I tend to preach from sticky notes when the sermon stays stuck inside me all week, swirling around. When it doesn't come out on paper, it goes on to sticky notes.
That is what happened this past week. Sometimes it happens because there are other things going on in life, mission, and ministry and the pipes just don't get cleared up sufficiently to get it out. At other times, it just seems to be a wrestling act with the Holy Spirit. Regardless, I try to study and prepare all I can and allow the Holy Spirit to help me put it together and get it out of me, whether it gets out onto paper or sticky notes.
No matter what form it gets out onto, the Holy Spirit is still in charge of how it is presented in the moment and things continue to change during the preaching of the message.
That is one of the things that gives me life about preaching-- that the Holy Spirit breathes into it, breathes into me. It isn't about me.
I will share my notes and a quote I shared from yesterday. I will share the bulletin cover. I will share some reflections about the special music, which dovetailed nicely with the service.
The Call to Worship came from Nancy Townley, who writes for the UMC. Her "Calls to Worship" can be found on Ministry Matters, in the Worship Connection.
Yesterday's Call to Worship was #4 for August 26, 2018:
Call to Worship #4
L: Whom do you seek here in this place?
P: We seek God, the Creator, who brought us to life.
L: Who has told you of God?
P: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has shown us the love of God through his life.
L: Discipleship is difficult. Are you ready?
P: We want to be ready. Lord, strengthen and sustain us this day. AMEN.
P: We seek God, the Creator, who brought us to life.
L: Who has told you of God?
P: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has shown us the love of God through his life.
L: Discipleship is difficult. Are you ready?
P: We want to be ready. Lord, strengthen and sustain us this day. AMEN.
The songs that we sang during the service were: "Standing on the Promises" from the UMH (United Methodist Hymnal) #374, "Who You Say I Am" (by Hillsong), "You Are My All in All" (by Dennis Jernigan), and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" UMH #140.
If you'd like to sing (or listen to any of those songs, you can check out the links below.
The Special Music feature was "The Master's Touch" by Carson and Evelyn Madwell, assisted by Gail Coleman. Carson did a recitation of "The Master's Touch" while Evelyn played the violin and Gail played the guitar. It was a beautiful and touching piece. I had heard the song many times, but not a recitation of the piece in this way. We were blessed.
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| Carson and Evelyn Madwell, Gail Coleman |
One link that tells how she wrote this is found here.
| 'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while To waste much time on the old violin, But held it up with a smile: "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried, "Who'll start the bidding for me?" "A dollar, a dollar"; then, "Two!" "Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice; Going for three----" But no, From the room, far back, a gray-haired man Came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, And tightening the loose strings, He played a melody pure and sweet As a caroling angel sings. The music ceased, and the auctioneer, With a voice that was quiet and low, Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow. "A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, And going, and gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not quite understand What changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch of a master's hand." And many a man with life out of tune, And battered and scarred with sin, Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, Much like the old violin. A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine; A game--and he travels on. He is "going" once, and "going" twice, He's "going" and almost "gone." But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd Never can quite understand The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought By the touch of the Master's hand. |
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| Bulletin Cover Image and take away card image |
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| Bulletin |
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. 11 Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. 12 We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. 13 Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. 14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, 15 and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. 16 Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.
18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. 19 As for me, pray that when I open my mouth, I’ll get a message that confidently makes this secret plan of the gospel known.20 I’m an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. Pray so that the Lord will give me the confidence to say what I have to say.
My sermon notes: (Even though these notes come from my sticky notes, please recognize that what was shared in the message would not be exactly what you see here. I expounded quite a bit.)
"The version you choose to read will help you focus sometimes on different words or phrases. I initially read from the CEB-- thus the title from verse 10. In the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version), the phrase in verse 10 is "be strong in the Lord". The preposition change is slight, from "by" to "in", yet it changes the meaning.
How many of you are familiar with this passage? Being familiar with a passage can sometimes cause us to tune it out.
How many of you pray it daily? Especially verses 13-18?
Why would we want to pray these verses? Why would we want to be ready and/or strengthened?"
[Share an example here from France.] [Quote from Feasting on the Word.]
[I shared a little about how this was meaningful to me as a descendant of French Huguenots.]
"Just one day after France surrendered toe Nazi Germany, a pastor preached to a small village congregation with a prophetic vision that "The responsibility of Christians is to resist the violence that will be brought to bear on their consciences through the weapons of the Spirit. These Huguenots would provide sanctuary for 5,000 Jews. They discovered the Pauline "weapons of the Spirit". Christians can be awakened to weapons of the Spirit such as prayer (v. 18), Christian truth (v. 14), and the Spirit (v. 17b)" (Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, 379.
[Below you will find a movie clip of the Le Chambon movie.]You can search for other historical and documentary clips on YouTube.]
Movie Trailer to Le Chambon: La Colline aux mille enfants
More notes from the sticky notes:
"Putting on new humanity. [talked about getting dressed, uniforms from Scouts, teams, military, martial arts. I mentioned my TKD (TaeKwonDo uniform]. How can these "weapons" become life-giving? Not just for you personally, but for those around you, so that you are equipped as a disciple to make disciples for the transformation of the world?"
As I am going back over the sticky notes and finishing up today, it has been a couple of weeks since I gave this sermon. I started this blog the day after, but have had many other things going on in life. Though I preached from the sticky notes, it was still a fairly full sermon. I attribute that to the Holy Spirit.
I don't know what you might get from this blog post, but there is certainly Scripture and history here.
May you find something here to encourage, bless, and strengthen you.
Blessings on your journey,
Debra
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