If it is too hard, it is probably what God wants you to do

August 24, 2021 Jeremiah 1:4-10 If it is too hard, it is probably what God wants you to do 11th Sunday After Pentecost Year C Prelude Greeting Call to Worship One: Like a solid rock, strong and secure, our Lord stands. Many: This God is our hope! One: From our birth, to this day, and beyond, we trust in God. Many: Rejoice! For this God is the One we can count on. One: Gathered now, let us praise the Lord our God. Many: With power, we lift our voices to sing our praise! (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving)) Opening Prayer Holy God, we do praise your name this day, with hearts filled with gratitude for your presence, your power and your persistence in calling us to you. May our time of worship be filled with joy as we celebrate the community you are forming here as one part of the Body of Christ. May we all recognize the gift we’re given as we participate in worship today with our voices, our hearts and our minds all merging into one grand celebration of our place in your Realm. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving)) Song Jesu Jesu UMH 432 A Sermon for all Ages Yes You Can! Do you ever feel like you’re just too young or too small to do something? Can anyone think of a time when you might have said, "I just can’t do it!" (Pause for responses.) We have all said that at one time or another. Maybe you said it when the coach asked you to play a new position for the first time, or while you were trying to do your homework. (Hold up textbook). We’ve all found ourselves feeling defeated, saying, “I just can’t do it.” Our Bible lesson today is about a man named Jeremiah. One day, God spoke to Jeremiah and said, "Before you were even born, I chose you to be My prophet to all the nations." Wow, that’s a tall order! Can you imagine being chosen by by God to speak His words to all the nations of the world? Jeremiah answered, "I can't! I'm not a good speaker, and besides, I'm too young." "Don't say 'I can't,' " the LORD answered Jeremiah. "If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word!" Then the LORD reached out His hand, and touched Jeremiah's mouth and said, "I am giving you the words to say, and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for Me." God called Jeremiah to a monumental task before he was even born. But He wasn’t going to leave Jeremiah to do it all on his own. God also promised to give Jeremiah all the words he would need to speak. Just like God had some mighty big plans for Jeremiah, He also has some pretty big plans for you too. He knows your name. He knew you before you were even born and He has a plan for your life. There will be times in your life when God will come to you, as He did to Jeremiah, and ask you to do something important for Him. He may call you to do something that feels difficult, or maybe even impossible. You may feel like you’re too young, and you might even want to say, “I just can’t do it.” But when that happens, remember what God said to Jeremiah, "Don't say, 'I can't!' " If God calls you to do something, He will reach out His hand and touch your life to give you the ability to do it. Dear Father, there may be some things in this life that we cannot do on our own. But we know that if You ask us to do something, You will give us the ability to do it if we just trust in You. Amen. A few years ago there was a hot slogan aimed at kids who found themselves facing the temptations of drugs, alcohol, sex, peer pressure of all kinds. "Just Say No!" There is a dynamic Congregational Christian Church in Canada (Brantford, Ontario) named Yes! Church. What a great name for a church! Do you have what it takes to be a Yes! Christian? A few years ago, a hand gesture circulated that was used in tandem with that word "yes." Whenever you wanted to put an exclamation mark in a verbal response, you clenched your first and jerked it into your side while simultaneously saying, "Yes!" As I read this passage of Scripture from 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 (NIV), whenever I came to that word "Yes!" you're going to say it for me. And I'm inviting you to say it not just with your words, but with your whole being, as you gesture the yes while saying the yes. Let's give it a trial run. When I point in your direction, give me a yes. Or when I say, "And all God's people said" . . . give me a yes. 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 18But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." 20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. And all God's Yes-people said, "Yes!" ChristianGlobe Networks, Collected Sermons, by Leonard Sweet Responsive Reading Psalm 139 UMH 854 Scripture Jeremiah 1:4-10 Sermon Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jerry. Jerry's dad was a pastor, and all his life it was assumed that Jerry would be a pastor too. His grandma said it: "God's got his hand on you, Jerry. Someday, you're going to wear those fine velvet robes, and put that shiny cross around your neck. And you're going to step into the pulpit and preach the Word, just like your daddy does. And we'll be so proud." Jerry's uncles and aunts said it: "I'll tell you, that boy has a good strong voice. I could hear him halfway around the block. Any preacher would give his right arm for a voice like that." "You know he could read by the time he was three. What does that tell you?" Jerry's mom and dad tried not to pressure him, but they dropped little hints. Everybody at church liked Jerry. He was president of the youth group. He was even dating that sweet girl, Tonya, who sang in the choir. What an asset she would be as a pastor's wife! Then one day, while Jerry was sitting in his seminary dorm room cramming for a Greek exam, the Lord spoke to him. "Jerry, it's time." "What?" Jerry said, because he never expected to meet the Lord at seminary. "Who is it?" He asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because he was afraid he knew the answer. "You know who this is, Jer. It's the Lord. It's time for you to fulfill your calling." "My calling? To be a pastor? But I've just barely started my seminary classes. I've still got to take Greek, and Hebrew, and Contemporary Expository Preaching 101, and Counseling, and--" "I never called you to be a pastor, Jerry." "But, everybody says that--" "Did I say it?" (Pause) "Jerry, I made you. Before you were born, I knew you inside and out. You aren't an accident of nature. You are special and made for a purpose. My purpose. I want you to be a prophet." "A prophet?!?" Jerry exploded. "I don't know anything about being a prophet. And who's going to listen to a young guy like me? Everyone will laugh in my face. Prophets aren't the most popular guys, you know? And what about housing, and health insurance, and my pension plan--" "You didn't let me finish." "I'm sorry." "I was going to tell you that I'll always be with you. Always. I know this isn't going to be easy. You're right, there's no security in it, and there's no pension plan. People are going to laugh at you, and most of them won't listen. But let Me worry about that. You just tell them how I feel--I'll take care of you." And before Jerry could object, God reached down and touched his mouth and gave him the words to say. If you know a little bit of your Old Testament theology, then you recognize the protagonist of our story. In the year 628 B.C. or thereabouts, God called on Jeremiah, a young man from a priestly family. As the son of a priest, Jeremiah was expected to enter the priesthood also. The priests were the bridge between the people and God. Priests taught the Law and guarded the covenant between Israel and God. They offered incense and offerings on God's altar on behalf of the people. They sacrificed animals as an act of atonement for the people's sins. Although the priesthood required a huge amount of work and responsibility, the position had its perks too. Priests were highly respected. They had an honorable and secure place in society. The people usually took good care of their priests. Just like us today, Jeremiah lived in some pretty interesting times. There was a transition of power the Assyrian Kingdom which had been in power for a long time was in decline and fell to the Babylonians. Israel had no real say in middle eastern politics, so that had to adjust to new rules. At the same time, the long time King of Judah had passed away, and power was given to his young Son. Even those things had been okay economically, things were not okay morally. So when the young son Josiah took over, the started lots of reforms to get the county back on track. Just as things were starting to turn around, Josiah is killed in battle and his son takes over. His son could care less about anything but his own comfort. Jeremiah comes from a fairly rich stable family, growing up, he would have heard about the politics of the world. He would have formed his own opinions, He had his ideas of how things needed to change. Even though it was not popular, Jeremiah was willing to tell the truth to power and to the people. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet, because in his deep love for his family and his country he was willing to speak the truth. Even when it was not popular. It is believed the he made the kings so uncomfortable, they put him in exile for the rest of his life. We have a lot going on in our world today – but it is the same things that have been happening for many years. Just as Jeremiah was called by God to speak out and the change the trajectory, so are we. A prophet is someone who God asks what do you see and what are you going to do about it. To be called by God is the place where the our understanding and care and concern for the world, meets the deep need for change. Our Scripture for today is Jeremiah’s call story – it tells us who he was, what he saw, How God spoke to his heart, and his response. This story sticks out to me. Our first writing assignment in seminary was to look at the stories of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament and to decide which one was closest to our story. I chose Jeremiah. Jeremiah could here God clearly, but he told God that he was way too young to do anything important in the world. God reminds him that God knew him before he was born. He was created for such a time as this. And God was clear about who he was talking to and what he was asking Jeremiah to do. I would imagine that we are hearing this story – because a lot of us can identify with this story. God asks us what we see in the world, we know what we see, we know what the world needs, but we are convinced that it is not our job – we don’t have what we need to make a difference. And yet God reminds us that we do. God is the one who gave it to us in the first place. Sometime after we're born we begin to ask, "What is the meaning in my life." As Rabbi Kushner puts it, there comes a point in life where we ask: "Was there something I was supposed to do with my life?"5 Kushner writes: "The need for meaning is not a biological need like the need for food and air. Neither is it a psychological need, like the need for acceptance and self esteem. It is a religious need, an ultimate thirst of our souls."6 You and I need to know more than how to make a living. We need to know the meaning of our living, if we're to truly live. We need to know what God has in mind for our lives. Not how God is manipulating me to get what he wants; but what does God have in mind for me that will give me what I want, which is to live a life full of joy. A few years back, a company called Yankelovich Partners conducted a nationwide survey, the basis of which was one question: If you could ask God one question, what would it be? One-third of the people said if they had an audience with God, they would ask why they were put here on earth. (1) In other words, what is their purpose in life? Would that be your question? Faith is the place where our questions come out. John W. Gardner, founding chairman of Common Cause, tells of a cheerful old man who asked a question of just about every new acquaintance he fell into conversation with: "What have you done," he would ask, "that you believe in and you are proud of?" He never asked conventional questions such as "What do you do for a living?" It was always, "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?" It was an unsettling question for people who had built their selfesteem on their wealth or their family name or their exalted job title. Not that the old man was a fierce interrogator. He was delighted by a woman who answered, "I'm doing a good job raising three children," and by a cabinetmaker who said, "I believe in good workmanship and practice it," and by a woman who said, "I started a bookstore and it's the best bookstore for miles around." "I don't really care how they answer," said the old man. "I just want to put the thought into their minds. They should live their lives in such a way that they can have a good answer. Not a good answer for me, but for themselves. That's what's important." (5) The larger Catechism, found in the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has as its first question, the first thing to learn about how to live, this question: "What is the chief and highest end of man?" Modern Version: What's the point of my life. Answer: "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever."1 Before all else in life, what life is all about, now and forever, for you and for me is glorifying and enjoying the God who made us. We used to assume that every Presbyterian learned that along the way. Perhaps we need to learn it again. The 19th century hymn writer Fanny Crosby put it this way: "To God be the Glory, great things He hath done! ... Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the People Rejoice!"2 Give Glory to God and be joyful; that's what life is all about. And as Saint Irenaeus put it in the 2nd century: "The Glory of God is a human being who is fully alive."3 Simply put, the purpose of life is living -- joyfully! Faith questions are always challenging. We are not always sure that we want to answer them for ourselves, and surely not for God. And yet God continues to asks us – what do your see, and what are you going to do about it? What is it that God is calling you to do? Again, if you want to know what God expects of your tomorrows, look at what God has done with your yesterdays. God grant us eyes to see how we have been prepared, ears to hear the task that is proposed, and then the faith to realize that God will preserve us for the completion of that task. May God give us each one a little of Jeremiah. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit, by David E. Leininger And we continue to say that we are not worthy. Many people go through life feeling unworthy. Unworthy of the love of others. Unworthy to live a rich and full life. Unworthy to stand before God. How defeating these feelings can sometimes be. What a denial of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. [We are in a series of messages on the theme, "Five Things Christians Should Never Say." One of the things Christians should never say is "I'm unworthy."] Having said that, however, we should get one thing straight: we ARE unworthy. It's a paradox, to be sure. We should never say, we're unworthy, and yet, in truth we are. "There is no distinction," Paul writes in Romans 3, "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus . . ." In the light of the holiness of God, nobody is worthy. It is amazing how many ads for luxury items today start off this way: "You deserve this." You deserve this expensive perfume. You deserve this automobile which costs more than we used to pay for houses. You deserve this, you deserve that. I don't want to burst your bubble, but all most of us deserve is a good kick in the pants. That's a little blunt, but think about it. The truth of the matter is that, in terms of our potential, most of us are underachievers. Considering how many advantages many of us started with--good parents who valued education, well-equipped schools, healthy bodies, bright minds, and, most of all, a country filled with opportunities and the freedom to pursue those opportunities--a fact we just fell into by an accident of birth--who among us can say that we exhausted all of which we are capable? A few maybe. But most of us have been very, very fortunate. We deserve a luxury car? It's doubtful. A home on the lake? Yearly trips to Europe? Diamonds around our neck? Armani suits on our bodies? Get over it. It's great if we can afford such niceties, but deserve them? Not hardly. It's like Ann Richards great remark about her aristocratic opponent in Texas a few years ago, "He was born on third base, and thought he hit a triple." We're in the same situation as the guy going into heaven who finds himself behind Mother Teresa and he hears God say to Mother Teresa, "You know, Teresa, you could have done more." Now, here's the question for the day: did the rescue squad put themselves in harm's way to rescue this man because he deserved to be rescued? No. We don't know whether this man deserved saving or not. Maybe he was a fine man who just got depressed. We don't know--and it is beside the point. The Rescue Squad rescued this man because that is what rescue squads do. And here is the Good News for the day: God loves and God saves not because of who we are, but because of who God is. God has declared Himself to be FOR us. We're unworthy, all of us are unworthy, but God has made us worthy of all the riches that are God's. Where do we go from here? Here is where we go: We live life to the fullest knowing that we are God's children. We no longer go skulking though life. We walk proudly, yet humbly, as children of the King. Why? Because we now know that our lives have ultimate worth. Christ died in our behalf. Geologists tell us that only 3 percent of the earth's fresh water is on the surface in the form of rivers and lakes. The other 97 percent remains as a huge subterranean reservoir down below. The potentials of human personality are much the same ” only 3 percent on the surface and 97 percent below. (2) How do we tap the infinite reservoir unseen? How do we bring to the surface the powers and possibilities the Creator has placed within each of us? One thing we can do is to rid our vocabularies of three deadly words. They were the words spoken by a young man long ago by the name of Jeremiah. God came to Jeremiah and said to him, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "But, LORD," Jeremiah said, "I do not know how to speak." Then Jeremiah spoke those three deadly words, "I AM ONLY...." In Jeremiah's case, he said, "I am only a youth." Jeremiah would become one of the greatest prophets that God called, but first of all God had to deal with those three deadly words, "I am only..." MANY OF US ARE LIMITED BY THOSE THREE WORDS AS WELL. If God came to some people in this room today, someone would say, "But Lord, I'm only a senior citizen. I'm too old to be of much use to the kingdom." Let's get rid of the "I am only's..." I am only the child of a coal miner, I am only a person with a handicapping condition, I am only a member of a minority group. You and I can be anything God calls us to be. And God is calling everyone of us just as he called Jeremiah. God came to Jeremiah and said to him, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "But, LORD," Jeremiah said, "I do not know how to speak. I am only a youth." See what God does next. He says to Jeremiah, "Do not say, `I am only a youth.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reaches out His hand and touches Jeremiah's mouth and says to him, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." God had great plans for Jeremiah, but first of all He had to get those three deadly words off of Jeremiah's lips, "I am only..." And, my friends, God has great plans for your life and my life as well. There was a story in the WALL STREET JOURNAL about Harry Lipsig. Lipsig, at age eighty-eight, decided to leave the New York law firm he had spent most of sixty years building up. He decided to open a new firm. So at an age when many people have given up on life, Mr. Lipsig decided to try his first case in some time. Here was the situation. A lady was suing the city of New York because a drunken police officer had struck and killed her seventy-one-year-old husband with his patrol car. She argued that the city had deprived her of her husband's future earnings potential. The city argued that at age 71, he had little earnings potential. They thought they had a pretty clever defense until they realized that this lady's argument about her husband's future earning power was being advanced by a vigorous eight-eight-year-old attorney. The city settled the case for $1.25 million. What if Harry Lipsig had said, "I'm only a senior citizen?" Someone else might answer, "But Lord, I'm only a woman." It is what comes behind the Im only that matters. That is the reason that God has called us to be a prophet of our times. And the final thing we need to understand from the story of Jeremiah is that, in order to accomplish God’s purposes, we must trust God’s plan. Doing great things for God begins with simple trust that the One who has called us will not forsake us as we seek to follow His call. I was struck recently by some wise words written by finance blogger Bob Lotich comparing God with professional quarterback Tom Brady. And no, he didn’t say Brady can walk on water, though I’m sure some of his fans think he can. Here’s what Lotich wrote: “God loves throwing lead passes.” Do we have any football fans here this morning? What does that mean? “God loves throwing lead passes.” Lotich explains that a lead pass in football is when the quarterback throws a long pass not to where a receiver is, but to where a receiver is going. For a lead pass to work, the receiver runs ahead of the ball being thrown and trusts that the quarterback is going to throw it to just the right spot. Bob writes, “With God, when you follow His principles, the results are almost always delayed. As in, when He asks you and me to do something, we rarely see the results of it immediately. We have to keep doing what we know He told us to do (running) and trusting that God will get us the results (the ball) somewhere downfield . . . If I were playing catch with NFL quarterback Tom Brady and he said, ‘Just start running and the ball will be there when you get there,’ I would trust him. He has 7 Super Bowl rings that prove he can sufficiently get the ball to a receiver downfield. “How much more can we trust God when He says, ‘Just start running. I’ll take care of the rest’? “Whatever you are trusting Him for today,” says Bob Lotich, “just keep running, and trust that He’s got it all worked out.” (5) I love Bob’s conclusion: Whatever you are trusting God for today, just keep running and trust that He’s got it all worked out. That’s what Jeremiah learned to do. God didn’t choose Jeremiah because of his outstanding skills and charisma. Look at the final verses from today’s Bible passage: “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” God’s plan is not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about God working through us. As the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth.” But God gives us a choice. What we give to God, He will use for His purposes. So, what would happen if you gave everything to Him? God made you for a sacred purpose. You can’t un-hear that truth. Every moment you are alive is a sacred opportunity to do good works that God prepared in advance for you to do. The only obstacle standing between you and God’s sacred purpose is your willingness. Will you give every part of your life to God? Will you refuse to let fear shrink your vision? If so, God can use you to bring hope and salvation to people who might never meet Him any other way. Decide today to trust everything to God’s purposes, and God will use you to make an eternal impact in others’ lives. I was not reared in the Wesleyan tradition, but I know that there is a phrase that describes the way God works with Jeremiah. It is called prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is grace that comes before - before anything you or I can do or even think about doing. Before Jeremiah even knows that there is such a being as God, God already knows Jeremiah personally. By the way, the apostle Paul testifies to this same prenatal knowledge and appointment by God as he describes his own call: But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus. Galatians 1:15-17 Before Jeremiah can even ask the question, "What am I going to be when I grow up, God has already given him the answer. God has put a passion on our hearts for such a time as this. Martin Luther did the same thing in the 16th century. One of the great principles of Luther is "the priesthood of the baptized." Luther taught that all of God's people, not just the priests, have responsibility to minister. The word minister means servant. The one who truly serves God and people is the true minister; not just those with turned around collars! The word "layperson" which we often use to denote a nonprofessional, comes from the Bible word "laos" which means "the people" (the people of God). A layman is one who serves God. That's no second-class citizenship! Illusion number one: "We are not ordained clergy." Down. Two to go! We are all children of God called to earth for a certain reason. When God asks what do you see, how will you respond? Let us pray… Song The God of Abraham Praise UMH 116 Prayer of Intercession Listening God, Hear our prayers as we come before you. Hear the ones who are crying with pain in their heart. Hear the ones who are weeping with grief long into the night. Hear the ones who are sobbing in their loneliness. Loving God, Heal their pain. Restore their lives. Mend their broken hearts. Leading God, Lead us through the dark valleys. Lead us through troublesome times. Lead us to our home with you. Teach us to listen to your voice, That we may hear the cry of the needy and respond. Teach us to love that We may offer care that brings others to you for healing. Teach us to lead, With your vision so that we lead others home in you. Amen. Adapted from Rev Abi and posted on Rev Abi’s Long and Winding Road blog. Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Anyone who has thrown out your back, pinched a nerve, or endured deteriorating discs might have true empathy for the woman of Luke 13. This un-named woman had endured a crippling spirit for 18 years! Jesus saw her, called her over to declare, “You are set free from your ailment,” and laid hands on her. She received the gift Jesus could give. What about you? What is it you can give, as a follower of Jesus, the healer? In this offering time, it’s great for any or all of us to give gifts of coin and check. This congregation depends on you faithfully sharing financial resources which then are translated into the means of ministry. But this time is also an opportunity for you to offer your gifts of care and compassion, your gift of encouragement, of challenge, of courageous commentary. Jesus recognized and seized the moment, despite the prohibition of healing on the Sabbath. How will you seize the moment today? Will your actions be the cause for rejoicing? Prayer of Thanksgiving Gracious God, we do rejoice in the many gifts you pour out, and especially in the gift of Jesus, who was a teacher, healer and the incarnation of your Love. We thank you for the gifts which have entered into these offering plates, and for all the gifts which we can offer to encourage, strengthen and support our sisters and brothers (both near and far away). Help us use them to their full capacity, that health may be the gift for each and for all. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Let your light shine in the darkness, and your gloom be like the noonday. May the Lord guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong. And you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. Amen (Presbyterian Outlook, Roger Gench) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Bnediction Go now in the blessing of God’s love that cannot be shaken, trusting in God’s promises as you work for a world of justice and mercy for all. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, March 2 Additional illustrations Jeremiah is sometimes called "the weeping prophet" because, as the message of prophets goes, he had some of the worst news to deliver to his listeners. Jeremiah has also been called the "prophet of the midnight hour," because the message he is given to preach comes just as his countrymen and women are experiencing the horrors of which he preaches. The time to listen to the prophets' words, to repent and return to the Lord has come and gone, and God's people have made no real effort toward reconciliation. Jeremiah is the one called by God to let Judah know that the jig is up. God's judgment on Judah's sin is going to come upon them, and they will not be able to escape it. Our reading from Jeremiah 1 introduces us to this young man, the son of a priest from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. As Jeremiah tells it, God initiates the conversation, seemingly from out of the blue. Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:4-5 THIS PASSAGE, APPLIED TO YOUR LIFE AND MINE, TELLS US THAT WE HAVE A PURPOSE IN LIFE TOO. You are not an accident. You were made and "set apart" for a very important task: to glorify God and reflect His image to others. Does that mean you have to go into the ministry? No. Does that mean you have to give up your job and spend all your time in prayer and Bible study? Not hardly. Maybe you glorify God through your position as a father, a special ed teacher, a stockbroker, a data entry clerk, or a mechanic. Pastor Bill Hybels was greeting parishioners after church one Sunday when a woman came up to him and caught him in a big hug. She was crying as she whispered in his ear, "Don't ever stop telling us that we matter to God because it's changed my life." (3) It's true; you matter to God. And if you really, truly believe that, it will change your life too. Max Lucado wrote a cute-sounding, thought-provoking devotional about how much we mean to God. It's called, "If God Had a Refrigerator." If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary. Face it, friend. He's crazy about you. (4) It reminds me of a comment a manager wrote in an employee evaluation: “He’s never been very successful,” read the evaluation. “When opportunity knocks, he complains about the noise.” (1) Dr. Robert Schuller—famous for coining the phrase possibility thinking—was once asked in an interview how he developed such a positive, optimistic outlook on life. He said he developed this attitude through his morning prayer time. Every morning, he would pray, “Dear Lord, lead me to the person You want to speak to through my life today. Amen.” That’s an interesting prayer. “Dear Lord, lead me to the person You want to speak to through my life today.” How could such a simple prayer change his whole outlook on life? Dr. Schuller says that this prayer caused him to see the people around him as opportunities for God’s blessings. Because of this prayer, every interaction became an opportunity for God to speak through him. Don’t misunderstand. He didn’t assume he had all the answers. But the burden wasn’t on him. He assumed that if he would do his part, God would work through him to bring some truth or love or mercy into that person’s life. What would change about your life if you viewed every moment as a limitless opportunity to live for God? Every moment. The time you spend on the school bus or commuting each morning. The conversations in the locker room or the conference room or the band room or on social media. What would those moments look like if you knew God was working through you to change people’s lives? There is an old story that has gone the rounds many times but it is most apt. A young farmer one day saw a vision while out in his field. Up in the bright blue sky he saw the fluffy, white, summer clouds form the letters "P C." He was convinced that this was God's way of telling him to become an evangelist: "P C — Preach Christ." So off he went. After a few months of a notable lack of success, he came back to his own home church to talk with his pastor, a sympathetic man who realized that the farmer was simply not suited for the task he had set for himself. "But what about the vision?" the farmer asked. And the pastor replied, "In this case, P C did not mean ‘Preach Christ'; it meant ‘Plow Corn.'" God prepares! The age excuse has proven durable over the years, but generally to the other extreme. "Too old" is used far more often than "too young." "Gee, pastor, it really would be better to get somebody younger to teach Sunday school, wouldn't it?" or "I'm too old serve as an officer again; let the young ones do it — it's their turn." There are always excuses. When the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the word was disaster. Jeremiah was just like anyone else: he loved his country; he loved his people. He had no desire to preach judgment and destruction on them. No preacher worth his or her salt ever does. But when we see things around us that we know are wrong, we are frankly stuck. Then, when we dare to mention it, we get in trouble. In light of that, any excuse would have been better than none. Scary business, and Jeremiah knew it. Then the Lord told him not to worry. "They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, "declares the Lord (Jeremiah 1:19). God had prepared him for a task, God proposed the task to him, and now God promises to preserve him as the task was being carried out. Note one thing: The promise was not that there would be no trouble; the promise was that the trouble would not win. To be sure, Jeremiah did see his share of trouble. He was hated by his family and friends; he was forbidden to preach in the temple; he was arrested and placed in stocks; he was threatened with death; he was beaten and imprisoned; he was dropped down into a cistern that had nothing in it but gooey muck; finally, he was carried off into exile in Egypt against his will. Eventually, he died there. But God had been true to the promise. Jeremiah's life was preserved and his ministry came to span a half-century, even one of the most difficult half-centuries in the history of the nation of Israel. Texas pastor and author James W. Moore tells about a pastor in San Diego, CA who was called into the sanctuary early one morning. The custodian wanted him to see a strange offering that had been left on the altar. There were a pair of brown corduroy pants, a belt, a white T-shirt, a pair of tan suede boots, and a note. There were bloodstains on the shirt and on the note. The note said: "Please listen to God." It was signed, and there was a phone number. The minister dialed the number. A 19-year-old young man answered and told his story. He had run away from home and had been wandering in a wasteland of drugs, drifting from one place to another. He had gotten into all kinds of trouble and sordid behavior. The night before, he hit rock bottom. There was a street fight, and someone had been beaten almost to death. After making sure that the victim of his assault was in the emergency room of a nearby hospital and would recover, the young man came to the church, found an unlocked door and went into the sanctuary. He stayed there all night, crying, praying, and thinking. He asked God to forgive him and show him the way. All at once God's presence became very real. He knew God was there, and he felt God's forgiveness. A wonderful peace came. He committed himself to follow Christ. He determined to make right the things he had messed up. He felt fresh and clean, like a new man. To symbolize his new life and new commitment, he had put on some new clothes he had in his backpack and had left the others. He felt like this symbolized giving God his old life. He walked out the church door a new person with a new vision, new hope, new life, and a new direction. (1) This young man's experience reminds me of Isaiah's experience before the throne of God. You remember that dramatic scene. You may have heard the story about three men walking down a beach who came across a lamp buried in the sand. They picked it up and began wiping it off. A genie popped out and told them, "I'll grant each of you one wish." The first man rubbed the lamp and whispered, "I wish I were ten times smarter." "You are now ten times smarter," announced the genie. The second guy took the lamp and rubbed it and murmured, "I wish I were a hundred times smarter." "You are now a hundred times smarter," the genie mandated. The third man rubbed the lamp and said, "I wish I were a thousand times smarter." The genie pointed at him and declared, "You are now a woman." In art class some children were working with plasticine, a clay-like substance that can be used over and over because it does not harden. A girl had made a very nice model of a creature with wings. She held it up and said to everyone, "See the angel!" There were exclamations of delight from the class and teacher. Then the girl quickly molded the angel back into a ball and asked everyone, "Okay, now. What's this?" Nobody could answer ” except to say, "a ball?" "Nope," said the girl, "it's a hiding angel." The next day when the children came into art class, they were accompanied by a visitor. Another child pointed at the ball of plasticine and said to the visitor, "You know what that is? It's a hiding angel." (4) Some of us have within us hiding angels just waiting to be released. And they can be released when, like Jeremiah, we discover that rather than only a youth, or only a senior citizen, or only a woman, or only a child of poverty, we can say, "I am a child of God. Before I was formed in the womb God knew me. Before I was born I was set apart for something good and beautiful and noble." To believe that about ourselves is to unleash a host of powers and possibilities. Like Thomas Edison and Eleanor Roosevelt, those two young people for whom no one would have predicted extraordinary success ” our lives can become something beautiful and good. Let God touch your lips this day and take off from them those words that hold you back. Say rather, "I am a child of God."

Love and Obey

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington John 14:15-21 Love and Obey May 17, 2020 Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A Children’s Sermon Object: a game board for a game that requires two or more players all look for ways to share our love with those around us. Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever played (name of game)? It's really fun. Do you usually play it with your friends, or with your brothers or sisters? Have you ever tried playing this game all by yourself? That wouldn't be any fun. What if I decided I wanted to play this game all by myself, that I didn't want to share it with anyone else that wouldn't be any fun for me or for you. This game was made to be played by more than one person. It doesn't work if only one person tries to play. A game like this was made to be shared and the more people who play it together, the more fun it is. Our Bible story today is about something else that's supposed to be shared, and that's love. The greatest commandment Jesus ever gave us was to love one another. Love was made to be shared. If we just keep all our love inside of us, and we never share that love with anyone else, then our love is useless. And it's no fun to keep our love to ourselves. But how do we share our love with others? We can tell people that we love them. We can do nice things for people, like share our toys, or hold their hand when they're scared, or visit people who are sick or lonely. What are some other ways that we can share our love with others? Those are all wonderful ideas. This week, let's Prelude Opening Prayer Opening Prayer (Acts 17, Psalm 66, John 14) Source of all creation, maker of the world and everything in it, you are never far from each one of us. We come into your house seeking you, O giver of life and breath. Reveal yourself to us; dwell with us; and abide in us. We live because of you. We hope because of you. In the name of Jesus Christ in whom we live, and the Spirit of Truth who abides in us, amen. Stewardship Moment Every time we come to the moment of offering, it’s a crossroads. There is an inner struggle between selfishness and generosity, a pull between fear of the future and belief in God’s providence. We give our offering this morning, Lord, stepping out in faith down the road of grace. We do this together, as your people, called and sent to be a blessing for all the world. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen. Offertory Prayer God of Power and Mercy, you have not deserted us; we have been tested, and yet we know we have never been far from your redeeming love. We celebrate your relentless caring, not only with the gifts we offer, but with our voices and testimony. We want the world to see what it means to live in the light of your love and mercy. Help us to guide our lives in your way. In the name of Christ, our Rock and Redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 66:8-20) Scripture John 14:15-21 Common English Bible (CEB) I won’t leave you as orphans 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion,[a] who will be with you forever. 17 This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you. 18 “I won’t leave you as orphans. I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” Footnotes: a. John 14:16 Or Advocate Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon I’ll Be Ready! One of the best newspaper cartoons of all time is Calvin and Hobbes. One day Calvin and Hobbes come marching into the living room early one morning. His mother is seated there in her favorite chair. She is sipping her morning coffee. She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. Calvin's head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, across his shoulders, down his back and is dragging on the floor. One hand is holding a flashlight and the other a baseball bat. "What's up today?" asks his mom. "Nothing, so far," answers Calvin. "So far?" she questions. "Well, you never know," Calvin says, "Something could happen today." Then Calvin marches off, "And if anything does, by golly, I'm going to be ready for it!" Calvin's mom looks out at the reading audience and she says, "I need a suit like that!" That's the way many of us feel as we see the news and deal with life. Sometimes this world seems quite violent and people seem to be at each other's throats. A suit like that would help, so we can say with Calvin, "Whatever may come my way, I'm going to be ready for it! Bring it on!" Brett Blair, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com In these days we all need a suit like that, that will prepare us for anything. But we don’t have that kind of protection. But we are here because we all live lives where we have to rely on the word of God to protect us, guide us, and sometimes even give us hope. In many ways Jesus us our suit of protection. Jesus gave a lot of thought of what he needed to say to his friends that would help us get through difficult times. John 14 is one of those talks that Jesus gave intentionally to give comfort in difficult times. Jesus knew that he would not be with his disciples much longer, and he wanted to make sure that they would be able to go forward without him. We still read the first half of the chapter to give comfort to families during funerals. Jesus says that he goes to prepare a place for us – where we will all one day be together. He gives us the gift of peace as our suit of armor to deal with anything in life. We are reading the second half today on one of the last Sundays of Easter. Easter, the scripture focus is a little different from the rest of the year. After the resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples in order to give them hope. Next week Jesus goes to the place in the clouds with God. And then we shift from following the life of Christ on earth, and we look for the presence of the holy spirit during the Pentecost season. Today, our focus is on the second half of John. There are two very important lessons for us to remember in Jesus words of comfort – love and obedience. He says that if you love God, then you will obey him. Those are not two words that we would normally put together – but Jesus says that they go hand in hand. As Americans we value freedom and independence. So we get concerned when we hear the word obedience. Obedience Obedience … now that’s pretty much a dirty word these days isn’t it? I remember the very first wedding I had the honor to officiate. The young couple had requested pre-marital counseling and I agreed to provide it for them. At our first counseling session, the bride-to-be - a petite, soft-spoken, beautiful young woman who had just turned 18 a month before - said this: "Preacher, let me tell you one thing right up front. If the word 'obey' comes out of your mouth during the marriage vows, I will hike up my wedding dress and run screaming right back down that aisle and out the front door and I will not be back!" I suppose it's the American spirit of independence that makes us so resistant to the concept of obedience, even when it comes to our relationship with God. Johnny Dean And hear Jesus is telling us that we need to obey him. That our hope is dependent on obeying him. Why would we do that? Obedience Some years ago, Erma Bombeck printed a piece about having the meanness parents in all the world. It went something like this: I had the meanest parents in all the world. When I was seven years old they dared to spank me just because I told them I would not do what they asked me to do to help around the house. My friend next door never got spanked. He didn't have to help at home. He had nice parents. I had the meanest parents. I had to eat all my broccoli and carrots before they would ever let me have dessert. My friend next door never had to eat vegetables. He had fast food brought in with burgers and shakes and brownies with all kinds of ice cream. I had the meanest parents. They made me go to church every Sunday as long as I lived under their roof, sit there in that boring worship service. My friend next door could do as he pleased. He never went to church. Sunday was a fun day for him. I had the meanest parents. They made me work for my allowance. I had to get a job helping an elderly old man with chores around his house. My friend next door never had to do anything and he was given four times as much allowance as I could ever earn. He had nice parents. I had the meanest parents. When I turned sixteen, they made me earn points before I could drive the family car. My friend next door was given a brand new luxury automobile. My folks had bought an old jalopy for me to get back and forth to school, but you think I'd drive that hunk of junk and park it beside those Jeep Wagoneers, BMWs, Buicks and Mercedes? My friend had it made. Or so I once thought, but, when we reached age thirty, I had a change in perspective. I had learned that my parents were not so mean after all. I was experiencing: the pleasure of work, the reward of recreation, the strength of a healthy body, the bonds of a strong marriage, the inward confidence that comes from faith and the wonderful supportive fellowship that comes from the Church as a community of believers. As for my friend, things were not going so well: he was not finding his niche in the workplace, nothing seemed to satisfy him, he was having difficulty getting along with people who were not willing to do everything just as he thought he knew it ought to be done, his marriage had not lasted even two years, his body was getting out of shape, and he evidenced a cynical outlook without any under-girding that comes from the assurance of faith. Erma came to understand that obedience to her parents ways instilled in her lasting, life giving values. "If you love me, obey..." Obedience. Adapted from a sermon by Julian M. Aldridge, Jr. Love's Consequence Love and obedience go hand in hand. Sometimes the greatest form of love is setting rules and giving instructions in order for us to have an ordered life. In order for us to be free, we have to have order. In order for us to truly be independent, we have to be in connection with other people. As United Methodist we know about the connection between love and obedience. We not only look to the bible stories in both the old and new testament for guidance, but also to the book of discipline in order to structure our life as a community. So it is important for us to hear the stories of the bible, but to read them and take them to heart, and to live them out. Jesus says that will help us in our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is our suit of protection in a difficult world. The closer we are to God, the easier it is to obey the words of Jesus to love one another. I'm Not Allowed to Cross the Street A little boy was riding his tricycle furiously around the block, over and over again. Finally a policeman stopped and asked him why he was going around and around. The boy said that he was running away from home. The policeman asked why he kept going around the block. The boy responded, "Because my mom said that I'm not allowed to cross the street." The point is clear--obedience will keep you close to those you love. Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. All of us, no matter what our age, need help staying focused and keeping hope. Jesus has already thought about what we need to hear in order to stay focused on those days when we don’t feel that he is present. Trust and obey. He also promised us help to keep moving forward. He promised that in those days when we don’t see Christ presence clearly, we can rely on the holy spirit. That invisible, unexpected help from God. It is hard fully explain the holy spirit – because we don’t have any stories in the bible about it. It is a spirit, a presence that we have to feel for ourselves. The presence is in our lives, not in the bible. Lori Hetzel tells the story of adopting a child from Russia. There were hurdles as every turn. They didn’t speak Russian, their travel plans seemed to fall through at every turn. But in those times of great need, there always seemed to some person who showed up that had the right answer, who was available to help them and provide food and shelter and whatever they needed. Gerald Kennedy remembers one very cold winter day that he woke up and realized that he had to deliver newspapers. He got ready to walk his route, when a car pulled up. It was his dad, who knew it was too cold for him to do it alone, so he was there to help him through a difficult moment. Gerald was so impressed, he not only became a pastor but a bishop. I too can think of times in my life when I had no answers, and God seemed to provide the right situation, the right person to bring me through. Jesus says that if we love trust and obey – then our eyes will be open to receive the invisible, unexplainable help in our lives. Jesus promised that if we have a relationship with God, then there is never a time when we are alone. God is always with us. God always lets our presence known. That was good news to an orphaned community about to lose its leader. Jesus words help us in our individual lives. But Jesus was speaking to us as a community. The word orphaned means being with a leader or a guide. The disciples were hanging on the words of Jesus, because they were afraid of what was going to happen to them all when he was gone. Today, we as the church have many threats. We have many questions of how we are going to go forward. During this virus outbreak, we ask how are we going to go forward. What is church going to look like. These are the dark days that are creating our future. If we love, trust and obey – then we will be present. Changed and transformed, yet still powerful. A Community of Love In a sermon titled "A New Vision," Dr. E. Howard Satterwhite of Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, compared the ideal of a Christian community of love, with a marriage in which the romance has faded, the honeymoon is over, and the relationship has become a labor of love requiring simple tenacity, "hanging in there." Describing his vision of Christian love at close quarters he said, "We should lose the illusions of perfection ... if we are looking for perfection here, we had better go somewhere else. But no one else has it either. We need to deal with the fact that we are imperfect and yet are in love as community. The community cannot save us from anything and we cannot save anyone else, not on our own skills and not on our charms. But trusting in God we become more trustworthy to each other, and more available for the authentic community that is grounded in God's power and not our own." Carl Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. The Future Belongs to the Saviors A schoolmaster in France was discouraged with one of his students. He wrote in his roll book concerning this student: "He is the smallest, the meekest, the most unpromising boy in my class." Half a century later, an election was held in France to select the greatest Frenchman. By popular vote, that meekest, smallest, most unpromising boy was chosen. His name? Louis Pasteur, the founder of modern medicine. At age seventy-three, a national holiday was declared in his honor. He was too old and weak to attend the ceremony in Paris, so he sent a message to be read by his son. The message read: "The future belongs not to the conquerors but to the saviors of the world." King Duncan, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com We are the community that has been called to be the saviors of our community and our world if we are willing to love and obey. Prayer Reflection time Passing the Peace of Christ (Acts 17, John 14) Because Jesus Christ is in us, and we in him, his peace is a powerful gift that we may share with others. Pass the blessing of this peace to your brothers and sisters in Christ and to all the children of God. Benediction Additional Illustrations Playing God Mee Spousler of the Mount Hope United Methodist Church, in Aston, PA., tells how she was trying to put her three-year-old son to bed for a nap. When she was unsuccessful, she put him in her bed and laid down with him to encourage him to rest. She fell asleep, but he didn't. When she woke up, she saw him sitting on a chair at the end of the bed, and asked, "Luke, what are you doing?" "I'm playing God," he replied. "Playing God?" she asked. "Yes," he said. "I'm watching over you while you sleep." Children understand more than we do sometimes. God IS watching over us. Jesus gave that promise here in talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Not only will God watch over us but through the presence and reminder of the Holy Spirit, we will be reminded of what it means to "Love Jesus and keep his commands." And God will help us to create the environment of love, grace, faith and security that we need for our homes today. Our challenge is to listen to the Holy Spirit and to trust Christ. Billy D. Strayhorn, If You Love Me…. When Jimmy Carter was running for President of the United States, one of the more vivid moments in the campaign passed by almost unnoticed. One Sunday morning, candidate Carter had been worshipping at the Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. When the service was over, he exited the church into the swarm of press encamped on the church's front lawn. Cameras whirring, video lights glaring, microphones thrust forward, the media mavens moved in for interviews, pushing themselves to think of clever questions to ask a presidential candidate on the way out of a Southern Baptist Church -- "Did you like the sermon?" "Did you enjoy the choir this morning?" "Do you plan to remain a Baptist in Washington?" -- on and on the banal questions spewed. Suddenly, a reporter, probably in a stroke of luck, shouted out a question that genuinely mattered: "Mr. Carter, suppose when you are President, you get into a situation where the laws of the United States are in conflict with what you understand to be the will of God. Which will you follow, the laws of the state or the commandments of God?" Carter stopped, looked up, and blinked into the bright Georgia sun, obviously turning the question over in his mind. Then, perhaps still "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day," perhaps with the Spirit gently whispering the lyrics of the gospel into his ears, he turned toward the reporter and replied , "I would obey the commandments of God." Alert aides, alarmed by this candor, unnerved by their candidate's near-treasonous remark, hurriedly whisked him away from the press and into a waiting car. Carter the politician should have avoided the question, or hewed closely to the law of the land, but Carter the Christian had the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ whispering in his ear, "Do you love me? The world cannot see or know me, but do you love me? Do you keep my commandments?" Thomas G. Long, Whispering the Lyrics, CSS Publishing The Land of Look-Behind – Regret Norman Vincent Peale tells of spending some time on a lush tropical isle in Jamaica. In the hotel in which they were staying there was a map that hung in one of the hallways. In the corner of the map there was some very faint lettering over an almost totally uninhabited part of the island. Looking closely Dr. Peale realized that the words were, "The Land of Look-Behind." Intrigued, he asked the owner of the hotel what those words meant. The hotel owner said that in the days of slavery, runaways from the sugar plantations sometimes escaped into that lonely and barren territory. They were often pursued by slave owners or the authorities with guns and dogs. The fugitives were always on the run, always looking over their shoulders. So that was where the term came from: The Land of Look-Behind. What a terrible place to live - in a land where you are always looking back over your shoulder in fear. Some people do live there, though. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com The Dark Night of the Soul "Sometimes I feel like a motherless chile," the weary black slave would sing to the hot southern night, giving expression to the condition of having been taken from home and family and subjected to the power of death. Although none of us has known the bitterness of that dehumanizing experience, the sung lament has surely expressed our own agony of soul from time to time, as we confront isolation and alienation and the world becomes too much with us. "The dark night of the soul" is a fact of the religious life; the sense of the absence of God is as real as the divine presence. Those who use the Psalms as a daily part of their spiritual diet cannot but be impressed by the alternating sense of the presence and absence of God occurring there. St. John of the Cross makes it clear that the sense of God's absence is even important for us if we are to mature in Christian life and faith. So if we assume that having made a Christian profession will protect us from times of doubt, loneliness, unhappiness, we have a naive view of the way God works in the lives of women and men. Kendall K McCabe and Michael L. Sherer, Path of the Phoenix, CSS Publishing Company A Transitional Object (And So Much More) In the last few days, I’ve been reading some of the theories of D.W. Winnicott, a pediatric psychiatrist who was the chief proponent of a unique British variation of psychoanalysis known as "Object Relations Theory." Winnicott put a name on a phenomenon familiar to all of us. He asserted that all children have what is called a ‘transitional object.’ We can tell it is a ‘transitional object’ because she always has it with her. It’s usually dirty and ratty because it can’t be replaced. It might be a doll, a blanket, a teddy bear, a bottle, a pacifier, an item of clothing--anything! If a child’s ‘transitional object’ accidentally gets left at church, I usually get a frantic call from the parents, within the hour: "can you let us back in the building--we’ve left something there!" One of the purposes of a transitional object is to help the child navigate through a world that is changing and uncertain. A transitional object provides emotional security for a child until that child can adjust and grow inwardly in order to cope with the real world ‘out there.’ (I am indebted to Robert C. Dykstra and his book, Discovering a Sermon for the above material.) Even adults have ‘transitional objects.’ We know that life is full of change and loss. We know that we occasionally have to move beyond places that are familiar. People die, relationships break, people change, and time grinds on--oblivious to our feelings. Often, religion becomes a ‘transitional object’ for us. We cling to the comfort of our church, the familiarity of our pastor, the reassurance of our music, the sensibility of our ideas about God and faith. And when things religious are torn away from us, we can be in as much distress as a small child losing a beloved teddy bear. In the gospel text this morning, Jesus, in all the ways in which he was familiar, is being taken away from his disciples. And THIS text invites us to reflect: perhaps our most cherished religious ideas and experiences are merely ‘transitional objects.’ Perhaps God’s love for us, God’s relationship with us is far deeper, far more mysterious, far more secure than any religious belief, experience, or idea now known by us. J. Michael Smith, Anxiety Life after Desolation Desolation calls to mind an abandoned house against a bleak landscape. It imparts the feeling of loneliness, isolation, futility. But we need to be able to distinguish between the feeling of desolation and the fact of it. A child of five feels desolate on the first day of kindergarten. When mother leaves, that youngster is surrounded by new sights and sounds. But that feeling of desolation, strong and real as it is, ends. There is life after the first day of kindergarten! And so the feeling of being suddenly desolate gives way to the assurance that the new situation is good indeed. Dean Lueking, From Ashes to Holy Wind, CSS Publishing Company The Best Relationships There was a college student who spent a year living with a group of Navajos as part of his doctoral studies. As he did research on and with the Native Americans, he lived with members of this one Navajo family. He slept in their home, ate their food and worked side by side with them every day. As much as was possible, he tried to live as one of them. The old grandmother of the family spoke no English and the student spoke no Navajo and yet a close relationship developed between the two. They spent a great deal of time together. Despite the language problems, they shared a common understanding of love and friendship. And of course, over the months, they each learned a few phrases from each other. When it came time for the young man to return to college, the tribe held a going away celebration for him. The next day, as he prepared to get in his pickup and leave, the grandmother came to tell him good-bye. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I like me best when I'm with you." We can say the same thing about our relationship with Jesus, "I like me best when I'm with Jesus." Jesus said He "would not leave us orphaned." And when we are with Him, Heart and Soul, we ARE the best we can be. Billy D. Strayhorn, From the Pulpit, CSS Publishing Company The Church Reminds Us If you have noticed that pastors often seem to dislike funeral chapels, you should know that the cause of the apparent animosity is not professional jealousy. The mortuary funeral chapel is used for only one purpose and is associated with nothing but death. The church building, on the other hand, is associated with all aspects of life. All kinds of things go on at churches - baptisms, weddings, potlucks, many types of meetings, day care, choir rehearsals, funerals, worship services, confirmations. Churches are associated with life in all its variety and splendor, in all its sorrow and pain. The church reminds us that the story of Jesus is more about life than about death. Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company Running Out of Fuel In 1991 an Air Canada flight ran into big trouble. Passengers were enjoying an in-flight movie on the Boeing 767 when the jumbo jet's massive engines abruptly stopped. At first only those without earphones on noticed anything. However, soon it was apparent the jet was in trouble. The pilot came on the speaker system and announced that Flight 143 would be making an emergency landing. The 69 people on board were trapped in an agonizingly slow but inescapable descent to earth. For several minutes a desperate silence hung over the cabin. Then fear gave way to screams of anxiety as the landing neared. All the latest technology could not keep the jumbo jet in the air. What had happened was this. The electronic digital fuel gauge was out of order. So the flight crew had depended on the figures given them by the refueling crew before takeoff. But someone on the refueling crew had confused pounds with kilograms. Therefore, eight hundred miles short of its destination, that mighty jet simply ran out of fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing. Fortunately no one was injured. A multimillion dollar airplane, headed in the right direction, but running out of fuel. That's what's happening to a lot of people today. They have everything in life going for them -- a new car, a wonderful home, a good education, and a good job -- and one day they wake up out of fuel. At the center of their lives there is an emptiness. They don't know why they are living. There is nothing outside of themselves to live for. Don't let that happen to you. Jesus tells us that the power for successful living comes from God. It is the promised gift that Jesus offers us. "Peace be with you," he says. "My peace I give to you, not as the world gives you. Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me." Lee Griess, Sermons for Lent/Easter, CSS Publishing Company Humor: The Holy Spearmint A family was sitting in church when their youngest daughter tugged on her mother’s dress. Mom leaned to her side and the little girl whispered, “I know who the Father and the Son are, but what’s the Holy Spearmint?” The little girl was probably not the only one in church that Sunday who was uncertain about the third person of the Trinity. If the Holy Spirit had to go through adolescence in a typical American church, he would most certainly suffer an identity crisis. If the Spirit’s search for an identity and self discovery ever prompted the question, “who am I?” the Spirit would probably hear the congregation respond with a unanimous, “Good question, who are you?” John H. Pavelko, The One Who Comes Alongside The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the one of the most difficult theological concepts in Christian tradition to explain. The Rev. Dr. Clint McCann, who teaches Biblical theology at Eden, often jokes with seminarians that if parishioners ask you to explain what the Holy Spirit is you should give them a serious look and say simply, "It's a mystery," and then get out of the room before anyone can ask a follow-up question. Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, has described the Holy Spirit this way: "When Jesus let go of his last breath - willingly, we believe, for love of us - that breath hovered in the air in front of him for a moment and then it was set loose on earth. It was such a pungent breath, so full of passion, so full of life that it did not simply dissipate as so many breaths do. It grew, in strength and in volume, until it was a mighty wind, which God sent spinning through an upper room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. God wanted to make sure that Jesus' friends were the inheritors of Jesus' breath, and it worked!" Chuck Currie The Protective Father There was a nature show on television about a black bear that gave birth to two cubs. One cub died right away. Three weeks later the mother died and the remaining cub was left to fend for itself. An orphaned cub in that condition is like a walking buffet for predators. And of course the camera immediately showed a hungry-looking mountain lion. One day the orphan cub encountered a giant male black bear. The little cub cowered at the bear's sheer mass. The larger bear peered around and seemed to realize that the mother bear wasn't anywhere to be found. He gave the little cub a friendly nudge. The camera then showed the little bear happily trailing along after the larger one. The adoption papers were signed, sealed and registered at the county seat in that nudge. Papa bear proceeded to show the cub how to grub for insects and how to catch fish and how to scratch his back against a tree. One day the two bears became separated. The cub began to cry and looked frantically for his new father, but couldn't find him anywhere. The cub approached a stream where he'd learned to fish and something caught his attention. He looked up to see a mountain lion ready to pounce. That same mountain lion had stalked the cub for the entire show. There was no way that mountain lion would've gone for that cub with Papa bear around, but now.... The camera zoomed in on the cub. He automatically mimicked the posture of his adopted father when threatened. He stood on his hind legs and bared his teeth. Then, in exactly the same way his new father would have done, this cub let loose a mighty growl that should have reverberated throughout the forest. But, instead, only a tiny bear cub squeak came out. You just knew what was about to happen, so you covered the children's eyes or did something to divert their attention from the TV. But, to everybody's astonishment the mountain lion lowered his head and ran off in the opposite direction! The camera panned back to the proud little cub still standing tall on his hind legs. And then all the viewers saw what that little cub could not: a few yards behind him, at full, ferocious height, his sharp, white teeth bared in a snarl, stood Daddy bear. He may not have made a sound, but he was there. Even though the cub couldn't see his father, his father stood guard, protecting his young. The little cub had power available greater than anything he could produce on his own. There was a greater power watching over him. Billy D. Strayhorn, What Difference Does It Make? Always Alongside Us A student named Steve Winger from Lubbock, TX was taking a challenging class in Logic. The course and teacher were known for exacting and demanding exams. The final exam was looming, and the professor mercifully told the class that each student would be permitted to bring in a single 8 x 11 ½ inch sheet with as much information as they could put on that one sheet for help during the test. On exam day, each student came to class clutching their precious pieces of paper with as much information as possible. Some students had crammed lines and lines of font so tiny and so numerous onto that single sheet that you had to wonder how they could read it. But Steve walked in with a single blank sheet and a friend who was a senior student and who had an ‘A’ in logic. Steve bent down and placed that single, blank sheet of paper on the floor next to his desk. His expert friend stood on the paper. The professor noticed the extra body in the room and asked what he was doing. Steve piped up, “You said we could bring in whatever we could fit on a single piece of paper for help on this test, well, this is my help and he can fit on the paper!” He had followed the instructions to the letter and was the only student in that class to score an ‘A’ since he had his expert friend standing alongside him. The Holy Spirit is like that friend, standing alongside us, supporting us, and guiding us. Adapted from an unknown source, Staff, www.Sermons.com

