Sermon (July 28) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     Have you seen any interesting vanity license plates recently? Many of you have been sharing some of the plates that you’ve seen out on the roads. The messages on these plates are not always easy to decipher but they’re fun to figure out what the driver is trying to convey.

     During these summer Sundays, we’re following Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Luke and thinking about the message that he wants us convey to us. What is the vanity license plate for this Sunday?

     Many of you have figured this out. It’s “Knock to open.” By the way, I have never spent more time on figuring out sermon titles than I have by doing this series on vanity license plates.

     The message Jesus has for us today comes from when he was teaching the disciples about the importance of prayer.  And in this scripture reading, Jesus encourages us to pray what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer.”  

      Now, a lot of us know the Lord’s Prayer or at least we know what somebody means when they refer to The Lord’s Prayer.  

     Maybe you have heard of the two Christians who were trying to outdo each other. The conversation came around to prayer. One said, “I’ll bet you $20 you can’t even say the Lord’s Prayer.” 

     The other replied, “It’s a bet.” And so he began. “Now I lay me down to sleep…”

     The first man interrupted him and said, “OK, here’s your money. I didn’t think you could do it!”

     Has this prayer become so familiar that we have forgotten its meaning? 

     The gospel writer, Luke is known to be interested in two things more than any of the other three Gospels and both of those two things are included in our scripture reading for today – Jesus’ prayer life and the Holy Spirit.

     Jesus not only teaches about the importance of prayer in our scripture reading but he models it.  Notice that the only reason the disciples asked Jesus about how to pray was because they saw him doing it.  

     Even better than having religious vanity license plates is when we practice our faith. When we practice our faith, people become curious. When they see us praying, they become more interested about prayer because they can see that it is a priority in our lives.

     Several years ago, William Hendricks noticed that thousands of people were leaving American churches every week and never going back.  And so he investigated why this was happening.

     In his book entitled Exit Interviews: Revealing Stories of Why People Are Leaving Church, written back in 1993, Hendricks shares that two-thirds of people who attended church said they didn’t experience God on a regular basis in the worship experience of their church. They attended these churches hoping that somebody would teach them to pray and they left feeling very empty and disappointed.  

     Fifteen years after Hendricks wrote his book, Julia Duin did the same kind of research.  And she discovered exactly what Hendricks had found. She found that the worshippers who had given up on attending church wanted to know how to pray and nobody was doing it in an authentic and meaningful way.

     We may feel a little clumsy at prayer and that’s OK because like a lot of things in life, the more we practice it, the more natural it becomes. At first, it may feel a little counter intuitive to set aside our calendars, our cell phones, and the TV remote and pray instead.

     Jesus was aware that it can be difficult for us to have prayer become part of our regular daily routine in life.  And so he tells his disciples to be persistent in prayer.  He tells us to ask, seek, and knock.  I like it that he uses these three imperatives, these three action words to help us to start praying.

     If you can ask, seek, and knock, then you can be well on your way to having a very meaningful prayer life. Sometimes, we approach prayer so passively that we never get around to praying at all.

     For example, someone might reason that if God wants me to get that job, then I’ll get it and there’s really no need for me to pray.  Or we might think to ourselves that the last time I prayed about getting something I really wanted, it didn’t happen and that just led to disappointment so I’m not going to pray the next time.

     Jesus is saying that prayer is so much more than us snapping our fingers and hoping that God will give us what we want or think we need. Prayer is about asking, seeking, and knocking so that we can become more attentive to the direction that God is opening up for us. What we think was a prayer that landed on deaf ears was really a prayer that was beginning the process of helping us to listen for God’s voice.

     It’s been said that God answers prayers in four ways which are 1) No, not yet. 2) No, I love you too much. 3) Yes, I thought you’d never ask. And 4) Yes, and here’s more.

     Even the first response, “No, not yet” implies that God is listening and is responding to us. But sometimes we assume that because the answer was no that God just doesn’t care. Nothing could be further from the truth according to what Jesus is teaching us about prayer in this scripture reading.

     And underneath all of what Jesus is teaching us about prayer is this basic theological truth that we find throughout all of scriptures from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation. And that truth is, God loves you and is always offering us his grace.

     Jesus even uses a wild comparison to get his point across. If your child would ask for fish for dinner, what parent in their right mind would serve up snakes instead?  Or what parent would give their child a scorpion when all he or she wanted was some scrambled eggs for breakfast?

     Jesus is saying that it would be just as crazy and just as ludicrous if God would respond to our prayers by harming us. That’s not who God is. God is a loving parent who wants us to have everything we need.

    Jesus is telling us that if we want to experience an authentic prayer life, all we need to do is ask, search, and knock and the door of God’s love and God’s grace will be opened to us. Ask, search, and knock. Be persistent.

     I like it that Jesus gave us a specific prayer to pray. Not only was Jesus praying which caused the disciples to want to learn how to pray, but he gave them a sample prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.

