[0:00] Let's rejoice and be glad in it. If any of the kids want to come up and sing, that would be wonderful. This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
[0:23] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day, that the Lord has made.
[0:38] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made.
[0:53] Hi, welcome to our church. I'm Mike Maciejewski. And I'm Julie. Please fill out your friendship card to get on the mailing list, to sign up for any activities, any prayers or concerns, and any notes you want to send to the staff.
[1:10] And if you're new to our church, please be sure and pick up a gift that we have for you in the back of the church at the Connection site after worship. Thank you for coming today, and welcome to Pendleton Center Church.
[1:23] You'll see that there are three clipboards going around, actually. One of them needs to go to the whole congregation. You'll see a yellow note on the bottom of it. That's for people who want to donate communion elements, the bread and the juice for communion.
[1:37] There's also a sign-up for our fall retreat, which is happening the end of September. A wonderful time to kind of get away from it all and spend some time with other folks from the church and do a little learning and do a little relaxing.
[1:50] So if you're interested in that, please sign up on that sheet. And there's one for the barbecue. You want to tell us about that? We're asking for donations for the chicken barbecue.
[2:01] It's a youth-sponsored event to raise money for the mission trip. So next Sunday is actually going to be a youth car wash with a hot dog sale.
[2:11] So when you're done with this, you can get an early lunch. But as you come in, if you want to drop your car off, your car can be all clean by the time you leave. And that's to raise funds for the youth mission trip as well. There are barbecue tickets out in the fellowship hall, and the chicken barbecue is June, Saturday, June 6th.
[2:28] And that's, again, to help raise funds for the youth mission trip this summer. And that starts at 3.30, correct? The barbecue, 3.30 to 7, yes. Okay. And then I wanted to remind you about next Sunday we're going to be celebrating Pastor Tom's 25th year in ministry here with us.
[2:46] And that's amazing to keep a pastor in the Methodist Church that long. So we want to celebrate him and remind him of all the good things he's done for us. And if you have any stories that you'd like to share, you can submit them by email or write them down and send them to me.
[3:03] If we can get them by Tuesday afternoon, that would be the best. We're going to put them into a memory book with some pictures and such. And some of them we'll read out loud during the celebration.
[3:14] If you'd like yours read, just make a note on it. And the last thing we wanted to remind you that this Wednesday there's no Wednesday night meal. There's no Wednesday night Bible studies.
[3:25] There's no Wednesday night youth because the people who run that are all going to be at annual conference making decisions for the future of the church. We'll be in Syracuse. There will, however, be choir rehearsals.
[3:37] So if you're part of that, you can come and sing. I think that's it, isn't it? All right. Lots of announcements today. Shall we come together before the Lord in prayer?
[3:50] Oh, gracious God, we ask that you would help us to quiet our busyness, to still our hearts and become centered upon you. We know, Lord, that you're always here, but sometimes we're just too busy to stop and recognize you.
[4:07] And so we come to this place hoping that we can have a sense of your presence, praying that you would fill us with your spirit once again, and that you would help us to learn about you, to love you, and to worship you with all that we have and all that we are in Jesus' name.
[4:26] Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able as we sing together the Battle Hymn of the Republic. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
[4:53] He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He hath loosed a faithful lightning of the cerebral swift sword.
[5:04] His truth is marching on. Glory, glory, hallelujah. Glory, glory, hallelujah.
[5:20] Glory, glory, hallelujah. His truth is marching on. I have seen him in the watchbars of a hundred circle camps.
[5:35] They have loaded him an altar in the evening dews and depths. I can read his righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps.
[5:46] His day is marching on. Glory, glory, glory, hallelujah.
[5:56] Glory, glory, hallelujah. Glory, glory, hallelujah.
[6:07] His truth is marching on. In the beauty of the lily's cross was born across the sea.
[6:18] With the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me. As he died to make them holy, let us live to make them free.
[6:29] While God is marching on. Glory, glory, hallelujah.
[6:39] Glory, glory, hallelujah. Glory, glory, hallelujah.
[6:50] His truth is marching on. The peace of the Lord be with you. Won't you greet your neighbors with the peace of the spirit?
[7:03] Good morning. How are you going to do? Good morning. Good morning. I'd like to invite the kids to come on up.
