Below you will find today's sermon. It's not exactly what I shared, though it's pretty close. I've included links that you wouldn't get in a sermon and pictures of both the waterfalls.
Knowing I would be off at seminary this past week, I started working on this a while back. So, last week during my seminary class, it was interestingly odd for me on Tuesday morning (6/18) when Dr. Steve Seamands said this in class about God's deep love: "That's like thinking you can take Niagara Falls and stick it in a tea cup." ☺ As you read the sermon, I think you'll see why that was "interestingly odd" for me and truly neat (to use a 70s term).
Without further ado, today's sermon preached at White Oak UMC. Thank you Amy Whatley for the opportunity for pulpit supply! Blessings to you and your family as you transition to your new place of ministry.
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| Niagara Falls, 2012, dd |
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| Amicalola Falls, 2013, dd |
“The Deep Calls: How Thirsty Are You?”
White Oak UMC
June 23, 2013
Prayer
of Illumination: Lord, open our hearts and minds by the
power of your Holy Spirit so that, as the word is read and proclaimed we might
hear your word for us today. Amen.
Psalm 42 (NRSV)
As a
deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
4 These
things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help 6 and my God.
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help 6 and my God.
My soul
is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I
say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why
are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
--THIS
IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
--THANKS
BE TO GOD.
As you hear these words from the Psalmist today and
the words I feel God has given me, you might be wondering how these fit with
your particular situation here at White Oak this Sunday. I recognize that you are in a transition time
between pastors. Last week was Amy’s
last Sunday and next week will be Lyle’s first Sunday. There are many ways to transition well
between pastors and that is something we all need to learn to do better, for
pastors and for congregations. You may not
have known this, but Amy was my Candidacy Mentor. Her leaving is a transition time for me. I realize that there are other transitions people
are going through in their lives at this time too. Today, we’re not going to focus on the HOW to
transition, but on WHO guides us, on God, and as we keep our focus on God
through the transitions in life, we will be able to deal with whatever comes
our way. So, today, I recognize the
transitional state that we are in and call our attention to God, that we may
seek God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength this morning.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
Have you ever been thirsty? Physically? Spiritually? Retired Bishop Rueben Job
writes: “The thirst for God is universal because we have been created with a
longing for the Creator. This desire to
know and be known by the One who made us and loves us is often ignored, denied,
and finally buried under a multitude of pursuits and interests. But then some event in life invites or forces
us to pause, and the desire for God comes rushing back to our awareness. And once again we know that real life is
impossible without the companionship of the One who first gave us the gift of
life and who sustains us even now. We
know for certain that we need living water; we need what only God can give if
we are to really live.” (A Guide To
Prayer For All Who Seek God, 325-326)
Verse 7—“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your
waves and breakers have swept over me.” (NIV)
How thirsty are you?
This verse causes me to think about different
waterfalls. I adore waterfalls and find
that they help bring peace to my soul and body.
Maybe that has something to do with the physiological fact of the oxygen
in the water droplets of the spray. I
had heard this somewhere in the past and spent some time researching this to
verify this fact and learned more than I needed to on oxygen aeration and the
therapeutic effect waterfalls have on our serotonin levels because of the split
water molecules. [Click here for more information on this topic.]
But that’s not the focus of this message. Besides, maybe it’s simply the beauty and
power of the flowing water that draws me.
It doesn’t really matter.
Let me share two waterfalls with you that I’ve seen
within this past year. The first is the
one on the bulletin. It is Amicalola
Falls in Dawsonville, GA. Amicalola is
Cherokee for ‘tumbling waters’. It’s the
tallest cascading waterfall in America east of the Mississippi River and
cascades 729 feet. We were there last
month and hiked from the bottom up. It
was wonderful to watch the waters flow and hear the rushing of the waters over
the rocks. Its beauty is unique to its surroundings.
The second waterfall is one that you might think
of when you first think of famous waterfalls—Niagara. If you haven’t been to Niagara falls, at least
you’ve heard of it… most likely. There
are actually three falls: smallest to
largest: Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side, is the
most powerful waterfall in North America putting out 600,000 gallons of water
per second. [Link to Niagara Falls website.]
I saw Niagara Falls for the first time last
September. Impressive. The sight, the sound, the spray.
