Is the Lord Among Us or Not?

 18^th Sunday after Pentecost!

                            Exodus 17:1-7

 

Focus Statement:   The Lord told Moses how to get water for the                         Hebrews because they were quarreling and                              saying, "Is the Lord Among us or not?"

 

Function Statement:    Because of hearing this message the                           congregation will remember/realize that they                         have had/will have times when they will                      wonder if the Lord is there, they will                               realize it is alright to question the Lord at                     these times, and they will realize the Lord                           will always come through for them!

 

 

1st Movement:

     Just before I was sixteen, my family moved to Corning.  We selected a church to go to that wasn't even the denomination that we had formerly attended because when we visited there and the church that was the denomination we had attended, we kids really wanted to go to this church.  It had a good youth group and they were doing things with the kids.  The lady that taught the youth had such an open spirit about her.  She gave you the feeling that you were wanted and that she was really glad you were there.  She had a way about her that she could joke around, yet she could be firm and let you know her expectations.  The Sunday School class was one of anticipation about what we were going to learn about today; the kids liked being there.  There was a young couple in the church that also worked with the kids; he later was named the youth director.  They had the youth over to their house on Thursday nights for cottage prayer meetings.  We gathered for refreshments, and there was always plenty of them.  He really had a heart for influencing the youth.  We would have a little lesson and then share concerns and have prayer.  These folks really became special and influential in my life!  I went to camp during this time and at camp went to the altar feeling that God was calling me into some special service but not really knowing what that service was yet.  Things were looking good, and I was excited spiritually! 

     Then, our church was doing so good that they had to start trying to decide what to do; we were running out of room!  They didn't work together in this, and the church ended up splitting over what to do.  Some stayed at the old building and continued on there, and some went to another location and built another building.  My parents wanted to stay.  They didn't feel right by leaving!  The problem for me was that all the people I had grown to love and who had been so influential for me had gone to the other church!  Besides that, the ones who were left in general were bitter and said things about the other folks assuming that we all felt that way or we wouldn't be there!  My family stuck it out for two years, thinking it would get better, but it didn't.  It was dragging us down, listening to all the back biting, so we finally left and went to another church where the Lord healed our brokenness! 

     During the two years while I was dealing with missing those who I had grown to love and listening to everyone at church run them into the ground, I was doing a lot of soul searching.  At times, I would wonder if the Lord was really there or not!  Is the Lord going to take care of me or not?  I asked the Lord a lot of questions.  I lashed out at the Lord a few times; I couldn't believe what God's people were doing and saying!  I couldn't believe what God had let happen!  I was wondering, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

 

2nd movement:

     That is exactly what the Hebrew people were asking in our scripture today, "Is the Lord among us or not?"  They had come to wonder this because they were running out of water.  We get down on them because they quarreled when they were hungry and they quarreled when they were thirsty, but I'm not sure that is the real point of these scriptures.  These stories were remembered told, and later put into scripture for a reason, and I doubt it was to show how much the Hebrew people had quarreled!  I really doubt it is a lesson against quarreling because, after all, God gives them what they ask for!  God doesn't strike them down or anything!  I think they were just being human just like I was being human when I was asking God questions, just like I was being human when I asked if God was there, just like I was being human when I wanted to know why God had allowed this to happen, and just like I was being human when I would at times lash out at God!  I think the Bible is just being very truthful about how we are at times!

     The neat thing about this scripture is that God didn't strike them down, but instead, God met their need!  God heard their complaints and did something about it!  I think this story is here to show us some things about God!  God is approachable, even with our complaints!  God is not a God that is out there somewhere and unreachable!  God "is" there!  God "will" hear!  God cares!

     ^14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the

Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. ^15 For we do not have a high priest who is

unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been

tested^d as we are, yet without sin. ^16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with

boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.^[1]

                                                                                                Heb. 4:14-16

God is a God who came to us incarnate in Jesus Christ and knows what we need.  God is not a God who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses!

