[0:00] Good morning, Pendleton Center and First United Methodist Churches. We're glad to have you here for worship, and we hope that you can join with us in all the activities that we're doing online to keep our church connected, to keep our church in touch with each other and in touch with God.
[0:18] This, like every day, is a day that the Lord has made. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:39] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:53] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[1:08] Let us pray. Lord, we gather together to worship you. Although we are not gathered physically, we gather together by your Spirit in unity of praise for you, our God.
[1:20] May our worship bring you glory. May we grow closer to you, deeper in you, and stronger through you by Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
[1:31] And now, as odd as this is, I'm going to invite you to stand if you're able, as we're going to sing together, worship God together, singing, We Gather Together. We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing.
[2:05] He chastening, He chastens and hastens His will to make no. The wicked, oppressing, now cease from distressing.
[2:18] Sing praises to His name, He forgets not His own. He side us to guide us, our God with us joining.
[2:32] Ordating, maintaining, His kingdom divine. So from the beginning, the fight we were winning.
[2:46] Now, Lord, was that our side? Let our glory be Thine. We all do extol Thee, Thou leader triumphant, And pray that Thou still our defender wilt be.
[3:06] Let Thy congregation escape tribulation. Thy name be ever praised, O Lord, make us free.
[3:20] The Lord be with you. And also with you. Please be seated. Good morning, everyone. It is good to be able to worship God. And I am glad that all of you were able to join us today to be able to worship together in a different way.
[3:36] And so we're excited to be able to worship God, to stay connected to God and to one another. I wanted to give you a couple of announcements. Number one, that we will be staying continually updated with everything that's going on at the church through our website.
[3:52] So go to pendletonchurch.org and everything that's going on is going to be posted on there. So check it at least once a day so that you can see what's going on.
[4:03] So everything going on with both churches, it's going to be posted on that one website. Also, you'll check and see that there's a link for a friendship card. So we have digital friendship cards.
[4:14] How cool is that? So we'd love for everybody to just take a moment and to let us know that you are here worshiping with us. And also if you have any prayer concerns, if you have any praises, any blessings at all, lift them up, let us know, and we will get that information and your prayers will be prayed over and your praises will be shouted out in blessing.
[4:40] So I wanted to actually share this one scripture with you because it just seems so appropriate. It's from Colossians 2 verses 5 through 7. And Paul was separated from his congregation.
[4:51] And he wrote, And we are thankful.
[5:19] There's much to be thankful for. And so if you are alone or you're with people right now, gather with your family perhaps, no matter what it is, I want you to take some time and not only think about what you're thankful for, not only what you want to praise God for, but I want you to share it.
[5:36] If you're alone or even with your family, shout it out. What are you thankful for this morning? Shout it out. Put it on your friendship guard, but also share it with other people because we want to say God is good and God is blessing each and every one of us.
[5:50] So this morning we're going to be taking up and offering thanksgiving out of the thankfulness of our hearts, giving back to God. And so for our offertory this morning, Susan Wasawitz will be providing a piece for us.
[6:03] piano plays softly piano plays softly piano plays softly Amen.
[7:00] Amen. Amen.
[8:00] Amen. Amen.
[9:00] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let us pray.
[9:17] Lord, we thank you for your blessings, for provision for our needs, strength for our spirits, and your abundant and everlasting grace.
