When You Need a Life-Changing Moment
Worship
Bright Intervals
40 Brief Worship Services and Meditations for Any Occasion
Object:
Greeting and Call To Worship
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. Praise the name of the Lord!
Opening Prayer
God of grace, you continue to bring new life and new possibilities to your people. Forgive us for ever thinking we are too old to change. Remind us that in the power of your Spirit, all things are possible. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Special Hymn
"I Love To Tell The Story"
This hymn was written in 1868 by Katherine Hankey. She was a woman of culture and deep faith in Christ. At an early age, she became interested in Sunday School work in London. Her influence with shop-girls in London was great, and many who attended her Bible classes became members of the church. Some of her best hymns were inspired by her experiences as a Sunday School teacher. In the midst of her work in London, Katherine was called to Africa to nurse an invalid brother. While there she became very interested in mission work, and upon her return to England, she was moved to donate the proceeds of her writings to foreign missions. It was evangelist Dwight L. Moody who popularized this hymn in America.
Scripture Reading
Luke 19:1-10
Meditation
Let me tell you about a man named John who is very bright and successful. He moved up the corporate ladder so quickly, even he was amazed. He has a lovely, attractive wife, two beautiful children, and more money than he knows what to do with. But a few years ago, something happened to John that changed his life forever. While swimming alone in the ocean on a family vacation, John was hit by a huge wave and knocked unconscious. Fortunately, a little boy playing in the sand saw John's unconscious body, and got his parents to help drag the drowning man from the water. A lifeguard administered CPR, and with the care of a good doctor and the support of a loving family, John returned to health. But if you were to talk to John today, he would tell you that his life has never been the same. He says, "I wish that wave had hit me 25 years ago! I suddenly realized that my whole life needed changing. Today it is my family, my relationship to God, and what I can do for others that counts."
How long has it been since you experienced a life-changing moment like the one that changed John's life? How long has it been since something touched you so deeply that your life has never been the same? Life-changing moments like that happened to many people when they encountered Jesus Christ; Zacchaeus, about whom we read, is one of those people. On a never-to-be-forgotten-day, Zacchaeus, who looked to everyone to be a very successful person, realized that he was little more than a greedy public official who prospered by cheating others. But when he invited Jesus into his home and into his life, all that changed!
Now, do not dismiss this as a pious fairy tale, or another of those too-good-to-be-true stories they write about in Guideposts magazine! If you are living in a way that you are secretly ashamed of yourself, or if you have gotten away from God and the church, or if you find your days empty and meaningless, know that the Living God has a life-changing moment for you! Christianity is not just a Sunday religion we talk about in church. At the heart of the Christian faith is God's promise that you can have a new beginning, a fresh start, and a life-changing moment like that of Zacchaeus.
Look at what happened to Zacchaeus when he decided to invite Jesus Christ into his home and his life. Suddenly, Zacchaeus had a whole new understanding of himself. Everyone else in ancient Jericho knew that Zacchaeus was a liar, a loser, and a louse! Worst of all, Zacchaeus knew they were right! But along came Jesus, who would not accept the labels we or others place on our lives. Jesus treated Zacchaeus as if he were a child of God, a person of worth, and a man who still had the possibility of a new kind of life.
Zacchaeus not only changed personally, but socially as well. He came down out of that tree and, for the first time in his life, he discovered the joy of reaching out to those around him in love. In fact, the Bible says he gave away to others far beyond the value of the goods he had stolen from them. More than anything else, Zacchaeus changed in his understanding of God. Instead of thinking of God as some distant, remote judge, Zacchaeus discovered a God who offers us pardon for our past, power for our present, and promise for our future.
There is a story about a little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. His mother asked him what happened, and he said, "I guess I stayed too close to where I got in!" A lot of people do that all their lives -- they stay so close to where they have always been, they never discover the phenomenal power of our loving God to change our lives.
