PIONEER
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 18th Sunday
after Pentecost September 26, 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.
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, one and all, to meet God here.
Let all who are suffering find hope in
this place.
We
have come that God might raise us up.
Our
only hope is in the Maker of heaven and earth.
Come, all who are weary and oppressed.
God offers relief and enlists our mutual
helpfulness.
God
hears our prayers and answers us.
God
equips us to be helpful to one another.
Come together to sing songs of praise to
God.
Give thanks for God’s wondrous deeds.
God’s
glory abides in this place of worship.
God’s
presence and help are real.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
May all your people find favor with you
this day, God of majesty and power. As we struggle with daily life, help us to
praise you and find ways to help those less fortunate than ourselves. Lift us
from our daily preoccupations that we may pray with earnest intent, both to
thank you and to be changed by you. Let our prayers be powerful and effective.
May our worship be alive and life-changing. May the service we extend find
favor in your eyes, blessed God. Amen.
OPENING
HYMN: “O Lord, Hear My Prayer” LU#111
CALL TO CONFESSION
Confess your sins to one another, and pray
for one another, so you may be healed. Prayers of the righteous are powerful
and effective. We seek that right relationship with God that empowers our
prayers and our service.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
All-powerful
God, we confess our promise to pray for others but then set those prayers aside
in the business of our days. We let differences divide us, then we want you on
our side against them. We confuse our preferences with your intentions. O God,
we need healing, but we are afraid to lose the illusions of control that are so
much a part of us. We fear the very changes that would give us integrity. Help
us, gracious God. (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: James
5:13-20
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any
cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should
call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them
with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and
the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be
forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another,
so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and
effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it
might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the
earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its
harvest. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth
and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a
sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a
multitude of sins.
SCRIPTURE 2: Mark 9:38-42, 49-50
John said to him,
"Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade
him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid
him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to
speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to
you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of
Christ, will by no means lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these
little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great
millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. … For every
one will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness,
how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one
another."
SERMON “Salted with Fire” Rev. Jean Hurst
“The one who is not against us is for
us.” That’s not the response John anticipated. After all, they were the special ones, distinguished by Jesus as their leader.
Anyone not part of their band was an outsider, not legitimate. They’d come
across this guy who had the audacity to be casting out demons in the name of
Jesus. How dare him! He didn’t have the required credentials. The credentials
required were to be part of the ‘in’ group. Clearly, he wasn’t. They forbid him
to do what he was doing, even if it was
a good thing, because he wasn’t doing it right. He didn’t belong to the right
group. He obviously didn’t follow the right doctrine. He had to be part of
Jesus’ specific band of followers in order to have the authority to use Jesus’
name. John couldn’t understand why Jesus wasn’t as indignant as they were.
Why do you think John was so upset?
Were there some other dynamics going on here? Did John perhaps feel that his
own identity, his own specialness was threatened? One clue John let slip was
when he said of the exorcist, “He was not following us.” Not that he was not following Jesus, but not following us. Was John maybe losing sight of who
this was really about and placing himself in a more central role than he
should? Do we ever fall into the same error of thinking another group isn’t
legitimate because they don’t do it our
way? Do we somehow feel threatened or diminished when someone is successfully
advancing the kingdom even though they don’t do it right? Do we feel bound to defend Jesus when we’re really defending
our own ways?
Other clues are found in the text
preceding today’s passage. The sequence of things that happened is significant:
Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ, Jesus telling them three times of
his pending suffering, death, and resurrection, Peter trying to dissuade Jesus
from the path of suffering and being told, “Get behind me Satan, you’re focused
on the things of man and not the things of God”, Jesus declaring the cost of
discipleship, and Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain when he meets with
Moses and Elijah.
When they come down from the mountain,
they encounter a man with a demon-possessed son who was having seizures. The
disciples who had remained behind tried to cast out the demon, but to no avail.
Jesus did what the disciples couldn’t. Afterward, they travel on to Capernaum
where Jesus confronts them about their debate on the way—who was the most
important among them. First Jesus tells them that whoever wants to be great
must be a servant of all. Then he takes a little child in his arms telling them
that whoever receives a little child in his name receives him. He says anyone
who gives even a glass of water to his followers in his name will be rewarded.
That’s when John tells of the
encounter with the exorcist. Jesus explains that it’s not an exclusive club.
Further, he says when someone does something in Jesus’ name, they won’t be able
to turn around and speak ill of Jesus. Whoever is not against Jesus is on his
side.
