Preparation for Worship
- Something green. Christian worship has different seasons throughout the year. We are in the season after Pentecost. The color green represents this time communicating growth and discipleship. Add some green to your worship area with cloth, paper, or plants.
- Two candles. Our worship begins with the light of two candles: one represents Christ’s humanity and the other represents Christ’s divinity.
- Something to eat and drink to celebrate communion. The type of food and drink does not matter for they are merely symbols which help us celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Worship of God
Invitation. Today’s gospel reading gives testimony to the often hidden and subtle power of the Realm of God at work in our lives and world. The parables tell that the reality of God’s realm is at work now, and we are called to decide if this is the realm in which we choose to live.
Light two candles in recognition of Christ’s presence. In our practice, one candle represents Jesus’ divinity and the other Jesus’ humanity.
Gathering for Worship
Passing the Peace
Say to one another, “May the Peace of Christ be with you.”
Respond by saying, “And also with you.”
Piano Prelude
Psalm 105:1-5a
Give thanks to the Lord;
call upon his name;
make his deeds known to all people!
Sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord;
dwell on all his wondrous works!
Give praise to God’s holy name!
Let the hearts rejoice of all those seeking the Lord!
Pursue the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always!
Remember the wondrous works he has done,
all his marvelous works, and the justice he declared—
Opening Prayer
Eternal God, we come to offer this time of worship to you. Help us to so focus our thoughts on you, that we experience afresh your grace, mercy, and love as fresh gifts in our lives. We praise you for blessing us in this way and for revealing your love in Jesus Christ. With his endless love flowing through us, and the Holy Spirit guiding us, may our love for you and all you created never cease.
God, source of loving kindness and strength, we worship you.
Jesus, foundation of our faith, we worship you.
Holy Spirit, ground of our very being, we worship you.
Amen
Songs and Psalms of Praise and Prayer
Song of Praise
Hope of the World
Hope of the world, O Christ of great compassion:
speak to our fearful hearts by conflict rent;
save us, your people, from consuming passion,
who by our own false hopes and aims are spent.
Hope of the world, God’s gift from highest heaven,
bringing to hungry souls the bread of life:
still let your Spirit unto us be given
to heal earth’s wounds and end her bitter strife.
Hope of the world, afoot on dusty highways,
showing to wandering souls the path of light:
walk now beside us, lest the tempting byways
lure us away from you to endless night.
Hope of the world, who by your cross did save us
from death and dark despair, from sin and guilt:
we render back the love your mercy gave us;
take now our lives and use them as you will.
Hope of the world, O Christ, o’er death victorious,
who by this sign did conquer grief and pain:
we would be faithful to your gospel glorious;
you are our Lord, and you forever reign!
A Reading from the New Testament
Romans 8:26-39
In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will. We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. We know this because God knew them in advance, and he decided in advance that they would be conformed to the image of his Son. That way his Son would be the first of many brothers and sisters. Those who God decided in advance would be conformed to his Son, he also called. Those whom he called, he also made righteous. Those whom he made righteous, he also glorified.
So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them. Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us.
Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
We are being put to death all day long for your sake.
We are treated like sheep for slaughter.
But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.
Prayer for Others
Pause after each paragraph to give voice to prayers as prompted. [Additionally, if you would like our church family to pray for someone or something in particular this week, email the request to tonya@cullowheebaptist.com.]
Merciful God, who shelters us and guides us, we give you thanks for….
God who comforts, receive those who are fearful and lonely….
God whose love is steadfast, be refuge for the ill, the dying, and those who care about them.…
God of righteousness, we ask for your wisdom and ways of justice to prevail in our community, this nation, your world….
God who seeks our trust, grow us and guide us in your ways that are life-giving in your world. Amen.
Prayer in Song
Come, Dearest Lord
Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell
By faith and love in ev’ry breast;
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel
The joys that cannot be expressed.
Come, fill our hearts with inward strength,
Make our enlarged souls posess,
And learn the height, and breadth, and length
Of thine unmeasurable grace.
Now to the God whose pow’r can do
More than our thoughts or wishes know,
Be everlasting honors done
By all the church, through Christ his Son.
Celebrating Communion
A Reading from the Gospels
Mark 14:22-24
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Share what you have to eat. Before eating, have someone say,
“This food represents the body of Christ. As we eat, we remember Jesus.”
Share what you have to drink. Before drinking, have someone say,
“This drink represents the covenant Christ made with us that our sins will be forgiven. As we drink, we remember Jesus.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Dear God, thank you for your abounding compassionate love. Thank you for guiding and leading us through these difficult times. Thank you for always being with us. Amen.
Song of Faith
Amazing Grace (NEW BRITAIN)
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
was blind but now I see.
The Gospel Reading
A Reading from the Gospels
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-50
Parable of the mustard seed
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”
Parable of the yeast
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.”
Parable of the treasure
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field.
Parable of the merchant
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.
Parable of the net
The kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away. That’s the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.
Reflection on the Gospel from Tonya
Listen to the reflection and/or read below.
Today we enter into a parable laden passage from Matthew’s gospel. Jesus has taken common everyday experiences and fashioned them into stories to help us understand the mysterious works of God. The first two parables this morning are told to a crowd of people interested in what Jesus has to say. A small mustard seed is planted in a field and becomes a tree so large that birds can nest in it. A bit of yeast is worked into 50 pounds of flour and the dough rises to feed the neighborhood. Both stories offer the crowd hope and encouragement in God. A little bit of God goes a long way. God’s goodness might seem small but it is more than sufficient. God is more than able to permeate all of life, to bring change, and help one rise.
Maybe it was getting dark, maybe it was time to eat, for whatever reason, Jesus leaves the crowd and goes into a house along with his disciples. Inside with his close companions, he tells a few more parables offering more hope and encouragement. First a story about a hidden treasure that brings great joy to the one who discovers it. So great is the treasure that everything is sold so the field in which the treasure is buried can be bought. The second story is about a merchant who discovers the most beautiful pearl ever seen. The merchant sells everything so the fine white jewel can be bought. It is easy to see that the disciples are like the treasurer hunter and merchant. They have left everything behind to follow Jesus. They have found the Treasure, Jesus, and have left everything to be with him. They have seen the Pearl, Jesus, and have set everything aside to follow him.
The third story Jesus tells is a fishing tale. I would imagine this context probably meant more to the disciples than stories of buried treasure and pearls. A handful of the disciples had once been fishermen. They knew firsthand what it was like to cast a net out over the water and draw a catch of fish up into the boat. As the fish are removed from the net, they would be separated. Keep the edible fish, the kosher ones–like trout, mahimahi, flouder, cod, and sardines to name a few. Toss away the non-edible ones, the non-kosher ones–the eels, the sharks, the swordfish, and the dolphins. They didn’t have all these kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee, but you get the idea. Put the good fish in the basket and toss out the bad fish.
Then Jesus goes on to say that this is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come from heaven and sort through the catch of fish. But they don’t toss the bad fish back into the sea because this is the end of the age. Instead, they toss the bad fish into a fiery furnace accompanied by weeping and gnashing teeth.
It would be quite easy and maybe preferable to skip these verses in Matthew about fire, weeping, and gnashing teeth. These types of Bible verses seem to fuel the fires of judgment against others who are not like us. However, here at CBC we are not that kind of faith community which labels people as good or bad, in or out, heaven or hell bound. We have all seen how the good news of Jesus has been distorted by such labeling and finger pointing and judgement all in the name of Jesus. Judging others isn’t our calling.
These types of verses are also excellent fodder for preachers who like to dish out “turn or burn” sermons. These stories have been used throughout the years to plant fear in the hearts of everyone, including believers, so that people might act good instead of bad. If you are bad, you will be tossed away, into the fire, where you with weep and gnash your teeth. Leading people to fear God isn’t our calling.
These types of verses have also been used to motivate Christians to witness and to give money to support evangelical mission work. They have been used to guilt us into witnessing. If we don’t share God’s love now, today, with everyone, there will be people who will spend eternity burning, crying, and gnashing their teeth. Our actions or lack of actions are not saving. It is God’s grace that saves us not someone else’s witness.
Convincing and coercing people to live the way of Jesus is not our calling.
Here at CBC we answer the call of God to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ so that God might be honored and glorified. How many have already been told by the world that they are “bad,” or not good enough? How many have already been tossed out, cast away, pushed aside, and all in the name of Jesus? And now to hear Jesus use those same words in his parable, well, how in the world does that square up with “For God so loved the world….” I know, I know, I have heard it explained so many times. Some say, it’s God’s corrective punitive love. God loves us enough to punish us so that we will do the right thing. That seems like hog wash. Honestly, I do believe that God is abundantly more creative and wiser than to make us afraid so that we might learn to love and trust. Any relationship that uses fear to produce love and trust, that’s a relationship from which you should run. Think about it this way. If you were afraid of the teacher, you didn’t misbehave. Right? Did you ever hear Jesus say, “I came that they might learn how to behave”? No. Jesus said, “I came so that they might live.” God’s goal for us is to know God’s constant abiding never-fading love for us, and that we share that same love with others and all of creation.
