Sermon "God Is With Us" - Raymond A. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, Suncook NH, August 15, 2010, Vacation Bible School Sunday

We have learned so much this week as we have gone on our Galactic Quest, seeing God in so many places. And we have learned about characteristics of God, which we have put into catch phrases. So, we are going to continue one aspect of the week, by asking you to play along with the kids. When you hear me say Our God is. . . , you will shout back, Praise God! Let’s try one (that the kids haven’t even done yet) – Our God is with us! Praise God!

We should remember most, more than all the other things we have learned, that God is with us always, anywhere we go, always with us, caring for us, as the creator of heaven and earth, as a parent caring for us, as a teacher guiding us, as a doctor healing us, as our savior redeeming us from sin and death. This is why we should praise God.

God is always with us, all the days of our lives. Each and every one of us. Whether we know it or not. Wherever we go. Right besides us. All of our senses – touching us, being with us when we are afraid, knowing us intimately, hearing us when we call, calling us when we listen, giving us new eyes to see.

We have seen God in so many places, teaching us about how God who is everywhere is also with us, each of us.

On Day 1 In creation - God created everything, from the stars and galaxies, to the invisible laws of gravity, to each one of us, the blades of grass under the tent, the grains of sand on the beach, everything that ever was and all that will ever be. Our God is wonderful! Praise God!

On Day 2 In the Wind - God is watching over us, with us in our trials, when we are scared, feeling the world is out to get us, there with us as he was for Elijah running away from Queen Jezebel who wanted to kill him. God spoke to Elijah from a whisper, reaching his heart, giving him courage and sending him to continue God’s work. Our God is incredible! Praise God!

On Day 3 At the Well - God is with us in troubles, knowing us utterly. That Samaritan woman was getting water at the wrong time of the day, alone at the well. Jesus approaches her and changes her, and her townspeople, because he knows her, offers her salvation, a relationship with God, alive, standing in front of her. She didn’t run away, she ran and spread the good news. Our God is amazing! Praise God!

On Day 4 Healing the blind beggar - God is healing us, hearing our cries to him, stopping, with us, bringing us to him. Our faith, like the blind beggar, healing us. I could really relate to this, since I just had cataract surgery a few weeks ago. Even though I was scared, I had faith in the healing God could make through the hands of the medical staff. I am now cured, better than new. I don’t need glasses in my right eye at all, something I have needed for the last 38 years, or about when Erica got her glasses. Our God is magnificent! Praise God!

On yesterday, Day 5 On the Road to Emmaus - God is calling us to be his disciples, the risen Christ walking beside us, with us always, can you imagine it - God is with us always, all the days of our lives. And sometimes it is in the little things, like sharing a meal together, as we are about to do with Our Family’s Table in September, that we actually see God, when Christ reveals himself to us, in the face of a stranger. Our God is awesome! Praise God!

From before the beginning of time, to the end of the age, God is amazing. He conjured everything from nothing, light from darkness, all that we have ever heard of, all that will be known. But that infinite, all-powerful God knows everything about you and he knows everything about me. Our God is amazing! Praise God!

And, that God who is all-powerful, is all-knowing about all of us. Before we were even born, before we were, God knew us. And he answers our prayers, as we are more than aware this morning. The kids on Friday night and Saturday morning at the end of VBS raised up prayers for Shyanne, their friend, one of them. And she is here this morning in church with us, worshipping with us, praising God with us, because he answered our prayers and she was released from the hospital in less than 24 hours, not the 3 days that we had been told. That is why we should be praising God always, always. He is with us, caring for us, he is amazing.
Reference to: John 4:1-42 Woman at the Well (but don’t read the scripture)
That story of the woman at the well is so important for us, can you picture yourself there. I think I can. Lost, wondering which way to turn, not quite fitting in. Can you sense her anxiety, her sense of not belonging? And here is this man of a different culture who was revealing things that no stranger could know about her.

