A God for Everyone

October 19, 2025 Jeremiah 31:27-34 A God for Everyone 19th Sunday after Pentecost Prelude Greeting Call to Worship We have gathered once again, Lord of all and Lord of us. We come to lift our prayers, and to sing your praises once again. We come to ask and hope and long to see your justice in the land. We worship in that hope and will work in that Spirit. Derek Weber, March 2025 Opening Prayer Holy God, we turn to you this morning, aware of the gift you give us in scripture. You offer us your truth in story, in song, and in hard teachings. Help us recognize the goodness of what’s offered. Encourage us to seek what you offer. Challenge us to discipline ourselves to learn. Inspire us celebrate the love which expands in us as we draw closer to you and to your ways. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart UMH 500 A Sermon for all Ages Grapes and apples Good morning, everyone! Have you ever eaten a grape that was really sour? (Make a funny face—pucker up!) Yeah, it makes your mouth wrinkle up, doesn’t it? Let’s pretend I gave you a sour grape, and then your friend’s mouth puckered up instead of yours! Wouldn’t that be strange? That’s what the people in the Bible were saying in Jeremiah’s time. They said, “The parents ate sour grapes, and the children’s teeth were set on edge.” That means, “We’re having a hard time because of what someone else did.” But God said, “No more sour grapes! I’m going to plant something new.” God wanted each person to take care of their own heart and choices. God said, “I will plant and watch over you.” Isn’t that wonderful? (Chat GPT.5) Object: an apple for display and apple seed packets, enough for everyone Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like apples? I do, too. I want to tell you a little story today about a famous man named Johnny Appleseed. His real name was John Chapman. Back around 200 years ago, John Chapman traveled all across the United States planting apple orchards. Everywhere he went all across America, John Chapman planted apple seeds. He loved apples, and he believed they were healthy for people, and so he planted them wherever he went. And soon people started calling John Chapman by the nickname of Johnny Appleseed. We can be thankful that Johnny Appleseed decided to spread good stuff like apple seeds wherever he went. But Johnny also spread a weed called dog fennel everywhere he went. Johnny thought that dog fennel was a good plant, but actually it's not. The dog fennel weed gets into gardens and crops, and keeps the good crops from growing. Also, dog fennel weed is really smelly. So everywhere Johnny Appleseed went, he spread a good thing, apples, and he spread a bad thing, dog fennel weed. You know, you and I are like Johnny Appleseed. Each day, we choose whether to spread good stuff or bad stuff in other people's lives. If we are nice to other people, if we share our things, if we tell other people about God's love, then we are spreading good things in their lives. If we are mean to other people, if we are rude, if we don't show God's love to others, then we are spreading bad things. We can choose what we spread. This new year, let's choose (start handing out the apple seed packets) to only spread the apple seeds. Let's spread goodness wherever we go. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Prayer for Transformation and New Life Beloved God of All, We often feel deserted by Divine Justice and Peace, especially after absorbing the news each day. We allow ourselves to fully walk away from spreading Good News of your love and grace after feeling the lack of mercy in our world. We would rather be silent in places of comfort instead of shining your light in our pain-present reality. Our hearts can not bear knowing of any further wrongdoings. Open our souls to your healing. Embolden us to be persistent in our quest to do justice and love kindness. May we follow your light when the shadows attempt to swallow our resolve. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Michelle Torigian)) Words of Grace Our souls continue to open to the healing and hope of God. May we embrace the glow of God’s grace as we seek ways to care for our neighbors. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Michelle Torigian) Testimonies Joe and Joellyn Byers Scripture Jeremiah 31:27-34 Sermon A God for Everyone The Blame Game Sour grapes culture in the bible Jeremiah’s use of the blame game The last chapter of Jeremiah – change of heat and a change of tone. Very heavy seems like there is no hope A town with no hope A Little town in Maine, flagstaff was scheduled to be flooded in order to make way for a new damn. People knew for months that their town was doomed. Roofs needed to be repaired, buildings needed to be fixed. But no one was willing to spend on a house that they knew was going to be destroyed in the future any way. People noticed that as time got closer for the town to be destroyed – thinks started to look more and more bedraggled. No one was willing to fix anything or clean up anything. There was no hope, there was no freedom, no reason to try to do anything different. If God doesn’t love you, if God is threatening to divorce you and to forget all about you – what is the point of living in God’s will? Why obey laws that are designed to mess you up? Jeremiah knew that he had to create a new future, a future with hope, a promise that if you mess up, God will let you start all over again. God wont hold sin against When we have no hope, we don’t try. Song that God loves you. Gives us three promises – thus says the lord 3 promises. Final message that god loves you, and will be with you Boy and the comic books Son moved by fathers tears Wangerin has a wonderful story, called "Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine" about how he tried to stop his son Matthew from stealing comic books. He tried various uses of the law over several years and continued to fail. Finally, he resorted to something he rarely used: a spanking. He did it deliberately, almost ritualistically, and he was so upset when he finished that he left the room and wept. After pulling himself back together, he went in to Matthew and hugged him. A number of years later, Matthew and his mother were doing some general reminiscing, and Matthew happened to bring up the time when he kept stealing comic books. "And you know why I finally stopped?" he asked. "Sure," she said, "Because Dad finally spanked you." "No!" replied Matthew, "No, because Dad cried." He cared for me, and his tears made all of the difference. Tone of the Hebrew religion starts to change. Less about blame shame and guilt and more about love, forgiveness, mercy. Jeremiah’s story is about hope through God’s love. Understands us – wants us to succeed. So that we can show love to others Piano teacher A piano teacher once told her students, “My goal isn’t that you play from memory—it’s that you play from the heart.” Years later, one student became a nurse. During a long night shift, she sat beside a dying patient and quietly hummed that same piece she’d learned years ago. She said, “I didn’t need sheet music. The song was still in me.” Finally all familiar with passwords – if you don’t write it down, you lose it Don’t need a password for Gods love - inside of us. Mission We are God’s co-gardeners. The mission field isn’t just “out there”—it begins in the soil of our hearts and spreads wherever God plants us. When we invest our prayers, presence, gifts, and