READING: Genesis 45:3-11,15; Psalm 37; I Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50; Luke 6:27-38
SERMON : "Love Is A Choice"
Rev. Richard J. Fairchild
c-or07sesu.y-c 410918
The following is a more or less complete liturgy and sermon
for the upcoming Sunday. Hymn numbers, designated as VU are
found in the United Church of Canada Hymnal "Voices United".
SFPG is "Songs For A Gospel People", also available from the UCC.
Sources: citations from Glen E. Ludgwig, "The Easy Way Out" in
"Sermons For Lent and Easter: Walking To... Walking With...
Walking Through (Gospel C)" and Paul Harms, "Temptation = Doing
What Comes Naturally" in "Augsburg Sermons 3, Gospels Series C".
GATHERING AND MUSICAL PRELUDE (* = please stand)
* CALL TO WORSHIP
L The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
P And also with you.
L Jesus said "Love one another". He also said
"bless those who curse you and do good to those who hate you."
P We come to worship God who is love,
that we may learn to love one another.
L Jesus said,
"No longer do I call you servants; now I call you friends."
P We come to worship God who is love,
whose friends we are in Christ Jesus.
L Let us sing praise to God and live in love and friendship.
P Let us draw water from the spring of everlasting life.
* INTROIT: "What Does The Lord Require Of You" - VU 701
* PRAYER OF APPROACH
Gracious and loving God - bless each one of us here today. Cleanse us
from all unrighteousness and help us to rejoice in your presence.
Strengthen us by the power of your Holy Spirit that we may hear your word
aright and with joy and confidence obey your commandment that we should
love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbours
as ourselves. Indeed, make us a people who shine with the light of
Christ, ones who forgive as he forgave us, and trust in him as he trusted
in you. Fill our cups Lord - fill them up - and we shall want no more.
Amen
* HYMN "Come, Let Us Sing To The Lord" - VU 222
CHILDREN'S TIME: "The Sad and Happy Story of Joseph and His Brothers"
Object A Story Book Bible if Available
Theme Forgiving and Loving Your Enemies
Source Self
Good morning - A couple of weeks ago now while you were in Sunday School
you talked about Joseph and his eleven brothers and what they did to him
when he was a young man Today upstairs the people are going to hear the
very end of that story. Can anyone tell me what Joseph is really well
known for???? (beautiful robe - of many colours - long robe - which meant
it was not meant for working in - it meant that Joseph was different from
his brothers - who all had to work hard.)
What else made Joseph different from his brothers??? (loved more by his
father -- had dreams where he dreamed that his brothers bowed down to him
- another where he dreamed that even the sun and moon bowed down).
Do you know anyone who thinks they are better than other people??? How
does that make you feel??
Joseph was a favourite child - and that is very hard to take when you are
not the favourite child. Joseph also did something that bothered his
brothers - he told his father that they weren't doing very good things.
He squealed on them. Have you ever had anyone tell on you to your mom
and dad??? How did it make you feel? How do feel about the person who
squealed on you??? What did you want to do to them?
That is what Joseph's brothers wanted to do too. And they did it. They
were very angry with him because their father loved him more than he loved
them - and they couldn't take nicely to him or treat him well at all.
They hated him even more because of his dreams - and finally - one day -
when they got him alone in the fields - they decided to kill him. Only
his brother Reuben thought this was wrong - and he convinced his brothers
to throw him in a pit without water or food instead - he planned on
rescuing him later - but afterwards the other brothers sold Joseph to a
slave trader that was passing by. They took his robe - covered it with
blood and told their father that wild animals had killed and eaten Joseph.
Jacob cried and cried and cried - and his life was never the same
afterward. All the brothers could do nothing to help their father. There
life was worse than it was before.
Joseph, many years after being sold as a slave into Egypt by his brothers
has risen to power in that land and has been placed in charge of all the
food that has been saved for a time of famine. Joseph's brothers have
come to Egypt to obtain food for their families. Joseph recognizes them
and confronts them. And what do you think he does?? What would you do??
Joseph does play a trick on them at first - but then he forgives them -
and tells them that although they meant him harm, God had turned the
situation into good - bringing Joseph to the place where he could end up
saving his whole family. That only happened because Joseph kept his eyes
upon God - and worried more about what God wanted him to do than about
what his brothers had done to him.
It is important that when others are mean to us and hate us that we keep
our eyes upon God too and remember to do what God wants - then the
situation will work well for us and for our world. One of the things
God wants us to do is to forgive each other and to not hate those who hate
us....