     Let me highlight four parts of this great prayer that Jesus has offered us. And the first part is how Jesus begins this prayer.  He says, “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.” 

     When we knock and open the door of God’s good gifts, it’s good to begin by first acknowledging who God is.  God is our loving parent who wants the Kingdom of God to be made real on this earth. What a great way to begin a prayer by reminding ourselves to whom we are praying and what the goal of our prayer should be which is for God’s kingdom to come on earth.

     The second part of the Lord’s Prayer is to invite God to supply our basic needs. Give us this day our daily bread.  Sometimes our focus is so much on what we want that we forget to thank God for providing for our needs. 

     The third part of the prayer is to ask God to forgive us our sins.  This is the humble part of the prayer because we acknowledge where we have not lived in harmony with God and those around us. “Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.” God wants us to live in community and you can’t have community without forgiveness.

     And the fourth part of this great prayer. “And do not bring us to the time of trial.” Now, we all face different trials from time to time and trials can actually strengthen us and make us better for having faced them. But there’s also a kind of trial that can defeat us. It’s the trial that would take us from our families, our jobs, our self-respect, and even our souls.  

     When we are persistent in praying which is what Jesus wants us to do in this scripture passage, then we will become more aware of the trials that would keep us from being the people we are called to be. Praying isn’t just about getting God to do things for us. Prayer is about reminding ourselves of what is truly important.

     Jesus offers us a lot to think about in his teachings on prayer.  But the main thing he wants us to know is that if we really want to be a people of prayer, then we need to remember to knock and the door will be opened to us. And by the way, you can knock anytime, day or night.

     One night this past spring, I woke up around 2 in the morning. Couldn’t sleep. Went downstairs. It was quiet. Decided to check my phone. Of course, went on Facebook. And noticed that a friend of mine who is a United Methodist pastor in our conference had posted something just an hour or two earlier.

     And there must be a lot of people who stay up really late at night, because already, there were about 200 responses to this pastor’s post.

     So, here’s the post he put on Facebook around midnight which I then read at 2 in the morning. I’ll just read a portion of it to you.

     “Dear Friends, Linda and I received some devastating news that our youngest son passed away sometime early this morning. He died in his bed. We will know more after an autopsy but what matters now is that he is gone from us and we are numb.” His son was in his late 20s. 

     So there I am, at 2 in the morning in my kitchen reading these heart-breaking words from a clergy colleague in our conference. And there are all of these comments under his post where people are offering him their love, support, and prayers. I also shared a message of love and support. And then I said a little prayer for him before going back up to bed.

     You know, sometimes we complain about social media and how it is misused, but if it wasn’t for social media in that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to say a prayer for this heart-broken clergy family who had just received the devastating news that their son had passed away.

     At 2 in the morning all alone in my kitchen, I knocked on heaven’s door and offered a prayer to the One who is more than able to comfort us in our time of need, especially when we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death.

      The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we can pray to God at any time and the Lord will hear us.

     Jesus tells us to ask, search, and knock and the door will be opened for you, whether it is at 2 in the morning to pray on behalf of a friend whose son just died unexpectedly of if you are nervous about helping with a ministry in the church, or maybe you just need to offer a prayer as you are about to lead devotions in your small group, or when you are walking in for a job interview, or you are about to hear the results of your medical test.  

     Whatever it is you may be facing, Jesus reminds us that God has good gifts to offer us. God even offers us a sample prayer to use anytime we’d like.

    Just remember. If you want the door to open, all you have to do is knock.

License Plate Sightings: NOK2OPN

Sermon Discussion Questions

Luke 11:1-13

July 28, 2019

The vanity license plate for this Sunday’s scripture from Luke’s Gospel is where Jesus teaches the disciples to pray the Lord’s prayer. Jesus tells them that if they knock, the door shall be openend to them. That’s why our vanity plate message is NOK2OPN.

Why do you think Jesus used the image of someone knocking at a door to teach us about prayer? What does this image of knocking on a door mean for your prayer life?

It’s been said that God answers our prayers in one of four ways. These include 1) No, not yet. 2) No, I love you too much. 3) Yes, I thought you’d never ask. 4) Yes, and here’s more!

Have you experienced any of these answers to your prayers? 

There are four main sections of the Lord’s prayer. Stop and pause after each of these sections and add your own personal prayers related to that section:

“Father, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come.” (This opening of the prayer reminds us that we are praying to God who cares about us and is our loving parent.)

“Give us this day our daily bread.” (This gives us an opportunity to thank God for the blessings in our lives.)

“Forgive us our sins.” (This is where we acknowledge those times that we have not lived in harmony with God or with others.)

“And do not bring us to the time of trial.” (This final part of the prayer invites God to help us resist those things that do not help us to be the people we were created to be.)

