Online Worship (November 13) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

November 13

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (November 9) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

It’s a Miracle!!!

Sermon (Nov. 6/All Saints Sunday) by Rev. Robert McDowell

 

      Eulogies are an important part of the grieving process when a loved one dies. Sometimes people write their own eulogies ahead of time so that their loved ones do not have to do this. 

      I am fascinated by the many different kinds of eulogies you find. Some are very brief, others are lengthy especially when the person was part of a large family, was active in a lot of different organizations or worked in a variety of jobs.

     Some eulogies simply give the basic information about the person’s life while others are more in a story form that includes a descriptive and colorful sharing about that person’s life. A lot of times, the way the eulogy is worded is a reflection of that person.

     There’s really no one way to write a eulogy. A standard question to think about in writing a eulogy is does it reflect who that person truly was? 

     After doing a little research on the history of eulogies, in it’s earliest form, a eulogy was meant as a speech of praise or affirmation not for someone who had died, but for someone who was still living. It was only later, that eulogies were written primarily for those who had died. 

     The word, “eulogy” comes to us from the Latin word, “eulogia” which literally means to praise. When we offer a eulogy for someone, it is to offer praise and thanksgiving for a person’s life.

     I say all of this because of our appointed New Testament reading today from Ephesians in which Paul praises the Gentile believers in Christ. In writing this letter, the Apostle Paul is expressing how he wants to meet them some day. He has heard of their faithfulness to Christ.

    In our Ephesians scripture reading that was read for us, Paul continues his praise and eulogy of them by writing, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.”

     These Christians are living as “holy ones” who are embracing the inheritance of the life abundant they have received and are making their existence known by the way they love and serve God and God’s people. Paul wants them to know that they are part of God’s plan of salvation and they are called to continue the legacy of faithfulness in living out the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what they have been doing as saints now.

      On this All Saints’ Sunday, we offer a collective eulogy of praise to those who have gone before us. We are thankful for those who have faithfully lived and died. We will be reading their names a little later in our worship service thanking God for how they have enriched our lives and the life of our church. 

     I like to think of All Saints’ Sunday as a day the church sets aside to join the Apostle Paul in offering a eulogy for the saints, both past and present. Hearing how those who have gone before us have been a blessing in the ways they have lived out their faith inspires us in our own walk with Christ. 

     This Sunday is always bitter/sweet time for us because on one hand we have heavy hearts because those who are no longer with us physically, but we also celebrate how we have been enriched through their faithfulness to Christ. This day inspires us to follow in their example by setting our hope in Christ, as Paul writes.

    The advantage of writing our own eulogies before we die is that it helps us to think about the spiritual legacy we want to leave behind. And when we can name that legacy, it can remind us again and again of the kind of life and faith that we are called to live each day.

     The Apostle Paul is giving us a starting point to help us write our eulogies when he reminds us that we are a people who have set our hope on Christ, that we have been sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit, and our calling to grow in our faith in Christ and of our love for others.

     That’s a pretty good start in writing a eulogy! We already know who we are and how we are to live because we are a people of faith.

     Whenever we gather for worship, we are reminded of our eulogy through the reading of the scriptures, the hymns, our offerings, and the prayers. All of these worship components serve to remind us of who we are and who we are called to be. We are to live to the praise of God’s glory. This is the eulogy of the saints who have gone before us and for us as well as we live out our faith.

     Yes, we can include in our eulogies a listing of our family members, our jobs, and our hobbies, but at the heart of the saints’ eulogy is in how we have lived out the good news of our faith by loving God and serving others. That is at the heart of what it means for us to continue the legacy of those who have gone before us.

     So what would a saint’s living eulogy look like today? What would be included in a church’s living eulogy? I wonder if this is what would be written about us as a church:

     Once upon a time, when some people moved to this area to start a new community called Athens, they decided to build a church. It would be a church that would serve as the social hub of the community. Everybody attended worship on Sundays and other events during the week. It was a time when families enjoyed eating meals around the table, laughing, and spending time together. And even though people had their different opinions about life, politics, and religion, they always did their best to listen and respect each other.

