L: How are we called to live?
P: Ever reaching toward God: centering ourselves in prayer, in worship, in devotion to our Lord.
L: How are we called to live?
P: Ever reaching toward our neighbor: offering charity and kindness, justice and compassion.
L: How are we called to live?
P: In Love.
All: May we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. And may we love our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Call to Worship Inspired by Genesis 1 & Matthew 22:15-22
L: As we come together in worship, may our eyes be open to the things of God:
P: The light and the dark, the day and the night, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
L: The sky, the water, and the land and everything that grows in them.
P: All the animals of every kind: fish and birds and livestock and bugs.
L: And us, you and me, and them, all of us - every human being.
P: All of creation is God’s.
L: God our creator reigns over God’s good creation.
P: There is nothing that is not God’s.
L: May we live into this truth, placing all we have and all we are into God’s hands.
P: May we see all things as Yours.
All: Amen.
P: The light and the dark, the day and the night, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
L: The sky, the water, and the land and everything that grows in them.
P: All the animals of every kind: fish and birds and livestock and bugs.
L: And us, you and me, and them, all of us - every human being.
P: All of creation is God’s.
L: God our creator reigns over God’s good creation.
P: There is nothing that is not God’s.
L: May we live into this truth, placing all we have and all we are into God’s hands.
P: May we see all things as Yours.
All: Amen.
Monday, October 2, 2023
"Make My Joy Complete" a sermon on Matthew 21:23-32 & Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32
Philippians 2:1-13
“Make My Joy Complete”
Preached Sunday, October 1, 2023
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
In movies and books we call this the reluctant hero trope. Frodo Baggins who wanted a quiet life in the Shire but instead gave up everything to bring the ring to Mordor, ultimately defeating evil, and saving the world. Spiderman didn't want to be a hero but as his dying Uncle Ben told him, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Shrek, who just wanted to protect his swamp, and ended up protecting all fairy tale creatures.
But this isn’t just in movies - our world is full of people who have changed the shape of our world for the better - but it was not something they would have chosen for themselves. Malala Yousafzai (YOU-saf- za) just wanted to go to school and for other girls to be able to go to school, instead she got shot by the Taliban, thrust into the spotlight, and became an advocate for girls’ and womens’ education everywhere. Oskar Schindler of the famous movie “Schindler’s List” but also a real life person, was originally motivated by profit, hoping to make some money during WWII, and instead ended up saving thousands of lives and spending his entire fortune on bribes to be able to protect and save the lives of Jewish people. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, reluctantly went to a Bible study on Aldersgate Street - he didn’t want to be there! But while there he felt God strangely warming his heart, convicting him that God loved him - yes, even him! And the world was never the same after that - and we are here today as United Methodists because he reluctantly went to Bible study.
And of course, the Bible is full of reluctant disciples. Moses said, anyone but me! But he went and led people out of Egypt anyway. Jonah said, heck no - and ran in the opposite direction, but he brought God’s message to Nineveh anyway. Esther didn’t want to bring the case of the Hebrew people before the king, but she did anyway - saving her people. Peter denied Jesus three times - and yet he faithfully built God’s church and became a martyr anyway. Even Jesus said, “take this cup from me” but he went to the cross anyway.
I’ll ask again: Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
This is the theme of the parable of the two sons that Jesus tells in today’s Gospel lesson. Both sons were asked by their father to go and work. One said, “Yes, I will go!” but then didn’t make good on his word. The other said, “No, I will not go.” but then changed his mind and went. Jesus asks his listeners, “Which of the two sons did what their dad wanted them to do?” The answer, of course, was the son who said no but went anyway.
This short parable helps illustrate that, while God cares about our words and intentions - Jesus cared an awful lot about our actions, what we do. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t tell people to “Go and be” or “Go and believe.” He tells them “Go and do.”
In the passage immediately before our reading today, Jesus curses a fig tree that has not borne fruit. One of those passages that can leave us scratching our heads. Like, were you hungry, Jesus? Is this one of those Snickers commercials? You’re not yourself when you’re hungry - eat a Snickers. No, the fig tree is acting as a metaphor for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is frustrated with those who say they know him but they don’t act on it, they don’t bear fruit. It harkens back to an earlier conversation Jesus had in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
And so, it wasn’t the son who said yes and then didn’t do his father’s will, but the son who said no and then did - he is the one who did the will of his father - even if he didn’t say what his father wanted him to say.
So now let’s bring in the Good News today, the encouragement that I want to draw from this passage and share with you: Even if you don’t want to do what God is asking you to do… Even if you don’t want to share your faith with others; even if you don’t want to step out of your comfort zone and serve the marginalized; even if you don’t want to change your routines, your opinions, your mind to make room for better love of God and neighbor; even if you don’t want your church to adapt to a changing world to reach new people with the Gospel…even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - YOU are doing the will of God. Even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - God will work through you, honestly, God will work DESPITE you - to make God’s self known to the world AND to you. And then, if you say “no, I don’t want to” and then do anyway - then the attitude and the joy of doing God’s will, will follow.
Here are some examples from my own life: I didn’t want to go to the weekend pop-up homeless shelter and eat dinner with our siblings experiencing homelessness - but I did. And in them, I saw Christ and was humbled. I didn’t want to sit down and have a conversation with a parishioner who disagreed with me on inclusion of lgbtq individuals in the life of the church, but I did, and we both came out of that conversation with a greater understanding of and love for each other. I didn’t want to submit to the vow of itinerancy, pack up my home, and move my family - but I did and I’m discovering how deeply God is calling me to serve the people of Boardman UMC.
There are so many more examples, I’m sure. Perhaps you are thinking of times in your own life where you didn’t want to, but did, and then got to experience the joy of seeing God at work through you and yes, even despite you.
In our reading from Philippians today, it quotes part of what we have come to call the Kenosis hymn, possibly a hymn of the early church that describes how Jesus, who was God, humbled himself, left all his privileges behind, emptied himself, and became human, became one of us. We too are called to humble ourselves and empty ourselves - empty ourselves of our reluctance, our unwillingness, our fears - whatever it is that holds us back from being doers of God’s will, whatever holds us back from bearing fruit. We are called to empty ourselves so that in emptying ourselves of that which holds us back, we would create room, opening ourselves up to God. By going, by doing - we are opening ourselves up to seeing Christ in those we serve, those who serve alongside us, in all of our neighbors. By emptying ourselves of what holds us back, we are opening ourselves up to joy. When we go and do - even if we don’t want to or are unsure - and actually especially if we go and do, go and serve, outside of our comfort zone - we open ourselves up to God and the joy that comes from experiencing Christ at work in this world. And that joy that is born out of stepping out and doing, even if we do it reluctantly, that joy is multiplied within and around us - so that, the next time we are called to go and do - we won’t have that reluctance, or we won’t have as much reluctance.
When we go and do the will of God - with reluctance or with eager joy - God will shape us in love, and use us for love, over and over, until in Christ, our joy is made wholly complete.
And so, I will ask you one more time:
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway? And in doing so, have you experienced the joy of seeing Christ at work in our world? May we all experience that joy.
Amen.
Philippians 2:1-13
“Make My Joy Complete”
Preached Sunday, October 1, 2023
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
In movies and books we call this the reluctant hero trope. Frodo Baggins who wanted a quiet life in the Shire but instead gave up everything to bring the ring to Mordor, ultimately defeating evil, and saving the world. Spiderman didn't want to be a hero but as his dying Uncle Ben told him, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Shrek, who just wanted to protect his swamp, and ended up protecting all fairy tale creatures.
