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Sunday May 21st Worship Services "Cast Your Cares" by Kolleen Klemmedson

5/21/2023

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​ 
May 21, 2023
SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
(Celebrating Jesus’ Ascension)
 
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
·  Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.  Would you like to bring after worship goodies?  The sign up sheet in in Calvin Hall.
· Bible Study will be this Wednesday at 9:00 AM.
· Please see bulletin insert for items needed for Senior Hospitality Center.
· Find the address for Rich and Lois Lewis posted on the bulletin board.
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
   JoAnn Grimm who struggles with health problems.
Arlene Pawlik who is recovering from a broken leg.
Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
 
PRELUDE
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP    Psalm 68:4, CEB
 
L: Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Exalt the one who rides the clouds!
  
P: The Lord is his name. Celebrate before him!
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
 
P: Mighty God, your people are gathered before you to celebrate and honor you.
Compassionate God, we give thanks for the many ways you have blessed us.
Merciful God, we confess the ways we have strayed from your path.
Gracious God, we seek your blessing for families and loved ones.
Just and righteous God, we pray for those who need your help and ours.
Awesome God, let us sing your praise! Amen.
 
*HYMN  All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name  #142
(You may be seated.)
 
1 All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
 
2 Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!
3 Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
4 O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!
We'll join the everlasting song,
And crown Him Lord of all!
 
CALL TO CONFESSION    Psalm 68:5-6, CEB
 
L: Father of orphans and defender of widows is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the lonely in their homes; he sets prisoners free with happiness,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
 
P: Lord God, we confess that sometimes we are the rebellious ones. We see a need before us, but we feel unable to help at that time. We sense your nudge to check on a neighbor or friend, but we are busy at the moment. We say we trust you, but we still try to do things our own way. We believe you are King of the Universe, but we act as if you barely exist. Forgive our impatience, our ingratitude, and our lack of faith. Continue to teach us and guide us day by day to truly live in your light and your love where orphans and widows are befriended, where the lonely find companionship, where prisoners of doubt or addiction, fear or shame are set free, and where the rebellious turn back to you.
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE    Psalm 68:7-10, CEB
L: When you went forth before your people, God,
  when you marched through the wasteland, the earth shook!
Yes, heaven poured down before God, the one from Sinai--
  before God, the God of Israel!
You showered down abundant rain, God;
when your inheritance grew weary, you restored it yourself,
      and your creatures settled in it.
In your goodness, God, you provided for the poor.
                         Colossians 1:20, CEB
God reconciled all things to himself through Christ— whether things on earth or in the heavens. He brought peace through the blood of his cross.
Through Christ we are forgiven.  P: 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
 
P: Holy Spirit, teach us as we hear God’s Word and reflect on it. Amen.
 
GOSPEL    John 17:1-11, CEB
 
L: When Jesus finished saying these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son can glorify you. 2 You gave him authority over everyone so that he could give eternal life to everyone you gave him. 3 This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. 4 I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I shared with you before the world was created.
 
6 “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from this world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 This is because I gave them the words that you gave me, and they received them. They truly understood that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
 
9 “I’m praying for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours. 10 Everything that is mine is yours and everything that is yours is mine; I have been glorified in them. 11 I’m no longer in the world, but they are in the world, even as I’m coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them in your name, the name you gave me, that they will be one just as we are one.
 
ACTS    Acts 1:6-14,NCV
 
L: 6 When the apostles were all together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you now going to give the kingdom back to Israel?”
 
7 Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things are not for you to know. 8 But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”
 
9 After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As he was going, they were looking into the sky. Suddenly, two men wearing white clothes stood beside them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
 
12 Then they went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (This mountain is about half a mile from Jerusalem.) 13 When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon (known as the Zealot), and Judas son of James were there. 14 They all continued praying together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers.
 
EPISTLE    1 Peter 5:6-11, NIV
 
L: 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
 
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
 
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
 
SERMON  Cast Your Cares
Cast your cares on him. He cares for you. Those two phrases have been in my head since 2nd grade, because this verse in an older version were the basis of my favorite song in our grade school song book at St. John’s Lutheran Grade School. I don’t remember the song anymore, but the verse is still with me.
 
