Today's Worship Service for Sunday, May 24, 2020
Worship
for the Lord’s Day
May 24,
2020
A Note
before we begin this day’s worship:
Today’s sermon was written and is
offered by our gifted Field Education Student, Ben Little. It will be his last Sunday “with” us. We had hoped to have a gathering party to wish
him well in his future ministry, but since he is a “local boy” and will continue
to run his youth ministry, Twin Rivers, out of the house next door to
Olivet, we’ll probably continue to see him to some degree when we are all back
together again. Perhaps we’ll arrange
for a reception at a later date. Today
is also Ascension Sunday when we celebrate Jesus’ ascending into heaven,
although Ben will not be preaching on that this Sunday.
We
mention our belief in Jesus ascending into heaven each Sunday in our
Affirmation (or Reaffirmation) of Faith when we say the Apostles’ Creed. We’ve been leaving out the recitation of this
creed the past two months, but we will include it in today’s service.
Next
Sunday, May 31st is Pentecost Sunday, and although we won’t be able
to see you in worship, wear something red to celebrate the significance of the
day!
One
additional announcement: Today, the National Council of Churches will hold a
virtual Memorial Service at 6pm for all those who have died from COVID-19. You will need to register for this online
event at the www.nationalcouncilofchurches.us
Let’s
begin:
Opening
Prayer
Lord
of amazing visions, prepare our hearts and our spirits this day to receive Your
glad tidings of another Advocate that comes.
Help us make ready to be Your disciples in all that we do, say, and
think. We celebrate this day, knowing
that after Jesus’ resurrection, he returned to You, sitting at Your right hand,
intervening on our behalf, and judging the world with equity. AMEN.
Prayer
of Confession
We
have to confess, O Lord, that we are people who want to have everything proven
for us. We hear the message in the
scripture of Jesus’ miracles and we have doubts that they ever really happened,
not always truly believing. Forgive us
for our arrogant doubts and attitudes of smugness. Help us remember that everything Jesus taught
us was to prepare us to help build God’s realm here on earth. We are called to be people of faith, people
of The Way, and Your own very children.
Let us place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Let us look with eyes of faith as He ascends
to the Father. For we ask this in Jesus’
Name. AMEN
Words
of Assurance
Although
you have not stood on the mountaintop to see Christ’s ascension to God, yet
believe in the love and power of Christ who taught us how to be faithful and
joyful disciples. Rejoice, and believe
in Him who came that we may have abundant life!
AMEN
Affirmation
of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed
I believe
in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His
only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin
Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He
descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended
into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from
thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy
catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Pastoral
Prayer
Go
back to Jerusalem and wait, Jesus said to His disciples. Lord, we are not good at waiting for
anything. We want to know what to do
RIGHT NOW, right here. We want the plan
all laid out for us so that we can project the end results. We have some real control issues to overcome,
Lord. Take our spirits and release the
need for control of them. Help us place
our total trust in Your abiding love and presence. Give us patience and persistence in our
ministries and mission. As we bring to
You the names of dear ones whose lives are in need of Your healing mercy and
comfort, remind us that we also stand in need of those same mercies. Give us courage to accept Your love and
strength to witness to Your love in all that we do.
I lift my own prayers up to You now….
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.
AMEN.
Scripture
Reading
Hosea 11:1-11 New International
Version (NIV)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a
child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[a]
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[a]
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.
5 “Will
they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
8 “How
can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.
Anthem: Open the Eyes of My
Heart May this young man’s story and song inspire you
to truly SEE God today.
Sermon –
Has anyone reading this ever broken anything that was
not theirs? Or, if not, which I find unlikely, has anyone ever had someone
break something of theirs? You can raise your hand if you want to, but I won’t
know. I want you to think back to that time or moment and try to remember how
you felt. If you were the one who broke the item, did you try to hide it from
the owner? When and if they found out, what did that feel like? Their look of
disappointment and frustration, or the scolding you got from them or someone
else afterward. What about those of you who have had something of yours broken?
What did that feel like? Were you angry? Did you throw a fit or yell at the
person involved? What if it was a totally avoidable situation? If the person
who broke the item had just stopped and thought for a moment, would the item
have been spared?
I ask you all these questions to tell you a story that
has been passed down through my family for the past 25 years or more, to a time
when some of us, me, were much younger and maybe a little more… reckless…
maybe. This story also involves my brother David, and, just so you know, he is
nine years older than me. This is a significant age difference which is
important for this reason, David enjoyed a little bit of ribbing/light
torturing of me when I was a kid. Just imagine, he was 16 when I was 7, it must
have been difficult not to mess with me at that point when I was so much less worldly
than he was.
With that said, one particular day he must have gotten
under my skin worse than usual, and I had decided I had had enough! I picked up
a rock and threw it at him, aiming for his head, I can only assume. Here is the
very important part of this story that my parents like to remind people of: we
were not playing outside when David was bothering me. We were inside. So, I had
to storm outside, find a rock I liked, stomp back inside, take aim, and launch…
I missed… and I hit the window behind him… and it shattered. This was not a
great day for me and for years the question my parents have asked in regard to
this story is this, “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!” If you had only taken a
moment and thought through the situation or come to us and told us what was
wrong, the outcome may have been different. If you had only thought or turned
to us, the ones who actually hold some power in this place, things could have
been different. Why didn’t you turn to us?
