August 18, 2013
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
“Cruising Sacred
Waters with Jesus”
Sermon 5 of Summer
Series
Ephesians 2:11-22
(Common English Bible)
2 Samuel 7:1-7 (New
Living Translation)
Make Room for Yahweh
Let
us pray. . .
Loving
and gracious, ever present God. We thank you for your word that is the
guidebook for our journey of life. We ask that you would open your word to us
so that we may read the road map of our lives more clearly. May we hear the
word you have for us this day and have willing hearts to accept and follow your
direction in our life. We are here Lord. . . illuminate our path. . .
I love the saying “out with the old, in
with the new”. The only problem is. . . I have a hard time getting rid of the
old. How many of you can relate to this?
The old is so comfortable. It is still good so why get rid of it. I have had
the old so long that I have built ties with it and just can’t bear to get rid
of it. I have both old and new which eventually leaves me no room for new. Why
is it so hard to get rid of stuff that we really don’t need any more? It is
either out dated or just doesn’t work as well as it used to but we still hang
on to it. Why is it that we, at times,
have such a hard time getting rid of the things that bind us. . . the things
that weigh us down?
Now, at the beginning of the service you
were given a rock. You were asked to think about things that hinder your
relationship with God and others, those things that weigh us down so much that
at times we may not even be able to breathe, and to put those hindrances into
the rock. At the end of my sermon we will do something with those rocks that we
hold.
We are getting ready, as a church
family, to embark on a cruise this summer. We will be “Cruising Sacred Waters
with Jesus”. But before we set sail, we are taking some time to learn about our
Captain, our Lord Jesus. We have decided that He is our Risen Lord and King. .
. that Jesus can be trusted to be there helping us in the “stormy season” of
our faith journey. As we have been looking at the “resume” of our Captain, we
know that we never walk alone. We have looked into our hearts and realized that
we are precious pearls to God and that Jesus is worth all the gold in the
world. We receive new eye sight from our Captain.
Ephesians passage read this morning, we
hear about a temple of the Lord. Now this is not just any temple. It is not a
temple for just a few. It is not a temple that is built by humankind by human
standards. This temple in which God lives is within you and within me. It is
with in all who believe and we all together form this temple of God. God wants
all believers to be joined together through Christ. . . Jew and Gentile alike.
God wants to live with His people. . . for His people to be His dwelling place
by the Spirit within each believer. Is
there room in your dwelling place for God or are there other things that take
His place? Do you need to make room for Yahweh?
But I think that the 2 Samuel Scripture
really points to the essence of God’s dwelling place. David wanted to build a
temple. . . a building. . . for God to live in. He was upset because he lived
in such a grand palace and the Ark was only in a tent. He thought that that was
not good enough for God. We too at times think that God lives in our buildings
more than within us. But God told He had never lived in a building but with the
people. . . able to move where ever the people went. God still wants to be on
the move. . . going out into the world around us as we take Him to the least
and the lost. . . to the poor and suffering. God had always been with David and
still continues to be with us not in just some building. Is God confined to our church or is He living and breathing through us?
Do you need to make room for Yahweh?
God wants to live in a place that He has
designed not in a place where we have designed for Him. He wants to design our
lives so that He fits in perfect. Are we
willing to let God have the grand design on our lives?
He wants to live in a place where He
provides the protection. Not in a place where others decide what protection is
needed. . . God has the ultimate protection plan for His children. Is God providing protection for us or are we
still trying to do it on our own?
God wants to live in a dynamic place. He’s not
satisfied with staying in one place. . . in or “temples”. Our God is a God on
the move. . . Moving through us, within us and out of us onto the world around
us. It’s like a large RV that is large enough for all for His children to come
along for the ride. Are we willing to let
God move us into places where we may be uncomfortable. . . out of our element.
. . out of our temples?
God wants to live with his people. God,
like us, wants to live in a neighborhood that is welcoming. He won’t move into
a place where He is not welcome. He won’t force Himself on the neighborhood. Do you want God to move into your neighborhood?
God wants to live in a restful place. He
gives us rest and in His presence we have peace and rest. But to have that
rest, we need to depend on Him. . . to believe, to have faith that He will
provide for us. Do you believe God will
give you rest?
And God wants to live in a place He will
provide. I read this beautiful description about how God builds that place. You
see:
ü He makes
plans and the blueprints.
