November 1, 2020
All Saints Day Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Not Home Yet Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/I-A1u-Zfal8 Announcements Wednesday, 7:00 PM Zoom Bible Study – The Book of Joel Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Bible Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86066732644?pwd=emorNUc2RlJkWEN4UUdrZHJZY0o2Zz09 Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 One tap mobile +19292056099,,86066732644#,,,,,,0#,,762435# US (New York) +13017158592,,86066732644#,,,,,,0#,,762435# US (Germantown) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kexaujTpNj *Call to Worship As we gather, we remember that we are not alone. We gather with the saints, who live in the presence of God, singing praises to the God of our salvation. From every nation, race, clan and culture, God’s people gather to worship. To God and to the Lamb, all honor, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, strength and power. Blessed be God, now and forever! Amen. Amen. Song For All the Saints First-Plymouth Church, Lincoln, NE https://youtu.be/Rgwq7f2FpNk *Opening Prayer We give you thanks, our God and Father, for all who have died in the faith of Christ – for the memory of their words and deeds and all they accomplished in their time, for the joyful hope of reunion with them in the world to come, and for our communion with them now; in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Litany of Remembrance After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying: Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb. Let us give thanks for those brothers and sisters in Christ to whom God has granted rest from their labors. (You may speak the name of the person or persons you are remembering.) Almighty God, we give you thanks for these your servants whom we remember today. Grant us grace to follow them as they followed Christ. Bring us, with them, to those things no eye has seen, nor ear heard, which you have prepared for those who love you. Give us faith to look beyond touch and sight, and seeing that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, enable us to run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Bring us at last to your eternal peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Song Home Chris Tomlin https://youtu.be/twL3v5r8s6o Hearing the Word Scripture Revelation 7:9-17 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes – who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, ‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Sermon The Distant Triumph Song All Saints Sunday is my favorite Sunday in the Christian year. I know, that may sound a little crazy. What about Christmas Eve? Or Easter? But no, for me, it’s All Saints Sunday. Why is that? All Saints Sunday is the Sunday that gives me the courage to make it through the rest of the year, because that is the day that I get to think about the “great cloud of witnesses” in heaven that is watching over me, encouraging me, praying for me, and inspiring me with the memories of how they lived and how they died. I remember family members, friends, and many, many church members, and I think about them all gathered around up in heaven, just cheering me on. I think about their courage, their Christian witness, their joy, their generosity, and I know that I can carry on. No matter what is weighing me down, thinking of these folks always raises me up. When I still lived in South Carolina, our Annual Conference was held at Wofford College, a United Methodist college in my hometown of Spartanburg. It always started in the evening of the first day with the memorial service, where we honored clergy and laity who had died during the past year. That is where I first heard the powerful hymn, “For All the Saints.” We always had a guest preacher for that service, and the sermons were always very meaningful and uplifting. Since my parents still lived in Spartanburg, one year I invited my mom to attend the memorial service with me, and it became a ritual for us over the next years. The first year we attended, when we were singing “For All the Saints,” I suddenly became aware that my mom had stopped singing. I looked over, and tears were streaming down her face as we sang the words of verse 5: “And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia! Alleluia!” I knew that my mother was hearing the voices of her mother and father, and other loved ones, singing that distant triumph song, along with the multitude of the saints, the great cloud of witnesses, gathered around the throne of God. And I also hear those voices, including my mother’s voice, whenever I sing this hymn. I wonder, whose voices do you hear singing that distant triumph song? Who is in your great cloud of witnesses? Are they singing “Alleluia” right along with you? I don’t know about you, but this year I am especially in need of hearing that distant triumph song. This year I need to hear those voices singing, praising, and encouraging and cheering me one. I need to be reminded that this world is not all there is, but after this life there is heaven. I need to be reassured that there is more to life than what I see around me, and that one day I will become part of that great cloud of witnesses. I am tired. I am bone-weary. I am exhausted. I have grieved to the point where I can’t even stop, for all the hundreds of thousands who have died in the pandemic, for all the jobs that have been lost, for all of life that we have not been able to experience. I have begun to wonder if – not when – life will ever get back to anything resembling normal. I am disillusioned with my country. I look around and I don’t even recognize this place anymore. People are behaving in selfish ways, with little regard for the safety and well-being of others. Racism has reared its ugly head in troubling ways that I thought were a thing of the past. Political division is deeper and nastier than I have seen in my lifetime. And more than anything else, I am saddened by the changes we have had to make in order to be able to meet for worship. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful that we can gather together on Sunday mornings at all. But I miss seeing your faces, I miss the handshakes and the hugs, I miss the coffee hour, and more than anything else, I miss the singing. I want to not just listen to music, I want to sing music. I want to sing the hymns and songs that have shaped and nurtured and encouraged and comforted me in my life. I want to hear the choir again. I want to participate in that distant triumph song here on earth in this sanctuary. But it can’t happen, at least not yet, if we want to be safe. And so, I can only remember and be patient. And I can listen out for the voices of the saints ringing out loud and clear from heaven’s distant shores. I can hear in my mind my mother’s rich alto, my grandmother’s quavering soprano, and my grandfather’s deep bass. I can imagine that heavenly choir made up of all the church members I have known through the years. And I can even make out the sound of the organ/piano duets my mother and grandmother used to play. On this All Saints Day, I hope that you can hear that distant triumph song, too. I hope that it gives you encouragement and hope during these difficult days. I hope that you sing along with it in your heart. And I hope that your great cloud of witnesses gives you courage and faith to continue your journey through this life until that wonderful day when you can join them in person. I love life, but I am glad that this world is not all there is. After this, there will be heaven. Thanks be to God! Song Another Time, Another Place Sandi Patty and Wayne Watson https://youtu.be/FNWLfxgMmsU 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 Today, O God most high, we recognize all the blessed saints of your kingdom who have lived and gone before us into their heavenly home. Some of them, like Augustine, Luther, Wesley, and Mother Teresa, were famous. Most of them were not. Most of them were simple, ordinary folks like ourselves, people whose lives and labors were spent in quiet obscurity, without fanfare or special notice. Yet it was their