PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 9th Sunday
after Pentecost August 2, 2020
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WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to Pioneer’s blog worship service. Though we are accessing this remotely and unable to look each other in the eye, we are still 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.
We will share the Lord’s Supper as part of this worship service. So please pause and gather your choice of bread and beverage. While the bread and grape juice served in community and led by the pastor in person is our tradition, we are facing times that call for us to do worship in new ways rather than being tied to rigid tradition—much like the early church.
Pioneer offers worship in several modes:
a) The blog.
b) The blog service mailed through US Postal service.
c) Sermons only, mailed to those who so request.
d) Zoom services at 10:00 Sunday mornings concurrent with live worship.
e) Live worship with restrictions Participants are limited to 40 people including worship leaders. A six-foot distancing will be maintained. Masks are mandated, now even for pastors and musicians. There will be congregational singing with masks, but no physical passing the peace, hugs, handshakes, or coffee hour.
There will be a congregational meeting
on August 9th to elect a new elder to finish Vicki Keeney’s term and
to elect a replacement nominating committee member.
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
Come into the presence of God to be fed.
Come to call on God, who is eager to answer.
We gather to seek God’s face,
Let our eyes see all that is right and true.
Incline your ears to hear all God would teach.
Seek to experience God’s steadfast love.
We are here to receive God’s blessing.
God is our refuge in a frightening world.
God is near to all who call and seek.
Come to praise God and receive a blessing.
Open all our senses to pay close attention, O God.
We want to renew our covenant with the living God.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
We are in awe before you, O God, for you have provided for us in rich abundance. The earth is full of your provisions. There is beauty all around us from the work of your hands. You have surrounded us with people who care about us with the love of Christ. Help us, O God, to count our blessings. Point us beyond our cries and complaints that we might realize our capacity to act in your name for the sake of others. As we wrestle with issues of faith and trust, help us to risk our false security for the venture of feeding others in the spirit of Christ. Amen.
OPENING SONG: “Spirit Song”
CALL TO CONFESSION
Sin is not just the horrendous acts of a few, but the habitual neglect of all of us. It is found not only in the things that become our idols, but in the narrowness of our vision. Sin lurks not so much in our doubts as in our dogmatic certainties. Let us bring our confessions before God and receive God’s grace.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of justice and righteousness, whose compassion for humankind was expressed so vividly in Jesus of Nazareth, we bring to you our sorrow and anguish that we have not followed faithfully in the footsteps of Christ. Unkindness and deceit are all around us, and we have sometimes joined in their destructive ways. We waste resources you have entrusted to us. We cause others to stumble and fall. Take away our wickedness, O God, and restore your covenant among us, we pray in Jesus’ name. (Let us continue our prayers in silence……)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.
Friends, believe the Good News!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and restored to new life!
PASSING THE PEACE
Let us extend the peace of Christ in heart and prayer to God’s children everywhere.
GLORY BE TO THE FATHER
TIME WITH CHILDREN
Good morning Zoey and Fiona. Did you have your breakfast this morning? Are your tummies full? It’s good to have something to eat before you start your day. And then you eat again at lunch time and again in the evening, right? You’d be awfully hungry if you went all day without eating, wouldn’t you? Well, I want to tell you a story about Jesus and a whole lot of people who didn’t think to bring their lunch with them. They were in a hurry to see Jesus and hear what he had to say.
They
were with Jesus all day while he was healing them and teaching. When the
disciples realized how late it was they wanted Jesus to send the people away so
they could go to nearby towns and get something to eat. Jesus loved the people
and didn’t want them to go home hungry. So he told the disciples, “Don’t send
them away. You give them something to eat.” They said, “But all we have are
these two little dried fish and five small rolls.” Kind of like this picture:
Jesus had a surprise in store for them. He took those fish and rolls and thanked God for them and broke them into pieces and told the disciples to give them to the people. There were over 5,000 people there!! How was that going to work? But they trusted Jesus and did what Jesus said. And there was enough for everyone! In fact, Jesus had them gather up the leftovers so they wouldn’t be wasted and there were 12 baskets full. That was lots and lots more than what Jesus started with. That’s a miracle! It was something only Jesus could do.
What
do you think Jesus did with all that leftover bread? I bet he gave it to other
hungry people, don’t you? We can help feed the hungry, too, when we bring food
for the food wagon. We can’t feed all the hungry people in Harney County but
people all over the county are also sharing so that there is enough. Jesus is
still working miracles!