PRAYER AND THE LORD'S PRAYER
Lord God - forgive our anger -- for how we want to be first instead
of last -- for how we resent others -- and how we desire what they
have. -- Make us more like Joseph -- who forgave his brothers. --
Make us more like Jesus -- who though he was a king --lived as the
servant of all. -- Dear God - Help us to love our enemies -- and to
bless those who curse us. - Amen
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom
come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the
glory, for ever and ever. Amen
* SONG OF PRAISE: "God is So Good"
God is so good, God is so good,
God is so good, He's so good to me!
He cares for me, He cares for me,
He cares for me, He's so good to me!
I love Him so, I love Him so,
I love Him so, He's so good to me!
I praise His name, I praise His name,
I praise His name, He's so good to me!
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS
- Announcements
- Birthdays and Anniversaries
- Sharing Joys and Concerns
ST ANDREW'S THIS WEEK
ANTHEM
A READING FROM GENESIS 45:3-11,15
(NIV) Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still
living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they
were terrified at his presence. {4} Then Joseph said to his brothers,
"Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother
Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! {5} And now, do not be distressed
and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it
was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. {6} For two years now
there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there
will not be plowing and reaping. {7} But God sent me ahead of you to
preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. {8} "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler
of all Egypt. {9} Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is
what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come
down to me; don't delay. {10} You shall live in the region of Goshen
and be near me--you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and
herds, and all you have. {11} I will provide for you there, because
five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your
household and all who belong to you will become destitute.'
And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his
brothers talked with him.
L This is the Word of the Lord.
P Thanks be to God.
RESPONSIVE READING: Psalm 37 (Voices United 763 and Sung Refrain)
A READING FROM I CORINTHIANS 15:35-38, 42-50
(NIV) But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind
of body will they come?" {36} How foolish! What you sow does not come
to life unless it dies. {37} When you sow, you do not plant the body
that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
{38} But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of
seed he gives its own body.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown
is perishable, it is raised imperishable; {43} it is sown in
dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised
in power; {44} it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual
body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. {45}
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" ; the
last Adam, a life-giving spirit. {46} The spiritual did not come
first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. {47} The first
man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. {48} As
was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the
man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. {49} And just as
we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the
likeness of the man from heaven. {50} I declare to you, brothers, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the
perishable inherit the imperishable.
L This is the Word of the Lord.
P Thanks be to God.
* HYMN: "Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive" - VU 364
A READING FROM LUKE 6:27-38
(NIV) "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, {28} bless those who curse you, pray for those who
mistreat you. {29} If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him
the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from
taking your tunic. {30} Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone
takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. {31} Do to others as
you would have them do to you. {32} "If you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
{33} And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is
that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. {34} And if you lend to those
from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even
'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. {35} But
love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting
to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be
sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and
wicked. {36} Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. {37} "Do
not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will
not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. {38} Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you."
L This is the Gospel of our Risen Lord.
P Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
SERMON: "Love Is A Choice"
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds
and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the
thoughts we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s home was burned down one night by a group of
white men who did not like his message about the equality of the races.
The situation after the fire was extremely dangerous. Blacks, under the
leadership of Dr. King were becoming more confident of themselves, less
willing to be oppressed and neglected by society - and they were angry
- angry about how they had been treated for years by white society,
- and angry in particular that night that their leader's home had been
destroyed.
A crowd of Dr. King's friends and supporters gathered and some talked
about getting guns and others talked about getting gasoline and going and
setting fire to the homes of all the white people in the area so that they
could suffer as the black people had suffered.
The crowd wanted to hurt those who had hurt them,
- they wanted to hurt those who had burned Dr. King's home,
- they wanted to hurt their enemies
- indeed they wanted to destroy them.
A pretty natural feeling I would say -
We all feel like hitting back when we are hit,
We all feel like returning insult for insult, and curse for curse.
That night however did not end up that way - the way that feels so natural
- instead the crowd left their enemies in peace and they went home
determined to win the victory with votes instead of with guns, with
politics instead of with fire, with love instead of hate..
One of the things that Martin Luther King Jr told the crowd that night as
calmed them down was this:
"When you live by the rule "an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth, you end up with a nation of blind and toothless
people".
Martin Luther King Jr. was a person who tried to live by the gospel of
Jesus Christ
- the gospel that says:
Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless
those that curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.
Dr. King believed with all his heart that a new society could not be built
by violent means: a society in which white and black, protestant and
catholic, and Jew and Muslim live together in peace.
He believed that one could only defeat one's enemy with love
- and that the way of violence only begets more violence,
- and that hate only fosters more hate.
Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
These are tremendous words - but how do we do it??
- How can we love people who have hurt us,
- How can we do good to people who have gossiped about us, or cheated us,
or otherwise oppressed us?
How do we love the parent who has abused us
Or the teacher who has called us a fool,
Or the ex-wife or ex-husband who has tried to destroy the relationship we
have with our children?
How can we love our enemies when everything we feel inside us about them
makes us want to hurt them back as they have hurt us?
That is the most common questions that I, and I believe most other
ministers are asked.
How can I love someone I feel no love for...
How can I bless those who curse me?
The answer that is indicated by scripture and by the life of Jesus,
is that you can love those who you feel no love for only when you decide
to do so.
Love you see - is not a feeling - it is a choice
Love is the decision to do right even when wronged,
- to do good even when bad is done,
- to bless even when you are cursed,
- to forgive even when you are condemned,
- to care even when you are not cared for.
Love is not what we feel.
Rather it is the good that we decide to do and then do.
We so accustomed to thinking of love as a feeling, rather than as a
decision or a choice we make, that a few words of explanation seem
necessary.
Think about your experience of being loved for a moment....
How do you know when someone loves you??
Do you tell by somehow experiencing their emotions?
Do you get inside their heads and feel their feelings and think their
thoughts?
Or do you tell by how you are treated?
by what is said to you by the other person,
and by what they do for you and to you?
How do you know someone really cares for you?
How in fact do you know if you really care for someone else?
I remember vividly a story that a woman told me a few years ago about her
first love affair.
She had gone out on a date with an attractive young man, it was one
of the first dates she had ever had, and she felt sure, by the time
dinner was over that she was in love with him.
After the meal, as she sat listening to him and gazing into his
eyes, she felt more and more lightheaded. She told me that when she
looked around her the whole world looked different, that it kind of
faded out, that nothing seemed to her to be as vivid as the young
man's smiling face and nothing quite so clear as his calm strong
voice
"He filled my eyes", she said. "He was the only thing I could
think about - the only reality that I could connect with."
I asked her what happened after that -
She replied "I was taken to the hospital and I had my stomach
pumped - the doctor told me I had a case of food poisoning."
You can not tell if you love someone simply by checking out your feelings
towards them,
Nor, I want to add, can you show love to them only when you feel warmth
and affection for them.
Think about your relationship with closest family members for a moment or
two.
Can you honestly say that you always like your husband -
that you always feel good about him and want him near to you?
Can you say that you always feel a tremendous fondness for your wife
- that sometimes she doesn't make you feel angry and annoyed?
And yet - don't you love them at all times?
Aren't you committed to them?
And don't you want to see them do well, and be all that they can be
- even when you are angry?
The words of the traditional wedding vows are helpful in understanding
that love is a choice.
They go something like this:
I, take you, to be my wife, to be my husband
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer
in sickness and in health,
in joy and in sorrow,
to love and to cherish
and to be faithful to you alone,
as long as we both shall live.
Notice how this is the language of promise,
how it is the language of choice, and of decision.
It is not the language of feeling,
or of romance or even of affection.
In the wedding ceremony both partners make a commitment to each other -
they share a decision that they have made in front of witnesses -
proclaiming that they have chosen each other and that they will love each,
not just today, when they feel like it, but tomorrow and the next day and
the day after that...
How do we love our enemies when we do not feel like loving them?
- How do we get up in the morning to go to work when we feel tired?
- How do we shovel out the barn when we feel like sitting down and
spending the day reading?
- How do we diet when we feel like having a gigantic bowl of ice cream
with chocolate sauce and nuts and a cherry on top?
We simply decide - we make a choice and then we follow through.
Jesus tells us a bit of what it means to love your enemy,
of what we must decide to do if we are to love him or her, or in fact anyone
- whether they are our enemy, or our friend.
He tells us to bless rather than to curse,
to wish the best for others rather than the worst.
He tells us to be merciful as God is merciful,
to forgive and to give as God gives forgives,
without any expectation or hope of reward from that person,
but simply for the sake of the other person
simply because that is God's will for us.
And of course - as we also heard in today's gospel reading
- he tells us "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
That really is the greatest piece of advice about how to love others that
there is.
It is truly a golden rule
- and every faith, every great religious belief, has a version of it for
people to follow.
Judaism says it this way:
"What is hateful to you, do not to others"
The Hindu faith says it this way:
"Do naught to others which would cause you pain if done to you"
Confucianism tells us
"Do not to others what you would not have them do unto you."
and Islam says:
"No one is a believer until you desire for another that which you
desire for yourself"
"Do to others as you would have them do to you"
This is the great rule of love - the great rule by which you can tell if
you are loving someone even when you do not feel very loving towards them.
The marvellous thing about this rule of love,
this test of whether or not you are acting with love,
is that it is not only a rule or guideline,
it is also intimately linked to a great spiritual law that cannot be broken
- for that law is descriptive rather than prescriptive.
That other law is this: "the judgement you give, is the judgement you
will receive; or what you sow is what you will
reap."
Do not judge and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn and you will not be condemned.
Give and it will be given to you
- a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be
given to you.
Indeed it is that spiritual principal, that law, which I most cling to
when dealing with folk I would much rather not deal with - with people I
feel like harming rather than healing.
Count to ten Richard - and at every count remember...
What you do here and now will come back to you in abundance.
Forgive - because you need lots of forgiveness,
Bless, because you need lots of blessing.
My friends - love your enemies - and love will come back to you,
judge them - and that judgement will return.
And remember this - Love is not a matter of feeling,
it is a matter of choice and of decision.
And that choice, that decision, is one that affects us as deeply, perhaps
even more deeply,
as it affects the person we decide to love or to not love.
What measure do you want to receive from God?
What judgement do you want to live with - both here, and in the world to
come?
May all your choices about who to love be good choices
- that your measure may return to you not only full but full of goodness.
And praise be to God for his abundance of grace,
the grace that loves and forgives us even as we struggle to love and
forgive others. AMEN
PASTORAL PRAYER AND PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us Pray - - Lord God - you call us to embody the love of Christ in our
actions and in our words - to live as a generous and forgiving people - to
return good for evil and blessings for curses. You ask us not to judge
others - but rather to care for them. You have told us that what we give
we will receive, that what we sow we shall reap. Confirm in our hearts
the message of Christ Jesus that we have heard this day - and help us to
live as he has taught us to live....
God of mercy and compassion, give us the strength to love our enemies and
to do good to those who hate us. Make us more like Jesus our Saviour
each day.... Lord, hear our prayer...
God of justice and of forgiveness, help us to bless those who curse us and
to pray for those who persecute us. Make us more like Jesus our Saviour
each day. .... Lord, hear our prayer...
God of strength and of tenderness, you gave your Son to us, though you
knew he would be despitefully used, betrayed and abandoned - and finally
killed. As he died he called out to you - "Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do". We thank you Lord for this great mercy -
and for how you raised him up in glory and have appointed him as our
judge, our saviour. As he prayed for his disciples - and for the world -
so we now pray to you. We pray to for the good of our brothers and
sisters and the whole human family....
For all who are persecuted and despised by their neighbours this day, and
for those who curse and insult and hurt them.... Lord, hear our prayer
For those who work to build up the bodies, minds, and souls of others -
especially this day for members of the Scouting and Guiding movement
around the world.... Lord, hear our prayer...
For those who victims of war and hatred this day - and for those who
practice those things that lead to war and hatred.... Lord, hear our
prayer...
For those who suffer through no fault of their own - and for those who
do... Lord hear our prayer...
And finally Lord, for those situations and people who are especially upon
our mind and hearts this day. - those whom we hold before you in our
hearts and raise up before you and your congregation with the prayer
of our lips: (BIDDING PRAYER)
Lord, hear our prayer...
We praise you and worship you and ask you all these things in the name of
Christ Jesus, - our Lord and our brother, our judge and our friend. Amen
MINUTE FOR MISSION
* SHARING GOD'S BLESSINGS: As the Offering is presented all stand for the
Doxology (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow - VU 541) & Prayer of
Dedication
Bless, O God, these gifts - which we offer in obedience to your
most holy law and in thankfulness for your most gracious love. May
their use bring praise unto your glorious name. We ask it in
Jesus' name. Amen.
* DEPARTING HYMN: "For The Healing of The Nations" - VU 678
* COMMISSIONING (unison): In the power of the Holy Spirit, we now go
forth into the world, to fulfil our calling as the people of God, the
body of Christ.
* BENEDICTION & THREEFOLD AMEN
Go in peace - love and care for one another in Christ's name;
- and the blessing of Christ Jesus, he who traded good for evil and love
for hate, be upon you.
- May his mercy uphold you, his compassion guide you, and his strength
sustain you
both now and forevermore. Amen
THREE FOLD AMEN & SUNG BLESSING: "Go Now In Peace" - VU 964
copyright - Rev. Richard J. Fairchild - Spirit Networks, 2001 - 2006
please acknowledge the appropriate author if citing these sermons.
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