[7:24] Any kids want to come up? Any of the kids want to come up? Something I want to show you. Come on up, guys. Come on up. Good morning. That's it. You guys want to come up? Great.
[7:36] Here they come. Oh, look at those sparkly shoes. I love it. All right. Well, I wanted to show you this thing and ask you if you knew what it was.
[7:49] A lantern. And do you know how this works? Okay, you put it in your garden and it lights up at night. But it's brand new.
[8:00] I just took it out of the package. If I put it out there tonight, would it light up? No, it doesn't take batteries. Do you know how it works? You have to expose it to the sunlight.
[8:14] You have to put it out during the day when the sun shines on it. See that little panel there? That collects the energy of the sun. And then at night, it will glow and make a light for you.
[8:26] Yeah. Isn't that cool? Yeah. Well, as long as it's sunny out that night, it will light up. And it will hold that energy for a few days just in case you have some rainy weather in the middle.
[8:38] But you know that our hearts, our souls are kind of like this lamp. We have to expose ourselves to the love and the power of God.
[8:49] And then we can help to light up the world. Did you know that you can help light up the world? Yeah. The Holy Spirit inside of you just makes you shine with God's love. And you can be just like, oh, look, a balloon.
[9:02] Nice. Cool. What are all of you thankful for today? You want to raise your hands? My mom and dad, my guinea pig. Mom and dad.
[9:15] Everything. My sisters. Okay. One more. My grandma and my family.
[9:29] All right. Let's pray together. Lord, we are thankful for our families, our moms and dads, our sisters and brothers. We're thankful for games and for fun things you give to us.
[9:43] And most of all, we're thankful for you and the way that you love us, Lord. Help us to be faithful. Help us to shine your light throughout the world. And this we ask in Jesus' name.
[9:54] Amen. Thank you all. The kids are welcome to go to church. Go with me. That's very nice. Come on.
[10:15] Good morning. It is a blessed and wonderful day. And I am so thankful and celebrating two things.
[10:26] Two things about our freedom that is just, they're just such a blessing to me. There is Memorial Day, of course, is tomorrow. And, you know, it's because of the folks who have defended our nation, who have died in the pursuit of defending our freedom, that we remember tomorrow for Memorial Day.
[10:47] And it's why we can gather in a place like this. Remember, there are many places in the world where people can't freely gather and celebrate their freedom and celebrate Jesus Christ as Lord and worship in the way that they choose to worship.
[11:02] And it's because we are free. Because there are even today men and women preserving and standing strong for our freedom. But this weekend, we remember those who died, who died in pursuit of that so that we can have the freedoms that we enjoy.
[11:20] And today is Pentecost Sunday. And it's my favorite day on the whole church calendar. I mean, if you think about the days on the church calendar. The day that God poured his Holy Spirit into each and every one of us as Christians, that we can walk in the power of God, that we can know the will of God for our lives.
[11:39] What a blessing. What a blessing. What a blessing it is to be free in Christ and to have been given a free nation to live in. It is a blessing.
[11:50] Amen. As we remember all of those who died for our freedom, those in our military over all of the years that have been in the making of this nation, and the Lord, our Lord and Savior, who died to set us free from our sins.
[12:06] Let's bring our gifts, tithes, and offerings. Let's make it an act of worship to God. He has blessed us so abundantly. We can return back some of that blessing.
[12:19] Amen. Amen. Amen.
[12:53] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Singing Marta Chiffin Thank you.
[14:20] I love you.
[14:50] I love you.
[15:20] I love you.
[15:50] I love you. And give us the wisdom to know how to best use them for the furtherance of your kingdom. That we may draw many to salvation in Jesus Christ.
[16:00] It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[16:11] Amen. Amen. We also have a God who hears our prayers and hears our concerns, who knows what we need before we even ask, but wants us to participate, to work together with him.
[16:24] So we bring these concerns before the Lord as well this morning. Kathleen Mott, who most of you in this service know, she's one of our CLMs and she's on the pastoral staff.
[16:36] She is having some problems with severe arthritis in her knee and she has been diagnosed with shingles as well and she is in need of prayer for that.
