May 25, 2014 Call to Worship

May 25, 2014 Call to Worship 

( revised from church bulletin)              

Let us set aside this Sabbath

              as a most special day

              to rest our tired bodies,

              refresh our weary minds,

              renew our sagging souls

              and gather our scattered lives.

Let us celebrate this Sabbath day

              and offer praises to God

              for His creative, providential power,

              for his grace and loving kindness.

Let us give God thanks and praise

              for all the many awesome blessings,

  the generous mercies we receive each day.

Revised Prayer of Confession

(from church bulletin May 25, 2014)

O God, our God, we confess to You

                  that we have lifted up our souls

                                    to what is false.

                  We have deceived ourselves and others.

                  We have led a life that is not worthy of

                                    our Sovereign, Jesus Christ.

                  We have imprisoned others

                                    and not set them free.

                  We ourselves are bound by

                                    our prejudices and inhumanity.

Forgive us, O God,

 for we cannot live

in our deceit

and unfaithfulness.

How to Read the Bible

The B-I-B-L-E                                                                 

When I was in my first childhood, I looked forward to singing favorite songs when I went to Sunday school: “Jesus Loves Me,” “Fishers of Men,” This Little Light,”  “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” and, let’s not forget “The B-I-B-L-E.”  (“Yes, that’s the book for me!”)

And, what is the B-I-B-L-E?  Of course, we all know that it is the Word of God, for indeed, the words in this great book are “God-breathed”; and how amazing is the first verse of the Gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (KJV)  The Word is God!!  How awesome to think about that sentence!!  The Word is God!!    

A couple of weeks ago one of the writers of my Sunday School materials challenged the way I read my Bible. First of all, he referred to the Bible as God’s symphony.(And what music could ever be sweeter than that which the Creator of the Universe has composed?). Secondly, he said that the Bible is “God’s painting of His indelible love and lament.” (And what artist’s work could be more effective and impressive than the original works our God, who planned the natural beauty of our world, has designed?) Thirdly, the writer called the Bible God’s literary epic “expressing such yearning compassion for humanity that He invites us to join Him in His ongoing story.” (And what literature could be more beautifully written than that story which God Himself has plotted?) 

Since Sunday I have been questioning the spirit and attitude with which I read my Bible.  As a retired high school English teacher, I always watch the writer’s craft as I read, highlighting or copying phrases or sentences I want to remember so, yes, I do agree and will argue that the Bible is a literary epic.  I have no problem with the writing I find there.  But I am concerned about listening for God’s symphony when I read.  Do I hear the music, the various sections of the orchestra led by a masterful Conductor?   Do I recognize and enjoy the crescendos, the violins, the harmony? At the same time, I am also concerned about seeing and absorbing the beautiful images God paints to illustrate what I am reading.  Do I take time to  see the brilliant colors and spectacular scenes that only God can create?  Or do I just read my verses as quickly as I can so I can hurry on to check my email, watch television, or do something else? Do I miss the joy and pleasure that reading the Bible with my ears and eyes as well as my mind will provide?  What do I put into my Bible reading?  Before I begin reading,  do I ask God to open my heart to the message, to enable me to read with all of my senses, to experience all the feelings He has provided for me in His Word? 

There is certainly no doubt that I need to slow my daily life-pace down and truly appreciate God as a master composer, artist, writer;  I need to appreciate the Bible as a work of creation  about creation.  Music, painting, and literature, three mediums that give beauty and inspiration to a life, and in the Bible there are examples of them all if I will just pay attention.  I pray that as I read the Bible now,  I will savor the music, the paintings, and the literature I find there.  And, when I do, reading the B-I-B-L-E, which is still the book for me, will be a richer experience.   

Prayer of Confession from Sept. 15, 2013

Merciful Savior,

Forgive us as we confess…

We have been ungrateful recipients of the vast treasure

              that is Your Holy Scripture.

We have heard Your Word

              but not obeyed it,

Believed the right things

              but not lived them,

Claimed to know You

              but not followed the life You modeled,

Called to trust You,

              we have not loosened the grip of control,

Invited to abide,

              we have chased our own pursuits,

Given the Sabbath for rest,

              we have ignored it.

Lord, have mercy and forgive us.

Bring us to new life

              in and through Your Son, Our Lord and Savior.

                                                                                     Amen. 

Thank You, My Faithful God

Dearest Lord,

I thought You had moved away from me.

I thought You had deserted me,

     leaving me alone to face the dark threats

              of an alien world.

I thought You were done with me,

     that You had had enough of me,

              my pride, my hardheadedness,

              my determination to be in control.

I couldn't find You in the places I looked,

     because I saw only what I wanted to see.

I did not wait and listen for Your Shepherd's voice to call me

     and lead me to You.

I didn't have enough faith in Your love.

I based Your love on my experience with fragile, human love,

              instead of remembering and trusting Jesus’ example

              of unconditional, sacrificial love, an in-spite-of love, 

              which originated with You, Creator God that You are.

But, Gracious, Heavenly Father, now I know…

You were there beside me, in front of me, behind me

     all the time I felt troubled, abandoned and lost.

I just couldn't see You because my eyes were too focused

     on solving my own problems and rescuing myself

     from uncomfortable situations with my own puny, human resources.

I couldn't see You because I was too busy just being busy,

     trying to fix those annoying, bothersome worries of doubt and despair.

Yes, I thought You were ignoring me, Lord,

     but the truth is—it was I who was ignoring You with my busyness,

              my belief and insistence on my own powers and abilities.

I couldn't see You because of my own self-importance and egoism.

Then, in my futile frustration, I panicked and lowered my defenses.

I forgot to call on You;  I left my spiritual armor in my closet.

I went out into a hostile world without the belt of truth around my waist,

     without the breastplate of righteousness across my chest,

     without the shoes from the gospel of peace I needed,

     without my shield of faith, my helmet of salvation, my sword of the Spirit.

Lord, how did I ever think I could withstand attacks from the forces of evil?

     How did I ever think I could be a worthy adversary for Satan himself?

     Without my spiritual armor, I was vulnerable and couldn't prevent

              him from feeding my insecurities, my doubts, my unbelief.

I didn't  rush to You at the first sign of weakness.

I didn't go to You in prayer; nor did I renew my spiritual resources, 
      my spiritual strength by reading and studying Your Holy Word.

I didn't go to my prayer journal to pour out my confessions to You.

But You, O Lord, You did not leave me; I know You will never leave me.

You will always love me, protect me, and lift me up when I come to You.

Still, I must remember that I freely decide whether or not I come to You.

When You made me, You gave me the awesome  gift of free choice;

You gave me the right to decide if I want to surrender my will to Yours,

     and allow You to rule my heart and my life.

Lord, when will I ever learn that I will never have inner peace

     until I let You be the Controller of my life,

      until I study and follow Your Word as my guide,

     until I let the Holy Spirit work within me,

     until I surrender all parts of my being to You?

Thank You for Your patience, Your guidance, Your love.

Teach me to be the person You created me to be;

Teach me to bring glory and honor to Your name in all I do.

I am coming to You, Lord; I am coming to You. 
I give You my life, and I will be Your child and do Your Will.

                                                                        In Christ’s name, I pray.

     

Forgive Our Crumbs and Hand-me-downs

Lord, do we cause so many problems in this world  

     because we have forgotten who You are?

Have we forgotten to fear Your mighty, awesome power?   

Have we forgotten to take our shoes off to show respect

     for You and the Holy ground on which we stand

     when we come into Your Presence?  

Or do we come before You begrudgingly and disrespectfully,

     with dirty hands and feet that are unfit to serve You?

Are we ceremonially unclean?

Have we forgotten to prepare our hearts to make them suitable,

     welcoming dwelling places for Your Holy Spirit?

Are we truly grateful for the cost of our eternal life

     or do we take it for granted and fail to thank You

     for caring enough to reach out to us sacrificially

     giving us the greatest love we will ever know?

Have we forgotten that the Son of Man willingly, obediently,

     died to redeem us from  the darkness of death’s eternity?

Have we forgotten that You can rock our world

     anytime You want and shake us up to get our attention?

Have we become so absorbed in our own self-importance

     that we see You as being made in our pitiful image

     instead of believing  that we are made in Your image,

     to serve You and bring glory to Your name.

Lord, have we forgotten the importance of having a humble spirit?

How dare we be so pompous and so full of ourselves

     that we would think we might usurp Your position   

     and so proud that we might think of ourselves as God! 

Lord, forgive us for not giving You the honor and respect we should.

Forgive us for putting You last when we should put You first.

Forgive us for giving You our left-overs,

     our crumbs, our hand-me-downs,

     when we should give You our first fruits,

     the first of our time, the first of our money,

     the first of our love, the first of our talents,

     the first of our attention, the first of all our resources.

