​ 
08/28/2022
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Let me remind you quickly of our protocols for everyone’s safety.                  
· Attendance was taken by Ushers as you entered.
· Masks are required by those not vaccinated  as well as social distancing
· Offerings may be placed in the plate by the doors.
· Please write your prayer request on the Yellow cards.  An usher will pick them up during the 1st hymn.
· Please join us after service for fellowship in Calvin Hall
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
Gary Iverson, Bob Bock, Joan Boyd, Wanda Hirl, Marilyn Neymeyer, Joan Pinkston, Maxine Wagner, Annette Conzett, Jo Lefleur, Judy Welcher, Dr Dyke, Harlan Marx, Lois Seger, Jon Ryner, Abagail Niles, Helanah Niles, Kay Werner, Ukraine, Arlene Pawlik, Angela and Tristan, Bonnie Pillers, Deb Weller.
 
PRELUDE
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP                                                                
     L:  We are surrounded by the amazing gifts of God.
 P:  Big gifts, small gifts, healing gifts, gifts of sustenance and life.
 L:  We are witnesses to the love of Jesus Christ,
 P:  The most amazing gift of all.
 L:  So we gather this day to sing God’s praise,
 P:  And to offer our hearts in response to God’s goodness.
 L:  Come, Lord Jesus.
 P:  Be among us this Day.  Amen.
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
We come to praise our God who is our Creator and our Redeemer. We give
thanks to our healer and our deliverer. We seek renewal and inspiration to go
on with our lives, to be God’s people, to offer God’s love and compassion to all God’s people. Amen.
 
 
*HYMN                     All Creatures of Our God and King                                 # 455
                                           (You may be seated.)
 
 
CALL TO CONFESSION                                                                   
     God knows our hearts and our minds.  God feels our deep distress and is          aware of the guilt that weighs us down.  God invites us to come that we might      know the release offered in his amazing love for us.  Let us come and lay our broken selves before our Creator.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O Lord, We know that we have fallen short of your call to grace and generosity.  We’ve turned a blind eye to the needs around us, claiming that our own security and comfort was primary.  We’ve done harm to others in the pursuit of our advantage.  We’ve been a fearful people, closing ourselves off to those around us.  Forgive us for our self-centered thinking that closes our fist and prevents us from reaching out in your name.
 
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE                                                   
    O Lord, We know that we have fallen short of your call to grace and generosity.  We’ve turned a blind eye to the needs around us, claiming that our own security and comfort was primary.  We’ve done harm to others in the pursuit of our advantage.  We’ve been a fearful people, closing ourselves off to those around us.  Forgive us for our self-centered thinking that closes our fist and prevents us from reaching out in your name.
 
SONG OF PRAISE Gloria Patri #579
 
PASSING THE PEACE
(Please greet those around you as we all say these words in unison.)
May the peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
 
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Savior. In so many ways you offer blessings to your people. But we often struggle with our own impatience and blindness. As your word is read and proclaimed, may we hold open our hearts and minds to receive your presence, your healing and your love.  Amen.
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Genesis 27: 30-36a, 41
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared savoury food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, ‘Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.’ 32 His father Isaac said to him, ‘Who are you?’ He answered, ‘I am your firstborn son, Esau.’ 33
Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, ‘Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all[a] before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and blessed he shall be!’ 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, ‘Bless me, me also, father!’ 35 But he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.’ 36 Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? 41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.
Genesis 32: 22-32
22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ 27 So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ 28 Then the man[a] said, ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.’ 29 Then Jacob asked him, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.
 
