02/26/2023 = II Corinthians 5:17 = “Behold, There Is a New Creation”

(Click HERE to see the FBLive video of this service, starts at 7:00, sermon starts at 37:00)

(Click Here to donate to Lidgerwood church mission and ministries)

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Mark Wheeler

II Corinthians 5:17                                                                                                     

First Sunday in Lent, 02/26/2023

“Behold, There Is a New Creation”                                                                          

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

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Welcome to worship, friends – on this first Sunday in the season of Lent – a Season designed to prepare us for the wonder and grace of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Good Friday and Easter Sunday – let’s join in as Pastor Kathy leads us in our Call to Worship –

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And let’s immediately follow that with our Prelude of Praise and Contirtion –– Make Me a Servant

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Good morning Friends!  Welcome worship at Lidgerwood!! Shalom Aleichem!

We all mess up, don’t we.  We say things we later wish we could take back.  We do things we wish we could undo.  We miss opportunities.  We lose possibilities.  This happens all the time.  Sometimes we make mistakes at work; sometimes we hurt the people we love; sometimes we disappoint God.

And because we all mess up, we like to start over—to turn our backs on the past, to look forward, to hope that this time round things are going to be better.

There’s something exciting about starting over—new challenges, new experiences, new opportunities.  I love starting a new year.  I make plans, things I’d like to accomplish, big challenges ahead of me.  Having just had my 62^nd birthday, I look back over the past year and realize there are some things I’d like to do differently.  Perhaps you’ve had similar thoughts…

I remember what it was like for me to start a new year at school: new classmates, new textbooks, new teachers and new subjects.  And then there were all the New Year’s resolutions: This year I’m going to write neatly. I’m going to do my homework everyday.  I’m going to exercise regularly; lose 5 pounds, or 15, or 50; give a real 10% tithe…  And so the list begins.

I don’t think I’m so different.  I think people generally like to start over.  I think that’s why young people look forward to leaving school and home and going to college.  I suspect that’s why some people are continuously starting new relationships.

Perhaps that’s why we all need opportunities to rededicate our lives to God.

This is why the Season of Lent exists. So that we might be-come what God calls us to be. Behold, there is a new creation!

Welcome, friends, from around the world, to this worshipping community!

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, those in the room and across the globe, to a moment of Sabbath in God’s presence and peace, and with others whom we love and with whom we grow together. Friends, may “The PEACE of Christ be with you – and also 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.

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Choir –! Thank you leading us in worship with this Sunday’s Choral Anthem – lead us in worship with:  “This Is My Story”

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Listen in as Pastor Kathy opens our Prayer time in Confession and Thanksgiving

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9    Gloria Patri

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• 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?

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

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Let’s prepare to receive a Word from our Majestic God by singing a song of Devotion and Praise  –  Love Divine, All Loves Excelling  – #558!!

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You Creator God, Redeemer God, Savior God, thank You for the gift of Your Word, written that we might know You better.  Clear away every potential distraction in our lives this morning.  Allow us to hear You more clearly, that we might follow You more nearly … every day.  Amen.

We began this service with words declaring our enduring desire to start over. Why do we like to start over?  Because the future holds the hope for something better.  Corrie ten Boom’s father, before he died in the Nazi concentration camp of Scheveningen consoled his family by reminding them that “the best is yet to come.”  Our own Boris Zdorovets likes to say, “The finish will be good.”

But things don’t always stay this way.  After too many disappointments we often give up, we lose hope.  We can only start over so many times before we begin to wonder, “What’s the point?  What makes me think I’m not going to mess it up again?”

Of course, people vary.  The number of disappointments necessary before someone gives up hope differs from person to person.

The Bible tells a story of a lady who had reached this point, who had lost all hope:
Sighing deeply, she picks up the earthen jar and places it on her shoulder.  With her free hand she opens the door. Suddenly the heat hits her and for a few seconds she can’t see a thing.  Then her eyes begin to adapt to the white light outside.  She bends over slightly and walks through the low door.
Outside it’s quiet.  Not dead quiet—the cicadas are buzzing in the trees.  But there is no-one in sight.  She’s alone.  She looks up and down the dusty street but doesn’t see any of the other women.  With another sigh she begins to walk to the outskirts of town.
The woman is on her way to fetch water.  It’s not a good time to fetch water.  In fact, it’s not a good time to be outside.  The sun has reached its zenith and seems to hang in the air as it beats down mercilessly on her.  She could have chosen a cooler time of the day, but that would have meant facing the other women.
You see, this woman is the town’s local “bad girl”.  She’s not married to the man she’s currently living with.  She’s already had five husbands.  Five times she’s tried to start over.  Five times she’s tried to build a new life.  And now she’s given up on marriage, given up on happiness, given up hope.
For her there is no turning back.  No new start.  No new beginning.  She’s accepted her lot as an outcast.  She’s learned to live without hope.  (John 4:4-26)

It’s tragic to admit, but this woman is not alone in reaching this point of hopelessness.  After too many disappointments, it can happen to anyone.  After a while, we may begin to feel that there just isn’t a new beginning for us.  Maybe that’s true of you right now.

However, the Bible offers a better truth!  In total contradiction to that, the Bible speaks of a completely new beginning. Let’s look together at II Corinthians 5:17 … —

20   ¹⁷ “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (II Cor 5:17; NIV)

A “new creation”—the Greek word used here is ktisis.  If anyone has dedicated himself or herself to Christ, that person is a new ktisis.  The two major meanings of ktisis are: (1) the act of creation or (2) the creation itself.

