05/22/2022 = Luke 14:12-23 = “Excuses Schmexcuses”

(Click HERE to watch the video of this service – starts at 10:00, sermon at 17:00)

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

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Mark Wheeler

Luke 14:12-23                                                                                                

05/22/2022

 “Excuses Schmexcuses”                                                                                            

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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You Are My Hiding Place

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Join in as Jake Davis leads us in our Call to Worship from psalm 117:

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Hello everyone!  Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Welcome! We are glad you are here with us today! We gather here from a world filled with fear and fights – shootings at church gatherings from Buffalo, NY, and Laguna Woods, CA. Welcome to a moment where we can settle in with God and with each other.

We gather 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.

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, those in the room and across the globe. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The Lord is with you – and also 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.

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Our Opening Song of Devotion and Praise is –– Happy the Home When God Is There – #389!! A song of hope and faith

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Open our hearts today, O Lord, to feel the powerful strength and love You have for us. Help us to listen, not only with our ears, but with our spirits for Your Word of compassion and healing. Enable us to become more faithful disciples for You; for we ask this in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

This coming Saturday, I leave for a trip of a lifetime, to walk where Jesus walked and see the sites of Gospel land! This is not my first trip, many of you know, I went once in 2006, with a group of 15 Whitworth students – all pastors from the inland northwest; and then I led two trips, in 2007 and 2009,  with 10 to 12 LPC folks and friends. 

This trip is the longest, by three days, and the biggest, 40 people, parents, alumni and financial friends of Whitworth University. And it’s the first time I’ve gone as a student with a real professor. I am so excited. 

But … suppose nobody shows up at the airport.  Or no one meets us in Tel Aviv.  Hopefully they “just forgot”, but suppose they were in an accident … or intentionally stayed away. L  Even if there’s some trouble in their lives, you expect some kind of better respect than that.  “There had better be a good excuse!”

In today’s parable, the made-up story Jesus tells to teach a lesson, the set-up is that Jesus has been invited over for dinner and Jesus tells His host to make sure that he invites people to his house who cannot repay the favor … be generous and hospitable to everyone!  And then another guest at the table says, “Yeah, but think how happy everyone who will be invited to eat at the table in God’s Kingdom will be.”

In answer to that, Jesus tells them this story, from Luke 14:12-23…. ---- 

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¹² He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. ¹³ On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. ¹⁴ And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

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 ¹⁵ When one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

¹⁶ Then he told him, “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’

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¹⁸ “But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’

¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’

²⁰ “And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’

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 ²¹ “So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’

²² “‘Master,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’

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 ²³ “Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.’”

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You’ve probably all heard the top 10 reasons why people don’t go to church?  With apologies to Dave Letterman’s old routine, here they are:

10) All my clothes are just too sexy!

9) The music is too contemporary (too new, and they sing the same thing over and over and over).

8) The music is too traditional (too old, and they sing the same hymns week after week after week).

7) Sundays are my only days to sleep in.

6) Two words: Sunday sports!

5) Sunday School: Been there; done that; got the T-shirt.

4) In training for Bloomsday … or Hoopfest … or Pig Out at the Park … 

3) The “Church Lady” always sits right behind me.

2) The pews are too uncomfortable.

1) They haven’t tried Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church!

I know, I’m preachin’ to the choir … sort of.  After all, you’re already here, so why am I bothering you with this?  Because Jesus wasn’t talking about going to church!  He was talking about something much deeper and more important than church attendance.

The context of this parable, the timing of its telling, was that Jesus was at a banquet and He taught the host to be generous and to do the unexpected, and don’t expect repayment for your generosity.

And then some poor, unnamed, bloke (it’s really kind of sad, isn’t it … he doesn’t even get his name in the Bible), thinks he can add to Jesus’ teaching; so he says, “Yeah Jesus, just think how happy/blessed the people will be when they sit at that great heavenly banqueting table in God’s Kingdom!”

And Jesus turns to him (can’t you just see the look in Jesus’ eye).  He tells this parable to this poor, unnamed dude sitting at the table with Him.  (You really have to read between the lines, but when you do you can almost hear Jesus say something like, “Wait a minute, Buddy.  Do you think you’re in?  Just because you go to church and wear your uncomfortable Sunday Best, and wade through the music you don’t like, and get out of bed, and skip TV sports and local community events, and ignore the judgmental attitudes of those sitting around you … all of that doesn’t mean you’re automatically in!  Here’s a story … see how it fits …..”

The story Jesus tells is kind of like an RSVP that’s been changed without notice.  Sammy was invited to a party and RSVPed “yes”, and then he was invited to another party and so he didn’t go to the 1st one.  Sammy should have reRSVPed, but he didn’t, and now it’s too late.

