Thursday, March 02, 2017

sermon, "Where Is the Love?", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, March 1, 2017, Ash Wednesday, Patten, ME



March 1, 2017
Stetson Memorial UMC
Ash Wednesday
Sermon Series:
 “God Shaped Hole…”
“Where Is the Love”
Inspired by Marcia McPhee’s
 Looking For Love…
 Joel 2:12-17
Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21

“Where is the Love”

Prayer of illumination….

How fitting it is that we begin our Lenten journey in ashes…the thought brings us back to the reality it’s not about us…Titus tells us that it is not by what we do that we are saved but by God’s grace we are redeemed. As we enter this time of Lent, we remember that it is a time of self-reflection, a time when our hearts turn towards the journey to the cross, a time when we ponder on the gift that God so freely gives to you and to me…the gift of redemption and forgiveness wrapped in a cross on top of a hill from so long ago. As I reflect on my life and walk with God I am reminded by the reading from Joel that it is not the outside that God is concerned with, it is not my outward appearance but the appearance of my heart…how is it really with my soul. God is waiting for the day when all of His creation turns back to Him as He had planned for it to be from the very beginning.

It is hard at times toknow exactly what to do and what not to do during the Lenten season. Do I fast? Do I decide to give up something or do I not…? Should I tell all my friends or do I not tell them? Even though how hard it may be…I think that Matthew has something to tell us about this whole fasting thing. It is found in Matthew 6 verses 1-6 and 16 through 21 that I read tonight. During Lent we are not sure if we should add something to our “daily walk” with God…it is always a daily walk but during this season we seem to concentrate more on it… There is a danger of adding too much and we want to show how religious we are to those who are around us…all this addition and subtraction can make our heads explode…but then you have to add in the multiplying that we may feel we need to do…take on more projects, do more than our share of different new and improved things that will make us super Lenten warriors , and the like, only to wind up frustrated and overtired and not even sure what this whole Lent thing is about…It becomes all about us and what we do and less about what God did, has done and continues to do…

This journey of Lent is a journey of repentance…we are turning around so that we might bin in a right relationship with God. We are turning back to a love that we once had…returning to our first love. As we turn back to our first love…that God shaped hole is filled once again.

But at times it is hard. We get so lost that we just keep grabbing onto what feels like a good fit only to realize that we are trying to fit a square shape into a God shaped…heart shaped hole. What is it that we are really looking for? Are we looking for love in all the wrong places and failing miserably?

As we share this Lenten journey with one another, I would like to invite all of you on a journey to the heart of the matter…finding that perfectly, God shaped thing we are missing. I would like to invite you to a time of looking at what will fill that hole so that we can help others find their way to the place of turning around so that they too will be on the road to God’s own heart.

The Lenten journey is our journey of reflection and hope…it’s the road…our means of access…we travel to the destination at the end of our 40 day journey. The place where God showed His greatest compassion and mercy…the place where He gave His Son to die in our stead so that we may have life renewed and redeemed…the foot of the Cross of Calvary. It is good that we begin in ashes for it is by ashes we were made and to ashes we will return. Wednesday’s ashes…God transformed into the beauty of the cross for me and for you.

Amen.

=============
edited March 2, 2017
searching, seeking
March 2, 2017
searching
March 1, 2017
Ash Wednesday service
Sermon Series:
“God Shaped Hole…”
“Where Is the Love”
Inspired by Marcia McPhee’s
Looking For Love…
Joel 2:12-17
Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21
Opening Words
Greeting
Lenten Prayer
Hymn, “In the Garden”
Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
Lenten Poem
sermon, “Where Is The Love?”
text:

video:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Communion
Distribution of Ashes
and closing hymn,
“It Is Well with My Soul”
Closing Prayer
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Ash Wednesday
March 1, 2017
&
February 25, 2017
burning up our praise
February 25, 2017
igniting our prayers, our worship
February 28, 2017
Burning of the Palm service
Isaiah 58:5-10
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
February 28, 2017
&
edited February 27, 2016
The Smell of the Burning Palms – v6
(merging edits to version 3 and version 5)
edited February 19, 2015
The Smell of the Burning Palms – v5
(merging edits to original and version 3)
edited February 12, 2016
we will get up – v2
February 12, 2016
we will get up
February 12, 2016
We will stand up
February 12, 2016
And we will rise up
February 12, 2016
Deliver us
February 12, 2016
Restore us - 2
February 12, 2016
Create in us
February 12, 2016
Purge us
February 12, 2016
Teach us
February 12, 2016
Wash us
February 12, 2016
our sick souls
February 12, 2016
we lay down prostrate before you
February 12, 2016
we kneel before you - 2
February 12, 2016
we bow before you - 2
February 12, 2016
we need your grace
February 12, 2016
our hidden transgression
February 12, 2016
on this Ash Wednesday
February 12, 2016
meditation on God’s Holy Word
February 12, 2016
self-denial
February 12, 2016
prayer and fasting
February 12, 2016
a holy Lent - 3
February 12, 2016
prepared for Holy Baptism
February 12, 2016
During this season - 2
February 12, 2016
We’re guilty
edited February 11, 2016
Rip your heart wide open – v2
February 11, 2016
running back to God – 3
February 11, 2016
running back to God – 2
February 11, 2016
a season of change
February 11, 2016
spiritual preparation
February 11, 2016
Repent, change direction
February 11, 2016
this whole Lent thing
February 11, 2016
don't add too much
February 11, 2016
pray in secret
February 11, 2016
adding and subtracting
February 11, 2016
a time of self-reflection
February 11, 2016
Is there a mark on the inside
February 11, 2016
do not tear your clothes
February 11, 2016
Rip your heart wide open
February 11, 2016
even now
Ash Wednesday service
Joel 2:12-17a
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
centering song, “Surely the Presence”
Opening Words
Greeting
Lenten Prayer
Hymn, “In the Garden”
Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
Invitation to Communion
Prayer after Communion
Invitation to receive ashes
Distribution of Ashes
Lenten poem: ”Journeying to Jerusalem”
sermon, “The Math of Lent 2.0”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
and closing hymn,
“It Is Well with My Soul”
Closing Prayer
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Ash Wednesday
February 10, 2016
&
February 10, 2016
the palms ablaze
Ash Wednesday
February 10, 2016
into ashes
Ash Wednesday
edited February 10, 2016
Palms for the Ashes – v5
(merging edits to version 3 and version 4)
Ash Wednesday
edited February 10, 2016
I hear the crackle – v2
Ash Wednesday
February 10, 2016
I hear the crackle
Ash Wednesday
February 10, 2016
fuel for the fire
Ash Wednesday
edited February 10, 2016
how quickly they burn – 2 – v3
(editing version 2)
Ash Wednesday
edited February 10, 2016
How quickly they burn – v3
(editing version 2)
Ash Wednesday
February 10, 2016
licking the flesh
Ash Wednesday
edited February 9, 2016
Our joy burned in anger – v2
February 9, 2016
Our joy burned in anger
Isaiah 58:5-10
Burning of the Palm service
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
February 9, 2016 and February 10, 2016
&
edited February 5, 2016
Palms for the Ashes – v4
(editing version 3)
February 5, 2016
Palms for the Fire
edited April 2, 2015
Palms for the Ashes – v3
(merging edits to version 2 and version 1)
edited February 19, 2015
Palms for the Ashes – v2
Ash Wednesday service
Joel 2:12-17a
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Prayer of Confession
Imposition of Ashes
Communion
Lenten poem:”Changer: A Lenten Poem”
by Adrienne Sparrow Trevathan
