WALKING WITH GOD # 1 Sept. 28, 2014

I want to tell you about an argument that I once had with my late Father. At the time,  I was a teenager who had hair like this(preacher puts on wig). Dad wanted me to get a haircut.  I wanted to my Dad to buy me my first car. So, Dad decided that he would make a compromise with me.   

"John” he said,” If you get your hair cut and keep it short, I'll get you a car."

Well I thought about this, but I didn’t want to lose the hair I loved. However, I remembered from church that Jesus and his disciples had long hair, too.  So I replied to my Dad,” "Dad, I would like to keep my hair long like Jesus and his disciples."

My Dad said that that was acceptable. Then, I decided to press him about buying me a car.  Dad replied, “Well, John, since you want to be like Jesus and his disciples, there is no need for a car."

Well that confused me and I asked, “Why not?”

 

 Dad smiled and then replied, "Well Jesus and his disciples walked."

 

Now, the rest of the story is that I really learned how to do a lot of walking.  The hair stayed.

 

Today, we begin our 6 week sermon series entitled, “Walking with God.”  PAUSE What does God require of us, according to today’s Old Testament reading? Please repeat after me,’ To do justice”…””to love mercy”…… and to walk humbly with our God.”

 

To walk humbly with our God.  This rich biblical image is a wonderful metaphor for our own spiritual  lives  as we journey through the years of our lives.. God...our God is one who wants us to walk with him.  Now sometimes, as we said last week, we are too busy to walk with God because we are running around in circles in our regular , but frantic, daily routines. Many of us don’t feel like we have time to stroll with God,  which is a shame.  Why?  Because God has a plan and a purpose for

each of us to live a rich, full, and meaningful lives of love with God and our neighbor.   But how many of us miss that because we are running around and around in circles each and every single day?

 

So, God’s answer to our frantic culture is His call for us to Walk with Him.  In the next 6 weeks, we are going to explore 2 major ways that we can walk with God.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·       <!--[endif]-->First, if you want to walk with God to a richer and better life, then you have to follow Him.  Jesus’  call to “Follow Me’ is the name of our fall  Small Group series, for which 78 of you have already registered!!!!     SMILE    The adventure of these Small groups will lead us to better understand how to improve the quality of our lives by intentionally walking with  Jesus.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·       <!--[endif]-->Secondly, on Sunday mornings in our sermons, we are going to learn to Walk with God by learning to pray.  Prayer is the intersection between our mortal lives on earth, and our immortal lives on both heaven and earth. Prayer is learning to communicate with God, which is the foundation of any spiritual life. SMILE    PAUSE

 

Now, I want to ask a question. PAUSE   Would please close your eyes, so that I can ask you a question , without embarrassing anyone?  Now, would you raise your hand if you feel like you personally  really understand how to pray, and that you  pray often? PAUSE

 

Okay. PAUSE Not surprising but Most /some of us have a hard time...And I bet all of us could benefit by learning more.

 

So, here is my promise to you:  If you listen to our upcoming Sunday sermons, by the end of 6 weeks you will know how to pray and to pray in such way that it is a joy to you! And this is so easy. Most of us were never taught the easy way to pray, which is so easy, that children can learn it ….and once kids learn it, they love it.

 

So, how does one pray?  Well, the very first step begins with the letter “A”—      “A” for AFFIRMING that God is present and available to us all day, all the time. He longs for us to pray for Him.  Just as good parents long to hear their child’s voice when they have been apart, so God relishes your voice when you turn to Him in prayer.

So—we affirm—THAT GOD IS WITH US.  This is the meaning of one of Jesus’s names, which is “Immanuel”, which  translates from the Hebrew language as  GOD IS WITH US AND GOD IS FOR US. No other religion makes such a claim.  Our Father in heaven and earth is on one hand MIGHTY , MAGNIFICENT, AND MIRACULOUS, but he is also kind, compassionate and close  PAUSE to us.     St. Paul put it this way—saying that God is so close to us that in Him we live and move and exist!!!!  PAUSE Now, of course, God is Spirit, so He may not always be visible to the human eye---but He is present to those who call upon Him. PAUSE

This is what is happening in today’s Gospel reading.  On the first Easter Sunday, after Jesus had risen from the dead---His human body was transformed into  omnipresent Spirit.  So , two of Jesus’ disciples meet  him while walking down the road, but they did not recognize Him.  But He was there—and after our Gospel reading, the Bible tells us that they heard Jesus preach the word, and then they recognized Him.  He was walking with them,  even though they didn’t know it.

Think of the lonely and dark times of your life, when you were figuratively just struggling to take one step after another. PAUSE For me, that darkness was coping with clinical depression. PAUSE  For years and year of my life, I endured seasons of darkness, from which I could not escape.  Oh, I functioned, and sometimes I was surprised that I could  persevere. PAUSE  Well, one day 25 years ago, I prayed to God about my depression, and I felt like he nudged me to seek professional help—which I did.; and it helped. PAUSE

And I am here to tell you, that through prayer and counseling and medication, I slowly began to crawl out of that dark hole, SMILE and then I came into the light of Christ’s love. SMILE  Now, I am no longer dragged down into long bouts of despair.

