Sally
by Pam Hardenbrook "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2 Sally was making a trip from Idaho to Georgia to see her son receive an honor for his Marine Corps service. It was in the mid-1960s and she had never traveled in the southeast—and she had never met a black person. It was the second or third day of the trip when a young, very pregnant black woman and two small boys boarded, and it was all the young mother could do to manage the children and their belongings. Having been in similar circumstances when her own brood was young, Sally jumped in to help and got them settled near herself. Sally chatted with the woman, helped entertain the children, and shared her snacks. Near lunchtime, the train stopped for awhile for some passengers to transfer to another train. Sally helped her new friends disembark and fetched their food from the depot lunch counter. The young family was taking another train from there, so Sally hugged them, and said good-bye. She never saw them again. When Sally re-boarded, the atmosphere was changed. Other passengers, all of them white, were aloof, if not rude to her. But the train employees, who were black, treated her with extra kindness. Later, Sally went to the dining car. Careful not to overspend, she ordered a sandwich and coffee. When her meal arrived, it included much more than she ordered, plus a piece of pie. “Compliments,” said the dark-skinned waiter. When Sally arrived at her destination, a porter gathered her bags and escorted her off the train to her waiting son. He simply said, “All of us thanks you for your kindness to that family. God bless you, Ma’am.” Jesus’s parents took at least two long trips—once while expecting and once with the young Child. I wonder if there was someone like Sally to help them. I wonder if that person had any idea who the family was. Heavenly Father, at this Lenten Season, open my eyes to those whom I can touch with kindness, grace, and love. Amen.
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Jesus Seeds
by Letha Essinger "Then [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:3-9 Growing up in Kansas on a dry-land farm I looked forward each year to the coming of spring, with all the newness of life that it brought. Baby chicks arrived in the back seat of the rural mail carrier's car, and baby piglets and new calves were born. Weeds and perennial flowers sprung up and bushes promised delicious berries in summer. My father prepared the soil in our gardens and our fields for planting. I loved planting the seeds, imagining the good food that would be harvested in summer and the beautiful flowers to enjoy. I remember one summer I took a few dried peas and beans from Mom's pantry and made a secret little garden in the draw behind our house. I was delighted to see them actually grow. I'm told that “you can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can't take Kansas out of the girl.” I still delight in playing in the dirt. The winter chores had better be finished before mid-March, or they will have to wait until fall. You will find me all spring, summer, and into fall in my garden. Our youngest daughter inherited the “dirt-under-the-fingernails” gene. She plans her spring breaks from the university (where she works) to come play in the dirt with her mom. I'm wondering – who planted the Jesus seeds in your life? Who was it that loved Jesus and wanted you to love him too? We had Sunday school in our little one-room schoolhouse. One of my seed planter/saints was Sadie Intermill. She was the organizer that made sure Sunday school happened. The main thing I remember is singing with Mrs. Intermill playing every key on the piano, with exuberance, for us to sing “Jesus Loves Me,” “Brighten The Corner Where You Are,” or “Heavenly Sunshine.” We memorized Bible verses and little poems to recite. When I grew up, I wanted to be just like Sadie Intermill. As a layperson, and later as a pastor, I pray that I planted some Jesus seeds in many lives. No matter that I could never play the piano. I still love to sing! Hymn of Promise, composed by Natalie Sleeth, captures the idea of how “Jesus seeds” grow and produce fruit. In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. Our loving heavenly Father, thank you for those who planted “Jesus seeds” in my life. Grant me grace to share seeds of love, hope, and faith in the lives of others. Amen. Prayer Vigil
by Larry Haley "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20 KJV Several years ago our pastor announced his intention to retire. We were a small church congregation and our pastor served us part-time which was just what we needed. We were concerned about who could provide this limited but important role for us. Part-time pastors are hard to find. Would a new pastor be serving multiple churches? Would our worship time need to change? Our retiring pastor suggested we start a prayer vigil focused on a new pastor and what we needed. We decided that for the months of February and March, the time before new pastors are assigned, that we would have Prayer Tuesdays. The plan was to have one hour prayer times in the church sanctuary that individuals could reserve and come and pray. The times were from 6am to 9pm. Immediately folks signed up and we filled most of the slots. And so on the first Tuesday in February the prayer vigil began and continued for the two months. Sometime in April we were contacted that our new pastor had been selected and he was brought to our church by our DS and introduced. He was a retired pastor/DS who lived 15 minutes away. He wanted part-time at one church. And then he said “I decided I wanted to return to preaching and on the first Tuesday in February I called the DS to see if there was a possibility.” The day we started our prayer vigil! We prayed for two months not knowing that God had already answered our prayers. In reflection, I’ve thought of the verse of being gathered in God’s name and I now believe it not only refers to physical gathering but also to spiritual gathering. Prayer: Lord, you know what we need before we do. Help us to listen to you and to accept what you provide. Amen We Have Been Set Free
