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September 27, 2020 Worship Services Walking on Water Rev. Kristy Parker

9/26/2020

SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
September 27, 2020

Schedule reminders:
The office is reopened
Church Service 9:30 am
PRELUDE

WORDS OF WORSHIP

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it!

GATHERING PRAYER

Oh God, we praise you, we worship you, we adore you.
You hold the heavens in your hand, all stars rejoice in your glory.
You come in the sunrise and the song of the morn
and bless the splendor of the noonday.
The stars in their courses magnify you,
day and night tell of your glory.
Your peace blows over the earth
and the breath of your mouth fills all space.
Your voice comes in the thunder of the storm
and the song of the wind whispers of your majesty.
You satisfy all things living with your abundance
and our hearts bow at your presence.
Accept us, your children, Eternal God,
and hearken to our prayer.
Bend over us, Eternal Love, and bless us. Amen.

CONFESSION AND PARDON

Merciful God, in your gracious presence, we confess our sin and the sin of this world. Although Christ is among us as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves as we cling to the values of a broken world. The profit and pleasures we pursue lay waste to the land and pollute the seas. The fears and jealousies we harbor set neighbor against neighbor and nation against nation. We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, of intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression. Lord, have mercy upon us; heal and forgive us. Set us free to serve you in the world as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ.

OFFERING PEACE

The peace of Christ be with you.

INTERLUDE

                                                    Word

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Psalm 46: 1-11

1 God is our refuge strength, an ever-present trouble. 2we will not fear, the earth give way and the mountains fall the heart of the sea,3its waters roar foam and the mountains quake their surging.[ c] 4is a river streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High. 5God is within her, will not fall; will help at break of day. 6in uproar,; he lifts his voice, earth melts. 7with us; the God of Jacob our fortress. 8 Come and see what the done, the desolations has brought on the earth. 9makes wars to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; burns the shields[ d]fire. 10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11Lordis with us ;God of Jacob our fortress.

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

SERMON                                        “Walking on Water”

My husband Tom and I just returned from a trip to the Boundary Waters.

It’s a beautiful wilderness area near the Canadian Border.
The Boundary Waters experience is a mixed bag
There’s the wonder and awe at the magnificent beauty and incredible stillness of nature,
And then there’s the backbreaking work of paddling your canoe through headwinds and carrying your worldly belongings on your back over long portages.
It’s camping on an island and being bitten by mosquitoes on the long muddy trail to the hole in the ground that serves as your restroom in the middle of the night.
It’s a trip we’ve taken with various configurations of our family over the years.

You get to know your traveling companions really well.

Tom had the great fortune to share a canoe with my sister and me on one of our trips.
He was in the stern steering.
I was in the bow – apparently that’s supposed to be the “powerhouse” of the canoe – poor Tom.
And my sister was in the middle seat.
For some reason, we were far behind everyone else in our group.
We were on a tight schedule, because the women in the group were planning to spend just part of the time on the water, and then go to a condo in Grand Marais.
As we paddled, we sang, “Oh happy day, oh happy day, when the ladies go to Grand Marais.

We were out on big water, and heading into a strong wind.

The water was choppy, and the going was slow.
My arms were aching.
Those two-pound weights I’d lifted for a few weeks before the trip hadn’t done the job.
I started to get sort of a desperate feeling.
There was water all around, and I was holding the paddle.
Who else would get us to shore?
There was nothing to do but keep going.
Something compelled me to start singing, and I sang that old hymn, “Stand by Me.”
Elvis Presley does a wonderful soulful version of it:

When the storms of life are raging, stand by me;
When the storms of life are raging, stand by me;
When the world is tossing me like a ship out on the sea,
Thou who rules wind and water, stand by me.

When I finished, Tom said, “I guess there’s only one Elvis Presley.”

Strangely enough, though, the paddling became easier.
Maybe the extra breath required for singing helped push us forward
kind of like those tennis players who grunt while they’re hitting the ball.
Or maybe it just got our mind off the pain.
Still - and I know this is true – there was a presence.
As I sent out the words – “Thou who rules' wind and water, stand by me,” I knew that God was.

I said to my sister, “I remember going out on a lake by myself in a rowboat when I was about 14 or so, and getting stuck in a headwind.

I thought I’d never make it back across the lake to the place we were camping.
I fought the wind for what seemed like hours, and as I finally rowed into the shore, I saw my Dad standing there.
He’d been there watching me the whole time.

Jesus was standing there watching his disciples the whole time.