faithfulness through the ages that kept the church alive and aided in the continuous preaching of your word. They gave their time and effort and often their meager resources to guarantee the ongoing of this community we now enjoy. They cared more for truth and honor than for the praises of the world. They loved Christ more than they loved themselves. They carved a way through the wilderness for us, and we are vastly indebted to them. Therefore we salute them and thank you for their lives, their witnesses, and their heritage. Help us to become worthy recipients of what they bequeathed to us, and to preserve the traditions and values dearest to them for those who will come after us in subsequent generations. Endow us with the same spirit of sacrifice that enabled them to fashion the church as they left it, and the imagination to represent Christ acceptably in the world. Let our lives too become monuments of trust and reliability to those who follow us, in order that your kingdom may be more fully known on earth. (John Killinger) 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 Holy God, thank you for the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us as we worship. Thank you for the vision of a world at peace: paradise restored, where no one hungers, no one thirsts, and no one is wanting. You guide us to the source of living water and invite us to drink deeply of your love. Your generosity evokes our deepest thanks. And so we receive these offerings, that we might join that great cloud of witnesses as we share our gifts with others. Amen. Song Heaven Salvador https://youtu.be/3fMWT2GJraQ *Benediction May God, who has given us, in the lives of his saints, patterns of holy living and victorious dying, strengthen your faith and devotion and enable you to bear witness to the truth against all adversity. Amen.
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October 25, 2020
Reformation Sunday Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song A Mighty Fortress is Our God Virtual Choir #4 https://youtu.be/z4EoLm3_luM Announcements Wednesday, 7:00 PM Zoom Bible Study – The Book of Joel Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Bible Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86066732644?pwd=emorNUc2RlJkWEN4UUdrZHJZY0o2Zz09 Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 One tap mobile +19292056099,,86066732644#,,,,,,0#,,762435# US (New York) +13017158592,,86066732644#,,,,,,0#,,762435# US (Germantown) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kexaujTpNj *Call to Worship Love the Lord your God. We come with love and hope. Love your neighbors, too. We come with loving hearts. Love even yourselves. We come in humble trust. Love and you will live. We come to worship God, that love might live in us. Song Replace it With Your Love David Meece https://youtu.be/rypXRLXlb5E *Opening Prayer God of ages past and days to come, be with us this day. Shower us with your love and truth. Open our hearts and minds to truly love as you love us and as you call us to love. Grant us the courage to ask the questions that frighten us, that we might courageously live and grow as your disciples on this earth. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen. Song All About Love Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/YzlCNh7d1v8 Hearing the Word Scripture Matthew 22:34-40 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Sermon It’s All About Love In his book, When Christians Get It Wrong, Adam Hamilton wrote, “When I ask non-Christians what they think Jesus stood for, most say, ‘Love.’ And they are correct; this is one of the defining elements of Jesus’ teaching. He told his followers that God’s will for humanity could be summarized with two commands: love God and love your neighbor. He went on to say that our neighbor is anyone who needs our help. The love we are to show is not a feeling but a way of acting – a love of kindness and compassion and a desire to bless and seek good for others. Jesus told his disciples they were to love not only their neighbors and friends but their enemies as well. He told them that the world would know that they are disciples by their love.” Unfortunately, I haven’t seen that kind of love being practiced very much in our country lately. From the vicious political attack ads on TV to the nasty posts on Face-book, people seem more likely to vent their hostility on each other than their love. There are serious, deep divides between people that seem to be only getting worse. We are divided racially, and even though this year has seen an awakening on the part of some white Americans to the issues of white privilege and racial discrimination, there are also white supremacy groups that have come to the forefront of American life. We are divided politically between Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal. Not only have those elected officials on Capitol Hill stopped talking to anyone of the opposite party, but average Americans have stopped talking to friends and relatives who support a different candidate for president than they do. And we are divided – still – on the issue of gay rights, particularly same-sex marriage. While Pope Francis just announced a change in policy for the Roman Catholic Church in affirming civil unions for homosexual couples, the reaction from American evangelicals has been swift, as Franklin Graham has apparently posted highly emotional comments about it and Face-book was filled with suggestions that while the pope could change, the Word of God will never change. Part of the problem – one factor that has fostered this spirit of division – has been what Bill Bishop, in his book The Big Sort, calls self-segregation into communities of like-mindedness. Americans have chosen to associate only with people who are just like themselves, in terms of zip code and in terms of what media they pay attention to. People do not talk civilly to anyone who disagrees with them. And that seems to me to be a posture of unwillingness to even try to practice Christian love. After all, our neighbors include people who have different perspectives and opinions from our own. We should be, at the least, having conversations with people who have different points of view. As Madeleine Albright wrote in her book, Madame Secretary, “Instead of conspiring to be with the like-minded, we need to spend more time learning from those we consider wrong-headed.” So how do we respond to these divisions with love? What can we do to practice the greatest commands in a nation that is so incredibly torn apart? Let’s look at each issue separately. First, what about the divisiveness that we see in the political realm? A parishioner in Adam Hamilton’s church sent him an e-mail in which he stated, “We have a number of close friends who are passionate about their politics. They regularly profess their strong Christian commitment, but somehow have a blind spot when it comes to how they react to views and opinions of those with whom they differ … When we get close to that political arena, I have trouble sensing any Christian love or tolerance of any perspective but their own.” Adam Hamilton comments, “But it is deeper than attitude and opinions. Some Christians, in the name of God, say and do things in the realm of politics that are the antithesis of the gospel: slander, gossip, malicious talk, mean-spirited rhetoric, disrespect, and worse. This has been particularly true when it comes to spreading rumors and half-truths using the Internet. I am disappointed at how often Christians I know forward slanderous e-mails to everyone on their e-mail list without taking the time to verify the claims of the message. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, you have a moral and spiritual responsibility not to slander or send out inflammatory e-mails about the opposing party or its candidate.” Jim Wallis would agree with that assessment, and he adds critique of the media: “Our media, especially our cable television and talk radio shows, have helped create a poisonous political environ- ment ruled by falsehood and blatant political bias, often using the language of hate and fear. Americans … are not turning to journalistic sources to inform and challenge them but rather to programs that will enforce and intensify their existing prejudice.” The divisiveness is particularly obvious and harmful among our elected officials. Wallis writes in his book, On God’s Side, “Winning has replaced governing, and ideo-logical warfare substitutes for finding solutions to real and growing problems. To disagree isn’t enough anymore – politicians and media pundits now attach their opponent’s character, integrity, patriotism, and even faith. And the political idea of finding compromise or working across party lines has mostly been upended on Capitol Hill, where members of different parties don’t … even say hello or make eye contact in the hallways.” So what is the solution to this dividedness? How do we practice love for our neighbors in the realm of politics? We need to return to the priority of working for the common good. The early church father Chrysostom, who lived in the late 4th century, said, “This is the rule of most perfect Christianity, its most exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of the common good … for nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as caring for his neighbor.” We do that when we choose to look for the good in the other person, when we ask what our neighbor thinks and really listen to the answer. We rise above political ideology and lead on moral grounds. As Jim Wallis puts it, “Don’t go right; don’t go left. Go deeper.” We learn to appreciate what each side brings to the table. From conservatives, we can see the value of personal responsibility: choices and decisions about individual moral behavior, personal relationships, work ethics, fiscal integrity, service, compassion, and security. From those of the liberal philosophy, we can appreciate the value of social responsibility: a commitment to neighbor, economic fairness, racial and gender equality, social justice, public accountability for business, and cooperative international relationships. We need both personal responsibility and social responsibility. We need each other. What can we do on a personal level about the political divisiveness in our country? We can learn how to talk to each other without shouting and arguing, how to listen with an open mind to what the other person might have to teach us. We can stop making assumptions about people based on their political affiliation and lumping people together in broad categories. And we can stop passing on the nasty posts on Facebook that resort to name-calling, sarcasm and disrespect. The second area in which we have serious division is racial. Our nation has become aware in new ways of the deep racial prejudice and discrimination that exist at all levels of our society. After the deaths of many unarmed black men and women, particularly the suffocation of George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer, Americans have taken a new look at where we are in terms of racial equality and equal justice under the law, and seen that we still have a long way to go. It is very hard for me, as a white woman, to fully understand the experience of a black woman or man. In her book, So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo writes, “I have never been able to escape the fact that I am a black woman in a white supremacist country. My blackness is woven into how I dress each morning, what bars I feel comfortable going into, what music I enjoy, what neighborhoods I hang out in. The realities of race have not always been welcome in my life, but they have always been there … [It was] the snide remarks about my hair and lips and the teen idols that would never ever find a girl like me beautiful. Then it was the clerks who would follow me around stores and the jobs that were hiring until I walked in the door and then they were not. And it was the bosses who told me that I was too ‘loud,’ the complaints that my hair was too ‘ethnic’ for the office, and why … I was making so much less money than other white employees doing the same job. It is the cops I can’t make eye contact with, the Ubers that abandon their pickup, driving on instead of stopping when they see me.” In addition to these kinds of discrimination, there are the more troubling and even dangerous ways that racism expresses itself. I cannot forget the events in Charlottesville, Virginia a few years ago, when white supremacist groups marched around carrying assault rifles and Nazi flags, and someone ran over a counter-protester with his car. And a couple in my church in Warwick, RI was guilty of what is called “driving while black.” When they were coming out of Newport one night, after having gone down to a favorite restaurant for dinner, they were pulled over by a white police officer. They were given no reason for being stopped at first. Then the officer said that he appeared to be weaving back and forth in the lane. Finally, he let them leave. But they are sure they were only pulled over because they were black, driving a nice car in a wealthy white community. So how do we confront the racial divide in our country? First, we have to get to know each other across racial lines. We need to have conversations with each other, honest conversations about what it means to be black in this country, about what it means to benefit from white privilege. And even though those conversations will be difficult at first, they will get easier over time. And then there are things we can do beyond just talking. We can put our love for our neighbors who are people of color into practice by voting in local elections and making racial justice a priority; by getting involved in our schools, understanding the racial achievement gap, and asking whether history being taught includes the history of black Americans; by bearing witness when you see a person of color being harassed; by supporting businesses owned by people of color; by boycotting banks that prey on people of color, selling them bad loans or hiking up interest rates for people of color; by giving money to organizations working for racial justice; by supporting music, film, TV, art, and literature created by people of color; by supporting increases in the minimum wage; by pushing for police reform; and by voting for diverse government representatives. We put our love for neighbor into action in these ways. Finally, what about the division in our country over homosexuality, especially same-sex marriage? Some people may have thought that the issue had been settled, at least from a civil point of view, by the Supreme Court rulings that made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. But don’t forget, that decision could be reversed by future courts. And the division is still a part of our religious life, with our own denomination still hopelessly divided over the issue. In the General Conference that was to have taken place last May, most people assumed that there would be an official breaking apart of the United Methodist Church. Adam Hamilton is one person whose views on homosexuality have evolved over the past 30 years. He now supports gay marriage and believes that the church is making a mistake in continuing to hold the view that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Hamilton says that the issue is often framed in terms of biblical authority – that if you see references to same-sex intimacy as culturally bound, then you are rejecting biblical authority. But that’s not the case. The issue isn’t biblical authority; it’s biblical interpretation. And, he writes, “Christians have, from the beginning, recognized that certain scriptural commands were no longer binding.” There are only 5 passages in the Bible that mention same-sex intimacy. Two are in Leviticus, in what is known as the Holiness Code. In that same code there are verses that say that blending fabrics is an abomination and that children who disrespect their parents should be stoned to death. But those verses are set aside, while the verses on same-sex relations are held onto by some Christians. The passage says that if a man lies with another man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination and they should be put to death. Very few, if any, Christians would advocate killing gay and lesbian people, so they are already setting aside part of the verse. Romans 1:26-27 talks about men with men and women with women as being abnormal and unnatural. And to Paul, it seemed wrong. In his culture what he saw as expressions of homosexuality we would also say were wrong, because they included older men taking young men as lovers, and the use of male and female temple prostitutes. Paul had no concept of sexual orientation, or the idea that a man being with another man or a woman being with another woman would be normal and natural for a homosexual person. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 refers to male prostitutes. And 1 Timothy 1:9-10 echoes the Leviticus passage. There is no place in the gospels where Jesus says anything about homosexuality. And there is no understanding anywhere in the Bible of a same-sex couple sharing their lives in a covenantal relationship. In scripture, what is discussed is homosexual activity on the part of those who were assumed to be heterosexual. That thinking was shaped by cultural norms, and the theological and social presuppositions of the Biblical writers. Instead of condemning people for their sexual orientation, which I believe a person is born with, Christians should reach out to gays and lesbians with compassion and kindness, the love we should have for our neighbor, the love that God has for all his children. Too often, the church has been so judgmental and anti-gay that gay Chris-tians have not felt comfortable even going to church. They have, for good reason, felt ostracized and unwanted. But imagine what might happen if churches and their members expressed love to the LGBT community. Adam Hamilton received an e-mail from someone he didn’t know. It said, “I am a lesbian who has a partner and three children. I have never been to your church. But this e-mail is not about being gay or about the church’s stance on being gay. It is about one of your members whose name is Carol. Carol lives next door to me. She was one of the first neighbors to come and say ‘hello.’ She was warm and inviting and one day she invited us to church … I told her I was gay, and she didn’t raise an eyebrow or frown … I have never valued a church by the number of people in the pews or the amount of money in the offering. What I am moved by is a member so touched by your church that she came into my heart … I have truly been blessed by this woman, and I am hoping to visit your church in the future.” I would like to leave you with this. Bishop Michael Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, has a new book out called, Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times. In it, he writes, “Love your neighbor … Love the neighbor you like and love the neighbor you don’t like. Love the neighbor you agree with and love the neighbor you disagree with. Love your Democrat neighbor. Love your Republican neighbor. Love your Independent neighbor. Love your Black neighbor, your White neighbor. Love your Asian neighbor, your Latino neighbor, and your Indigenous neighbor … Love your LGBTQ neighbor, love your Jewish neighbor, love your Muslim neighbor. Love, love, love, love your neighbor as yourself.” Song Love God, Love People Danny Gokey https://youtu.be/t-29WLQ3trA 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, whose love is from everlasting to everlasting, so that we were loved before we were born and are loved in this moment and will be loved when we have passed from this life into the world to come, teach us to love. Help us to live each day with wonder, sensitive to the beauty of earth and sky, amazed at the depth and complexity of people around us, and awed by the grace of all our relationships. Secure in the compassion of Christ, let us reach out to others with our hands, our hearts, and our possessions. Take away our fear, our hesitance, our awkwardness at responding, and lead us to relax in the confidence that you are bringing your kingdom in this world. Teach us to submit our needs to you each day. Make us bearers of peace and reconciliation, that the world may be yours through us. (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 O God, we have heard what we must do: love you and love our neighbors. May the offerings we bring be a sign of our commitment to be known by our love. Bless these offerings and our love in your holy name. Amen. Song Live Like That Sidewalk Prophets https://youtu.be/jwKNSu5w-vU *Benediction God’s love sends us forth. God’s love sets us free. God’s love makes us whole. God’s love brings us hope. God’s love blesses our lives. God’s love brings healing to our world. October 18, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Awesome God Rich Mullins https://youtu.be/2w2b033DXCw Announcements New Zoom Book Study to begin Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85224166154?pwd=TzJ1TGkvUmMzUHBFdmFOZ1EvSThwZz09 Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 One tap mobile +13126266799,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keaonGxryr *Call to Worship Brothers and sisters, we are loved by God. The ruler of heaven and earth knows us by name. God hears and answers our cries for help. God shows compassion and kindness to us. May our lives praise and magnify our great and awesome God. We have come to worship our great and awesome God. Song Sing Your Praise to the Lord Amy Grant https://youtu.be/LiIrr0pHupE *Opening Prayer Magnificent and Holy One, we long to know you better. As we make our way in this world, we search for signs that you are with us. Give us a glimpse of your glorious presence, and show us your ways. May our lives ring out the marvelous message of your goodness, your mercy, and your love. Amen. Song Safe Alisa Turner https://youtu.be/fmpshXiCVis Hearing the Word Scripture Exodus 33:12-23 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have now let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very think you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” Sermon Show Me Your Glory I was six months away from graduating from seminary in the summer of 1986. I had grown up in the Southern Baptist Church, and my local congregation was anything but typical. We had women deacons as long as I could remember, and a woman associate pastor who had been hired when I was in college. When I went to seminary, I enrolled in the school of religious education, planning to become a youth director. That lasted exactly one semester; then I transferred to the school of theology, enrolling in the pastor/teacher track. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the degree, but it was where I felt God leading me. I got a job working as director of Christian education and youth at Watkins Memorial United Methodist Church in 1984. The pastor there encouraged me to consider becoming a pastor. To be honest, I hadn’t considered seriously the idea of being a pastor; I didn’t know of a single woman pastor in the Southern Baptist church at the time. But he gradually gave me more and more “pastoral” tasks to do, such as visiting people in the hospital and nursing homes, and preaching once a month at the 8:30 service. I was ordained over the Thanksgiving break in 1984 and then was allowed to help serve Communion. I began to feel that pastoral ministry was, in fact, my calling. But I knew that I couldn’t possibly find a church in the Southern Baptist denomination that would hire me as pastor. So began months of soul-searching. I was torn in so many directions. I wanted to remain true to the denomination that I had been born and raised in, and yet I wanted to be true to the calling that I felt I was receiving from God. As the months went by, and graduation came closer and closer, I was having trouble sleeping and had headaches that only went away with muscle relaxers. It was the most stressful time I had ever experienced. I can relate to Moses out there by Mount Sinai. He was stressed out, too, I’m sure. He had been up on the mountain to meet with God to receive the covenant law, but the people had grown impatient when he was up there for a long time. So they had convinced Aaron to make them an idol, a golden calf, that they began to worship. Moses