Then Jesus gives some serious warning
about the consequences of hindering the ‘little ones’. Jesus uses that term in
two ways: ‘little one’ as a child and ‘little one’ as a new believer. Whoever
causes either to stumble is a serious problem. The translations use the term stumble. The Greek word is skandalon, from which the word
scandalize is derived. Back then, Jesus used the word to mean to cause someone
to fall away from the faith, to be diverted from their faith or discipleship,
or to cause them to sin. Better to hang a rock around your neck and jump in the
lake than to get in the way of someone seeking Jesus and trying to follow in
the way of Jesus. Was that the warning Jesus was giving John about the exorcist
who didn’t follow their way?
What
would that look like for us? It could be about our responsibility toward a
child of the church, of helping them to grow in the faith. Or it could be about
our responsibility toward a seeker who comes to us just as they are right now
in their faith or non-faith, with their history, their lifestyle, their doubts.
What is it that we might do that would cause them to pull back, to decide this
path is not for them? Is there anything we might do or say that would hinder
someone else’s ability or desire to worship or their growth in the faith? Is
there anything that we say or do that could cause someone to lose their faith?
Do we put conditions on someone else’s receiving and embracing grace? Do our
words and actions draw people into, or back into, the fold of Jesus or do those
words and actions drive them further away? Do we live what we say we believe
and are we a credible example that would make others want to be followers of
Jesus?
After Jesus warned the disciples about
the perils of putting the little ones at risk, he talks about the perils they,
themselves face along with the alternatives. Essentially, he’s telling them
that they are going to face things that will be stumbling blocks for them in
the living of their faith. When that happens they need to make choices—hard
choices. This is where Jesus used the hyperbole about cutting off your hand or
plucking out your eye being better than facing the unquenchable fire of
Gehenna.
Gehenna
was a garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem, which in Old Testament times
was the Valley of Hinnon. During the reign of evil kings in Israel who followed
the religious practices of the god Molech, children were used as burning sacrifices.
This was an abomination that God soon forced to an end. The site was often
referred to as a place of death or hell. There in the refuse dump the fires are
always burning.
Jesus
is telling them it is better to remove from their lives anything that blocks
their own way to faith even though they might feel that loss greatly. Then
Jesus switches the conversation from the fires of Gehenna to the fires of
sanctification. He begins by saying, “For
everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how
will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one
another."
First, consider
the importance of salt. It is used to enhance the taste of food, for food
preservation, and for purification or disinfecting and healing. Salt was so
valuable, soldiers were sometimes paid their salaries in salt. That’s where the
word salary is derived. Salt represented a covenant between God and
individuals. Salt was also used as part of the grain sacrifices. Sometimes salt
was cut or diluted with other minerals to extend it. In the course of that,
salt sometimes became so adulterated, so diluted, it lost its saltiness.
Commentator
Peter Paris grew up on the eastern seacoast of Canada and remembers vividly the
plentiful supply of fish and the barrels of salted cod, herring and mackerel,
so he understood what Jesus meant by saying that every sacrifice shall be
salted to preserve it. If salt loses that quality of salt, is no longer able to
enhance, purify or preserve, what good is it? Salt is only good as long as it
retains its quality.1 What in our lives might leach the saltiness
from us and cause our faith to lose its quality? Jesus warned his followers not
to lose the qualities of their discipleship by quarreling or competing. He said
have salt within yourselves and be at peace with one another.
The
disciples, quarrelling among themselves over which of them was the most
important, obviously were not at peace with one another. When the concepts of
power and status became so important to them that it got in the way of their
relationships with each other, they needed to sever that temptation. In their
desire to stop anyone acting in Jesus’ name who were outside their own
understanding, they were throwing up roadblocks to another’s faith and they
were not at peace with that person.
Jesus
offers the solution. He said we would all be salted with fire. Fire has the
power to destroy or purify. I guess the choice is ours which way it plays out.
What does it mean to be salted with fire? Monsignor Charles Pope responded to
that question in a blog. He wrote:
“Our
divisions and lack of peace are caused by our sins. Thus, to accept the
purification of being salted with fire is our only true hope for peace. When
the Lord burns away my envy, I no longer resent your gifts; I rejoice in them
and come to appreciate that I need you to complete me. In this way there is
peace. When the Lord burns away my jealousy and greed and helps me to be
grateful for what I have, I no longer desire to take what is rightly yours nor
do I resent you for having it. In this way there is peace. When the Lord burns
away my bitter memories of past hurts and gives me the grace to forgive, an
enormous amount of poison goes out of my soul and I am equipped to love and to
be kind, generous, and patient. In this way there is peace.” 2
The
message is for us. Jesus says have salt and be at peace with one another. We
are not to pit ourselves against one another and vie for position. We are not
to make others into adversaries because they do or believe differently or
because we think our way is superior. We are not to speak or act in a way that
would scandalize believers, especially children. We are not to create rivalries
and hostilities. Salt and fire. Where do we get them?