Christ tells her the most amazing thing, that he is the Messiah, the chosen one, the living God, wanting to have that relationship with her, coming to her, offering to her himself, offering her the living water of the God. And the joyous thing is that she accepted it and shared it with the townspeople, who believed because they too knew God.

In the Methodist faith, we talk about the different kinds of grace. In this story, we find a good example of what John Wesley called prevenient grace. This is the cloud of grace, that ever-present God, wooing us, hoping for us to turn to come to him, to accept his offer. To come to him, and to spread the word as she did, to believe because when she tells us her story, and more importantly, when Christ himself comes to us, telling us he is the Messiah, that he is the way, the truth, the light, that he wants a relationship with us. Then we are like the townspeople who believed first because of her and then because of Christ himself.

This is the offer, of relationship, of redemption, that one-on-one union with our creator, our savior, ever open to us. The beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, God wants to live with us. Our God is incredible! Praise God!


August 13, 2010
Genesis1:1-2:4
John 4:1-42
Worship Theme: “Praise God!” (Psalm 150:6)
and sermon, “God is With Us”
by Raymond A. Foss

and worship service by Pastor Ruth Foss

https://twitter.com/PastorRuthFoss

http://www.facebook.com/pastorruthfoss

http://www.ahandmaidenofthelord.blogspot.com

A Handmaiden of the Lord

http://pastorruth.posterous.com

http://www.suncookumc.org

Suncook United Methodist Church

http://facebook.com/groups/136632035559

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suncook-United-Methodist-Church/102221356487965

Suncook, NH

August 15, 2010
Vacation Bible School Sunday

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 22,250+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

In the Darkness

In the darkness
the world around us
His light shining
in the work
of his disciples’ lives
His light shining
burning within us
shining only
when we act in His name
going into the darkness
hope for His people
gathering all
for the harvest home
Shining in the darkness
a light to the world
His light shining
within each believer’s heart


August 15, 2009
Posting by Pastor Ruth L. Foss,
August 15, 2009
on picture of VBS 2009 – Camp E.D.G.E.,
Day 2 - Trek to Bethlehem,
“The star still shines bright in you and in me!
Show your light to the world...don't hide it
under a bushel but let it shine bright,
illuminating the world around you!
God has made you a shining star
to shine bright in a world of darkness
needing to be illuminated!”

His Light

The light within us
shining through our lives
our words
our actions
His light shining
in all we do
while we are yoked to him
following his guidance
his footsteps beside us
walking with us
on our journey of faith
Let His light shine!


August 15, 2009
Posting by Pastor Ruth L. Foss,
August 15, 2009
on picture of VBS 2009 – Camp E.D.G.E.,
Day 2 - Trek to Bethlehem,
“The star still shines bright in you and in me!
Show your light to the world...don't hide it
under a bushel but let it shine bright,
illuminating the world around you!
God has made you a shining star
to shine bright in a world of darkness
needing to be illuminated!”

Show Your Light

His light, shining within you
his Spirit guiding your steps
His voice, if we choose to hear
living within our hearts
Show your light
to the world
bring your joy, your hope
your belief in his grace
to the ends of the earth


August 15, 2009
Posting by Pastor Ruth L. Foss,
August 15, 2009
on picture of VBS 2009 – Camp E.D.G.E.,
Day 2 - Trek to Bethlehem,
“The star still shines bright in you and in me!
Show your light to the world...don't hide it
under a bushel but let it shine bright,
illuminating the world around you!
God has made you a shining star
to shine bright in a world of darkness
needing to be illuminated!”

The Same Light

That same bright star
shining in our hearts
high up in heaven
his star, the star of the savior
the light of God
for you and for me
shining within us
in the indwelling spirit
Let your light shine!


August 15, 2009
Posting by Pastor Ruth L. Foss,
August 15, 2009
on picture of VBS 2009 – Camp E.D.G.E.,
Day 2 - Trek to Bethlehem,
“The star still shines bright in you and in me!
Show your light to the world...don't hide it
under a bushel but let it shine bright,
illuminating the world around you!
God has made you a shining star
to shine bright in a world of darkness
needing to be illuminated!”

