December 28, 2014
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Worship
Theme: New Year
Ecclesiastes
3:1-12 NIV
Revelation
21:1-6 NIV
A Year In Review
Read
Revelation, chapter 21:1-6. . .
I
can’t believe how time has flown this year. Here we are almost at the end of
the year and a new year approaches. I am sure, as we look back, we can see the
good times and the bad times we have been through in the past year. We, as a
congregation, have seen changes within our church. We have seen others step up
when there was help needed from places we may not have expected. We have seen
prayers answered in ways that we never could have imagined. We have seen out
attendance grow as we seek to be that light in the community. We have seen new
life being born in our church. . . just to name a few.
We have also seen some tough times. We
have seen times when we weren’t quite sure where God was going to lead us. We
have seen times when we were worried about the health of some of our saints
among us. I think one of the biggest is the loss of many of our Saints within
the church.
But through this all, there is one thing
that never changes. We have time and time is a gift from God. There are times
when we feel we have too much and times when we feel we don’t have enough. But
we have the assurance that our God is the God of time and all things happen
within His time frame and not our own. And no matter how we may try to get more
time one thing is for sure. . . time goes on. What we do with it is our choice
to make.
We can rest assured that as we go
through time our God is always with us. God has a plan for our time and if we
trust and obey our time here on earth will glorify Him and not ourselves. As we
trust Him for our daily bread we live life abundant. As we let go and let God
our lives are transformed into what he intended all along.
Perhaps if we chose His way and not the
highway we will affect a change in the lives around us, not to mention our own
lives. Just think of the possibilities. . . And when we come to the end of our time we
will know we spent our time wisely and will here that “well done my good and
faithful servant” when we reach our eternal home in the sky. But it takes time.
. .
The scriptures that were read this
morning are all about time. They talk about there being a time for everything.
. . about a time when God will make all things new. . . Time is a precious commodity. As I said, time
is a gift from God. We can either work on God’s time or try and work on
humanities time span. Listen to what the scriptures from this morning tells us
and chose which time line is the best for you, for me, for all of humanity.
Which one is a better way to spend our precious time. . . our extraordinary
gift from God. . . ?
Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time
for everything. Can you imagine what it must have been like to hear the stories
of God’s people from your ancestors? Imagine you are a young child and you are
listening to the stories of your people. There were so many ups and downs it
was like a rollercoaster. There were good kings and bad kings. There was time
of blessings and times of exile and judgment. There were times of weeping and
laughter, morning and dancing, kind of
like the opening of Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities,” it was the worst of
times and the best of times, but within this gift from God the mix of life
happens. Good and bad. . . light and dark. . . day and night all happen. God
has set a time for everything under heaven and in heaven. Time is God’s and
God’s alone and our Creator chooses to share it with the created. . . even
within the realities of life.
Revelations talks about a new time to
come. . . a time when God will make everything new. Our God is a God of the
new. Life with God never remains the same. It is always moving, changing,
perfecting, and morphing into something new. But. . . it takes time. It is not
as if we can change our calendars to January 1 and Boom everything has changed. But as we live our lives. . . as we
“do our time” here on earth. . . we can believe by faith that God’s word is
true and that little by little things are being made new so that we may know
the fullness of life even though the various season of life that we go through.
We have been given a set amount of time
here on earth. When we show compassion we are feeding the hungry, giving drink
to the thirsty, welcoming that stranger
clothing the naked and visiting those in need. It is the compassion. . . the
Christ-like compassion that the “King” notices. With compassion comes kindness,
patience, and love for others. What we do with our time has eternal
consequences.
We have all heard the phrases and may have even used them “I have no
time for that. . . you’re running out of time. . . you’re wasting my time. . . you
don’t use your time wisely. . . thank you for your time”. We are forever trying
to have “more time.” But perhaps we need to change what we do with the time we
have. Maybe, just maybe, what we do with God’s gift of time needs to be
“tweaked a little” in our lives. Perhaps it is not more time that we need and
what is needed is to put more “quality” in our time.
We are coming to the end of one year and
a new year is dawning on the horizon. What will you do with your new beginning?
