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Reign of Christ Sunday is a marker for the end of the liturgical year. It is a way of saying we wrap up a year’s worth of worship by claiming again whose we are. We reiterate our mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The emphasis this week is in the middle – “of Jesus Christ.” That is the kind of disciple that we are. We aren’t disciples of our own wisdom; we aren’t disciples following the winds of this world. We are disciples of Jesus Christ.
Welcome to worship!
The first attribute of a life that matters that we will examine is generosity. Maybe this is an opportunity to refresh our call to stewardship. Stewardship isn’t something that should be heard only once a year and then when we are asking for a commitment to give. Generosity, as reflected in our gospel text this week, is about how we hold the stuff of this life lightly, even as we hold people and Christ tightly.
All Saints Day is one of those moments where we celebrate and remember those who have made the journey or who have taken the next step. We remember them because they are still a part of us, shaping us, mentoring us – maybe not in a direct way, but in a real way.
So, what do we do in worship this week? We give thanks, even as we wait for the coming of the kin-dom. This is an Advent-like moment to embrace the now and the not yet in tension or in coexistence. We celebrate new life and new hope, even as we grieve death and loss. We point toward the glimpses of grace at work in our community, even while we confess the times “we have failed to be an obedient church” as the traditional liturgy states. So, we sing the praises of a God who answers prayer, even while we continue to call upon the Spirit to bring justice and an end to hate.
What ought we expect when we come to worship? To ease into some comfortable bubble protected from the difficult world out there? Or to be shaken to the core by the awesome majesty of the God we worship? To be honest, there is nothing wrong with the warm comfort of the presence of God through the caring community that is the church. We don’t mean to suggest setting that aside. But once in a while, we do need to be reminded of what it is that we mean when we speak of the awesome God.
Join us for a message from our guest, Pastor Dean Trapp.
In the month of October, the rhythms are well established, small groups are engaged in fellowship and study, mission outreach is connecting with the wider community, the high holy seasons are just about to appear on the horizon but not yet consuming the work of the church, and everything is running smoothly. Well, okay. But even if not, why would anyone want to take a risk on a four-week series on Job, for heaven’s sake?
Worship can offer forms for prayer, prayers that show how prayer is shaped. That way worshipers can use the prayers provided but can also craft their own prayers following the form or shape of prayer. It gives a running start to those who may feel that they don’t know what to say.
Peace is possible, even while we are works in process. This isn’t about completion and the satisfaction of a job well done; it is about a journey of discovery and transformation.
We must be even more vigilant in how we present God and what words we are wanting to put in the mouths of those who worship with us this day.
Thank you for joining us for Sunday worship!
Our series begins here on the last Sunday in August. Many schools have been in session for a while; others wait for the Labor Day weekend next week. But on the brink of that immersion into learning and community exercise, we focus on being doers of the word.
Accessorizing – that’s the image from the preaching notes that we might work with this week. The author of Ephesians wants us to realize that we are not left without resources as we seek to be made into disciples and to make disciples. In a way, this is the gear we have been “gearing up for life” throughout the series. So, what are these tools and how do we employ them in our daily lives?
Every fourth week of November, we tell ourselves that Thanksgiving should not just be a once-a-year thing, but a way of living every day. Ephesians 5:15-20 is a call to remember that belief. This brief text sums up with “giving thanks to God the Father at all times.” At all times! What if we held a thanksgiving service here in the middle of August?
Our text this week places a high calling on the people of God. Two of them in fact. The text ends with the urging to be imitators of God. It is difficult to imagine a higher calling than that. But this is why we spend most of our lives in the process of knowing God.
Now we’re moving from preaching to meddling, as the old cliché goes. To declare that there is a life worthy of the gospel is to claim that there is a life that isn’t. There are choices to be made in how we live out our faith. And some of those choices reveal whether we are indeed “rooted and grounded in love” or not.
It’s midsummer, and it may be hard to maintain focus. So what can we do to bring folks back to what worship can be or needs to be for the body of Christ? Throw a party!
Discipleship begins with relationship. With whom are we willing to be in relationship? Who is included in our understanding of bone and flesh? Who is “us” in a world of “us” and “them”? Worship on this day can be about drawing the circle as wide as possible – to acknowledge our common kinship through the Spirit. Let there be less of a nation of boasting and more of a nation striving to be the light on the hill, the shining example of the kin-dom of heaven on earth.
Stewardship is not simply a once-a-year item. This week’s texts provide a perfect opportunity to talk about stewardship without following it up with a pledge card or a capital campaign. Though the impetus for the Corinthian text is a monetary collection, it could easily be shifted to sharing of gifts and offering of grace, stewarding what we have been given in a way that gives glory to God.
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