PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 12th Sunday after Pentecost August
15, 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 with masks and social distancing has plenty of room for additional
worshipers.
-
Pastor on vacation until August 17
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
God is gracious and merciful and
trustworthy.
Let us join our voices in giving thanks.
The
works of God are all around us.
Those
who share in God’s work lack for nothing.
We are called to faithfulness, as God is
faithful.
We are people of the covenant, gathered to
please God.
Holy
and awesome is God’s name.
The
fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
Come, then, as wise and faithful people.
Come as a beloved community of the
redeemed.
We
are amazed that God remembers us.
We
reach out to the God who cares for us.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God of steadfast love, your works delight
our hearts and expand our thoughts. Your grace and mercy draw us together to
praise you and to celebrate your wonderful deeds. Dwell among us today, and
reign within the lives of each one gathered here, helping us to grow in
discernment and understanding. Grant wisdom and courage that we may walk in
your ways and keep your commandments. Amen.
OPENING
HYMN: “You Are Here” LU#18
CALL TO CONFESSION
There is much that is evil in our world
today. There are many good things that are easily perverted. We live in a time
when reckless extravagance masquerades as progress and self-centered
willfulness makes false claims to wisdom. We claim the authority of God in
making our own authoritarian claims. Let us confess our sin.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O
God, we confess that we have lived so comfortably in the abundance of our times
that we have made things our gods. We spend our days dreaming of (and working
for) possessions that cannot satisfy. The pursuit of riches replaces the quest
for faith and faithful relationships. We do not know you, God, and our
relationship with others is superficial at best. Redeem us, we pray from our
self-destructive ways and restore us to your covenant community. (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: Ephesians
5:15-20
Look carefully then
how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time,
because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the
will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery;
but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,
always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to
God the Father.
SCRIPTURE 2: 1 Kings 19:1-13
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he
had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to
Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make
your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was
afraid, and he arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which
belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked
that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life;
for I am no better than my fathers." And he lay down and slept under a
broom tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and
eat." And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot
stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the
angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touched him, and said,
"Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you." And he
arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and
forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. And there he came to a cave, and lodged
there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him,
"What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very
jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken
thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." And
he said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord." And
behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and
broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and
after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the
fire a still small voice. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there
came a voice to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
SERMON “What Are You Doing Here?” Rev.
Jean Hurst
Elijah is the great prophet of
the Old Testament. So much so, that many
thought Jesus was Elijah returned. He
was a man of God with incredible power and conviction. We’ve heard some of his adventures the past
few weeks. He confronted a powerful king
over his sinfulness. He came to the
starving widow of Zarephath during a drought and the oil and the meal didn’t
run out the whole time he was there. Her
son died and Elijah brought him back from the dead. On Mt. Carmel, he confronted the priests of
Baal and had the dueling sacrifice, calling down fire from heaven to burn the
water-soaked carcass of the sacrificial bull after Baal’s priests couldn’t get
a spark. Then he had the prophets of
Baal and Asherah killed--950 in all. He
prayed a downpour, ending the drought.
He raced on foot seventeen miles and beat Ahab’s chariot back to
Jezreel. Elijah was faithful, confident,
and authoritative.
But
a letter from Jezebel turns him to mush.
Now he’s intimidated, suicidal, self-doubting, and self-righteous. It’s amazing the impact Jezebel and her
letter had. It was a death threat. She is going to make Elijah like the prophets
of Baal--dead. Why she didn’t simply
send an assassin or someone to arrest Elijah rather than tipping him off and
giving him the opportunity for a head start, we don’t know.
So
Elijah gets out of Dodge. He goes first
to Beersheba, in Judah, which is beyond the reach of Jezebel. But then continues out into the wilderness a
day’s journey, sits under a scrub tree in the desert and cries out to God that
he wants to die--even though he’s running from Jezebel to avoid death. Exhausted, he falls asleep and is awakened by
an angel who has brought food and water for him. Elijah eats and goes back to sleep. A second time an angel awakens him to eat the
food that has been provided, this time telling Elijah that he needs strength
for the journey.
Forty
days and forty nights Elijah travels until he reaches the Mountain of God--Mt.
Horeb, which is also known as Mt. Sinai.
This is the same mountain where Moses encountered God in the burning
bush and later received the ten commandments.
Mt.
Horeb or Sinai is a sacred site to the people of Israel. It is a place of encountering God. Perhaps that is Elijah’s intent, to have it
out with God. Elijah has reached the end
of his rope. He hides in the cave which
may be the same one God placed Moses in so that he would not see God’s face and
die.
The
word of God comes to Elijah in the cave.
