I'm about a week behind in getting last week's sermon posted. It has been a busy week. I moved out of both my offices last week (Simpson and Flintstone) and turned in my keys. I moved those things to my new office at St. Elmo, but I haven't started organizing just yet. I got to meet folks from theater camp last week at the new appointment while I was doing the moving out and moving in. I also had some visits in the current, almost over appointment. It's that in-between time, transition time.
All that to say why I didn't get a post done about my final sermon in the Holston Georgia Parish. I did, however, get the sermons posted on our Facebook pages, as is our custom.
On June 16th I preached at Fort Oglethorpe UMC and Simpson UMC for my final Sunday. As I already wrote, June 9th was my final Sunday at Flintstone UMC. My final sermon on Father's Day/Trinity Sunday/Peace with Justice Sunday was "Love Poured Out".
The transcript will be below, underneath the two recorded sermons.
At FOUMC, DooNa played "The Summons" (also known as "Will You Come and Follow Me?" by John Bell on the piano in the prelude. That was meaningful to me. What a song for me to hear on the Sunday I was leaving. I don't think we've sung it there, but I have used it at Flintstone and I have already asked for it to be used on my first Sunday at St. Elmo. I was a little taken aback, yet in a good way, to hear it that morning.
Though the congregation didn't hear the lyrics that morning to the song, they heard the tune. I will share both with you here.
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
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The entire service flowed well. It was, for me, love poured out, as I shared the gospel message, the good news of Christ's love once again in a community in which I had served for four years. I don't think I will ever forget meeting Sorie and Sky and learning that Sorie means "sound". I met the other young people, some who've graduated and moved on, some who just graduated, and some who are still in school (high school and college). Those "kids" hold a special place in my heart, as I got to hang out some with them on a few activities over the years.
In four years there are many memories, people, and situations that flash through your mind.
After I finished the sermon and I cut off the recorder, I gave a final exhortation. I can't really remember it, but it was something to the tune that they continue to grow and be the church that God is calling them to be, to not quit, etc. When I finished, they broke out in spontaneous applause. That caught me by surprise, as I gathered my things and headed down the aisle, taking off my microphone, to go to the next church for my final sermon. It was a moment of recognizing that love had been poured out. God's love was in that place.
Getting to church #2 always means traffic on highway 2, refocusing and allowing the Holy Spirit to be the ongoing guide. It wasn't any different as we headed to Simpson that day. We got there and Riley dropped me off so I could go in the front doors to get the microphone. I usually get there in time for announcements and sometimes I would even be in there before the choir. But not on that Sunday. The choir was there already. They had already begun the service. The worship leader was the SPRC Chair that day. I got called up to the podium and was surprised with a plaque of recognition. We had already celebrated our time as pastors in the churches, so this was not expected. It was another humbling experience.
There were some folks on vacation from the choir, but their special music was beautiful. I have always been proud of that choir. They may be small in number, but they do very well with what they have. They sing their hearts out.
At the benediction time, I took a moment of pastor privilege to exhort and encourage this congregation. As at the other church, it wasn't planned. It was more Holy Spirit stream. I recognized that things hadn't always been easy these past four years, but we had all grown through them. I recognized that some were sad to see me go and others were happy. No matter where any one was on that spectrum, it was okay. Because it's not about me anyway. It's about God. Out of nowhere, the communion liturgy phrase "In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven." came from my lips. As I have reflected on that, that isn't such a bad benediction. I know that I am forgiven as well. I encouraged them to continue to be the church God wants them to be in that community. I have much hope for that church that sits on the corner in a community that needs the love and light of Christ poured into it.
As always, the sermon transcript isn't exactly what is shared on any given morning, but it gives you a good idea of the sermon. The recordings from each church aren't always the same either. I share different things, depending on the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Maybe there is something here for you-- from the songs, the Scriptures, the thoughts, or reflections. I don't know. I continue to blog to get it out of me to make space for what's next.
Peace on the ongoing adventurous journey,
Debra
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Recorded sermons:
Fort Oglethorpe Recorded Sermon
Simpson Recorded Sermon
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“Love Poured Out”
Romans 5:1-5 (CEB)
June 16th, 2019 (Peace with Justice
Sunday/Father’s Day/Trinity Sunday/1st Sunday after Pentecost)
Fort Oglethorpe UMC / Simpson UMC
Romans 5:1-5 (CEB)
1 Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his
faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have access
by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the
hope of God’s glory. 3 But
not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble
produces endurance, 4 endurance
produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This
hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in
our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
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THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR
THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THANKS BE TO GOD.
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The title for today’s sermon
comes from verse 5: “…the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through
the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (CEB)
Last week we celebrated
Pentecost Sunday, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the people and the church
came to life. The breath of the Holy
Spirit that gave life to the church then continues to give it now.
