For their sakes - 5/16/21

 

Call to worship:

L: Come to the birthplace, and we shall become one, even as parent and child are one.

P: We come to the God who gives us life, whose life in the world is borne by our labor.

L: Let us come singing, and we shall be one, even as melody and harmony are one.

P: We come to the God who gives us song, and to whose lead we lend our voices.

L: Let us come dancing, and we shall be one, even as rhythm and motion are one.

P: We come to the God who gives us dance, and to whose movements we adapt our step.

A: Welcome to the birthplace, and we shall be one. We come to our God: we shall be one!

Opening Hymn:  All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name   #154

1. All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race, ye ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all.

3. Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at his feet, and crown him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at his feet, and crown him Lord of all.

4. Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball,
to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all.

5. Crown him, ye martyrs of your God, who from his altar call;
extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod, and crown him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod, and crown him Lord of all.

6. O that with yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song, and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song, and crown him Lord of all. 

Opening Prayer:

Lord,  you know our hearts. As Guide, you would have us follow you to the ends of the earth, but you know that we hide in the corners of ourselves. As Teacher, you would have us discover you in the depths of our being, but you know that we meditate on the surface of things. As Lover, you would have us pledge ourselves to you with an unbreakable vow, but you know that we wed ourselves to other gods.

Lord, you know our hearts. Guide , teach, and love them into knowing  what they do not know about themselves, that they might become what you would have them be.

Epistle Reading:  1 John 5: 9-13

⁹ If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. ¹⁰ Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Hymn:  Jesus Shall Reign   #157

1. Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
does its successive journeys run;
his kingdom spread from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2. To Jesus endless prayer be made,
and endless praises crown his head;
his name like sweet perfume shall rise
with every morning sacrifice.

3. People and realms of every tongue
dwell on his love with sweetest song;
and infant voices shall proclaim
their early blessings on his name.

4. Blessings abound where'er he reigns;
all prisoners leap and loose their chains;
the weary find eternal rest,
and all who suffer want are blest.

5. Let every creature rise and bring
honors peculiar to our King;
angels descend with songs again,
and earth repeat the loud amen!

Prayer of Dedication:

O God, you sent a fragile, strong life into a strong, fragile world. That life grew, and he was called the Lord of the Dance. But the world frowned upon the dance and nailed his feet to a tree. That life grew, and he was called the Singer of the Song. But the world grimaced at the song he sang, and lifted vinegar to his lips. That life grew, and he was called the Ruler of Life. But the world scorned the life he lived and gambled away his purple robe.

Lord, we ask that you tend to our life, that it may grow in a way that pleases you. And for the sake of the world, O God, we dedicate our feet, our lips, and our lives, that our world may be consecrated in truth and baptized in life   Amen.

Gospel Reading:   John 17: 6-19

⁶ “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸ for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Sermon Title:   For their sakes

Have you ever felt yourself to be completely frustrated with a situation and then uttered the words, “Oh, for Pete’s sake!”? It turns out that this expression was formed in order not to take the Lord’s name in vain. Many had spoken in surprise, frustration, or annoyance, and had offended those in the religious communities, whose numbers at the time were quite large. This seems a little silly to me. I mean if you are putting enough effort into not offending someone, then why don’t you put the effort into praying for them or the situation instead. 

In the passage that we read today from John, we hear Jesus praying; talking to God on behalf of his disciples. In fact, I very well could have titled this sermon, “Intercessory prayer.” Jesus was praying to God, not on his own behalf, not for his own safety or health or love; but for the safety, health, and love of his friends. He speaks about them as brothers; gifts that he received from God. And he wants protection for them so that they will be safe from the evil one in the world.

He prayed for their sakes. Not for God, not for Pete, not for pity. His prayer was for God to protect them in the world because he was leaving the world.

While the prayer to God on behalf of his friends came to us today from Jesus, one of the most well known folks in the Bible for this type of prayer is Paul. And to get the proper perspective on his intercessory prayers for others, we can turn in our Bible to the book of Romans.

In the first chapter of Romans, verses 8 through ten, we read, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the Gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times, and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”

This is one of only two autobiographical sections of Romans. Paul is telling them how thankful he is that they have not only listened to the good news that he brought to them, but that they have acted on it in such a way as to have others reporting the good that they are doing. Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, is extremely motivated by the Gospel, but he knows that it is not only up to him to spread it to others. So the fact that the people he told about this great event are now taking that information and telling others about it, is something quite wonderful. This is exactly how the message is supposed to work.

At the beginning of chapter 10, he says, “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire is that they may be saved.” He understands all too well that the body will die, but the soul has an opportunity to live forever in heaven, and in order for that to happen, one must accept the gift of grace from Jesus the Christ.

Continuing in Romans, we now move on to chapter 12, verse 12, which has a strong cheerleader type of motivation to it. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” No matter who you are or what you do, there will be difficult times to go through. Paul encourages us with this statement of being ready for those tough times by making sure that our faith is strong and our willingness to share it is even stronger.

Moving on to chapter 15, verses 5 through 6, Paul is encouraging unity amongst the followers of Jesus. “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Hilary Clinton once quoted what is said to be an African proverb when she said that it “takes a village to raise a child.” Actually, it takes a village to do just about anything. There is also a proverb from Africa that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.”

This makes me believe that if we want to succeed, we must work together to achieve that success. In other words, we must work, play, live, love, fight, and pray for all of their sakes.

My challenge to you for this coming week is to find one of the many messages of hope and encouragement that are in the Bible and write one down to bring next week. We will then exchange them with each other and pray for each other in the name of making a great, big fruit salad.

Amen!

Closing Hymn:  When Morning Gilds the Skies   #185

1. When morning gilds the skies
my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer,
to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

2. The night becomes as day
when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The powers of darkness fear
when this sweet chant they hear:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

3. Let all the earth around
ring joyous with the sound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
In heaven's eternal bliss
the loveliest strain is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

4. Be this, while life is mine,
my canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this th' eternal song
through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!