PIONEER
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Worship
via Blog 7th Sunday of Easter May 16, 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.
-
Worship
& Music meets following worship
-
Prayer
Shawl Ministry meets at 1:00
-
Women’s
Spirituality meets Tuesday at 10:30
-
Next
Sunday Deacons meet following worship
-
Highway
Cleanup May 22, 9:30a.m. meet at church
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 together expecting great things.
Wait for the promises of God.
Is
this the time when God will come to reign?
Will
we receive power and authority?
In God’s time, the Holy Spirit will come
to you.
You will be empowered as faithful
witnesses.
We
are here to learn about all that Jesus did.
We
are ready to listen to all that Jesus taught.
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
Sing praises to God, sing praises.
God
is ruler over all the earth.
We
seek to experience God’s rule in our lives.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Appear to us again, risen Savior, for we
have lost sight of you. We have come to find you here so we may recognize you
among all who suffer. We seek wisdom and revelation to cope with the confusion
we face every day amid competing claims. We are here to remember the authority
with which you spoke so we may walk amid the rulers of our day, speaking in
Christ’s name. We who seek to be your body, the church, need the eyes of our hearts
enlightened so we may once more embrace hope and know your joy. Amen.
OPENING
HYMN: “Thy Word” LU#85
CALL TO CONFESSION
How much do we look to heaven rather than
at the busyness of our lives? In all our doing are we about God’s business? Or
are we too focused on the importance and activities of our own lives? Let us
confess the way things are between ourselves and God.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O
God, it is hard for us to wait for anything. We want instant answers and
immediate gratification of our desires. We are more acquisitive than grateful.
We forget the amazing riches of your gifts to us and only want more. We do not
take time simply to enjoy being in your presence, singing your praises,
delighting in your love. Forgive us for our arrogant, selfish pride and our
neglect of values and relationships that would supply all we really need. Amen.(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: John 17:6-19 (NLT)
"I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from
this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept
your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have
passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I
came from you, and they believe you sent me. "My prayer is not for the
world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are
mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now
I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming
to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power
of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I
protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not
one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures
foretold. "Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was
with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them
your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world,
just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of
the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this
world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word,
which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the
world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy
by your truth.
SCRIPTURE 2: Psalm 1
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but
his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and
night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in
its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The
wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the
wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the
wicked will perish.
SERMON “Roots
and Fruits” Rev.
Jean Hurst
Where are your roots? Some of you will
be proud to say they are right here in Harney County. Others will admit their
roots are elsewhere, a place of their birth which shaped their lives from early
on. Those roots are important, wherever they are. They are part of our history
and identity. But where are your spiritual roots? That’s even more important.
Your geographic roots may have been
beyond your control but your spiritual roots are choice—a significant one. The
psalmist makes the distinction by speaking of the righteous and the wicked. The
difference is not about moral issues but about theological ones. It’s not about
whether a person obeys or disobeys moral laws, but whether or not a person
makes God and God’s reign the center of their life.
The righteous are those who depend on
and trust in God’s presence and the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. The wicked
follow their own desires and interests. They rely on themselves and claim their
own credit for the good that happens in their lives. They aren’t concerned
about God’s judgement of them and so justify their own actions as it suits
them.
The psalmist declares that the
consequences of these choices are that the righteous will be happy and blessed
and will bear fruit and prosper while the wicked will perish.
If
we look around the world today, reality would seem to contradict the claim of
the psalmist. There are lots of those we perceive as the wicked who do, in
fact, seem to prosper and come out on top and benefit from their self-serving
actions. And the ones who are righteous end up suffering in life just like
everyone else.
The
scoffers will be quick to point that out. (They had scoffers back then just
like we do nowadays.) From them we get mockery and cynicism directed both at
God and those who try to follow God’s ways. When something goes sideways in
your life they’ll ask you what good it does following a God who isn’t looking
out for you. What use is a God who doesn’t come through for you? Where’s the
benefit?
The
benefits are multiple and it’s just what the scoffers don’t have. When we are
rooted where we can draw from the living waters of Jesus Christ, then we can be
confident even in a world that is confused, cynical, and driven to despair. We
can believe that even in the worst of circumstances, God is still with us and
can help us find our way through the most impossible situations.
The
person who is rooted in God’s ways has a sense both of their own identity and
of a communal identity. They are part of something and have a place of
belonging. Being rooted in God’s covenant gives them a solid foundation. They
know who they are and they know to whom they belong. As with the biblical characters,
they become part of a story that is larger than themselves.
It’s
a story that doesn’t demand perfection of us. Just examine scripture and you’ll
see you don’t have to fear God’s rejection for not perfectly living into God’s
ways. Look at the lives of the biblical characters. Methodist professor John
Holbert describes them as flawed Abraham and Sara, wily Jacob and Rebekah,
arrogant Joseph, reluctant Moses, and charismatic and murderous David.1
There
are so many more besides these—in both the Old and New Testaments. Peter denied
knowing Jesus. The disciples abandoned him. Paul persecuted the Christians and
was responsible for the beatings, imprisonment, and death of many. God leaves
room for our humanity, loves us even though we mess up periodically, always
calls us back and helps us to live into who we ultimately will be. Exploring
the past helps anchor us in the present.