God of our Past, God of our Future

March 8, 2020 Romans 4:1-17 2nd Sunday of Lent Year A Children’s Sermon Object: a "get out of jail free" card from a Monopoly game. Good morning, boys and girls. Have any of you ever played Monopoly? It can be a lot of fun building a lot of houses and hotels on your property and collecting a lot of money, can't it! But something terrible can happen to you while you're playing Monopoly. Can anybody think of what it is? (Let them tell you.) Right. You can end up going to jail. And if you are in jail, you can't buy and sell any more property or houses or hotels. You can't move around the board and collect money at the "Go" square. And you can't have any fun just sitting there, watching everybody else keep moving around the board. How do you get out of jail? (Let them tell you.) Exactly right. You can use one of these. (Hold up the "get out of jail free" card.) How do you get a card like this? Right. You can pick it up if you are lucky. Or you can buy it from somebody else, if you have enough money. If you get a "get out of jail free" card and you don't need it right away, you can always save it. Or you can sell it to somebody else. Sometimes it feels as though you and I need a "get out of jail free" card when we live our lives. We get into lots of trouble doing the wrong things. We know God is not happy with us. We wonder if God will punish us. We even worry sometimes that God might stop loving us if we are bad. But God has good news for us. God has given us a "get out of jail free" card. When Jesus came to live in our world he promised us that God would love us even when we were so bad that we should go to jail. He promised that God would rescue us from all the trouble we get into, if we will let him do it. Jesus showed us how much love God has for us by dying on the cross. That was a very powerful thing for Jesus to do. Jesus is stronger than all the evil that we do. So when he died he took all the power out of our sins and gave us a chance to "get out of jail free." Whenever we look at a picture of the cross, or when we see a cross in church, we can thing of how God loves us and frees us from our sins. CSS Publishing Co., , by CSS Stewardship Moment At a recent pastor’s meeting we talked about the difference between a transactional faith and a transformational faith. In a transactional faith, we come to church expecting a service, expecting an answer, expecting something to happen and we get what we want, we give our money, and we go on about our lives, nothing really changes. We give and we get in return. A transformational faith is a faith where we actually have a relationship with God, we give not because of what we are expecting, we give because we love God. But we are changed by what we give, our relationship changes, and we witness the miracles of life all around us. Our giving is not a transaction, it is a response to love. We are changed, but we also have to power to change our church, our community and our world – by giving in love. Scripture Romans 4:1-17 Common English Bible (CEB) Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness 4 So what are we going to say? Are we going to find that Abraham is our ancestor on the basis of genealogy? 2 Because if Abraham was made righteous because of his actions, he would have had a reason to brag, but not in front of God. 3 What does the scripture say? Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.[a] 4 Workers’ salaries aren’t credited to them on the basis of an employer’s grace but rather on the basis of what they deserve. 5 But faith is credited as righteousness to those who don’t work, because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous. 6 In the same way, David also pronounces a blessing on the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from actions: 7 Happy are those whose actions outside the Law are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Happy are those whose sin isn’t counted against them by the Lord.[b] 9 Is this state of happiness only for the circumcised or is it also for those who aren’t circumcised? We say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 So how was it credited? When he was circumcised, or when he wasn’t circumcised? In fact, it was credited while he still wasn’t circumcised, not after he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that comes from the faith he had while he still wasn’t circumcised. It happened this way so that Abraham could be the ancestor of all those people who aren’t circumcised, who have faith in God, and so are counted as righteous. 12 He could also be the ancestor of those circumcised people, who aren’t only circumcised but who also walk in the path of faith, like our ancestor Abraham did while he wasn’t circumcised. Abraham’s promise is received through faith 13 The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn’t come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled. 15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn’t any law, there isn’t any violation of the law. 16 That’s why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God’s grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham’s descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. 17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.[c] So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don’t exist into existence. Footnotes: a. Romans 4:3 Gen 15:6 b. Romans 4:8 Ps 32:1-2 c. Romans 4:17 Gen 17:5 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon So what is the difference between a Christian and any other random good person? We struggled with that question this week at the Lenten study – the walk. Everyone was given a key chain – on the back it gives us the five key practices that differentiate the Christians and just any good person – worship, study, giving, serving and ……. Last week we talked about worship – both public and personal – we come together to say thank you, but we also pray personally to develop out working relationship with God. What is the difference between a Christian and any random good person. Martin Luther says that there are three things that tell the difference. Hearing God’s call, listening, and trusting. According to Dr. Martin Luther there are three steps to saving faith. They are like the three rungs of a child’s ladder. The first two will not save, but the third will. However, you cannot take the third step until you have taken the first two. I. Hear: The first step he designates by the simple word "hear." "Faith comes by hearing ..." "How shall they believe except they hear?" (Romans 10) A knowledge of God’s salvation is necessary before it is possible to believe. That is why we send missionaries to Africa and Asia. Non-Christians must first hear before they can believe. But I am sure that I need not dwell on this first step now. I am quite certain that everyone present has again and again heard the message of God’s salvation in church and Sunday school. Therefore, you have already taken the first step. You have heard. II. Believe: I designate the second step by using the simple word "Believe." Now what is the meaning of "believe"? The dictionary says, "to consent with the mind." When you, therefore, have given "intellectual assent to the truth," you have believed. You have taken the second step. But you are not saved. In this sense you can believe all you want to believe about Jesus Christ, and still not be saved. You can believe everything about the Bible, and yet perish eternally. This is the fate of demons. James 2:19 states: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble." Satan and his hosts were among the first to acclaim Jesus as the Son of God, but they did not submit to him. They believe as much or more than you do about Christ. They do not for a moment doubt his deity, but their faith is purely intellectual. It does not change their lives, and their doom is certain; therefore, they tremble. The second step will save no one, and yet that is where multitudes stop. They take the second step, but not the third. Hence they are not yet saved. III. Trust: The third step and the only step that saves, Luther designated by the simple word "trust." The correct and most explicit translation of Acts 16:31 - the response to the Philippian jailer who asks, "What must I do to be saved?" - is in the New English Bible: "Put your trust in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." Again and again, instead of the King James Version "believe," it is more accurately stated in the newer translation, "Put your faith in." "Put your trust in the Lord Jesus." Now what is the meaning of the word "trust"? All of us hear, all of us believe, but when we hear, believe and trust that makes all of the difference. In Romans 4, Paul retells the story of Abraham – or Abram who was just that random good person who was walking down the street one day minding his business. There was nothing that would have stood out about him. He was happy with his life, he was happy with his family, like most of us – he didn’t have everything that he wanted in life, but he also couldn’t find a good reason to complain. So why would God choose him? Why would he hear God say walk away from your good life and just follow me, don’t ask where we are going, or why, just come on. Okay and he does that, he goes into the desert with his wife and family, but God keeps meddling. He has lived a good life, no complaints, but God tells his that he is going to have a baby – after 100 years. And he does, with his servant, but God keeps meddling and says he will have a baby with his 90 year old wife, and once the baby is born – God says you will be father to many nations. If he wanted to be a father, he would have worried about that way before 100. And yet with God all things are possible. I can see why this story would captivate Paul – Abraham was not only the father of his ancestors, but Paul says he is the father of faith. – he was just a random good person walking down the street – but he heard God, he believed God, he trusted God. Now he is the father of many nations, and as Christians we are children of Abraham. Not by birth but by grace. What is the difference between a Christian and a random good person? In Gods eyes – nothing – they are both worthy of God’s grace. God loves them the same, God treats them the same, God even blesses them the same. If that were not true, then we would have no relation to Abraham. Abraham is our father through the grace of God. So what is the difference between the Christian and the random good person? The difference is not in God grace, the difference is in how we respond. As people of faith, we not only hear God, and believe God, and even learn to trust God, we obey God. We choose to live the life that God speaks for us. Every time I read scripture something new occurs to me. This time as I was reading this scripture the last part spoke to me. God speaks life to the dead and calls into existence that which does not exist. Hmm what does that mean. In the Abraham story – God took a man who had lived a full and complete life without being a father, and just told him that he would be a father – and he became a father many times over , just because God spoke it into existence. What is the difference between a Christian and a random good person? – God spoke and the random good person listened and obeyed – and became a Christian – one who follows God many times over. Each of us have a Christian story – on some levels I was born into a Christian family and inherited the faith, but along my faith journey – God’s grace has changed my life and my soul. I was that random good person, until God said things would be different. My life went from being transactional – a give and a take, to transformational – living into the life God spoke for me. What is the difference between a Christian and a random good person – the random good person expects to get what they deserve – the Christian – gets so much more – a life they never dreamed of – and life eternal. This season – let us all hear God’s voice, believe God’s word, trust God’s leading – and respond to God’s grace. Let us pray…. Additional Illustrations It's like old Abraham. Remember him? According to the book of Genesis, he was an amazing man. When Abraham was 75 years old, God said, "Go!" Abraham didn't ask where; he just went. You might think that God loved him because he was obedient to God. The truth is, for some reason, God said, "Abraham, I'm going to make you somebody special," before Abraham could even respond. When Abraham was 99 years old, God sneaked up on him and said, "Abraham, I'm going to make you the father of a huge multitude. I'm going to change your name to mean 'Grand Exalted Father of an Exceedingly Large Family,' or in short, I'm going to call you 'Big Daddy.' " And Abraham laughed, and said, "O God, get serious." And God said, "I am serious; in fact, I'm so serious, I want you to get circumcised at the age of 99, after which you're going to become a father." Abraham did as he was told, even though it felt like his body was as good as dead. Maybe you might think God loved him because he did what God wanted him to do. The truth is, God had already said, "I'm going to make you the father of a huge multitude." Then came that day, that very dark day, when God sneaked up on him one more time, "Abraham! Take your son, your only son Isaac, the son whom you love, and offer him on the mountain as a burnt offering." Abraham didn't say a word. He saddled the donkey, stacked the wood, and took his son up the mountain. He built the altar, put Isaac upon it, and raised the stone knife. There was a great silence, and God said, "Stop! Now I know that you fear me." You might think, "What a test that was!" Abraham passed the test, and therefore that's why God loved him. But all these events came long after the moment when God had already reckoned him righteous. That happened late one night, many years before. God said, "Abraham! Go out and count the stars. That's how many children you're going to have." I picture the old man squinting toward the sky, and beginning to count: "One, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, one hundred, two hundred, ten thousand and one, ten thousand and two...." As he counted, for some miraculous, inexplicable reason, he believed the promise of the Lord. That is all it took. Abraham believed that God was going to keep the promise. For the first time in all the Bible, God said, "Here is a child who is made right with me." Abraham believed, and said, "Yes," to God. That's all it took.