He was supposed to be on “vacation,” or if not vacation, at least a “retreat”
He’d tried a couple of times to get away for a while
It wasn’t just that the work had been strenuous, though it was
Jesus’ time was always in demand
Jesus was also grieving the loss of his friend John the Baptist
He’d gone off by himself to pray
But when the people in the surrounding villages heard that he was in the area, they followed him there.
Having compassion for them, Jesus healed them and then fed them – 5000 of them- with the loaves and fishes
It had been a hectic, demanding time, as feeding a large group of people usually is
Jesus wanted to try for some solitude again
So, he put his disciples into a boat and sent them on ahead of him across the lake, and he went up to the mountain by himself to pray

When Jesus opened his eyes and looked across the lake, he could see that they were in trouble.

the boat was already a long way out, and it was being whipped and tossed by the wind.
In ancient times, the nights were divided into four segments.
The “fourth watch,” which it was called, would have been from 3 AM to 6AM, so it was at this hour in the middle of the night that Jesus, concerned for his disciples’ safety, went walking toward them across the water.
The disciples were terrified.
For one thing, to be caught in a storm in the middle of a lake was a fisherman’s worst nightmare.
For another thing, in those times, people perceived the sea as a place of monsters and devils.
They thought Jesus was a ghost.
Desperate from battling the waves, and spooked by the sight of a figure walking on top of the water toward them in the dark, they cried out in fear.
But Jesus was quick to calm them, to tell them not to be afraid; it was only him.

Peter wasn’t really sure it was him.

Hovering in the boat, he asked for proof, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come out on the water to you.”
And Jesus said, “Come.”
Peter must have had faith it was the Lord, because he did it.
He stepped out of the boat and started to walk, to walk toward Jesus like a toddler trying out his legs for the first time as his parent waits.
He was doing well, walking on water, but then the wind whipped across his face and distracted him, and he began to focus on that instead of on Jesus, and as he did, he started to sink.
But he must have walked on water just long enough to know that it truly was Jesus out there, because he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

And immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

And looking at Peter, shaking his head a bit, he asked him, “Why did you doubt?”
Walking together then, they stepped into the boat, and as they did, the wind died down.
Jesus was back in the boat, back with his disciples, and they were safe.
It was so good to have the Lord back on board.
They worshiped him together, praising him and affirming who he was – the ruler of wind and water – the son of God.

How are things in your boat today?

How are you weathering this storm our world is in?
The turbulence is unreal – hurricane, fire, violence, pandemic, not to mention the political climate
We have personal struggles too –
Friends have gotten sick and some have died
We can’t reach out or grieve the way we want to
People we love are sick, or we struggle with illness ourselves.
Some of us have pain, or disease to deal with
Some have brokenness in our families.
Some of us are worried about children and grandchildren

I could go on and on with a whole litany of issues

But to do that would depress us even more
And dwelling on our problems is not what our text this morning would encourage us to do
True, we have to look at our problems so we can see what we’re dealing with
we can’t just close our eyes and pretend everything’s fine
that’s not what the text advises either
what our text this morning does tell us to do is acknowledge that there’s a dreadful storm going on around us, yes
but also, to look up, away from the waves and see that Jesus is walking on water towards us
If we look up, away from our problems for even a second, we might be able to see him there in the darkness, extending his hand.
We might realize he’s been keeping an eye on us from the shore
He sees we’re in trouble, and now he’s reaching out for us, motioning for us to come to him, to step out of the boat, to trust him.

We’re not sure.

Maybe it’s not even him.
The boat is familiar; it’s tangible; it’s what we know.
We can feel the gunnels under our hands and it gives us something to hold onto.
We have a tendency to want to fight the storms of our lives ourselves.
We want to paddle ourselves silly.
We want to tackle the headwinds ourselves, so we watch the sky; we watch the waves.
We’re afraid that if we take our eyes off of them, we might capsize.

It’s natural for us as human beings to focus on our problems.

If we’re thinking about them and worrying about them, we feel like we’re in control.
But actually, the opposite is true.
The more we dwell on things, and try to figure things out ourselves, the more serious our situation seems, the more convoluted our thinking becomes.
We begin to lose perspective when we take our eyes off Jesus.
Our lives become rockier, and our problems become more complicated when we try to solve them without his help.
Pretty soon, we’re sinking.

Jesus is walking on water, and he wants us to let go of the sides of the boat, to let go of the defense mechanisms and ways we have found to cope with things ourselves, to step out, and walk toward him.

He wants us to trust him.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we see perfect love, perfect forgiveness, perfect peace.
He embodies everything we need for our lives, whatever we’re going through.
When we keep looking at him instead of looking at our circumstances, our lives begin to change.
We begin to embody the same thing he does – love, forgiveness, and peace.

