sunday august 30, 2026

Fruitland United Methodist Church
August 30, 2026

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)
Prelude: A Gospel Prelude by Charles Callahan

Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.
Welcome and Announcements Holly K. & Pastor Jorge

Call to Worship- Based on Psalm
Leader: Let love be genuine. Hold fast to what is good.
People: We come to worship the God who teaches us to love.
Leader: Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, preserve in prayer.
People: We come trusting in God’s presence and grace.
Leader: Do Not Be Overcome By Evil.
People: But overcome evil with good.
Leader: Come, let us worship God together.
All: We come to follow Jesus. Amen.

*Opening Hymn: “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” UMC 57
*Passing The Peace Of Christ

First Reading: Romans 12:9-21(Pew Bible pg. 1764) Liturgist

Time With Young Christians/Blessing Of The Backpacks
At this time, we invite all children and young people returning to school,
along with teachers and everyone involved in our schools, to come
forward for a special back-to-school blessing.

Prayer of Blessing: Loving God, bless our children and young
people as they begin another school year. Bless their backpacks, their
classrooms, their teachers, and their friends. Give them curiosity to
learn, courage when they are afraid, and kindness toward others. Bless
our teachers and all who work in our schools. Give them patience,
wisdom, strength, and joy. And every morning, when our children put
their backpacks on their shoulders, remind them that they do not carry
them alone. God goes with them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

*Hymn: “Jesus Loves Me” UMH 191

Community Expressions Pastor Jorge & Holly K.
      *Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy/ Santo, Santo, Santo” TFWS 2007
       Thanksgiving and Celebration.
       Prayers for healing and wholeness.
       Prayers for our community and the world. Let us pray.
       The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Invitation to Generosity Pastor Jorge
      Offertory: “Arioso” by G. F. Handel
      *Doxology: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . .” UMH 95

*Prayer of Dedication: God has blessed us in many ways. As
an expression of gratitude, we offer our gifts, our lives, and our
service for the work of God’s Kingdom.

Second Reading: Matthew 16:21-28 (Pew Bible 1524) Liturgist

Hymn: “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus ” TFWS 2129

Sermon: DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL Rev. Jorge Rodgriguez
Texts: Romans 12:9–21; Matthew 16:21–28

There are things we carry with us every day. A few days ago, as I was thinking about the beginning of another school year, I thought about backpacks. Children are going back to school. Some are excited. Others are nervous. Some are entering a new school, meeting a new teacher, walking into a new classroom for the first time. And every morning they will put a backpack on their shoulders. Inside that backpack there will be pencils, notebooks, crayons, books, lunch, maybe a computer. But the truth is that our children carry much more than what we can see. They carry dreams. They carry fears. They carry questions. They carry the expectations of their families. They carry friendships. Sometimes they carry loneliness. Sometimes they carry worries that we, as adults, do not even realize they have. And perhaps that backpack is a good image for all of us. Because we are all carrying something.

Today Jesus says something that sounds very different from the message we normally hear from our world: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Take up your cross. Carry it. Follow me. But what does that mean? Because sometimes Christians have misunderstood these words. Taking up the cross does not mean that God wants us to suffer. It does not mean accepting abuse. It does not mean remaining silent in the face of injustice. Jesus is talking about something much deeper. Jesus is talking about the cost of living according to the Kingdom of God.

PETER DID NOT WANT THAT KIND OF MESSIAH
The story begins with Jesus telling his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. He will suffer. He will be rejected. He will be killed. And Peter cannot accept it. Remember what had happened just before this. Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter gave the right answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Excellent! Peter passed the theology exam.

But now comes the practical exam. Because it is one thing to know who Jesus is... and another thing entirely to understand how Jesus chooses to live.

Peter imagined a Messiah with power. A Messiah who would defeat his enemies. A Messiah who would take control. A Messiah who would win. But Jesus begins to talk about sacrifice. Service. Suffering. A cross. And Peter, in other words, says to him: “No, Jesus. That cannot be the way.” And Jesus responds: “Get behind me.” It is as if Jesus were saying: Peter, you want to show me another way. But you are the one who must follow me. And perhaps this is still one of the great temptations of Christianity. We want Jesus to follow us. To bless our ideas. To bless our politics. To bless our plans. To bless our side. But Jesus continues to say: “Follow me.”

WHAT DOES TAKING UP THE CROSS LOOK LIKE?
And this is where Romans 12 becomes so powerful. Because Paul shows us what taking up the cross looks like in everyday life. He begins with these words: “Let love be genuine.” Not fake love. Not convenient love. Not love only for those who think like us. Genuine love.