But this isn’t just in movies - our world is full of people who have changed the shape of our world for the better - but it was not something they would have chosen for themselves. Malala Yousafzai (YOU-saf- za) just wanted to go to school and for other girls to be able to go to school, instead she got shot by the Taliban, thrust into the spotlight, and became an advocate for girls’ and womens’ education everywhere. Oskar Schindler of the famous movie “Schindler’s List” but also a real life person, was originally motivated by profit, hoping to make some money during WWII, and instead ended up saving thousands of lives and spending his entire fortune on bribes to be able to protect and save the lives of Jewish people. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, reluctantly went to a Bible study on Aldersgate Street - he didn’t want to be there! But while there he felt God strangely warming his heart, convicting him that God loved him - yes, even him! And the world was never the same after that - and we are here today as United Methodists because he reluctantly went to Bible study.
And of course, the Bible is full of reluctant disciples. Moses said, anyone but me! But he went and led people out of Egypt anyway. Jonah said, heck no - and ran in the opposite direction, but he brought God’s message to Nineveh anyway. Esther didn’t want to bring the case of the Hebrew people before the king, but she did anyway - saving her people. Peter denied Jesus three times - and yet he faithfully built God’s church and became a martyr anyway. Even Jesus said, “take this cup from me” but he went to the cross anyway.
I’ll ask again: Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway?
This is the theme of the parable of the two sons that Jesus tells in today’s Gospel lesson. Both sons were asked by their father to go and work. One said, “Yes, I will go!” but then didn’t make good on his word. The other said, “No, I will not go.” but then changed his mind and went. Jesus asks his listeners, “Which of the two sons did what their dad wanted them to do?” The answer, of course, was the son who said no but went anyway.
This short parable helps illustrate that, while God cares about our words and intentions - Jesus cared an awful lot about our actions, what we do. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t tell people to “Go and be” or “Go and believe.” He tells them “Go and do.”
In the passage immediately before our reading today, Jesus curses a fig tree that has not borne fruit. One of those passages that can leave us scratching our heads. Like, were you hungry, Jesus? Is this one of those Snickers commercials? You’re not yourself when you’re hungry - eat a Snickers. No, the fig tree is acting as a metaphor for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is frustrated with those who say they know him but they don’t act on it, they don’t bear fruit. It harkens back to an earlier conversation Jesus had in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
And so, it wasn’t the son who said yes and then didn’t do his father’s will, but the son who said no and then did - he is the one who did the will of his father - even if he didn’t say what his father wanted him to say.
So now let’s bring in the Good News today, the encouragement that I want to draw from this passage and share with you: Even if you don’t want to do what God is asking you to do… Even if you don’t want to share your faith with others; even if you don’t want to step out of your comfort zone and serve the marginalized; even if you don’t want to change your routines, your opinions, your mind to make room for better love of God and neighbor; even if you don’t want your church to adapt to a changing world to reach new people with the Gospel…even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - YOU are doing the will of God. Even if you say “no - I don’t want to” but then you do anyway - God will work through you, honestly, God will work DESPITE you - to make God’s self known to the world AND to you. And then, if you say “no, I don’t want to” and then do anyway - then the attitude and the joy of doing God’s will, will follow.
Here are some examples from my own life: I didn’t want to go to the weekend pop-up homeless shelter and eat dinner with our siblings experiencing homelessness - but I did. And in them, I saw Christ and was humbled. I didn’t want to sit down and have a conversation with a parishioner who disagreed with me on inclusion of lgbtq individuals in the life of the church, but I did, and we both came out of that conversation with a greater understanding of and love for each other. I didn’t want to submit to the vow of itinerancy, pack up my home, and move my family - but I did and I’m discovering how deeply God is calling me to serve the people of Boardman UMC.
There are so many more examples, I’m sure. Perhaps you are thinking of times in your own life where you didn’t want to, but did, and then got to experience the joy of seeing God at work through you and yes, even despite you.
In our reading from Philippians today, it quotes part of what we have come to call the Kenosis hymn, possibly a hymn of the early church that describes how Jesus, who was God, humbled himself, left all his privileges behind, emptied himself, and became human, became one of us. We too are called to humble ourselves and empty ourselves - empty ourselves of our reluctance, our unwillingness, our fears - whatever it is that holds us back from being doers of God’s will, whatever holds us back from bearing fruit. We are called to empty ourselves so that in emptying ourselves of that which holds us back, we would create room, opening ourselves up to God. By going, by doing - we are opening ourselves up to seeing Christ in those we serve, those who serve alongside us, in all of our neighbors. By emptying ourselves of what holds us back, we are opening ourselves up to joy. When we go and do - even if we don’t want to or are unsure - and actually especially if we go and do, go and serve, outside of our comfort zone - we open ourselves up to God and the joy that comes from experiencing Christ at work in this world. And that joy that is born out of stepping out and doing, even if we do it reluctantly, that joy is multiplied within and around us - so that, the next time we are called to go and do - we won’t have that reluctance, or we won’t have as much reluctance.
When we go and do the will of God - with reluctance or with eager joy - God will shape us in love, and use us for love, over and over, until in Christ, our joy is made wholly complete.
And so, I will ask you one more time:
Have you ever not wanted to do something you should do, something that would be good, for you, for the world, for God…you just didn’t want to do it, but then you did it anyway? And in doing so, have you experienced the joy of seeing Christ at work in our world? May we all experience that joy.
Amen.
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
"Living Out Generosity: Gifts" a sermon on Matthew 6:19-21
Matthew 6:19-21
“Living Out Generosity: Gifts”
Preached Sunday, September 24, 2023
Today is our final Sunday in our sermon series, “Living Out Generosity.” We have been talking about our membership vows we make as United Methodists, to faithfully and generously serve God with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.
Generally, stewardship campaigns at churches focus majorly on the financial, and we will focus on that today, AND, I have chosen to focus on all of our vows for this series because I truly believe that generosity begets generosity. And when we are generous in one area of our lives, it spills over to our others.
So throughout this I have tried to simplify how we think about these things and what it means to live them out. Let’s do a re-cap:
To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God.
To be generous with our presence is to show up.
To be generous with our service and witness is to see Jesus, be Jesus, and share Jesus.
And that brings us to being generous with our gifts. And while sometimes we talk about being generous with gifts as being generous with our talents, our spiritual gifts, which God has gifted all of us with and that is a part of a generous Christian life - today I want to talk specifically about financial gifts. For I feel, of all the things we talk about: prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness - this is the one that makes us most uncomfortable. It’s the hardest one to talk about. And even, hear me say this, great harm has been done by those who talk about it flippantly or without sensitivity. While I summed up the other vows in short phrases that push us to not just be but do - draw near, show up, see, be, share - I cannot yet do that today when I talk about giving generously with our gifts. What I can do is encourage each of us to get a little uncomfortable. To talk about our understanding of money and finances, to make a plan that ensures our basic needs are met, and that takes into account love of God and love of neighbor.
So why is talking about money such an uncomfortable thing for us? Something that makes us shift in the pews or a topic that is considered one of the impolite things to talk about: sex, money, and politics are the three things that can make the conversation at a family dinner go awry - even though as a church we are, in many ways, called to talk about these things - that is, the Gospel doesn’t exclude any areas of our lives.
In order to figure out why talking about money makes us uncomfortable - we have to have uncomfortable conversations. Conversations with ourselves and with God - and conversations between spouses and even parents and children. We need explicit conversations about how we approach money and giving and we need to pass these conversations on to our children as well.
We need to start with looking within ourselves and identifying our narratives we’ve been telling ourselves about money. This includes how we grew up, if we wanted or had enough, if we were formed with narratives of abundance or narratives of scarcity. If we saw giving as something that was done because people were shamed into it, or because people cheerfully planned to give, or if we ourselves were the recipient of generous giving. If we get anxious or scared when we talk about money. If having money or not having money affects our self-worth, our self-image, how we view ourselves. We bring all of this to the table, to the forefront of our minds, when we start to talk about money and giving. We need to understand where we’ve been to understand where we are. This is not easy work and it is work our larger culture, by and large, tells us not to do - doesn’t want us to do. If we don’t talk about money, money is more likely to have power over us. To shame us, to control us, to get us to buy certain products or act in certain ways that selfishly benefit others, to continue the never-ending rat race of always wanting and working for more.