[16:46] And let's see, Jan Inward's father, Jim Coates, is 94 years old and he has just recently had surgery and we need to pray for him for his healing. Eleanor Kimberly, who is Norm's mom, had a stroke yesterday and is in need of our prayers.
[17:05] We've been asked to pray for Mary Licata, who is recovering from food poisoning and she's coming along, but she's had a nasty bout with that. And Randy Hasley fell off a ladder and has injured his arm rather badly, severed a tendon, and we're in prayer for him to recover fully from that injury.
[17:27] With these concerns and the concerns that you have on your hearts as well, let's turn to the Lord in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, you are so awesome, so mighty, so amazing, the creator of all things.
[17:52] Lord God, you have called us to come into your presence. We are humbled, Lord.
[18:03] We are humbled and in awe of your great goodness and mercy and grace. We are honored that you hear our prayers.
[18:17] We don't know what we'd do without you. We are honored that you hear our prayers. Lord God, we come before you as your humble servants, seeking healing for all those who have been listed this morning with their concerns, and for all of those in our lives who are in need of healing, whether it be in their spirits or their souls or their bodies.
[18:39] We just ask that you touch them with your power. We just ask that you touch them with your power, Lord God. Touch them. Give wisdom to their caregivers, to the medical professionals who are dealing with them and treating them.
[18:54] Lord God, we just pray for health to be in their bodies, in their hearts, in their minds.
[19:05] And pray, Father God, for those who are grieving losses. Although we are blessed, Lord God, to have had all of the people in our lives that you've blessed us with, there are times when we remember and we feel loss and pain.
[19:29] We feel grief. We just ask for you that you would send comfort, comfort and peace by your Holy Spirit. Be with all those who are missing folks today.
[19:46] Be with the families of all of our servicemen who have died in service to this country in defending our freedoms. Just bless those families, Lord God.
[19:59] Father, take a moment and lift up those folks who are in our own hearts, whose names haven't been spoken, asking that you will touch their lives as they are in need.
[20:16] Amen. Amen. Lord God, we pray that we will be empowered to be your witnesses, that your light would shine within us so brightly that we can light others' lives and show them your love and your mercy and your grace.
[20:50] We pray that as we hear your word this morning, that it would wash over us and continue the transformation that you began such a long time ago, in each of our lives, moving us toward perfection in Christ Jesus.
[21:08] Let it be a blessing to us, Lord, equipping us to go out into this world and serve as you will us to serve. Father, we pray for Pastor Jean as she is preparing to deliver the message this morning.
[21:23] We ask that the message you have given her would bless us and would be a blessing to her as well. We pray, Father God, that all of our worship would be a blessing to you.
[21:38] Send us out into the world recharged and prepared for whatever it is that we might encounter in the coming week. be with us as we worship.
[21:52] Empower us to worship. There's nothing we can do without you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
[22:05] Shall we hear from the word of the Lord?Lucasana Who있 Wholiamo Nobody wants to read this morning, eh?
[22:57] Well, God bless you anyway. This morning's reading is from James chapter 4. I'll be reading in verses 1 through 12. What causes fights and quarrels among you?
[23:12] Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet. But you cannot have what you want.
[23:24] You quarrel and fight. But you do not have because you do not ask of God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
[23:40] You adulterous people. Don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
[23:53] Or do you think scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace.
[24:07] That is why the scripture says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
[24:20] Come near to God. And he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. And purify your hearts, you double-minded.
[24:32] Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning. And your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord. And he will lift you up.
[24:45] Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it.
[25:01] When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one lawgiver and judge. The one who is able to save and destroy.
[25:16] But you. Who are you to judge your neighbor? This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
[25:31] Thank you, Pastor Lisa, for reading so eloquently for us. Didn't you do a great job? Amen. This week we continue on with our sermon series on the seven deadly sins.
[25:45] And today we're going to talk about anger. We've been walking our way through the scriptures from the letter of James. And we've also been using that old TV series, Gilligan's Island, to help with some illustrations.
[25:58] Because each of the characters on Gilligan's Island was supposed to represent one of the seven deadly sins. Now there are only two characters left. Thurston Howell III or the Skipper, which one do you think represents anger?
[26:13] It's the Skipper today. Yes, it's the Skipper. It seems like the Skipper was always blowing off steam towards Gilligan and some of the other castaways as well. Let's watch a couple of clips here.
