July 26, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Come, Now is the Time to Worship Hillsong United https://youtu.be/NPWq8eM4lu8 Announcements *Call to Worship God is gathering us from many different places. No one is worthy, but all are invited. God lifts us up when we stumble and leads us back. God cares for us in our pain and losses. We are delivered from our fears and saved from trouble. Happy are those who take refuge in a loving God. Our lips pour forth laughter and joyous singing. We join in shouts of praise to God. Let us praise God’s name together! Song We Bow Down Twila Paris https://youtu.be/BFxdmxeahtE *Opening Prayer All-powerful God, we call on you to be present among us, for we need the knowledge and the energy that you alone can provide. When our strength is spent, our vision clouded, and our hope gone, you reach out to us in ways we often fail to discern. We take heart in thinking that you are calling us to yourself, opening our eyes to see your wonders as if for the first time. We want to be faithful to you in a world that too often loses sight of the holy. Help us, we pray. Amen. Special Music Savior Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/bvDd4soIO-8 Hearing the Word Scripture Mark 10:46-52 And so they reached Jericho. Later, as Jesus and his disciples left town, a great crowd was following. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” some of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Teacher,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has healed you.” And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road. (New Living Translation) Sermon Close Encounters With Jesus What Do You Want Jesus to Do for You? Bartimaeus A little five-year-old girl went to “big church” for the first time with her grandmother. She had been to Sunday School before, but never to a formal worship service. There were a lot of things that seemed strange to her. The music didn’t sound much like the music she was used to singing. And there was a lot of standing up and sitting down. Then the minister said, “Let us pray,” and everyone bowed their heads, with their eyes facing the floor. The little girl was very confused. So she leaned over and asked her grandmother, “What are they looking for?” That’s actually a very good question! What ARE we looking for when we pray? What are we looking for when we come to church? Why are we here? Some people come to church out of habit – we go to church because we always go to church because we’ve always gone to church. Some of us come out of curiosity – let’s check out that new woman preacher that just arrived. Others come to church to see and be seen – who else will be there? And there are some of us who come because we’re looking for something – we want, we need, something from Jesus. We need Jesus to do something for us. We have a deep need that we know only Jesus can meet. And so we come. What do you want Jesus to do for you? Do you know? Bartimaeus knew. Bartimaeus knew exactly what he wanted Jesus to do for him. Bartimaeus was a blind man, a beggar, who lived in the town of Jericho, about fifteen miles from Jerusalem. It was nearing the time of the celebration of Passover, and Jewish law required every male over the age of twelve who lived within fifteen miles of Jerusalem to come to the city to attend the Passover celebration. The main road to Jerusalem ran right through Jericho, and so there were many travelers passing through on their way to the city. And those who were not going to the city lined the streets to cheer the pilgrims on their way. The city streets were also filled with priests and Levites, who were assistants to the priests. There were somewhere around 40,000 priests and Levites in the time of Jesus, all of whom served in the Temple. Obviously they could not all serve at once, and so they were divided into 26 groups who served on a rotating basis. Many of the priests and Levites lived in Jericho when they were not on duty in Jerusalem. The only time they all traveled to Jerusalem at the same time was for the celebration of the major feasts, such as Passover, and so they were beginning their journey to the city, contributing to the crowds in the streets of Jericho. Bartimaeus had taken up a position near the northern gate of Jericho, which all the travelers would pass through. It was a good location for a blind beggar, and many people were probably in a generous mood due to the holiday spirit. It is no coincidence that the Salvation Army sets up their kettles and bell-ringers during the Christmas season! Bartimaeus was counting on people’s generosity, because he was totally dependent on others for both charity and protection. Bartimaeus heard a particularly noisy group of pilgrims approaching the gate, and he found out that they were surrounding Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth. So Bartimaeus began to shout in order to get Jesus’ attention: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Instead of trying to help Bartimaeus get to where Jesus was standing or asking Jesus to go over and help Bartimaeus, the crowds around him told him to be quiet because he was causing a scene. But Bartimaeus did not stop; instead, he yelled out even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus heard him shouting, and he called Bartimaeus to come to him. Well, Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, jumped to his feet, and went over to Jesus. Jesus then asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” That might seem like an odd question to ask a blind man. It surely must have been obvious what Bartimaeus needed from Jesus. But maybe not. Bartimaeus might have asked for money. Or he might have asked for a place to stay. It wasn’t a given that he would ask for healing. Jesus wanted Bartimaeus to really think about what he wanted. Bartimaeus knew what he wanted. He wanted to see. He wanted to be cured of his blindness. He wanted to be able to live a normal life, to be able to learn a trade and earn a living for himself, maybe get married and have a family. He wanted to fully participate in the religious life of his community, attend synagogue and be able to take his turn reading from the scrolls. Bartimaeus wanted to see. And he believed Jesus could give him his sight. Jesus said to him, “Your faith has healed you.” And immediately, Bartimaeus could see. And he began to follow Jesus on the way, he became a disciple of Jesus. He left his cloak behind, which may have been his only possession, and he set out on the road to Jerusalem with Jesus. It seems to me that this story has at least three lessons for us. First, I believe this story teaches that we have to know what it is that we need