 
SERMON                                       Wrestling with God
 
In today’s world we might call Jacob a grifter. My dictionary defines grifter as a person who engages in small scale swindling and deceit. Although, I bet Esau wouldn’t consider Jacob’s thefts small scale! First, he manipulates things such that his older brother is forced to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew. (Although, one might wonder at the wisdom of such a trade! ) As the eldest brother, Esau was entitled to the largest share of his father’s estate, but by his manipulation, Jacob was able to get his hands on that much larger share.
In our reading for today, we learn that Jacob and his mother, Rebekah had pulled one over on an aging Isaac. They had deceived the blind, old man into giving to this younger son, the blessing-- that which would ensure that Jacob’s offspring would inherit the promises that God had made to his grandfather, Abraham. Land and children as numerous as the stars, and perhaps most importantly, God’s claim and blessing to rest upon Jacob.
No, Esau wasn’t happy. We can tell that by the way he was plotting Jacob’s death!  Perhaps Jacob and Rebekah had thought he would accept this loss in the same way he seemed to have acquiesced to the loss of his birthright. But that wasn’t the case.
Esau was hot, and that meant Jacob had to get out of Dodge--fast. Just as Abraham had left his father’s house and gone out into the unknown, Jacob would have to go. BUT, he did it without a wife or household, without livestock or time to plan. Without a farewell party or time to gather provisions or even say a proper goodbye. He’s off. He’s in the wind.  He’s running for his life.
How frightening and lonely it must have been! I wonder if Jacob would have given back that blessing if he could. But that’s not the way these things work.
Jacob ran to his mother’s brother, to Laban, who was every bit as shifty and devious and out for his own advantage as Jacob. And he stayed there for many years. He did OK. He acquired two wives and their maid servants as his concubines, eleven sons and at least one daughter. ( A 12 th son would be born later.) He had flocks of sheep and goats, camels and cows and donkeys. He had servants and all that went with these things. Jacob was a rich man. God had, indeed, blessed him!
But now God was calling Jacob home. His father’s home was where the land was. It was the land that God had promised to Abraham. Home was where he needed to be. There was only one problem. Esau. The wrath of Esau was likely still burning hot. He had pledged Jacob’s death, and he was a powerful man—a manly man! Just because many years had passed, it didn’t mean that Esau had mellowed.
 
So Jacob, the schemer, the grifter, began to develop a plan. He divided out a portion of his livestock—sheep, goats, cows, donkeys, camels. Five species of animals, and he put them into herds of each species. He then had servants drive each herd along the path towards where his brother would come. He spaced them so that there would be maximum impact. Five times Esau would encounter a herd of animals, and each time the servant would tell this angry, older brother that these animals belonged to Jacob and were sent as a gift to Esau. It seemed that Jacob was well aware that the guilt was on him. He was well aware that it was up to him to fix this thing, and he hoped that with some generosity, Esau might calm, and they could co-exist in peace.
But there was no guarantee. So Jacob, the crafty person that he was, divided the remaining part of his livestock and sent them in opposite directions. Perhaps if Esau was determined to get his revenge on Jacob, at least half of the livestock would survive. He also took his family and put them in a safe place so they wouldn’t be harmed.
And then there was nothing to do but to wait. Dark was falling, and it looked to be along and uncomfortable night. How anxious he must have been! How lonely! How filled with dread was his racing mind!
But suddenly, Jacob wasn’t alone. There was a man who tackled him, who struggled to dominate him. Now WE know it wasn’t a man at all. It was God. But Jacob didn’t seem to know that. God had entered the picture at a moment when Jacob was most vulnerable. God sought to reclaim, not just Jacob’s mind, but his heart and his conscience and his daily reliance upon the Almighty. So all night they wrestled. Jacob was wrestling not just with this stranger, but with his guilt, his fear, his need to be in control of his life and even his pride. They must have been fairly well matched, or more likely, God paced himself to keep Jacob engaged. I think of it like a horse trainer who runs that stallion in a circle in the corral until the beast is so tired he doesn’t resist the
saddle. He’s just too exhausted to fight anymore. That was Jacob.
At one point God struck Jacob in the hip and put it out of joint. And then as the sun began to rise, God said, “Let me go.” But by now Jacob has an inkling about the identity of this opponent. He replies, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” O Jacob? Again? But God is quite able to side step that one. He asks Jacob’s name. Now remember, the name Jacob means one who takes what does not belong to him. God says, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.”
A new name. A new identity. A new way of connecting with God and with the world around him. But Jacob’s not quite ready to let go of his old way of being. He asks God’s name. The ancient understanding was that to know the name of God was to have power over God. He doesn’t get an answer to that one, though. It would be Moses at the burning bush who learns God’s name – Yahweh. What Jacob got was better. He got a new lease on life. No longer the schemer or grifter. Now he was one who had striven with God and prevailed.
Think about the power in that. To wrestle with God and to hold one’s own. To lay all of our self out there. To finally relinquish what had been in order to become a new and healthier person—one with more integrity, more capacity to love, more awareness of God’s presence, more confident in his ability to serve God. That was the gift of God to Jacob that night. It was a gift that would serve him well when Esau finally did arrive.
I propose that many of us—perhaps most of us—have had similar wrestling matches with God. “No, God,” we say, “I want to be in control of my life. I want this. You owe me that. O, God my guilt and my conscience won’t let me have any peace. You have to let me go. O, God, I am so afraid. You have to step in and help me. Let me tell you exactly how you must do this.”
And here’s the thing. I think there’s value in that wrestling. I think there’s strength to be gained. I think that wrestling is holy work. After all, God already knows our hearts and our minds. To fully engage with God is to invite the Lord into our struggle, to ask God to be a participant in that struggle. Like Jacob, or rather Israel, we might limp as we walk away, but in that wrestling we’ve gained something pretty priceless. We’ve been changed. We’ve been touched by God.
My Friends, we live in a world where God is inviting us to that type of full engagement.  God desires to rename us—not from a given personal name, but from a generic, anonymous identity to know ourselves as a child of God, one who has been blessed by the Almighty and who now walks in the pathways of God’s grace and healing. To get there we need to relinquish certain things, and that’s where the wrestling comes in. Sometimes it’s hard to let those things go.
 We need to let go of me-first thinking. We let go of the assumption that we are in charge of our lives. We let go of guilt and learn to forgive ourselves for past mistakes, even for those times when we’ve hurt others whom we love. We let go of the assumptions about the way things have always been or should be. We let go of fear that paralyzes us and refuses to let us move forward. All of these things fall away as we wrestle with God.
They fall away for us as individuals, and they fall away for us as a collective group who are Christ’s church in a particular time and place. We seek new directions that God has for us, and that means we need to let God have his way with us. It might feel
like our hip has been knocked out of its socket as we consider paths that are new and strange and frightening. But just as God wouldn’t tell Jacob his name allowing this servant to have some control over God, God doesn’t allow us to be in charge, either, and that’s a good thing because God is God and we are not!
And then the sun will rise, exhausted we break away from our wrestling, and we limp away. But do you feel the calm? Do you feel the sense of confidence, the underlying assertion that it will be OK. This wrestler might be tired, but he’s not alone, and that makes all the difference in the world. He’s gotten on board with God and God is navigating things now.
My friends, we are in the wrestling phase of our quest for a new path for this congregation. It’s a frightening time, but it’s also a holy time. I commend you in this struggle. I believe God is also fully engaged and working to bring you life and hope and well-being.
So struggle well. Wrestle on. Lay it before the Lord, and allow God to rename you, too. In the process you will become a blessing to one another and to your community and your world. Jacob became a wonderful servant of our God. Let’s follow in his footprints and serve our Lord.
Praise God. Amen.
 
