Worship
for the Lord’s Day
October
25, 2020
Both congregations,
Olivet Presbyterian Church (9:45am) and Bethesda United Presbyterian Church
(11:15am) have now been open for in person corporate worship. For those of you who will continue to worship
from home, our service has changed a bit for the in-person corporate worship
service, but we’ll continue to provide you a similar experience here, on-line.
Due to a quick trip to
Florida to see my mother for her birthday we will not have in-person worship on
Sunday, November 1 and will meet virtually via this format that we’ve become
accustomed to over the past six/seven months.
We return to in-person, corporate worship on Sunday, November 8 at our
regular times.
Let’s begin:
Call to Worship
Hymn Praise to the Lord, the
Almighty (first and last verses)
Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
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:
(Continued prayers for
all those affected by the Coronavirus, for our schools, for our national
leaders. We also pray for those affected
by this season’s series of hurricanes and the wildfires that have damaged so
much.)
In the midst of
frightening times when words of chaos and the unknown soar to the heavens and
anger seems to be the way to treat others and to respond to difficulty, be with
us, merciful God. We do not want to live
in these hideous ways. We seek Your
peace and healing love. Our hearts are
filled with concern for our families and friends as well as those in other
places who face great times of difficulties, illness, and mourning. We share the names of those for whom we seek
prayers knowing that You hear our cries and respond in love.
Yet, in the midst of
darkness Your light of joy abounds within us as we share those moments which
have caused us to rejoice in delight and love.
Lord of hope and peace,
we bring before You the names of dear ones on our hearts……some of those names
we have uttered out loud to the congregation; others are whispered quietly in
our hearts. Be with all of us, O Lord. Heal our wounds. Direct our lives in pathways of peace. These things we offer to you now in a time of
silence.
And in Christ’s name, we pray his prayer together…
We ask these things in
the name of Jesus Christ our Savior
who taught us to pray 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 My Faith Looks Up to Thee (first and last verses)
Scripture Readings
Old Testament: Deuteronomy
34:1-12
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the
top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole
land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2all
Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the
Western Sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the
city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. 4The Lord said to
him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your
eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
5Then Moses, the servant of
the Lord,
died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. 6He was
buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows
his burial place to this day. 7Moses
was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his
vigor had not abated. 8The
Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of
mourning for Moses was ended.
9Joshua son of Nun was full of
the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the
Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10Never
since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew
face to face. 11He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him
to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his
entire land, 12and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of
power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
New Testament: Matthew
22:34-46
34When the Pharisees heard that
he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35and one
of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36“Teacher,
which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37He said
to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is
the greatest and first commandment. 39And a
second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
41Now while the Pharisees were
gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: 42“What
do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of
David.” 43He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls
him Lord, saying, 44‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit
at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? 45If
David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” 46No one
was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him
any more questions.
Sermon – Just like the hymns, you can click on the
sermon title to hear/watch a video of today’s sermon via YouTube.
(based on Matthew 22:34-46)
Last
week we learned about the first question that the Pharisees and the Herodians
together used to try and stump Jesus. A
question meant to trap him in a compromising position with either the Jews or
with the Roman sympathizers. Jesus
discerned what they were doing and chose to respond differently than either
group had imagined.
This
morning we read about the third encounter.
The second encounter was one with the Sadducees. Much like the Pharisees, they were a small
elite sect within Judaism. They
comprised the upper echelon of the social and economic status within Judaism. Their beliefs often clashed with those of the
Pharisees, particularly over religious law.
The most significant difference between the two was in regard to the
resurrection. The Sadducees did not
believe in the resurrection from the dead.
(One of the ways that I remember this is that the Sadducees were
Sad-You-See.) And of course, because of
that, they posed a rather silly resurrection question about marriage to
Jesus. Again, he wouldn’t take the bait
and chose to answer in a surprising way.
This
morning’s question put forth to Christ was done by the Pharisees
themselves. They had watched as their
students and the Herodians were unable to match wits with Christ. They watched as the Sadducees fell to
Christ’s superior wit. So, they
themselves, decided to approach Jesus.
One of them, a lawyer, decided to test him, “Which commandment is the
greatest?” he asked.
Christ’s
response silenced even the Pharisees.
And it should silence us, as well.
It should silence us into truly thinking about how we conduct our lives. Last Sunday, we talked about what we have to
give back to God. In light of that, how
are you doing in regard to giving back to God?
Not just your money, but your time and energy and talent. That question isn’t meant to be an indictment
of your behavior toward God, but rather a serious challenge.
And
this morning I want to challenge you again in a different way. Jesus wasn’t able to pin the Greatest
Commandment down to just one. Instead,
he chose two of them, as if they were one; as if they were nearly the same or equal. These two commands are part of one another.
First,
he said to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.” Then he said, “And a second is like it: love your
neighbor as yourself.”
There
was a billboard advertising campaign that had started a while ago. It’s a plain black background with a saying
in bold white letters attributed to God.
One of them says, “That love they neighbor thing. I meant that.” Do you remember that?
As
we begin to think about the upcoming holiday season, Cecelia D. Armstrong wrote
an article in Presbyterians Today saying, “we find ourselves wrapping the babe
born in Bethlehem in a thick blanket woven with the threads of sentimental
love. We sing hymns about how love came
down from heaven. We light the fourth
candle around the Advent wreath – often referred to as the LOVE candle in most
wreath-lighting liturgies – and we bask in its warm glow. It’s all very comforting. Yet the love God gave to the world in the way
of Jesus is not about feelings. It’s
about action. It was seen in Mary’s
“yes” to be the Christ-bearer. It was
illustrated by Joseph taking Mary as his wife, even though she was carrying a
child that was not his. It rang through
the night skies as angels sang of salvation to the shepherds.
For
us, Presbyterians, love in action is an important theme. Jesus’ command to “love our neighbors” is a
call to further the work of justice in all areas of society that continue to be
unjust. Nearly five decades ago, we
adopted a new Confession called the Confession of 1967, which states, “new life
takes shape in a community in which men and women know that God loves them and
accepts them…therefore accept themselves and love others.”
The
connecting bond between these two commands that Jesus gives to the Pharisees
that day is love. And yet, that concept
is more than we can possibly fathom.
Cecelia Armstrong goes on to say that “Christian love is an active
response to the needs of others without compromising the integrity of our
relationship with God. Jesus showed us
how love can break the barriers of stereotypes.
Jesus was known for loving others without any preconditions. Encounters with Jesus always led to the
transformation of one’s heart and mind.”
It’s important to note that God created the
world out of love. The light that shines
in the day and the moon that shines as night, the stars that amaze our children
and make us breathless when we try to grasp the infinity of it all. The water that flows down a mountain stream
as fish like salmon brave the journey home to spawn, water that surges in the
ocean depths with behemoths like humpback whales who frolic and live
there. Water that rains down to nourish
the earth that brings forth the trees and plants, each bloom and blossom. Each bird that flies above the landscape,
that soars in the air; every tiny insect that crawls or burrows beneath the
surface to every elephant that stomps on the earth was created by God. Even the strangest among them; birds that
swim, fish that walk, mammals that lay eggs, and males that give birth. All created by God in amazing and pure love.
But
it was all made for us, for our living and growing, for our enjoyment and
enlightenment. A Creator who loved us
more than anything else in all of creation.
God created you out of pure love.
He created you….and you….and you…, (etc…)
You
were not created to be a play toy or an experiment. But you were created out of love, to be
loved. And here’s the challenge… and to
love in return. Not just God, who
created you, but the other command that goes along with it – to love one
another, as well.
I
think it is in this part of the command that we fall short. For us, as Christians who stand on our faith
and our beliefs, it’s easy for us to say that we love God, that we love the
Lord, that we would do anything for God.
If I were to ask you on a scale of 1-10 how
you were doing with giving back to God, I’m sure most of you, perhaps all of
you, answered in the above 5 category. A
good number of you probably might even say around a 7. A few of you may, even rightly, think, you
know, “I’m doing about the best I can at a solid 8 or 9.” And I think that’s pretty obvious with your
commitments here at church and the wonderful things you are a part of and that
you do for God and for others.
But, here is the challenge; on a scale of 1-10
how are you doing with the second part, “Loving your neighbor as
yourself”? And here’s where it gets a
bit more personal in asking that question.
I’m not talking about doing for others.
I’m not talking about volunteering for the Food Bank, or
visiting/calling a shut-in or collecting socks for the homeless. I’m talking about the heart. I’m talking about the inner voice that
sometimes says something completely different than what the outer works show.
What is the condition of your heart for
others? On a scale of 1-10 are you
always generous, kind, humble, in your thoughts, words, actions towards others.
To be perfectly honest, I often hear a bad
report about Christianity from my non-Christian friends or at least my friends
who have left the church; they might retain a Christian belief system, but they
no longer want to be part of the organized faith associated with
Christianity. Because as Christians, we
have an awful track record, certainly when you look at history. I have heard us argue about everything. I’ve heard us complain about everything from
the minute to the ridiculous. I’ve heard
us chastise those who believe differently.
I’ve heard us criticize those who are morally ambiguous. I’ve heard us slander and hurt, lie and steal
and berate another who has done the same, but the only difference is that the
other got caught. Again, this isn’t an
indictment on this particular church.
You are all pretty awesome – in my opinion. But, I am talking about the Church (with a
capital C), as a whole.
We aren’t perfect people and we should stop
pretending that we are. We struggle with
the same sins that everyone else struggles with. We struggle with the same inner battles, the
same heartaches, the same demons. Maybe,
just maybe we’ve learned over many, many years of struggle how to cope with
them better, how to ignore the voices that lead us down an instant
gratification and easier road. But we
are no better than those who are still struggling and still perhaps losing in
those struggles.
Again, like last week; these challenges are
not meant to be an indictment against you, but rather as a serious
consideration for us to take a closer look at what Scripture tells us, what God
wants from us, and how we are actually living.
There is too much hatred in the world. Look around, it’s everywhere. On the news, in our city streets, at
shootings and massacres around the globe.
There is only one way that this will end. And that way is for the cycle to be broken.
We cannot expect someone who has known misery
and heartache and pain, who has not found or known the love of God through the
actions of God’s people, to suddenly wake up one morning and think, “Oh, maybe
I’ll be nice today.” It’s not going to
happen. It has to start with us. It has to start with the people of God who
refrain from judging others, who refrain from speaking badly about others, who
refrain from idle gossip and slanderous speech.
It has to start with us, truly taking this commandment that Jesus spoke
about, to love one neighbor as we love ourselves, to heart as a challenge for
better behavior on our part.
There is too much hatred in the world and the
only way that it will end is if we take Christ’s commandment to heart as a
challenge to do better.
The connection that Jesus made when asked the
question about which commandment is greatest, reaches back to the purpose of
the cosmos, when God out of pure love created the stars, and it settles in the
heart of who you are, of whose you are.
God created you out of love and joy.
And Jesus asks us to give love and joy back to God and to one another.
AMEN.
Hymn Song of Hope (repeat)
Benediction
