08/29/2021 = Matthew 20:1-16 = Bragging vs. Begrudging

(Click HERE to see the Facebook Live video of this service – starts at 9:00, sermon begins at 22:00)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church’s mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

Mark Wheeler

Matthew 20:1-16                                                              

08/29/2021

 “Kingdom of God … Bragging Vs. Begrudging!”                                               

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

1  

Welcome everyone! Happy Sunday to you! Can you see our new carpet up here?!  WooHoo!  Thank you Just-for-Fun for making this happen!!

I often find myself caught somewhere between bragging about the church I’m allowed to serve as pastor and super jealous of churches with big budgets and seemingly zero finance worries.

I used to be the same way when in 1990 I owned a 1976 Honda Civic – I bragged that it was paid for and that I got 40 mpg, but I envied my neighbor’s new Ford Mustang or Dodge Charger….

Maybe some of you can relate to that kind of inner conflict. Maybe it wasn’t your church or your car, maybe your flower garden or your level of income…. Join me in that battle for a minute, and discover where God is in the midst of it.

As a Church, a city, a state, a nation and even as a whole globe, we are in a similar turmoil over masking, vaxxing, and how we socialize or go about our days with all of that.  We’ve obeyed the rules, we’ve debated the vaccines, we’ve washed our hands, we’ve kept our distance, and we are still wearing masks! Hoping for the day when we can “go back to the way things used to be”. (Something that will never happen – both for better and for worse.)

With the Delta Variant still as vicious as it is, we are still holding on to some caution.

Here’s our current policy regarding masks and seating:

2-4  

Things are so much better than they have been for much of the last year,,, but you may have seen than Spokane is spiking again with new cases,,,, so ,,, while ,,, we have removed the pew-separators for folks who are fully vaccinated – please politely ask before sitting near someone to make sure everyone is as comfortable as we can all be with seating arrangements!

For now we are again asking people to listen to the newest CDC guidelines, which recommend that we:

“Wear a mask while inside the building.”

No one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, about their masking or unmasking, so continue to be gentle with each other. 

“If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:1-4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA  

Let’s take a second to welcome 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, “We can find our delight in the Lord when we trust in Him!”

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.

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.

Join in our Call to Worship led by … Ken Stone – from the Psalm 37, hear God’s call and discover your prize!

5-6  

Our opening song of praise and devotion –– #45 – Come, thou Fount of Every Blessing – sung by Diana Nelson  – join in as you feel ready

7-9  

10  

Through the Written Word,

And the spoken word,

May we know Your Living Word,

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Look at this picture… What do you see here?   What are these people doing?   What do you see in their faces?  What do you think they are hoping for?

Today’s parable in this series on Jesus’ stories is in Matthew 20.  Just before today’s Parable there’s a story about a rich ruler who decides that it costs too much to follow Jesus. This is not a parable, it’s an actual historical person who is not willing to humble his lifestyle and live in a way that honors God and serves his neighbors.  And then Jesus promises His disciples the staggering reward for giving up their lives to follow Jesus of sitting on “thrones” in the heavenly Kingdom. (Immediately followed by some of the disciples arguing about which of them gets to sit on the thrones closest to Jesus!

That’s what’s going on when we turn the page to Matthew 20. Listen to the Word of God, from Matthew 20:1-16 —- ….

11  

Jesus tells this parable: ¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ When it was about nine o’clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work. ⁴ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.’

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⁵ So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o’clock that afternoon, he did the same thing. ⁶ And about five o’clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go and work in the vineyard too.’

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⁸ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages starting with the last hired until the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about five o’clock came, each received a full day’s pay. ¹⁰ And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage. 

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¹¹ When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.’ 

15  

¹³ And the landowner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn’t you agree with me to work for the standard wage? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. ¹⁵ Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 

¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

16  

So, what were they doing in that last picture? They were waiting for someone to hire them for the day! They needed a job! They had families to feed, bills to pay, feet to put shoes on…. They were worried they might become homeless. They worried that their kids wouldn’t have what they needed to go to school. Imagine their plight. Maybe you’ve been there.