from Jesus. Just before this story of the healing of Bartimaeus, there is the story about a request made of Jesus by James and John. They came to Jesus and he asked them the same question he asked Bartimaeus: “What do you want me to do for you?” They answered, “Let one of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left when you come into your glory.” Jesus did not grant their request, but answered, “You don’t know what you are asking.” They did not really understand yet what Jesus was all about. Even though they had been with him for a long time, observing what he did and said, they did not really get the point of it all. They expected the kingdom of God to be an earthly kingdom, and they wanted to share in the power and the glory of that kingdom. But the kingdom of God was not about earthly power and glory. In fact, when they got to Jerusalem, Jesus was going to be arrested and put on trial and then executed on a Roman cross. They were blind to the truth of who Jesus was and they were totally unprepared for what was about to happen. Bartimaeus at least understood that Jesus was the Messiah, because when he called him “Son of David,” he was using a messianic title. And he knew that the Messiah was able to heal people of their disease, and so he knew that what he wanted from Jesus was his sight. Do you know what you want Jesus to do for you? Do you know what you need? Not what you want, not what your ambition is, not what your desire might be, but what you really need? We need to be clear about what we want Jesus to do for us. Second, this story teaches us to ask for what we need. Bartimaeus certainly asked – at the top of his lungs! And when Jesus spoke to him, he was quick to state that what he wanted was to see. He was honest. He was direct. He was specific. “I want to see.” This, I think, speaks to our prayer life in a couple of ways. It tells us that when we pray, we need to be honest and specific. C. S. Lewis wrote, “We must lay before [God] what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” If we are sad, then we should say so, not try to pretend that all is well. If we feel afraid, we should admit it. No matter what is going on with us, we should be able to tell God. He already knows anyway. And our prayers don’t need to be filled with flowery language, or prayed with perfect grammar in King James English. We just need to say what is in our hearts. Theologian Walter Rauschenbusch had this to say about prayer: “Be simple and direct in your prayer. Be honest. Do not express any want you do not feel. Do not keep anything back. Remember that it is He that searcheth the heart to whom you are speaking. Pray earnestly. The words do not need to be loud, but the desire should be intense. Pray always with special reference to the needs of the day and the hour - … the temptations to be resisted, the work to be done, the sorrow to be borne; put your life into your prayer; and let it be the most real and the most immediate business of your life.” When we are honest and specific, sometimes it will amaze us how God chooses to answer our prayers. The story goes that not long after the Dallas Theological Seminary was founded in 1924, it came to the point of going bankrupt. All of the creditors had agreed to foreclose at noon on a certain day. On that morning, a group of men got together in the seminary president’s office to pray that somehow God would meet their need. One man, Harry Ironside, prayed, “Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money.” While they were still praying, a man came into the seminary business office. He told the secretary, “I just sold two carloads of cattle. I was working on a business deal, but it fell through. I feel compelled to give this money to the seminary. I don’t know if you need it or not, but here’s the check.” The secretary took the check straight to the president. It was for the exact amount of their debt. He turned to Dr. Ironside and said, “Harry, God sold the cattle!” We also need to be persistent in our prayer. Bartimaeus did not ask for help just once. He kept on asking until he got some result. He shouted until he knew that he had been heard. We can’t give up when we don’t think our prayers are doing any good. We need to persist until we believe we have been answered. Sometimes our prayers are answered in the way we expect; just like Bartimaeus, Jesus gives us what we ask for. Sometimes our prayers are answered in ways that we don’t expect. Jesus might say, “No.” Or, “Not yet.” But we will be given an answer. So don’t give up too soon when you pray. Have a little faith. And keep on praying. So, then, this story teaches us that we must know what we need from Jesus. It teaches us to ask for what we need. And third, it teaches us to respond in faith when Jesus meets our need. As soon as Jesus healed him, Bartimaeus followed him. He became a disciple. He did not just go on his way, but he chose to go the way of Christ. When we have truly experienced Jesus, when we develop a personal relationship with Jesus, we want to be with him, and we will follow him anywhere. I want you to imagine that Jesus walked into our church this morning. I want you to see him coming down the aisle and stopping at your pew. He turns and looks at you. And he asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” What do you say? How do you answer? Do you know what you need from Jesus? Just ask him for it. Be honest. Be specific. Be persistent. Trust that you will be given an answer. And be ready to follow in faith when you receive from Jesus what you most need. Song When Life Gets Broken Sandi Patty https://youtu.be/Q8xpFS-5f_8 Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer Gracious Lord Jesus, there are many things that we might ask you to do for us. We might ask for healing, for ourselves or for a loved one. We might ask for peace of mind, of heart, or of soul. We might ask for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and for protection for ourselves and our loved ones. We might ask for your blessing on all healthcare professionals, essential workers, and educators. We might ask for justice in our world, in our country, and in our community. We might ask for courage to face tough decisions, difficult situations, or lonely battles. We might ask for the Holy Spirit to come and enliven us and empower us as your disciples. We might ask for many things. As we ask, give us confidence in knowing that you will answer. Give us faith in your goodness and mercy. Give us hope for tomorrow. And give us compassion for ourselves and others. We offer this prayer in his name, as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The 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. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication O God, hear our prayer for all who may be helped by what we give. We offer more than money: we offer ourselves. May the sympathy and comfort we share with people in need draw them closer to you. Keep us strong, that this church may give radiant witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. Amen. Song I Won’t Let Go Rascal Flatts https://youtu.be/VrN7kxmhT2s *Benediction Take heart; your faith is making you well. You will know wholeness and peace beyond your suffering. We have witnessed miracles of transformation. Christ grants deep inner healing. You are chosen as disciples and apostles of good news. You have gathered to learn; now go out to witness. God has equipped us to serve where we are, and to reach out in new ways. May our joy and laughter, our love and trust, attract others to the good news of the gospel. Amen.