     But gradually over time, life became more complicated. People started feeling more anxious and fearful. They weren’t always as respectful when someone offered their differing points of view. Schools that once felt safe now had to have new security measures in place. 

     To make things even more challenging, a global pandemic added even more stress to an already polarizing time. Schools, churches, and businesses had to learn very quickly new and creative ways of operating.

     During this very challenging time this church remembered that God was still with them. And even though there were many changes they needed to make during the pandemic, they discovered that some of these changes were a blessing in disguise. 

     Now, instead of only the people who were physically able to attend church on Sundays, were able to worship in their homes by watching the live-stream of the service on their computers and TVs.

     They started having zoom bible studies that led to people from out of state and even outside of the country to be able to participate. They found ways to provide meals to the community by offering a curbside pick-up option.

     When they wondered if people would keep supporting the church financially especially in the first several months of the pandemic when they were not able to have in-person worship, the faithfulness of the people never really wavered. 

     Not only did they continue to support the monthly operations of the church, they also ended up giving away approximately $80,000 a year in support of local and global mission work.

     Members continued to arrange and deliver flowers to the patients at the hospital. They made blankets for the police and sheriff departments. And they gave prayer shawls to people to remind them of the prayers and support of their church family.

     The people in that church found ways to continue to safely meet for prayer, support one another through small groups, and have choir practices. Even the church’s toys which had been tucked away in bins somehow found a way to make special appearances and bring a smile to the faces of the congregation. “Church Toys to the Rescue,” they would exclaim with glee!

     Yes, this was our church for the past two and a half years. During one of the most challenging times this church could remember, with the exception of the fire that destroyed the previous building back in 1955, the people of the church persisted in being the people God had called them to be.

     Marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, with their hope set on Christ, and claiming the inheritance that awaits them to the praise of God’s glory, this church has not only survived, they thrived. 

     Not only has this church overcome challenges that have come their way, it has grown over the years in affirming and believing in the sacred worth of each person as a recipient of God’s love and grace. The church has sought to always be open and inclusive of all people regardless of gender, race, national origin, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status or economic condition.

     This is a church that continues to remember the immeasurable greatness of the power of Christ at work in and through them.

     I offer this living eulogy to all of you today and I invite you to write a living eulogy about our church as well. 

     Today, on this All-Saint’s Sunday, we give thanks to God for the eulogies of the saints who have gone before us. We continue to write our living eulogies as we follow in their footsteps. 

     And after more than 200 years, may the living eulogy of our church continue to be written for years to come as we seek to be faithful to Christ and to be the people God has called us to be. 

A Living Eulogy

Sermon Discussion Questions

Ephesians 1:11-23

November 6, 2022

On this All Saints’ Sunday when we remember and give thanks to God for saints who have gone before us, our Ephesians reading reminds us of what it means to be God’s faithful people. The Apostle Paul praises the people of the Ephesus congregation for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for each other. 

Who are the people in your life who have enriched your faith?

Originally, a eulogy was meant to praise someone who was still living and not just for those who had died. The Latin word, “eulogia” literally means “to praise.” This is what the Apostle Paul is doing when he praises the Ephesians for their faith in Christ. 

What praises do you have for people (past and present) who have enriched your faith in Christ?

When the Apostle Paul praises the saints in Ephesians for their faith in Christ, he is essentially offering a living eulogy that commends them for their faithful witness. 

If you were to write a living eulogy for someone who is a blessing in your life, what are some words that you would include?

Since Paul was praising the church of Ephesus, what words come to mind if you were to write a living eulogy about our church? What would you include in this living eulogy that would best describe how your church is faithfully living out the good news of Jesus Christ?

Some people write their own eulogies to be used instead of having a loved one write it.

What would you like to see included in your eulogy? What helps you to be the saint that God has called you to be?