In 1st Century Israel, the way it worked was like this: A party invitation would go out and invite the guests to come, say, on Friday.  But that’s all it would say.  It wouldn’t say what time, because … no one wore a Swatch or carried a cell phone.  So on Friday, the invitees were supposed to wait , like we have to do for a service/repair-man to fix something at our home, they were supposed to wait for the servant to come by and tell them, “It’s time.  Be there in 30 minutes or the food’ll get cold.”  To reject that 2nd invitation was the ultimate insult!  So the party-giver tells the servant to go out and invite who ever he can find! [Luke writes in Acts that Jesus did exactly this:“Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth.”]

Here’s what Jesus was saying: OK Buddy, you’re sitting here at this banquet table with me … but have you really RSVPed the REAL banqueting table?  Look at the Old Testament, read the prophecies, listen to the stories of the Old Testament heroes of faith.  Do you realize that I, Jesus of Nazareth, AM the invitation to Heaven?

At the end of the Gospel according to Luke, after Jesus dies on the cross, and after Easter Sunday when He is resurrected from the dead, He’s walking with a couple of men who are talking about all the things that had happened that week – the triumphal entry, the arrest in the middle of the night, the early morning trial, the shouts of “crucify Him”, and then the death of this teacher, pastor, friend they had been following.  And now, His grave was empty!

Luke tells us that Jesus walked with them and He showed them how, from Genesis through Malachi, the whole Old Testament was talking about Him!  

You see, they had received the 1st invitation (they accepted the Old Testament as God’s Word), but they were about to reject the 2nd invitation.  They had God’s Word, but they hadn’t received Jesus as their Lord and Savior!  Jesus Christ was a good man in their opinion, but He had little to do with their day-to-day living!

That’s what Jesus is saying to this guy at the table with Him.  “You know the hope of glory, but you don’t know the Messiah yet!  If you reject the Messiah, our Father in Heaven will go out and bring in everyone He can find to join Him at His Banqueting Table … in your place!”

Unfortunately this is true for a lot of people.  Most Jews have yet to take Jesus seriously.  In fact, today, most Jews don’t even take God seriously, let alone Jesus.  But this is also true of many people inside the Church.  Maybe it’s true of someone you know.  Maybe it’s true of you.

If it is, friend, I urge you to consider accepting the 2nd invitation … before it’s too late.  Jesus has the Banqueting Table set, with a place-setting for you, with your name reserving your seat.  Take Him seriously today.  I know, you’ve said the “sinner’s prayer” a long time ago – the 1st invitation.  That’s good.  But we kinda have to do it over again every day to be real with ourselves and with God.  If all we have are excuses, I think the Yiddish phrase God will say to us goes: Excuses Schmexcuses!  Let’s not try to excuse ourselves out of God’s presence and good graces.

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I don’t usually ask people to bow their heads in prayer – personally, I like to lift my face and look into the sky – but today, in humble adoration, let’s bow our heads and pray:  Our heavenly Father, this morning I look at my life and realize how many times I have taken You off the throne and made myself master and lord.  One time, perhaps a long time ago, I accepted Your invitation to be called a child of God, saved by grace through faith, by the work of Jesus on the cross and from the tomb.  Today, I hear You calling me forward on my personal journey of discovery … and I accept this 2nd invitation to follow You more closely and with more intention.  I know I do not deserve Your grace and mercy, and so I humbly RSVP my acceptance right now, through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior and highest Treasure.  Amen.

Now, keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed.  Raise your hand in the air if you prayed that prayer with me. ---- If that was the 1st time you have ever received Jesus in your heart, I invite you to tell me before we leave this place today – I have something for you, and I want you to have it.

Great God of Creation, we worship You in spirit and in truth.

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of faithfully following Your footsteps..

Prepare us for Your coming Kingdom and everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.    

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

In Jesus’ authority.  Amen.

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Our Choral Anthem !!! Choir – – “Glory to His Name”

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Come let us Pray:

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

21   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

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Just like those earliest Christians, we sing praises here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

Receive our tithes and offerings as symbols of our very lives and livelihood, given as response to Your life given for us! Bless it, and by it bless the world around us. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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

Expedition Song #656 –  Make Me a Blessing  –!  We began today hiding in God’s protective presence, and we close praying that we will open the doors to God’s presence!

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We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

32-33   Announcements      

• Fellowship Time – self-serve coffee &
  pre-wrapped treats –
• Office Hours are (generally)
  Tuesday thru Thursday, 9-noon!
• Community Garden – is happening!

Resources: 

Wheeler, Mark; “Excuses Schmexcuses”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 05/13/2007.