“What are you doing here?” That’s
just what Elijah was waiting for. He
dumps all his frustration and fear in God’s lap. He announces his own faithfulness and zeal,
complains about the people, then whines about being the only one left and how Jezebel
is out to kill him. God doesn’t give him
an answer, just tells Elijah to go and stand outside ‘cause he’s coming by for
a visit. Elijah stays put. He’s had enough theatrics.
There
was widespread belief in Old Testament tradition that when God makes an
appearance there are awesome and dangerous natural phenomena to go with
it. Sure enough, an incredibly violent
storm breaks loose. The wind is so
powerful it splits mountains and breaks rocks.
But no God. On the heels of the
wind is an earthquake. No God. The finale to this display of natural forces
is fire--perhaps a volcanic eruption.
But still no God. All the while,
Elijah sits tight in his cave. Wind and
earthquake and fire are not enough to lure him from the cave.
And
then, finally, there is an eerie calm ... silence. The sound of sheer silence as the New Revised
Standard Version phrases it. Other
translations offer variations on that: still small voice, gentle whisper, a low
murmuring sound. Wind and earthquake and
fire are probably what Elijah expected.
This strange quietness was not.
Elijah covers his face with his mantle--for one could not look on God
and live--and he goes out of the cave to meet God. From the silence he hears God speak. “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God
first simply repeats the question posed to Elijah while he was still hidden
within the cave. “What are you doing
here?” And once again, God lets Elijah
vent. Elijah repeats word for word what
he’d said in answer to God the first time.
Clearly,
Elijah is in a bad way. One commentator
described him as having a classic case of clinical depression. Elijah was totally worn out, fatigued,
sleeping a lot, complaining, suicidal, needs to be told to eat, has a distorted
view of reality, is quick to blame others for the situation he’s in, and feels
alone and isolated. Contrast that with
the Elijah who confronts kings and prophets, raises the dead, lifts up powerful
prayers and brings down fire from heaven.
Elijah has lost his spark. He’s
weary and confused and feeling defeated and sees himself as a failure--he
hadn’t done any better than the prophets that preceded him.
God
could react any number of ways. But it
is not in anger or rebuke that God responds to Elijah. God hears Elijah’s cries from under that
broom tree in the desert. God sends an
angel with food and water--not once but twice--as he provides for Elijah’s
needs. While Elijah is in the cave, God
speaks to him and then patiently listens.
God doesn’t just listen and go away.
God then comes to Elijah, to be present with him. God comes, not in destructive, frightening
forces. That isn’t where Elijah
experienced God. It was, instead, in
quietness and gentleness. God comes in
the Word spoken rather than in the violence.
Again
God invites Elijah to pour out his heart.
And still God listens, without condemnation, without judgement. God accepts Elijah just as he is--full of
self pity and self righteousness and accusations. That is the reality for Elijah at that time.
Have
you ever faced Elijah’s reality?
Sometimes we, too, feel beaten down by life. There are days--or maybe weeks or
months--when we are bone weary. We may
feel everyone has turned against us. We
feel alone and lonely. Everything takes
too much effort. No matter what we try,
nothing much turns out right. Life is
taking too much out of us. We are
discouraged and fearful.
Not
all days are like that, of course. We
know there are times when we are confident and capable, and successful in so
many of our endeavors. We have energy
and enthusiasm. We anticipate a bright
future. We have hopes and dreams. But when you’re having an Elijah day or days,
it’s hard to keep perspective. It’s hard
to reclaim those feelings of confidence.
It’s hard to remember all the good
stuff. When those blinders are on and
we’re down deep in the rut, it’s hard to see anything but more rut. Sometimes we need a little boost to see over
the top of that rut. That is what God
did for Elijah. That is what God does
for us.
Reading
beyond today’s lectionary segment we find God telling Elijah to go back, to
anoint Hazael king over Aram, which was Syria, to anoint Jehu over Israel, and
Elisha as Elijah’s own successor. Further, he assures Elijah that he is not
alone, that there are yet 7,000 in Israel who still worship God alone. In other words, God calls Elijah back into
ministry and commissions him for specific tasks which will also be Elijah’s own
healing.
Elijah
had given up. He had reached a point of
inertia. He was played out. For him, there seemed to be nothing left. His continued fight against Jezebel and Ahab
and the Baal worshipers was now beyond his abilities. He could do no more. He’d lost hope. It’s not such a hard thing to arrive at that
point where you can go no further, where you give up hope.
Yet,
hope can be regained. Bob Wieland
learned that. Several years back Bob
crossed the finish line in the New York City Marathon, behind 19,412
racers. He ran the slowest time in the
history of the marathon, requiring over four days to finish.... Bob Wieland lost both his legs in
Vietnam. For each ‘step’ he had to use
his arms like crutches to lift his torso and swing it forward. Bob had a statement to make at the end of the
race: “The first step was the most difficult.”
