[0:00] Holy is He, and great is His glory.
[0:27] Holy is He, and worthy of my praise.
[0:38] I stand in His presence amazed, and crown Him with worship and praise. Holy is He, Holy is He, Holy is He.
[0:59] Holy is He, Holy is He.
[1:10] Who condens my iniquities, who views me from within? Who lifts my fallen life and sets me on my feet again?
[1:23] Who leads me like a shepherd when I'm gone astray? My Lord, good God, my Jesus, the one I praise today.
[1:37] Holy is He, and great is His glory.
[1:52] Holy is He, and worthy of my praise.
[2:03] I stand in His presence amazed, and crown Him with worship and praise.
[2:14] Holy is He, Holy is He, Holy is He.
[2:26] Holy is He, Holy is He. Who lifts me, my loneliness, who finds me where I'm died?
[2:38] Who noughts outside my broken heart and hide at Him inside? Who's life deserves the honor, pay me for His throne?
[2:51] My Lord, my God, my Jesus, my Savior, in my heart.
[3:04] Holy is He, and great is His glory.
[3:15] Holy is He, and worthy of my praise.
[3:26] I stand in His presence amazed, and crown Him with worship and praise. Holy is He, Holy is He, Holy is He.
[3:43] Holy is He. Holy is He, and great is His glory.
[4:10] Holy is He, and worthy of my praise. My God, my glory in His glory.
[4:27] God, my God, my love. Jerry to his praise. My God, my glory in His glory. Holy is He, and holy is He.
[4:41] God, mean by His glory. Amen.
[5:02] Amen! Good morning, everyone out there. It is so good to be together. I wish I could see your faces, but here I am, the third Sunday in a row in this new year, and glad to be with you.
[5:27] When we look around and we see so much that's going on, I invite us today to be amazed, because I know that God promises to be with us. So the Lord be with you.
[5:44] And let us rejoice and be glad in it by singing, This is the Day. This is the Day This is the Day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice Let us rejoice And be glad in it And be glad in it And be glad in it This is the Day That the Lord has made Let us rejoice And be glad in it This is the Day This is the Day This is the Day This is the Day That the Lord has made Let us pray Holy God Holy God, our Redeemer We come to you in worship and praise
[6:44] And we pray that this time of worship will be anointed by your Spirit That you will open up our hearts, our minds, our very lives to you Drawing us closer and closer to you And filling us with your Spirit Filling us with your love In Jesus' name we pray Amen Amen Now I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able as we sing together Lift up your heads ye mighty gates Behold the King of glory waits The King of glory waits Lift up your heads ye mighty gates Behold the King of glory waits Lift up your hands ye mighty gates Behold the King of glory waits Lift up your heads ye mighty gates Lift up your heads ye mighty gates Behold the King of glory waits Behold the King of glory waits The King of kings is drawing near The Savior of the world is near The Savior of the world is near
[7:47] Lay by the portals of your night We get a temple set apart A earthly years of heaven's ploy Adored with prayer and love and joy Redeemer come with us a light Our hearts to thee be open wide Let us die in the presence Redeemer Thy grace and love in the spring Behold the King Please be seated Good morning again friends and welcome to worship At Pendleton Center in Niagara Falls First United Methodist Churches We would ask you to take a moment And fill out the friendship card Which is available to you on our website Make sure that you share your name
[8:49] Some basic contact information with us And also because we want to be in worship and ministry with you Make sure you take a moment to share any joys Blessings that God has moved in your life in a pleasant way And we also want to hear any concerns Or places you would like us to be in prayer with you Because you're hoping to see God move in a different way Or understand God's will in something that is happening in your life You also have the opportunity to download a children's activity sheet If you have children around you and they would like to have something fun to do While you're engaged in worship Take a minute, download that sheet and it will give them an opportunity to have some fun things to do While worshiping along with you If you want to have another conversation with our group Feel free to join our fellowship group on Facebook It's a great opportunity to be in dialogue and in conversation with our community And find new relationships as we continue to find ways to serve Christ And be joined together as a community of faith So you can find us on Facebook
[9:50] The PCUMC Fellowship Group Online So that will give you an opportunity to connect in a new way We are also excited about a new opportunity that is emerging at our church Which is the small group ministry that is currently forming And when we talk about small groups These are people who will come together And be able to take a deeper walk in their faith together Now that may sound a little intimidating But what small groups do is they allow people to explore certain questions They go deeper into scripture together And they provide that support that a close group of friends can provide This is a great opportunity to find new ways to deepen your walk with Christ As well as be part of that tighter circle So if you are interested in exploring small groups You want to find out more Feel free to contact the office And we will get you some more information about how that is happening We are really excited about our Vacation Bible School
[10:54] VBS is going to be online this year Because of the realities of the pandemic But it is going to be an exciting time Even if it is virtual And so we can have you register online If you call the office by July 24th You will be able to get your young people signed up And experience that great adventure with us together So we are now coming to our time where we give That time where we offer a piece of what God has so generously given to us To God's work through these two congregations So feel free now to prepare that offering As we listen to the offer tour As we are seated Go doors down and Thank you.