Instead, I believe when we do our own inner work, and understand our own money stories, our own reactions, we can then begin to have agency in how we use this resource to the glory of God and aid of others.
Henri Nouwen in his book “The Spirituality of Fundraising” says, “The reason for the taboo [around money] is that money has something to do with the intimate place in our heart where we need security, and we do not want to reveal our need or give away our security to someone who, maybe only accidentally, might betray us.”
Basically, I am not saying that we are bad people for having a complicated, uncomfortable, relationship with money and I do not want to make you feel guilty for it this morning - what I am saying is, our relationship with money is based on our very human need for security, to feel safe. When we realize that this is the place where this comes from, I feel like it erases some of the stigma around money. At the end of the day, our concerns about money come from that place in our heart that is concerned about our safety and security and the safety and security of those we love.
Our culture tells us that the answer to our questions about security comes in the accumulation of wealth and material goods - but the Bible has a very different answer.
The Gospel from this morning says to not put our trust in earthly things: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I want to highlight that last line, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Now, we usually think that where our heart is, our treasure will follow. Right? Like, we give and invest and spend money on the things that are important to us. Jesus actually says that it is the opposite. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. This is not just a change in semantics. Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Let me repeat that ‘cause I think it’s important: Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Financial commitments require time and energy. They can pull our heart in a direction that perhaps neither we nor God ever intended. If you buy a house that requires a large percentage of your income, you have no choice but to spend time and energy and money in paying for it. For my generation, it is student loan debt. I have many friends who have become consumed and overwhelmed with the burden of finding a job that pays enough that they can make even the smallest dent on their loans - not to mention one that offers health care! Our ability to pay back these large, all-consuming debts becomes a marker of our worth and our ability to even survive. When you put your treasure into anything, your heart will follow. And some of it, we can’t help. Some of it is the way our system is set up with systems of generational poverty, student loan debt, medical debt, the rising cost of living, and so much more. And that’s not cause for shame. It’s an unfair and injustice reality that breaks God’s heart.
And, when the church offers an opportunity to give, for those who are consciously able to, it’s a chance, an opportunity, not just to support the life, work, and ministry of the church but to invest your treasure in a place where your heart will follow - a place that, every day, works to be more like the Kingdom of God.
I am not embarrassed or ashamed to stand before you today and say that we as a church need your financial gifts to accomplish our goals and to live out the calling that God is placing on our church - to fully discern and live out where God is calling us and who God is calling us to be as a community of love and as a church. I am not embarrassed and I do not approach this ask with trepidation because it is a spiritual act. Nouwen says, “As a form of ministry, fundraising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry.” Just as preaching, leading you in prayer, and offering pastoral care are spiritual acts that I am called to do as your pastor, so too am I called to invite you into generous living and giving generously in all areas of your life, including your finances. All of these things invite you into deepening your spiritual life and living more closely into the life God calls us to as followers of Jesus. And so, I want to talk about money as joyously as we sing our favorite hymns - the reason I decided to do a hymn sing the Sunday we talk about generosity through our finances.
So yes, as a church and as your pastor, we are going to ask you for money. Once again this year, we will be sending out pledge cards and asking you to fill them out. The ask, however, does not come from a place of insecurity for our security is found in God. The ask comes from a place of seeing where, together, our generosity can build a community of love, where we can come together with generosity in all areas of our lives, to create a community of love here at Boardman United Methodist Church, to create the Kingdom of God, here in our midst.
My prayer is that it is not just for the money or gifts that is the outcome of generosity with our finances, not just an increased budget or being able to meet all our commitments and goals - although that is certainly a wanted outcome, too. My hope and prayer is that through the spiritually transformative act of giving, we ourselves would deepen our own faith and relationships with each other and strengthen our ties to God and to this community.
I believe as a church community, we have some of the most important things that the world needs: belonging, friendship, prayer, peace, love, service to others, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we have the ability to invest in the local church, we are saying: these things matter to me and I know they matter to others. I can invest in something I believe in, hoping to share it with others.
And so let’s go back to where we talked about simplifying our membership vows.
To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God.
To be generous with our presence is to show up.
To be generous with our service and witness is to see Jesus, be Jesus, and share Jesus.
And now, maybe I would say, to be generous with our gifts, is to take stock of our hearts…and our treasure. And see if they are aligned or if they are at odds. To see if our treasure is pulling us in a direction we want our hearts to go in.
And so my closing challenge to you is this:
Ask yourself the hard questions. Have these conversations about your money and your faith with yourself, with God, with your family. And, if and as you are able, make a plan to cheerfully and generously invest both your treasure and your heart here - in a church community that is working to build the Kingdom of God, in a church that has so much to offer the world.
I do want to thank you for going on this generous journey with me. For taking up my challenges. For seriously examining what it means to live a generous Christian life. Thank you for all the ways you already do and all the ways we are all growing together.
Amen.
“Living Out Generosity: Gifts”
Preached Sunday, September 24, 2023
Today is our final Sunday in our sermon series, “Living Out Generosity.” We have been talking about our membership vows we make as United Methodists, to faithfully and generously serve God with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.
Generally, stewardship campaigns at churches focus majorly on the financial, and we will focus on that today, AND, I have chosen to focus on all of our vows for this series because I truly believe that generosity begets generosity. And when we are generous in one area of our lives, it spills over to our others.
So throughout this I have tried to simplify how we think about these things and what it means to live them out. Let’s do a re-cap:
To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God.
To be generous with our presence is to show up.
To be generous with our service and witness is to see Jesus, be Jesus, and share Jesus.
And that brings us to being generous with our gifts. And while sometimes we talk about being generous with gifts as being generous with our talents, our spiritual gifts, which God has gifted all of us with and that is a part of a generous Christian life - today I want to talk specifically about financial gifts. For I feel, of all the things we talk about: prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness - this is the one that makes us most uncomfortable. It’s the hardest one to talk about. And even, hear me say this, great harm has been done by those who talk about it flippantly or without sensitivity. While I summed up the other vows in short phrases that push us to not just be but do - draw near, show up, see, be, share - I cannot yet do that today when I talk about giving generously with our gifts. What I can do is encourage each of us to get a little uncomfortable. To talk about our understanding of money and finances, to make a plan that ensures our basic needs are met, and that takes into account love of God and love of neighbor.
So why is talking about money such an uncomfortable thing for us? Something that makes us shift in the pews or a topic that is considered one of the impolite things to talk about: sex, money, and politics are the three things that can make the conversation at a family dinner go awry - even though as a church we are, in many ways, called to talk about these things - that is, the Gospel doesn’t exclude any areas of our lives.
In order to figure out why talking about money makes us uncomfortable - we have to have uncomfortable conversations. Conversations with ourselves and with God - and conversations between spouses and even parents and children. We need explicit conversations about how we approach money and giving and we need to pass these conversations on to our children as well.
We need to start with looking within ourselves and identifying our narratives we’ve been telling ourselves about money. This includes how we grew up, if we wanted or had enough, if we were formed with narratives of abundance or narratives of scarcity. If we saw giving as something that was done because people were shamed into it, or because people cheerfully planned to give, or if we ourselves were the recipient of generous giving. If we get anxious or scared when we talk about money. If having money or not having money affects our self-worth, our self-image, how we view ourselves. We bring all of this to the table, to the forefront of our minds, when we start to talk about money and giving. We need to understand where we’ve been to understand where we are. This is not easy work and it is work our larger culture, by and large, tells us not to do - doesn’t want us to do. If we don’t talk about money, money is more likely to have power over us. To shame us, to control us, to get us to buy certain products or act in certain ways that selfishly benefit others, to continue the never-ending rat race of always wanting and working for more.
