Next Sunday we'll have a joint worship service at Olivet Presbyterian Church , West Elizabeth at 9:45am
Worship
Service for August 25, 2024
Prelude
Announcements:
Call to Worship
L: How wonderful it is to be in a God’s
dwelling place!
P: The refreshing springs of God’s love
cleans and restores us.
L: There is a place here for everyone. No one is turned away.
P: The least and the lost; the homeless and
hopeless are always welcomed in God’s house.
L: Praise to God who invites and shelters us
all.
P: Praise to God who heals and sends us forth
to serve.
Opening Hymn – How Firm a
Foundation #361/408 Blue/Brown
Prayer of Confession
Patient Lord, we are a culture
that wants the quick and easy answers to all of life’s problems. We want to be able to open the Bible and place
our fingers on the passage that will answer all our questions and heal all our
hurts. It is difficult for us to deal
with the knowledge that discipleship requires patience and perseverance. Jesus’ own disciples struggled with his
teachings. It took a long time for them
to understand fully what Jesus was saying and how they were to respond. Unfortunately, O God, we are no different. The words of Jesus take time for us to
comprehend. Forgive us, Lord, when we
are so impatient; when we just want to "get on with it” and be where the
action is. Help us understand the
commitment we make in discipleship, through the rocky times and the smooth seas
alike. Push us, Lord, in our ministry of
help and compassion to do more than we ever thought we could do in helping
others. Give to us that extra measure of
faith and commitment that we may truly serve You by serving others. In Jesus’
Name, we pray. (Silent prayers are
offered) AMEN.
Assurance of Pardon
L: Even though you doubt and question, God’s
love is poured on you and through you to others.
P: We rest assured in God’s presence and God’s
love for us. God will never fail or
abandon us.
L: In
the name of Jesus Christ, you are healed, restored, and forgiven. AMEN.
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
Holy and
compassionate God, you created us to be your children. When our ancestors in faith wandered the
wilderness after you released them from captivity in Egypt, you sent manna,
bread from heaven, food to sustain their lives.
At the acceptable time, you sent your Son Jesus to be for the world your
bread of life, so that whoever comes to him may never hunger. For your ongoing providence, your presence
and care, we offer our thanks and praise.
You know
your children’s needs before the words to name them have even taken shape. We entreat your sustaining care for all who
suffer: for the sick and the dying, and
all who minister to their bodies and spirits; for those whose expected miracles
never come; for those who feel abandoned by others, or even by you; for those
without homes, without work, without food, without hope; for those whose lives
are shattered by war or violence or substance abuse.
We have
named our own prayer concerns this morning and we lift them up to you. We pray for….
Also,
Lord, there are joys and concerns that we keep close to heart, not willing to
give them voice, hear them now as we pray in silence…
Be
present, Lord, to each and all, offering the hope that as you fed the
multitudes, so you continue to nourish us with the bread of heaven, your
life-giving Son, in whose name we pray 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 – Just As I Am #370/488 Blue/Brown
Scripture Reading:
First Scripture Reading – I Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30
Second Scripture Reading – Ephesians
6:10-20
Sermon – The Full
Armor of God
Everyone who has ever tried to live life as a Christian in the
manner that is spoken about in the scriptures would admit that it’s a struggle.
Yes? Our vision of doing so is often limited
and we only see the immediate and the physical things with which we wrestle. We focus on ourselves, our circumstances, and
others. However, in the latter portions
of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he attempts to redirect that vision. He tells us our struggle is not really with
flesh and blood, our struggle isn’t against other human beings, our struggle
isn’t with one another. Instead, our
real conflict is much bigger than that.
At last week’s picnic, Marilyn Fisher, the pastor at Allen Chapel, reminded
us in her sermon that the conflict we are dealing with is a spiritual one and that
conflict is with spiritual forces!
She also pointed out that we aren’t in this alone. In fact, we need to be in it already knowing
that, ultimately, God is victorious because of what Jesus did for us, here on
earth, 2,000 year ago. Going into this
conflict knowing that however can be both a good and bad thing. Good because we know God is with us at all
times. Good because we know that God
will ultimately prevail no matter how dire life might seem right now. But it is also bad because then we could
become complacent with the sense that if God ultimately wins, what does it
matter what we do. Why should we
bother? What should we take risks or care
too much? The problem with that kind of
thinking is that God has given us part of the responsibility as well. That God is counting on us to do our part and
be with him in this conflict. Going back
to the first chapter verse 19, we get a clearer picture of the conflict and perspective. “That power that God gives us is like the
working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from
the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all
rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not
only in the present age but also in the one to come.”
It is clear from this passage that God gives us power – the same
power that was in Christ. Later in Chapter
3, Paul continues to paint a picture of this conflict, “God’s intent in the whole
disclosure of the gospel was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom
of God should be made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly
realms, according to his eternal purpose.”
Here Paul’s intent was to help us understand that in the preaching
of the gospel, both in word and in deed, we’re shaping and changing the
conflict for the good. We’re disclosing
to the world and even in the heavenly realm that God’s truth will win. That Christ’s triumph has already secured the
victory.
Today’s passage in Ephesians is one of those passages that we need
to read with the eyes of faith. We can’t
see with our physical eyes the things about which Paul is speaking. With this, I completely agree. My unease is with the metaphors Paul uses to
describe what we need to do.
Paul gives spiritual meaning to the armor of a Roman soldier. I don’t really care for this type of weaponizing
analogy that Paul likes. Again, it makes
it feel like our conflict, our battle is against flesh and blood. You go into battle to kill the enemy. You go onto the battlefield to slaughter the
other person with sword and shield. Yes,
our history is replete with such battles.
Yes, we have done much killing in the name of God and religion. But Paul says that this battle is not against
flesh and blood, so I’d rather hoped he would have used a different kind of imagery.
So, this week, I tried to come up with a different set of metaphor’s,
another kind of visual image to replace the Armor of God, so that it wasn’t so…I
don’t know…bloody. To really tackle the
idea that this battle isn’t one that is about flesh and blood, that this battle
is completely different by nature.
However, I came to the same conclusion that Jesus must have come
to when he told his stories in parables – use the imagery of the everyday
person to explain spiritual truths. So,
use seeds and farming to explain the spread of the gospel. Use wind and rain to explain the awesome power
of God. Use bread and wine to talk about
eternal life.
Here, Paul does the same…put on the Armor of God. My unease with using the elements of the
Armor of God at this point in history and with doing the same kind of use the
elements of the common person is that we don’t put on Armor, take up a shield,
use a sword when we go into battle. No,
we use army tanks, land mines, nuclear bombs and automatic rifles to wipe out
our enemies. The analogies don’t quite
work anymore.
In that sense I was further perplexed by what substitutes to use
and I couldn’t really find any good ones.
So, we’re left with the original metaphor, the Full Armor of God. Sometimes, the original is the best and no substitutes
will ever do.
Believe me, I’ve tried with things like sugar, no sugar substitutes
will ever replace the awesome taste of good old sugar – regardless of how bad
it might be for you.
Saying all of that, even though I feel a profound unease in
using the terms I’m going to use Paul’s original Armor of God metaphor. But, I want to emphasize a zillion times over
that this metaphor is to simply convey a spiritual truth that we aren’t to
literally put on the Armor of God as some ultra-conservatives might actually believe. Because there are a lot of people who take
the Bible quite literally and only grasp its meaning that way. So, let’s put on our metaphorical Armor of
God and see exactly what Paul is trying to tell us.
The first part of our spiritual armor is the belt of truth. Two ideas are significant about truth. First, Christians should know and believe the
truth about who God is and what God has done. The only way to do that is by reading about
the awesomeness of God through what has been written about God in the scriptures
and then to be attune to what God is doing in the world today. Second, we must be truthful people. Telling the truth to ourselves and others, in
love, is essential in this spiritual battle in which we are engaged. We can no longer put a spin on truth to make
truth fit our own narrative, but that truth must fit into the context of the
greater picture of who God is and not any kind of narrow minded idea of who we
think God is.
Another aspect of our spiritual armor is the breastplate of righteousness.
The visual image that Paul wants us to
understand is the piece of armor that protects the chest and heart. In order to protect this large area of the
body a large sheet of metal was fashioned to guard it. We also need to protect ourselves by leading
lives that are holy, to not allow negativity, or corruption, or temptations to
cloud our judgment or our actions.
This third item of equipment are shoes for your feet. We are called to go. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ,
to spread the message of the Good News and to reach out to others. Every believer is to be actively involved in
sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. The message that God loves us, that Christ has
redeemed you, that the Holy Spirit is waiting to guide you in this life, now
and always. When we fail to spread the grace
of God, the love of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit we fail in our
efforts to live a life worthy of the gospel. When we fail to be Matthew 25 people, we fail
in our mission to the world. Matthew 25
tells us that we are to act as if the orphan and the widow, the outcast and the
foreigner are Christ in our midst and to treat them well. To offer justice, to heal the sick, visit the
prisoner, and to care for the widow. In
other words we are to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world, doing what Christ
would have done.
Those are proactive parts of the armor. Now we move into defense mode when it comes
to the next item. The shield of faith. This shield allows the bearer to fend off
arrows and spears. Likewise, Christians
can ward off attacks to our faith, our Chrisian living, our foundation by
clinging to faith in God. Defining faith
is often easier than explaining how to live by faith. A life of faith is characterized by dependence
on the Lord, seeking out the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and relying on the
power of God. Faith is a vital part of our
spiritual armor.
The helmet of salvation. Even
in ancient days helmets were used to protect the head from injury. Perhaps no part of the body is as susceptible
to a mortal wound as is the head. We
safeguard our heads by wearing helmets when we ride bicycles and play sports.
In the spiritual realm this important body part represents
salvation. Nothing can rival the necessity of our own salvation for victorious
Christian living. The assurance of our
salvation becomes a security from doubts and dismay. Discouragement, which is one of our very real
opponents, is thwarted by confidence that the Lord has saved us. Salvation by grace through faith stands as a
pillar of strength in the midst of our spiritual conflict.
The final piece of our spiritual armor is the sword of the
Spirit. This analogy refers to the Word of God. As believers we should hear, read, study,
apply, memorize, and meditate on the Bible.
Apart from the Word of God we have no clear guidance and would
be left only with our feelings or the knowledge given to us by others. God’s Word enables us to fight against the
realm of darkness, to fully comprehend what God has done and therefore
understand a little better about what God is doing now. The Word of God is what keeps us grounded in
our faith.
Paul concludes this section of with a clear admonition to
prayer. As we take up the full armor of
God and couple it with prayer we can do anything under the power of God, maybe
even conquer the spiritual forces that currently are at war against us.
Thanks be to God. AMEN
Offertory –
Doxology –
Prayer of Dedication –
Gracious
God, You have accepted us as we are, and You have freely offered us salvation
through Your Son. As we return thanks
for the gifts You bestow upon us, we offer ourselves and our substance out of
the bounty You have provided following the example of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
Closing
Hymn – God Be With You #540/232 Blue/Brown
Benediction –
God is
always with you. Even when times get
difficult and the way is not always clear, God is truly by your side. Rest in God’s strength and love. Serve God with joy. Go in peace.
AMEN.
Postlude
