Sunday Pastoral Prayer (Sept. 29) Athens First UMC

[This picture was taken during our Noisy Bucket offering to support Athens County Food Pantry and next week’s Athens County CROP Walk. Since our worship service focused on the importance of reading the Bible, it’s only appropriate that the altar bible is at the center of the picture above. For the sermon, click here. In addition to Noisy Bucket Sunday, we presented five children with their 3rd grade bibles, enjoyed a Kappa Phi fundraiser lunch, and hosted a new member class. The Chancel Choir was also busy by providing two beautiful anthems. See photo below. It was a GREAT Sunday of worship together.]

God of the spoken Word, thank you for speaking to us through the scriptures. 

 

Thank you for the book of Genesis that affirms the goodness of your creation and reminds us that we have been made in your image. Thank you for the biblical books of history that describe the joys and the challenges of following you in our day to day living. Thank you for the biblical books of poetry that awaken our creative imaginations of who you are and who you call us to be. Thank you for the Psalms that offers prayers covering all of our human emotions and longings. Thank you for those books of wisdom that teach us use our minds in discerning what we should do in any given situation. Thank you for the prophetic books that call for justice and equality. Thank you for the Gospels that announce the good news of your kingdom through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the Epistles that instruct us on what it means to live out our faith through the church. Thank you for the Book of Revelation that describes the beautiful picture of new heavens and a new earth.

 

God of the spoken Word, thank you for giving us this treasure called the Bible. Open our hearts to hear you speak to us whenever this book is read and proclaimed.

 

For those who are in need of hope, may the words of this book point them to the good news of Christ.

 

For those who are in need of healing, may the words of this book offer them comfort.

 

For those who are in need of direction, may the words of this book provide guidance.

 

For those who are feeling lonely, may the words of this book reveal your abiding presence.

 

For those who have sinned, may the words of this book provide forgiveness, cleansing, and a new beginning.

 

Thank you for these wonderful words of life.

 

And now teach us to pray the prayer that we find in your Holy Book, the Lord’s Prayer… “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

[Our Chancel Choir offering one of two anthems during Sunday’s 10:30 worship service. We are blessed with great music in our church!]

Sermon (September 29) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     During these Sundays in September and October, we are focusing on the key disciplines that every Christian is encouraged to practice in order to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Last Sunday, we talked about the importance of prayer and many of us made personal commitments in having a deeper prayer life. Today’s discipline of reading the bible is just as important. 

     A few years ago, The History Channel aired “The Bible Miniseries.” The first episode of that series attracted 13.1 million viewers, making it the highest entertainment broadcast that year. These incredible TV ratings show that the American public is interested in the Bible.

     The American Bible Society’s recent survey on what Americans think about the bible offers us some very positive signs. I want to share two parts of that survey with you this morning. And again, these surveyed did not focus only on people who attend church, they were random calls of people throughout the country.

     As you look at the first survey, you’ll notice that 87% of Americans say that they own a bible. That’s a very high percentage. 

     And this is a very interesting statistic. 58% of people wish to read the bible more.  That’s encouraging. I was thinking that this percentage would be a lot smaller. Knowing that most of us want to read the bible more shows that people have a healthy curiosity about this ancient book.

     56% of people surveyed said that reading the Bible is an important part of their faith journey. More than half.

     As you look at the 2nd survey, notice that 58% of people claimed that the Bible had transformed their life. That also is encouraging. 

     I wanted to show you those recent national surveys about the Bible to show that there is a desire among people to read the Bible and see how it connects to their everyday lives. And I would have to believe that those percentages are even higher within a church like Athens First. 

     The problem for most people isn’t that they see the bible as irrelevant. The problem is that we just don’t make reading the bible a priority in our day to day living. And that’s the reason for our focus on this very important topic. By the end of our time together today, my hope is that many of us will make a commitment to read the bible on a more consistent basis.

     One of the major challenges as to why people do not read the bible is that they find it very difficult to understand. It appears to be a very intimidating and complicated book. I totally get why people feel this way about the bible because in many ways, it is.  But that doesn’t mean that we can’t overcome some of those initial impressions.

     If we think of the bible as a compelling story from beginning to end, it might help us to read it for all it’s worth. Here’s the incredible thing about the bible – Even though it was written over a span of a thousand years, by many different authors, and written in three different languages; Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the bible displays an incredible continuity in telling the hope-filled story of God’s desire to rescue the world from sin and death.

     If it helps any, I like to describe the plot of the bible’s storyline by using six “C’s.” 

     The first “C” is Creation. In the beginning of the bible, we are told that God created the world and all that is in it and called it good. How’s that for a positive beginning to the greatest story ever told?! A loving God created this world and called it good. 

     The second “C” is Corruption. Not too long after God created humanity, we messed it up by sinning against God and that’s why we live in a world that is filled with sin and death. And as we know, sin leads to all kinds of negative consequences and despair.

     The third “C” is Covenant. Thank goodness, that the bible doesn’t end with the second “C” of corruption or that would be a very sad and tragic ending to the biblical story. Since God is a loving God and created this world and called it good, God is bound and determined to defeat sin and death once and for all. To do this, God makes a covenant or an agreement with Abraham and later with the people of Israel. It is through this covenant that God will save and rescue the world from sin and death.

     The only problem with this part of the biblical story is that God’s people were not always faithful in living out their covenant with God. Sometimes, they would obey God and experience blessings, and other times they would break their covenant and suffer the consequences. 

     Reading this part of the bible is very frustrating because just when you think that the people of God are going to finally make it, they disobey God and things unravel again.  And yet, as we read these biblical stories, we can see ourselves in these stories. We can identify with those times when we are living according to God’s designs and purposes, but we can also identify with those times when we fail to be the people God has called us to be.

     And this leads us to the fourth “C” of the biblical story. Christ. Since God’s people were not able to live out their end of the covenant, God sent Jesus Christ to do what we were unable to do for ourselves. When Jesus was dying on the cross and said, “It is finished,” he was basically saying, “I have fulfilled the covenant that God made to rescue the world from sin and death.” And when Jesus rose again from the tomb with a new body, a resurrected body that would never die again, he was giving us an advance sign of God’s new creation when we all of God’s people will be made new again.

     The fifth “C” is the church. The church is called to be the living presence of the Risen Christ in our world.

     And this leads us to the sixth and final “C” of the biblical story, consummation.  Even though Jesus fulfilled God’s covenant and defeated the power of sin and death, we still live in a world that is filled with pain, brokenness, and sin. Jesus has already won the victory but we still await that time in the future when Jesus will return and heaven and earth will become one.

     This final “C” of consummation is the spoiler alert part of the biblical story. This is where the plot was heading all along when God will make all things new. And at the very end of the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, we are told that when this time comes which is the ultimate Christian hope, death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. All of God’s people will be reunited in worship and praise and we will feast at a great heavenly banquet.

     But until that time of final consummation, God has sent us the Holy Spirit to empower and equip us to be the people God has called us to be. We, the committed followers of Jesus Christ, the church, are called to share this good news with our community and world through both word and deed. That’s why we exist as the church, to share the good news of Christ and offer God’s healing love to every situation we encounter.

     So, in just these past couple of minutes, we heard the main storyline of the bible by thinking about the six “C’s” – Creation, Corruption, Covenant, Christ, Church, and Consummation. And whenever you read the bible, it’s good to keep these six “C’s” in mind because these six “C’s” are interwoven throughout the bible. They set the overall context of any particular scripture passage you may be reading at the time. These six “C’s” remind us of where we are located in the larger biblical story. They help us to not be intimidated by this ancient writing consisting of sixty-six books since there is a riveting plot line from the Book of Genesis and all of the way to the Book of Revelation.

     The second challenge for us is to make reading the bible a priority in our lives. While it’s easy to say that we believe the bible is an important book, we sometimes just don’t make the time to read it on a consistent basis for ourselves. 

     The good news is that there are a number of modern bible translations that make the bible easier to read. The translation that we use here in worship, The New Revised Standard Version is an excellent modern translation. The important thing is to have your own personal bible, one that you can read and understand.

     We’re all busy people, so it’s important to have a routine where we read the bible on a consistent basis. The more of the bible we read, the more we will open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. Sometimes God has a comforting and reassuring word for us. Other times, God wants to challenge us or help us to see things in a new way. When we read the bible, it’s always good to pray, “Lord, help me to hear what you are saying to me today as I read your Word.”

     The Upper Room bible reading devotional is a great resource to read the bible on a daily basis. Each day contains a scripture passage, a brief story connected to the reading, and a concluding prayer focus and thought for the day. You may want to simply choose a book in the bible like the Gospel of Mark and read a chapter a day. Or you may want to make it a routine to read the scripture lessons we will be using for the upcoming Sunday in worship. There are many ways to read the bible on a consistent basis. 

     I continue to be amazed at how the several biblical authors over the course of several centuries were able to add their parts to the unfolding drama of God’s salvation history and how it all fits together.  It’s just remarkable. And we get to read this book and allow it to guide us and give us hope in our day to day living.

     No wonder the Apostle Paul instructed young Timothy with these words from our scripture reading this morning – “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

     To help us with this third commitment in reading the Bible as part of our Faith Builder’s series, up on the screen are some choices for us to consider. I’m going to give us time to think about these choices and which one we would like to be our commitment in this area. 

     Here are some possibilities for us to consider in making bible reading more of a priority in our lives. You can choose one or more of these ways to grow in your reading and understanding of the Bible.

• No, I am not ready to make a commitment today.

• No, I am not ready to start, but I want to with all my heart.

• Yes, I will read the Bible sometimes.

• Yes, I will read the Bible frequently.

• Yes, I will read the Bible on a daily schedule…and I am ready for a structured plan of Bible reading. (Check a plan  

         below)

         ___The Upper Room Devotional (print copy & online)

         ___Read scripture readings for upcoming Sunday worship

         ___Read a book from the Old Testament

         ___Read a book from the New Testament

         ___ Other Plan 

• Yes, I will sign up for a weekly small group/bible study

• Yes, I will attend a weekly Sunday School class

• Reading the Bible will be a priority in my life, growing to include the following:

     I will strive for my daily life to reflect the teachings of the Bible. I will surround my family and friends with Scripture. Through reading the Bible, I will find strength, power, and direction to face the week.

     I’ve asked Jeff to play some music for the next minute or so as we silently make our commitment to God.

[PAUSE]

     I’d like to share one final thought about reading the Bible that I have found extremely helpful. I have discovered that the Bible is not primarily an answer book. It’s more of a guide that invites us to wrestle in our faith as we walk together with God. It’s the wrestling that will build up your faith over time. So keep at it. Don’t give up on it.

     Let it challenge you. Let it comfort you. Let it speak a new word to you in a new and fresh way.

     May God bless you as you make reading the Bible more of a priority in your life.

Faith Builders: Reading

Sermon Discussion Questions

II Timothy 3:10-17

September 29, 2019

During this seven week “Faith Builders” sermon series, we are focusing on six vital areas in having a growing and vital faith. This week’s focus is on reading the Bible. Pastor Robert shared a couple of surveys about the Bible.

[1st SURVEY]

[2nd Survey]

Do these surveys offer any surprising results?

Sometimes we don’t read the Bible because we are intimidated by it. Let’s face it. The Bible can be difficult to understand but it’s also important to remember that it offers us a very compelling and unifying overall narrative that can be summarized by the six “C”s. These are 1) Creation - God created the world and called it good. 2) Corruption - Our disobedience has led to brokenness and death in God’s good creation. 3) Covenant - God’s plan to restore creation is through making a covenant with Israel. 4) Christ - Because we have failed in living out God’s covenant, Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has fulfilled the covenant. 5) Church - The church is the presence of the Risen Christ offering God’s healing love in the world. 6) Consummation - Christ will come again and restore creation fulfilling the Bible’s promise of new heavens and a new earth.

How can this “Six ‘C’” summary of the Bible help you when you read the Bible?

Reading and understanding the Bible involves a commitment to make it more of a priority in our lives. Read over the commitment options below and discuss which ones best apply to you:

• No, I am not ready to make a commitment today.
• No, I am not ready to start, but I want to with all my heart.
• Yes, I will read the Bible sometimes.
• Yes, I will read the Bible frequently.
• Yes, I will read the Bible on a daily schedule…and I am ready for a structured plan of Bible reading. (Check a plan below)

         ___The Upper Room Devotional (print copy & online)

         ___Read scripture readings for upcoming Sunday worship

         ___Read a book from the Old Testament

         ___Read a book from the New Testament

         ___ Other Plan 

• Yes, I will sign up for a weekly small group/bible study
• Yes, I will attend a weekly Sunday School class
• Reading the Bible will be a priority in my life, growing to include the following: I will strive for my daily life to reflect the teachings of the Bible. I will surround my family and friends with Scripture. Through reading the Bible, I will find strength, power, and direction to face the week.