II Cor 5:17 means that when someone has decided to dedicate their lives to Jesus, Jesus begins a new “act of creation” in their lives.  They aren’t merely reformed or rehabilitated.  No, they are recreated.  They become a brand new person.  And they begin a brand new life.

Paul explains how this can take place in vv. 14 and 15: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”

This is what baptism symbolizes.  Our old life dies and we are buried under the water, just as Jesus was buried in the tomb.  Then we come out of the water, just as Jesus came out of the grave.  We come out as a new person, a new ktisis .   That’s why Paul can confidently say “the old has gone, the new has come!”

When we turn back to our Bible story from John’s Gospel, we see that Jesus offered just this sort of new life to the hopeless woman:
As she nears the well, the woman notices a man sitting on the wall.  She hesitates.  What’s He doing there?  She wants to turn away, but she needs water.  With downcast eyes she walks closer.  Perhaps He will just ignore her.
But He doesn’t. Instead, He asks her for some water.
Jesus should not have spoken with her.  The etiquette of the day forbade it. (1) She was a woman—and a man did not speak with a woman, particularly if her husband or father were not present. (2) She was a Samaritan and He was a Jew—and the Jews and Samaritans felt the same way about each other then as the Jews and Palestinians do today. (3) She was living in sin—nobody would speak with her anymore, not even the other women in town.  Jesus should not have spoken with her.  But He did.
And then Jesus offers her living water—the living water which quenches a person’s thirst and gives eternal life.  There’re a number of Old Testament texts which refer to God as the fountain of living water (Ps 36:9; Jer 17:13) and in making this reference to living water, Jesus is actually telling her, “Hey, I’m the Messiah!  I’m what you’ve been longing for!  I’m what you need in your life!”
But the woman does not realize what He’s talking about.  And then He begins to get too personal.  He tells her about her failed marriages.  He reminds her of her past, of all her disappointments.  And with each word the door to her pain is forced a little more open.
She begins to realize what He’s offering her—a brand new beginning—but the pain is just too much and she slams the door shut.  In her mind she steps away from His offer and throws up a smokescreen between herself and the Messiah.  She changes the topic, tries to lure Him away with a popular debate, lure Him away from her sin, lure Him away from her disappointments, lure Him away from her pain.
It’s not easy to confront our failures, our disappointments, our pain.  In fact, it’s possible for us to get used to living in spiritual poverty, to live without hope.  To hope again is scary.  If we begin to hope again, we might be disappointed again.  If we try to start over once more, we might just fail once more.
But however scary it might be to think of making a new start, THAT is exactly what the Bible is promising: “[I]f anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”

When we meet Jesus as our personal Messiah, we are made new.  Behold, there is a new creation!  But that is only the beginning of our journey with Jesus toward Jerusalem.  That is just the 1^st step. 

I invite you to take that 1^st step this morning.  I even invite those here who had taken that 1^st step 70 years ago to take it again this morning!  

I could ask the question, “Where does this message leave us today?”  Instead, I am going to ask, “Where does this message find you today?”

Perhaps things are going well.  Sure, you’ve made some mistakes, you’ve messed up a little, but you’re still living with the hope that you will be able to start over.

Perhaps things are falling apart.  You’ve tried the starting over bit—over and over and over—and you’ve come to realize it’s just no good.  You’ve lost all hope in any real new beginning.

Perhaps you’ve met the Messiah.  You’ve gone through the ups and downs.  You’ve tried it all—you know what it’s like to promise yourself a new start, you know what it’s like to reach that point of hopelessness, of just giving up.  But now you’ve met the Messiah.  And suddenly you know what it is to really start over—to be a new creation.

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It doesn’t really matter where we are today, because today is a new day.  Paul writes at the end of this paragraph: “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, today is the day of salvation.” (II Cor 6:2)

Friends, Jesus is offering us, He’s offering you, what He offered the woman at the well—a new creation, living water.  Go on.  Drink it.  She did … and her whole life became new!

As the Church of LPC, getting ready for our next Hundred Years, Now is the time of God’s favor!  Behold, we are a new creation!  Amen!

If this is a brand new start for you today – come talk to me or Pastor Kathy or Donna or any of our Elders, and we’ll pray together as we celebrate be-ing a new creation in Christ!

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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”)

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24-26  Expedition Song #51 –  God, You Spin the Whirling Planets!    

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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.”

29   Announcements      

• Monday thru the Bible time at lunch – come at noon, or join on Zoom at noon, with your own sack lunch, and any insights, questions, discoveries you’ve encountered in your February Thru the Bible reading!
• Thursday Bible Study –very Thursday at 10am, here and on Zoom
• Cantata Choir Rehearsal –very Thursday at 6pm

Resources: 

Dietterich, Inagrace T.; Journey of Discovery Bible Study: Behold, There Is a New Creation; Center for Parish Development; Chicago, IL; 1999; Pp. 1-4.

Naude, Rocco; A New Beginning; sermon preached 01/06/2002.

Ten Boom, Corrie; Prisoner, and Yet …; 1954; P. 20.

Wheeler, Mark; “Behold, There Is a New Creation”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 02/26/2006.

02/19/2023 = III John = “Servant; Selfish; Seeker”

(Click HERE to find the FBLive video feed – starts at 9:40, sermon at 36:30)

(Click HERE to donate to Lidgerwood Church’s mission and ministries, thank you for your support!)