I
find it interesting with Bob that his reclaiming who he was occurred not in having
someone give him pep talks, telling him how capable he was, but rather in the
doing, in getting out there and making a commitment and taking the first step.
God
helped Elijah, protected him and provided for him in his time of need. God came to Elijah where he was, how he
was. God invited Elijah to say what was
on his heart. God listened. Following the storm and fury, God came
closer, came with peace and quiet and calm, was literally present with
Elijah. And again, God listened. But rather than sympathizing, comforting,
commiserating, God put Elijah back into action.
Go and do, God instructed Elijah.
In
those instructions and Elijah’s carrying them out, God provided for Elijah
exactly what he needed. Prophets were
God’s instruments for selecting and announcing new kings. By anointing Hazael and Jehu kings over Aram
and Israel, the political power structure was put in place to overthrow the
evil Ahab and to eradicate the worship of the idol Baal. And by the way, Baal worship was not just
futile allegiance to an inanimate object.
Baal worship also called for the blood sacrifice of their own
children. And it turned them away from
their God who could bring healing and wholeness to the people.
God
told Elijah to appoint his own successor--Elisha, so that Elijah would not feel
that he carried the whole burden on his own shoulders. He was not to be alone in his mission. There would be someone to help carry the
load, to work by his side. And where
Elijah felt he was the only one still faithful to God, God reminds him that
there are yet 7,000 others who are also faithful to God. Hope is not lost. Elijah is God’s instrument, but only one of
many. God directs Elijah to take that
first step--back into the work to which he was called.
God
will do no less for us than God did for Elijah.
We have the assurance of a God who is at work in the midst of our fears,
despair, and isolation, in our sense of failure, when we are overwhelmed by
life, even when we forget who we are and whose we are. Elijah did his part. Though exhausted, broken in spirit and
vulnerable, he came into God’s presence.
He placed himself in God’s hands.
He listened to the gentle whisper that followed all the fury and storms
of his life. And he trusted God enough
to respond.
God
watches over us. God hears our
cries. God accepts us where we are, as
we are, however ugly or unworthy our physical, our emotional, or our spiritual
reality. God comes with love and
grace. God comes to us not just in the
spectacular or powerful or miraculous but in the ordinary, the quiet, the
gentle. God’s voice may come as a
whisper in our hearts or as just the right words on the lips of a friend. And always, God calls us back into action,
into wholeness, into hope.
Listen for God in the ordinary. Listen for God in the silence. Listen for the gentle whisper: “What are you
doing here?”
HYMN: “Lord
Speak to Me That I May Speak”
Glory #722
PRAYERS OF THE
PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Holy God, we come before you carrying
the baggage of our lives. Life sometimes weighs heavily on us. Sometimes it is
overwhelming. We don’t know how we will get through the next day and what life
will hand us next. There is often a pain inside that we cannot reveal to
anyone. Jesus tells us to love one another yet sometimes we can hardly tolerate
each other. So often we are lonely and confused and fragile. Come to us, touch
us, heal us, grant us the energy and the desire to do your work. We want to be
faithful in your kingdom work. Show us the way.
We pray for those around us who have their
own life struggles: our families, our friends, our community. We pray for Joe Hendry … Sandy Cargill … Elaine LaChapelle
… Larry Koskela … Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore …
Beverly Patterson … Virginia … Margaret Dunbar … Darlene … Trisha … Dave …
Jacob … George and Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel. (Additional
prayers …………)
We pray for unity for our nation, for our
leaders, for the nations of the world, especially for the people who live in
oppression and poverty and fear.
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
As we make melody to God with our hearts
and voices, let our hands also be employed in service. We here offer ourselves
and the fruits of our labor that God may bless and multiply the good to be
accomplished through them and us. May our riches be employed for the common
benefit of all God’s children.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Your generosity, O God, is beyond our deserving. You
surround us with vast resources and with people who love us. Thank you, God,
for this opportunity to share with others some of what we have received. Help
us to use all our gifts as you intend. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “Arise!
Your Light Has Come” Glory #744
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
When you are weary and feel the world
is against you, when you are burned out and feel helpless, listen for God’s
quiet voice, reassuring you and directing you.
As
you do 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
-
August
1-17 pastor on vacation
-
August
15 1:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry
-
August
17 10:30 a.m. Women’s Spirituality
-
August
22 following worship Deacons
PRAYER CARE:
Joe Hendry (hip
surgery recovery), Sandy Cargill (breast cancer), Larry Koskela (stomach and
joint issues), Linda and Bill Kaesemeyer (Bill’s heart/breathing issues), Somer
Bauer (breast cancer), Tasha Sizemore (Crohn’s), 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 August 22, 2021
Joshua 24:1-2a,
14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20;
John 6:56-69
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