[12:18] Thank you.
[12:48] Thank you.
[13:18] Thank you.
[13:48] Thank you.
[14:18] Thank you.
[14:48] Thank you.
[15:18] Thank you. Thank you.
[15:50] Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Do you remember me? I'm Pastor Kathy, and I'm inside my house today because if you see out the window, it's raining.
[16:03] So welcome to my house, it's so good to see you. I want to talk today about opening. Think about the things you can open. If your hands are closed, you can open them.
[16:15] If your eyes are closed, you can open them. If your mouth is closed.
[16:48] I'm going to open it. I'm going to open it. I'm going to open it. I have a picture book here that I made from when I was in Colorado, far away.
[17:02] And I can open the book. And I can open the book. And I can show you a picture. You see there's a picture here. Let me put this down. And you can see that it's a picture of me sitting on the couch holding my wonderful dog, Benny.
[17:20] Benny's a boxer. And he's a sweetheart. And there he is in the picture. I open the book and there he is sitting on my lap. I can open the paper that was in the book and see what it is.
[17:37] It's a map. Do you have maps? What do we use maps for? Well, this map is a map of a park. And it shows where you can walk, where the bathrooms are.
[17:52] It shows you where to park your car and those kinds of things. It just helps you get to where you need to go. That's what we like maps for. Sometimes maps are on our phone, not in our hands.
[18:04] But they're kind of fun to look at sometimes. Let's see what else. I have a box. You know, I told you I just moved here and I have lots of boxes. Most of them are empty.
[18:14] Yay. But this box, oh my goodness, look at this. There's feet sticking out of my box. Who's in there? So I'm going to open the box and see what's in there.
[18:27] And it's one of my friends. It's one of my friends who was in there. Were you playing hide and seek? Yep. She was playing hide and seek.
[18:37] So we're going to put her over here on the couch. You keep an eye on her now because she's going to be behind me. You want to make sure that she behaves. Can you see her? There you go.
[18:51] So you keep an eye on her. So we'll put that box down. Let's see what else I have. I have a present. Look at this. It's a present.
[19:01] Isn't it so pretty? It's got pink paper and yellow paper and blue paper and green paper. Don't you love opening presents? I like opening presents.
[19:13] I like watching other people open presents more. But I do like to open presents. So it's all closed up. Oh, wait. There's a card in it.
[19:26] The card says it's for Jordan and Sarah. Jordan is my son. He's grown up and he's married to Sarah. And they just had a baby whose name is Charlie.
[19:39] And it says this present is a welcome present for Charlie. So I'm going to give this to them. And I'm not going to open it because it's not mine.
[19:51] But I get to watch them open it next week. What else do I have? I haven't. Can you see what it is?
[20:02] It's an egg. How do I open it? Do you know how to open it? Do you? Can you tell me?
[20:14] Wait. So I'm supposed to crack it? Like break it? I hit it on the side of the bowl. And then you see it?
[20:28] Open it. And out came the egg. Yay. So here's the egg. It's in this dish. I'm not going to eat it.
[20:39] I like eggs. But that's not cooked. So I'm not going to eat that. I can't make French toast out of it. Because it's not stirred up. And it doesn't have good things in it.
[20:50] So I'm not going to eat this right now. Maybe I'll cook it later. One more thing. I have one more thing on my table. And I don't know if you can see what it is.
[21:02] It's my Bible. And it has a string hanging down. So I'm going to use the string and open the Bible. And here's what I see.
[21:14] It's Psalm 119. A hundred and nineteen. And it's verse 18. It's a prayer. So I'm going to say it like a prayer.
[21:25] Oh God, open my eyes so I can examine the wonders of your miracles. Wow. So God is going to open our eyes.
[21:41] Well, that's our prayer. So that we can see all the incredible things that God has done. Because sometimes we're busy. We might miss them. So we say, God, can you help me see your miracles?
[21:53] Let's see. Do you see any miracles around you? I see one out the window. What do you see? Look at that.
