1-27-19 Now is the time!

Scripture  Romans 12:1

DRAMA: Jerry Smith - Abandoned by God

NOW IS THE TIME (to worship) If not now, when?

THE EXODUS

Ex 14:29-31                    ISRAELITES THROUGH THE RED SEA

    But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Ex 15:1-2                        MOSES & THE ISRAELITES WORSHIP

    Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Ex 15:20-21                    MIRIAM PLAYS TAMBOURINE & DANCES

    Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea."

THE HEALING

Luke 17:11-19

          Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"  Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

THE FORGIVENESS

    Luke 7:36-48

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner."

40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."

"Tell me, teacher," he said.

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,d and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.   You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

  

THE FINALE’

    One of my all-time favorite non-biblical stories have to do with Arthur and the knights of the round table especially the part about Excalibur - the sword in the stone (movie and album / Netflix show / “The kid who would be king” movie) Where does that story come from - they take it right from the bible where the story is about the King of kings and the sword is only a piece of paper.

Revelation 5:1-14

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

14 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Jerry Smith missed salvation because he would never make the time.   

    2 Corinthians 6:1-2      As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

    You may be like Jerry and need salvation and today  - right now is the time for you to receive that salvation from Jesus. He is ready to forgive ALL your sin. But most people here already have that salvation but need a fresh response of worship to all Jesus has done for you. We will respond by putting feet to our faith - literally…you are invited to come lay you 40 Days of worship commitment on the altar.

1-20-19 Worship Sub Plan

Due to winter weather we canceled services at the church building and these are the notes from what I did as part of a live stream online.

W O R S H I P     D E F I N E D

“The Tradition of Assembly” READ: p6

What is worship?

the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

"the worship of God"

reverence, veneration, adoration, devotion, praise, thanksgiving, glorifying, exalting, extolling homage, respect, honor, As a child I knew nothing about worship. I did not attend church regularly. I went to a Methodist church a few times but that was talked about as going to church or going to Sunday School. No one ever said we were going to worship. I did not grow up in a Christian home, not did I grow up in an anti-Christian home. There were no symbols in our home or talk of Christ and Christianity but there was also never anything said in a bad way about Christ or the Church. The very first time I worshipped, I was not told how - it just happened. I was at a Christian concert in high school and I did not worship through the evening during the singing or the preaching. It was not until the very end - when I was invited to give my heart - my life to Jesus. I was invited to put my trust in him to forgive me of my sins and one day get me to heaven. It was when I got up and started walking down that isle that I worshipped for the first time in my life. For me worship came when I encountered the living God in Christ. I was overwhelmed that God - the creator of all things would come to me personally and let me know how much I was loved and in that first moment of belief was also my first moment of thanksgiving and praise. It was recognizing not just what God had done on the cross 2000 years ago but what he was doing in that moment for me. In two weeks I will share more about worship being that point of intersection when God’s act and our act meet and in that moment of meeting, there is worship. I would be curious to here how you describe worship. Leave a comment with a sentence or two of how you describe worship Robert Webber describes worship as a verb. “Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which ‘comes upon you,’ but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Graham Kendrick

It is the pleasing of God that is at the heart of worship. Therefore, our worship must be informed at every point by the Word of God as we seek God’s own instructions for worship that is pleasing to Him.”—R.C. Sproul

"The whole person, with all his senses, with both mind and body, needs to be
involved in genuine worship."  Jerry Kerns 

"When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without
heart."
Lamar Boschman

“Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.”
Richard J. Foster 

READ RESPONSES

There are so many great verses of Scripture about worship, not to mention acts of worship. The bible is a storehouse of instruction and example for worship.

Here are just a couple:

Psalms 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

Psalms 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

Psalms 99:5 Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

John 4:21-24 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Today many had a good reason to stay home and be safe - next week let’s have NO EXCUSES and come together for a fun and joy-filled time of worship.

1-13-19 COME, now is the time to WORSHIP

2019 Theme Introduction

Scripture  Romans 12:1

SING: “Come with me to the banquet eating table”

“COME” the first word - large and in charge.

intransitive verb

a: to move toward something: APPROACH - Come here.

b: to move or journey to a vicinity with a specified purpose - Come see us. Come and see what's going on.

(approach, move toward, draw closer, get near  //  distant, far away, leave, go away, be gone) 

THE DISCIPLES

Matt 4:19-20

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 

THE BURDENED

Matt 11:28

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

PETER

Matt 14:28-29

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said.

THE LITTLE CHILDREN

Matt 19:14

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

THOSE INVITED DON’T COME

Luke 14:16-17

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'…….Luke 14:23-24 Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"

ZACCHAEUS WAS THRILLED TO COME

Luke 19:5-6

When Jesus reached the sycamore tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly……Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

THE THIRSTY

John 7:37-38

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 

LAZARUS

John 11:41-44

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

COME NEAR TO GOD

James 4:7-8

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

COME TO HEAVEN & WORSHIP

Revelation 4:1-11

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."  At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

NO EXCUSE - NOW WE SAY COME!

Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!"

   

FOR THOSE WHO CAME - JESUS WILL COME!

Revelation 22:20

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

WEDDING FEAST IN MATTHEW

Matthew 22:11-14

          But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

Romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.

NO EXCUSE SUNDAY

We are skillful at the art of making excuses, aren't we? "I don't know how." "I didn't understand." "I couldn't find the right tools." "I threw out my back bowling." "I have a Doctor's appointment." "The hazmat crew is here and won't let me out of the house." "I have a relative coming and I need to pick them up at the airport." And, my all-time favorite: "When I got up this morning I accidentally took two Ex-Lax with my Prozac. I can't get off the john, but I feel good about it."