There are other scriptures that tell us not to be anxious. I think of Matthew 6:25 which tells us not to be anxious or worry about our life, that God will provide. Anxiety and worry are among the cares we need to throw away. Many scripture verses tell us not to be afraid. Fear is another care to cast away from us. While it is important to recognize these cares because they indicate there is a concern, an issue to be dealt with, 1 Peter 5:7 tells us what to do with them once we have recognized and admitted them to ourselves. We need to turn them over to God. We can’t solve or resolve them by ourselves, but God can give us whatever we need to get through them.
 
There are many ways to say the same thing. Here are a few of my favorite translations and paraphrases of 1 Peter 5:7:
Throw all your anxieties upon him, because he cares about you. CJB
God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. CEV
Turn all your anxiety over to God because he cares for you. GW
Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you. GNT
You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern. PHILLIPS
Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries. VOICE
Turn all your troubles over to him, because he cares for you and is watching over you. WE
 
I love the way the Classic Amplified Version sums it all up:
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
 
So, choose your favorite version and make it a memory verse this week and for life, I’ve pinned some copies to one of the bulletin boards.
 
There are two parts to this statement. The first is what to do with our cares whether they be worry or fear or anxious thoughts. They might be personal, for a friend or family member, or they might be the condition of the world around us, even far away from us.
They might be health related, financial, political, or about a relationship. They might be occasional or constant. But all of them, every one of them we can toss into God’s hands because….Well, that’s the second part of the statement, because God cares. God truly cares about every detail of our lives and every other life on this planet. God cares about what is going on with you this week. God cares about the struggles of citizens in the Ukraine. God cares about the Uighurs in China. God cares about the children who lost their lives on our border. God cares about each and every one of us in every nation every day.
 
God who created us loved us so much, that God sent Jesus into the world to save us. Jesus came to teach by word and by example and demonstrated over and over again God’s care and concern for the least and the forgotten, for those suffering from disease and those suffering from guilt or shame, for those the world chose to ignore or walk past. Jesus demonstrated God’s love and care for all of us.
 
But Jesus didn’t leave it at that. He took it a step further. Jesus took upon himself the weight of the whole world. In Bible study this week, a few of us were reminded that Jesus felt that heavy weight not just on the cross. It began as he prayed in Gethsemane, which means olive press. We saw in video the weighty stone pillar used in Bible times to rest heavily on the olives pressing the oil out of them to be used in a variety of ways – for healing, for lighting lamps, for cooking, and more. Jesus knew the weight of those stone pillars and that’s how he experienced the weight of all our cares including our sin to the extent that he sweat out drops of his own blood as he prayed, “Father, not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:39-44)
 
Jesus surrendered his life on this earth, so that we might be free of those burdens ourselves. Jesus died on the cross taking our sin with him, because he cares, because he loves us. But of course God didn’t leave it at that. What we have celebrated for this whole season of Eastertide, what we celebrate as a mini-Easter every Sunday is this, that God raised Jesus from that death to eternal life. Why is this important? Because the risen Christ has one more chance to teach his followers in a way they could now better understand, and because of the promise Jesus made to them.
 
Turn back to the Gospel of John we read today. What did Jesus pray for them? That God would watch over them, and that they would become one, just as Jesus is one with God. In talking to his disciples just before this prayer, Jesus had promised them the Holy Spirit. That Spirit would guide them into the truth and empower them for ministry. Today in terms of the church calendar, we honor that time of waiting for the Holy Spirit to come which you will celebrate next week as Pentecost.
 
Look next at the Ascension story in Acts 1. Luke completed his gospel telling the story of Jesus and hinted forward to this story where he begins the sequel; Acts is the story of Jesus’ faithful followers as they become what we call the Church. In chapter 1 the disciples still don’t quite understand what is going on; they are eager for a political kingdom which would reestablish the glory of Judea and Israel with Jerusalem at its center. But that is not at all what God had in mind or what Jesus came to accomplish. The kingdom is to be a spiritual one and it is meant to be much broader than just the territory claimed by the Jews.
 
My favorite verse in this passage is v.8, to go into all the world and be witnesses, starting in Jerusalem and Judea, but continuing into the whole world. God’s care and concern and love and intentions are for more than just one nation, more than for just one religious affiliation. God’s love and care and concern are for the whole world. God is indeed King of the Universe. Just as the prophet Isaiah reminded the Jews they were to become a “light to the nations” Jesus told his disciples to take their witness to the rest of the world.
 
