World Communion, 1 Corinthians 12:12-20, 10/6/2013

Today’s Message:  World Communion  Scripture:  1 Cor 12:12-20 NIV

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by^[a] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

World communion Sunday October 2013

We are the body.  All of us.  Everyone matters.  You may be a quiet person who sits off to the side, but you matter.  You are welcome.  We want you.  God wants you.

I was on my annual trip to the redwoods for reading week.

It was Sunday morning.  I would leave the next day to fly home

After watching our service on live stream

I decided to visit a united Methodist church

Looked on the web, selected

Crystal springs umc

The pastor was advertized as contemplative.

I am very interested in that.  The more reflective side of Christianity

Her Name is hee soon kwon

Drove to the church.  Parked.  Found a bathroom.

Beautiful church nestled in the trees                            [PICTURE]

About 25 people gathered for worship

Everyone seemed very genuine and friendly

Now, remember, I am an easy touch

a gentleman led some hymns

then the pastor stepped to the pulpit

The look of the  pastor was so touching

She was so kind….. it just came out of her

Sang surely the presence

Pass the peace

Children’s time, no children

Adults came up for children’s time

Folks kept trickling in

Over about 20 minutes, the crowd doubled.

It was time for Special music

was a cappella

a young woman apologized for the song, then explained it was about her father who had recently passed away

a song pointed to God………

Lyrics

Tell him I miss him-----Hug him and kiss him

Tell him I love him----For being my father

Tell him he’s special----A glorious vessel-----Tell him well done

It was time for the sermon

Parable of the sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Common understanding……..what kind of soil are you?

Another way to look at this

Aren’t you glad for people that give you an alternative view?

You are the sower

You plant in the good soil, you plant where its rocky, thorny, weedy,

Sometimes the stuff grows, sometimes it doesn’t

This is how life feels.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt

Evil is a mystery that the bible does not try to explain

Job complains……..God answers…….

Skinned knee as a kid…..the bandaid did not fix it, but the hug made it ok

Serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

The new testament book of james points us toward the purpose of pain

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4

The pastor taught us a new word……

Equanimity

Being calm in the midst of calamity

Equanimity (Latin: æquanimitas having an even mind; aequus even animus mind/soul) is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.

Samuel Johnson defined equanimity as "evenness of mind, neither elated nor depressed." In Christian philosophy, equanimity is considered essential for carrying out the theological virtues of gentleness, contentment, temperance, and charity.^[5]

It was the first time in years that I was in church just to be in church.  not leading something, not really trying to learn anything, not analyzing

Holy communion delivered.

Everyone is welcome

The words of welcome hit me in a way that they had not before.

Though I deliver them every week, now they were delivered to me

And so its world communion Sunday

We are all a part of the body

All are welcome

In this world we draw many lines of separation

[Rejection is a difficult thing]

Jesus drew a lot of circles

We are the body of Christ. 

If you are here today, you are welcome

Not just that, you are wanted, desired

In a broken temporal world, there is still an eternal embrace

Won’t you come to the table of the lord

Sacrament of Living - Pursuit of God, 1 Corinthians 10:23-31, 8/25/2013

Aug 25 - Sacrament of living chpt 10 -=

1 cor 10:23-31 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.(AH) “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.(AI) 25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,(AJ) 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[f](AK) 27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you(AL) without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.(AM) 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom(AN) being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?(AO) 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.(AP)

The tozer series finishes today

I’d say that what we have today, isnt so much an invitation to pursue god,

but to understand that what you already have and are, can be given to him.

Paul is addressing a problem in the Corinthian church

Meat offered to idols

Do good Christians eat it?

The satanic cult sacrificed a cow. The meat is for sale in the price shopper. Can u eat it? U know where it is from.

The guy from Lexington who won 100,000 can the church accept the 10,000? Its been the devils money Long enough

Ahh the crushing world of guilt.

Who are the good ones.  Who are the bad ones

I sometimes wonder if we just like to take sided…..

          Star belly sneeches

There is far too much judgment in this world

Growing up in a pastors home………not easy.  I refer to my children

What will others think of me?..........Can I be myself?

Can any of us be ourselves?

Do you think that God would prefer us to be ourselves?

To live a congruent life?

Why do we spend all of this crazy time worrying about if we are accepted.

If we are doing the wrong thing?

Little neurotic humans that we are

This is not saying that we can do anything that we want

The word for that theory of life is antinomianism.

Do anything that you want. You are free in christ

You are free, save one thing

We live by the law of love.

We don’t hurt others, not because there is a rule, but because we love

Nor is it saying that every act is of the same value

“Paul’s sewing of tents was not equal to his writing of an Epistle but both were accepted of God and both were true acts of worship. It is more important to lead a soul to Christ than to plant a garden, but the planting of the garden can be a holy an act as the winning of a soul.....the service of a the less gifted brother is as pure as that of the more gifted and God accepts both with equal pleasure.........and the layman need never think of his humbler task as being inferior to that of his minister.”

