from home? Additional illustrations When have you been generous enough to forgive someone who hurt you deeply? Is there someone you need to forgive or ask forgiveness of?

Crisis Literature

November 29, 2020 Mark 13:24-37 Crisis Literature 1st Sunday of Advent Year B Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer Almighty God, as we begin this season of Advent remind us again that in the midst of our darkness you are bringing us peace, to calm our anxious spirits and hectic lives. Turn our hearts again toward you. Make us ready to receive your Son our Savior. Slow our pace, and give us the blessing of feeling your peace in our spirits. For we ask this in Jesus’ precious Name. AMEN. Lighting the Advent Candle Stewardship Moment The beginning of the season of giving – giving our hearts Scripture This is the first Sunday of the lectionary new year. Not all churches follow the lectionary. I grew up in a free church tradition, but I really appreciate the lectionary, because I have found that the scriptures of the week always magically address whatever issues that need to be mentioned. Following the lectionary allows me to have some structure to my devotional time. It also keeps all of the different people who play a part in the service on the same page, headed in the same direction even though we don’t all agree with one another. Of course there is a gospel lesson. There are four gospels, but only three lectionary years. The gospel for year B is Mark. Mark is the shortest of the books, so we also read parts of the Gospel of John. Mark is the earliest of the gospels. It is obvious that both Matthew and Luke used the book of Mark as a reference. We are not really sure of who Mark is, it seems that he was a follower of both Paul and Peter. A lot of his writings seem to come from Peter’s sermons. Mark was written in 70 AD, just a little before the temple of Israel was destroyed. Mark may have followed the disciples, but he did not think very much of them. Mark writes for a gentile audience, unlike Matthew and Luke who are both speaking to Hebrews. One of the themes of Mark is the messianic secret. Mark’s Jesus constantly tells those who deals with not to tell anyone what they witnessed. Mark is my favorite book. Mark is very down to earth and tells it like it is. Mark believes in magic and talks a lot about angels, demons and ghost. But he also has a great understanding of human behavior and does not have a problem calling out people’s dumb behavior. The church would not have been developed when Mark was writing, so there is not a lot of church tradition in his writing. There are only 16 chapters in the book. It is believed that the last 4 verses that talk about the mission of the church to spread the gospel throughout the world was added later. Mark has no need for the birth stories – because the beginning of our faith is the resurrection of Christ. Mark starts his book off with the prophecy of the one to come. In chapter one he talks about John the Baptist and Jesus getting baptized by his cousin. This starts his year long ministry before he is killed. The book ends with his resurrection appearing to the women at the tomb and later to the disciples. By now many of you should have got your worship bags. Included is a advent reading plan of Mark. I thought it would be good to read it in this season, so that when you hear the stories in a sermon you are familiar with them. Since Christmas is not Mark’s thing, as we get closer to the 25th – we will read about the prophecies of the messiah and the birth stories in Matthew and Luke. The first Sunday of advent always starts with the second coming of Christ. It always starts with God noisily breaking into the chaos and confusion of our world. So this Sunday we are reading Mark 13. Mark may have been a gentile, but he understood how to speak to the Hebrews. He uses a lot of popular text of the day. Mark 13 is apocalytptic literature – meaning it speaks of the day of the lord at the end of time. The books of Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel are examples of apocalyptic literature. It is written to address a crisis, and to show how God will rescue the faithful from the effects of that crisis. In Mark 13 the crisis is personal for Jesus – he is preaching and teaching things that put him at odds with the leaders of the day. He says that the temple will be destroyed, those are fighting words for a building that is the foundation of their lives. Mark’s advent message is that we do not know when the day of the lord will come. But we can expect it in our generation. We need to stay alert, pay attention, and wait on God to transform the world. Mark 13:24-37 Common English Bible 24 “In those days, after the suffering of that time, the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. 25 The stars will fall from the sky, and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Human One[a] coming in the clouds with great power and splendor. 27 Then he will send the angels and gather together his chosen people from the four corners of the earth, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. A lesson from the fig tree 28 “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that he’s near, at the door. 30 I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away. 32 “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. 33 Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. 