Monday, June 24, 2024

Sunday (June 23) Pastoral Prayer


Sunday, June 23, 2024 

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC


Loving God, thank you for this day of worship and the opportunity to sing your praises. We are grateful for hymns of faith that help us to express our hearts and our deepest longings as we seek to grow in a closer relationship with you. 

 

During this sweet hour of prayer, we lift up to you those who are on our church’s prayer list as well as other joys and concerns that are on our hearts and minds this day. 

 

For those who are in need of healing, surround them with the care they need so that they would be restored to fullness of health. For those who are grieving, send them an extra measure of your grace and compassion. For those who are troubled and in need of guidance, grant to them your wisdom in the decisions they are facing. For our world in which there is so much conflict, poverty, and heartache, may those who are in positions of power provide whatever resources are needed especially for those who are vulnerable and downtrodden. 

 

And as we pray for those in need, we also take time to lift own needs to you. Thank you for being a God who knows us even better than we know ourselves. You know our needs even before we offer our prayers to you. As the psalmist says, you know when we sit down and when we stand up and you are familiar with all our ways. You know us because you are the one who has created us, and you have created us in your image. And you have made us alive in Christ. 

 

It is in his name that we offer this prayer that he taught us to say together…

 

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 and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Monday, June 17, 2024

Sermon (June 16) “The Life of David - Battling Giants” by Rev. Robert McDowell


June 16, 2024
Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

David and Goliath: the story about a giant and a kid with a sling shot!

 

This Old Testament story actually appeared in a 1995 Super Bowl commercial. In this 1-minute commercial, the giant, Goliath with his mighty Philistine army behind him, challenges one of the Israelites to fight him.

 

As the fearful army of Israel looks on in terror, little David suddenly appears. And as mighty Goliath laughs at this scrawny little kid, David takes his slingshot, hurls a stone at Goliath and the giant falls to the ground.

 

Little David then walks over to Goliath who is now dead, picks up the stone from the ground. The commercial ends with a closeup of that stone now in David’s hand revealing these words, “Wilson: The right sporting equipment makes the difference.”

 

Probably most of the football fans that day recognized the story even if they knew little about the Bible.

 

This story is the grandfather of all “underdog versus the champion” stories. We hear the term “David versus Goliath” as a description often:

 

The small college team versus the university squad, the individual versus a large corporation, the lesser-known candidate versus the incumbent, the amateur versus the professional.

 

The term is used to describe what appears to be a lopsided situation.  On occasion, we enjoy cheering on the underdog to an unlikely victory.  But underdogs can triumph!

 

This is one of the early stories about David and his youth. We've been told previously that he is the youngest of eight children, that he is a shepherd for his father's flocks, and that he plays the lyre. He has also been anointed by the prophet Samuel secretly and in the future, will lead his people as king.

 

If we have any doubts about David's abilities, what makes this kid special, our doubts are answered in the Valley of Elah where David faces a threatening enemy to his people.

 

Tensions are great in the valley; for 6 weeks the challenge has been offered by the Philistines daily: Who will come and fight one on one with Goliath? It is a fight to the death situation.

 

Goliath is a large man with heavy armor and advanced weapons. He also has a big mouth with no respect for the God of Israel nor for the Israelites, or for young David.

 

On the side with the Israelites is their king Saul who is not stepping forward to fight.  Apparently, none of the soldiers want to take on the intimidating Goliath.

 

David, who is younger than the others, volunteers to go out on the field. Quickly he uses his weapon and Goliath is silenced. He falls to the ground and David uses Goliath's own sword to mortally wound him. The threat of the Philistines is gone for now. David is on his way to becoming a man who will fight many battles.

 

Besides being a great underdog story, what can we learn from David's actions?

 

We will be looking at five areas and I'll be asking five questions.

 

David recognized that the threat was not just to him, but to all his people.  He was responding to a concern that affected all of them. He had to take a stand for his people who were in trouble. Their homes, their families, their way of life was being diminished by the Philistines. David felt called to step forward.

 

Rev. Corey Brown has been a pastor at New Beginnings Church on the South side of Chicago. His neighborhood is torn by violence, drug use, economic problems. In one year, he had 10 funerals for young men in the neighborhood; his heart was breaking for what was happening around him. 