Paul’s “do all to the glory of God” opens before us the possibility of making every act of our lives contribute to the glory of God.

But We have divided our life into the sacred and the secular.

Living a divided life instead of a united life

1)   Sacred acts..performed with a feeling of satisfaction and a firm assurance that they are pleasing to God......prayer, Bible study/reading, church and such acts that spring directly from faith.

2)   Secular acts including all the ordinary activities of life....some that we often do reluctantly and with misgivings, often apologizing to God for what we consider a waste of time and strength....

What if There are no sacred or secular places.

God is everywhere

The holy land is no more sacred than lees summit.

Lent no more holy than 2nd week of august

Easter no more holy than sept 9

In a world where every one is running around arguing over who the good ones and the bad ones are,

Paul declared all meats clean, everyday holy, all places sacred and every act acceptable to God.

Whatever you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God

Isn’t that amazing…..

Jesus isn’t worried about all the things that he might be doing wrong

He is living a happy life that pleases the father

In John 8 Jesus says- “I do always the things that please him”
What common things did Jesus do?

·        Went for a walk

·        Drank wine

·        Taught a class

·        Went on a mission trip

·        Stopped to hug a baby

·        Talked to a prostitute

·        He ate with sinners

And god was pleased

 Who taught us to constantly feel bad about what we are doing?
Ahh The disease of the neurotic mind
Dis-ease

The poor woman at the well……neurotic mind

Five husbands, six men.  Not currently married

Not to mention her profession

Still trying to prove that she is right and everyone else is wrong

Jesus doesn’t mention any of it.

Odd, since its all about who is good and who is bad

John 4:21, 23-24

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

He talks to her about things of the soul

Living water

places of worship

Not on this mountain or that one, but worship in spirit and in truth.

·        All the mountains are sacred

·        All of life is sacred

The story of the special priest, the special prayer, the special place

A great Rabbi loved his people. Whenever he sensed a time of trouble, he would go to a secret place in the woods, light a special fire, and say a special prayer. Then, without fail, the village would be saved. He died and one of his followers, came to lead the people. Whenever he sensed a troublesome time, he would go to the secret place in the woods. "Dear God," he would say, "I don't know how to light the special fire, but I know the special prayer. Please let that be good enough." It was, and the village would be saved. When this leader passed on, he was succeeded by another rabbi- whenever he sensed troublesome times, he would go to the secret place in the woods. "Dear God," he would say, "I don't know how to make the special fire, I don't know how to say the special prayer, but I know this is the secret place in the woods. Please let that be good enough." It was, and the village would be saved. When he passed, he was succeeded by yet another, and whenever somebody told him that difficult times were upon the village, he didn't even get out of his armchair. He could only bow his head and shrug his shoulders. "Dear God," he would pray, "I don't know how to make the special fire. I don't know how to say the special prayer. I don't even know the secret place in the woods.  But ask that you would save the village.  May this common prayer be enough." It was, and his people would be saved.

Ever felt that your prayer wasn’t good enough?

You weren’t doing it quite right?

It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular,.

it is why he does it....the motive is everything...

God isn’t worried about all of the silly things that we worry about

God is concerned with our hearts

When our hearts are turned to him there are no common acts, only sacred moments

And the village is blessed

So the question is are we Living a life filled with worry and dis ease

Feeling bad about common things

Paul invites us today to understand that

it is all good

It is well with my soul
If u don't want to eat the meat then don't
But if u do do it, relax- God is with you

31 so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

conclusion

someone said, you have brought every act down to a low level,

tozer says no, we must lift up every act to the kingdom level and the whole of life to a sacrament

when we get this, a sense of wondrous meaning will begin to take hold of us And all of life can become special, holy and spiritual

We just have to decide how we will see.  What we will see

Is eating at la fuente a mundane or a holy thing

If a member of my family is on the other side of the table, it’s a holy thing

Is breathing a normal thing or a sacred thing

Ask someone who has a lung condition

Is walking a normal thing or a sacred thing

Ask someone who cannot walk

Is driving a mundane thing or a sacred thing

Ask someone who has just had their license retired

Is working a normal thing or a sacred thing

Ask someone who is looking for a job

Praying is good.  Study is good.  Acts of mission are good but.......

let us believe that God is in all our simple deeds as well and learn to find Him there

Its a beautiful day in gods world be sure to see the good

Prayer: 

Oh God of Peace, help us on our journey.  remind us that we belong only to you.  We give you our life….every moment of it.  You chose us and we in turn choose you.  You are a faithful God and we confidently believe in you and live in you.  thanks for the joy that this brings. - Amen

Holy Communion 1 Corinthians 1117-28 6-2-13

Sermon 6-2-13  holy communion   1 cor 11:17-28

¹⁷ In the following directives I have no praise for you,^(R) for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions^(S) among you, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.^{(T) 20} So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹ for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.^(U) As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God^(V) by humiliating those who have nothing?^(W) What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you?^(X) Certainly not in this matter!²³ For I received from the Lord^(Y) what I also passed on to you:^(Z) The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,^(AA) which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant^(AB) in my blood;^(AC) do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.^(AD)27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.^{(AE) 28} Everyone ought to examine themselves^(AF) before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

OUCH!