34 It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a job to do, and told the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35 Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know when the head of the household will come, whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows in the early morning or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!” Sermon – Crisis Literature Today I want to read to you a poem that is based on a rather famous poem about Christmas called ‘Twas the Beginning of Advent’. It is by a friend of mine - Todd Jenkins. It will tell you a little bit about this season we celebrate. 'Twas the beginning of Advent and all through the Church Our hope was all dying-- we'd given up on the search. It wasn't so much that Christ wasn't invited, But after 2,000 plus years we were no longer excited. Oh, we knew what was coming-- no doubt about that. And that was the trouble-- it was all "old hat." November brought the first of an unending series of pains With carefully orchestrated advertising campaigns. There were gadgets and dolls and all sorts of toys. Enough to seduce even the most devout girls and boys. Unfortunately, it seemed, no one was completely exempt From this seasonal virus that did all of us tempt. The priests and prophets and certainly the kings Were all so consumed with the desire for "things!" It was rare, if at all, that you'd hear of the reason For the origin of this whole holy-day season. A baby, it seems, once had been born In the mid-east somewhere on that first holy-day morn. But what does that mean for folks like us, Who've lost ourselves in the hoopla and fuss? Can we re-learn the art of wondering and waiting, Of hoping and praying, and anticipating? Can we let go of all the things and the stuff? Can we open our hands and our hearts long enough? Can we open our eyes and open our ears? Can we find him again after all of these years? Will this year be different from all the rest? Will we be able to offer him all of our best? So many questions, unanswered thus far, As wise men seeking the home of the star. Where do we begin-- how do we start To make for the child a place in our heart? Perhaps we begin by letting go Of our limits on hope, and of the stuff that we know. Let go of the shopping, of the chaos and fuss, Let go of the searching, let Christmas find us. We open our hearts, our hands and our eyes, To see the king coming in our own neighbours' cries. We look without seeking what we think we've earned, But rather we're looking for relationships spurned. With him he brings wholeness and newness of life For brother and sister, for husband and wife. The Christ-child comes not by our skill, But rather he comes by his own Father's will. We can't make him come with parties and bright trees, But only by getting down on our knees. He'll come if we wait amidst our affliction, Coming in spite of, not by our restriction. His coming will happen-- of this there's no doubt. The question is whether we'll be in or out. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Do you have the courage to peer through the lock? A basket on your porch, a child in your reach. A baby to love, to feed and to teach. He'll grow in wisdom as God's only Son. How far will we follow this radical one? He'll lead us to challenge the way that things are. He'll lead us to follow a single bright star. But that will come later if we're still around. The question for now: Is the child to be found? Can we block out commercials, the hype and the malls? Can we find solitude in our holy halls? Can we keep alert, keep hope, stay awake? Can we receive the child for ours and God's sake? From on high with the carolling host as he sees us, He yearns to read on our lips the prayer: Come Lord Jesus! As Advent begins all these questions make plea. The only true answer: We will see, we will see. Todd Jenkins, quoted by Richard J. Fairchild, "T'was The Beginning of Advent" I did not write that story, it was written by Todd Jenkins. It seems that we are off to a great start to the advent season. Decorations are coming up everywhere, some people have been decorating since September. It is obvious that people need Christmas this year. We are seeking that feeling of home. We need to feel safe, comfortable and loved. Christmas is about coming home. We need to put aside the chaos and confusion and trouble and find some sense of peace. There is a story of a young child starting school – after a few hours he started to cry. The teacher asked if he was home sick. He said not I am here sick. There are a lot of us who are sick of here. Sometimes home is not where the heart is. This Christmas season is definitely calling us all home. We dream of a world where we are all happy, we have a spirit of community, we want to help and reach out to others. We want to sing the songs, we want to see the lights. We want to celebrate. Being home begins with the condition of our hearts. If we need Christmas more than ever, we also need advent this year. We need to be prepared for God to come and straighten this all out. 2020 had a lot of hope, but in reality we have all been challenged. And there is a lot of blame on the year itself, as if when 2021 comes all of this is going to disappear. That might not happen, I don’t think trouble has a calendar to know the date. And yet as I take my advent vacation, I feel God calling me to sit still, be quiet, to listen a little more, to walk a little closer to God in prayer and study – to get ready for a brand new journey. I need to do what I can to move forward all the while trusting God. We all miss our church, we all miss being in the