God will not forget you

God has not forgotten
8th Sunday after Epiphany
February 27, 2011
Isaiah 49:8-16
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Year A

Erma Bombeck said that the only thing that she ever listened to from the Bible was the command to consider the lilies of the field… she missed the whole point of the text. Jesus did not tell us to consider the lilies, but to consider their situation. If God takes care of them in all of their beauty, then surely God will take care of us also. Even though it is a good idea to consider the lilies.
If God takes care of nature, then God will surely take care of us.

We tend to think that our problems are too big for God to really understand. We tend to think that we have to come up with our own solutions to our problems. In reality, there is nothing going on in our lives that is too big for God. We would prefer worry and strife in solving the world problems, instead of relying on the true source.

The world has changed a lot. There was a time when you were planning a trip, you could call AAA and they would map out your whole trip for you. They would give you a map of how to get there, where to stop, where to eat, and what to see.

The Bible, God’s word is the same. Every day the holy spirit gives us a sense of direction, and the holy spirit gives us an answer.

The theme of the scriptures for today is to trust and obey.

Isaiah 43 – there are three different writers for the book of Isaiah. They were addressing three times in the history of the Israelites, but it seems that they seemed to have the same old problem. They were discouraged, they felt that nothing was going their way, they felt that God must have forgotten about them.

When we worry, we come to all sorts of conclusions. We think our problems are God’s fault, leaders, fault, neighbors fault, or someone else’s fault.

I got an email from a former parishioner, who go t so mad at me that he left the church for some reason he recently sent me an email talking about what would happen if Obama’s health bill passes. He was a republican and knows I am a democrat, so he thought I would have cared.

The problem is that blaming leads to judging. And judging stands in the way of us being what God called us to be.

Paul says that we are servants of Christ, and stewards of God’s mysteries. We are to live for Christ’ hope for the world – to take care of the things that God cares about.

That goes back to the need to trust and obey. Worry is a sign that we need to step back and ask God.

In keeping with the journey theme – we are all on a trip from here to there, to who we need to be.

The parishioner that I talked about earlier, went on a yearly trip to Hawaii. He and his air force buddies would always join together in February.

There was a couple who was taking a trip to Hawaii. The husband was intentional about renting cars ahead of time, so that when they arrived at each island, all of the details would be taken care of. When he got to the first island, their car was not ready. To help out, the company gave them an upgrade from a Ford Escort to a Ford mustang. It seems the same thing happen at the next island – the car was not ready. Instead of the car they ordered, they were given a Lincoln town car. The same thing happened at the next island and they were given a BMW. At the next island they drove a Mercedes. After the trip was over, the wife asked her husband how he liked the trip. His response was the it would have been a wonderful trip if only the rental car had had their cars ready for them when they came….
That’s how we are – always complaining when God does not do what we ask – never paying attention to the fact that God does not give us what we ask for, because God has so much more in store for us.

With discouragement comes the old friends of hopelessness and blame.

God’s plans are so much better than our plans.

In Isaiah 43 God says…
I answered you
I kept you
I helped you
I have given you

We need to stop worrying and listen. It is not what you expect, but it is what you need. Just trust and obey.

Can a mother forget her child? How much more I will not forget you.

When I was a child, if I was not prepared for a test, I used to write the answers on my hand. But by the time I got to school, the answers had worn off, because they were written in pen.

God says that not just your name, but YOU are engraved on God’s hand. God cannot forget you!

Let us pray…..