Closing Prayer
O God, let this old story of Jesus and his love make possible a life-changing moment for us. Amen.
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. Praise the name of the Lord!
Opening Prayer
God of grace, you continue to bring new life and new possibilities to your people. Forgive us for ever thinking we are too old to change. Remind us that in the power of your Spirit, all things are possible. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Special Hymn
"I Love To Tell The Story"
This hymn was written in 1868 by Katherine Hankey. She was a woman of culture and deep faith in Christ. At an early age, she became interested in Sunday School work in London. Her influence with shop-girls in London was great, and many who attended her Bible classes became members of the church. Some of her best hymns were inspired by her experiences as a Sunday School teacher. In the midst of her work in London, Katherine was called to Africa to nurse an invalid brother. While there she became very interested in mission work, and upon her return to England, she was moved to donate the proceeds of her writings to foreign missions. It was evangelist Dwight L. Moody who popularized this hymn in America.
Scripture Reading
Luke 19:1-10
Meditation
Let me tell you about a man named John who is very bright and successful. He moved up the corporate ladder so quickly, even he was amazed. He has a lovely, attractive wife, two beautiful children, and more money than he knows what to do with. But a few years ago, something happened to John that changed his life forever. While swimming alone in the ocean on a family vacation, John was hit by a huge wave and knocked unconscious. Fortunately, a little boy playing in the sand saw John's unconscious body, and got his parents to help drag the drowning man from the water. A lifeguard administered CPR, and with the care of a good doctor and the support of a loving family, John returned to health. But if you were to talk to John today, he would tell you that his life has never been the same. He says, "I wish that wave had hit me 25 years ago! I suddenly realized that my whole life needed changing. Today it is my family, my relationship to God, and what I can do for others that counts."
How long has it been since you experienced a life-changing moment like the one that changed John's life? How long has it been since something touched you so deeply that your life has never been the same? Life-changing moments like that happened to many people when they encountered Jesus Christ; Zacchaeus, about whom we read, is one of those people. On a never-to-be-forgotten-day, Zacchaeus, who looked to everyone to be a very successful person, realized that he was little more than a greedy public official who prospered by cheating others. But when he invited Jesus into his home and into his life, all that changed!
Now, do not dismiss this as a pious fairy tale, or another of those too-good-to-be-true stories they write about in Guideposts magazine! If you are living in a way that you are secretly ashamed of yourself, or if you have gotten away from God and the church, or if you find your days empty and meaningless, know that the Living God has a life-changing moment for you! Christianity is not just a Sunday religion we talk about in church. At the heart of the Christian faith is God's promise that you can have a new beginning, a fresh start, and a life-changing moment like that of Zacchaeus.
Look at what happened to Zacchaeus when he decided to invite Jesus Christ into his home and his life. Suddenly, Zacchaeus had a whole new understanding of himself. Everyone else in ancient Jericho knew that Zacchaeus was a liar, a loser, and a louse! Worst of all, Zacchaeus knew they were right! But along came Jesus, who would not accept the labels we or others place on our lives. Jesus treated Zacchaeus as if he were a child of God, a person of worth, and a man who still had the possibility of a new kind of life.
Zacchaeus not only changed personally, but socially as well. He came down out of that tree and, for the first time in his life, he discovered the joy of reaching out to those around him in love. In fact, the Bible says he gave away to others far beyond the value of the goods he had stolen from them. More than anything else, Zacchaeus changed in his understanding of God. Instead of thinking of God as some distant, remote judge, Zacchaeus discovered a God who offers us pardon for our past, power for our present, and promise for our future.
There is a story about a little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. His mother asked him what happened, and he said, "I guess I stayed too close to where I got in!" A lot of people do that all their lives -- they stay so close to where they have always been, they never discover the phenomenal power of our loving God to change our lives.
Closing Prayer
O God, let this old story of Jesus and his love make possible a life-changing moment for us. Amen.