The same is true for the church.

In Matthew’s gospel, many scholars believe that the boat is a metaphor for the church.
It was a community of new believers in the process of growing in faith.
It was easy for them to take their eyes off of Jesus, to fail to trust him.
If we see the boat as being symbolic of the church, the point is obvious.
The church that takes its eyes off of Jesus and focuses on the storm around it is in serious danger of sinking.
Or when a church focuses on its own internal problems and tries to solve them apart from Jesus it also gets into trouble.
When we operate apart from Jesus we’re no longer the church, but simply another group of people battling it out our own way, under our own power.

There’s another possibility in this text too.

Matthew says that Jesus “made the disciples get into the boat, and he sent them ahead across the lake.”
The place they were headed to was an area associated with the Gentiles.
Jesus seemed to be stressing the necessity of extending the mission beyond Israel.
The storm on the lake is symbolic of the opposition that the early church encountered when they tried to take their mission to others.
It’s the same opposition we encounter today.
Offering Jesus to others, extending the mission is difficult.
But we’re called to keep stepping out of the boat, reaching out to others, offering to others the strength and peace that’s been offered to us

Our calling, in our personal lives, and in our lives as a church, is to keep our eyes on Jesus.

He’s walking on water toward us, holding out his hand, ready to catch us.
How much easier and more satisfying life is when we look at him instead of focusing on our problems
It takes a constant effort to keep our eyes on Jesus.
The enemy wants to sink us by making us look at all the disasters around us.

We need to seek help from the Scriptures continually, spend time with Jesus, pray to him, and ask him for his help.

Take some time, every day, to close your eyes, to picture Jesus walking toward you across the water.

It can be early in the morning; it can be before you go to bed; it can be anytime.
Any time you feel yourself sinking, go to Jesus.
Don’t try to battle the headwinds yourself.
Don’t hold so tightly onto the side of the boat.
Step out, trust him.
He is perfect love, perfect forgiveness, perfect peace.
That’s what he wants us to be too.
And we can be, if we keep our eyes on him.

So what lake are you paddling on today? What’s in your boat? What do you need to step out of your boat to do with Jesus’ help?

Whatever it is, one thing is sure ~ Jesus is there
Jesus is always watching over us
Jesus is always ready to help us walk on water
Always ready to reach out and catch us, to keep us from falling
Jesus is always willing to step into our boat, to still the wind and waves, even in the most serious of headwinds

The amazing thing is that when we let go and take the risk to trust him, we find the courage for whatever we’re facing.

Out on those great, pristine waters, in that incredible stillness, we remember who’s in control
Thou who rules wind and water, stand by me.

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

O God, maker of the sun and the moon, the earth and the sky, ruler of wind and water, our maker, we know that you hear our prayer and we trust you with our lives.

Walk with us in the hour of our grief – for we have lost much – people we love, former ways of living and being. Hold us close and comfort us.

Walk with us in our pain, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. Lay hands on us and heal us from the diseases we battle, from conditions that affect our sight, our hearing, our movement, our breath.

Walk with our families and friends and give us joy in the presence of one another. Release us from our worries and fears and help us to surrender our loved ones into your care. Bring reconciliation where there is discord and help us to honor you in the way we honor others.

Walk with your church in these challenging times and keep us focused on your love. Keep us reaching outward instead of looking inward. Make us a beacon of light to show the way, an extended hand to a hungry crowd or a faltering neighbor or stranger.

Walk with our country in these turbulent times. Still the flood waters and restore your divine order to your creation. Tame the words of hatred that come from careless speech and heartless acts.

Walk with our world, tossed in the sea of chaos. Shine down your love that we might receive your brilliance. You tell us you have overcome the world and so we place it and everything in it in your hands.

Walk with us Lord, in greater trust, in greater service, in greater love for Christ, who taught us to pray, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory forever, Amen.

AFFIRMATION                Apostle’s Creed, Ecumenical Version

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
He is seated on the right hand of the Father,
And he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND THANKSGIVING AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

                                                                Sending

CHARGE & BLESSING

POSTLUDE

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September 20, 2020 Worship Services Are you jealous because I am generous? James Camp

9/20/2020

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SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
September 20, 2020

Schedule reminders:
The office and the rest of the building remain closed, but you can contact Karla during her office hours.
PRELUDE

WORDS OF WORSHIP- “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the lord’” (Psalm 122:1)

GATHERING PRAYER-We come before You, O God, because You have loved us and invited us to part of Your kingdom. Still our restlessness, calm our anxieties, open our ears and our hearts that we may hear what You have to say to us and for us. In Jesus’ name we ask, Amen

CONFESSION AND PARDON –We come before you Lord, knowing full well we have not always been faithful servants. We have failed to do many things we should have done; we have done many things we should not have done and there is no health in us. We confess we have sinned against You and harmed our neighbors and loved ones with our actions and our words. Because of Your great mercy and love You offer us forgiveness. We beg You for that forgiveness in Jesus name, Amen

PARDON- “God proves His love for us in that, while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) in the name and power of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven people.

