October 11, 2020 Worship

 

PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Worship via Blog        19th Sunday after Pentecost    October 11, 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 pandemic.

 

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.

e)    Live worship. We can now allow up to 40 people in worship. A six-foot distancing will be maintained. Masks are mandated. There can be congregational singing with masks, but no passing the peace, hugs, handshakes, or coffee hour.

 

-         If you wish to contribute toward the relief effort for the Oregon wildfires, you can do that through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Fund. You can write a check to the church, earmarked Oregon wildfire relief or you can contribute directly to PDA by phone at 800-872-3283.

-         Session will meet at 6:00 on Tuesday the 13^th in the downstairs Fellowship Hall.

 

Now allow yourself a brief time of silence as you open your hearts and feel God’s presence with you, right where you are.

 

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BAPTISM:         Friends, remember your baptism … and be thankful.

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come away from the valleys of misplaced loyalty.

Come, seeking to meet the God of all worlds.

We have come to praise God and give thanks.

We believe God’s steadfast love endures forever.

We come together that our faith might be strengthened.

We seek the strength to live by all we profess.

God’s awesome deeds saved our ancestors.

Surely God’s steadfast love continues with us.

God continues to deliver us in times of distress.

God’s steadfast love endures forever.

We rejoice that God is near and available to us.

We hear God welcoming us to this time of prayer.

 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Gracious God, you have invited and welcomed us to this place of worship. You draw us away from the idols we create to take your place. When we come together, we sense that there is nothing in life that can substitute for a vital relationship with you. Yet we are only dimly aware of who you are. All the mysteries of the universe are in your hands, yet you have made yourself known among the people of this earth. We catch glimpses of your work among us are amazed. We want to meet you again today, as for the first time. Touch us. Remake us. Help us to stand firm in the faith. Amen.

 

OPENING SONG:      “Spirit of the Living God”

 

CALL TO CONFESSION

God is not fooled by our pious words of faith. God knows our fascination with personal idols—with pastimes and possessions that take our attention and resources every day. Like our ancestors before us, we have sinned and deserve God’s wrath. As God showed mercy to the Hebrew people, we seek that mercy as we bring our petitions, seeking a fresh start.

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

God of mercy, you have planted within us a desire to observe justice and do righteousness. But we are often defensive, fearful, and distracted. We spend more time with our self-focused interests than with your truth. We seek temporary thrills rather than lasting meaning. Then we are disappointed when it brings no fulfillment. We return to you, loving God, intent on following the guidance we are receiving from you. Save us from ourselves. (Let us continue our prayers in silence…..) Amen

 

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

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 one another.

 

GLORY BE TO THE FATHER

 

TIME WITH CHILDREN

          Good morning Zoey. Good morning Fiona. Did you sleep well last night? Good! When I was little sometimes I was afraid of the dark and was afraid to go to sleep, so I didn’t sleep well. When it was dark in my room, I started thinking there might be something under my bed. Or I would hear the branches of the tree outside my window scraping on the windowpane and I’d think there was a monster trying to get in. Then I would get scared. But guess what? There was no monster outside and there was nothing under my bed.

          When we think about scary things then we can make ourselves scared. Have you ever done that? What if we thought about nice things instead? You could think about your favorite things to do with Daddy. Or think about baking cookies with Mama. I even like to think about Jesus sitting beside me and holding my hand. If I’m thinking about good things then I can’t think about bad things at the same time.

          Another nice thing to think about is angels. Do you know, the Bible says we angels that watch over us. That’s a nice thing to think. Sometimes when I’m trying to go to sleep, I wonder what my angel’s name is. And I think about all the good things about my angel watching over me and being with me through the day and night and then I go to sleep and sleep well. Let’s pray:

 

          Dear Jesus, thank you for being with me even through the night and helping me so I’m not scared. And thank you for giving me my very own angel to watch over me and keep me company. 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.

 

SCRIPTURE 1:  Psalm 91:1-6; 14-16

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.  …  Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

 

SCRIPTURE 2:  Philippians 4:1-9

Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.

 

SERMON:           “Think Better”                                         Rev. Jean Hurst

          Scanning the news on the Internet last week, I came to the bottom of the run of news where the ads try to pull you in with catchy titles. The one that caught my eye was “You are what you eat. So eat better.” I’ll adapt that for the sermon. You are what you think. So think better.

          That’s essentially Paul’s message to the church at Philippi in today’s reading. He starts off with an entreaty to two women co-leaders of the church to get along and agree. When there is dissension in a church, it carries over to the other members, causing anxiety and apprehension of where it might lead or causes some to feel they must take sides. It pulls them into negative thinking. He’s urging the members of that congregation to instead be part of the solution in helping and supporting these women.

