June 12th 2022 Worship Services "The Conversation Continues"
by Pastor Joyce Chamberlain
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June 12, 2022
Gathering
MUSICAL OFFERING
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Let me remind you quickly of our protocols for everyone’s safety.
· Attendance was taken by Ushers as you entered.
· masks are required by those not vaccinated as well as social distancing
· Offerings may be placed in the plate by the doors.
· Please write your prayer request on the Yellow cards. An usher will pick them up during the 1st hymn.
· Please join us after service for fellowship in Calvin Hall
PRAYER REQUESTS
Gary Iverson, Bob Bock, Joan Boyd, Wanda Hirl, Marilyn Neymeyer, Joan Pinkston, Maxine Wagner, Annette Conzett, Jo Lefleur, Judy Welcher, Dr Dyke, Harlan Marx, Lois Seger, Jon Ryner, Abagail Niles, Helanah Niles, Werner & Kelly Families, Avis Severson (Kolleen’s Mom), Ukraine, Arlene Pawlik, Angela and Tristan, Karla Singer (Rich Lewis Niece), Bonnie Pillers, Deb Weller, Barbara Russell and Family, Manon Family, and Linda Wenzel.
PRELUDE
*CALL TO WORSHIP Acts 2:17; Rom. 8:26; Ps. 104:30, 35
L: Our Sovereign God created all that is, and yet God also bends low to hear our cry.
P: Praise to our God of Heaven and Earth!
L: Christ came in human form to bring God’s truth and love and to offer Salvation t o all.
P: Praise to our Blessed Savior!
L: The Holy Spirit was present from the beginning of time, and continues to lead God’s people into life and healing.
P: Praise to the Spirit who lives in our hearts!
L: Let us worship God-- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
*GATHERING PRAYER
What are human beings that you are mindful of us, Lord God? Yet you have made us a little lower than God, and crowned us with glory and honor. As we open our worship this day, may we turn our hearts to you and offer to you the glory that is rightfully yours. Amen.
*HYMN Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty #138
*Call to Confession
We gather today to be re-energized and enlivened by the Spirit of God that billowed forth from Pentecost and which still opens the hearts and souls
Christians today. Let us confess our failings that we might live into the Spirit’s dance.
Prayer of Confession
Lord God, Source of Life and Hope. How often we accept a shallow vision of your great and wonderful power! We cling to a simplistic view of your presence I n our lives, ignoring the complex nature of faith which makes demands and often exists in the midst of deep questions. Forgive us for turning aside from the hard work of discerning the meaning you offer and all that it demands of us. Forgive us for assuming that we hold the fullness of truth, and for blocking any voice that challenges our assumptions. Help us to open to your Spirit, that we might grow In our faith and understand you more fully. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
All along life’s journey God has walked with us, Christ has led the way; the Holy Spirit had nudged us along. They are present in our lives even when we are unaware. Let us be assured of God’s amazing love, knowing that our failings are forgiven as we are led into newness and hope. My Friends, I declare to you, we are the forgiven people of God. Amen.
*PASSING THE PEACE (facing those across the aisle from you)
Left: May the peace of Christ be with you.
Right: And also with you. May the peace of Christ be with you.
Left: And also with you.
INTERLUDE
Prayer of Illumination
We come before you, Lord God, seeking to understand the great and glorious mystery of who you are and how you call us to serve. Send your Holy Spirit that revealed itself in fire and wind. As your word is read and proclaimed may we hear and grasp your magnificent power and love. Energize our hearts and our bones, we pray. Amen.
Scripture:
Proverbs 8: 1-7
1Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; 3 beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: 4 “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. 5 You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. 6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. 7 My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of
old;
Proverbs 8: 22-31
23 I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. 24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26 before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.
John 16: 12-15
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
SERMON The Conversation Continues
Nancy was madly in love! She had found her Mr. Right. He had proposed and nuptials were being planned. Everything was good—except you hate the way he talks to her, putting her down in little, but aggressive ways. He expects her to come running when he wiggles his finger, and then he leaves her sitting by herself 2 or 3 nights a week while he goes out with “the boys,” often not returning home until 1 or 2 in the morning. How desperately you want to point out these things and beg her to get out of the relationship while the getting was good. But if you even hint at any criticism of her golden boy, she gets really defensive and closes down. Better to wait until a time when she can see it for herself and then be there for her.
