Back to the Basics Week 3

Call to Worship

We gather together to worship,

knowing that God is already here among us;

knowing that there is nothing that separates us

from the presence of our Lord.

Wherever we are, wherever we go,

God is near.

So let us enter into this service of worship

with confidence and hope,

knowing that God is already with us,

and that He stands eager to meet us

and bless us with His love.

Pastoral Prayer

Almighty God: from the beginning to the end you have chosen       to love us,      to redeem us,      to shape us as your people. Though you were strong you became weak      so you could confront      to come face to face with our sin and our death Spirit of God, resting upon us: may your power enflame us      with your unity; may your peace touch us       with your grace; may your grace fill us       with your hope; may your hope lead us into your Kingdom.

Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer

We gather together in the midst of human losses and grief.

We encounter you, God, broken and scattered,

both without and within,

inside the margins and outside of them too,

We lift up those grieving loss of loved ones this morning

and joys beyond death and loss. Heal our loss we pray

Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer

God let your light shine through us so that other’s can know you

Help us to shine your light of faith,

for those who are hungry to believe yet are not sure,

Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer

those who have struggled and are struggling with illnesses,

Lord God we remember the many people in our community still battling covid 19. We pray for healing for physical healing, and also for spiritual healing.

Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer

I pray for the leaders of our city, state, and national government offices. God whether they are the candidates we like or the ones that we don’t like God would they be led by you. Would they be led by your spirit of compassion, and by your grace that is freely offered. We also raise to you the delegations and leaders within our church, our church conference, our bishops, and our general conference. Lord God would we be obedient to your kingdom and not our own.

Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer

Raise up for us, O God, leaders worthy of the name,

people who like Christ

are unafraid of challenge,

unashamed of serving,

and unattached to their own personal gain;

men and women who like Christ

call to the best within us,

and then lead the way.

And, in our own small spheres, God,

may we be the leaders we seek.

Lord in your mercy; Hear our prayer

Oh God some prayers we don’t know how speak out loud yet, or we don’t know the right words that we would use if we tried. So instead of more word we offer you our silence. In this moment of silence we offer ourselves to you....

Lord God we pray now the prayer that you have taught us saying...

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 and ever.

Amen.

Middle Chunk

7,000 meals served at the Monday Night meals

Introduction to Offertory

Sermon Intro

introducing the series

The new member class thing

Movement behind the method

We aren’t original

Wesley

Wesley wasn’t the phenomenal preaching in fact many argued that George Whitfield was a better preacher than Wesley

And that wasn’t just because Wesley wasn’t holding back any punches in the pulpit

Wesley was well known because he was good at organizing people

For the past thousands of years the church had a simple way of organizing people - everyone comes to the building on Sunday, leaves before noon, and the building is largely vacant the rest of the week

Classes

Bands

Societies

Wesley’s holy Club

Wesley’s 22 questions

The Wesleyan movement was prophetic because it brought people into deeper community

Last semester one of the seminary classes that I took was United Methodist History

As a part of the class we were invited to participate in a Band meeting group

So a group of us gathered through video chat every week with the express and purpose of helping each other live holy lives

It was a place that we could all be honest about who we were, and the doubts and fears and grief that we had.

And also a space to feel encouraged and equipped by the stories of others.

That was what was so special about John Wesley’s ministry is that he recognized two things and that was that the Christian needs more than worship but also that everything in our spiritual life starts with worship

It all begins with Worship

The Funnel

Both in number and in intimacy and growth

Our scripture is about the over pouring from what we call worship to what we call respond.

Scripture

Hebrews 10:19–25 NRSV

19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This starts with worship

It is about knowing and being like Jesus

It is about knowing of God’s forgiveness for us

It is about worshiping God

Christians need other Christians

Sometimes we show up to be fed and sometimes we show up so that we can feed others

You are needed in community

Without you we aren’t who we are

and I mean that to our charter members that have been here even when we weren’t in this building and I mean that also to you who are worshiping with us online for the first time today.

But also there is someone in this room

Here in the room we are in a circle so I invite you for a minute to just look around the room here

take stock of who all is here

And know this someone in this room needed you to be here today

Okay you can stop looking at each other if you want

If you are in awe of something that God has done in your life this morning there is a chance that there is someone in this room that is searching for that type of awe

If your heart is filled with lament or anger this morning, odds are pretty good that there is someone in this room that has been there too.

Selfish Christianity is an oxy moron

Oxy moron examples

bittersweet

plastic silverware

jumbo shrimp

Meaning that we are unable to be selfish and grow in faith

There is a reason that we exist as a community, and it is because Christian growth is a communal activity

There are a lot of things that you could get really good at if you practiced on your own

In the pandemic we found a lot of those as people were picking up new pandemic hobbies

You can go off on your own and get really good at a lot of things

But to grow and mature as a disciple a follower of Jesus you need community

Small groups shape us into Christlikeness

Hebrews 10:24–25 NRSV

24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Provoke one another

Join my small gruop! It is right afterwards!

Come back to Wesley

What could the church look like if we went back to Wesley's vision of a small group movement?