I became a changed man, for the good, SMILE as Jesus worked in me to heal me,  and as He continues to walk with me, everyday. SMILE And as I rejoiced about this powerful emotional healing, I came across this very powerful poem, which you can find at the top of page 5.

“Foot prints in the sand “ has been around since the mid-1930s, and this poem has resonated with millions of Christians and Jews.  For those of you not familiar with it, the poem describes a person who is walking with God on a beach.  While walking, the person sees  scenes from her life flash across the sky.  Well, this upset the person because during the lowest times of suffering and sorrow,  she could  saw only one set of prints in the sand, which she assumed to be hers.  Where was God during those times?

But God then replies that the one set of  footprints were actually His, when He carried her through those dark times.  

That is my story. PAUSE And I know that that is the story of many of you here in this room.  So, if God has walked with you through your own  dark times, or if you wish to believe that God will walk with you ,  today and tomorrow, then I invite you to stand ; and join me in proclaiming this good news, as we , together,

Pre Game: Walking with God Sermon Sept. 21, 2014

I imagine that most of us, at one time or another, have felt like the fella in our video.   In fact, I know that many of you here today, and  many other parishioners feel like this one an ongoing basis.       Of course, all the overwhelming  demands faced by working families with stresses out many families.

·       But even the unemployed find that their time evaporates too quickly.

·       But believe it or not, retired folks do, too: Projects around the house, paper work are often deferred, thereby stacking up the  necessary work needed to run a household.

The rock group, known as “The Who,” probably speak for many of us, when they sing about returning from a QUOTE  “busy day, knowing that there has got to be a better way.”  UNQUOTE

Are we missing something here?  PAUSE  I wonder if some of us are unknowingly missing a key ingredient in life????? PAUSE

Have any of you ever cooked up a recipe, and left out a crucial ingredient?  Back when I was single, I remember an occasion when I was house sitting and I decided to make myself some chili for dinner.   Now I was born and raised in Cincinnati—and Cincinnati is the self-proclaimed chili capital of the world. 

·       There are chili parlors on every corner; and 90% of Cincinnati natives grow up loving chili.

·       So, the night I was cooking, I got together the ground beef, the beans, tomatoes, green pepper, salt, crackers, & cheese.

·        But I looked all over that kitchen, and for the life of me, I could not find any chili powder. I had never been sin such a house.  This was an outrage.

·       Well, I was too lazy to go to the store, so I found some hot sauce, which I used as a substitute.

·       Once it  finished cooking, I tried eating the concoction. PAUSE    Oh, was that horrible!!!  It was inedible !!!!!!!!!.

·       Chili without chili powder is not chili. Rather, it’s merely hamburger stew.

·       Without the missing ingredient, my recipe was incomplete and unsatisfactory.

Well, the same is true for our Christian recipe for happiness.  For most of us a missing ingredient from our lives, which adds all the spice to life—and that missing ingredient is prayer.

·       Now, I am not referring to quickly prayer before dinner or a cry for help in times of desperation.  I am talking about taking some time to speak to God, and to listen to Him.

This is what is going on in today’s Gospel. Martha is a good hearted faithful and generous hostess; but she is also like the fella in today’s video. So, Jesus called out to her to slow down, to speak to Him and to listen to him, which is what prayer is for us.

Prayer improves all of life. There are many reasons why one should pray, but today I would like to look at 2—the 2 “P”s: physiology & priorities----

Scientists have demonstrated through hundreds of scientific studies that prayer has strong physiological benefits. Many of these studies have demonstrated that people who pray live healthier and longer lives.

·       Prayer results in increased levels of the dopamine hormone, which contributes to our state of wellbeing and joy.

·       Studies have demonstrated that half of all doctor visits for depression, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and the like, are all prompted by undue stress. Therefore, when prayer alleviates stress, we simultaneously reduce the risk of disease.

One reason that prayer can reduce stress is through the 2^nd “P,” which is priorities. 

·       You see, there is just too much to do in life…and we cannot do it all. If we try to do everything, then our lives will fall out of balance and we become overstressed.

·        However, if we choose the priority of praying, God can guide us in making decisions on how to use our time, which can result in a more harmonious and balanced life.

Come walk with God and He will lead you to a more balanced life.    This is what Paul is saying in our first reading today, when he wrote,” When you make decisions, you will feel peace as you live out God’s plan. So, be guided by this sense of peace when making decisions about what to do in daily life. Follow God’s guidance and you will find more peace.”   Wow. Think of that.  PAUSE

Do you want to how to do this for yourselves?  Well, you are in luck.  Next Sunday, we begin our 6 week  “Walking with God” program which will help you to do just that.