[22:06] It's raining. God is watering the earth. What a miracle. Because when God waters the earth, that means that the grass grows and turns green.
[22:18] It means the flowers grow and corn and tomatoes and all those kinds of things. It also means that all the bugs and animals, they all get something fresh to drink because the rain has fallen from the sky.
[22:33] One of God's miracles. I think that God also wants us to open our mind. Our mind is where we think.
[22:46] Is your mind ever really busy? Sometimes my mind is really busy. I'm thinking about, well, what am I going to say to you? What can I use on my table?
[22:57] I'm thinking about my egg and wanting to be careful with it. I'm thinking about the rain. I'm thinking about the things I need to do in my house. I'm thinking about people that are sick and praying for them all at the same time.
[23:15] Sometimes I think it's too much. So I think that God would like us to maybe take some things out of our minds.
[23:29] Do you ever wonder what people think of you? Do you ever worry about people thinking you're strong and smart and fast? About people wanting to be your friends?
[23:42] About people inviting you to their birthday party? About worrying about school?
[23:54] And what's going to happen? Are we going to go see our teachers again or not? We don't know yet. God invites us to pick some of those kinds of things that we're thinking, thinking, thinking about, and take them out.
[24:13] Stop thinking about them so much. And since I told you now two weeks that God loves you just the way you are, and that you're perfect just the way you are, then maybe one of the things, just one thing that we could take out of our mind and stop thinking about it is whether we're who we should be.
[24:35] Am I smart enough? Am I fast enough? Do people like me? I think God would say, don't worry about those things.
[24:46] Put those things over there. Don't worry about it. Don't fill up your head with those kinds of things. Instead, what God might want to put in our hearts and in our heads is a couple of things.
[25:03] One is, as we've heard, God loves you just the way you are. You are perfect. And maybe God wants us to learn something.
[25:16] Maybe God wants us to learn how to love other people in a different way. I can't say I know what that way is.
[25:26] I think that God is teaching me all the time to take some things out of my head and put some other things in there. Put some of the old ideas away and get some new ideas.
[25:39] Like doing junior church like this. We're not together. So I had to think of some new ways that I could be with you. Just like Pastor Lisa did.
[25:50] And it's so wonderful. But I never did that before. Pastor Lisa never did that before. So we thought of a new thing. Or wait. Wait a minute.
[26:02] Maybe God thought of that new thing. And God helped us find room in our heads for a new idea. I love new ideas.
[26:13] I love new ideas about what to cook and what to make. I love new poems and books and movies. I love it when God says something to me that I never heard before.
[26:28] Because no matter how many times I read this, God opens my mind and my heart to something new every time I read it.
[26:41] That's why it's good to read it all the time. It's fun. When you read stories like Noah's Ark. Did you ever think about the aardvark? Do you know what an aardvark is?
[26:53] Did you ever wonder about the aardvark getting on the ark? And think of that. Isn't that funny? God told Noah to get the aardvarks and get them on the ark. It kind of goes together.
[27:05] All kinds of things we never thought of before. God loves your mind. And God wants to tell you things and teach you things.
[27:16] So let's pray today that maybe we can take some of those other thoughts. Maybe they're not thoughts about us.
[27:27] Maybe they're thoughts about other people. I think God would not want us to fill up our minds with thinking bad thoughts about people. Or thinking bad thoughts about ourselves.
[27:41] Or not liking somebody. Because sometimes that happens. But God would rather us just stay away from somebody we don't like for a little while.
[27:54] Rather than filling our head up with all those thoughts. So let's pray that God will help us. Help us to think new things.
[28:05] See new ideas. And just be filled with all that God wants us to know. It will take the rest of our lives. But every day we get to try again.
[28:17] So let's pray. Remember, this is me. This is God. Nothing in between. Oh God, we ask you. Help us to find room in our heads and our hearts.
[28:31] Help us to take some things out of our heads that don't help us. And don't help you. And help us to put things in our heads and in our hearts that do help you.
[28:45] And that do help us. Because we know that's what you want. You want us to be good. You have a good plan for us. And you love us.
[28:57] So we pray for that. In Jesus name. Amen. Thanks everybody. Thanks for coming to my house. I'll see you next week. See you next week.