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Mark Wheeler

III John                                                                                                                                  

02/19/2023

“Servant; Selfish; Seeker”                                                                                      

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

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Welcome to worship, friends – let’s join in as Vern leads us in our Call to Worship – from Psalm 150

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And let’s immediately follow that with our Prelude of Praise and Worship –– Father, I Adore You (#4)

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Good morning Friends!  Welcome worship at Lidgerwood!! Shalom Aleichem!

This Sunday is one of my favorites of the year – today’s the day we ordain and install new Deacons and Elders into office. It’s a day of celebration, and a day of devotion, a day of commitment, and day of dedication. This is a day when we believe we have heard God’s voice, and a day we faithfully follow His lead into an unknown future!

We welcome you into this day with us. As the Church of Jesus Christ at Lidgerwood Presbyterian, may we celebrate and devote and commit and dedicate our lives to God’s grace and mercy together!

Welcome, friends, from around the world, to this worshipping community!

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, those in the room and across the globe, to a moment of Sabbath in God’s presence and peace, and with others whom we love and with whom we grow together. Friends, may “The loving TRUTH of Christ be in you – and also 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.

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Choir –! Thank you leading us in worship with this Sunday’s Choral Anthem – as we read today about “walking in the Truth”, lead us in worship with:  “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”

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Listen in as Vern opens our Prayer time in Confession and Thanksgiving

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8    Gloria Patri

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• 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?

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

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Let’s prepare to receive a Word from our Majestic God by singing a song of Devotion and Praise  –  Bless the Lord, O My Soul  – #36!!

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You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, O God, and we come to You this morning because we love You.  As we open Your Word, shine Your Light brightly so we might clearly see the Way, follow the Truth, and live Life to Your fullest.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

III John gives us an intimate glimpse into the life of the early church.  It is a delightful accompaniment to John’s 2^nd letter, we read this last week, which was written to a Christian Church whom John calls a “chosen lady” about how to determine “absolute truth” in a world that thrives on a system of pluralism and tolerance.

The 3^rd letter of John, probably the last thing he wrote – at least the last piece of his writings we have in our Bibles – was written to a Christian man about how to take care of the true teachers who were traveling about ministering the Word of God.  There is therefore both a contrast and a connection in these last 2 letters from the pen of John.

Let’s look together at III John … —

16   ¹ The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

² Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. ³ For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

17    ⁵ Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, ⁶ who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. ⁷ For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

18   ⁹ I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

19  ¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. ¹² Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

20   ¹³ I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

¹⁵ Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

III John shows us something of the different kinds of hearts we church members might have.  There is a man named Gaius, to whom this letter is written; another man named Diotrephes, and a 3^rd individual named Demetrius.  These 3 men are like 3 kinds of Christians found in the church, 3 kinds of hearts, in any era and in every generation.  Like all the letters of the New Testament, this is a very up-to-date and relevant letter.

1^st, there is the man named Gaius. This may be 1 of the 3 Gaiuses mentioned in the New Testament, Gaius was apparently a common name in New Testament times, as is John.  In any case, John evidently knew this Gaius, and addresses the letter to him in a warm and friendly way.  We can gather from the letter that Gaius was a genial, gracious, generous individual. 3 things that John says about him are important to notice. Gaius had a Servant-heart. 

1^st, he was strong of soul; that was what warmed John‘s heart:

The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (III John 2)

That is a wonderful thing to say about someone, isn’t it?  “I wish you could be as strong in body as you are in spirit.”  It would be interesting to apply this test to people today.  If our physical appearance reflected our spiritual state, what would we look like?  Would we be robust – strong and virile?  Or would we be a doddering weakling, barely able to move?  Well, Gaius was the sort of man about whom the Apostle John could say, “I wish your physical life were as strong as your spiritual life.”  I know any number of folks sitting here about whom I could say the same thing.

2^nd, he was consistent in his actions:

It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. (III John 3)

He showed the truth in his life; what impressed John was not that he knew the truth, but that he followed the truth. He lived it.  He had a consistent life.  He did not preach T-bone steak and live chicken hot dogs.  He walked in the truth.

And 3^rd, he was generous in his giving:

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.  They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. (III John 5-6)

One of the signs that a person has really been genuinely touched by God is when their checkbook loosens up.  Their giving becomes generous, gracious, and cheerful, just as God gives.  And this man is faithful (loyal) in his giving.  This means that he is regular and systematic in his giving.  He does not just give when his emotions are moved, but he plans his giving, and he carries it through, faithfully continuing with the work that he has promised.

It is clear, too, that he gave cheerfully, because John says he gave “in a manner worthy of God.”  He does not want us to give because we feel we have to or because somebody is taking a special offering.  Or because we feel that if we do not give, we will be looked down on by other Christians.  Gaius gives because he delights in giving.

We will come back to verses 7 and 8 in a moment, but 1^st let us look at this man Diotrephes:

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.  So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. (III John 9-11)

This is the 1^st example in the New Testament church of a church boss – someone who tries to run the church.  If Gaius was the Servant heart, Diotrephes represents the Selfish heart.  He may have been an elder or a deacon or perhaps a pastor, it is difficult to tell.  But it was someone who thought it was his job to tell everyone else in the church what to do and how to do it! 

Now the early church apparently had some kind of a membership roll, and if Diotrephes did not like somebody, he would scratch his name off the list, and put him out of the church.  And John objects to that.  John indicates here that Diotrephes was guilty of 4 particular wrong attitudes and actions. 