·       On Sunday mornings through Nov. 2, we are all going to learn a simple, yet powerful,  way to pray.  Many of us do not pray because we don’t know how, or we have forgotten how. Prayer is so simple that children can do it, and we can learn to do it as well, thereby following God to more peaceful and harmonious lives.

·       Also, as most of you know, we will have an accompanying weekly Small Group series, we will learn to let God lead as we walk with Him.  And as we learn to let Him lead us, then we will follow Him  to a  life so much richer than you have now, for your great joy and His great glory.

So, stop spinning around in circles.  Join us as we all learn to walk with each other as we follow our guide, our savior and friend, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

Lighthouse Sermon Aug. 31, 2014

The Light House Sermon  Aug. 31, 2014

Lighthouse Story (from Charles Stanley)

Parable of The Lighthouse On a dangerous seacoast notorious for shipwrecks, there was a crude little lifesaving station.  Actually, it was merely a hut with only one boat, but the few members kept a constant watch over the turbulent sea.  With little thought for themselves, they would go out day & night tirelessly searching for those in danger as well as the lost.  Many lives were saved by this brave band who faithfully worked as a team in and out of the lifesaving station.  By and by, it became a famous place. Some of those who had been saved, as well as others along the seacoast, wanted to become associated with this little station.  They were willing to give their time, energy and money in support of its objectives.  New boats were purchased.  New crews were trained.  The station, once obscure and crude and virtually insignificant, began to grow.  Some of its members were unhappy the hut was so unattractive and poorly equipped.  They felt a more comfortable place should be provided.  Emergency cots were replaced with lovely furniture.  Rough, handmade equipment was discarded and sophisticated, classy systems were installed.  The hut, of course, had to be torn down to make room for all the additional equipment, furniture, and systems.  By the time of its completion, the lifesaving station had become a popular gathering place, and its objectives had begun to shift.  It was now used as a sort of clubhouse, an attractive building for public gathering.  Saving lives, feeding the hungry, strengthening the fearful, and calming the disturbed rarely occurred. Fewer members were interested in braving the sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired professional lifeboat crews to do this work.  The original goal of the station wasn’t altogether forgotten, however. Lifesaving motifs still prevailed in the club’s decorations. There was a liturgical lifeboat preserved in the Room of Sweet Memories with soft, indirect lighting, which helped hide the layer of dust upon the once-used vessel. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast and the boat crews brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people.  They were dirty, some terribly sick and lonely.  Others were “different” from the majority of the club members. The beautiful new club suddenly became messy and cluttered.  ·       A special committee saw to it that a shower house was immediately built outside, away from the club so victims of the shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.  At the next meeting there were strong words and angry feelings, which resulted in a division among the members.  Most of the people wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities and all involvements with shipwreck victims.  You see, the newer members were not nearly as committed as the old members.  Besides, the older members began to die off.  Over time, the rescue efforts stopped altogether, as the membership became more and more comfortable, just gathering together, and having parties with their families.  As the years passed, the light house station club would gather to hear historical presentations about the “good old days.”  But soon, they stopped telling these stories.  After that, new members never learned of the original purpose of the light house station club.  Once the light house station stopped risking their lives to save others, the club grew more popular, and it grew to become the most popular club in town. Shipwrecks still occur in those waters, but now most of the victims are not saved.  Every day they drown at sea, and so few others seem to care . . . so very few.

This lighthouse story is a parable—a parable people and charitable institutions.  But for our purposes this morning, this story actually summarizes 2000 years of church history.

·       As described in last week’s sermon, the Christian church initially burst into the world with a blaze of fire—shining the light of Christ’s love into the world

·       Rescuing people from loneliness, brokenness, hopelessness, and purposelessness.

·       Early Christians risked their lives and even sacrificed their lives, just as thousands of Christians are doing now in Syria and Iraq, where they are facing genocide.  Why?  Because the early church knew the same thing that the Iraqi & Syria Christians know today---that the Light of Christ is more important than earthly life.

·        So, like the rescuers in our story, they ventured into the stormy seas of violent persecution, so that a few people might be or just as few saved.  They understood /understand that the fulfillment of a purpose driven life is to shine the light of Christ’s love into a dark world.

Now 1700 years later:  The modern day picture of Christian scene in America is primarily not that of Christians venturing forth with the light of Christ into our our world.  Rather, the Christian scene, in too many places, is much more like the Lighthouse historical club. 

The main reason that some many churches are declining in membership is because they are no longer rescuing people from the darkness of our world.  Thus, the public perception of the church is that it is a religious club; that the church has nothing to offer them.  And most of the time they are correct.  Over time, the light of Christ is many churches has become extinguished.  It became extinguished, because most clergy and congregations do not understand the light of Christ’s love.

The truth about the light of Christ’s love is this---you either share it, or it will die.  Reflecting upon today’s Gospel—Jesus says that you do not hide your light under a bucket. Why?   Because the flame will burn up all the oxygen, and the fire will burn itself out.  How many churches have unknowing burnt out the light of Christ.