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July 19, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song My Lips Will Praise You Twila Paris https://youtu.be/l38DRxfJ5fQ Announcements *Call to Worship All who thirst, refresh yourselves in the waters of the living God. As a deer longs for flowing streams, our souls long for you, O God. All who weep, comfort yourselves in the safety of the living God. As a deer longs for flowing streams, our souls long for you, O God. All who feel lost and forgotten, find your home and family in the house of the living God. As a deer longs for flowing streams, our souls long for you, O God. Come! Revive yourselves in the waters of the living God. Song Shake Mercy Me https://youtu.be/YJFA5Bitv7w *Opening Prayer God of mystery, open our eyes to look for you in unfamiliar places; open our hears to hear you speak in the sound of sheer silence; open our hearts to feel the depth of your love. When we wander in the wilderness of fear and death, revive us with your care, that we may find strength for our journey back to the land of hope and life. Amen. Hearing the Word Scripture Mark 5:1-20 Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out of the tombs. This man lived among the tombs, and no one was ever strong enough to restrain him, even with a chain. He had been secured many times with leg irons and chains, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one was tough enough to control him. Night and day in the tombs and the hills, he would howl and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from far away, he ran and knelt before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” He said this because Jesus had already commanded him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!” Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He responded, “Legion is my name, because we are many.” They pleaded with Jesus not to send them out of that region. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. “Send us into the pigs!” they begged. “Let us go into the pigs!” Jesus gave them permission, so the unclean spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned. Those who tended the pigs ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who used to be demon-possessed. They saw the very man who had been filled with many demons sitting there fully dressed and completely sane, and they were filled with awe. Those who had actually seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man told the others about the pigs. Then they pleaded with Jesus to leave their region. While he was climbing into the boat, the one who had been demon-possessed pleaded with Jesus to let him come along as one of his disciples. But Jesus wouldn’t allow it. “Go home to your own people,” Jesus said, “and tell them what the Lord has done for you and how he has shown you mercy.” The man went away and began to proclaim in the Ten Cities all that Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed. (Common English Bible) Sermon Close Encounters With Jesus The First Missionary: The Demon-Possessed Man This morning we are going to consider the story of a close encounter between Jesus and a demon-possessed man. To stand here in front of a bright, well-educated, intelligent group of people in 2020 and talk about demons is risky business. After all, in this day and age we often lump demons in the same category as elves and trolls and fairies. We no longer explain physi-cal or mental disorders in spiritual terms, at least not commonly; we diagnose and treat illnesses with medication or therapy or surgery. We don’t have to believe in demons anymore because we think we can explain everything in terms of data, research, statistics, and scientific evidence. Some people discount demons because they picture the ridiculous cartoon version of devils as little red men with horns and tails who sit on our shoulders and whisper sweet temp-tations in our ears. Or, on the other extreme, there are those who are preoccupied with demons, who see the devil on every side. In his book, The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis addressed the reality of evil in the world by using letters written by a senior devil to instruct a junior devil in the art of temptation. He wrote about evil from the point of view of evil. In the Preface, Lewis made this observation: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” I personally have no trouble believing in demons, or devils, or evil spirits, or whatever you want to call them. I know that evil is real. All I have to do to prove that is to read the paper or watch the news on TV. Stories about rape and murder, kidnapping and torture, abuse and violence. I hear about mothers who kill their children, drive-by shootings, hit-and-run drivers, broken marriages and broken homes, greed, jealousy, and lust, and I know that evil exists. So let’s look at this story about Jesus and the demon-possessed man and see what happened when Jesus chose to get involved in his life. It is interesting to me to note that this incident occurred at night. Jesus and his disciples had left the other side of the lake “when evening came,” and by the time they had come through a storm and landed in the Gerasene region, it was dark. How scary would it be to stand there in the dark and see a man possessed by evil spirits come out of the tombs and walk right toward you? This man lived in the tombs because there was no other place for him to stay. He was in every way considered unclean by orthodox Jews: he was possessed by demons; he lived in close proximity to dead bodies; and he was a Gentile. He was naked, unpredictable, and violent. He would cause injuries to himself in an attempt to relieve his inner torment. He would scream and shout and cut himself with stones. He had been treated