Now look at this picture! This is the end of the parable. Those who worked the longest day … at the end of the line … expect that they will get paid enough to retire, after all the guys up front who only worked one hour are getting paid a whole day’s wage!

Right?  The vineyard owner seems to do things wrong. Why would he pay the last workers first? Was it so the first workers would see how generous he was with those last hired? Was he setting a standard to test the loyalty of the first workers?

We can feel the pain they felt, right? But the truth is, no on e was cheated out of anything in this story…

In the history of the church, we have explained this parable in several ways:

• The five different hiring times represent five stages of world history during which God has called people to Himself
• Or the different hiring times represent different stages of a person’s life when we might respond to the  Gospel
• Or maybe this parable is a picture of God’s future Kingdom where all saved people receive the same reward regardless of how much they worked for God
• Probably the most popular interpretation is simply that God is super-generous with His grace

The truth is – all of these explanations are probably right! There are plenty of non-parable Bible stories that tell these same truths. But, if context means anything – and it does – then there’s more to be seen here.

Remember the setting. The rich ruler just rejected Jesus, the disciples just argued about which of them should get the best seats in the House. And Jesus tells this Parable about the vineyard day-laborers and the vineyard-owner’s unexpected hiring and paying policy.

Dr. Jonathan Pennington, New Testament professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, says that the “context shows us that the parable is hitting right at our hearts, at the twin issues of self-congratulation and envy” – of pride and prejudice, of bragging rights and begrudging others! “When the [rich] ruler goes away empty-handed but then the lowly disciples are promised to be rulers, it was impossible for the disciples not to be a little self-congratulatory, to take a little pride in their wise accomplishment, their better choice to follow Jesus.”

In the parable Jesus reminds us that all we have is from God, that every blessing is from God’s generosity, not our own doing. The disciples here are no better than the rich ruler. And neither are they any worse off than the lowliest!

When we envy our neighbors or when we are pretty sure our neighbors envy us, either way, we are missing the truth that God, through His Son, is the One who gives every good gift (James 1:17).

This parable gives us a vision for God’s generous grace toward us and toward others. We discover real life, eternal life, Holy Spirit Life, when we fix our eyes not horizontally on each other, but vertically on the generosity of the whole-earth-landowner, King Jesus. He’s the One who gives us what we don’t deserve.

The only way to ever stand righteous before God is in trusting in God’s righteousness! “Mustard seed faith” is about loving the Kingdom of God – enough to seek it, discover it, and then sacrifice for it so that we might experience all that God offers us through His seeking, finding and sacrificing for us!

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Prayer Page –  Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He to rescue me from danger, Bought me with His precious blood;

God is so good. He answers prayer. I love Him so!

Come, Holy Spirit, reign. We welcome You!

17-19    We pray this day for … [call out a name or a situation]  

20                        [Lord’s Prayer]  Amen.

21

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE, or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

22

Expedition Song  – God Is So Good  #75 –!  Diana Nelson – proclaim this beautiful song, and join is as you are ready.

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We close with this benediction:     As followers of Jesus, , may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ,be filled with the power of Holy Spirit Life, ,  and give glory to God today and every day!  Amen. 

25 

26-27   Announcements

Resources: 

Pennington, Jonathan T.; “The Laborers in the Vineyard”; TableTalk; February 2020; Pp. 24-26.

https://sermons4kids.com/not_fair.htm

08/22/2021 = Matthew 13:44-46 = Seek, Discover, Sacrifice

(Click HERE for the FBLive video of this service – starts at 13:00, sermon begins at 28:00)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood church’s mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Matthew 13:44-46                                                                                                               

08/22/2021

“Kingdom of God … Seek, Discover, Sacrifice!”                                                  

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

1  

Welcome everyone! Happy Sunday to you! Did you notice how well the new A/C fans are working today?!

Have you ever accidentally found an unexpected treasure? Maybe you’ve seen the Facebook post about people who were remodeling their homes and discovered – a safe behind a wall, old newspapers lining their basement walls, a money-filled box in a heating vent, a giant Monopoly Board painted on the concrete floor…. All we found in our house was more problems to get fixed….