No, Jesus says that you share it—because the people wandering in darkness need to see the great light.

Now, what about us at Christ Church Quaker Farms?

·       We need to be more proactive in sharing the Light.  Why?  Not because we want to grow this church into a big church.  That is not the reason.

·       No, we need to share the light with those in the darkness because so few others churches are doing this.  In fact, these churches are giving the rest of us bad PR. People need what you and I have  been given.

It is because of this, that we are proclaiming that SEPTEMBER IS CHURCH HOMECOMING MONTH @ CCQF.  Everybody needs a spiritual home; and we would like to be that home for anybody wishing to share in the light of Christ’s love.  It all begins next Sunday with the return of our

·       Regular schedule of Sunday services at 8 & 10

·       The return of Sunday School

·       And our fantastic Homecoming Party, featuring our free lunch hosted by the Youth Group, and games, and more.

So, would you please take our the Homecoming Sunday invitation  in your bulletin?  Has the red heart. As I said last Sunday, I want to challenge everyone to invite one person to join us for homecoming Sunday next week. You can use this invitation, if you like.   I have already invited my person.   He will not come to church, but he will come to the party.  And that is just okay.

·       Those of you with us last week will recall that 60% of all people, who do not currently go to church, claim in a recent poll that they would go to church if a friend of family mbr asked them.  This is your big chance.  Share the light of Christ’s love, and it will come back to you in abundance.  Amen.

       The Rev. John Donnelly

MISSION SERMON By Jackie McDonnell, Tammy Borkowski & Ken Sharron

Mission Sermon 2014

Vermont and North Carolina

 

Jackie:

There are so many opportunities to share our faith just outside the doors of our churches. Lost, lonely, hurting, needy people can be found in every community in every country on the face of the earth. Every one of us could make it our life’s work to demonstrate the love of Jesus to people in need and never get outside a twenty mile radius from our homes. So why does God tell his people to “go”? Going has always been a part of God’s plan. Jesus, himself, continued the call to “go”! As part of their training the disciples were sent out to surrounding towns. There is a calling on those who follow Jesus to leave their places of comfort and familiarity and share his love in ways that stretch us and impact others. God knows something of the power of a stranger showing up on the doorstep of someone in need We should all be helping our next door neighbor, but something amazing happens when we go out of our way . . . physically, emotionally and spiritually . . .

 

 Perhaps we come to know what it means to be a stranger in a strange land and so better understand that the earth itself is not our true home. Our journey of faith is about becoming people who go. These mission trips gave our young people a chance to hear the voice of God and respond. Respond by leaving the comforts of life behind to become the hands and feet of Jesus on the doorstep of a stranger; to become the voice of one crying in the wilderness; God has entrusted the parents and members of this congregation these youth of CCQF to your care, you in turn provided the chance for them to participate in these mission trips, which gave them a chance to join the bigger picture of  God’s purpose, His love, His forgiveness, His blessings.

Through youth mission trips over the past 4 years we at Christ Church have seen many young people transformed—in dramatic and enduring ways. It’s a mystery how simply serving in Christ’s name impacts the people serving . . . and the people being served. Hearts change. Behaviors change. Relationships with God change. Is there genuine, lasting value in youth mission trips? Yes! And here’s why…

Tammy:

Fr. John gave us the theme of Transformation to focus on while on our Mission Trips for the sermon today. 

As I thought about this I realized that brokenness could be in itself a transformation; A transformation from brokenness to redemption.  To understanding that God takes our brokenness, however small or large it is and brings us to redemption, if we lay that brokenness at the cross.  He sent his son to take our pain, our brokenness, and our sins and to free us of the pain and shower us with his love.  As this thought came over me I began to see all the transformations that occurred.

For example, our worksite was broken the first day of our trip.  Our leader was angry with us; our children were overwhelmed with the task at hand and disappointed by the location, work, and leadership provided by the mission trip.  The trip itself was broken at its core.  However, with prayer and open conversation with God and each other we changed our thinking, changed our actions, and changed ourselves to focus on what God wanted us to do.  Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves because all that we had envisioned in our heads or experienced in past trips was not happening, we focused on the Lord.  We turned that all over to him and spent some more time with him before our day started and things turned around.  Our hearts were transformed and God redeemed us with his love.  God’s was present and foremost on our worksite.

However, the most amazing transformation occurred at our last worship service.  For the first time all week we could relate to the message.  The worship leader shared the story of the prodigal son and spoke of all the characters in the story Jesus shared with us.  I think we all usually focus on the younger son, the prodigal son, but the father and the older son were brought to the forefront as well.  They were all broken and God redeemed them. They were all lost and God brought them home.  We could relate to the feeling of loss the father must have felt, the anger and frustration of the older son, and of course the feeling of disappointment, failure and regret of the younger son.  We were able to see and pray about the brokenness in our lives and we had the opportunity to leave them at the cross.  The Holy Spirit was present on this night and God transformed our hearts and brought us together in his love and grace.  He brought us closer together and allowed us to share in each other’s love while being wrapped in His.