Jesus teaches us to be persistent in our prayers by asking, searching, and knocking. These are active words that remind us to make prayer a priority in our lives.

Share one or two ways that you can make prayer more of a priority in your life.

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (July 28) Athens First UMC

[It was a bittersweet Sunday for our church because one of our members, Sophia Oui will be moving to Columbus to begin a Master’s degree at The Methodist Theological School of Ohio. Sophia has been involved in several of our ministries and we will miss her greatly. Penny and I shared in a farewell lunch with Sophia after church. The Athens drawing above us is appropriate because Sophia has blessed our community in so many ways! Sophia appreciates our prayers as she prepares for this new chapter in her life. Speaking of prayer, click here for Sunday’s sermon on the importance of prayer.]

Lord, teach us to pray. We’re kind of clumsy when it comes to prayer. We don’t always know what to say. Our thoughts get so jumbled and sometimes we’re afraid we’re going to say the wrong thing. 

And we have to confess that there are times when we’re not sure if you are even listening or if our prayers will make that much of a difference. And so, it’s no wonder, that your disciples asked your advice about prayer. 

And in a way, when the disciples asked you about prayer, they were actually already praying because they were having a conversation with you which is really what prayer is, having a conversation with you.

Remind us Lord Jesus, that in any given moment, in any given situation, in any setting, we can have a conversation with you. Prayer is really that simple.

Forgive us when we get tongue tied in our prayers. It’s just that it’s incredible to us that we are invited to pray to you in the first place because you are the creator of the universe and you actually want us to have a conversation with you. How can that be? We’re just a small, tiny part of your creation and yet you love it when we spend time with you.

You invite us to ask, and so in these next few silent moments, we offer to you our questions. 

You invite us to seek, and so in these next few silent moments, we offer to you the things for which we are seeking.

You invite us to knock, and so in these next few silent moments, we are picturing you in our minds opening the door so that we can have a conversation with you.

And during this conversation with you, we all of the sudden realize, that prayer comes more naturally than we had ever imagined. And even when we run out of things to say, you remind us to pray these words, “Our Father, who art in heaven…” 

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (July 21) Athens First UMC

[Our Honduras mission team got home late Saturday night. They were busy building sinks and latrines, pouring concrete floors, mudding walls, and teaching the children. See below for more pictures. Our mission team stayed focused on sharing their faith by serving others which was our worship focus on Sunday. For the sermon, click here.]

Gracious and compassionate God, whenever we get distracted like Martha in our Gospel reading this morning, remind us of what is most important. Remind us to stay focused on Jesus. When we come up against challenges and distractions that would keep us from you, may the words of our prayer chorus come to mind, “He’s the great Shepherd, the Rock of all ages, almighty God is he.”

As we go through our everyday lives, give us the focus of those Apollo 11 astronauts, who fifty years ago, were able to do the unthinkable by walking on the moon. Lord, you have taught us that when we keep our focus on you, that we can do the unthinkable. That one small step in faith can turn into one giant leap for the sake of your kingdom.

Thank you for our summer mission team that took a step in faith by serving in Honduras this past week. Thank you for using them to be a blessing through building sinks and latrines, paving concrete floors, muddling walls, and sharing their faith.

Thank you for every single small step that is taken to help us have a more Loving Faith, a more Learning Faith, and a more Living Faith.

Thank you for the small step our church will be taking less than a month from now when we gather for the Faith Builders Two-Day Training Event here at our church. We pray for Rev. Jeff Motter who will be leading us and guiding us through this important way that we can strengthen our relationships with each other and especially with the people of our community.

O Jesus, your name is wonderful because you are our mighty King; a mighty King who keeps us steady in a very unstable world; a mighty King who gives us peace when we are in pre-op waiting for surgery; a mighty King who promises to be with us as we prepare to move to a new location; a mighty King who forgives us all our sins; a mighty King who teaches us to boldly pray together…

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

[This is one of the pilas which they built; outside sink used for many purposes including laundry and dishes.]

[Looks like our mission team serving in Honduras this past week had a lot of fun sharing their faith!]

Sermon (July 21) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     Today, we begin a sermon series called “License Plate Sightings.” We’re going to spend the next several weeks through Labor Day Weekend focusing on Jesus’ teachings from the Gospel of Luke. Each Sunday, we’ll focus on a vanity license plate that will correspond with a particular teaching of Jesus.

    A couple of years ago, I was reading an article in the Columbus Dispatch that focused on the popularity of religious vanity license plates.  The article said that over the past six years, a Bloom Township couple has identified 275 religious vanity license plates while out driving.  

    These include O GLORY, 1 FAITH, & JC FREAK and some that are a little more difficult to decipher.  Some of the plates include scripture references like LUKE 6 31. That’s the Golden Rule in which Jesus says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

      So let’s get started. Our vanity plate for today is KISS.  KISS is a shorthand way of saying, “Keep it simple…saint.” You thought I was going to use a different word, didn’t you? Jesus wants us to remember to keep things simple. I like this K.I.S.S. reminder from Jesus because it’s so easy for us to complicate things end get our focus off of what is vitally important.