ü He
builds and remodels
ü He
builds a new site on the old
ü He
builds it in the shadow of the old right next door
ü He has
the perfect model and building site, the perfect materials and builder.
Jesus is building that home in our
hearts. But this site is just a temporary home, our true home is built in
heaven. God sees the potential in us. He purchased the property with the blood
of His Son. He immediately tears down what is there and begins building a new
dwelling place for His Spirit. And the best part. . . the building is better
than it was before. He builds His dream house in our hearts. Do you need to make room for Yahweh. . . make
room for God?
We have God living in us as His dwelling
place. But. . . does God want to live in us and just stay there dormant? Well
you tell me. . . Jesus and His disciples shared the God within them with the
people around them. They cured the sick, cast out daemons, taught about the
kingdom of God. They shared God with the people around them which opened the
door for others to receive the wonderful gift of God within their lives. The
early church shared the God within them. . . the Spirit within them. . . and
the church grew in numbers and continues to grow as we disciples continue to
share God with others. People would come from miles around even to just touch
the hem of His clothing. We become that “fringe of garment” for those around us.
. . for those whose life we touch each and every day. . . we are the edge of
Jesus’ garment that people can touch and be healed. Is there room enough in your life for God so that you can become a
piece of that fringe on His robe? Do you need to make room for Yahweh?
We are now ready to set sail on the
Sacred Waters with Jesus to visit some other ports. But. . . is our load to
heavy for the trip? Are there things that we should leave behind as we sail
with Jesus? Well there is one thing we still have to do. . . you know how I
asked you to hold on to the rock given to you this morning and think about
something that keeps you waited down. . . something that inhibits your
relationship with God or others. Well. . . we are now going to do something
with those rocks.
You see, years ago, ships used rocks as ballast
when the cargo hole was empty. The ballast was typically a solid in the form of
rocks or sand. The rocks or sand would have to be moved onto or off the ship
manually depending on the amount of cargo on board. Our ballast is those things
that weigh us down.
We have now taken on new cargo as we
learned about our Captain of the ship so now it’s time to get rid of those
rocks. I invite each and every one of us to come forward as we sing our last song
and leave our ballast on the altar. . . To trust God with our ballast and sail
the waters with Him as our guide. Let us sail the Sacred Waters with Jesus
buoyed by the love and joy of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
August
18, 2013
Worship
Theme: “Do We Make Room for God . . .?”
Ephesians
2:11-22 (CEB)
“The
reconciliation of God’s people” (CEB)
“One
in Christ” (NIV)
2
Samuel 7:1-7 (NLT)
Mark
6:30-44, 53-56 (CEB)
“Jesus
feeds five thousand people” (CEB)
“Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand” (NIV)
children’s
message
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Make Room for Yahweh”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
Sermon 5 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
August 18, 2013
&
Prayer
Vigil at the Park
after
worship service
7/28/2013
&
Theme:
“Do We Worship Only on Sunday?”
Worship
song – “I Sing Praises”
Ephesians
1:3-14 (Gods Word Translation)
Ephesians
1:3-14 (The Message)
Acts
2:38-47 (New Revised Standard Version)
children’s
message
sharing
our joy
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Live Your Worship Out Loud!”
“Shout
It From the Mountaintops”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 4 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 28, 2013
&
Theme:
“Can we see the big picture”
“Big
Picture Followers”
1
Corinthians 13:9-12 (GOD’S WORD translation)
Mark
6:1-6 (The Message)
“Just
a Carpenter”
Mark
6:1-6 (NRSV)
“Jesus
Rejected in Nazareth”
children’s
message
sometimes
our vision is foggy
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Seeing More Clearly. . . ”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 3 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 21, 2013
&
Luke
7:36-47 (The Message)
Mark
5:21-34 (GOD’S WORD Translation)
Matthew
13:44-46
children’s
message
We
are precious to God
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “How much does Jesus really matter?”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 2 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 14, 2013
&
Mark
4:35-41 (The Message)
Luke
4:16-21 (Common English Bible)
Matthew
14:22-33
children’s
message
We
are not alone
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
and
sermon “Who Is this Captain”
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Sermon 1 of Summer Series
“Cruising Sacred Waters with Jesus”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
July 7, 2013
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