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Fights, hurt friendships, losing family members, making bad decisions, events on the news, divorce – these things and more can make us feel “weary and burdened”.   Only by giving these things to the Lord, by listening to what the Lord wants for us and trusting in Him can our hearts and lives be transformed. 

Bring your brokenness to Lord, as these remarkable young adults have done this past week, and experience the amazing power of our Lord.  Let your heart be transformed by the overwhelming love of our Lord.

 

Ken:

This week in VT we learned that Jesus was the ultimate DEMO of how to serve, love, live well, and know the plan God has for us. We were taught how to live more like Jesus. He came to earth to not only to pave the way for us but He also walked the path. We live in a broken world that can often feel like we are alone. There is brokenness in our families, in our Church, in our community, in the nation, and throughout the world. But God loves us too much to leave us broken and alone. Jesus is the BIG FIX.. All we need to do is rely on Jesus to break the barriers between us and God. One way we can do this is live a life more like Jesus did. He demonstrated a life that was full of goodness, compassion and purpose – Jesus life is a demonstration of how all people can live a full and good life that honors God.  The youth and leaders on both trips took the opportunities this week to challenge ourselves to live like Jesus.

joyful worship

                                       SERMON ON   JOYFUL WORSHIP    June 16, 2014

                         [Ed. Note—This sermon is largely taken from the teachings of Gerrit Gustafson]

Throughout prehistory and all human history, they have gathered in public and in private,  in caves, in homes,  in sacred groves of trees, by the sea and on mountain tops, in graveyards  and in  temples.  Throughout all racial and cultural groupings, different peoples have always  assembled to  worship a deity.

The Christian roots of worship goes back  4000 years  or so to our spiritual forefathers and mothers , the ancient Hebrews of the Middle East.   One foundational principles of Judeo-Christian worship is that there is only one God, who is characterized by omnipresence and manifest presence.

·         The God of the Bible is omnipresent—He is supernaturally present everywhere, at all times, and all places, all simultaneously.  He is not a prisoner of time and space, unlike the deities of the pagans.

However, the God of the Bible can freely choose to manifest himself  his presence   at a particular time and place, to a particular people by

• initiating communication,
• or demonstrating his power,
• or by intervening in the natural order.

 In this regard, God, who is spirit,  can  willingly display his presence with greater intensity in the material world.

The key figure in ancient Hebrew worship was the Levite, the priest. As in other  religions with witch-doctors, shamans, gurus, or the like, the Hebrew priest //was the //mediator //between //God// and// humanity.  Back in that era, the relationship between God and humanity was indirect.  It required a middle man.

• Looking at slide # 3--  the definition of a priest is a believer who draws near to the presence of God.

Now, this was not about ritual alone. The priest was able to draw Near to the presence of God not just because he was ordained, but because He believed. 

• The great commandment  of God to the Hebrew people, and to us, is , ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul , and body.”

Throughout the 4000 years of biblical history,  we hear of a God who cares less about ritual, and more about the sincerity  of the one who worships by obeying the command of God to love Him wholeheartedly.

Slide : When priests draw near to God’s Presence through wholehearted worship, God reveals His manifest presence.

·         So, it is within this context that the priest went into the temple, wholeheartedly worshipped God on behalf of the people.   The priest then came out  God was present that he had accepted their offerings. Then the people would cheer.

Now, this model of worship is the ultimate spectator sport. As we discussed recently, many people erroneously believe that this is how we worship God—by watching the priest and the choir worship, while the congregation is entertained.

However, the Word of Jesus opposes that inactive mode of worship.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus condemns  he denounced the  clergy & priesthood of his day for  being a bunch of hypocrites  and crooks. 

• All these clerics had exalted themselves above the regular people, controlling the religion of their day and actually pushing the people away from the living God.
•  Jesus preached that God wants all people to come into his presence –to commune with Him, to talk to Him, to be forgiven by Him, to be healed by Him, and to be loved by Him. John proclaimed that that the Messiah, the anointed one, would soon appear on the scene, and would shatter the wall between God and humanity.

The Bible tells us that by his death and resurrection, Jesus fired the Old Testament clergy.  God then appointed Jesus to be the Great High priest of the universe.  And in turn, Jesus did something radical----something that most modern  day clergy and other Christians  still do not understand:  Jesus decided that all believers would automatically share in his priest hood, so that we could all draw near to the presence of God. Instead of using the position of His priesthood to separate people from God, Jesus appointed all of His followers to share in the joy of his eternal priesthood.   SLIDE—You are Priests.   1 Peter 2:5,9

Therefore, you are a priest.  Now, did you know that?   This is commonly called the priesthood of all believers.  If you believe in Jesus, then you are a priest.  If you don’t believe me, then maybe you will believe Peter, who was Jesus’ best friend and the first Pope of the early Church.  Peter writes,

Verse # 5—read in unison: You, also, like living stones are built into s spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering worship acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now, I know some of you are thinking that sounds crazy. It just sounds so simple..too simple.  But who made it so hard?  I’ll tell you who---  the self serving Clergy.