Modern-minded people might think it is
silly to pursue the past, thinking it better to look ahead to the future, to
embrace the reality of change in the world and to see it as an improvement over
outdated traditions and values. To some people, the advice of Psalm 1 may seem
antiquated and outdated. But it is a past in which memories and values are
rooted.
The
psalm says those who hold to the old ways of studying God’s word are like trees
that are planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaf does not wither. This scripture offers a contrast for those who
are rooted in scripture and those who are not. The ones who choose not
to anchor their lives in God’s teachings are like chaff--the debris that is
left from the grain threshing process. They have more modern methods now, but
in biblical times the threshing process involved throwing the grain up in the
air on a windy day and letting the wind blow away the hulls while the grain
falls back to the ground.
This
psalm is saying that those not rooted in the word have nothing to ground
them, there is no substance. When the adversities of life come, they’re
literally blown away by it. They are blown off course by the whims of society
and by conflicting values and opinions. They have no staying power and nothing
to hold onto. Those scoffers, then and now, disdain the writings of scripture
and dismiss the teachings of Jesus. These are the ones who just don’t get the
point about love and forgiveness and grace. They feel self-sufficient; they
have no need of God. When the sorrows of their lives come, what is their
fallback, where can they draw their strength, where will they find hope?
The
one whose roots reach for the living waters know that strength and hope.
They are near the source of what they need to survive and thrive. Think about
the vegetation along the Sylvies and Malheur and other rivers of the area, how
lush and green and plentiful it is. Even when there’s drought, these survive.
When we are rooted in God’s word, we are like that. When the ill winds of life
hit us, we’ll be able to stand through it. We believe and hold to the knowledge
that God stands with us, that the pain and struggle is only for a time, that we
are anchored in the One who holds our tomorrows.
And
it says those rooted in God’s word will produce fruit. It will be the right
fruit at the right time, remembering that it takes time for fruit to mature.
The fruit of a tree serves multiple purposes.
The
tree planted by the streams of water will give fruit in its season. The fruit
comes in many forms. Always it is a giving.
It may be a sharing of the word that has allowed us to put down deep
roots and survive life’s struggles. That fruit might be the shelter another
needs as they struggle to make it through their own storm. It might be
life-giving sustenance--whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.
Fruit
holds within it the seeds of life, the continuation of life, generation to
generation. Bearing fruit is a handing
down of faith and values that guide our children and our children’s children in
discovering how they, too, can put down roots deep in the soil of God’s love
and grace. And when they do, they, too, will discover the relationship with God
that enables them, like the psalmists, like us, to lift up their own cries from
the heart, trusting in the God of life to sustain them, to see them through, to
take root like trees planted by streams of water. Thanks be to God.
1John Holbert, Feasting on the Word Year B, p. 535,
Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2008
HYMN: “God
of the Sparrow” Glory
#22
PRAYERS OF THE
PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER
All powerful God, who brings healing
and restores life, we thank you for all that you are, all that you have done
throughout the ages, for all that you do today. Open our eyes, we pray, to see
the miracles around us. Free us from expectations of what those miracles should
be and let us see your hand in even the smallest transformations.
Lord, we read the miracles of your
healing and we wonder why, when we ask for healing for ourselves and for
others, we don’t see an answer to our prayers. Is our faith too small God? Do
you favor some over others? We don’t understand. But we put our trust in you.
Please bring the healing that is wholeness, not just for the physical body.
Bring healing of the spirit, of the emotions, of the mind, of relationships.
God, we have been shaped in ways that
we would not choose. Lord, use us. Help us to look at those places of deep pain
in our lives and empower us to use them to be a conduit of your healing for
those who also hurt. Free us from the fear of connecting with our brothers and
sister.
In love and compassion, we lift up to you Sandy
Cargill … Larry Koskela … Lari Higgins … Somer Bauer … Tasha Sizemore … Beverly
Patterson … Lois White … Virginia … John
Matthews … Margaret Dunbar … Darlene … Trisha … Dave … Jacob … George … Joyce …
Jennifer … Chuck … Courtney … Ethel. (Additional 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
We are called as witnesses to God’s love
for us in Jesus Christ, to the ends of the earth. Our glorious inheritance is
meant to be shared with brothers and sisters in our community and throughout
the world. May our generous gifts praise God and give radiant testimony to the
faith we share.
DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
God of all life, may our offerings leave no doubt that
you are head of our church and the inspiration for our lives. Empower our
ministries with the fullness of Christ that we may be inclusive in our outreach
and effective as teachers and healers. Help us to find joy in our praying and
in our serving. For these purposes and to the glory of your name, we dedicate
our money and our lives. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: “Immortal,
Invisible, God Only Wise” Glory #12
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
You are challenged this week to put
down deep roots in the way of life to which God calls us. Draw deeply from the
living waters that Jesus promised.
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
May 16 following worship Worship & Music
May 16 1:00
p.m. Prayer Shawl
Ministry
May 18 10:30 a.m. Women’s Spirituality
May 22 9:30 a.m. Highway Clean Up
May 23 following worship Deacons
May 25 noon PPW
May 27 8:30 a.m. Men’s Prayer Group
PRAYER
CARE:
Sandy Cargill
(pre-cancer surgical procedure), 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 (Crohn’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 (heart
valve, pulmonary fibrosis, breast cancer), and Courtney Ziegler (Huntington’s).
LECTIONARY
FOR 5/23/21
Acts 2:1-21,
Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; Romans 8:22-27, John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