came down the mountain with the stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments to find all sorts of revelry and idol worship going on. He was so angry that he threw down the tablets and broke them into pieces. After punishing the people for their sinfulness, God told Moses to get them started again on their journey to the Promised Land. But God would no longer accompany them in person; instead, an angel would go with them and protect them. Moses was not happy with this arrangement. He knew that it would be a difficult thing to lead these stiff-necked, stubborn, impatient people on the rest of their journey to the land God promised to give them. And Moses knew that the only way to make it work was if God was with them, in person. He wanted some reassurance from God and so he pleaded with God to go with them. God finally agreed that his Presence would be with the people, and Moses replied that if God’s Presence didn’t go with them, then the people should not move forward at all. And God repeated his promise to go with the people. Then Moses asked for a more personal kind of reassurance. Moses asked God, “Show me your glory.” Moses knew that without God, he could do nothing on his own. And he wanted an intense experience of God, a “mountaintop experience,” that would give him the courage and strength and spiritual energy he needed to complete the journey. “Show me your glory.” Let me see you, God. Let me be sure you are really there. Prove to me that you are who you say you are. You’ve never asked God for something like that, have you? Of course you have! I think every person, at some time or another, wants evidence that God is real, that what we believe about God is true. We want God to show himself to us. We need to see for ourselves. We’re no different from the disciple Thomas, who refused to believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead until he saw him for himself, saw the wounds made by the nails and the spear. We sometimes feel that we need to see to believe. And we ask God to show us his glory, to show us himself. During these months of pandemic, perhaps we have needed some kind of reassurance from God even more than we might otherwise. There are so many things that are disturbing, frightening, challenging, and tests of our faith. We wonder why bad things happen to good people, why God allows evil into the world, why God doesn’t stop the pandemic miraculously. We ask big questions and get no satisfactory answers. Maybe because there are no answers that would satisfy us. And so we feel the need to say to God, “Show me your glory.” Let me see you. Prove to me that you are real, that you are here with me. God agreed to Moses’ request. He said that Moses would, indeed, be allowed to see his glory. But there were some restrictions. Moses would be allowed to see God’s glory, but not God’s face. No one could look on the face of God and live. And so God would hide Moses in the cleft of a rock while his glory passed by, and would cover Moses with his hand, and then allow Moses to look at his back. And, presumably, that was enough for Moses. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine being allowed to see God, even if it were just God’s back? Can you picture God’s glory? It’s hard to do, isn’t it? The almighty God, the Creator of the universe, the all-powerful One. What would God look like? Could our eyes and minds and hearts even take it all in? Well, during that summer of 1986, I went to the church to pray one afternoon. I sat in a pew about halfway down, closed my eyes, quieted the voices in my mind, and opened myself to God’s presence. I don’t know exactly what I prayed, just that God would help me figure out what to do. Should I stay in the Baptist Church and work as a youth director? Should I leave the Baptist Church and become a United Methodist pastor? What was the right thing? What was God’s will for me? In the stillness, I never heard a voice or got a direct answer to my prayers. But what did happen was incredible. I felt myself surrounded by a powerful, bright light. It was a warm light, comfortable and comforting. I was aware of the intense love of God for me and was reassured that God was, in fact, with me. I wasn’t in this alone. God was going through my journey with me. And while I didn’t get an answer as to what I should do that day, I did find the assurance that I would eventually know what to do. And my answer came a little later, on a fall afternoon spent in the park. But for now, the fear stopped. I don’t know if you have experienced the glory – the presence – of God in that kind of way. It’s the only time in my life I have been in that light. But once was enough. I will never forget what it felt like to be surrounded by the glory of God. And I have never forgotten that God will always be with me. And that is enough to help me go on with my life’s journey, no matter where it has led me in the past or will take me in the future. Moses asked for an experience of God, and God gave him that experience. And Moses was able to go ahead and do the things that God asked him to do. He led the people to the Promised Land. When we experience God’s presence in powerful ways, we find that we are then able to go ahead and do the things that God calls us to do. Don’t be afraid to ask God to show himself to you. And remember that God does that in many ways. It may be in the beauty of an autumn afternoon. It may be in the words of a hymn or a verse of scripture. It could be in the advice of a friend or loved one. And it could be in a warm, bright light during prayer. “Show me your glory.” Thank you, God, for answering my prayer, for answering our prayers, and letting us know that you are here. Song Show Me Your Glory Third Day https://youtu.be/Z1VG4ccu_gE 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 (Based on Psalm 99) Lord God, you reign over all the earth and you reign in mystery. For we think we have you contained. We say “At last we understand”; We speak confidently of who you are and what you expect of humanity; Then you slip unexpectedly sideways to reveal a new, disturbing part of your character, and we tremble in embarrassment at our last claim to absolutes. How could we be so sure? Lord God, you comfort us with your solid reliable presence, you disturb us with your demand for liberation of the oppressed, you surround us with love engendering well-being, you disarrange our carefully planned lives with calls to justice, you content us with your silent peaceful serenity, you unsettle us with perplexing challenges for fairness among the world’s peoples. We cannot get a handle on you; only a wisp at worship, a tentative string, a covenant cord, a touch of trust, a word spoken through priest and prophet. But at least in our cry there is your answer; the heartfelt passionate cry is matched by sure answer: sometimes silence sometimes forgiveness sometimes punishment. So we will continue to worship. We come, tenaciously clinging to you, Lord God, mysterious but specific in encounter. (David R. Grant) 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, these offerings represent only a part of what we owe you. All that we have and all that we are belong to you. As we give these gifts and ourselves freely to you, may others know your goodness and your love, through our offerings. Amen. Song Nearer, My God, to Thee 800 Musicians from 55 Countries https://youtu.be/o1trWhBvZTs *Benediction Go now to serve the living God, whose image we bear. We go, knowing that God goes with us. May all our work be done with faith. May all our efforts be filled with love. Go and persevere with the hope that comes through Jesus Christ. Amen. October 11, 2020