like a mad dog by the people in the area, who chained him up and put him in leg irons. But no one could subdue him, and he broke free of all the chains. He was, in the words of David Garland, “one tough customer.” But when he saw Jesus coming, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him, shouting at the top of his lungs, “What do you want with me, Jesus? In the name of God, please don’t torture me!” But Jesus had no intention of torturing the man. Instead, he wanted to set him free from the demons that bound him. These demons, who spoke through the man, knew exactly who Jesus was. They knew that he was their worst enemy. They knew the power of God when they felt it, and Jesus was full of that power and authority. Their struggle against Jesus was as old as time. He was the greatest threat to their existence. And so they begged, “Please don’t torture me!” Jesus had attempted to cast out the demons by saying, “Come out of the man!” But the demons did not come out right away. This man’s affliction would require more work. These demons were feisty, and created something of a standoff with Jesus. They tried to deal with Jesus as his equals, and there was a struggle before they came out. So Jesus next asked, “What is your name?” It was believed in those days that if you knew the name of a demon it gave you power over it. The demon answered, “Legion is my name, because we are many.” They were many, indeed. A Roman legion was made of 6,000 soldiers and 120 horsemen. There were at least enough demons in this man to drive 2,000 pigs crazy. Eugene Lowry, in his sermon, “Cries From the Graveyard,” paraphrased the man’s answer like this: “I feel like 6,000 soldiers inside me … Sometimes they all march left, sometimes right … sometimes in all different directions. I’m pulled one way, then another. There’s an army inside me, and I think I’m losing the war.” Finding out the name of the demons did not result in their leaving the man. But they knew that they were ultimately going to be defeated by Jesus, because they next entered a bargaining process in which they asked to be sent into a herd of 2,000 pigs that was on a nearby hillside. Demons wanted to inhabit something, anything; if a human being was not available, then pigs would have to do. Jesus granted the request of the demons, which led to their destruction. The pigs rushed into the lake, destroying both themselves and the demons, who could not survive in water. There were some men there who were tending the pigs, and when they saw what happened they ran into town and told other people about it. Soon a crowd of troubled citizens gathered. They were not happy with the fact that they had lost their pigs, which were their source of income. It didn’t matter to them that a human life had been saved. While you might have expected them to congratulate Jesus on a job well done and celebrate the man’s freedom, they didn’t do that. Neither did they invite Jesus into their community to work on some of the other sick folks who needed healing. They didn’t even seem to be grateful that the man was no longer a threat to himself or others. Instead they were afraid, afraid of Jesus. Maybe they were afraid of the power of Jesus, who could overcome the demons that had been so powerfully present in the man who lived in the tombs. And so they begged Jesus to just go away, to leave their country, to go back across the lake and leave them alone. The gospel, the good news, had come to them, and it had caused upheaval; the good news didn’t seem so good to them. It had disrupted their social and economic situations. And they would just as soon not have to deal with it, thank you very much. But the gospel was definitely good news to the man called Legion. After the demons left him, he got cleaned up and dressed, and sat down to talk with Jesus. And he begged Jesus to allow him to go with him and become one of his disciples. But Jesus said no. Instead, he told the man to go home and tell people what the Lord had done for him and how he had shown him mercy. This man would become the first missionary to the Gentiles, because his home, the area known as the Decapolis, or Ten Cities, was a Greek region. The man evidently did exactly what Jesus told him to do. He went home and began to tell other people, anyone who would listen, about what Jesus had done for him. And people listened. And they believed. And they became followers of Jesus. In Mark 7, we read that Jesus went back to the area of the Decapolis, and when he got there, people welcomed him and asked if he would heal another man who was in need. Jesus, of course, did that. Then it says, “Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news.” It’s amazing what Jesus can do, isn’t it? He met a man whose family and neighbors had given up on him, a man who had given up on himself, who had been possessed by a legion of demons, and Jesus brought healing and wholeness to him. And as a result, an entire region became receptive to the gospel, and more than that, became proclaimers of that gospel them-selves. From the tight grasp of Satan, to the warm embrace of God, a man was transformed. And in his story we find a message. We have all encountered Jesus Christ and been changed by the experience. Perhaps Jesus cast out some kind of demon that possessed you, whether it was addiction, or greed, or jealousy, or lust. Perhaps Jesus healed you of depression or obsession or some other emotional or mental disorder. Maybe Jesus gave you confidence or courage or healthy self-esteem that allowed you to accomplish more in life. Whatever it was that happened, since you have known Jesus, your life has been different. And now Jesus calls you to share that story with other people. Tell someone what Jesus has done for you. That is what evangelism is all about. It isn’t standing on a street corner with a megaphone asking people, “Are you saved?” It isn’t knocking on doors and handing out pamphlets. It is not having a nicely formatted plan of salvation to share with people. Evange-lism is simply one person telling another person how Jesus changed their life. That isn’t so scary to think about, is it? Jesus Christ has the power to transform lives. He has the power to overcome the evil that is in our world and in our lives. Jesus can set us free. We have the same mission that the man who was healed was given that day: to go and tell what Jesus has done for us. We are to let people know that there is another way of life, a better way of life, through the power of God in Jesus Christ. So commit yourself to going and telling, to sharing the story of what Jesus has done in your life. When you do that, someone else may come to know Jesus for themselves and their life might