The Ripple Effect: An Open Book

Oct. 20, 2013 The Ripple Effect: An Open Book Pastor Carol P. Taylor

Psalm 119:97-105 New International Version

97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.

John 17:13-19 Good News Translation

13 And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. 14 I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world.17 Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. 18 I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you.

The Ripple Effect: we never quite know what effect we may have on another person. We have all heard those stories of how one person made a difference in the life of someone, by a seemingly small thing said or done. When we live out our faith, we are causing ripples that can have quite an effect on others!

READ GOSPEL LESSON.

I am using GNT here while the NIV is up on the screen very deliberately. In Bible study, it can be very helpful to use different translations.

I love that they use the word “Dedicated” here for “Sanctified”

To be sanctified means to be set apart, separated, saved to be used for specific purpose. In the NT this word is also translated “holy”.

...sanctification is the same Greek word as holiness, meaning a separation. Separated, set apart for a purpose!

Jesus was sanctified, separated FOR US, dedicated for our use.

Just as this beautiful baby has been 'dedicated' for God, set apart so that she can make that choice one day, so we can be dedicated, set apart for God to use for God's purposes. When I say 'we' I mean each of us as individuals, because we never know what effect we may have today! But I also mean 'we' as a church, to help our members, our community (like with Hands of Faith...Trunk or Treat, visting homebound members, and so on. so we, individually and as a church can be dedicated, set apart for God to use for God's purposes.

How do we know God's purposes.....

well, they are here...in the Bible!
Well, yes ok, but the bible is hard to understand sometimes.

Though as mark twain said, it ain't the parts of the bible I don't understand that bother me, it's the ones that I DO!

Richard Foster in Life With God

Pay attention to the recurring themes of the stories of the Bible: God loves human beings; human beings always seem to want what they can't have; God is grieved and angered when human beings rebel but pursues them and forgives them anyway; God is involved not just in the lives of the chosen people, but in the lives of all peoples, and in the concerns of every living thing in creation.

why read the bible? Its confusing, it hard to understand.

yes it is, this is not the latest popular novel or biography. And you can't read it the same way you would read one of those! The Bible is a collection of books of historical events, poetry, instructions, stories that can be hard for us to relate to! Jesus talks about seeds and wheat and chaff, fish and bread as a meal. There are stories of miracles that are just unbelievable..i mean REAALLY unbelievable! And some of the prophecies, well they are scarier than a Stephen King story!
Yes! The bible is challenging! But there's a big picture here....all those events, poems, instructions, stories, and prophecies point to one theme. God is with us!

R. Foster again.....The divine assurance thundering throughout the ages is also a divine invitation: I am with you will you be with Me? This dynamic is the absolute unifying center of the Bible. Every story in the Bible, no matter its twists and turns, whether the human characters are trustworthy or untrustworthy, whether the story is sad or happy, is built on this clarion call to relationship.  {God says} “I am with you- will you be with Me?” 

The bible has survived, parts of it, for thousands of years! There must be SOME reason for that!

And yes the bible is relevant today. There is comfort in the bible, written in beautifully poetic language...to everything there is a season,

Isaiah said that God's word WILL accomplish it's purposes and on the day the mountains will sing and the trees will clap their hands! That verse right there can get you through a tough day.

So why should our bibles be open?

Because God is LOVE. And it says Life ain't about you and me.

Oh I wish it were, I think if I were in charge of the universe for a few days, I could REALLY shape up a few things! But what God is interested in is how we care for each other, how we recognize God in each other. Yes God is in every human being...sometimes we have to look pretty hard! But God is in every single person and all of creation. That's why our covenant says we seek to reach out in God's extravagant love, we affirm!

This week I was prepping for a  funeral and one of her favorite verses is Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.”

and I looked in my bible..and was reminded that the verses immediately before that are " The stone  the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;   the  Lord  has done this, and it is marvelous  in our eyes."

Jesus referred to this Psalm when he was talking about going to the Cross. The stone that was rejected, was Jesus. He endured the rejection –the separation from God, that should have been ours! And became the cornerstone of faith, of the church, of our lives. This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!

The Bible is a LOVE story. That's why we have it, that's why we need to read it, even when it's hard to understand, even when it bothers us, because over and over God says to us I LOVE YOU, Love me and love others!

Jesus sanctified himself for us, dedicated himself, set himself apart, for US. On the cross, He was separated in another way...separated from God, his father (whom he said, “I and the father are one”) but on the cross, covered in OUR SIN, Jesus endured the full separation from God that made him the bridge between us and our perfect Holy God. Jesus became totally separate from God, dedicated himself FOR US. For you and me, purely out of Love. We are to be set apart too. Not to isolate ourselves, but to be in relationship with other believers to carry out the work of God―to make the Kingdom happen here on earth.

Let God's love ripple through you, through your life. Allow that love to flow from you to others and see what the effect is!

Let's pray

Loving Lord God, thank you for your word that challenges, inspires, teaches, scolds, but most of all, shows us your love. Help us better grasp your love and allow it to work in us and through us to better this community and this world in Your name. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.  

Ready or Not! Sermon given Aug 11, 2013

Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23 

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

50 The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.

3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge! Selah

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.

22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”

Luke 12:32-40

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Watchfulness

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

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opening humor: “Honest Church Signs” (these are likely the work of someone with good imagination and a lot of time...maybe NOT actual displayed signs)

“If we put a lame phrase up here will you come to our church?”

“Your tithe is important to us.”

“We think our use of power point will draw young people like moths to a flame.”

“Do you only sing songs written before 1900? So do we!”

“Easy on the new ideas, all who enter here.”

My personal favorite: On a Presbyterian Congregational Church sign! “We have a female pastor and most of us are ok with that.”