sermon, “The Math of Lent”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
and closing hymn,
“It Is Well with My Soul”
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Ash Wednesday
February 18, 2015
&
edited January 8, 2016
bittersweet – v3
(merging edits to version 2 and original)
edited February 18, 2015
bittersweet – v2
edited March 5, 2015
how quickly they burn – 2 – v2
February 17, 2015
how quickly they burn - 2
Isaiah 58:5-10
Burning of the Palm service
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
February 17, 2015 and February 18, 2015
&
edited March 21, 2015
the sweetness of Sorrow – v3
(editing version 2)
edited March 9, 2015
the sweetness of Sorrow – v2
March 6, 2015
the sweetness of Sorrow
edited May 6, 2015
breathing in Sorrow – v5
(editing version 3)
edited March 6, 2015
breathing in Sorrow – v4
(merging edits to version 3 and version 2)
edited February 18, 2015
breathing in Sorrow – v3
(editing version 1)
edited March 24, 2014
breathing in Sorrow – v2
edited, new poem March 7, 2014
breathing in Sorrow
edited February 18, 2015
the ashes drawn within – v3
(editing version 2)
edited March 6, 2014
the ashes drawn within – v2
March 6, 2014
the ashes drawn within
Ash Wednesday worship service at
Mountain Heights Healthcare Facility
Patten, ME
March 6, 2014
&
edited August 5, 2015
The flesh of that bread – v4
(editing version 2)
edited April 19, 2014
The flesh of that bread – v3
(editing original version again)
edited March 12, 2014
The flesh of that bread – v2
March 5, 2014
The flesh of that bread
edited February 18, 2015
the dust of the ashes – v3
(editing version 1 again)
edited March 10, 2014
the dust the ashes – v2
March 5, 2014
the dust the ashes
edited February 18, 2015
the palms consumed – v2
March 6, 2014
the palms consumed
edited February 18, 2015
the sorrow of the ashes – v3
(editing version 1)
edited March 15, 2014
the sorrow of the ashes – v2
March 6, 2014
the sorrow of the ashes
edited February 18, 2015
my lungs filled with the smoke – v2
March 6, 2014
my lungs filled with the smoke
edited February 18, 2015
burning our celebration – v3
(editing original)
edited March 10, 2014
burning our celebration – v2
March 6, 2014
burning our celebration
edited February 18, 2015
burning our hope – v3
(editing version 1)
edited April 12, 2014
burning our hope – v2
March 5, 2014
burning our hope
edited February 18, 2015
cloaked in the smoke – v2
March 5, 2014
cloaked in the smoke
edited February 18, 2015
ashes of that fire – v2
March 5, 2014
ashes of that fire
edited February 18, 2015
How quickly they burn – v2
March 5, 2014
How quickly they burn
edited/new name February 18, 2015
the mirror of the ashes
edited February 18, 2015
the truth of the ashes – v2
March 5, 2014
the truth of the ashes
edited February 18, 2015
the anger of the fire – v5
(editing original again)
edited March 30, 2014
the anger of the fire – v4
edited March 24, 2014
the anger of the fire – v3
edited March 15, 2014
the anger of the fire – v2
March 5, 2014
the anger of the fire
March 5, 2014
bittersweet
edited July 15, 2015
within the sweetness of the smoke – v9
(editing version 5)
edited July 1, 2015
within the sweetness of the smoke – v8
(editing version 5)
edited March 20, 2014
“within the sweetness of the smoke – v7”
edited March 4, 2014
“within the sweetness of the smoke – v6”
Ash Wednesday and Lent
beginning this week
burning of the palms from last year
hymn - “Sunday’s palms are Wednesday’s Ashes”, TFWS #2138
&
Worship Theme – “Ash Wednesday
Prelude
Unison Prayer
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (CEB)
Joel 2:12-17a (CEB)
Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
Imposition of Ashes
Communion
Lenten poem:”Changer: A Lenten Poem”
by Adrienne Sparrow Trevathan
my earlier poem, “within the sweetness of the smoke”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten, ME
March 5, 2014
Ash Wednesday
Lent
&
edited March 23, 2015
cover me with dust – v3
Edited March 22, 2013
“cover me with dust – v2”
February 15, 2013
“cover me with dust”
Worship Theme – “Ash Wednesday
Prelude
Unison Prayer
