For the week of July 6 – 4th Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: God of endings and beginnings, we thank You for always starting anew with us. When we find ourselves at our wits’ end, at the end of our rope, at the end of our patience, or even at the end of our hope, You are there. You find us and bring us into Your new beginning, again and again. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Opening Hymn: #733 Marching to Zion
- Come, we that love the Lord, and let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord, join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne.
Refrain: We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God.
- Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God;
But children of the heavenly King, but children of the heavenly King
May speak their joys abroad, may speak their joys abroad.
- The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields, before we reach the heavenly fields,
Or walk the golden streets, or walk the golden streets.
- Then let our songs abound, and every tear be dry;
We’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground, we’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground,
To fairer worlds on high, to fairer worlds on high.
Psalm 66:1-9 (CEB)
66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises to the glory of God’s name!
Make glorious His praise!
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are Your works!
Because of Your great strength,
Your enemies cringe before You.
4 All the earth worships You,
sings praises to You,
sings praises to Your name!” Selah
5 Come and see God’s deeds;
His works for human beings are awesome:
6 He turned the sea into dry land
so they could cross the river on foot.
Right there we rejoiced in Him!
7 God rules with power forever;
keeps a good eye on the nations.
So don’t let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 All you nations, bless our God!
Let the sound of His praise be heard!
9 God preserved us among the living;
He didn’t let our feet slip a bit.
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: Lightstreet Firemen’s Carnival is a grand week here in Lightstreet. Won’t you be part of the excitement? The Fire Company consists of volunteers who receive extensive training so that they can respond to fires, yes, but so many other emergency situations. Unfortunately, these volunteers must also spend a significant chunk of time raising funds for training and equipment just so they can serve this community.
Offering prayer: Compassionate God, who strengthens us for the journey of faith, we bring these gifts in response to Your call to sow seeds of love and justice. May our offerings build up the family of faith and extend Your grace to the world beyond. Help us not to grow weary in doing good but to serve with joy and perseverance, trusting that the harvest of Your Spirit will bear fruit in due season. Unite us as Your new creation, made whole through Christ’s love and empowered by Your Spirit. In gratitude, we dedicate all that we have and all that we are. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation: #395 Take Time to Be Holy
abide in Him always, and feed on His word.
Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak,
forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
- Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
- Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide,
and run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
and, looking to Jesus, still trust in His word.
- Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His spirit to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
Scripture: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 (CEB)
10 After these things, the Lord commissioned seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every city and place He was about to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for His harvest. 3 Go! Be warned, though, that I’m sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry no wallet, no bag, and no sandals. Don’t even greet anyone along the way. 5 Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house.’ 6 If anyone there shares God’s peace, then your peace will rest on that person. If not, your blessing will return to you. 7 Remain in this house, eating and drinking whatever they set before you, for workers deserve their pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a city and its people welcome you, eat what they set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘God’s kingdom has come upon you.’ 10 Whenever you enter a city and the people don’t welcome you, go out into the streets and say, 11 ‘As a complaint against you, we brush off the dust of your city that has collected on our feet. But know this: God’s kingdom has come to you.’
16 Whoever listens to you listens to Me. Whoever rejects you rejects Me. Whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
17 The seventy-two returned joyously, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit themselves to us in Your name.”
18 Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Look, I have given you authority to crush snakes and scorpions underfoot. I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20 Nevertheless, don’t rejoice because the spirits submit to you. Rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.”
Affirm your faith by reciting the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontus Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. (UM Hymnal #881)
Message: Pastor Becky Cuddeback
The last time we were together, I asked you: Do we ask Jesus to stay or do we ask Jesus to go? The weight and wait of that decision has been weighing on me. And then we come to this morning. Jesus sends out 72 appointed and anointed disciples, 36 pairs as forerunners to each of the communities Jesus planned to go. He sent them to introduce, to declare, God's Kingdom has come upon you. That's the CEB, the Common English Bible wording. We are probably more familiar with the wording “The Kingdom of God has come near to you”.
The intention is to give the town a foretaste of what the Kingdom of God will be. The disciples were to heal the sick as a sign of that Kingdom. The bonus? We get to see in their report back additionally, they were able to cast out demons as well.
Now, in order to go, Jesus instructed the disciples that they were to take nothing. No money, no clothes, no food, just the message: the Kingdom of God has come near to you. Jesus gives them no time to prepare. He appoints them and sends them. Jesus gives them no time to doubt what they are to do. His instructions are clear. He doesn't want them sidetracked. He goes so far as to say don't greet anyone on the road. Now I know that that seems a bit rude, yet Jesus only wants them talking to each other. Repeating the instructions and the encouragement over and over to each other. Talking to someone else, one not on the mission could interject doubt, second guessing.
