Untitled Sermon (10)

Gathering

Welcome

Greeting

Give thanks to God! We thank God for joy, for laughter, for abundant blessings of every kind. Give thanks to God at all times and for everything! We thank God, when we can and as we can, for struggles, for solitude, for fears. Give thanks to God at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank God that, in Christ, our joys as well as our pain, our losses as well as our laughter, are in God's heart and hands.

Announcements

FTN Aug 19, - volunteers, 4-6

Men’s breakfast. Next Wed.

Admin Council Meeting Aug 16, 6:30 pm

Finance Meeting Aug 16, 6:00 pm

Sunday School 9:45- 10:45

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Opening Prayer

Call to Worship

Affirmation

Historic Creeds and Confessions (Apostles’ Creed)

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; The third day he rose again from the dead He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Song of Affirmation

UMH)

Psalter Lesson

Psalm 130 NRSV

A Song of Ascents. 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

Hymn (UMH)

Pastoral Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn (UMH)

Offering

Doxology

SPECIAL MUSIC

Sermon

Ephesians 5:15–20 (NRSV)

15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 5:15 (NLT)

so be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.

How does the fool live.

The answer is back just a few verse.

Ephesians 5:10–14 NRSV

10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

The fool lives as if it doesn’t matter.

It matters how we live. We are saved by God’s act of gracious mercy through the work Jesus Christ on the cross, in the grave, and through the resurrection.

It matters how we live. We can only live a life that honors God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:4–5 NRSV

4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

It matters how we live, the world is watching, the wold is looking, the word searching for something.

If the body of Christ doesn’t look like Jesus, how will the world ever find him?

Share a story.

True story.

Many details lost and have gone to the graves.

Some details embellished for the sake of a good story.

LITTLE ANN AND PETE

Little Ann loved her daddy.

He was a brick mason by trade. His arms were strong and hardened by years of hard work. His skin was like tanned leather from beating rays of summer sun. His eyes were baby blue, and seem to have a smile that was all their own as they peeked through his weathered face.

He was a hard worker, and earned a meager living, that was just enough to pay the bills and put food on the table.

I can imagine Ann as she eagerly waited for her daddy to come home from work.

He would be hot and sweaty, and stinky, but she wouldn’t care. She would want to hear all about his day. How many brick did you lay? How big is the building? Is it a house, a school, a church, or an office building? These things were just the details another day’s work to Pete, but to Ann they were the things of a whole other world. A world in which her daddy was somebody.

Some days, Ann would wait wait and wait, but Pete didn’t come home. Instead he would go off drinking. When he did come home, he was drunk, and angry, and mean.

As you can imagine this hurt little Ann, but didn’t change the way she felt about her daddy. She loved him unconditionally. She loved him in spite of his faults.

Eventually Ann’s mother got tired of Pet’s drinking and left him.

She moved to another town and lived with her sister.

Of course Pete came looking for her. When he found her he promised to change his ways. He said he would do anything to keep from loosing his kids and her.

So she gave him another chance. I don’t think that he did that great of job at turning his life around.

That is until something happened. Little Ann started going to Sunday School at a nearby church. They a children’s bus ministry, and they would pick up and Ann and her brother on Sunday mornings. Only God knows how this affected Pete.

I like to imagine, that Little Ann would come home and tell her daddy all about this new world of Sunday School that she had discovered. All the wonderful stories about Jesus and his disciples, and how he told them to “follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. I like to think that Pete could relate to these hard working fishermen. That somehow they found a place in his heart.

Eventually those hard working fishermen got to him, and he got up one Sunday morning and went to church. It was there that he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was there that he heard that Jesus had did on the cross for all of his sin. It was there that he learned that Jesus could give him a new heart and a new life. It was there that he believed the gospel and Jesus saved his soul. It was there that he became a brand new creature in Christ.

Ann’s daddy was a new person, the kind of transformation that only Jesus can do.

He never touched another drop of alcohol for the rest of his life. He was kind and generous, he loved church, he loved to read his Bible and you could tell it by the way he grew in Christ. The old Pete was being transformed by the renewing of his mind.

I have told you about Little Ann’s daddy, now let me tell you about my Papa.

He was a brick mason by trade. His arms were strong and hardened by years of hard work. His skin was like tanned leather from beating rays of summer sun. His eyes were baby blue, and seem to have a smile that was all their own as they peeked through his weathered face.

He was a hard worker, and earned a meager living, that was just enough to pay the bills and put food on the table.

When I was little I couldn’t wait for him to get home from work. I would ask all about his day.

How many brick did you lay? How big is the building? Is it a house, a school, a church, or an office building? These things were just the details another day’s work to Papa, but to me they were the details of a whole other world. A world in which my Papa was somebody.

One day when I was older my granny told me the story of my Papa’s drinking days.

Praise be to God, I never knew him that way.

The man I new would never hurt a soul. He loved the Lord, he love his wife, he loved his children, his grandchildren. He worked hard everyday of his life, except Sundays. I had the pleasure of working with him. I got to see him in action. He was surrounded by some of the foulest folks you could imagine, yet he was not influence by them. Instead he was an influence on them.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he was perfect. But I know that he let God do a work in his life. A work that not only changed his life, but also everyone he knew.

It matters how we live.

But don’t think you can do it on your own.

It’s only by God’s grace that we can mend our ways.

Matthew 11:29–30 NRSV

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

It matters how we live.

Acts 1:4–5 NRSV

4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

God is pouring out the Holy Spirit on the church, on us, on you and I, and if the church does not receive it, we will never look like Christ.

The world is starving for Jesus and they don’t know it.

How will they ever find Jesus if we the body of Christ resembles the world more than we do Jesus?

It matters how we live. It matters more that we let let Christ live in and through us.

If we have believed the gospel. Let us receive the gospel. If we have received the gospel, let us live it.

Father Son Holy Spirt.

Amen

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.