05/15/2022 = Luke 12:13-34 = “Trusting in Our Treasure Trove”

(Click HERE to watch the FB Live video feed, starts at 12:30, sermon at 22:30)

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

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Luke 12:13-34                                                                                                                                                    05/15/2022

 “Trusting in Our Treasure Trove”                                                                             Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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Unto Thee, O Lord

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Join in as Pastor Kathy leads us in our Call to Worship:

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Hello everyone!  Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Welcome! We are glad you are here with us today! We gather here from a topsy-turvy world of amazing and weird and disturbing and exciting events – Kentucky Derby “miracles”, un-predictable weather, shootings, wars, flowers, and grace. Welcome to a moment where we can settle in with God and with each other.

We gather 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.

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, and those in the room. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The Lord is with you – and also 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.

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Our Opening Song of Devotion and Praise is –– My God, How Wonderful Thou Art – #65!! A song of wonder and grace

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Open our hearts today, O Lord, to feel the powerful strength and love You have for us. Help us to listen, not only with our ears, but with our spirits for Your Word of compassion and healing. Enable us to become more faithful disciples for You; for we ask this in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“Mom!  Make Mark share the ice cream with me!”

You can change the name and the dessert menu, but if you have ever been around more than one-kid-at-a-time, you’ve witnessed (or been a part of) a cry for help just like that.  

And it’s not just kids either.  As adult children we might cry to lawyers for help in getting our fair share of our parents’ estate. or a better seat at the ballgame, or … our fair share of ice cream….

That’s the set up for the parable we’re reading from Luke’s Gospel today.  Let’s turn to Luke 12:13-34.  I know that that’s a long passage, and we want to get to the restaurant before the Baptists down the street do, and I know that most of your Bibles (including the Bibles we supply in the pews) stop the story at verse 21.  But, you’ll see how vital verses 22 thru 34 are to the full understanding of this story Jesus tells to teach a lesson about in what/whom we place our trust.  So, let’s turn to Luke 12:13-34 …. ----  

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¹³ Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ “Friend,” he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”

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 ¹⁶ Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? ¹⁸ I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”

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²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’

²¹ “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

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 ²² Then he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? ²⁵ Can any of you add one moment to his life spanby worrying? ²⁶ If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest? 

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 ²⁷ “Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. ²⁸ If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you—you of little faith? ²⁹ Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. ³⁰ For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

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 ³¹ “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. ³² Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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Two weeks ago I told you a true mountain climbing story about myself and some friends.  That story was meant to illustrate a false sense of living life to the fullest.  The fullest lifestyle, rather than seeking thrills, means following the Great Commandment to love the Lord our God with everything we’ve got, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  That delivers not only a “full” life, but an eternal life with God even after our bodies die.

Today I tell another mountain climbing story.  Pugslie Selman was by far the biggest kid around, and he didn’t mind letting everyone know it.  In a neighborhood full of tough guys, this loner was the undisputed champion.  His real name was John Selman, but nobody used it.  The few guys he hung around with called him “Pugs”, and most everyone else simply tried to stay out of his way.

This day was different, though.  Instead of pushing people around, Pugs was on a ledge 40 feet high, crying like a baby.  He had come rock climbing with his buddies, and now he was stuck.  He was afraid to go back down the way he had come up, but he couldn’t trust the rope around his waist (or the boy who was holding it) enough to lean out and grab the rock above his head.  So he clung to the cliff … and cried.

Predictably, everyone on the ground laughed at Pugslie.  They were yelling and joking about the “giant wimp.”  But then things changed.  Paul Woods, a little guy that Pugslie liked to push around, climbed up the cliff face.  “Everything will be alright, Pugs,” said Paul.  “You’ll be fine.  Just follow me.”

Then Paul climbed ahead of Pugslie, showing him each place to put his feet and hands.  Before long, the guys on the ground were cheering Pugslie on as he climbed over the top of the cliff and raised his fist into the air.

Puglsie grew up and is still as big as all the outdoors.  But he no longer trusts in only his size to get him success in life.  He has learned to trust others, even those smaller and weaker than himself, to help him rise over the next peak.

Today’s parable from the mouth of Jesus is a made-up story to teach a lesson.  One of my Bibles titles this parable, “A Warning Against Selfishness”.  You can see how that title fits the parable.  The rich farmer had more grain than he could handle, so he selfishly built bigger silos … and then he died.

But I don’t think it was really an anti-selfishness parable.  [That’s a fine lesson! We shouldn’t be selfish!]  But, I think it was a parable about trust!  The reason this millionaire-farmer was selfish was because he trusted in his savings to get him through.

Jesus’ parable was meant to illustrate that when we put all of our trust in our own bank accounts, or skills, or good looks, or sure-to-win-horses, or creativity, or …, our trust will eventually betray us.  

After the story our great teacher talks about how worthless is it to worry … how sinful it is to worry, because it means we don’t trust God! 

In the Sermon on the Mount, which we find in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says virtually the same thing.  In the Sermon on the Mount He closes His section on worry by saying, “Seek first the Kingdom of God … and all the things you’re worrying about will be provided.”  Here, in Luke’s Gospel, He says, “All the people in the world are trying to get these things, and your Father knows you need them. [Between the lines: Do you trust Him?]  But seek God’s Kingdom, and all other things you need will be given to you.”

It’s not that it’s wrong to trust in things or people.  Trust allows us to live free from worry.  When we trust our husband, we don’t worry about an affair.  When we trust our children, we don’t worry about drugs (a party, sex, etc).  Maybe we SHOULD worry a little!  After all, humans are all capable of making bad decisions, of falling prey to peer pressure, or simply being stupid.  But when we do trust them we don’t worry!  

And here’s the thing Jesus wants to tell us: God is trustworthy!  After the parable, after the command to trust God and not worry about what we need, Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom!  So sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Where your heart is … that’s what you treasure most! 

If God is giving us His Kingdom … why in the world would we worry about this month’s rent?  Well, because we still need to pay this month’s rent, or move out on the street.  So the question to us is: do we trust God?  We say we do … but here’s the test?  Even if we end up on the street, does that mean God doesn’t have a different plan?  A better plan?  Do we trust Him?  If we do, then listen to that parable and stop being selfish, and start giving something to those who have less.

Millard Fuller lived a true illustration of this lesson.  He was a millionaire Christian who felt like there must be more to life than just making money and building a big bank account.  So he and his wife prayed and studied the Bible and listened and waited for direction.  What we read this morning was the Bible passage that tipped the scale for them.  They ended up selling their business and founding a program to help low income people live in quality homes.  Their program is now world-wide.  Do you know what it’s called?  A wealthy Christian heard God’s voice to be generous and he established Habitat for Humanity!

Trust that something is better.  And if we’ve got the ice cream, share it so we can help others trust, too.  Amen.

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Great God of Creation, we worship You in spirit and in truth.

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of learning how to love our neighbors.

Prepare us for Your coming Kingdom and everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.  Give us the desire and the ability to trust You fully in the process! 

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

In Jesus’ authority.  Amen.

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CAMERA   

Our Choral Anthem !!! Choir – – “Amazing Grace”

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Pastor Kathy, come lead us in Prayer

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

26   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

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Just like those earliest Christians, we sing praises here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

Receive our tithes and offerings as symbols of our very lives and livelihood, given as response to Your life given for us! Bless it, and by it bless the world around us. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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

Expedition Song #98 –  Majesty, Worship His Majesty  –!  We began today singing the proclaiming God’s Wonder, and we close singing of God’s Majesty!!

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We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

32-33   Announcements      

• Fellowship Time – self-serve coffee & pre-wrapped treats –
• Office Hours are (generally) Tuesday thru Thursday, 9-noon!
• Community Garden – is happening!
• Fellowship Church Women’s Connect Tea – Saturday, May 21, 10am-noon, at Fellowship Church– Bring your favorite Tea Cup!
• LPC @ Indians Baseball – Saturday, May 21, 5:09pm @ Avista Stadium

Resources: 

The Youth Bible: New Century Version; Word; Waco, TX; 1991; Pp. 1027-1029.

Wheeler, Mark; “Trusting Our Treasure Trove”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 04/29/2007.

05/08/2022 = Luke 13:18-21 = “The Beautiful Potential”

(Click HERE to see the video of this service, starts at 7:00, sermon begins at 16:00)

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

1                                                                                      

 Mark Wheeler

Luke 13:18-21                                                                                                           

Mother’s Day, 05/08/2022

“The Beauty of Potential”                                                                                        

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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O Lord, you’re Beautiful

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Join in as Jake leads us in our Call to Worship:

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Hello everyone!  Happy Mother’s Day!! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Welcome! We are glad you are here with us today!

We gather 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, whoever you can see , “The Lord is with you – and also 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.

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Our Opening Song of Devotion and Praise is –– We Believe in God Almighty – #693!! A song based on the Apostles Creed

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Open our hearts today, O Lord, to feel the powerful strength and love You have for us. Help us to listen, not only with our ears, but with our spirits for Your Word of compassion and healing. Enable us to become more faithful disciples for You; for we ask this in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“Isn’t she lovely? Isn’t she wonderful? Isn’t she precious?”  

Do you remember that sweet little 1976 ballad by Stevie Wonder?  Do you know who he was singing about?  I thought it was his girlfriend or significant other.  It wasn’t.  It wasn’t a “love song”.  He was singing about his brand new-born baby daughter!  The very next line is “Less than one minute old”!

That sheds a whole new light on this song!  And every parent knows exactly what he was singing about!  Oooh I wish we had pictures to show on our screens!  

The look on this Daddy’s eyes as he held his first-born twinkled Stevie Wonder’s words.  

But this is Mother’s Day, Wheeler – stay in your lane!