 
*HYMN                              Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing                               #356
(You may be seated.)
 
PASTORAL PRAYER
 
LORD’S PRAYER
 
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.
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, now and forever. Amen.
 
 
OFFERING OUR LIVES
 
 
*DOXOLOGY                 Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow                    #592
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH 
     From the Belhar Confession:
​     We believe that God has revealed himself as the One who wishes to bring about           justice and true peace among people;
 
…that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the      destitute, the poor and the wronged; that God calls the Church to follow him in this; for God brings justice to the oppressed and gives bread to the hungry.
                                                      
 
*CLOSING HYMN:               My Hope is Built on Nothing Less                      #379
 
Sending Forth
 
*CHARGE & BLESSING
 
*POSTLUDE
 
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.
Some of today’s liturgy comes from the Book of Common Worship.
 
 
 
 
 

​ 
08/14/2022
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Let me remind you quickly of our protocols for everyone’s safety.                  
· Attendance was taken by Ushers as you entered.
· Masks are required by those not vaccinated  as well as social distancing
· Offerings may be placed in the plate by the doors.
· Please write your prayer request on the Yellow cards.  An usher will pick them up during the 1st hymn.
· Please join us after service for fellowship in Calvin Hall
 
 PRAYER REQUESTS
Gary Iverson, Bob Bock, Joan Boyd, Wanda Hirl, Marilyn Neymeyer, Joan Pinkston, Maxine Wagner, Annette Conzett, Jo Lefleur, Judy Welcher, Dr Dyke, Harlan Marx, Lois Seger, Jon Ryner, Abagail Niles, Helanah Niles, Kay Werner, Ukraine, Arlene Pawlik, Angela and Tristan, Bonnie Pillers, Deb Weller.
PRELUDE
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP                                                
L: In a world where division is a way of life, we are asked to
     choose whom we will follow.
P:  We choose the Lord!
L:  There will be challenges in that choice.
P:  We choose the Lord!
L:  Come people of God.  Let us worship and praise our Author of Life.
P:  We choose the Lord-- We offer our lives to you, Gracious God.
All:  Praise and glory to God.  Amen.
 
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
O Lord.  All around us is the great cloud of witnesses, your saints who have gone before us. They urge us to lay aside the sin that clings and to run the race before us with perseverance and humility.  Give us, this day, the tools and assurance we need to run well and strong in your glorious name.  Amen .
 
 
 
*HYMN                                 Morning Has Broken                                         #469    (You may be seated.)
 
