sunday july 26, 2026

Fruitland United Methodist Church
July 26, 2026

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)

Prelude: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.

Welcome and Announcements Jay W. & Jorge R.

Call to Worship
Leader: In a world filled with fear and uncertainty, we gather in the name of Christ.
People: Our hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Leader: When we are weak, the Spirit prays for us.
People: When we are afraid, God’s love surrounds us.
Leader: Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God.
People: Let us worship the God whose love never fails!
*Sharing the Peace of Christ
Leader: The peace of Christ be with you always.
People: And also with you. (Please share the peace of Christ with one another.)

*Opening Hymn: “Song of Hope” TFWS 2186

Opening Prayer: Faithful and loving God, we thank You for gathering
us once again in Your presence. In a world filled with anxiety and
division, remind us that our hope is found not in human power but in
Your unfailing love. Open our hearts to Your Word, strengthen us
through Your Holy Spirit, and teach us to live as faithful witnesses of the
Kingdom of God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

1st Scripture Reading: Psalm 105:1-11 UMH 828 Jay W.

Story Time with Young Christians: Pastor Jorge

Community Expressions Jay & Jorge
      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
As God has freely given us every good gift, let us respond with grateful hearts
through our tithes and offerings, trusting that God will use them to bring
hope and healing to the world.

Offertory: “Be Still, My Soul”
*Doxology: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . .” UMH 95

*Prayer of Dedication: Gracious God, receive these gifts as signs
of our gratitude and trust. Use them to proclaim the good news of
Jesus Christ, to serve our neighbors, and to build Your Kingdom of
justice, mercy, and peace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

2nd Scripture Reading: Romans 8: 26-39 (Pew bible 1757) Jay W.

Hymn of Preparation: “Sanctuary” TFWS 2164

Sermon: “Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of God” Rev. Jorge R.
Romans 8:26-39
We are living in times when many people feel afraid—afraid of the future, the
economy, social change, immigration, the loss of influence, and those who think
differently. When fear enters the heart, we often begin to look for security in the
wrong places. We look for security in power, governments, borders, weapons, strong
leaders, and political parties. Sometimes even the Church can fall into the temptation
of believing that, in order to save the Christian faith, we must control the government,
gain political power, or confuse the Kingdom of God with a nation, a flag, an
ideology, or a political party.

This way of thinking is often called Christian nationalism. Christian nationalism
blends faith in Jesus Christ with national identity. It presents one nation as specially
chosen by God and may suggest that defending the interests of the nation is the same
as defending the interests of God. But we must ask: Can the Kingdom of God be
reduced to one nation? Can the cross of Christ become a symbol of political power?
Can the Church fulfill its mission by controlling the government? Can the gospel be
protected by force?

The apostle Paul wrote Romans 8 to a Church that had no political power. The
Christians in Rome did not control the government, the army, the courts, or the
emperor. They were a small and vulnerable community. Yet Paul did not tell them to
take control of Rome. He told them, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.” The hope
of the Church was not in the emperor, but in the Holy Spirit. The security of the
Church was not in the Roman army, but in the love of God. The strength of the
Church was not found in controlling structures of power, but in Christ crucified and
risen.

Paul says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what we ought to
pray for.” There are moments when we do not know what to say. There are moments
when words are not enough. There are moments when suffering is too deep. We see
violence, injustice, deportations, discrimination, war, and families being separated,
and we do not know how to pray. Yet the Spirit intercedes for us with groans too deep
for words.

God hears the prayers we cannot speak. God hears the mother who fears for her child.
God hears the immigrant who lives in fear. God hears the person who has lost a job.
God hears the one waiting for a medical diagnosis. God hears the lonely, the tired, and
the discouraged. When our words come to an end, the Spirit continues to pray.

Christian nationalism often presents a faith that is strong, triumphant, and powerful, a
faith that always has answers and never admits weakness. But Paul gives us another
image: a Church that confesses, “We do not know. We cannot. We need help.” True
faith does not begin by saying, “We have all the power.” True faith begins by saying,
“We are weak, but the Spirit helps us.”

Paul also says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him.” This does not mean that everything that happens is good. Illness is not good.
Injustice is not good. Racism is not good. The separation of families is not good. The
abuse of power is not good. War and death are not good. Paul is not saying that God
causes all suffering. He is saying that suffering will not have the final word.

God can bring life where others have planted death. God can bring hope where others
have planted fear. God can bring reconciliation where others have planted division.
God does not abandon God’s people in suffering. God enters into suffering, hears the
groaning, accompanies those who weep, and sustains those who have lost their
strength. Our hope does not depend on everything turning out the way we want. Our
hope depends on God remaining with us.