[29:29] I'm not gonna fake my praise No, no, no I'll praise you with everything I do Everything I do I'll praise you I'll praise you, Lord Anywhere I go Anywhere I go Don't you know I'll praise you I'm gonna sway my praise Swish, swish, swish I'm gonna pray my praise Amen I'm gonna wave my praise Bye, bye, bye I'm gonna save my praise No, no, no I'm gonna swim my praise Flash, flash, flash It's all for him, my praise Jesus, Jesus I'm gonna skate my praise Shush, shush, shush I won't debate my praise No, no, no I'll praise you with everything I do Everything I do I'll praise you I'll praise you, Lord Anywhere I go
[30:30] Anywhere I go Don't you know I'll praise you I'm gonna clap I'm gonna snap I'm gonna shout Woo-hoo I'm going out No, no I'm gonna jump Boing, boy I'm gonna thump Thump, thump I'm gonna shake Not gonna bake No, no I'm gonna sway Swish, swish I'm gonna pray Amen I'm gonna wave Bye-bye I'm gonna say No, no I'm gonna swim Flash, flash It's all for him Jesus I'm gonna skate Shush, shush I won't debate No, no I'll praise you With everything I do Everything I do I'll praise you I'll praise you, Lord Anywhere I go Anywhere I go Don't you know I'll praise you I'll praise you
[31:51] Good morning, church Before we go to the Lord in prayer We have a message From one of our members of our prayer team Her name is Debbie Stern And let me read that to you right now Oh, God We are bombarded with images And messages from this world That try to divide us And make us afraid But what you do say What you do ask of me In the midst of this As I lift this prayer I am reminded of a few verses That God has encouraged me To guide me Ephesians 4, 32 Be kind and compassionate To love one another Forgiving each other Just as Christ God forgave us Be imitators of God Therefore, as dearly loved children And live a life of love
[32:51] Just as Christ loved us And gave himself for us As a fragrant offering And sacrifice to God I pray that God gives all of us What we need to share his love In this hurting world And that we will always see ourselves In each other As God's dearly loved children Thank you, Debbie For these words of encouragement During this difficult time And we just feel so inspired by that So thank you so much And before we go to the Lord in prayer We're going to pray for the family Of Lauren Early Sr.
[33:27] He passed away this week And I know it's difficult During that time So let's go before the Lord in prayer Father, we come to you As a holy God Lord, I know that you desire Your children to have What we desire And you say in your word If we seek you You will be there And Lord, we seek you this morning In a way, Lord God That of worship And of praise And of thanksgiving Lord, we acknowledge That we need you We acknowledge, Lord God That we are your children We acknowledge that you are our Father In our Savior In our Holy Spirit We thank you for the opportunity That we come To speak to you And to love you And for you to love us Thank you this morning For all the blessings That you give us
[34:28] Thank you this morning For the encouraging words That we heard from our prayer team To remind us, Lord That we are to love others And we are to pray for others And we are to seek your will During this difficult time And we ask that you be with The family of The early family, Lord Jesus That you would comfort them And you would bless them, Lord God As they grieve the loss of a loved one Lord, that you would be there In the midst of that, Lord God And that you would give them the peace And the comfort that they need And be with others, Lord God That are grieving That are grieving loss of jobs That are grieving loss of loved ones That are grieving loss of family In broken times Lord, I pray that you would be with them all That your Holy Spirit Would just be a sweet fragrance To them this morning That they would feel your comfort
[35:29] And your strength Lord, I pray for our church I pray for the members I pray for the visitors I pray for all those That are listening right now That your Holy Spirit Would just open up their houses Wherever they're watching That they would feel your presence Lord God Let your glory fall Let it be a sweet, sweet fragrance Lord Jesus Help us to feel your presence And at this time Lord God I pray that you would be With our ministers And be with those That are making the decisions Of how to open the church And Lord That you would help us To be able to use your guidance And your wisdom through this And I pray for those That are dealing with coronavirus Lord, whether they're in the hospital Or whether they're in seclusion At home Lord, that you would be with them Strengthen our healthcare workers
[36:31] Strengthen our essential workers Strengthen those that are out In this world Lord God That need protection Lord, I pray that you would Protect them Protect our first responders And those that have to go out In this Lord Jesus I pray, Lord God That you would keep your protection On them Protect our church Protect our finances And Lord Thank you for All that you do For the blessings That you give us The ones that we don't see Waking up in the morning And seeing your creation And seeing your beauty And Lord I just pray that you would Be with those That are struggling With mental illness And be with those That are struggling With anxiety And depression Lord That you would help them Lord Jesus To feel A comforting peace During their struggle Lord God And Lord I pray