[26:25] Skipper, I want you to do me a favor. Would you lend me a residue? I mean, if you got an extra one. Lend you a what? A residue. It says right here in the notation, I got to wear one. See right here. Residive.
[26:35] Gilligan, that's RSVP. Okay, do you have an extra one? Gilligan, what you're supposed to do is write the house and tell them that you're coming. Oh. That is, you're going.
[26:46] Of course I am. The guy has to be pretty stupid to pass him a chance like this. Okay, Smarty, go ahead and RSVP. See who I care. Skipper, you don't have to yell. I'm not yelling! I hate to hear you whisper. Now it's nine o'clock.
[26:57] You still... Professor, I really think you ought to know that the... Gilligan, would you be quiet? The professor's trying to say something important and you keep interrupting. Now be quiet, will you? Now as you were saying, Professor. You still have time to get aboard and get into the currents.
[27:09] If you and Gilligan hurry. All right, Gilligan. What is it that was so important that you kept interrupting for? The capsule's loaded off. Were you nincompoop?
[27:21] Why didn't you tell us sooner? We could have all been on the capsule. Yeah, picking up coconuts like this is a snap. Yeah, I sure do hate to climb up palm trees. You don't have to climb up me either, Gilligan.
[27:35] Sorry, Skipper, let me help you out here. Thanks. Gilligan, why don't you go pick up coconuts somewhere else or there's going to be a storm around there that's going to shake everything loose, including you?
[27:49] Oh, poor Gilligan. He was always in trouble and that Skipper was always blowing off steam at him. Why do you suppose the Skipper was so easily riled up?
[28:00] Did he have a right to be angry at times? It seems to me that there are two types of anger. One is a selfish anger that we use just to vent our frustration.
[28:12] And the other is a righteous anger that wants to right something that's wrong or unjust. I guess you could call them a good-for-something anger and a good-for-nothing anger.
[28:26] And I wanted to start today by looking, first of all, at good-for-nothing anger because I think that that's the kind of anger that gets us into the most types of trouble. In our scripture reading from James, you heard in verse 1, what causes fights and quarrels among you, don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
[28:46] We always have a struggle going on inside of us, it seems. But he goes on to explain it. You desire, but you do not have, so you kill. You covet, but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
[28:59] There are a lot of worldly desires that plague us at times, things like gluttony and lust and envy, these things we've been talking about the last few weeks.
[29:10] And these are the types of sins that can lead us to the sin of anger. When we don't have the physical pleasures that we want or the power or the money that we think we deserve, it can drive us to anger and it can cause violence and pain for others.
[29:28] Think about that skipper for a moment. What do you think was the one thing that he wanted more than anything else while he was on that deserted island? To get off that island, right, to get rescued, to go home.
[29:43] Of course, anybody in his situation would feel that way, and all of the castaways certainly wanted to be rescued and to go home. But the skipper probably felt it the most.
[29:55] After all, he was the captain of the minnow. He was the one who was in charge. He was the one who was running the boat when it was shipwrecked.
[30:06] He took his job pretty seriously, and I wonder if he didn't look back and ask himself how he could have avoided their plight. Maybe he thought, I should have checked the weather forecast a little more closely.
[30:19] I should have noticed the warning signs in the sky and in the clouds. I should have turned back to home port before it was too late. The skipper felt responsible for what had happened for their fate on the island.
[30:34] Not only was he feeling responsible, but look at this group of people that he had with him. Think about how well they were equipped to survive on a desert island.
[30:48] I mean, he had a movie star and a homemaker, a rich man and his spoiled wife, a book smart professor, and of course, his bumbling first mate, Gilligan.
[30:59] And none of them had very many skills for wilderness survival. How is the skipper going to keep them all alive and safe until help comes? Of course, he was tense and he was frustrated.
[31:12] He blew off steam from time to time. But did his sense of responsibility and his sense of guilt give him a right to be harsh with other people?
[31:24] Not really. He wanted things that he couldn't provide for himself, things he couldn't provide for the others, and it led him to angry outbursts.
[31:36] James goes on to note, you do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
[31:50] What was the skipper's real motivation? It may not have been just to get his passengers to safety. It might have been to make himself look better and feel better after his failure to keep them safe.
