August 7, 2011
Ninth Sunday of Pentecost
Psalm 96:1-6 NRSV Bible
Job 16:1-5 NRSV Bible
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 NRSV Bible
“Help Is On the Way” by Michael W. Smith
“In My Weakness I Am Strong”
(People say, time will heal, but they just don’t feel what you feel…) You know…I have been through situations in my life and the people around me just don’t get it when they are “trying to help me through it.” I mean don’t get me wrong, they mean well, but the help they give me is just not what I need at the time. You may have been through this type of thing too. They say things like “well God is making you go through this for a reason”, or “its God’s will for you,” and the like. At these times, I need someone who will go through it with me, someone who may or may not know what I going through but they are there to support me.
And there are other times when maybe a natural disaster happens and people, Christians, say things like God is punishing those people for this or that. They are bad so God is “smiting them”. I can’t help but think how sad that is to think that…never mind say that…about someone…to one of God’s creation. When Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, there were Christians that said it was because of the sins they were committing and that God was punishing the people of New Orleans. Where is the grace in that statement? Where is the forgiveness of the Cross in that statement? This way of thinking has been around for a long time… In the scripture from Job from this morning, Job had to deal with this type of “religious people”
As we continue our journey through Adam Hamilton’s book When Christians Get It Wrong, we discover that another reason why there are so many young people who are turned off by Christianity, is this type of attitude…the attitude that people are being punished by God…the attitude of “suck it up…God meant for you to go through this” that are turning them away. There are some who use various pieces of Scripture to explain why these bad things are happening. They take the Scripture out of context and run with it.
And not only do they think of it for others but also for themselves. They feel God is punishing them because they have done something wrong…they are a bad person so God is angry with them…they are not “good enough” and try as they might they never will be. They forget the meaning of the cross and why Jesus died on it for humanity.
But in 2 Corinthians 4 verses 7-18, Paul is talking to the people in Corinth, trying to get them to see….to understand…how God works in the lives of the faithful. It is found on page 1053 in the pew bible. Let’s read it and try to find some comfort, some hope in this passage…read 2 Corinthians 4:7-18…
This passage doesn’t say we will have the perfect life if we believe…on the contrary it tells us the opposite…but then again it is about the life of all humanity…we all will go through our struggles. But this is the piece that really gives me hope. Our affliction, yours and mine, are momentary…it will not last forever.
(Times are hard, but God is so good, He’s never failed you and He said He never would.) What we need to do, as people of God, is too come up next to our brothers and sisters in Christ and help them through their times. There are things that happen in the world that cannot be explained away…the death of a child…an earthquake or other natural disaster…the death of a beloved person in our lives. But we don’t need to go it alone. God is always with us and God can use us in people’s lives as a tangible way of feeling His presence.
(He sees you tears, He fights your fears. Hold on, help is on the way, help is on the way. He said He’d never leave you or forsake you. Stay strong, help is on the way, He said He’d help you. Just reach out and take His hand.) We need to be that hands and feet in the world that conveys God’s and love and mercy to those in need. Bad things do happen, but not always for a reason…(just reach out and take His hand…)
Amen
James 2:8-13 (Common
English Bible)
Acts 10:13-15, 27-28 (NRSV
Bible)
Call to Worship (GBOD)
Prayer of Dedication
Worship Theme: “We all
have sacred worth. . .”
and sermon: “God says
what?!”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Suncook United Methodist
Church
Suncook, NH
August 21, 2011
Eleventh Sunday of
Pentecost
&
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (NRSV
Bible)
Job 16:1-5 (NRSV Bible)
Psalm 96:1-6 (NRSV
Bible)(Call to Worship)
Communion
Worship Theme: “Why do bad
things happen?”
Children’s Time
and sermon: “In My
Weakness I am Strong”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Suncook United Methodist
Church
Suncook, NH
August 7, 2011
Nineth Sunday of Pentecost
&
Acts 11:2-18 (NRSV Bible)
1 Peter 3:8-9, 15 (NRSV
Bible)
Psalm 118:19-20, 24 (NRSV
Bible)(Call to Worship)
Worship Theme: “We are all
one Family of God”
Children’s Time
and sermon: “I Got Your
Back!”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Suncook United Methodist
Church
Suncook, NH
July 31, 2011
Eighth Sunday of Pentecost
&
Genesis 1:1-8
Matthew 22:16b-17, 21b-22
Unison Prayer
“Loving, Merciful God,
giver of all knowledge,
we thank you for your
Spirit, here among us.
We ask for eyes to see you
at work in our lives
and the lives of others,
ears to hear the words
you have for us, and a
heart that is open to
your love and grace. It is
truly good to be in
the house of the Lord!
Amen.”
Worship Theme: “God’s
Wisdom”
Children’s Time
and sermon: “We don’t know
everything?”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Suncook United Methodist
Church
Suncook, NH
July 24, 2011
Seventh Sunday of
Pentecost
&
church sign, “Hanging Out
with Jesus”
July 17, 2011
&
Luke 15:1-2
The Parable of the Lost
Sheep
“This man (Jesus) welcomes
sinners and eats with them.”
Galatians 5:22-23 (GOD’s
WORD Translation)
Psalm 92:1-2 (GOD’s WORD
Translation)(Call to Worship)
Worship Theme: “What kind
of people did Jesus hang with?”
and sermon: “When
Christians Are Un-Christian”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Suncook United Methodist
Church
Suncook, NH
July 17, 2011
Sixth Sunday of Pentecost
&
Sermon series by the
Reverend Adam Hamilton
“When Christians Get It Wrong”
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