                                                Word

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION-May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

SCRIPTURE LESSON Matthew 20:1-15

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20“For the kingdom of heaven is like landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreed to pay them a denarius [a]the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. Told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. ‘they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. Five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’7“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8“When evening came, owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’  9“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. When those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. They received it; they began to grumble the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat the day.’ 13“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. But you agree to work for a denarius? Your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

SERMON- “Are you jealous because I am generous?”

         There is one thing we need to be really clear about as we were to way through this parable: it is NOT advice on how to run a business.   Jesus did not intend this parable to be used as instructions on how employers should treat their workers. There is no business that could survive a month if they followed the example of this parable. When we work with this parable, we have to keep in mind the 1st few words we read today: “The kingdom of God is like”- what we are looking at is Jesus showing his followers and us something about God, not something about business.
    Now let’s put this parable into everyday content but to do that, I need your help for a minute. How many of you have children raised your hands?   Now, how many of you NEVER heard a child yell out THAT” S NOT FAIR? Raise your hands. When you boil this parable down, that is the complaint of the workers. Somehow or the other they had to, they had a definite feeling they got the short end of the stick, and they are raising an objection.   In this parable, Jesus is showing us the difference between our sense of what is fair and God’s sense of what is right.
Suppose for a minute you are the guy who was hired early in the day.   You were down at the town square before daylight, hoping someone would need help harvesting their crop. The usual workday is Sunup to Sundown, but the pay was enough to feed your family for a couple of days with a bit of money left over. The landowner offers you a usual day’s wage for a day’s work. You agree, and you go to the field and begin working.
    About 9, you see the landowner coming with the more workers; you ask one what his agreement was, and the worker says the landowner promised to pay what is right. Again, at noon at 3 and at 5 you see more workers come in. You think to yourself the fellow hired at 5 might make enough to buy his family supper, but what should he get since he only worked an hour or so.
    When the Sun goes down, the manager lined up the workers up with the last at the front of the line. You are at the end of the line because you were the first one hired. Suddenly a buzz starts through the line “the workers who were hired last that a full day’s pay”. Immediately you begin to wonder how much you will get since you worked all day. Surely, they will be extra since I bore the heat of the day. As the line moves, you notice, each group of workers receive a full day’s pay. There does not seem to be any consideration for those who have worked longer. Still, you hold the expectation that because you worked I full day, you will receive more.
Then it was your turn.
    You walked to the table, eagerly anticipating a bonus of some sort. When you received the usual day wage, the same everyone else had received, your immediate response was “THAT’S NOT FAIR”. Surely, it was worth something extra to have to work through the blistering heat of the day. Surely, there should be some difference between those who have worked all day and those who only work for an hour. Your cries of unfairness fill the evening air.
    Because your complaint is so loud, the landowner hears and comes to you. He asked what is your complaint? You paid those workers who worked only an hour of full day’s wage we have worked, and we have worked the full day. That is not fair that we should get the same as them.
The landowner asks, “What did you agree and this morning?” you are forced to answer, “You said the usual pay for a day’s work”. The landowner replies, “You received what you agreed to. If I choose to be generous to someone else, you do not lose anything you are promised, take what you a promise, and go home.”
    As I worked on this, it occurred to me; there is another parable where the point is the different idea of fair and God’s idea of what is right. It usually is called the prodigal son. We all know the story. The oldest demanded his share of the inheritance, took the money, went to a strange land spent everything. He was so destitute he took a job feeding pigs, an animal that the Jews considered unclean; he was so hungry, sometimes he caught in self looking at the pig's food and wondering what it might taste like. Finally, he decided rather than to starve; he would go home, throw himself at the father’s mercy, and take a job as a slave there Instead, the father threw a robe on, and him put on a signet ring and threw a party for everyone.
When the younger said son heard the party, he was furious. When the father came to ask what was wrong, the son replied, “this son of yours took the family fortune spent it doing God knows what, and when he is about to starve to death, he comes home, and you throw him a party with prime rib for everyone, I work my rear off on this farm never taken is much is the lamb for myself. “ITS NOT FAIR”
    As I thought about these two stories, I wondered about the idea of fairness. I went to one of my Bible search programs and looked up the word fair learn and learn something very interesting, In the King James Bible and in the New Revised Standard Bible, God is never described as being fair in his treatment of people. God is often called loving, compassionate, just, and other similar terms, but there is never a place where either in scripture where God is described as fair. This it was something I had never really thought about before. I am still working my way through understanding what that means in terms of these two parables, so this sermon is a part of that process of understanding.