Sometimes Paul was not very polite to his Christian offspring
You are having a big party…..eating, drinking
Not taking the Lords table seriously
Not taking your relationship with Jesus seriously

Do we sometimes not take our relationship with God seriously?
uh oh, here comes a load of guilt.

No, I am suggesting to day that we often get Stuck in our own lives, our own thinking

There are ways to be devoted, determined, but not heavy

Paul chastised the Corinthians for the sin of not taking their spirituality seriously
ways of thinking, systems of thinking- lead to specific sins
in other words, they had a life paradigm that led them to trouble.

What are such paradigms? That continue to produce sin?
· I want [everything]- falling into the consumer society
· It wasn’t me-not taking responsibility for your life
· I call shotgun- I am more important than others
· I cant change- I am intransigent, a finished product
· It doesn’t matter-despair, nothing will change…..

traditional worship often carries the prayer of confession

Confession and absolution
1 John 1:8

”If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

confession and absolution

I recognize my sin, I am honest with God

Grace delivered to you

Grace in the form of forgiveness

A focus on the redemption, not the crime
can you Accept  this for yourself?

Too many people are so stuck in their past that they cannot see their future.

They are held hostage by the sins of their past to the extent that they have allowed themselves to be defined by their past.

Grace frees us from this type of thinking.

Grace invites you to
Face your life, your spiritual life with devoted integrity
Not so serious that you drive people crazy, but seriously enough that you begin to live with a sense of appreciation and a sense of joy for what god has done

Places in the heart
the 1984 movie Places in the Heart ... is the story of a young woman, sally field, whose husband is killed within the first few minutes of the film, it is a story of her struggling against the challenges of life during the 1930s. Lynching, brutality, infidelity, racism, greed, duplicity all of these are woven into the lives of those in the movie.

And so we have an affinity.

The film ends with a communion service. At first the camera shows you a few of the good folk in town. Next, some of the not-so-good. Then the banker and others who conspired to take away the farm. The camera continues to move with the cups of wine. There is the faithful farmhand – danny glover, who helped bring in the crop so sally field might pay her mortgage; next to him, the blind boarder. The plate passes to the children, then to their mother. She is seated next to her late husband. As you are trying to take this in, the plate moves to the young man who shot her husband. They commune, and each responds: "the peace of God."

Let’s watch…….

If a movie was made of your life……….

Who might be a the table with you?

Who needs to be invited?

Who do you need to see here for the world to be made right?

a person should examine themselves

Not so you can be good enough, but so you can see what God has done

Never stay back because you aren’t good enough

When we examine ourselves we always fall short

But examine yourselves.  Don’t forget the grace of God

Look at what you believe.  Is there any good news?
God brings us forgivenss, god brings us grace
do we understand?  Do we appreciate this? Are we grateful?

meister eckhardt said that if the only prayer that we learn in this life is thank you, then it is enough

First communion service at  WCC June 1994

People coming in shorts and flip flops

People were crying

the pastor had just shared this story……..
"A man was once traveling in a strange city. Off the main street was a little alley lined with small businesses, most of them antique and curio shops. He was fascinated by that winding street of strange stores. And, as he moved along the crowded cobblestones, a weather beaten sign swaying in the wind caught his attention. "It read simply, "Nothing Broken Beyond Repair." this was a shop for broken things. The business specialized in shatterdness - broken toys and mementos, china and vases and marred furniture. By the same token there was something optimistic about the sign and the store. As he paused to watch for a time, the man saw a number of people making their way into the building.
"They were from all walks of life - the wealthy, the poor and those in-between. They were carrying things to be repaired - things of value - precious at least to them - things once whole that now needed mending.

everyone has had a broken heart
Loss of a favorite toy, a pet, a boy friend, girlfriend, to be treated poorly by someone, to lose a loved one, broken marriages, financial ruin, dreams deferred

oh to have a place to go where brokenness can be healed.

3 questions to ask
A few years ago a  poll asked, "What word or phrase would you most like to hear uttered to you, sincerely?"

1.   "I love you."

2.   "You are forgiven."

3.   "Supper is ready."

How long has it been since we have heard these words spoken to us? "I love you" -- God's unconditional love."You are forgiven" -- God's unmerited grace."Supper is ready" -- God's unsurpassed invitation.

today as we come to the table I invite you to see that in Christ you are forgiven.  In Christ you are loved.

I invite you to hear again the words of Jesus who said,

Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Mt 11:28

Let us pray