[9:29] that you will receive these gifts that are given in your name as a reflection of our love and commitment to you bless them lord that they may minister to the world revealing your grace and unleashing your power through jesus christ amen and now since we're aware that children are present worshiping with us we're going to now check out junior church and we're going to invite up all the kids um everybody can stand up can you stand up and join me and mom and dad you can stand up too and and if you're just sitting on your couch and you're having trouble standing up today that's okay you can join in just by sitting right where you are we want to know this morning does jesus make you glad if jesus makes you glad i want to i want to hear you say it real loud say jesus makes me glad jesus makes me glad did you say it did you say it real loud i hope you did well we're glad to be together this morning even though we have to be together kind of through the tv or the computer but we're glad that we're together because we all have god's love to share god sent jesus into the world so that he would save us from our sins and that shows how much god loves us and god sent us the holy spirit so that we would remember every single day that we're supposed to love god and to love each other and i know that you remember that we were looking in god's word we were looking in god's word and remembering john 13 34. can you say john 13 34 with me a new command i give you go ahead say it a new command i give you that's right love one another as i have loved you so you must love one another that's great i hope you all said that out loud with me it's so important but you know sometimes we have to feel like like god needs to fill us up with some love and we know god's always there and that his love's always always in our hearts but sometimes we know that we feel like we need to be filled up so can you get way down on the floor with me can you get way down on the floor with me there it is now when we need god's love he fills us up and fills us up and fills us up and fills us up and fills us up with love until we overflow that's right you remember how much god's love overflows in us when god's love has overflowed in us then we know we've got his love in his heart in our hearts let's try that one more time just so we remember ready down and we feel like we don't have any of god's love or any of anybody's love but god will come and fill us up and he fills us up and fills us up and fills us up until we overflow and then we can say can you make a heart can you make a heart with your hand and we can say when god's love is in my heart i can love everybody that's right can we say it one more time let's do it all together when god's love is in my heart i can love everybody that's exactly right god loves us so much that we just want to share god's love with everybody we meet god fills us up so much that we never have to worry that we've given it all away because even if we gave every last drop of god's love away god would keep pouring more and more into us so let's sing that song today that song about how important it is to give god's love away because we know how much god's love has done for us ready are you ready to sing okay
[13:34] i'm feeling good good good in a crazy way god's love changed me more than i can say can't keep this in I'm gonna give it away I want the world to know just how I feel They gotta know, don't know, your love is real You love me just the way I am Gonna tell the whole world that
[14:35] Your love is spinning me round and round Yeah, you're turning me upside down I can't believe the way you love me more than I can contain I'm gonna turn around and give it, give it away Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh I'm gonna give it away Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh Your love is spinning me round and round Yeah, it's turning me upside down I can't believe the way you love me more than I can contain I'm gonna turn around and give, give Your love is spinning me round and round Yeah, it's turning me upside down I can't believe the way you love me more than I can contain I'm gonna turn around and give, give, give it away Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[15:38] Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh I'm gonna give it away I'm glad you're so excited about giving God's love away That's wonderful Now, you can return to sitting down, and we're going to get ready to pray As we enter into our time to lift up our prayers to God This is for everybody, moms and dads and just everybody.
[16:09] We know that our children often want to pray for our families, for our pets, for people who are sick and who need help. Our adults have prayer requests too, and we're going to put our prayer time all together today.
[16:24] Janet Gillen is recovering from surgery, so we want to keep her lifted up in our prayers. And we need to pray for all the people who are impacted by the coronavirus, for health care workers, for people who are not at their jobs, for children who are not in schools, parents who are home, for all of those people who are impacted in all kinds of ways.
[16:47] We want to pray especially for those who are particularly vulnerable, for the elderly folks and people who have their systems immune compromised, and just all kinds of health issues that make them more likely to have more trouble with this virus.
[17:04] So if you would, just get yourself into an attitude of prayer right now. Fold your hands or lift them up. Kneel down, however it is that you want to be standing or sitting while you're praying.
[17:20] If you would, pray with me. Heavenly Father, We are so grateful that we can trust you to always be with us.
[17:32] You never leave us nor forsake us. You are the God of all creation, and you are aware of everything that's going on in this world right now.
[17:45] We just pray right now, Lord God, for all of those people who are sick and infirm, from whatever illness there might be, we just ask in Jesus' name that you would be with them and bless them, bless their physicians and other medical professionals who are working with them, bless their caregivers, members of their families, their friends.
[18:10] Just ask in Jesus' name that you touch them with your healing power and make them whole from the tops of their heads to the souls of their feet and their spirits, their souls and their bodies. We pray, Father, for those who are grieving losses of all kinds.
[18:25] And we just ask for your Holy Spirit to come alongside them, to comfort them and grant them your peace, which passes all understanding. Give them the hope of eternal life in you, Lord God.
[18:41] We pray for all of those people who are dealing with this virus, for those who are impacted by it. We just ask in Jesus' name, Lord God, for your mercy, for your power, for your love, for your grace to come pouring down into us, into this world, Lord God.
[19:02] Walk alongside us, Lord. Help us to overcome and to remain in your love even as we're going through this.
[19:15] We ask in Jesus' name, Lord God, that all of your people would be a witness, that we would be able to be the church well. Share your love, share your grace, share your mercy wherever it is that we go.
[19:33] Remind us to pray. Lord God, remind us to pray. Help us in Jesus' name.
