Sunday (February 16) Pastoral Prayer

February 16, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

God of blessings, how is it that you know just when we need a blessing in our lives? Like when we are experiencing grief and you remind us that you are with us through the smile of a young child. Like when we are feeling alone and discouraged, and someone brightens our day with an encouraging word. Like when we are facing a challenging situation in our lives that seem like there are no good choices, and you open a new path and opportunity for us that we never dreamed possible.

 

For all of these blessings in our lives and those that are to come, we thank you, O God with our hearts, and hands, and voices. What a joy it is for us to come to church on a Sunday morning and give you thanks for the many blessings you provided for us over the past week.

 

Thank you for reminding us today that with your blessings come an expectation that we will in turn be a blessing to others. Even now, we seeking to be a blessing by lifting up the many people on our church’s prayer list. May they receive your blessings of healing, of assurance, of comfort, of guidance, of wisdom, and of protection.

 

We also prayer your blessings to be upon each person we encounter this week. May all of our interactions be an opportunity to be a blessing to them. Like Jeremiah reminded us from our Old Testament reading this morning, may our hearts be aligned with your heart in how we relate to the people around us. For all of your countless gifts of love, we thank you all our God with our hearts, our hands, and our voices. We pray this in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray 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.

Sunday (February 9) Pastoral Prayer

February 9, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

God of wonder and mystery, like Isaiah, we are in awe of your presence with us in worship. Whether it be as we are singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,” as we did this morning, or in listening to the special music that Jared played so beautifully for us, or something that was said in the sermon that sounded like it was meant just for us, thank you for these holy moments in which you are present with us in a meaningful way.

 

And we also thank you for many, many other ways that you reveal yourself through our senses like through the image of a peaceful river as our prayer hymn writer expresses. God of wonder and mystery, as we go through our week, may we be alert to the many creative ways that you are seeking to get our attention and speak a word to us.

 

Just as you are present with us in this time of worship, we pray that you would also be with those who are on our hearts and minds this day: those on our church’s prayer list that they would each know of your healing, comforting and guiding presence, those who are hungry and in need, those who are facing difficult transitions and challenges in their lives, and those who are feeling isolated and alone. God of wonder and mystery, we pray that each of these persons and needs would know of your peace like a river.

 

And may our prayer today be the same as our hymn writer who expresses these words, “And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight.” And until that day fully comes, we join together in praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to say…

 

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.

Sermon (February 9) “Face to Face” by Rev. Robert McDowell

February 9, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

    As I’ve been reading and meditating on our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, this thought keeps jumping out at me:

     What would Isaiah’s response have been to this powerful display of God’s glory in the Temple if he would have watched this online instead of in-person? I’m not so sure that Isaiah would have had the same response to this majestic encounter with the divine. As they say, “you just had to be there.”

     We are told that the pivots on the thresholds of the Temple shook at the voices who called out and that place of worship was filled with smoke. I know that our TVs have a surround sound option with state-of-the-art audio and high quality screens, but I don’t think anything other than in-person worship would come even remotely close to what Isaiah was experiencing in that holy moment!

     This whole thought about the difference between being in-person vs. watching something on TV has me thinking about how important it is to worship in-person rather than watching a service at home. God knows that we are sensory oriented human beings which includes all of our senses including being able to taste, touch, see, smell, and hear.

     During the pandemic, the complaint that I heard the most from people who got COVID was losing the sense of taste and smell. Sometimes, this doesn’t return for several months after having been infected. I lost my sense of smell for a couple of months when I got it.

     During those two months, the only thing I could taste was if I ate really spicy food. That was it! I missed the taste of a perfectly grilled steak or biting into a honeycrisp apple.

     I wonder if we have downplayed how much of our faith is wrapped up in our senses as well. We have a tactile and sensory faith!

     For example, here in our Isaiah reading this morning, we have all five senses at work! We have the face-to-face sight of the Lord sitting on the throne with the heavenly beings flying around the Temple. The smell of smoke filling the room. Listening to the powerful voices of praise and worship. The touch and taste when one of those heavenly beings places a live coal on Isaiah’s lips. That would wake you up!

     It’s interesting that the hot coal did not injure Isaiah’s tongue because he was able to continue to experience this incredible scene of the Lord’s presence. Again, I just don’t know that any of this would have had the same impact if Isaiah watched this all on TV. There is just something about face-to-face encounters with God’s holy presence!

