For the week of November 17 – 26th Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: O God who loves us, hear our prayer. We are at a loss for the right words, the right deeds, the right feelings. We cannot say with certainty what is wrong. There are deep divisions between us and others. There are too many who live in poverty and fear. There are too many horrific stories, and not enough hopeful ones. So we pray to You, our Creator and Redeemer, to make things right, and to make us right with You and each other. Turn us around from that which destroys toward that which heals and brings joy. And hear us as we confess our sins and, with repentance, strive to serve You in truth. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Morning Hymn: #117 O God, Our Help in Ages Past
- O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. - Under the shadow of Thy throne, still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is Thine arm alone, and our defense is sure. - Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame,
from everlasting, Thou art God, to endless years the same. - A thousand ages, in Thy sight, are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night, before the rising sun. - Time, like an ever rolling stream, bears all who breathe away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day. - O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come;
be Thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.
Selected verses of Hannah’s prayer song from 1 Samuel 2 (CEB) Read by the liturgist
My heart rejoices in the Lord.
My strength rises up in the Lord!
2 No one is holy like the Lord—
no, no one except you!
There is no rock like our God!
3 Don’t go on and on, talking so proudly,
spouting arrogance from your mouth,
because the Lord is the God who knows,
and He weighs every act.
6 The Lord!
He brings death, gives life,
takes down to the grave, and raises up!
7 The Lord!
He makes poor, gives wealth,
brings low, but also lifts up high!
9 God guards the feet of His faithful ones,
but the wicked die in darkness
because no one succeeds by strength alone.
10 The Lord!
His enemies are terrified!
God thunders against them from heaven!
The Lord!
He judges the far corners of the earth!
May God give strength to His king
and raise high the strength of His anointed one.
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: Woody Wolfe ministers with music to hospitalized children all over the world, all over the country, and in our local hospitals. Woody and Heart to Hand Ministries is a sponsored charity of LUMC. Thank you for giving. Because of Woody’s great comfort to children and their families, church leaders have designated $500 to further his ministry.
Offering prayer: Merciful God, whose wisdom surpasses all understanding, we offer these gifts as a token of our faith and devotion. In a world full of uncertainties, may these offerings be used to spread Your hope and love. Teach us to listen to Your voice amid the noise and to trust in Your steadfast presence. Bless our giving, that it may build Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of preparation: #479 Jesus, Lover of my Soul
- Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last. - Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing. - Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness;
false and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace. - Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound, make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.
Scripture: Mark 13:1-8 (CEB)
13 As Jesus left the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!”
2 Jesus responded, “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.”
3 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will show that all these things are about to come to an end?”
5 Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many people will come in My name, saying, ‘I’m the one!’ They will deceive many people. 7 When you hear of wars and reports of wars, don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. 8 Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be earthquakes and famines in all sorts of places. These things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end.
Message: Is It Time to Tear Down the Church? Rev. Ron French
Pastor Daniel Bohlman had a problem. The front of his church was small, only enough room for a pulpit. When a prominent member died, Pastor Bohlman had to figure out where to place the casket for viewing. The most reasonable place seemed to be in the back of the church, where there was more room. All they needed to do was move out one of the pews for the service, and then replace it afterwards. Problem solved … or so Pastor Bohlman thought. But certain members of the church were outraged that anyone would think of moving the back pew, even temporarily. How dare they tamper with their church sanctuary. The opposition became so intense that Pastor Bohlman would write, “it seemed easier to rally people together to fight to keep a pew from leaving the church, than getting them to fight to put people into it.”
Our lesson for today is from the 13th chapter of Mark. It is a chapter that talks about the return of the Son of God. But the chapter begins with a warning that you and I need to heed. One day as Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him: “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!” (1) And they were awesome buildings. The Temple looked like it would last forever. It was gigantic, covering all of the top of Mount Moriah. Some of the stones used to build it were forty feet long and eighteen feet wide.
