True Security (Ashtabula)

Welcome & Announcements

Good morning, everyone, and a warm welcome to Ashtabula First United Methodist Church. It is so good to be together in the house of the Lord on this beautiful day. Whether you are a lifelong member or a guest with us for the first time, we are so glad you are here. This morning, as we turn our hearts to worship, we'll be wrestling with a question that sits at the heart of all our lives: What does it mean to be truly secure? In a world that often feels unpredictable, where do we find a foundation that will never fail? That's the question our scriptures will be answering for us today. Now, Let us rise in body or spirit as our prelude begins, I invite our acolyte, Jeff, to bring forth the light of Christ to our altar as we begin our worship service.

Prelude

Call to Worship

Leader: In a world of worry and fear, where do we find our security?

People: We find our security in the Lord, our refuge and our fortress.

Leader: The world tells us to build walls and hoard our treasures.

People: But we choose to live in the shelter of the Most High.

Leader: God promises to cover us with his pinions and to be a shield for us.

People: We will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

All: Let us worship the God in whom we trust.

Opening Hymn “The Voices of God Is Calling” UMH 436

Opening Prayer

Our Refuge and our Fortress, we come to you today from a world filled with anxiety and uncertainty. We carry with us the burdens of our lives, the fear of what the future holds, and the distractions that pull us away from you. We confess that we often seek security in things that do not last—in our finances, our health, or our own strength. But we gather in this place because we believe that true security is found only in you. Quiet our hearts, open our minds, and fill this space with your presence. Prepare us to hear your Word, to receive your grace, and to trust in your promises. In the name of Jesus, our sure foundation, we pray. Amen.

New Testament Reading Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19–31 NIV

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Hymn “Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life” UMH 427

Old Testament Reading Psalm 91:1–6, 14–16

Psalm 91:1–6 NIV

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Psalm 91:14–16 NIV

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Anthem “Praying Hands”

Sermon “True Security: A Life Built on Promises”

Good morning, everyone.

Let us pray. Holy Spirit, open our hearts to the truth of your Word. Help us to see the difference between the security the world offers and the true foundation you give us. May the promises we hear today anchor our souls. Amen.

I want to start this morning with a question that sits at the very heart of our lives, especially in an unpredictable world. What does it mean to be truly secure? In our modern lives, we often define security by the things we can control and accumulate. Maybe for some of us, it’s a healthy savings account that can weather any storm. Maybe it’s a career that feels stable and offers a reliable path forward. Perhaps it's good health, a home that is paid for, or the assurance that you’re living a good life and treating people well. We work hard, we save, we plan, all in the hopes of building a life that is safe and protected. And those things, of course, are good. They are gifts from God, and it is right for us to be responsible stewards of them. But our scriptures today want to press us on something deeper. They want to ask us if we are building our lives on a foundation of true, unshakable security, or on something that is, at the end of the day, as fleeting as the wind.

The Problem: The Blindness of False Security

Our first lesson comes from a difficult and unsettling parable in the Gospel of Luke about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. The rich man lived a life of unimaginable luxury and comfort, dressed in the finest clothes and feasting sumptuously every single day. Meanwhile, just outside his gate, a poor man named Lazarus lay covered in sores, hoping for the very crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. The common reading of this parable is that the rich man was evil, a cruel and greedy individual. But was he? The text doesn't say he was actively cruel to Lazarus, or that he kicked him out of his gate. In many ways, the rich man’s sin was far more subtle, and far more common. His failure wasn't just a lapse in manners; it was a profound failure to follow the spirit of the Law—Moses and the Prophets—which commands justice and relational holiness. His sin was simply that he did not see. He was so focused on his own life, his own comforts, his own feasting, and the transaction of getting what he deserved, that the sacred humanity of Lazarus right at his doorstep became completely invisible to him. His life was transactional: he gave in order to receive, and since Lazarus could offer no return, he fell outside the rich man's moral economy entirely.

This is a very real danger for us today. The more we retreat into our own comforts and conveniences, the more we can become blind to the people in our communities who are struggling—the person down the road who is ill and has no one to call, the neighbor who is lonely and yearns for a word of connection, the family across town that is just trying to make ends meet. We can be surrounded by need and yet, because of our own focus on our comfort and security, miss it entirely. The parable ends with a chilling reversal. In the afterlife, the chasm that existed in life—the one of indifference and neglect—becomes a permanent chasm between heaven and hell. Even in his final, desperate plea, the rich man still views Lazarus transactionally, asking Abraham to send Lazarus to him with water and then to his family. Even in torment, he still sees Lazarus only in terms of what he can do for him—a continuation of the indifference that defined his life. His false security in this life has completely blinded him to the reality of the next. His request for a sign, for a resurrection, to warn his family, is Abraham’s final, powerful rebuke: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” A heart that is closed to God's clear word and the needs of others will not be changed by spectacle.

The Answer: A Life of Trust and Generosity

So if money and earthly comforts are not our true foundation, what is? Our hope is not in earthly treasure, but in God’s unshakable promises. The first comes from the beautiful and beloved words of Psalm 91. The psalmist writes, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’” This Psalm is a promise, not that bad things won’t happen to us—the psalmist lists terrors of the night and arrows that fly by day. Instead, it is a promise that God’s presence is our ultimate shelter. No matter what storms may come, God is our fortress, a place of safety and trust.

This Psalm promises us a security that is a shield and a buckler against all the fears of life. It paints a picture of God covering us with His “pinions,” like a mother hen protecting her chicks under her wings . That's a powerful and tender image of security, of being held close in the midst of trouble. It's a security that is not earned by our own efforts but is given through an intimate, trusting relationship with God. The final verses of the psalm emphasize this: "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him... he shall call upon me, and I will answer him." This is not a transactional deal; it is a promise for those who seek and love the Lord.

And what does a life of such trust look like? The Apostle Paul, writing to the young pastor Timothy, says in 1 Timothy, chapter 6, that “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Then he offers a serious warning: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Paul isn't saying that money itself is evil, but that the love of it—the belief that it is the ultimate source of our security and happiness—leads to “many pains.” We all know this to be true, don’t we? The pursuit of wealth for its own sake can lead to stress, anxiety, spiritual emptiness, and broken relationships. It's a game we can never truly win.

So what’s the alternative? Paul gives us the path to true gain. He tells us to “be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves treasures in heaven as a good foundation for the coming age, so that so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.” True security is found not in what we accumulate, but in what we give away. The life that is truly life is one of generosity and faith, a life that gives away the very things the world tells us we should hold on to tightly. It’s a paradox of the Gospel: in giving we receive, in losing we find, and in generosity we become truly rich.

The Ultimate Sign: Radical Hope

Our final lesson from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah, in chapter 32, gives us the ultimate illustration of this kind of security. The prophet Jeremiah is in prison. Jerusalem is surrounded by a hostile army, on the brink of total collapse. The future looks utterly hopeless. And what does God tell him to do? God tells him to buy a field.

From a worldly perspective, this is a foolish, even insane, act. Who buys real estate in the middle of a war zone? The price of that field would soon be worth nothing. The world would see this as a waste of money, a senseless gesture of despair. But Jeremiah is so completely secure in the promises of God—not in the walls of Jerusalem or the strength of an army—that he buys the field. He is making a visible, tangible statement of a hope so radical it defies all earthly logic. His security wasn’t in what he owned, but in the God who promised, “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”

My friends, this is what true security looks like. It is a security that can buy a field in a war zone because it knows the promise of God is more real than the threat of a siege. It is the life that is truly life, a life built on trusting God's promises and sharing generously with those around us. It is the life of the Christian. Let us not be like the rich man, blind to the needs right at our gate. Let us instead build our lives on the unshakable foundation of God’s love and promises, trusting in the shelter He provides, being rich in good works, and living with the radical hope of Jeremiah. Amen.

My friends, we are called to be a people whose security is found not in material possessions, but in the promises of God. The most tangible way we declare our trust is through our generosity. Our offering is an act of faith—it is our way of saying, 'We trust God's shelter more than our own savings.' It is our chance to be rich in good works, investing in the life that really is life. Let us now respond to God’s generous promises with the fullness of our own grateful giving.

Offertory & Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Prayer of Dedication

Let us pray. Gracious God, we offer these gifts back to you as an act of trust, not of fear. We pray you use these offerings to build your kingdom—to extend shelter to the unsheltered and hope to the unseen—so that we may truly be rich in good works and take hold of the life that really is life. Amen.

Morning Prayer

Thank you. You may be seated. As we return to a moment of stillness, let's reflect on the profound act of worship we just shared. We moved from hearing God's promises to offering our gratitude, an act of faith that declared our security is not in our hands, but in His. Now, having offered our gifts, we lift our whole selves and our deepest needs to the One who shelters us. This is our time to gather the anxieties, the hopes, and the burdens we carry—for ourselves, our neighbors, and the wider world—and place them safely under the shadow of the Almighty.

Let us unite our hearts in prayer.

O God, our true Refuge and Fortress, we praise you that your love is an unshakeable foundation for our lives. We thank you for the promise of your presence that covers us like a mother hen covers her young, giving us peace in a world of anxiety.We confess that we often suffer from a spiritual myopia, much like the rich man in the parable. We are so focused on our own daily feasting and comfort that we become blind to the Lazarus at our gate—the suffering, the lonely, the overlooked in our community and our city. Forgive our indifference, O God, and pierce our hearts with compassion.We lift to you those whom our society considers to be on shaky ground today. We pray for the ill and the anxious, for the elderly who live alone, and for all who lack the basic security of food and shelter. Extend your shelter over the people of Ashtabula and make this church a true refuge for the unseen.We also lift to you the promises we struggle to believe. Help us, in our own lives, to trade the fleeting comforts of possessions for the lasting treasures of generosity and good works. Strengthen our trust so that we may be rich in faith, and live the life that really is life.(A moment of silent prayer)All these prayers, spoken and silent, we gather in the name of Christ, who is our ultimate hope and security.

The Lord’s Prayer

With the confidence of those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, we pray the prayer our Savior taught us:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

For a season in his ministry, my father used the refrain of our closing hymn for the congregation to sing at the end of every service, and I always thought that was such a powerful way to send people out. So as we sing this song, I invite you to sing it from your heart, sing it to your neighbor and your friends, and truly mean it as a blessing for the week ahead. Let's stand as we sing our final hymn.

Closing Hymn “God Be with you till we meet again” UMH 672

Benediction

Go now, and live the life that really is life. Go, confident in the God who covers you with his pinions, trusting in the shelter of the Almighty. And may the God of sure promises bless you and keep you; may the light of Christ shine upon you; and may the Holy Spirit inspire you to be rich in good works, now and forevermore. Amen.

Postlude