Online Worship (July 18) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

July 18

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (July 14) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

A Brighter, More Colorful, & Secure 

Children’s Ministry Space!

Sermon (July 11) by Rev. Robert McDowell

 

    “Do you even know what a plumb line is?” she asked in a surprised tone of voice.  “Well of course I know what a plumb line is.” 

     There was a long pause. 

     “Well, do you know that it’s a string with a weight at the bottom of it to make sure that a wall is straight?”

     “Yeah, that was what I was about to say.”

     This was a conversation that Penny and I had early in our marriage when I was telling her about a sermon I was working on based on our Old Testament reading for today. I told her that it was the reading from the prophet Amos where God is standing next to a wall holding a plumb line against it.

     I can’t say that I have ever used a plumb line to build anything but I have used my putter as a plumb line when lining up for a putt. Does that count? At least I have the gist of what a plumb line does.

     Standing behind your golf ball and holding up the putter in front of you will help you to see if the putt will break to the left or to the right or if it will go straight to the hole. So, I think I understand why God is showing Amos a plumb line. God is showing how far off point the Israelites have been in living out who God had called them to be.

     They had lost their fixed point in what it means to be the people of God. God wanted Amos to tell the people of Israel that they needed to get back on point which meant that they needed to stop being so self-indulgent and to starting caring for the needy, the poor, and the weak.

     So Amos serves as a human plumb line by sharing this message that he had received from God with Amaziah, a Priest in the northern Kingdom of Israel.

     Amaziah ends up telling Amos to essentially take a hike back to his backwoods town of Tekoa. “Who invited you here anyway?  You can talk till you’re blue in the face about food insecurity in southeast, Ohio, or how there are more people than you think who can’t find affordable housing or any housing at all, or how half of the population around here has no church affiliation while most churches continue to shrink in numbers, but get real, Amos.  At some point, people need to help themselves. And don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

     Again, if it was me instead of Amos, I might have said something like, “Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”  And leave it at that.  But no.  Amos just doesn’t know when to stop. 

     He goes on to tell Amaziah, “Oh, by the way. I might be from a nowhere land, but that didn’t stop the Lord from giving me another message to tell you.”

     We as the readers are thinking to ourselves, “Don’t say anything else, Amos.  You’ve said enough already. Don’t say what we think you’re going to say next. Don’t do it. Uh, oh. He’s actually going to say it, isn’t he?”

     Amos goes on to say, “Oh yeah. There’s one more thing. Because of your disregard for the ways of God, your wife is going to become a prostitute and your sons and daughters are going to die by the sword.”

     We cringe and we want to say to Amos, “OK,  Amos.  Way too much information.  But we gotta hand it to you.  You stood up to them.”

     Can you believe these prophets?  The Lord gives them a word of judgment and they don’t back down.

     They call Amos one of the 12 Minor Prophets, but there’s nothing minor about this mouthpiece of God.  

     Prophets by their very nature scare us to a large degree.  I was speaking with a member of another church and he was telling me about his involvement on the staff/parish relations committee of his church.  

     And he said, “Yeah.  We had a problem with one of our pastors years ago and we asked for a new minister.”  “What did he do,” I asked, not knowing if I really wanted to hear the answer.  “He upset a lot of our people because of his anti-war sermons and our congregation is very patriotic.”

     I wanted to sarcastically ask if their pastor went by the name of Amos by any chance, because it sure sounded like something Amos would have said.

     Now, Amos wasn’t telling Amaziah something that he didn’t already know.  He would have known that the God of Israel was a God who cared for the poor, the marginalized, and for those who were seen as outsiders.  He would have known that the people of Israel were meant to be a light to the world, and not a light unto themselves.

     The truth is – we can know something to be true and yet live in a way that defies that truth about God and ourselves. We can so easily lose our fixed point and get off track with our purpose and mission.

     So what Amos is actually doing in his role as prophet, is reminding the people of Israel of who they are called to be.  A people who are called to be faithful.  A people who are called to change their ways when they fail to be the people God has called them to be.

     That’s why we need people like Amos who will get out that plumb line and show us where we have gotten off centered. You know. It’s not easy to stay centered without the help of a plumb line.

     This past January, Penny and I decided to watch a recording of the online worship service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. It was the service that was held on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. We thought it would be a nice way to reflect on the meaning of Dr. King’s legacy.

[Dr. Michael Eric Dyson]

      This past January, Penny and I decided to watch a recording of the online worship service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. It was the service that was held on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. We thought it would be a nice way to reflect on the meaning of Dr. King’s legacy.