 

He pitched a tent on the roof of a nearby abandoned motel to raise awareness of what was happening in his neighborhood.  He lived in the tent for 3 months to determine what God would have him to do. His church raised enough money to buy the lot and tear down the old motel. On that site they want to build a community center for the youth and families of the neighborhood.

 

Pastor Brown also walked across America from New York City to Los  Angeles. During his trip, he spoke with people in other cities about urban violence and to raise the needed monies.

 

“God wants me to do something larger than this church” he has told his congregation.   He went on this journey facing an incredible giant of violence, but he and others stepped out literally to say that there is hope for their cities.  What breaks your heart about our community?

 

David did have courage and was perhaps reckless in his eager response to Goliath, but most of all he relied on his past experience with God. He remembered how God had been with him in times of danger.

 

In taking care of his sheep, he had defended them against wild animals. David depended upon God to do what he could not do on his own.  God had helped him as he protected his lambs, and David could not forget this.

 

Psalm 18 says, “I love you Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”

 

How has God been faithful to you?

 

David did not let the others persuade him that he couldn't fight. His older brother questioned his motives, and King Saul doubted his abilities and his stamina.  David acted regardless of their opinions.

 

In life, sometimes people get it wrong when they evaluate us!

 

Walt Disney was told by a newspaper editor that” he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

 

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team in N.C.

 

Fred Astaire, after a movie screen test, was described as someone who “Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”  

 

I've heard some discouraging words along the way; we all have. Question is: How does God see me? And what does God expect of me?

 

David used what he had and who he was to respond to the challenge. Saul's armor did not fit him (too heavy and restrictive) and he had no sword.  David had his own lethal battle weapon- the slingshot with 5 river rocks.    Use what you have and what you can do in your battles with giants.

 

There’s an incredible story about a teenager who attended a United Methodist Church up in Ohio. When she was 4 years old, she heard about Grace Children's Hospital in Haiti and wanted to help the children there.

 

Grace Children's Hospital brings much needed care and healing to children with tuberculosis, AIDS, and other diseases.  The hospital was damaged by the earthquake in 2010 but has continued, with alterations, to provide medical care for the children.  This young woman has raised money each year for the hospital by making Christmas ornaments. One year, she could not make the ornaments because of a health condition that she has, but she did make Easter candy for sale. She raised over $1000 dollars and presented her gift to the Bishop of the conference in a Glad Bag!

 

For 10 years she has battled the giant of disease in Haiti with what she could do. That next summer, she went on a mission trip to Haiti to see the dream that she supports year-round.  Are we trusting in God and in our abilities as we respond to the cries of the world?

 

David sounded off to those who felt that they could not act, who were afraid, who were at a standstill.

 

“They were dismayed and greatly afraid” reads the description in the Scriptures. David proclaimed to the Israelites their true identity: that they belonged to the Creator of earth and heaven, the One who chose them as his people and who had led them and sustained them.

 

David, for some, is known for his military might and for his ruthless actions to obtain whatever he wanted. But to me, David is important for us because of his constant witness to God's presence. When we have our doubts, when we are facing a challenge, will you be the one to tell us once again that the Lord is with us!

 

There are many giants that affect the whole world: poverty, homelessness, human slavery, disease, addictions, ethnic hatreds, lack of clean water, famine, economic turmoil, illiteracy, war, damage to our earth.   Problems seem immense, the answers complicated, these giants don't seem to go away.

 

Philistines were not completely defeated in the valley. The Israelite history tells us that there were many more battles between these two peoples in the years ahead.  We may feel, what's the use, what do our small efforts matter?

 

David's story is more than an “under dog wins” headline. It is a story of how God is diligently working in our lives and in our world in impossible situations with unlikely people!   People like us.

 

In the valley of Elah, the people saw the one who was considered invincible, FALL.  Giants are tumbling in our world. The hungry are being fed, the sick are being healed, the imprisoned are being freed, weapons are being turned into plowshares.  Enemies are becoming friends, hearts are opening to the grace of Jesus Christ, love is breaking the bonds of hate.

 

Paul wrote: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength.”

 

Remember the story of David and his battle with Goliath, the weak who was made strong through his faith in Yahweh.

 

Let us act and be encouraged by the empowering presence of God.