     The Gospel writer, Luke, introduces us to Mary and Martha who provide a place for Jesus to stay during his journey.   Mary kept things simple.  She simply sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to him, something that I hope we do during this entire sermon series and beyond this series for our daily living - listening to Jesus.  The implication in this story is that Martha also wanted to listen to Jesus but felt that she couldn’t listen because of all of the things that needed to get done.  Martha was distracted.

    Whenever I read this story, I can always relate to Martha.  I know that we should be more like Mary and listen to Jesus, but do you want your guest to see dishes in the sink, shoes in front of the couch, an unmade bed, an unclean bathroom, and dirty windows?

     And when you know that you’re going to be entertaining a guest at your house, it’s always good to have a little extra help to clean things up like maybe your sister, Mary…hint, hint, someone like Mary, to come and lend a hand or two to get things ready for your guests. Mary didn’t even bother to ask Martha if she could help her.  

     You got to feel for Martha in all of this.  She wants things to be nice and she wants to be a good host.

     So let me ask us this question.  Was Mary lazy?  Was she unaware of the dishes in the sink, the shoes in front of the couch, the unmade bed, the unclean bathroom, and the dirty windows?  

     I don’t think that Mary was unaware of these things.  I just think that she was more aware of Jesus.

     I mean, how often are you given the opportunity to host the Son of God in your home and listen to Him face to face?  Martha, on the other hand, was more aware of the tasks that had to be completed, than she was with the physical presence of Jesus.

     And so Martha allows her distraction to interrupt this holy moment. Martha tells Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?  Tell her to help me.”

     And Jesus tells Martha, “You are distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

     Do you know what Jesus was telling Martha?  Simplify your life.  Stay focused on me.  Don’t let anything get in the way of our relationship.  Arrange your life in such a way that nothing gets between us.  Keep your life simple.

     What kind of distractions do we allow to get in the way of our relationship with Jesus Christ?  I think it all boils down to external distractions and internal distractions.

     What are some external distractions that can get in the way of us having a vital and growing relationship with Jesus Christ?

     External factors are distractions that are beyond our control.  

     If you are ever preparing for a ministry event that will touch lives for Jesus Christ, expect there to be lots and lots of external distractions getting in your way. 

     Just think about the Book of Acts in the New Testament.  There were a lot of external distractions that the apostles had to face.  It’s amazing.  They were thrown in prison, beaten, & often misunderstood by the crowds as they shared the good news of their faith.

     Whenever you try to do something good in the name of Christ, expect external distractions to come your way.  But in the midst of those external distractions that are beyond our control, let us also keep in mind that Jesus promises to see us through those distractions.

     Oswald Chambers the great Christian writer from the last century and who has written the great devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, says this about the trials and external problems that we face as Christians.  “If you are going to be used by God, he will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all; they are meant to make you useful in God’s hands.”

     God allows us to encounter external distractions so that we can be more useful in His hands.

     John Wesley, the founder of Methodism once commented during a period of time in his ministry that he must have been doing something wrong because things were going so smoothly for him.

     Churches that aren’t experiencing problems and frustrations are probably not being faithful in their mission.  Christians that aren’t experiencing problems and frustrations are probably not being faithful in their mission.  Jesus himself said, “You will experience tribulations in this world.  Count on it.”

     The keys to handling these external distractions are for us to number one, 1) Expect distractions to happen, and 2) Stay focused on what God wants you to do.  If what we are doing is what God wants us to do, then we don’t need to worry about the external distractions.  

     Cicero once said, “The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory.”   William Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

     In our scripture from Luke’s Gospel, Martha allowed an external distraction, the need to get the house ready for Jesus, to get in the way of her main mission which was to be with Jesus and grow in a personal relationship with Jesus.  She allowed an external distraction, which was the need to provide hospitality to get in the way of what was most important in that moment.

     I understand these external distractions all too well. In one of the churches I served, I was about to process up the sanctuary aisle to begin worship one Sunday morning when someone came up to me, grabbed my worship stoles and said, “the downstairs toilet is running over!” And so, we had to delay worship so that we could figure out what to do.

     Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. On Friday, NPR interviewed a 60 year old man who shared how his father helped with the mission. The man was only ten years old at the time.

     When the ship was leaving the moon to return to earth, a satellite dish bearing had broken and his dad needed to think of a solution. Without that bearing in the satellite dish fixed, they wouldn’t be able to communicate with the astronauts during the return trip. 

     The problem was that nobody at the command center could reach back to a bearing through a small hole in the satellite dish that needed to be greased so his father went home and woke up his son and brought him to the station. This ten year old’s arm was small enough to fit through the hole to grease the bearing. And sure enough, the satellite started working again. 