Instead, I believe when we do our own inner work, and understand our own money stories, our own reactions, we can then begin to have agency in how we use this resource to the glory of God and aid of others.
Henri Nouwen in his book “The Spirituality of Fundraising” says, “The reason for the taboo [around money] is that money has something to do with the intimate place in our heart where we need security, and we do not want to reveal our need or give away our security to someone who, maybe only accidentally, might betray us.”
Basically, I am not saying that we are bad people for having a complicated, uncomfortable, relationship with money and I do not want to make you feel guilty for it this morning - what I am saying is, our relationship with money is based on our very human need for security, to feel safe. When we realize that this is the place where this comes from, I feel like it erases some of the stigma around money. At the end of the day, our concerns about money come from that place in our heart that is concerned about our safety and security and the safety and security of those we love.
Our culture tells us that the answer to our questions about security comes in the accumulation of wealth and material goods - but the Bible has a very different answer.
The Gospel from this morning says to not put our trust in earthly things: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I want to highlight that last line, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Now, we usually think that where our heart is, our treasure will follow. Right? Like, we give and invest and spend money on the things that are important to us. Jesus actually says that it is the opposite. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. This is not just a change in semantics. Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Let me repeat that ‘cause I think it’s important: Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Financial commitments require time and energy. They can pull our heart in a direction that perhaps neither we nor God ever intended. If you buy a house that requires a large percentage of your income, you have no choice but to spend time and energy and money in paying for it. For my generation, it is student loan debt. I have many friends who have become consumed and overwhelmed with the burden of finding a job that pays enough that they can make even the smallest dent on their loans - not to mention one that offers health care! Our ability to pay back these large, all-consuming debts becomes a marker of our worth and our ability to even survive. When you put your treasure into anything, your heart will follow. And some of it, we can’t help. Some of it is the way our system is set up with systems of generational poverty, student loan debt, medical debt, the rising cost of living, and so much more. And that’s not cause for shame. It’s an unfair and injustice reality that breaks God’s heart.
And, when the church offers an opportunity to give, for those who are consciously able to, it’s a chance, an opportunity, not just to support the life, work, and ministry of the church but to invest your treasure in a place where your heart will follow - a place that, every day, works to be more like the Kingdom of God.
I am not embarrassed or ashamed to stand before you today and say that we as a church need your financial gifts to accomplish our goals and to live out the calling that God is placing on our church - to fully discern and live out where God is calling us and who God is calling us to be as a community of love and as a church. I am not embarrassed and I do not approach this ask with trepidation because it is a spiritual act. Nouwen says, “As a form of ministry, fundraising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry.” Just as preaching, leading you in prayer, and offering pastoral care are spiritual acts that I am called to do as your pastor, so too am I called to invite you into generous living and giving generously in all areas of your life, including your finances. All of these things invite you into deepening your spiritual life and living more closely into the life God calls us to as followers of Jesus. And so, I want to talk about money as joyously as we sing our favorite hymns - the reason I decided to do a hymn sing the Sunday we talk about generosity through our finances.
So yes, as a church and as your pastor, we are going to ask you for money. Once again this year, we will be sending out pledge cards and asking you to fill them out. The ask, however, does not come from a place of insecurity for our security is found in God. The ask comes from a place of seeing where, together, our generosity can build a community of love, where we can come together with generosity in all areas of our lives, to create a community of love here at Boardman United Methodist Church, to create the Kingdom of God, here in our midst.
My prayer is that it is not just for the money or gifts that is the outcome of generosity with our finances, not just an increased budget or being able to meet all our commitments and goals - although that is certainly a wanted outcome, too. My hope and prayer is that through the spiritually transformative act of giving, we ourselves would deepen our own faith and relationships with each other and strengthen our ties to God and to this community.
I believe as a church community, we have some of the most important things that the world needs: belonging, friendship, prayer, peace, love, service to others, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we have the ability to invest in the local church, we are saying: these things matter to me and I know they matter to others. I can invest in something I believe in, hoping to share it with others.
And so let’s go back to where we talked about simplifying our membership vows.
To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God.
To be generous with our presence is to show up.
To be generous with our service and witness is to see Jesus, be Jesus, and share Jesus.
And now, maybe I would say, to be generous with our gifts, is to take stock of our hearts…and our treasure. And see if they are aligned or if they are at odds. To see if our treasure is pulling us in a direction we want our hearts to go in.
And so my closing challenge to you is this:
Ask yourself the hard questions. Have these conversations about your money and your faith with yourself, with God, with your family. And, if and as you are able, make a plan to cheerfully and generously invest both your treasure and your heart here - in a church community that is working to build the Kingdom of God, in a church that has so much to offer the world.
I do want to thank you for going on this generous journey with me. For taking up my challenges. For seriously examining what it means to live a generous Christian life. Thank you for all the ways you already do and all the ways we are all growing together.
Amen.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Call to Worship based on Philippians 2:1-13
Leader: Holy God, we pray to you this morning:
People: Make our joy complete.
L: As many gather and become one in the Body of Christ:
P: Make our joy complete.
L: As we faithfully serve you:
P: Make our joy complete.
L: As we worship our God, who, though equal with God, humbled himself:
P: Make our joy complete.
L: As God works within us, today and always:
P: Make our joy complete.
All: In joy we worship you, Amen.
People: Make our joy complete.
L: As many gather and become one in the Body of Christ:
P: Make our joy complete.
L: As we faithfully serve you:
P: Make our joy complete.
L: As we worship our God, who, though equal with God, humbled himself:
P: Make our joy complete.
L: As God works within us, today and always:
P: Make our joy complete.
All: In joy we worship you, Amen.
Monday, September 18, 2023
"Living Out Generosity: Service & Witness" a sermon on Matthew 25:31-45
Matthew 25:31-45
“Living Out Generosity: Service & Witness”
Preached Sunday, September 17, 2023
This morning we are continuing our sermon series on living out our membership vows that we make as part of a United Methodist Church. To serve God faithfully by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. I have endeavored to simplify how we think of each of these things. To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God. To be generous with our presence is to show up. And today we are going to talk about being generous with our service and our witness. I'm talking about them together because I do believe they are so closely related. So to give generously of our service and witness is, simply put:
To see Christ in others.
To be Christ to others.
Those two comprise giving generously of our service.
And then to share Christ with others - which is giving generously of our witness.
When we talk about being generous in our service, seeing Christ in others and being Christ to them, there is no passage that comes to mind more than Matthew 25. In it Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, visit the sick and the prisoner - we do these things to Christ himself.
What we do to each other, especially those who are in the most need, those who are the most marginalized, what we do to the least of these, we do to and for Jesus.
Mother Theresea said, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, This is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”
I fully support the practice of reminding ourselves that the least of these are Jesus.
The next time you see someone who is an addict say, “This is addicted Jesus.” The next time you see someone living on the street say, “This is homeless Jesus.” The next time you see something on the news about immigrants or you hear or see a local raid say, “This is undocumented Jesus.” The next time you see someone who is acting erratic or talking to themselves say, “This is mentally ill Jesus.”
“Living Out Generosity: Service & Witness”
Preached Sunday, September 17, 2023
This morning we are continuing our sermon series on living out our membership vows that we make as part of a United Methodist Church. To serve God faithfully by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. I have endeavored to simplify how we think of each of these things. To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God. To be generous with our presence is to show up. And today we are going to talk about being generous with our service and our witness. I'm talking about them together because I do believe they are so closely related. So to give generously of our service and witness is, simply put:
To see Christ in others.