As I read commentaries on these scriptures, I was struck that commentators on John’s Gospel and Luke’s book of Acts saw the same two things emphasized in these passages – unity and prayer. Jesus prayed for those belonging to him to become one just as he and God are one. After Jesus ascended, the disciples and other followers gathered together including the women who followed him and members of his own family. As another translation puts it, “all were united in their devotion to prayer, along with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
 And that we can toss all of our worries and fears to you,
Because you have promised to be with us and to help us.
We bring all of this to your throne of mercy and grace,
Praying as you taught your disciples to pray…
 
 
 
LORD’S PRAYER
 
P: 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
 
P: God of the Universe, we thank you for our lives and all life and blessings around us. We offer you our gifts, our resources, our time, and our service. Amen.
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow  #592
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH  Apostle’s Creed  ecumenical
 
P: 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 into hell. On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
And He will come 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 life everlasting. Amen.
 
*HYMN  Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart  #145
(You may be seated.)
 
1 Rejoice ye pure in heart!
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!
Your festal banner wave on high,
The cross of Christ your King.
Refrain:
Rejoice! rejoice!
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!
2 Yes, on through life's long path,
Still chanting as ye go;
From youth to age, by night and day,
In gladness and in woe. (Refrain)
3 At last the march shall end;
The wearied ones shall rest;
The pilgrims find their home at last,
Jerusalem the blest. (Refrain)
4 Then on, ye pure in heart!
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!
Your festal banner wave on high,
The cross of Christ your King. (Refrain)
 
Sending Forth
 
My announcement:
I know I have missed some Sundays because of my own health issues.
This worked out however for the Pastor Nominating Committee to meet.
Prior to this I had asked to take the summer off.
I need time for my health, for some projects at home, and for family.
The Wednesday morning Bible Study will meet four more weeks to finish this unit.
But today is the last time I will preach until September.
Syd already has pulpit supply lined up as needed.
I’ll see you back here then. So, now…
 
 
*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.
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May 14th Worship Services "The Advocate Shows us the Way!" by Joyce Chamberlin

5/14/2023

0 Comments

 
​ 
May 14, 2023
Sixth Sunday of Easter
 
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
·  Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.  Would you like to bring after worship goodies?  The sign up sheet in in Calvin Hall.
· Bible Study will be this Wednesday at 9:00 AM.
· Please see bulletin insert for items needed for Senior Hospitality Center.
· Find the address for Rich and Lois Lewis posted on the bulletin board.
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
   JoAnn Grimm who struggles with health problems.
Arlene Pawlik who is recovering from a broken leg.
Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
 
 
PRELUDE
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP
  God holds out to us the promise of new life.
 
 Life as unpredictable, as unrehearsed, as explosive as life at the very beginning.
 
 God calls us to respond to this gift with creativity, with joy, and with courage.
 
  In worship, we can begin to accept this gift of new life.  Let us worship God.
 
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
 
God, you are the source of our life.  Gather us now together, we pray.  Form us into a holy community of your own people, molding us by the breath of your Holy Spirit, and revealing in us the face of your anointed Christ.  Amen
 
 
*HYMN                                          Come Sing to God                                            #181
                                               (You may be seated.)
 
CALL TO CONFESSION
 
God’s love is steadfast, and God’s faithfulness endures from age to age.  Our love falters and our faithfulness wanes from day to day.  Let us confess our sin and our need for God.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Gracious God, you encourage us with your love, bringing new life out of death.  We confess that we need your life-giving power in our lives and our relationships.  We have hurt others and been hurt by them.  We are often angry or afraid.  We are not sure when to assert our needs and when to care for others’ needs.  We continue to live in ways which do not lead to peace and justice.  Forgive us, O God. Pour your Spirit of wisdom and healing upon us, that by our lives and our loving, we may glorify you.  Amen.
 
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE  
We are the forgiven people of God!  We are the awakened disciples of Jesus!  We are the Body of Christ sent forth into the world!  The chains have been broken!  God’s love is poured out for us. Let us dance and sing because joyful is our God.  Alleluia.  Amen.
 