[19:45] And now, Lord, we're going to pray the prayer that Jesus taught us and we're going to pray it all together. We're going to pray slowly, Lord, so that our children can join us in prayer.
[20:01] We're going to take it a piece at a time knowing that you know the whole thing anyway because it's the prayer that you gave us, Jesus. So let's begin.
[20:12] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[20:30] give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
[21:08] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And we know God has heard and God has answered our prayers. Even now, those answers are coming down.
[21:20] Even now, God is with us. God is walking with us in the midst of it all and God is giving us wisdom. Wisdom so we should know what we should do and how we should be in this time.
[21:34] And I want to remind you if you haven't already done so to fill out your friendship card. It's online. You just have to go to pendletonchurch.org slash friendship card and you can tell us you were here.
[21:47] Please tell us you were here with us and share your joys and concerns and leave notes for the staff. So we hope to hear from you and now we're going to hear from the word of the Lord.
[21:58] This week's reading is from Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 through 11. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
[22:09] His disciples came to him and he began to teach them. He said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[22:23] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[22:34] Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
[22:50] Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
[23:08] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Good morning, saints. Good morning, sinners. As Len Sweet would say, it's good to have us all here.
[23:22] And it's good to have all of you here with us too, gathered for worship. There are four of us in our sanctuary, spread out as we're supposed to be, just so you know. But we wanted to do this from the house of God so you all could feel that you're in church with us this morning.
[23:36] We're looking at the Beatitudes. Comfort, comfort my people, says the Lord. That's how I started my Bible study Wednesday night from Isaiah 40.
[23:47] And the Beatitudes seem so comforting, don't they? Blessed is this one, and blessed is that one. And everybody feels blessed. We hear that we're blessed.
[24:01] But who is Jesus really blessing? Are we blessed? Blessed are the poor in spirit. The Greek word is pneuma. Blessed are the people who lack spirit.
[24:18] Blessed are those who hunger after righteousness. Dilo. They are without as much righteousness as they feel they need.
[24:33] Blessed are those who mourn, are sad and lonely, blessed are the meek and peaceful, not the bold, not the people who lead.
[24:44] Blessed are the merciful, for they're the ones who will receive mercy. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
[24:55] They know they need it. Blessed are those who know they're sinners. Blessed are those who are persecuted.
[25:06] For righteousness' sake. You know, everybody nowadays, it seems, feels they're persecuted. I hear this phrase often. It's not fair.
[25:19] Well, nobody ever said the world would be fair. And we're not persecuted because things aren't fair. It says we're persecuted because we haven't done the right, because we have done the right thing.
[25:31] How many of us always do the right thing? Good morning, saints. Good morning, sinners. We're all here.
[25:44] You know, for church people, like us, sometimes the Beatitudes, if you listen to them, can feel like they're actually criticizing us. I've been a Christian for over 45 years.
[25:56] I've been a pastor for 35 years. I have a Master's of Divinity degree. I've been ordained by the United Methodist Church. I built a large church in the ministry that I've held. I should have jewels in my crown in glory.
[26:10] Kind of feels that way. It should say, blessed are those who study the Bible every day. Blessed are those who sing in the choir and attend worship at least weekly.
[26:20] Blessed are those who tithe their income and help the poor and are examples of holiness. Blessed are those who work hard at ministry who never sin. I think Pastor Tom is a great pastor.
[26:38] There's a parable in the book of Luke. And it says to us that there were two men who went in for prayer. And a Pharisee was standing by himself.
[26:49] And he said, God, I thank you that I'm not like other people, robbers, evils, adulterers, or even this crummy, lousy tax collector over there.
[27:02] Because I do everything right. But the tax collector stood off at a distance. He wouldn't even look up to heaven. But beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
[27:15] And Jesus asked the people, he was telling that parable, who do you think went away forgiven by God? Jesus wants us to strive hard for righteousness and to do the good things and live the way we're supposed to.
[27:34] But we need to remember who we're doing it for and what we're doing it for. I know we all want to feel we've accomplished something. We all want to feel as if we've gotten somewhere.
[27:48] We're talking about kingdom living. And one of the differences between kingdom living and American living is in kingdoms, they actually have different ranks of people. So you have the commoners, if you will, and then you have the nobility.
[28:02] We don't have that. We have poor people and rich people. Similar but not the same. We want to feel somehow we can accomplish something. And in our culture, we've said, you can go from one class to the other.