[32:07] And maybe he was thinking about his own losses. He lost his boat. He lost his tourist business. He was hungry and he was longing to be home just like the rest of them.
[32:18] But maybe he was so focused on his own problems that he wasn't able to see what others were feeling as well. Maybe he was thinking mostly of himself when he should have thought of them.
[32:31] And so when they complained or they did something wrong, he blew up at them. James goes on to chide his readers in verse 4 when he writes, you adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?
[32:49] Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?
[33:04] James calls his readers adulterous people. And what he means is that they've been unfaithful to God. They've been so concerned with worldly things that they've wandered away from God.
[33:18] They are so far removed from God that they have become his enemies. And that can happen to us. All they thought about was how they could get more and do more and be more.
[33:32] They put themselves in the place of God by thinking they could provide for their own needs instead of trusting God. But still, God longed for their souls.
[33:46] He longed for the Holy Spirit that he had planted inside of them, just like he plants inside of each of us as believers. He longed for that Holy Spirit to grow and to flourish inside of them.
[33:59] But people can resist the Holy Spirit by going their own way and doing their own thing. This is the season of Pentecost.
[34:10] That's why I chose to wear red today. And we remember this season when the gift of the Holy Spirit was first poured out on the believers on Pentecost Day.
[34:22] However we can, we can resist the Spirit working inside of our lives. I wonder if God looked at the skipper and hoped that the Holy Spirit would be allowed to work in his life more fully.
[34:38] What if the skipper had been more focused on serving the others? What if he tried to talk to them about their spiritual needs at this time when they were in a lot of stress, a lot of trouble?
[34:51] Imagine what a powerful, wonderful witness he could have been. What an influence he could have been on the others if he had been focused on bringing them closer to God in this time when they were vulnerable and in need.
[35:08] I have an idea that the skipper was a very proud man. After all, he was the captain of his ship, right? He was somebody he thought couldn't take care of himself and all the others.
[35:21] He was the captain of his ship. He was the captain of his ship. But circumstances and experiences were proving him to be wrong. He was in a place where he could not do everything. He could not save everyone.
[35:33] He could not even save himself. And it made him angry. Angry at others, but mostly angry at himself because he couldn't do what he felt he needed to do.
[35:46] You know, over the years, I've observed that men and women are different in the way that they handle anger. Very often, men will kind of blow things off physically.
[35:58] They'll go out and chop down a tree or they'll punch their best buddy in the face or something and it makes them feel better. But women tend to internalize anger. They turn it inwards on themselves.
[36:09] And when that happens, women can become depressed. That's just how we seem to handle anger. I know it can be the opposite way. Sometimes men will suppress their anger and women will blow off at people.
[36:24] But for the most part, that seems to be how it is. But whichever way you react to anger, God does offer you hope.
[36:35] He offers all of us hope. In James, in verse 6, it says, but God gives us more grace. That's why scripture says, God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.
[36:49] God offers grace to us even when we're in the midst of selfish anger. But there's something that we need to do first. James points it out.
[37:00] Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
[37:14] Grieve, mourn, wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up. We have to hand over that selfish, good-for-nothing anger to God.
[37:30] We're supposed to resist the devil, but we can't do that until we get really close to God. We have to make the first step towards God and he'll run to meet us. He's waiting for us.
[37:41] You remember the story of the father and the story of the prodigal son. He waited at home for his son to return after he wandered off and squandered his fortune. But the father didn't just wait passively inside the house.
[37:55] He went out on the road and he watched. And when he saw his son coming towards home, he ran out to meet him and he gathered him up in his arms. And that's how God is with us.
[38:06] He waits and he longs and he watches for us to return, to repent, to come back to him. And then he gathers us up in his graceful embrace.
[38:16] It might take some grieving. It might take some tears and some sorrow and just some plain hard work to get back to the place where that good-for-nothing anger no longer rules our lives.
[38:32] This kind of anger becomes a wedge between people. When we are jealous of what others have or upset because they're not performing in the way we want them to perform, that anger will divide us.
[38:48] But when we look honestly at who we are, with all our faults and all of our failings, we realize we cannot judge other people or expect things from them that they can't deliver.
[39:03] James goes on to write, Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it.