service, we join God’s renewal project. Discipleship True discipleship is not memorizing commands but embodying Christ’s compassion. It’s when forgiveness flows naturally, generosity feels joyful, and service springs from love—not duty. Stewardship Stewardship is not a program—it’s a response of people whose hearts are alive to God’s presence. When the covenant is written on our hearts, generosity becomes second nature. We give, serve, and care because we know God personally. Let us pray….. Song Love Divine, All Loves Excelling UMH 384 Prayers of the People (Do not print) O Lord our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You created the heavens and the earth and placed us in your world to glorify and enjoy you forever. And yet we have recognized the despair, dismay, and injustice; the violence and the disasters of the world in which we live. We seek to be faithful to you and your glory and yet, our hearts and souls are unsettled and troubled. We come to you in need of the healing and peace that only you can provide. And so, we pray for rest. We pray for rest for those weary from the demands of a culture that has turned us into consumers. Rest for those weary from unmet requests and unjust treatment. Rest and healing for those weary from illness, grief, loneliness, and loss. We pray for attention. We pray for attention for those distracted by too many good things. We pray for attention for those who feel like a pinball instead of a plant with roots running deep. We pray for attention to your gifts of grace that we might know delight. We pray to say no. We pray to say no to destructive forces and idols that pull us away from you, O Lord. We pray to say no to the ways we take your creation for granted and destroy what you have placed in our care. We pray to say no to all that addicts us to unhealthy behaviors and relationships. We pray for nourishment. We pray that we might nourish our souls with your Word. We pray that we might nourish our bodies with fruits, vegetables and exercise. We pray that we might nourish our minds with the truth. We pray for the log in our eyes. We confess that we are overly concerned with the behavior and belief of others. We confess that we fail to accurately see our own faults and failings. We confess that we pull back from others instead of working together for justice, freedom, and peace. We pray that you might speak to us. We pray that your Word might dwell within us and be engraved upon our hearts. We pray for the right words to speak in troubled times. We pray that your Spirit might give us eyes to see and ears to hear the new Word you are still speaking today. We pray for wonder and awe. We pray that beyond our hope and imagination, you might bring peace to war-torn lands. We pray that you might surprise us in the ordinary after long waits. We pray that we might see your fingerprints in our own. Finally, we pray for all those needs unnamed that trouble and unsettle our souls, needs known to you and bigger than we can handle on our own. Into your hands, O Lord, we place these prayers, longing for the day when you will make all things new. As we wait with anticipation and hope, we join our voices with disciples of all the ages to pray as Jesus has taught us, “Our Father …” (Presbyterian Outlook, Matthew Rich) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Jesus asked the question in Luke 18: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Today as we come to our time of offering, let’s recognize this is one act which demonstrates our faith. We give because we have faith, expressed through the ministries and work of this congregation (name one or two). We give because we have faith, knowing our financial support will help build up this congregation, allowing us to show God’s love in the midst of apathy, distrust, and selfishness. We give because we have faith in Jesus, the one who taught his followers to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the least – to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So this invitation is for each and all of us to give financially, to give our talents, to give our time. Give in response to the abundance we have received: life, air, water, food, and so much more! Let us share our morning tithes, gifts, and offerings. Prayer of Thanksgiving Generous God, thank you for your abundant gifts by which our lives are blessed. Thank you for the ways you offer us your commandments and decrees to support the destitute and care for the widows and orphans. Thank you now for these gifts and for each one who has given, that we might use these resources to help create life on earth as it is in heaven. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook May the God of Hope stir us to awaken to Divine dreams. May the Christ of Light embolden us to use our voices May the Spirit of Peace fill us with the resolve to transform our world. With help from the Holy One, we will never lose heart! (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Michelle Torigian) Community Time – Sharing of Joys and Concerns Benediction Here in this place, God transforms us into disciples, so we may share the grace etched upon our hearts. Here with these people, compassion is written on our hearts, so we may join Jesus in bringing justice to all. Now, in these moments, the Spirit is breathed into us, so we can be as persistent as God in bringing hope to the world. © Thom M. Shuman Additional illustrations You could answer every question on the Jeopardy board in the Bible category and still not have a living relationship with God. That's knowledge about God. And it has very little use in life. But personal knowledge of God comes from a relationship with the Lord. We get this knowledge when we invite Jesus to become the Lord and Savior of our lives. Only when we make that commitment do we begin to know the Lord in a personal way. A father took his young son to a major league baseball game along with one of the father's friends. The father's friend had a son who was a pitcher for one of the major league teams. It was the father's intention to stay after the game and have his friend's son introduced to his own boy. After the game, the trio made their way to the locker room door and waited for the players to come out. As they waited for his friend's son to come out, some of the star players pushed away the fans and made a dash for their cars. Other players came out and signed autographs, but the boy didn't really get to talk to any of them. But when his father's friend's son came out, because the lad was with his dad, the player took the time to shake his hand, to talk to him, and to greet him as a real human being. After that experience, the young boy paid a lot of attention to that player's career. He did so because he felt he had a relationship with the player. He had met him face to face, and that made all the difference. A symbol of God’s love A baby bird asked his mother, that is air – she said no words to her baby, she just spread here wings and flew. A baby fish asked its mother- what is water – she said nothing, she just swished her tail and started to fly. A baby ant ask his mother what is dirt, she said nothing she just dug a little more. A baby child asked her mother what is love – she opened her arms and hugged the baby. A God fearer asked God what is forgiveness – he sent his son to the cross to die for you. What better promise do you need of God’s love for you? Live your live dwelling in the love of God.