[28:14] You can accomplish it. You can make it happen. You can do it. You can be a star on America's Got Talent. You could win American Idol. You could be a sports hero. You could build a great business.
[28:26] Look at me, Mom. I've arrived. I've done good. Pat me on the back and say, well done. But God actually blesses us, according to the scripture, when we know we're in need of God.
[28:42] Blessed are those who don't have enough God, and they know it. Those who are poor in spirit, lack righteousness, meek, sad, lonely.
[28:53] After all these years of trying to do the right thing as a Christian, I like to think I'm okay.
[29:04] But just as I'm starting to feel that maybe I've arrived somewhere, I do something, I say something, and I realize how desperately broken I still am.
[29:18] I did my best, but I guess my best wasn't good enough. When all is summed up, we're fully dependent on God.
[29:32] The grace he gives us, and the grace he gives us through others. God saves us from brokenness by grace alone. Blessed are those who know they need God, who don't think that they can do it by the accomplishment of their hands.
[29:54] One of the Beatitudes I didn't read is, blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. How do we become pure in heart?
[30:06] Let's look at Ephesians in chapter 2. It says to us, it is by grace, by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves.
[30:18] It's a gift of God. Not by your actions, because it's not what we can boast about, but only boasting on what God does through us. We need to repent.
[30:28] We need to turn. We need to change. We need to live in a different direction, fully dependent on God. This is a great struggle we're going through. People are really hurting.
[30:40] People are genuinely lonely, and some people are hungry, and they're watching. We're all watching. Our lives collapse around us. There's a lot of fear. It happens in our day-to-day living.
[30:54] Even if we didn't have a crisis, some people, I walk through them when they have cancer, or the person that has been their life partner dies, or a fire burns down their house. But 1 John chapter 2 says to us, everything in the world, the lust, the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from God, but it comes from the world.
[31:17] The world and its desires, all of them will pass away. But whoever does the will of God lives forever. The Bible says that God will roll up the world like he's rolling up a play mat and start all the way over.
[31:34] But God, and those whose hearts are with God, will remain forever. Good morning, saints. Good morning, sinners.
[31:45] What is the definition of a sinner? It's someone who's sinned, which is all of us. And what is the definition of a saint, but somebody who is trying, trying to live into what God wants them to be because they know that they're not complete, that they're not full.
[32:07] And God changes us to be a part of that grace in the world and calls us to something higher. Nobility in the Middle Ages was a higher calling. It wasn't a position of privilege.
[32:20] It was a position of expectation and obligation. I was looking for a video and I found one with King Arthur talking to Lancelot. You risked your life for another.
[32:31] There is no greater love. You have deceived me, but now I know the truth.
[32:42] The truth is, you care nothing for yourself. Well, look at you. No wealth, no home, no goal, just the passionate spirit that drives you on.
[32:54] God uses people like you, Lachie, because your heart is open. You hold nothing back. You're all of yourself.
[33:04] If you knew me better, you wouldn't say such things. Oh, God. Hey, I take the good with the bad. Together. I can't love people in slices.
[33:17] People who live in nobility are living to a different cause. No greater love as someone that they lay down their life for their friend.
[33:30] The Bible said that. That's what he was quoting. Nobility are called to something more. And even nobility are not perfect. It's not a privilege. They have their faults, just like all of we do.
[33:43] We take them in the hole, not in slices. James in chapter 4 says, draw close to God and he will come near to you. So we have to wash our hands and purify our hearts and our lives so that we will be fully and entirely committed to God.
[34:02] You see, we receive grace. We receive forgiveness. We receive blessings from God, his presence, his mercy. And that should change who we are and cause us to want to live in compassion.
[34:18] I had a family who attended our church a long time ago. They don't longer attend here. And we had a need and I had lifted it up in the congregation. And they came to me and it was the wife who offered a large check.
[34:33] I was surprised at the check and she said, I was poor once too. So I know what it's like when somebody has compassion on you.
[34:46] Now if you would have met this woman, you would never have thought that she was ever poor in any way. But because someone had had mercy on her, now that she had felt that compassion, she wants to share it, which is what God should cause to work and happen in us.
[35:03] In the Bible, there's another parable. It's a parable of the sheep and the goats. You probably remember this. I won't read the whole story. It's about how God gathers us and the sheep are on his right hand and the goats are on his left hand.
[35:16] And what he says to them is this. He says, Come you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance in the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
[35:28] For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me and I was sick and you looked after me.