    What I see so far in these two parables may be a way of Illustrating Isaiah 55: 8- 9 this is God speaking to Isaiah,” For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” In both of these parables we see this pointed out clearly. Our human nature tends to agree with the younger son and the worker in the field.
    What has happened is clearly NOT fair. What we need to remind ourselves is these stories are not about the workers; they are not about the two sons; they are about the kingdom of heaven and the way God extends mercy.
    If we go back to the story, the landowner never promised to pay the worker what was fair. If you read the parable closely, the word fair is never in the story. He promised he would pay them” whatever is right” from God’s point of view about what is right and not from our point of what is fair. Again, we have to refer to ourselves to Isaiah’s words about the difference between our ways and the ways of God.
    It is our sense of what is fair that cause the problem in both parables: both the worker in the field and the youngest son had the same idea: I have worked the longest therefore, I should get most for what has done.
That is the way OUR world works. If you work hard, you will get rewarded accordingly, and, when that doesn’t happen, we cried foul. We have to keep reminding ourselves, these stories are not about our world: Jesus was attempting to help us understand something about God’s Kingdom.
One of the principal attendant tenants of the protestant faith is that we are not saved by works, but rather we are saved by grace. That is truly the point of both parables. Neither the late worker nor the son earned what they received. They received it because of the mercy of someone else. In one sense, we know this, and yet there is a bothersome and voice that says, if we have worked hard, we should receive something for it. We have been church members, we have been taught Sunday school, and we have been officers. We had been Pastors. Surely there ought to be something “extra” for us because of what we have done. That would be fair.
    Suppose for a moment that God Was fair. Suppose at the end of our lives; we stand before the throne of judgment, we got what we deserved based on everything we did, the things we failed to do, and the things we said and the things we failed to say.
    Every false statement we made, every time we spoke cruelly to or about another person, every time we tried to justify some selfish decision we made, every time we judged another person because they did not meet our standards of behavior or dress would be paraded before us and then Gods judgment would be made. Is that really what we want for end our lives?
I can’t answer that question for you, but for me, the answer is no. I do not want God to judge me on the basis of the things I have done and the things that have left undone. When I stand in the judgment, I do not want what is fair; I do not want what I deserve based and words or acts of my life, I want grace. I want mercy. To paraphrase and another author, we do not sing a hymn called amazing fairness. We sing a hymn called amazing grace, and that’s the point of these parables are making for us to consider. God ways ARE NOT our ways.
    There are many places where we can see this truth spelled out for us.   John 3:16 is verse we can quote by memory but think about what it REALLY says in the light of this parable. “For God so loved the world he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.” I want to focus on the “whoever” in that verse.
    When Jesus was crucified, there were thieves on each side of him. One of the thieves turned in pleaded with Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into his Kingdom. Jesus response was, “today, you will be with me in paradise.” A man condemned by Rome at the last-minute pleading with Jesus to be remembered, a truly death row conversion, and wished his granted. The verse says “whoever” and Christ bears witness to that act. Gods grants what is right, not what we might say was fair.
    We sometimes read of a person being convicted of some sort a serious crime, and, when they have been in prison for a while, they suddenly become very religious. Sometimes we look at this with our eyes squinted a bit, suspecting what they have done is put on a show of some sort board the hopes of a later settings or improve conditions. Again, the verse says “whoever,” and we have to considers God sense of what’s right over our sense of what is fair.
    Looking at Romans 5:8, we see another view: “God proves his love for us while we are still sinners, Christ died for us’” long before any of us were born, long before our great great grandparents were born, the act of salvation was given on the cross. None of us have done ANYTHING to deserve that. Even if we had worked hard at being in model Christian all of our lives, there is there enough places where we had not lived up to our own expectations, let alone to the things God asks us. There are enough places where we had failed that it would we would be fair of God to condemn us, but the verse does not that say God proves his fairness; it says God proves his love.
In both of these parables, we see that the cry out to us THAT’S NOT FAIR, but in both stories, we see God is acting in ways that are right. Again, that is the point of the stories Jesus want as to struggle with the concept of the way God sees things sometimes, it makes us considered possibilities we rather not think about. Jesus want us to be clear about the kingdom of God is not given according to what our sense of what is fair. It is given according to God sense of what is right.
    When we balk for one reason or another as the workers or son did, we need to stop and examine what exactly we feel we have lost our why it was unfair. Most of the time, it is because we have been shortchanged in one way or another. As Billy Waterson, a Christian comedian, says, “I know the world is unfair, but why is it never unfair in my direction?’
    Both these parable point to our past concept of what is fair towards the idea of God’s grace, something totally unexpected, totally undeserved, and yet totally wonderful. We all heard something stories about someone drive-in where the customer not only pays for their own meal but for the person behind them as well. Pretty soon, the line has gone as gone forward with each person paying for the one behind them. Because they have received something unexpected, they are doing the same for someone else. There is not a sense of obligation but a sense of sharing a gift that they had received.
  The parables we have worked on today put up a caution sign for us if we think about judging the faith of another person. They teach us it is not our place to judge another based on when or how they came to their faith.