SONG OF PRAISE  Gloria Patri  #579
 
PASSING THE PEACE 
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
 
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Open our ears and soften our hearts, Holy Spirit, that we might hear Christ’s love and grace poured out in the words of scripture this day.  May the dry places in our soul be refreshed and enlivened to serve you and declare our love to all the world.  Amen.
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS  
 Acts 17: 22-31
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.  24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
 
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.  29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
 
John 14: 15-21
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
 
SERMON   The Advocate Shows Us the Way
The Advocate Shows us the Way!
 
“Are you saved?”  It’s a question most of us have been asked at some point along the way.  I’m guessing it might also be the point at which you started looking for the exit.  There’s something pretty judgmental about that question.  It implies that the one quizzing us, not only knows themselves to be saved, but now they are going to give us tell us what we must do.  Who decided the criteria for being “Saved.”  In Presbyterian theology, we believe that God is the only one who knows the answer to that question.  We humans are to connect ourselves to Jesus Christ and leave the eternal life question to God’s grace.  We can trust in God’s goodness. I’m skeptical about someone else’s answer.  What if my version of “saved” is different than yours?  Are you going to ask me to now get re-baptized into your theology?  Is there a checklist I need to keep?  Do I need to write a check to be assured of my everlasting salvation?  Do I need to avoid my friends, vow never to allow alcohol to touch my lips and pass out religious pamphlets at the airport?
But that leaves the question of how we share with others the incredible love of Jesus?  How do we invite our neighbor to join us for worship?  How do we tell our grandchildren about a God who loves them so much?
We live in a world where talking about faith issues is awkward.  There’s a strange dichotomy out there.  People are incredibly hungry for meaning and a spiritual link, but they have a profound distrust of religion.  It comes in the wake of some groups who have used religion to line their own pockets.  In other cases people have been quite beaten up by “experts in the faith.  There are significant wounds.  Some in religious positions have taken advantage of other, or outright abused the respect that was offered to them.   How do we tell the story in today’s world?
Last week we looked at the scripture where Jesus told his disciples that he is the Way and the Truth and the Life.  It’s a pretty clear and straight-forward understanding being offered.  To follow Christ is our path to truth and life.  It’s a joyful life in relationship with God where we care for others and live the teachings of Jesus.  In that we can know a deep and abiding peace.
The discussion continues in this week’s reading.  Jesus is leaving.  That was the message from last week. But he wants his disciples to know that they are not going to be on their own.  He’s not abandoning them.  He’s leaving, yes, but he will request that the Father will send back to them the Advocate.  Later he refers to this as “The Spirit of Truth.”  It’s a spiritual guide to be with them forever.  The disciples will be able to receive this Spirit, the Advocate, because they will recognize it.  In other words, they have developed the sensitivity and the expectation which will allow them to perceive and follow this guide.  This is John’s version of the Holy Spirit which we will celebrate in two weeks at Pentecost.
Think about having the power and the comfort of having an interior guide that shows us the way, and then helps us get there, all at the same time!  It reminds me of my grandson who just knows math.  He is very gifted in numbers.  He can do advanced calculations in his head without a pause.  It just makes sense to him in a way that I have to work at.  329 + 414.  Give me a piece of paper and a pencil and I can give you the answer.  Brody, though, just knows.  743.  It’s so clear to him, so apparent. What would it be like to have that clarity and knowing about the way we need to go, the decisions we need to make to follow Christ?  Instead of offering us a numeric answer.  The Spirit offers us a path to God and to love others.  Of course it’s not always that way.   There will be times that the answer seems to evade us. It doesn’t come automatically.  We need to pray about it, maybe to struggle with the question.  We need to recognize that living into the question while we wait for the answer is part of the process, too.  At times there’s pain involved, maybe people won’t understand.  Maybe it will require extra work or inconvenience.   But the Advocate is right there with us all the way.
That’s half the equation.  The other half is this, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me and those who love me will be loved by my father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
So we’re right back to Jesus as the Way.  To follow his commands is to know the love of God and to be aware of Jesus in our midst.It means to forgive our friend or brother—even if they have not asked our forgiveness.
