sunday june 14, 2026

Fruitland United Methodist Church
June 14, 2026

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)

Prelude:
Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.
Welcome and Announcements Jorge & Letha E.
​
Call to Worship
Leader: God is faithful to every generation.
People: We come to worship the God who keeps His promises.
Leader: When hope seems lost, God opens a new future.
People: We will trust in the Lord and rejoice in His goodness.
Leader: God fills our lives with grace and unexpected blessings.
People: We give thanks for God’s faithfulness and love.
All: Let us worship God!
*Sharing the Peace of Christ.

*Opening Hymn Lord, I Lift Your Name On High TFWS 2088
​
Opening Prayer: Gracious God, You are the God of Abraham and Sarah, the
God who brings hope where hope seems impossible, the God who turns tears into
laughter and waiting into blessing. Open our hearts today to Your presence. Teach
us to welcome others with generosity, to trust Your promises, and to rejoice in the gift
of life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture Reading Psalm 116 UMH #836 Letha E.

Time With Young Christians: Pastor Jorge
(Please write prayer concerns and celebrations on yellow notepads, to be collected.)

Community Expressions Letha & 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 Letha E.

Invitation to Generosity Letha E./Pastor Jorge
     Offertory:
*Doxology: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . . UMH 95

Scripture Reading: Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Letha E.

Hymn: “Grace Alone”  TFWS 2162

Sermon: “The Miracle of Laughter” Rev. Jorge Rodriguez
Genesis 18:1–15; 21:1–7

There are moments in life when we begin to believe that certain dreams will never
come true. Moments when we stop expecting. Not because we have completely lost
faith, but because we have grown tired of waiting. Because the years pass. Because
doors close. Because prayers seem to remain unanswered. And little by little we
learn to live with the idea that some things simply will not happen.

Sarah knew those feelings very well. For years she had hoped for a child. She had
heard God's promises. She had walked beside Abraham through every stage of the
journey. But time kept passing. Every year seemed to make the promise more
difficult. Every birthday seemed to push the miracle farther away. Until there came a
moment when hope itself seemed to have faded.

Then those three visitors appeared. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
It was the hottest part of the day. He could have ignored them. He could have
remained seated. He could have thought, “They are strangers. Let them continue on
their way.” But he did not. He ran to welcome them. He offered them water. He
offered them shade. He offered them food. He offered them hospitality.

And in that simple act of hospitality, God became present. Because many times God
comes to us disguised as an opportunity, an encounter, a conversation, a stranger.
That is why hospitality holds such an important place in Scripture. When we make
room for others, we make room for God.
And in the middle of that meal came the promise: “About this time next year Sarah
shall have a son.” Sarah heard those words from the entrance of the tent. And she
laughed.

I have always felt a deep sympathy for Sarah. Because her laughter seems
profoundly human to me. It was not the laughter of someone mocking God. It was
the laughter of someone who had suffered too much to allow herself to hope again.
The laughter of someone thinking, “That would be wonderful... but it is simply too
late.”

And yet God was not offended by her laughter. God understood her weariness. God
understood her wounds. God understood her years of waiting. Because God knows
our hearts.

Then the impossible happened. Time passed. The promise remained. And when the
appointed time arrived, Sarah gave birth to a son. And they named him Isaac. A
name that means: “He laughs.”

God’s promise was transformed into a smile. Doubt became joy. Tears became
celebration. This week I have been thinking a great deal about this story. Perhaps
because our family is living through something that reminds us of Abraham and
Sarah.

My daughter had come to believe that she might never become a mother. There
were attempts. There were moments of hope. There were moments of
disappointment. There were long periods of silence. There were many questions.
And little by little she began to accept the possibility that motherhood might not be
part of her story. She loved her nieces and nephews. She watched them grow. And
somehow she began to imagine that they would fill that special place in her heart.

But God was still writing the story. Because God never finishes a story where we
think everything has ended.

After several attempts, the news finally came. My daughter was expecting a child.
And that alone filled our hearts with gratitude and joy. But then another piece of
news arrived. Another surprise. Not one baby. Two. Twins.

I still remember the excitement. The surprise. The phone calls. The messages. The
plans that immediately began to take shape. Two cribs. Two blankets. Two names.
Two new lives growing at the same time.

And suddenly our family was filled with dreams again. Filled with hope again.
Filled with that joy that only God can give.

And I believe that is exactly what Abraham and Sarah experienced. They did not
simply receive a child. They received the gift of dreaming again. They received the
gift of believing again. They received the gift of discovering that God still had
something new waiting for them.

Sometimes we think miracles are only extraordinary events. But often miracles are
much simpler than that. They are the opportunity to hope again. To trust again. To
imagine a future again. To believe once more that God is still at work.

The writer Frederick Buechner once said that human beings were created for joy. I
believe he was right. Because whenever God moves, joy appears. Sometimes in a
smile. Sometimes in tears. Sometimes in an answered prayer. Sometimes in the
birth of a child. And sometimes in the unexpected arrival of two little miracles.

So today we give thanks to God. For life. For the gift of giving life. For the privilege
of nurturing life. For the calling to strengthen life. And for the grace of continuing
to believe in life.

Because our God is still the God of Abraham and Sarah. The God who keeps His
promises. The God who makes a way where we cannot see one. The God who turns
sorrow into joy. The God who transforms tears into laughter.

And when that happens, the only thing left for us to do is join Sarah and say:
“God has brought laughter for me.”

And then share that laughter with the world. Amen.

Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, We confess that we often lose hope. We become
impatient while waiting for Your promises. We trust our own
understanding more than Your wisdom. We fail to welcome others
as You have welcomed us. Forgive us, renew us, and restore us.
Teach us to live with faith, gratitude, and joy. In the name of Jesus
Christ we pray. Amen.

Word of Assurance
Hear the Good News: God is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.

Closing Hymn: How Great Thou Art UMH 77
​
*Benediction: Go forth in peace. Trust the God who keeps His promises.
Welcome others as Abraham welcomed strangers. Live with hope. Live
with gratitude. Live with joy. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now
and always. Amen.

*Song of Blessing: “Halle, Halle, Hallelujah” TFWS 2026

Postlude:

Pastor Jorge Rodriguez [email protected]