For one thing, John says that this man was guilty of slandering the apostle, “gossiping maliciously about us.”  He refused the authority of the Apostle John.

We know from other letters that the apostles had a unique role in the history of the church.  They were to lay the foundations of the church, and were given the authority to settle all questions within the church.  It is this apostolic word that is passed along to us in the New Testament, which is why the New Testament is so authoritative to Christians.  That is why the New Testament is trustworthy as a collection of documents which tell us the truth!  So here was a man who not only disregarded the authority of the Apostle John, but he even spoke against him.  He said slanderous, evil things against the apostle.

2^nd-ly, he says that Diotrephes is refusing to welcome the brothers who came.  When these traveling ministers who went about from place to place, speaking the truth of God, came to this congregation Diotrephes would have nothing to do with them.  He turned them aside and refused to allow them to speak in the church.

A 3^rd thing is that he also puts people out of the church who would have taken these men in.  He indulges in what we would call “guilty by association.”  He not only objected to the men who came, but he objected to those who would have received them.  This has been one of the curses of the church ever since.  Because of this tendency to refuse fellowship to someone who likes someone you do not like, big divisions have come into the church, doing injury and harm beyond recall.

But of those 3 offenses, none was as severe as the thing John puts 1^st.  The most serious problem Diotrephes had was that he put himself first.  He loved to be Number One, which is a dead give-away that he was acting in the flesh.  This is always the philosophy of the flesh – me first, I’m most important, my-way-or-the-highway!  In doing that, he was robbing the Lord Jesus of His prerogative.  It is He who has the right to pre-eminence; He should be first, but here is a man who put himself first, and that is the really serious thing.  That’s what Adam and Eve did! That’s what Cain did! That’s what Joseph’s brothers did! That’s what King Herod did!

Unfortunately, there are plenty of people like Diotrephes in the churches today, and they are always characterized by this attitude.  They want to be first.  They want the glory.  They rob God of His due, stealing that which alone belongs to the Almighty.  

Just this past week I met with a friend who pastors a church in another part of Washington, who currently has a whole group of Diotrepheses in his church.  I read somewhere a number of years ago that one of the great leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention once wrote an editorial in their denominational magazine about Diotrephes.  Later, the editor reported that 25 deacons wrote to cancel their subscriptions, feeling personally attacked.

Now let us look at John‘s counsel in this situation.  Notice that he does not advise Gaius to organize a split away from the church.  Rather, he says, Do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. (III John 11)

In other words, do not follow these people who want the preeminence.  If you see somebody who is always jockeying for position in Christian relationships, always wanting to be in the public eye, do not follow him.  He is following his own way and not the way of God.

There is, finally, a 3^rd person mentioned here, Demetrius, and all we know of him is what John says:

Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone – and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true. (III John 12)

He is speaking here as a disciple with the gift of discernment.  If Gaius has the Servant heart and Diotrephes has the Selfish heart, Demetrius has a Seeker heart.  Evidently, he was the postal carrier of this letter to Gaius, and was probably one of those missionaries who traveled from place to place.

Now, I saved verses 7 and 8 until now to comment on Demetrius, because they describe the kind of man he was:

It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.  We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. (III John 7-8)

These words describe the 1^st group of traveling missionaries.  As they went from place to place they would enjoy the hospitality of the various churches.  They labored as evangelists in that area, reaching out into places where the church had not yet gone, being supported and strengthened by these various churches.

The Apostle John says three things of them.  He says 1^st that they have gone out; they have left things behind.  They gave up their income and their work, and went out to obey this higher calling.  Not everyone goes – that was true in the early church as it is today.  There were some, such as Gaius, who were to stay to help support these men.  But there were others to whom the Holy Spirit said, “Come, I’ve called you to a special task.”  Their motive is given here, too: “for the sake of the Name.” — the name of Jesus.

Back in Old Testament times, the Jews treated the name of God in a unique way.  The name of God, Yahweh, or

21     Jehovah, which appears throughout the Old Testament, was called the “Ineffable Tetragrammaton.”   That’s just a big word that means “the un-speakable 4-letter name”.  So whenever they came to these 4 Hebrew letters for God they did not dare speak them, so holy was the name; even when the scribe wrote them, he would change the pen and continue with another one.  Scribes also changed their clothes before they would write the sacred name, so reverently did they regard the name of God.  In the famous passage of Deuteronomy, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), those of you reading through the Bible this year should have been in this verse last Thursday! – the name occurs three times, which would have required three changes of clothes and six pens to write.  When Jewish Bible readers come to this name, instead of actually saying the name, they simply say the Hebrew word for “lord”.  If we were to look up, for instance, Dt 6:4, we would see in most of our English translations the word “lord” in all-caps [Lord].  That’s because “lord” is what the rabbi would say, “YHWH” is what was actually written down.

In the New Testament, then, the name is that of Jesus.  The Apostle Paul says, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-10a, 11 RSV)

Concern for Christ’s name is the underlying motive for all missionary work.  It is not the need of people that calls us out to different places in the world to preach the Gospel.  Need is abundant everywhere.  Everyone without Christ is in need.  And sometimes the most pathetic cases are not those who have physical needs, but those who have everything materially, but who are utterly wretched in their inner spirit.  Maybe our neighbors or our children, or even ourselves.  Are we more like Gaius? Or more like Diotrephes?