          He tells them to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice always. That may sound like odd advice—be joyful—when you’re in a conflict situation, but maybe it puts things in better perspective. He’s urging them to remember what they have in the Lord, to be joyful about what they have received in Christ, to be joyful about the eternal promise that is theirs, to keep perspective on how the issues and conflicts fit into the overall picture.

          Then he urges, “Let all men know your forbearance.” That’s a word we don’t use much, so I looked up the definition. Forbearance means patient self-control, restraint and tolerance. It’s what we didn’t see in the presidential debate—from either candidate. Forbearance isn’t something you can credibly claim to have—it is a lived character trait, something you demonstrate in the doing. Paul is telling the congregation to live it, to be patient, to be tolerant, to control themselves even during times of uncertainty or conflict. These are traits we should be demonstrating as Christians.

          Then come words of reassurance. Don’t be anxious. Don’t worry. Don’t think about all that could go wrong. Remember that the Lord is at hand. Trust in that. Whatever is troubling you, pray about it and ask for God’s help. At the same time, be thankful for what is good and right in your lives. Then the peace that passes all understanding, the very peace of God, will keep and guard your hearts and minds as you remember who you are in Christ Jesus. 

          Paul offers this little church a method to use in getting through uncertain and difficult times. He says, fill your heads with the good stuff—what is true, what is honorable, what is just, what is pure, what is lovely, what is grace-filled, what is praise-worthy. Think about those things instead of the negative. Think about what you have learned about living a life of faith in Jesus. 

          Paul’s counsel to that church in Philippi is also good counsel for those particular times. Since Jesus’ return was obviously not as imminent as they thought it would be, the question must have arisen, “How then do we live as followers of Jesus?” As well, they could add, “with all that’s going on in our world.” They not only were having to live with the unknown but they were also having to live with the politics of their times.

          There were the politics of the harsh and oppressive Roman occupation and the resultant persecution of the Christians. There were the politics of other faith groups and their persecution of Christians. There were definitely politics in the church with conflicting claims of how faith should be done in order to be authentic. Add to all of that the struggles of their daily lives and we can understand their question of just how they were supposed to be living out their faith as followers of Jesus.

          And here we are today—also faced with the politics of our times. Add to that all the other stuff that’s happening in the world. It weighs on us. It burdens us. We carry too much angst. We worry too much about things over which we have no control. We are impatient for resolution to things that only time will reveal. We fill our minds with negativity in the guise of staying current on events and news. These truly are historic times we live in. One day we’ll look back on them and either be at peace over how we lived through it or feel regret that we didn’t live it differently.

          The regret can come with the knowledge that all these goings on takes a piece of us. It takes our peace of mind. It takes our energy. We feel it in our bodies in tension, headaches, a clenched gut, raised blood pressure, sleep issues. For some, it’s taking our relationships. It’s taking our time as we give more and more of it over to the issues of the day even when we may not have control over those issues. We think about them. We talk about them. We argue about them. We read about them. We watch them. It eats at us and we are consumed by them. We truly need to embrace Paul’s advice to the little church he founded. He says, “Whatever.”

          Whatever is true. Whatever is honorable. Whatever is just. Whatever is pure. Whatever is lovely. Whatever is grace-filled. Whatever is excellent. Whatever is praise-worthy. These are the things we should think about. This is what we fill our minds with instead of all the negative that weights down our hearts and souls.

          A couple of points here: one, this is not a recommendation to become apathetic or to totally disengage. After all, Paul told his little church, “Keep on doing the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.” He’s telling them to hold to what they know is right and good. So, decide what you can influence and do that. Educate yourself. Find out what is true. Decide what you want for your children and grandchildren’s world. Then vote. Be responsible. Embrace the serenity prayer. You remember it: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.

          You may not be able to do anything about the wildfires but what you can do is send financial help and pray. You likely can’t do anything personally about the political vitriol but what you can do is refuse to let it dominate your life, refuse to get drawn into it, refuse to argue about it, refuse to take an uninformed or uneducated position on it. You can choose to be active in political movements, write letters to your representatives, and pray. Then pray some more.

          When the issues keep bleating in your brain, follow Paul’s advice. Think about something else. Think about something good. I said there were two points to note. The first was not putting energy into what you can’t control or beyond your ability to influence. The second is that Paul’s solution is not a purely religious one. He said whatever. Whatever is lovely and pure and praise-worthy and excellent.

          That gives us a lot of room for thinking about and engaging in things that please us and delight our hearts. Certainly, it means we can take some of that time that’s gone to current issues and refocus it on activities we enjoy—reading, hobbies, music, hikes, gardening, etc. It goes beyond current world events. If we’ve got a stress, a worry, a crisis in our lives we have a tendency to dwell on it. We think about the worse outcomes. That becomes our reality. It affects us physically as well as emotionally. It impacts our relationships. It dims our hope. We can choose to think differently.

