06/12/2022 – Trinity Sunday
Morning prayer: Holy God, You have given us grace by the confession of the faith of Your holy church, to acknowledge the mystery of the eternal Trinity and, in the power of Your divine majesty, to worship the Unity. Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see in Your eternal glory One God, now and forever. Amen. (The Common Book of Prayer, UM hymnal #76)
Hymn #369 Blessed Assurance
- Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
- Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain) - Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
(Refrain)
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants You have founded a bulwark because of Your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have established; what are human beings that You are mindful of them, mortals that You care for them?
Yet You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Children’s message: John 16:12-15
This week, I want to read from our Bible another story about the Holy Spirit. I will read from the Gospel of John.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but will speak whatever He hears, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine. For this reason I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.
What words did you hear that describe the Holy Spirit?
Those are all excellent ways to describe the Holy Spirit. I am excited to see that you were listening so closely. I wonder what are some ways that you might listen closely to the voice of the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit does speak truth to us because God speaks through the Spirit, and God is loving, trustworthy, and truthful. The Holy Spirit always brings glory to God. When we listen to the Spirit and follow the Spirit’s direction, our lives will glorify God too! What does glorifying God mean? That’s right; when we honor God, we are glorifying God. When we praise God, we are glorifying God. When we worship God, we are glorifying the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When we listen to the Holy Spirit, we are listening to God. When we do that, we glorify God and show the world how much we love God. Listen as we continue with our poem. I still am having some trouble finding the right rhyming words, so please help me. Remember this is also our prayer, and together we will say. “Amen.”
The voice of the Spirit is so true
To be a guide and give to you,
Speaking not on its own
But rather what is heard and shown
The Spirit tells you what life will do
What it receives from me will be shown to ____. (Rhymes with “do.” The word is “you.”)
AMEN! (Discipleship Ministries)
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: Today is one of six designated offering Sundays. Peace with Justice funds support programs and ministries to educate and equip economic and health concerns right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania and around the world. We work with the World Council of Churches, interfaith organizations and secular organizations for social justice.
Offering prayer: Mighty God, who is both one and three, we praise You as God above us, God beside us, and God within us. We bring our gifts to You in worship and gratitude as our Creator and Provider of all good things. We acknowledge that our relationship with You in all three persons begins and ends on Your side of the equation: beginning with Your devotion and not our own, beginning with Your wisdom and not our own. We come into relationship resting on Your grace-filled love and not our intermittent efforts to be faithful in our love for You. Bless these gifts we give and bless the transformational impact they might have. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.
Hymn of Preparation #454 Open My Eyes, that I May See
- Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine! - Open my ears, that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
and while the wavenotes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine! - Open my mouth, and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere;
open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Message scripture-
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
Romans 14:17-18
For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval.
Message- Be In Community Because We Come From Community
There are many things we believe that we take on faith. We call them mysteries – we proclaim the great mystery of faith every time we come to the table together – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. We can understand them as given fact, our faith is based on them. If we are pressed we can explain them to the best and the limit of our knowledge. We can site gospel passages that tell and retell the accounts and we have a history rich in belief, action, and thought behind them.
Yet, today we come to the celebration of the Trinity – God in three persons, blessed Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity, brings me to the pulpit in fear and trepidation. Seems easy enough to explain and exhort upon, but the path is covered in traps, the slightest misstep will bring in heresy and a complete skewing of the concept.
I love to teach, debate, have conversations and wrestle with the big things of faith. I love to systematically work through theology, I can process the living life out of nearly everything, just ask my poor husband and children – I can literally ruin anything, if you give me enough time. They, my family, have learned how to work me through it quickly or side track me, so we can enjoy the day, but I can overthink anything, just that I am ready to answer any question. Because I love questions – I will willingly respond to any question by saying – ask me anything. It stretches me and gives me a deeper appreciation of what I don’t know and what I can’t understand and a greater respect for just how unknowable our God can be.
So, in an effort to explain the unexplainable, I will lean on Athanasius’s summation of the Trinity found in the Athanasian Creed:
And the catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite. So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty. So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the catholic religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal. So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.
Really, to say any more about the Trinity, would get me into trouble. What I can say is – God abides in community with the Son and with the Holy Spirit and that is what we are called to strive for as well, to be in community with God and with the world around us.
How do we know that we are better in community and that God ordains us to be in community? We look to scripture and see how God blesses and uphold community. In the beginning… God created everything to be partnered, for multiplying and because God said it is not God to be alone. God handed down commandments on how to live in community with God and each other (the 10 Commandments) and then went on to speak more that are recorded in Deuteronomy and Leviticus. When Naomi lost everything, she went back to her community. Every prophet of the Most High God, called the nation into care of the needy, the widow, the orphan and spoke to how they were to make all feel at home within the nation of Israel.
When we look to Jesus, His healings reconciled families – rebirthed communities. After talking with the woman at the well, what did she do? She ran back to her community and told them about Jesus, she didn’t keep it to herself. She reignited the passion of Samaria to the coming Messiah.
Just last week, we celebrated the pinnacle of community building in the coming of the Holy Spirit. In one swift and powerful moment, all were brought into community with the speaking of Peter, which set off the movement we know as the Church. Over and over, we see where God has ordained community, calling us to the needs of our community – all to point us to the Holy Community to which we come: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray: Holy God, You are the perfect model of community. In all Your ways, You reflect Your loving grace toward us in Your Son and support us in Your loving action in the Holy Spirit. Let us set our faces to the reality, we are best in Your image when we are in community. Loving and living fully for each other, all to glorify You and to bring Your Kingdom here. Amen.
Closing Hymn #368 My Hope Is Built
- My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
Refrain:
On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
- When Darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.
(Refrain) - His oath, His covenant, His blood supports me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
(Refrain) - When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found!
Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne!
(Refrain)
Go into your week with the blessings of The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit.