August 7, 2022
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Give us hearts to live into your risky miracles. (Walter Brueggemann) Gathering Announcements Tuesday, 6:30 PM Food Pantry Meeting Sunday, 8:30 AM Worship Gathering Song O Worship the King Chris Tomlin https://youtu.be/We9aR22C9BI Opening Prayer Source of wisdom, who changes those who long for you: Come and cleanse our hearts. Teach us to do good, seek what is just, rescue the oppressed, and plead for the widow, until the flourishing of all life becomes our only offering to you. Amen. Hearing the Word Scripture Isaiah 1:1, 10-18 (The Message Version) The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw regarding Judah and Jerusalem during the times of the kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. “Listen to my Message, you Sodom-schooled leaders. Receive God’s revelation, you Gomorrah- schooled people. Why this frenzy of sacrifices?” God’s asking. “Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices, rams and plump grain-fed calves? Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats? When you come before me, whoever gave you the idea of acting like this, running here and there, doing this and that – all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship? “Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings – meetings, meetings, meetings – I can’t stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out! I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don’t have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless. “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out,” this is God’s Message. “If your sins are blood-red, they’ll be snow white. If they’re red like crimson, they’ll be like wool.” Sermon Getting Right With God I am one of those dinosaurs in our society that still prefers a morning newspaper, an actual paper copy, as my primary source of news. I do get news on my computer and my phone, but nothing measures up to opening that newspaper and reading the headlines of the day. (And, of course, there are the comics and puzzles to keep me entertained, as well.) I have noticed in recent weeks several articles pertaining to homelessness in our state. Back in May, there was an article that discussed how many homeless people there are in New Hampshire. There had been two different counts which did not agree. There was the Point in Time census, conducted in January by the federal government, which found that there were 1,491 people homeless in 2021. But the other tally, conducted by the Homeless Management Information System, found 4,412 people had experienced homelessness in the past year. The report stated that there were 239 chronic homeless people in Manchester and 889 in the state as a whole. The number of unsheltered people was 1,082; the number of family homeless was 1,311. The report concluded that “a lack of affordable housing is the primary precipitating factor leading to homelessness.” The city of Keene had an issues with a homeless encampment behind a Hanna-ford store, and the people living there were forced to leave. But just a short time later, another camp developed across the street. There were about 15 people staying there. The homeless camp behind Hannaford has been an issue for more then ten years. When the people living there were asked to leave back in March, they were all encouraged to look for assistance from the city and they were told they would not be allowed to set up a camp in another part of the city. But when five or six of them showed up at City Hall, they were not interested in entering a shelter, but would only go to a hotel. The city only puts people up in hotel rooms if it is necessary. But the human services director helps people with rental assistance or money to move into an apartment. Three city councilors said that the city should work to establish certain locations that could be designated as appropriate for homeless camping. They also recommended that the city provide dumpsters and latrines. There is a continuing issue of homelessness in Manchester. There was a neighborhood meeting in July with over 50 people in attendance. They were concerned about small homeless encampments popping up in local parks. Schonna Green, the city’s Director of Homelessness Initiatives, said that the city has enough services for the homeless, but they cannot make people use these services. Those who attended the meeting were encouraged to report to city officials if they see a homeless camp forming. Clearly, homelessness is a problem in our state. Every December since I have lived here, I have taken part in a service in Newport commemorating those who have died homeless that year. Their names and short biographies are read. These services take place in a number of towns and cities on the longest night of the year. It is so troubling and so very sad to hear those names read, and especially when there is nothing known about the person except for their name, and sometimes only their first name. I was utterly appalled last week when I read a letter to the editor in the Union Leader about the homeless. Peter M. Arel wrote: The City of Manchester needs two things: elected officials who are not afraid to play hardball with homeless people and legislation that allows Manchester’s finest to throw homeless people who beg on the streets and sidewalks of Manchester into the slammer for vagrancy. These people can get jobs; instead they solicit money from people who don’t want to give them any … We need elected officials who aren’t afraid to act like despots with homeless people who beg on the streets and otherwise bother the people of Manchester. When I read that letter, I couldn’t help but think about the scripture for this week’s sermon. Isaiah brings a message from God to his people – and I think to us, as well – about what God expects from those who believe in him. Let’s take a closer look. Apparently, the people of Israel were very religious. They carried on elaborate worship rituals and offered all the required sacrifices. But their hearts weren’t in it. They were religious but not spiritual! And God called them on it. In The Message version, God says to them, “Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices…? Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings – meetings, meetings, meetings – I can’t stand one more! (I know how God feels!) Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out! … I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning.” The people were practicing what they felt compelled to do. They were doing the right things, but they weren’t being the right kind of people. They would fit right in with some modern congregations. In a recent poll conducted in the US by the Ipsos polling company, about 26% of those surveyed said that Christians are hypocritical and judgmental, and 23% said they are self-righteous. It’s no wonder that those who claim to be spiritual but not religious are the fastest-growing group! They are choosing to practice their faith outside a church that they see as irrelevant and immoral. God’s message didn’t end with a critique of the religious practices of Israel; God went on to spell out what is required of a person who professes faith in God. They are to get rid of doing evil and say no to wrong. They are to learn to do good, specifically by working for justice, helping the down-and-out, standing up for the homeless, and going to bat for the defenseless. All of those things have deep roots in Methodism. From the time of Wesley, Methodists worked to get rid of evil, not only in their personal lives, but in their communities as well. Methodists worked for justice, advocating against the slave trade, working for child labor regulations, building orphanages, visiting prisoners and the sick. In this country, Methodists were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement and provided leadership in activism concerning peace, the rights of women, and the rights of workers to unionize, as well as environmentalism. We are still called to put into practice these aspects of faith: first removing the evil from our own lives and learning to say no to what is wrong, and then learning to do good, by working for justice for everyone, helping people who are down on their luck, standing up for the homeless, and protecting the defenseless. I don’t know what the solution to homelessness in our cities will be, but it can’t be sending armed police into city parks to arrest those who are living on the streets or in homeless camps. We have to come up with more humane and compassionate ways of dealing with people who have nowhere else to go, for whatever reason. If we want to get right with God, it will take work on our part. Yes, God’s salvation through Jesus Christ is by faith alone, not by works. But our faith ought to produce good works as a natural consequence of our being led by the Spirit of God. We should not get so caught up in our “religiousness” and our busy-ness as a church that we lose sight of the deeper aspects of faith. We will not be rewarded for the number of church meetings that we have attended, but by the number of lives we have had a positive impact on. As we come to the table of Christ, we remember that Jesus came to serve others, not to be served. He was willing to humble himself and wash the feet of those who had chosen to follow him. He had compassion on all those who were sick and out-cast and forgotten by the rest of society. Jesus showed us what it means to put our faith into practice. It is up to us to decide whether we can follow in his footsteps. It is up to us to decide to get ourselves right with God. Song What Now? Steven Curtis Chapman https://youtu.be/V1YcViDGO28 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. Prayers of Intercession God of justice, you call broken people, from all walks of life. Fill us with the faith of those who walked before us to do your holy work: to obey and follow you, even when we don’t know where we are going. to dismantle systems of oppression and live a new way of life. to believe in your promises, even if we have to live in foreign lands. to believe that there is enough for everyone and to remember that our ancestors were once strangers. to be faithful, even when we don’t believe in ourselves. to use our creativity and hard work to change that which keeps us in bondage. to keep going, even if we become strangers and immigrants on earth. to walk with humility and respect those who have left their homelands trying to build a better future. Fountain of faith, give us the strength of our ancestors as we walk with the confidence that you will welcome us all to the heavenly banquet. We pray all of this in Jesus’ 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 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! Praise God, all creatures here below! Praise God above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen. Prayer of Dedication Generous God, you offer us treasure in heaven. In love and gratitude for your gifts to us, we return these gifts and offerings to you. Use them to ease the distress of the poor and the homeless, the orphan and the downtrodden. Use us, that we may do good, seek justice, and be your light in the world. Amen. Song Here I Am, Lord Choir and Orchestra of St. Lillian https://youtu.be/CSODPhE-0ng Benediction Go out into the world ready to serve the lost and lonely, the poor and the homeless, the orphan and the widow. Have the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen, for it is in the depth of our faith that our hearts find their true treasure. Amen.
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