PIONEER
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 6th Sunday of Easter May 17,
2020
~~~~~~~~~~
Jesus
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to Pioneer’s blog worship service.
Over the blocks or over the miles, we gather as the Pioneer faith community,
gathered as children of God to worship, to be spiritually fed, and to be
equipped to go out to serve in Christ’s name—though we do it differently during
this crisis.
The blog is one of our resources for
worship. We are now also worshiping by Zoom at our regular 10:00a.m. time on
Sundays. If you’d like to join Zoom worship please contact Pastor Jean or Jon.
The construction work is nearly done!
The governor’s office has approved Harney
County to be part of the phased opening of Oregon. In view of that, Session
will be meeting at 6:00 on Tuesday, May 17th to discuss what Pioneer
does in response to that.
Now allow yourself a brief time of silence
as you open your hearts and feel God’s presence with you, right where you are.
BAPTISM: Friends, remember your baptism … and be thankful.
CALL TO WORSHIP
In baptism, we were buried with Christ;
In baptism we were also raised with
Christ.
Once we were spiritually dead;
Now God has brought us life with Christ.
Alleluia!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
O God, you have prepared for those who
love you joys beyond understanding. Pour into our hearts such love for you,
that, loving you above all else, we may obtain your promises, which exceed all
that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with
you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
OPENING
PRAISE SONG: “You Are Here”
CALL
TO CONFESSION
How often have we turned from the path of
Jesus’ teachings, focused on our own wants rather than on God’s will for us to
love one another? God is always waiting and ready to extend grace and
forgiveness. Let us confess to our God of grace.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Almighty
God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death.
We confess that we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that
lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who
mourn; we are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, and indifferent to calls for
peace; we despise the weak and abuse the earth you made. Forgive us, God of
mercy. Help us to trust your power to change our lives and make us new, that we
may know the joy of life abundant given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. (silent prayers of
personal confession …….) Amen.
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.
The old life has gone; the new life has
begun.
Friends, believe the Good News!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and
restored to new life!
PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Let us extend the peace of Christ in heart
and prayer to God’s children everywhere.
GLORY
BE TO THE FATHER
TIME
WITH CHILDREN
Hello Fiona! Hello Zoey! Hey Fiona, Last
Sunday Zoey told me she has been doing crafts with her daddy. Have you been
doing crafts, too? That’s a fun way to spend your time.
Well, today I want to talk about something
very important. In fact, I have it right here. It’s my golden ruler. It’s so
important that Jesus even talked about it. Well, actually, he didn’t call it a
golden ruler. He said we should treat other people like we would like to be
treated. We call that the golden rule. So I thought a golden ruler was pretty
close to that.
How would you like other people to treat
you? Can you name some things? I bet you would say ‘be nice’. That’s a good
starting point. We want people to be nice to us. We might like people to help
us when we need help, to share with us, and to smile at us and be our friend.
Jesus said if that’s what you would like other people to do to you, then that’s
what you should do to other people. It’s hard to be mean to someone if they’re
smiling at you. It’s hard to get mad at them if they want to help you. Jesus
was pretty smart, wasn’t he? So the coloring pages I sent you are about being
nice to other people. Did you figure that out on your own? And what do you
think the ruler was for? Yes, it helps you draw straight lines and measure
things, but it is to remind you about the golden rule. Only I couldn’t find any
gold ones so you have orange. Whenever you use it, remember that Jesus wants
you to treat other people like you want to be treated. I guess that boils down
to love, doesn’t it? Let’s pray:
Dear Jesus, thank you for loving us. Thank
you for loving everyone. You want us to love everyone, too, so help us to
remember what you said and to treat others like we want to be treated. We love
you. Amen.
HYMN: “Jesus
Loves Me”
Jesus loves me,
this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him
belong, they are weak but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves
me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves
me. The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves each one of us just as much as
he loves Zoey and Fiona even though we’re big girls and boys now.
