PIONEER
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 3rd Sunday after Pentecost June
13, 2021
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 at 10:00 Sunday mornings.
-
M&M
meets following worship
-
Women’s
Spirituality meets Tuesday at 10:30 (prayer stones)
-
Next
Sunday Worship & Music meets following worship
-
Next
Sunday Prayer Shawl Ministry meets at 1:00 p.m.
-
No
PPW Meeting on June 22nd ; outing on June 29th to Crack in the Earth. Contact Edie Necochea for details and to sign up.
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
It is good to give thanks to God!
Come to make music to our Creator.
God
knows our troubles and remembers our need.
Our
petitions are answered; our hearts’ desires fulfilled.
Declare God’s steadfast love and
faithfulness.
Seek God’s help in the sanctuary.
We
know that God will help the anointed ones.
Our
pride is in God alone.
Listen for the voice of God, speaking to
us again.
How great is our God, our rock and
defender!
God
will respond when we call.
We
will bear fruit for God as long as life endures.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
We turn to you, God of all worlds, knowing
we can depend on you when earthly rulers stumble and fall, when other
relationships are strained and broken, when we are faced with difficult
challenges. It is good to sing your praises even when we do not feel like
singing. It is good to declare your faithfulness when we have been unfaithful.
It is good to give thanks, for when we do we are reminded of the multitude of
blessings we so often take for granted. Lead us in this time of worship. Amen.
OPENING
HYMN: “God the Creator” LU#27
CALL TO CONFESSION
Each of us has a mandate from God to give
our best and bear fruit for God’s realm. We who gather in God’s house are
called to be a faithful community in which all bow humbly before God, motivated
by the love of Christ. This is a tie to examine ourselves before our Creator.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God
of all truth, who can stand before you? We judge by outward appearances, but
you examine our hearts. We see what is on the surface, but you discern beauty
deep within. We measure importance by paychecks, but you find value among those
we deem lowly and insignificant. You offer us the deep and profound joy of
living in your realm. We forget your promises and turn to pursuits that
separate us from you and destroy community. We seek forgiveness and a new
direction for our lives. (continue with personal prayers………..) 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
SCRIPTURE 1: Mark 4:26-34
And he said,
"The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground,
and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow,
he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear,
then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in
the sickle, because the harvest has come." And he said, "With what
can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is
like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest
of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the
greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the
air can make nests in its shade." With many such parables he spoke the
word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a
parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
SCRIPTURE 2: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17
So we are always of good courage; we know that while we
are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by
sight. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at
home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to
please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that
each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body. …For
the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for
all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might
live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was
raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;
even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him
thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
SERMON “Becoming a New Creation” Rev. Jean Hurst
Are
you happy with your life? … Are you where you wanted to be? … Does your life
now match up with what you had envisioned when you were young? … For all that
you’ve learned and done in your life, did it get you the results you expected?
When we’re young, we’ve got all kinds of expectations of how our lives will
play out. Yet how many of you are actually relieved that it didn’t go the way
you wanted it to all those years ago?
A
poignant reminder for me goes back to age 15 when I was mooning over a young
man my mother had forbidden me to see. You know how parents are—just because he
was over 18 and an ex-convict. What did she know? I was in love and was sure it
was for forever. An older friend told me very wisely, “What you want now, you
won’t necessarily want later.” Boy was he right!
Linking up with him would have been a
disaster that turned my life in a very different direction! As I look back on
that, I am so grateful for the way God has had a hand on my life. No, God
didn’t protect me from every stupid choice I made. There had to be room for me
to make mistakes and learn from them. There also needed to be the opportunities
to learn what I did want and then to discover that some of those things were
just for a time. They did their jobs of shaping the person I was to become,
then released me to the next phase of learning and development. When we think
we’ve got it nailed, we’re often in for a lesson.
Jessica found that out. Jessica
LaGrone has accomplished much in her life. She is Dean of the Chapel at Asbury
Theological Seminary, a pastor, teacher, author of numerous books, and speaker.
She was an associate pastor in a 10,000 member church in Texas. She is married
with two young children. Her achievements are enough to make any of us feel
inadequate. Yet she has learned humility in the process of becoming who she is
and who she still will be.
She tells the story in the
introduction to her book, The Rewritten
Life: When God Changes Your Story. LaGrone’s big lesson came in college
during Freshman English Composition Class. She was a natural at writing and
she’d always excelled scholastically. On that first day of class she was
sitting in the front row. The professor gave the run down on the course, then
asked how many in the room thought they were already good writers. She’d always
gotten high grades in school and kudos for her writing, so she thrust her hand
in the air. Then she turned and surveyed the class, mortified to discover she
was the only one with her hand up.