Sermon - "It's Not the Size That Matters", by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, September 14, 2008

Acts 3:1-10

Have you ever gotten a gift for someone and thought it was just a little something that you bought because you were thinking of them or gave them something they needed and you knew that without you buying it for them, they never would have gotten it on their own? You may have thought it was something that was in significant but when you gave it to them it was as if you gave them the world. Or…have you ever done something for someone…just because you know it would help them…and their reaction is as if you solved the world hunger problem?

I remember once when Shanequa lost her favorite blanket she sleeps with. She had looked everywhere for this blanket. She came to me with tears in her eyes and exclaimed “Blanky is lost and I can’t find her!” Well…I went into her room and searched with her for her beloved blanket. When I finally found it…after what seemed to be forever, remember…she is distraught and crying the whole time…it was if I had given her the moon. I all of the sudden became “Super Mom”. You see…it’s the little things that count in life. You may not have a lot of money but you do what you can. It’s not the size that matters but the reason…the agenda…behind it.

As we have embarked on our journey of discerning God’s plan for our church, we are looking at the church in Acts…the first church. We are looking at the beginnings of a new and radical way of life. When the church first began, they didn’t have a lot of money. They were men (and women) that went around doing good and preaching the Gospel of Peace. Our question, as a church, is how did they cause the church to grow?

What did they do when they had meager resources? They weren’t like the Mega churches we have today. They didn’t have a lot to give but what did they have that attracted the masses? How can we get “back to the basics” that the church was founded on?

Well…in the reading from Acts this morning, we see what Peter and John did in order to reach out to those around them with the love of Christ. This man, who was crippled from birth, was brought to the temple gate called beautiful every morning to beg for a handout so that he could sustain himself. The story doesn’t tell us how old this man was so we don’t really know how long he had been doing this. All we know is that he was crippled from birth. Now when the two disciples came to the temple, the man began to beg from them. Peter and John had no money…they had no discretionary fund that they could draw from…so they gave this man what they did have.

They gave him healing in the name of Jesus Christ. And what did the man do? He walked and jumped and praised God the whole way to the temple as he followed the disciples. The only thing these men had they gave him and he did “back flips” when he received this irreplaceable gift. The man wanted money to sustain himself but Peter and John gave him what he needed. He needed the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to be healed not just money to get by. And this is not the first time when something that was given was small and it became something big. Remember the little boy with the two loaves and five fish. He gave what he had, although it was meager, and it fed 5,000 men plus women and children. Jesus went around giving what some may have called meager at the moment and created miracles that changed lives forever. He offered prayer and healing to not only heal the body but to heal the soul within.
The story from Acts reminds me of myself and how I may feel in life…you too may also feel this at times. There are times that I think that what I have to give is not enough only to find that what I have is exactly what is needed. It may be an ear to listen…or maybe to just sit quietly with someone with neither of us saying a word, just to be present with them. Or it may be just…as I call it…a random act of kindness. Things like holding open a door for someone or letting someone who has a few things go ahead of me in the grocery line. It doesn’t matter…it’s the little things that convey the love of Christ (as long as it’s for His agenda and not our own).

We here at Suncook may not be a Mega church but the little things that we do is what draws people to our Risen Lord. We reach out with our “meagerness” and touch the lives around us. We reach out through Our Families Table, offering a meal to those who may not have one. We reach out to those around us through our Vacation Bible School; it may not be as large as the bigger churches but the children (and the adults) have a great time learning about God. We reach out to those around us by the way we greet them at the door, how we let them know all are welcome. Our church has begun to grow just by our “meagerness”. It’s not the size that grows the church; it’s the agenda…the reasoning…behind their efforts. If you ask me…there is no such thing as meager when it comes to the Kingdom of God because when you stack one small thing on top of another…just as the first church in Acts did when they pooled their meager resources to help others...it becomes something that you never imagined it could be on its own.