[35:39] I was in prison and you came to visit me. And the righteous, the sheep, said, Lord, when do we see you like that? And he said, When you did this for the least of the people in this world, you did it for me.
[35:53] And then he said to the goats, essentially the same thing. I was hungry. I was thirsty. I was in need. I was sick. I was in prison. I had difficulties and troubles and you never did anything for me.
[36:03] And they said, Lord, when did we see you like that? We would have helped you. He said, When you didn't take care of the least of these, you didn't take care of me. It's not that the sheep even knew they were doing this.
[36:17] They didn't do this because they sat down and decided to. They did it because it was part of the nature of who they were because of how God had changed them.
[36:28] By their fruits, it says in Matthew, you will know them. You don't pick thorns from a grape vine and you don't pick grapes from the thorn bush.
[36:40] There's two reactions we have to this virus. I've seen it. We've all seen it. Haven't we? There's the people who are storing up thousands of rolls with toilet paper in their basement.
[36:52] Really. They're hoarding everything they can find. They don't go to the shelves to get what they need in the grocery store. They clear the shelves. And I know we've been told we have to stay home.
[37:06] We don't know for how long so we're concerned. But at the same time that this is happening, there's other people who are going out there trying to help the other people, giving to other people, taking a meal to their neighbor, sharing what they can.
[37:23] Working at the risk of their own health. Are we sheep? Or are we goats? Goats are kind of selfish creatures.
[37:36] They think about themselves. They keep their fur for themselves. They're stubborn. Their horns stick out. Sheep are softer.
[37:49] They're gentler. They care for each other. They follow the good shepherd. They give away their wool.
[38:03] And their horns curve in. I just want to be a sheep. I just want to be a sheep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
[38:14] I just want to be a sheep. I don't want to be a goat, nope. I don't want to be a goat, nope. Because there's no hope, nope. I don't want to be a goat, nope.
[38:29] It's a kid's song, but it's a real song. Do we want to be sheep? Or even more to the point, are we just filled with God enough so that we are sheep? The nobility were people that were set aside at a time when there was a severe lack of resources.
[38:44] We think we have a lack of resources now. This was a time when there wasn't enough food for everybody to get a proper meal. There wasn't enough proper shelter. There wasn't enough medicines. There wasn't enough to take care of everybody.
[38:57] There weren't schools for everyone to go to. They were in a serious, serious, multiple-century depression.
[39:09] And so they looked among the people and they said, which people have the attributes, the qualities of nobility? They're gentle, patience, kind.
[39:22] You know the fruits of the Spirit, right? They're living out what God would want them to live out. We will put a few extra resources into them.
[39:33] We will educate them a little bit better. We will give them opportunities others don't have so that they can help us as a people. Remember beauty.
[39:46] Remember compassion. Remember the noble things of God. And in the midst of our chaos and struggles as just living the common life, these people were saying, we need someone to stretch for us a little bit farther.
[40:06] See, we're Americans. So we think nobility is about getting rich, like what we kind of think of as our nobility. It's about where we get privileged, but that's not what nobility is about.
[40:17] It's about expectation that they will live for something beyond themselves, for the people that they're in the midst of. It's hard for me to find a clip on nobility from our movies because all our movies show about nobility is them going out with swords and trying to kill each other.
[40:35] The purpose of nobility had nothing to do with giving people swords to go kill each other. Sometimes they had to use a sword to defend their brothers and sisters. And even that was a risk.
[40:48] Laying down their life for the people who couldn't defend themselves. But what they were called to is something greater. Just like right now, our doctors and our nurses and our medical people who are literally not just out in this culture risking themselves, they're going right into the midst of the brokenness, the pain, the hurt, the suffering, the struggle.
[41:13] And so what do we do? Well, we need to give them the masks we're hoarding away. We need to see if we've got rubber gloves somewhere that they can share. We need to make sure they have every possible resource to do what they're supposed to be doing because they have nobility.
[41:30] Good morning, sinners. Good morning, saints. If we change our hearts, we can change our destiny and we can change this world we live into.
[41:47] People are really hurting. This coronavirus is real. It's a real danger. People are getting sick. They're dying. And we have all but obliterated our sense of what our economy and our future is going to be.
[42:01] We don't know what we're facing. People are hungry. People are having loved ones die and they can't even have a proper service for them. They're weak. They're sad.