[37:31] That you would be With All the Unspoken requests That are out there Where we take a moment Lord God In silence Lord God To Have others Just speak Words to you Lord God Of how much they love you But also Lord That they can speak The concerns On their heart Father God We just Give all praise And thanks to you For the time That we've had together To pray a prayer And we don't want to Finish this prayer Until we tell you How much we love you And how much we worship you And how much we praise you In Jesus name we pray Amen
[38:32] Good morning This week's scripture reading Comes from several psalms All my longings lie open before you O Lord My sighing is not hidden from you O Lord open my lips And my mouth will declare your praise It was you who opened up springs and streams You gave a command to the skies above And opened the doors of the heavens You rained down manna for the people to eat You gave them the grain of heaven O my people
[39:33] Hear my teaching Listen to the words of my mouth I will open my mouth in parables I will utter hidden things Things from old What we have heard and known What our forebears have told us I am the Lord your God Who brought you up out of Egypt Open wide your mouth And I will fill it When you give it to them They gather it up When you open your hand They are satisfied with good things He opened the rock And water gushed out Like a river it flowed in the desert Open for me the gates of righteousness I will enter and give thanks to the Lord Open my eyes so I can see what you show me Of your miracle wonders My eyes stay open through the watches of the night That I may meditate on your promises This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God It was so wonderful to hear what the Psalms had to say
[40:36] We heard prayers that our minds might be open We heard prayers that our hands and our mouths might be open To prayer and praise We hear about mouths being opened in thanksgiving For water released, for truths revealed It's just amazing how often I find that the Psalms speak to us now Luke 24 verse 45 reads Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures This past week I invited some of the staff Into reading this passage this way Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures Then he opened our minds to understand the Scriptures Then he opened my mind to understand the Scriptures That's been my prayer all week
[41:39] What, oh God, would you have me open to for today? What would you have me hear? What would you have us learn?
[41:50] What would you have us grow into? What would you have us learn? What would you have us learn? This summer we're using Jeremiah 29 as our foundation I know the plans I have for you And they are plans for good, not disaster To give you a future filled with hope May we believe it every day Or may we keep reading it until we do begin to believe it That no matter the chaos in the world God's plan for you and for me and for us Is a plan for good We learned a quote When I was working at the hospital And I'm not going to get it exactly right But the general gist of it was That we all, or almost all of us Want to learn But we don't always want to be taught I didn't get it at first
[42:51] But I got it I got it when I was asked to think about Why do I think the way I do? Why do I do what I do?
[43:05] Why do I feel the way that I do? It was as if that question opened up places That I hadn't even recognized Might have been closed I just do what I do I think God In these passages of Scripture Is inviting us To maybe knock on some doors That we aren't necessarily opening So what?
[43:37] What does God want to open in us? How does God want us To learn To be taught? Do I like being taught?
[43:49] I thought I did I think I do Until Maybe someone invites me To look at it differently And then what happens?
[44:01] It depends on the person You might back up And sort of close a little bit Because no, I don't want to think about it that way I don't want to think about what the world is thinking about In this way Or this way Or this way So I'm just going to back up And close my mind Have you ever taught something?
[44:23] Have you ever taught how to swing a golf club? Or do a certain dance routine? Have you ever taught someone how to sew? How to use a piece of equipment? How to use computers or a new phone?
[44:36] Maybe it's always successful Maybe the person you're teaching Is going to get it right every single time But some just can't hear us I'm pretty sure that my children have thought I couldn't hear a word they were saying In the early days of computers And cell phones And better cell phones When they were trying to help me to learn Sometimes it's like we just can't We can't take in one more new thing But sometimes When we're teaching When a person is teaching Something happens The person who's teaching Doesn't stay the same The person who's teaching Begins to find a different way
[45:36] To communicate With that particular student That teacher sees a different method Or a different language is needed And that is a gifted teacher It wasn't the student who changed If the student shows up And is truly who they are Then who needs to shift?
[45:56] When I ask God to open my mind To understand the scriptures When I pray that God will open my mind Will open our minds To understand the scriptures I think And I believe That we are called to be less observant Less gatherers of information And more in there Holding that golf club Maybe learning a new swing ourselves Maybe we're going to be the ones Holding the bat Trying to hit At home base Maybe we're at the sewing machine With our foot on the pedal And maybe we realize We don't know everything I believe that what God is saying And inviting us Is to be students For all of us To be the students For me to be a student
[46:56] For you to be a student Hearing Trying Not getting it Getting it All of it You hear the difference?