So
when you’re at the dinner table and you see the bread, remember this story and
the amazing things Jesus can do. Let’s pray:
Jesus,
thank you that you love us and that you even care when we are hungry. Feeding
all those people was pretty amazing. Help us to remember that. Help us to care
about people being hungry, too. Amen.
HYMN: “Jesus Loves Me”
SCRIPTURE 1: John 6:27-35
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
SCRIPTURE 2: Matthew 14:13-21
Now when Jesus
heard [about the execution of John the
Baptist], he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But
when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. As he went
ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their
sick. When it was evening, the disciples
came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over;
send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." And
he said, "Bring them here to me." Then he ordered the crowds to sit
down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to
heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the
disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And
they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who
ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
SERMON: "Hungry Hill" Pastor Jean Hurst
When was the last time you stood on Hungry Hill1?
In our affluent society, we likely never experience hunger in the way so much
of the world does. Oh, we might miss a meal or go on a diet or have to fast for
a medical exam and feel pangs of hunger before we once more overindulge from a
full larder and abundant resources. It makes a story like the feeding of the
5,000 interesting but not something to which we really relate. But there are
many more kinds of hunger in the world than that for physical food. Certainly
our story today reflects that for the people who followed Jesus.
Jesus had just learned of
Herod’s execution of John the Baptist—his cousin and fellow prophet. Jesus had
to know that with John’s death, he was likely a next target. He needed some
alone time to grieve and to think, so he heads out in a boat to an isolated
spot away from the demands of the crowd. But the crowds follow him.
They, too, would have heard
of John’s death and it likely shook them to the core. He was the one who had
been calling them to repentance and telling of the one who would follow him.
Jesus was that one. He had been healing and teaching among them, saying many of
the same things. If John could be killed
so callously, who was next? It could be any of them. What did this mean for
them, for their lives, for their children. They were likely scared and confused
as they sought Jesus out.
When they heard that Jesus
had set off across the lake, they skirted around the sides, not even thinking
this could be a whole day’s engagement, not thinking they should prepare for
their meal needs. They wanted to follow him as quickly as possible. They
hungered for that connection with the rabbi. They hungered for his teachings
and healings. They hungered for hope.
Jesus saw them coming as he
approached the shore—a great horde of them swarming in from around the edge of
the lake. I can picture my own reaction—frustration, weariness, emotional
fatigue, perhaps resentment. Might your reaction be the same? But not Jesus. Or
if he felt any of that, apparently he didn’t show it or give voice to it. He
saw them and he had compassion for them. He saw and understood their hunger.
And he went back to work.
The day is drawing to a
close and probably the disciples’ stomachs are starting to rumble. They look
out over the crowds and realize in dismay that all those stomachs would be
rumbling, too. They don’t want to own the problem. Going to Jesus, they urge
him to send the crowds away so they can get something to eat in the towns along
the way. Jesus wants them to step up to the plate. He looks out over the crowd
and sees their hunger and startles the disciples by saying, “No. You feed them.”
What would your reaction be
to such a ludicrous command? There’s well over 5,000 people gathered there.
What would it take to feed that army? I can imagine them stuttering out their
answer, “But … but … we only have these five little loaves a couple of dried
fish.” I think Jesus was amused at their response to his astonishing
instruction. Or perhaps he was just wearied by their lack of faith. Or … maybe
he saw their hunger as well—a hunger to see the miraculous, a hunger to know
that in the face of great need, there is hope. “Bring them here.”
He invited the people to sit
there on the grass as dinner was prepared. He took the fish and loaves in hand,
looked up to heaven and gave thanks for them and blessed them. He broke them
into pieces and gave them to his disciples and the disciples started passing
them out. He took. He blessed. He broke. He gave. They ate. All of them ate
until they were satisfied. Jesus had the disciples gather the leftovers. Food
was too precious to waste and so was evidence of the miraculous and of God’s
abundance. Starting with five small barley loaves they gathered twelve baskets
full of leftovers. And the people’s hunger for the possible in the midst of the
improbable was satisfied.
Where do you stand on Hungry Hill? What is your hunger? What does your heart long
for? Where do you need to see the possibilities in the midst of the impossible?
In what do you need to have hope that there is an answer in a world of need?
Where do you especially need to see and experience God’s abundance? And where
do we, like the disciples, start throwing up excuses on why the impossible
cannot be overcome? What does it take to satisfy hungry hearts?
It seems to start by
bringing to Jesus what we do have. Is
it enough? We probably don’t think so. And sometimes it’s very obviously not
enough. The need is too great, the resources too few. Do you think that if
those disciples had just decided to take those two fish and five little loaves
and started breaking off pieces and handing them out, that they’d have gotten
very far? I don’t. It’s not us. It’s
not our power. If we leave God out of
it, we’re not going to get very far. And Jesus didn’t tell them to bring him a
thousand little dried fish and ten thousand little loaves. He said, bring me
what you have. That’s all he asks of us. Bring what we have. Then trust him and
watch and see what he can do.