Or how about this one? Your 15 year old son was injured in football practice and a torn muscle in his shoulder required surgery. He will be sitting out for the rest of the season and his heart is broken. What the doctor actually said was that he would probably sit the bench for the first part of basketball, too, but he hadn’t really heard that due to the fixation on the sport of the moment. Now in the midst of his anguish he sometimes speaks with great hope of the coming basketball season. You just don’t have the heart to remind him that, this, too might not happen as he wishes. Why add another layer of depression. You can figure that out a bit later, right?
And finally…When you step onto your patio, you hear your high school aged granddaughter on the phone with her friends and distinctly overhear her say that she will be at the party tonight. You know that her parents believe she is going with her
swim team to an out of town meet that requires an overnight in a competing city. You don’t want to rat her out, but on the other hand, what if something bad happens because you didn’t inform her mom and dad?
How many times do we know something or feel something but we don’t know if speaking up is right? We don’t know what to do? Sometimes the WHEN of speaking up is the question. Sometimes it’s the how or to whom. And then there are times when we would be wise to just be silent. The issue is knowing which option is best.
We all know about the kindergartener who has no filter, and we smile at his very embarrassed parents who would like to crawl under their chair when Junior starts sharing family secrets. But don’t we also know some adults who have a little of that going on, too. Be careful not to share sensitive information with Lois because it will be on Facebook by tonight!
But in our scripture for today, here is our Lord and Savior telling his disciples something he has know for some time. He will be going away. Can you imagine their angst, their confusion, their absolute need to know—now what? But Jesus doesn’t offer any of that information. He merely tells them that this will be OK. It will be a good thing; when he leaves he will send the Advocate.
We understand the Advocate as the Holy Spirit, the essence of God who will teach the world about sin and righteousness and judgement. The Advocate will lead them further into the truth—a truth that they have not formerly been able to hear or comprehend. In other words, the conversation will continue. This will not be the end. The truth that they will receive is from God and is sent to them by Jesus.
I think the Holy Spirit is the most difficult part of the trinity to comprehend. We can grasp, at least at some level, the amazing creative power of God—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. We can grasp Jesus as God’s son, the physical, in-the-flesh manifestation of God who comes into our world to bring us word of God’s amazing love, God’s desire for us. Then he went to the cross to accomplish forgiveness for us and to show us the power of God’s love.
But the Holy Spirit sort of bounces off our brain. It’s not the source of creative power; it’s not a physical manifestation. It’s spirit; it’s energy; it’s wisdom and goodness that leads us forward and helps us to understand. We can’t get our hand on those things so it’s just harder to grasp.
Let me do a demonstration of the Spirit. This is a children’s sermon that I have done many times.
(visual demonstration-- Sorry you just had to be there!)
So the power of the Holy Spirit is that which gets into our hearts and beings and opens us to hear God’s truth, and then it gives us the energy to act in accord with God’s amazing love. In the process we are fundamentally changed. Our conversation with God has deepened. Our understanding of our world has shifted. Our ability to love and to act upon that love has grown much stronger. We are still a sinner. I guess that’s not going away, but we know ourselves forgiven, and that makes all the difference.
And this Holy Spirit—Here Jesus calls it the Advocate. The Old Testament refers to it as Wisdom. (Wisdom is presented in the feminine if we were reading this from the Greek. The word there is Sophia.) This is what Luke lifts up on the Pentecost story
that you celebrated last week. Wind and fire and amazing energy, connection and understanding among the followers of Jesus. This is a gift of God. This third person in our trinity would lead the disciples into a wisdom and truth that would lead them into the future. The conversation continues.
This reminds me of two important things.