The Grateful One

October 12, 2025 Luke 17:11-19 18th Sunday After Pentecost Year C The Grateful One Prelude Greeting Call to Worship Whether we live in an apartment or a house; if we reside in the suburbs or the city: God tells us to pray for the places where we live. Whether we are exiles or prisoners for the gospel; if we are young, old, insider, outcast: God says, 'when you search for me, you will find me.' Whether we have been wandering and lost; or if we have lived in the same place all our lives: God says, 'I will gather you from all your places and bring you home. (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Invocation Loving God, Compassionate Architect, You are the bearer of all our souls, the hope of all possibilities when walls surround us. You carve paths in mountainous regions when our roads appear blocked. You build bridges between people separated by gaps and distances. May we be ones who create channels so that your children continue to form relationships with one another and with you. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Michelle Torigan) Song Lord of the Dance UMH 261 A Sermon for all Ages Children’s Sermon: “Remember to Say Thank You!” Scripture: Luke 17:11–19 Theme: Gratitude, Mission, Discipleship, and Stewardship [Gather the children and sit with them at the front] Good morning, friends! Today I want to tell you a story Jesus told about ten people who were very, very sick. They had something called leprosy — it made them hurt, and no one wanted to be around them. They couldn’t go home. They couldn’t hug their families. They couldn’t even go to church! One day, Jesus was walking down the road — and those ten sick people saw Him coming. They shouted from far away: “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!” Do you know what Jesus did? He didn’t walk away. He saw them. He loved them. And He said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they walked away — before they even got there — they looked at their hands, their arms, their faces… and they realized: They were healed! All ten were healed! Isn’t that wonderful? But here’s the sad part — only one of them came back. One man ran back to Jesus, threw himself down, and said, “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you for healing me!” And Jesus said, “Weren’t there ten? Where are the other nine?” [Object lesson idea: 10 bandages] Let’s pretend these bandages are for the ten people. (You can place ten bandages or stickers on the children’s hands or sleeves as you talk.) Ten were healed… but only one came back to say thank you. So let’s take one bandage and put it right here on my hand — this one stands for the thankful one. Now, what do you think Jesus felt when that one person came back to thank Him? Yes — happy! Loved! When we remember to say thank you — to God, to our parents, to our teachers, to anyone — we make their hearts happy. And we make our hearts happy too. Connecting to Mission, Discipleship, and Stewardship You know, when we say thank you to God, it’s not just with our words — it’s also with what we do. • When you help a friend — that’s mission. • When you pray, learn about Jesus, and come to church — that’s discipleship. • When you share what you have — your time, your toys, your offering — that’s stewardship. Every time we do those things, we’re saying: “Thank you, Jesus, for loving me! I want to love others, too.” [Closing activity suggestion] Invite the children to think of one thing they’re thankful for. Go around and let them share: “I thank God for ______.” Then invite them to say together: “Thank you, Jesus!” (Encourage them to say it loudly like the healed man did!) Closing Prayer Let’s pray together: Dear Jesus, Thank You for loving us and healing us. Thank You for our homes, our families, our church, and all our blessings. Help us remember to say thank You — not just with our words, but with our actions, by helping others and sharing what we have. Amen. Generated by ChatGPT 5 Call to confession (based on 2 Timothy) Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. Assured of God’s grace, let us confess our sin together: Prayer of confession (based on Luke 17) Holy God, When we are in need, we cry out for your mercy and healing. Yet, we confess that too often, we are confident in our own strength. We take the blessings to which we feel entitled and continue on our way, rather than returning to you in worship and praise. Jesus, have mercy on us! It is easy to take for granted the ease of life we so often experience, while failing to question why others are pushed to the margins and excluded. It is tempting to take pride in our health and strength rather than confronting ableism in all its forms. Jesus, have mercy on us! Help us to grow in compassion for all people. Redirect our paths so that we return to you, offering our praise and gratitude, now and always. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge) Assurance of pardon (based on 2 Timothy) The saying is sure: If we have died with Christ, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. We are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Our sin is forgiven! Thanks be to God. (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge) Prayer for illumination God of Wisdom, By the power of your Holy Spirit, open us to receive your Word today. Lead us in wisdom and courage as we seek to follow Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge) Scripture Luke 17:11-19 Sermon Grateful One Magic Words When our grand-daughter Sarah was two years old, she was extremely active. She was always busy, always moving and always in a hurry… because at two years of age, she had already realized that there are so many exciting things to do and see and experience in this incredible world God has given us. One day Sarah interrupted her play-time just long enough to run into the kitchen in search of a mid-afternoon snack. Hurriedly, she said to her mother: “Banana, Momma, Banana!” Jodi, her mother, handed her a banana. Sarah quickly grabbed the banana and turned to rush back out of the kitchen. However, before she took very many steps, her mother said: “Sarah, come back. What are the magic words?” Sarah screeched to a halt, turned back around and said: “Please! Thank You! You’re Welcome! God Bless You! And I Love You, Mommy!” At this point, Sarah got a second banana!... And a warm hug! The magic words Sarah’s mother was looking for were “Thank you.” She got more than that… but those were the words she was looking for… because Sarah’s mother knows how important it is… for us to learn how to stop and say thanks.” James W. Moore, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com We all know the importance of the magic words – thank you. We have all been taught that lesson, and more than likely we have taught that lesson to countless others. The words thank you are the key to today’s lesson. We are encouraged not just to say those words, and to say those words boldly. We are encouraged to live them. During our stewardship campaign, we are encouraged to think about mission, discipleship and stewardship. Mission, discipleship, and stewardship are not separate things — they are one living response to grace. Mission — seeing others and going where Jesus leads. Discipleship — turning back to Christ again and again. Stewardship — giving back from grateful hearts. All three of those things begin with the magic words – thank you. But they don’t end there. Thank you is so much a part of our lives that we get