[42:11] They're isolated. They're broken. I'm not afraid of the virus. I know people don't like me to say that, but I'm not afraid of the virus. I know where I'm going. The virus can't take away eternity from me.
[42:25] I know my destiny. But I still social distance. I social distance because I love others. It's not about going out and partying together for my fun.
[42:39] If I have to go somewhere, if they call me to do something because it needs to be done, I'll do it. But if not, I'm going to respect people that are trying to keep me from being a part of the problem, right?
[42:59] Our God, and we forget this, can make something out of nothing. You've heard me say this before. But when we dream, our dreams are little.
[43:11] We hope to build a house. We maybe hope to have a career. Put a few dollars away for our older years. Raise some children properly. When God dreams, stars appear in the sky.
[43:26] When God dreams, a world and a universe happens. When God dreams, people's hearts change. And our lives are transformed. We still worship the God who controls the wind and the waves.
[43:38] He controls all of what is happening. He still loves us. He's still with us. We need to learn not to be afraid. The goats, they didn't know what to do.
[43:52] They found themselves on the wrong side of judgment. And they didn't even know it. They thought they were okay. They had tons of toilet paper in the basement.
[44:03] The sheep didn't even know that they were okay. Like we have the blessing of knowing. And God was with them.
[44:17] Don't be afraid. Go out and live. Knowing your sinners, call to be saints. Be not afraid.
[44:52] Be not afraid. I know before you always. Come, follow me.
[45:04] And I will give you rest. Blessed are your fools.
[45:16] For the kingdom shall be best. Blessed are you that weep and mourn.
[45:27] For one day you shall laugh. And if wicked dogs insult and hate you all because of me.
[45:41] Blessed, blessed are you. començably åt yourav I'd like to offer the peace of the Holy Spirit to each and every one of you this day.
[46:42] There is a candle in every soul, some brightly burning, some dark and cold.
[47:02] There is a spirit who brings a fire, ignites a candle and lays his home.
[47:17] So carry your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the hopeless, confused and torn.
[47:30] Hold it at your candle for all to see it. Take your candle, go light your world.
[47:44] Take your candle, go light your world. Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to light his own candle some other way.
[48:08] See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to. Still holds a candle without a flame.
[48:22] Scary your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the lonely, the tired and warm.
[48:36] Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle, go light your world.
[48:50] Take your candle, go light your world. Take your candle, go light your world. Take your candle, go light your world. Take your candle, go light your world. We are a family whose hearts are blazing.
[49:07] So let's raise our candles and light up the sky. Spread to our Father. In the name of Jesus, make us a beacon.
[49:24] In darkness, die. Carry your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the helpless, deceived and torn.
[49:41] Hold out your candle, hold out your candle. Hold out your candle, for all to see it. Take your candle, go light your world.
[49:55] Carry your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the hopeless, confused and torn.
[50:09] Hold out your candle, hold out your candle, for all to see it. Take your candle, go light your world.
[50:23] Take your candle, go light your world. Take your candle, go light your world.
[50:50] The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift the love to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is always right to thank God, even in the midst of a crisis.
[51:05] This time in our service, we usually have a response to the Word of God. Our typical response is a prayer of confession, and I am going to invite you now to join me in that.
[51:17] Dear God in heaven, I have sinned. I have not done what you have called me to do. I have not lived as a noble Christian.
[51:32] Help me to know what I need. Help me to see the need and hurting people and be your hands and feet in this world.
[51:48] Forgive me for my sin. Make me pure in heart. Through your grace. In Jesus name we pray.
[52:00] Amen. Jesus said if we confess our sin, and if we believe in our heart, God will remove our sins. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven.
[52:13] In the name of Jesus Christ, your Lord and your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. So, then we normally will celebrate at this table communion, but communion is something that is meant just by the very word of it to gather together with the people.
[52:29] And I know in some ways we're trying to gather remotely so that we're not socially distanced, just physically distanced. But we hold this sacred time as a celebration when we gather together.
[52:46] So, we will come together again. And we will meet at this table. And we will share in the blessing of God. In the meantime, God calls us to other responses.
[52:57] There's many things that we can do. I just want to give you an idea of some things that people have done in the last couple of weeks. I know that people have made phone calls to friends, to people in the church.
[53:12] They've just reached out to someone who's lonely. Some people can't even do this. They don't have a computer. They need you to be the church to them. If you want to or can help with an organized effort for that in our church, please contact Pastor Sherry at the email address that you see listed.