I watched Jennifer hold Caitlin and Brianna and Andrew.  I remember RaeAnn admiring Faith and Aaron.  I’ve seen Lilly adoring Johnny.  And Ashley coo into Oran’s eyes; Melissa wonder at the preciousness of Riley!  Even if you’re not a parent, you kinda know what Stevie’s singing about.

But … why?  All this little blob of humanity does is sleep, and eat, and complain, and poop.  And … run down your bank account in ways beyond any ability to predict!  So, why is “she lovely … (and) wonderful … (and) precious”?  

1)   Because she’s yours!

2)   Because of her potential!

3)   Because God says she is!

Turn with me in God’s Word to Luke 13:18-21.  We are now three weeks into our study of Jesus’ parables in Luke’s Gospel, and we have seen a variety of kinds of parables, made up stories to teach a lesson.  We’ve read the parable of the sower and the seed and the soil – 15 verses, and the famous Good Samaritan story about how to live life like it lasts forever – nearly 15 verses.

Today we read TWO parables … a total of FOUR verses!  I guess not every sermon needs to take “all day”!

Let’s read Luke 13:18-21 …. ---- 

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¹⁸ He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like, and what can I compare it to? ¹⁹ It’s like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

²⁰ Again He said, “What can I compare the kingdom of God to? ²¹ It’s like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”

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Jim Burford, the retired pastor from Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, once wrote about how C. S. Lewis began his autobiography with a story about a small, beautiful thing.  When he was a boy, C.S. Lewis’ brother brought him a tiny garden he had created in a lid of a biscuit tin.  “As long as I live,” Lewis wrote, “my imagination of Paradise will retain something of my brother’s toy garden.  At its best, the life of faith gives an account of some small bit of the world – a bit of moss and twig and flower, a little bread, a little wine – and returns it to us as something larger, broader, more spacious.  Religious traditions are full of stories in which something small repays practices of loving attention by cracking the world wide open.”  In this toy garden, C.S. Lewis saw Paradise.  He says, “I have noticed that some of my students shift uncomfortably in their seats when I talk about this.  They are in school to learn how to change the world.  When I say ‘small’, they hear ‘irrelevant’.  When I say ‘beautiful’, they hear ‘decorative’.”

What Jesus tells us in the Parable with the Mustard Seed is that “small” is in no way “irrelevant”.  “Small” holds the most potential!  And “beautiful” might be “decorative”, but it is also that which glorifies God! That’s kind of what Stevie Wonder said in his song.

In another place Jesus says, “If only you had as much faith as a Mustard Seed, you could say to this mountain ‘Move into the sea’, and it would go!”  Potential! … in you … in us!

G. Campbell Morgan, an early 20^th Century pastor and theologian, wrote:  “Jesus predicted the great success of the Kingdom … different from being a Christian nation … we are not a Christian nation … there is none.  On the contrary, there is very much that denies success.” 

This Mustard Seed parable is not told to suggest that we will, in our lifetime, see the fulfillment of the finishing growth of the Kingdom of God.  That may not happen until the end of the age.  But what we should expect to see is the progress! My prayer is that this week’s Supreme Court news leak leads to such progress.

There is some science in this parable, isn’t there?  Mustard Seeds are all over the Holy Land.  When we were there in February 2007 and 2009 they were just starting to be in full bloom, and we saw whole fields and hillsides covered in tiny yellow flowers.  But we never once saw a Mustard Tree!  It is not a Tree.  It is an herb!  At its best it is a ‘garden shrub outdoing itself.’ In three-weeks I will be back – in June – I truly hope to see some full-grown Mustard “Trees”! (I’ll bring photos back!)

So what does Jesus mean when He says the Kingdom of God is like a Mustard Seed which was planted and grew into a great Tree?  Jesus is describing something which cannot happen by nature alone, or by the work of humanity.  He describes something that is supernatural; probably something not to be finished in this life, but ultimately to be finished in the next! 

And what about the “birds of the air that nest in its branches”?  I have always thought that this was simply a metaphor, a word picture, describing how big the mustard seed grew!  But Mary Miller, a long-time member here (she died in 2008 at age 89) once got me thinking and studying a little deeper.  She said that she had always considered the “birds of the air” to be something of Satan, like the birds which snatched up the seeds that were sowed on the road in the Parable about the Soils that receive the Seed of God’s Word.

I remember arguing with her and correcting her, and then I went and re-read and read further, and studied and prayed.  And guess what? … I think Mary was right after all!  And here’s why … because Jesus tells another parable immediately after this one that says the same thing!

He says, in essence, “Let me give you another illustration … let’s see, the Kingdom of God is like … Oh, I know, a woman who takes three measures of meal and mixes in some leaven.  What happens?  All the meal gets leavened!”  I know that the NIV, the Bibles in the pew racks, don’t say “three measures”, they simply say it was a large amount of flour.  That’s OK, it was a large amount.  But the fact that it was “three measures” (look in the footnote, there it says “3 satas”), I think, is vital to the accurate understanding!