Psalm―vision of immensity of God, yet personal, recognizing individuals who live in covenant to be faithful, and honoring God in thanksgiving! Having that attitude of Gratitude :)

(READ GOSPEL LESSON)

Our Gospel lesson compares to parts of Matthew's gospel again. The section immediately before this says “Do not worry!” and then, here, Jesus says fear not! This is part of a long section that includes parables...stories and 'preaching' to bring home His point of God comes first. Our earthly stuff and worries are nothing compared to heaven!

Watching...in Bible, the word, “watch” or “Keep” means to be watchful, keep close tabs upon, guard. In other words to pay close attention! For example, if you watch your neighbor's house while they are gone, you pay more attention than you might otherwise. So too here, 'watching for the Master” means to pay attention, to keep track and notice the very moment of the arrival!

be dressed and ready for service...

servants waiting for master from wedding banquet. Servants, ready to work and care for the master! The master of course is Jesus. What is this banquet?

The wedding banquet is The body of Christ, come together for eternity. All believers, and Jesus said he would not lose even one of his sheep!

The wedding banquet, is for the marriage of Jesus who is the bridegroom, and the bride....the Church! The worldwide church! All of us! This church, all other churches and people who are truly honoring Our Lord and working to achieve God's plan here on earth..Jesus said over and over in the Gospels, “the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus brought the Kingdom near, and His followers are to help bring it to fruition.

We are to keep watch...paying attention to the details, ready for anything to happen, especially ready for the best of all possible things to happen-for the Lord to come to take us to that banquet! Meanwhile we live our Kingdom lives, helping to bring the love of the Lord to each other and to the world. Paying attention to the needs of others, and helping to fulfill those needs. Did you notice in the passage, the Master dresses and serves the servants? Jesus washed the disciples' feet.

The phrases Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven appear in Gospels total of 85 times! But what does it mean!? It means of course heaven, our final reward, but it also means something for the present time.

Our VBS this week was theme Kingdom Rocks, and there were stories of royalty from the old testament and Jesus of course. The stories help reinforce the ways that we can “Stand Strong” for God. God's Love helps us stand strong and the Bible, prayer, family and friends, and trust in God help us.

It's fun and it made great points to the kids about ways of helping our faith.

But I think it's hard for us sometimes today in this era in this country to get the whole kingdom metaphor. The Hebrew Scriptures, over and over refer to God coming to be the ultimate King of the people. Royalty was something people were quite familiar with. The concept of complete control by only one person was what they understood.

But the VBS stories were powerful. King David of course, told about writing the 23^rd Psalm after his life was in danger! Nehemiah taught about the power of prayer in rebuilding the City wall after Jerusalem had been destroyed.

One story was Queen Esther, the Jewish woman who, by winning a beauty contest, became the queen of King Xerxes, and saved the Jewish people from being annihilated by the power hungry Haman. Her story includes her relative Mordecai saying to her, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

I knew someone who felt that was a key verse for them, that they had been called to a certain ministry task for just such a time.

Indeed, who knows, maybe we have become the United Church for just such a time as this?

This is a time of huge changes within 'organized religion'. Although I am beginning to think that phrase is an oxymoron.

Nationally, even world wide, there are changes happening. There is unprecedented fervor for the Word of God in Africa and parts Asia, where persecution is strong. Yet in Europe and the US, mainline churches are closing everywhere.

Our merger is a radical solution that other churches are undertaking. There are many mergers happening within denominations. To do what we have done tho, incorporating 2 denominations is still unusual, it's a bit 'out there'. And others are paying attention to what we merged churches are up to!

In an article on successful mergers, there were several key points. The most significant is that the church members are committed to a larger vision. The merger itself is just a step towards this Larger Vision.

Are we committed to a larger vision? Are we committed to The Kingdom of heaven? To help others see that the Kingdom of heaven has indeed come near? Whatever our specific vision as a church is, it is all about the Kingdom of heaven!

NT Wright

The establishment of God’s kingdom means the dethroning of the world’s kingdoms, not in order to replace them with another one of basically the same sort (one that makes its way through superior force of arms), but in order to replace it with one whose power is the power of the servant and whose strength is the strength of love.

This is what Jesus is talking about in our Gospel lesson. Keeping our eyes on the future...the Kingdom of Heaven, taking care of God's people. Helping to bring to our community the Shalom of God, the perfect peace, wholeness, protection that existed in the Garden and will one day prevail for eternity.

John Ortberg

Community is not built through sitting in the same building and singing the same songs. It is forged in the fires of life. When we know each other deeply ― the good, the bad, and the ugly ― community is experienced. Community grows when we learn to rejoice with one another, celebrating life. Roots grow deep when we know we are loved by others and are free to extend love to them as well. Finally, community deepens and is built when we commit to serve each other and let others serve us. This process of doing ministry and humbly receiving the ministry of others is critical for healthy community life.

Our busy August, including our just completed VBS, the upcoming Book Bag Bash, the August 24 Lay Leadership Retreat-- are all ways in which we are living out our vision, our purpose. We will grow and learn together if we continue to live putting God first. As our Psalm says, those who offer gratitude glorify God! Are we grateful today for how blessed we truly are? And are we living out that gratitude!

Barbara Brown Taylor:

Every morning when you wake up, decide to live the life God has given you to live right now. Refuse to live yesterday over again. Resist the temptation to save your best self for tomorrow... Live prepared! ...{Live your life} ready for God, for whatever happens next, not afraid but wide awake, watching for the Lord!

Let us pray: Holy God, help us to live more attentively and more purposefully for You. Help us to better live as you have called us, not for our own desires but only to glorify you. In Jesus Name, Amen.