November 15, 2015

Whoever you are, wherever you are on lifes journey, you are welcome here.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another (Heb 10:24-25) The things spoken above about considering can only be applied in a corporate gatheringwe are joined and knit together. That is a two-step processjoined is coming together in relationship and knit is being bound, secured together, by the Holy Spirit. It is a time intensive process that

requires commitment, endurance, and change on our part. (A. Nelson)

MOMENT of REFLETION

Today the world unites in mourning and prayer for the people of France. And all

Christians this morning struggle to understand, to quell our anger and instinctive desire

to lash out at those we call enemy and those we think are to blame for those enemies. We are confused, afraid, and feeling directionless.

Today, we have come together. Because we are family.

God made us family.

We need one another.

We love one another.

We forgive one another.

We work together.

We play together.

We worship together.

Together we use Gods Word. Together we grow in Christ.

Together we love ALL men.

Together we serve our God.

These are our hopes and ideals and aspirations and identity.

Let ALWAYS our first response be this prayer, O God, in You we place our trust. Our steps are made firm and though we may stumble, we will not fall, because you, O Lord are

at our right hand. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION and OUR ASSURANCE OF GODS PARDON Dear Lord, we are in awe of Your steadfast love and patience throughout history. You do

not faint or grow weary by our continued violence against each other, and Your

understanding is unsearchable. We confess, however, that we are not like You. We are

impatient, we too readily fall prey to anger and hate, and we too easily tire of being

faithful. Forgive us, we pray, for wanting to lash out, to strike out blindly. Forgive us for

complaining about how awful things are instead of living as children who walk in Your

Light, being a mirror for others to share in its brilliance. For we ask it in the Name of

Jesus, the One who was and who is and who shall forever be our Savior. From the depths

of our hearts we reach out to you now in silent confession, assured of your blessing of

pardon, and your guiding presence at our right hand.. Amen.

SERMON Deacon Marcia Tomlinson

You show me the path of life Psalm 16:11a Cited scripture Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:19-25

Je me souviens (I remember) we see that all the time on the license plates of Quebec cars hurtling down the interstate and every time I see them I think back to 9/11

I remember 9/11 as my friends in Paris will now forever remember 11/13.

On 9/11 all I wanted was to gather up Patrick and Kara from school and take them to

camp, where there was no TV or fear where we could rest easy and our fears could abate. We stayed there 2 very healing days, letting Gods creation wash and refresh us.

Je me souviens that first afternoon when I was sitting waterside looking across the pond to where the kids were sitting in the rowboat, fishing. I never asked what they talked

about as they rowed all around the pond. All I do know is that all three of us felt our fears

subside knowing we were safe in that special place.

Je me souviens in my journal entry that day I recorded that just before calling the kids to row back to the dock, a small flock of geese flew overhead, honking to beat the band,

but flying north! I realized it was a family, the parents teaching their children to fly and to

trust and to follow.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the movie Fantasia and according to my journal the

kids and I watched it that night and I have no doubt that by the time we got to the Pastoral Symphony section, where a flock of geese in V formation come peacefully to rest

on the water that my children were safely asleep with sweet dreams as their companions.

Je me souviens this morning I remember I remember singing, Lead me Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou,

Lord, only that makest me dwell in safety. Seeing the last of the geese flying south recently I remembered that they always fly with their families, and if one is injured or for

some reason cannot keep up, one of the strong ones will land with him. That strong one

will stay with the weaker one for as long as it takes. Because theyre family and family doesnt leave one behind, to face the darkness alone. We have this goodly heritage: we are loved and guided this assurance that God is ever at our right hand is our abundant and most excellent heritage.

Je me souviens my Nana, who, no matter how unpleasantly warm the room might be, would carefully and purposely shut every window at dusk lest any night air enter. It was a

carry over from an old world superstition taught to her by her Bavarian grandfather. We

couldnt shake her from that belief but we remember that in the night God

remains at our right hand just as the geese fly at night using the stars to safely navigate, we are assured that God remains our constant and true guide in our times of

darkness.

Je me souviens: a blessed paradox is at the core of Gods presence in our lives. We are assured that with God next to us, He is at the front. I keep the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. through Jesus the Christ we have that nearby Friend, that right hand. Think of God as the destination and God as the

comrade of life. When we put God as the goal we find God at our side.