Today we celebrate Trinity
Sunday (along with Peace with Justice Sunday, Father’s Day, and the 1st
Sunday after Pentecost). Trinity Sunday,
always celebrated the Sunday after Pentecost, is a day in which we celebrate the three persons of God: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
As a member of the trinity,
we recognize that the Holy Spirit is an active presence in and among the
followers of Christ. It is a matter of
listening, paying attention, and responding to, and joining in with what the
Holy Spirit is trying to do.
As we dig into today’s passage,
we will explore several questions:
*What does it mean that the
Holy Spirit has poured God’s love into our hearts?
*How do we live as people who
have God’s love poured into our hearts?
*When you think about “love
poured out”, what comes to mind? (Pause)
Starting
with the last question, for me, I think of Jesus pouring out his life, because
of love, for us. He poured out his life
in three years of ministry, as he taught those who had ears to hear. He shared parables, he took them with him to
the mountain to pray and to get away from the crowd. He tried to show them by example how to live
and love and do ministry. He tried to
tell them what was going to happen, but they didn’t quite get it. He prayed for them and for those who would
come after them (including us) in John 17:20—“20 “I’m not praying only for them but also for
those who believe in me because of their word.”
Go back and read the surrounding verses to
get a better feel for it, but Jesus is praying a ripple effect prayer here.
Going back to the first question, “what does it mean that the Holy Spirit has poured God’s
love into our hearts?”
I think we can answer that by looking at
Jesus’ life. Jesus lived his life poured
out in love, to the point that he gave up his life for us. This is God’s love poured out for us as
well.
John 3:16-17—“16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. 17 God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge
the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
This life poured out for us
is a pouring out of love. What does it
mean to be “poured out”?
Philippians 2:6-8 reminds us
that even though Jesus was part of the Trinity, as God, Jesus poured himself
out to the point of emptying himself:
6Though
he was in the form of God,
he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
7 But he emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave
and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
7 But he emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave
and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
As we reflect about what it
means to live a life of love poured out, let’s look at the rest of today’s
passage. This will help us answer the
second question we heard earlier: “How do we live as people who have God’s love
poured into our hearts?”
In verses 3 and 4, we see a
string of situations that connect each other by what they produce. Does this relate to us today or is this just
a message for those then?
Trouble—endurance—character—hope
How often do you see “trouble”
connected to “hope”? Some versions use
the word “suffering”. How do we gain
hope from trouble or suffering?
Paul is showing us a
different way to live here, a different way of seeing things. He is reminding us that trouble and suffering
can produce endurance, which in turn produces character, which leads to
hope. Though this is counter cultural, counter
cultural living isn’t new with Jesus nor is it new with his followers. What is even more countercultural here is
found in the beginning of verse 3 where we are told to “take pride in our
troubles” (CEB) or “boast in our sufferings” (NRSV). It is difficult enough to
think that we can derive hope from our troubles and sufferings, but that we are
to take pride and boast in them?!?!
Professor Linda Thomas
reminds us that “the strains and frictions in life help us grow stronger and
build our character, especially our patience—the capacity to have endurance,
staying power, resilience, and fortitude.” (Feasting
on the Word, Year C, Volume 3, 42.)
Paul reminds us in today’s
passage that sufferings and troubles are not wasted. They are used to grow us as disciples of
Christ, into whom the Holy Spirit has poured God’s love. As disciples of Christ, we are called to make
disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world.
Because of Christ’s poured
out love for us, we can pour out love for others.
Professor Michael Jinkins
notes:
“Because we belong to God in
Christ, because God has poured his love into our hearts, that which we suffer
can produce patient endurance. This
endurance can form the character of the God who gives God’s self away for us
all, and this character produces hope, hope that we will never disappoint because
God is more faithful than we can ever imagine.” (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 3, 42.)
Even though we face difficult
times, may we recognize that we have the love of God poured into us through the
Holy Spirit.
May we pour out that love so
that the love and light of Christ will be evident in our words and through our
deeds.
So be it.
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Call to Worship:
L: How shall we describe the concept of Trinity?
P: In the first "person" we find God
the creator
L: In the second "person" we discover Jesus the
Redeemer
P: In the third "person"
we greet the Holy Spirit, the Guardian and Guide.
L: There are so many ways to describe the work and witness of
God.
P: The Trinity helps us to understand the
nature of God. AMEN.
~Nancy Townley
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Songs at FOUMC:
Opening Song:
UMH #64 ("Holy, Holy, Holy) [I enjoy singing the "left side of the page-- Spanish!]
"Open the Eyes of My Heart"
"This I Believe"
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