AMEN

Sermon, "It’s Not the Size That Matters", by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, September 14, 2008

Acts 3:1-10

Have you ever gotten a gift for someone and thought it was just a little something that you bought because you were thinking of them or gave them something they needed and you knew that without you buying it for them, they never would have gotten it on their own? You may have thought it was something that was in significant but when you gave it to them it was as if you gave them the world. Or…have you ever done something for someone…just because you know it would help them…and their reaction is as if you solved the world hunger problem?
I remember once when Shanequa lost her favorite blanket she sleeps with. She had looked everywhere for this blanket. She came to me with tears in her eyes and exclaimed “Blanky is lost and I can’t find her!” Well…I went into her room and searched with her for her beloved blanket. When I finally found it…after what seemed to be forever, remember…she is distraught and crying the whole time…it was if I had given her the moon. I all of the sudden became “Super Mom”. You see…it’s the little things that count in life. You may not have a lot of money but you do what you can. It’s not the size that matters but the reason…the agenda…behind it.
As we have embarked on our journey of discerning God’s plan for our church, we are looking at the church in Acts…the first church. We are looking at the beginnings of a new and radical way of life. When the church first began, they didn’t have a lot of money. They were men (and women) that went around doing good and preaching the Gospel of Peace. Our question, as a church, is how did they cause the church to grow?
What did they do when they had meager resources? They weren’t like the Mega churches we have today. They didn’t have a lot to give but what did they have that attracted the masses? How can we get “back to the basics” that the church was founded on?
Well…in the reading from Acts this morning, we see what Peter and John did in order to reach out to those around them with the love of Christ. This man, who was crippled from birth, was brought to the temple gate called beautiful every morning to beg for a handout so that he could sustain himself. The story doesn’t tell us how old this man was so we don’t really know how long he had been doing this. All we know is that he was crippled from birth. Now when the two disciples came to the temple, the man began to beg from them. Peter and John had no money…they had no discretionary fund that they could draw from…so they gave this man what they did have.
They gave him healing in the name of Jesus Christ. And what did the man do? He walked and jumped and praised God the whole way to the temple as he followed the disciples. The only thing these men had they gave him and he did “back flips” when he received this irreplaceable gift. The man wanted money to sustain himself but Peter and John gave him what he needed. He needed the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to be healed not just money to get by. And this is not the first time when something that was given was small and it became something big. Remember the little boy with the two loaves and five fish. He gave what he had, although it was meager, and it fed 5,000 men plus women and children. Jesus went around giving what some may have called meager at the moment and created miracles that changed lives forever. He offered prayer and healing to not only heal the body but to heal the soul within.
The story from Acts reminds me of myself and how I may feel in life…you too may also feel this at times. There are times that I think that what I have to give is not enough only to find that what I have is exactly what is needed. It may be an ear to listen…or maybe to just sit quietly with someone with neither of us saying a word, just to be present with them. Or it may be just…as I call it…a random act of kindness. Things like holding open a door for someone or letting someone who has a few things go ahead of me in the grocery line. It doesn’t matter…it’s the little things that convey the love of Christ (as long as it’s for His agenda and not our own).
We here at Suncook may not be a Mega church but the little things that we do is what draws people to our Risen Lord. We reach out with our “meagerness” and touch the lives around us. We reach out through Our Families Table, offering a meal to those who may not have one. We reach out to those around us through our Vacation Bible School; it may not be as large as the bigger churches but the children (and the adults) have a great time learning about God. We reach out to those around us by the way we greet them at the door, how we let them know all are welcome. Our church has begun to grow just by our “meagerness”. It’s not the size that grows the church; it’s the agenda…the reasoning…behind their efforts. If you ask me…there is no such thing as meager when it comes to the Kingdom of God because when you stack one small thing on top of another…just as the first church in Acts did when they pooled their meager resources to help others...it becomes something that you never imagined it could be on its own.
AMEN