Most of our Bibles probably title this parable something about the “leaven”.  But read it carefully.  It is not a parable about leaven; it is about “three measures of meal!”

Leaven in the Bible, always is used as a metaphor for evil.  So why would Jesus say the Kingdom of God is like leaven?  Rather, he says, “It’s like three measures of meal!”  We, 21^st Century Americans aren’t smart enough to really understand this metaphor; but you better believe that 1^st Century Jews understood it well!

You see, “three measures of meal” is a common Old Testament figure of speech.  The first time we read it is way back in Genesis 8, while Abraham and Sarah are camped under the oaks of Mamre, and three visitors come to them, and Abraham greets them while Sarah prepares “three measures of meal” for dinner!  This is the story where Abraham and Sarah are told they will be pregnant and have a son in a year’s time and Sarah laughs.  But then a year later they give birth to Isaac.

A few hundred years later we discover another instance, with Moses, where we find “three measures of meal.”  And again another few hundred years later with Gideon in the book of Judges.

In each case the “three measures of meal” represent hospitality and fellowship.  In each case the fellowship is not just with “visitors” or friends, it is with God (or at least with God’s messengers).  The “three measures of meal” represents relationship and communion with God!  So … the Kingdom of God has to do with fellowship and communion with God!

But no one put “leaven” in their three measures of meal!   Jesus tells us, “The Kingdom of God is likened to that which happens when something is introduced which makes fellowship on the highest level impossible.” 

The first parable is a parable of comparison!  Be like a Mustard Seed that grows beyond what our finite human minds can even imagine!

The second is a parable of contrast!  Be in fellowship, good, wholesome, pure, real fellowship with one another, and with God, and don’t allow the leaven – the evil – in!  But when it comes in, trust that it is still the Kingdom of God, and treat it so!

I once saw a 1953 sermon by Billy Graham.  Let me quote a few paragraphs from this sermon: “The church in America is well organized. There seems to be no limit to funds. Church buildings are going up on every hand. [1953 was a different time than 2022, wasn’t it…] We seem to have need of nothing, and yet I hear those same words burning and piercing our souls, ‘(from Revelation 3:17) You … do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.’ The time has come to call for repentance among Christians.

“The Scripture teaches that there are three kinds of people. First, there is the natural man or woman…. Second, there is a group called carnal Christian…. Third, there are spiritual Christians…. The question before us is this: How can the carnal Christian become a spiritual Christian?

“There was a time, perhaps, when you were a spiritual Christian. You still had your first love; a fire burned in your heart for God. But something happened along the way, something has disturbed your relationship with God, and you no longer know the joy, the peace and the thrill that you once knew.”

Graham is describing the leaven that’s been mixed in the three measures of meal!

What Jesus is calling us to do to be an effective church for fellowship, outreach, worship and ministry is to – keep the leaven out, it will swell the whole loaf and interrupt/breakoff fellowship with God!  But even if it gets in (selfishness, pride, ego …), trust that God’s fellowship is still real!  “Wherever two or three of you gather in my name, I am there with you!”

What is the purpose of these parables for us?  They call us to recognize the facts of the age in which we live.  They are parables describing the Kingdom of God as Anti-false greatness.  They are entirely pro-Real Greatness, which they promise will come by Being what God wants us wants us to be and doing what God wants us to do!  When we do THAT, we will grow!  If not in numbers – and maybe that, too – in depth of real faith!

They call us to live with “Mustard Seed Faith and without Leaven Attitudes”.  Be ready to grow (in your personal faith AND in our corporate gathering of saints), and renounce any corrupting attitudes (that you hold toward anyone else in this fellowship)! 

Let’s Be the Kingdom of God!  You are a believer – and we are a Christian community – with Beautiful Potential! 

Aren’t we lovely?  Aren’t we wonderful?  Aren’t we precious?  In God’s eyes, Yes we are!

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Great God of Creation, we worship You in spirit and in truth.

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of learning how to love our neighbors.

Prepare us for Your coming Kingdom and everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.  Help us to know our Beautiful Potential! 

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

In Jesus’ authority.  Amen.

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Our Choral Anthem !!! Choir – – “every Time I Feel the Spirit”

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Prayer

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

16   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

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Just like those earliest Christians, we sing praises here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

Receive our tithes and offerings as symbols of our very lives and livelihood, given as response to Your life given for us! Bless it, and by it bless the world around us. In Christ’s name, Amen.

– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE, www.givlia.com/g/lidgerwoodpresbychurch, or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)

Expedition Song #44 –  Great Is the Lord  –!  We began today singing the proclaiming God’s Wonder, and we close singing of God’s Greatness!!