comfortable and start to take those words for granted. Those words might be present in our hearts, but sometime we forget to say them out loud. Sort of like the story of Ed Spencer. This story is near to me, because Ed went to the same seminary that I went to. And even though this story happened in 1860 – I know exactly where it happened. Northwestern’s campus looks a lot different today then it did then. At one time most of the campus was right next to Lake Michigan. Until the 60’s or 70’s when they filled a lot of the lake in to build more buildings. Ed Spencer’s story is one of gratitude – or the lack there of. Most of us have felt the sting of ingratitude, but few have felt it as painfully as Ed Spencer. He was a divinity student at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. On September 8, 1860. Spencer was drawn into a situation that changed the direction of his life. That night he was awakened by the shouting of fellow seminary students, who reported that there was a shipwreck directly off shore from Winnetka. A cruise ship had collided with a lumber freighter and was sinking. Ed Spencer jumped out of bed, dressed in a hurry, and ran the three miles to Winnetka. It was a stormy night and the lake was tossing vigorously. Few would be rescuers were willing to brave the turbulent waters and the dangerous undertows. Ed was a strong swimmer, from his childhood days of swimming the Mississippi near his home in Rock Island. He jumped right in and proceeded to pull people to shore one after the other. He had to fight huge waves and painful buffeting from pieces of debris. By the light of dawn he had personally rescued fifteen survivors. As he was warming himself by the fire with a cup of coffee, a cry came that there were two more survivors clinging to flotsam for dear life. Despite his sheer exhaustion, je jumped in and barely made it to the hunk of shipwreck. He manages to draw them in with his last ounce of strength, after which he collapsed on the breach. That night, 287 people lost their lives but of the 98 who were saved, Spencer personally rescued 17. Ed Spencer never got back to seminary. He spent the rest of his days as an invalid in California. As an old man, he was interviewed by a Los Angeles newspaper and asked what he recalled in particular about the rescue. Spencer replied “Only this: of the seventeen people I saved, not one of them every thanked me.” (the story is based on “A Window on the Mountain” by Winston and Winnie Pearce). This story is special to me, but I think that we can all relate to Ed’s feelings of someone forgetting to say thank you, when we did the right thing, when we made a sacrifice, and someone didn’t say thank you. Even Jesus expresses his disappointment in today’s scripture story. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to meet his fate/ destiny. He is nervous about the trip because at this point he has no idea of what will happen in Jerusalem. He takes the long way on his journey. He travels north through no man’s land in hopes of reaching more people. He is not at home, but he is a long way from his destination. He is on the border of insiders and outsiders, between the clean and the unclean, between religion and rejection. Some of the most important lessons in the bible happen when Jesus is on his journey. All throughout Luke, Jesus teaches us that the borderland is where mission happens – where we come out of our comfort zone in order to meet the needs of others. During Jesus’ journey he hears the cries of 10 lepers as they ask for help. Even in the midst of his own uncertainty he is willing to reach out and help others. He can’t save himself, but he knows that he does what he can to save others. Jesus doesn’t heal them directly, he tells them to go to church talk with the pastor, reclaim your life Jesus tells them that their faith heals them. All ten take off on their healing journey – only one comes back to say thank you. That’s one more than returned to Ed Spencer. But even Jesus asks – where are the other nine, weren’t they healed as well? So even Jesus reminds us of how important it is to say thank you. It is a reminder for all of us who follow Jesus. God’s grace comes to us all. I am sure there were others who were grateful, but they just never returned to make their feelings known. Ten were healed. One came back. Ten received mercy. One entered relationship. Discipleship begins in that turning back — not just enjoying the gift, but seeking the Giver. The Samaritan comes back praising God in a loud voice. He falls at Jesus’ feet — the posture of worship, the symbol of surrender. He returns not to earn healing, but because his heart overflows. That’s what discipleship looks like. It’s not checking boxes or being perfect; it’s choosing, day after day, to turn back toward Jesus. It’s reorienting our hearts toward gratitude and relationship. The other nine obeyed the instruction — and that’s good! But the one who returned discovered something deeper: that following Jesus isn’t just about what He can do for us — It is about who he is us 3. Stewardship: Gratitude That Gives Back When the man comes back, he doesn’t whisper thanks. He shouts it! He praises God with a loud voice. His gratitude is contagious — public, generous, overflowing. That’s what stewardship really is. Stewardship is not just about money — it’s about living thankfully. It’s recognizing that everything we have — our breath, our blessings, our bank accounts — are gifts of grace entrusted to us by God. And the natural response to grace is generosity. When we give to the church — when we support missions, pay apportionments, maintain the building, care for our pastors, and reach our neighbors — we’re not paying bills. We’re praising God with a loud voice. Every pledge card, every volunteer hour, every offering is a modern way of falling at Jesus’ feet and saying, “Thank you, Lord. You’ve healed me. You’ve blessed me. I give myself back to You.” “Your faith has made you well,” Jesus says. But the word He uses — sozo — means “made whole,” “saved.” The nine were healed physically, but one was healed completely — in body, mind, and spirit. Gratitude completed the healing. Generosity completed the faith. Jesus was disappointed in the other nine, but they still experience his grace. They are not wrong or bad. This story is important because the one who said thank you, is a model for us. He shows us what it means to be thankful. In order to live a life of thankfulness we have to 1. Look at our lives with appreciation 2. Identify your blessings 3. Practice disciplines that cultivate a life of gratitude He is a model for us, so that we can be a model for others. Not only do we encourage them to say thank you, but to live a life of thankfulness. The Seeds of Discouragement An old legend tells how a man once stumbled upon a great red barn after wandering for days in a forest in the dark. He was seeking refuge from the howling winds of a storm. He entered the barn and his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. To his astonishment, he discovered that this was the barn where the devil kept his storehouse of seeds. They were the seeds that were sown in the hearts of humans. The man became curious and lit a match. He began exploring the piles of bins of seeds round him. He couldn’t help but notice that the greatest majority of them said, “Seeds of Discouragement.” About that time one of the devil’s helpers arrived to pick up a load of seeds. The man asked him, “Why the abundance of discouragement