April 10, 2011
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Psalm 32:11- 33:5 NIV Bible
23rd Psalm Gods Word Bible Translation
Leviticus 19: 33-34 the Message Bible
Philippians 4:4-7 GOD’S WORD Translation
“I’ve Got Peace like a River”
When I was an undergrad at an agricultural college, I received my Associates Degree in Veterinary Nursing. . . I have told Ray many times recently that I never knew that training would come in handy regarding my children. . . but that’s another sermon on how God equips us even when we don’t see it. . . the Peace Corps came to visit us one day. I was sure, after talking with them, I wanted to go to Africa and work with the people there. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to help these farmers learn how to take care of their livestock so that they could have a “bountiful harvest.” I wanted to help them have peace of mind for the future. I wanted to serve these indigenous people so that they would have hope. This gave me a peace that I could share with others. Unfortunately. . . I let fear of change and of going to a new place cloud my excitement in going and never went. I had a peace in the thought of serving to give others peace.
Peace is something I think we all want. It is something that is hard to find at times but when it is found. . . well. . . it is something that we hold on to for dear life. You see. . . God wants us to have peace. It is within our peace that we are able to see through His eyes and not our own. We are able to see others and love others as ourselves. It is that peace that Jesus came to bring to all of creation.
Over the past four weeks. . . Pastor Huntley and I have been following Lenten Worship Themes based on a quote by mother Teresa. This week is the fifth and final week in the series of themes. But before I begin this week’s theme, the Fruit of Service is Peace, I am going to give a synopsis. . . to so called try to connect the dots. Here is the short version. . . because I could go on for days if we had the time. . . the fruit of silence is prayer and through prayer our faith is strengthened. As our faith is strengthened our love for God and others is manifested. Out of our love for others we serve them. And today’s theme, out of that service to one another we are able to bring peace. . . a peace within ourselves and peace for others lives. There. . . did it. . . Amen!?
Now I’m not talking about just a plain old everyday peace. . . I’m talking about real peace. I’m talking about a Philippians chapter four peace. Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi. Now Paul. . . who wrote from a prison cell. . . was tired, his work was under attack by competitors and he had every reason to be sad. But listen to what Paul write in Philippians chapter four verses 4-7 and I’m reading from the God’s Word Bible Translation. . .
Always Be Joyful
Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.
Paul is someone that they could learn from. . . we all can learn something from Paul. Even though he was down and out he still continued to serve Christ and other even from a prison cell. The sheer joy that he had serving others and Christ brought about a peace in Him even though his situation was dire. He wanted them. . . and us as believers. . . to know that peace and joy is found not in the world or circumstances but in the Lord. . . And within serving we can find peace and bring about peace and change. . . and within prayer we can find that peace to go on serving. . . no matter who it is we are called to serve.
Having difficulty in serving when things aren’t the way “we” feel they should be is an age old problem. Even the Israelites needed a reminder. The Bible tells us. . . and I am quoting the Message Bible. . . in Leviticus 19 verses 33-34 this reminder it reads “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don't take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God.”
We all need a reminder sometimes about who we are and where we came from. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. . . we have all had our moments of disobedience but that doesn’t define who we are. We are all beloved children of God and have sacred worth.
This scripture makes me think about all the trouble in the Middle East. What do you think would happen if humanity took this reminder to heart? What do you think would happen if humanity decided to act as if all were part of God’s grand orchestration of life. . . And not only in the Middle East but right in our own backyards I want you to think for one moment. . . think about an orchestra with only one instrument. . . it may sound nice but think of an orchestra that has many different instruments an sounds. . . how beautiful and awesome it sounds as they all play together in one accord. . . life is like that. . . the symphony that God orchestrates is one of many different sounds but sound beautiful when played as one. . . . What if we took our “Sunday School Lessons” and turned them into every day lessons? What if we gave thanks instead of excuses of why we act as we do? What if we looked beyond our differences to our similarities? Believe me Beloved Children of God. . . I know it is hard to love those who have hurt us. . . those who decide that it’s OK to treat others as if they were second class. . . those who are different than we are. . . but what if. . . what if? Can you imagine the mountains that would fall. . . can you imagine what life would like if our what ifs were changed into been there, done that? Just imagine. . . just imagine. . . We all need that “Peace Like a River” so that river can flow out from us onto a dry and barren land. What if. . . ?
AMEN?!
April 11, 2011
Philippians 4:4-7 (God’s Word Translation)
Psalm 23 (God’s Word Translation)
Psalm 32:11- 33:5 (NIV Bible)(Call to Worship)
Unison Prayer (from Worship Sourcebook—based on Isaiah 43:19-21)
Worship Theme: “The Fruit of “Service is Peace”
(4th in 5 part Lenten Worship Theme series on Mother Teresa’s quote:
“The fruit of Silence is Prayer,
The fruit of Prayer is Faith
The Fruit of Faith is Love
The fruit of Love is Service
The Fruit of Service is Peace”)
and sermon: “I’ve Got Peace Like a River!”
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Suncook United Methodist ChurchSuncook, NH
April 10, 2011
Fifth Sunday in Lent
All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,960+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
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