1. If Jesus can carry this truth and only share what is needed in the moment, don’t we need to consider our own truths? We need to carry our truths, our assumptions, our plans for tomorrow with great humility. We have OUR truth, and it might be just fine for today—or maybe only for this moment. We’ve gathered our truth through our experiences, the people who have had influence on us. We’ve learned and come to understand certain things and believe in certain things. But that doesn’t mean that our truth is God’s truth. Therefore we need to hold it carefully. We need to examine it critically. We need to listen—really listen to understand—to our neighbor who has a competing truth. To understand why he or she feels that way is important.
That also means we need to be very careful in judging others. We just don’t have the whole picture of their lives and experiences and efforts. How many times have we seen someone, maybe with tattoos, piercings, scraggly, dirty hair and clothes and made assumptions. But this might be a person who is coming into his or her own and doing the absolute best they can do in this moment. Who are we to judge them or make their lives more difficult?
It also means we need to be open to new possibilities, new things that will teach us important truths. Right now my husband and I are learning a little about what it’s like for him to have a broken ankle. He’s struggling to get around and not able to do the things he wants to do, and I’m struggling to help and to do things he normally does. It’s a learning experience for us both! We just don’t know what God has in store for us, do we?
So being aware of our capacity to get it wrong or to be aware that we might be called to move in unimaginable new directions—these things are important. The Holy Spirit can work much more effectively in our lives if we give her some room to offer these new things, don’t you think?
2. The other thing I’m reminded of in these passages is that there is great wisdom in knowing when to speak and share something with another and when to be silent. We’ve all heard the saying that reminds us that God gave us 2 ears and 2 eyes and only one mouth for a reason! Use them proportionately!
Rotary Club International has this guiding principle called the four way test to determine if something is appropriate. There’s some good wisdom here, I think. It asks
Is it truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build good will and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
If something can’t stand the test of these four, then we better re-think it. In our opening scenarios we considered some situations. Should we speak our concerns about Nancy’s domineering boyfriend? It might be true; it might even be fair, but it won’t build better friendships and it won’t be beneficial to Nancy because she won’t be able to hear it right now.The same is true for that 15 year old athlete with a torn shoulder ligament. He probably doesn’t need that information right now. And ratting out your granddaughter? Maybe the key here is talking directly to her yourself and then deciding next steps. The big issue is making sure she’s safe. And remember you and I NEVER made questionable choices when we were young, right?!!!!
It’s hard to sit tight and stay silent. It’s hard to be patient. It’s hard to keep our opinions to ourselves, especially if they are deeply felt and carry some substantial emotion. It’s hard to hold our irritation or that snarky comment that is on the tip of our tongue when a coworker or even our spouse says something that grates on us. But wisdom means that holding our tongue is undoubtedly the best move for all involved. It’s what wisdom demands and hopefully the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to do just that.
Jesus sent this most amazing gift to his disciples—and to us. It’s this mysterious power to be a better, wiser, more loving Christian. It’s a power link that opens a stronger connection to God so that the conversation can continue. It’s an awareness of our own limitations.
Jesus also demonstrated to us that there is a time and a place to speak and to share. And there’s a time and place to be silent. He reminds us to ask ourselves the question about what is needed and what will be helpful, but maybe not RIGHT now.
In this season of Pentecost when all around us life and vibrancy and new potential is so abundant in the fields and gardens and flower beds, let’s consider how we, too, can be a part of God’s new life, new vibrancy and new potential—in our families, congregation, and community. The Spirit is blowing new energy our direction. May we be infused with it and grow in God’s amazing love.
Praise to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
*HYMN Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart #326
PASTORAL PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
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.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
We bring our hearts and our gifts to you, God of Hope and Healing. We pray that you might use these humble offerings to bring life to our community and our world. Thank you, Gracious Lord for your presence in our lives. Amen.
*AFFIRMATION Apostle’s Creed (Ecumenical) p. 14
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven
He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
And He will come to judge the living 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 life everlasting. Amen
*HYMN I Danced in the Morning #302
Sending Forth
*CHARGE & BLESSING
Go forth into our world knowing that you are accompanied by the Spirit of our Living God who has so much more to teach us about his amazing love for our world and for each of us. Dance into the peace and the joy of Christ, guided by the Spirit, praising the Father! Amen.
*POSTLUDE
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.