Jesus knows where these disciples are going. He is focused and wants the disciples to be focused as well. He doesn't want them forming biases or prejudices against any of these communities that they are going to visit. He already knows the towns will hear the message and respond or they won't. Jesus also wanted to be the disciples that bring the message, not a town crier who heard something beforehand that may influence the acceptance or the rejection of the message. The towns will hear the message when it's delivered by the disciples.
The hearts of those that are hearing will receive it in the truest condition of their own hearts. The disciples are meeting these towns precisely and honestly where they are. When the disciples get there, they will either find that this community is already primed, already looking for the Kingdom of God or they will find these towns have found other gods to worship and rely on. Meeting people truly where they're at. The disciples weren't coming to these places to persuade, convert, or convict. They didn't go there with the idea that if they offered enough healings, the town, the village, the community would gravitate to the Kingdom of God. The disciples weren't sent to these places to sell the Kingdom of God.
The acceptance was going to fall in line with the hospitality that is offered once the disciples got to the town or to the village that they were sent. They would have needs. They would be hungry and need a meal, something to eat, something to stop the hunger pangs. They may possibly need clothing or sandals. It really depended on how kind the road had been to them. Because a large stone in their sandal could sever the strap that keeps their shoe on their foot. Or they may have torn their tunic on something. The disciples might very well need to be clothed once they arrived. They're also going to need a place to stay, some form of lodging. It didn't necessarily need to be 5 star accommodations. But they would need at the very least somewhere safe, warm and dry.
Jesus is sending the disciples as a reflection of those most in need of the Kingdom of God that they themselves were announcing. Do you remember Jesus' announcement in the synagogue? It's recorded in Luke 4:16- 21. Jesus finds the place where it's written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind. To liberate the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor”. Upon reading that scripture from Isaiah, Jesus exclaims, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled, just as you have heard it.”
Jesus' disciples are going to these places as a walking embodiment of the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. In the disciples' poverty, in their need, the towns will manifest the Kingdom of God when the town responds by caring for the disciples. In return for the hospitality, healing will come to them. Illnesses will be cured and demons will be rooted out.
For some of the villages, the Kingdom has already come near. Because you would hope that if they would offer these things to a stranger, then surely they're caring for the least of these in their own community. We act out of our own inclination. And here's the thing, the thing that doesn't change whether they accept or reject the message of the disciples, the message remains the same: “The Kingdom of God is near.”
It's hard to imagine rejecting the Kingdom. But I think we can all hear what that rejection would sound like. You can imagine what the people would be saying about the disciples when they show up. They would be saying things like: Why would you show up here with nothing? No food, no money, no clothing, no plan for self-care? Maybe that works where you come from, but that isn't gonna work here. I'm sure if you sat quietly long enough you would be able to develop an entire conversation in your head outlining how inhospitable some of these villages could have been.
As we hear this account today, we know that there have been those who have come here to Lightstreet proclaiming the message of the Kingdom of God has come near. This church was built in the hope that we would worship and equip and sustain a living vestige of the promise of the Kingdom of God. We have a long history of being established here. We can look back and see all of the ways we have been a body of Christ.
Now we look at this scripture, we look at this account, to see if we've truly lived into what it means for the Kingdom of God to have come near. We don't have to rely on history. We actually get to live into a very new present, an incredible future, because over and over Jesus sends appointed disciples to reveal to us the message, the Kingdom of God has come near.
Every time someone uses the blessing box it is a call to us that the Kingdom of God has come near. Every Ronald McDonald meal, every Wesley community meal is a call as we interact with those who come and partake of what we're bringing, and what they're offering back to us is that proclamation that the Kingdom of God has come near. Every child who comes for a coat, every hat, every pair of socks is offered to a disciple who is carrying the message the Kingdom has come near. Every shawl, every lab robe, every nursery set, more disciples call to us, the Kingdom of God has come near. Do we accept or reject the message? Do we embrace wellness and join in the disciples' call to proclaim and then to live in the Kingdom of God?
Closing Hymn: #383 This is a day of new beginnings (vs 1-4)
- This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on,
Time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone.
- For by the life and death of Jesus, God’s mighty Spirit, now as then,
Can make for us a world of difference, as faith and hope are born again.
- Then let us, with the Spirit’s daring, step from the past and leave behind
Our disappointment, guilt and grieving, seeking new paths, and sure to find.
- Christ is alive, and goes before us to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