Leading the Congregation

We were all watching her lead
joining her hands, her voice
rising as we gained confidence
the love of God, the words we share
truths about the spreading of God’s message
one at a time, each of us commissioned
learning new words to emboldened
to teach us, leading the congregation
in a humble praise, a promise
the connection, the compassion
the relationships love grows

August 17, 2008
Shanequa
Love Grows One by One
by Carol Johnson
Suncook United Methodist Church

Teaching the Congregation

A morning to celebrate
our week of worship
coming to a close in the sanctuary
little hearts touched by the word of God
sharing truths, lessons for all of us to share
A single little voice, her hands,
teaching the congregation a bit more
about how to love, how real it is
believing as she does in the power of that hope
hearing clearly her voice, watching her hands
so we could join her calling
to share with each other
how love grows

August 17, 2008
Shanequa
Love Grows One by One
by Carol Johnson
Suncook United Methodist Church

Be Bold

Boldly acting, without fear
a stranger, on the dangerous road
stopping, making himself vulnerable
reaching out to the man
lying, bleeding, dying on the ground
risking so much, this enemy of the people
Through him, his example,
the Messiah, the one told of in the prophets,
through this outcast the Lord bears witness
Be bold to help your neighbors,
risking to heal, to love, to care
even your enemy, you are to love them all,
just as the ancient words said
Just as God commanded.

August 17, 2008
Luke 10:25-37 and
sermon “Let us love, not in word or speech alone. Let us
love in truth and action”, by
Reverend Huntley Halvorson
and Vacation Bible School,
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.cokesburyvbs.com/beachparty/

Be Obedient

Obey the law
and you will live
So were the words of the savior,
the messiah to a people who would not hear
Easy words of instruction, clear on their face
contorted, twisted, the words more important
than the love they were to share
A lesson in living the law of God,
to love your neighbor as yourself
Piety and stricture, puffing
deflated in the example of the stranger
the unclean Samaritan
obeying the law
in ways they would not
breathing the spirit of the law
doing the will of God

August 17, 2008
Luke 10:25-37 and
sermon “Let us love, not in word or speech alone. Let us
love in truth and action”, by
Reverend Huntley Halvorson
and Vacation Bible School,
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.cokesburyvbs.com/beachparty/

Be Kind

Be kind, that is the rule,
the ancient rule of the people,
the words of the law, repeated by memory
from the lips of the scribe, the teacher of the law
Jesus affirmed these words, that is where life is
But the story of that dying man’
on the Jericho Road an indictment
the hypocrisy of the people of the word
A Samaritan, a people of ill repute
He was the one who demonstrated caring,
kindness to a stranger, an enemy
a man dying, unclean on the ground
He ministered in the way
the scripture envisioned,
the spirit of the words
in his acts revealed

August 17, 2008
Luke 10:25-37 and
sermon “Let us love, not in word or speech alone. Let us
love in truth and action”, by
Reverend Huntley Halvorson
and Vacation Bible School,
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.cokesburyvbs.com/beachparty/

Be Forgiving

A Samaritan on the Jericho Road
an outcast, unwanted, finding a Jew,
bleeding, dying on the way
forgiving the hurt, the scorn
the prejudice on his people
showing mercy to one in need
doing what others would not do
risking becoming unclean
touching a sick man,
in his time of trial,
before he would have died
forgiving the past, focused on
the one who was lying in the dust
reaching out in compassion
to offer his aid, relieving his pain

August 17, 2008
Luke 10:25-37 and
sermon “Let us love, not in word or speech alone. Let us
love in truth and action”, by
Reverend Huntley Halvorson
and Vacation Bible School,
Suncook United Methodist Church
http://www.cokesburyvbs.com/beachparty/

A Treasured Trivet

I remember well
making that old little trivet
popsicle sticks, real ones
not craft sticks made for that purpose
these still were stained with
the red of cherry
little bits of porcelain tiles
mesh backing to pull apart
so the glue would stick
a cross-hatch pattern
with a bible verse added
A simple trivet, made in
vacation bible school
thirty-five years ago
still in use,
in my mother’s kitchen

May 5, 2008