Poetry Where You Live

sermon blog

meditation blog

http://www.umcgiving.org/site/c.qwL6KkNWLrH/b.3833883/k.F990/Special_Sundays__Peace_with_Justice_Sunday__Overview.htm

“God’s Whisper” blog

Suncook United Methodist Church

Suncook, NH

Trinity Sunday

Peace with Justice Sunday

Second Sunday of Pentecost

Father’s Day

June 19, 2011

“3-D LIVING”

words on church sign

June 15, 2011

Suncook United Methodist Church

http://www.theshackbook.com/

The Shack, by William P. Young

and Chapter 13, “A Meeting of Hearts”

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 40,030+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

sermon, "A Safe Place", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, November 8, 2015

November 8, 2015

Stetson Memorial UMC

23^rd Psalm NIV

1 John 5:1-5 NIV

Psalm 31:19-24

“A Safe Place…”

Prayer for the Spirit’s leading…

Read Psalm 23

Read 1John 5:1-5 NIV

1 John 5:1-5New International Version (NIV)

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Have you ever been in a place that you felt completely unsafe? No matter where you turn it just gives you that frightened feeling. It is almost as if the evil of the world has converged in one place and your standing in it. We all want that place of safety in our lives….a place where we feel cared for and nothing can harm you.

Last week was All Saints Day and we talked about the saints past, present and future…we talked about how we owe so much if what we have today to those who have gone before us. They are the ones who made a path for us to follow instead of making our own. It is nice to travel that safe road at times but at other times we just want to venture out on our own to see what we can find.

In the 23^rd Psalm that I read this morning, we hear about that place of safety. That place is right next to Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In keeping close to Jesus we may not miss all those scary, dangerous parts of life but we know that He will walk through it with us.

Last week I also talked about how we are the imperfect, perfect vessels God’s love. We are those cracked pots for God so to speak. Even in our brokenness we are useable and precious to God who picks us up and creates something new, something beautiful.

It is within our brokenness that He is able to reform us into a thing of beauty. He reclaims us for a far better purpose than what we can imagine on our own. We all have brokenness within us, it all began in a garden before we were ever born. But there something amazing about our brokenness, it is within this brokenness that Jesus’ light shines through us. If we were perfectly made…there would be no cracks in which our light can shine through.

Think about beach glass for a moment each of you should have received a piece when you came in this morning. It starts out as a discarded bottle or other glass. It is broken and just left where it is as if it had no use or beauty left. Through time, the discarded piece of glass is rolled over many times and has had the waves beat upon it. It loses it’s rough edges that it once had. Until one day it becomes a thing of beauty that we call “beach glass”. It is no longer a discarded broken bottle, it has now become something that people search up and down the beach for. It is something that is valued and treasured…it may be in a different form but it is still valuable. It is actually considered a mineral gem at this point.

Our lives can seem much like the life of beach glass. We can feel we have the perfect life and then something comes along to shatter or change that. As we give ourselves to God , He is able to create something new. When we accept Jesus our whole lives change from dirty to white as snow. 1 John 5:1-5 told us that as we become children of God we are changed and we love the children of God. We may go through much pressure and strife but we come out changed on the other side.

Now we may feel alone as we go through our time of change but we are never alone. Listen to Psalm 31 verses 19-24 and hear the good news…

Psalm 31:19-24New International Version (NIV)

19 How abundant are the good things

that you have stored up for those who fear you,

that you bestow in the sight of all,

on those who take refuge in you.

20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them

from all human intrigues;

you keep them safe in your dwelling

from accusing tongues.

21 Praise be to the Lord,

for he showed me the wonders of his love

when I was in a city under siege.

22 In my alarm I said,

“I am cut off from your sight!”

Yet you heard my cry for mercy

when I called to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!

The Lord preserves those who are true to him,

but the proud he pays back in full.

24 Be strong and take heart,

all you who hope in the Lord.

(End as the spirit Leads)

Amen

November 8, 2015

Psalm 23 (NIV)

1 John 5:1-5 (NIV)

Psalm 31:19-24

message: “A Safe Place”

text

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=743760622396962&id=174161846023512

video

by Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stetson-Memorial-United-Methodist-Church/174161846023512

“God’s Whisper” blog

Children’s Message

“Becoming Soft on the Outside”

Mystery Box – Tootsie Roll Pops

(hard on the outside, soft on the inside)

by Pastor Ruth Foss

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

November 8, 2015

November 1, 2015

All Saints Day

Hebrews 10:32-39

2 Corinthians 4:7

http://www.churchyear.net/allsaints.html

message: “Remember …” (including the naming of our saints)

and Communion Liturgy and Great Thanksgiving

text

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=743703832402641&id=174161846023512