     Our other two scripture readings for today also emphasize the tactile dimension of our faith. In our Luke scripture passage, we have Jesus meeting some fisherman by the lake. Jesus offers them a fishing tip which leads to those fishermen catching so many fish that the nets end up being stretched so much that they almost broke!

     I know that we heard this scripture read for us earlier, but based on Peter’s response to all this, he was so moved by it that not only Peter, but two other fishermen, James and John, left everything and followed Jesus.

     This is a great story to imagine the sight of the lake, the smell of the fish, the touch of those fishing nets, and the sound of the gentle waves.

     In our reading from I Corinthians, the Apostle Paul emphasizes how in the days and weeks following the resurrection of Jesus, the Risen Christ physically appeared face to face with Peter, and then he did the same with the other disciples, and later he appeared face to face to more than 500 other followers.

     And Paul is also careful to note, that even though Jesus had already ascended into heaven, several years later, the Risen Christ also appeared to him when he was on his way to persecute Christians. This was no dream and he wasn’t seeing a ghost. Paul was actually seeing the Risen Christ.

     Our scripture readings today are all emphasizing the importance of these face-to-face encounters with the divine. And it’s because the Christian faith isn’t about following a philosophy. No, we follow a living God who is holy, relational, and who has been made known to us through Jesus and is present with us today through the Holy Spirit.

     Every time that we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we experience our faith through our senses. God is present through the bread and juice that have been consecrated and blessed. I have a friend who when receiving Holy Communion likes to receive a large piece of bread from the loaf because he wants to taste that extra reminder of God’s grace and unconditional love.

     The sacrament of Holy Baptism is another way that we engage our senses whenever we baptize someone in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even when I sprinkle the water upon the head of the person being baptized whether it be a baby or whatever age, I like to splash my hand around in the baptism font before lifting up the water.

     I want all who are present in worship to see and hear the splashing water of baptism. If I do this correctly, my right arm is soaked for the rest of the service!

     When I was ordained as an Elder, one of the most powerful moments in my life was when Bishop Edsel Amons of the West Ohio Conference placed the weight of his hand upon the top of my head and said in his deep and bellowing voice, “Robert Vincent McDowell, take thou authority to preach the Word of God and to administer the holy Sacraments.” Oh no! Now you know my middle name!

     Whenever I prepare a sermon that I believe to be inspired by the Holy Spirit but might be controversial or make people feel uncomfortable, I will often remember the weight of that bishop’s hand upon me and his reassuring words, “take thou authority.” There are many a sermon I probably wouldn’t have preached if it wasn’t for that tangible reminder from my ordination service almost 40 years ago.

     There are so many other ways that we encounter the living God through our senses. It might even be through a stained-glass window or a worship banner or the piano piece during the special music.

     A person who is in their 20s was asked about their faith in one of the churches I served. And I’ll never forget the response of this young person when he said, “From my early childhood years, I have always felt God’s presence by just staring at one of our beautiful stained-glass windows in the sanctuary.”

     He was referring to a window which had Jesus holding a lamb. And he went on to say that whenever he feels afraid and is in need of reassurance and renewed hope, he always remembers that stained glass window and the powerful visual of that little lamb in the arms of Jesus.

     These face to face and powerful sensory connections with the living God have an impact on us.

     I notice that Isaiah and the disciple Peter have very similar responses to their face-to-face encounters with God. Isaiah says, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

     The disciple Peter falls at Jesus’ feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

     These face-to-face encounters with the living God lead to a deeper awareness of our brokenness and sinfulness and they also serve as a reminder of the larger context of who God is and who we are.

     But also notice another way that they both respond to their face-to-face encounters. After Isaiah confesses his unworthiness, the Lord calls upon him to be sent out to share a message with the people. And Isaiah says, “Here am I; send me!”

     And after the disciple, Peter confesses his unworthiness, Jesus tells him and the other fishermen, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men.” When those fishermen brought their boats to the shore, we are told that they left everything and followed Jesus.

     When we come face to face with the living presence of God, it will always lead to some kind of response on our part. Whatever that response may be, it will most certainly include a willingness to step out in faith and go to whomever God is calling us to serve.

     For Isaiah, it would be offering a prophetic and challenging word to the people of Israel. For the disciple Peter and those other fishermen, it would be inviting people to join them in following Jesus, the long-awaited Savior of the world.