Or maybe you’re a collector – rare stamps, old books, state quarters, vintage baseball cards – and you have searched Antique stores, garage sales, e-bay – and maybe you have finally found the one elusive item that’s missing from your collection. I am missing Volume 1 of a complete set of Big Little Books – and I found it one day at a flea market in Marin City, CA, but I only had $10 and they wanted $25! I have never seen it again!

Today we explore what such a discovery might look like, and what it might cost …

As a Church, a city, a state, a nation and even as a whole globe, we are searching for a way to beat this dang COVID 19 thing! We’ve obeyed the rules, we’ve debated the vaccines, we’ve washed our hands, we’ve kept our distance, and we are still wearing masks! Searching for the day when we can “go back to the way things used to be”. (Something that will never happen – both for better and for worse.)

With the Delta Variant still as vicious as it is, we are still holding on to some caution.

Here’s our current policy regarding masks and seating:

2-4  

Things are so much better than they have been for much of the last year,,, but you may have seen than Spokane is spiking again with new cases,,,, so ,,, while ,,, we have removed the pew-separators for folks who are fully vaccinated – please politely ask before sitting near someone to make sure everyone is as comfortable as we can all be with seating arrangements!

For now we are again asking people to listen to the newest CDC guidelines, which recommend that we:

“Wear a mask while inside the building.”

No one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, about their masking or unmasking, so continue to be gentle with each other. 

“If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:1-4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA  

Let’s take a second to welcome 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, “If you have to ask … you can’t afford it!”

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.

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.

Join in our Call to Worship led by … Mr. & Mrs. Lary and Sandy O’Neal – from the Book of Revelation, join in the celebration of worship!

5-7  

Our opening song of praise and devotion – from that very passage – #116 – Thou Art Worthy

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9  

Through the Written Word,

And the spoken word,

May we know Your Living Word,

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today’s parable in this series on Jesus’ stories comes from Matthew 13.  This chapter is filled with parables – the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, the yeast, a couple of explanations about why Jesus teaches in parables, and then two very brief parables – our today-stories – these are then followed by another parable about casting a net into the sea, an then a story about Jesus being rejected by the citizens of his hometown of Nazareth.

In the middle of this chapter filled with parables, sits these two very brief, very lively parables. As we read them, I invite you to let your imaginations go free – what was it like when you were looking for something? – what did you accidentally discover? – how did you feel? – what did it smell like? – how did you celebrate?

Ask yourself, “What would I do if I found the impossible?” And then remember that, if we have a living relationship with our favorite Parable Teller, we have already been found!

Listen to the Word of God, from Matthew 13:44-46 —- ….

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Jesus continued His teaching:  ⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

11  

Did you think of a time you were searching for something? A lost key, your cell phone, a soy latte double macchiato, six differences between two pictures ….  What happens when that search ends with something so outlandishly glorious, so incredibly beyond our dreams?

Because that’s the question that opens the main point of these parables. Thomas Keene, New Testament professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., says, “Though the metaphorical setting is the search and the surprising discovery, the main emphasis actually lies in the cost.”

In the Parable about the treasure accidentally discovered in the field, Jesus doesn’t seem overly concerned about details, the whole parable is only one verse! And the New English Translation does a spectacular job here: “Because of joy he went and sold all he had and bought the field!”

Did you hear that? Did you hear how much he spent to make sure he got the treasure he found? It cost this man – everything! In this one-verse story, the man doesn’t do any math, he doesn’t consult his financial manager, he doesn’t even call his wife or his mom – he acts on pure impulse – moved and motivated by “joy”!

That’s the Kingdom of Heaven. The wonder and glory of God’s Kingdom are such that the one who finds it and knows what he has found reacts out of instinctive joy, sacrificing all and counting nothing as loss to be in God’s presence!  Psalm 84:10 says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere”.