Jerry Webber’s Psalm Prayer from Sometimes an Unknown Path, puts the
section about the waterfalls thus:
Open
my eyes, my heart,
to experience the Niagara of Your
grace
crashing down upon me moment by
moment.
Help
me to catch more and more of Your grace,
trading my narrow-necked bottle
for a
Niagara-filled tub.
When I think about Jerry Webber’s words in this
Psalm Prayer, the “roar” of the waterfalls in verse 7a and deep calling to deep
take on new meaning for me. As I
contemplate the grace crashing down… I simply want to get under it. I want to experience and feel the full
effects of that grace. Don’t you?!?!
Now, truthfully, when I took the Niagara boat tour,
I put on the thin blue poncho because I didn’t really desire to get soaking wet
on the boat with my camera, etc. But, if
I’m thinking about that water as God’s grace, then that’s a whole other
issue. Or is it?
Think about it.
There are times when God’s grace is readily available to us, being
poured upon us, into our lives. What do
we do? We grab the raincoat, the poncho,
or an umbrella. We don’t want too much
at one time. Just a little, thank
you. Or like Jerry Webber puts it, we
are holding a narrow-necked bottle into the stream of water trying to get just
a little. If we are truly thirsty for
God, why won’t we jump in feet first and allow ourselves to be soaked through
with God’s grace!?!? How might that
change how we live?!?! How might that
change our relationship with God and others if we truly took in as much of
God’s grace as possible instead of trying to protect ourselves from too much at
once or trying to save some for later?!?!
When a waterfall isn’t nearby, try a fountain. This past week I was on the main campus of
Asbury Theological Seminary for an intensive class in United Methodist
Theology. There is a fountain in the
courtyard in the back of the administration building. That became a go-to place. On one side of the
fountain was a Scripture verse from John 7:37b-38—“If anyone thirsts, let him
come to me and drink. He who believes in
me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” And on the other side of the fountain is a John
Wesley quote.
Grace is a predominant theme of Christ and John Wesley. This past Spring I took a course on the
Theology of John Wesley. But, don’t
worry. I’m not going to pull out my
notes from either class right now.
I will share one John Wesley quote with you: “It is
hard to find words in the language of men to explain the deep things of
God. Indeed, there are none that will
adequately express what the children of God experience. But perhaps one might say the testimony of
the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God
directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ
hath loved me and given himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out,
and I, even I, am reconciled to God.” (taken from A Guide To Prayer For
Ministers and Other Servants, p 403) [The Witness of the Spirit (sermon
10)]
If you’re thirsty for more in your spiritual life
and desire to go deeper in your relationship with God, know that this thirst is
a result of God working in you and drawing you closer into relationship through
grace.
You might be thinking, ‘Yes, I am thirsty for more. I would like to go deeper.’ The next
logical thought you might have would be: ‘HOW?’ So maybe you’re expecting me to
pull out a bullet list of “here’s how to go deeper in your relationship with
God”. I am going to disappoint you if
that’s the case. There are resources on
the “how”. And, there are ways to go
about the “how”. BUT, sometimes we get
so caught up in the HOW that we forget what we were thirsty for in the first
place. So, my suggestion today is that
you don’t focus on the HOW, but rather the WHO (W-H-O), God, and seek to know
God more. As you focus on the WHO, the
HOW will work itself out. Trust the WHO;
God will take care of the HOW. If you
really want some guidance on the HOW, then you could follow John Wesley’s
suggestion of keeping the ordinances of God: praying, reading the Scriptures,
etc. Meeting together for worship as we
are today is one way of living out the HOW by focusing on the WHO. We have gathered today to worship God because
God loves us and has drawn us into a relationship. We give glory to God the Father through
Christ the Son as we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us.
The relationship with God doesn’t end. It goes on and on and goes deeper and deeper.
- How deep
are you willing to allow God to take you?
- How thirsty
are you for a deeper and holy relationship with the One who created you?
In the Spiritual
Formation Bible: Growing in Intimacy with God Through Scripture, there are
columns throughout the Bible for reflection.
This is what is written for Psalm 42 on “Thirsting for God”: “Thirst is
such a powerful longing that it displaces all others. Though the psalmist longs
for God’s help in the midst of physical thirst and danger, this metaphor also
offers a profound spiritual image: Our relationship with God is as essential to
our spiritual well-being as water is to our physical well-being. What are you thirsty for? Is your schedule so crowded that it leaves
you thirsty for time alone with God? Are
you feeling dryness in your devotional habits?