by Jean Hershey “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 I found this story several years ago, and it brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. Let me share it with you today. As a man was passing the elephants at a circus, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller, we used the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? It seems a common human response to failure. We are bound by the belief that we just can’t, and we don’t try. Failure is part of learning though; we should never give up the struggle in life. Especially when we have the strongest advocate ever, Jesus Christ, who lifts us up and strengthens us! Our bindings have been broken by the blood and sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross! We have been set free! Jesus, help me remember that I can do all things through you. You strengthen me and are with me with every step I take. Through you I am released from the bonds that hold me, the fears of failure, and I can make it through any conflict or trial if I but lean on your strength and keep my eyes on You! Amen. Fruitland United Methodist Church
April 3, 2022 Prelude “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” By Ludwig Van Beethoven, arranged by John Innes Welcome The lighting of the candles and welcoming the neighborhood to worship. Interlude “How Majestic is Your Name” By Michael W Smith, arranged by Lani Smith *Call to Worship Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Calling Song “Great Is the Lord” TFWS #2022 Great is the Lord He is holy and just By His power we trust In His love Great is the Lord He is faithful and true By His mercy He proves He is love Great is the Lord And worthy of glory Great is the Lord And worthy of praise Great is the Lord Now lift up your voice Now lift up your voice Great is the Lord Great is the Lord Great is the Lord, He is holy and just By His power we trust In His love Great is the Lord He is faithful, and true By His mercy He proves He is love Great is the Lord And worthy of glory Great is the Lord And worthy of praise Great is the Lord Now lift up your voice Now lift up your voice Great is the Lord Great is the Lord Great are you Lord And worthy of glory Great are you Lord And worthy of praise Great are you Lord I lift up my voice I lift up my voice Great are you Lord Great are you Lord Responsive Reading One: Lent is a coming home, All: Home from weary years, One: Home to calm our fears, All: Home to dry our tears. One: Lent is a coming home, All: Home to remember our name, One: Home to a warm embrace, All: Home to a hopeful place, One: Home to God's own heart, All: Home to a renewal of joy and a song of love. Unison Invocation Loving God, patient Friend, walk with us this Lent and help us see our desire to be known, praised, admired for what it is. Help us see how we have bought into believing that our worth comes from what we do and how we are noticed. Remind us that faithfulness is often hidden, humble and simple. Give us a generous dose of self-confidence mixed with humility. And when we get confused and out of balance, bring us home to our true selves and set our eyes upon Jesus, our companion and guide. Amen. Choir “Give Me Jesus” Old Testament Reading Isaiah 43:18-21 Gospel Reading John 12:1-8 God’s Word for God’s People. Thanks Be To God Hymn “More Like You” TFWS #2167 More like You Jesus More like You Fill my heart with Your desire To make me more like You More like You Jesus More like You Touch my lips with holy fire And make me more like You Lord You are my mercy Lord You are my grace All my deepest sins Have forever been erased Draw me in Your presence Lead me in Your ways I long to bring You glory In righteousness and praise Children’s Moment Offering Doxology “The Gift of Love” UMH #408 Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire, and have not love, my words are vain, as sounding brass, and hopeless gain. Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess, but not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin. Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole. Let inward love guide every deed; by this we worship, and are freed. Message “Love In the Name of Christ” The Communion Service The Apostles Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Communion Hymn “In Remembrance of Me” TFWS #2254 Our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another. Let us confess our sin before God and one another. Prayer of Confession and Pardon Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart Our faith has been tested and we have stumbled. Forgive us, we pray. Our feet have strayed from the path of Christ and we have wandered from you. Forgive us, we pray. We have put our faith in the loud voices of this world, ignoring your whispers. Forgive us, we pray. We do want to follow Jesus, the Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. Hear the good news; Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. That proves God’s love for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Thanks be to God! Bread and Cup Please pray: Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Strengthen us in mind, body and soul for the days ahead. May your Spirit fill us as we live and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Unison Benediction* May you know hope in the midst of doubts, assurance in times of questioning and peace in the presence of conflict. May your journey through Lent lead you ever closer to the heart of God, and may God walk with you all your days. Closing Hymn “The Trees of the Fields” TFWS #2279 You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace, And the mountains and the hills will break forth before you. There'll be shouts of joy and the trees of the fields Will clap, will clap their hands. And the trees of the fields will clap their hands, And the trees of the fields will clap their hands, And the trees of the fields will clap their hands, While you go out with joy. Postlude “Fanfare” By Jean Joseph Mouret, arranged by Lani Smith Thank you for Worshiping with us today! (CCLI License #1552544) Facing the Hard Truth
by Chase Van Weerdhuizen "So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shapan, and Asiah went to the prophetess Huldah…. She declared to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord, I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants — all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.”" 2 Kings 22:14-15 The prophetess Huldah gets nine verses in the Bible, but boy does she use them! According to Rabbinic thought, King Josiah likely sent his men to Huldah expecting that since she was a woman she would have kinder words for him about his kingdom than the doom and gloom of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah wasn’t known for being a happy camper at the time. Unfortunately what Josiah got still wasn’t the best news. If you read the entire story, God lets King Josiah off the hook for his piety, but speaking on behalf of God, Huldah had a lot to say about his chosen people. Often in our lives we know the hard truths. We have to actually go out and pull those weeds or they’ll keep coming back. We should put our phones down before bed so that we can actually fall asleep. We even do a quick internet search that says, “Yes, you do need to pull them out” and “Yes, you do need to put your phone down before bed.” We ask our coworker and they concur. We ask our family and they say the same thing. But there has to be a way to not face the hard truth, right? We take a weed whacker to those pesky goat heads! We buy special glasses that cut down on certain light frequencies so that we can still sit on our phones past bedtime! But unfortunately we still end up with weeds and we wake up tired. There are certain messages we can expect from God over and over again. When there is injustice in his kingdom, he will bring peace. Where people are cast aside, he will lift them up! Where there is death, he will bring resurrection! And he wants us to be a part of the process. It may be uncomfortable for us to face facts and join in the work. We may not want to listen to the answer we know we’ll hear, but God’s truth won’t change no matter which source we go to. Dear God, Today please open my ears to your messengers. Help me to tackle the hard challenges instead of the easy solutions. Amen.
God Will Take Care of You
by Leslie Olson "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 An old hymn, found in our United Methodist Hymnal was written in 1904. The title is “God Will Take Care of You.” The second verse reads: Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you. God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way, He will take care of you; God will take care of you. My life has been blessed with good health, a loving family, nice Christian friends, and comfortable surroundings. I thank God each day for his many blessings. However, I likely tend to be complacent in realizing that God does take care of me, instead, feeling as if I am in control. Yet, I’m sure he has been with me and saved me from doing harm to others and to myself at different times in my life. His presence was proved to me last month as I was driving on the freeway, coming home from Caldwell. I used very poor judgment and suddenly realized I was not in control of my car. I was within seconds of causing a very serious, multi-vehicle accident. Panic set in, and my reflexes seemed to freeze. There’s no doubt in my heart and mind that God was with me and took control of the situation, preventing my causing a very bad accident, which could have resulted in the fatality of others and myself. I think of that situation every day and thank God for reminding me that he does work in my life to care for me. Lord, I praise you for being with us in our lives, especially in our times of need. I pray that I might always feel you working in my life throughout each day; please strengthen my faith in your loving presence. Amen. |
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