Some of today’s liturgy came from the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship.
Gathering
MUSICAL OFFERING
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Let me remind you quickly of our protocols for everyone’s safety.
· Attendance was taken by Ushers as you entered.
· masks are required by those not vaccinated as well as social distancing
· Offerings may be placed in the plate by the doors.
· Please write your prayer request on the Yellow cards. An usher will pick them up during the 1st hymn.
· Please join us after service for fellowship in Calvin Hall
PRAYER REQUESTS
Gary Iverson, Bob Bock, Joan Boyd, Wanda Hirl, Marilyn Neymeyer, Joan Pinkston, Maxine Wagner, Annette Conzett, Jo Lefleur, Judy Welcher, Dr Dyke, Harlan Marx, Lois Seger, Jon Ryner, Abagail Niles, Helanah Niles, Werner & Kelly Families, Avis Severson (Kolleen’s Mom), Ukraine, Arlene Pawlik, Angela and Tristan, Karla Singer (Rich Lewis Niece), Bonnie Pillers, Deb Weller, Barbara Russell and Family, Manon Family, and Linda Wenzel.
PRELUDE
*CALL TO WORSHIP Acts 2:17; Rom. 8:26; Ps. 104:30, 35
L: Our Sovereign God created all that is, and yet God also bends low to hear our cry.
P: Praise to our God of Heaven and Earth!
L: Christ came in human form to bring God’s truth and love and to offer Salvation t o all.
P: Praise to our Blessed Savior!
L: The Holy Spirit was present from the beginning of time, and continues to lead God’s people into life and healing.
P: Praise to the Spirit who lives in our hearts!
L: Let us worship God-- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
*GATHERING PRAYER
What are human beings that you are mindful of us, Lord God? Yet you have made us a little lower than God, and crowned us with glory and honor. As we open our worship this day, may we turn our hearts to you and offer to you the glory that is rightfully yours. Amen.
*HYMN Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty #138
*Call to Confession
We gather today to be re-energized and enlivened by the Spirit of God that billowed forth from Pentecost and which still opens the hearts and souls
Christians today. Let us confess our failings that we might live into the Spirit’s dance.
Prayer of Confession
Lord God, Source of Life and Hope. How often we accept a shallow vision of your great and wonderful power! We cling to a simplistic view of your presence I n our lives, ignoring the complex nature of faith which makes demands and often exists in the midst of deep questions. Forgive us for turning aside from the hard work of discerning the meaning you offer and all that it demands of us. Forgive us for assuming that we hold the fullness of truth, and for blocking any voice that challenges our assumptions. Help us to open to your Spirit, that we might grow In our faith and understand you more fully. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
All along life’s journey God has walked with us, Christ has led the way; the Holy Spirit had nudged us along. They are present in our lives even when we are unaware. Let us be assured of God’s amazing love, knowing that our failings are forgiven as we are led into newness and hope. My Friends, I declare to you, we are the forgiven people of God. Amen.
*PASSING THE PEACE (facing those across the aisle from you)
Left: May the peace of Christ be with you.
Right: And also with you. May the peace of Christ be with you.
Left: And also with you.
INTERLUDE
Prayer of Illumination
We come before you, Lord God, seeking to understand the great and glorious mystery of who you are and how you call us to serve. Send your Holy Spirit that revealed itself in fire and wind. As your word is read and proclaimed may we hear and grasp your magnificent power and love. Energize our hearts and our bones, we pray. Amen.
Scripture:
Proverbs 8: 1-7
1Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; 3 beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: 4 “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. 5 You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. 6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. 7 My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of
old;
Proverbs 8: 22-31
23 I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. 24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26 before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.
John 16: 12-15
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
SERMON The Conversation Continues
Nancy was madly in love! She had found her Mr. Right. He had proposed and nuptials were being planned. Everything was good—except you hate the way he talks to her, putting her down in little, but aggressive ways. He expects her to come running when he wiggles his finger, and then he leaves her sitting by herself 2 or 3 nights a week while he goes out with “the boys,” often not returning home until 1 or 2 in the morning. How desperately you want to point out these things and beg her to get out of the relationship while the getting was good. But if you even hint at any criticism of her golden boy, she gets really defensive and closes down. Better to wait until a time when she can see it for herself and then be there for her.