The next thing that happened
is expectancy or anticipation. Jesus had them sit on the grass in anticipation
of being fed. They didn’t blow him off, make snide remarks about such a
ludicrous idea, or shake their heads and walk away. They sat. They waited. They
acted as if they were really going to be fed.
We see gratitude in action.
Jesus took what was brought to him and on behalf of the disciples who’d brought
it and the crowds who waited in expectancy, Jesus gave thanks. It is an amazing
act of faith to give thanks for something that is clearly not enough. And it is
also an amazing act of faith to give thanks in anticipation for what is to
come, of prayers yet to be answered. I wonder whether there were people in that
crowd, seated on the grass, giving thanks for the meal they expected to
receive.
There is a huge element of
grace that also comes into play. Think about that sea of humanity spread out on
the grass. Wasn’t their hunger their own fault? They should have thought ahead
before racing around the side of the lake to cut Jesus off. They simply didn’t
think before they got themselves stranded on Hungry Hill.
There would have been a
whole lot of people in that crowd who had no dinner to go home to. It wasn’t a
matter of their not having thought about what the time might be when they got
back. They were going to be hungry either way.
I’m betting there were
people in that throng who did have the resources, who did think ahead, who came
prepared and probably amply prepared at that. When we do have resources, we
tend to provide for ourselves in measure beyond our needs. Do you think, having
heard the things Jesus taught, which was bound to have included his favorite
topic, love, that they might have discreetly slipped some of their abundance
into that basket as it went around? That, too, is grace.
In all of it, the bringing
of what they had, the expectation of what would come of it, the gratitude for
what they had, as little as it was, and a huge measure of grace all combined in
a God thing so huge people couldn’t get their heads around it. They knew they’d
been in the midst of the sacred. They knew beyond doubt that they had a God who
loved them and that love was not conditioned on their deserving it.
Our hungers are many—for our
world, for our nation, for our community, for our families, for ourselves. Those
hungers can be for peace for the world, an end to violence in the street, or
peace of mind, for unity in our nation or unity in our family. It could be a
longing for the old days and old ways, the way things used to be, a sense of
normalcy. Our hearts may be hungry for connection and community, to be able to
gather together again, to restore our church family, to have human contact. We
might be hungry for justice and respect and acceptance or for security and
sufficiency, to look to the future without worry.
And perhaps, especially
during these times, we may have a hunger for meaning and purpose to make sense
of what is happening in the world. We may hunger for deeper faith, for a deeper
relationship with God, for the ability to be a true witness to God’s love and
grace in the midst of all that is happening. And always there seems to be a
hunger for hope, a hunger to believe that this insanity will not continue, that
the world will come to its senses, that we might somehow figure out this ‘love one
another’ thing that Jesus commanded.
Whatever our longings we
likely feel we don’t have enough of whatever it takes to satisfy those hungers.
The hunger pangs of our hearts can gnaw at us, eat at us, leave us longing for
some way to satisfy those cravings. Remember last Sunday’s message. When we
don’t even have the ability to put it into words, when we don’t know what to
ask, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf with sighs too deep for words. We can
claim that. And so we pray.
And then we can look to the
miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 and be reminded to bring what we have, no
matter how little, no matter how insufficient. Bring it with expectation of
what God can do, and in the waiting, acting ‘as if’. Bring it with a grateful
heart for what you do have, however
little, and with gratitude that you have a God who can do big with it. You have
a God who can satisfy your hungry heart.
1The title “Hungry Hill” was borrowed from Liz Barrington Forney, Feasting on the Gospels, Matthew, Volume 2, p. 13, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KY, 2013.
HYMN: “Near to the Heart of God”
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
God of abundance, thank you for all
the ways you have provided for us and blessed us, far beyond our needs, far
beyond our expectation. Hear our prayers of thanks ………………. God in your grace: hear our prayers.
Lord, you call us to act. Forgive us
for trying to put the task onto you. Show us what we should do; how we should
live our lives as your disciples; how to be your hands and heart in the world.
Create in us the compassion that Jesus showed to the crowds. Hear our prayers
for guidance ………….. God in your grace: hear
our prayers.