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (CEB)
Joel 2:12-17a (CEB)
hymn, “Sunday’s Palms Are Wednesday’s Ashes” TFWS #2138
Prayer of Confession
Words of Assurance
Imposition of Ashes
Communion liturgy – “The Great Thanksgiving for Early Lent”
Lenten poem: “Changer: A Lenten Poem”
by Adrienne Sparrow Trevathan
my earlier poem, “within the sweetness of the smoke”
on the bulletin back cover
This Lenten Season, we are doing something a little different. We are doing Lenten Dramas from:   http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/home.htm It is called "The Voice of God". We are hearing conversations between God and some of the characters that took part in Passion Week. It has been a "moving experience" for all. . . 
February 13 2013 Ash Wednesday – James  (portrayed by Diane Mitchell)
February 17, 2013 – Judas  (portrayal by Ray Foss)
February 24, 2013 – Peter  (portrayal by Marshall Burns)
March 3, 2013 – Pilate  (portrayed by Richard Fleury)
March 10, 2013 – Barabbas  (portrayed by Mark Cioffi)
March 17, 2013 - Dysmas (Thief on the cross)  (portrayed by Ray Foss)
March 24, 2013 Palm Sunday
March 28, 2013 Maunday Thursday – The Centurion
March 29, 2013 Good Friday - Mary Mother of Jesus
March 31, 2013 Easter Sunday! - The Gardner     
and Ash Wednesday Drama:
(a conversation with James and God
after the Garden of Gethsemane)
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
February 13, 2013
Ash Wednesday
Lent
&
Edited November 28, 2013
The brittleness of our hope – v2
(Thanksgiving Day)
February 6, 2013
new poem – “The brittleness of our hope”
The brittleness of our hope
Edited February 6, 2013
“The smell of the smoke – v3”
February 27, 2012
“The smell of the smoke – v2”
Worship Theme – “Ash Wednesday
Prelude
Unison Prayer
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (CEB)
Joel 2:12-17a (CEB)
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 51:3)
Pastoral Prayer
Word of Assurance (GBOD 2012)
Thanksgiving over the ashes
Distribution of the Ashes
hymn, “Sunday’s Palms Are Wednesday’s Ashes” TFWS #2138
and Ash Wednesday Meditation,
“The Math of Lent”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2012
&
thinking on the earlier poem, “within the sweetness of the smoke”
February 19, 2012
Ash Wednesday and Lent
beginning this week
burning of the palms from last year
hymn - “Sunday’s palms are Wednesday’s Ashes”, TFWS #2138
&
Edited January 1, 2014
“within the sweetness of the smoke – v5”
(editing version 2)
Edited February 14, 2013
“within the sweetness of the smoke – v4”
Edited February 14, 2013
“within the sweetness of the smoke – v3”
Edited February 6, 2013
“within the sweetness of the smoke – v2”
February 19, 2012
“within the sweetness of the smoke”   
&
Worship Theme – “God’s Healing Mercy
Mark 2:1-12 (NRSV)
Isaiah 43:18-25 (NRSV)
2 Corinthians 1:18-22 (NRSV)
Call to Worship (Psalm 41:1-4, 13 (NRSV Bible))
Unison Prayer
Prayer of Dedication ((GBOD Mark 9:2-9)
and sermon, “How Good of God”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
Seventh Sunday of Epiphany
Transfiguration Sunday
February 12, 2012
&
February 21, 2009
Palms for the Ashes
preparing the Ash Wednesday ashes
from Palm Sunday’s palms
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
2/21/2009

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 43,300 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Ash Wednesday, Christ, Faith, love, grace, God, Holy Week, hope, journey, Lent, Messiah, Palm Sunday, prayer, sacrifice, servant, smoke, ashes, palms, Joel 2, Matthew 6, sermon,

#sermon Where Is the #Love
#AshWednesday #Christ #Faith #God #hope #journey #Lent #prayer #sacrifice #ashes #Joel2 #Matthew6 #grace

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Christ, Faith, God, grace, love, Spirit, Pastor Ruth Foss, Savior, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Messiah, sacrifice,  palms, Isaiah 58,

#Christ #God #grace #love #UMC #Savior #AshWednesday #PalmSunday #palms #ashes  #Messiah #sacrifice #Isaiah58

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