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Mark Wheeler
Mark 4:26-29
08/15/2021
“Kingdom of God … Working and Waiting!”
Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church
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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:
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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 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.
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Our opening song of praise and devotion – #381 – Come, Ye Thankful People, Come – sung by Diana Nelson – join in as you feel ready
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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 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!
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.
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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.
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