·         Beginning in the 4^th century AD, the Christian clergy reverted back to being mediators between the people and God, instead of facilitating whole hearted worship, which leads us into the presence of God.

·         For hundreds and hundreds of years, the clergy  developed more and more priestcraft and ritualism which confused the people and secured their hold upon their exalted positions.

·         For this reason, our Protestant and  Anglican forbears condemned  such clericalism during the Reformation of the 16^th century. 

And stretching from that time to today,  Jesus has been  liberating his royal priesthood to bypass middle management so that you can directly worship Him  and experience sweet communion with Him.

·         You see, I cannot worship for you.    Worship is a hands-on, participatory-activity.  THAT IS THE WORSHIPTHAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO God

·         I think that most Christians  have erroneously been taught the wrong definition of worship.

·         Slide ---Worship is the act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God—spirit, soul, and body.

So now, you are being extended the invitation, by Jesus Christ, to  become a whole hearted activated worshipper.  By putting our heart into worship, we can open the door to come into the presence of God.

So, how does one wholeheartedly worship?  Well, here are 3 basic ideas:

First, sing like you mean it.  Look at the words.  Make them your prayer.  In reference to singing, the Bible says, “Make a joyful noise for God.”  Don’t worry about getting the notes right. The song of an off keyed believer is sweeter to God then the song of a musically skilled unbeliever.  Love God by singing. 

Secondly, pray like you mean it. When there are prayer responses in our Sunday services, prayer, say them enthusiastically and loudly.  Put your heart into it.

Thirdly, listen like you mean it.  Listen to God’s word intently.   If you cannot find one thing in the scripture readings and/or the sermon which blesses you, then you are not listening.  God is speaking.   Find one thing that relates to you, and focus upon it.

When you wholeheartedly worship in these ways, you will enter the presence of God.  You may not see his face, but you will find JOY.

• The Bible says that  wholehearted worship as being as joyful as a wedding.

·         The Bible  praises God for wiping away the tears of sorrow, so that his people can  freely worship Him  songs of joy.

And my friends, by God’s grace and your active involvement & participation, Christ Church has become one of the most joyfully worshipping congregation in the Episcopal Church. Jesus wants you to enter into his presence, to receive his joy.  

·         Although some of us may take it for granted now—countless visitors have spoken to me over the past 3 years, including your visiting family members, as they praise us: Because our worship is less like a funeral, and more like a celebration.  We are becoming a church whose worship brings delight to God, and to his people.  Worship is one way that we shine the light of Christ’s love through our church and into the world.

So, dear friends, remember the command of God.  Pls repeat after me.

·         “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.”    Amen.

TRINITY SUNDAY 2014

We just heard the  bible story of the Lost Son.  Here is a modern day version of that same story:            An old father living alone in the country wanted to plant his pepper garden, but the ground was too hard and he was too old to do the work. His only son,  who use to help him,  was in prison for robbing a bank. The old man sent an email to his son, saying: "Dear Jake, I’ve been very depressed lately because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my peppers this year. You know how much your mother loves planting peppers this time of year, but I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot.. I know you would have been happy to dig the plot for me." Love, Dad  

·       That afternoon, the father received an email reply from his son :"Dear Dad, Don’t dig up that garden! That’s where I buried the THINGS!" Love, Jake    Well4am the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area looking for the THINGS. They apologized to the old man after not finding anything and left.

·       The next day the old man received another email from his  son. "Dear Dad, Happy Father’s Day! Go ahead and plant your peppers now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances." Love, Jake 

Not infrequently, our national  holiday of Father’s Day coincides with the church’s Trinity Sunday.  And by reflecting upon the grace of fatherhood, we can learn so much about our Trinitarian God--—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  You see, these are the 3 faces of God’s love for us  all.

Earlier in today’s service, we recited the canticle of  St. Patrick, which beautifully describes the wonder of our Creator God as manifest  –the earth beneath our feet and the heavens above us—which the Bible says that He made just for us.   The act of building and creating can be a solemn act.   When I was a young child, I learned about the joy and love of creating things:  Beginning at age 3 up until age 11 or so, I loved following  my father around on  Saturdays,  as we made home repairs and improvements. Our biggest project was finishing our attic, which eventually became my bed room. In that attic, my father  taught me how to hammer nails, to saw wood, to drill holes, to screw screws, to plaster sheet rock, to lay linoleum, and to paint walls.  I remember feeling so proud, because I had helped my Dad.  [However, it was not until years later , when my son helped me on similar projects, that I later learned that I really had not helped my father out that much.  You see, when little Patrick helped me with chores, they took twice the time that they would have normally taken if I had done them by myself.}

God’s love is expressed by the act of creating—and he calls us to share in that Holy works by building up our lives,  our homes, our families, our neighborhoods, our churches, and our nation-- all the work of our hands, hearts, and minds.