 
 
CALL TO CONFESSION                                     
God has planted a vineyard.  He’s tended it, given rain and blessing upon it.  He’s built walls to protect it.  But, too often, we, the vines so tenderly nurtured, refuse to produce the sweet grapes our Lord seeks.  Let us recognize our own failings and turn to our God for forgiveness.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
How often, O Lord, we pat ourselves on the back for the success and blessing that you have poured into our lives.  We put on blinders of self-interest, focusing on our own comfort and desire.  We fail to offer our care to others.  We nurse resentments while feeling superior to our neighbors.  Lord, we know that these are not the things you expect from the vineyard you have planted and nurtured.  Have we produced wild grapes that are bitter to your tongue?  Forgive us, Lord and help us to do better.  Amen
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE                                 Isaiah 1:18, NIV
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish by may have eternal life.  God did not send his son to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Hear the good news.  In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and once again invited to grow the sweet grapes of righteousness and faith.  This is our Savior’s love for all the world.
SONG OF PRAISE Gloria Patri #579
 
PASSING THE PEACE
(Please greet those around you as we all say these words in unison.)
May the peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
 
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
 
Quiet our hearts, Loving Lord.  Put away the distracting thoughts from our minds.  Allow us to hear the gift of life and hope that you offer to us.  May the words we hear strengthen our soul and allow us to serve you with all our being.  Amen
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Isaiah 5: 1-7
1.Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.  2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?  When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?  5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.  I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.  6 I will make it a waste;  it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.  7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
 