sanctuary, we miss being all together. We will get back together. But when that day comes, we may have to work harder to be a church, we will have to be more determined to fulfill our mission to be disciples of Christ that are an example to others. We may have to be the change we are looking for. More importantly we will have to be alert to see the change. There was a young women from Chicago who loved the Cubs. She waited for years for them to win the championship. The year they won, she had moved to London. Because of the time change she was asleep when they finally won the game. When the day comes when we can meet safely, we too want to be spiritually prepared to be the church. For now, our job is to watch for God, to work for change, and to wait for things to get better. What are you waiting for? More importantly what does you waiting look like? Advent is the time to find out. Let us pray… Advent Prayer Prayer for the waiting O God we are waiting for your creative spark to ignite us and transform us. We are waiting for your healing and comfort for lives taken by coronavirus, for the damage done to our earth and the violence that has ripped through too many communities. O God, we wait in hope. We are waiting for your justice to sway the rich and powerful to care for the poor, the lonely, the orphaned and the immigrant but also know that our hearts and hands must act for change. O God, we wait in peace. We are waiting for the whole world to tilt away from death and destruction toward play and imagination. O God, we wait in joy. We are waiting for love to come again and remind us again that it does not require any talent on our part, for you do your work. O God we wait with love. Help us, O God to paint and dance, to sing and scribble, to use our hands to create your realm even as we wait. Amen. Song for Reflection People Look East UMH 202 Announcements Benediction 1 Community Time Benediction 2 The light of the Candle of Peace goes before us, offering hope and healing to a darkened world. Go into the world, confident in God’s presence with you. Bring the words and actions of peace to all God’s people. And the blessings of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit be with you always. AMEN.. Children’s Moment An unlit candle Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - Getting Ready - Mark 13:24-37 It is hard for us to understand Jesus' delay in his coming. God's time clock is certainly out of sync with ours as Little Jimmy learned one day as he was laying on a hill in the middle of a meadow on a warm spring day. Puffy white clouds rolled by and he pondered their shape. Soon, he began to think about God. "God? Are you really there?" Jimmy said out loud. To his astonishment a voice came from the clouds. "Yes, Jimmy? What can I do for you?" Seizing the opportunity, Jimmy asked, "God? What is a million years like to you?" Knowing that Jimmy could not understand the concept of infinity, God responded in a manner to which Jimmy could relate. "A million years to me, Jimmy, is like a minute." "Oh," said Jimmy. "Well, then, what's a million dollars like to you?" "A million dollars to me, Jimmy, is like a penny." "Wow!" remarked Jimmy, getting an idea. "You're so generous... can I have one of your pennies?" God replied, "Sure thing, Jimmy! Just a minute." Little Jimmy wasn't ready for that response was he? Our text this morning seems an unlikely scripture for Advent. It has nothing to do with Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men, of shepherds watching their flock. Instead it is story about a wealthy landowner going on a trip. The servants left behind were given charge of the estate and when the master returned he would check on their stewardship. It is a story about being prepared, getting ready. In that sense then this is an Advent story, for this is the season of preparedness. Consider with me a moment that... 1. God Identifies with the Human Situation. 2. Advent Is Time to Get Ready for the Return of Christ. Stay Awake! - Mark 13:24-37 A young professional woman from Ohio decided to seek her fortune, discern her vocation, and potentially change her life for the better by moving to England. She relocated to London where she began to pursue an advanced degree, seeking new opportunities in the work world. One of the things she took with her from the Midwest was an insatiable love for the Chicago Cubs professional baseball team. She followed the games on the internet, listening to the live feed. The problem with this arrangement was that, when the games began, often around seven or eight o’clock in the evening in the United States, it was one or two o’clock the following morning in London. That made for a very late — or early — bedtime. In the year when the Cubs were on the cusp of qualifying for the World Series, she eagerly tuned in to listen to the games that would decide who would qualify. But she’d been listening to every Cubs game that year, all broadcast in what was the middle of the night where she lived. After tuning in to the game that was to seal the Cubs’ fate, the inevitable happened. She fell asleep and awoke only in time to hear the post-game wrap-up. The Cubs had won. They were in the Series. She had missed all the excitement. On her Facebook account she lamented, “I’ve waited years for a moment like this, and of course I slept through it!” Is there a moral to this story? One might be: Try to get more sleep. Another might be: Try to order your affairs in such a way that you will be alert when events transpire