Paul asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” These words have sometimes
been used in the wrong way. Some say, “God is on the side of our nation,” or “God is
on the side of our political party.” But the better question is not only, “Is God on our
side?” The question is, “Are we on God’s side?”

Are we on the side of justice, mercy, truth, the hungry, the stranger, the poor, and
those who have no voice? God cannot be owned by a nation. God does not belong to
any political party. God is Lord of all nations and loves all peoples. Every human
being is created in the image of God. When Paul says, “If God is for us,” he is not
celebrating the superiority of one people over another. He is proclaiming that no
power can destroy the loving purpose of God.

Paul continues, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.” Here
we find the heart of the gospel. God did not save the world by sending an army,
conquering a government, or imposing a religion. God saved the world by giving
himself in love. Jesus did not come riding on a war horse. He entered Jerusalem on a
humble donkey. Jesus did not call his disciples to dominate, but to serve. He did not
conquer from a palace, but from a cross.

When the Church seeks power in order to protect the gospel, it runs the risk of losing
the gospel while gaining the power. When the Church gets too close to the throne, it
may move away from the cross. When the Church blesses the actions of the
government without questioning them, it stops being a prophetic voice. The Church is
not called to serve power. The Church is called to serve Christ, and to serve Christ
means to serve “the least of these.”

Paul then asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Shall trouble,
hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword? Paul does not promise a
life without difficulty. He does not say that believers will never suffer or that a
Christian government will prevent our trials. He declares that none of these things can
separate us from the love of Christ.

Our security is not that nothing bad will ever happen to us. Our security is that, no
matter what happens, God will not abandon us. Our security is not in controlling the
future. Our security is in belonging to Christ. Our security is not in a strong nation.
Our security is in a love that never fails.

Paul declares, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us.” To be conquerors does not mean dominating other people, imposing our
beliefs, defeating political enemies, or always being in control. We are more than
conquerors when hatred fails to turn us into hateful people. We are more than
conquerors when fear fails to take away our compassion. We are more than
conquerors when violence fails to make us violent. We are more than conquerors
when power fails to corrupt our witness. We are more than conquerors when we
continue to love, serve, forgive, and defend human dignity.

The world may say that winning means dominating. Jesus teaches us that winning
means loving to the end. The world may say that winning means destroying the
enemy. Jesus teaches us that winning means loving the enemy. The world may say
that winning means standing above others. Jesus teaches us that winning means
kneeling to wash the feet of others.

Paul concludes by saying, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.”

Not governments. Not political parties. Not elections. Not social changes. Not
economic crises. Not borders. Not persecution. Not the powers of this world. Nothing
can separate us from the love of God.

We do not need to live in fear. We do not need to cling to power. We do not need to
turn the Church into a political instrument. We do not need to defend God as though
God were weak. God does not need us to conquer the world for him. God calls us to
love the world with him.

Our mission is not to build a Christian nation. Our mission is to bear witness to the
Kingdom of God—a Kingdom where the last are first, the poor receive good news, the
stranger is welcomed, enemies are loved, mercy triumphs over judgment, and power is
expressed through service.

In these times of division and fear, let us remember who we are. We are the people of
the cross. We are a community guided by the Spirit. We are people sustained by the
love of God. Our hope is not in Washington, any president, any political party, military
strength, the economy, or borders. Our hope is in Jesus Christ.

When we do not know how to pray, the Spirit prays for us. When we suffer, God is
with us. When the powers of this world try to divide us, the love of Christ holds us
together. When fear tells us to protect ourselves by rejecting others, the gospel
reminds us that we are called to love. And when we think that everything is lost, we
hear the promise again:
​
Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord. May our highest loyalty always be to Christ. May our highest banner be the
cross. May our strength be the Holy Spirit. And may our way of overcoming always
be love. Amen.

Prayer of Affirmation of Faith
Gracious God, we thank You for the assurance that nothing can
separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus. Strengthen our faith,
renew our hope, and fill us with Your Holy Spirit so that we may
live as faithful disciples, serving You with courage, loving our
neighbors with compassion, and proclaiming Your grace
wherever You send us. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior
and Lord. Amen.

Song of Response: “Make me a Channel Of your Peace” TFWS 2171

*Benediction: Go into the world with confidence, knowing that
the Holy Spirit prays for you when words fail, Christ walks beside
you in every trial, and the love of God will never let you go. Neither
life nor death, neither things present nor things to come, nor
anything else in all creation can separate you from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.

*Song of Blessing: “Everything We Do is for the Glory Of God” (No hymn number)

Postlude: “Blessed Assurance”

Pastor Jorge Rodriguez [email protected]