Now notice the part that the people who stay home are to have: We ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth. (III John 8)

Ray Stedman, one of my new-found favorite Bible teachers of about 65 years ago, asks, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, after you got to glory, God wrote ‘FWT’ after your name, in addition to whatever other degrees you may have. Fellow Worker in the Truth. What a degree to have!”

John closes his letter with almost the same personal words he closed II John:

I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name. (III John 13-14)

Again, Stedman says, “What an intimate little letter. It seems as though it came not only from John, but from the Lord himself. I like to read this letter as if it is reflecting what the Lord Jesus is saying to His own church. He is really saying to us, ‘There is much that I’d write to you about.’ He has written a whole book here, and He has much more to tell us about, but He says, ‘I’d rather not write with pen and ink. But I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.’”

What kind of church member are you?  Gaius?  Diotrephes?  Demetrius?  What is your heart?  Servant? Selfish? Seeker?  When we do get to see Him face to face, will He say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

Lord Jesus, we thank You that Your name has lost none of its ancient power to attract and bring us to Yourself.  We pray that You will strengthen our hearts and encourage us to honor Your name here on earth until we see You face to face.  Lead us into our 2^nd hundred years of ministry in NE Spokane.  Prepare us for everything You would have us do and be.  Confirm Your direction with joy and hope.  In Jesus’ authority.  Amen.

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I invite Donna Stone, elder overseeing the ministries of Spiritual Nurture in Worship and Christian Discipleship in study and education, to come forward and help us celebrate and devote and commit and dedicate ourselves to God’s walk in Truth as she calls our newly elected Deacons and Elders to come to the front for their ordination and installation!

27-29

30 

31 

32 

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”)

33  

34  Expedition Song #44 –  Great Is the Lord!    

35  

36  

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.”

37   Announcements      

• Ash Wednesday – from 10am to 4pm, personal prayer, devotion, ashes
• Thursday Bible Study –very Thursday at 10am, here and on Zoom
• Cantata Choir Rehearsal –very Thursday at 6pm

Resources: 

Stedman, Ray; Third John: A Tale of Three Men; sermon preached June 23, 1968, at Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, CA (Discovery Publishing, 1995).

Wheeler, Mark; “Servant; Selfish; or Seeker”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 07/16/2006.

02/12/2023 = II John = “You CAN Handle the Truth”

(Click HERE to see the FBLive video feed of this service – starts immediately, sermon begins at 26:00 – please ignore the wobbly camera and bad camera angles, the the camera-holder’s singing voice (that’s your pastor, ie, me).

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

1                                                                                                                                      

Mark Wheeler

II John                                                                                                                                   

02/12/2023

“You Can handle the Truth!”                                                                                    

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

Here’s lookin’ at you, Kid.’ [Casa Blanca]

2-3

Welcome to worship, friends – let’s join in as Pastor Kathy leads us in our Call to Worship – from Psalm 136

4-6

And let’s immediately follow that with our Prelude of Praise and Worship–– Give to Our God immortal Praise (#16)

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Good morning Friends!  Welcome worship at Lidgerwood!! Shalom Aleichem!

I get an email, every week or so, telling me that one or more of my devices or apps require some attention. My computer or telephone sends these signals out to my providers without my permission or knowledge; they just do it automatically. Sometimes I find this very annoying, but there are other times when I realize how much smarter than me most of what I own actually us!

And I think, “It’s strange to have a car or a refrigerator or a TV set that’s smarter than yourself.” And then I realize, “No, it’s not so strange. Lidgerwood Church won’t think that’s strange at all—not in reference to me.”

But, then I think about how we do send signals, and how a congregation such as LPC sends a signal that is happening, if you like, internally, that is then picked up externally, that will be expressive of something that is going on unseen and yet something that is of significance. And I wonder what kind of signal the congregation at Lidgerwood is sending to the watching world, sending to itself—what are we sending, if you like, to God—when it comes to this issue of the gathering of God’s people for the singing of God’s praise?

I truly believe that when we gather and sing God’s praise, our worship sends a signal to the watching world. Our focus on God is essential, as is the joyful, thankful enthusiasm of our devotion.

The scope of God’s praise, meanwhile, is limitless, as He calls the nations to worship Him. Having saved us, He moves us to worship—so let’s praise Him! Truly, let’s worship in Spirit and in Truth!

Welcome, friends, from around the world, to this worshipping community!

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, those in the room and across the globe, to a moment of Sabbath in God’s presence and peace, and with others whom we love and with whom we grow together. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The loving TRUTH of Christ be in 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.

8

Choir –! Thank you leading us in worship with this Sunday’s Choral Anthem – :  “I Love to Tell the Story”

9

Listen in as Pastor Kathy opens our Prayer time in Confession and Thanksgiving

10   

11    Gloria Patri

12-14  

• 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?

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

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Let’s prepare to receive a Word from our Majestic God by singing a song of Devotion and Praise  –  Let Us, with a Gladsome Mind – #59!!

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You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, O God, and we come to You this morning because we love You.  As we open Your Word, shine Your Light brightly so we might clearly see the Way, follow the Truth, and live Life to Your fullest.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

You know how some movie lines are unforgettable?  Even if we haven’t seen the movie, we’ve heard the line so many times they are burned into the skins of our eardrums?  Here’re some lines; you tell me the movies:  “They’re he-re.” [Poltergeist]  “Show me the money.” [Jerry Maguire]  “Hasta la vista, Baby.” [Terminator 2: Judgment Day] “Go ahead, make my day.” [Dirty Harry: Sudden Impact] “Who are those guys?” [Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid] “Click your heels 3 times and say, ‘There’s no place like home’.” [The Wizard of Oz] “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” [Gone with the Wind]   “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” [The Godfather] “My Precious.” [The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings]  “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” [The Princess Bride]   “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]

Some of you will remember the 1992 military/legal movie called A Few Good Men.  In this movie Neo-military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder; the Marines contend that they were acting under orders.  In probably the most famous scene, Col. Nathan R. Jessep (played by Jack Nicholson) asks, “You want answers?”  Lawyer, Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) says, “I think I’m entitled.”  Col. Jessep repeats, “You want answers?”  Kaffee says, “I want the truth.”  To which Col. Jessep states, “You can’t handle the truth.”