     That ten year old boy who is now 60 telling this story, shared how he was so proud of his dad for thinking of a solution to what was a major problem and he was glad he could help him.

     External distractions will come our way. They happen to all of us. The question is how do we handle those external distractions so they don’t take away our focus on Christ.

    But in addition to external distractions, we also have to deal with internal distractions.  Unlike external distractions, internal distractions are things that we can control more or less.  

     But in addition to external distractions, we also have to deal with internal distractions.  Unlike external distractions, internal distractions are things that we can control more or less.

     For example, even though Martha was dealing with the external distraction of needing to get the house ready for Jesus, she didn’t need to interrupt Jesus and Mary like she did.  In trying to avoid a social faux pa in not providing hospitality, Martha actually committed a faux pa when she interrupted them.

     A good friend of mine served on staff at a large church and he was telling me that his church bought over a hundred devotional books for people in the church who wanted to intentionally read scripture throughout the year. When I talked to my friend a few months later, I asked him how things were going with the devotional books.  And he said, “Most people had let the discipline of reading the scriptures every day go by the wayside.  Most of the people were not even reading the devotional book anymore.”  

     Sometimes, it’s just a matter that we don’t follow through with our commitments and keeping our focus on Christ. We allow internal distractions to get in the way of what is most important.  Why did people in my friend’s church stop reading the devotional book?  They found other things that they wanted to do with their time.

     It takes a real commitment for us to keep things simple in our Christian faith.

     One of the ways that we seek to keep things simple here in our church is to have a very clear mission and a very clear strategy in living out our mission. We don’t want to over complicate what we are about here as a church. 

     So, our clear mission is that we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world. And our clear strategy to make that happen is for each person in our church to have a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith. I call this our 3 “L” discipleship strategy.

     I pray this strategy every single morning at 11 o’clock. I call it the “L” prayer @ Eleven. “Lord, lead us in having a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith.”

     We even have the ministries of our church fall under one of those “L’s.” 

     A Loving Faith ministry is any ministry that helps us to love God and love each other. A Learning Faith ministry is any ministry that helps us to learn about our faith. A Living Faith ministry is any ministry that helps us to live our our faith by serving others.

     How simple is that? We make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by having a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith.

     Last month, before the vacation season, I encouraged us to keep three things in mind for these summer months. The first thing was for us to enjoy the summer. Enjoy this beautiful time of the year. The second thing was for us to keep practicing the spiritual disciplines of our faith like attending weekly worship, praying, reading the Bible, and serving. 

     And then the third thing I shared was for us to look forward to an incredible church-wide event that our church will be hosting next month on August 16 and 17, Friday dinner through Saturday afternoon. We’re calling it “Faith Builders” to help us strengthen the relationships we have inside as well as outside our church. 

     A good friend of mine, Rev. Jeff Motter will be our retreat leader for this event. I mention this in the sermon today for two reasons. First of all, we are receiving reservations for this event. But secondly, I mention it because this retreat will help our church to keep things simple which is our worship theme for today.

     Church doesn’t have to be all that complicated. Being part of a church family is all about having healthy and growing relationships with each other and with the people in our community. Yes, it’s really that simple. It’s all about having healthy relationships.

     When I was ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church back in 1991, a dear friend of mine, my spiritual mentor gave me a wonderful gift. It was a small New Testament bible that could fit in the glove compartment of my car. It’s been my constant road companion in all my cars since 1991. In fact, I used this bible this past week when I was making a hospital visit.

     My friend knew that this little bible would come in handy for me when I would be out making pastoral visits. And knowing how easy it can be in the pastoral ministry to focus on things that really don’t matter, compared to keeping our focus on Christ, he wrote these words inside that little bible.

     Sometimes, I will open it up and remind myself of his words to me. It says, “Robert, stay focused on Christ!”

     Mary teaches us what it means to keep our focus on Christ. She teaches us how to overcome the external distractions and even the internal distractions that may come our way. 

     How do you and I keep our focus on Christ and not on things that aren’t really all that important? Remember today’s vanity license plate message…

     KISS. 

     Keep it simple, saint.

License Plate Sightings: KISS

Sermon Discussion Questions

Luke 10:38-42

July 21, 2019

We are beginning a 7-week sermon series on “License Plate Sightings” in which we will be looking at a vanity license plate messages that corresponds to Jesus’ teachings from the Gospel of Luke. Vanity license plates often will have a subtle way of stating something fun or important to the other drivers on the road.

Share an interesting vanity license message that you have seen. Why do you think the driver chose that message?

Sunday’s vanity plate message is KISS which stands for “Keep it Simple, Saint.” This is what Mary teaches us to do from our Luke scripture passage because she didn’t allow the distractions around her to get in the way of keeping her primary focus on Jesus.

Read Luke 10:38-42 which is the story about Mary and Martha. 

Why do you think that Martha was distracted? Why wasn’t Mary distracted?

Pastor Robert shared that that there are external and internal distractions that can keep us from our focus on Christ. External distractions are out of our control but there are two things for us to keep in mind when facing them. 1) Know that they will happen and we can’t avoid them. 2) Stay focused on what God wants you to do. 

Share some external distractions that you have faced or that you are facing now?

In addition to external distractions that are out of our control, we also face internal distractions that are in our control, like making our faith a priority in our lives. One of the ways that our church helps one another to KISS, is by emphasizing the “3 ‘L’ Discipleship” strategy. We encourage each other to be involved in at least one ministry in each of these three “L’s.” These include having a LOVING FAITH, a LEARNING FAITH, and a LIVING FAITH. Go to our church website and at the top of our homepage there are 3 tabs that will list our ministries.

How can these “3 ‘L’” ministries KISS? Why are all three areas important?

Pastor Robert shared that a friend of his always reminded him to “stay focused on Jesus.” Even though his friend has passed away, he will always remember these words.

Share at least one way that you can KISS beginning this week.

Pray our church’s “L” Prayer @ Eleven Prayer each day at 11 am. “Lord, lead us in having a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith. Amen.”

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (July 14) Athens First UMC

[The sermon focused on how our church is planting seeds of the gospel that are bearing fruit. For the sermon, click here. One of the ways that we can be even more equipped to bear fruit is by participating in the Faith Builders training event that will be held at our church one month from now. This was mentioned in the sermon. See information below on event information and how to register.]

Led by Rev. Jeff Motter, Senior Pastor Saint Andrews UMC, Findlay Ohio

Friday, Aug. 16, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm (Dinner Included)

Saturday, Aug. 17, 8:00 am to 2:30 pm (B-fast & Lunch Included)

$10/Person  Registration begins Sunday, July 14. Email jan@firstumcathens.org.

Please include your name and contact information. Checks can be made payable to Athens First UMC. For more information call the church office 740-593-3977 ext 10.

O God, thank you for giving us seeds of your good news to sow and bear fruit in our community and world. The garden of your kingdom is blooming all around us through acts of compassion, mercy, and justice. Thank you for our summer mission team as they plant seeds of your good news in Honduras this week with the people they serve.

Bless all of our loving faith, learning faith, and living faith ministries that they may continue to bear fruit through our church. We pray a special blessing upon the August Faith Builders training event and Rev. Jeff Motter who will be leading us. O God, what a joy and privilege it is to sow seeds of your kingdom!

May our prayer this morning sow seeds of your comfort, healing, and love in the hearts of those who are grieving over the loss of loved one, who are facing medical challenges, who are going through a time of transition, who are struggling to make a living, and who are without hope. O God, let all who are in need of your love know that you are a God who cares about all of our needs, heartaches, anxieties, pain, grief, hopes, and joys.

Thank you, O God for the seeds of your beauty that you plant in our hearts. Like beautiful sunsets and sunrises. Like spending time with a good friend you haven’t seen for a while. Like going on a retreat and planning out a year’s worth of sermons. Like coming to church and being drawn closer to you.

For all of these seeds of hope and beauty, we give you thanks, O God even as we pray the words that Jesus taught us to pray together,

“Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Sermon (July 14) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     So, I wrote you all a personal letter and instead of sending it out in the mail this past week, I decided to just read it to you here in worship since I knew I would be seeing you. Plus it will save on postage. My letter has a long introduction so I’ll just read that portion of it for you this morning. Here it is.

     “Robert, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God; To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus at Athens First UMC in Athens, Ohio not to be confused with Athens First UMC in Athens, Georgia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. In my prayers for you, I always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for I have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 

     You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.

     This you learned from several former pastors and current church leaders. They are faithful ministers on your behalf and they have made know to me your love in the Spirit.

     For this reason, since the day I heard it, I have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

     May you be made strong with all the strength that come from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

     So that’s the first part of my letter to you and you can hear the rest of my letter during future worship services. I’m not sure when, but whenever the lectionary includes it as one of the appointed Sunday readings.

     OK, as you might have guessed, I plagiarized most of that. That personal letter was actually written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossae, located in the region of southwest, Turkey. It’s a church that Paul had founded and he sent this letter to let them know that he is always giving thanks to God for their fruitful ministry in that area of the world.

     Fruitful. I intentionally used that specific word because Paul actually uses it in the introduction of his letter. The reason Paul is always thanking God for the people in his churches is because the seeds they have been faithfully planting for God’s kingdom are now bearing fruit. Paul is commending them for their spiritual gardening skills.

     Bible scholar, Tom Wright tells the story of Susan who bought a house that had a garden where nothing had grown in it for quite a while. Oh, there were a couple of little shrubs, a shriveled rosebush or two, and a tree that had been bent sideways by a storm and left to grow crooked. It was a garden that hadn’t been given any attention for a long time.