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (Sept. 22) Athens First UMC

[We continued our 7-week series on “Faith Builders” by focusing on the importance of prayer. Click here for the sermon. To help encourage our congregation to pray, our church offers two daily prayers at 11:00 and 4:57. The L Prayer @ Eleven reminds us of our discipleship process in having a Loving Faith. a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith. The 4:57 Prayer is a prayer that was used during our church’s cornerstone dedication service in April,1957 or 4/57. See the slide below.]

Together, let us pray for our congregation: For our Leadership Board, our staff, our Sunday School teachers, our small group facilitators, our Stephen Ministers, our Tuesday morning prayer team, our Growing Tree preschool, our Missions Team, our Monday Lunch, our United Methodist Women, our Thursday morning men’s prayer group, our Monday evening Bible Study, our liturgical arts team, our ushers, greeters, Connect Time volunteers, our Chancel Choir, our Bell Choir, and all who provide special music, for our seven-week church-wide “Faith Builders” focus, and for our church to faithfully live out our mission in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world by having a loving faith, a learning faith, and a living faith.

Lord, in your mercy…Hear our prayer.

Together, let us pray for our local community: For our elected officials, for our many schools, for the university, for our police and sheriff’s departments, for our hospital, for first responders, for local organizations that help provide food, shelter, and the basic necessities of life.

Lord, in your mercy…Hear our prayer.

Together, let us pray for our world: For all leaders and people in political power, for people serving in the military and their families, for our nation and our upcoming elections, for those impacted by the recent hurricanes and for our United Methodist Committee on Relief as they respond to these areas of need.

Lord, in your mercy…Hear our prayer.

Together, let us take a moment of silence and offer our personal prayers to you. 

Lord, in your mercy…Hear our prayer. 

And now, teach us to pray the words that Jesus taught us to pray together… “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Sermon (September 22) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     Imagine this as your assignment. You are to transform the entire world, not just make it a better place, but to totally change it for good.

     You are just beginning your assignment and you know that there is no time to waste.  The world is filled with disease, sin, hate, corruption, despair, and great inequity. And it’s all up to you to change it. Are you ready to begin your mission? What will be your first move?

     Would your first move be to spend the night in prayer? That’s what Jesus decided to do. He made prayer a priority from the very beginning of his audacious divine assignment to transform the world.

     It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t have a “to do” list of a thousand things that needed to get done.  At the top of that list was that he needed to carefully select a group of individuals who would follow him every step of the way in fulfilling his mission. They would learn from him, serve in his name, and carry on the mission long after he would be gone. 

     With time of the essence, Jesus chose to do something that would characterize his ministry from this point forward. He would pray.

     But why did Jesus need to pray to God? Wasn’t he divine? Wasn’t he the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity?

     That’s all true. But Jesus was also fully human, fully divine and fully human both at the same time. I know it’s confusing, but it’s why we light the two candles on top of our altar every Sunday morning. The one candle represents Jesus and his full divinity and the other candle represents Jesus and his full humanity. 

     And because Jesus was fully human, like us, he needed to rely on prayer. He needed to set aside time in a noisy world so that he would be able to hear God’s voice. He needed to take time to think and pray before taking his next big step. He needed to consult the One who had sent him, especially with so much on the line.

     And Luke the gospel writer, tells us that after that night of prayer, Jesus was ready to chose twelve people who would become his inner circle of disciples.

     Today, our focus is on growing in our prayer life. Are you ready to grow in your prayer life?

     One of the reasons that prayer is so important is because we were all meant to have a relationship with God. Prayer is what enables us to have a conversation with God where we listen to what God wants to say to us and where we share our thoughts with God.

    I like that definition of prayer. Prayer is having a conversation with God. If prayer is having a conversation with God, then it’s something we can do on a regular basis. The Apostle Paul tells us to “Rejoice always and pray without ceasing.”

     I used to have trouble with that phrase, “pray without ceasing.” How is that even possible? Maybe you have heard someone say something like, “It’s been a year since she died, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her.” 

     It’s when I hear people say things like that that I realize that it is possible to pray without ceasing. We tend to think about the people and the things in our lives that we hold dear to our hearts. Someone once said that prayer is simply practicing the presence of God.

     So how are you doing at practicing the presence of God in your life? If prayer is meant to be that natural and easy, then why do we sometimes struggle with prayer? 

     During a shopping trip one day, Penny and I went to one of those huge home improvement stores. We were buying window blinds.

     We had a particular color, style, and price range in mind and we were getting frustrated because we couldn’t seem to find exactly what we were hoping to find. Just when I thought we found the right type of blinds, Penny would say something like, “I like this a lot, but it’s way too expensive.”

     Annoyed that she wasn’t going to just buy it, I said in a not so loving voice, “Well, I told you that this type of blind over here is probably our best choice.” And she would say, “No, we need to keep on looking.”  

     “But we’ve already looked up and down this aisle,” I said very impatiently.

     Just then, we heard what seemed like a voice from heaven saying, “Can I help you?” We both looked up. 

     There, standing on some scaffolding directly above us was an employee who had been stocking the upper shelves. She had been there the whole time and we didn’t know it. She had to have heard every word of our conversation and she probably enjoyed listening to our little husband and wife argument over which blinds to buy. At least we didn’t say any bad words during our disagreement!

     Before we knew it, this employee had climbed down from the scaffolding and said, “I think I know what you’re looking for.” Just like that, she helped us pick out the right kind of blinds and at a really good price. She smiled and sent us on our way as happy and satisfied customers.

     I wonder if this is how our prayer lives are sometimes. We go about our day to day activities and when we hit a snag, we don’t even think about looking up for God to help us. And all the time, God was listening in and waiting for us to finally ask for help.

     What are some ways that can help us look up more often and grow in our prayer lives?

     I think the first way is to actually schedule prayer time into our daily calendar. I can’t imagine beginning my day without some sort of prayer time. Spend a few moments before you get started with your day and invite God to guide and lead you in all that you do. We don’t exactly know what the day may hold for us, but we do know that God wants to guide us through each moment. We also know that God has the best in mind for us.

     The second way to look up more often and grow in our prayer lives is to pray existing prayers. Spontaneous prayers are wonderful but so are prayers that have been prayed by other people. You may even want to pray the opening prayer that is found in the Sunday worship bulletin each week. Try praying that prayer each morning before beginning your day. That prayer will remind you of our Sunday worship theme and it will also be a source of strength for you during the week. 