When Jesus faced Pontius Pilate in John 18, “Pilate said to Him, ‘So You are a king?’  Jesus answered, ‘You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ And Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’”

Last month when we read from what may be the most pivotal verses of the Old Testament, Genesis 12:1-4, we saw how God calls us and blesses us, not simply for our self-centered good, but for the good of all creation! And from this, we learn how we need to, in Paul’s words in Ephesians, learn to “speak the truth in love.”

Because of the season of Lent, the weeks leading up to Easter, begins in two Sundays, we are spending these intermission-Sundays looking at two very short 1-chapter books of the Bible.  Today we read II John.  Next week we read III John. 

II John is written, according to most scholars, by the Apostle John, to some particular church whom he calls the “chosen lady”.  He makes a main point here about truth and love.  Let’s look together at II John … —

21   ¹ The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, ² because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

³ Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

22   ⁴ I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.

23   ⁶ And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. ⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 

24   ⁸ Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. ⁹ Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹ for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

25   ¹² Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

¹³ The children of your elect sister greet you.

The high school teacher professes: “Class, there are no absolute truths in life.”  Three students speak up and argue that creation, sin and the Bible are absolute truths.  The teacher states again: “Well class, those are mere opinions. We must conclude that there are no absolute truths in life.”  And then a young girl in the back of the class stands up and says: “Except that ONE, right teacher?”  — The only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths. … Hmmm —

I believe that there are absolute truths.  One of which is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  Another absolute truth is that “the wages of sin is death”.  And one more is that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life.”

John, here, tells us we are to “walk in the truth”.  So, what does walking in truth look like?  One of the insights/questions I had last month while reading through the Bible (Genesis, Exodus) for the 30^th or 50^th time was the discovery that Genesis 4 says that Enoch “walked with God” (meaning, he did not die, he simply ascended into God’s eternal presence… And then two chapters later we read that Noah “walked with God” (but he did die,,, so what does this mean?). The only other place in all of Scripture that this phrase is used is in Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament says that Levi “walked with God” – he also did, indeed die). Walking with God was a three-time phrase that describes people who had:

• Knowledge of Scripture and theology

• Confidence in God’s sovereignty – He’s in charge and we can trust Him

• Making wise decisions – James: If anybody lacks wisdom, he should ask, and our God who gives generously will grant that wisdom.

• Living a life of obedience to God’s will – generally, live “holy” lives, following the mandates in the Bible; and specifically, serving God with the gifts He has already put in our stewardship control.

I think these also describe what it means to “walk in truth”!

But, then, John says to balance “truth” with “love”.  So, what does loving one another look like?

• Grace is given regardless of circumstances

• Authentic accountability is offered without judgmentalism – God accepts us just the way we are; but He loves us too much to leave us there.

• Freedom to be genuine – be real, who you really are

How does absolute truth compare with relativity?

• Truth is steady (Objective), relativity shifts according to its circumstances (Subjective)

• 2 + 2 = 4; water is wet; Jesus died for me and still lives for me

• Relativism is based on opinion: the water is cold, this sermon is boring, Mark is a fat, old man

[Refer to introductory story about the teacher and her students.]

Who here remembers Jerry Seinfeld?  In one episode Jerry is asking George if he told his blind date the truth when George was describing himself to the girl.  George responded: “Yes, I did” and Jerry replied “As you see it” …  Later in the diner Jerry was leaving to tell his female friend some truisms he had not told before.  As Jerry was leaving the diner George pointed a finger at him and said: “Remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it.” — relative truth or real absolute truth? —

How do we speak the truth in love?

• Use gentle, non-antagonistic words
• Be accepting, kind demeanor
• Be objective, based on a standard not an opinion – God’s Word

The modern church world shouts, “We do not need rules and regulations! We only need love! Do away with the doctrinal standards and take down the wall. We will never win souls with doctrine. Love is the key!” 

Yes, love is the key.  But, so-called love, without commitment, is mere infatuation!  It has then become a lewd license to continue a sinful lifestyle without a consciousness of sin.  We condone the sin … and the wages of sin is death … what kind of love is that?  Then truth’s question will be, “… and what are you winning the lost to?”  If all we have is love, and no truth … to what do we save the lost? – the logical conclusion is that we save the lost to the wages of sin!

As Christians, speaking in/to a non-Christian world, what do we mean when we say that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?  In what way is Jesus the unique truth? – Look at the Nicene Creed, #15 in your hymnbooks –

• Co-eternal with the Father and Holy Spirit

• Born of a virgin

• Lived in the flesh – was a real human

• Lived a perfect life

• Died on the cross as a substitute for you/me

• Rose from the dead

• Lives with the Father

• He will come back for His followers

When our neighbors and co-workers and family members and classmates say, “I want the truth.”  Allow me to encourage you that that’s a good thing, because, in fact, “You can handle the truth.”