What will you do with the gift of time shared with you by the Creator? As a
matter of fact, each day is a new beginning. . . a new day dawning for you and
for me. What will you do with your new day? Will you squander it on the “me” or
use it for the “thee” who gave it to you. To everything there is a season. What
will you do with the season that you are in? Will you focus on the time passed
or look ahead for the future? This new
time we have been given. . . this New Year. . . this gift from God. . . should be used wisely, in ways that will
enhance your relationship with God. How will you celebrate this new day
dawning? Will you stay looking in the past or will you boldly go forward, with
our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, into a new frontier? Which will you choose? You
never know. . . like Ester, you may be called for a time such as this. . . Maybe. . . just maybe. . . when we choose
Christ we will be used to bring glory and honor to the Father. How AWESOME is
that?
Let us pray. . .
God
of New Beginnings, we thank you for the year that has past. Even with its
rollercoaster ride at times, you were there through it all. Help us to boldly
face our new beginnings with the confidence that you will continue to be with
us, making everything new. May we have hope for each new day as we sojourn on
this journey of life. It is in the name of our Shepherd, Lord Jesus Christ, we
pray.
Amen.
Worship Theme:
New Year
Ecclesiastes
3:1-12 NIV
Revelation
21:1-6 NIV
Epiphany of
the Lord Sunday
sermon “A Year
in Review
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
Epiphany of
the Lord Sunday
December 28,
2014
&
John 1:1-14
Luke 2:8-20
Matthew 2:1-2,
10-11
4th
Sunday of Advent
Advent Sermon
Series: The Voices of Advent, “I was there…”
Voices of
Advent – “I was there…”
dramas by Ross
Olson
sermon/message
– “The Shepherd”
as
performed by and worship led
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Advent wreath
lighting
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
Christmas Eve
Service
December 28,
2014
&
Luke 2:1-7
(KJV)
4th
Sunday of Advent
Advent Sermon
Series: The Voices of Advent, “I was there…”
Voices of
Advent – “I was there…”
dramas by Ross
Olson
sermon/message
– “The Innkeeper”
(as
performed by Doris DeRespino
with
Madison Robinson
and
Shanequa Foss as the daughters)
children’s
message
-
understanding
time
by Julie
Stites
Advent wreath
lighting
Prayer of
Thanksgiving –
we thank you
Lord – v6
by
Raymond A. Foss
communion
worship led by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
4th
Sunday of Advent
December 21,
2014
&
Matthew
1:18-25
3rd Sunday of
Advent
Advent Sermon
Series: The Voices of Advent, “I was there…”
Voices of
Advent – “I was there…”
dramas by Ross
Olson
sermon/message
– “Joseph”
(as performed by
Raymond A. Foss who, like
Joseph,
is an
step-father and adoptive father)
children’s
message
– mystery box
–
-
three
pieces of paper
o calendar with announcement of open house
highlighted
o all about Christmas sheet
o drawing sheet of Jesus – cute baby
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Advent wreath
lighting
Prayer of
Thanksgiving –
we thank you
Lord – v4
by
Raymond A. Foss
communion
worship led by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
3rd Sunday of
Advent
December 14,
2014
&
2nd
Sunday of Advent
Advent Sermon
Series: The Voices of Advent, “I was there…”
Luke 1:26-38
(KJV)
Voices of
Advent – “I was there…”
dramas by Ross
Olson
sermon/message
– “Mary”
(as performed
by Shyanne Foss,
who, like
Mary, is 14 years old)
children’s
message
– mystery box
– spool of thread and cloth and needles
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Advent wreath
lighting
Prayer of
Thanksgiving –
we thank you
Lord – v2
by
Raymond A. Foss
communion
worship led by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
2nd
Sunday of Advent
December 7,
2014
&
1st
Sunday of Advent
Advent Sermon
Series: The Voices of Advent, “I was there…”
Sacred Dance
Introit
Michael W.
Smith’s
“Intro and
Prepare Ye the Way”
from his New
Hallelujah album
Advent wreath
lighting
Prayer of
Thanksgiving –
by Jeanie
Goode
Luke 1:19-20a
children’s
message
– mystery box
–
envelope with
note
Voices of
Advent – “I was there…”
dramas by Ross
Olson
sermon/message
– “Angel Gabriel”
(as performed
by Terry Pettengill)
worship led by
Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
1st
Sunday of Advent
November 30,
2014
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2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015,
2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for
usage. See all 40,770+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
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