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/sermon-remember-by-pastor-ruth-foss.html

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/663369674529337344

video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqODj3Q7UVE

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=741979805908377&id=174161846023512

by Pastor Ruth Foss

Children’s Message

Mystery Box – ballerina, teacup and saucer, apple

https://www.facebook.com/174161846023512/videos/741500329289658/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOR6AZFqsnE

by Pastor Ruth Foss

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

November 1, 2015

All of my poems and photographs are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 40,140+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

sermon, "Remember", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, November 1, 2015, All Saints Day

November 1, 2015

All Saints Day

Stetson Memorial UMC

Hebrews 10:32-29 NIV

2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV

http://www.churchyear.net/allsaints.html

“Remember…”

Prayer for the Spirit’s leading…

Hebrews 10:32-39

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,

“In just a little while,

he who is coming will come

and will not delay.”

38 And,

“But my righteous one will live by faith.

And I take no pleasure

in the one who shrinks back.”

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Today we celebrate All Saints Day. It is a day that we celebrate those saints among us and those who have gone before us. Now let me give you a little history about All Saint Day.

“It is when the Catholic Church and some Protestant churches commemorate every saint, known and unknown. The concept of All Saints Day is connected to the doctrine of The Communion of Saints. This is the concept that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification (called Purgatory in the West), are spiritually connected and united. In other words, Catholic and Orthodox Christians (and some Protestants) believe that the saints of God are just as alive as you and I, and are constantly interceding on our behalf.

Remember, our connection with the saints in heaven is one grounded in a tight-knit communion. The saints are not divine, nor omnipresent or omniscient. However, because of our common communion with and through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of Christians.

Remembering and honoring the saints are beneficial practices, because to remember the heroes of the faith and follow their examples are good things. Many Christians seem to strongly oppose remembering and celebrating the lives of great Christian men and women, yet have no problem celebrating the lives of secular heroes like George Washington. All Saints Day is kind of like a Christian Memorial Day or Presidents Day, a day to celebrate the lives of all the great heroes of the Christian faith, and to celebrate the deep communion we have with them. While celebrating secular heroes is admirable, how much more admirable is celebrating those who fully dedicated their lives to Christ!”

Remembering is good. These are the ones who forged the road before us. Without them where would the church be? These are the ones who are “upstream” for us. As we learn from them we become the faithful saints of God. At this time we are now the ones who are upstream for those who are downstream looking for help along the way. We have become the Saints for those who are not even born yet as were some of those who believed before us. The Scripture from Hebrews I read tells us that we must remember and hold onto that passion and zeal we have for the Gospel of Grace. It is all in the remembering that we can gather strength to move forward for the kingdom of God. We become the light upstream for those who are in the dark downstream…

As I think about the saints that have gone ahead of me there is one thing…one theme so to speak that keeps popping up…God reuses the things that are broken to achieve His plan. God is the ultimate recycler. There is nothing that He can’t use.

It is within our brokenness that He is able to reform us into a thing of beauty. He reclaims us for a far better purpose than what we can imagine on our own. We all have brokenness within us, it all began in a garden before we were ever born. But God…in His infinite wisdom…when the time was right He made a way for us to have that relationship with Him that brings us from brokenness to wholeness.

Now things that are broken need to be fixed right? This includes you and me. But how do we go from brokenness to wholeness? OK…this is how I see it…

Each of us is created a precious vessel of God’s love. But somewhere along the way each of us has experienced hurt in some way, bringing a sense of brokenness. Now in order to begin that “recovery” process we need to realize that moving toward healing is to offer the gift of life and wholeness, not only for ourselves but also for others as we come to see each person as a Holy Vessel and as we come to desire that wholeness for all of creation.

2 Corinthians 4:7 states:

“7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

We have that treasure within us…we are the jars of clay that God, even though we are broken, still uses to show His glory through. Remember, even the saints before us were broken. God still used them to bring us to where we are today…

Today we celebrate the saints past, present and future. Even though broken, God still uses us to continue to be His light in the world. It is within our brokenness that God repurposes us to be whom He would have us be. Maybe as we realize this we can begin the road to healing and wholeness. Perhaps if we just remember what we have forgotten we would again be strengthened for the journey. We all have cracks and chips but I would rather be a cracked pot for God than anything else in the world…

Amen

=============

edited November 7, 2015

our prayers are joined – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/our-prayers-are-joined-v2.html

November 5, 2015

a precious vessel of God’s love

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-precious-vessel-of-gods-love.html

edited November 5, 2015

we must persevere – 2 – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/we-must-persevere-2-v2.html

November 4, 2015

in jars of clay

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/in-jars-of-clay.html

edited November 4, 2015

we must persevere – 2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/we-must-persevere-2.html