Now is the time of God’s favor!  Today is the day of salvation!  You can handle the truth!

Teach us Your ways, O Lord, that we may walk in Your Truth; give us undivided hearts to revere Your name. May we know Your love and live in Your truth, always, through Christ our Lord. Amen

26 

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”)

27  

28-31  Expedition Song #353 –  For the Beauty of the Earth!    

32  

33  

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.”

And always remember, Jesus said. “I’ll be back!” [The Terminator]

34   Announcements      

• Thursday Bible Study –very Thursday at 10am, here and on Zoom

Resources: 

Begg, Alistair; https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/call-worship/; July 31,2011

Kirkner, David; Dealing with Truth Decay; sermon preached; August 2005.

McCool, Mark; The Inseparables; sermon preached; 1991 (Mississippi Torch; December, 1992).

Wheeler, Mark; “You Can Handle the Truth”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 07/09/2006.

02/05/2023 = Genesis 12:1-4 = “Fully Embracing the Miraculous Call Together”

(Click HERE to see the FBLive video of this service – starts at 3:00, sermon begins at 28:00 – audio quality is better than last week – however music is completely missing!!)

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

1                                                                                                                                        

Mark Wheeler

Genesis 12:1-4                                                                                                                      

02/05/2023

“Fully Embracing God’s Miraculous Call Together”                                               

Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church

2-8

Welcome to worship, friends – let’s join in as Pastor Kathy leads us in our Call to Worship – from Psalm 122 – intermingled with some Prelude of Praise Music – I Surrender All and Glorify Your Name

9

Good morning Friends!  Welcome worship at Lidgerwood!! Shalom Aleichem!

As we begin our time together today, let’s start with a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped make last Sunday’s Worship and Potluck Lunch and Congo Meeting happen so smoothly (and warmly!).  You are an awesome church to work with! 

And isn’t it nice to be in a relatively balmy 28* (instead of last week’s 8*) weather.

Speaking of “heat” – anyone who wants to learn how to help keep our current boiler/furnace working – you never know when someone “else” might not be here to keep us “warm” – I will give a walk-thru lesson on our system after worship today!  We have had to re-light the pilot every few days to keep the boiler running, We are also adding water to the system every few days because the mysterious leak seems to be getting worse…. Thank you to all who try to help with portable space heaters and mittens….

Today’s sermon is the 4^th in a 4-part series that started a week late, and then was gifted with an interlude by our Presbytery’s Missional Expeditor, Rev Katie Stark, before resuming again last week.  So as we start today I want to say 2 things and re-cap, before we read today’s Bible story and un-pack it for today’s message.

1^st: 2 things: Thank you; thank you.  The 1^st goes to Kathy Sandusky for preaching while I was in Alaska with Brianna and her family a month ago.  She started off our new year with a BANG on January 1!

          The 2^nd goes to Katie Stark for preaching in the middle of this series, about being a people whose lives are enacted by their Abram-like faith! I have heard lots of positive reflections on Katie’s Gospel message.

          That covers the 2 things … now for a quick re-cap of this series.

We began this series by reading the story in Genesis about how God called a man named Abram and gave him a vocation that had been unheard of – to, at the age of 75, leave his homeland – Ur of present-day Iraq – and go to wherever God would eventually tell him to stop – Canaan of present-day Israel, and there God would make his name great, would give this childless retiree a family and a nation, and eventually, from among his descendents, a Blessing to the whole world.

How do we fully embrace God’s miraculous call together?!

Welcome, friends, from around the world, to this worshipping community!

Let’s take a second to welcome each other, those in the room and across the globe, to a moment of Sabbath in God’s presence and peace, and with others whom we love and with whom we grow together. Tell your loved ones, whoever you can see , “The CALL of Christ be to 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.

10

Choir –! Thank you leading us in worship with this Sunday’s Choral Anthem – :  “Remember Me”

11

Listen in as Pastor Kathy opens our Prayer time in Confession and Thanksgiving

12   

13    Gloria Patri

14-16  

• 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?

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

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Let’s prepare to receive a Word from our Majestic God by singing a PRAYER of Devotion and Praise  – that also calls His followers to offer ourselves to Him together – Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah  – #634!!

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Lord Jesus, we are now five complete weeks into the New Year – past the Annual Meeting, at Super Bowl, and almost to Valentine’s Day – what have we done to make things right with our families, or to succeed at work or school, or to discover how we fit into Your glorious plan so far?  On THIS day, dear Lord, help us to set our sights on Your purposes for us as a church, as Your corporate Body of Christ, and to fully embrace Your miraculous call together.  Embracing miracles seems impossible … to do so with complete and utter trust in Your desire to see us successful seems even more impossible; so help us accept and do the impossible.  It is by the Word of Jesus Christ that we pray this prayer.  Amen.

Sermon #1 was titled: Embracing God’s Call, and we looked at how we accept God’s call on our lives.  Sermon #2 was called: Embracing God’s Call Together, and we examined the gift of corporate calling – God calls LPC and all its members into mutual ministry.  Sermon #3 was entitled: Embracing God’s Miraculous Call Together, wherein we discovered that the God who calls us still performs miracles and therefore empowers us to accomplish that to which He calls us!

All 3 of those sermons used Genesis 12:1-4, God’s call of Abram, as our scripture study.  Today, week 4 of 4, I invite you to turn to … Genesis 12:1-4 as we build on those previous messages and today talk about Fully Embracing God’s Miraculous Call Together!  —  

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1. The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3. “And I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.”
4. So, Abram left as the Lord had told him ….