We have to come to our faith by a wide variety paths based on the circumstances of our lives. Your path is different from the person beside you for a variety of reasons but you each have come to accept the truth of the message we share. Each of us, regardless of how we came to the truth, is promised the same results, residents in the kingdom of heaven .There are no qualifiers.
    Some Christian scholars said a long time back the ground around the cross was level, by that they meant while we come to the cross from many different directions with our with many different backgrounds still when we get there, the question remains the same: do you accept Jesus Christ as YOUR Lord and savior. When we can accept the truth of that statement, then we can accept the idea that the latecomer is admitted into the kingdom just as fully as the person who is believed all their lives. When we truly understand the full power of amazing grace, God offers all of us; then, we can answers God’s question: are you jealous because I am generous?

AFFIRMATION Apostle’s creed Ecumenical version

                                                Prayers

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION-Lord, we pray for those who have lost homes, for those who have lost crops, for those who have been devastated in any way by the storms. As we edge closer to the time of election, we pray for our leaders, that they may see more than what is important to them and understand the needs of others around them. We pray as we make our choices we, too, may see more than what is important to us and look toward the good of our country. We pray for those who are ill in body, mind or spirit, that You may be with them to lift them up and grant them healing. We pray you would be with each of us, that we may be servants of your will in all we do, we ask all this in Jesus’ name, Amen

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING-We thank You for power line workers from all across the country who have been here helping to restore services. We thank You for Doctors and Nurses who labor during this time of pandemic. We thank You for the many gifts we have received from Your love day after day. We thank You for those who have been healed in any way. We thank you for the many people who volunteered in helping with the cleanup and pick up after the storms. Above all, O God, we thank You for Your saving grace freely extended to us. Amen

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Sending

CHARGE & BLESSING-I charge you to go out into the world as witnesses to God’s love. To render no person evil for evil, but to witness to all the healing and forgiving grace of God. Now, may the Lord bless and keep us all every day from this day forward, Amen

POSTLUDE

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September 06, 2020 Worship Services Putting On Christ By Kristy Parker

9/5/2020

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SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
September 06, 2020

Schedule reminders:
The office and the rest of the building remain closed, but you can contact Karla during her office hours.
On September 13th we are invited to worship with First Congregational Church 700 North Bluff Clinton Iowa 52732

PRELUDE

WORDS OF WORSHIP
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it!

GATHERING PRAYER
Bless us, O God,
with a reverent sense of your presence,
that we may be at peace
and may worship you with all our mind and spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CONFESSION AND PARDON
Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our sinfulness, our shortcomings, and our offenses against you. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Forgive our sins, and help us to live in your light, and walk in your ways, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior.

In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven. Know this and be at peace. Amen.

OFFERING PEACE

The peace of Christ be with you.

INTERLUDE
                                                    Word

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS                 Psalm 119: 33-40

33 Teach me,, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. [a] 34 me understanding,that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 me the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36 my heart your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37 my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my lifeto your word. [b] 38 your promise your servant, so that you may be feared. 39 away the disgraced read, for your laws are good. 40 How I long your precepts! your righteousness preserve my life.

                                                       Romans 13: 8-14

Love Fulfills the Law

8 no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” [a]whatever other command there may be, are summed up this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [b]does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The Day Is Near

11 do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come you to wake up from your slumber,our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.night is nearly over; the day is almost here.let us put aside the deeds of darkness put on the armor light.us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy., clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. [c]

SERMON                                        “Putting on Christ”

Well, this is the time of year when our thoughts tend to turn to clothing.