And then there’s the two-verse parable about the pearl merchant. At first glance, what is in this story that the first, one-verse, parable didn’t already say? Is it just for emphasis – a second story to drive home the point?

The merchant, like the guy in the treasure-story finds his prize and sells everything he owns. But the difference here is that he was actually collecting pearls. It’s what he did. And he sold everything – including his pearl collection, to buy this one “pearl of great price”! Keene says, “He’s not in the pearl business for the money; he’s in it for the pearls!”

Right? Why would the merchant sell everything he had to become the now-homeless owner of this one particular pearl? For the love of this pearl! Again, “because of joy”!

And that’s the point of these parables– to call us to consider our love for God’s Kingdom! In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us that all our life-concerns don’t measure up to the value of discovering ourselves in God’s kingdom purposes: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things you need will be provided as well.”

With this first parable Jesus asks us to consider what we value; do our priorities lined up properly? Would we sacrifice everything good in order to live in something best?

With the pearl parable Jesus takes that question up a level: is that sacrifice we offer truly for the pure love of God’s Kingdom?

Thomas Keene asks, “The treasure probes our vision and values: Do we see that the Kingdom [of God] is more? But the pearl probes deeper still into our heart and will: Do we see that [God’s] Kingdom is all?”

The only way to ever stand righteous before God is in trusting in God’s righteousness! “Mustard seed faith” is about loving the Kingdom of God – enough to seek it, discover it, and then sacrifice for it so that we might experience all that God offers us through His seeking, finding and sacrificing for us!

11  

Prayer Page –  Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, O Lord, To receive glory, glory and honor, Glory and honor and power;

He is  Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, He is Lord of all who live; He is Lord above the universe,

     All praise to Him we give.

Come, Holy Spirit, reign. We welcome You!

12-14    We pray this day for … [call out a name or a situation]  

15                        [Lord’s Prayer]  Amen.

16

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

17

Expedition Song  – We Will Glorify – because it doesn’t end when “” “church is over” – the seeking, discovering, and sacrificing is just getting started!  

18-19

We close with this benediction:     As followers of Jesus, , may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ,be filled with the power of Holy Spirit Life, ,  and give glory to God today and every day!  Amen. 

21 

22-24   Announcements

Resources: 

Keene, Thomas; “The Treasure in the Field and the Pearl of Great Price”; TableTalk; February 2020; Pp. 20-22.

https://sermons4kids.com/price_is_right_2.htm

08/15/2021 = Mark 4:26-29 = Kingdom of God … working and Waiting

(Click HERE to find the Facebook Live video of this service – starts at 2:10, sermon starts at 18:50)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood church’s mission and ministries)

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Mark 4:26-29                                                                                                                                

08/15/2021

 “Kingdom of God … Working and Waiting!”                                     

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

1  

Welcome everyone! Happy Sunday to you!

Last week we met at the Park with a handful of other Hillyard-area churches – and under a beautiful blue sky, in perfect San Diego-style weather, we sang and prayed and even danced together! And we did all that in at least five languages! And our own Worship-Praise Team opened up the service! What a blessing that was!

As we begin today, think of a time you planned and prepared, toiled and troubled, worked – hard,,, and then waited! Maybe it was writing college applications, or work resumes; or calls to insurance companies and construction and restoration companies, and then seven months later there’s still no end in sight!

Or, planted seeds, and watered, and fertilized, weeded, and tended, ,,, , and waited for the first tomato bloom to appear!

Or, perhaps, we were praying and sharing our understanding of the Gospel and hoping,,, but there appears to be no faith blossoming in our neighbor, our child, our colleague, our friend’s life. So,,, we wait….

It may feel like that with regard to our fight with this dang COVID 19 thing! We’ve obeyed the rules, we’ve debated the vaccines, we’ve washed our hands, and we are still wearing masks! Waiting for the day when we can “go back to the way things used to be”. (Something that will never happen – both for better and for worse.)

Our state and our city and this congregation is doing well with our COVID-recovery, but with the Delta Variant still so persistently present, we are still holding on to some caution.