be transformed. They might also be set free through the redeeming power and love of Jesus. Hymn Amazing Grace Chris Tomlin https://youtu.be/_YFGzY_8li8 Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer O God, who created the great giraffes that glide through the jungles and the little slugs that slither among the flowers in our gardens, we praise you for the glories of your creation: for children and laughter, for songs and clouds, for mountains and seas, for birds and cats, for storms and sunshine and honeysuckle blossoms. O God, who gives us joy in the morning and rest at night, we exalt your name for the love you have shown us. We remember today our friends in the hospital and those who are ill or confined at home. Let your healing spirit be upon them to mend their bodies and lift their hearts and give them peace. We especially pray for those who are COVID-19 patients and their families. We pray for the peace of the world wherever there is conflict or oppression. Grant that we may all learn to contribute to the justice, equality, and harmony of our common life around the world. We bless in your name all teachers, healthcare professionals, and essential workers. We pray for the comfort of the families of those who have passed away. Give courage to the weak and hope to the despondent. Redirect the wills of those who have gone astray and comfort the hearts of the lonely. Enable us to share the love of Jesus Christ with others. (John Killinger, adapted) We offer this prayer in his name, as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The 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. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication For the saving faithfulness of Jesus Christ, we give thanks. For the church that seeks to extend Christ’s ministry, we are humbly grateful. All things we have are gifts from you, O God, so we dedicate more than our money. We reinvest ourselves in patient, joyful response to your promises. Hear our prayers and empower our ministry. Amen. Song Nobody Casting Crowns https://youtu.be/1yBzIt_z8oY *Benediction God frees us from the chains that bind us. We go in the freedom of Christ’s love. God liberates us from the prisons that hold us. We go in the new life of Christ’s love. Amen. July 12, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song How Majestic is Your Name Sandi Patti https://youtu.be/UIgeisMkJjw Call to Worship God is creating a new day among us. Do not cling to old ways of doing things. The call of God is gentle but persistent. God waits for us to serve in Christ’s name. God is faithful and will be with us. All praise to God from everlasting to everlasting! All praise to Christ Jesus, who forgives and heals! All praise to the Spirit, who makes all things new! Song All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name https://youtu.be/kgQ9ER-fdWQ Opening Prayer Amazing God, you draw us together in worship through Jesus Christ. Look upon us here, for we are paralyzed in so many ways and are in need of healing. May your Word minister to us in such a way that we can stand and walk courageously where you would have us to go, offering healing to a hurting word. Amen. Special Music King of Love Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/LOXvIp5Ob3A Hearing the Word Scripture Mark 2:1-12 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgiven sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Sermon Close Encounters With Jesus The Authority of Jesus: The Man Who Was Paralyzed Of all the celebrities who are out there in the world trying to make a positive difference, one who impresses me a great deal is Bono, one of the most famous rock stars in the world, who sings with the band U2. One night, on the Larry King Live show, Bono was talking about his commitment to Christ, and how he was trying to live out the love of Jesus in the world. Larry King asked Bono a couple of very important questions. He asked, “What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world? What does Christianity have to offer that the other religions do not?” Bono thought for a moment, and then he answered, “All the other religions of the world, in one way or another, teach karma. Only Jesus offers grace. In all the other religions of the world, people end up having to pay a penalty for their sins. Only Jesus Christ, by His grace, makes it possible for people to be delivered from the consequences of the sins that they have committed in this life.” Only Jesus offers grace. Only Jesus offers forgiveness for our sins. That is so significant to know and understand, because everyone in this world needs forgiveness. As Horace Bushnell once noted, “Forgiveness is [our] deepest need and God’s highest achievement.” People who do not feel that forgiveness, people who carry guilt around inside, can actually make themselves physically or mentally ill. Famous psychiatrist Karl Menninger once said that if he could convince his patients in the psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them could walk out the next day. We don’t know what sin had paralyzed this man who was brought to Jesus. But obviously something had gone horribly wrong in his life. And he was paying the price for it. Remember, there were no neurosurgeons back then. There were no convalescent hospitals, or physical therapists, or wheelchairs, or miracle drugs in the medicine cabinet. This man was left lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. He spent his days on a 3x6 mat, looking up, all day, every day, week after week, month after month. He had to depend on other people for everything. For every drink of water, or bite of food. For every time his bladder emptied or his bowels moved. Somebody else had to turn him, and bathe him, and clothe him. But this man had something going for him: he had four good friends who wanted to help him. And they had heard about this man Jesus who had cast out a demon from a man and healed a leper. People began coming from all over to see what was going on. And this man was going to be in Capernaum that day, and they knew which house he was staying in. Apparently, so did everyone else, because such a big crowd had gathered that they spilled out into the street. They were listening as Jesus taught them. When the four men got there, carrying their friend on his mat, there was no way to get inside the house. There were just too many people blocking the door. But these guys didn’t give up. No, sir. They discussed what they might do and all of a sudden one of them had an idea. They could carry their friend up on the roof, remove the covering of reeds, branches, and mud, and lower their friend down into the room where Jesus was speaking. Well, I can just