So, do we just get a pen out and strike through these verses from Matthew’s gospel? We could use a black sharpie marker, but it would bleed through to the other side of the page and mark out even more verses. We could use that handy little white out rolling thing, but it would leave the thin pages of my bible encrusted.
The focus of all these parables is the kingdom of heaven. Let’s remove the imperial language Our Anabaptist ancestors were persecuted under imperial law. So let’s go with “reign of God” instead The starting point for all of these parables is the reign of God. The reign of God began in the ministry of Christ. It has not yet fully been revealed, but we pray for it. It is not yet fully here, but the Spirit is always present and already working towards it. Christ helps us put aside those other-worldly views of life like an after-life refuge or eternal damnation. We have this hope given to us in Jesus Christ of the reign of God already here in the present, here and now, already with us. So how does this fishing net parable help us understand God’s reign here and now? All of the above ideas about how this parable has been used, I still refute.
Let’s remember that Jesus shared this story with the 12 disciples. Not with those who were interested or curious about Jesus, but with the 12 who were already committed, who had already invested all they had in Jesus. Jesus invites them to take a glimpse at the reign of God, where the bad is discarded and the good is gathered up. What a strong reminder that Jesus has come to call us to a way of life that is consistent with God’s reign. You cannot remove the idea of judgment from this passage, but you must see it in the light of God’s reign. God is just and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. What a blessing it is to know that the evil empires and individuals with whom we deal day in and day out do not have the final word. Jesus does not condemn evil deeds in order to frighten us into nonaction. Instead Jesus invites us to go ahead and start living in and under the reign of God. We anticipate the reign of God. We eagerly anticipate living in that full reality. We anticipate the ways of God, being the way everyone lives. We anticipate it. The reign of God–when everything, everything is made new. 2 Corinthians says, If anyone is in Christ, that one is a new creature. Look, everything has become new. (2 Cor. 5:17) God’s great future for the world is coming. And it is what we anticipate, a future where evil is destroyed and God’s righteousness shines bright like the sun.
Even though we are not in the season of Advent, this pandemic is teaching us how to really long for something–or in fact, many things. So therefore as much as you long for the day when the pandemic is laid to rest, long even more for the day when God’s reign is fully alive in the world.
Questions for Reflection
■ If you were to write a parable about the reign of God, what object or image would you use?
■ In what ways has the past week been difficult? Which, if any of today’s parables helps you not to feel defeated from the week?
■ What are parts of the full reign of God that you really anticipate these days?
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Thank you God for constant love. Please help our church family grow deeper and deeper in your love. Amen.
Song of Faith
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Allelu Alleluia
Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and it shall be opened unto you
Allelu Alleluia
Sending
God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep!
They are as mysterious as God’s judgments,
and they are as hard to track as God’s paths!
Who has known the Lord’s mind?
Or who has been the Lord’s mentor?
Or who has given the Lord a gift
and has been paid back by the Lord?
All things are from and through and for the Lord.
May the glory be to God forever. Amen.
Closing Song. In our tradition, we close worship by singing the first verse of Blest Be the Tie. Mindy starts us each week, and so she does today as well.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.
Credits: The image is from https://www.pikist.com/free-photo-vccsr [retrieved July 25, 2020]. The Prelude is Andante written by Handel and played by Barbara on June 10, 2018 for worship. The Psalm is read by Dale, Jeff, Matthew, Wyatt and Jeffrey. The Opening Prayer was written by Moira Laidlaw. Hope of the World is set to the tune TORONTO composed by John W. Peterson (1954). The words were written by Georgia Elma Harkness (1974) who was the first woman to teach theology in an American seminary. The hymns are played by Tracy. Romans was written by Paul and is read by Dianne, AJ, Charlie, and Gary. Come, Dearest Lord was written by Isaac Watts and composed by James Kirby. Accompanied by Tonya, singers include Mindy, Laura, Ally, Elizabeth, Kendall, and Tonya. Amazing Grace is set to the tune NEW BRITAIN from the Virginia Harmony, 1831. The words were written by John Newton (1807). The song was played by Aidan. The gospel was read by Wren, Reason, Aiden, Addie, and Tonya. Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God was written and composed by Karen Lafferty. Tessa plays the flute. Blest be the Tie is set to the tune DENNIS which was composed by Johann G. Nageli (1836) and arranged by Lowell Mason (1872). The words were written by John Fawcett (1782). The hymn is sung by Mindy. All scripture passages are from the Common English Bible translation. Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-724755. All rights reserved. All writings have been used by permission from the posting sites or authors.
Cullowhee Baptist Church 