 

3rd Movement:

     What are you going through in life?  What are you going through today?  What are you asking of God?  Or have you felt that God was beyond your approaching with the needs of your heart?  What does this scripture say about God that concerns where you are today?  Are you questioning?  Are you hurting?  Are you asking why?  God cares!

     What about us as a church?  What do we want to ask of God concerning our church?  Do we understand all things?  Are we always happy how things are going?  Do we say anything to God about it?  Do we ever wonder if God is there or not?  What does this say to our church today?  Shouldn’t we as a church trust in a God who cares and knows all things? Shouldn’t we share that kind of God to the people we love?

     I think it says many things to us. Are you questioning God? Are you hurting? As we encounter Christ at the table today, come to a God who cares! As we encounter Christ at the table today, allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into those things and the understanding that God has especially for us.  If you are burdened or heavy laden, bring that to God too.  Come as you are! Come and encounter a God who really, "is" there, is approachable, hears, and cares!  Come to a God who will always answer, although the answer may not always be what we think we need.  You can rest assured it will be what is best for us! Thanks be to God!

 

                       Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

---

d Or tempted

^[1]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville

In a State of Readiness!

 16^th Sunday after Pentecost!

 

                          Exodus 12:1-14

 

Focus Statement:    This scripture shows how the Hebrew people  to take the passover with Traveling                                    clothes on and ready to go.

 

Function Statement: Because of this sermon, the congregation will understand that we too should take                                     our passover lamb (Jesus) in a state of readiness, expecting something to happen!

 

1st Movement:

         I can remember way back when I was about to turn sixteen.  In our culture, sixteen seems to be that magical year when you assume more of the privileges & responsibilities of becoming an adult.  One of these is getting your drivers license.  The year before I got my drivers license was a year of getting ready.  My dad bought an old 64 Volkswagen Beetle for $25 I think.  That was cheap even back then, and there were reasons it was cheap!  It didn't run, it had the driver's side door and fender smashed in, and the bumpers were all rusty!  Oh yes, the windshield was broken too, and it was dirty!  (It was about 10 yrs old.) That was old back then!

We started out by dad pulling the engine in our backyard and us rebuilding the engine.  I worked with dad mostly cleaning parts and holding whatever he needed held as we rebuilt the engine together.  When we got that done, We bought a fender in the junk yard and replaced the one that was smashed, luckily we found one that was the same color, and we beat out the door the best we could.  Dad ordered out the windshield, and the rest was up to me.  I spent the rest of that spring and summer, taking off bumpers, headlights, wheels, etc. and sanding and painting them; cleaning the interior, touching up things here and there, and putting on pin stripping and decals!  When I would do this, I would have to move it back in forth in the driveway to get it to where I needed it to work on it.  That was not a real easy task for someone just learning to drive since this was pretty close quarters and it was a 4-speed standard transmission on the floor.  One time, I had a wreck with the swing set!  (Pause.)  I also took Drivers Ed. that summer, and we moved to Corning.  As soon as I turned sixteen, I was ready and I went down to get my license.  I didn't waste any time; I had anticipated this day for years, and I had been in a state of readiness!  Now, when I wanted to go someplace, I still had to have permission, but I didn't have to arrange for a ride.  It was great!

 

2nd movement:

In our scripture for today, this is just before the last plaque of the Egyptians comes to pass: the killing of the first born.  Moses is instructed for all the Israelites to take a lamb, kill it, put its blood on their door posts, roast it, and eat it.  If they will do this, the death angel will pass over their houses.  They are to do this in a state of readiness!  With their traveling clothes on: loins girded, sandals on feet, staff in hand, and in a hurry!  They are to be expecting something to happen because it is going to happen!  This lamb on the door posts will be a sign that will save their children & their animals!  The events that will happen that night will cause Pharaoh to order them to leave and they will be ready to go as commanded!  They will start their journey to the promised land!  If they hadn't been ready, Pharaoh might have changed his mind before they had a chance to leave, but that won't happen because they will be ready!  They took the passover - lamb in a state of readiness!