     Sadly, there are many churches like that depressing garden. The building is there. There are even some people in it from time to time, but there isn’t much fruit.

     Back to Susan and her new home. Just a couple of days after she moved in, a friend came to visit and brought some seeds for her dying garden. They were special seeds, he said; not what you’d expect. Once you’d sown them and watered them, plants would grow vigorously and would quickly cover a large area with beautiful flowers. 

     But that wasn’t all. Hidden under the leaves would be a delicious fruit. When that appeared, and ripened, then you’d know the plants had come to stay.

     Within a week or two, this garden was transformed, and Susan decided to get rid of the old plants and let the new ones flourish. They quickly filled the small space with color and perfume. It was one of the most beautiful gardens people had ever seen.

     Susan was so thrilled, she decided to call her friend to tell her about it. And she wanted to know all about this plant that had transformed her new garden. She hadn’t been able to find anything about it in any of the garden books she every read.

 

     Her friend told her, “Ah, you see Susan, this plant is something entirely new and it’s transforming gardens everywhere making them new again. You’re part of a whole new world.”

     While the story of Susan and her garden didn’t really happen, it does illustrate why the Apostle Paul is constantly giving thanks to God for the church in Colossae. The people of that church had received very special seeds from God. They were seeds with the message that God had sent Jesus to redeem and rescue the world from sin and death.

     Like Susan’s friend in the story, the Apostle Paul shared the seeds of the good news of Jesus Christ with the people of Colossae so that they would be able to plant a church that would be fruitful in offering God’s transforming love to the people around them. And the reason that Paul is writing to them is because he wants them to know how thankful he is that they have continued to plant these good news seeds which have been leading to a very fruitful and beautiful new garden of God’s grace and love.

     This is what happens when churches continue to faithfully plant the seeds of God’s kingdom. They bear fruit. They lead to changed lives. They lead to transformation. They lead to hope and new life in ways they could never have imagined. 

[Methodist Circuit Rider Preacher, Rev. James Quinn who started our church back in 1800. Notice in the drawing above that there wasn’t a church building when he started the congregation, but look how the seeds of the gospel he planted and gave to us have grown and grown over all these years!]

     Next year will mark the 220th anniversary of our church. In 1800, Rev. James Quinn, a circuit riding Methodist preacher came to this part of Ohio to plant seeds of the gospel that would lead to the beginning of this church. To this day, we continue to plant these special seeds that were given to us over two hundred years ago. 

     Like Susan’s friend told her in the garden story, thanks to the good news of Jesus Christ, we get to be part of this whole new world. Our lives are not the same because of God’s grace at work in our lives. And as we plant those seeds here in our community, we are bearing so much fruit through our loving faith, learning faith, and living faith ministries. 

     When I saw this Colossians scripture reading as one of the readings for today, I realized that I feel the same way that he felt about the church of Colossae. I feel so thankful for the many ways that our church is making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world. 

     The introduction of his letter to the Colossians conveys exactly what I want to share with you today. “To all the saints of Athens First, in my prayers for you, I always thank God because I always hear about your faith in Christ and how you are bearing fruit.”

     I want all of you to know that you are in my prayers every day. When I wake up, I get my coffee, read some scripture passages, and then spend time in prayer. My prayer always has the same template. Well, here, let me just pray it for you now.

     “Dear God, thank you for this new day. Thank you for your grace and for the many blessings in my life. Thank you for saving me from my sins and helping me to grow in my faith each day. Be with my family this day. 

     Here’s where I pray for Penny, our children who live out of town. Then I pray for my siblings and their families. I then thank God for our two westies, Lulu and Blu and for all of the pets in our families. Depending on special needs, I’ll pause and say a more specific prayer for a family member.

     And after I spend some time praying for my family, I then pray for my church family and this is how my prayer continues.

     “Thank you for my church family. I lift up to you our Leadership Board, our staff, our small group facilitators, our Stephen Ministers, our Growing Tree preschool, our weekly prayer group, our Sunday School teachers, and all of the ministries of our church as we seek to make disciples for you for the transformation of our community and world by having a loving faith, a learning faith, and a living faith. Be with our church as we meet this Sunday for worship. Bless those who will be offering music, those who will be greeters, ushers, setting up connect time, teaching Sunday School, and helping to lead in worship. Empower me to preach your word and to be the best pastor I can possibly be for this church.”

     And then I might pray for some other needs and that’s a typical prayer for me each day, but the reason I’m telling you this is so that you know that I thank God for you every day. I thank God for how each of you are growing in what it means to have a loving faith, a learning faith, and a living faith. I thank God for how you are fulfilling our church’s mission statement of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world. 

     You are often in my prayers and I want you to know that.