To be Christ to others.
Those two comprise giving generously of our service.
And then to share Christ with others - which is giving generously of our witness.
When we talk about being generous in our service, seeing Christ in others and being Christ to them, there is no passage that comes to mind more than Matthew 25. In it Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, visit the sick and the prisoner - we do these things to Christ himself.
What we do to each other, especially those who are in the most need, those who are the most marginalized, what we do to the least of these, we do to and for Jesus.
Mother Theresea said, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, This is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”
I fully support the practice of reminding ourselves that the least of these are Jesus.
The next time you see someone who is an addict say, “This is addicted Jesus.” The next time you see someone living on the street say, “This is homeless Jesus.” The next time you see something on the news about immigrants or you hear or see a local raid say, “This is undocumented Jesus.” The next time you see someone who is acting erratic or talking to themselves say, “This is mentally ill Jesus.”
We need to practice seeing Jesus in the least of these. We need to train ourselves to recognize that Christ is among us - and often in those who might make us feel most uncomfortable or unsure of what to do.
When we see Jesus in the other, we are compelled to serve them. And when we serve others, out Christian charity or goodness or whatever it is, we come to see Jesus in others. The order is not what matters, what matters is the love and respect not just for Christ but for all those whom Christ manifests himself in: the least of these among us. For in the words of Catholic activist Dorothy Day, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” This can be a hard realization for us as Christians who proclaim and feel a deep love for God, but too often fail to love the least of these or those we classify as others, not us. And yet, in order to deepen our faith, deepen our love for God, we must undertake the practice of loving our neighbor.
Which brings us to the second part of service. If the first part of service is seeing Jesus in the other than the second part is being Jesus to them.
We know that Scripture tells us that we are the hands and feet of Christ. St. Theresa of Avila, expanded upon this well known Scripture by saying:
When we see Jesus in the other, we are compelled to serve them. And when we serve others, out Christian charity or goodness or whatever it is, we come to see Jesus in others. The order is not what matters, what matters is the love and respect not just for Christ but for all those whom Christ manifests himself in: the least of these among us. For in the words of Catholic activist Dorothy Day, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” This can be a hard realization for us as Christians who proclaim and feel a deep love for God, but too often fail to love the least of these or those we classify as others, not us. And yet, in order to deepen our faith, deepen our love for God, we must undertake the practice of loving our neighbor.
Which brings us to the second part of service. If the first part of service is seeing Jesus in the other than the second part is being Jesus to them.
We know that Scripture tells us that we are the hands and feet of Christ. St. Theresa of Avila, expanded upon this well known Scripture by saying:
“Christ has no body but yours; no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which his compassion looks out upon the world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”
We may be the only Christ someone ever knows when we offer them love through service. Or we may be the first representative of Christ they ever meet when we are generous in our service.
Christian service can really by summed up as this:
See Jesus in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
And BE Jesus to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
Or, as it says in a famous quote attributed to John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
All, all, all. See Christ in All. Be Christ to All.
We may be the only Christ someone ever knows when we offer them love through service. Or we may be the first representative of Christ they ever meet when we are generous in our service.
Christian service can really by summed up as this:
See Jesus in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
And BE Jesus to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
Or, as it says in a famous quote attributed to John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
All, all, all. See Christ in All. Be Christ to All.
This is Christian service.
Which is also closely tied to our Christian witness.
As we BE Christ to others, have no doubt that we are being watched. By those who want to know why we do what we do. And let’s be honest for a moment, Christians have not been the best witness to Christ in our world. The famous Ghandi quote is, “'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jesus calls us to be Christ to the world, to treat all we meet as Jesus, to show our faith through our love. But when you ask most nones (those who aren’t affiliated with any religion) or dones (those who have been hurt by the church) what they think of Christians, what the witness of Chrisitians by and large has been in our country and world - they are likely to say some unappealing and downright harmful things. The crusades; enforcement of strict gender roles and norms including inciting violence against those who don’t fit into strict boxes; the co-opting of religion by political parties that tell us there is one way to vote if we are Christian; the abuse perpetrated and covered up by religious leaders; they may even talk about street corner preachers and billboards that shout HELL IS REAL and try and scare and shame people into a relationship with Christ.
Friends, this is not it. It’s not how Christ calls us to act. It’s not how we share Christ with the world.
Which is also closely tied to our Christian witness.
As we BE Christ to others, have no doubt that we are being watched. By those who want to know why we do what we do. And let’s be honest for a moment, Christians have not been the best witness to Christ in our world. The famous Ghandi quote is, “'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jesus calls us to be Christ to the world, to treat all we meet as Jesus, to show our faith through our love. But when you ask most nones (those who aren’t affiliated with any religion) or dones (those who have been hurt by the church) what they think of Christians, what the witness of Chrisitians by and large has been in our country and world - they are likely to say some unappealing and downright harmful things. The crusades; enforcement of strict gender roles and norms including inciting violence against those who don’t fit into strict boxes; the co-opting of religion by political parties that tell us there is one way to vote if we are Christian; the abuse perpetrated and covered up by religious leaders; they may even talk about street corner preachers and billboards that shout HELL IS REAL and try and scare and shame people into a relationship with Christ.
Friends, this is not it. It’s not how Christ calls us to act. It’s not how we share Christ with the world.
The early church didn’t grow because of the right doctrine or amazing worship services or family friendly programming or even convicting sermons. The early church grew because of the radical way they showed up and showed love to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. This was their generous Christian witness. But it wasn’t done without also talking about why they did: their love for Christ and Christ’s love for the world.
A quote famously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and spread widely in Christian circles is this: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” Yes, it’s true - our Christian service, what we do, how we see Christ in others, how we be Christ to them - this is a powerful Christian witness. And, it is not enough in our world. We must show our faith with our whole lives: our actions and our words.
If we only talk about our faith but that talk is not infused with love and not backed up by our actions, people will have no desire to enter into a relationship with us, our church, or our God. It will be empty talk.
And if we only DO but never talk about our faith, how are others to truly know the why behind what we do and how we live our lives? How are they to know how our faith gets us through the hard times, comforting us through dark nights. How it increases our joy, making the light all the brighter. How it has given us a community and relationships that surround us with support and love. How our faith shapes us, forms us, has made us who we are...if we don’t say WHY along with what we DO, then no one will know beyond “well, they were being kind.” We must combat the negative witness of those who call themselves Christians but don’t share the love of Christ in this world. We must. We must let Christ lead us in all we do.
In order to share our witness, we must also share our service. In order to share our service, and for them to know why we do what we do, we must share our witness.
It’s like the hymn goes: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” And I would add - by telling them about that love.
Today we had the joy of baptizing three wonderful children of God. In our baptismal liturgy we promised that “With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ.” So that we would surround these children with a community of love and forgiveness, that through us, they would come to know Christ - they would know the God of love.
When we look at these children, we should say to ourselves, “Here is Jesus as a child. I will treat them like Christ himself. I will show them, with my words and actions, who Christ is, and what the Love of God looks like.”
This is generous service and witness. That we would see ALL we meet as we see these children that we baptized today. Loved by God. Loved by Jesus. Seeing them as Jesus himself. That we would see the least of these and every person we meet as Jesus. Then once we see them as Jesus, we then can BE Jesus to them, being the hands and feet of Christ in this world. And as we BE Jesus to them, sharing Jesus with them, not just with actions of love but words of love too.
Being generous in our service & witness is just this:
Seeing Christ.
Being Christ.
Sharing Christ.
So my challenge to you this morning is not an easy one, it is one that requires self-reflection and discipline, and that is to ask ourselves:: Are we being generous with how we see others? How we treat others? And how we share the Love of Christ with our actions and words? How can we train our eyes, our hands, our mouths, and our whole hearts to be generous in love, in service, and in witness? This is the call of the Christian life, a call to a life of generosity, and of love.