 

And don't forget your slingshot.


Sunday (June 16) Pastoral Prayer

June 16, 2024
Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

Mighty God, thank you for giving us the right equipment to help us face the giant challenges that come our way. When we become anxious and fearful, remind us of what you have already given us.

 

You have given us your Spirit. You have given us unique gifts and abilities to use for your kingdom. You have given us each other for encouragement and support. You have given us everything we need to face whatever challenges may come our way.

 

We shall overcome especially when we become more like David who even as a young shepherd boy, knew to turn to you in his time of need. And today, we turn to you as we think about what you may be calling us to do in helping to make this world a better place, a place that is filled with hope, justice, goodness, and compassion.

 

We also turn to you today as we lift up to you the people on our church’s prayer list as well as those needs that we have shared together this morning. May your strength, guidance, and healing presence be with each of these persons and families as they face their particular challenges.

 

Thank you for this day in which we recognize our fathers who have given us life and love as well as those who have been father figures for us.  Bless all our fathers so that their example of faith and love will shine forth in all that they say and do.

 

And remind us on this day, that you are our Heavenly Father who has promised to be with us through any challenges we may face in life. Together, we now pray to you our Father, as Jesus taught us to say together…

 

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 and the power and the glory forever. Amen.


Monday, June 10, 2024

Sermon (June 9) “The Life of David: Looks Can Be Deceiving” by Rev. Robert McDowell


June 9, 2024 Sermon

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC


     A small country church was in need of a guest preacher to fill the pulpit one Sunday morning, so the pastor arranged for someone he knew to come and preach that day.  The person who was asked to preach had never been to this church before and he also had a heart for missions and the homeless.

     Since the congregation had never met him before, he decided to take advantage of his anonymity by being a little sneaky but also creative in preparing for his sermon.  Here’s what he did.  He dressed up as a homeless man and arrived at the church long before the first people arrived.  

     Wearing a tattered old coat, smelly jeans, and torn shoes, he huddled near the entrance of the church to see how the church members would react.  When it would be time for worship, his plan was to then enter the sanctuary and surprise the people by being their guest speaker.  

     He was then going to preach a sermon on how God calls us to reach out to people in need.  That was the plan, anyway.  

     The first few people who arrived that morning were horrified to find this man huddled next to their church door.  They didn’t know what to do so they ignored him and came into the church and found their place in the pew.  

     This was pretty much the response of everyone else who arrived that chilly fall Sunday morning.  They just walked right by this man in disguise and entered the church building.

     It was time for worship to begin but there was still no sign of the guest speaker.  The congregation assumed that he had either gotten lost or that he simply forgot.  One man decided to use their extra time to take care of the problem of the homeless man and so he called the police. 

     My pastor friend who was telling me this story said that his guest speaker friend was startled when a police cruiser pulled into the tiny church parking lot.  His plan had taken a twist that he didn’t anticipate.  

     After explaining to the officer that he wasn’t really homeless and that he was actually the guest preacher, can you imagine the expressions of shock and horror as this man took his place in the seat next to the pulpit?

     You have to hand it to him.  He made his point.  Looks can be very deceiving!  One thing is for sure.  The people in that little country church will probably never forget that Sunday when a homeless man preached the sermon.

     The Story of the choosing of David to be King of Israel is one of the most familiar and favorite of the Old Testament stories. We already heard the story. 

     Samuel is sent to Bethlehem to find the farmer Jesse to select from among Jesse's sons a new king for Israel because the sitting King of Israel, Saul has lost God's favor.  So, one after the other, the sons of Jesse are paraded before Samuel. 

     And what a family this is.  What a proud father, Jesse must have been.  He had it all.  He was a prominent man in his community and probably well off.  

     And just look at his picture-perfect family.  We’re introduced to Jesse’s first son, Eliab.  

     Picture in your mind, six foot five, 220 lbs., handsome.  And he’s just the first of several sons introduced to Samuel.  I mean, any of his sons would be potential recruits for Shane Beamer or Dabo Swinney.  These are five-star prospects.

     This is the family that would definitely want to send out Christmas cards with a family photo and a description of how each son is either in law school, studying to be a doctor, or starring in a major movie.  This is that kind of family! 