 
        Luke12: 49-56
 
I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
 
SERMON                                       Choosing Yes.  Living Yes
 
All families have stories.  A popular story in my family is of my dad taking my three children to the small-town general store when he and Grandma were caring for them while my husband and I were out of town.  He told them they could have any candy they chose.  The oldest two quickly picked out the treat they wanted, but my youngest daughter who was about 3 or 4 at the time couldn’t choose. There were too many options:  M&Ms, Snicker bars, Milky Way, Milk Duds, Three Musketeers or even a Pay Day.  With every possible selection she would say No to all these others.  Finally, she got so frustrated that she sat down and cried.  And Grandpa was baffled about how to help.
Have you ever had so many options before you that selecting was difficult?  That it paralyzed you and sent you into a panic?  I believe some of that is at the base of our scriptures this day.
Faith is actually all about making a choice.  It means saying “yes” to God and also saying “no” to many things that are a normal and attractive part of our society. I’m not talking about drugs or gambling or infidelity or alcohol.  I’m talking about things that are much more subtle. To say “yes” to God means saying “no” to self-absorbed consumerism that doesn’t consider how our accumulation of resources contribute to the abuse of others, or at least it doesn’t contribute to their well-being.  It means no to thinking we have complete autonomy regarding our time or our bank account.  It means no to playing fast and loose with the truth, even if what we’re saying is not Technically a lie!
Yes to following Jesus, and no to putting our own comfort or our own bank account as our highest goal.  Yes to accepting God’s forgiveness, and no to holding on to our resentment towards our neighbor.  Yes to feeling the comfort and healing of God, and no to supporting practices that harm others—even those whom we will never know or meet-- locked at the edge of society.
Yes to Jesus means we reorient our lives.  We let go of me-first thinking and our blind acceptance of racism and prejudice.  We pay attention to the way our practices impact our earth and fellow creatures.  We let go of radical independence because God is now the boss.  We no longer think of our time or our money as strictly our own.
There are lots of positive, joyful reasons to say Yes to God.  It’s an incredible blessing that is poured into our lives, but at least at the beginning, some of the Nos seem difficult and problematic.  How attractive these things might seem.
And that’s the problem we call sin.  God invites us to accept his gift of life and faith and healing and presence. There’s meaning and joy in the yes that we offer to God.  But that doesn’t mean that all those other things quit calling our name, quit winking at us and motioning us forward.   “Just this once,” it whispers.  “No one needs to know. You deserve this. You have to go along with things.  It’s your job or you might offend others, or you don’t want to be the stick in the mud, do you?”  The whispers can be subtle.  It is so seductive.  It seems so reasonable, but ultimately it’s asking us to say “yes” to the very things that God to which has asked us to say “no.”  It’s not because God doesn’t want us to have fun or enjoy the moment, but rather because these things destroy life and health in some capacity.
That was the problem in ancient Israel.  These ex-slaves whom God had called out of Egypt and given a land and so many wonderful opportunities had wanted to have things both ways.  They wanted their faith and God’s blessings, but they also wanted more and more and more.  More wealth, more land, more livestock, more servants, more comfort, more power.  And to acquire more, they needed to look out for their own advantages.  They couldn’t squander their money on orphans and widows, on foreigners and sick people.  They couldn’t let go of the reins that drove their lives to allow God to guide them.  To acquire more meant that they needed to jump at every opportunity, big or small.  They needed to keep the goal of MORE foremost in their focus.
They were saying “yes” to all these things, not even realizing that in so doing they were saying “no” to the most basic principles that God had asked of them.  They were turning away from centering their lives on God.
When Isaiah came forward telling the story of the vineyard, there were people nodding happily. They understood completely the situation of putting in the hard work and not seeing it pay off.  It was a business venture that had gone sour.  They understood about pouring their hopes and their sweat into a project to see it fail.
And then we hear God’s voice inviting the people to judge what he should do.  He did everything possible and expected sweet grapes, but instead got wild and bitter fruits.  What should he do? Then God answers for himself.  He will tear down the protective hedge.  He will eliminate the walls that protected it.  The vineyard will be trampled.  No longer will he pull the weeds or prune the vines.  It will grow up in thorns and brambles.  He won’t even waste his rain upon it.  It will become desolate.
And then, if they hadn’t figured out the metaphor yet, God makes himself explicit.  The vineyard is them!  It’s Israel and Judah, the two nations of God’s people.  They had turned away from God’s desired justice.  They had said “yes” to sin which means they hadn’t really said “yes” to God.  Punishment is coming. Armies will begin swooping in.  Israel will soon be wiped off the map by Assyria.  While Judah will survive a bit longer, Babylon will have their way with the southern nation in years to come.  Isaiah will cry out against their sinful ways, but the people won’t really be able to hear him-not yet, not until disaster strikes.
“Yes” to God means “No” to selfish ambition, even if that self-centered way of being has become a standardized way of life for a whole society.
In our New Testament reading, Jesus is on the way to the cross so that the people of God can witness the power of God for life and for forgiveness and for joyful community.  In the section for today, Jesus is attempting to teach about God’s call to us.  About what it means to say “yes” to God.  But he also recognizes and warns that saying “Yes” does not always come easy or without a price.  It’s not a new thought.
Even when Jesus was still a tiny baby being brought to the temple for the first time, Simeon said, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.”  In other words, his message is of God.  His message is life, but not everyone will be able to receive this message in its fullness.  When that happens in families there will be division.  One side won’t understand why the other is now turning away from things that seem so central to our way of life—so rational, so accepted. “Don’t give money to the poor.” They might say.  “The poor don’t deserve it, and you can’t afford it.  Don’t waste your Sunday morning going to church—Don’t you want to spend it with me?  Don’t go on that mission trip.  Let’s go on vacation, instead.  Don’t talk to those people. What will our friends think?”  And the list goes on and on.
Jesus seems to want us to know that there is often a cost to this faith thing.  He wants us to be prepared for the fact that others might not understand our “Yes,” even those who are closest to us.  He wants us to be ready to stick by our “Yes” which means we offer our “no” to other things.  He wants us to stay the course even when it’s tough.
But here’s the good news.   If we can clearly understand the “yes” we have made to God and realize that it also means some “Nos,”  then we are in a much stronger place to keep the faith even in the midst of conflict among those closest to us.  In some cases that conflict might be short lived—once others see the way we are living in communion with God and the joy and meaning it brings, they might get on board—but not always. The fact of the matter is that they, too are free to choose and it’s their right to choose another way other than God.That’s the sad and scary part.  Sometimes our “Yes” to God means we lose relationships.  Sometimes.
The good news is that God walks through the fire with us and helps us find the path that will either allow us to retain these important relationships or to find new ones that feed us.  I think that’s one of the most valuable parts of being in a church community—there are others around us who understand our struggles and who can support us.  When we say “yes” to God we learn that those other things that we thought were important and valuable lose their appeal.
I’m not sure my daughter ever got her candy that day.  There seems to be some disagreement between her memory and that of her grandpa who said he did select for her.  What she did get was a loving Grandpa, a big nap and a story that continues to be told, sometimes to her embarrassment, even 40 years later.  I hope that we can do a better job of choosing and then living with our choice than she was able to pull off.  I believe that recognizing the meaning of “Yes” to God which also mean “No” to things that harm our world and the way of life for many is a basic faith task.
 God’s vineyard is carefully tended, let’s grow sweet and abundant grapes for the Lord. Choose well me friends.  Choose “Yes” and experience the joy of walking with our God. Amen.
 
*HYMN                                                      Precious Lord, Take My Hand                       404
(You may be seated.)
 