Offer this prayer from Sunday’s All Saints’ worship service:

God of ages past and hope of days yet to come, we come into your presence with joy and thanksgiving. For those who have gone before us, we gratefully remember their wisdom and love. For those who follow after us, we fervently pray for their growth in faith. For those who are here now, we offer you our lives, that we may be faithful disciples of your love in such a time as this. We confess that we often forget that we are all your saints together. Empower us by your grace to live up to this calling that you have given to each one of us. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.

Online Worship (November 6/All Saints Sunday) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

November 6 (All Saints Sunday)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (November 2) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

Update on the United Methodist Church

& Disaffiliation Over LGBTQ

Sermon (October 30/Reformation Sunday) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     

     Today is Reformation Sunday, a day on the church calendar in which we remember when Martin Luther who lived in the 16th century ignited the Protestant Reformation. This is why our opening hymn this morning was, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

     Martin Luther wrote the words and the music of that hymn in 1529, twelve years after he had nailed 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church to protest the theology and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. 

     He did this on October 31st which was All-Hallow’s Eve, the day before All-Saints Day because he knew that there would be a big crowd in worship that next day and people would see these protests attached to the door. 

     If social media or digital signs would have been available in Luther’s day, he probably would have chosen that method of posting his complaints about the church, but in that time, the way you got the word out was by nailing a document to a wooden door in a public space for all to see.

     At the heart of Martin Luther’s protest was his push back against the church’s teaching at that time that we become saved by doing good works rather than by God’s grace alone. Luther was also pushing back against the sale of indulgences which was the practice of giving money to the church in exchange for helping someone who was in purgatory to make it into heaven.

     The church of his time was also encouraging people to earn salvation by making a spiritual pilgrimage or by doing other acts of piety and devotion.

     In order to reform the church of his day, Martin Luther emphasized four foundational components that would shape the Protestant Reformation that continues to this day. The four components are 1) faith alone, 2) scripture alone, 3) Christ alone, and 4) grace alone.

     Martin Luther’s most famous point of emphasis was the phrase, “justification by faith.” This is the theological view based on the Apostle Paul’s writings, that there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn our salvation. All that we can do is receive God’s gift of salvation by faith.

     This is why some people will share a testimony and can tell you the year and the day when they received Jesus into their lives. In one of the churches I served, an elderly man in the congregation came up to me before the beginning of worship one year and said to me, “Pastor, today is my spiritual birthday.”

     By that, he meant that it was the birthday of when he accepted Jesus into his life when he was a little boy. He told me that it was in April of 1947 when he accepted Jesus into his life. He was in his late teens at the time.     

     Every once in a while, somebody on Facebook will post that it’s their spiritual birthday that day. Or as Martin Luther would say, when “they were justified by faith alone.” That’s a very Protestant thing to say. This gets emphasized again and again throughout our Protestant tradition.

     Now, if you’re sitting there wondering why you might not have a spiritual birthday where you can recite the exact year, month, day, and time when you received Jesus into your life, if it helps any, I can’t either. Even though I can’t share my spiritual birthday with you, I do believe that I have been justified by faith and I have received Jesus into my life, but I don’t remember the first time that I consciously made that decision. 

     I’ve shared this with you before, but asking me when I first received Jesus into my life or when my spiritual birthday is, is like asking me when I first knew that my parents loved me. I can’t point to that first moment because I was blessed to have very loving parents. And because I grew up in a very loving church who shared the love of Jesus with me in so many numerous ways, I can’t point to that first time when it suddenly dawned on me that Jesus loved me.

     I kind of feel left out, but it’s OK because the really important thing in all of this is that having Jesus in my life has given me joy, purpose, hope, peace, and an assurance that has carried me throughout my life. I can’t even begin to imagine what life would be like if Jesus wasn’t in it. That’s a great question to ponder. What would my life be like without Jesus?

     This is why our appointed Gospel reading is so important today especially on this Reformation Sunday. This is a justification by faith story where somebody was saved by faith, by saying “yes to Jesus.” I’m talking about Zaccheus.

