For the week of May 25 – 6th Sunday of Easter
Morning Prayer: God of the stars and galaxies, God of the seed and Earth, we thank You that You continue to come to us, to amaze us, to laugh with us, to cry with us, to comfort us, and to show us that Your love shines through us and Your creation, bringing light to a darkened world. May this beauty and peace be reflected in this sacred circle. In the name of the Christ-presence, we pray. Amen. (Written by Sally Johnson, United Methodist Creation Justice Movement)
Opening Hymn: #128 He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought
- He leadeth me: O blessed thought! O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.
Refrain: He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me.
- Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom, sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,
by waters still, o'er troubled sea, still 'tis His hand that leadeth me. (Refrain) - Lord, I would place my hand in thine, nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see, since 'tis my God that leadeth me. (Refrain) - And when my task on earth is done, when by Thy grace the victory's won,
e'en death's cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me. (Refrain)
Psalm 67:3-5 (CEB)
3 Let the people thank You, God!
Let all the people thank You!
4 Let the people celebrate
and shout with joy
because You judge the nations fairly
and guide all nations on the earth. Selah
5 Let the people thank You, God!
Let all the people thank You!
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: During the month of May, we have encouraged and implored you to donate for Dwell Orphan Care. Continue to pray for the children in foster care; and continue to fill the donation boxes all year. When the boxes get full, some of our people deliver supplies to the Hope Closet.
Offering prayer: O Lord, You are the victorious King! You have revealed Your victory over death through Jesus’ resurrection. With joyful songs we rejoice in Your marvelous deeds. Let our voices and actions reflect Your saving power. Use our gifts to help more people to know Your steadfast love in Christ, until the day when this world is made new in Your kingdom. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of Preparation: #408 The Gift of Love
- Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain, as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.
- Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin.
- Come, Spirit, come, and hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed; by this we worship, and are freed.
Scripture: John 14:23-29
23 Jesus answered, “Whoever loves Me will keep My word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make Our home with them. 24 Whoever doesn’t love Me doesn’t keep My words. The word that you hear isn’t Mine. It is the word of the Father who sent Me.
25 “I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. 26 The Companion,[a] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid. 28 You have heard Me tell you, ‘I’m going away and returning to you.’ If you loved Me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than Me. 29 I have told you before it happens so that when it happens you will believe.
Message: Pastor Becky
Fear, being afraid, is very much part of our human condition. And, we have real fears. Fears for the future, fears concerning snakes, flying, boats and water, and clowns – just to name a few. I never follow a logging truck too closely.
Some of our fears are grounded in our personal experiences. If you have ever been bitten by a dog, it would not be a stretch to be afraid of dogs. We can sympathize and understand the reasoning behind it.
Some of our fears are conditioned responses. Someone close to us, close enough to have influence over us, had a deep fear and it becomes our fear. These fears develop before we can develop our own fears. They become embedded in our personalities as a response to what we were exposed to. If mom was afraid of spiders, it would stand to reason, we would have a fear of spiders.
Sometimes we overcome those fears and sometimes for safety’s sake we don’t question them and figure there must be a good reason for that particular fear, so we keep it. Better safe than sorry.
Jesus is preparing His disciples for His physical absence from Him. He has tried to tell them about His impending death. Jesus knows all of what is about to occur and how overwhelming this will be for them. Yet, Jesus doesn’t want the disciples to yield to fear. He wants them to remain ready for what is to come next. Jesus knows what fear can do, what it can do to the disciples and what it can do for the spreading of the good news.
Fear has the ability to create toxic behaviors, setting us up for failure in many aspects of our lives. Fear can hold us down, trap us into being paralyzed in our lives. We fear that we aren’t good enough or that we aren’t worthy of the new job, new relationship, new possibilities – so we don’t move toward anything. We begin to isolate, only being with people we know, people like us or who think like us or look like us and this narrows our world and anything unknown is a threat.
Fear can keep us from learning. We don’t allow anything to challenge what we already believe, and the fear of being wrong is strong. It is easier to stay stuck than move forward.
Fear can make us angry and mean-spirited as we try to control and manipulate what we think we can control.
Fear turns our focus onto ourselves and away from others. Those we are meant to be in community with instead become our enemies.
This was a reality Jesus was teaching against. While the disciples would be physically without Him, He is promising the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had a plan for them and the Holy Spirit would be assisting, empowering, supporting them. While they did still have moments of fear, they weren’t alone.
And neither are we. I think we forget that fact. We aren’t orphans; we aren’t unloved. God has given us divine community in the Trinity. We have to name where we have allowed fear to derail our divine call to be the Church of Jesus Christ. Where we have built barriers, where we have locked away God’s blessing and limited our reach into our community? Where have we been stingy rather than generous? Where have we drawn lines of exclusion instead of inclusion? These are reactions laced with fear and are not a reflection of the abundance of God. All forgiveness for all time was forged in less than 6 hours on the cross by Jesus. This shows us how vast God is, how big God is. What God did for us in Jesus is something we could never have accomplished even if we had 1000s of lifetimes. All in the blink of God’s eye.
Yet, we are locked down by fear. What would it look like for us if we were no longer bound by fear? What would change? Who would we reach? It’s good news; Jesus is good news. From the beginning in Bethlehem right up to today is good news. We change as we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, reminding us of everything Jesus said and the Holy Spirit will supply all we need to bring the good news to our community. Don’t be afraid, live – live into the Spirit of the Living God. Amen
Closing Hymn: #593 Here I Am, Lord
- I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Refrain: Here I am, Lord. Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.
- I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain.
I have wept for love of them. They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak My word to them. Whom shall I send? Refrain:
- I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them. Whom shall I send? Refrain:
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