Or how about this one? Your 15 year old son was injured in football practice and a torn muscle in his shoulder required surgery. He will be sitting out for the rest of the season and his heart is broken. What the doctor actually said was that he would probably sit the bench for the first part of basketball, too, but he hadn’t really heard that due to the fixation on the sport of the moment. Now in the midst of his anguish he sometimes speaks with great hope of the coming basketball season. You just don’t have the heart to remind him that, this, too might not happen as he wishes. Why add another layer of depression. You can figure that out a bit later, right?
And finally…When you step onto your patio, you hear your high school aged granddaughter on the phone with her friends and distinctly overhear her say that she will be at the party tonight. You know that her parents believe she is going with her
swim team to an out of town meet that requires an overnight in a competing city. You don’t want to rat her out, but on the other hand, what if something bad happens because you didn’t inform her mom and dad?
How many times do we know something or feel something but we don’t know if speaking up is right? We don’t know what to do? Sometimes the WHEN of speaking up is the question. Sometimes it’s the how or to whom. And then there are times when we would be wise to just be silent. The issue is knowing which option is best.
We all know about the kindergartener who has no filter, and we smile at his very embarrassed parents who would like to crawl under their chair when Junior starts sharing family secrets. But don’t we also know some adults who have a little of that going on, too. Be careful not to share sensitive information with Lois because it will be on Facebook by tonight!
But in our scripture for today, here is our Lord and Savior telling his disciples something he has know for some time. He will be going away. Can you imagine their angst, their confusion, their absolute need to know—now what? But Jesus doesn’t offer any of that information. He merely tells them that this will be OK. It will be a good thing; when he leaves he will send the Advocate.
We understand the Advocate as the Holy Spirit, the essence of God who will teach the world about sin and righteousness and judgement. The Advocate will lead them further into the truth—a truth that they have not formerly been able to hear or comprehend. In other words, the conversation will continue. This will not be the end. The truth that they will receive is from God and is sent to them by Jesus.
I think the Holy Spirit is the most difficult part of the trinity to comprehend. We can grasp, at least at some level, the amazing creative power of God—omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. We can grasp Jesus as God’s son, the physical, in-the-flesh manifestation of God who comes into our world to bring us word of God’s amazing love, God’s desire for us. Then he went to the cross to accomplish forgiveness for us and to show us the power of God’s love.
But the Holy Spirit sort of bounces off our brain. It’s not the source of creative power; it’s not a physical manifestation. It’s spirit; it’s energy; it’s wisdom and goodness that leads us forward and helps us to understand. We can’t get our hand on those things so it’s just harder to grasp.
Let me do a demonstration of the Spirit. This is a children’s sermon that I have done many times.
(visual demonstration-- Sorry you just had to be there!)
So the power of the Holy Spirit is that which gets into our hearts and beings and opens us to hear God’s truth, and then it gives us the energy to act in accord with God’s amazing love. In the process we are fundamentally changed. Our conversation with God has deepened. Our understanding of our world has shifted. Our ability to love and to act upon that love has grown much stronger. We are still a sinner. I guess that’s not going away, but we know ourselves forgiven, and that makes all the difference.
And this Holy Spirit—Here Jesus calls it the Advocate. The Old Testament refers to it as Wisdom. (Wisdom is presented in the feminine if we were reading this from the Greek. The word there is Sophia.) This is what Luke lifts up on the Pentecost story
that you celebrated last week. Wind and fire and amazing energy, connection and understanding among the followers of Jesus. This is a gift of God. This third person in our trinity would lead the disciples into a wisdom and truth that would lead them into the future. The conversation continues.
This reminds me of two important things.
1. If Jesus can carry this truth and only share what is needed in the moment, don’t we need to consider our own truths? We need to carry our truths, our assumptions, our plans for tomorrow with great humility. We have OUR truth, and it might be just fine for today—or maybe only for this moment. We’ve gathered our truth through our experiences, the people who have had influence on us. We’ve learned and come to understand certain things and believe in certain things. But that doesn’t mean that our truth is God’s truth. Therefore we need to hold it carefully. We need to examine it critically. We need to listen—really listen to understand—to our neighbor who has a competing truth. To understand why he or she feels that way is important.