          Ben Franklin wrote, "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

To combat this we have decreed January 27^th as NO EXCUSE SUNDAY:  To make it possible for everyone to attend church that Sunday:

Cots will be available for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in."

There will be a few chairs with arms for those who feel that our chairs are too uncomfortable. Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from too much screen time Saturday night.

Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot.

Scorecards will be available for those who wish to keep track of the hypocrite’s present.

Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can't go to church because Sunday is family day.

For those who golf or go fishing on Sunday we will have a putting green and fishing poles.

Microwaveable dinners will be available for those who can’t come to church because they have to be home making Sunday dinner.

We will have "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money.

We will have plants for those who like to seek God in nature.

Medical personnel will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on that day.

The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.

We will provide hearing aids for those who can't hear the preacher and cotton balls for those who say the music’s too loud!

Finally, for the person who tells you, “If I came to your church, the place would surely burn down, we will have the Oregon fire department here - for real”

Hope to see you there!

Early Scripture:     

Psalm 86:5-10

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

01-06-19 Pleasant Valley Sunday

 (There are no throw away Sundays)

Scripture                                               Matthew 15:1-20

    Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'  But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' 6 he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"

10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"

12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'"

          (No excuses for your foul language - your bad attitude - your unkind behavior - your wreckless approach to worship)

          The Pharisees worship God in vain. They place tradition over the word of God. They are more concerned with how things are done…than having an encounter with the living God. Their worship always looks the same. They say the same words, do the same things and as long as they do that, they say they have worshipped whether God is present or pleased or not. As long as they look like they have worshipped all is good. As long as they can keep tradition alive and not encounter the living God in worship they will be successful in maintaining their own little Pleasant Valley Sunday! VIDEO: Pleasant Valley Sunday.

          "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, sung by The Monkees in 1967. The inspiration for the name was a street named Pleasant Valley Way, in West Orange, New Jersey where the writers were living at the time. The lyrics were a social commentary on status symbols, creature comforts, life in suburbia and "keeping up with the Joneses".

In our text, Jesus is saying, keeping every iota of the law, making sure your grass is cut perfectly, having a tv in every room, going to church to keep some sort of status symbol…is not most important. What you say and do reveals how you are living, or not living, for Jesus Christ.  If what comes out of you makes you unclean, the transverse is true as well - what comes out of you makes you clean. What comes out of you reveals what is in your heart.

In 2019, who would prefer to have a clean heart? If you do, then it will show by your actions and words. How do we get a clean heart? I know one very practical way…and it all begins with worship. So, you are already off to a great start. But you have the ability to not only effect your heart and actions but those of others as well.

We each have 52 Sundays a year to come together to make what has become commonplace (A pleasant valley Sunday) - extraordinary. The world has no use to worship a Christ they do not believe exists, and that may be in part to having never encountered a Christian who believes they truly encounter God during corporate worship. For many, we have not allowed God to do anything new through worship - worship has become nothing more than being a group of people having a Pleasant Valley Sunday.

God has given me gifts and has given our church others with gifts who can create a decent “show” every Sunday that is as good or better than any other show in the area. Most people invite others to “special Sundays” but not to the average ordinary commonplace Sunday. That is why, when I am going to do a special drama sermon, I prefer not to let you know so that you will be surprised and think, “Oh I should have invited so and so today, they would have loved this or found it meaningful”. On the other hand, sometimes we do want to let you know when we are doing something special as an emphasis to draw a crowd.

That is the case 3 weeks from today when we will have NO EXCUSE SUNDAY. Start praying for people this week you could invite Jan 27^th. We should see over 100 people here on the 27^th. You now know 3 weeks ahead of time and next week you will hear the fun ways we are going to meet any excuse people can throw at you for not coming to church.

Next week is special, as the 2019 theme will be introduced. Today’s message is a transition from “BEHOLD, I make all things new” to…Well you will have to be here next week to see and hear all about it. Our vision path team is excited about things God has planned for us this year that will coincide with the theme for the year.

The week between next week and the 27^th is special. Wait, every week can’t be special!!! OH YES IT CAN! There are no throw away Sundays! Our worship of Christ - what comes out of our mouth as we come together is our worship.

We will not be like the Pharisees who went to Jesus and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"

          Jesus basically responds “who cares if they washed their hands?” I would rather have pure heart worshippers then people who made sure to iron their shirt and shine their shoes but have a cold heart toward the things of God.  That reminds me of my very first Sunday in my very first pastorate.  (Owl Creek - Youth wearing jeans in church)

Isn’t it ironic, when you worship Jesus, as we do through partaking of communion, even our dirty hands are made clean.  Psalm 24:1-4a The earth is the Lord 's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.

          Watch what happens in worship when you have an encounter with the living God. SO far during our time together it may seem just like another ride on a Pleasant Valley Sunday, but during the next few moments you are going to encounter the living God. He is going to overwhelm you with His great love for you through His word, the elements of His table and through His concluding song for the day.

          FIRST: His Word;  Reading together: Psalm 51:1-19 (On Screen to read together)

          Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

SECOND: HIS TABLE

THIRD: HIS SONG

You're rich in love and you're slow to anger
Your name is great and your heart is kind
For all your goodness, I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, Oh my soul. Oh my soul, worship his holy name
Sing like never before, Oh my soul. I'll worship your holy name