SCRIPTURE
1: 1
Peter 3:13-22
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what
is right? But even if you do suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be
blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts reverence
Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to
account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence;
and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile
your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer
for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong. For Christ
also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the
spirit; in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly
did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building
of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt
from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand
of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.
SCRIPTURE 2: John
14:15-21
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And
I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you
forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will
be in you. "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a
little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I
live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and
you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is
who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love
him and manifest myself to him."
SERMON: “I
Will Come to You” Rev. Jean
Hurst
“I will
pray … The Father will send you the Holy Spirit … I will not leave you desolate
… I will come to you … You will see me … Because I live you will live … You
will know … I will love you and manifest
myself to you.” That’s a lot of promises in just a few short verses. This is a
continuation of that final conversation Jesus had with his followers on the
night he was arrested. Jesus loves these followers. He calls them ‘little
children’. In Luke 12 he calls them ‘little flock’. He feels tenderness toward
these disciples who have walked by his side and shared his ministry for the
past three years.
What a
different perspective than that of the ancient gods who were demanding and
punishing. People often refer to our Old Testament God as an angry, punishing
God, seeming to miss the God who is patient and merciful and tender, lifting
the lamb to his cheek. I wonder if that hurt or frustrated God. How does God
get his love across to these humans he created? The answer seems to be Jesus.
It’s often said that Jesus is the human face of God. It is through Jesus that
we can really see God as loving and tender and protective.
So at that
last meal, as they are confused and scared, he talks to them gently. He speaks
to their fears. He tells them what they need to hear in order to be prepared
for what is to come. In today’s segment of that last night, he tells them more
about what it is to love. It’s not just some warm and fuzzy feeling. To love
Jesus is to love what Jesus stands for, to be willing to be part of Jesus’
kingdom work, to love others as Jesus has loved them, to not just speak or feel
that love, but to act that love—to live it. “If you love me, you will obey my
commandments.”
That makes
me think of human relationships—parents and children. Did we as children--do
children now obey their parents because of fear of retribution or because they
love and respect their parents? Do the disciples love Jesus simply in word,
while he is with them, then set it all aside and get on with their lives once
he’s out of the picture? Or do they truly love Jesus enough to love what he
loves, to do what he does, to stand for what Jesus stands for, to believe in
the vision Jesus has, to love those Jesus loves (everybody)? If you love me,
you will keep my commandments.”
And then
Jesus starts making all these promises. The promise of the Holy Spirit, we will
look at in a couple of weeks—Pentecost Sunday. A wild event. A wild
promise—comforter, counselor, advocate, guide, truth, companion. Wow! Jesus
really is making sure we are not left to our own resources, to stumble through
life trying to find our own way.
Not only
that, Jesus says, “I will come to you.” He didn’t put conditions on that. He
didn’t say, if you ask nice, if you say please, if you’ve been good, if you
deserve it. It’s kind of like that grace thing, that love thing. I will come to
you. But how will we know? Will Jesus just appear before us, like he did with
the followers behind locked doors? Will it be like the followers on the road to
Emmaus where they didn’t even recognize him? From the post resurrection
stories, it sounds like Jesus may come in unexpected ways and at unexpected
times.
Leo
Tolstoy told a story that reflects some of the ‘how’ in Jesus coming to us.
It’s the story of an old cobbler in a small village in Russia. His name is
Martin and his home and business are both in a tiny basement room with only one
window at sidewalk level. One night he was sitting up late reading his Bible
and fell asleep. Suddenly he hears a voice like a whisper in his ear, saying,
“Watch out the window, tomorrow. I will come to you.”
The next
morning as he sets about his work, he thinks about that voice, wondering if it
was just a dream, wondering if it wasn’t. He has three encounters with people
during the day. One is a frail old soldier eeking out a living by shoveling
snow in the freezing cold. Martin invites him inside to warm up and gives him
hot tea and a bit of conversation.
Next is a
young woman with a baby, shabby and poor, neither her nor the baby have
adequate clothes for the cold. He invites them in, gives her some hot cabbage
soup and listens to her story. Her husband is a soldier sent far away and she’s
not seen him for eight months. She had to pawn her shawl for money for food.
