Worship July 26, 2020
Welcome
I welcome you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We’ve gathered together in the presence of God to offer our praise and our prayers.
We come before God with confidence, knowing that even when we can’t find the words, God’s own Spirit is right here with us, praying in us and for us, giving shape to our wordless hopes and longings, and pleading for us before the throne of grace.
So let’s come with joy to offer our worship to God who knows and loves us all.
Opening Prayer
Join me in prayer
Our gracious and ever loving God, we come in the midst of summer looking for refreshment.
We rest in the knowledge of the wonderful works you have done for us, and of the deep and abiding love you have for us and for all God’s people.
Search our hearts.
Fill our soul with your indwelling Spirit who whispers to our soul that all will be well if we but trust in you.
Shine your light before us, that we may see our path to you and to your kingdom on earth. Amen.
And now join together in singing Hymn # 77 How Great Thou Art verses 1 & 4
Hymn UMH # 77 How Great Thou Art Verses 1&4
Children’s Message Ben Ziegler
Scripture Romans 8: 26-30 (NIV)
Please pray with me.
Father, we thank You for Your good word. Speak to us from this passage of Scripture; give us insight and understanding, we ask. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. All God’s people agreed saying, “Amen.”
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Meditation Prayer…
A little boy rides his bike up to a church where he sees a priest come out the door. The priest says “come inside I want to show you something”.
The little boy says, “but somebody will steal my bike”. The priest says, “don’t worry, the Holy Spirit will watch it”. So together they go inside, and the minister says “Let me show you how to do the sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen Now you try it”.
So the little boys says “in the name of the Father and the Son, Amen” The Priest says, “what happened to the Holy Spirit?” The little boy replied, “He’s outside, watching my bike”.
The Apostle Paul wrote words of encouragement for troubled filled days in a letter to the Romans chapter 8 verses 26 ad 27.
He said: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Things looked bleak for the children of George Muller’s orphanage at Ashley Downs in England. It was time for breakfast, and there was no food. A small girl whose father was a close friend of Muller was visiting the home. Muller took her hand and said, “Come and see what our Father will do”. In the dining room, long tables were set with empty plates and empty mugs. Not only was there no food in the kitchen, but there was no money in the children home’s account.
Muller prayer, “Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat”. Immediately, they heard a knock at the door. When they opened it, there stood the local baker. “Mr. Muller”, he said, I couldn’t sleep last night. Somehow, I felt you had no bread, so I got up at 2 o’clock and baked fresh bread. Here it is”. Muller thanked him and gave praise to God.’ Soon, a second knock was heard. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. He said he would like to give the children the milk so he could empty the cart and repair it.
God answers prayer. As a loving God He wants us to come to him and ask in faith for all our needs.
The spirit-filled Christian is a praying Christian who walks by faith trusting God to provide for every need.
God is constantly with us to hear and answer our prayers. The life of a Spirit-controlled person is not a life designed for just weekends, just Sunday or just for the church.
It is a life designed for every aspect of our daily living. God the Spirit is with us at home, in the car, at school, at work, in the garden and in the kitchen – wherever you are. It is there that God expects us to live a Spirit-filled life.
A Spirit-filled life is designed to meet the need of every moment of your week, and to be your source of strength and power right through all the ups and downs of each day.
Many say they pray every morning or every evening but what about the rest of the day?
Researchers at Cornell University estimate we make 226.7 decisions each day on food alone. And as your level of responsibility increases, so does the many choices you have to make. It’s estimated that the average adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day.
While I was thinking about typing this, I made the decision to reach into my desk drawer and get a Root Beer Barrel – not sure if that counts as food or just another, kind-of, remotely- unconscious decision. I’ll be honest here, that Root Beer Barrel decision was made without even thinking about it and I certainly didn’t pray about it before it happened.
One of the great mysteries of life is what happens when we pray. We are told that God takes joy in answering out prayers. We each have the responsibility to go to Him in prayer.
Prayer is more than just asking for things. It is an attitude, a way of life. Prayer involves praying with others like in worship. Prayer is also going before God in private. We have a friend that says “there will always be prayer in schools as long as there is math tests” By the way his wife is a retired math teacher!
There are times in our lives that we can’t articulate what to pray or how to pray. It is at these times that the Holy Spirit intervenes on our behalf. It is like the Holy Spirit knows that we can’t do it alone and so carries this burden to God for us.
Jesus set the example of a praying person for us. In His short 33 year life we are told of him praying everywhere – he prayed with his disciples, he prayed in small groups with Peter, James and John, he prayed alone in the mountains, he prayed on a picnic with his disciples on the lakeside.
Jesus seems to practice continuous prayer, prayer without ceasing. It was in his nature to pay. He prayed before decisions were made, he prayed asking for his Father’s guidance. One night he spent the entire night in prayer asking for the Father’s will.