It means to sacrificially care for another—not just the crumbs that fall from the table, but to share from the essence of our being. It means to love someone who seems at first glance un-loveable, to accept them and offer respect and care.
It means to let go of our own ego and instead lift up the accomplishments of others.
These are not the practices of our world.  Hollywood thrives on revenge movies where the little guy gets back at the bully….and don’t we all cheer?!  But revenge isn’t Christ’s path.  To grow rich and live in luxury is the national aim for so many, but Christ is more concerned with making sure that those at the bottom of the ladder of our society have the basics that they need to thrive.  To be suspicious of those who are different is a human survival response, but Jesus calls upon us to accept others and to open our arms of friendship, to be a little vulnerable.  To promote ourselves and to enjoy praise and recognition is something we all crave, but it can also diminish others and keep them pushed into the background.
The Advocate shows us a better way and then helps us walk that path.  Jesus’ teachings and commandments are the sign posts that help us to know the way, as well.
Paul’s story in Athens is a case in point.  Have you noticed that Paul is pretty good at stirring up controversy?  He rolls into town and a week later he’s often running for his life!  He tells the story of Jesus. Paul is the one who helps us to define the meaning behind Jesus life and resurrection.  Sometimes people welcome and accept this truth that he brings, but often, not so much.
Well, Paul has done it again.  He got himself and Silas thrown in jail when he cast out the Spirit from a slave girl who earned her master a great deal of money by telling people’s fortunes.  The Angel of the Lord frees them, and when the jailer was about to kill himself, assuming his prisoners had escaped, Paul stopped him and then told them the story of Jesus.  But they are still seen as troublemakers.  Then to Thessalonica and finally Beroea where in each of those places Paul needs to get out of Dodge quickly.
So Paul goes on alone to Athens.  It’s about 140 miles distance, so he has some time to think and pray.  Once there he walks around, getting acquainted with the new city.  Everywhere he looks there are idols to various gods—fertility, crops, weather, health.  How upsetting!
Paul begins speaking to people in the synagogue.  That was his practice, but then he goes to the marketplace where philosophers tend to gather.  It’s where Plato and Socrates and Aristotle once offered their wisdom.  His words seem so strange to the people’s ear.  They assume he’s the equivalent of a snake oil showman!  They are suspicious, and so they bring him to the council.
This was Paul’s moment.  He needed to get it right this time.  He needed to speak in a way that they could hear him.  So he lifted up something he had seen, an altar that was inscribed, “To an Unknown God.”  Instead of asking them to trash everything right at the beginning, he appeals to something they already acknowledged.  He used that altar as a fulcrum, a lever to offer a new understanding.  Take a look at this god.  You already worship this one who is as of yet unknown to you.  Let me tell you about that one.  And she shares the story of Christ.  He tells them how God made the world and everything in it.  God made us!  Humans can’t fashion gods.  It goes the other way around.  God is pretty sufficient all in himself.  So here’s the good news.  God is with us, and it’s in him that we live and move and have our being.  And God continues to call us to accountability.  He tells them about Jesus and his resurrection.
Now not everyone accepted, but some did.  They continued to seek more information, more clarity, more truth about our amazing God.
I want to suggest that the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth showed Paul how to connect with the good people of Athens.  Paul was able to relay the story of Christ because the Spirit showed him the opening.
That’s what we need.  I suggest that we don’t walk up to someone and ask, “Have you been saved?”  It’s a conversation stopper. But I do believe that if we are patient, if we take a bit of time to build a relationship, if we can love this other and show them the love and joy of our relationship with God, a door will be opened in which they might be able to hear something new.  It’s a YES moment.  It affirms that this other is ready to hear. It invites us to tell our own story of Christ and how he is at work in our lives.
Relationship and listening is the key.  We are called into relationship with others, and that’s where we can hear about their sense of identity and their understanding of our world.
Here in this church we are welcoming new friends, new neighbors into our space where we hope to build relationships and offer a needed place to connect with others.  I hope that there will be times when they ask about our faith and what we as Presbyterians believe, and then I hope we can tell them, much as Paul spoke to the Athenians.
The Advocate will lead us.  Our job is to be open and willing, to risk a little and to love as Jesus loved.  In the process we will be blessed to feel Christ in our midst.  We’ll feel the love of God carrying us forward.
Are we saved?  You bet we’re saved, not by some equation or a specific prayer.  We’ve been saved because we feel the Advocate near us and we walk into God’s amazing grace.  Praise be to the Father!
 
