We do not dwell in the darkness - 11/15/2020
Call to worship:
L: Trust in the Lord at all times, O peoples of the earth!
P: We will pour out our hearts before our God!
L: God is your refuge and your strength, a very present help in trouble!
P: We will trust and not be afraid!
Opening Hymn: O God, Our Help in Ages Past #117
1. O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home!
2. Under the shadow of thy throne,
still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
3. Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting, thou art God,
to endless years the same.
4. A thousand ages, in thy sight,
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night,
before the rising sun.
5. Time, like an ever rolling stream,
bears all who breathe away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.
6. O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come;
be thou our guide while life shall last,
and our eternal home.
Opening Prayer:
O God, you are a faithful lover. We trust you, for you do good all the days of your life. You create with willing hands, rejoicing in your labor. You open your hands to the poor and reach out to the needy.
Let us love you as you love us. Then we will love our neighbors as you love them.
Epistle Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved,[b] are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Children's Message (video)
Hymn: Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me #361
1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.
2 Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law's demands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.
3 Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.
4 While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.
Prayer of Dedication:
God for all days and all seasons, hear our prayer! God for all nations and all peoples, listen to our voice! Constantly you hearken to cries of anguish in the night and shouts of rejoicing in the day. Again and again you are roused by lamentation in hidden places and clamorings in the streets. And you do not ignore quiet words falling on your ears.
You are our hope, O God, we pray that you will awaken us to the needs around us so that we may do our very best to fulfill them with your assistance. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 25: 14-30
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Sermon Title: We do not dwell in the darkness (video)
It is said that making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, there was an old farmer who was giving his hired man a hard time for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. "Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courtin' I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." "Yes," the hired man said wryly," and look what you got!"This letter from Paul to the church of Thessalonica is the oldest existing piece of Christian literature; written about twenty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and about twenty years before the Gospel of Mark. Early on his second journey; which you can find in Acts 17, Paul and his companion, Silas, had visited Thessalonica, which at the time was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. They had preached in the synagogues and had successfully converted some Jews and even more Gentiles in the short time that they were there. But even though they didn’t spend a lot of time there, they did preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ (shared the good news) and encouraged the people of this district to answer the call to the mission that Jesus has called us all to.
This was Paul’s ultimate mission, to do the work of Jesus in the world and to make sure that people, all people, knew the grace that Jesus had offered to everyone.
In this letter, Paul was encouraging the Christians, both old and new, to leave the future resurrection of the dead in God’s hands; that God was in control and that they could depend on that fact. It is intended to remind believers who live in the eschatological age that they are already children of the light; that God has called them and us his own. And meanwhile, while they wait for the Parousia (the second coming of Christ) they must continue in their efforts to lead a life of faith, love, and hope.
This is what he means by encouraging them to not fall asleep or to get drunk because these things happen in the night and giving into these temptations can put them in a place that is hard to find a way out of.
It also reflects what is said in Isaiah 59: 17 – “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.” And if you read on from there, you find this: “According to their deeds, so will he repay;”
The Day of the Lord will most certainly come, just as the prophets have told and so believers don’t have to worry about that, but we are all supposed to live accordingly; with the faith, hope and love that had been taught to us. The hope of salvation in Jesus Christ and an eternity in heaven.
The Day of the Lord is coming and it will come like a thief in the night. So we are to keep oil in our lamps and stay awake; we are to be expectant and ready when Christ comes again. To say that we know He is coming and do nothing in preparation is like eating steak laced with arsenic. Sure, the steak may taste perfect and it may be easy to chew, but with the poison imbedded throughout the meat, once eaten, will surely kill you.
So we must prepare for the coming of the Lord, not just the baby in the manger Lord, but the second coming of Jesus the Christ as he comes to judge the living and the dead. Please note, however, that we don’t prepare by locking our doors and windows in order for Jesus not to steal us from good; rather, we prepare by opening up our hearts for the mission and the message of Christ so it can sink deeply into our very souls and will encourage us to make an even bigger difference in this world.
Do not dwell in the darkness; walk as a child of the light, a child of God in every way. And let your path illumine the paths of others.
Amen!
Some people change their ways when the see the light, others only when they feel the heat. Father, let us see your light and then reflect it on the world. Allow us to be the vessels of your mission into the world so that all peoples will know your love and grace. Amen.
Closing Hymn: O Day of God, Draw Nigh #730
1. O day of God, draw nigh
in beauty and in power;
come with thy timeless judgment now
to match our present hour.
2. Bring to our troubled minds,
uncertain and afraid,
the quiet of a steadfast faith,
calm of a call obeyed.
3. Bring justice to our land,
that all may dwell secure,
and finely build for days to come
foundations that endure.
4. Bring to our world of strife
thy sovereign word of peace,
that war may haunt the earth no more,
and desolation cease.
5. O day of God, draw nigh
as at creation's birth;
let there be light again,
and set thy judgments on the earth.