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November 29, 2020 Worship Services God’s long range plan of love  By Melody  Oltmann

11/29/2020

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SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
November 29, 2020
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
 Due to Covid Numbers on the rise we are currently closed until further notice  
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship   
Worship - We lift our praise to you, O Lord.

Wait for the Lord   (sing twice)    
Wait for the Lord, his day is near.
Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart. 
 
Opening Prayer 
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, your world awaits you. The persecuted wait, longing for your justice. The poor wait, longing for prosperity. The hungry wait, longing food. We all wait, longing for your love, your peace and your joy. O come, Lord, liberator of humanity. O come, O come, Immanuel. Amen.
 
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, verses 1&3    CCLI 11259100    

1 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
 
3 Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

Lighting the Advent wreath
M: This year, we are looking at Advent as a journey; not exactly a trip to a different place.
K: Rather, we are on a spiritual journey; 
M: to be refreshed, restored and ready, for Christmas, for Emmanuel’s birth,
K: for Jesus, and for all that His birth, life, death and resurrection means. 
M: The Advent wreath is a circle with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of God’s unending love and faithfulness.
K: Isaiah, the prophet calls us to prepare for the coming of Jesus, by making straight all that is crooked: 
M: Isaiah said, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
K: We love because God first loved us. We see Jesus and we know the love of God. 
M: Help us to be ready to welcome you again, O God!
K: We rejoice because our hope is in Jesus, Prince of Peace, King of King, Lover of our souls.  
  
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, verse 1         CCLI 11259100    
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Confession & Pardon
P: God of love and kindness, you have promised to renew our lives.  We admit often we are unwilling to see that you have always been here. Forgive our blindness and our impatience. Hear us now as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . .  Have mercy on us.  Open our eyes and our hearts that we may be witnesses to your love; that we see your love and share your love. Help us to see you, wherever you are present in the world and whenever you are present in others. In Jesus’ name,  amen.
 
Confession Response: O Little Town of Bethlehem vs 4         CCLI 11259100    
4 O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
 
ASSURANCE OF PARDON:                   
L: In God’s love and mercy, we are given each new day to love and serve.
In the name of Christ, you are forgiven.           P: Thanks be to God!
 
Glory to the Father                                        
Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.  Amen. Amen.  Amen.  Amen.  Amen.  Amen.  Amen.
Let us pray: God of patience and peace, as John the Baptizer called the people to repentance, so you call us to new life in your Spirit. Help us wait for your promised coming, with faithful listening to your word. Amen.
 
Scripture: Luke 1, selected verses   The Message         
When Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. His wife was Elizabeth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both good people who pleased God. They did everything the Lord commanded, always following his instructions completely.  But they had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.  The priests always chose one priest to offer the incense, and Zechariah was the one chosen this time. So he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer the incense. On the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid.  But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy; and you will name him John. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God.  John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming.

O Come, All Ye Faithful, verse 2                  CCLI 11259100    
2 Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing!
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!
 
Scripture    The Gospel, according to Mark 1:1-8 
Here begins the wonderful story of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.
 “This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness,” Isaiah said, “and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord’s arrival.”*
 This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.  People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food.  Here is a sample of his preaching:
“Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.  I baptize you with water[e] but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!”*
 
Devotion          God’s  long range plan of love                              Kirk 
 
A preacher once played his clarinet right before his sermon was about to start. The piece was pretty involved and needed a lot of breath on the preacher’s side. When he was about to start the sermon, he said that he needed to catch his breath. The congregation smiled. Next, he started his sermon with the words: Advent is a time to catch your breath, isn’t it?

My family calls me the Elf, because there is no season more filled with hope and love than Christmas. But as I have gotten older, and I get more tired, every Christmas season is different for me. Some years I can’t wait to put up all the Christmas decorations. Some years I don’t really feel like Christmas till later.

Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the big event that we will be celebrating in a few weeks. It is a darker time of the year when we light candles and decorate our houses with artificial lights to make the season bright. It could be a season of new beginnings when we follow the star that will lead us to Bethlehem.

Mark’s gospel starts with the words the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. It reminds us that just as in the beginning the world was created by God. God also had a plan to change our lives for the better His long-range plan of Love..

Like the people in second Peter we might be worried whether all that waiting will be finally brought to a good end.