seeds?” The helper laughed and replied, “Because they are so effective and they take root so quickly.” “Do they grow everywhere?” the man asked. At that moment the devil’s helper became very sullen. He glared at the man and in disgust he said, “No. They never seem to grow in the heart of a grateful person.” Keith Wagner, But Are We Grateful? What seeds are being planted in our lives, seeds of discouragement or seeds of gratefulness. The First Billionaire The very first person to reach the status of billionaire was a man who knew how to set goals and follow through. At the age of 23, he had become a millionaire, by the age of 50 a billionaire. Every decision, attitude, and relationship was tailored to create his personal power and wealth. But three years later at the age of 53 he became ill. His entire body became racked with pain and he lost all the hair on his head. In complete agony, the world's only billionaire could buy anything he wanted, but he could only digest milk and crackers. An associate wrote, "He could not sleep, would not smile and nothing in life meant anything to him." His personal, highly skilled physicians predicted he would die within a year. That year passed agonizingly slow. As he approached death he awoke one morning with the vague remembrances of a dream. He could barely recall the dream but knew it had something to do with not being able to take any of his successes with him into the next world. The man who could control the business world suddenly realized he was not in control of his own life. He was left with a choice. He called his attorneys, accountants, and managers and announced that he wanted to channel his assets to hospitals, research, and mission work. On that day John D. Rockefeller established his foundation. This new direction eventually led to the discovery of penicillin, cures for current strains of malaria, tuberculosis and diphtheria. The list of discoveries resulting from his choice is enormous. But perhaps the most amazing part of Rockefeller's story is that the moment he began to give back a portion of all that he had earned, his body's chemistry was altered so significantly that he got better. It looked as if he would die at 53 but he lived to be 98. Rockefeller learned gratitude and gave back from his wealth. Doing so made him whole. It is one thing to be healed it is another to be made whole. It appears that the one leper who returned and threw himself at Jesus' feet in gratitude was not only healed he was saved by his thanksgiving. "Rise and go," Jesus said, "your faith has made you well." Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com When we give to the church — when we support missions, pay apportionments, maintain the building, care for our pastors, and reach our neighbors — we’re not paying bills. We’re praising God with a loud voice. Every pledge card, every volunteer hour, every offering is a modern way of falling at Jesus’ feet and saying, “Thank you, Lord. You’ve healed me. You’ve blessed me. I give myself back to You.” “Your faith has made you well,” Jesus says. But the word He uses — sozo — means “made whole,” “saved.” The nine were healed physically, but one was healed completely — in body, mind, and spirit. Gratitude completed the healing. Generosity completed the faith. Illustration: The Circle of Grace Think of God’s grace like a circle. God gives to us — that’s the first half. We give back to God — that completes the circle. When we give thanks, serve others, and share resources, we keep that circle of grace turning. The more we give, the more gratitude grows. And the more gratitude grows, the more joy we find. That’s stewardship — living in the rhythm of God’s generosity. Bringing It Home: Mission, Discipleship, Stewardship Together Mission, discipleship, and stewardship are not separate things — they are one living response to grace. Mission — seeing others and going where Jesus leads. Discipleship — turning back to Christ again and again. Stewardship — giving back from grateful hearts. When we live this way, our church becomes more than a building; it becomes a movement of grace in motion. Imagine if every one of us lived like that one grateful leper — if every day, we found a way to turn back, give thanks, and give back. What might our community look like? What might our conference look like? What might our world look like? Closing Challenge So this week, remember the ten — and be the one. When you pray, return thanks. When you serve, see those others miss. When you give, do it with joy. And when you speak, let gratitude be loud enough for the world to hear. Because gratitude isn’t complete until it becomes action. Faith isn’t whole until it becomes service. And worship isn’t full until it overflows in generosity. Jesus said to the one who returned, “Rise and go; your faith has made you whole.” May He say the same of us. Closing Prayer Let’s pray. Gracious and generous God, You meet us in the borderlands of life — in the in-between spaces where we often feel unseen. Thank You for seeing us, healing us, and calling us to follow. Forgive us for the times we rush ahead, forgetting to return in gratitude. Help us to live like the one who came back — joyful, generous, and grateful. Send us out in mission, keep us faithful in discipleship, and shape us into good stewards of all You’ve entrusted to us. Make us whole, Lord, that others may find wholeness through us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Am Song Through it All UMH 507 (sing twice) Prayers of the People (do not print) Compassionate God, you are God of all creation. Only you know the expanse of the cosmos and every small and hidden corner of creation. You have created us in love, and we join all of creation in singing to the glory of your name. We give thanks for your generous provision. Thank you for the basic elements that sustain life, and the joy and beauty that enrich it. We give thanks for your works of healing. While we live in a world still marked by pain and suffering, we acknowledge gifts of health and strength. For prayers answered, bodies healed, relationships restored, and hope that displaces despair, we give you thanks. We give thanks for your diverse creation. While we often get mired in our own particular lives, your care and concern cross all boundaries and borders. We are grateful for all of the different people in the world, each created in and reflecting your image. May we always return to you in gratitude and praise. We pray for the many needs in our world. We pray for those living in war zones, and all who have been displaced by violence, disaster, and trauma. Bring your peace and healing to the nations, and make us all ready to receive and support siblings in need. Help us to see our shared humanity, which is greater than the divisions we create and uphold. We pray for your most vulnerable children, especially those who are pushed to the margins, neglected, and worse. It can be easy to keep them out of sight and out of mind, to hold them at arm’s length as the perpetual “other,” or to look at their situations and simply give thanks they are not our own. We ask for miracles that change the difficult and deadly circumstances so many face, and that you ignite our own compassion. Give us wisdom to know how to respond, and the courage to act. We pray for all who are hurting, in body, mind or spirit. Jesus, have mercy, and heal what is broken. We pray for broken bodies, broken hearts, broken relationships, and broken spirits. Creator of all, re-create