It got worse. She was humiliated to
get her first paper back with a huge ‘C’ marked at the top. She says she’d
never seen one of those in an English class in her life. She could barely meet
the professor’s eyes. Looking at the notes the professor made on her paper, she
read, “It’s not enough to write; you have to learn to rewrite too. Good writers
are not born in the first draft but in the many rounds of editing, improving
upon what they’ve written.”
That experience and those words have
been a guide to her throughout her life. She concluded that she should not
allow her life to be lived as a first draft. She said, “I often discovered that
decisions I had made, words I had spoken, relationships I had blundered, and
habits I had struggled to break left me disappointed in life and in myself.
When it came to my dreams, I often felt that I was holding my hand high in the
air only to have the results marked up with red pen and a grade that made me
hang my head in shame.”1
As LaGrone progressed in becoming
who she is, she carried that lesson with her, knowing that her own best efforts
weren’t enough. She found hope as she learned more about the heart and
character of God. In scripture she discovered the promises that have kept her
going. The 12th chapter of Hebrews calls Jesus the ‘author and
perfecter’ of our faith. And the 1st chapter of Philippians
proclaims, “being confident of this, that he
who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of
Christ Jesus.”
That last one has always
been meaningful to me. It tells me several things. One is that I’m not on my
own. It is God who has begun whatever good is in me. The word ‘began’ means
that it’s not an over-and-done deal. What God has started in me … in you … is
just that—a start. God will continue to shape and mold us as we become the person
God created us to be in God’s own image.
I’ve often said that God
accepts us exactly as we are. That means that God does not put conditions on
loving us. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is
nothing that we can do to make God love us less. God loves us. Period. And I
believe God delights in seeing us grow and become.
So God is not wanting to see
us sit there and fossilize or to go through life as a first draft. God wants us
to become all that we can be, all that we were created to be. And that’s not
necessarily one single thing. The beauty of life is that we can, over a
lifespan, do and become many things. Those days of our youth are not wasted
days. They served their purpose. Then we grow in new directions and try new things.
We learn more about what our faith means and how to live it out according to
God’s will and purpose.
Often, the things we have done in our lives and even the
mistakes we have made become part of how we live out new realities. Nothing is
wasted. Notice in the Philippians
passage that it says that God will keep on; God will carry it on to completion.
I imagine that completion will be when we finally get to meet Jesus
face-to-face.
Between times, we go on
living and growing. Jesus used the analogy of plant growth as he described to
his followers what the Kingdom of God is like. First he speaks of the seed the
farmer scatters. In that era, a farmer relied on the rains from heaven to water
his crops, not a pivot. So all the guy can do is scatter the seeds and go about
his daily activities, waiting and praying. He gets up in the morning, goes
about his normal day, and goes to bed at night. Meanwhile, in its due course,
the seeds sprout and grow. The farmer doesn’t know how this happens. To him it
is a mystery, a miracle of God.
Jesus said the Kingdom is
also like a mustard seed. Teensy-weensy. Not going to impress anyone. Doesn’t
look like it has any potential at all unless it’s to create an equally
unimpressive teensy-weensy plant. But instead, that tiny little seed grows a
shrub big enough for the birds to make nests in its shade.
We are the Kingdom of God.
In us God is working, growing up, transforming us without our being able to
understand how; turning us into something far more than when we started. And
notice that it’s not just ‘pop!’ and we’re something. It’s a process. That seed
the farmer scattered sprouts, the stem comes through the ground as a blade. It
grows taller and becomes a stalk. The stalk forms a head and then the kernels
develop in it. Each one of those phases has a purpose and is necessary for the
growth and development of that seed. And like the mustard seeds, the growth in
us is beyond our imaginings.
God is causing something to
grow in you. What will it become? Are you open to it? Are you ready for it? You
might protest that there isn’t anything in you significant enough to make use
of, that there isn’t the potential for anything meaningful. Yet look at that
mustard seed. Everything about you is
potential!
We may not like what we are or what we’ve done with our
lives, but that’s not the end of the story. God will use those things that have
happened—the wrong turns, the poor decisions, the delays and rabbit trails, the
fallout from damaged relationships, even the time and expense poured into one
direction in our lives before we changed our minds and switched to something
else. God will use our trials and failures and successes. God will take our
experiences and skills and every good action and use them. Though we can’t see
how it’s possible, those things become the building materials for God to do
very creative things with us.
