For the week of August 18 – 13th Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: New every morning is Your love, great God of light, and all day long You are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desires to serve You, to live peacefully with our neighbors, and to devote each day to Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. (UM BOW)
Opening Hymn: #546 The Church’s One Foundation (Adapted Lyrics)
- The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord;
We are His new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought us that we might ever be
His living servant people, by His own death set free.
- Called forth from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth;
Our charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy name professing and at one table fed,
To one hope always pressing, by Christ’s own Spirit led.
- Though with a scornful wonder the world sees us oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, “How long?”
But soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
- Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of our war,
We wait the consummation of peace forevermore;
Till with the vision glorious our longing eyes are blest,
And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
- We now on earth have union with God the Three in One,
And share through faith communion with those whose rest is won.
Oh, happy ones, and holy! Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with Thee.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Full of honor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.
He has gained renown by His wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear Him; He is ever mindful of His covenant.
He has shown His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy.
They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
Back to School Blessing
Loving God, we come before You with prayers in our hearts. We offer to You our very lives that we may live according to Your will.
We pray for all children—for their playfulness, for their curiosity and for their joyfulness. We pray, as they go beyond the boundaries of home, that they will find strong and true friendships. We pray especially for those called to lead and to care for them. Grant O God that our children and the adults who minister with them might grow in Your love.
We pray for all young people, for the ways they test boundaries and question authority. We pray, O God, that they will continue to develop and to use the gifts You have given them. We pray for those called to teach, to lead, to coach, and to mentor our young people. Grant Your wisdom and generous spirit to these youth and adults as they commit to grow righteously in this complex world.
We pray for all college students, for the questions they are facing about their future. We pray for those called to lead and to care for them—for professors, counselors, administrators, and advisors. Nurture all students and leaders, O God, in communities of fellowship and protect them from isolation and loneliness. Grant Your courage to these young adults and adults as they engage in critical learning and discovery for the stewardship of our world.
We pray for all those who teach and lead, O God. Inspire them with creativity and commitment. Give them energy to continue teaching and bringing forth the best from their students. Help us to appreciate their efforts and to treat them with respect. Provide opportunities, O God, for their refreshment and renewal. We pray for all adults as they endeavor to live faithful lives in their homes and in their workplaces.
We pray for all who are parents, stepparents, guardians, caregivers, and grandparents of children, youth, and young adults. Help them to find the time to sit and to listen to their young people. Give them hearts and minds filled with patience, understanding and wisdom. Enable them to share Your wisdom and love, O God, in word and by example.
We pray for all those who learn—children, youth, young adults and adults. Keep them from being discouraged when facing the trials of the day. Instill in them a desire to grow in wisdom and understanding. Grant them the discipline of study and the ability to concentrate. We pray for all of us as learners, O God. We know that we never stop learning about Your love and faithfulness.
We thank You, O God our creator, for teaching us through Your word and through Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. (Adapted from Ideas! For Church Leaders)
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: 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, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: A portion of the Missions funding is set aside for giving a small scholarship to each of our young people whom we have loved and nurtured. Our nurturing doesn’t end with high school. The funds are given to all who choose to pursue additional education, with the belief and fervent hope that Christians will live their faith in all occupations and all walks of life. God bless our students. The names of post-high school students are included in our weekly prayer reminders.
Offering prayer: Holy God, in this moment of offering, we stand before You, acknowledging Your boundless wisdom and unfailing love. As we present our gifts, we also lift our prayers for guidance and understanding. Grant us the wisdom to discern Your will and the courage to walk in Your ways. Bless these offerings and our lives, so that we may continue to worship You in spirit and truth. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries, adapted)
Hymn of preparation: #557 Blest Be the Tie that Binds
- Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. - Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares. - We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear;
and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear. - When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
Message: Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness Pastor Becky
Big congratulations and welcome to Ryan for affirming his baptism and taking on membership vows this morning! We are in exciting times for the Kingdom of God. In those membership vows, Ryan pledged his prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness to God and to the Church of Jesus Christ as embodied as this congregation of Lightstreet.
If witness caught you by surprise as part of his pledge, witness was added to our membership vows in 2008. This means if you were confirmed or brought into membership before then just know it’s been added and is an expectation of membership for all members, along with your prayers, presence, gifts, and service.
This morning we are going to take a look at these components of our vows and the importance of this pledge.
Prayers
Prayer is conversation with God. We pray to God to act on another’s behalf, like praying for someone’s health, for their success, for their safety … the list is endless. We also pray to God for ourselves for just as many reasons. Our desire is for God to act, to hear, to answer our prayers because we have confidence that God hears us.
Psalm 66:19-20 But God definitely listened. He heard the sound of my prayer. Bless God! He didn’t reject my prayer; He didn’t withhold His faithful love from me.
