What are you thinking about? 10/11/20

 

Call to worship:

L: The hand of God rests upon this mountain.
P: We will be a haven for the poor.
L: The hand of God rests upon this mountain.
P: We will be the stronghold for the worn.
L: The hand of God rests on this mountain.
P: We will be a shelter from the storm.
L: This is our God!
P: We are God’s beloved mountain.
A: By God’s hand this mountain shall be moved!

Opening Hymn: Hope of the World #178

1 Hope of the world, thou Christ of great compassion,
speak to our fearful hearts by conflict rent.
Save us, thy people, from consuming passion,
who by our own false hopes and aims are spent.

2 Hope of the world, God's gift from highest heaven,
bringing to hungry souls the bread of life,
still let thy spirit unto us be given,
to heal earth's wounds and end all bitter strife.

3 Hope of the world, afoot on dusty highways,
showing to wandering souls the path of light,
walk thou beside us lest the tempting byways
lure us away from thee to endless night.

4 Hope of the world, who by thy cross didst save us
from death and dark despair, from sin and guilt,
we render back the love thy mercy gave us;
take thou our lives, and use them as thou wilt.

5 Hope of the world, O Christ o'er death victorious,
who by this sign didst conquer grief and pain,
we would be faithful to thy gospel glorious;
thou art our Lord! Thou dost forever reign.

Opening Prayer:

O God, you are our God. Before the world was a speck of dust, your Spirit dreamed of us. You played on the strings of the universe that song you would sing with creation; you felt in your bones the steps you would dance with your creatures. Take our hands in yours; lift your voice with ours! And we shall move with you to the beat of a different drum, a drum whose sound has echoed through the ages!

Epistle Reading: Philippians 4: 1-9

¹Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. ²I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Hymn: O Jesus, I Have Promised #396

1. O Jesus, I have promised
to serve thee to the end;
be thou forever near me,
my Master and my friend.
I shall not fear the battle
if thou art by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if thou wilt be my guide.

2. O let me feel thee near me!
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me and within;
but Jesus, draw thou nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.

3. O let me hear thee speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will.
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen,
thou guardian of my soul.

4. O Jesus, thou hast promised
to all who follow thee
that where thou art in glory
there shall thy servant be.
And Jesus, I have promised
to serve thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow,
my Master and my Friend.

Prayer of Dedication:
O Maker of peace, on your people pour your power! Yours is a peace that passes all understanding. It is unlike ours. While we ignore distant battles to pretend that peace reigns, your peace assaults the violence of the nations. While we pen treaties with one hand and flash swords with the other, you smash economies driven by warriors and tend the wounds of their victims. While we slander our neighbors to their back and remain silent to their face, you pronounce judgement upon deceit and whisper comfort to the deceived. While we cry, “Peace, Peace,” when there is no peace, you proclaim peace through the cries of a baby and ask us to believe.
Lord, how great is your Peace. Amen.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 22: 1-14

¹Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. ⁴Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ ⁵But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ ¹⁰Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, ¹²and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. ¹³Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Sermon Title: What are you thinking about? (video link)

What are you thinking about?
When it comes to our faith, there is much to think about. Faith was never meant to be something that we could proclaim or not and then just go about our business. It is meant to be a transformative experience that changes not only our whole world, but also our entire being and how we live from the point of its origin on.
The passage that we read from Matthew this morning is definitely something to think about. Again, Jesus is telling another parable (a story) to teach those listening as to the importance of being a member of God’s family. And while the story does involve a wedding, it is not about etiquette or what gift to bring. Rather, it is about accepting God’s invitation to be with him in his kingdom, an R.S.V.P. if you will.
This is yet another parable where Jesus is telling the chief priests and the Pharisees that they are in the wrong. Their actions prove that the words they are using do not come from a Holy place and that they are breaking more of God’s commandments then they are proclaiming. And because he had called them out, however subtly, they are now very angry and plotting to have him arrested or worse. The only thing keeping them from this action is the reaction that they fear from the crowds who seem to love Jesus and what he is teaching.
The king sends out repeated invitations (slaves = prophets) to the elite (those who supposedly know more about God than others do), to attend his Son’s wedding, but they refuse to attend and that refusal is an insult to the King (God). And to add to that insult, the elite actually imprison and kill the slaves who have been sent out to invite them. The king, enraged, decides to destroy those who refused his invitation.
He then sends out more slaves (prophets) to invite the non-elite to the wedding banquet which is ready and waiting for them. These invitations are met with more positive vibes and the non-elite come in to the wedding banquet hungry for the feast.
When the king comes in to the banquet hall to greet his guests, he notices that there is a man present who is lacking a wedding robe and when he asked the man why he was not wearing the proper attire, the man was speechless. It is at this juncture that the story gets a little confusing. The king seems to condemn the man for not wearing the correct garment to this occasion, but in reality, this passage has nothing to do with clothes.

This man, who had accepted the invitation to the banquet, was only coming because he heard that there would be good food there and he was hungry. But he had not accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God, nor had he made the decision to follow God’s teachings and to be clothed with honor and respect and love for God; God who created, loved and saved all of us. This is why he was thrown out and would then know much weeping and gnashing of teeth (much sorrow).
And while we are thinking on these things, we turn back to the passage from Philippians where we are asked to stand firm in the Lord and to rejoice in the Lord. We are told that we must let our gentleness be known to everyone and that we don’t have to worry for the Lord is near.
These words are meant to encourage us in our faith walk with Jesus Christ and this is why we are told at the end of this passage that we are to think about the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable. We are to think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. And then Paul tells his followers to “keep on keeping on; to keep doing the things that they have learned and received and heard and seen in the things that he has taught them about God and the mission here on earth that is ours.
So, if you are thinking about the good things listed in this passage, than you are thinking about the right things. What are you thinking about?

Amen.

Closing Hymn: Take My Life, And Let it Be #399

1. Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.

2. Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

3. Take my will, and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.