     For the past 39 years, I have attended annual conference. The only year I missed an annual conference was the year my mother passed which was during the week of the West Ohio Annual Conference.

    Yes, there are parts of annual conference that can be a little dull like all of the legislation and debating, although sometimes even that can be a little entertaining.

     By far, the best part for me is listening to over a thousand United Methodist clergy and lay delegates singing their hearts out during the worship services. And oh my goodness, the preaching! The powerful preaching.

     Bishop Gregory Palmer who was my Bishop in West Ohio and is now retired, is one of the most gifted and powerful preachers I have ever heard. I used to refer to Bishop Palmer as a holy freight train because there are times during his sermon where you feel goosebumps as he powerfully proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ.

     Whenever he would get up to begin his sermon I would say to the person sitting next to me, “the holy freight train is about to leave the station.”

     And listening to all of those United Methodists singing that great hymn of faith, “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” made it feel like like we were definitely in the presence of almighty God, and we were. We were!

     Those large conference gatherings are very special no doubt. But it’s also true that whenever we worship in this place together, we too can taste, touch, see, smell, and hear the presence of the living God through the scripture readings, the prayers, the preaching, the hymns, the special music, the liturgy, and the Sacraments.

     And this same living God continues to invite us during each and every worship service to respond in humility by saying, “Here am I; send me!”

Sermon (February 2) “Do Not Be Afraid” by Rev. Robert McDowell

February 2, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

     Bible quiz time. What is the most repeated commandment in the Bible?

     There are a lot of bible commands like love your neighbor, love God, be thankful, but there is one that gets repeated more than any other command. If you answered, “Do not be afraid,” I have a blue ribbon to give to you. To claim your ribbon, see me after worship.

     Of all the commands that we find in the Bible and there are many, why is “do not be afraid” the most repeated one? Well, let’s look at one of those times it is repeated. We heard that command just a little bit ago during our Old Testament reading from the Book of Jeremiah.

     “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord tells young Jeremiah.

     Young Jeremiah. I say that because when Jeremiah is called upon by God to become a prophet, he is reluctant to do so because in his words, “he’s only a boy.”

     My heart goes out to the youth of today. So much fear. So much anxiety.

     In all my years of pastoral ministry, I don’t think I’ve ever been more concerned about the anxiety and fear among youth than I do today.

     According to the National Institute of Health, 1 in 3 of all adolescents, which would include the ages of 13 to 18, will experience an anxiety disorder. 1 in 3! And this study was released just before the Covid pandemic!

     The three top reasons they give for this rise in anxiety disorders are because of higher expectations and pressures to succeed, the world is becoming scarier and more threatening, and the negative consequences associated with social media platforms.

     Anxieties and fears are something in which we all struggle in varying degrees. A few years ago, a Chapman University survey was conducted which said that our biggest fears as adults are public speaking, heights, and snakes and bugs.

     I am totally fine with speaking in public but please do not ask me to get on the roof of your house. I do not like heights. We paid someone to clean out our gutters one year and as I was watching this person heading to the top of our roof, I could feel the palms of my hands getting sweaty by the second. Not a fan of snakes either!

     No wonder that the command, “Do not be afraid” shows up more than any other command in the Bible. So much fear that we face in our day to day living.

     So back to Jeremiah. Why did he need to hear those words from the Lord, “Do not be afraid?”

     Short answer. The Lord called him. Whenever the Lord calls us to do something, it’s understandable that fear will set in. We often do not know if we will be able to meet the challenges ahead. We wonder if we will have what it takes to succeed. We’re afraid of letting God down. We wonder if the Lord might have gotten our email address mixed up with someone else’s.

     In our scripture reading, the Lord has spoken directly to Jeremiah so that’s not really the issue in this situation. What this text is inviting us to ponder is how will we respond when the Lord does indeed call us to a certain task?

 

     I actually really respect Jeremiah’s response when the Lord called him. There is a lot of humility on the part of Jeremiah. He knows that he’s young and experienced. He is also very much aware that there are probably other people who would be able to accomplish what the Lord wants him to do. But of course, the Lord responded to Jeremiah to reassure him, “no, you’re the one.”

     Here’s a thought that we sometimes forget as people of faith and today seems like a good opportunity to be reminded of it. Our baptism at whatever age that might have been, is to always remind us that the Lord has called each one of us to be ministers. And because of our baptism, God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower and equip us for any task we are given.