     A third way to look up more often and grow in our prayer lives is to remember the ACTS acronym for prayer. You can include these four letters all into one prayer or you can have prayers for each individual letter. It’s really simple.

     The letter “A” stands for adoration. Prayer is a great opportunity to offer our adoration and praise of God’s love and faithfulness in our lives. During the day, you may just want to pause and say, “Dear God, I adore and praise you for who you are.”

     The letter “C” stands for confession. It’s good for us to confess to God where we have sinned and where we have not been the person that God has called us to be. Just remember, when we confess our sins, God stands ready to forgive us and help us to begin anew. God is gracious and forgiving.

     The letter “T” stands for thanksgiving. This is probably one of my favorite aspects of prayer because there are so many things for which to be thankful. As these moments of thanksgiving come to your mind during the day, just say a prayer of thanks to God for these blessings.

     The letter “S” stands for supplication. Supplication is when we pray for others and ourselves. When we say that we will pray for someone, I like to pray as soon as possible so that I won’t forget. And don’t forget to let God know of your own needs. God loves us and cares about us.

     The acronym, “ACTS” can help us to look up more often and grow in our prayer lives.

     This is the perfect Sunday to emphasize our two church-wide daily prayers. The first one is everyday in the morning at 11 o’clock. We call this our “L” Prayer at Eleven. The purpose of this prayer is to lift up our church’s discipleship strategy which includes three words that all begin with the letter “L.” And of course, since we like the letter “L” so much here at Athens First, we just have to address God as “Lord.” 

     So here’s the “L” Prayer at Eleven:

 

     Say that with me. “Lord, lead us in having a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith. Amen.”

     When we pray that prayer everyday, it does two things. The first thing it does is it unifies us because we’re all praying it together wherever we might be. And the second thing it does is it reminds us of our church’s discipleship strategy which is that each one of us is involved in at least one of our Loving Faith ministries, one of our Learning Faith ministries, and one of our Living Faith ministries.

     So that’s our first church-wide daily prayer. The “L” Prayer at Eleven.

     The second prayer is everyday at 4:57 pm in the afternoon. Why is this prayer at 4:57? Because it was in April, 1957 when the cornerstone of our church building was dedicated. And during that service that was held 62 years ago, was this prayer:

     

     Isn’t that a beautiful prayer? The 4:57 daily prayer.

     Pray that with me. “O God, baptize us afresh in the life-giving spirit of Jesus. Amen.”

     So here’s what I do to help me remember to pray these two prayers everyday. I put them as a daily reminder in my calendar. And no matter what I may be doing, they show up on my phone or my iPad, and I pray that prayer.

     So, those are a couple of prayers that I invite us to pray each day and to help us pray without ceasing. 

     To help us with this second commitment in growing in our prayer life in our Faith Builder’s series, up on the screen are some choices for us to consider. I’m going to give us time to think about these choices and which one we would like to be our commitment in this area. 

     Here are some possibilities for us to consider in making prayer a priority in our lives. You can choose one or more of these ways to grow in your prayer life.

• Beginning today, I will pray every time I am facing a difficult decision.

• Beginning today, I will pray daily.

• Beginning today, I will pray our two church-wide daily prayers at 11 am and 4:57 pm.

• Beginning today, I will pray daily, remembering the ACTS approach to prayer shared in the sermon.

• Beginning today, I will pray daily, setting aside fifteen minutes for daily devotional time.

• Prayer will be a priority in my life, growing to include the following:

     I will surround my family and friends with prayer. I will surround my church with prayer. Through prayer, I will find strength, power, and direction to face the week. Through prayer I will trust God with my life, my family, my job, my finances, and my immediate and eternal future. Through prayer, I will learn to love God with all my heart and to love my neighbor.

     I’ve asked Jeff to play some music for the next minute or so as we silently make our commitment to God.

[Pause]

     I’ll close with this last thought about making prayer more of a priority in our lives. This is something that has helped me to remember to pray when facing certain situations.

     Just remember, if you’re good at worrying like I am, then you can be good at praying. Turn your worries into prayers. If you find yourself feeling anxious about something, remember to pray. If you are feeling some stress about something, remember to pray. If you are worried about how to handle a situation, remember to pray. 

     That little thought has helped me to grow in my prayer life. May God bless each one of us as we live out our commitments in having a growing prayer life.

Faith Builders: Praying

Sermon Discussion Questions

I Thessalonians 5:12-22 & Luke 6:12-19

September 22, 2019

We are just beginning a sermon series called, “Faith Builders” in which we are looking at several key areas that our tried and true ways to help us grow in our faith. We began the series last Sunday but talking about the importance of committing ourselves to these ways of building up our faith. For this Sunday, our focus is on the importance of praying. Our Gospel reading tells us that before Jesus chose his disciples which was an important decision, he spent time on the mountain praying.

Of all of the things that Jesus could have done, why do you think that he chose to pray before selecting his disciples? Have you ever prayed before an important decision in your life?

Pastor Robert defined prayer as “having a conversation with God.” 

What are your conversations with God like? How often do you have them? How do these conversations with God build up your faith?

There are three important ways to help build up our prayer life:

#1 - Schedule times for prayer.

Do you have a favorite time of the day to pray? What helps you to remember to pray during the day?

#2 - Pray existing prayers in addition to spontaneous prayers. A good example of this is to pray the Sunday prayer that we pray together from the Sunday worship bulletin. Here is the prayer that was used this past Sunday. Notice how these prayers connect with our worship theme. Pray this prayer out loud.

Ever listening God, we confess that you are ever more ready to hear than we are to pray. You know our needs before we ask and our ignorance in asking. We acknowledge that we do not always turn to you in prayer. We sometimes neglect to pray for each other, for those in need and for ourselves. Teach us what it means to have a stronger prayer life.  Amen.

#3 - Use the A.C.T.S. method in praying. “A” stands for adoration. “C” stands for confession. “T” stands for thanksgiving. “S” stands for supplication (praying for the needs of yourself and others.)

Which of these letters come easy in your prayer life and which ones are more challenging?

Our church has two daily prayers for us all to pray. At 11 am, we pray the “L” Prayer @ Eleven. “Lord, lead us in having a loving faith, a learning faith, and a living faith. Amen.” At 4:57 pm, we pray “O God, baptize us afresh in the life-giving Spirit of Jesus. Amen.” The 4:57 is to remind us that in April, 1957, the members of Athens First said this prayer during the cornerstone ceremony.