[47:07] It's the difference Between knowing and doing The difference between hearing About what God is calling us to And then actually stepping into it Learning it Or possibly maybe Hopefully being taught In a new way Rather than just Hearing it Hear these words from Romans 12 Verses 1 through 8 Paul is teaching the people of Corinth How to be followers of Jesus I appeal to you therefore Brothers and sisters By the mercies of God To present your bodies As a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable to God Which is your spiritual worship Do not be conformed to this world But be transformed By the renewing of your minds So that you may discern What is the will of God What is good and acceptable and perfect For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you
[48:09] Not to think of yourself More highly than you ought to think But to think with sober judgment Each according to the measure of faith That God has assigned For as in one body We are many members And not all the members Have the same function So we who are many Are one body in Christ And individually We are members of one another We have gifts That differ according to the grace Given to us Prophecy in proportion to faith Ministry in ministering The teacher in teaching The exhorter in exhortation The giver in generosity The leader in diligence And the compassionate In cheerfulness Oh God Open my mind Open our minds To understand
[49:10] Your word God's plan for us Is good Paul is teaching I'm just going to simplify it You don't have to die physically For your faith But you and I We are asked to stretch We are asked to bring More than we thought We had More time More heart More courage More willingness to learn And more openness To God gifted everyone There are no big gifts Or small gifts We've heard this Before throughout the Bible The church gathered As part of the body Of Christ All dependent On the others If you ever Jammed a finger Or sprained a toe Or even got A significant paper cut You know what it's like
[50:11] To how that affects Your whole body Everything you touch Everywhere you walk The injury might be small But let's bring it here If we didn't have Adrian back there I would never be able To do this with you If we didn't have Mary Keeping our books And our money straight We might get ourselves Into a big heap of trouble The words in Romans Are don't think too highly Of yourself That is not meant To be a slap down It's meant to be An invitation To look around And see the gifts Around us And realize that Everyone is gifted In some way And last Realize that those Listed gifts And all the ones That are not Are not gifts To hold and be grateful for Not just anyway They are asking Something of us
[51:12] I want to tell you A story about A little boy Named Michael Years ago When I was the pastor At the Harris Hill United Methodist Church Over between Clarence and Williamsville We got connected To a place That maybe you're Familiar with It used to be called Deaconess Hospital And then it began To be a nursing home Part of it was adults We got contacted To be engaged With the part That was a one Of a kind unit A unit for children A pediatric Nursing home unit Where children lived Who needed such care Medical care That they could not Stay in their homes Our children Our youth Got involved We played wheelchair games And we were out In the parking lot Racing around Now the kids Didn't wheel Their own wheelchairs Except for one young man We did it for them We did a Christmas pageant
[52:14] If the person I had In front of me Was Mary Then I was Mary It was an incredible time Well along the way We met a little boy Named Michael And if you ever heard The song Or the words From Sesame Street One of these Is not like the other Michael could walk Michael could breathe On his own With some oxygen At night Michael could play And interact In a way That the other kids Could not And we were overwhelmed By the sense That Michael Doesn't belong here He needs to be In a home There was a couple Who was working With us And they began This conversation About the thought Of possibly adopting Michael To give him a place Where he could run In the yard On playgrounds And be a child Not surrounded By limitations And other children
[53:15] With such barriers One of the people In the couple Was No No I can't We can't I can't We can't And the other person In the couple Said to his wife You know If we didn't Have a home If we didn't Have a room If we didn't Have resources To feed If we didn't Have all the Love that a Child could ever Want If we didn't Have those Then that would Be one thing But we do We have all Of that So why Shouldn't We offer It Why shouldn't We Her response Was something Along the lines Of oh my Gosh I hate it When you reach Right into my Heart and Convince me What I'm afraid Of And help me
[54:17] Hear What I need To hear They did not End up adopting Michael He was adopted By a person On the staff But I have Never forgotten That conversation When we Have gifts When you Have gifts It's one Thing to Kind of Keep track Of them I'm creative I like to Write I like to Bake I like to Make things I like to Get people Together And do Exciting New things I work With children Pretty easily I could Have that List of Gifts But what If I never Chose to Use them What if They were In my Gift account But not In my Gift practice When I Was a Young pastor And I'm Talking Really young I had Maybe been In the Ministry For a