Jesus prayed for strength himself, he prayed for his disciples to know spiritual truths. He prayed for Peter when he said, “I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail”.
Jesus wants us to pray for others, this type of prayer is called intercessory prayer. Who do you know that needs prayer? How can you be the intercessor for someone else? Who should you, can you be praying for?
Take some time right now to identify who needs your prayer and then ask the Holy Spirit to ask God to take it from there. Join now in a time of silent prayer.
This week my 35-year-old nephew was killed in a truck crash. As I write this, I really don’t seem to have the words to pray. It is times like this that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. The Holy Spirit knows us and takes to God that which we cannot verbalize. And so I pray Come Holy Spirit, Come.
Have you heard the saying – One week without prayer makes one weak The Holy Spirit is here for each of you.
For what do you not have words today? Where do you feel the sting of sin or hurt of a broken relationship?
Is there pain of an empty chair at your dinner table, or the incredible loneliness from isolation?
Do you have a guilty conscience that screams in your head and you just can’t quiet it?
Reach out to God
The Japanese art of Kin sue he is a centuries-old means of repairing broken pottery and transforming it into a new work of art. Using gold, the scars and cracks of the broken ceramic become the focus and turn the object into something unique and beautiful
I sometimes think of prayer as taking the broken piece of my life and repairing it into something that is beautiful
I have heard it said that God answers prayer with a yes, a no or not now. I know in my life the answers do not always look like I would expect them to. Of course after saying that I should share an example but right now I am coming up blank, but I do have a story I witnessed.
About 20 years ago I worked with an older woman named, well I will call her Jane. Jane was single and lived many miles from her family. One Christmas she told me she really wanted her boss to invite to his home for Christmas dinner. Well the boss and his family decided to go out of state to visit family. Instead of asking Jane to join them for Christmas he asked her to babysit his pet parakeet. Jane came into my office rather put-out, but she had agreed to babysitting the bird. Over the holidays Jane complained to me about the noise the bird made and told me how it pecked at her when she feed it.
The holidays passed and the bird returned to the boss and life went on.
Jane often let it be know that she was lonely with not having kids around and not having family close. She commented after Christmas “I wanted to be with a family and all I got was a bird”.
As it came closer to Easter, Jane was contacted by a family that had lived close to her family when they were young. The person contacting her was a man that Jane had been a godparent to at baptism. Shortly after Jane was his godparent, he and his siblings were removed from their parents due to neglect At that time Jane lost contact with his until this Easter.
This man was reaching out to her to rekindle the relationship. She now had a family and this man, and his family invited her for Easter. Shortly after this happened, she left the company we worked for and we lost contact.
I have always thought of this story as God saying not now to Jane’s longing for a family for Christmas and instead delivering a real family at God’s time not Jane’s time.
God answers prayer in amazing ways. Think about your life and identify how God has answered prayer for you. Amen
Please pray with me.
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Oh God, You know that we live in a crazy and chaotic world. You also know the struggles in our daily lives. When life gets to be too much, please draw us to you. Calm our thoughts and emotions and open our hearts to your peace, comfort, and wisdom. Please reduce the feelings of fear and anxiety that plague us. Help us not to live in fear Help us rest in You and trust You as we navigate through this broken world.
Lord, we thank You for always keeping Your eye on us. Even when we don’t think that You are even near, your faithfulness rises up and touches us. Help us Lord to always know that we can call on You and You will respond. Touch us Lord as many times as You desire. For within Your touch we are restored. In Jesus Name. Amen.
And now in the words Jesus taught His disciples, we too pray…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
Join together in singing Change My Heart, O God
Hymn TFWS # 2152 Change My Heart, O God
Offering and Prayer of Dedication
God tells us over and over in the Bible not to be afraid. Our gifts today are one way that we trust God even in a world that keeps telling us to be afraid. We let go of thinking that we are on our own and live each day in graceful dependence on God. May your gifts reflect your trust in God.
Prayer of Dedication
We give in grateful thanksgiving for all that God has given us. In the upside-down world of the gospel, we measure our wealth not by what we have, but what we can give away. Let us give away generously, in this offering, to bless your church, your people, your creation.
HYMN TFWS # 2203, In His Time
Benediction
God goes before you to lead you, God goes behind you to protect you, God goes beneath you to support you, God goes beside you to befriend you. May the blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be upon you. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.
Announcements
Lawn Chair Worship begins this week at 9 at Ogilvie and 10:30 Sunday morning. Online worship and mailings also continue so please if you have health conditions that put you at a higher risk for contracting the COVID virus, please allow yourself the privilege of staying home. Weather permitting we will continue to worship on the lawn through August. In case of rain we will worship online.