So next, let’s turn to God the Son.  As you know, by his death on the cross he changed the world by releasing  God forgiveness .  Now  this is a central tenant of faith, but  the full meaning of this forgiveness can become so abstract to us, that it loses its significance e. When forgiveness is a “head thing” and not a “heart thing,” it can feel   distant and remote from daily experience   That is, unless, you have really been forgiven of something that you did wrong, for which you are truly sorry.   Growing up in church, I really did not think too much about forgiveness, because in my own eyes, I never did anything really  bad……until about age 20, when I got stoned and was stopped by the police.

·       My friend, Bruce, who was also stoned, drove his car off the road and totaled it.  Miraculously, neither of us were hurt.

·       Now Bruce received the hell he deserved, first from the police and then from his parents, who came to the scene of the accident.  However, since I had not been driving—I got off scott free at the time.

However, I knew that Bruce’s parents would tell mine, so when I arrived home at 4am that morning, my father was at the door to greet me. Now, most of the time, my father was a hard and a stern man, who never spared the rod. To be honest, my father was an abusive alcoholic who would rant and rage whenever my brother and I did anything wrong.  So, I was expecting that he’d chew off my hind side.  PAUSE However, that was not the case.  Much to my surprise, he remained very calm, inquiring about my health.  He could hear that I was truly sorry for my bad judgment, which could have hurt or killed me.  He told me that he forgave me …and he never brought up the subject ever again.    This incident just shows how even vey flawed Fathers can be instruments of God’s grace.  And , indeed, that night I prayed for and received God’s forgiveness—which totally changed my life from that point on.   Forgiveness can positively change lives for ever….So, just as Christ has forgiven us, He calls us to share His love by forgiving others.

                                                                                             

Finally, God the Holy Spirit:  Today’s reading from the letter to the Galatian Christians says that God the Holy Spirit expresses his love for us by empowering us all to serve others. Please repeat after me:

·       Be motivated by God’s service.

·       For everything we know from God’s word // is summed up in this//

Use your freedom//to serve one another in love.

Now during the past 2 Sundays, we have talked about serving one another in the church.  But, today,  I want to look at the idea of a life style of service.  Serving others  can be a defining principle in one’s life, as it has been in my family.

·       Growing up, I loved to hear of the heroic exploits of my great grandfather, Major Robert Donnelly.  Although he was from Tennessee, which was a Confederate State  in the Civil war, Great grandpa  enlisted in the Union Army, because he thought that slavery was wrong. As a child, I grew to admire this hero, who could have played it safe—but who chose to serve instead.

·       His son, my grandfather, choose a life of honorable public service to our country.

·       My father served in World war 2, and  actively volunteered in his local community by founding & establishing  a mental health service clinic to serve  low income families.

·       My service, outside of being a priest, has  been serving as a Community Chaplain with hospice, the police department, and now with the Oxford Fire Dept.

·       And finally, that desire to serve the common good has come down to my son, who for many years has served as a very committed  environmental activist.

While service can be its own reward,  it  also produces side  benefits.  You see, when I decide to put my heart into  doing good deeds, I become less preoccupied with my own little problems, complaints and anxieties. This is one of the spiritual laws of the universe—doing good for others automatically releases a stream of blessing into your heart, which washes away the blues.   . Hallelujah!!

We worship a gracious God whose love is unending for us—and who chooses imperfect, flawed people---like our parents, and like  us, to shine the love of Christ into the world.

·       So, be positive—create and build like the Father.

·       Be merciful—forgive others like the Son.

·       Do good—and receive unexpected blessings to elevate your mood & life.

In thanksgiving, please now stand,   face the altar cross, and repeat after me:

To Him be the power,/////the glory and the majesty/////, from this day forth //// and forevermore. Amen.       FJ: Amen. Let it be this way.

Service continues as we affirm our faith in our one God , with 3 faces, by reciting the Nicene  Creed

·       8:00 am  p. 326

·       10:00     p. 358

PENTECOST SERMON 2014

PENTECOST SERMON   JUNE 8, 2014

I am so excited about this picture, which I am going to unveil in a couple minutes.  After  exhaustive research, interviews with academics, and reviewing polling data, I believe that I have discovered the greatest person living on earth today.

·       No, I am not talking about Mohammad Ali, nor pop singer Katie Perry, nor Apple CEO Tim Cook, nor even Jesus.