     I thank God that we have the privilege to plant seeds of God’s kingdom together. I thank God for each of you! This is why I am channeling the Apostle Paul this morning. It’s because his heart for the Colossians feels like my heart for all of you here at Athens First. I am so blessed to have even just a very small part in what James Quinn started when he planted a few seeds back in 1800. 

     One of the ways that we can continue to grow and bear fruit as a church is by sharing our faith with those around us. This is a time of year when people are looking for a church home. People with children usually move into a new community before school begins. We also have people who have recently moved here because of a new job with the university and we know that over twenty thousand young people will be coming to campus a little over a month from now. For all of these reasons, it is so important for us to be ready for this wonderful opportunity.

     To help us be ready and to be a church that will continue to be as fruitful as possible in all that we do, I invite us to participate in a church-wide two-day training event one month from now called “Faith Builders.” It will be held on Friday evening through Saturday afternoon, August 16 and 17 which will include dinner, breakfast and lunch here at the church. It will be led by a clergy friend of mine, Rev. Jeff Motter who has led this training in other churches leading to even greater fruitfulness. Jeff will guide us through some sessions that will help each of us to develop our relational skills and how to use those skills to be a blessing to others. It’s an event that you won’t want to miss.

     Today is the first day to begin signing up for the event and the cost is only $10 per person which will help to cover the cost of the meals and the instruction materials. I have no doubt that this event will become one of those life changing experiences that will lead to even greater fruitfulness and blessings through our church.

     Here at Athens First, we get to be part of a whole new world by simply planting the seeds that we have been given. I can’t wait to see what God is about to do through us!

     So, once again, to the saints of Athens First, thank you for all the ways you are bearing fruit.

     Sincerely,

     

     Pastor Robert

     To the Saints of Athens First

Sermon Discussion Questions

Colossians 1:1-14

July 14, 2019

The Apostle Paul wrote several of the letters that we have in the New Testament and one of these letters was sent to the church in Colossae which he founded years earlier in his missionary journey. Paul is writing this letter to let them know that even though he is not there with them, he continues to pray for them. He thanks God for how they are continuing to bear fruit for God’s kingdom. 

Share a time when you received a letter (or email/private message) from someone who offered encouragement and reminded you that they continue to think of you. What did that personal correspondence mean to you.

Paul wants the church of Colossae to know that he is thankful for how they continue to bear fruit for God’s kingdom. 

Share some ways that our church is bearing fruit for God’s kingdom.

Pastor Robert channeled the Apostle Paul in his sermon by sharing a letter of gratitude to the saints of Athens First UMC for the many ways we are bearing fruit for God’s kingdom. He also encouraged us to continue to bear fruit through our relationships with people inside as well outside our church by signing up for a church-wide “Faith-Builders” training event on August 16 & 17 here at our church. The cost is only $10/person and will include a Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast and lunch. To register, contact our church office. We want as many people as possible to participate!

How can strengthening our relationship skills help our church to continue to grow and be fruitful in our community?

During the sermon, Pastor Robert shared a make believe story about special seeds that can help any dying garden grow and become beautiful. Like these special seeds in the story, the seeds of the good news of Christ can help renew, restore, and beautify our community and world. All we need to do is to plant those gospel seeds.

In what ways can you plant gospel seeds with the people you meet?

Sunday Pastoral Prayer (July 7)

[Last Sunday was our “Noisy Bucket Sunday” which is always held on the fifth Sunday of a month. During worship, the children take buckets like the ones picture above out to the congregation and the people place their spare change in them making noise. The money is given to the Athens County Food Pantry to help alleviate food insecurity in our area. Even with a lower than usual summer worship attendance, we collected over $1,000! This is a great example of how God doesn’t focus on the size of the crowd but on the readiness of the people to give. For Sunday’s sermon, click here.]

O God, thank you for this Independence Day Weekend in which we celebrate the founding of our country and for the many freedoms we enjoy. 

But even more importantly, we thank you for the freedom we find through your saving grace. Free us from our sins and brokenness. Free us from our shame and despair. Free us to accept our identity as your beloved children. Free us to use our freedom in you to be a blessing to others. Free us to reach our fullest potential. Free us to serve you through our Athens First Saturdays, through our Monday Lunches, and through our mission team who will be going to Honduras next week.  Free us to be the people you have called us to be.

We pray especially today for people who do not feel very free, like those who have no shelter or food or clothing. Like those who are facing life and death medical conditions. Like those who have been separated from their families at our country’s border. Like those who are struggling to make a living. Like those who have been turned away because of their gender, race, national origin, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or economic condition.

O God, help our country to not just celebrate freedom but to also live it in how we relate to all of your people. We confess that we sometimes only want freedom for ourselves and not for others. May our country lift the torch of freedom for the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses who are yearning to breathe free.

We pray this in the name of Christ who frees us and who taught us to pray together as one people, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”