Here’s our current policy regarding masks and seating:

2-4  

Things are so much better than they have been for much of the last year,,, but you may have seen than Spokane is spiking again with new cases,,,, so ,,, while ,,, we have removed the pew-separators for folks who are fully vaccinated – please politely ask before sitting near someone to make sure everyone is as comfortable as we can all be with seating arrangements!

For now we are again asking people to listen to the newest CDC guidelines, which recommend that we:

“Wear a mask into the building until you are seated, and back from your seats to your cars.  If you are fully vaccinated you may remove your mask while in your seats except during singing (our song leaders may remove their masks if they are a minimum of 15 feet from the next nearest person).  If you are not vaccinated you must wear a mask. If an unmasked person is seated near you (we are retaining our separated seating) and you don’t feel comfortable, then you may use a KN95 mask that will be available (one per person per Sunday).”  while inside the building.”

No one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, about their masking or unmasking, so continue to be gentle with each other. 

“If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:1-4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA  

Let’s take a second to welcome 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, “God is fully with 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.

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.

Join in our Call to Worship led by Linda Soderstrom – listen for the Psalmist’s prayer and God’s response.

5-6  

Our opening song of praise and devotion – #381 – Come, Ye Thankful People, Come – sung by Diana Nelson  – join in as you feel ready

7-10  

11  

Through the Written Word,

And the spoken word,

May we know Your Living Word,

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today’s parable in this series on Jesus’ stories comes from Mark 4. Earlier in this same chapter is the more well-known parable about the sower who scatters seeds on four different kinds of soil – that parable is in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8). In that parable Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God as coming through the scattering of the seed – and He explains that the seed is the Word of God! 

Today’s parable is less well known, and only in Mark’s Gospel, and only 4 verses long (instead of the 20 verses Mark takes to tell the Sower Parable). But it is also about scattering seed, sharing the Word of God, generously giving the Gospel to Jew and Gentile, to friend and foe, to neighbor and family.

Listen to the Word of God, from Mark 4:26-29 —- ….

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²⁶ Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. ²⁷ He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come.”

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Remember a few minutes ago I asked you think of a time you worked your backside off, only to have to sit on your backside and wait for something to happen…

Pastors feel this every single week – worship planning and sermon preparation, praying and studying and crafting and writing – and then ,,, waiting to see if anything takes root!  Nearly 27 years from one pulpit, another eight years from a couple others, and wondering and waiting.

I have to say that, of all the evils and ills social media platforms like Facebook might bring out, re-connecting with youth from my high school days, or from Youth Ministry days, and seeing how they are living out a deep and enriched Christian faith blesses me so much!!  I did not see it at the time, but “my kids” 40+ years later living their faith deeply and richly is something I see every-day!

And that’s the point of this parable.

Linda Called us to Worship this morning from Psalm 27: Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience the Lord’s favor in the land of the living? Wait on the Lord! Be strong and courageous! And wait on the Lord!

But, “Wait on the Lord” never means to just sit back and do nothing!  What that means is, after obediently doing what needs to be done, trust that God is with you! Trust that God will carry you!  Trust that God will not fail to do what God has promised to do!

In the Parable – the sower does the work of scattering the seed! He could have just sat in his Lazy Boy and prayed that God would scatter the seed – but that’s not the kind of miracle God usually provides. He expects us to be faithful and do our part!

Pray that the hungry get fed that the naked find clothes, that the isolated are taken care of – sure! But, God tells us that He provides the food and clothes and friendship by sending His ambassadors to offer them! He commands us to share the Gospel Good News – and then God promises to fulfill His end of the work!

Pray for healing – but also, as far as we are able, go to the doctor, take our medicine, eat right, sleep right, exercise right. 

It’s perfectly OK to say grace over your donut – but if your entire diet consists of bacon maple bars, we might be eliminating the grace God wants to offer!

And highlighted in this parable: sometimes it takes time! The sower scatters seed, and then day after day, night after night, he gets up and tends the garden and goes to bed, and gets up and does it all over again – and somehow, beyond his explanation, the seeds sprout and blossom and bloom and bear fruit!