imagine the reaction of those standing in the room below. The falling debris from the roof created a cloud of dust that sent the crowd scooting back, coughing and complaining. They looked up to see four pairs of hands widening the hole in the roof, and then they saw them lowering a man down on a mat. And finally the man came to rest on the floor in front of Jesus. The scripture says that Jesus saw their faith; he saw the tenacious faith of these four men who had brought their friend to him that day. There is no record that they even said anything to Jesus. What he knew came from what he saw. And what he saw were four men who were willing to “put feet to their prayers,” as Warren Wiersbe states it. Jesus then looked down at the man lying in front of him. And he said, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now that might seem like an odd way to begin a cure. As my New Testament professor David Garland writes in his commentary on Mark, “Most of us would be put off by any doctor who made this announcement to us when we came for some medical treatment. We are accustomed to view disease as something caused by a virus, bacterium, or other pathogen and best remedied by medicine, not the forgiveness of sins.” But to the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, sin and suffering were closely connected. If someone was ill or blind or deaf or paralyzed, then it must be because they had sinned. The rabbis even had a saying, “There is no sick man healed of his sickness until all his sins have been forgiven him.” Perhaps this man’s paralysis was caused by his awareness of his sin. Perhaps it was the result of some behavior that was not moral. But Jesus wanted him to know that God was not angry with him and he should not be afraid. So he said, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Among the bystanders that day was a group of experts in the Law, Jewish religious leaders who were considered authorities on the faith. They wanted to see if what Jesus was teaching was orthodox or not. They had every right to investigate the ministry of a new teacher, since the religious life of the people was under their supervision. Jesus was so popular that he simply could not be ignored, and so they came to check him out. And they did not like what they had seen and heard, not one bit. In their minds, Jesus had just committed blasphemy. Why was that? Well, Jesus had just claimed the power, the authority, to forgive sins. But only God could forgive sins. Therefore, Jesus was claiming to be God. And that was blasphemy. Unless, of course it was true. But that was just too absurd to even be considered. This man could not possibly be God, or even speak with the authority of God! Jesus could tell exactly how their minds were working. And his response was quick. He threw down a challenge. He said, in essence, “You say I have no right to forgive sins? You believe this man’s paralysis is caused by sin. He cannot be cured until his sins are forgiven. Then watch this!” And he turned to the man and said, “Get up, take your mat, and go home.” And the man got up, threw his mat over his shoulder, and walked out of the room. Which is it easier to say? Your sins are forgiven. Or get up and walk. Well, both are easy to say. And both are impossible to do. Unless, of course, you are God. In that case, it is equally easy to say and to do both. Jesus was able to back up his words with his actions. He had the proof and he had the authority. Wiersbe writes, “The [experts in the Law] could neither heal the man nor forgive his sins; so they were caught in their own trap and condemned by their own thoughts.” They were also committed, from this moment on, to getting rid of Jesus. He was too big a threat to their understanding of their religion. On their CD, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the group U2 recorded a song called, “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.” There are people who are living their lives stuck in a moment they can’t get out of. They carry around that moment when they hurt someone, when they acted in a wrong way or failed to act in a right way, when they committed some sin or even some crime that they need to face up to. They are stuck in that moment because they have not been forgiven. But there is no need to stay stuck. There is no need to let sin paralyze you. Because Jesus Christ loves you and he has the authority to forgive your sins. All you have to do is ask. All you have to do is come to him and ask. And when you receive that forgiveness, you will feel as free as that paralyzed man who carried his mat home with him that day. You will know the wonder of grace. If you have already found that grace in your own life, then talk to the people around you about it. There are people you see every day who are stuck in a moment they can’t get out of and who need to know the forgiving love of Jesus Christ. You might be the person who can help them to find it. Be like the friends of the paralyzed man who brought him to Jesus. Put feet to your prayers. Have the tenacious faith to bring someone to Jesus Christ. Song Rise Danny Gokey https://youtu.be/8eUGUC4Ko30 Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer In the heat and stillness of a summer morning, O God, we rest ourselves in your presence. Some of us have carried heavy loads this week. Some have been troubled about health problems, in ourselves or in loved ones. Some have worried about finances, and how to make things work in an expensive and difficult world. Others have been upset about human relationships – about parents or children who don’t understand, about spouses who no longer care, about friends who have given little support. Still others have ben worried about the great metaphysical problems of life – what is it all about? What does it mean? Why is there suffering? If God is real, why does he permit the existence of so much injustice and unrest in the world? We know you are real, God. The faith of our mothers and fathers, and their mothers and fathers before them, assures us not only of your existence, but of your love and care for us. Confident of this, Lord, let us relax and leave our heavy loads with you, who are able to bear them with so much more strength. Teach us to turn from anxiety to thanksgiving, and to let our hearts leap up with joy at the sound of your name. Show us how to find excitement and refreshment. And let all the great questions of life find their solution for us in the death of Christ and in his resurrection from the grave. (John Killinger) We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught his disciples to pray: The 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. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication Generous and patient God, we bring our offerings with thanksgiving and joy. Thank you for the privilege of sharing with those who need what we have to give. We dedicate these offerings to your glory and ourselves to your service. Amen. *Hymn O How I Love Jesus Alan Jackson https://youtu.be/tWgOVG63blU *Benediction Rise up from all that weighs you down. Walk confidently into God’s future. God is doing new things among us. We seek to live as God’s people. Trust in God and in one another. Know that God is with you always to sustain and heal. Come, Holy Spirit, and enliven us to go with Christ. Amen. July 5, 2020
Independence Sunday Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song God Bless the USA Home Free Vocal Band https://youtu.be/nFt9D6ZIjOQ Call to Worship In this land of freedom and beauty, let us give thanks to God. Let us praise the Holy One who created the blue lakes and grassy prairies, the vast desert lands, and the breathtaking mountains of our homeland. Let us unite in worship of the Creator who formed all lands and all people, and who declared, “It is good.” Come, let us worship God! Song America https://youtu.be/DqiOBbRzEgI Opening Prayer Gracious God, the excitement and joy of this day surrounds us. Laughter comes easily to our lips. How long we have prepared for this hour! Help us remember that it is not our own doing that brings us here, but only your grace and love. Teach us to walk in your path of love, seeking justice, making peace, cherishing the earth and one another. Enliven our imaginations that we can see through present ills to future newness. Embolden us with your love, that we may live now as if the new had already come. In joy we offer you our praise. Amen. Special Music God Bless America Daniel Rodriguez https://youtu.be/7QLq61OZ464 Hearing the Word Scripture Matthew 5:13-16 [Jesus said,] “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Sermon What Kind of Country Do You Want? There are several Neil Diamond songs that I always sing along with. Of course, there is “Sweet Caroline,” every time I watch a Red Sox game! And then there is “Coming to America.” Maybe you remember it. https://youtu.be/9ttDUGM-1mU Coming to America. Millions of people have come to America over the past 6 centuries. And they have come for all sorts of reasons. Some came seeking religious freedom. Others came to escape the life of poverty they were trapped in. Still others came for investment opportunities. And some came as refugees during times of war in their native countries. When Puritan John Winthrop came to America in 1630, he was headed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had been established a decade earlier. Winthrop was coming to a colony that had been established for the purpose of religious freedom. The Puritans had their own ideas about what that meant, of course. It basically meant religious freedom for Puritans; people with other beliefs were politely asked to leave, and if that did not work, they were put on trial and banished. This was the experience of Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. Before he landed on the shores of Massachusetts, while still on board the ship Arbella, Winthrop preached a sermon entitled, “A Model of Christian Charity.” In that sermon, Winthrop encouraged the colonists to think of themselves as a “city upon a hill” being watched by the world. He believed that they should set an example of communal charity, affection, and unity for the world. Winthrop’s speech would lead to the widespread belief that America is “God’s country,” because it is metaphorically a city upon a hill for the rest of the world to look up to. Politicians as varied as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Gary Bauer, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and Ted Cruz have used this image in speeches. But what does it mean for America to be a “city upon a hill”? What kind of America are we really talking about? An America that embraces the Puritan ideals? I’m not sure I would want a country limited to the Puritan vision for humankind! What kind of country do we want? That is a question that has been asked and answered over and over again in the history of America, and it is a question that will continue to be asked in future generations. That is because we are constantly confronted with new and different situations and circumstances that our ancestors never thought of or anticipated. And we have to respond to these circumstances with new visions and ideals of what America will be. What kind of country do we want? That was a question asked in the days leading up to the American Revolution. We had decided that we did not want to belong to England any more, but desired our independence. But that meant establishing some kind of government. And so the colonies aligned themselves together under the Articles of Confederation. Then, after the war was won, the 13 states sent representatives to the Constitutional Convention, which convened in May of 1787. George Washington was elected to preside over the convention. And the delegates began the work of creating our Constitution. There were many contentious debates, around issues such as the election of the Senate, whether to give executive power to just one person or to three, how to elect the president, whether to allow the abolition of the slave trade, and how judges were to be selected. But finally a document was completed and sent to the states for ratification. Even then, the work wasn’t finished. Americans have voted in favor of 27 amendments to the Constitution, out of 33 that have been proposed. What kind of country do we want? This question was asked by Americans in the north and the south during the early decades of the 19th century. And they answered the question differently depending on what part of the country they lived in. The southern states felt that states should have more rights to determine their own affairs, including the owning of slaves. The northern states were becoming more industrial, while the south remained agricultural. Eventually these differences led to the outbreak of the Civil War. I think of the determination of President Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union, no matter what it cost. And the cost was dear, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead or injured on both sides. On November 19, 1863, four months after the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln and other dignitaries gathered to dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg. He stood and spoke for just over two minutes. In his speech, Lincoln said, “In a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it … The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus so far nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” What kind of country do we want? That question was asked by abolitionists for decades before the Civil War, as they worked for the emancipation of all those who were held in slavery in America. They believed that all men were created equal, and that “all” meant “all.” Their dream began to come true when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order, on January 1, 1863. This order freed the three million persons held as slaves in designated areas of the Confederacy. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution went into effect in December of 1865, and it finally ended slavery throughout the United States. What kind of country do we want? This question was asked by women who gathered in July, 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were the principal organizers of the Seneca Falls Convention. About a hundred people were in attendance, and two-thirds were women. One of their goals was to win the right to vote. The suffrage movement grew out of that convention. Another early advocate was Susan B. Anthony of Massachusetts. It would not be until August 26, 1920 that the 19th Amendment would be passed, granting women full voting rights nationally. What kind of country do we want? That question faced America in the days leading up to and after the start of World War I. Americans were not inclined to get involved in this foreign war, thinking it had nothing to do with us. Woodrow Wilson had won re-election with the slogan, “He kept us out of war.” But American opinion would change. There was news of atrocities in Belgium in 1914 and the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915. In early 1917, Germany resumed all-out submarine warfare on all commercial ships headed to England, even though they knew this would probably lead to war with the United States. German U-boats began sinking American ships in the North Atlantic. And finally Wilson asked Congress for “a war to end all wars” that would “make the world safe for democracy.” And Congress voted to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917. We would help win that war, and another one just over 20 years later. America would not sit on the sidelines, but would come to the assistance of our allies militarily. What kind of country do we want? The Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment had freed the slaves, but it had not led to true equality for African Americans. There was work still to be done. And so grew the Civil Rights Movement, with the goals of ending racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of their civil rights. Forms of protest and/or civil disobedience included boycotts, sit-ins, marches, and other activities. The movement produced results, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But as we all know, there is still work to be done. What kind of country do we want? The efforts to win equal rights has continued for other groups as well, including recent work on behalf of the gay and lesbian community. There has been much progress, including equal marriage rights nationwide that was won in June of last year. But again, there is much work to be done. What kind of country do we want? We continue to ask and answer that question in each generation. And the need to ask and answer it will be present as long as our nation exists. We can only hope to become a “city upon a hill” in light of the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, in which he spoke those words about the Christian community. Jesus went on to call us to not only refrain from murder, but to not even be angry with another person. He called us to not only refrain from committing adultery, but to not allow ourselves to lust after someone. Jesus taught us to avoid seeking revenge, to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, to be humble when giving to others, and to store up our treasure in heaven rather than on earth. We are not to judge other people, and we are to do for others as we want them to do for us. This kind of vision for God’s kingdom, for the church, can also be a vision for America. What kind of country do you want? I want a country that is respected and admired, not for its military might, but for its compassion and ethical behavior. I want a country where all people really are equal, and where people choose not to judge each other. I want a country where we show mercy and where we believe that there are things more valuable than money. I believe that kind of country is one that people around the world would look to as an example. I believe that kind of country is one that people will want to come to. Song The City on the Hill Casting Crowns https://youtu.be/vtIz6y_mjuA Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer O God of song and sage, of earth and history, we thank you for the rich heritage of our nation: for pilgrim’s feet and patriot’s dream; for fruited plain and purple mountain’s majesty; for factories and commerce and universities and churches; for Indian and Irish and Chinese and Mexican and Balkan and Greek; for Protestant and Catholic and Jew, for Amish and Mennonite and Muslim. We pray for the dedication to preserve and further enrich this noble environment: to keep alive the dream; to cleanse the streams and the air and the land; to protect the forests and rebuild the roads; to reconsecrate the cities and the hopes of those who live in them; to humanize industry and make humanity more God-like; to develop the sciences for the good of all humankind, and to further the arts for the delight and profit of our species; to deepen the sense of communication among races and individuals; and to increase the celebration of diversity and promote good will among those of differing backgrounds and experiences. Keep us from the fear that divides and the cynicism that corrupts, and let the Spirit that was in Christ Jesus our Lord unite our hearts and minds for the future welfare of this land, that we may praise you forever as one nation under God. (John Killinger, adapted) We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught his disciples to pray: The 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. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Prayer of Dedication Gracious God, you have called us to contribute to the needs of the saints and to extend hospitality to strangers. Bless these gifts that they may be a blessing to others in your name. Amen. Song America the Beautiful https://youtu.be/B74Z1YYC_Mg Benediction A Clare Benediction John Rutter https://youtu.be/biRj3zYLTrk |
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