[39:15] When you judge the law, you are not keeping it but sitting in judgment on it. You know, the word slander that James uses there means to talk about someone behind their back when they're not even there to defend themselves.
[39:31] Have you ever been in a work situation like that where there were water cooler discussions? Yeah, I see some of you shaking your heads, you know. Three or four people would gather over in a corner and begin whispering about someone else, maybe you.
[39:46] Telling lies even. Facts that aren't facts. Just to put you down in order to make themselves feel built up. And it's very hurtful, isn't it?
[39:56] Very hurtful. So you can see how this angry slander can turn into something rather deadly. It breaks the royal law that Christ gave to us.
[40:08] Do you know what that law is? It's to love one another. When we break God's law, we're saying that we know better than God how we ought to act and how we ought to live.
[40:19] We're setting ourselves above the law and therefore above God. But as James reminds us in verse 12, there's only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.
[40:34] But you, who are you to judge your neighbor? No human being has the right to judge another human being. Only God has that right because he created us and because of his absolute holiness and his power.
[40:49] The skipper was being judgmental when he got angry at Gilligan and the other castaways. But he didn't have that right. They were doing the best they could to survive and to get along in a difficult situation.
[41:04] And he needed to have more compassion, more kindness towards them. Good-for-nothing anger causes resentment and hatred, bitterness and grudges and hostility and suspicion and animosity.
[41:19] And I don't want any of those things in my life. I don't know about you. This kind of anger is deadly because it kills our relationships with God and with each other.
[41:34] Paul wrote about it to the Ephesians in chapter 4, starting in verse 25. He said, Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
[41:50] In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. And do not give the devil a foothold. You know, of all the advice that you can give to a young couple as they're about to be married, that's probably the most important piece.
[42:08] Don't ever go to bed angry with each other because the devil just loves it when we get angry with each other. Don't let him in. He tries to fan those flames of anger into something larger and hotter and more harmful.
[42:24] Don't let it happen. Now, what if the characters in Gilligan's Island had really been doing something wrong? What if Gilligan had been taking advantage of the other castaways by taking bribes from the Howells or by imposing himself upon the female castaways for physical favors?
[42:48] Do you think the skipper might have had a right to be angry about that? Yeah, I think so. Sometimes it's okay to have anger that is righteous anger, good-for-something anger.
[43:00] When we see an injustice being done, we should be angry, but it makes a difference how we use the energy of that anger. When a disgruntled ex-soldier bombed the federal building out in Oklahoma City, was that a good use of angry energy?
[43:18] No, of course not. But when a protester peacefully marches to bring attention to civil rights, or when a person runs for a political office in order to try to make the needed changes in society, then that angry energy is channeled in the right direction.
[43:37] Think for just a moment about Jesus. Did he ever get angry? Yes, he did. We all remember the story of him going into the temple and overturning the tables of the money changers.
[43:48] He was angry because he saw the injustice of the way they were charging exorbitant prices for their wares, and they were taking advantage of the common people, and he got angry and he went in there.
[44:01] But he controlled that anger. He used restraint. He only turned over the tables. He didn't turn over the money changers, too. And we need to have that kind of restraint when we have anger.
[44:11] And there's another story in Scripture. There was a time when the religious leaders were trying once again to catch Jesus breaking one of their laws, and they thought they could accuse him of working on the Sabbath day, which was forbidden, when he was healing someone.
[44:29] And so in Mark 3, verse 4, it reads, Jesus asked them, which is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?
[44:39] But they remained silent. And he looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts. He said to the man, stretch out your hand.
[44:52] And he stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. So Jesus took that angry energy, and he used it to heal someone and to teach those religious leaders a lesson.
[45:08] Jesus got angry at injustice. And anger is a feeling that rises up in all of us at times. I've felt it myself when I've seen someone abusing an animal or treating another person as though they were less than fully human.
[45:24] When we submit our anger first to God before we act, we can take that good-for-something anger and use it to accomplish amazing things. We can help to stop abuse.
[45:36] We can help to raise other people up. I remember a time when a group of us went to a horse show together. I love horses. And we were watching a rather famous local trainer riding a horse in the show.
[45:51] And she was a pretty little chestnut mare. You could tell she was kind of young and inexperienced, a little bit afraid. And even though he tried hard with her, he couldn't get her to do exactly what he wanted.