·       In fact, this person probably does not even know that he or she  is the greatest.   So, let’s unveil the picture to see if you can recognize the greatest person in the world.  (A large mirror is unveiled.  Preacher tkes the mirror around, so that people can see their faces in the mirror..ashe says, “So & so is the gratest, etc)

Here’s the scoop.  Each and every one of you has the God given potential which is beyond your current expectations—and this is true, regardless of age, education, health, or income.  You have a god given destiny to be the greatest.

·       Now we are not talking about greatness as defined by your family, your peers, or your employers.  Not greatness as defined by Entertainment Tonight and the celebrities magazines on line, nor the Gallup poll.

·       Too many people erroneously define greatness by worldly popularity, power, wealth, physical strength, and the like.  No, all that stuff will eventually fade away and be lost in time.

·       No, we are describing eternal greatness as defined by Our Majesty, the Lord Jesus Christ, who says in today’s Gospel: please repeat after me--- Whoever wants to become// the greatest in my kingdom,// must become a servant.

·       Yes, Jesus says the  greatest person  voluntarily serves others, especially in His Body, the Church, of which He is the Head.  What a paradox!!  The greatest serves…and the greatest follow the example of Jesus, for he rendered sacrificial service to us on the cross to reconcile us with God.  And God rewarded Him by making Jesus the King of the Universe.

Last Sunday, for those who were not with us, we began a discussion on two types of Christianity.  Please take out the yellow insert, and look at the side which has the easy chair and the cross.   Easy chair or spectator Christians are primarily concerned about their comfort and security. They only do what they want to do—doing what feels natural for them. They view Christian life as coming to church, and then because they primarily have a consumer mentality, they ask themselves,  “What can this church do for me?”

Now, frankly, when you are new to active church life---you are meant to be spectators, for we learn by watching others….by listening and absorbing—all of which is an essential aspect of active Christian life.  But there finally comes a point where sitting on the sidelines for too long, can actually wound your soul.  Easy chair  Christians, without living  out an intentional a commitment to serve, will discover that their faith begins to deteriorate & weaken, as we see in point # 9.  One manifestation of such spiritual decay is that many easy chair Christians sit around and criticize the work that the servants are doing, without pitching in to make things better.  This happens in all churches, and it happens in this one, and it is just not fair.  Please, do not be part of the problem ; decide to be part of the solution. Judging others can estrange you from God before you even know that it has happened.

In contrast, let us look at those described into day’s reading from Acts, which describes the Day of Pentecost.  1981 years ago today, God the Holy Spirit feel upon his disciples, empowering them to become the first servant Christians.  When each felt touched by God, they immediately responded by creating a new community of cheerful servants, which we know as the Church.. Looking at the right column, we see   the wonderful difference as described in point # 3.  Instead of seeking our own self-centered will, we seek the will of Christ and seek to do what he wants us to do…which is to use our gifts of time and talent to help up build his Body, the church, because , WE ARE THE CHURCH—THE BODY OF CHRIST ON EARTH.     Instead of asking, “What can the church do for me?, we ask, “What can I do for God and his church?”

And as was the experience of those  early disciples,  something absolutely wonderful happens when we serve:  God the  Holy Spirit  showers you with his happiness, through you  in ways that you might never have expected.   Because as The Purpose Driven Life reminds –please repeat after me : WE WERE CREATED //TO SERVE JESUS & HIS PEOPLE.  We have an inner need to serve others, just as Jesus has an inner need to serve u and reward us..

Earlier this week, my wife and I identified our best example of this dynamic in our lives, as a community of servants made up of the two of us: Fifteen years ago, my wife told me that she wanted a dog. Well, I had never had one before, and had suffered from severe allergies most of my life.  But, by then , such allergies were no longer a problem!!!  So  Ellen enthusiastically pressed her case; but, she   said that she wouldn’t,  unless I agreed. PP Well, I did not want a dog. The idea of a drooling, smelly, hairy creature getting into my face just repulsed me.  .PP  But I decided to serve Ellen by agreeing to become a dog owner.  Well, that little dog named Oliver, (who passed away last week),   loved me more than I deserved, and brought forth  joy, laughter, companionship, and adoration which has permanently changed my life. When you serve others, God turns around and serves you in ways that enrich life beyond our dreams.

Over the past month, the Vestry’s Cheerful Service Commission has been in dialogue with the lay leadership of your church---and today we are unveiling new volunteer opportunities--- –so that everybody can contribute to the building up the strength of Christ Church. My friends, you are our most important resource--not our money, not our building—as important as those things are, you are more important.

Dan

Molly

Now we are going to provide a couple minutes for you to individually pray and think about this---and to individually ask Jesus  to direct you to serve  Him ,here, in your church family.  While the Choir sings a new hymn about ministry and serving, please consider checking off a job on  one or both of these forms.    Once you have finished, raise your hand and the Ushers will bring around a basket to collect your offerings, which we will later bless at the altar. So my friends, remember the words of Jesus who said, “Give and it will be given back to you, a double measure of His blessing that will overflow your ability to contain it all.

The Rev. John Donnelly