Call to Worship (from LiturgyLink.net)
Choose this day, whom you will serve
We serve the Lord with gladness!
God is good, all the time. God’s generosity extends far beyond our wildest imaginings.
We thank you God, with renewed gratitude.
With hands and feet, hearts and voices…
We serve the Lord with gladness!
We remember, O Lord, how you brought slaves out of Egypt, how you humbled yourself into human form, and how you bring this collection of people in to be your heavenly body on earth.
We pledge to live in witness to your legacy of freedom and in service to your holy name.
Following the vision you have given us: of humble service and self-sacrifice, we boldly step out in faith.
We commit to you, O God, using our time, talents, and treasure, to serve with gladness.
Amen.
Prayer of Adoration
Loving God, you call us to shine a light on you all the time.
And you call us to focus our love and energy on serving you and your will.
Renew us and refresh in our worship this morning.
So our lights can shine!
In Jesus Christ our Lord, Light of the World.
Amen.
Call to Confession
We come before God confessing our faults and shortcomings. Because we miss the mark, we need to come before Him to face him. Because of his great love for us, we can trust him with our inmost guilt. In faith and penitence, Pray with me this prayer of confession.
Prayer of Confession
Faithful God, we confess our own short-sightedness. Instead of placing all our trust in you and going forward in faith, we have given ourselves to other gods: proven results, quick fixes, and easy outs. Welcome us again into your loving arms. Be quick to forgive us and restore us to faith. Set our hope in you and remind us again of your mighty power and goodness. Help us to rededicate ourselves in your holy name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon:
Friends, live and believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!
Psalm 78:1-7 (from http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com) This is a 3-part Psalm. If you are a grandparent, please read the section labeled Grandparents. If you are a parent, please read the section titled “Parents.” Chances are, all of us will read the section called “Children.” After all, we will always be someone’s children!
Grandparents:
Listen, my people, to my teaching,
and pay attention to what I say.
I am going to use wise sayings
and explain mysteries from the past,
things we have heard and known,
things that our ancestors told us.
Parents:
We will not keep them from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s power and his great deeds
and the wonderful things he has done.
He gave laws to the people of Israel
and commandments to the descendants of Jacob.
He instructed our ancestors
to teach his laws to their children,
so that the next generation might learn them
and in turn should tell their children.
Children:
In this way they also would put their trust in God
and not forget what he has done,
but always obey his commandments.
Prayers of the People
God of love and light,
You formed us in your image so as you came into this world, a light to the nations, so you call us, to be the Light of the World.
Keep our lights burning bright for you, strengthen our resolve to shine for you. Fill us up with courage and hope from which we can draw in our times of trial. Help us be prepared and ready at all times to spotlight Jesus your Son.
And in our darkest times, we pray for help, for ourselves and others.
We lift up the needs of your people. Those mentioned in our bulletin prayer list.
We lift up the needs of those we have mentioned this morning.
We lift up our needs for hope and strength. Encouragement throughout the seasons of our lives, through the shifting sands of time.
Help us to stand on your solid foundation, as your light of the world, city on a hill, salt of the earth, so firmly planted in your word that those with eyes to see and ears to hear they more firmly believe in you. This we pray in the one who came to save us, and taught us to pray, saying, “Our Father,…Amen.”
Time out for Teaching: The P in TULIP
Perseverence of the Saints. That is the P in TULIP.
I don’t have to tell this congregation that you should persevere. I see it all the time in you. You work very hard to serve God here.
But sometimes we put our noses so hard to the grindstone we might not remember WHY perseverance is an important part of our faith. It is a testimony of faith. It lets others see our faith in action, doing our very best even though we are not perfect at what we do.
And perseverance requires will and determination. It means perseverance, setting our minds on the things of Jesus Christ, continuance in a state of grace. We are not just Sunday people, for instance. We are everyday people, persevering through each day we live our faith.
Now, as I’ve said, most of you persevere because you are convinced that this is what God wants from you. But the reason why we do it is so very important. Because it is a way we are witnesses. People need to see our faith lived out in order for them to believe in it too.