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song Everlasting God Chris Tomlin https://youtu.be/yubLGTOcm8c Announcements New Zoom Book Study to begin Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85224166154?pwd=TzJ1TGkvUmMzUHBFdmFOZ1EvSThwZz09 Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 One tap mobile +13126266799,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keaonGxryr Saturday, 8:30 – 5:00 NE Annual Conference (online) *Call to Worship Invited by God, we gather to worship. Partnering with God, we gather to grow in faith and to change the world. Song Hurry Up and Wait Mercy Me https://youtu.be/gxbfyt8Rraw *Opening Prayer Most Holy God, we come into worship with thanksgiving and praise, but we also come before you with worries and doubts. As we lay these burdens down, fill us with your Spirit and bless us with peace and joy. Keep our minds on Christ Jesus, and help us to focus on his love and grace. Amen. Song While I Wait Lincoln Brewster https://youtu.be/jVd0sW2eM-k Hearing the Word Scripture Exodus 32:1-24, 30-35 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who has brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “This is your god, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it, and have said, ‘This is your god, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.” When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us out of Egypt, we don’t’ know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves a god of gold. But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. Sermon Tired of Waiting I have a colleague who is the pastor of a small congregation in Oklahoma. Her husband is also a pastor of a medium-sized church. She shared with me this week that people in Oklahoma are tired of the pandemic and have basically stopped taking precautions. For example, against her husband’s guidance, his church has held several large gatherings (dinners, youth group), and did not require people to wear masks. They are both worried about the risks that are being taken by his congregation, but don’t know what they can do about it. People all over America can probably relate to this. We are all tired of the pandemic and the changes that it has brought about to our lives, personally and in various settings such as work, school, and church. We are tired of waiting for life to get back to “normal,” and so some people have been taking more and more risks by giving up on precautions such as wearing masks, limiting the size of gatherings, and observing social distancing. Others have begun or increased destructive practices, such as abusing alcohol or drugs. And those with mental health issues are seeing an increase in the number and severity of their symptoms. Still other people have lashed out over social media, mocking those who do choose to wear masks, and touting misinformation that goes against our best scientific and medical knowledge about COVID-19 and how to prevent its spread. There is actually a term for what people are experiencing: it is called COVID fatigue. This fatigue is “compounded stress and exhaustion from worrying about the coronavirus,” according to the University of Wisconsin. It is an overall sense of exhaustion based on the combination of challenges people are facing during this pandemic. As a publication from UC-Davis puts it, “We’re tired of being cooped up, tired of being careful, tired of being scared. Our collective fatigue is making some people careless …” As a result of this COVID fatigue, health care providers are seeing an increase in people who are feeling defeated, burned out and engaging in risky behaviors that can actually increase the spread of the virus. In many cities and states, the results of COVID fatigue and the increase in risky behaviors has led to an uptick in the number of new cases being reported. As New Hampshire has increasingly reduced the restrictions – such as restaurant indoor seating capacity and in-person learning in schools – we have seen the daily cases increase from the single digits to something over 50-75. And in other states, it is even worse. It all got me thinking about another group of people who got tired of waiting and who reacted with risky behavior that led to disastrous results. The Israelites had been freed from slavery in Egypt and Moses had led them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai. God had called Moses up the mountain to receive the covenant Law for the people, and they remained camped at the foot of the mountain. Moses was gone for a long time, and the people began to get restless. They wondered what was taking him so long up there. And they doubted that anything good was going to come from all that waiting. So they went to Aaron and told him that they wanted some other god to worship, some god that they could see, some god that might actually do them some good. (So much for the God who had sent the plagues in Egypt that got the Pharaoh to agree to release them, or the God who had parted the Red Sea for them, or the God who provided them with food and water in the desert!) Well, Aaron wasn’t such a strong personality that he could stand up to the pressure of the crowd. So he took up a collection of gold from the earrings that people wore, and he melted it down, and he formed an idol that was in the image of a calf. And he called the people to worship before that golden calf the next day. So the people prepared sacrifices and they offered them to this golden calf, and they began to eat and drink and be merry. God knew what was going on at the foot of his mountain, so he sent Moses back down to confront the people with their sin. Moses carried with him two tablets of stone on which the very finger of God had written the Ten Commandments. When he got to the foot of the mountain, he heard the noise from the camp and he knew that the people were feasting and partying in front of their new god. And when he saw them before that golden calf, he got so angry that he threw down the tablets and they broke into pieces. Then Moses threw the golden calf into the fire and burned it, ground it into powder, mixed it with water, and made the people drink it. Next, Moses turned to Aaron and asked, “What did these people do to you to get you to lead them into such great sin?” And Aaron tried to make excuses for himself. He didn’t take any responsibility for making the golden calf; instead, he said that he threw the gold into the fire and out jumped the calf. It was ridiculous, and Moses knew it. Even his own brother had given up and gotten tired of waiting for what God was preparing for the people. And now the people would pay the price. Even though Moses interceded with them before God, God still declared that the people would be punished. And he struck them with a plague. And I’m sure people died. When people today get tired of waiting, and choose risky behavior, it also leads to disastrous results. They may get COVID themselves, and they can pass it along to others. Think about how many cases were traced to the motorcycle rally in South Dakota? And how many were traced to the wedding in Maine? When people make bad choices because they are tired of waiting for things to change, they get bad results, not only for themselves, but even for others. So what should we do to handle the COVID fatigue? What would be some better choices? One thing people can do is exercise. Any exercise – even just a short walk – can help. Exercise releases endorphins and gets some of the adrenaline out when the frustration builds up. Just getting out and moving will be very beneficial for people. Another thing people can do is talk to each other about what they are feeling. Just being able to say it out loud can reduce the amount of pressure that you feel. Trying to ignore your feelings won’t make them go away. As Kaye Hermanson, psychologist at UC-Davis, says, “It’s like trying to hold a beachball underwater – eventually you lose control and it pops out. You can’t control where it goes or who it hits.” Another plan is to control our use of electronics and social media. Some people are experiencing Zoom burnout, and it’s important for them to get away from their computer screens for a while. Even just getting up and walking around for two minutes every hour can help reverse the negative health effects from sitting for long periods of time. We can limit how much social media we are exposed to and we can be aware of the kinds of news we are consuming. Still another way to respond is by practicing mindfulness and gratitude. We have to live in the moment; we put ourselves through a lot of unnecessary misery and worry when we try to project into the future or dwell on the past. We are