this world, so we can live in shalom together. We offer the prayers of our hearts… All of these we offer to you, including those that are known only to you (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment An old song includes the words, “Such as I have, I give you, willingly.” That describes the scene reported in Luke 17, where Jesus willingly healed the ten people known as lepers and one of them willingly turned back to praise God and thank Jesus for healing him. Can you identify a time when you willingly gave something life-changing to another? Someone might tell of giving a healthy kidney to someone on dialysis. Another might tell of giving a car no longer needed to a person struggling without transportation. Yet someone else might offer a remembrance of giving shelter to a person displaced by a hurricane, or being released from prison. Here at ___________ Church, we regularly give ______________ (describe an outreach which is a central part of your church identity). Your tithes and offerings help us make possible life-changing gifts as one way of living out lives of discipleship. Today, let’s rejoice and offer our praise to God as we share the resources we brought to offer. Prayer of Thanksgiving For the financial gifts shared today, for the time and talent which is yet to be shared, for the opportunity to more truly become “disciples” (followers of Jesus), as we offer our gifts and ourselves…we give you our thanks, God of Life and Love! AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Having prayed for the places where we live, we go forth. God sends us into the apartments and homes, into the streets and playgrounds to bring hope. Having gathered with God's people of every age, we go forth. We will join Jesus in serving folks whose birthdays are celebrated in decades, and newborns who are facing poverty and fear. Having shared prayers and songs with friends and strangers, we go forth. We will welcome those who the world forgets but who God loves, as surely as we have been embraced by the Spirit. (c) Thom M. Shuman Community Time Joys and Concerns Benediction Get up and go on your way! Go from this place to be builders of God’s beloved community. See the face of Christ in each person you meet. Follow the Spirit, wherever she may lead. Now go in peace. (Presbyterian Outlook, Stephanie Sorge)

Mission and Discipleship

October 5, 2025 World Communion Sunday 17th Sunday After Pentecost Psalm 137 Mission and Discipleship Year C Prelude Greeting Good morning on this first Sunday of October – It is good to see each and everyone of you here. It is also glad to see those who I can’t see on Facebook. No matter who we are – we all are a child of God, Gods grace is with us, and god has called us into this space. Welcome – god is glad that you are here, and wants you to feel comfortable and at home. October always starts our with world communion Sunday – where are reminded that God calls us to be the hands and feet of grace. We re reminded of the stories of others, and as John Wesley used to say the world is my parish – we are all one no matter where we are in the world. This is also the first day of our stewardship campaign – where we are encouraged to think about our commitment to our church. Our theme for the next six weeks will be mission, discipleship and stewardship. This is an interesting time in the church, lots of special things are happening this time of year. Let us begin as we feel the presence of God all around…… Introit Call to Worship LEADER: Come, all who sit by rivers of sorrow, who have hung up their hope and wondered if God still sings. PEOPLE: We come carrying exile in our bones, dislocation in our hearts, and longing in our prayers. LEADER: This is the table where memory is honored, where story is sacred, where strangers become siblings. PEOPLE: We come to taste and see that the Lord is good, to feast on grace, to believe again in belonging. LEADER: table is set. Around the world, across languages and landscapes, a holy PEOPLE: We come not because we are worthy, but because Christ calls us in love. ALL: Come, let us worship the One who welcomes, the One who remembers, the One who feeds the whole world with hope. Opening Prayer Gracious God, with grateful hearts we gather to bring you praise. May your praises fill the whole earth. We are thankful for your mighty works, and for the tender care you give us. We praise you with our voices, our bodies, our instruments, ourselves. We join all of creation to give you praise. In the name of your Son, our Lord, amen. (Peace and Global Witness, Charles Wiley) Song Bread of the World UMH 624 A Sermon for all Ages ITEMS TO GATHER • A globe or world map; • Small pieces of different kinds of bread (pita, tortilla, challah, etc.) or pictures of bread; • Communion cup (or grape juice box) SCRIPT Good morning, friends! Today is a special day in our church called World Communion Sunday. That means Christians all over the world…people in Africa, Asia, South America, and right here in our own city…are all celebrating communion today. We are all different, but Jesus brings us together like one big family! Look at this globe. Can you find a place you’ve heard of or where someone you love lives? (Pause and let a few respond.) People there and there and there and there and even us right here are taking communion today! Isn’t that amazing? And look at this bread…different kinds of bread from around the world. Do you recognize the bread we use here in our church? Just like the bread might look different, the people might look or sound different, yet they’re gathered with church friends to eat the bread and drink the juice. No matter who eats the bread or where they eat the bread, we all remember Jesus’ love for each of us and how he taught us to love like God loves. When we take communion, we remember Jesus and his life. We remember that Jesus loves us, and we are called to love others too. No matter where they live or what kind of bread they eat. So today, let’s thank God for people all around the world, and let’s remember we’re part of one big family...Jesus’ family. church? Just like the bread might look different, the people might look or sound different, yet they’re gathered with church friends to eat the bread and drink the juice. No matter who eats the bread or where they eat the bread, we all remember Jesus’ love for each of us and how he taught us to love like God loves. When we take communion, we remember Jesus and his life. We remember that Jesus loves us, and we are called to love others too. No matter where they live or what kind of bread they eat. So today, let’s thank God for people all around the world, and let’s remember we’re part of one big family...Jesus’ family. Have children repeat after you phrase by phrase as Dear God, Thank you for loving everyone, Everywhere in the world. Help us to share your love, With all your people. We love you God. Thank you for loving us. Amen. Dear God, thank you for loving everyone in the world. Help us to share your love with all of your people. We love you God. Thank you for loving us. Amen Derywhere in the world. Help us to share your lo Affirmation of Faith The Nicene Creed UMH 880 Anthem Scripture Psalm 137 Sermon Mission and Discipleship Introduction: When the World Feels Strange Have you ever felt like the world around you has changed so much that you hardly recognize it anymore? Like the ground beneath your feet has shifted—and suddenly, you’re not quite sure where you belong? That’s where the people