For the week of August 4 – 11th Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: God, like a baker, You bring the leaven which causes our hopes to rise. With Your strong and gentle hands, shape our lives. Warm us with Your love. Take our common lives and touch them with Your grace, that we may nourish hope among our neighbors. We pray trusting in Your name, through Jesus our Christ. Amen (UMBOW 469 adapted)
Opening Hymn #64 Holy, Holy, Holy
- Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! - Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
- Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, perfect in power, in love and purity. - Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity.
Psalm 78:23-29
Yet He commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven;
He rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by His power He led out the south wind;
He rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;
He let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
Children’s Time Ephesians 4:11-13, 16
“And Christ gave gifts to men—He made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving. He gave those gifts to make the body of Christ stronger. This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge about the Son of God. Each part of the body does its own work. And this makes the whole body grow and be strong with love.”
Children’s Message
What if I was thirsty and filled a cup with deliciously refreshing water in my hand, but I didn’t have an elbow? It might be tough to drink the water. Maybe I could put my cup high over my head and pour the water into my mouth? Do you think it will work?
In the Bible it tells us that we are all a part of the body of Christ. Just like having our own body parts (like our elbows) make our body stronger and abler to do great things, you make our church stronger and abler to do great things. Not all of our body parts do the same job, right? That’s the same with people. Each of us have different gifts that we can share.
Maybe you like to talk to people; if so you can invite people to come to church with you. Maybe you have a good memory, then you can remember Bible stories and tell them to people. Maybe you are kind, then you can be a friend to someone who may be lonely. Maybe you are a good helper or you are patient or you are dependable or any number of things, all of these are gifts that God can use in his church to make us grow and be strong.
So think about what you are good at and give those gifts to God so that our church can teach more people about how much He loves us all.
Dear God, Thank You for giving me gifts. Help me to do the things that I am good at to help the church grow stronger so that more people can learn about you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
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: Missions funds are given each year to support the ministries of AGAPE, who partners with organizations and volunteers to transform communities in Columbia and Montour Counties. They give food, clothing and furniture; plus spiritual and financial counseling and assistance. AGAPE: distributes food, gives financial assistance, feeds pets, and is a major component in flood relief efforts.
Offering prayer: Merciful God, in this time of offering, we come before You, acknowledging Your steadfast grace and boundless love. As we present our gifts, may we also offer our contrite hearts, recognizing the depth of our humanity and the need for Your healing touch. Grant us the courage to confront our failings and the wisdom to seek reconciliation and renewal in Your divine presence. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of preparation: #472 Near to the Heart of God
- There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God;
a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.
Refrain: O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,
hold us who wait before Thee near to the heart of God.
- There is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God;
a place where we our Savior meet, near to the heart of God. (Refrain) - There is place a place of full release, near to the heart of God;
a place where all is joy and peace, near to the heart of God. (Refrain)
Message Scripture: John 6:24-35 (CEB)
24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26 Jesus replied, “I assure you that you are looking for Me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. God the Father has confirmed Him as His agent to give life.”
28 They asked, “What must we do in order to accomplish what God requires?”
29 Jesus replied, “This is what God requires, that you believe in Him whom God sent.”
30 They asked, “What miraculous sign will You do, that we can see and believe You? What will You do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[b]
32 Jesus told them, “I assure you, it wasn’t Moses who gave the bread from heaven to you, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said, “Sir,[c] give us this bread all the time!”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.
Message: What are you hungry for? Pastor Becky Cuddeback
What are you hungry for? That can be a dreaded question, at least it in our house. Usually it gets voiced about the time I am working on the weekly schedule. Every week it is: figuring out what nights I’m out for meetings, what nights everyone will be home and eating supper, and how the weather may dictate what everyone wants. Fortunately it’s tomato season, and in this heat, nothing tastes better than a thick slice of beefsteak tomato on fresh bread with thick mayo. But, I digress.
What are you hungry for? What sounds good? What will satisfy you? I realize in the big picture, it doesn’t really matter. We merely need to eat something to survive. We are only responding to a basic human need and we want the pain in our stomach to go away. So we eat whatever, in the hopes it will satisfy and relieve us. Yet, the problem is, we are constantly going to be asking the question and seeking an answer over and over and over again. As long as there is breath in our being, there will be a physical need for nourishment.
For the folks that Jesus fed, the group we call the 5000, they followed Him to be fed again. Initially they received all they needed to get their fill, but they would be hungry again and they were hoping Jesus would feed them again. It stands to reason, they knew the story of the manna from heaven and could easily transfer the miraculous feeding in the desert of their ancestors to this miraculous feeding by Jesus. Yet, Jesus isn’t offering physical bread again. He is offering them something different. Jesus is offering Himself to them. Jesus proclaims Himself to be the giver of life to the world and all that is needed is to believe in Jesus as the one sent by God; to believe in Jesus for all they needed for life, abundant life and life eternal.
So, now, let me ask you again: What are you hungry for? In Jesus our deepest hunger can be filled and we hunger for things that physical food can not provide.
Do you hunger for identity? Do you find yourself wondering who am I? Jesus has the answer for you. In Jesus, you are an heir to God (Romans 8:17) and a child of God (1 John 3:1-2).
Do you long for belonging, to be a part of a family? In Jesus we are brothers and sisters (Matthew 23:8) and as siblings we have the same Father, “I will be a Father to you. And you shall be my sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18)”. You and I are members of one body (Colossians 3:15-17).
Do you crave a purpose? In Jesus, we each have a purpose. We were called out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). We are called to good works, which God prepared in advance (Ephesians 2:10). God has a purpose for each of us and it is realized in relationship to Jesus.
We find our identity, our belonging, and our purpose in Jesus. All of these give us life, which is so much more than merely existing. In many ways, especially since the pandemic, we’ve just been existing. We have been going through the motions of what it means to be a church. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the most glaring is that we had never been through anything like that before in our lives. Sure, we could read the histories of pandemics and try and garner lessons, but we were trying to navigate and merely survive. We didn’t have a method to help us be the church, and how to be the church depended heavily on what was going on around us. We were surrounded by conflicting opinions and understandings of what should or shouldn’t be happening. Our political climate is in a state of chaos which is causing divisions in every aspect of our lives. We are merely trying to get to the other side of November.
Yet, we believe in Jesus, the giver of life. We can’t be alone in wanting identity, belonging, and purpose. Our experience can’t be unique. So, if we are longing for these things, those outside our fellowship might be longing for them as well. The good works prepared in advance by God for us to do is to point to the one who gives us those things that satisfy our deepest hunger. We must return to Jesus. Our lives should look different and our community should look as if Jesus dwells here. Now we do the work that lasts for us and for others. The work of believing and living a life that points to Jesus as the supplier of all we need for inclusion in the Kingdom of God in this life, in our lives, in the lives of our neighbors, and then for eternal life. Amen.
Closing Hymn #347 Spirit Song
- O let the Son of God enfold you with His Spirit and His love.
Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul.
O let Him have the things that hold you, and His Spirit like a dove
will descend upon your life and make you whole.
Refrain: Jesus, O Jesus, come and fill Your lambs. Jesus, O Jesus, come and fill Your lambs.
- O come and sing this song with gladness as your hearts are filled with joy.
Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name.
O give Him all your tears and sadness; give Him all your years of pain,
And you’ll enter into life in Jesus’ name. Refrain.
Go into your week with the blessings of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.