Jesus assures us that it will. If you don’t believe it, remember the story of John the Baptist in the wilderness. People came to him out of desperation and returned to their homes refreshed and renewed.

Jesus promises a greater gift yet. The Holy Spirit will come to us in the life and death of the Christ child.

Thinking of all the hustle and bustle of the season I think it is good for us to find some quiet place near the river where John the Baptist again can remind us of the great gift we have been given in Jesus Christ. Thinking of John the Baptist I think of a long pointed stick that teachers used to use before the age of computers to point something out on a map or a blackboard. John the Baptist is like that, he points away from himself to Christ. How do we live this advent? Do our actions point others to Christ?

How do we proclaim the Good News. One translation reads Good News - this is the victory of Jesus the Christ. It is not our victory but his. With John the Baptist we are invited to point to Christ’s victory. Those words can point someone who has lost hope into a new direction. We can make a difference by living our lives in a way that points people to Christ. We have been washed clean by the Holy Spirit in our own baptism. Stay with that image. Feel the refreshment and energy of the spirit.

Advent is an invitation for us to become like the people who were frozen by the power of evil, who felt powerless. To be touched anew by the mighty breath of God and to be transformed into people who care is what we have been called to do.

Sometimes we have a hard time describing how God has made a difference in our lives. And share an experience of grace with those around us. How the message to all from John the Baptist that a savior was coming, the Son of God was coming and he would in modern terms rock the world.  His name would be Jesus and he would be born from a virgin’s womb and he would spread a new way of life across the world a life of peace, compassion, hope and love and he would offer the gift of eternal life for anyone that believes in him. Anyone that takes him as their savior. Think of Jesus’ birth, the Son of God as the launch of God’s long-range plan of love.

Close your eyes and think about the love that God has poured out over his children, you and me over the centuries and centuries.  Think about Jesus life as a youth, entering the temple and praying and preaching the new word to all of the priests and those that were there.  Think about all of the miracles that he performed. From turning water into wine, giving sight to the blind, healing the sick and crippled, feeding the masses with only a few fish and loaves of bread, releasing the children from the devil, walking on the waters, and healing the severed ear of the guard in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Oh, what wonders he performed during his travels and ministry.  But the greatest gift of sacrifice and the greatest miracle, is that he would be tried, convicted, beaten, flogged crucified dead and buried, and why, why would he have to endure such humiliation and pain, why would he have to pay such a price, why, to wash away all of our sins, all of our sins. But on the third day a miracle of love would again be given to us, he would rise again from the dead to walk with his people and disciples for 40 days before he ascended into heaven to rule at his father’s side.  His Father, our Father, set in place a plan of love the day he announced the coming of his Son, Jesus and to use John the Baptist as the messenger of hope for all of us. 

Oh, there is no doubt in my mind that our Father loves us and he shows us every day with every drop of rain, every blade of grass, every blooming flower, every river, stream, mountain, prairie, ocean and desert. He shows us his love with every breath of wind that caresses our cheek, every snow flake that touches our tongue. He shows us his love with every child that is born and every man, woman and child that is healed in body, mind and spirit. He shows us his love with every lost child that is found in the wilderness, every magical note of a sonata, every word of his Bible and every angel that he sends to us in our time of need.  And let us never forget that those angels may be a friend or stranger that sees our need and reaches out to hug us and comfort us at our weakest moment. Oh, there is no doubt that our Father loves and cherishes each and every one of us.

So, during this time of Advent, the time that invites us into the story of light to share the light with those around us. The time to share God’s long-range plan of love with everyone around us.

Prepare the way of the Lord, our gospel reads today. When I came up to the church this morning, I was thinking about the smattering of snow this past Tuesday morning and how this time of year can give us large accumulations and how snow plows will plow away the snow to prepare the way for the cars, and people will clear the sidewalks so that we can safely walk into our church. As you all know the roads can get very dangerous this time of the year. It is easy to lose focus and slip off the road. God has prepared a safe road for us. He has taken everything away that might lead us into dangerous places. And he calls us to come to him and to be refreshed by the promise of our own baptism that goes far beyond the baptism of John in the desert. It not only refreshes us but it leads us into life eternal which starts here and will be brought to perfection in God’s eternal kingdom and his long-range plan of love for each of us if we but reach out and take his outstretched hand.