November 4, 2015

you need to persevere

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/you-need-to-persevere.html

November 4, 2015

our prayers are joined

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/our-prayers-are-joined.html

November 4, 2015

the light we follow

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-light-we-follow.html

November 4, 2015

even when we hide it

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/even-when-we-hide-it.html

Matthew 5:15 (KJV)

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel,

but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

edited November 4, 2015

the light can’t be hidden – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-light-cant-be-hidden-v2.html

November 4, 2015

the light can’t be hidden

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-light-cant-be-hidden.html

November 3, 2015

from their light

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/from-their-light.html

edited/new November 3, 2015

shines through the cracks

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/shines-through-cracks.html

November 3, 2015

through the cracks in my broken clay

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/through-cracks-in-my-broken-clay.html

November 1, 2015

All Saints Day

Hebrews 10:32-39

2 Corinthians 4:7

http://www.churchyear.net/allsaints.html

message: “Remember …” (including the naming of our saints)

and Communion Liturgy and Great Thanksgiving

text

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=743703832402641&id=174161846023512

video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqODj3Q7UVE

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=741979805908377&id=174161846023512

by Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog

https://www.facebook.com/174161846023512/videos/741500329289658/

“God’s Whisper” blog

Children’s Message

Mystery Box – ballerina, teacup and saucer, apple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOR6AZFqsnE

by Pastor Ruth Foss

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stetson-Memorial-United-Methodist-Church/174161846023512

November 1, 2015

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 40,090+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

God’s silence - 2

God’s silence

to our petitions

God’s answers

to our prayers

we cannot know

the full meaning

we do not understand

all that God is

God’s silence

in God’s wisdom

God will answer

according to God’s will

=================

November 8, 2015

God’s silence - 2

November 8, 2015

Speaking to the deaf - 2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/11/speaking-to-deaf-2.html

October 18, 2015

we are individually called

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/we-are-individually-called.html

October 18, 2015

Will you go

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/will-you-go.html

Laity Sunday

Hebrews 11:8

Genesis 12:1-4 Abraham – Go to a distant land

Matthew 4:18-20 1st Disciples – Come, follow me

Ephesians 4:1-16 -

Ephesians 2:8-10 – saved for good works

Matthew 28:18-20 – the Great Commission

Matthew 25:31-46 – the sheep and the goats

John 13:34-35

Ruth 1:16-18

John Wesley’s Covenantal Prayer

message: “Feet to Our Faith

text

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=736942673078757&id=174161846023512

https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss/posts/10153347520668003

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/sermon-feet-to-our-faith-by-raymond.html

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/655825638348210180

earlier draft - http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/draft-sermon-feet-to-our-faith-by.html

earlier draft - https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/654287366509731840

video

https://youtu.be/IKUc7v5tl_o

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=737395323033492&id=174161846023512

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/sermon-feet-to-our-faith-by-raymond-foss.html

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/656267409553272832

by Raymond A. Foss

https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss

Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog

https://youtu.be/VqyZcFGePx0

“God’s Whisper” blog

Children’s Message

by Debbie Coolong

https://www.facebook.com/debbie.coolong.1

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stetson-Memorial-United-Methodist-Church/174161846023512

October 18, 2015

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 40,030+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Speaking to the deaf - 2

Speaking to the deaf

reaching out His hand

offering the love of Jesus

sharing all we can

Speaking to the deaf

those who won’t listen

hoping to break through

to give them God’s vision

---------------

November 8, 2015

Speaking to the deaf - 2

October 18, 2015

we are individually called

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/we-are-individually-called.html

October 18, 2015

Will you go

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/will-you-go.html

Laity Sunday

Hebrews 11:8

Genesis 12:1-4 Abraham – Go to a distant land

Matthew 4:18-20 1st Disciples – Come, follow me

Ephesians 4:1-16 -

Ephesians 2:8-10 – saved for good works

Matthew 28:18-20 – the Great Commission

Matthew 25:31-46 – the sheep and the goats

John 13:34-35

Ruth 1:16-18

John Wesley’s Covenantal Prayer

message: “Feet to Our Faith

text

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=736942673078757&id=174161846023512

https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss/posts/10153347520668003

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/sermon-feet-to-our-faith-by-raymond.html

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/655825638348210180

earlier draft - http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/draft-sermon-feet-to-our-faith-by.html

earlier draft - https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/654287366509731840

video

https://youtu.be/IKUc7v5tl_o

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=737395323033492&id=174161846023512

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/10/sermon-feet-to-our-faith-by-raymond-foss.html

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss/status/656267409553272832

by Raymond A. Foss

https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/raymondafoss

Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog