For the week of November 2 – All Saints Sunday
Morning Prayer: Redeeming Sustainer, visit Your people and pour out Your strength and courage upon us, that we may hurry to make You welcome not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in Your name. Amen. (Lectionary prayers)
Opening Hymn: #314 In the Garden
- I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses,
and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
Refrain: And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own;
and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.
- He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that He gave to me within my heart is ringing. (Refrain) - I'd stay in the garden with Him though the night around me be falling,
but He bids me go; thru the voice of woe His voice to me is calling. (Refrain)
Psalm 32:6-7
6 That’s why all the faithful should pray to You during troubled times,[a]
so that a great flood of water won’t reach them.
7 You are my secret hideout!
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of rescue!
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: The craft fair this Saturday benefits Eos Therapeutic Riding Center. The vendors’ fees, lunch sales and sales from the LUMC Crafters table all go to Eos.
Eos Therapeutic Riding Center offers therapeutic horseback riding activities for mentally, physically, and emotionally challenged children, adults, and for veterans. Our riders present a wide variety of special needs including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brain and spinal cord injuries, mental impairments, sensory deficits, autism, and many others. The ages of our riders range from toddler to senior citizen. We currently serve about 80 riders and have a waiting list of 15. Physicians or physical and occupational therapists refer some riders to the program. Others are referred by social or case workers or the families of established riders. Still others hear about us from a variety of other sources.
Each riding session is tailored for the needs and abilities of the rider and includes various games and skill activities while on horseback to enhance balance, eye-hand coordination, strength, and a variety of other abilities.
Hoof Beats and Hearts for Veterans program involves as many as ten vets who reside in the Orangeville Manor near Bloomsburg, as well as other local independent living veterans from the Bloomsburg area. All veterans participate in learning the connection of horse and human by grooming, learning to lead, and the Monty Roberts method of natural horsemanship training, with the end goal of riding! Monty always says, "Be gentle, listen, communicate, and earn the trust." The activities and relationships they develop with our hooved therapists contributes greatly to their sense of wellbeing.
This is a brief summary of Eos Therapeutic Riding Center. To learn about benefits and volunteer opportunities, talk to Sarah Wolfe, Joan Powell, Jeff Wolfe or Carly Megargell.
Offering prayer: Gracious God of every growing gift, You call forth saints not with perfection, but with purpose — to grow in faith, abound in love, and serve with steadfastness. Receive these offerings as signs of our gratitude, given by those You are shaping for good works in Christ. Use them to build up Your church, to bless the world, and to honor those who have taught us to love more deeply. May our generosity today reflect Your glory and strengthen us to walk ever more faithfully in Your way. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of preparation: I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry
- I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.
- I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wondered off to find where demons dwell.
- When you heard the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on;
You were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.
- If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one,
I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme from dawn till rising sun.
- In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,
I’ll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I’ve begun.
- When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes,
I’ll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.
- I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 (CEB)
1 From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:
To the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God our Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Grace and peace to all of you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and encouragement
3 Brothers and sisters, we must always thank God for you. This is only right because your faithfulness is growing by leaps and bounds, and the love that all of you have for each other is increasing. 4 That’s why we ourselves are bragging about you in God’s churches. We tell about your endurance and faithfulness in all the harassments and trouble that you have put up with.
11 We are constantly praying for you for this: that our God will make you worthy of His calling and accomplish every good desire and faithful work by His power. 12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored by you, and you will be honored by Him, consistent with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Message: Reclaiming Sainthood Pastor Becky
This morning, if I said to you, you have to pick one to identify yourself as do you pick sinner or saint? What is the label you most identify with when you think about yourself? Now for me, I'm more comfortable with the label sinner. I mean, you can only improve from there, right? It's a safe place to be a sinner. What can you expect from a sinner?
Now it's common ground. If I'm a sinner, chances are better that I'm not judging anyone more harshly than I judge myself. We tend to let each other slide because after all, we are all sinners. Sinners, praise God, saved by grace.