Toward the conclusion of the sermon on Sunday, our congregation was invited to consider choosing one or more of these options in building up a prayer life. Reflect on these options and invite God to help you keep your commitment to have a stronger prayer life.

•   Beginning today, I will pray every time I am facing a difficult decision.

• Beginning today, I will pray daily.

• Beginning today, I will pray our two church-wide daily prayers at 11 am and 4:57 pm.

• Beginning today, I will pray daily, remembering the ACTS approach to prayer shared in the sermon.

• Beginning today, I will pray daily, setting aside fifteen minutes for daily devotional time.

• Prayer will be a priority in my life, growing to include the following:

        I will surround my family and friends with prayer. I will surround my church with prayer. Through prayer, I will find strength, power, and direction to face the week. Through prayer I will trust God with my life, my family, my job, my finances, and my immediate and eternal future. Through prayer, I will learn to love God with all my heart and to love my neighbor.

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (Sept. 15) Athens First UMC

[Our Chancel Choir sang two beautiful anthems on Sunday. This anthem, “If We Just Talk of Thoughts and Prayers” included the congregation singing the final two verses. The first verse was particularly fitting for our worship theme on the importance of commitment with the words, “If we just talk of thoughts and prayers and don’t live out a faith that dares, and don’t take on the ways of death, our thoughts and prayers are fleeting breath.” For the sermon, click here.] This was also the beginning of our new children and youth Sunday School program which debuted Theo the puppet during the 10:30 Children’s Moments. See a picture of Theo below.]

Lord Jesus, teach us what it means to surrender all so that we can become the people you have called us to be. 

Teach us to surrender our hearts and our wills to you. Teach us to surrender our selfish ways. Teach us to surrender anything that would keep us from following you.

We dedicate these next seven weeks to you as we renew our commitments in the areas of having a personal relationship with you, in praying, in reading and studying your Word, in worshiping, in sharing our faith, in giving of our resources, and in serving in ministry. 

Lord Jesus, teach us to surrender all so that we might ever love and trust you and in your presence daily live. 

May the words of commitment that we have just spoken a few minutes ago become a prayer to you:

Jesus you are my guiding light, my compass, my lighthouse. I ask you for that ‘peace that passes all understanding.’ I strive for my speech and behavior to please you. I strive for my attitudes, values, and thoughts to please you. I am passionate about you being the priority of my life. I strive to share my faith with others. I look forward to having a constant awareness of your presence. I strive for others to see you in my life, words, and actions. At each major decision of my life, I will ask, ‘What would you have me do?’ I invite you to be at the center of all of my relationships. I will be open to how you want to use me to bless others.

Lord Jesus, teach us to surrender all. We feel the sacred flame. I the joy of the full salvation. Glory, glory to your name, even as we join together in praying…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

[You will be seeing a lot of Theo, the dog during our 10:30 worship service Children’s Moments. Theo always helps to introduce the Sunday School lesson for the day.]

[Theo, the dog with our Director of Education, Kathy Mangen following his debut at the opening children and youth 10:30 Sunday School program.]

Sermon (September 15) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     Almost. It’s a sad word in anybody’s dictionary. It keeps company with expressions like “if only” and if you’re from the South, “near ‘bout.”

     Almost is a word that speaks of missed opportunities and fumbled chances.

     Tim KcKee was edged out for first place in the Olympic 400 meter race by two-thousandths of a second. He almost won a gold medal.

     Christian author, Max Lucado offers these sad statements that revolve around “almost.”

     “He almost got it together.” “We were almost able to work it out.” “He almost made it to the big leagues.”

     In our Acts scripture reading, we are introduced to an “almost” kind of guy, King Agrippa who was one of Herod’s sons and the Roman procurator of Judea who was the puppet king the Romans allowed to sit on the throne.

     The Apostle Paul has been spreading the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the Roman Empire and here in our Acts scripture reading, he is nearing the end of his ministry. He is on trial before King Agrippa.

     Since Paul was a Roman citizen, he would eventually appeal to Caesar and be sent to Rome where he would be martyred; but first, Paul was granted his request for a private audience with Agrippa.

     Paul appealed to something that both he and Agrippa agreed upon – the Jewish prophets. And Paul used this appeal as an opportunity to invite Agrippa to follow Jesus. Paul’s purpose wasn’t to refute the charges against him but simply give a testimony to the faith that drove him. 

     Now, when I think of Paul, I think of someone who was very, very convincing when he spoke and shared about his faith.  He helped many, many people become followers of Jesus Christ throughout his ministry.

     Even as a prisoner in chains, he shared his faith with King Agrippa.  And it sounds like King Agrippa is a little surprised by what Paul is telling him because he responds by asking him, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?”

     Paul, known for his quick wit and ability to think on his feet responds, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am – except for these chains.”

     And this is where the conversation ends. Agrippa wasn’t fully persuaded to become a follower of Jesus.

     Over the next several weeks, we’re going to focus on the topic, “What does it mean to be fully persuaded to become a follower of Jesus Christ?” “What does it mean to be fully committed to Jesus Christ?” 

     Being fully committed is how we build up our faith which is the name of this series. What does it mean to be faith builders? We’re going to talk about the importance of building up our faith through prayer, reading the Bible, attending weekly worship, sharing our faith, offering our gifts, and serving.

     If I had to list the foundational components in being a committed follower of Jesus, these six things would definitely be at the top of the list. It’s hard to imagine being a follower of Jesus without making these six things a priority in our lives.

     But before we even begin to focus on these six things, let’s first ask ourselves where we are in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

     I have shared with you about how I made a recommitment of my life to Jesus Christ when I was in college.  That new commitment to Christ had such an impact on my life, that it changed everything for me. 

     It gave me hope because I was going through a low point of my life. It gave me comfort because I knew that with Christ in my life, I wasn’t alone anymore. It gave me assurance because I knew that nothing could ever separate me from God’s love.

     Because of this positive change in my life, I wanted to share my faith with others. One of the people I shared my faith with was a friend I knew in college. On Mondays before class, he would tell me about how he drank too much over the weekend.

     During our conversations, I told him about my new commitment to Christ and I invited him to a bible study. He came to those bible studies and I could tell that God was working on him.  Even though he continued to drink on weekends, he started asking me questions about the bible and faith. I would ask him if he wanted to make a commitment to follow Christ, and he kept telling me that he wasn’t ready for that, but at least he kept attending the bible study.