Our prayers take many forms. They can range from deep signs to wailing, from a whisper to a scream and our prayers are also forms of thanksgiving and repentance. God, who loves us, wants us to offer our love to God. It’s a relationship and you can’t have a relationship with God without conversation. Try not talking to your spouse, child, sibling, or friend and see how long it takes before your connection is gone. Fortunately, God will always be in connection, only we can drop the relationship.
Prayer is vital to discipleship.
Presence
Thank you for being here this morning. You being present here as a physical representation of the church is encouragement for those in need of being a part of something, anything. It is one thing to count ourselves as part of the church, but seeing ourselves in the company of the church builds each of us up. Being here in worship, our songs go up to God together. Our prayers are lifted to God together and hopefully we hear God together. Your presence is an active part of worship.
Jeremiah 32:38-39 They will be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one mind so that they may worship Me all the days of their lives, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
Yet, another aspect of presence is being with those in need of the help and comfort of God. We are to stand as a representative of God with people in dark places. Think about Job and his friends. In Job’s sorrow, grief, anger, and confusion, his friends came and sat with him.
Job 2:11,13 When Job’s three friends heard about all this disaster that had happened to him, they came each from his home Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah. They agreed to come so they could console and comfort him. They sat with Job on the ground seven days and seven nights, not speaking a word to him, for they saw that he was in excruciating pain.
Presence is showing up and being in solidarity with another, in times of sorrow and in times of joy.
Gifts
We all have gifts. We all have spiritual gifts. We have parts of ourselves that God has given to us to invest in God for the building of the Kingdom. Those gifts reflect the multi-faceted nature of God.
1 Corinthians 12:27-28 You are the body of Christ and parts of each other. In the church, God has appointed first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this.
Our gifts, given by God are to be given back to God in the sharing with one another. Think about your gifts, think about the gifts of others. How can we help each other offer them to God for the building of the Kingdom?
Service
This one may be the simplest to understand, yet it is the most demanding. It requires our strength and our time, at the very least. It is working to manifest the Kingdom; it is serving one another and the community around us.
Matthew 25:35-36 I was hungry and you gave Me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed Me. I was naked and you gave Me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of Me. I was in prison and you visited Me.’
We tend to call this mission, a church word that means caring for the creation and everything and everyone contained within it. It is a form of stewardship. God has entrusted the care of everything to us. We, again, are an extension of God’s love, grace, and mercy as we care for all that God has made and all that God loves.
Witness
Witness is what we say, how we act and interact with creation around us, always – everywhere – with everyone, because there is nowhere God isn’t. Our witness is our beliefs in action.
Psalm 139:7-8 Where could I go to get away from Your spirit? Where could I go to escape Your presence? If I went up to heaven, You would be there. If I went down to the grave, You would be there, too!
While this scripture is comforting in times of loneliness and isolation, it should also cause us to think twice about how we live out our beliefs. Does our living and thinking affirm life or destroy it? Are we offering the grace we so quickly claim for ourselves as freely and thickly to others? Are we as quick to forgive, encourage, and build up as we are to judge, criticize and dehumanize?
I can point to times I have damaged my witness – usually I’m behind the wheel of the big, black truck – my road rage is one of my biggest destroyers of my witness. Yet, honestly, I just need folks to use their factory-installed turn signals and I might come down a notch. But there are other times, I know I have sinned in my anger. I know that I don’t work well with others when I’m frustrated. Yet, for the transformation of my witness, I have to work on it. To recognize my own shortcomings, so that I am not destroying another child of God. Yet, really it’s as simple as when I’ve done or said something I know doesn’t represent what Jesus has done or said, when my actions don’t align with Jesus or reflect a Jesus perspective.
Mark 7:6 He replied, “Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you hypocrites. He wrote, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.’”
What all five of these pledges point to are John Wesley’s Three Rules: Do no harm – Do good – Stay in love with God. When living out our vows, we live in the life desired by God for all of us. All being the ultimate word. We aren’t just to be good to those we like, love, or prefer, we are to be good and do good to all. All will come to know God and God’s great love for us in Jesus, when we take what we’ve pledge seriously and we own them – not just for Sundays, but our every days, everywhere, for everyone. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #558 We Are the Church
Refrain: I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus all around the world! Yes, we’re the church together!
- The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple,
the church is not a resting place, the church is a people. - We’re many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces,
all colors and all ages, too, from all times and places. - Sometimes the church is marching, sometimes it’s bravely burning,
sometimes it’s riding, sometimes hiding, always it’s learning. - And when the people gather, there’s singing and there’s praying,
There’s laughing and there’s crying sometimes, all of it saying: - At Pentecost some people received the Holy Spirit
And told the Good News through the world to all who would hear it.
Go into your week with the blessings of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.