We tell our kids about God’s love and justice through faith in Jesus, and we pray, day after day, night after night – and beyond our ability to understand, maybe after years and decades, faith germinates! And maybe we don’t see it. Maybe not until after our own funeral – but we trust that God keeps His promises! So we pray and believe that we will experience the Lord’s favor in the land of the living!

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​God’s Kingdom is like this farmer who goes to bed after doing the work, and eventually experiences the glories of God’s dependable nature!

Whatever was the thing you thought of, whatever is the main concern in your faith – be the ambassador God calls you to be, and then wait on the Lord, trust in the Lord, and don’t give up – keep on keeping on – still feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the lonely, take care of the orphans and widows, love your neighbors as you love yourselves – and believe that God will see us through to His glorious conclusion – that even the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church!

​

He’s got you! And therefore, you got this!

The only way to ever stand righteous before God is in trusting in God’s righteousness! “Mustard seed faith” is about trusting in God’s righteousness to do the work we need done!

When Christ comes to bring in the harvest – there will be a multitude from every tribe and language and people and nation! He will do it in His time.

So keep on generously scattering seeds of faith and hope and love in God’s Word – and then marvel at how God brings that to fruition!

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Prayer Page –  Even so, Lord, quickly come, to Your final harvest home; gather Thou Thy eople in, free from sorrow, free from sin.

For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us, most of all, that Your love has found us – we thank You, God!–

Come, Holy Spirit, reign. We welcome You!

14-16    We pray this day for … [call out a name or a situation]  

17                        [Lord’s Prayer]  Amen.

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– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

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Expedition Song  – For the Fruit of All Creation – Thanks Be to God –  Lilly Haeger – listen to this beautiful song, and join is as you are ready.

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We close with this benediction:     As followers of Jesus, , may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ,be filled with the power of Holy Spirit Life, ,  and give glory to God today and every day!  Amen. 

25 

26   Announcements

26   Happy August Birthdays

          3-Jack Hewson            4-Sharon Ramm         12-Gene Peden            15-Keith Winningham        20-Sherry Park            20-Misty Winningham     31-Linda Soderstrom

Resources: 

Lohmann, Matthias; “The Seed Growing”; TableTalk; February 2020; Pp. 16-17.

https://sermons4kids.com/planting_seeds.htm

08/08/2021 = Multi-Church, Multi-Denominational, Multi-Ethnic Worship in the Park

Every first-full-weekend of August we join with other Christians in our part of Spokane on “Hillyard Festival Weekend” to worship together in the heart of the festivities.

This year we worshiped with folks from:
Bethel Household of Faith (Benin, Africa)
Destination Church (Pentecostal)
Fellowship Church of God (Indiana)
Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
Living Hope Church (Kenya, Africa)
Marshall Island Christian Church (Marshall Islands)

Below is the link to the FBLive video of this service (be blessed as you join in worship):
Facebook Live link (begins at the 5:00 mark)

(Donations can be made to Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church’s mission and ministries HERE.)

08/01/2021 = Matthew 22:1-14 = “Kingdom of God – Save the Date”

(Click HERE to find the FBL video of this service – starts at 8:00, sermon begins at 19:30)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church’s missions and ministries)

1                                                                                      

Mark Wheeler

Matthew 22:1-14                                                                                                    

08/01/2021

 “Kingdom of God … Save the Date!”                                                   

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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Welcome everyone!

I wanna start with a few announcements today – we’ll repeat them at the end, but I wanna make sure I don’t forget to say something:

Save the Date! Next Sunday, August 8, worship will be at Sharpley-Harmon Park in north Hillyard – 10am, with several churches providing leadership, including LPC’s own “Praise Band” leading a couple songs and a short testimonial! Other churches will include several different denominations and national/ethnic origins – two from different countries in Africa, one from the Marshall Islands, and maybe another from an Asian nation. And, it can’t possibly be any hotter than what we are experiencing in our own sanctuary this Summer!! Save the Date!! You are invited!!

We welcome you to this worship!