This may be the most important metaphor we can take away today that of God being at our right hand. Throughout history, the one to the right is the one whose sword arm is

free to defend and whose shield arm protects the one to the left. But this is metaphor only

Jesus did not come to slay all physical adversity He was not a warrior rather, think of Him as the right hand against which spiritual adversity can never triumph. By

consciously placing God at our right hand, we indicate our complete trust in Him to shield

and protect us from spiritual attack.

Je me souviens in ancient times health and prosperity were viewed as a sign of Gods approval. But through Christ we have learned that purification of the soul does not

automatically immunize our lives from poverty or physical pain, from shifting fortune or

grief. Yet with God as our right hand companion it is our soul He stands ready and

perfect to defend.

Je me souviens when reading and contemplating a Psalm, we remember it was written so many centuries before the birth of Jesus that perhaps the poet expected hoped for . An escape from physical death we dont know if he sensed the hope of life after death Sheol was the end of the road back then and yet here is the poet speaking to a hope, a far off destination called forevermore. Did he sense this hope reality? We are free

to do just this, to take this poets words and apply them to what we now know, that in Christ we have that strong right hand. . This is devotional poetry, intensely personal. It is also poetry of hope, a song of uplift and soaring confidence, no matter how dark our

night.

Je me souviens we think of those geese who passed over head a few weeks ago the V formation reduces the air resistance, allowing the flock to fly further the one in the lead is the strongest and as he weakens he drifts to the back in order to rest as the one who had

been behind him moves up into the leadership role. Over and over the leadership shifts in

this manner, the strong coming forward while those who have grown tired get to recoup.

Yet the flock as a whole continues to move forward, night and day, in rain or snow,

averaging an altitude of 3-4,000 feet yet able to wing over 12,000 foot mountain peaks if

necessary. They navigate by the stars at night, the sun and landmarks by day their memory is incredible, and they honk almost continually, directions as well as cautions,

learning from each other, listening well. Trusting. Encouraging. Provoking?!

In the letter to the Hebrews we heard: And let us consider how to provoke one another in love

To provoke is not only to annoyingly honk at each other in exasperation and anger, to

provoke is also the honking of encouragement and motivation. What better way to inspire us into our future than to provoke one another in love!

A kind word awakens kindness. A bitter word stirs up bitterness. An honest word

provokes thoughtfulness. The harsh word stirs up resentment. Only love can awaken love,

only humility and patience can provoke good works.

not neglecting to meet together we are in a V formation, honking our way towards that promised destination. Together. A noisy, mistake prone, family flock there was once a man who declared one cold January evening he could be just as good a

Christian outside the church as in it and that was why he no longer attended services he and his pastor were sitting in the parlor playing Cribbage as was their Monday routine.

After hearing the mans assertions the pastor stood, walked over to the wood stove, picked up the long cast iron tongs and removed one blazing coal from the fire within,

carefully placing it in the ash bucket. In silence the two men watched that red hot coal

smolder, grow dark, and then go out. After a few more moments of silence the man

whispered, I see.

encouraging one another geese in their V formations honk the entire way, as they take off, as they land, as they journey always encouraging one another as they fly ever closer to their destination. Constantly provoking. Constantly together. Their constant is

trust in each other.

Je me souviens we have a destination, a promise made to us. Right in the heart of this weeks gospel reading is the warning from Jesus, Beware that no one leads you astray The disciples were focusing in on wanting the signs, the landmarks of that promised destination and Jesus was warning them to focus on being sure they werent being led astray by a false leader. The answer lay not in a date on a calendar but on faith in a

dependable God, who would act in His own time. Preoccupation with the end times can

lead us astray from our primary task to follow Jesus.

Let us not be flockless geese who flutter about claiming to know the last word about

everything and the first word about nothing. Fussing about those last things must not

displace our need to attend the first things of Jesus the great commandments to Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

As John Newman so well wrote, keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene: one step enough for me. Je me souviens

Amen

Wherever he may guide us, no want shall turn us back;

Our shepherd is beside us, and nothing can we lack.

His wisdom ever waketh; his sight is never dim;

He knows the way he taketh, and we know to trust in him.