Next Sunday - Joint Worship Service at Bethesda at 11:15am. Join us for Coffee/Tea/Donuts, etc... before worship around 10:30am
Worship
Service for May 26, 2024
Prelude
Announcements:
Call to Worship
L: God’s love is poured out on God’s world.
P: From the foundations of time, God’s love
is woven into all things.
L: When we cry, “Abba, Father!”, God hears
and lovingly responds to us.
P: Thanks be to God who forgives and lifts us
up.
L: Now we are called to be born anew.
P: Open our hearts and our lives that we may
truly be born with hearts aflame with God’s love. AMEN.
Opening Hymn – Joyful, Joyful,
We Adore Thee #464/90 4 vs. Brown
Prayer of Confession
We are so like Nicodemus,
Lord. We come to You, hiding in the
shadows of our own fears and terrors. We
want You to give us peace and hope in our hearts. We want to know that everything will be all
right; that the world will cease to be a place of terror and war. We want to be born again in a spirit of
hope. But when we come it is for our own
sake, and not to learn what You would have us be and do in this world. Forgive our selfishness, Lord. Calm our fears and heal our spirits. Let us truly listen to You so that we may be
witnesses to Your peace and justice which You seek for the world. Saturate us with Your light and wisdom. Empower us to be those who bring peace, which
is not only an absence of war, but peace which promotes an attitude of
love. Clear away the clutter in our
lives and place us on paths of service to You.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. (Silent
prayers are offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: God’s love of the world is so great that
God sent Jesus into the world that we may truly live lives of peace and
hope. Listen with your hearts as well as
your ears.
P: God’s
love is poured out for us that we may have new life in service and
witness. Praise be to God!
Gloria Patri
Affirmation of Faith/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 and Lord’s
Prayer
We are
struggling, Lord. You know how difficult
it is for us to hear the news of violence and warfare and to see dear lives
lost in battle and strife. We long for
your peace to flood the world. We cry
out for your presence. We wonder if you
hear our cries. How small is our faith! From the very beginnings of time, you have
poured your love into the world. People
have made decisions about how to respond to that love. Some have chosen to act in ways of peace,
justice and mercy, loving ministries of kindness and compassion. Some have chosen to impose their will on
others, never acknowledging the rights and lives of those they oppress. Sometimes, we, by our attitudes as well as
actions, have acted in ways of oppression. But you forgive and heal us. You call us to be your witnesses of peace to
the world. We do not need to crawl to
you during the night of our fears for healing. You have given us new life in Jesus Christ,
who taught us about your love. Through
Christ we are adopted as your heirs, your beloved children. You have given us opportunities to bring hope
and peace to others. Let us seize these
opportunities for ministries of hope. Encourage
our hearts. Strengthen our spirits and
our commitment to serve You.
Good and
gracious God, we adore you and praise your holy name. We are especially grateful for your steadfast
love, revealed to us in the words and deeds of Jesus, your Son. We give thanks for the disciples and all the
generations that have followed in their footsteps, faithfully carrying out the
mission entrusted to them by Christ. It
is our turn, Lord, to take that mission, to make it our own and spread your
name, your love, your mercy and grace to every corner of the world. Unite us in our commitment to Christ. Give us the courage to venture beyond
familiar places, to see the potential good in others the way your Son saw in
us. Transform our hearts and minds so
that we may be instruments of healing, comfort, and peace every day and
everywhere that you may lead us.
This
morning, Lord, we lift up to you the names of those that we hold dear to us….
Hear our
hearts, O Lord, in these moments of silence as we also lift up to you our own
selves.
Lord, may
your empowering Spirit be present with all those who are in any need this
morning as we unite in prayer together saying…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.
Hymn – I Sing the Mighty Power of God #288/128
Scripture Reading(s):
First Scripture Reading – Isaiah
6:1-8
Second Scripture Reading – John
3:1-17
Sermon – Risk
Taking (based on John
3:1-17)
How
much faith does it take to follow God?
How much trust in God must we have?
What does it mean to be part of the kingdom? How can we be born again? Those are the questions that Nicodemus
asked. Nicodemus was a member of the
Pharisees. He came to Jesus in the cloak
of darkness afraid of being seen by his fellow Pharisees. He wanted to believe and yet, he was afraid
that he’d be thrown out of his position, afraid of repercussions from his
colleagues, afraid of ridicule, afraid of being “found out” to be a dreadful believer
in this upstart and therefore consider a heretic, a blasphemer, as well. Nicodemus risked everything to come to Jesus
that night. He had a lot to lose – his place
in society, his profession, his home, perhaps maybe even his own family. And yet, he risked it all to come to Jesus
and ask him more about himself so that he might truly believe.
I
came across an absurd idea a number of years ago and I’d used this illustration
in another sermon years ago. It’s about
a business that rewards their employees when they make a mistake. That’s right; they reward their employees for
making mistakes. That doesn’t sound
right, does it?
However, an agency in Washington, DC
began offering a $100 bonus to the employee who makes the biggest mistake of
the month. The person doesn’t get a
reprimand, nor does the person get demoted, as one would think. No, instead the person gets a $100
reward. An executive for a company
called Sara Lee Direct thought he was getting an amazing deal on a shipment of
belts, so he acted quickly and bought a whole warehouse full. Only later did he discover that what he
thought he was buying weren’t manufacturing belts for the conveyor system at
the factory, but instead he bought a whole warehouse full of three-inch wide
paisley fashion belts that no one else wanted.
Can you imagine? However, instead
of getting fired, he was awarded a bronze plaque that proudly commemorated his
error with these words, “Worst Buy of the Year.”
When I read this story, I had two
reactions. My first was: I know business
is bad right now, but are these companies nuts?