Eucharist
 
OFFERING OUR LIVES
 
*DOXOLOGY Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow                   #592
 
*HYMN                             Be Known To Us in Breaking Bread                             #505
(You may be seated.)
 
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
 
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
 
L:  Lord God we seek to be your vineyard, fruitful, abundant, and filled with life.
P:  We want to produce the sweet grapes of your righteousness, the fruit that     sings your grace to all the world.
L:  So we come before you this day to eat and to drink,
P:  To share in your death, to know the joy of your resurrection.
L: Jesus gathered his disciples in an upper room.  He broke the bread declaring that it was his body broken for them.  He poured the cup, saying that it was the blood of the covenant poured out for the forgiveness of sin.
P:  He offered these to his friends gathered at the table with him.
L:  ‘Eat and drink’ he said, and ‘do so in remembrance of me.’
P:  We eat and we drink and we remember the great love that Jesus offered into      our world.
L:  We eat and we drink to be a part of that love and to be filled with a spirit that   
enables us to faithfully live as God’s people.
P:  Thank you, Lord.  Amen.
 
RECEIVING THE BREAD AND CUP
 
COMMUNION PRAYER
 
LORD’S PRAYER
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.
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, now and forever. Amen.
 
*CLOSING HYMN:    O Jesus I Have Promised.                                           #388
 
Sending Forth
 
*CHARGE & BLESSING
 
*POSTLUDE
 
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.
Presbyterians practice open communion which means anyone who seeks to be in a relationship with Christ is welcome at the table regardless of denomination, age, or status. The communion elements are already in your pew, and you will be instructed when to eat the wafer and when to drink the juice.
 

​ 
08/07/2022
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Let me remind you quickly of our protocols for everyone’s safety.                  
· Attendance was taken by Ushers as you entered.
· Masks are required by those not vaccinated  as well as social distancing
· Offerings may be placed in the plate by the doors.
· Please write your prayer request on the Yellow cards.  An usher will pick them up during the 1st hymn.
· Please join us after service for fellowship in Calvin Hall
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
Gary Iverson, Bob Bock, Joan Boyd, Wanda Hirl, Marilyn Neymeyer, Joan Pinkston, Maxine Wagner, Annette Conzett, Jo Lefleur, Judy Welcher, Dr Dyke, Harlan Marx, Lois Seger, Jon Ryner, Abagail Niles, Helanah Niles, Werner & Kelly Families, Ukraine, Arlene Pawlik, Angela and Tristan, Bonnie Pillers, Deb Weller.
PRELUDE
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP                                                 Psalm 33:18, 20-22, GW
The Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him,
on those who wait with hope for his mercy.
We wait for the Lord. He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts find joy. In his holy name we trust.
Let your mercy rest on us, O Lord since we wait with hope for you.
 
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
Lord, we come with hope seeking your mercy. We acknowledge that you are the source of all that is good, and we give thanks for those people you have put in our lives to help us along the way. May we truly put our trust in you as we seek joy and strength for living our days. Amen.
 
 
 
*HYMN                                 O God, Our Help in Ages Past                            #210
(You may be seated.)
 
CALL TO CONFESSION                                 Isaiah 1:16-17, NET
16 Wash! Cleanse yourselves! Remove your sinful deeds from my sight.
Stop sinning. 17 Learn to do what is right. Promote justice. Give the oppressed reason to celebrate. Take up the cause of the orphan. Defend the rights of the widow.
 
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Our society is too often guilty of these same things that caused God pain in Old Testament times. Therefore, Let us confess the sins of our world to the Lord.
 
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 the land and pollute the seas. The fears and jealousies that 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. Amen.
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE                                 Isaiah 1:18, NIV
“’Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be clean as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Through Jesus Christ we are cleansed, forgiven, and set free.
Thanks be to God!
 
SONG OF PRAISE Gloria Patri #579
 
PASSING THE PEACE
(Please greet those around you as we all say these words in unison.)
May the peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
 
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
 
As the scriptures are read, may our hearts and minds to open to receive your Word, O God. Amen.
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Colossians 1:1-14, NLT
 
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
 
2 We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace.
 
3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
 
6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
 
7 You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
 
9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
 
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
 
Luke 10:25-37, CEB
25 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?”
 
26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?”
 
27 He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
 
28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
 
29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
 
30 Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. 31 Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way.
 
 32 Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 33 A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ 36 What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?”
 
37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.”
 
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
 
SERMON                                       Thanking God for You
 
I don’t usually recycle sermons, but July 10 I had the opportunity to preach at the Church of the Brethren in Lanark IL. I wanted to also share that message with you.
 