[55:17] Little over Two years I had Just been Ordained I was Invited To Preach At a Big event And it Was going To be All Pastors Retired Pastors New Pastors Seminary Students Long time Established Pastors And the Habit Was to Ask a New Pastor To Preach To This Body If there Was ever A time When my Hands Went from Open To Closed That was It First of All there Is nothing As frightening To a Young pastor Than to Have to Preach To other Pastors My hands Were tight I can't I can't I can't I'm Not Good Enough They're Going To See Where I'm Not Gifted They're Going To Think Less Of Me They Just Ordained Me And now They're Going to Wonder Wait
[56:18] Is this The Person That Was Called And Gifted That We Just Ordained You can Hear All the Action In My Mind And a Lot Of It Was About Me A Lot Of It Was About Me And What People Would Think Of Me How People Might Judge Me Jesus Opened The Scriptures So That People Might Understand What I Was Called To Understand In That Moment Was That It Wasn't About Me It Wasn't About Me The Gifts That God Had Given Me Were Not About Me They Were About Using Whatever Small Or Big Or Medium Size Gifts I Had Been Given For The Glory Of God Now
[57:18] I Went Through All Of This Thinking While I Was Listening To The Person On The Phone Give Me All The Details And At The End I Was Not Convinced But I Said Yes I Understand And I Would Like To Tell You That That Was The End Of The Struggle But It Wasn't Because Until I Stepped Up In Front Of Those Pastors I Was Terrified And There Is An Appropriate Fear In Coming Before People Any People To Proclaim God's Word And I More Than Once Said No Not Me Pick Someone Else I Might Not Even Been Asking Oh God Open The Eyes Of My Heart Open The Eyes Of My Heart But My Heart And Soul And Spirit Were Saying Those Things Without Me Even Being Aware
[58:19] So What So What Are You Doing In These Places When You Feel Afraid If I Saw Your Hands Would They Be Open And Relaxed Or Would They Be Tight And Closed It Tells A Lot About Us Why Do Our Hands Get Tight Why Are We Sometimes Closed To A New Idea I Think It's Often Because We're Afraid We Might Be Wrong We're Afraid Someone Else Might Be Right We Are Living In A Time When I Have Never Seen So Many Closed Hands And Closed Mind Remember Romans Everyone
[59:19] Everyone Everyone Was Given Gifts Not Big Ones And Small Ones All Gifts All Needed For The Body Of Christ The Bible Tells Us The Word Of God Proclaims That We Are All Gifted So Here Are These Questions Maybe Open Yourself Up A Little Wider What Makes You Close Your Hands Is It Anger Is It Fear Is It Frustration With The Way Things Are Going In Your Home In The Church In Your Community In The World What Is It It Is The First Step When We Say Open The Eyes Of My Heart Maybe
[60:19] It's Not Opening My Eyes To My Heart Maybe It's Saying God Would You Look In My Heart And Help Me To See What It Is That Is Causing Me To Be So Anxious Can You Look We All Sometimes Need To Look When We're Put In A Position To Make Decisions About Open The Building Or Don't Open The Building I've Talked To A Number Of My Colleagues And We Feel A Sense Of Responsibility Does That Close Us Or Open Us Does It Open Us To New Ways And New Possibilities Or Does It Close Us And We Just Feel Afraid Or Maybe Both What
[61:24] Might It Take For You To Admit That You're Tight How About Scripture If Scripture Says All Gifted All Important Then How About We Stop Thinking Somebody Is Going To Take Away Your Gifts How About We Stop Thinking That We're In A Competition For Who Has The Best Gifts Who Can Wield The Most Power Who Can Be The Most Influential How About We Open To The Fact That We're In This Together Neither I As A Pastor Or Adrian Or Mary Or Pastor Scott Or Pastor Sherry Not One Of Us Has All The Answers Do you Know What Your Gifts Even Are Have You Ever Been Courageous Enough
[62:25] To Talk To Someone About What Your Gifts Are What Do They See In You What Gift Do You See In Yourself That You Might Imagine Using If You Know Your Gifts And You're Using Your Gifts Then Let Me Ask This Question When Was The Last Time You Looked Around For For For For A Person Who Might Have The Same Gifts You Do And Invited Them To Come Along Next To You To Maybe Even Set Your Aside And For Long Enough To Be Blessed By That Other Person How Many Of Us Charge Through Life Using Using Using And Sometimes Wonder Why Isn't Someone Coming Along Side Why Am I Doing This All By Myself Why Should I 25 Year Old Kathy Hall Stengel Get Up And Preach
[63:25] To A Bunch Of Pastors All Alone Maybe Because We Just Haven't Opened Our Eyes Or Heart Or Mind To See Who's Coming Along Side Us God Started Whispering Pendleton Center In My Ears Even Before I Was Asked To Come Niagara Falls Don't Feel Excluded I Didn't Know That It Was Two Churches And God Was Whispering Do You Hear Me Whispering You Know I Have And Will Gift You For This Journey Whispering Stop Looking Around It's You I'm Talking To So Here I Am Here Pastor Scott Is And
[64:25] Back To That Sesame Street Song We're Not Like The Others Is And We're Grateful Because We Get To Keep Going As I Moved Closer And Closer To Coming Here To Serve Among You I Know One Thing For Certain You Have Been Called And Gifted and God has been whispering your name, maybe even shouting it, to tell you that you have been gifted with everything you need for such a time as this.