The building project took over 46 years to complete. In the front of the Temple were huge pillars, almost forty feet high. The Temple was made of pure white marble and parts were covered in plates of solid gold. When the sun hit the white and gold structure, it often gleamed so brightly that onlookers had to shield their eyes from the glare. Yet Jesus turned to His disciples and said: “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.” (2) What a stark revelation. The Temple was the center of Jewish life. More than anything else in their land, the Temple gave the Jewish people a sense of identity. And now Jesus was telling them that one day this glorious structure would lie in ruins.
There are some people who are saying the same thing about the church today. The church is irrelevant. The church is dying and almost dead. The church as a vital institution is finished. But, of course, they have always said that about the church. The difference is that today some of the people who are saying that the church will one day lay in ruins are people who love the church, just as Jesus loved the Temple. Church consultant George Barna has devoted years to tracking the impact of the church on society. In his 1998 book “The Second Coming of The Church” Barana says: “At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, I believe the Church in America has no more than five years – perhaps even less – to turn itself around and begin to affect the culture, rather than be affected by it.” Twenty years ago, that five years was up.
Barna warned us that the Temple we love will lie in ruins. Oh, the shell might be around for another century, but the church as a live, redemptive force will be no more. Should we be concerned? Is there any hope? This morning, I want to consider some important principles about the church and today’s society.
First of all, we need to see that the church has what most people need today; and that is to be connected to other people and to God. These two needs are at the heart of who we are and what we are about. Back in the 1700s hymn writer Charles Wesley, his brother John Wesley, and Richard Pilmore, were holding an outdoor service, when a mob attacked them, pelting them with stones. They were compelled to flee for their lives. They found shelter behind a hedge. When night came, they found their way to a deserted springhouse where they washed their faces in the clear, cold water, brushed the dirt from their clothes, and felt at least a moment’s security from the rocks which had pelted them. Charles Wesley had with him a piece of lead hammered out into a pencil. He pulled it from his pocket, and composed a hymn sung by Christians around the world: “Jesus, lover of my soul, / Let me to Thy bosom fly; While the nearer waters roll, / While the tempest still is high.”
Wesley was thankful to God for the shelter he had found in the springhouse. And he wrote of a place of shelter open to all in Christ. Sisters and brothers, people still need shelter from life’s storms. People still need a place of quiet refuge. People still need a place where they can connect with one another and with God. The church is what most people need today.
The interesting thing about today is that the last place most people look for spiritual fulfillment and fellowship is in church. Several years ago, a major car company had its salespeople wear a pin that read: “I am not a salesman.” It seems that surveys showed that the one thing people dreaded most in buying a new car was dealing with public salespeople. They associated car buying with high pressure and low ethics. It is a shame that a time-honored profession like car salespeople would fall so low in public esteem that salespeople would have to wear such a pin.
But something like that has happened to the church in the eyes of many people. They want God at least in some form. They want spiritually healthy relationships with others, but the last place they want to look for these things is in the church. So, what are we to do? Jesus has called us to reach out to all the world. So, where do we begin? Brothers and sisters, we begin with ourselves. We need to continually ask ourselves what we can do to make ourselves more appealing to the world outside.
The fastest growing churches in our country are churches that seek to understand the community around them and to fashion their ministry to meet the needs of that community. That may mean using videos in worship. It might be using more contemporary music. It might mean providing day-care for neighborhood children. Every community is different. But we need to ask ourselves whether we are focused on our own needs or whether we are focused on the needs of the people outside these walls. In a sense we might need to tear down our church – as we have known it – in order to build it up.
Secondly, we need to do a better job of telling our story. If you have met God in this place, you need to tell your friends and neighbors about it. If there is something special about the Lightstreet United Methodist Church in your heart and life, you need to share it with others. If a group of people in this church has rallied around you in a time of need, you need to tell them that good news. If you are excited about some aspects of our church’s ministry, you need to broadcast it. It is not that people today are not responsive to the church’s message. People are confused about what that message is. And they don’t know unless you care enough to tell our story.