of God found themselves in Psalm 137. They were exiles—taken from their homeland, dragged to Babylon, and surrounded by a foreign culture that didn’t share their faith, their values, or their hope. They sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept. Their harps—symbols of worship—hung silent on the trees. Their captors mocked them: “Sing us one of your happy songs about Zion!” But the people couldn’t. Their hearts were broken. Their faith was shaken. And they cried out, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” ________________________________________ I. Exile: A Reality Then and Now For the Israelites, exile was literal. They were torn from Jerusalem, from the Temple, from everything that gave their lives structure and meaning. But exile comes in many forms. Today, exile might look like this: • A church that once thrived but now feels empty. • A believer who feels out of place in a world that has forgotten God. • A person whose faith feels foreign even in their own home. We too sit by the rivers of Babylon at times—longing for a world that once felt more faithful, more grounded, more holy. Illustration: I once visited a congregation that had nearly given up. Their pastor said, “We’ve been shrinking for so long that we stopped dreaming. We hung up our harps.” But then they started a small food pantry. Week after week, hungry families began to come. Soon, worship attendance grew—not because people came for food, but because they found hope. That church learned to sing again in a strange land. ________________________________________ II. The Temptation to Silence The psalm says, “We hung up our harps.” That’s not just a poetic line—it’s a spiritual danger. When life gets hard, when ministry feels futile, when culture shifts away from faith—it’s tempting to go silent. To stop singing. To stop serving. To stop believing our small efforts matter. But discipleship is not conditional. We are called to follow Jesus even in exile. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Faithfulness is not about comfort—it’s about calling. Even when the land feels foreign, the mission remains. Illustration: A missionary in Eastern Europe once said, “We came thinking we’d build a church. Instead, we learned to plant seeds of hope in soil that looked barren. Now, people are singing who didn’t even know the song before.” Disciples don’t hang up their harps—they tune them to God’s heart, wherever they are. ________________________________________ III. Remembering Who We Are The exiles said, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.” Even in Babylon, they remembered who they were—the people of God. Memory became their survival. They couldn’t sing for Babylon, but they could sing to God. Mission begins with memory. Before we can go out into the world, we must remember who sent us. Before we serve, we must remember Whose we are. In baptism, we were named and claimed. In the Great Commission, we were sent: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… and remember, I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:19–20) The exile wasn’t the end of the story. It was the training ground for renewal. ________________________________________ IV. Singing as an Act of Resistance To sing in exile is to resist despair. It’s to declare, “God is still God, even here.” Think about the spirituals sung by enslaved Africans in America. In the deepest oppression, they sang, “Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.” Those songs were acts of resistance and faith—songs that said, “You may chain my body, but you can’t silence my soul.” That’s what mission looks like: singing hope into hopeless places. Illustration: When Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Acts 16, they didn’t despair—they sang hymns. And Scripture says, “the prisoners were listening.” That’s discipleship. The world listens when God’s people sing through suffering. Every act of love, every meal shared, every prayer whispered in a broken world is a song of the Lord in a strange land. ________________________________________ V. The Hard Ending: Anger and Hope Psalm 137 ends with disturbing words—violent, vengeful cries for justice. They sound shocking to modern ears. But don’t dismiss them too quickly. They are the honest cries of a wounded people longing for God to set things right. Mission and discipleship don’t mean pretending everything is fine. They mean bringing our whole selves to God—anger, grief, and all—and trusting Him to transform our pain into purpose. Through Christ, God took the cry for vengeance and turned it into a call for redemption. “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) The cross is where exile ends—and mission begins again. ________________________________________ VI. Application: Singing Where You Are So what does it mean to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? It means this: • If your workplace feels hostile to faith—sing there by living with integrity. • If your community feels broken—sing there by serving. • If your church feels small—sing there by loving one another deeply. Illustration: One small rural church in Illinois—just 15 members—started “Mission Meals.” Once a month, they made hot dinners for anyone who needed them. Over time, they served hundreds. One woman said, “I came for food, but I found family.” That’s singing the Lord’s song in Babylon. ________________________________________ VII. Conclusion: Don’t Hang Up Your Harp The world may feel strange. The culture may shift. The church may shrink. But our mission has not changed. We are disciples of the risen Christ, called to love, serve, and witness in every land—familiar or foreign. We sing not because life is easy, but because God is faithful. So take your harp off the tree. Lift your voice again. Because the world still needs to hear the song of God’s grace. “Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things.” (Psalm 98:1) ________________________________________ Closing Prayer Lord, when the world feels foreign, teach us to remember You. When we are tempted to give up, help us to keep singing. Let our lives be songs of hope, faith, and love— until every land, and every heart, becomes Your home. In Jesus’ name, Amen. sermon written by Chapt GPT version 5 Song One Bread, One Body Pastoral Prayer God of the rivers and the wilderness, of Babylon and Jerusalem, we come to you today with the deep ache of a world that still knows displacement. We pray for all who are wandering, refugees fleeing war, immigrants seeking welcome, souls lost in systems that forget their name. May they find rest. May they find home. We pray for the ones whose faith feels the size of a mustard seed, tiny, unsure, overwhelmed. May they know that even the smallest act of trust can plant forests of transformation. Help us show up, as servants, as neighbors, as those willing to set the table for others. We lift up those in sorrow, those grieving loss, carrying illness, navigating fractured relationships. Hold their brokenness with tenderness. Bring healing where healing can come, and peace where it cannot. We pray for the church universal, each congregation celebrating Communion this day, each voice singing in their own key of grace. Let our unity not erase our difference, but celebrate it, a foretaste of the kingdom where every tribe, every language, every story has a place. And God, where the world breaks trust and justice is delayed, let your Spirit stir us toward equity, let your church rise to embody