Our state and our city and this congregation is doing well with our COVID-recovery, but with the Delta Variant still so persistently present, we are holding on to some caution.

Here’s our current policy regarding masks and seating:

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Things are so much better than they have been for much of the last year,,, but you may have seen than Spokane is spiking again with new cases,,,, so ,,, while ,,, we have removed the pew-separators for folks who are fully vaccinated – please politely ask before sitting near someone to make sure everyone is as comfortable as we can all be with seating arrangements!

For now we are again asking people to listen to the newest CDC guidelines, which recommend that we:

“Wear a mask while inside the building.”

No one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, about their masking or unmasking, so continue to be gentle with each other. 

“If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”  Philippians 2:1-4

We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.

CAMERA  

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, “The mercy of God is 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.

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.

Join in our Call to Worship led by Pastor Kathy Saundusky – listen for God’s call and our response.

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Our opening song of praise and devotion – Behold, Bless Ye the Lord –

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Through the Written Word,

And the spoken word,

May we know Your Living Word,

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today’s parable in this series on Jesus’ stories comes from Matthew 22. We heard  Luke’s version of this parable a few months ago – but since it is included in different Gospels, maybe it’s worth hearing again. Jesus sees that even His own people had started to move away from Him, to reject Him. It is a symbolic story, but the invitation at the center is very real! And this story tells us that the invitation is addressed to you (and me)! Listen, and then Save the Date!

The Word of God, from Matthew 22:1-14 —- ….

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¹ Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

 10  

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

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⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

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¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “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.”

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I read a story this week, that I’m going to share this morning, from a book called Heaven by Randy Alcorn. This is a true story about a woman named Ruthanna Metzgar. Listen as she tells it:

“As a professional singer, it was not unusual to be asked to sing for a wedding, but it was a bit unusual to sing for the wedding of a millionaire. I knew the wedding would be picture-perfect and was pleased to be able to participate, but when the invitation to the reception arrived, I knew it would be something exceptional. The reception was held on the top two floors of Seattle’s Columbia Tower, the Northwest’s tallest skyscraper, and it was even more beautiful than I imagined. Waiters were wearing snappy black tuxedos who offered luscious hors d’ oeuvres [appetizers] and exotic beverages for the most discriminating tastes. The atmosphere was one of grace and sophistication. After about an hour of merriment, the bride and groom approached a beautiful glass and brass staircase that led to the top floor. A satin ribbon draped across the bottom of the stairs, was cut and the announcement made that the wedding feast was about to begin. The bride and groom ascended the stairs, and the guests followed. What a lavish event of which to be a part.

​

A gentleman with a beautifully bound book greeted us as we reached the top of the stairs. “May I have your name please?” “I am Ruthanna Metzgar, and this is my husband, Roy Metzgar,” I replied. The gentleman searched the Ms. “I’m not finding it. Would you spell it please?” I spelled it slowly and clearly. After searching throughout the book, the gentleman looked up and said, “I’m sorry, but your name is not here. Without your name in this book, you cannot attend this banquet.” “Oh, there must be some mistake,” I replied. “I am the singer. I sang for this wedding!” The gentleman calmly answered, “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you did, without your name in the book you cannot attend this banquet.” As I looked around the room, I thought briefly of running to the groom and trying to plead my case, but with a hundred guests on the stairs behind us and every place at the tables assigned according to the thoughtful choices of the bride and groom, I stood silent. The gentleman with the book motioned to a waiter and said; “Show these people to the service elevator please.” We followed the waiter past beautifully decorated tables laden with shrimp, whole smoked salmon, even gracefully carved ice sculptures. And adjacent to the banquet area was an orchestra, its members all dressed in dazzling white tuxedos, preparing to fill the room with glorious music.

​

We were led to the service elevator, stepped in, and the waiter himself pushed “G” for garage. My husband, thoughtfully, did not say a word, nor did I. As Roy drove out of the Columbia Tower garage, we both remained silent. After driving several miles in silence, Roy reached over and gently put his hand on my arm. “Sweetheart, what happened?” And then I remembered: “When the invitation arrived for the reception I was very busy, and I never bothered to return the RSVP. Besides, I was the singer; surely I could go to the reception without returning the RSVP!”