[46:02] And he was very frustrated, and we watched as he rode out of the ring. He took her out behind the barn. He got off of her, and he began to beat her. And I was just so furious at that.
[46:13] And some of the people that were with me, we went to the man and said, what are you doing? This poor horse doesn't know what she's done wrong. She can't associate a beating behind the barn with what happened in the ring.
[46:24] And we stopped him. And I'll tell you that later on, we went to other horse people, and we said to them, don't ever send your horse to that trainer because we know how he treats them when he's upset.
[46:38] And he lost a lot of business because of that. We felt justified in that anger. How do we know what to do with our anger?
[46:49] We look to the example of Jesus who was showing forth the character of his heavenly father. And if we read the scriptures, we find written there many times what it says in verse 15 of Psalm 86.
[47:03] But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. This is the example that we are supposed to have as our goal.
[47:19] We can only accomplish it when we humble ourselves and recognize our tendency to desire the things of this world or our feelings of anger and inadequacy that make us put others down so that we can build ourselves up.
[47:36] At his very worst, the skipper was a tyrant who vented his frustrations on other people. But at his very best, he was a man who really cared about others and tried hard to do what was right by taking care of them.
[47:52] We can look at both sides of the skipper. We can see both kinds of anger and it can help us to decide what we will do with our anger. Will we give in to that good-for-nothing anger?
[48:05] Or will we be directed by the Holy Spirit to control that? Will we use our good-for-something anger to bring about justice and peace in our world?
[48:18] When you feel that anger rising, when I feel the anger rising, I know that I need to slow it down for a moment, consider the cause of it, and then act accordingly with patience and with love and with the compassion of God.
[48:36] So today, we need to humble ourselves before God, draw close to him, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will help us to control our anger.
[48:47] And so today, I'm going to invite you to sing with us, just to be with you. Lord, my life is an empty cup, Is my heart rude to fill me up?
[49:26] I'm faced to the ground, forsaking my pride, Leaving my will, my burdens behind.
[49:40] All I want, all I need, Is just to be with you, Just to be with you, Here I am, at your feet, Just to be with you, Just to be with you.
[50:06] I have come to the end of me, And there's nothing I have to bring, But you said I belong, You say I am yours, Nothing compares, Nothing compares, Nothing compares, Nothing compares, Nothing compares, To knowing you more.
[50:31] All I want, all I need, Is just to be with you, Just to be with you, Here I am, at your feet, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, You made a way for me, Oh, Savior, I'm yours forevermore, You made a way for me, Oh, Savior, I'm yours forevermore, I'm yours forevermore, I'm yours forevermore, All I want, all I need, Is just to be with you,
[51:34] Just to be with you, Here I am, at your feet, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, All I need, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, Here I am, at your feet, Just to be with you, Just to be with you, God reigns throughout this whole earth and he should reign in our hearts as well.
[52:33] Over all the earth you reign on high Every mountain stream Every sunset sky But my one request Lord my only aim Is that you reign in me again Lord reign in me Reign in your mouth Over all my dreams In my darkest hour You are the Lord of all I am So won't you reign in me again Over every thought Over every word May my life reflect the beauty of my Lord Cause you may want to be And I'll be up to you And I'll be up to you So won't you reign in me again Lord reign in me Reign in your blood
[53:33] Over all my dreams In my darkest hour You are the Lord of all I am So won't you reign in me again Lord reign in me Reign in me Reign in your power Over all my dreams In my darkest hour You are the Lord of all I am So won't you reign in me again Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen It's good to know That we have a God Who loves us so much And He helps us Through His Holy Spirit To discern righteous anger From selfish anger Good for something anger From good for nothing anger So as we come before The table of the Lord today It's right and fitting That we should pray For God's forgiveness And for more More filling of the Holy Spirit so that we can discern right from wrong.
[54:34] So I ask that you would pray after me. Dear Lord, you are righteous and holy. You are loving and good. And I know that I am a sinner.
[54:49] Sometimes my anger has hurt others. Sometimes I haven't done the things that I should do.
[55:01] And I'm sorry, Lord. I ask you to forgive me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to discern right from wrong.