     The guest preacher was Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, professor of African American Studies at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Dyson is also an ordained pastor and a powerful preacher. We got more than we bargained for because Dr. Dyson proceeded to tell painful story after painful story of how deeply embedded racism is in our nation.

     For some reason, I was thinking that the sermon would be more of a nice little reminder for people to get along with people better, especially with people of a different color, but instead we got hit hard with an Amos type of sermon. 

     Dr. Dyson held up that plumb line there in that beautiful cathedral, making the people in those church pews squirm as well as Penny and me as we watched the sermon online from our living room couch. 

     It was one of those sermons that reminded us of the painful reality of racial injustice that continues to permeate our society. What I thought was going to be a nice little sermon that would make me feel better, ended up becoming a major wake-up call, as painful as it was to hear, to do better and to be better. We need these Amos sermons from time to time. We need that plumb line.

     A friend of mine sent me an email that shared her frustration over people who call themselves Christian but exhibit hate-filled rhetoric. She asks, “Does their Bible have some extra Gospel of Hate, that isn’t in our bibles? And how do they think that they will draw people to Christ if all they have to offer is hate?” 

     She then shared this raw emotion – “I have been left feeling that instead of wanting to offer encouragement to these people, I would rather whop them up side of the head with a skillet to knock some sense into them. How do these people claim to be Christian?”

     My friend was sounding a lot like Amos who was looking at that plumb line and wondering how people who claim to be people of faith don’t even notice how off point they have become.

     And of course the truth is that we are all susceptible in getting off point in our faith. That’s why we all need this plumb line to help us get closer to that fixed point where we are living out a Gospel of Love rather than a Gospel of Hate.

     It’s been a little over four years now when we remodeled our sanctuary and the front entrance of our church building. One of my favorite memories from that time is when one of our members entered the front entrance of our church and saw the new look.

     As she stood in our front Welcome Center and was looking into our sanctuary, she said to me, “This is my favorite thing about the improvements we made.” I asked her what she meant. 

   And she said, “From back here, my eyes are more drawn to our large cross up front. It’s the way that the new carpet in the back of the sanctuary starts wide but then narrows and leads your eyes all the way to the front of the sanctuary and then upward to the cross.”

     I think about her observation often. She’s right. The cross has become more of the fixed point for whenever we enter this building. It helps to remind us that we have a Gospel of Love, not a Gospel of Hate. It reveals where we have fallen short of who God has called us to be.

     Like a plumb line that sways back and forth and finally comes to a stop, the cross is our fixed point leading us to be the people that God has called us to be. 

Our Fixed Point

Sermon Discussion Questions

Amos 7:7-15

July 11, 2021

The prophet, Amos used a plumb line to speak out against the northern kingdom of Israel for how they off gotten off point in who God had called them to be. They had become self-indulgent and were not caring for the poor and those most vulnerable.

Why do you think a plumb line was used to share this message from the Lord?

A pastor of a church spoke out against war at his church and his congregation felt that he was being “unpatriotic” so they asked him to leave.

Share another example of someone who took a risk by speaking out against something that was against God’s desires and suffered the consequences for it.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is a professor of African American Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is also an ordained pastor and a powerful preacher. Dr. Dyson is like a modern day Amos who is willing to use a plumb line to show how we as a country have been off the mark in race relations.

How can the plumb line prophetic voice that calls out out the deeply embedded racism in our country help our country to become more aware of the sin of racism and find positive ways to overcome systemic prejudicial behaviors and attitudes?

One of our church members said that what she likes most about our remodeled sanctuary is that when you enter the room, her eyes are drawn up the center aisle to our large wooden cross. What a wonderful observation. Pastor Robert shared that the cross is our plumb line to help us be the people God has called us to be. Our plumb line is the cross where Jesus offered his life for the sake of the world.

Think of some other ways that we can be reminded of when we get off center. Who has been like the prophet Amos in your life? Our weekly Sunday worship prayer of confession serves as one of those plumb lines for us. Here is the prayer:

O God, center us on this day of worship. Reorient us so that we will be aligned with your desires and purposes. Renew our focus and set our eyes upon Jesus who is the true plumb line of our faith. We confess that we too often use our own political and personal agendas to establish what is true rather than upon your relentless pursuit of justice, mercy, and goodness for all people. Remind us again and again to always find the truth we are seeking by looking to Jesus who lived, died, and rose again for our sake. Amen.