Researchers say that 7 out of 10 people who don’t currently attend worship would seriously consider doing so. When will they do so, you ask? The answer is almost always the same, “We will go when someone asks us!” Why are you here today? What brought you to this church and what keeps you here? John VanTil says he knows the answer. He contacted 325 people across Canada who recently joined a church and asked them how it happened for them. 260 of them said that they came to the church directly as a result of meaningful personal relationships with people in that congregation. Sisters and brothers, that’s 80%.
People outside these walls wonder if we care enough about them to tell them about our church. We need to look at our church and at the community that surrounds us and see if there are ways, we can make our ministry more responsive to their needs. But we also need to do a better job of telling our story. Let me use another analogy. Back in 1978, when the Shah of Iram was deposed, a much more conservative, fundamentalist government took over Iran and began restricting the people’s basic freedoms. Women were most hard-hit by the new laws. The new government banned women from most government and university jobs. The female cabinet minister in charge of education was executed when she objected. Women were not allowed out of their houses unless they were covered head to toe in thick veils. Women who let their hair or their wrists show outside their veils could be attacked and beaten on the streets. Figures of women were air-brushed out of books. In many places girls were kicked out of school and denied even the most basic education. But today, change is occurring in Iran, and some women are using these restrictions that have been forced upon them to their advantage. Such things as wearing lipstick or letting their hair show have become powerful forms of political protest. Now let me apply that to our situation.
In a society where people are floundering ethically, morally, and spiritually a person who has a vital faith in Jesus Christ, who is able to love as Christ loved, who is kind as He was kind, who is accepting as He was accepting, who is generous as He was generous will stand out in any group. There is nothing more appealing than a person who truly lives as Christ lived. The problem with our witness sometimes is that many Christians, by their attitudes and actions, resemble Jesus’ enemies more than they do Him. They are so sour, so judgmental, so unloving, that they do more harm to the Christian cause, than good.
And this brings us to the final thing to be said this morning. We need to evaluate our relationship with God and with one another. We need to see if our witness is authentic. The key to having a vital church is to have people who are vitally related to God.
There is a story about a Rabbi who was flying from New York to Los Angeles. This Rabbi was quite elderly, and his grandson was on the same plane to help him on the trip. The Rabbi was seated in first class where he would be more comfortable. The grandson was sitting in coach where it was less expensive. Sitting next to the Rabbi was a scientist, and they shared some pleasant conversation. The scientist noticed that the grandson kept coming back and forth to make sure his grandfather was comfortable and see if there was anything he needed. Finally, the scientist said to the Rabbi, “That’s wonderful. Look how well your grandson treats you! My grandchildren would never travel anywhere with me. And if they did, they would never give me the attention your grandson is giving you.” The Rabbi replied, “It’s really quite simple. You believe in evolution. By that theory, your children are one step further from the apes than you are. I believe that man was created in the image of God. By that theory, I am one step closer to God than my children are. So, of course, our grandchildren treat us accordingly.”
Now, the point is not whether you believe in evolution or not. The real point is: How close do you live to God? If you live close to God, it will show. You will be kinder, more loving, more generous, more accepting. The light of Christ will glow on your face. I like the title of one of Tony Campolo’s books, How to Be a Christian Without Embarrassing God. Sisters and brothers, some church people are an embarrassment to God by their attitudes and their actions.
Fortunately, that is the exception and not the rule. So, I ask you: “Will this church like the Temple in Jerusalem one day lie in ruins?” We need to look at ourselves more closely. We need to tell our story more boldly. And you and I need to draw closer than ever to God.
Closing Hymn: #361 Rock of Ages
- Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee;
let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure. - Not the labors of my hands can fulfill Thy law's commands;
could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone. - Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die. - While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown, see Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