Are you needing a time away in retreat? […]” (728)
Notice that as the psalmist pours out his soul to
God in this Psalm, that he flows from desiring to grow more intimate with God
to recognizing that his soul is downcast and that he needs God’s help. The journey deeper is one that will have ups
and downs, joys and sorrows, praises and laments. In and through it all, as we seek to grow in
our love relationship with God, then we will be equipped to live out the
relationships with others, whether with family, at work, through service, or
ministry. It all starts with our love
relationship with God.
Thirteen years ago I went to Passion 2000 in
Texas. The CD from that Passion
Conference was called “Thirsty: a journey to intimacy with God”. All the songs on the album speak to the deep
desire to know God and grow in intimacy with God in one way or another. There is a song by the album’s title,
“Thirsty” by Chris Rice.
Here are the lyrics:
I’m so thirsty, I
can feel it
Burning through the furthest corners of my soul
Deep desire, can’t describe this
Nameless urge that drives me somewhere
Though I don’t know where to go
Seems I’ve heard about a River from someone who’s been
And they tell me once you reach it, oh, you’ll never thirst again
So I have to find the River, somehow my life depends on the River
Holy River
Other waters I’ve been drinkin’
But they always leave me empty like before
Satisfaction, all I’m askin’
Could I really be this thirsty if there weren’t something more?
And I’ve heard about a River from someone who’s been
And they tell me once you reach it, oh, you’ll never thirst again
So I have to find the River,
Somehow my life depends on the River
Holy River, I’m so thirsty
I’m on the shore now of the wildest River
And I kneel and beg for mercy from the sky
But no one answers, I’ve gotta take my chances
Cause something deep inside me’s cryin’
"This is why you are alive!"
So I plunge into the River with all that I am
Praying this will be the River where I’ll never thirst again
I’m abandoned to the River
And now my life depends on the River
Holy River, I’m so thirsty
Burning through the furthest corners of my soul
Deep desire, can’t describe this
Nameless urge that drives me somewhere
Though I don’t know where to go
Seems I’ve heard about a River from someone who’s been
And they tell me once you reach it, oh, you’ll never thirst again
So I have to find the River, somehow my life depends on the River
Holy River
Other waters I’ve been drinkin’
But they always leave me empty like before
Satisfaction, all I’m askin’
Could I really be this thirsty if there weren’t something more?
And I’ve heard about a River from someone who’s been
And they tell me once you reach it, oh, you’ll never thirst again
So I have to find the River,
Somehow my life depends on the River
Holy River, I’m so thirsty
I’m on the shore now of the wildest River
And I kneel and beg for mercy from the sky
But no one answers, I’ve gotta take my chances
Cause something deep inside me’s cryin’
"This is why you are alive!"
So I plunge into the River with all that I am
Praying this will be the River where I’ll never thirst again
I’m abandoned to the River
And now my life depends on the River
Holy River, I’m so thirsty
Now that you’ve
heard the lyrics, listen to the song. As
you listen to Chris Rice sing, what words touch you where you are today?
In closing, I want to share a Psalm Prayer with you
from the Upper Room WorshipBook:
Psalm Prayer from the Upper Room Worshipbook-- #270
Quench
the thirst of my heart, O God.
Sing
the song of your love deep within me.
Lead
me to the waters of mercy,
for my hope is in you. Amen.
adapted by Judy Holloway ©2006.
After reading this Psalm Prayer, I added that this made me think of a Stephen Curtis Chapman song, "I'm diving in". I said: I don't know about you, but I'm diving in, I'm going deep..... What about you?
[BENEDICTION]
BLESSING FROM THE BOOK OF WORSHIP: (#564)
May
the blessing of God, fountain of living water,
flow within us as a river of life.
May
we drink deep of her wisdom.
May
we never thirst again.
May
we go through life refreshing many,
as a sign of healing for all;
through
the One who is Life eternal. Amen.
(Miriam Therese Winter, U.S.A., 20th
Century)
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Blessings on your journey.... May you drink deeply of the water that will quench your thirst, may you focus on the WHO that loves you deeply and can and will sustain you through all aspects of life's journey, may you jump in feet first into the deep waters of God's grace and love and get soaked!
Debra
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