here, now. Just take life day by day. And try to think of something each day to be grateful for. Your life. Your family. The beauty of the autumn leaves. Finally, if you choose to get out more, to visit family, to eat out, to travel, just do so while taking proper precautions and following health guidelines. Just because you’re tired of wearing a mask, it doesn’t mean the danger is not there. Continue to mask up, wash your hands, practice social distancing. Do what you can to keep yourself and others safe. Be smart about how you venture out into the world. The last thing I would say about this is that, sooner or later, this too shall pass. There will be a day when we have COVID under control. There may be a day when we can practically eradicate it once we have a safe vaccine. Life will be more “normal” again. But in the meantime, we wait. We wait and we do what we need to do to be safe. We don’t make bad choices just because we are impatient. And we remember that God is with us through these days of waiting. Song Wait Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/FMXu_qZkZiM 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 We thank you, compassionate God, that you hear the prayer of every heart: those who rejoice at a baby’s new birth, those who mourn when the circle is complete and a friend or loved one has died, those who are grateful when their work meets with success, those who suffer because no work is to be found, those who are bored, not having enough to do, those who are tired, having too much to do, those who are surrounded by the love of family and friends, those who are lonely. Thank you for hearing us in every situation of life, for we all play each of these roles sooner or later. Help us to support one another, rejoicing with those who rejoice, and weeping with those who weep. For we want to be joined together as members of the body of Christ, in unity loving one another and serving the world. We want, like Jesus, to respond to each human being who crosses our path with sensitivity and compassion. (Arnold R. Enslin) 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 Gracious God, thank you for your abundant love and your nourishing grace. Thank you for the gifts we return to you now. Bless these gifts, that they may become for others signs of your abundant love and vessels of your nourishing grace. Amen. Song Great is Thy Faithfulness The Tabernacle Choir https://youtu.be/q2auMlipoLg *Benediction Called apart to serve God alone, we are ready to focus on what is good and true. Called to be partners with God, we are ready to serve God and God’s world. Called as beloved children of the Most High, we are ready to love, as we have been loved. Amen. October 4, 2020
World Communion Sunday Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Gathering Gathering Song One Day Matt Redman https://youtu.be/LGAdaGbmfFs Announcements New Zoom Book Study to begin Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. Here is your invitation: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85224166154?pwd=TzJ1TGkvUmMzUHBFdmFOZ1EvSThwZz09 Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 One tap mobile +13126266799,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,85224166154#,,,,,,0#,,958188# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 852 2416 6154 Passcode: 958188 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keaonGxryr *Call to Worship In a world of difference, God reminds us that we are deeply alike. We seek sustenance in bowls or rice and loaves of bread. We laugh when lotus flowers bloom and autumn leaves dance in the wind. We eat with knives and forks and chopsticks and remember that there are people who have no food. We celebrate new friendships and the ties of love that connect us across the globe. We weep when the suffering of our sisters and brothers becomes real for us. We hope for a world of peace and justice for all of creation and remember that … we are God’s strong back and work-weary arms, we are God’s calloused hands and muscled legs. Through us, with us, God loves and suffers, laughs and cries. United in faith, working in love, we are the hope for the world. God is with us through it all. We are not alone. Amen. (Frances A. Bogle) Song The Solid Rock Virtual Choir #6 https://youtu.be/nkIr6eHjqXI *Opening Prayer As we gather at your table from all over the world, O God, we pray that all those who come to you in the name of Christ might be one in Spirit. Knead us together in one loaf. Free us from jealousy and selfish ambition; unite us in mission and service to those in need. May we sow righteousness and harvest peace, through the grace of Jesus Christ. Amen. (Ruth C. Duck) Song Give Me Jesus Danny Gokey https://youtu.be/bbh43MGoigw Hearing the Word Scripture Philippians 3:7-14 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Sermon Press On One of the most fascinating characters in the Bible is the apostle Paul. A man of great passion, faith, endurance, and at times a fiery temper. He had an incredible gift for communication. With insight, vision, and unswerving commitment to the task Jesus Christ had given him, Paul could almost be given credit for creating the church as a world-wide institution. In his book, Peculiar Treasures: A Biblical Who’s Who, Frederick Buechner gives a wonderful description of Paul: He wasn’t much to look at. “Bald-headed, bow-legged, strongly built, a man small in size with meeting eyebrows, with a rather large nose.” Years after his death that’s the way [he is described], and Paul himself quotes somebody who had actually seen him: “His letters are strong, but his bodily presence is weak” (II Corinthians 10:10). It was no wonder. “Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one,” he wrote. “Three times I have been beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been adrift at sea. In danger from rivers … robbers … my own people … Gentiles. In toil and hardship, in hunger and thirst … in cold and exposure” (II Corinthians 11:24-27). He also was sick off and on all his life and speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” … The wonder of it is that he was able to get around at all. But get around he did. Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Galatia, Colossae, not to mention the side trips to Jerusalem, Cypress, Crete, Malta, Athens, Syracuse, Rome – there was hardly a whistle-stop in the Mediterranean world that he didn’t make it to eventually, and sightseeing was the least of it. He planted churches the way Johnny Appleseed planted trees. And whenever he had ten minutes to spare he wrote letters. He bullied. He coaxed. He comforted. He cursed. He bared his soul. He reminisced. He complained. He theologized. He inspired. He exulted … The postage alone must have cost him a fortune … The ups and downs. The fights with his enemies and the fights with his friends … Keeping one jump ahead of the sheriff. Giving his spiel on windy street corners … Where was it all going to get him in the end? Well, one place it frequently got him was jail. Scholars believe that Paul’s letter to the Philippians was written while he was in prison in Rome. Paul had been in and out of prison over the course of many years, but this time was different and he knew it. You didn’t find yourself in Rome’s penitentiary facing charges to be heard by the emperor himself and expect to just walk away. The question wasn’t IF he would be convicted, but WHEN. Paul knew that sooner or later he would be put to death. In the meantime, though, he preached the gospel to anyone who would listen, including the prison guards, many of whom were converted. He received visitors from churches all across the empire who came to encourage him, to bring him things to make him more comfortable, and to give him reports on all those churches he had founded. And he wrote letters. When a person knows he doesn’t have long to live, he discovers rather quickly what really matters in his life. He doesn’t waste time with anything else. What Paul wrote in his letters from prison was the heart of what he believed, the things that were critical for Christians to understand. Here in this section of Philippians, Paul gives three