compassion, and let your table always remain open, never guarded. In the name of Christ who breaks bread with the broken, we pray. Amen.WORSHIP & PRAYER Lord’s Prayer A Stewardship Moment Invite several folks to bring coins or bills from a variety of countries (or use images on the screen), to help identify how congregations around the world are receiving an offering this morning. Whether we share kwatcha, francs, pesos or dollars, we are invited to bring an offering today, to support this congregation and our world-wide ministries. (Describe one or two specific outreach ministries which are underwritten by your offering.) From the smallest coin to the largest check, every gift is valued, appreciated and will be used to sustain the work of Christ in the world. With generous hearts and open hands, let us share our offering. We all work together to build the kingdom of God, to being all to the table of God. We have an opportunity to give, but you also received. In your bulletin in a gospel dollar – to remind us that the currency we give to God is all the same in Jesus eyes, he uses our gifts to spread the gospel to the world and to people who need to hear it. If you take the time to look at the gospel dollar – you will see that it has all of the lessons of the new testament, all of Jesus words to us, all that Jesus wanted us to know. As we gp through the next six weeks, I invite you to hold onto it – to remind us of the importance of mission, stewardship and discipleship. Even though it is in the form of a dollar bill, stewardship is so much more than how much we put in the offering plate. It is how we live out God’s word in our life. It is what we do to serve others. It how well we listen to God. The dollar that you receive is a reminder of what it means to be a disciple of God. I would invite you to hold onto it during the stewardship campaign to remind us of what the next six weeks is all about, you can pass it on to someone else. Some people have used it in addition to their tip to encourage others and to tell others about the gospel. Or you can return it into the basket in the narthex. Let us remember to be generous disciples living in mission together. Offertory Prayer Generous God, You have set a table that stretches from Charlotte to Kinshasa, from Bogotá to Seoul. You have fed us with grace and invited us into your holy community of justice and joy. So now, we offer back to you a portion of what we have received. May our gifts, of money, time, and lives, be used to extend your welcome, to build tables in places long denied a feast, and to nourish hope in hearts still waiting for home. Bless and multiply these gifts for your glory and your people. Amen. Intro to Communion By the rivers of Babylon, they sat down and wept. They hung up their harps and could not find the strength to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land. Psalm 137 doesn’t ease us in; it begins with grief and rage, a people displaced and aching. And yet, on this World Communion Sunday, we come to the table bringing our own songs and silences, our own longings for home, wholeness and healing. The question is not merely how to sing, but what it means to sing when your heart is heavy, your identity is questioned, and your community feels fractured. Psalm 137 is not an abstract metaphor. It names the human experience of dislocation, emotional, spiritual, political. Many people today, immigrants, exiles, refugees, the displaced and the disillusioned, still sit by rivers with harps hung up. And yet this day, across time zones and nations, we lift up the cup and break bread. We proclaim that there is a table wide enough for every pain, every accent, every story. We do not forget the city of God because the table reminds us of where we belong, and with whom. Rowan Williams writes of the Eucharist as a place where we come not because we’re good at being faithful, but precisely because we are not. We come not because we’ve figured it out, but because we’re still lost in many ways. And yet Jesus invites us in, week after week, to sit and eat and remember. To be known. To be transformed. Communion is more than ritual. It is more than nostalgia. It is a prophetic declaration that in a world of walls, there remains a place where the table extends further than we ever dreamed. It is a declaration that in a culture of me-first, there is still a gathering centered around mutuality, grace and a Savior who feeds all without condition. World Communion Service. UMH 13. (do not print all of the words) The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. The pastor may lift hands and keep them raised. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty (almighty God), creator of heaven and earth. You have made from one every nation and people to live on all the face of the earth. And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn: The pastor may lower hands. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. The pastor may raise hands. Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit. He commissioned us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth and to make disciples of all nations, and today his family in all the world is joining at his holy table. The pastor may hold hands, palms down, over the bread, or touch the bread, or lift the bread. On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: "Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." The pastor may hold hands, palms down, over the cup, or touch the cup, or lift the cup. When the supper was over he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said: "Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." The pastor may raise hands. And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. The pastor may hold hands, palms down, over the bread and cup. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. The pastor may raise hands. Renew our communion with your Church throughout the world, and strengthen it in every nation and among every people to witness faithfully in your name. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father (God ), now and for ever. Amen. Copyright: “The Great Thanksgiving for World Communion Sunday,” Copyright © 1972 The Methodist Publishing House; Copyright © 1980, 1985, 1989, 1992 UMPH. Used by permission. Announcements Trustee meeting next week Closing Prayer for Facebook Go now as those who have been fed, not only with bread and cup, but with remembrance, mercy, and the wild welcome of Christ. Let your faith, even if only a mustard seed, uproot indifference, plant compassion, and prepare a place for someone else to be seen, to be heard, to be healed. Wherever you go, Babylon or Jerusalem, downtown or dirt road, may you carry the table with you. And may the Spirit of God go before you to stir courage, walk beside you to offer peace, and dwell within you to keep setting the table of grace. Go in love, go in justice, go in belonging. Amen. Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction Let us go from this place trusting that God is with us and for us in every place. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you and abide with you this day and forever-more. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, John Wurster) At the end print These worship resources are part of the World Communion Sunday pastor and leader kit. They can be adapted for your context and integrated into your worship service

You can't take it with you when you go

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