          I’ll give you an example for which I have Courtney’s permission to share. Courtney had been taken to the hospital last week with abdominal pain. When I visited her in the hospital, the doctor was there. He discussed the possibility of her going to St. Charles for surgery. Courtney didn’t want that. She wanted to stay in Harney. The idea of going to Bend for surgery clearly was causing her anxiety. I asked her why. Her answer is a tribute to Pioneer. She said this is where her support system is. Here, there are people who care about her. Over there she would be all alone. The doctor left us to talk.

          Having been thinking ahead to this sermon, I pulled up the scripture on my cell phone. We read it and then talked about it, how Paul tells us to think about the good, the positive, the honorable, the lovely. We discussed ways of doing that. One way would be for her to think about those people at Pioneer who were her support system. Another was to imagine God holding her and rocking her like a child.

          Later that day, when I returned, she told me she’d used memories of her times with her father and other positive thoughts to fill her mind so that she wouldn’t think about negative things. It worked for her. She was cheerful and upbeat at that second visit and felt much better physically as well.

          She ended up going home while they studied further on her medical conditions and the proper way to treat them. The potential, at this writing, is that she still could still end up going to Bend for surgery. But she sounded very much at peace with it. Had her mind continued to dwell on the negative side of this experience, I’m sure her reaction would have been quite different.

          Another example comes from Sarah Young’s devotional book, Jesus Today. She talks about worry as thinking things at the wrong time. She says when worrisome things come to mind at a time when you can do nothing about it—like when you’re trying to go to sleep--take swift action. Tell yourself, “Not now!” and direct your mind elsewhere with the best direction being toward God.¹

          There is much in the world today that causes us anxiety. It creates a lot of uncertainty about the future. There is much in our personal lives to cause anxiety. It’s part of life. The things we have control over or are able to influence, we should. As we encounter those things over which we have no control, we decide how we will respond. We can worry and let it weigh on us or we can hand over to God what we cannot control. We can pray. And then we can think about things that are good and noble and lovely and true and just and excellent. In that we find hope. We are what we think so think better. Amen.

 

 

¹ Sarah Young, Jesus Today: Experience Hope through His Presence, p. 176, Thomas Nelson Press, Nashville, 2015

 

HYMN:     “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart”

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER

          As we are gathered in your presence, O God, we proclaim your faithfulness and saving power. Like those early disciples, we, too, are drawn to follow Jesus who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. Baptize us anew, that the Spirit of Peace may abide with us, drawing us together despite the differences and distances between us. Gather us into unity in your church. Help us to encounter you in new ways and stir us to an excitement that leads us to go out and tell others so that they, too, might know your love and grace. Fill us with joy at being your disciples and following your will. When we would hold back in the safety of the shadows, Lord, draw us out into your light. Look into our hearts and reveal to us what we can become and then help us to grow into that for which you created us.

          As well, O Lord, lay on our hearts a burden for your people and a tenderness for them, even those we would call enemy. Lead us to the action that follows prayer as we lift up to you the leaders of our country and leaders around the world ………. The lives of your people who live in poverty, hunger, and oppression ………. the victims of fires and virus ………. Those in prisons and hospitals ………. Those held captive by addictions and abusive relationships ………. Those who are frail in body, mind or spirit.

          We pray for those close to us, for Phyllis Bauer ... Darlene Wingfield … Lois White …  Virginia … Cherry … Judy’s daughter Rosa … John Matthews … Margaret Dunbar … Trisha … Dave … Jacob … Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel … Helen. (Additional prayers …………)

          God who guides our lives, we entrust to you these prayers and those that remain yet in our hearts as we pray the prayer Jesus taught: 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 invites us to invest our time and resources in ways that build rather than destroy, in work of lasting value rather than temporary distraction. Through the church, we seek to offer a quality of life focused on the worth of every individual, on justice for all and excellence in all things. Let us consider whether our offerings and our lives praise God.

 

DOXOLOGY

 

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Holy God, may our offerings reflect the amazing abundance you entrust to our care. As we find joy in giving, may others be inspired to give their best, and may all of us realize your peace, dwelling within and among us as we serve in Christ’s name. Amen.

 

CLOSING HYMN:     “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”

 

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

Your charge this week is simple. Think about what fills your mind and make a choice. Think good thoughts.

And remember …  that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with you now and always. 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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LOOKING AHEAD

October 11                             following worship       M&M

October 13                             6:00 p.m.                      Session

October 20                             10:30 a.m.                    Women’s Spirituality

October 25                             following worship       Deacons

 

PRAYER CARE:

Phyllis Bauer (aging issues), Lois White (lymphoma), Virginia DesIlets (broken hip), Darlene Wingfield (heart valve, pulmonary fibrosis, breast cancer), Margaret Dunbar (fall/broken tailbone), Judy’s daughter Rosa Lester (retinal bleed), John Matthews (cancer), 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 10/18/20

Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 99; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22