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We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

24-25   Announcements      

Resources: 

Burford, James; “Leaven: A Small, Beautiful Thing”; The Messenger (newsletter of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church); Spokane WA; May 2007; Pp. 1-2.

Graham, Billy; “Victorious Christian Living”; Decision; May 2007 (originally 1953); BGEA;  Pp. 2-5.

Morgan, G. Campbell; The Parables and Metaphors of Our Lord; Revell Co; NY; 1943; Pp. 54-65.

Wheeler, Mark; “The Beauty of Potential”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 05/06/2007.

Wonder, Stevie; “Isn’t She Lovely?”; Motown; 1976.

https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/06/prayer-of-people-good-samaritan.html

Isn’t she lovely
Isn’t she wonderful
Isn’t she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we’d be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn’t she lovely made from love

Isn’t she pretty
Truly the angel’s best
Boy, I’m so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I can’t believe what God has done
through us he’s given life to one
But isn’t she lovely made from love

Isn’t she lovely
Life and love are the same
Life is Aisha
The meaning of her name
Lordie, it could have not been done
Without you who conceived the one
That’s so very lovely made from love

05/01/2022 = Luke 10:25-37 = “Live Life Like It Lasts Forever”

(Click HERE to see the FBLive video feed of this service; starts 9:40, sermon begins at 17:30)

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

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 Mark Wheeler

Luke 10:25-37                                                                                                 

05/01/2022

 “Live Like Life Lasts Forever”                                                                                 

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church 

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#639 . . . Surely Goodness and Mercy

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Join in as Pastor Kathy leads us in our Call to Worship:

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Hello everyone! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!!

Welcome! We are glad you are here with us today!

We gather 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.

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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, whoever you can see , “The Lord is with you – and also 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.

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Our Opening Song of Devotion and Praise is –– Spirit of the Living God – #297!!

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Open our hearts today, O Lord, to feel the powerful strength and love you have for us. Help us to listen, not only with our ears, but with our spirits for your words of compassion and healing. Enable us to become more faithful disciples for You; for we ask this in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Live like life lasts forever!  Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  Live life on the edge.  If you go, go out with a bang!

I am the 3rd of 4 children in my family, with a sister 6 years older, a brother 4 years older, and a sister 2 years younger.  So, growing up meant I shared a bedroom with my big brother – kind of thrilling for me … but a real bummer for Larry.  He was in high school and I was still in elementary school – we were 4 years apart!  We were never the best of friends, and we had the fraternal fights that every set of brothers have – I hid his homework; he ripped up my comic book; I hit him in the head with a golf ball; he threw a knife at me.  

But I always looked up to my brother.  When Larry was in high school, he joined the church youth group and made friends with a “cool” set of guys – Kelly Capps and Tom Tarbell.  Kelly was funny, and Tom was rebellious.  Tom eventually hooked Larry up to “Uncle Jim”, a Presbyterian Pastor who led inner-city, homeless kids backpacking in the High Sierras of northern CA.  This grew into a Summer Camp for our Presbytery.

So, when I was in high school, I went backpacking with Uncle Jim … and by this time Tom was one of Uncle Jim’s assistants.  This meant living life like there was no tomorrow … or like we could never die!  We went for 9-day backpacking trips, and spent every afternoon after a 6-8 mile trek, climbing mountain peaks … with no real training, and absolutely no real equipment!

One time we were climbing a pretty sheer face, and the wind was howling against our backs, and I was scared to death – stuck, couldn’t reach the next handhold, toes clinging to the tiny ledges they were glued to.  Tom was ahead of me, about two feet farther than I could reach, on a flat ledge, and Bruce, my other friend, was below me about six feet.

Talk about living like life lasts forever!  With no real training and absolutely no official climbing gear, Tom took his Levi’s jeans off and lowered a leg down the rock for me to grab with one hand while he lifted me far enough to reach the ledge with my other hand!  And then he put his pants back on, we helped Bruce up and went on our way.

We were teenage idiots, I know; but we thought that’s what living life like it lasts forever meant!

Tom died about 20 years later, climbing a peak in the High Sierras.  Life like that does not last forever!

Today’s teaching from Jesus is a parable we all know.  Last week we read an analogy parable – where each part of the story represented something in real life.  Today’s parable compares and contrasts some aspects, and then surprises its original hearers into realizing that they’re the ones who need to change.  I invite you to turn with me to Luke 10:25-37 and hear Jesus’ answer to how we live life like it lasts forever …. ----

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²⁵ Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”

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²⁸ “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

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³⁰ Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 

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³³ But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next dayhe took out two denarii,gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’  

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¹⁴ As ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

³⁷ “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

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Most of the time when I have heard a teaching from this parable, the speaker uses it to answer the question about who our neighbors are.   But notice that the question that introduces this parable has nothing to do with neighborliness.  The “neighbor”-question is a secondary level question.  The primary question is “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Or, “How can I live forever?”