[55:17] And help me to walk in your loving ways. This day and forevermore. Amen. Hear the glorious good news.
[55:30] Even though we are sinners, God loves us and proved his love for us by sending his son, Jesus Christ, into the world to live, to die, and to be raised again for us.
[55:40] And so I can say to you with confidence, in the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen.
[55:51] Change my heart, O God. Make it ever true. Change my heart, O God.
[56:07] Make it ever true. Change my heart, O God.
[56:22] May I be like you. You are the powder.
[56:34] I am the clay. I am the clay. Mold me and make me.
[56:47] This is what I pray. Change my heart, O God.
[56:58] God, make it ever true. Change my heart, O God.
[57:14] May I be like you. Amen. God did make the way to change human hearts in the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ.
[57:34] And we celebrate that here at the table this morning. What a blessing that our hearts can be changed, that we can receive Christ in the sacrament of Holy Communion, the body and blood, we believe that Jesus is with us, that God is present and touching us in a very special way when we participate in the sacrament.
[58:01] It's not just something that we do going through the motions. It's not just something that's meaningful. It's a real encounter with God, God, the most high God if we choose to receive God through this sacrament.
[58:28] God is the one who can get all those things out of the way. All the sins that Pastor Tom has been talking about, that Pastor Gene was talking about today, God will get them out of the way if we just let them go.
[58:46] Come to the table this morning. Everyone is welcome. If you love God, earnestly repent of your sin and seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ with one another in this world, you are welcome at the table.
[59:02] You don't have to be a member of this church. You just have to come seeking God. You are welcome. And if you come expecting to receive, God will bless you.
[59:19] The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
[59:38] In the beginning, your spirit moved over the face of the waters. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.
[59:55] your spirit came upon prophets and teachers anointing them to speak your word. And so with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn.
[60:09] Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
[60:20] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your son, Jesus Christ. At his baptism in the Jordan, your spirit descended upon him and declared him your beloved son.
[60:35] With your spirit upon him, he turned away the temptations of sin. Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people.
[60:55] He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the spirit.
[61:13] When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always, baptizing us with the Holy Spirit and with fire, as on the day of Pentecost.
[61:25] On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread and he gave thanks to you. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying, take, eat.
[61:37] This is my body which is given for you. do this in remembrance of me. When the supper was over, he took the cup and he gave you thanks and praise and gave it to his disciples.
[61:51] And he said, drink from this, all of you. This is the cup of my blood poured out for you, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin.
[62:04] Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. On the day you raised him from the dead, he was recognized by his disciples in the breaking of the bread.
[62:16] And in the power of your Holy Spirit, your church has continued in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup. And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
[62:41] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here. And on these gifts of bread and wine, make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood and empowered by the gifts of the Spirit.
[63:10] By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other and one in ministry to all the world, showing forth the fruit of the Spirit until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
[63:27] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.
[63:40] So we pray with the confidence of children of God the prayer Jesus taught us. our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[63:51] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[64:12] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Please stand, if you're able, as we sing together, O Spirit of the Living God.
[64:27] Amen. O Spirit of the Living God, Thou light and fire divine, descend upon thy church once more and make it truly thine.
[64:56] Fill it with love and joy and power with righteousness and peace, till Christ shall dwell in human hearts and sin and sorrow cease.
[65:16] Blow wind of God, with wisdom blow, until our minds are free. From mists of error, clouds of doubt, which bind our eyes to see.
[65:34] Burn winged fire, empire our lips with flaming love and zeal. To preach to all the great good news, God's glorious common weal.
[65:52] Teach us to order living words of truth, which all may hear. The language all may understand, when love speaks loud and clear.
[66:10] Till every age and raise and life shall plant the greens in one. And earth shall form one family by whom thy will is done.
[66:29] So shall we know the power of Christ who came this world to save. So shall we rise with him to life, which soars beyond the grave.
[66:46] And earth shall win true holiness, which makes thy children whole. Till perfected by thee we reach creation's glorious goal.
[67:04] It is God's goal and wish that we should be like him, that we should know peace and not anger, that we should know justice and not hate.
[67:17] As you go out this day, may God give you a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to help you discern right from wrong, to help you to live the kind of life that you're supposed to live.
[67:28] May God grant you peace and joy this day and forevermore. Amen. Amen.