     One day, he totally surprised me by saying, “I want you to know that I finally invited Jesus Christ into my life. I’m going to put him first in everything I do.” And I could tell that he meant what he said. He stopped his heavy drinking on the weekends and he started going to church. He began reading the bible every morning and he was constantly asking me questions about the Christian faith.

     He ended up going to seminary and becoming a pastor. We still keep in touch through facebook.  Making a commitment to Jesus Christ is where it all begins.

     Those of you who follow golf, you might know the name of Rik Massengale who was a tour pro during the 70s and early 80s. Rik admits that early in his career, golf was his god. This not only caused him inner turmoil, but it also created marriage problems.

     His wife decided to file for divorce. But before the divorce was finalized, they had a long talk. They decided to attend the Tour Bible Study. The guest speaker happened to be Billy Graham, who was playing in the pro-am of the Kemper Open that year.

     Billy Graham made a statement that really stuck with Rik that day. He said, “Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Rik had grown up in church and assumed that being a Christian just meant attending church. He was honest enough to admit that he didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

     Through the guidance of a friend, Rik found out how he could begin this new relationship with Christ. He and his wife both made a commitment to put Christ first in their marriage.

     Rik says, “I didn’t experience an overnight change, but over the next six to eight months, I realized that God was making significant changes in my life.” Rick went on to serve as the director of College Golf Fellowship, a Christian ministry to college golfers and coaches.

     When we make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, like Rik, we might not experience an overnight change, but over time, we will find that we are becoming more and more like him. 

     In our Galatians scripture reading, we find the Fruit of the Spirit which consists of these wonderful character traits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Over time, this is what the Holy Spirit can do in our lives. By making a commitment to Christ, we become more like Christ.

     I am excited about what a difference Jesus Christ can make in our lives. I am also excited about what Christ is going to do in our lives and in our church over these next several weeks through this faith builders series.

     Making a commitment can be challenging. We often need to be fully persuaded before we finally decide to make something a priority in our lives.

     Like the time when I read an article about how too much sugar isn’t good for you. This was when I was serving a church in Lancaster. I already knew that but this particular article traced sugar to several potential medical problems.

     After I read that article, I told Penny that I was going to stop eating anything with sugar in it. And I must admit that I got off to a good start. A couple of days went by. No sugar. My personal commitment was to not have any more sugar for the rest of my life and I remember being so proud of myself for making it to day 3.

     I think it was that 3rd day that I attended a meal at the church. One of the bakers in the church who didn’t know about my no sugar commitment brought out a big tray of several dessert options to my table. Lemon meringue, coconut cream, cherry. Friends, I’m not bragging, but I won that victory and survived day 3. “Get behind me Satan!”

     Long story short. I also survived day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8. And then day 9 came along. Day 9.

     A member of my church had a 90th birthday party that was held at the church. When I arrived, a member of that family made a bee line for me and said, “Pastor Robert, you have to get a piece of this double chocolate cake. It’s my dad’s favorite. Just look at that chocolate icing. This cake was made by a special friend.”

     Again, not bragging, but remembering my commitment, I politely declined. The person who was offering me the cake thought I was kidding and gave me a piece anyway. 

     Friends, I actually set that cake back on the counter. Yeah, not bragging, but…

     So far, so good. Day 10. Day 11. Day 12. 

     I think it was around day 30 when Penny and I made a day trip down to Athens. She said, “let’s stop at Larry’s and get something to eat.”

     We were looking at the big menu and my loving, supportive wife said, “Hey look. They have butterscotch milkshakes, your favorite!”

     Friends, that was the day that my sugar fast ended. For Adam and Eve, it was an apple. For me, it was a butterscotch milkshake. 

     I share this story with you to say that it’s not easy to keep our commitments, but on the other hand, because I made a commitment, I surprised myself by lasting a whole month. Commitments really do matter.

     And the same is true in our faith. Just because we don’t always keep our commitments doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make commitments. They can help us to keep moving forward and when we stumble, we get back up again and keep striving toward our goal.

     John Wesley, the founder of Methodism called this process, “moving onto perfection in this life.”

     So, for this first Sunday, our commitment is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ where we put him first in our life in the best way we know how.

     To help us with this first commitment in our Faith Builder’s series, up on the screen are some choices for us to consider. I’m going to give us time to think about these choices and which one we would like to be our commitment in this area. I’ve asked Jeff to play some music for the next minute or so as we silently make our commitment to God.

     Here are some options if you decide to not make a commitment to Jesus Christ at this point. 

• No, today, I am not ready to make a commitment.

• No, but maybe someday.

• And here are a couple of options if you have or want to make a commitment to Jesus Christ. Yes, beginning today, I   

        want to be a follower of Jesus Christ. 

• A second option is Yes, I am already a follower of Christ but I want to be an even more devoted follower of Him.

     I’ve asked Jeff to play some music for the next minute or so as we silently make our commitment to God.

     If you chose yes as one of the options, I’d like us to join together in saying this commitment of faith in having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s up on the screen.

     “Jesus is my guiding light, my compass, my lighthouse. I will ask the Lord for that ‘peace that passes all understanding.’ I will strive for my speech and behavior to please the Lord. I will strive for my attitudes, values, and thoughts to please the Lord. I will be passionate about the Lord as the priority of my life. I will strive to be able to explain clearly what I believe and why. I look forward to having a constant awareness of the Lord’s presence. I will strive for others to see Christ in my life, words, and actions. At each major decision of my life, I will ask, ‘What would Jesus have me do?’ I will invite the Lord to be at the center of all of my relationships. I will allow Christ to love others through me, even those who are different from me.”

Faith Builders: Committing

Sermon Discussion Questions

Acts 26:27-31 & Galatians 5:22-24

September 15, 2019

We’re beginning a new series on the theme, “Faith Builders.” We will be looking at several areas of our spiritual lives that are meant to build up our faith. Without making a commitment in these important areas, it can be really difficult to have a strong faith. These areas include praying, reading, worshiping, sharing, giving, and serving. We begin this series by focusing on the importance of the word, “committing.”

What comes to your mind when you think of the word, “commitment?”

In our Acts scripture reading, the Apostle Paul is on trial in front of King Agrippa. After Paul shares his faith in Christ with him, Agrippa responds with the question, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?” Agrippa was willing to listen to Paul talk about his faith but he remained unconvinced.

Share some reasons why people today, like King Agrippa might not be ready to make a commitment in being a follower of Christ.