Fall is just around the corner, and even though it’s been pretty warm, we know it won’t be long before we’ll be getting out our jackets.
Maybe some of us need to update our fall wardrobes
I’m not much of a fashionista.
Give me an old pair of jeans and I’m happy
Still sometimes, I come to the realization that something I’ve been wearing for years has started to look a little shabby and may need to be replaced.
I’ve become so used to it, so comfortable in it that its unsightliness has crept up on me.

In our scripture passage from Ephesians this morning, Paul talks about clothes

Not the kind we’ve been talking about
Paul is talking about “spiritual clothing,” about putting off our sinful nature once we become believers.
He tells the church that when they accepted Christ, they were taught to put away their former way of life, their old self that was corrupt and deceitful
Then they were to clothe themselves with the new self, created in the likeness of God

Most scholars think that Ephesians is a letter Paul wrote while he was in prison in Rome.

It was a “circular letter,” or a letter that circulated among the churches of Asia, and as we study it, we find that it’s just as relevant for us as individuals and as a church today.
The key thought of Ephesians is the gathering together of all things and people in Jesus Christ.
In nature as it is, without Christ, there is nothing but disunity and disharmony.
Human beings in their natural state are divided from one another, class from class, nation from nation, Gentile from Jew.
Human beings in their natural state are divided within themselves, torn between the desire to do good and the desire for evil; we hate and love our sins at the same time.
We who are meant to be in fellowship with God are estranged from him.
This can be made right only through our relationship with Christ.
When we receive the gift of our salvation in Jesus Christ, we begin to strip ourselves of our old nature, and take on his nature, the way we would take off an old coat and put a new one on.

Paul says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

When we truly accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gave to us when he died on the cross for our sins, we’re so filled with gratitude and with love for him that we respond by trying everyday to be more and more like him.
The goal of our Christian lives is for people to look at us and see less and less of us, and more and more of Christ.
Our Christian faith should make our lives look and feel different.
The change begins with our attitude, and it affects every part of our lives from the way we speak, to what we eat and drink, to how we behave in our relationships with one another, to the way we handle our money.
The reading today tells us to take a look at our “clothing” and see if it might have gotten a little shabby
Maybe we’ve been so comfortable in our old “clothes” for so long that we don’t realize we might be wearing something unsightly, or unbecoming to us
We might need to do a little update of our wardrobe – make a change in our attitudes and speech and actions to be a good representation of the Christ that we love and serve.
So, we look to Christ himself – the way he spoke, the way he lived and loved, and we become imitators of him.

Our verses today specifically address the way we get along with each other.

First Paul talks about the importance of truth-telling.
He says, “Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.”
Can you imagine Jesus saying to his disciples, “Truly I tell you,” while he was crossing his fingers behind his back?
Can you imagine him keeping things from some of the disciples who might get upset or over-react, or not be up-front with them about who he was and what following him would mean?
Jesus knew that the disciples had to be a tight-knit group in order to carry his ministry forward.
There couldn’t be any pretending or game playing. He was always honest, straightforward, and to the point.
Like Jesus, we need to be honest with others in our families and our churches if we’re to be a unified group with a common purpose.
We need to be able to trust each other

Paul goes on to say, “In your anger, don’t sin.”

“Be angry,” he says, “but don’t stay angry. Don’t let the sun go down while you’re still angry.”
As we all know, Jesus did get angry.
His anger was a righteous anger.
When he went into the temple in Jerusalem, he saw the money changers there exploiting people, taking advantage of them.
He saw them using God’s house for a money-making venture, and he was furious.
He turned over the tables and drove them out.
It was right that he should have been angry.
But can you imagine Jesus stomping off in a rage, and turning over in his bed all night long with resentments about the money changers, thinking up things to say to them the next time he saw them?
Or can you imagine him sitting on the temple steps in a pout, giving the money changers the silent treatment?
Jesus got angry, and then it was over.
He got angry over important things.
He spoke up, he took action to correct the situation, and then he got on with his life.
When we imitate him in our families, in our churches, in our workplaces, and in our communities, this is how we handle our anger.
Being angry over petty things is a sure way to tear down a family or a church.
Paul says this makes a “foothold for the devil.”
When we stay angry, it consumes us, and we’re unable to do what God is asking us to do for the kingdom.

Paul goes on to say, “Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.”