Martin gives her an old cloak to wrap the baby in and a few coins to get her
shawl back from the pawn shop and she leaves. Then he eats his own soup,
wondering about that voice in the night and if, in fact, Jesus would come to
him.
As he
watches people passing by, an old woman selling apples for a living stops to
rest right outside his window. In addition to her apples, she was carrying a
bag of wood chips for her meager home fire. While she’s adjusting the bag of
chips more comfortably on her boney shoulders, a young street urchin grabs one
of the apples. But before he can get away the old woman has him by the sleeve
and then by his hair. He’s screaming and she’s yelling and Martin comes to
intervene. He calms them, buys an apple for the boy, and tells them about God’s
love and forgiveness and how we should do the same. The old woman goes on her
way with the boy at her side helping to carry the load of wood chips.
After he
finishes his work for the day, Martin sits with his Bible again, disappointed.
He really thought Jesus would come to him that day. Then he hears a rustling in
the shadows behind him and he hears a voice, “Martin, don’t you know me?” “Who
is it?” he asks. “It is I.” And out of the darkness stepped the old soldier and
disappeared. “It is I.” And next was the young woman with her baby and they
disappear. “It is I.” And last is the old apple woman and the grinning boy and
they, too, are gone. And then Martin understood.
Do we
understand? Jesus comes to us in many ways and through many people and
sometimes simply in our hearts. He comes to us in people who have their own
needs, bear their own burdens, hide their own pain. How we respond to them is
how we respond to Jesus. That echoes the text from Matthew that says, “As much
as you have done it to the least of these, you have done to me.”
It is the
Holy Spirit who helps us respond in a way that shows our love for Jesus. If you
love me you will follow my commandments. It is the Spirit that reminds us of
those commandments and how we are to live out the love of Jesus. The Spirit
will soften our hearts, will draw out of us what is kind and good. The Spirit
helps us to feel the pain and needs of our brothers and sisters and will guide
us into life-giving actions as we respond to their needs. Sometimes Jesus comes to us because of our
own needs and often through other people. Those people often say or do just
what we need in our difficulties. We’ve talked a lot about those major life
struggles that most of us go through at one time or another—financial fears,
loss of loved ones, broken relationships, failing health, and the like. But
sometimes our needs are not on such a big scale, not even so easily
identifiable, not so easy to talk about.
Sometimes
our needs are hidden within our hearts—loneliness, insecurity, a feeling of not
being enough, feeling like we don’t fit in or belong, an anxiousness we can’t
define, doubts about what we’re supposed to do with our life, a restlessness
that keeps us … restless.
How do you
say you feel hopeless when you don’t even know what to hope for or what hope
would look like or feel like? How do we explain a feeling of foreboding when it
doesn’t even make sense? How do we share with anyone that our world looks grey
and feels like it’s always going to be that way? It could be a general sense of
depression or disappointment or dissatisfaction. It could be like Miobi’s
little toad from last Sunday—a fear of what might happen. How do we talk to
anyone about these irrational feelings within us that don’t make
sense—especially when we’re perceived as having our lives together? How do we
talk to someone else about something so personal, so hidden in the shadows of
our lives that we don’t even have words to articulate it?
Jesus
says, “I will come to you.” Even if you haven’t asked him to come, he will
come. Even if you don’t know what to ask of him or how to ask, he will come.
Even if you haven’t been diligent in prayer and faith, he will come. Even if
you’ve done things to make the situation worse, he will come. He will come
bringing life.
What if
you don’t have to figure it out? What if you don’t have to carry the burden of
irrational feelings? What if you don’t have to try to explain what you have no
explanation for? What if you can just let Jesus come—come into the silence of
your heart or the chaotic roar in your head? What if you don’t have to get it
all sorted out first so you know what to ask of Jesus? What if you don’t have
to be strong or brave or wise or have all the answers?