That also means we need to be very careful in judging others. We just don’t have the whole picture of their lives and experiences and efforts. How many times have we seen someone, maybe with tattoos, piercings, scraggly, dirty hair and clothes and made assumptions. But this might be a person who is coming into his or her own and doing the absolute best they can do in this moment. Who are we to judge them or make their lives more difficult?
It also means we need to be open to new possibilities, new things that will teach us important truths. Right now my husband and I are learning a little about what it’s like for him to have a broken ankle. He’s struggling to get around and not able to do the things he wants to do, and I’m struggling to help and to do things he normally does. It’s a learning experience for us both! We just don’t know what God has in store for us, do we?
So being aware of our capacity to get it wrong or to be aware that we might be called to move in unimaginable new directions—these things are important. The Holy Spirit can work much more effectively in our lives if we give her some room to offer these new things, don’t you think?
2. The other thing I’m reminded of in these passages is that there is great wisdom in knowing when to speak and share something with another and when to be silent. We’ve all heard the saying that reminds us that God gave us 2 ears and 2 eyes and only one mouth for a reason! Use them proportionately!
Rotary Club International has this guiding principle called the four way test to determine if something is appropriate. There’s some good wisdom here, I think. It asks
Is it truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build good will and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
If something can’t stand the test of these four, then we better re-think it. In our opening scenarios we considered some situations. Should we speak our concerns about Nancy’s domineering boyfriend? It might be true; it might even be fair, but it won’t build better friendships and it won’t be beneficial to Nancy because she won’t be able to hear it right now.The same is true for that 15 year old athlete with a torn shoulder ligament. He probably doesn’t need that information right now. And ratting out your granddaughter? Maybe the key here is talking directly to her yourself and then deciding next steps. The big issue is making sure she’s safe. And remember you and I NEVER made questionable choices when we were young, right?!!!!
It’s hard to sit tight and stay silent. It’s hard to be patient. It’s hard to keep our opinions to ourselves, especially if they are deeply felt and carry some substantial emotion. It’s hard to hold our irritation or that snarky comment that is on the tip of our tongue when a coworker or even our spouse says something that grates on us. But wisdom means that holding our tongue is undoubtedly the best move for all involved. It’s what wisdom demands and hopefully the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to do just that.
Jesus sent this most amazing gift to his disciples—and to us. It’s this mysterious power to be a better, wiser, more loving Christian. It’s a power link that opens a stronger connection to God so that the conversation can continue. It’s an awareness of our own limitations.
Jesus also demonstrated to us that there is a time and a place to speak and to share. And there’s a time and place to be silent. He reminds us to ask ourselves the question about what is needed and what will be helpful, but maybe not RIGHT now.
In this season of Pentecost when all around us life and vibrancy and new potential is so abundant in the fields and gardens and flower beds, let’s consider how we, too, can be a part of God’s new life, new vibrancy and new potential—in our families, congregation, and community. The Spirit is blowing new energy our direction. May we be infused with it and grow in God’s amazing love.
Praise to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
*HYMN Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart #326
PASTORAL PRAYER AND LORD’S PRAYER
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.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
We bring our hearts and our gifts to you, God of Hope and Healing. We pray that you might use these humble offerings to bring life to our community and our world. Thank you, Gracious Lord for your presence in our lives. Amen.
*AFFIRMATION Apostle’s Creed (Ecumenical) p. 14
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven
He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
And He will come to judge the living 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 life everlasting. Amen
*HYMN I Danced in the Morning #302
Sending Forth
*CHARGE & BLESSING
Go forth into our world knowing that you are accompanied by the Spirit of our Living God who has so much more to teach us about his amazing love for our world and for each of us. Dance into the peace and the joy of Christ, guided by the Spirit, praising the Father! Amen.
*POSTLUDE
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.
Some of today’s liturgy came from the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship.