Fourth Sunday In Lent
Worship
From Life To Life
Worship Services For Lent and Easter
Order of Worship
Announcements, Prayer Concerns, Joys
The Lighting Of The Candles
Hymn: "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty" (vv. 1 and 2)
Call To Worship:
L: O come, let us worship and bow down!
P: LET US KNEEL TO THE GOD OF OUR SALVATION!
L: For God is ours!
P: AND WE ARE GOD'S!
Hymn: "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty" (vv, 3 and 4)
Unison Prayer:
Most Holy God, you have the power to see into our souls and to know our true spirits. Bring us to a better knowledge of ourselves: that, our illusions and delusions dispelled, we may know our shortcomings and open ourselves to your salvation in Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen
Hearing God's Word
New Testament
Ephesians 5:8-14
Time With The Children
Gospel Lesson
John 9:1-41
Gloria Patri
Sermon Text
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Sermon: "When Drudgery Becomes Joy"
Responding To God's Word:
Hymn: "Open My Eyes, That I May See"
Psalm 23 (Read responsively)
Silent Prayer
Pastoral Prayer
Lord's Prayer
Offertory
Doxology
Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Hymn: "Hymn Of Promise"
Benediction And Postlude
Recessional: "Shalom To You"
Lent 4 Message
1 Samuel 16:1-13
When Drudgery
Becomes Joy
(We have a young boy named Kevin in our congregation who has suffered from cancer, and with all the treatments leading up to stopping the cancer, the family had spent not just days or months in the hospital, but years.)
Thursday as Debbie was waiting for a call from the doctor at Mayo Clinic as to what to do (since Kevin was again running a high fever) she called me to tell me that they were probably headed for Rochester. As she talked she said, "You know, we have all these doctors all over the place, and they are all good, but the very best one is still our own family doctor. He really knew what he was doing when he sent us home for the night. Our family had a chance to eat supper together; Kevin got to get out and run around, to play with Joshua (the dog), and to go out and see the cattle with his uncle before we'd have to go back up to the hospital at Rochester."
And then Deb went on to tell me how excited she was to be able to do the wash and some of the other things which needed to be done around the house. We discussed how interesting it is that she was finding this task of doing the wash something fun to do, rather than something she had to do!
Isn't it true that sometimes when we do things on a daily basis we just get tired of doing them? They aren't as much fun or rewarding as they once were, and we wish sometimes that we could just quit doing the wash, or cooking the meals, or shoveling the sidewalk, or feeding the cattle, just for a day or so, or maybe a week. Somehow, at times things become a drudgery rather than a privilege, and we grudgingly accept our responsibility, rather than remembering our call.
Perhaps that is the way it was for Saul. God had chosen him to be the first king and he really had accomplished much. He had defeated the Amalekites. He had engaged the fearsome Philistines in at least three major military battles, yet he wasn't really doing what God had called him to do.
But maybe before we go any further we need to back up and see how this all came about. Other nations around the Israelites had kings to lead them, so somehow they got the idea into their heads that they, too, needed a king. That really scared Samuel, because he believed that God should be Israel's one and only king, or otherwise suddenly the people might come to depend upon an earthly monarch rather than upon God. But the people were insistent, so finally, after much discussion with God about this, Saul, a man of great courage, size and skill as a warrior, was anointed - and what Samuel had feared did happen. Saul, human that he was, turned selfish and ruthless, and somehow forgot that he was holding a sacred office, that he was God's servant, and that he needed to do what God commanded.
In other words, his kingship became something that he had done rather than a privilege given to him by God, and he either grudgingly did the things he had to do, or just plain didn't do them at all, rather than remembering his call.
Well, of course, that did not please God very much, and so he decided to replace Saul with a new king. God told Samuel to find a new king. And here it is that Samuel begins to wonder about the work that God has given him to do, and he says, "How can I go do that? Saul will kill me!"
It is a scary thing to be one of God's elect, don't you think? But God chooses us more than we choose him. And just like Saul, and just like Samuel, we too have our excuses, "Thanks God, I'm touched by this honor, but no thanks!"
After all, "I don't speak very well. How can I be the one that God has chosen to talk to my neighbor about God?"
Or, "Why would you want to choose me, God? Don't you know how many sins I have committed? Surely I'm not good enough. How could I ever be an example of Christian living?"
"But you know, God, I am just a kid and I really don't know Scripture very well. What if they ask me a question that I can't answer?"
And God has heard all of those excuses before. After all, wasn't it Moses who said, "I cannot speak for you, I am slow in speech and of tongue"?
And young Jeremiah who said, "I can't speak for you, God, I am just a child."
And Jonah ran from God as fast as he could go, saying, "I cannot represent you, God, because I don't understand how you can be so merciful to those people who surely don't deserve it."
And then there was Zacchaeus way up in the tree, who never would have dreamt for a minute that he was worthy of having Jesus come to his house.
Or Peter, who finally said, "Just leave me alone, Jesus, for I am a sinful man!"
But the secret of election as God's servants is that God chooses us. God chooses us, not because of what we can do for him, but because of what he can do with us and in us and through us. And then the secret of our selection is in our willingness to stay open and willingness to listen to his commands, when it is often so much easier to do what we want, or even to follow what the devil says.
Let's look back again at our text for this morning. Saul in his humanness, selfishness and ruthlessness somehow forgot that he was holding a sacred office, that he was God's servant, and needed to do what God commanded. It didn't take very long before God replaced him with a new king.
And then, let's look at what happened with Samuel. After he questioned God, saying, "How can I go do that? Saul will kill me!" Samuel stayed around to listen to God, and God told him the way. God said, "Take a heifer with you and tell Jesse that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord." And Samuel did what God had instructed. Though he arrived in Bethlehem trembling with fear for what might happen, when he did just as God commanded, he was invited in by Jesse and was allowed to do God's work, to anoint the new king, David.
When we make these two comparisons, it does make us wonder though, doesn't it? We might even ask, "Does God really just allow some people, like Saul, to fall out of his grace?" Or we might even say, "Is God vindictive, in that he chose to stop supporting Saul and changed his allegiance to a new king?" If we are looking at Saul from the perspective of his enemies, we might say, "Saul is simply getting what he deserves." Others might say, "Well, he brought it all on himself!" The perspective of a friend might be, "How could we help Saul to find his way back?"
You see, as the Lord tells Samuel, "Man looks on outward appearance, the Lord looks on the things of the heart." And it is what is in our hearts that makes all the difference. Jesus reminded us later in one of the parables that the absence of one spirit eventually brings on the presence of another, and if the things of God are not the things of our hearts, then what spirit will have its power in us?
When we look at today's Gospel Lesson, we can find that very same comparison: we see two kinds of people, the Pharisees who were searching for a way to condemn Christ, and who couldn't see the good that was done in the healing of the man who had been blind since birth; and, of course, the blind man himself who, even after being subjected to the questioning and insults of the Pharisees and being thrown out of the temple, still believed in Jesus Christ and fell down and worshipped him.
Perhaps our New Testament Lesson sums it all up best: "Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. Wake up, O Sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
You have heard before that Jesus doesn't choose us for our ability, but rather for our availability. Even then he doesn't ask us to do anything other than to be the best that we can be. When we have faith and trust in God, he will empower us to become his servants doing the work that he would have us do. Amen
Announcements, Prayer Concerns, Joys
The Lighting Of The Candles
Hymn: "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty" (vv. 1 and 2)
Call To Worship:
L: O come, let us worship and bow down!
P: LET US KNEEL TO THE GOD OF OUR SALVATION!
L: For God is ours!
P: AND WE ARE GOD'S!
Hymn: "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty" (vv, 3 and 4)
Unison Prayer:
Most Holy God, you have the power to see into our souls and to know our true spirits. Bring us to a better knowledge of ourselves: that, our illusions and delusions dispelled, we may know our shortcomings and open ourselves to your salvation in Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen
Hearing God's Word
New Testament
Ephesians 5:8-14
Time With The Children
Gospel Lesson
John 9:1-41
Gloria Patri
Sermon Text
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Sermon: "When Drudgery Becomes Joy"
Responding To God's Word:
Hymn: "Open My Eyes, That I May See"
Psalm 23 (Read responsively)
Silent Prayer
Pastoral Prayer
Lord's Prayer
Offertory
Doxology
Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Hymn: "Hymn Of Promise"
Benediction And Postlude
Recessional: "Shalom To You"
Lent 4 Message
1 Samuel 16:1-13
When Drudgery
Becomes Joy
(We have a young boy named Kevin in our congregation who has suffered from cancer, and with all the treatments leading up to stopping the cancer, the family had spent not just days or months in the hospital, but years.)
Thursday as Debbie was waiting for a call from the doctor at Mayo Clinic as to what to do (since Kevin was again running a high fever) she called me to tell me that they were probably headed for Rochester. As she talked she said, "You know, we have all these doctors all over the place, and they are all good, but the very best one is still our own family doctor. He really knew what he was doing when he sent us home for the night. Our family had a chance to eat supper together; Kevin got to get out and run around, to play with Joshua (the dog), and to go out and see the cattle with his uncle before we'd have to go back up to the hospital at Rochester."
And then Deb went on to tell me how excited she was to be able to do the wash and some of the other things which needed to be done around the house. We discussed how interesting it is that she was finding this task of doing the wash something fun to do, rather than something she had to do!
Isn't it true that sometimes when we do things on a daily basis we just get tired of doing them? They aren't as much fun or rewarding as they once were, and we wish sometimes that we could just quit doing the wash, or cooking the meals, or shoveling the sidewalk, or feeding the cattle, just for a day or so, or maybe a week. Somehow, at times things become a drudgery rather than a privilege, and we grudgingly accept our responsibility, rather than remembering our call.
Perhaps that is the way it was for Saul. God had chosen him to be the first king and he really had accomplished much. He had defeated the Amalekites. He had engaged the fearsome Philistines in at least three major military battles, yet he wasn't really doing what God had called him to do.
But maybe before we go any further we need to back up and see how this all came about. Other nations around the Israelites had kings to lead them, so somehow they got the idea into their heads that they, too, needed a king. That really scared Samuel, because he believed that God should be Israel's one and only king, or otherwise suddenly the people might come to depend upon an earthly monarch rather than upon God. But the people were insistent, so finally, after much discussion with God about this, Saul, a man of great courage, size and skill as a warrior, was anointed - and what Samuel had feared did happen. Saul, human that he was, turned selfish and ruthless, and somehow forgot that he was holding a sacred office, that he was God's servant, and that he needed to do what God commanded.
In other words, his kingship became something that he had done rather than a privilege given to him by God, and he either grudgingly did the things he had to do, or just plain didn't do them at all, rather than remembering his call.
Well, of course, that did not please God very much, and so he decided to replace Saul with a new king. God told Samuel to find a new king. And here it is that Samuel begins to wonder about the work that God has given him to do, and he says, "How can I go do that? Saul will kill me!"
It is a scary thing to be one of God's elect, don't you think? But God chooses us more than we choose him. And just like Saul, and just like Samuel, we too have our excuses, "Thanks God, I'm touched by this honor, but no thanks!"
After all, "I don't speak very well. How can I be the one that God has chosen to talk to my neighbor about God?"
Or, "Why would you want to choose me, God? Don't you know how many sins I have committed? Surely I'm not good enough. How could I ever be an example of Christian living?"
"But you know, God, I am just a kid and I really don't know Scripture very well. What if they ask me a question that I can't answer?"
And God has heard all of those excuses before. After all, wasn't it Moses who said, "I cannot speak for you, I am slow in speech and of tongue"?
And young Jeremiah who said, "I can't speak for you, God, I am just a child."
And Jonah ran from God as fast as he could go, saying, "I cannot represent you, God, because I don't understand how you can be so merciful to those people who surely don't deserve it."
And then there was Zacchaeus way up in the tree, who never would have dreamt for a minute that he was worthy of having Jesus come to his house.
Or Peter, who finally said, "Just leave me alone, Jesus, for I am a sinful man!"
But the secret of election as God's servants is that God chooses us. God chooses us, not because of what we can do for him, but because of what he can do with us and in us and through us. And then the secret of our selection is in our willingness to stay open and willingness to listen to his commands, when it is often so much easier to do what we want, or even to follow what the devil says.
Let's look back again at our text for this morning. Saul in his humanness, selfishness and ruthlessness somehow forgot that he was holding a sacred office, that he was God's servant, and needed to do what God commanded. It didn't take very long before God replaced him with a new king.
And then, let's look at what happened with Samuel. After he questioned God, saying, "How can I go do that? Saul will kill me!" Samuel stayed around to listen to God, and God told him the way. God said, "Take a heifer with you and tell Jesse that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord." And Samuel did what God had instructed. Though he arrived in Bethlehem trembling with fear for what might happen, when he did just as God commanded, he was invited in by Jesse and was allowed to do God's work, to anoint the new king, David.
When we make these two comparisons, it does make us wonder though, doesn't it? We might even ask, "Does God really just allow some people, like Saul, to fall out of his grace?" Or we might even say, "Is God vindictive, in that he chose to stop supporting Saul and changed his allegiance to a new king?" If we are looking at Saul from the perspective of his enemies, we might say, "Saul is simply getting what he deserves." Others might say, "Well, he brought it all on himself!" The perspective of a friend might be, "How could we help Saul to find his way back?"
You see, as the Lord tells Samuel, "Man looks on outward appearance, the Lord looks on the things of the heart." And it is what is in our hearts that makes all the difference. Jesus reminded us later in one of the parables that the absence of one spirit eventually brings on the presence of another, and if the things of God are not the things of our hearts, then what spirit will have its power in us?
When we look at today's Gospel Lesson, we can find that very same comparison: we see two kinds of people, the Pharisees who were searching for a way to condemn Christ, and who couldn't see the good that was done in the healing of the man who had been blind since birth; and, of course, the blind man himself who, even after being subjected to the questioning and insults of the Pharisees and being thrown out of the temple, still believed in Jesus Christ and fell down and worshipped him.
Perhaps our New Testament Lesson sums it all up best: "Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. Wake up, O Sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
You have heard before that Jesus doesn't choose us for our ability, but rather for our availability. Even then he doesn't ask us to do anything other than to be the best that we can be. When we have faith and trust in God, he will empower us to become his servants doing the work that he would have us do. Amen