[64:58] Yes, COVID. Yes, conflict. Yes, uncertainty. And yes, God has gifted you for such a time as this.
[65:10] God has given you the faith to persevere in this time of crisis. You haven't given up yet. So let's not start now. We do ask for God to help us to go forward, for God to open your heart and your mind, open your hands, open your spirit to what Scripture has to tell us.
[65:40] We have been called to go together, to find the lost, to get together with people who are afraid.
[65:51] We have been called to not close down in the distress, but rather to open. To open.
[66:03] To open the eyes of my heart. To open the eyes of your hearts. And we want to see each other.
[66:14] Let's pray. Oh God, sometimes, it's hard to open.
[66:31] It's hard to open our minds to a new thought. It's hard to open our hearts to taking risks. It's hard to opening our faith.
[66:44] Our understanding of who you are to the possibility that we could even grow further in understanding what you would have us do.
[66:54] comfort us in our distress. Calm us. As we put one foot in front of the other.
[67:04] Inspire us. That you are holding us. And guiding us. Each step of the way. And for that, we give you thanks.
[67:17] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[67:27] 〜 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[67:40] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you
[68:45] I want to see you I am lifted up Shining in the light of your glory Pour out your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you
[69:47] I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I want to see you I am lifted up Shining in the light of your glory Pour out your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy Holy, holy, holy I want to see you I want to see you
[71:04] Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you They call me out upon the waters The great unknown My feet may fail And there I find you In the mystery In oceans deep
[72:05] My faith will stand And I will call upon your name Keep my eyes above the waves When oceans rise My soul will rest in your embrace For I am yours You are mine You are mine Your grace allows in deepest waters Your sovereign hand Your sovereign hand Will be my guide Your sovereign hand Will be my guide Th verm « bodies in片栗口中心li
[73:07] In rivers dellнаinctions Your heavenly 14th God You definitely believe and I am Даже You ever fail You never fail You never fail And you won't start now And I will come upon your name And keep my eyes above the waves When oceans rise My soul will rest in your embrace You I am yours You I Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters
[74:08] Wherever you would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever you would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior And I will call upon your name
[75:17] And keep my eyes above the waves When oceans rise My soul will rest in your embrace And I am yours And you are mine If you attend worship here regularly or at Niagara Falls Then you know that after the message We move into the sharing of Holy Communion That place and that time When we can prayerfully connect With God's gift of grace Through Jesus Christ We cannot be together
[76:19] But I invite you To go with me Through the preparation Of what that might be like Let's begin With a prayer of confession And I invite you to repeat after me God we are a broken people We are not always in your will We are not always following your word We make mistakes We fall short So we come to you Oh God In the need of your grace Forgive us Lord
[77:21] For we have sinned Forgive me Lord For I have sinned And always When we offer these words of confession We are constantly reminded Of these words It is God's truth In the name of Jesus Christ You are forgiven Glory be to God Amen Would you join me In the prayer That Jesus taught us Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth As it is in heaven
[78:21] 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 For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever Amen If there Is anything I hope you will take with you It is That in Christ You can open your heart That in the assurance That your gifts And my gifts And our gifts Are all of the same value We can bring them I invite you to bring them
[79:24] In whatever way you can So that we can be The whole body of Christ Apart Until we are together Together Even though we are apart Just a little Open your hearts Open your hearts So that we may see God And God may guide us Open my eyes That I may see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me Place in my hands The wonderful key That shall unclasp
[80:26] And set me free Silently now I wait for thee Ready by God Ready by God Thy will to see Open my eyes Illumine me Spirit divine Open my ears That I may hear Voices of truth Thou sendest clear And while the waves And while the waves Don't fall on my ear Everything falls Will disappear Silently now I wait for thee Ready by God Thy will to see Open my ears Illumine me Spirit divine Open my mouth Open my mouth And let me bear
[81:27] Gladly the warm truth Everywhere Open my heart And let me prepare Love with our children Thus to share Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God Thy will to see Open my eyes Illumine me Spirit divine The service has ended But God's presence with you Will never end And no matter how open you are Or how closed you are Or how much in the middle you are Know this The power and the presence And the love And the mercy and grace Of God made known Through Jesus Christ
[82:28] Moving by the Holy Spirit Is with you Now and forever Go in that peace Amenliche由 pero Thank you.