that you believe to be of critical importance to you. In this young woman’s defense, once the World Series began, she stayed awake for every game. Her comment was, “True Cubs fans never give up.” And, in demonstration of her commitment to her favorite team, she remained faithful to the last out — staying awake for all of it. The writer of the gospel of Mark sets the tone for the Christian season of Advent with appropriate advice.... Jesus Is Coming! One of my dearest friends applied for a position that required him to instruct and inspire younger people. His interviewer and evaluator asked him, "Tell me about your walk with Jesus." My friend replied, "You know, everywhere I go, no matter where or when, I find that Jesus has arrived there first. Wherever I go, Jesus is already there." The evaluator made no reply; he had no idea what to say, and my friend was never offered the job. Was his response too theologically subtle? Jesus is not the Lord whom we discover or define or claim. Jesus comes to us. We do not summon Him by any action of our own. Jesus is God's gift. While we were yet sinners, he was born, died, and raised again for us that we might inherit new life. Advent announces that Jesus is coming and not through any action of our own. We do not deserve it. Advent happens. Advent means that Jesus comes again and for all time, at Christmas, this Christmas. Edward S. Gleason, In the Time of This Mortal Life A Distinguished Guest There is a passage in the old Jewish book of Zohar, that goes like this: "Whenever the Jews on earth rejoice in their festivals, they give praise to the Lord. They put on fine clothes and pile their tables with good food. So the angel asks, 'Why do the Jews pamper themselves so much?' And God answers, 'They have a distinguished guest today. I am with them.' "Today is a very special day. We are preparing for a very special guest. It is the first Sunday of Advent. Our celebration begins with the word "Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility Disappointment at the Chaos For a little while when I was a junior in Akron North High we had a substitute English teacher, and she was almost always late for our class, which met on the third floor. She usually arrived with her arms full of books and papers, out of breath, scolding us, good-naturedly for the most part, into silence. One awful day she was later than usual, and the class was noisier than usual. Erasers were flying, books were sailing. It probably doesn't do any good to tell you that, truthfully, I usually did not take part in the chaos, although I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Anyway, on this fateful day one boy-- Stanley M -- produced a cherry bomb from his pocket. The room got very quiet. Stanley lit a match and we held our breaths. The windows were open-- they were the kind that the middle pane swung out from the top. Stanley evidently intended to light the bomb in the classroom and throw it out the window toward the athletic field two stories below. We couldn't believe it-- but Stanley lit the bomb-- and threw it-- and it hit the window pane above the open window and bounced back into the middle of the room, under the desks, hissing. Just at that very moment our teacher came breathlessly into the quiet room-- quiet except for the hissing-- with her arms full of books. But before she had a chance to worry about why we were quiet, or what the hissing sound was ---KA- BOOM!-- the cherry bomb exploded, and instantly the room was full of smoke, and then there was silence again. Our teacher did not drop her armload of books. She did not miss a step. She simply went over to the desk and sat down and put her face on the books and papers she had been carrying. I think it may have been a full five minutes that no one said a word, no one made a sound. I imagine today the police would been called and someone would be expelled from school, and there certainly would be a lawsuit. But her awful silence, and the fact that we were all shocked and stunned was punishment for us all, even Stanley the bomb-thrower. More than forty-five years later I still feel that little woman's pain and disappointment at the chaos that greeted her coming. Russell F. Metcalfe, Jr., Gifts before Christmas ive Us a Little Longer Prudence Phillipson of England uses this analogy. When her children were young the floor of their playroom often became messy with games and toys strewn everywhere. Prudence got her children to clean up their toys and games by telling them she was going round the corner to the shop. "When I come back," she warned, "everything should be in its place." She would then give each child a task before she left. The oldest child would be given more complicated tasks while the simpler ones would go to the younger children. Then she would leave. The children would either do as she told them or else disregard her instructions. When she returned, sometimes she would come quietly up the stairs and see through the half-open door that they were quarreling or fooling around or just absorbed in something. Then there were other times when she would see that her children were not quite finished with their task so she would creep away to give them more time. Sometimes she would shut the front door with a bang and hear sudden noises of bustle as they hurried to get the room straightened. At such times one of the children would call out, "Not just yet, Mummy. Give us a little longer." In thinking about her children, Prudence writes, "Each Advent I recall this experience with my children and wonder how many times the Lord has been close at hand, seeing the chaos of our world and longing to come, but waiting, sparing us judgment a little longer." Perhaps we are given more time to get our lives in order. King Duncan, Collected Sermons Twas the Beginning of Advent A-lert A young girl asked her Sunday school teacher, "What's a-lert?" "A what?" the teacher asked. "A lert?" she said again. "Why do you want to know?" asked the bewildered teacher. "Because the pastor said that we should 'be alert,' so I want to know what a lert is, so I can be one?" Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes Working and Waiting When we wait, we admit there are some things that are not under our control. Most of us like to believe that we are in control. We imagine that we are masters of our destinies. If we work hard enough, if we are sufficiently prepared, if we just concentrate, we can make life work. And we can. To a point. There are some things, however, that can't be hurried. Recuperation from surgery, the grief process, a young person learning responsibility. Shakespeare put it like this, "How poor are they that have no patience. What wound did ever heal but by degrees?" John R. Claypool has wisely said, "Let's face it, there are two kinds of reality in this world of ours. There are the things you have to work for, and there are the things you have to wait for." Claypool is right. But we don't want to wait. Collected Sermons, King Duncan

Welcome Home family of God

June 10, 2012 Friends and Family Day Jeremiah 31:6-17 Luke 15:1-9 A World with no home We live in a world today, where most of the world lives away from their home. In our understanding of the world – home is the place where you grow up, it is the place where you feel safe, it is the place where things make sense, it is the place where your family and friends live, and oftentimes it is the place where we will defend with our lives, in order to keep it as our home. Something is happening in our world – where people are no longer living in their homeland. They have had to move elsewhere. In 1990 there were 154 million people who lived outside of there homeland. In the year 2000 there were 175 million people outside of home, in 2006 that number grew to over 200 million, today it is 214 million – and it continues to grow. There are one in 30 people who have been displaced from their homes. If the number of immigrants in the world had their own country- the population would be the fifth largest company in the world. We live in a diaspora Something is definitely happening in the world. The world is changing. As as the world changes, our definition of what it means to be at home has to change with it. The words of the prophet Jeremiah become not just a story of the jews- but a story of all of us. all of us who ask the question – how can I sing the songs of God in a strange land – how can I celebrate home – when I am not at home? Jeremiah wrote words of hope for his people in a difficult situation. Today, thousands of years later, diaspora is not just a reality for the jews, but for most of the world. Learning how to be at home- in a strange place. Learning to make new friends and to claim new family. Jeremiah reminded the people that in the midst of being uprooted that God would be with them. That God would be their friend. God would take care of them. How can I sing a song in a strange land – by knowing that where ever I am – god will take care of me. Jeremiah’s message of hope But God also wanted to give them a message that they were not alone. That home is not just about a place, and a time, it is about those whom god sends to be with us, with whom we go through the events of life with. Friends and family day is a special day, a sacred day for us to remember what it means to be at home. Some of us know what it means to live in the diaspora - home away from home and some of us not. Being at home is more than a place it is a feeling. We all know what it means to live in adversity, turmoil. We all know what it means to live in changing circumstances. I don’t think that there is one area of our lives, where we don’t have uncertainty in a place that used to make sense.- it may be our health, our jobs, our family, the neighborhood, just in the world itself. Jeremiah’s promise to the people- is that things will get better. The day will come when you will be able to go home again. That means in most cases that we will have to redefine what and sometimes where home is. Jeremiah’s promise of friends But the thing I want to point out to you today – in the midst of that promise. That Jeremiah made another promise. He made the promise of friends and family to go along with you in the journey. He said that people will come from the North, from all over to make this journey together. Sometimes we can be sure that God sends us people in the world to help us along that leg of the journey. A young boy was asked if he would rather have a million dollars or a million friends, he said that he would rather have a million friends. Because if I ever needed money- than I could ask each one for a dollar – and have all of the money I need. An old man was among those who were in the jewish concentration camps – he made friends with many of the people there. They were all in the same boat, going the same place. One their way to death, one little girl came up to him to ask if he would hold her hand. I am not scared, she said, but it makes me a little stronger. I tell that story because she