    All of those who are baptized are ministers of God. This reminds me of the sign in front of a church that reads, “Pastor – And then it has the name of the pastor.” And underneath that line, it has the words, “Ministers – Every Church Member.”

     Every person in the church is a minister. God has called each one of us to live out our faith and help to build God’s kingdom on earth.

     In our United Methodist Book of Discipline, it describes each of our callings in this way. “The heart of Christian ministry is Christ’s ministry of outreaching love. Christian ministry is the expression of the mind and mission of Christ by a community of Christians that demonstrates a common life of gratitude and devotion, witness and service, celebration and discipleship.”

     Now, listen carefully to this next part. “All Christians are called through their baptism to this ministry of servanthood in the world to the glory of God and for human fulfillment. This means that all Christians are called to ministry wherever Christ would have them serve and witness in deeds and words that heal and free.”

     All of the baptized are ministers and called by God to minister in the name of Jesus Christ.

     There are no exceptions, asterisks, or loopholes. God calls each one of us into ministry.

     So, this scripture from Jeremiah chapter one has particular meaning for me. If it wasn’t for this scripture, I would not be with you here today. I don’t know what I would be doing, but I would not be standing here.

     When I was in college, I attended a spiritual retreat. And the leader of the retreat invited each person to take their bible and go and spend some time outside alone with God just to listen for God’s voice.

     There was no agenda. We were to just take our bible and open it to whatever scripture passage that looked interesting and read and reflect on it.

     I opened my bible and it just so happened to open to this very scripture reading from Jeremiah. And as I read how the Lord called on Jeremiah and Jeremiah’s response to the Lord’s calling, that’s when I finally realized that the Lord was calling me into the pastoral ministry.

     Other people had told me that they thought God was calling me to become a pastor, but I didn’t think that God was calling me, until that day I read this scripture at that retreat.

 

    I read those words silently to myself, and here is what I was mumbling, “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

     Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak for I am only a youth.”

     That’s when I stopped reading because I said to God in that moment, “Ok, I see what you’re doing here, God. The reason you wanted me at this retreat was so that I would read this one little scripture passage.”

     “Nice try, God, but I don’t see myself as a pastor.”

     But then I kept reading, “Do not say that I am only a youth for you shall go to all to whom I send you and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”

     “Ok, God, like I was trying to tell you. There’s no way that I can see myself speaking in your name week after week. Just no way. I don’t see it.”

     And then here was the clincher. I kept reading. “Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, Now I have put my words in your mouth.”

     “Oh…. You mean, that you will write my sermons?”

     Yes, I will speak through you. Do not be afraid.”

     It was in that very moment, that I finally got it through my thick skull, that God was calling me to be a pastor. Watch out for retreats. They can change the course of your life!

     And I am so thankful that the Lord spoke to me so clearly during that time away in the mountains so long ago. Like Jeremiah, all that the two of us needed to know was, will you give us the words to speak?

     Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.

     Thankfully, the Lord has continued to remind me to not be afraid. Three of four years ago, I was meeting with other pastors about how we can equip, educate, and empower our churches to overcome the sin of racism in our communities.

     And in the course of the conversation, I said something like, “You know, I am just this white pastor who is still feeling really clumsy in how to approach this topic. I’ve become more aware of just how ignorant I am regarding black history and how pervasive racism is in our country.”

     Another pastor in the group stopped me mid-sentence and she said, “Robert, find your voice and speak God’s truth. Your perspective is important. God will use you.”

     That comment hit me like a ton of bricks.

 

     Her comment reminded me of something my Bishop back in Ohio used to say a lot in his sermons, “Just get over yourself.” We often get in our own way when God calls us to live out our faith.

     This scripture from Jeremiah, chapter one reminds me “again and again and again and again and again,” to just get over myself. Just use your voice.

     Get over yourself. You think you’re the only white pastor who feels clumsy about calling out racism? You think you’re the only one who feels ignorant and inexperienced on this topic? You think you’re the only one who is feeling fearful, anxious, humbled, scared, ill-equipped, and tongue-tied?”

     “Well, baptized Christian, I’m here to remind you, just in case you have forgotten which it sounds like you have. Just get over yourself because I have put my words in your mouth.”

     Do not be afraid.