The week I might have started preparing for July preaching appointments, I was instead back home in Beloit, WI, sitting either in my motel room or in my mother’s hospital room. The call had come that mom wasn’t expected to last more than another day or two. I booked a room, packed quickly, did what absolutely had to be done at home, called my daughters, and drove home.
When I got to the hospital mom had just been moved into the special care unit where there were fewer patients, quieter private rooms, and nurses trained for this last stage of life. Over the next week, mom hung in there on nothing but ice chips and occasional pain meds. Tali and Sean came for a couple of days, Jessika called twice, dad and I took turns with our meal breaks. Two pastors visited and a couple of close neighbors we had known since they were born. There were prayers and expressions of love from many. The nursing staff were exceptionally kind, gentle, caring, and compassionate not only toward mom but also toward us.  Mom slipped away peacefully when she was ready to let go.
 
In the midst of this experience, there were people who lived out the greatest and second greatest commandments and those who became good Samaritans for us. There were also many people in my life for whom I want to thank our God. They became living examples for me of where I could do better as well.
 
Let me tell you first about a couple of women whose living expression of their faith made a difference for me that week. As mom lingered, my motel plans had to change a couple of times. When I was set to go home a second time, I could tell mom was declining rapidly and the end was near. It didn’t make sense to go home that night, so I booked another room in a third motel only a couple hours before checking in. When I arrived the room was reserved but the pre-payment hadn’t gone through yet. The warm-hearted woman behind the desk told me not to worry. She’d try again in a bit. I told her why I was there; she gave me kind words of encouragement and said she would pray. When I told her the next day that mom had passed, she extended her sympathy with a genuine warmth and kindness that felt like a verbal hug. I thank God for this woman and for the rest of the staff who were the best examples of motel hospitality I have ever experienced.
 
That first night when mom was moved into special care, the nurse who had just come on duty was Jolie. She settled mom into her new room with gentle care as well as expressing her compassion and concern for dad and I. Jolie was with mom again her last two nights, continuing that gentle care and compassion. Jolie was the one who called dad and I at 6:00 in the morning. Jolie was the one sitting with mom when mom couldn’t hang on any longer. I thank God for Jolie, for the faith she expressed, but especially for the way she lived that faith for mom and for dad and myself. I also thank God for the rest of the nursing staff who were caring and gentle and kind and did their best, even when they were busy, to keep my mom as clean and comfortable as possible while also being considerate to us and to our guests. They made those last days so much easier than they might have been.
 
I thank God for those who came to visit. I thank God that my daughter and son-in-law could be flexible with work to make a quick trip to Beloit from Chicago spending a couple days with us. They really were a big help. I thank God for the former neighbor who drove up from Chicago to sit with dad, so I could go home for a night. I thank God for the friends and churches who prayed for us. I thank God for the women who took care of my home while I was away. I thank God for the support and love I felt from family and friends.
 
Most of all I want to thank God for the mom who raised me, who taught me many things, who took me on trips, who did crafts, who worked hard, who shared her faith, who gave me so many wonderful positive life lessons and memories, who loved me without question or judgement. I thank God for my mom, but I also thank God for my dad, who became my stepdad when I was 17. I thank God that he accepted me and did his best for me in spite of our differences. I thank God for what he brought to my mother’s life, for the faith and church service they shared, and especially for how well he took care of my mother as her health declined. I could not have asked God for a better man to love my mother.
 
As you can see, there are many people in my life for whom I give thanks to God, not only as my mom was dying, but throughout our lives.
 
In Colossians, Paul expresses his thanks to God for the people of Colossae even as he prays for them. Think for a moment about the people on your prayer list. You might have family or friends you pray for regularly. Perhaps you offer a traditional God bless prayer. Dad and I prayed one with mom at night in her hospital room, just as she used to pray with me at my bedside when I was little. You might also have a list of prayer requests, people you pray for when they are ill, distressed, in crisis, in transition, or in grief. As you are praying for them, are you also giving thanks for them? Are there individuals or groups of people who are part of your grateful list? For example, in my neighborhood Monday is garbage day and also the day the park across the street is cleaned up and mowed, so on Mondays I pray for and give thanks for sanitation workers and other city employees.
 
As Paul prayed for the Colossians he went on to mention their faith in Christ and their love for others. We know these are important as Jesus expressed the greatest commandments to love God and love others. From whom did you learn about Christ? Who set an example for you by living out their faith and inspired you to do the same? Who do you see helping others without demanding recognition, but quietly caring for others out of their love for the Lord? I invite you to bring some of these to mind this week and take the time to offer God thanks for each of them. If you have the opportunity, you might also say thank you to them for being that kind of blessing and example in your life. Paul was aware that the message the Colossians heard from Epaphras had born fruit in their lives. He prayed they would continue to grow in loving and serving God, to live faithfully and joyfully, forgiven and loved, as heirs to the kingdom of light. May we also pray these blessings on those for whom we give thanks to God.
 