God is asking the same question of the Israelites in
Hosea. “Why did you turn from Me?” “Why do you continue to break your promise
to me?” In Hosea, we find that God has had enough of His people and their
inability to be faithful and keep their covenant promise with God. The Israelites have broken God’s covenant, they have
turned from God and they have forgotten all that He has done for them. God is
frustrated and angry. If they had only thought. If they had only turned to Him.
Maybe He would not have to act against them. But it is too late.
It is important that we understand, quickly, what is
going on in Israel at the time Hosea is hearing from God. Israel is in a time
of political unrest and they are struggling to hold off the nations and leaders
that are pushing in around them. They allow themselves to be influenced and
allied to nations that are looking to destroy them, Egypt and Assyria, and they
even allow for the worship of some of the idol gods that these nations also
worship. This leads us into the situation at the beginning of Hosea.
In chapter 1, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute,
Gomer, to symbolize the “marriage” that God has to an unfaithful people. He
tells Hosea to name all of his children with Gomer, names that have meanings
that reflect God’s anger and the fact that the Israelites are no longer His
chosen people. They have cheated on Him, they
have spit in His face and they seem to have forgotten all that He has done for
them. He reminds them in Chapter 11. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and
out of Egypt I called my son.” “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking
them by the arms;” “it was I who healed them.” “I led them with cords of human
kindness, with ties of love.” “I bent down to feed them.”
God is pouring out His heart. The Israelites have
turned from Him after everything He has done for them. He saved them from
Egypt. He gave them a place to grow and to flourish. He loved them beyond what
they could imagine… and still they turned away. What do the Israelites deserve?
What should happen to them? They should be conquered and destroyed, laid low
and left without God. This is what God is contemplating in chapter 1 as He is
naming Hosea’s children.
God commands Hosea to name his children Jezreel (a warning of the punishment
that God will bring for the massacre at Jezreel. God states that He will end
the kingdom of Israel in response), Lo-Ruhamah (“not loved”, to show that He
will no longer show love to Israel), and Lo-Ammi (“not my people”, because the
Israelites were not God’s people anymore). God is not subtle with His
frustration and anger, and it seems like being
conquered and destroyed is what is coming as we see that the Israelites are
overrun by Assyria and their plans are ended. They are defeated, scattered and
devoured.
Is this where God leaves His people? No! God asks “how
can I give you up?” “how can I hand you over, Israel?” God’s heart is changing,
compassion aroused. He still loves His rebelliously frustrating people even
when they run from Him at every chance. God storms in like a lion! A lion my
friends! The symbol of kingship and ferocity in the animal kingdom. The master
of all creatures in the wild. When the lion roars, all other animals tremble,
and with God it is no different. He roars and His people tremble like terrified
children, but He roars to both remind His people of His strength and power, and
also to call His people back together. They have been spread out to Egypt and
Assyria, and they will return at the roar of the One who holds all the power.
Why does He call them back? To settle them in the homes that He has prepared
for them. The place where they belong. He provides hope for his people that
grace and reconciliation can and will happen and they will be returned to their
right relationship with God.
I struggled a lot with this passage in the last few
weeks. This idea of being returned home. What does it mean to be returned home
in a time where we are stuck in our homes? How can we desire home when
it is the only thing we know right now? It is frustrating, painful and
heartbreaking. We are separated from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Many
of us may feel lost and are wondering where God is in all of this. Where is the
hope? Where is the grace? If I am being honest, these are the questions that
have swirled around in my head over the last month and a half. It is easy to
feel scattered, lost, confused and maybe even scared. That is maybe where some
of us are today.
Is this where our story ends? Does God leave us
scattered and defeated far from one another and far from where God has called
us to be? Like the Israelites we are stuck in Egypt and Assyria, exiled from
one another. Is that where God promises to leave them? NO! The hope and the
grace come from the one who holds the real power here my friends. God is the
lion! He roars and we can return to Him. He calls to us and we can turn back to
Him. He tells Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His “grace is sufficient for you,
for [His] power is made perfect in weakness.” Are we powerless in our present
situation? Are we made weak by all that is happening around us? YES! But does
that mean we have no hope? No grace to speak of? No! God is the one who is
strong, God is the one who has held our arms as we learned to walk, as we
learned to talk. He has fed us, He has clothed us, He has led us with ties of
love! Even when we least deserve it, even when we cannot see what He is doing,
even when the walls feel like they are closing in around us, God is leading us,
the lion is leading us, to the place that He has prepared for us.
I once heard my dad say that there are people who
accuse Christians of using God as a crutch and
his response was this, if you mean that I lean on God because I do not have the
ability to get through life alone? Then absolutely I use God as a crutch. Do
you mean that, when there is no hope to be found in the world, I lean on God to
push me through, day after day? Absolutely I lean on God. These congregations
will be in communion with each other again my friends. Until that day, and long
after that day, do not lose sight of the fact that the Lion is the one who
leads us, the Lion is the one who gives us hope and strength and the Lion will
carry us to the place that He has prepared for us, our home. Take a few moments
to pray for that healing and regathering to happen, safely, someday soon.
Benediction
Lord of
love and light, You have called us to be Your people and have fed us with Your
loving spirit. Now send us on our way in
joyful service. Give us courage and
strength to go boldly into the world by taking care of each other. We go now in peace! AMEN.
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