     

     Anybody here know the old Zaccheus song that talks about this story here in Luke 19? Let’s sing this old classic together!

     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 he said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down! For I'm going to your house today! For I'm going to your house today!'

     Isn’t that a great song?? If you knew that song by heart, I’m guessing that you attended children’s Sunday School or Vacation Bible School back in the day!

     So that’s the story that we find here in the Gospel of Luke. And by the way, Luke is the only one of the four gospels that includes this story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus. And the reason for this is because out of the four gospels, Luke is the one who is most known for how Jesus went beyond the boundaries of his day in reaching out to people who were seen as outside of God’s circle. 

     Luke is especially known for telling these stories where God’s love and acceptance is extended to people who were often ignored during that time including women, children, the poor, sinners and outcasts, and in this case, Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector.

     In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were Jews that Rome had appointed to collect hefty taxes from their own people, the Jewish people. And not only did they collect these high taxes from their own people, they charged them even more than what was required to make an even higher profit for themselves. 

    They got extremely rich at the expense of their own people. They were seen as traitors and definitely outside of God’s circle.

     So no wonder in this Gospel reading, we have Zacchaeus not in the front of the crowd to get a glimpse of Jesus, but he had been pushed to the very back of the crowd. There’s more going on in this story than Zacchaeus being too short to see Jesus. It was really because he was seen as unworthy and outside the reach of God’s grace.

     And this exchange between Jesus and Zacchaeus is priceless. Jesus looks up and spots Zacchaeus and tells him to come down from that tree because he wants to go to his house, yes to this despised tax collector’s house.

     And the amazing thing about this story is that Zacchaeus hurries down and was so happy to welcome Jesus. The better translation of Zacchaeus’ reaction is that Zacchaeus was “joyful” when Jesus wanted to spend time with him. Joyful and rejoicing are the better words in translating this verse.

     And this is an important distinction because joyful and rejoicing are words that are to remind us how Jesus began his ministry earlier in the Gospel of Luke. 

     Back in chapter 4, Jesus is in a synagogue where he reads from the Prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recover of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

     That phrase, “the year of the Lord’s favor” is referring to the Old Testament commandment for Israel to celebrate the Year of Jubilee. This was to happen every 50 years where people’s debts were forgiven, where slaves were freed, and where wealth was reallocated so that everyone would be able to start over again.

 

     When Jesus announces that he has come to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, he is referring to this Year of Jubilee. In other words, Jesus has come to liberate us from our sins, our systems of economic exploitation, and the many injustices that are in our world. 

     And this is what we get throughout Luke’s Gospel where Jesus is announcing this good news of liberation especially to those who have been forgotten and brushed aside. The Year of the Lord’s Favor which is referring to this the Year of Jubilee is the good news that Jesus was announcing throughout the Gospel of Luke.

     So notice what Zacchaeus does after Jesus spends time with him in his home. This despised tax collector who was seen as unworthy of God’s grace let alone of Jesus’ willingness to spend time with him, ends up receiving God’s gift of grace and salvation. Zaccheus is so filled with joy that he even tells Jesus that he will share half of his wealth with the poor and pay back anybody he has defrauded.

     Zacchaeus is a living example of the Year of Jubilee. He becomes a changed man not because of his worthiness but because it was grace alone that saved him. And this leads Jesus to say, “Salvation has come to this house!” 

     I can imagine Jesus smiling when he said this since everybody knew that this isn’t something you see everyday when a greedy tax collector says, “I don’t want the money. I found something so much better, and I’m going to make things right.”

     How often do you see something like this in our everyday world, where someone is awakened in a moment to a whole new way of living that fills them with so much joy and then leads them to make such a radical change in how they live to reflect that change? It is a beautiful thing!

     I guess that’s why they call it the Reformation. The church is called to be continually reformed into the joy-filled and loving people God has called us to be. And like Zaachaeus, we are continually invited to come down out of that tree, receive Jesus into our lives by faith, and live in such a way that reflects that change.