Take some time for peace and quiet. Share your experience of God’s love with someone you know or if you dare with someone you don’t know. Remember what it was, what it is that drew you to Jesus and find ways to share it with others. Share His Long-Range Plan of Love.
  
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing vs 2 & 3                 CCLI 11259100    

2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of the virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased in flesh with us to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may die.
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
 
The Prayers of the People 
With joy we praise you, gracious God, for you have created heaven and earth, made us in your image, and kept covenant with us- even when we fell into sin.
We give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose coming opened to us the way of salvation and whose triumphant return we eagerly await Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whose creation to proclaim the glory of your name. 
Guide and direct us to help those in need, with food for the hungry, homes for the homeless and hope for the downtrodden. Hear us now O God, as we pray for our friends and family Pray for these:  our members and friends in nursing homes, all veterans, service men & women & their families; all who have been sentenced to life without parole; all fire, law enforcement, & EMS personnel; June L; Pat and Jim Collins; Kaye Hale; Phyllis Dearing; Jessie Borgman; Sandy Miller; Tom Bloomingdale; Donna Luchman; Sue and Steve Rodgers; Jan and Kirk Barkdoll; Sally Hackett; Paul Glispie; Pryce Boeye; Ken Stinson; Betty Penry’s daughter, Amy; Wes and Joyce’s daughter, Anna; Marilyn’s son, Brad, her daughter, Candy; Jan’s and Kirk’s daughter, Amber; Chris and Colleen’s aunt, Joan Tabor; Debbie Smith’s brother, Tom; Kari Long; Randy Goslin; Pastor Melody’s friend, Myrna on the death of her husband, Chris; Duane’s uncle and aunt, Fay and Donna; Mission Starfish, Haiti. 
 
The Lord’s Prayer
 
Joy to the World  vs 1 & 4                          CCLI 11259100    

1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
 
4 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Passing the Peace
Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another.  The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let’s pass the peace to one another of Christ with a bow or wave.
 
Benediction
May the light of the Advent wreath and the Good News of the Gospel go with you today and everyday, as you are out and about in the world. Now may the Love of God, the Peace of Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit be yours. Amen.   
​
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November 22, 2020 Worship Services The Shepherd King  By Melody  Oltmann

11/21/2020

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SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
November 22, 2020
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
 Due to Covid Numbers on the rise we are currently closed until further notice  
 