Online Sunday Worship (July 11) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

July 11

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (July 7) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

Previewing this Fall’s James Bible Study

with Josh King

Sermon (July 4) by Rev. Robert McDowell

 

    Several years ago, I read the book, “1776” by David McCullough.  It’s a book that focuses on that very important year when our colonies were fighting for independence from Britain. I’ve been thinking about that book with today being our nation’s Independence Day.

     This book reminded me of just how divided we were in our cause for freedom.  Sure, there were many who were tired and angry over British rule, but there were also many people who remained loyal to the British cause. Even beyond this major division, there was a lot diversity among the different colonies.  Each colony had its own identity, its own history, and its own needs and perspectives. It was quite a challenge for our founding fathers to bring us together as one united people.

     When it was time for our new nation to select a permanent location for our capitol, they didn’t choose Boston, Philadelphia, Richmond, or New York. Choosing any one of those cities would have been showing favoritism to one colony or region.  So they ended up creating a new city that would be a symbol of our new nation.  Washington D.C. became the wise political solution for promoting unity among so much diversity.

      Like our country’s founders, the leaders of Israel faced the same challenge in trying to unify a people of so many diversities and backgrounds.  Today’s appointed Old Testament reading from II Samuel is the story of David becoming King of both the southern and the northern tribes of Israel. 

     David had been serving as king of the southern part of Israel but the northern part was being ruled by a different king.  And these two regions of Israel were at constant war with each other.  This was not the unified Israel that God had intended for his people.  

     And this was the Prophet Samuel’s greatest fear when the people of Israel had first approached him about wanting to be like the other nations and have their own king.  This is one of those, “I told you so” moments. Thankfully, there are a couple of heroes in our passage of scripture today who were brave enough to step out in faith for the sake of bringing unity to a divided nation.

     The first hero was actually some of the leaders who belonged to the northern tribes of Israel.  They were somehow able to put aside their animosity with the southern tribes and make the journey into their territory to meet with David.  

     This was a very risky political move on the part of these northern leaders.  Their political approval ratings probably took a nose dive when this trip was first announced.  But they were more concerned with unity than they were with any political fall-out for doing such a thing.

     When they arrived to Hebron, they gave David credit for leading the people following Saul’s death.  And for the sake of unity, these northern leaders anointed David to be the king for both the northern as well as the southern tribes. 

     So, the first hero was this group of leaders who risked everything to acknowledge David as King.

     And the second hero in this story is David himself.  David could have continued his rule right there in the city of Hebron in the southern territory which would have been the easy thing for him to do.  But instead of alienating the northern territory, he strategically chose a neutral city, a Washington D.C. type of city to be the new capitol for a unified people, a city that had neither southern nor northern connections.  And that city was Jerusalem.

     But there was only one problem.  The city of Jerusalem was controlled by the Jebusites, which were a people that Israel had never been able to defeat.  Defeating the Jebusites and claiming Jerusalem as the new capitol of all of Israel would be a symbol of this new unity of Israel.  This is one of the reasons why David was such a great leader.  Not only was he a man after God’s own heart, he also had a heart for the unity of God’s people.

     But David’s brave decision to conquer Jerusalem would not be easy.  The Jebusites were a very confident people and they boasted that the walls of the city were so strong that the city could even be defended by the blind and the lame.

     David’s plan was to not enter by the walls but to out-smart them by entering through the water shaft which he and his privately paid soldiers ended up doing and they were successful.  And this is why the city of Jerusalem is also known as the City of David. 

     David, along with the leaders of the northern territory who put unity ahead of politics are the heroes of this story from II Samuel.  It was because of their heroic actions, that God’s people became a united people again.  They were now one nation under God.

     When I first noticed that July 4^th would fall on a Sunday this year, my first thought was how many churches and pastors would be tempted to turn today into a political rally that promotes a particular political agenda. I’m pretty certain that later today when I go online to read the news that I will stumble upon churches and preachers who have used this day to promote one political party over another.

     When churches blur the distinction between their faith and patriotism, it’s called Christian Nationalism. And they also make it very clear which political party or political candidate Jesus endorses. 

     Several years ago, a clergy friend of mine who served in the same community where I was serving invited me to attend a National Day of Prayer breakfast in a nearby city. By the way, he was not United Methodist which may or may not be helpful for you to know as I tell you this story.

     And I thought to myself, “This will be really nice, to gather with other pastors from different denominations and community leaders and spend time in prayer for our communities, our nation, and our world.”

     What I didn’t realize was that this National Day of prayer gathering was more about a political rally than it was about joining together as one diverse community of pastors and leaders in prayer. I just wish they would have been upfront with their agenda.