​

As we drove on, I began to weep. I was not crying because I had just missed the most lavish banquet of my life, but I was weeping because suddenly I knew what it would be like someday for people as they stand before the entrance of heaven: People who were too busy to respond to Christ’s invitation to His heavenly banquet. People who have assumed that the good things they had done, even perfect church attendance or singing in the choir, would be enough to gain entry to heaven. People who will look for their name in the Lamb’s Book of Life and not find it there. People who did not have time to respond to Christ’s gracious invitation to have their sins forgiven and accept Him into their hearts. And then I wept again because I was so grateful that I had, many years earlier, received Christ as my personal Savior and can be confident that my name is written in the most important Book of all: The Lamb’s Book of Life. Is yours?” book of all: The Lamb’s Book of Life. Is Yours?”

Today’s Gospel passage is once more about God’s generous call, this time to a sumptuous feast. And once again, He expects us to accept His invitation. This places on us a real responsibility. Yet it is so easy to take God’s generosity for granted, and we find excuses not to respond, “they made light of it and went away!”

What is God inviting me to at this point in my life? Am I as good at finding excuses not to answer His call? Am I the procrastinator, postponing my response to a more suitable moment? Once more I pray not to be deaf to His call, but ready to respond generously, to the best of my ability.

Jesus summarizes with the line we Presbyterians have turned into a self-incriminating “joke”: “Many are cold, but few are frozen.”

The reality is that God’s mercy is not bounded by our sin or by our background. He “calls” each of us, He “calls” you by name. And in His perfect sovereign omniscience, He “chooses” salvation for you! We live that out in ways that demonstrate His perfect mercy and grace, and we are expected to receive and believe, and be called “children of God”. We cannot earn that right, but we can receive it and believe it.

The only way to ever stand righteous before God is in trusting in God’s righteousness! “Mustard seed faith” is about trusting in God’s righteousness to do the work we need done!

God, you are always looking out for us and inviting us to fill the place that is set precisely for us. Let me pray and work for the good of others so that there my be no gaps at Your wedding banquet, and that I too may be there.

13  

Prayer Page –  We lift up our hands in the sanctuary, and bless, we bless ye the Lord.

We come as guests invited   when Jesus bids us dine,

His friends on earth united    One bread is ours for sharing,

     one single, fruitful vine,   our fellowship declaring 

     renewed in bread and wine–

Come, Holy Spirit, reign. We welcome You!

14-16    We pray this day for … [call out a name or a situation]  

17                        [Lord’s Prayer]  Amen.

18

19

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE , or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

20

Communion Song  – We Come As Guests Invited –  Dick McCarter – listen to this beautiful song, and join is as you learn the melody.

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Pastor Kathy leads us in the Communion Prayer and words of institution. – and I invite you to peel back the cellophane wrapper to expose your “bread” so you’re ready when we get there. (If you accidentally peel back the foil wrap, go ahead and drink your grape juice early so it doesn’t spill.

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And so, in this “feast” we proclaim together:

Christ has died;     Christ is risen;      Christ will come again.

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Expedition Song  – His Eye Is on the Sparrow –  Lilly Haeger – listen to this beautiful song, and join is as you are ready.

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We close with this benediction:     As followers of Jesus, , may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ,be filled with the power of Holy Spirit Life, ,  and give glory to God today and every day!  Amen. 

31   Announcements

Resources: 

Alcorn, Randy; Heaven: a Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says about Our Eternal Home: Ruthanna Metzgar; 2004 (see Keith Thomas website below).

https://www.sacredspace.ie/scripture/matthew-221-14

Thomas, Keith; https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/the-parable-of-the-wedding-feast?gclid=CjwKCAjwgISIBhBfEiwALE19SaOuJd1HEx54acnGJz_rMo-1SjTXbQ3N6JDd9uQN9QP0k3qk0RnuRxoCaGIQAvD_BwE