     Samuel immediately thought Eliab was the one.  “Well that was easy.  Eliab, the Lord has chosen you to be…Wait a minute, what was that Lord?  What do you mean he’s not the one to be the next King?  He’s perfect.  Why wouldn’t you want him?”

     But the Lord tells Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” And one after the other, each of Jesse’s impressive sons are rejected by the Lord. 

     Finally, the youngest of the sons, David, is brought forward—almost as an afterthought.  Compared to his brothers, David is more of a delicate and ruddy-skinned boy. “This is the one who is to be King,” the Lord whispers in Samuel's ear. 

     Samuel immediately anoints David as king in the presence of his brothers, and “the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David.” For God sees what we cannot see. 

     Looks can be deceiving, can’t they?

     I must say that I’m a little conscientious of this whole height thing.  The McDowell family has never been known for being that tall.  Taking a family picture when we get together is a problem because when the person with the camera asks the taller people to stand behind the others, nobody moves. None of us are that tall.

     My brother has a sign at the top of his stairs leading to his home office warning people to duck because of the low ceiling.  The sign says, “If you are taller than a McDowell, you’d better duck your head!”

     About ten years ago, I got to meet basketball legend, Jerry Lucas. I got a picture a picture with him and it’s easy to see which one of us was the NBA Hall of Famer.

     I served a church in which the pastor before me AND the pastor who followed me were both body builders. And there I was in the middle of these two chiseled physical specimens. 

   It can lead to an inferiority complex!  

     This story about God choosing one of Jesse’s sons to be the next King of Israel reminds us that God’s calling isn’t just for the one with the degrees, the charismatic personality, and the movie star looks.  God’s call also comes to the one you’d least expect, especially to the one you’d least expect.  

     In this story of the Lord calling David, the last of Jesse’s sons to become the new King of Israel, there’s a very important verse that I want to leave us with today.  

     It’s the last verse, verse 13.  “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”

     The reason that the Lord doesn’t worry about our outward appearance or how tall we are is because when God calls us, it’s the Holy Spirit that empowers us to do what we are being called to do.  We can step out in faith because it’s not about our strength or our looks.  It’s about the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

     In one of the churches I served, someone shared with me how someone in our church responded to God’s calling following worship one Sunday morning.  It was the Sunday that we had focused on the importance of prayer and praying for others.  

     We had these little heart post-it stickers where we invited the congregation to write a prayer request on the heart and then stick it to a large prayer door that we had made. 

     This person in our church felt called by God to take this idea beyond our church walls that very day.  After worship, this person went to the prayer door and peeled off several blank heart post-it notes that were next to that prayer door.

     This person then went to the hospital and gave several patients one of these hearts in which this church member had written the words, “Praying for you.” And next to that line, this person included the name of our church.

     But that’s not all.  This person then left the hospital and visited one of the nursing homes giving people these hearts with the same message.  This person responded to God’s calling that Sunday morning.

     And my goodness. And just to think, that person who did this was probably only half as tall as I am.

     Not too bad for a seven-year-old.

Sunday (June 9) Pastoral Prayer

June 9, 2024
Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

O God, thank you that you have created each one of us in a very unique and special way. Even though we know this to be true, we confess that like Samuel in our Old Testament reading, we focus way too much on outward appearances, and not on what is in our hearts.

 

Enable us to see each other the way that you see each of us, as people created in your divine image. Help us to appreciate each other’s gifts and unique experiences and to celebrate the beautiful diversity in our families, in our church, in our communities, and in our world. Remind us that not everyone has to think like us, look like us, speak like us, or dress like us because you love each one of us unconditionally and you are more concerned about what is in our hearts.

 

And so, we offer to you our hearts this day. May they be filled with your love, your compassion, your grace, and your goodness.

 

We offer to you our hearts on behalf of those who are in particular need of you this day. For those we shared this morning, for those who are on our church’s prayer list, and for the many others who are on our hearts and minds this day.

 

We also lift up to you all of the lay delegates and clergy who will be attending the South Carolina Annual Conference this week beginning later today. We pray for Bishop Jonathan Holston as he presides over the meetings and leads the worship services.

 

As we begin this new week, we offer our hearts to you, knowing that you will take care of us through every day, o’er all the way. We pray this in the name of Jesus who taught us to say together…


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 and the power and the glory forever. Amen.