You feed us, Holy God, when we hunger
to know you in a deeper way. You know our struggles, all the times and ways
that we feel inadequate, when we are scared, when we doubt. Grant us courage
and strength to be bold in following your ways. Touch us with your healing
presence as you did those crowds so long ago. Hear our prayers for your action
in our lives ………………….. God in your grace: hear
our prayers.
God of comfort and healing, we pray
for those of our families, our friends, our community. We pray for Virginia
DesIlets … Peggy Jamison … Judy’s daughter Rosa Lester … Darlene Wingfield … John Matthews … Margaret
Dunbar … Sandi …Trisha … Dave … Jacob … Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney …
Ethel … Helen. (Additional prayers …………)
God in your grace: hear our prayers.
God of all people, we pray for our
world, for an end to the covid virus, for an end to the divisiveness among our
people and the peoples of the world, for healing and restoration. We pray for
your shalom for all. Work your miracles in the world. Hear our prayers for our
community, our country, the world …………..
God
in your grace: hear our prayers.
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.
CALL TO OFFERING
God has created a world of abundance for everyone. Yet many do not share in the bounty. Christ calls us to find sufficiency among us and to make sure that all are fed. We give as we have been blessed.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Thank you, God, for all you have given to satisfy our needs. You quench our thirst and alleviate our hungers when we turn to you. You turn scarcity into plenty and give us the opportunity to help others. May our offerings proclaim your goodness and mercy. Bless these gifts and us in the giving. Amen.
THE LORD’S SUPPER
Song of Preparation: “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
Invitation to the Table
The
Lord’s table is not a piece of wood with clay dishes, but a place in our hearts
that connects us to our Lord Jesus. It is a place to which we come as we
remember his sacrifice, as we seek to experience his presence, as we are
nourished to continue his work, as we recognize our community in him despite
whatever distance or disease or obstacle that might separate us. It is the
place we come to renew our commitment to continue his ministry and mission. Our
Lord invites us to the table without condition, simply because we are loved.
Come with grateful hearts. Come with joyful hearts.
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, O Holy God, to
give thanks for your amazing grace, to praise you for who you are, for who you
created us to be. We marvel at the truth that you are with us wherever we may
be. Though we worship from home, separated and for some, isolated, it is still
in you that we find life and purpose. We are children of grace and nothing can
separate us from your love.
You have given us the gift of your
Holy Spirit who unites us, binding us together as one body across the miles. By
your Spirit of grace transform our social isolation and distance into a holy
community, connecting us to each other by your sacred presence.
Bless the elements we each have
gathered, elements common to our ordinary lives. Let them represent for us the
body and blood of our Savior who gave himself for us. Amen.
Words of Institution
As we share these symbols of bread and
cup across the distance, we remember the story of Jesus with the disciples that
last night before he was arrested. He took the bread and blessed it and broke
it and gave it to them saying “Take, eat, this is my body, given for you.” And
with the cup he said, “This cup is the new covenant, my blood poured out for
you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink of it, remember me.”
And so we do. As we lift up many
pieces in scattered places rather than sharing the same loaf and as we drink
from separate cups instead of one, we do so remembering that throughout history
God’s people have often been scattered and in exile. Through the power and
mystery of the Holy Spirit, we are made one in Christ Jesus. These are the
gifts of God for us the children of God.*
The Bread of Life……………..
The Cup of Salvation …………….
*portions of
prayer adapted from prayer by Rev. Steve Kliewer, Interim General Presbyter,
EOP
Unison Prayer of Thanks
Gracious God, you have made us one with all
your people in heaven and on earth. You have fed us with the bread of life, and
renewed us for your service. Help us who have shared Christ’s body and received
his cup, to be his faithful disciples so that our daily living may be part of
the life of your kingdom, and our love be your love reaching out into the life
of the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*portions of prayer adapted from prayer by Rev. Steve Kliewer, Interim General Presbyter, EOP
Unison Prayer of Thanks
CLOSING HYMN: “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit”
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Your charge this week is to keep your eyes open and see the abundance of God all around you. Watch for the miracles God puts before you each day. Know that God will feed your hungry heart.
As you do, 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.
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PRAYER CARE:
Virginia DesIlets (fall/injured ribs on 6/16), Peggy Jamison (knee replacement 6/25), Margaret Dunbar (fall/broken tailbone), Judy’s daughter Rosa Lester (retinal bleed), Darlene Wingfield (pulmonary fibrosis), John Matthews (cancer), Sandi Posz (lymphoma), Trisha Cagley (health problems), Dave Clark (kidney cancer), Jacob Cunningham, Joyce Sahlberg (health issues), Jennifer Schirm (Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), and Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s).
LECTIONARY FOR 8/9/20
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b;
Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33