Amen
 
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 GIFTS TO GOD
 
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow  #592
 
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
 
 
*HYMN                                      We Come as Guests Invited                             #517                                           
                                                      (you may be seated.)
 INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
 
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
 O Lord, throughout the span of creation’s history, you have taken our hand to show us the avenues of life.  You have led us to tables overflowing with the bounty and goodness that you have provided.  You have offered us forgiveness that drives us to our knees and love that takes our breath away.
 
 And when we have pushed you aside, and wandered out into dangerous avenues on our own, you followed close behind, waiting for us to turn back to you.
 
You came into our midst in the person of your Son, Jesus, to show us who you are and to make the most costly gift of all in order to win for us salvation and life.
 
Obediently Jesus became one of us.  He loved us to the end and then he carried our sins to the cross so that we might be able to call ourselves the children of God.
 
Let us proclaim for all to hear:
 
Christ died, for all our sins;
Christ rose, for all our sakes;
Christ will return to take us by the hand once more to lead us into your presence.
 
So we gather at Christ’s table, joining our voices with all who proclaim your name to seek your spirit of life, that we might be filled with your mighty love, that we might live into the hope of your calling.
 
In the breaking of bread in the pouring of the cup, in the sharing of Christ’s holy gifts of life, we offer ourselves to you.  Take us, Lord, and lead us to be agents of healing in our families, in our community, and in our world.
 
Let us praise God of life and hope.
 
Awesome is our God.  Hosanna. Amen.
 
RECEIVING THE BREAD AND THE CUP
 
COMMUNION PRAYER.
  
 
*HYMN                                                     Song of Hope                                         #432
(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.
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May 7th Worship Services "Jesus Is The Way" by Joyce Chamberlin

5/7/2023

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​ 
May 7, 2023
Fifth Sunday of Easter
 
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
·  Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.     Would you like to bring cookies or treats?  Sign up sheet is in Calvin Hall.
· Session will meet briefly today at 10:45 in Pastor’s Office.
· Please see bulletin insert for items needed for Senior Hospitality Center.
· Find the address for Rich and Lois Lewis posted on the bulletin board.
· Please sign up for the Ladies Lunch Bunch for Wed. May 10— Homer’s Deli at 11:30!
 
 
PRAYER REQUESTS 
JoAnn Grimm who struggles with health problems.
Arlene Pawlik who is recovering from a broken leg.
Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
 
PRELUDE
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP
   The Word of God calls to us, inviting us, “Taste and know that the Lord is good.”
 
   We gather to proclaim, Christ, the living stone,
 
   Rejected by humans, yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.
 
   May we, too, strive to be living stones, built into a spiritual house,
 
   A royal people who proclaim the mighty acts of our Savior.
 
   We are called out of darkness and into the marvelous light. Praise to our Lord,
   Jesus  Christ.
 
   Amen.
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
Lord God.  You call for us to believe and to know that there are many dwelling places in your house.  Christ promises to prepare a place for us and to bring us to you.  Help us to claim this promise and to rejoice in you, the Way and the Truth and the Life.  Amen.
*HYMN  All Creatures of Our God and King (verses 1-3, 6)  #455
    (You may be seated.)
 
CALL TO CONFESSION  (from Psalm 31:2)
Incline your ear, and rescue us, O Lord.  Be our Rock of Refuge, our Strong Fortress of Salvation.   Let us come to this time of prayer that we might unburden our souls to seek the redemption of our God. Please join with me in our prayer of Confession.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION 
How we stutter and pause when someone challenges our faith in you, O Lord!  We don’t like being seen as simpletons or as zealots.  We don’t like it when people shake their heads at us.  So we stay silent.  We don’t speak our faith. We are afraid. Forgive us for our hesitancy and cowardice.  Forgive us for pushing aside your assurance that you are the way and the truth and the life.  Forgive us for not recognizing you as you stand right beside us.  Help us, Lord, to offer our very selves into your care and to your glory.  Amen.
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Our times are in God’s hands.  He delivers us from our enemies-- even when that enemy is from within our own hearts!  God saves us in his steadfast love. Let us accept the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ.  Let us rejoice and be glad.  Amen.
    