Remember last week we talked
about the doldrums—that sense of feeling stuck, not being able to motivate,
feeling a sense of limbo and without purpose or direction. During those times,
the psalmist told us to wait and to hope, wait for the Lord. During that time
of waiting, watching, and listening, God opens to us new ways to do and be and
live, giving us direction and purpose.
LaGrone
was on to something—determined not to live her life as a first draft,
recognizing that there is more to come. There’s so much more, so many
possibilities. Every Sunday we hear in the Assurance of Pardon: “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.” And we respond,
“The old life has gone; the new life has
begun.” Are you willing to embrace that new life in Christ? What do you
want it to be? What are you open to it being? Are you willing to walk by faith,
trusting that God sees in you far more than you can ever imagine for yourself
and that absolutely everything in your life--past, present and future--is the
material God will work with to grow you into your potential? Will you trust God
to make you a new creation?
1Jessica LaGrone , The Rewritten Life: When God Changes Your
Story, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2017
HYMN: “We
Walk by Faith and Not by Sight” Glory #817
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Almighty God, in whom we live and move and have our being we give you praise for all you are, for all you have done, for the grace and love you give to us, for our salvation through Jesus the Christ. Open our eyes to your presence, open our ears to your call, open our hearts to your purpose. For all that we have done or failed to do, for all that we harbor in our hearts as reasons we are unworthy, for all the walls we erect between us and you, Lord redeem us, cleanse our hearts, fill us with your love and light and joy. Show us how to share that hope with others, that they, too, might know the Good News.
We pray for our
family, friends, and community, and especially for the family of Sharon Bailey ... for Kris Mangold's father as he battles Covid ... for Ralph Hook … Elaine
LaChapelle … Sandy Cargill … Larry Koskela … Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer … Lari
Higgins … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore … Beverly Patterson … Lois White … Virginia … John Matthews … Margaret Dunbar …
Darlene … Trisha … Dave … Jacob … George and Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck …
Courtney … Ethel. (Additional prayers …………)
God
of all things, we place in your tender care these people, our own lives, those
we love, those we call enemy, the burdens of our hearts, the uncertainties and
injustices of the world, our country and its leaders, our soldiers, our
veterans, our children … and those of our enemies. Focus us on those things for
which we should take action and let your Spirit guide those actions and give us
courage to do what is right in your eyes.
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 remembers our offerings of genuine
thankfulness and regards with favor the sacrifices we make to extend God’s
realm. We give, not out of compulsion, but with joy. Whatever our age or
circumstances, we have something to give. Let us give thanks as we present our
tithes and offerings.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
All that we have is yours, O God. What we present for
the church’s use is no sacrifice. We are privileged to share good news in word
and deed. May our common ministry be extended by the time and talents and
treasure we invest. We would no longer live just for ourselves but for the
realization of your reign among us. Let all things become new as we give our
best. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “We Are Singing” LU#56
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
If anyone is in Christ they become a
new creation. The old has passed. All things are new. Examine your lives this
week. Where is God creating you anew? What will you do with it?
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.
~~~~~~~~~~
LOOKING
AHEAD
June 13 following worship M&M
June 15 10:30 a.m. Women’s Spirituality
June 20 following worship Worship & Music
June 20 1:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry
June 24 8:30 a.m. Men’s Prayer Group
June 27 following worship Deacons
June 29 PPW
Outing
PRAYER
CARE:
family of Sharon Bailey, Kris Mangold's father (recovering from Covid), Ralph Hook (knee
replacement), Elaine LaChapelle (broken arm, anemia), Sandy Cargill (pre-cancer
surgical procedures), Larry Koskela (stomach and joint issues), Linda and Bill
Kaesemeyer (Bill’s heart/breathing issues), Lari Higgins (breast cancer), Somer
Bauer (breast cancer), Tasha Sizemore (Krohn’s?), Lois White (lymphoma), John
Matthews (cancer), Jacob Cunningham, Trisha Cagley (health problems), Dave
Clark (kidney cancer), Virginia DesIlets (age 99!), Margaret Dunbar (aging
issues), George and Joyce Sahlberg (health issues), Jennifer Schirm
(Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), Darlene Wingfield (pulmonary
fibrosis, breast cancer), and Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s).
LECTIONARY
FOR 06/20/21
Job 38:1-11; Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; 2 Corinthians
6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
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