When
John the Baptist was baptizing people for repentance, he said there was one
coming after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That
someone was Jesus. Jesus said everyone
will be salted with fire. Every one of us will be exposed to the purifying,
sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. That is what will keep us salty. That is
what will preserve the sacrifices we make to Jesus in our discipleship. That is
what will protect us from those things that would dilute our faith and keep us
from being effective disciples. That is what will heal any brokenness in us.
That is what will keep us holy. And that is what will grant us peace with one
another. Thanks be to God.
1Connections Year B
Volume 3, p. 351
2Monsignor Charles
Pope, What Does It Mean to Be Salted with
Fire?, blog.adw.org, February 23, 2017
HYMN: “O
Savior in this Quiet Place” Glory
#794
PRAYERS OF THE
PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
Renewing Spirit, always present, speak
to us where we are and expand our vision beyond the immediate, that we may be
equipped to follow where Jesus leads, bearing witness to our faith and serving
with joy wherever you send us. Stir us from our complacency, push us outside
our comfort zones, challenge us to new paths so that we might discover a deeper
relationship in you. When we are scared to move forward because we don’t know
where you might lead us, give us courage and greater trust in you. Hear our prayers for our faith journey …….
Life sometimes weighs heavily on us, God.
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 us 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. Hear our prayers that are
sometimes just an empty spot within our hearts…………
Guide us as a church, O Lord. Reveal
to us what it is you would have this church do and be. We want you to be the
center of our faith, our actions, our hearts. God, rest your Spirit upon this
congregation. Empower us to do your work. Let us be a beacon to this community.
Guide the work of the Deacons and Session and Pastor. Hear our prayers for Pioneer………..
God, we ask for your comforting, healing
presence in the lives of those of our church family who are confined to home or
who struggle with health problems We pray for Tina Bossuot who has been
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s … for Verna’s sister and family with Covid … Mary
and Ray Swarthout … Sandy Cargill … Elaine LaChapelle … Larry Koskela … Linda
and Bill Kaesemeyer … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore … Beverly Patterson …
Virginia … Margaret Dunbar … Darlene … Trisha … Dave as he undergoes brain
surgery this morning … Jacob … George and Joyce … Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney …
Ethel … and Pastor Jean. (Additional prayers …………)
We pray for your beloved children
throughout the world. Teach us to love them as you do. Be with them as they
struggle with weather related issues, Covid and other diseases, war and
oppression, hunger and hopelessness. Lord, grant our leaders wisdom in knowing
how to respond to all the problems our world faces.
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
Like salt that enhances the flavor of
food, Christians are called to share the joy and gladness we are discovering in
our relationship with Jesus Christ. The good news is extended through our
support of the church and its ministries.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
We dedicate ourselves and our offerings to the work of
your church. As you have accepted us, we reach out to include all your children
in the family of mutuality, self-revelation, and growing in love. May our
offerings and our lives be a reflection of that love in your name. Amen.
CLOSING
HYMN: “To God Be the Glory” Glory
#634
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
Sometimes we don’t realize just how
powerful our prayers can be. Your challenge for the week is to pray in
gratitude for blessings that are already on the way.
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
-
Sep
20-24 pastor in Bend for
radiation
-
September
21 10:30 a.m. Women’s Spirituality
-
September
23 8:30 a.m. Men’s Prayer Group
September 29 5:30 p.m. Choir practice
September 26 following worship Deacons
-
Sept
27-Oct 1 pastor in Bend for radiation
-
September
28 noon PPW lunch meeting
PRAYER CARE:
Tina Bossuot
(Alzheimer’s), Verna’s sister and family (Covid), Mary and Ray Swarthout, 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 (brain tumor and kidney cancer), Virginia DesIlets (age 99!), Margaret
Dunbar (home now), George and Joyce Sahlberg (health issues), Jennifer Schirm
(Parkinson’s), Chuck VanHise (leg/walking rehab), Darlene Wingfield (pulmonary
fibrosis, breast cancer), Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s), and Pastor Jean
Hurst (kidney cancer returned).
LECTIONARY
FOR 10/3/21
Genesis
2:18-24; Psalm 8; Hebrews 1:1-4 and 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16
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