The NIV Biblical Theological Study Bible claims, “The gospel continues to grow because it speaks to the universal condition of all people regardless of their cultural, ethnic, or socioeconomic background.” This means our living witness for Christ is meant for whoever crosses our path, whether they are just like us or just the opposite. God loves and cares about all peoples and all creation; therefore we are called to extend God’s love without labels or exclusion.
 
If we live out the grace and mercy we have received by how we treat others, they too will come to know Christ through us or be encouraged to grow in Christ along with us. As I heard recently in another sermon, preachers can’t take the gospel everywhere by themselves. The world is reached by how each one of us live in front of those whose lives cross paths with ours. What kind of message does your life offer?
 
In the midst of all the encouragement I received after mom’s death, God offered me a challenge. One area where I could definitely grow is to be more compassionate and caring in my encouragement to others. I could take time to offer a word of comfort or blessing on that social media post as so many did for me. I could be more intentional about sympathy cards. I could call someone who I know is grieving or discouraged. It’s not that I don’t do these things sometimes, but I know I could do more and I could extend my circle of caring wider when the Spirit is nudging me to do so.
 
Did you notice Paul was praying for and thanking God for people he had not personally met? It was Epaphras who taught them about Christ. Paul “heard” about their faith and their love. He was writing to strengthen and encourage them. Our compassion wasn’t meant to be limited to immediate family or a tight circle of our closest friends. On the other hand, I am not suggesting invading someone else’s privacy for the sake of “your” mission. What I am saying is we can all learn to listen for the Holy Spirit and watch for the opportunities God puts before us. Then respond to the situation as Jesus might have responded: to love people as you find them and lend a helping hand when you are able.
 
The story of the Good Samaritan reminds us that our “neighbor” whom the commandment asks us to love could be anyone. It could be a complete stranger. It could be someone we think is an enemy. As the Believer’s Bible Commentary puts it, “To the Samaritan, a Jew in need was his neighbor.” Though Samaritans and Jews did not get along, in fact did not trust each other, this man put all that aside to help the person in front of him. He had the means to help, so he did. Nothing else got in the way.
 
So many things divide us. People disagree about politics and ethical issues. People argue about what should be legal and what shouldn’t. People distrust those whose background, status, or opinions differ from their own. We humans have a long way to go toward being of “one mind in Christ” as Paul prayed for in another letter. But our differences don’t need to get in the way of extending the love of Christ to another person. What we have in common is a better starting point. Even if we cannot find any other point of agreement, at least this much is true. We were all created by God, and we are all loved by God. If I am offering my love to God by showing God’s love to my neighbor, what else do I need to know?
 
The people who cared so well for my mom in the hospital didn’t know her. The people who helped me at the motel didn’t know me either. We might have guessed some of our differences by the way we look, but we had no clue about each other’s politics, opinions, lifestyle, or background. None of that mattered. They could have done their jobs just to meet requirements, but they went beyond that because of who they were in their inner being. Some of them expressed a faith that might be similar to my own; I have no way of knowing what the others believed. But I can tell you that their behavior honored their creator by giving their best to take care of the person in front of them without bias or prejudice. That is an example any of us can follow.  But for us, there is more to it.
 
I believe there is a significant reason Jesus put these two commandments together out of all that is recorded in the Torah, the Law as it is written in our Old Testament. I think Jesus was teaching us that we love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength precisely when we share God’s compassionate, caring love with the people around us in the same ways we want to be loved. As you go into your daily lives this week, I invite you to sincerely give thanks to God for the people around you and to pray for them. But I also encourage you to pay attention to the opportunities God is giving you to show your love for God by sharing God’s love with others.
 
 
 
*HYMN                                                                 Jesu, Jesu
(You may be seated.)
 
PASTORAL PRAYER
 
LORD’S PRAYER
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.
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, now and forever. Amen.
 
OFFERING OUR LIVES
Lord, in gratitude for the many ways others have enriched our lives and helped us, we offer ourselves now in service to be a blessing to others. Amen.
 
 
*DOXOLOGY Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow #592
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
In life and in death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.
 
We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,
​praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
 
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen
 
 
*HYMN                              Lord, Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing                            #538
(You may be seated.)
 
Sending Forth
 
*CHARGE & BLESSING
 
POSTLUDE
 
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.