“How do I Live Like Life Lasts Forever?”  Jesus reminds this man of the most important Old Testament Law: to love the Lord with all your heart, all your strength, all your soul and all your mind; and the 2nd most important is just like it: to love your neighbor as yourself.”

“How do I Live Like Life Lasts Forever?”  Obey the Great Commandment!  In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus gives this answer to the question of a lawyer who simply asks which of the commandments is the most important.  In Luke it is in response to, “How do I inherit eternal life?”  “Obey the Great Commandment to love God with everything you have!  Oh, and you can show that, in part, by loving your neighbors deeply.”

And then like any good lawyer, or husband, or teenager, the man asks, “Who is my neighbor?”  It’s like, “How many dishes do I have to wash?” or “Which pine cones do I have to pick up?”  “Wait – when you asked me to pick up my socks off the floor, you meant ALL my socks?” ….

And here Jesus tells him a make-believe story about a good Samaritan.  Jesus chose the real-life, dangerous thief-filled road between Jerusalem and Jericho, and then He picked good, high profile type leaders to do what is right according to the Jewish laws about touching potentially dead people.  But it was a despised, prejudged half-breed, spikey haired, tattooed, dude with brown skin from the wrong side of the tracks who came and rescued the injured, beaten traveler.   

Basically Jesus says, “Be like the guy you thought was gonna be the antagonist … but he turns up being the protagonist – from villain to hero.  That’s how you live like life lasts forever…. That’s how you inherit eternal life….  Love God and love your neighbor like that.”

In 2022 Spokane we might ask where this dangerous road is.  Is it in downtown at night?  Is it Riverfront Park after dark?  Is it under the freeway after midnight?  Could any of us, would any of us go there and help a homeless gang banger lying on the street?  How much would we help?  How would we help?

Today allow me to name just one such member of this particular fellowship – I believe there are several names that might be called out, but today – I name one woman who everyone who meets her would name her as just such a neighbor as Jesus describes as He answers this question about how to live life like it lasts forever!  

I name: Katherine Bell.  

There is no one in all of north Spokane, or Coeur d’Alene, or in any of the stops between here and Yellowstone or Glacier Nat’l Parks, who could even make up a bad story about how Kay lives her life.  And, while I didn’t know her for the 1st 70 years of her life, I know for a fact that these last 7 years she absolutely loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind and strength; and she shows that by loving her neighbors, no matter who they were, without exception.

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I will close this message by restating that, while I see nothing wrong with a life filled with thrill-seeking adventure – it makes for good TV – but we can never inherit eternal life simply by striving for excitement.  Live life like it lasts forever by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior and loving the Lord with everything’ we’ve got … and then follow Kay’s example by loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.  Amen.

Great God of Creation, we worship You in spirit and in truth.

Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of learning how to love our neighbors.

Prepare us for Your coming Kingdom and everything You would have us do and be here at LPC.  We really want to love You completely, and we want to love our neighbors with full compassion! 

Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.

In Jesus’ authority.  Amen.

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Our Choral Anthem !!! Choir – – “Lest We Forget”

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Pastor Kathy leads us in prayer

• what are some praises, thanksgivings, adorations we want to offer?
• Is there a person or a situation you want to lift to our Lord for His answers and grace?

21   We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:   [The Lord’s Prayer]

22 

Just like those earliest Christians, we sing praises here in this place because of the commitment and faith and generosity of others who shared the Good News of the Gospel in their time.

So we turn now, in our time, and share our faith and our commitment through generous giving to support the ministry of this church in Christ’s name. Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to God in gratitude and praise.

Receive our tithes and offerings as symbols of our very lives and livelihood, given as response to Your life given for us! Bless it, and by it bless the world around us. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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

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Communion Song #776 –  Let Us Break Bread Together  –!  As we sing our Communion Song this morning, remain seated as our Communion servers bring the broken bread and the poured cup to you – note that each tray has good-old-fashioned Communion Cups and Broken Bread AND our newer COVID-friendly self-contained Communion Elements – please feel free to take which ever you want (if you take the cups with the lids on, there are also wafers under those lids, so you only need the cups – if you take an “open cup”, also take a piece of bread from the center of the tray). Hold your bread and cup until Pastor Kathy leads us in partaking.

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Expedition Song #708 –  Blest Be the Tie that Binds  –!  We began today singing the blessing from Psalm 23, and we close praying for the blessing of Community!!

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We continue with this benediction:     May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.

And as we do that:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”

32-33   Announcements      

Resources: 

Wheeler, Mark; “Live Like Life Lasts Forever”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 04/22/2007.

https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/06/prayer-of-people-good-samaritan.html