And then Paul becomes very practical: “Love one another.” “Contribute to the needs of the saints.” “Practice hospitality.” “Bless those who persecute you.” “Rejoice with those who rejoice.” “Weep with those who weep.” “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” And finally, he gives us one of the most challenging sentences in the New Testament: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Notice what Paul does not say. He does not say that evil does not exist. He does not say that injustice does not exist. He does not ask us to close our eyes. Paul knew the violence of the Roman Empire. He knew persecution. He knew suffering. But he tells us: Do not allow the evil around you to become the evil that lives inside you. That is different. Because there is always a danger that while we are fighting against hatred... we begin to hate. While we are fighting against cruelty... we become cruel. While we resist those who dehumanize others... we begin to dehumanize our enemies as well. And suddenly, the evil we were fighting against has overcome us. Not because we stopped fighting... but because we began using the same weapons. Paul says: “Do not be overcome by evil.”

THE BACKPACK
And this brings me back to the backpack. In many churches there is a beautiful tradition at the beginning of the school year: the Blessing of the Backpacks. Children, young people, teachers, and those who work in our schools bring their backpacks, and the congregation prays for them as they begin a new school year. I love that image. Imagine a child opening a backpack. We can put pencils inside. We can put notebooks inside. We can put books inside. But imagine if we could also put other things inside. Kindness. Put some kindness in there. Courage. Put courage in that backpack. Compassion. Put compassion in there. Patience. We will probably need plenty of that! And then: Love. Put love in that backpack. Because our children are not going back to school simply to learn math, science, history, or reading. They are entering a place where they will encounter other human beings. Someone in their classroom may feel lonely. Someone may be afraid. Someone may speak another language. Someone may be new. Someone may eat lunch alone. Someone may be bullied or rejected. Someone may desperately need a friend. And perhaps one of the most important blessings we can give our children as they begin this school year is to tell them: You have been blessed so that you can be a blessing.

OUR BACK-TO-SCHOOL BLESSING
So today we especially remember our children and young people who are going back to school. But we also remember the teachers. The school staff. The bus drivers. The counselors. Those who clean and care for the buildings. The administrators. The parents and grandparents who prepare their children each morning to begin the day. We bless them all. May God give our students curiosity to learn.

Courage when they are afraid. Wisdom when they have to make decisions. Friends when they feel alone. Compassion when they encounter someone who is hurting. And courage to stand beside someone who is being mistreated. Before they leave for school and put their backpacks on their shoulders, remind your children that they do not carry them alone. Remind them that God goes with them. Into the classroom. Into the cafeteria. Onto the playground. On the school bus. In the difficult moments. And also in the wonderful moments. Tell them before they leave home: “You are not going alone. God goes with you.”

BUT THIS BLESSING IS ALSO FOR US
Because perhaps we adults also need to bring our invisible backpacks before God. What are you carrying today? Anger? Fear? Disappointment? Pain? Resentment? Worry about your family? Worry about our country? Worry about the future? Jesus does not promise us an empty backpack. He says: “Take up your cross and follow me.” But Jesus teaches us how to carry it. Carry it with love. Carry it with compassion. Carry it with courage. Carry it without allowing hatred to determine what kind of person you will become. Because the greatest victory of evil is not simply hurting us. The greatest victory of evil happens when it convinces us to become the very thing we are fighting against. That is why Paul says: “Do not be overcome by evil.”

OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD
Church, this is our calling. When the world says: Hate your enemy... Jesus says: Love. When the world says: Get revenge... Paul says: Do not repay evil for evil. When the world says: Protect only your own... The Gospel says: Practice hospitality. When the world tells us to ignore the suffering of others... Paul says: “Weep with those who weep.” And when the world tells us that kindness is weakness... the Gospel points us toward a cross. Because on that cross the world saw defeat. But God was doing something completely different. The world used hatred. Jesus responded with love. The world used violence. Jesus responded with forgiveness. The world used death. And God responded with resurrection. So tomorrow morning, when our children put their backpacks on their shoulders, may they remember: You have been blessed. But you have also been sent. Sent to love. Sent to
welcome. Sent to stand up for the one who is alone. Sent to practice kindness. Sent to become a blessing.

And when we leave this church today, perhaps we can also imagine that we are carrying our own invisible backpacks on our shoulders. And inside them we carry the words of Paul: “Let love be genuine.” “Practice hospitality.” “Weep with those who weep.” “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.”

And above all: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” That is our backpack. That is our cross. That is our calling. And Jesus continues walking ahead of us, saying: “Follow me.”
Amen.

AFFIRMATION:
Leader: When the world tells us to hate,
People: We will choose love.
Leader: When the world tells us to seek revenge,
People: We will choose forgiveness.
Leader: When the world tells us to care only for ourselves,
People: We will practice hospitality.
Leader: When we encounter those who are hurting,
People: We will weep with those who weep.
Leader: And when we encounter evil,
All: We will not be overcome by evil, but we will overcome evil with good.

*Closing Hymn: “The Summons” TFWS 2130

Pastoral Blessing: Go into this new week knowing that God
goes with you. To our children and young people returning to
school: You do not go alone. God goes with you. To our
teachers and everyone who works in our schools: You do
not serve alone. God goes with you. Go in the grace of Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

*Song of Blessing: “Sent Out in Jesus’ Name” TFWS 2184

Postlude: “How Great is our God ” by Chris Tomlin