       As Presbyterians and people of the Reformed Tradition, we believe that our salvation is solely by Christ. That is, we cannot earn our place in heaven; there is not enough work to do to earn eternal life. We believe that we are saved only by the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. And then, we read today’s scripture, Matthew 25. And we wonder if we are misunderstanding what Jesus says or what we have been taught.
          Today I am going to encourage us to look at this scripture from a different vantage point. Not, what does this say about us; but, what does the scripture say about Jesus? We know it is significant, because so much of the scripture is repetition. And, as Kirk said, repetition in the Bible means the words are being emphasized; Jesus is telling us to listen and to pay attention to these important points. And, Jesus is telling us that he is a different kind of king. We know that Jesus gave up his name, position, power to come to earth; to show us how to love. This specific scripture tells us even more about Jesus and the kind of king that He is. Jesus is not found in a castle or on a throne. He is not found in places where men and women of power live and work. Rather, Jesus is found among the least of people. Jesus says, “Blessed are you if you care for those who are in great need; BECAUSE when you care for those, you are caring for me! Jesus is with the hungry and the thirsty. We know we are to give; to share with those who have less, because they are our sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus. But, this scripture is saying more. Jesus says, if you feed the least of these, you are feeding me. Pow! Mind explosion! Certainly, we might be startled by what this means!  Jesus can be found with those who have very little; not with those who have a lot. In other words, Jesus is less likely to be with us – because we have much. This realization should make us take a deep breath and consider how we first take care of ourselves; and then, how we treat others. Not just how we treat the hungry and thirsty, but how we also treat the sick, those in prison, those who are strangers and those who have nothing or little to wear.
           I encourage each of you to sit for awhile with this idea: that when we are in a relationship with others; especially when we are coming from our place of comfort, wealth and power, we need to treat others with respect and dignity. We are not to just give our castaway torn clothes, expired canned goods, and worn appliances. Rather, we are to give good and decent donations. We might think those in need are a nameless and hopeless crowd. But this scripture tells us that Jesus is there, in that space, with those in need. No longer can we think the needy are a nameless group; now, we can be sure that we know one person in that group; we know Jesus; and , we now know that Jesus is there, with them. Whether we are going through our closets, to remove unneeded clothes, or we are at the grocery store, purchasing food for the hungry, we need to think about what people want and need; what they can really use, rather than what is best for our lives. I don’t need to tell you that no one has need for well-worn shoes, or for boots with holes. Jeans with broken zippers and slacks with torn seams don’t work for us; why would they work for the needy? We are taught to give God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit our best. Now, we find that Jesus is with the homeless, the naked, the hungry, the sick, the thirsty, those we do not know, and those in prison. This scripture calls us to give away our best. We aren’t to “scrape the bottom of the bucket” and give whatever is left. Rather, we are to treat all people like they deserve the best. Giving less than our best, is saying that they are only worthy of our leftovers. Giving less than our best is saying we are judging you and we find that you are not believable; that it’s your fault you are in need; and, that your lives are hopeless, worthless, so here is a just a little something for you, until you pull yourself up out of that place of neediness.
          Jesus says treat everyone with love, dignity and respect, because each person is worthy; each person is God’s beloved child. Jesus is that Shepherd we heard about in the Old Testament reading today. The Good Shepherd cares for all the sheep who are in need. The Good Shepherd pays particular attention to the underfed, the weak, the lost and the little ones. That Shepherd sets aside the big, powerful, pushy and greedy sheep; the sheep that pushed with muscle and might, to get more and more; and, to keep others from getting what they need. Last week, I said we are the body of Christ, called to go out into the world. This Sunday, I add to that. As the church, we know the love of God; but, unfortunately, sometimes, we act like we alone have the power of God. This scripture lesson tells us otherwise. Jesus says that He is with those in need; in other words, the needy have God in and among themselves. We can see and fully experience the love of God when we give generously, without judgement to those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, in prison, homeless or naked. This, then, is when we know we are doing the right thing: that we see the presence of God, with us, as we are sent out. AND, we see the presence of God in those whom we serve. In James 2:14-26, we read that faith without works is dead. It isn’t that we are to have faith and then earn our way to eternal life. No! What Jesus and James are saying is that caring for others, good works, if you will, are the full expression of loving God. We can say we love God; we can claim to be Christ’s disciples, but, unless our actions match these words, we are dishonest. Following Christ’s example, we are to respond to others with love, mercy and sharing what we have. If we don’t care for others, then we are not loving, not faithful, not with God. Once again, actions speak louder and clearer than words. When we welcome strangers, when we feed and clothe those in need, when we visit the sick and those in prison, we are doing what Jesus did: We are demonstrating our love for God.
          The Good News about this is that there are times in our lives, when we are among those in need. Sure, we might never need a donation of food, drink, clothes or home. We might never be a stranger or in an actual prison. But, there will be times, when we are sick and alone; times when we feel like a prisoner in our own homes, times when we feel so alone, like an unwelcome stranger. At those times, God in Christ is with us, just as Jesus is with the needy, giving comfort, strength, love and resilience to make it through another day … and night. Jesus is giving us such Good News with this scripture. That Jesus is both with us as we go out and, there waiting for us, with those in need. And, Jesus is with us, when we are the ones in need.
            Most kings rule with fear, authority and power; telling others what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Most kings want honor, praise and glory. Most rulers have and continue to want the most and the best. Our king, King Jesus is not like most kings. He came to love, to serve and to empower us to be loving and merciful. As we look to Thanksgiving and Christmas, we might be discouraged because our holidays will not be the same, due to Covid-19. So, this holiday season, let’s make the holidays different for everyone. Let’s give our best: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing and homes, to those in need. Let’s reach out to the sick and those in prison, with letters and phone calls. And, then … let’s continue that in January and February, when the need at food pantries and elsewhere is especially big. Then we will receive the best gift – joy! In giving to others, we will see Jesus; and we will be joy-filled. Now and forevermore. Amen.

​
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November 01, 2020 Worship Services Children of the Resurrection Rev. Kristy Parker

11/1/2020

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