Our perseverance should well up from a sense of joy for God’s grace in our lives, for it is not just working for no reason at all. It is working to proclaim His goodness to us, so our faith can be a visible sign of God’s work in us. It’s why we do mission, why we go the extra mile for a neighbor, why we ask for God to help us strengthen our resolve even in moments of doubt. Perseverence is the fruit of our gratitude for God’s grace, our joyful response to all He has done.
Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25
Narrator: Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people,
Joshua: Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve God in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Person: Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. The Lord protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, who is our God.
Joshua: You cannot serve the Lord, who is a holy God. The Lord is a jealous God; and will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then God will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.
People: No, we will serve the Lord!
Joshua: You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.
People: We are witnesses.
Joshua: Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.
People: The Lord our God we will serve and will obey.
MATTHEW 25:1-13
1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Sermon: “Spotlight on Jesus”
Light is the word for this morning. Light brings us vision, focus for the eyes. It helps transmit images to us to we can make sense of what’s before us.
Usually we think of Jesus as the light, just as we confess with our hearts at Christmas time, “Light that shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it.” But Jesus also says to us in the Sermon on the Mount, “YOU are the light of the world.”
We are the light of the world, meant to put a spotlight on Jesus, for the world. But if we are not prepared to do it, then we might just miss our opportunity to do that.
Our story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids illustrate this. Those who are prepared. Those who are not. Those who come to the wedding prepared for the distinguished honor to walk with Jesus, lighting his way, but also illuminating him so he is seen in all his finery. But those who are not prepared…they might never make it to the banquet.
Preparedness means remembering what you need to have for the occasion. And it means paying attention to the moment when we are called to act. Sometimes we are not prepared to meet him and illuminate him so he can be seen by the world. We need a few things to be prepared: the words to say, the spiritual heart to give us courage and conviction, and paying attention to the chances that come our way to…spotlight Jesus! I made that mistake a couple weeks ago while standing in line at the grocery store. It’s a great place to strike up conversations with strangers and learn about them. One conversation began because I noticed the person was so talkative with the woman in front of her. She kept talking about herself and the bad choices she made in her life. If I had been truly prepared, I could have invited her to church. I should have, since it seemed like the woman was willing to tell me all about herself. I should have been more prepared to say the words, “Well, I know where you can go and find good friends,” or “Here’s a brochure about my church. We love to have visitors…”
We all have opportunities like that. Grocery stores, Laundromats, fitness centers, anywhere. Shining the light on Jesus gives us the license to be a little bit nosy about others. But how many times do we miss those chances because we weren’t paying attention?
Don’t worry. Sometimes we regret the missed chances, and begin to think we’re terrible evangelists. Just like it’s far easier for us to look at Jesus story and focus on how foolish those bridesmaids were, when it is better to keep looking at the wise ones. And what did they do? They saw the great honor of highlighting the groom and focusing on that, they made sure they were ready. They had plenty of fuel for the lamps, considering the oncoming night. And they had to pay attention to when those wicks were getting ragged and needed trimming. After all, they had an important duty to perform.
Bridesmaids had a different purpose in ancient weddings. They didn’t follow the bride down the aisle. They accompanied the groom. Instead of carrying flowers, they had lamps. The lamps were for the purpose of showing everyone there how handsome the groom looked in his wedding clothes.
So, we, the light of the world, must be prepared to put the spotlight on Jesus. Put Him in the spotlight. We need spiritual fuel to shine. We need to be ready to pray at any given moment. Aligned with His teachings. Attentive to little everyday opportunities to shine.
So friends, we can all think of moments when we were the foolish bridesmaids. Don’t spend much of your energy reliving past mistakes and missed opportunities. Be like the wise ones, focused on the task at hand: to keep the spotlight on Jesus. Keep your wick trimmed, and keep your spiritual fuel on hand. And you will have done your duty.
Amen.
Hymns
This Little Light of Mine (bulletin Insert)
#253 How I Love Thy Law, O Lord!
#231 Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers (joyfully!)
Announcements
Session meets Thursday evening at 5:30PM