Abram and Sarai, in contrast to the resistant, mistrustful world presented in Genesis 1-11, are responsive and receptive to God’s call.  They fully embrace the call and venture forth into the unknown future trusting only in the promises of God.  Remember that before this passage we don’t know that Abram ever even heard of God the Creator of the heavens and earth.  All we know is that God spoke up and Abram heard, recognized, and obeyed!

Do you think our world is any less resistant or mistrustful today?  I know that my vision is pretty near-sighted, but I would guess we live in a society that is MORE resistant and mistrustful to the things of God!  So Abram’s story forces us to ask which side of that resistance-response continuum we live on.  Yeah, we’re in Church, so we know the right answer is to Embrace God’s Call … but do we FULLY embrace it?  Or just with our heads, but not our hearts or our lives?

Here’s the thing, though.  Abram and Sarai were not left all alone in their trust.  God did not expect them to rely on their own human reason, their own strength, their own cleverness, logic or resourcefulness.  God always journeys with them!  And God promises to provide them with whatever they will need!

And, through His Holy Spirit presence, for all who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God will never leave us nor forsake us, either!  OK, we live in a resistant world, and we want to respond with receptive hearts and lives.  God is present in this room to help.  God is there in the hospital ward to give strength.  God is at the Tax Office, at our homes, in our lives, because He loves us.  He loves us so much He sent His one and only Son to die for us, so that whoever believes and receives Him as Lord and Savior will be allowed to live forever in the presence of this same God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth!

One of the things we experienced 1^st-hand last June while wandering the Israeli countryside and exploring the archeological excavations in Israel is that the history of the People of God, from its very beginnings, is the history of a unique guidance – and this is true every time we read through the Bible – the history of a unique guidance made possible ONLY because God was with them.  All along the way God shows up and makes promises, directing the eyes of the people toward the future which holds Jesus Christ on its horizon, revealing the truth to them.

They believed that!  That’s why they could FULLY Embrace God’s Miraculous Call.  Do we BELIEVE that same truth? 

It is God’s presence and God’s purpose which provides the motivation and the direction for Abram and Sarai’s faith journey.  The command to “go from …” is immediately followed by God’s declaration: “I will …”  The fulfillment of the promises made to Abram and Sarai, and through them to the whole of God’s People, and through them to all of humanity, rests entirely with the One who is speaking in Genesis 12!  Those who respond are to live in TOTAL reliance upon God!

We are on a Journey of Faith together.  God is calling us into ministry in the 21^st Century!  That means there’s a command to “go from …”; and that command is immediately followed by God’s declaration: “I will …”  The future ministries of LPC depend fully on God.  But when we respond, we need to FULLY embrace God’s Miraculous Call Together! 

There is a principle of Biblical community at play here.  We discover 5 essential qualities of a biblical understanding of community in this Abram and Sarai story of Call:

1. The divine initiative: God acts 1^st by speaking a powerful and creative word into a particular and concrete situation.  It is God’s Call!
2. There is a communal character to God’s Call and of God’s salvation – He calls communities together.  We embrace God’s Call Together!
3. The central significance of God’s continual guidance and faithfulness.  We embrace God’s Miraculous Call Together!
4. The trust and obedience required of the people responding! – We Fully Embrace God’s Miraculous Call Together.
5. The commission: God’s people play a key role in the fulfillment of God’s redemption-hope for everyone! – Matthew 28, “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have told you … and I will be with you to the end of the age.”

The Journey of the people of God is never an aimless wandering but it is a journey-towards!  The New Testament calls it a following of “the Way”, and Jesus calls Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life.  We are set on a road to a future beyond all our hopes, a future full of promise.  As a people responding to God’s Call, trusting in God’s promise, and participating in God’s mission, we are a people with a 2,000 year Christian history, and specifically a 116-year ministry at LPC, and so, confident of God’s faithfulness to guard, preserve, guide and persevere, we look at LPC, the next Hundred Years.

Let’s Fully Embrace God’s Miraculous Call Together … every day!  Amen.

23 

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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25     As we prepare for the sacrament of Holy Communion – and as Pastor Kathy comes forward, and our Communion servers come to the front – we come to this Table in humble prayer – in the Presbyterian Church we invite all who call Jesus their Lord and Savior to this Table which is not ours – it is God’s – if you are not yet baptized, but have come to a saving faith – talk with me or one of our Elders right after worship – as our Servers distribute the trays with the bread and cup, note that each tray has both COVID-safe self-contained elements of bread and juice, and individual cups of juice and bread in the middle – depending on which way you want to be served , take the appropriate cups. And while the elements of bread and juice are being served, we will pray by repeating the words on the screen – just keep singing until Julie brings us to a close and Pastor Kathy leads in the Communion service>  Communion Song #821 –  Lord, Have Mercy Upon Us!    

26-28  Expedition Song #635 –  He Leadeth Me!    

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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.”

31   Announcements      

• Thursday Bible Study –very Thursday at 10am, here and on Zoom
• Breakfast Fellowship – This Saturday, Frankie Doodles at 9am, here at 8:30 for a carpool/caravan
• Presbytery Summit – Also this Saturday, starting at 9:30 on Zoom!

Resources: 

Journey of Discovery Bible Study: The Call of a Witnessing Community; 2005; P. 9-10.

Wheeler, Mark; “Fully Embracing God’s Miraculous Call Together”; Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church; 02/12/2006.