In the ancient world, stealing was rampant, as it is today.
We can think of many contemporary Christians who have been caught embezzling or stealing.
This does serious damage to the faith.
But Paul gives an even deeper reason for being an honest worker.
He doesn’t say, “Become an honest worker so you can support yourself.”
He says, “Become an honest worker so that you may have something to give away to those who are poorer than yourself.”
The goal of our Christian work is to give to others.”
Picture Jesus in a crowd of 5000.
The disciples approach him and say, “Lord, its suppertime, and we have nothing to feed these people.”
Can you imagine Jesus responding by saying, “Well that’s the way it goes. God helps those who help themselves.”
Can you imagine Jesus and his disciples sitting down to eat in front of others who had no food?
Jesus’ whole ministry was one of giving of himself for the other.
He was never concerned about his popularity as a leader or the state of things inside the temple.
He was always working to feed and clothe and heal the outsider.

Paul says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”

Can you imagine Jesus taking his disciple Andrew aside and saying, “I’ve really had it with Peter lately. He’s so impulsive.
James and John are driving me nuts too; they’re so full of themselves. Can you believe how they were arguing over who gets to sit beside me?”
Can you imagine Jesus walking around Jerusalem saying to people, “Did you hear about Zaccheaus? He’s ripping people off.
And we’ve got a real problem on our hands with that adulterous woman.”
If someone was having a problem, Jesus never used them as an example to others.
He sat down to eat with them, he forgave them, and he re-directed them to better behavior.
Every word and encounter were to build others up, to include others in his life.
Unwholesome talk, maybe more than anything else can intrude into the spirit of a family, a church, a workplace, or a community and spread like a poison.
As Christians, the Spirit of God lives in us.
“Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by letting that poison into the body,” Paul says.

Paul says as Christians, we’re “sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption.” He’s talking about baptism here.

We know that when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came down and filled him.
When we become Christians, we too are baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.
The water is a sign of our cleansing.
As we’re taken down into the water, we die to our old way of life, and as we’re brought back up out of the water, we rise into new life with Christ.
We leave the old life behind and take on the new life of becoming more like Jesus everyday.

There’s a song by Kyle Matthews that tells the story of a boy’s baptism, and to me, captures the Spirit of Baptism. It goes like this:

Preacher pulled the boy up from the water
Alleluias rose from the banks
There was a new suit of clothes from his Father
And a prayer of thanks
The boy walked barefooted all the way home for dinner
And when they laughed at his muddy feet...

He said I've been through the water and I've come out clean
Got new clothes to cover me
And you don't wear your old shoes on your brand new feet
When you've been through the water

Preacher turned them around at the altar
Pronounced the boy and his girl "man and wife"
In two years they were Mother and Father
And they built them a life
And his old girlfriend saw a moment of weakness
And she said "If you're lonely come see me sometime..."

He said I've been through the water and I've come out clean
Got new clothes to cover me
And you don't wear your old shoes on your brand new feet
When you've been through the water

He baits a hook with his grandson of seven
And says "Soon, I'll be free from these pains."
The boy asked if he's ever been to heaven
He says "No... but I think I know the way...

“Cause I've been through the water and I've come out clean
Got new clothes to cover me
And you don't wear your old shoes on your brand new feet
When you've been through the water

https://youtu.be/JJVLc7h-lJ0

Our baptism is the beginning of our Christian walk.

It’s a visible sign of God’s grace, of his unconditional love that can never be taken away.
Having received God’s deep love for us, we spend the rest of our lives living out our baptisms, trying to be more and more like Jesus everyday.
Paul says, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and live in love, as Christ loved us.”

Does this mean that once we’ve been baptized, once we’ve become Christian we’ll never sin again? No.

Our failures and mistakes and inadequacies are all part of being human
We remember our Old Testament reading from this morning
The Psalmist says, “If you, O LORD should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?”
We all fall short
Sometimes the old clothes are tempting
They’re comfortable and familiar, and easy to slip back into
But having been washed in the waters of baptism, having been loved by Christ, it’s not long before they start to feel kind of tacky
They’re dirty, and thin and not very substantial, and they don’t fit the way they used to.
So we take them back off and remind ourselves that we have new clothes now
The Psalmist continues, “But there is forgiveness with you that you may be revered…my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning…
Baptized in Christ, we have the opportunity to put on a set of fresh, clean clothes every morning, and start our lives all over again.
Another chance to speak truth, to reconcile with others, to give generously, and to be kind
Another chance to put on Christ. September 06 2020

AFFIRMATION Apostle’s Creed, Ecumenical Version

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
He is seated on the right hand of the Father,
And he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Sending

CHARGE & BLESSING

POSTLUDE

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September 27, 2020 Worship Services Walking on Water Rev. Kristy Parker

September 20, 2020 Worship Services Are you jealous because I am generous? James Camp

September 06, 2020 Worship Services Putting On Christ By Kristy Parker

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