But the reality is, if I have low expectations for myself and I have low expectations for others it can only lead to low expectations for the power of Jesus to transform lives. Then it also leads to a pretty shallow definition of grace.
But what if I claim saint? That's bold. Even thinking of myself as a saint makes my stomach knot. We reserve the name saint for actual Saints. We think of Saint Paul, St. Bernadette, St. Jude. Maybe it's Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that we think of as Saints. There's Saint Patrick and Saint Nicholas, Saint Teresa. We know their stories and their lives don't necessarily line up to ours. Saint Paul took the good news of Jesus Christ out into the world. He survived storms and prisons to reach the World with the good news. Saint Patrick established Catholicism in Ireland, conquering the pagans. The Gospel writers, they wrote the Gospels. Their lives look like big, beautiful overtures towards God and they've had lasting effects on our lives today, centuries later.
I also don't claim saint because I'm not dead. We reserve the word saint for that great cloud of witnesses that surround us. Our mothers and fathers in faith that worshiped with us, prayed with us-led the youth group, taught Sunday school. We claim them as saints in our fellowship. We remembered them last night and we'll remember our newest saints in our communion liturgy later.
The biggest reason I don't claim the name saint for myself is not that I’m not good. I tend to equate sainthood with someone with deep faith, endless patience, a person in complete harmony with the gift of the Spirit and is never without love, forgiveness and gentleness. A saint in my eyes embodies Paul's definition of love. Love being patient and kind and never rude or arrogant and doesn't keep account of wrongs. A saint seems to be in connection to God in a way that I am not and to presume such feels like a lie. It feels like boasting that is more about feeding my ego than my relationship to God and the people around me.
Yet, according to the New Testament, we are saints. A saint is one who claims Christ and then sets out to be like Christ according to the grace given to each. It doesn't mean flawless or super believer or superdoer. A saint claims Jesus. So you and I are Saints. Just as those who struggle and fail, and all who struggle and succeed, we are saints. They're all around us. This isn't something that we recognize, yet we should. It is in the noticing that we are transformed. Don't believe me?
Think about Zacchaeus. His life was transformed when he was seen by Jesus. He went from the most hated man in Jericho to the man who hosted Jesus. It's the original Ebenezer Scrooge. When Zacchaeus saw his sin lay bare in his interaction with Jesus, he repented and became a new man, no longer ruled by money but a lover of his fellow community members.
If we begin to look for saints instead of sinners, we'll be living into Paul's teaching to the Thessalonians. Paul characterized this living as our faith growing abundantly. We see and find the saints as we spend time in Bible study, in Sunday school, in small groups. We find the Saints and are in communion with the saints when we interact with one another. A saint is one who wants to learn more.
We find the Saints as we work together in aid of those suffering and isolated, Paul writes the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Simply put, saints are caring for one another, including each other. They are tending, healing, comforting, and lifting each other up. Saints make up a body that truly love each other. A Saint is one who wants to love more.
Paul boasts of your steadfastness and faith even when things are going wrong. Paul commends the Thessalonians who are maintaining the image of Christ. Paul knew it wasn't going to be easy, yet he reminds us that we are all still works in progress. Maybe we weren't saintly yesterday, yet every morning new mercies we received from God. Each day relying on God, because God has not deserted us or orphaned us or left us to our own devices, but sustains and upholds us. A saint is one who wants to be more.
The saints are all around us, sitting next to us, standing with us. I implore you to see each other, offering words of recognition, so that each of us knows we are seen by God and by each other. Amen.
Closing Hymn: #723 Shall We Gather at the River
- Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God?
Refrain: Yes, we’ll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.
- On the margin of the river, washing up its silver spray,
We will walk and worship ever, all the happy golden day.
- Ere we reach the shining river, lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and crown.
- Soon we’ll reach the shining river, soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