May we all be found to be generous.
Amen.
A quote famously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and spread widely in Christian circles is this: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” Yes, it’s true - our Christian service, what we do, how we see Christ in others, how we be Christ to them - this is a powerful Christian witness. And, it is not enough in our world. We must show our faith with our whole lives: our actions and our words.
If we only talk about our faith but that talk is not infused with love and not backed up by our actions, people will have no desire to enter into a relationship with us, our church, or our God. It will be empty talk.
And if we only DO but never talk about our faith, how are others to truly know the why behind what we do and how we live our lives? How are they to know how our faith gets us through the hard times, comforting us through dark nights. How it increases our joy, making the light all the brighter. How it has given us a community and relationships that surround us with support and love. How our faith shapes us, forms us, has made us who we are...if we don’t say WHY along with what we DO, then no one will know beyond “well, they were being kind.” We must combat the negative witness of those who call themselves Christians but don’t share the love of Christ in this world. We must. We must let Christ lead us in all we do.
In order to share our witness, we must also share our service. In order to share our service, and for them to know why we do what we do, we must share our witness.
It’s like the hymn goes: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” And I would add - by telling them about that love.
Today we had the joy of baptizing three wonderful children of God. In our baptismal liturgy we promised that “With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ.” So that we would surround these children with a community of love and forgiveness, that through us, they would come to know Christ - they would know the God of love.
When we look at these children, we should say to ourselves, “Here is Jesus as a child. I will treat them like Christ himself. I will show them, with my words and actions, who Christ is, and what the Love of God looks like.”
This is generous service and witness. That we would see ALL we meet as we see these children that we baptized today. Loved by God. Loved by Jesus. Seeing them as Jesus himself. That we would see the least of these and every person we meet as Jesus. Then once we see them as Jesus, we then can BE Jesus to them, being the hands and feet of Christ in this world. And as we BE Jesus to them, sharing Jesus with them, not just with actions of love but words of love too.
Being generous in our service & witness is just this:
Seeing Christ.
Being Christ.
Sharing Christ.
So my challenge to you this morning is not an easy one, it is one that requires self-reflection and discipline, and that is to ask ourselves:: Are we being generous with how we see others? How we treat others? And how we share the Love of Christ with our actions and words? How can we train our eyes, our hands, our mouths, and our whole hearts to be generous in love, in service, and in witness? This is the call of the Christian life, a call to a life of generosity, and of love.
May we all be found to be generous.
Amen.
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
"Living Out Generosity: Prayers" a sermon on James 4:7-8
James 4:7-8
Living Out Generosity: Prayers
Preached Sunday, September 10
When we join a local United Methodist Church, we make vows to faithfully serve God by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. Last week we explored what it means to be generous with our presence. To put it simply, to show up. To show up for God: to intentionally set aside time to just be in God’s presence. And to show up for our neighbors: to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
We are continuing on with our sermon series on these membership vows and how we live them out in a spirit of generosity - knowing that they are all interconnected. And as we begin to live out one or more of them with intentional generosity, the others will also follow.
Which brings to today when we focus on our membership vow to faithfully and generously give of our prayers. This may seem like the most basic of our vows, or the easiest, most instinctual for someone following the Christian life. And a generous prayer life does lay a fertile foundation for generosity in the other areas to grow and flourish. And, I think part of the problem is we often assume prayer is this basic thing, this instinctual thing - but for many people, it’s not. We don’t know how to tackle it, we fear we aren’t doing it right, it gets blown out of proportion and we so often over-complicate it. As our Scripture from Romans says, “We don’t know how to pray as we ought…” And I don’t think that’s a shaming thing - it’s more like, an acknowledgement, that even from the time of Paul to now, people struggle with prayer. So today we are going to try and take a simple and practical approach to prayer. I do think we could spend a whole year preaching on different aspects of prayer and different ways to approach it. I don’t want to diminish the broadness of prayer, I don’t want to erase the complexities and nuances of prayer - what I do want to attempt to do is present prayer as an access, a bridge, a doorway to God with no barriers in the way. Something simple, easy, and accessible enough that prayer can become a part of all of our lives, enriching our relationships with God and one another.
That’s the most straight-forward way to talk about prayer - that is relational and two-fold. First, prayer shapes our relationship with God. Second, prayer shapes our relationships with each other.
Let’s look at the first:
In the book of James, these words of wisdom come to us: Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Many may read this as a contingent statement. IF we draw near to God THEN God will draw near to us. I would say, however, that this is not a contingent statement but a consequential one. When we make the effort to be closer to God then the natural consequence of that action, the outcome of that action, is that we are closer to God. As simple as that.
Prayer forms the foundation of our relationship with God. If we want to have a relationship with God, if we want God to draw near to us then we need prayer. If we want to have a deep and rich relationship with God then we need a deep and rich prayer life. If I were to simply define prayer I would define it as drawing near to the presence of God. To draw near to God, that implies action on our part. Acting on a desire to be closer to God. I want to highlight prayer as acting on a desire. So often when we talk about prayer or intentionally working on our faith, we frame it in “shoulds.” I should pray more. I should be more intentional about spending time with God. I should go to church more. I should, should, should… Shoulds come from a place of shame and I don’t think shoulds get us anywhere. God doesn’t want our shoulds. God wants our desires. I catch myself thinking in “shoulds” a lot and have been intentional about re-framing them as wants. I want to pray more. I want to be more intentional about spending time with God. I want to draw near to God.
God is always present with us, God is always as near to us as our next breath. What sets prayer apart from simply being is when we make a conscious effort to act on our desire to be with God: to stay in God’s presence, to orient ourselves - our hearts, our souls, our minds, our bodies - toward the Divine. Every Sunday when I walk down the aisle of the sanctuary, come up here to lead us in worship, I pause for just a moment at the altar. I take a deep breath and I say to myself “pivot.” To pivot my mind and body away from everything else, the worries, the conversations, what I experienced before worship, what I have awaiting after - I pivot away from that, and pivot towards God. At the most basic level, this is what prayer is. To pivot ourselves toward God.
Initially, we may have to practice this pivoting, this drawing near to God. To make that shift in our minds and hearts to make ourselves aware that we are in God’s presence. For some it comes easier than others but prayer is a skill that we can develop, to learn, to form into a habit. When we do this regularly, prayer can become like second nature for us. We can orient ourselves more easily towards God and become aware of God’s presence around us and draw ourselves into it with less exertion. Prayer takes practice! This is what I believe we are called to do, to pray without ceasing, as the writer of Thessalonians says - and in order to get there, we have to make the conscious effort to orient ourselves towards God over and over. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg says this about prayer, “You must get up from your routines & your busyness and take a step toward engaging the sacred. You need to make the choice to move your body, your will, into the direction of prayer.”
So when we desire to be in the presence of God, when we actively choose to draw closer to God...now what? It is here that I believe prayer can take many forms. Our words, either spoken or thought, our breathing, our laughter, our tears - all these things can be seen as prayer when we are aware that we give them in the presence of God. I already quoted from our Romans Scripture this morning that we do not pray as we ought. The full quote is: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Our sighs can be our prayers. Whatever we have to offer God in that space where we have intentionally drawn near to God, the Spirit intercedes, receiving our prayers in all their forms.
I am not going to delve deeper into what those forms can look like. Some talk out loud, some go for walks and give God their thoughts, some journal, some breath, some talk in the car, some create lists of people they are praying for, some use books of written prayers - part of the practice of prayer becoming a habit, a rhythm, part of your life, is finding the method that works for you.