What if
you can just let go? What if you can release it all to Jesus? What would that
feel like? If you let Jesus carry the load, then you don’t have to have the
weight of the world on your shoulders. If Jesus is there with you, you don’t
have to feel lonely. If Jesus carries your future, you don’t have to be anxious.
If Jesus carries your burdens, you don’t have to be strong. If you can see
Jesus, you don’t have to see the path ahead of you. You are safe. Jesus says,
“I love you and you are mine.” And that is enough. Thanks be to God.
HYMN: “I
Will Come to You”
PRAYERS
OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
O God, who created all things from the
void, teach us to know the power of silence and of prayer. Fill our emptiness
with your peace and your love, and fill our darkness with your light. Fulfill
in us the potential for which we were born and were called into your church.
Eternal God, give us discerning hearts to
recognize the fear in our anger, the muffled hope in our cynicism, and the
wounds we carry as weapons. Help us to see ourselves as you see us, and love
ourselves and others with your gracious love.
We pray for our nation and the world in
its struggle over the issues of the Covid virus. Comfort those who have
suffered losses. Bring relief for those who experience financial loss and fear.
Provide the needed resources. Guide the decision makers. Bring us healing.
Lord, we are weary of this and it makes us impatient and intolerant. Help us to
listen and hear the concerns of those with differing opinions and to be
gracious enough to accept their feelings.
We ask for your healing and presence for
those who especially need your care. As they face pending surgeries we pray for
John Matthews for cancer and Barbara Clark for heart surgery. We lift up Charlie Cagle going on Hospice … Verna in her
quarantine … Sandy … Sandi … Trisha … Dave … Jacob Cunningham … Linda … Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … and
Courtney.
Lord, we entrust our cares to you, including those
still in our hearts, trusting in your love and compassion. We pray in the name
of Jesus who taught us to pray:
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 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 forever. Amen.
OFFERING
Ours is a tender and generous God of grace. We respond
in love and gratitude to God’s goodness. We respond in discipleship as we use
our offerings to God to continue the ministry of Jesus. (And thank you for your
faithfulness in sending your financial offerings to the church.) We give not
just of our finances but also of our hearts and lives. Pause now as you lift up
to God the offerings of your hearts and lives.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF
DEDICATION
Generous God we bring before you these the gifts of
our tithes and offerings for your work through this church and into the world.
We do it in faith, O Lord, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, but trusting
that you will honor and bless our acts of discipleship. We ask your blessings
on these tithes and offerings, on our pledges, and on our commitments of time
and talents. Guide us in the use of these and in the stewardship of all you
entrust to us. In your holy name we pray. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “Spirit,
Open My Heart”
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Jesus said he would come to us. Often we’re too busy
to notice. Your charge this week is to pay attention. How does Jesus come to
you—through whom, in what unexpected ways? Are you ready?
Now, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love
of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE
May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor. Lift up your eyes
and see his face and his grace forever. May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and
keep you forever.
~~~~~~~~~~
LOOKING
AHEAD
Worship and church
activities are suspended until the coronavirus is contained and it is once
again safe to come together and worship. Use the church blog to access worship
and spiritual support articles and to keep up with what’s going on. If you have
trouble accessing or using the site, call Jean or Jon.
PPW Annual Sale will be held June 5th and 6th
assuming the virus restrictions have been lifted.
PPW Summer Outing will be June 12th to
Fort Rock and Lost Forest again assuming life is returning to normal.
PLEASE
KEEP THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE IN YOUR PRAYERS:
John Matthews
(cancer and pending surgery), Barbara Clark (Pendleton PW heart surgery 5/19, Charlie
Cagle (cancer), Verna Pettyjohn (quarantined), Sandy Cargill (aortic valve replacement),
Sandi Posz (lymphoma), Trisha Cagley (health problems), Dave Clark (kidney
cancer), Jacob Cunningham, Linda Kaesemeyer (knee surgery), Joyce Sahlberg
(health issues), Jennifer Schirm (Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking
rehab), and Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s).
LECTIONARY
FOR 5/17/20
Acts 1:6-14; Psalm
68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11;
John 17:1-11
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