Pastor Robert shared the story of Rik Massengale, a professional golfer who was making golf his “god” in life. His marriage was not working out and he went to a bible study that talked about making a commitment in being a follower of Jesus. He decided to go all in and made a commitment to do just that. Rik says that it wasn’t an overnight change, but over the course of the next several months in living out his commitment, he began to experience a transformation in his life and in his marriage. He became the Director of College Golf Fellowship.

Do you know of other examples of people who have made a commitment to Jesus Christ and experienced a transformed life?

For this first week of our Faith Builders series, we are invited to consider making a commitment in one or more of the following ways. Read over this list of commitment options and if you feel comfortable, share with others about the commitment you have decided to make during our Faith Builders focus.

• No, today, I am not ready to make a commitment.
• No, but maybe someday.

      And here are a couple of options if you have or want to make a commitment to Jesus Christ:

• Yes, beginning today, I want to be a follower of Jesus Christ. 
• A second option is Yes, I am already a follower of Christ but I want to be an even more devoted follower of Him.

     If you chose yes as one of the options, say this commitment of faith statement as you begin your journey with Christ:

     “Jesus is my guiding light, my compass, my lighthouse. I will ask the Lord for that ‘peace that passes all understanding.’ I will strive for my speech and behavior to please the Lord. I will strive for my attitudes, values, and thoughts to please the Lord. I will be passionate about the Lord as the priority of my life. I will strive to share my faith with others. I look forward to having a constant awareness of the Lord’s presence. I will strive for others to see Christ in my life, words, and actions. At each major decision of my life, I will ask, ‘What would Jesus have me do?’ I will invite the Lord to be at the center of all of my relationships. I will be open to how God wants to use me to bless others.”

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (Sept. 8) Athens First UMC

[Our college student ministry is up and running through Sunday lunches, worship, and small group ministry. What a holy privilege it is to be a home church for college students while they are at Ohio University.  During Sunday’s worship services, we also blessed 89 school kits and 66 hygiene kits that were assembled at our Athens First Saturday gathering and will be given to Festival of Sharing through the United Methodist Church. See the photo below. For Sunday’s sermon click here.]

Searching God, of all the people in the world, you somehow know how to find us. We are more than a social security or student ID number to you. You actually know us by name, and are constantly reaching out to us with your unconditional love.

Thank you for the many times this past week that you called our name. That early morning drive to Lancaster with the sun beaming through the fog that was hovering over the green hills along 33. That conversation in a crowded coffee shop that concluded with a prayer for God’s continued healing and guidance. That friend who just a couple weeks ago was feeling so much stress at work, now feeling renewed, encouraged, and hopeful. The Growing Tree preschool child who noticed a child who looked lonely and stooped down to give her a hug. Celebrating the 102nd birthday of a church member who continues to faithfully love and serve her church and listen to our services over the radio. 

Thank you for all of these ways that you have called our names just in this past week alone, O God, reminding us of your presence. Thank you for seeing us up in that sycamore tree and inviting us into a deeper relationship with you. 

You have called us by name to share what a difference you have made in our lives with others. You have called us by name to bless others. You have called us by name to pray for those who have lost so much from last week’s Hurricane. You have called us by name to bring peace in a world of so much violence. And Lord, instead of stores that have outside banners that read, “Guns & Ammo,” help us to be a church that promotes “Love & Peace.” You have called us by name to be part of your community of faith, the Body of Christ.

O God, thank you for calling each one of us by name.

And now, we call you by name, as we pray the prayer you taught us to say together…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

[Some of our children blessing the Festival of Sharing school and hygiene kits during the 10:30 service. They were assembled during our Athens First Saturday gathering.]

Sermon (September 8) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     I think most of us have a love/hate relationship with crowds. Depending on how large the crowd is, it may be next to impossible to make our way to where we need to go. 

     I attended a large event at a stadium and after it was over, I was walking with this massive crowd of people into the parking lot. After we had walked quite a ways, I suddenly realized that I was walking the wrong direction to get to my car so I had to turn back and walk against the crowd. It was almost impossible to walk against the flow of that massive amount of people walking toward me. 

     And I don’t know of anybody who enjoys sitting in a long line of traffic, just one car of many going nowhere. Crowds can be frustrating. 

     But with all of the annoying things about being in a crowd, there are also some positives. Like, at least there is probably something special going on or there probably wouldn’t be a large crowd. This reminds me of the famous Yogi Berra quote when he said, “Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.”

     Plus, crowds allow you to kind of hide in the background, right? This is especially helpful to people who are introverts and don’t want to be called out.

     Penny and I visited Colonial Williamsburg, VA one year and we were in a tour group and during that tour we were in the colonial court house. There were a lot of us in that group but Penny and I were standing in the very front next to the tour guide. And as luck would have it, the tour guide said, “I need some volunteers to act out a courtroom scene.”

     I tried to not make eye contact so he wouldn’t pick me, but the guide pointed at me and said, “You sir, come forward. You are going to be the defendant in this case.” 

     Life lesson learned: Never, ever be in the front of a crowd when someone is looking for a volunteer. 

     I say all of this because I find the first line of our Gospel reading very interesting. Luke tells us, “Now large crowds were traveling with him, with Jesus.”

     It’s interesting that Jesus attracted large crowds and this is what we have here. Over the past several weeks during our vanity license plate sermon series, we focused on several of Jesus’ teachings in which he was creating quite a stir among the people through his life transforming teachings and healings. And because of this, Jesus was attracting a large following.

     Now, what preacher doesn’t want a filled sanctuary? You would think that Jesus would have turned to them and said something like, “Hey, let’s see if we can make this crowd even bigger. Let’s have an ‘invite a friend to synagogue Sabbath’ and see if we can pack this place.”

     Jesus, who obviously had never attended a church growth seminar does the exact opposite and kind of spoils the positive momentum that he has been creating by saying things we wouldn’t expect Jesus to say. Things like…

     “Think twice if you believe that you are one of my disciples simply by following me at a distance. And unless you love me more than anyone else in your life, you’re really not following me at all. You need to be all in, otherwise you’re just a spectator.

     And before you sign up for the next leg of this journey, just know that it’s going to be extremely costly. You’re going to have to sacrifice a lot along the way.

     Instead of pumping up the crowd, it seems like Jesus is thinning out the crowds. In my world, the size of your church identifies if you are a successful pastor or not, but not so much in Jesus’ world. Jesus is more concerned with transforming the world than he is about crowd size.