Impress on us the need and the joy of giving You first place

     in our hearts and in our lives.

Lord, lead us back into fellowship with You.

Make us worthy of all that You have given us;

      let us be who and what You want us to be.

Guide and direct us to do what You want us to do.

Thank You for the blessings You continue to bestow

     upon us even when we fail to appreciate or deserve them.

Thank You for loving us in spite of ourselves.  

Prayer of Confession for June 30

Searcher of hearts,

You know how often we confuse Your guidance

     with our own desires.

We prefer our own choices and avoid Your nudges

     that urge us to be more inclusive in our love and

     more generous with our time and possessions.

But it is in You, Loving Father,

     that we find our true freedom.

Forgive our shortsightedness.

Renew our spirits to unite with Your Spirit

     so we might live joyful lives.

Slow us down.

Bend us close to you

     so we may be renewed in Your love and

     recommitted to Your justice and peace.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen

My Church: How is it Doing?

The mission statement, written on the front of our weekly bulletin, says that we are a church that

                                                                                       

 

1. loves God, 

2. loves and serves others, and 

3. makes disciples for Christ.

Indeed this mission statement takes into consideration and includes the Great Commission and the Royal Commandment given by Jesus Himself to His followers.  Looking at what is going on in my congregation, however, I worry about how well we are doing as a   church in fulfilling the three claims we make and wonder what kind of report card grade God will give us when He Himself evaluates us.

Many of our members stubbornly insist that we are doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing while others challenge them by pointing out our continued small attendance for worship service and a lack of participation in our fellowship programs. We have had several members graduate to that glorious heavenly kingdom in the past four or five years, but we haven’t added any new members to replace those precious, departed saints in our pews. Many of our members complain that “we” aren’t going out beating the bushes to find new members; but, for some reason, the “we” never seems to include “them”. 

Looking at the first criteria in our mission statement: Yes, we love God, or at least most of us—or many of us---do, or at least we claim we love God; but do we love the God we make in our own image or in whose image we are made?  And if we love Him, we should want to serve Him by loving and serving others. 

Considering the second item listed: Yes, we love and serve others, but do we love and serve only those others who are friends and family and are almost the same kind of people we are, or do we love and serve all our neighbors as much as we can even if they have different life styles, are of different races, ethnicities, or even of different religions?  Are we an inclusive or an exclusive church? Do we really want to move out of our comfort zones to seek and invite those who are socially, economically, and politically different from us?  I guess what we need to ask ourselves is how much  we honestly love our neighbors---all our neighbors, which means all those in our world whose paths intersect ours. I believe we can serve without loving; but can we truly love others in Christian love without wanting to serve them?  

Like many small rural churches, my church was founded over 200 years ago by a few families, and many of their descendants are members today. It is easy for newcomers to be intimidated by the exclusive intimacy of the family groups. It is also easy for the old-timers to want our church to stay the way it has always been and to be intimidated by threats of change suggested by newcomers or “new-blood.” If each of us truly loves Jesus and wants to share the message of His love and His kingdom and the message of salvation with others, we must all sacrifice our selfish motives and ideas of what church is supposed to look like and act like.  We must, however, always keep our minds and hearts focused on glorifying God and doing all things in accordance with His will, not our personal will.

When it comes to making disciples for Christ, I think my church is very weak.  When it comes to going out and inviting people to join us for our church services, we fall short.  At the moment we don’t have much at all to offer our children and teenagers which means they are often absent from Sunday school, worship service, and we don’t have an active youth group for them to attend. How are we going to train people to be disciples for Christ, and how are we going to share our love for Christ with them if we rarely see them?  Again, I hear people giving their opinions on what “we” need to do for the youth; but I don’t see anyone coming forward with the love and vision needed to make a difference in their lives.  As one of the characters in William Faulkner’s short story “The Bear,” said, “We don’t have the dog yet,” meaning we don’t have the person, who can make a difference, coming forward and saying, “Here I am, Lord; use me Lord.”  We need people who are willing to come forward, to accept Christ’s call not only in developing youth programs, but in developing other programs in our church.

I love my church, and I pray for her.  She is the bridegroom of Christ, but she needs to be getting herself ready for His arrival. She needs to be fulfilling the calling given in the Great Commandment and in the Great Commission. She needs to show her love for God by loving and serving others and by making disciples who will go out into the world to tell others of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ which makes our restoration and salvation possible.  As John Piper says, if we do not do this, we waste our lives, and life is much too precious to waste.