instructions to the church. First, Paul said, forget what is behind you. Let go of the past. You can’t go back, you can’t change it. And hanging on to it will keep you from going forward. There are a lot of things people should be happy to leave behind, and Paul was no different. Who would want to keep remembering all the pain and torture he experienced? And then there were the mistakes he had made, the sins he had committed without even being aware of it. He had built his life, before meeting Christ, on the law, as a Pharisee, following rules and feeling rather confident of his own goodness. He had been so sure he was right, and the followers of Christ were wrong, that he organized an intense persecution of Christians in Jerusalem, even hunting them down when they tried to escape to the surrounding towns and villages. The blood of innocent men and women was on Paul’s hands. Yes, he would have been glad to let go of those memories. But there are also things people don’t want to leave behind, experiences that were good, that gave meaning to life. Paul had many happy memories. He had been fortunate enough to study with Gamaliel, the greatest and most famous Jewish scholar of his day. Paul was able to share the gospel with hundreds, even thousands of people as he traveled to the most important cities in the Roman empire. He met well-known, influential, powerful men and women from every walk of life, whether philosophy, business, religion, or government. He had walked in the palaces of kings and in the poorest of homes, and it all brought him blessings. Who would want to forget such things? And yet Paul wrote, forget what is behind you. I’ve known people who carried guilt around all their lives, bending under its weight, but refusing to believe that God could forgive them when they couldn’t forgive themselves. They beat themselves up for mistakes made, sins committed, friendships lost, families divided. As long as they carried these things, they couldn’t possibly move forward. The weight was just too great. I’ve also known people who clung to the glory of the past, some one perfect moment that they knew would never be equaled, almost willing every other experience to fall short of that one great moment. But sometimes the past looks better than the present because we are looking at it through rose-colored glasses. When you hear people talk about the good old days, do you ever wonder what was so good about them? Paul says, forget what is behind you. Second, Paul told the Philippians to live in the present. For Paul, the present was life in a Roman prison, at times actually chained to a guard. If anyone ever had a valid excuse for living in the past or daydreaming about the future, it was Paul. What good could possibly come about in a prison? Well, Paul made good use of that time. He was growing in his faith. How else could he have endured such harsh conditions and unpleasant realities? He was seeking to know Christ more fully, to understand and cling to the power of Jesus’ resurrection, to appreciate what he called the fellowship of sharing in the suffering of Christ. And Paul prayed that he might become like Christ, not only in His death, but also in His resurrection from the dead. It was in that context of personal spiritual growth and maturity that Paul continued to be a strong leader and respected advisor to the churches. In the simple task of writing a letter, Paul was doing his best to live a productive life where he was. That is something we need to hear too. Live in the present. That present has not been pleasant for the past six months. Our lives have been turned upside down and inside out by forces beyond our control. The pandemic has meant drastic changes in every aspect of life, from grocery shopping to attending school to working at our jobs to doing church. And yet, this is the present we have been given. How can we use this time, how can we put it into the perspective of living each day for Christ? All of us may have felt like saying, “Calgon, take me away!” We may have felt like we were banging our heads against a wall, because life isn’t the way we want it to be. But this is the way life is right now. And it is still true that life is what you make it. We haven’t chosen the circumstances, but we do choose how we respond to them. We can make each day count as followers of Christ, by growing in our faith, by studying the scriptures, by praying. We can live well in the present. Finally, Paul said we should strain toward what is ahead. Press on toward the goal to claim the prize. This wasn’t some pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. It wasn’t a Pollyanna pipe dream. Paul didn’t have to guess or imagine or pretend, because he knew what the end would be. He knew where he was going and what he would find there, and he could endure the hardships of the journey between here and there by focusing on his destination. Paul knew that when it was all over, he would spend eternity in heaven with Christ Jesus in the very presence of God. The painful past or perplexing present could not distract Paul for long. He was on his way home. He was ready to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him. The goal is before us, as well. We have the same journey’s end as Paul. And by knowing that end, we have a clear perception of our past and our present. Life isn’t accidental. It isn’t pointless. It has a meaning and a purpose. Life is to be lived in such a way that it reminds us of where we are heading. The goal came to Paul in a spot about three miles outside Rome, where he was taken by the soldiers and beheaded. Buechner writes, “At the end of its … description of [Paul], the Acts of Paul and Thecla says that ‘at times he looked like a man, and at times he had the face of an angel’ … [It] was with angel eyes that he exchanged a last long glance with his executioners.” On this World Communion Sunday we gather at the table of another who looked with angel eyes upon his executioners – Jesus Christ. Whatever we bring with us, Jesus can help put it into perspective. We will find it is possible to forget what is behind, to live in this present moment, and get a glimpse of the prize toward what we are pressing on. Song Hold On to Jesus Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/sQaNbqIjgfs 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 When you made the world, O God, it was one. We the inhabitants divided it into parts and called them our own. We developed different languages and ways of expressing ourselves. We made many religions and originated many kinds of culture. And now we pay a price for it every day that we live, and make you pay a price for it too. But Christ has died that we might be one again, and that we might all desire your kingdom above our own. And because of Christ, there are disciples of his in every nation on earth, in every language, and every culture. We honor that today, and pray for his preeminence in all our lives and communities. We exalt him in order that our lives may once again become one in you, and ask that your Holy Spirit may bind us together in prayer and worship wherever followers call upon your name. Let love and fellowship prevail among us, O God, transforming the world around us. May Christ preside over every table where Christians gather, and may our hymns and songs redound to your glory, for your mercy’s sake. (John Killinger) 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 Eternal God, we respond to you with joy as we lift up our tithes and offerings. The opportunity to share is a blessing for which we are very thankful. Your generous provision for our needs prompts us to be generous in return. Accomplish your purposes through these gifts and in our lives. Amen. Song I’ll Fly Away Ransomed Bluegrass https://youtu.be/tQ29PPC059c *Benediction Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We will no longer live for lesser goals that are unworthy of our efforts. God grants greater maturity and daring as you accept challenges not before considered. We are awed by God’s trust in us. We will be true to the best we know and open to increased understanding. Amen. |
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