     Five chapters from this one, we will find Jesus with another crowd of people. Instead of seeing just a great big crowd of people, he focuses on one person who was kind of lost in that big crowd. His name was Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector.

     Maybe you grew up learning this song about him:

Zacchaeus was a wee little man

And a wee little man was he

He climbed up in a sycamore tree

For the Lord he wanted to see

And when the Savior passed that way

He looked up in the tree

And said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down!

For I'm going to your house today!

For I'm going to your house today!'

     And as the story goes, Zacchaeus, the tax collector, the outsider, the person you would least expect, the one who was lost in the crowd, became a disciple of Jesus that day and experienced the salvation of God. 

     And by the way, Luke the Gospel writer is especially good at this where he highlights all of the times when Jesus noticed people who would have otherwise gone unnoticed in Jesus’ day. 

     Like Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector and later in Luke 15, where we find the prodigal son story, the lost sheep, and the lost coin. Jesus has an unfair advantage when he plays hide and seek because he always knows how to find us.

     Luke wants us to know that nobody escapes Jesus’ attention. We can’t hide in the crowd. We can’t blend in and go unnoticed. God’s grace has a way of locating us and inviting us to become followers of Jesus.

     Kind of like our Psalm reading which is one of our appointed readings on this Sunday. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you search out my path and my lying down, Even before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely.”

     God knows us even better than we know ourselves.

     So what does this mean for you and me whenever we find ourselves in a large crowd feeling a little lost. Like a college student who is just one of twenty thousand other students here on campus trying to chart your future direction in life. Like attending a church and trying to figure out that next step in your faith journey.

     Well, maybe it all starts with remembering that God sees each one of us in the crowd. We’re not invisible to God. We don’t all just blend in. God knows each one of by name and knows everything about us as Psalm 139 reminds us.

     We say that God is omniscient which means that God is all knowing. God sees us and God knows us. You are not lost in the crowd. Like a lost coin or a lost sheep, God knows where to find you.

     The second way that we can move from being lost in a crowd toward a more growing faith is by responding to Jesus’ call to move into a deeper faith and trust in Him. And this is why Jesus stops along his journey and offers a challenge to the large crowd that has been following him. 

     Jesus wants them to know that it’s not just about being followers in a crowd. It’s about each person responding to Jesus by living out our faith in our everyday lives and not just when we’re in the crowd.

     This past June, I officiated at a wedding in Columbus. It was a large wedding with almost three hundred people in attendance. After the ceremony, a couple came up to me and said, “Pastor Robert, do you remember us?”

     This was a couple who attended my previous church. It was a fairly large church so I didn’t get to know them personally, but they were regular attenders at one of our worship services. This was one of those moments where only by the grace of God, their names immediately popped into my head! “Hi Frank and Amy! It’s great to see you!” 

     The first thing I asked them was how they knew the bride since the groom was from out of state. They said that when they first moved into the community, the bride’s parents invited them to attend our church. They said that if it wasn’t for them, they probably wouldn’t have attended any church.

     They went on to tell me all the ways they are involved in the church and what a difference it has made in their lives. They have become good friends with other church members and they are growing in their faith.

     I keep thinking about that conversation with this couple and how wonderful it was that a simple invitation to attend church, led to this friendship in which they were invited to that wedding. But even more importantly, how this couple has moved from being in the crowd, to actively growing in their faith together through that church.

     I always think of late August and early September as a new beginning. It’s the beginning of the school year. Many of us are into more of a routine following the summer months. I think that this is also a time of year when we are more open to a deeper faith and a more meaningful relationship with God.

     Our church’s way of helping with this renewed time of spiritual growth is by encouraging each and every person to have a loving faith, a learning faith, and a living faith. This is what helps us to move from being in the crowd to a more personal walk with God.

     Our Loving Faith ministries are to help us love God and each other. These include Sunday worship gatherings like we’re doing now, small groups where we can discuss our faith with each other by focusing on the previous Sunday’s worship theme, and our prayer ministry where we share our joys and concerns together on a weekly basis.

     Our Learning Faith ministries are to help us grow in our understanding of God and our faith. These include our Sunday School classes for all ages which begins next Sunday and I’m beginning a four-week pastor’s bible study Monday evenings on the topic, “How the Bible Actually Works.” We also have many other Learning Faith opportunities offered through our church.

     Our Living Faith ministries are to help us live out our faith through service. There are so many ways to serve in and through the church, like serving as a greeter or an usher, helping set up our Sunday morning Connect Time, helping in the nursery, working with children, folding bulletins, volunteering at our weekly Monday Lunch community meal, serving through our monthly Athens First Saturday to bless our community which was held yesterday morning, and the list of possible ministries goes on and on.

     Vickie Buck, our new Ministries Coordinator will be offering a Spiritual Gifts class to help us identify our gifts and how we might use those gifts in specific ways through the ministries of our church.

     This week, I invite us to think about the question, “in what ways might God be calling me from out of the crowd so that I can have a more loving faith, a more learning faith, and a more living faith?”

     That’s a perfect question for us to think about especially as we begin a new series next Sunday called “Faith Builders.” We’ll be looking at how we can build our faith through praying, reading, worshipping, sharing, giving, and serving.

     Jesus knows how easy it is for us to get lost in a crowd, but the good news is that he always knows how to find us.

Found in a Crowd

Sermon Discussion Questions

Luke 14:25-33 & Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

September 8, 2019

In our Gospel reading from Luke, we are told that a large crowd of people was following Jesus. 

What are the positives and the negatives of being part of a crowd?

Luke’s Gospel is known for the many times that Jesus was able to notice someone in a crowd like Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Jesus also talked about the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son as a way of describing how God can always find us. Our Psalm for today refers to God searching us and knowing everything about us.

Share a time when you felt lost in your faith. 

In the sermon, Pastor Robert shared two ways that can help us when we feel lost in our faith. 

#1 - Remember that Jesus sees you in the crowd. You are not lost. God knows you! What can help you to remember that God knows you and sees you in the crowd?

#2 - Respond to Jesus’ invitation in having a loving faith, a learning faith, and living faith.

How is God calling you to respond to having a more loving faith? Weekly worship? Daily time with God? Prayer ministry? Join one of our small groups?

How is God calling you to respond to having a more learning faith? Sunday School? Pastor’s Bible Study? Other?

How is God calling you to respond to having a more living faith? Serving as a Greeter or Usher? Helping with Our Children’s Program? Folding Bulletins? Our monthly Athens First Saturday Community Involvement? Serving at Monday Lunch? Other Service Opportunities?