Two Becoming One

Interim Pastor Terry White welcomed us on this gorgeous summer Sunday morning.

Announcements
Nursery volunteers are being sought for the coming year. Sign up sheet in the back.
Next Sunday is Rally Sunday. Note time change: service begins at 10:15 p.m.
Fish Fry Saturday September 17. An opportunity to minister to people in our community by just being friendly.

"The introit is a time in which we move into a listening to God." The call to worship was from Psalm 34:1-3 as Terry invited us to listen to the music and learn how to be in the presence of the Lord as we worshiped the Lord in song.

An offering was taken and blessed, and then Chuck led us in a time of prayer.  (Some members of our church family visited Arline Stapleton in Rochester and brought back a report that she's doing well and thinking of us. "What a beautiful woman," one said. )

Two Becoming One

Today's message revolved around II Corinthians 5:11-21.

Pastor White began by sharing how the meanings of words have changed over the centuries.
Awful used to mean full of awe. Egregious is another word that got transfigured over time. He then instructed us to tell someone they were nice, then he said "nice" used to mean ignorant. The word has had a number of unkind definitions over the years before arriving at its present usage.

Meanings of words change.  In the days following the Resurrection people who were followers of Christ were called Followers of the Way. It wasn't till later in the book of Acts that they were called Christians.

Nowadays the word Christian means different things. Sometimes it means you grew up in the church or other meanings. Terry prefers to say he is a follower of Jesus, which is more descriptive.

In a world where words have fuzzy meanings, what language can we use that speaks to broken people? "Living forever" may not cut it. Terry likes the word "reconciliation."

We read the passage from II Cor. 5 and then Terry asked us what makes reconciliation so hard? A number of reasons were given, but the point he brought us to was how difficult it is for two people to become one.

We live in moments where it is difficult to live in agreement and reconciliation. Nearly all of Christian life is learning to talk like God talks, love like God loves.

What advantages do we get by not being reconciled? None. What do we gain by being reconciled? Everything.

What does it take for two people to be one? It's rewarding only when we are both reconciled to God.

What does it look like when your relationship is broken? It is a weighty thing. And when you see all the brokenness in the world, the root of it is the lack of reconciliation with God.

At the end of this passage Paul wrote, "We implore you... be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Key thought: To want what God wants, this is the path out of our brokenness that leads us to the hope and life we long for.

After singing Jesus Messiah we shared the Sacrament of Communion.

Rally Day / Harvest Fest

This Sunday we gathered at the Twig Town Hall rather than our sanctuary and celebrated the new year with a festival aimed at making us feel we're not really Minnesotans. Criss-crossed surfboards, and all manner of banners designed to make us feel we were in Hawaii or on a southern beach. Alas, it was chilly and despite the Hawaiian leis it wasn't hard to remember that we were in Minnesota. Nevertheless, Pastor Brad greeted us with joyous warmth. Autumn is a time for re-gathering and re-focusing, and today's message would be a clarification of what Jesus was inviting us into.

The informal service out in the open air began with a pair of announcements. First, Gail shared that the fish and chips fund raiser brought in $1200 thanks to Gordy's Hi Hat. Darlene then shared that the Women's Bible Study would begin this Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.

The Sermon

Pastor Brad began by reading from the latter portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:13-27. Being that this was the opening of NFL Football weekend, he used sports stars to illustrate a point. There are many athletes whom we admire, but how many are there whom we'd be willing to follow?

Brad shared instances in the New Testament where there were many crowds drawn to Jesus, and many who admired him, but at the point of decision only a few walked with Him to the end.

Several stories illustrate the way that Jesus used to challenge people to cross the line and become more than admirers. In John 3 Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night. He admired Jesus, but had to meet with Him in secret because he couldn't afford to be identified with Him. He had a reputation to maintain, wanted to maintain His stature.

The rich young ruler had a different issue. Jesus confronted him as well, at his point of weakness. "Are you going to follow Me or simply admire Me?" Jesus asked.

In the passage from Matthew 7 Jesus notes that there is a narrow way and a broad way. Only the narrow way leads to life. The broad way is the way of this world, and they who go that way only drift.

At this point Brad put in a word for the upcoming Adult Sunday School theme for this fall, "The Christian Atheist."

Many times people justify their distance from Jesus by focusing on other Christians' failings. But the issue is not a question of others living their faith. Jesus only puts the question to each of us. Where do you stand?

Is Jesus Christ your Master?

Brad stated that he would rather be part of a smaller, devoted community than to a large one that is simply drifting.

He then shared the Charles Blondin story. Blondin was a tightrope walker and showman who drew crowds by various stunts on the tightrope in the 19th century, one of them being the attraction of an enormous crowd to see him walk across Niagara Falls. After performing a variety of stunts he took a wheelbarrow and asked the crowd who was willing to sit in the wheelbarrow as he crossed the great falls. The number of volunteers for this exhibition proved far smaller than the number of admirers.

Jesus wasn't trying to impress crowds. His miracles may have attracted crowds and created buzz, but He had a more important agenda. He was asking us to get in the wheelbarrow, to trust him with our very lives. He wanted us to put everything -- our sins, our past, our future, our all -- into that wheelbarrow.

Brad's message was equally heartfelt and very challenging. We were each given a deeper understanding of what Jesus was calling us to.

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The photos here offer a glimpse of this special kickoff to a new season.