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

​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