     In a church I was serving, I went to the hospital to visit one of my older church members who was to have surgery that morning. When I saw her in the pre-op room, she had time to talk and she asked if I had seen an interesting news story on TV the other day. 

     And as she started to tell me about it, she stopped in mid-sentence, and she said, “Oh, you probably don’t watch that channel, do you?” She was referring to a certain cable news channel that she likes to watch. When she said that, a smile came to her face and we laughed. I said, “Opal, am I that obvious with my political leanings?” She gave me another smile and a wink and continued in her story.

     Here’s the reason I share this story. Even though Opal and I didn’t see eye to eye politically, that didn’t matter to her at all. She saw me as her pastor and she was so glad that I could be with her to have a prayer before her surgery that day. 

     I think it is so interesting that our appointed Old Testament scripture reading for today is this one about how David was able to bring two politically and very divisive factions together so that they would be one nation under God. This is a scripture that reminds us that just because we may not agree with each other politically, this is still a day where we can see ourselves as one.

     Last fall, as we were nearing the presidential election, I offered a holy hump day video in which I shared some thoughts about faith and politics. Here’s a brief recap of what I shared in that video this past October.

     The first thing I shared is for us to not confuse the theocracy form of government that we find in the Bible with our democratic form of government. In a theocracy, there is one God who rules over all. But in a democracy like we have here in our country, there is a lot of diversity. Our country is known as a melting pot where there are people who practice many different religious faiths and some, not at all. 

     I like to call it a “democracy of diversity.” And to me, this is what the American dream is all about; having people from many different backgrounds, experiences, and religious faiths and blending them together to be one united country. 

     So this is the first thing, is for us to not confuse the theocracy of the Bible with our democratic form of government. Christian nationalism which I spoke about earlier tries to makes these two forms of government the same. Here is a different approach. You can be a Christian whose ultimate allegiance is to Jesus Christ, and at the same time be respectful that we live in a democracy where there are people who represent other religious faiths, beliefs, and backgrounds.

     The second thing I mentioned in that video is that at the heart of the scriptures is God’s desire for their to be justice and righteousness throughout the land and this includes caring for those who are marginalized and most vulnerable. So, regardless of our political leanings, we are called to be aware of those who are often left behind and forgotten.

     The final thing that I mentioned in the video is that our faith calls upon us to exercise humility and to be servants of others. Jesus came to serve others and he died on a cross by emptying himself for the sake of others.

     As we reflect upon what it means to be patriotic on this July 4^th, let’s remember that we live in a democracy of diversity, that we are called to seek justice and righteousness by remembering those who are most vulnerable, and we are called to have humble hearts and serve others like Jesus.

     Today is not a day to have a political rally. It’s a day to find unity in our diversity. That’s the American dream that I know and love.

The American Dream

Sermon Discussion Questions

II Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10

July 4, 2021

Today’s appointed Old Testament reading is appropriate for this July 4th Sunday because it describes how Israel became a united nation under the leadership of David. The two heroes in the story are leaders of the northern kingdom who were willing to accept David as their new King. The other hero in the story is David who wisely chose a neutral city to become the Capitol for this new united nation. This scripture reading reminds us that political systems work best when there is a willingness to set aside self interests for the good of the whole. 

Share an example of where you have seen a willingness to set aside self interests for the good of the whole. It doesn’t have to be related to politics. Maybe it was a delicate job situation or a fragile relationship.

Pastor Robert made the statement, “When churches blur the distinction between their faith and patriotism, it’s called Christian Nationalism.” This can be dangerous because our faith is meant to inform and critique nationalism. Rather than keeping our allegiance with God, Christian Nationalism can turn a political party or candidate into a god.

What helps you to keep your faith and your political leanings separate while also allowing your faith to critique your politics? Why do you think it can be easy to confuse the two?

Pastor Robert offers these three thoughts on living out the American Dream and how we might allow our faith to inform our politics rather than the other way around. These include 1) Remember that we live in a democracy and not a theocracy which means that we need to respect the diversity of opinions, backgrounds, and perspectives in our country. 2) Seek God’s justice and righteousness in your political conversations. And remember, that God’s justice and righteousness include a concern for those who are marginalized and most vulnerable. 3) Be humble and respectful of others. Jesus offers us the example of what it means to set aside our own interests for the sake of others. 

Discuss these three thoughts on living out the American Dream. What are some practical ways that we can live out these ideals as a people of faith?

Online Sunday Worship (July 4) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

July 4

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]