 
SONG OF PRAISE  Gloria Patri  #579
 
 
PASSING THE PEACE 
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
 
 
INTERLUDE
 
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Precious Lord. With your words of truth and life, may our spirits be replenished this day.  Help us to hear your love and to feel your care.  Show us the way to you, that we might live your grace into our needy world. Amen.
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS   
Acts 7 : 55-60
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
 
 John 14: 1-14
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
 
SERMON     Jesus Is The Way!
My grandpa has what we all called “selective hearing.”  Maybe you know the condition?  He was really quite deaf, even with hearing aids, but he could read lips and he got by.  But when Grandma asked him to take out the garbage or bring in groceries from the car, he just didn’t hear.  BUT, if there was a discussion, even in the other room about going to get ice cream at the Dairy Freeze, he was on it with his shoes tied and the car keys in his hand!
I think there’s some of that selective hearing going on in our world today.  It’s pretty easy to tune out mundane things or even things that we just don’t agree with.  It’s not that we are ignoring requests or other unsettling news.  It’s that we concentrate on an activity or event such that those other things get pushed aside, or maybe we push it aside because it just doesn’t ring true.  But when we hear something like, “Ice cream, anyone?”  OR “Let’s talk about a raise,”  or even, “that pretty girl from last night’s party asked for your phone number!”  Well, that commands our attention!
Some of the people of Jerusalem were not only concentrating on something else, but at least according to Luke’s account regarding Stephen’s death, they are actively covering their ears against hearing what this follower of Jesus had to say.  He wanted to tell them why Jesus was “the Way.”  He wanted them to know that truth and life were the gifts that Jesus could offer.  He wanted to explain that throughout their scriptures, Jesus was always predicted, and he had come to them, but they had killed him on a cross. They didn’t want to hear it.  In fact, those words totally enraged them such that they stoned him to death for blasphemy.
Now here’s my question.  If his words were so ridiculous, so bizarre, so out in left field, why were they so threatened?  Why did they need to silence him, even to the point of death?
I mean, after all, when we hear someone talking about being abducted by aliens to be poked and prodded and tested, do we feel threatened?  Do we need to cover our ears?  Do we need to silence that person at all costs?  NO.  Stephen was silenced because his words about Jesus suggested a whole new understanding of God, and therefore of life as they knew it.
Now in case you missed that Sunday School class, Stephen was one of seven men who were selected to make sure that all of those in that first church were cared for and served equally.  He was what we call a deacon.  He was a church officer who serves God’s people, as well as those out in the community.  Stephen, however went beyond preparing food or setting up communion or driving people to the doctor.  Here’s what we hear about him, “Stephen, full of grace and power did great wonders and signs among the people.  Then some of those who belong to the synagogue of the Freedmen and others stood up and argued with Stephen.  But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.”
Stephen told them the story of their faith.  From Abraham to Isaac and Jacob to Moses, he retold their story, but in his telling he emphasized the many ways in which the people consistently rejected God’s word.  He reminded them how they had turned aside from God’s prophets and ignored God’s Holy Spirit.  “That’s what you’re doing now,” he said.  “You are rejecting Jesus Christ whom God sent to us and who died for our sins.”
It was too much. They couldn’t hear more. They covered their ears and took him to the city gate where they stoned him to death.  But not before Stephen was able to proclaim, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right side of God.”
He died a martyr’s death. He died offering to God his spirit and saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  Just like Jesus asked God to forgive those who nailed him to the cross, Stephen sought the redemption of those tossing the stones.
What Stephen’s story illustrates, at least to me, is that we are a people who often fail to hear the voice of God’s Holy Spirit in our midst.  Not only that, we don’t like to be challenged in our current understandings.
So what does it mean when Jesus tells his disciples that there are many dwelling places in his father’s house?  Are we talking heaven when we die?  What does it mean that Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life?    What does it mean when Jesus says that no one comes to the Father except through him?
For so many, these things spell out a road map to heaven.  For them it means that Jesus is the only pathway to eternal life.  You’ve probably heard it suggested that you friend who is Jewish or Muslim or even atheist is doomed!  That’s what many of us were taught.  But I wonder if the Holy Spirit is trying to offer us something a bit more subtle, something that invites us to a new way of thinking and of living in our world.