Have they gone crazy, or what?
And then my second thought was what would be the legitimate reason for
doing something like that?
According to the company there was a
legitimate reason for behaving so. A
purposeful strategy behind rewarding mistakes.
The president of the company explained it this way: “The object is to
get people to take risks.” Another official at the company put it this way, “If
you don’t go up to the plate and swing hard, you’re never going to hit a home
run. If you’re not willing to make a
mistake, you’re not really trying.”
The bottom-line is that risk-taking is
the only road to success. And some
companies are finding that it’s worth rewarding a few mistakes along the way if
it encourages their people to take the kind of risks that can bring huge
rewards. I think the same is true for
people of faith.
At this week’s Presbytery meeting,
Brian Wallace, our Acting Executive Presbyter gave the sermon on Thursday. He said that as I kid he was brought up
around water. He grew up near one of the
Great Lakes (I can’t remember which one), his neighbor had a pool and his best
friend had a pool. However, still at age
12 Brian had never learned to swim. He
explained that he wasn’t much of an outdoorsy kind of kid, wasn’t into sports
and wore really thick glasses or contact lenses. One day, his parents told him to just
try. No judgment, no ridicule, no overly
coercive speeches. “Just try.”
What Brian learned from that and what
this executive was trying to teach his employees was that without risk, there
is no reward.
How much risk are we willing to
take? That’s really the main point of
the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus.
That’s what Jesus meant when he said you must be reborn or born
again. Birth is an inherently risky
procedure. Just ask any woman who has
ever been wheeled in to give birth. In
spite of the advances in prenatal care, in spite of all the wonders of modern
medical science, every expectant mother enters that last moment with a
tremendous amount of anxiety. For most
women or couples, nine months leading up to the actual birth is an exciting
time of anticipation. But the very
moment of delivery, of giving birth requires a commitment; one that lasts a
lifetime. Giving birth requires all that
we have.
With
that in mind, Jesus tells Nicodemus that being part of the kingdom of God
requires the same. Jesus tells Nicodemus
that following God takes the same kind of commitment; that being part of the
kingdom of God demands giving all that we have and all that we are. Remember what Jesus said to him, “I tell you
the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” In other words, no one can be part of the
kingdom of God unless that person is ready for commitment. We must be willing to let the old life go and
trust in God for a new birth.
“You must be born again” is the way
Jesus put it. You must take the risk to
start again. For taking risks is the
only way we grow – not only in business, but in our personal and spiritual
life, as well. Either we take a
reasonable risk and expand the horizons of our life, or we become stagnant and,
in the end, live a life of regret.
Did you know that when people over the
age of 95 are asked in a survey what changes they would make if they could live
their life over again, one of the top three responses they always give is that
they would have taken more risks. It
seems that at age 95 people are more willing to be born again.
But you don’t have to be 95 to look
back on life and wish you’d been more of a risk-taker. Think back to high school days. I know, for most of us that was long ago. But don’t you wish you had taken the risk to
try out for the school play or the cheerleading squad or a sports team? When you look back on some of your
friendships, don’t you wish you’d taken the risk of being more honest and open
with the people you love? Many of us can
look back on businesses or investments or personal ventures and wish we hadn’t
played it so safe at the time.
No one can go back to seize
opportunities time has already snatched away from us. No one can live life again. But we can go forward. We can take a risk of trusting Christ. We can look to God to lead. So, let’s take a moment and look at what risk
is all about, and why spiritual risks are so well worth taking.
First, let’s ask: What is risk? Well, risk is simply the ability to stretch
beyond the usual limits in reaching for a goal.
Risk involves facing a fear, chancing failure. Maybe it’s the fear of the unknown, the
uncomfortable, the unacquainted. Or
maybe it’s the fear of physical harm or emotional hurt. Whatever it is, risk always involves
adventure.
When I was a child, we lived on a hill
top. It was actually the highest point
in our county. Riding my bike around our
property was pretty safe. My yard was
flat, our driveway was flat and going to our neighbor’s houses, everything was
still flat. There was no risk in getting
out of control, but once you left the safety of our street, the hill went steeply
down. A place where there was a lot of
risk of falling and getting out of control, but then riding became a huge
adventure and a thrill. Even one that
was worth having to walk the bike back up again.
The same can be said for living a life
of faith. It’s when we face our fears
and take a risk that we experience the thrill of following Christ. For faith and risk are intertwined. It is only when we stretch the horizons of
our lives, it is only when we venture away from the comfortable to follow
Christ that faith takes on its true dimension.
That’s what Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus. You must be born again. You must risk a new beginning. You must trust yourself to a new birth in God
to truly be part of the kingdom of God.
As long as you hold on to the old, as long as you are afraid to follow,
as long as you are unwilling to risk your life for God, you will not be part of
God’s great adventure.
As we continue to discern where God is
leading us, what risks are we willing to take?
What is our real commitment to God to be part of the Kingdom of
God? Perhaps we should follow Brian’s
parents lead or the executive’s lead in passing out trophies for terrible
mistakes and “just try.”
Thanks
be to God.
Amen
Offertory –
Doxology –
Prayer of Dedication –
We
give you thanks, O God, for the blessings of this life; for family and friends,
for work and play, for health and healing, for the good that we receive and
that we also give. We praise your holy
name not only with our lips, but by returning to you a portion of the gifts
that you have so generously bestowed on us, asking you to use them to build up
the body of Christ here and to the ends of the earth. AMEN.
Closing
Hymn – Spirit Song #384 Brown Hymnal
Benediction –
God of
infinite patience, loving presence, and dazzling surprises, allow us to take
risks we dare not try alone. But You
guide our hand, our lives, and our way forward.
We go in peace seeking Your wisdom and strength. AMEN.
Postlude