 

3rd movement:

The Christian Church quickly adapted this passover symbolism in thinking about what Jesus did for us.  They called Jesus the Lamb of God, the Lamb that was slain!  The lamb that if we put on our hearts will cause the angel of eternal death to pass over us!  We will be saved and live in the new kingdom!  A kingdom that begins now in the lives of believers!  We put Jesus on our hearts by trusting in what Jesus did for us; when we do this, God no longer sees our sins!  But what does it mean to put Jesus on our hearts, to trust in Jesus, with our traveling clothes on: in readiness?  I haven't heard this part talked about too much!

 

Before we look at what it means to put Jesus on in a state of readiness, what does it mean to Anot@ put Jesus on in a state of readiness?  Wouldn=t that be to trust in Jesus in a so - so way, not really expecting Jesus to mean much to us, not expecting Jesus to change us or our church, not really expecting Jesus to do much, not really ready for Jesus to do something in our lives?  Not really expecting Jesus to matter much, especially after 9-11! We have remembered 911 this week. Since 911, we tend to be less optimistic, less expecting something good! Just going through the motions.  Not expecting things to be different a year from now than they are today!  I am afraid sometimes we put on Jesus this way.  I am afraid we can look at our own lives and see that we aren't putting on Jesus in a state of readiness with our traveling clothes on, at least not all the time! 

 

So what does it mean to put Jesus on in a state of readiness?  It is to come to Christ expecting it to really make a difference in our lives!  It is to expect Christ to change our lives!  It is to live in anticipation of what God is going to do with us!  It is to expect to change and be different a year from now than we are today!  It is to expect Jesus to do something in our church and with us!  It is to be excited about the prospects of what Jesus can do through our church!  It is to really expect Jesus to use us to share the love of God and for that love to really make a difference in our community and in the people we know and love! It is to expect people to come to Christ and to be changed!  It is to expect that even after 9-11 Jesus can still make a difference!  It is to live in anticipation of what Christ will do and to expect God to work miracles in and through us! It is to study and  prepare because we just know that God is going to do something in and through us! Let's close our eyes and ask ourselves this question, "What does it mean for me to trust in Jesus with my traveling clothes on, in a state of readiness?" (PAUSE) Am I expecting Christ to do something in my life?  (PAUSE)  In part, it means making ourselves available for God’s service.  It means living in expectation of what Christ will do and looking for the ways Christ is moving in our world and blessing us!  As we encounter Christ at the table today, let’s draw closer, let’s put on Jesus, let’s put on Jesus with our traveling clothes on fully expecting Jesus to do something with us and through us!  Thanks be to God!

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

God Hears!

 15^th Sunday after Pentecost!

 

                            Exodus 3:1-15

 

Focus Statement:    This scripture shows how God heard the cries                    and prayers of the Hebrew people and called a                        human (Moses) to be the instrument through

                     which those prayers would be answered.

 

Function Statement: Because of this sermon, the congregation

                     will leave with a desire & determination to

                     be instruments through which God can work.

 

1st Movement:

     July, 2002, workers were in a mine in Somerset County, PA going about their daily job when they accidentally dug into an abandoned, poorly documented, mine filled with water and of a sudden water came crashing in from that water filled mine, flooding the mine with an estimated 75 million gallons of water.  They were trapped and ran and climbed as high in the mine as they could, but that was 240 feet underground.  As water closed in around them, it seemed that all chances for survival were gone.  One of the miners, Mark Popernack who was a United Methodist, tells that at one point they all got a piece of cardboard and wrote their last words on it.  They all thought they were going to die; it seemed they had lost their struggle against the rising water.  About this time, he says, "All we had at this time when the water reached us, all we had left was God and hope."  That seemed to be all their families had as well.  His wife, family, and church were praying about their safe rescue.  His wife said the first day she thought they would come out, but the next day she thought there is no way they are coming out alive.  Local ministers counseled the waiting families, one of which was Rev. Barry Ritenour of Bethany St. John's United Methodist Church.  I am assuming that is Mark's church.  He worked and wondered all the while if what he was telling the families was right, "What if I'm telling these people the wrong things?  What if what I say to them, and the whole thing goes sour, am I going to destroy their faith?"  Rescuers quickly put pumps in place to start pumping water out of the mines.  They tapped on some kind of ventilation duct, I believe, to find out if any were alive below; they got a response, but they had no idea how many were alive.  They began drilling a shaft down to the mine where they were 240 feet below.  The miners were trapped 77 hours in this cold, wet mine, but they were finally rescued.  All of them survived!  (UMC, CNN websites, and wikipedia)

     People prayed!  God willed that these people would be saved!  God heard their cries and prayers, but what if no one responded to God's call to go and help these miners?  What if God couldn't have gotten anybody to run the drills and the pumps?  What if God couldn't have gotten anyone to think up a rescue plan?  What if there were no pastors counseling the scared and terrified families?  What if?

 

2nd movement:

     In our scripture this morning, we have Moses at the burning bush.  This is Moses' call to be God's deliverer!  We all know how this comes out!  Moses agrees to go with the help of Aaron to the Pharaoh of Egypt and demand that he let the Hebrew people go!  There are plagues on the Egyptians until finally Pharaoh orders the people to leave!  It is a big deal!  It is a grand story!  Moses, with God's help, is very successful!  It is a story that the Hebrew people will tell for years to come:  how God delivered them from Egypt! 

     But I want to notice one thing in particular about the story today.  God tells Moses, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.  Indeed, I know their sufferings, . . . ."  God wanted to do something; God was sympathetic to their cries.  God is not a God who is indifferent to human suffering!  Even here in the Old Testament, God is very compassionate to the suffering of God's people.  What we see here though is that God wanted someone through which to carry out the plan.  Someone through which to do something!  What if Moses hadn't gone?  What if God couldn't have gotten anyone to go?  What if? (Read Life Application Topic from Wesley Study Bible.)

 

3rd movement:

     What do we pray and cry for today?  I think we can safely say from this scripture that God hears our prayers and cries.  But how does God answer our prayers?

     We pray for people to be healed physically!  Sometimes God answers yes to this prayer.  Sometimes when the answer is yes, God miraculously does this; we really don't know how, but it happens!  More times than not, God uses people like Doctors, Nurses, and those who study medicine.  What if nobody answered that call?  (pause)

     Sometimes we pray for Spiritual healing.  I don't want to go as far as to say that God can't heal someone spiritually without our help, but many times God uses people in this process: a word of testimony, a sharing of our understanding of a scripture, teaching, preaching, etc.  What if nobody answered these calls? (pause)

     Sometimes we pray for church growth!  Why isn't God hearing our prayers?  Or is God hearing?  How can church growth come about?  Does God do this by Godself?  What if God can't get anyone to go? What if God can’t get anyone to give the invitation?  What if God can’t get anyone to go and tell about a church that wants to love them just as they are?  What if God can’t get anyone to do something?  (pause) 

     People in our world have experienced much loss: the floods in Nepal, the war in Iran and the middle east, wildfires and droughts, shootings in schools, people being wrongly deported or even worse killed, and the list goes on.  Tragity has struck.  Prayers are going up.  I can't explain why things like this happen; I just know it is a part of life.  I believe that God hears those prayers and that God hurts with these folks and all of the people of the world.  I believe God wants to do something:  I believe God is doing something through people who are receptive to God's call: United Methodist Committee on relief and other similar agencies, Churches, friends and neighbors who really know how to love.  Are you hurting today?  God Hears! Bring that hurt to Christ as you encounter Christ at the table today!  Is God calling you to be the answer to prayer for others? Is God calling you to do something? As you encounter Christ at the table, as you come and stand on Holy Ground, ask Christ, “What do you want me to do?  Show me! Here I am, use me!” You just might be the answer to someone’s prayer! Thanks be to God!

Prayer of Confession & Service of Communion

 

Possible follow-up song:  Matthew West “Do Something!” from YouTube.