told he man that she believed that god had sent him into her life – for that moment. To walk along side of her in a difficult time. The good news is that as long as we have jesus in our lives – no matter how bad the circumstances, we are never headed toward death – but God does send people in our lives to make things easier. It is our friends and our family that is our greatest asset in life and in church. James S. Hewett tells of a neighbor he had who was trying to put a TV antenna on his roof, but was having a terrible time. Hewett decided to give him a hand. He went over and took with him his best tools and soon had the antenna up. His neighbor asked him what he made with such fancy tools. Hewett replied, “Friends, mostly.” This is a sacred day for us – because the greatest tool that we have is the ability to make friends. Friends are wonderful for what they can do to help us, to support us, to walk with us. But friends are also important in helping in the mission of building the kingdom for God. The more friends we have, the more we can do for one another and for God. Friends are important for who they are During the reign of Queen Victoria, a London doctor visited a 72-year-old lady named Martha Vincent. Her husband had abandoned her some years earlier. She was poor and lived in very humble surroundings. She was undernourished and had neither warm clothes or wood for a fire. The doctor couldn’t believe her friends would allow her to live like that. When asked about it, Maria said she had no friends. Later in the discussion she corrected herself. She admitted that there might be one, but was sure that she had forgotten about her. The doctor pressed her for the identity of the friend. And finally Maria told him that it was the Queen herself. She said that the two of them had been childhood friends. The doctor left, not sure that he believed Maria, but when he got home he wrote the Queen a letter relating the incident. A few days later he received a letter from the Queen. The story was true. The Queen had not forgotten. Enclosed in the letter was enough money to provide for all of Maria’s needs. For the remaining years of her life, Maria Vincent lived comfortably as a friend of the Queen. Wouldn’t we all like to say that we have a famous friend, a friend with lots of money that will take care of us – the good news is that we do. Friends are important for what they do. One of the ancient kings of Persia loved to mingle with his people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, he descended the long flight of stairs, dark and damp to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace.. The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse black bread and a jug of water and they ate and drank. The king went away but returned again and again for his heart was filled with sympathy for the lonely man. They became very good friends as time passed. At last the king thought, “I’ll tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.” So he did, but the fireman didn’t ask for a thing. The king was astonished and said, “Don’t you realize that I can give you anything—a city, a throne?” The man gently replied, “I understand your Majesty. You have already given the greatest gift a man could receive. You left your palace to sit with me here in this dark and lonely place. You could give nothing more precious. You have given yourself and that is far more than I could ever deserve.” I visited Mrs. Jackson of Englewood church for the last two Sundays. She always gets mad at me, because I cant understand what she is telling me, but lately, she just wants me to hold her hand – for an hours at a time. But it means that in the midst of our misunderstandings, we are still friends, still connected. But friends are most important for what they give in return. The best friend that we can ever have is God. But we always have to ask ourselves are we a friend to God. Who is a friend of God?  Someone who know Him personally  Someone who loves Him  Someone who shares His interests  Someone who enjoys being with Him  Someone who is loyal to His cause A man went to lunch one day with a friend who was a delivery man. After lunch he went to the store, and bought pototo chips based on what his friend delivered. Being on relationship with a friend was a deciding factor in the choices he made. The more time we spend with god – the more god affects our choices. It is in recognizing God as our friend, that we learn to be friends. We celebrate today – because we have to remember that the greatest celebration of our lives is the day that we realize that we have true friends. The greatest celebration of God – is the day he finds us a friend. My last story is the story from the gospel. Jesus tells the story – of how a woman celebrates when she finds a lost coin, she calls everyone together and has a party. And he asks the question, if a woman can celebrate because of a lost coin, then surely God can celebrate because of a found friend. When Jeremiah says that the people will gather together – what do they do – they sing and praise god and celebrate. Today is a special day – a day to acknowledge our friends, today is a special day – a day to praise god for our blessing. But most importantly – you know that you always have a friend in Jesus – but how are you truly being a friend to Jesus? Loving God is the only true way to go home. – wherever we may be in life. We learn that home is wherever our friends are, and the best friend that we can ever have is God. Let us pray….