[53:34] I have a woman who sent me a text message and said, I have a whole lot of chicken that I want to donate to the church. Now, everybody's hoarding it and she's trying to give it away. What a wonderful thing.
[53:46] If you look and see that you have food you don't need, you have resources that you couldn't possibly use. Some woman said that they ordered 48 rolls of toilet paper and ended up with 48 cases.
[53:59] I think they could share. Maybe you can share. Look in your cupboards, your closets. See if you have a whole package of masks that could be sent to the hospital. What can you do to share?
[54:11] If you want to help with needs of people out there, contact Gidget Mealen at the email address that's listed. Or just look around your neighborhood. You'll find the people.
[54:22] Another person bought Topps cards and said, Pastor Tom, give them out to anybody who needs them. I had another woman. She was going through the store and she was having trouble opening up one of those bags, you know, for the chickens that they prepare.
[54:38] And a very nice, kind, older gentleman came along and said, Ma'am, let me help you with it. And took the bag and licked his fingers and then took the bag and pulled it apart. See what you need is you need to put a little spit on it.
[54:51] Now, the point wasn't that he helped her. It's that after he did this, the woman carefully took the bottom of the plastic bag and said, Thank you so much. And after he left, she threw it in the garbage and got herself a new bag.
[55:06] And while she was putting some of that sanitizing liquid on, she found that that also was helpful in loosening up the bag and opening it up. We need to be gracious to each other.
[55:18] Even when people do things that we might find are inappropriate or wrong, because God calls us to be people of compassion and love.
[55:29] Maybe you have medical supplies. Maybe you can send a donation. Our church is going to have to provide for people around us and we have to take care of our employees and we have to figure out how to be the church as we go along.
[55:42] So if you have the ability to continue to give your donation to the church, it would be greatly appreciated. You can send in a check or however. There's even a giving button on the internet options.
[55:55] Maybe you can't. Then don't. We don't want anybody to hurt. We want to find the people who need help and help them. And find the people who can help and have them provide the help.
[56:07] Maybe you could send an old-fashioned letter to those people who don't have internet. You know, a card. You remember those things. You filled out the envelope. You tucked it in and you sent an actual note to somebody.
[56:20] You can all pray. We can all pray. And if we do, we know that God will bless us and we will come through this to the other side.
[56:31] I will give you all my worship.
[56:46] I will give you all my worship I will give you all my praise You alone, I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise I will worship I will worship With all of my heart With all of my heart And I will praise you I will praise you With all of my strength With all of my strength And I will seek you I will seek you
[57:46] All of my days All of my days And I will follow I will follow I'll follow all of your ways All your ways I will give you all my worship I will give you all my praise You alone, I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise I will bow down I will bow down I will bow down And hail you as king And hail you as king And I will serve you I will serve you I'll give you everything
[58:46] I'll give you everything I'll give you everything And I will lift up I will lift up My eyes to your throne My eyes to your throne And I will trust you I will trust you I will trust you I'll trust in you alone I'll trust in you alone I will give you all my worship I will give you all my praise You alone, I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise I will give you all my worship I will give you all my praise You alone, I long to worship You alone are worthy of my praise
[59:51] May God reach into your heart And into your lives And into your homes this week And may God bless you May God go with you May God send his protecting spirit around you Send his angels to watch over you And may God give you power And wonder And grace And hope Because we will Come through this Because our God Takes us through the shadowy valleys And to the other side In glory May God bless you This day And into eternity Go in his peace Amen I hope you enjoyed this morning's Worship service I have some exciting news to share with you From our staff parish relations committee They have met with our new senior pastor For the Pendleton and Niagara Falls United Methodist Churches And I'm glad to announce that the Reverend Dr. Kathy Hall Stengel Will be starting July 1st to lead our congregations
[60:53] I've known Kathy for a long time She's a good friend An accomplished leader Who's served many large churches and strong churches Actually Kathy and I go back so far That I was an usher at her wedding And her husband is my daughter's godfather So we've known each other a long time I know you're in good hands And I'm glad to announce this wonderful news Have a great day nowjem iTunes And we've also had a long time With a command and a strong spirit Yeah Oh possible I love you Alright I'm glad to announce this wonderful weather Programmist Our irons This is a pilot And this is our player A pilot We'll hear what happened We'll hear what happened But I have a special year