A hope for liberation - 2/28/2021
Call to worship:
L: The Lord entered into covenant with Abraham and Sarah,
P: And not only with them, but also with us.
L: At times they doubted because of their age,
P: And at times we doubt because of our sin.
L: But the Lord is God, and the covenant is everlasting.
A: O come, let us celebrate our covenant with the Lord!
Opening Hymn: And Are We Yet Alive #553
1. And are we yet alive,
and see each other's face?
Glory and thanks to Jesus give
for his almighty grace!
2. Preserved by power divine
to full salvation here,
again in Jesus' praise we join,
and in his sight appear.
3. What troubles have we seen,
what mighty conflicts past,
fightings without, and fears within,
since we assembled last!
4. Yet out of all the Lord
hath brought us by his love;
and still he doth his help afford,
and hides our life above.
5. Then let us make our boast
of his redeeming power,
which saves us to the uttermost,
till we can sin no more.
6. Let us take up the cross
till we the crown obtain,
and gladly reckon all things loss
so we may Jesus gain.
Opening Prayer:
O God, who creates all persons to bear your image, all minds to discern your purpose, all hearts to reveal your love, and all wills to heed your summons, we marvel at the grace with which you surround us. You love us with a love we do not deserve. Yet we do not love you with the love that you do deserve. Teach us this day, O Lord, to love you as you love us. Open our eyes, that we might behold your image in us, discern your will for us, and heed your summons to us, not only in our worship but also in our work.
Epistle Reading: Romans 4: 13-25
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Children's Message (link)
Hymn: Take up Thy Cross #415
1. "Take up thy cross," the Savior said,
"if thou wouldst my disciple be;
deny thyself, the world forsake,
and humbly follow after me."
2. Take up thy cross, let not its weight
fill thy weak spirit with alarm;
his strength shall bear thy spirit up,
and brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.
3. Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame,
nor let thy foolish pride rebel;
thy Lord for thee the cross endured,
to save thy soul from death and hell.
4. Take up thy cross and follow Christ,
nor think till death to lay it down;
for only those who bear the cross
may hope to wear the glorious crown.
Prayer of Dedication:
O God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, with deep humility we recall your covenant with our ancestors. No matter how much their faith wavered – and they all had moments of doubt and uncertainty – you remained ever faithful. No matter how often they break covenant with you, you always kept covenant with them, so it is with us. The covenant is alive and well, not because of us, but because of you. So we thank you, dear Lord, for judging us not justly, but mercifully; for dealing with us not on the basis of our goodness, but yours; and for coming to us not because you need us, but because you know that we need you. We praise your name for not forsaking us in our low estate, for stooping to us in our depths that you might lift us to your heights. Thank you for these things and so much more. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Mark 8: 31-38
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Sermon Title: A hope for liberation (link)
I just love watching Disney films. Along with being entertaining, they have quite a few tidbits of truth that benefit us as we go on our merry way once the movie has ended. Many times they are so subtle that no one realizes that they have been taught a lesson until the moment when they use the very thing they learned in the story in real life.
One such subtle lesson can be found in the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is just one of many cinematic adaptations of the novel by Victor Hugo which was published in 1831. The setting is Paris in the year 1482 and tells a dark tale of love and hate, jealousy and spite, and of course knowing that true beauty comes from the inside of a person, not the outside. While there are vivid characters such as Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Claude Frollo, Phoebus, and more; the lesson of which I speak has nothing much to do with them. Rather, in the midst of this narrative, there is an old man who has apparently done something against the law and is shackled for all to see in the middle of the city. Every once in a while, when there is a commotion, he is temporarily set free from whatever bondage he is in, only to fall into something else that holds him just as tightly. This happens three of four times throughout the show and each time he is liberated from the stocks or whatever, he yells, “I’m free, I’m free!” And then falls into something else and is locked up again, to which he responds, “Dang it!”
How many times do we, as humans, do this? We manage to wiggle out of one bad situation, whether by accident or ambition, and then fall right back into another bad situation, because we haven’t quite gained the wisdom to be truly free yet.
The message in Mark that we read today is the lesson that we all need to hear and to apply to our lives so that we will be free from this earthly prison someday.
At this point, the disciples are kind of enjoying the ride. They have been following Jesus and watching as He performs miracle healings, orders demons to flee the bodies that they have been inhabiting, turning water into wine and a simple lunch for one into a feast for over five thousand, and even walking on water; and they are watching as people come from all over just to hear Jesus speak. So when Jesus begins to tell them that the Son of Man (Jesus) must undergo great suffering, rejection, and even death; well, let’s just say they were far less than thrilled. Peter, who had been with Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry, took Jesus aside and gave Him a talking to. “Dude, this is just starting to get good, people like to see us and they listen to your wisdom and they let us sleep in their homes and they feed us. Why would you say that this is going to end and that you are going to die?”
Obviously I am paraphrasing, but you get the idea. And while Peter had the best of intentions, Jesus was not happy with his line of thinking. “Get behind me, Satan!” said Jesus.
And here is where we find the little, old man in the stocks in the middle of the city thinking that his life is over as he goes from captive to liberty and back again instead of owning up to what he was said to have done, paying the price and then being set free according to the law.
Jesus knew that every person in that crowd, including the disciples, wanted to be free; not just untied, but really free, and so He told them exactly how to do that. If they wanted to follow Jesus and partake of the divine gifts that He offered, they had to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him. Furthermore, if you try to save your own life, you will end up losing it’ but if you lose your life for Jesus’ sake, you will be saved.
I understand that sometimes it is quite frustrating when Jesus talks like the Riddler in an old Batman cartoon, but it is actually quite simple. It is only when we give ourselves over completely to Jesus that we are truly free. Free to live, free to go to heaven, free to be the child of God that we are created to be. It is only in and through Jesus the Christ that we have any hope for liberation.
Amen.
Closing Hymn: Faith of Our Fathers #710Refrain: Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
2. Faith of our fathers, we will strive to win all nations unto thee; and through the truth that comes from God, we all shall then be truly free. [Refrain]
3. Faith of our fathers, we will love both friend and foe in all our strife; and preach thee, too, as love knows how by kindly words and virtuous life. [Refrain]