     We are called to live a life of jubilee where our new found joy in Christ can’t help but lead us to be the change that God wants to see in the world, 

     A world where children feel safe going to school; where the hungry are fed, where the lonely and grieving are comforted; where greed is transformed into generosity; where racism is replaced with understanding; where nations don’t invade other nations; where unjust systems are replaced with opportunities for all; where those who are in danger find refuge, where the hopeless have hope; where the oppressed go free; and where we proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

     I love how Jesus says, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” 

     My niece recently bought a new house and she sent us this picture. I love the sign that the realtor put in front of it. “Celebration in progress.” 

     There was definitely a celebration, a jubiliee in Zacchaeus’s house that day.

     May salvation come to our house and to our world this day, just as it did for Zaachaeus. 

     

     Let the jubilee begin!

Let the Jubilee Begin!

Sermon Discussion Questions

Luke 19:1-10

October 30, 2022

The last Sunday of October is known as “Reformation Sunday” because it was on October 31st (All Hallow’s Eve) in 1517 when a Catholic Priest, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany protesting practices of the Catholic Church. These practices included the sale of indulgences (paying money to the church to free someone to enter heaven from purgatory) and the theological emphasis that we are saved by our good works rather than by grace. This protest ended up starting what we know today as “The Protestant Reformation” in which we now have several Christian denominations and not just one Catholic Church.

What are your thoughts about being saved by grace alone rather than by good works? If we are saved by grace alone as Martin Luther emphasized, what role do our good works have in living out our faith? 

One of the features of the Reformation has been how people refer to their “spiritual birthday,” the day when they received Jesus into their lives. If you don’t have a “spiritual birthday” to point to, that’s OK! Some people have more of a gradual acceptance of God’s grace and they can’t point to just one moment in time.

Do you have more of a gradual acceptance of Jesus into your life or can you point to a specific time when you accepted Jesus for the first time?

In our Gospel reading for this Reformation Sunday, we have the story of Zacchaeus who was a tax collector. In Jesus’ day, the Roman Empire appointed certain Jewish people to collect taxes from their own people. These tax collectors were known to collect more money than what was required to line their own pockets and get rich! They would have been seen as outside of God’s grace because of being seen as traitors. As Jesus walks through the crowd he spots Zacchaeus and invites him to come down from the tree because he wanted to go to his house and spend time with him. This is an example of how Luke, the Gospel writer shows Jesus going beyond the boundaries of his day to extend God’s grace to all people, including greedy traitors like Zacchaeus!

What classifications of people today are seen as outsiders and not worthy to be included and accepted? What helps you to remember to extend God’s grace to all people?

The best part of the Zacchaeus story is that Zacchaeus becomes a changed man because of Jesus. He announces that he will give half of his wealth back to the people. We are told that Zaccaeus was joyful and was rejoicing because of his encounter with Jesus that day. These words are deliberate because Luke, the Gospel writer wants us to refer back to Luke, chapter 4 where Jesus announces that he has come to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. The phrase, “The year of the Lord’s favor” is a reference to the Old Testament commandment for there to be a “Year of Jubilee” every 50 years where wealth gets redistributed amount the people, slaves are set free, and people get a second chance! For Luke, Zacchaeus embodies the “Year of Jubilee” for which Jesus came. 

In what ways, is our world in need of a “Year of Jubilee” in which people can receive a new start and be freed from socio/economic injustices and exploitation? In what ways has Jesus freed you from your sins and brokenness leading you to rejoice?

Offer this prayer of jubilee from Sunday’s worship service:

O God, we stand before you in need of your grace. We are unable to be made righteous on our own merits. Our sins overwhelm us. It feels like there is a great chasm between who we are and who we hope to become. If you come by our way, will you notice us in the crowd? Just say our name and we will know that you really have come to seek out and save the lost. Come to our house today and lead us to share in the joy of your salvation. Amen.

Special Announcement from Pastor Robert (10-30-22)

Special Announcement 

from Pastor Robert 

October 30, 2022