The act of prayer is deeply intimate. If prayer is what shapes our relationship with God, it has to be. If we long to have an intimate relationship with God, we must engage in the vulnerable act of prayer. When we are before God in prayer we are bared - God knows every part of us - and offers us grace and loves us deeply. Whatever we have within us, we are called to actively bring it before God - in whatever form it takes, God receives it as prayer. And, as in any relationship, bringing our listening heart before God is important as well.
So - as we draw near to God, as we consciously act to orient ourselves so that we are aware of God’s presence around us, God also draws near to us. That is, God is always ready to receive our prayers. God is always with us - God is only ever as far away as our next breath. And yet, we are so often unaware. When we enter into a space of prayer, all of a sudden we are aware that God has been right there all along, extending out a hand, inviting us into relationship, into conversation, into love this whole time. And through praying, through pivoting, through drawing near, over and over again, we build a deep and rich relationship with God and we become more aware of God’s presence with us throughout our lives.
Prayer is the act, more than any other, that shapes our relationship with God. Our relationship with God then shapes every other aspect of our lives.
Prayer is two-fold, because it shapes our relationships with each other as well. We promise each other in our baptismal and membership vows to pray for each other. More than that, we say that to each other week after week. If we aren’t actively praying for each other, then why do we have a prayer chain or a prayer list? Too often churches call that the gossip train - and if we are not praying for each other when we look at those emails, when we see the names on the list - then that’s what it is. But. If we are praying for each other, it is something else entirely, it is building relationships with each other.
When we pray for someone, it changes how we see them. It is hard to pray for someone and to not see them as children of God. Jesus even tells us to pray for our enemies. It’s hard. And it doesn’t excuse actions that people do that hurt others - and it causes us to pause and realize that God cares for each and every one of us. As we pray for each other, our relationships are changed.
A quick testament by a show of hands: have you ever had a relationship change - grow stronger, heal, or be born - because of prayer?
By another show of hands: have you ever felt the power of others praying for you?
And, by show of hands, have you ever been compelled to action - to seek reconciliation, to lend a helping hand, to change a behavior - because of prayer?
Thank you for sharing the power of praying, by testifying to it, by raising your hands.
Prayer shapes our relationships with each other. How much better would our whole world be if all of our relationships were steeped in prayer for one another?
When I need prayer, I know I have people in my life I can ask for prayer and through the power of prayer, I know I can feel God’s love and grace supporting me because I know I have others praying for me. I don’t know what the outcome of the prayers will be. I don’t know if they will be answered in the way I want...but what I do know is that I am not alone - and that I will never be alone. And when I pray for others, I am compelled to let them know with my words and actions that they are not alone either. Through prayer I am assured that I am a beloved child of God that has a home in a community of beloved children of God. That which we proclaim in the baptismal liturgy with our words, we proclaim it with our hearts and with our lives when we pray for one another.
I am also going to issue a prayer challenge to all of you this morning. And that is to pray for our church. I want to say to all of you that you need to pray for our church. And that’s not a need like a should but it is a need that, if we desire for our church to be transformed for God, to reach new people, to grow, to be relevant to our larger community, that starts with prayer. It’s why I asked you to pray for our Boardman United Methodist Preschool kids - why their names are up here on our altar space and why so many of you took home the name of a kid to pray for. Because the more we pray for them, the more we see them through the eyes of God, and the more the eyes of our hearts and minds are opened to see how we can be God for them. And the same is absolutely true for our church. God is at work in our church - God will be at work in our church - AND we need to pray for this, to intentionally put our church in God’s hands, to place our trust of the future of our church in God’s hands - and that all starts with prayer.
Preached Sunday, September 10
When we join a local United Methodist Church, we make vows to faithfully serve God by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. Last week we explored what it means to be generous with our presence. To put it simply, to show up. To show up for God: to intentionally set aside time to just be in God’s presence. And to show up for our neighbors: to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
We are continuing on with our sermon series on these membership vows and how we live them out in a spirit of generosity - knowing that they are all interconnected. And as we begin to live out one or more of them with intentional generosity, the others will also follow.
Which brings to today when we focus on our membership vow to faithfully and generously give of our prayers. This may seem like the most basic of our vows, or the easiest, most instinctual for someone following the Christian life. And a generous prayer life does lay a fertile foundation for generosity in the other areas to grow and flourish. And, I think part of the problem is we often assume prayer is this basic thing, this instinctual thing - but for many people, it’s not. We don’t know how to tackle it, we fear we aren’t doing it right, it gets blown out of proportion and we so often over-complicate it. As our Scripture from Romans says, “We don’t know how to pray as we ought…” And I don’t think that’s a shaming thing - it’s more like, an acknowledgement, that even from the time of Paul to now, people struggle with prayer. So today we are going to try and take a simple and practical approach to prayer. I do think we could spend a whole year preaching on different aspects of prayer and different ways to approach it. I don’t want to diminish the broadness of prayer, I don’t want to erase the complexities and nuances of prayer - what I do want to attempt to do is present prayer as an access, a bridge, a doorway to God with no barriers in the way. Something simple, easy, and accessible enough that prayer can become a part of all of our lives, enriching our relationships with God and one another.
That’s the most straight-forward way to talk about prayer - that is relational and two-fold. First, prayer shapes our relationship with God. Second, prayer shapes our relationships with each other.
Let’s look at the first:
In the book of James, these words of wisdom come to us: Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Many may read this as a contingent statement. IF we draw near to God THEN God will draw near to us. I would say, however, that this is not a contingent statement but a consequential one. When we make the effort to be closer to God then the natural consequence of that action, the outcome of that action, is that we are closer to God. As simple as that.
Prayer forms the foundation of our relationship with God. If we want to have a relationship with God, if we want God to draw near to us then we need prayer. If we want to have a deep and rich relationship with God then we need a deep and rich prayer life. If I were to simply define prayer I would define it as drawing near to the presence of God. To draw near to God, that implies action on our part. Acting on a desire to be closer to God. I want to highlight prayer as acting on a desire. So often when we talk about prayer or intentionally working on our faith, we frame it in “shoulds.” I should pray more. I should be more intentional about spending time with God. I should go to church more. I should, should, should… Shoulds come from a place of shame and I don’t think shoulds get us anywhere. God doesn’t want our shoulds. God wants our desires. I catch myself thinking in “shoulds” a lot and have been intentional about re-framing them as wants. I want to pray more. I want to be more intentional about spending time with God. I want to draw near to God.
God is always present with us, God is always as near to us as our next breath. What sets prayer apart from simply being is when we make a conscious effort to act on our desire to be with God: to stay in God’s presence, to orient ourselves - our hearts, our souls, our minds, our bodies - toward the Divine. Every Sunday when I walk down the aisle of the sanctuary, come up here to lead us in worship, I pause for just a moment at the altar. I take a deep breath and I say to myself “pivot.” To pivot my mind and body away from everything else, the worries, the conversations, what I experienced before worship, what I have awaiting after - I pivot away from that, and pivot towards God. At the most basic level, this is what prayer is. To pivot ourselves toward God.
Initially, we may have to practice this pivoting, this drawing near to God. To make that shift in our minds and hearts to make ourselves aware that we are in God’s presence. For some it comes easier than others but prayer is a skill that we can develop, to learn, to form into a habit. When we do this regularly, prayer can become like second nature for us. We can orient ourselves more easily towards God and become aware of God’s presence around us and draw ourselves into it with less exertion. Prayer takes practice! This is what I believe we are called to do, to pray without ceasing, as the writer of Thessalonians says - and in order to get there, we have to make the conscious effort to orient ourselves towards God over and over. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg says this about prayer, “You must get up from your routines & your busyness and take a step toward engaging the sacred. You need to make the choice to move your body, your will, into the direction of prayer.”
