(Click HERE to find the FB Live video of this service; starts at 15, sermon starts at 29 minutes [the last 20 minutes is an elder Council Meeting – you’re welcome to stay and listen, but you probably don’t want to….)
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Mark Wheeler
Mark 1:21-28
“What’s He Gonna Do Now>?
01/31/2021
We have a full day ahead of us today – worship and prayer – and our Annual Congregational Meeting – all in one! Officially we’re calling THIS the opening of the Congregational Meeting – so let the records show we have 18 members present in-house, and at least 6 more on Zoom and a few more on FB Live (remember all of you at home are also right HERE for this meeting, with voice and vote [FB-Livers – you will need to type in your Comments and Gerri will interrupt me to read them – so long as we have “simultaneous aural electronic” participation – we are good to go])!
Today’s Gospel reading reminds us of Jesus’ authority and leadership – and so as we worship and pray and reflect on our recent past and move into our near future – we can do so as a people who want to follow Jesus, to be like Jesus, and to do what Jesus does!
We gather today, with aches and pains, worries and fears, doubts and debts, hopes and dreams, and in the midst of all of that we gather to focus on our Savior and Lord.
Holy God, we thank You for the glimpses we catch of Your gifts of peace, love, joy and hope, and light. Even in the midst of fear, of challenge, of struggle – even when we have not been sure of tomorrow,
You have ignited the Light within us … that we might glow with its brilliance from the inside out. Keep reminding us how to Believe … and welcome … and know we are welcomed … even when …. Amen.
Let’s take a second to greet each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, “May the Light of Christ be in you.”
Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.
For those who made it into the building this morning – thank you for wearing your masks and following the seating and walking protocols. We do this not to protect ourselves from others, but to protect others from ourselves. Because we love each other, we wear masks and keep distance to keep each other safe from this “invisible potential enemy”. COVID numbers are way up in our area – let’s not give them an opportunity to climb even higher. Our Elders are listening to CDC guidelines and deciding on what seems best practices for each others’ safety. We love you, and we want everyone to be and to stay well.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.
Listen now and join in as Scott leads our Call to Worship from Psalm 111 – and listen for and proclaim aloud God’s great grit and grace!
Our song of praise today sings praises to this great God we cal our Lord and Savior! – Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven –(sung respectfully and under the mask )!
Through the Written Word, And endorsed by our spoken word,
May we know Your Living Word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I had a long and difficult wrestling match with myself this week, and, I believe, I have allowed my prideful and fearful self surrender to something with more gusto than I myself have.
Partly due to the fact that we have a whole Annual Meeting to cram into our 45-60 minute gathering, and partly because I was so moved by this young woman’s presentation – after our Scripture reading, with very little comment from me, we will listen to a poem that speaks to our time, and to what this Bible story about Jesus’ leadership, calls us to see and to be.
Still in Mark’s first chapter, after the Baptism, after Jesus’ 40 days in the Wilderness, after He travels up to Galilee and starts calling Disciples to follow Him (that was last Sunday’s message, where we asked ourselves if we are following Jesus, to be like Jesus, to do what Jesus does…
Listen to the Word of God … Mark 1:21-28 …. —- [The screen will show this passage.]
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
In our Bible lesson today, Jesus shows us His amazing control of everything around Him. It was on the Sabbath day and Jesus goes to the synagogue and begins to teach.
And the people are amazed. They look at one another and ask, “What’s going on here? Even evil spirits obey his orders.” There was power in the words that Jesus spoke that day. On that day, Jesus comes in and takes control of the life of that man. His life would never be the same!
Jesus wants to be in control of your life, too. He wants to be in control of the plans you make, the words you say, the things you do, and the places you go.
Why? Is He a control freak? No! He wants to be in control because He wants what is best for you. The Bible tells us that God has a plan for us. It is a good plan that will give us hope and a bright future, but we will never see that plan work unless we allow Jesus to be in control.
Those are all of my words. Now I invite you to hear, really hear, these words from a 22-year old National Poet Laureate, from our 46th President’s inauguration: Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb:
When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast,
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions of what “just is”
Isn’t always justice.
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it,
Somehow we do it,
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
A nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny black girl
Descended from slaves and was raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president
Only to find herself reciting for one.
And, yes, we are far from polished, Far from pristine,
But that doesn’t mean
We are striving to form a union that is perfect,
We are striving to forge a union with purpose,
To compose a country committed to all cultures, color, characters and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands
between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide
because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another,
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
“That even as we grieved, we grew,
even as we hurt, we hoped, that even as we tired, we tried,
That we’ll forever be tied together
Victorious, not because we will never again know defeat
But because we will never again sow division.”
Scriptures tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.
If we are to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade,
but in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promise to glade,
the hill we climb if only we dare it
because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into and how we repair it.
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it.
That would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy,
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed, It can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith, we trust,
For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us,
This is the era of just redemption
We feared in its inception
we did not feel prepared
To be the heirs
Of such a terrifying hour
But within it we found the power
To author a new chapter,
To offer hope and laughter
To ourselves, so while once we asked
How can we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert:
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was but shall move to what shall be –
A country that is bruised, but whole,
Benevolent , but bold,
Fierce and free,
We’ll not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation
Because we know our inaction and inertia
Will be the inheritance of the next generation,
Our blunders become their burden.
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
And might with right,
Then love becomes our legacy
And change our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left,
With every breath of my bronze, pounded chest,
We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one,
We will rise from the golden hills of the West,
We will rise from the windswept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution,
We will rise from lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states,
We will rise from the sun-baked South,
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
In every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country
Our people diverse and beautiful
Will emerge battered and beautiful,
When day comes, we step out of the shade
Aflame and unafraid,
The new dawn blooms as we free it,
For there was always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it,
If only we’re brave enough to be it!
Dear God, we want Jesus to be in control of our life. We know that He wants what is best for us and that is what we want too. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Prayer Page –
And now – call out a name, a place, a people, a situation, you are lifting to the Lord in prayer …. “Have mercy on us, O Lord.” [Lord’s Prayer] Amen.
– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”
Let’s move into the “business” portion of our Annual Congregational Meeting:
The screen shows our agenda – stories of God’s work in our midst in 2020
Elect new Officers
Dream together what God might be calling us to be about in 2021
Expedition Song – Precious Lord / Just a Closer Walk with Thee! …. sung by Lilly Haeger & Dick McCarter (our suggestion is no congregational singing, but if you’re wearing your masks appropriately, who would know who is singing?).
Next Sunday, like we did today – please RSVP to us if you plan to attend so we can properly set up – and please CALL IN or email or text – so we can share with you what the plans will be – whether we will be allowed to continue to meet or not.
We close with this benediction: Friends –
may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,
becoming more faithful with each passing day of struggle and victory,
with each encounter with the Holy Spirit,
giving glory to God today and forever!
Resources: https://sermons4kids.com/who’s in control.htm
Gorman, Amanda; The Hill We Climb; 2021; https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/20/958743170/poet-amanda-gorman-reads-the-hill-we-climb
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