To begin with Jesus’ words here come at a time of high anxiety for the disciples.   Jesus has washed the feet of his friends, something usually done by the lowliest of servants.  He tells them that they’re not going to understand his actions until later.  Peter would have refused, but Jesus told him, “Unless I wash you, you have no share in me.”  Confusing!  He tells them that one of them will betray him and even indicates that it will be Judas, “Go quickly to do what you are going to do.”  He says to them “Little Children, I am with you only a little longer….Where I am going you cannot come.”  And finally, when Peter declares he’s going too, Jesus tells him, “Before the cock crows, you will have denied my three times.”
Is it any wonder they are upset and anxious?  In our reading for today Jesus, their friend and teacher, is trying to calm them and reassure them.  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.”  We’ve taken that to mean heaven.  This is probably the most commonly used scripture in funerals.  But here’s another way to see it.  In God’s design of our world, there are many different dwelling places.  Jesus is going to one in which the disciples cannot go, but he will still be with us.  We all reside in our Father’s house—just in different sections.  Do you remember as a child waking in the night and being reassured by the knowledge that your parents were just down the hall in their own bedroom.  Could Jesus be trying to tell his disciples that he will no longer be right beside them, but he will be with them, in one of the other dwelling places in God’s house.   Jesus is going now to prepare a place for us, the ability for us to know his presence.
Thomas doesn’t get it and asks, “How do we know the way?”  To which Jesus answers, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  The key word here is “WAY”.  Jesus is the way to truth and life.  We find those gifts when we follow in our Lord’s path, when we follow his example, his love.
When Jesus says he will come to take us to himself, he means we will come to feel his presence and his amazing love.  When we follow the path, the way.  When we follow him, he comes to us.
So now we are at the sentence that makes us afraid for our nonChristian friends.  “No one comes to the Father except through me.”  That one sentence has pitted Christians against nonChristians for centuries.  But consider this:  Jesus is speaking to HIS followers.  John is writing to the followers of Jesus.  For us, Jesus IS the avenue to God.  Jesus and the Father are one.  Jesus shows us God’s power, God’s forgiveness, God’s grace and goodness.
So do you really think God’s grace is such that the person who dies in India who is a devout Hindu follower, and who has devoted his life to loving others as his faith teaches will be condemned by a God who loves in such a big and beautiful way?  How many times in our scriptures did Jesus say to someone, “Nope.  You’re not of the right group.  This word of God is NOT for you?”  None.  Not once did Jesus reject someone, so why would we be afraid for our nonChristian friends?
I suggest that we can trust God to handle that person.  We can leave our Jewish friends in God’s hands.  We can trust God to care for our Muslim brother and sister.  But for us, for those who have experienced God’s love through Jesus, he IS the way.  His grace enfolds us and calls us forward to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
That means loving others—ALL others.  The Pastor Nominating Committee assures me that it doesn’t matter who walks through our doors.  That person will be embraced and loved.  They are children of God—even the person who is mentally ill and talking to himself.  Even the two women who come in holding hands, even the toddler who is noisy and wants to run around.  That person who speaks only Spanish or the person who just got out of jail.  How about your neighbor who yelled at you last week about one thing or another?  Are all these people welcome in our church?  Can we embrace them and make them part of our community?  Can we obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit?  Can we feel Christ in our midst because we are actively assisting others to know a better, healthier, happier life?
Jesus is the WAY.  He’s the way to God.  He’s the way to truth and life.  He’s the way to peace and joy.
Stephen lifted up the WAY, and those who listened couldn’t hear him because he challenged their assumptions.  How about us?  Can we hear?  Can we follow?  Can we love in order to find this truth and life?  It’s precious and Jesus is pointing the direction.  Let’s follow and discover these amazing gifts.  Amen
 
 
*HYMN     Take My Life   #391
                                                       (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 GIFTS TO GOD
 
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow  #592
 
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
 
*THE NICENE CREED (Traditional)
 
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
 
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the
Father before  all worlds, God of God.. Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
 
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and  the  Son  together  is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
   
 
*HYMN                                     O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go                             #384 
(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.
 
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