So when we desire to be in the presence of God, when we actively choose to draw closer to God...now what? It is here that I believe prayer can take many forms. Our words, either spoken or thought, our breathing, our laughter, our tears - all these things can be seen as prayer when we are aware that we give them in the presence of God. I already quoted from our Romans Scripture this morning that we do not pray as we ought. The full quote is: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Our sighs can be our prayers. Whatever we have to offer God in that space where we have intentionally drawn near to God, the Spirit intercedes, receiving our prayers in all their forms.
I am not going to delve deeper into what those forms can look like. Some talk out loud, some go for walks and give God their thoughts, some journal, some breath, some talk in the car, some create lists of people they are praying for, some use books of written prayers - part of the practice of prayer becoming a habit, a rhythm, part of your life, is finding the method that works for you.
The act of prayer is deeply intimate. If prayer is what shapes our relationship with God, it has to be. If we long to have an intimate relationship with God, we must engage in the vulnerable act of prayer. When we are before God in prayer we are bared - God knows every part of us - and offers us grace and loves us deeply. Whatever we have within us, we are called to actively bring it before God - in whatever form it takes, God receives it as prayer. And, as in any relationship, bringing our listening heart before God is important as well.
So - as we draw near to God, as we consciously act to orient ourselves so that we are aware of God’s presence around us, God also draws near to us. That is, God is always ready to receive our prayers. God is always with us - God is only ever as far away as our next breath. And yet, we are so often unaware. When we enter into a space of prayer, all of a sudden we are aware that God has been right there all along, extending out a hand, inviting us into relationship, into conversation, into love this whole time. And through praying, through pivoting, through drawing near, over and over again, we build a deep and rich relationship with God and we become more aware of God’s presence with us throughout our lives.
Prayer is the act, more than any other, that shapes our relationship with God. Our relationship with God then shapes every other aspect of our lives.
Prayer is two-fold, because it shapes our relationships with each other as well. We promise each other in our baptismal and membership vows to pray for each other. More than that, we say that to each other week after week. If we aren’t actively praying for each other, then why do we have a prayer chain or a prayer list? Too often churches call that the gossip train - and if we are not praying for each other when we look at those emails, when we see the names on the list - then that’s what it is. But. If we are praying for each other, it is something else entirely, it is building relationships with each other.
When we pray for someone, it changes how we see them. It is hard to pray for someone and to not see them as children of God. Jesus even tells us to pray for our enemies. It’s hard. And it doesn’t excuse actions that people do that hurt others - and it causes us to pause and realize that God cares for each and every one of us. As we pray for each other, our relationships are changed.
A quick testament by a show of hands: have you ever had a relationship change - grow stronger, heal, or be born - because of prayer?
By another show of hands: have you ever felt the power of others praying for you?
And, by show of hands, have you ever been compelled to action - to seek reconciliation, to lend a helping hand, to change a behavior - because of prayer?
Thank you for sharing the power of praying, by testifying to it, by raising your hands.
Prayer shapes our relationships with each other. How much better would our whole world be if all of our relationships were steeped in prayer for one another?
When I need prayer, I know I have people in my life I can ask for prayer and through the power of prayer, I know I can feel God’s love and grace supporting me because I know I have others praying for me. I don’t know what the outcome of the prayers will be. I don’t know if they will be answered in the way I want...but what I do know is that I am not alone - and that I will never be alone. And when I pray for others, I am compelled to let them know with my words and actions that they are not alone either. Through prayer I am assured that I am a beloved child of God that has a home in a community of beloved children of God. That which we proclaim in the baptismal liturgy with our words, we proclaim it with our hearts and with our lives when we pray for one another.
I am also going to issue a prayer challenge to all of you this morning. And that is to pray for our church. I want to say to all of you that you need to pray for our church. And that’s not a need like a should but it is a need that, if we desire for our church to be transformed for God, to reach new people, to grow, to be relevant to our larger community, that starts with prayer. It’s why I asked you to pray for our Boardman United Methodist Preschool kids - why their names are up here on our altar space and why so many of you took home the name of a kid to pray for. Because the more we pray for them, the more we see them through the eyes of God, and the more the eyes of our hearts and minds are opened to see how we can be God for them. And the same is absolutely true for our church. God is at work in our church - God will be at work in our church - AND we need to pray for this, to intentionally put our church in God’s hands, to place our trust of the future of our church in God’s hands - and that all starts with prayer.
And so in our bulletin this morning you will see there is a bookmark-like card with a written prayer on it. I am asking every person at Boardman United Methodist Church to pray this prayer for our church daily. You can pray more, to add to this prayer, but only if you desire to. I am suggesting the time of 7:07pm - based on Matthew 7:7 and the following verses:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
We need to pivot ourselves, and our whole church, toward God. Because we desire the future God desires for us. And that starts with asking - with prayer. So, set an alarm on your phones for every day at 7:07pm. And when it goes off, pray this prayer. Keep this bookmark somewhere you will have access to it - or even take a picture of it to keep on your phone. I believe there is power in knowing that, even if we aren’t in the same place, we are praying this prayer together, with each other, every day, at the same time.
And, don’t get too caught up on the time. Remember, it’s a want, not a should. If the time is a time that doesn’t work for you, I’d simply encourage you to pray this prayer daily at a time that does work.
And, let’s pray that prayer for our church together now:
God who has guided us faithfully through the past, we place our church in your care. Lead us into the future with trust and courage. May we be bold for the sake of the Gospel. May we reach new people with your love. May we grow in love of You and love of neighbor. Our hope rests in your unfailing love and grace. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
As we wrap up our time talking about prayer, I want to ask: are you living a generous prayer life? Are you regularly giving freely of your time and your thoughts to draw closer to God? Are you generously giving all that you are and all that you feel over to God in prayer? And are your prayers generous to one another? Are you praying for your neighbors, your enemies, and your church as much as you pray for yourself? Are you fulfilling our membership promises to one another to pray for the church and one another? Are you fulfilling your baptismal promises to God to draw near to God?
When we are generous in prayer, we are generous in our relationships. We are shaped by the time we spend in the presence of God. Our relationships with one another are shaped in love and grace as well. And everything else in our lives - our discipleship, our relationships, our generosity in all other areas - follows our prayers.
May it be so. Amen.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
We need to pivot ourselves, and our whole church, toward God. Because we desire the future God desires for us. And that starts with asking - with prayer. So, set an alarm on your phones for every day at 7:07pm. And when it goes off, pray this prayer. Keep this bookmark somewhere you will have access to it - or even take a picture of it to keep on your phone. I believe there is power in knowing that, even if we aren’t in the same place, we are praying this prayer together, with each other, every day, at the same time.
And, don’t get too caught up on the time. Remember, it’s a want, not a should. If the time is a time that doesn’t work for you, I’d simply encourage you to pray this prayer daily at a time that does work.
And, let’s pray that prayer for our church together now:
God who has guided us faithfully through the past, we place our church in your care. Lead us into the future with trust and courage. May we be bold for the sake of the Gospel. May we reach new people with your love. May we grow in love of You and love of neighbor. Our hope rests in your unfailing love and grace. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
As we wrap up our time talking about prayer, I want to ask: are you living a generous prayer life? Are you regularly giving freely of your time and your thoughts to draw closer to God? Are you generously giving all that you are and all that you feel over to God in prayer? And are your prayers generous to one another? Are you praying for your neighbors, your enemies, and your church as much as you pray for yourself? Are you fulfilling our membership promises to one another to pray for the church and one another? Are you fulfilling your baptismal promises to God to draw near to God?
When we are generous in prayer, we are generous in our relationships. We are shaped by the time we spend in the presence of God. Our relationships with one another are shaped in love and grace as well. And everything else in our lives - our discipleship, our relationships, our generosity in all other areas - follows our prayers.
May it be so. Amen.
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