Blessed are the Children of God - 11/8/2020
Call to worship:
L: Put your oil in your lamp! Keep it burning!
P: We’ll put oil in our lamps today!
L: Salvation’s at the door! Greet its coming!
P: Turn the wick up high and lead the way!
Opening Hymn: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling #384
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Opening Prayer:
When no justice rolls down, O Lord, you will not join our feasting. When the waters of righteousness are slowed by sin, you will not listen to our singing.
Draw us toward Wisdom, O God. We rise early to find her. She wanders the streets looking for us, stopping us in our paths. She will lead us out from sin’s desert. Then justice shall roll down, and righteousness shall flow, and the thirsty ones shall thirst no more.
Epistle Reading: 1 John 3: 1-3
¹ See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³ And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Children's Moment with Pastor Kay. (video)
Hymn: Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life #427
1. Where cross the crowded ways of life,
Opening Prayer:
When no justice rolls down, O Lord, you will not join our feasting. When the waters of righteousness are slowed by sin, you will not listen to our singing.
Draw us toward Wisdom, O God. We rise early to find her. She wanders the streets looking for us, stopping us in our paths. She will lead us out from sin’s desert. Then justice shall roll down, and righteousness shall flow, and the thirsty ones shall thirst no more.
Epistle Reading: 1 John 3: 1-3
¹ See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³ And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Children's Moment with Pastor Kay. (video)
Hymn: Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life #427
1. Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of man.
2. In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.
3. From tender childhood's helplessness,
from woman's grief, man's burdened toil,
from famished souls, from sorrow's stress,
your heart has never known recoil.
4. The cup of water given for you still
holds the freshness of your grace;
yet long these multitudes to view
the sweet compassion of your face.
5. O Master, from the mountainside
make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
among these restless throngs abide;
O tread the city's streets again.
6. Till all the world shall learn your love
and follow where your feet have trod,
till, glorious from your heaven above,
shall come the city of our God!
Prayer of Dedication:
O God, you are the Great Comforter. When the world around us turns cold, we feel you blanketing us with your love. Our lives are tied to yours, knotted together through thick and thin. How near you are! How constantly there! You are so faithful to us that sometimes our faith in you becomes all too comfortable. We no longer strain to hear your commands.
You told us in Jesus that the kingdom of God is at hand; but we are too busy most days and we let things get out of hand. We pray that you will continue to encourage us in our mission, which is your mission, so that all others will know you and your grace. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 1-12
¹ When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Sermon Title: Blessed are the children of God (video)
How blessed are we? Maybe this can give you some perspective.
Prayer of Dedication:
O God, you are the Great Comforter. When the world around us turns cold, we feel you blanketing us with your love. Our lives are tied to yours, knotted together through thick and thin. How near you are! How constantly there! You are so faithful to us that sometimes our faith in you becomes all too comfortable. We no longer strain to hear your commands.
You told us in Jesus that the kingdom of God is at hand; but we are too busy most days and we let things get out of hand. We pray that you will continue to encourage us in our mission, which is your mission, so that all others will know you and your grace. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 1-12
¹ When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Sermon Title: Blessed are the children of God (video)
How blessed are we? Maybe this can give you some perspective.
One morning R.C. Chapman, a devout Christian, was asked how he was feeling. "I'm burdened this morning!" was his reply. But his happy countenance contradicted his words. So the questioner exclaimed in surprise, "Are you really burdened, Mr. Chapman?" "Yes, but it's a wonderful burden--it's an overabundance of blessings for which I cannot find enough time or words to express my gratitude!" Seeing the puzzled look on the face of his friend, Chapman added with a smile, "I am referring to Psalm 68:19, which fully describes my condition. In that verse the Father in heaven reminds us that He 'daily loads us with benefits.'"
I have an idea that there are not a lot of people out there right now that are having trouble describing all of the blessings that they have received, let alone finding the words to express our gratitude for them. However, that is exactly what we are going to do today. We are going to think about the blessings that we are thankful for, including the ones that come disguised as adversities. Of course, I am not trying to say that people who are going through adversities or hardships shouldn’t be able to sit down for a minute to get their head around them, but I will encourage folks not to stay there in that mess, however and by whatever it may have been created.
Let’s start with something simple; did you wake up this morning? I’m going to assume that if you are watching and listening to me right now, then you probably did. That is a blessing. You have a whole day to get out and live the purpose that God created you for. If you are having trouble figuring out your purpose in life, then you probably need to start having more conversations with God. We find wise words in Proverbs 3: 5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Open a Bible and read it, talk with your friends, pray to God for the direction you need.
If you are able to go to church and read the Bible of your choice, that is a blessing. All over the world, people have to hide their faith in God because their government doesn’t approve of it. We don’t have to hide, in fact, we are able to wear our faith on our shirtsleeves if we wish, without fear of persecution. But even if we were not able to worship in public, having faith in God and the ability to talk with Him anytime we want is more than a blessing, it is a God-given miracle.
Don’t be upset that you have a sink full of dishes to wash, be thankful that you had food enough to eat to warrant getting the dishes dirty in the first place. You have mountains of laundry to do? Be thankful that you have clothes to wear and a way to get them clean once more. You have dusting to do and…no, sorry, I have no reason why we should be thankful for dust.
Anyway, we have a plethora of blessings to be thankful for.
In the Gospel of Matthew this morning, we read the Beatitudes from Jesus to the disciples and thus also to us. In this passage, Jesus is speaking a little backwards as he tells his friends that people are blessed when they feel poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of God. He goes on to share other such blessings like blessed are people who mourn or are meek or are hungry and thirsty, for they will be comforted and inherit the earth. They will be filled with food and water and they will receive mercy when they themselves are merciful. They will see God when they are pure in heart and when they make peace among the peoples, they will be called children of God.
I’ll stop right there for one minute to go back to the scripture we read from 1 John. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God; and that is what we are… And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”
We are indeed the children of God and because of this, we are blessed beyond anything our imaginations could ever come up with. Even when the worst is happening, like if we were being persecuted for our faith or people hated us because of our faith. It is our faith in God and the salvation of his Son Jesus Christ that bless us the most.
So today and every day, we rejoice and are glad. Our reward is in heaven and the relationship that we have for God who is there. Blessed are the children of God.
Amen.
Closing Hymn: Jesus is All the World to Me #469
1. Jesus is all the world to me,
1. Jesus is all the world to me,
my life, my joy, my all;
he is my strength from day to day,
without him I would fall.
When I am sad, to him I go,
no other one can cheer me so;
when I am sad, he makes me glad,
he's my friend.
2. Jesus is all the world to me,
my friend in trials sore;
I go to him for blessings,
and he gives them o'er and o'er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain,
he sends the harvest's golden grain;
sunshine and rain, harvest of grain,
he's my friend.
3. Jesus is all the world to me,
and true to him I'll be;
O how could I this friend deny,
when he's so true to me?
Following him I know I'm right,
he watches o'er me day and night;
following him by day and night,
he's my friend.
4. Jesus is all the world to me,
I want no better friend;
I trust him now,
I'll trust him when life's fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a friend,
beautiful life that has no end;
eternal life, eternal joy,
he's my friend.