The Celebration of the Gospel
June 26, 2016 —6th Sunday after Pentecost
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
— Galatians 5.22-23
_____ We Gather as the Body of Christ___
GREETING
PRELUDE
Triptych – arr: Gilbert M. Martin
[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Spirit of Creation, you make us in your image.
All: Spirit, bear your fruit in us.
Christ, you call us to be your messengers.
Spirit, bear your fruit in us.
Holy Spirit, breathe your grace in us, that we may shine with your light,
live with your love, and give of your gifts in us.
Spirit, bear your fruit in us.
Fill us, Holy Spirit, as we worship you.
* SONG O Come and Dwell in Me Blue hymnal # 388
CHILDREN’S TIME
_______We Attend to the Word_______
THE WORD IN SONG The Summer Singers
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Eternal God, spring of life in us and in all Creation, we open our hearts to your grace. As spring turns to summer and life burgeons around us, so may the sap of your love run in us, your love blossom in us. We listen for your living Word. Speak to us and awaken your Spirit in us. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT 1 Kings 18.20-39
[ In a scene told with a good deal of satire, Elijah stages a showdown between Yahweh and the god Baal. Two sacrifices are prepared, one for each god. The real God will be the one who comes down and lights the fire under their sacrifice. Of course, Yahweh comes through, big time. Final score: Yahweh 1, Baal 0.]
King Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If Yayweh is God, follow Yahweh; but if Ba’al is God, follow Ba’al.” But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of Yahweh’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh. The god who answers by fire—that one is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely Ba’al is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy. Maybe he’s stepped out to relieve himself. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh, which was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two measures of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
When it was time for the sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of Yahweh fell and burned up the sacrifice… the wood… the stones… and the soil… and even licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!”
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PSALTER Psalm 1
[Those who contemplate and follow God’s ways are like trees growing near water, never failing.
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on God’s law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
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NEW TESTAMENT Galatians 5.1, 13-25
[God has set us free from slavery. So we should not only treasure our own freedom, but be careful not to infringe on other people’s freedom, and in fact “through love become slaves of one another.” He contrasts living “by the flesh,” that is, under the power of selfish fear and desire, with living “in the Spirit,” and describes what the fruit of that Spirit is like.]
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify selfish desires. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
Now the works of selfish fear and desire are obvious: abuse, impurity, lewdness, idolatry, deceit, prejudice, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things can’t deal with the Reign of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their selfish desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
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GOSPEL Luke 9.51-62
[Jesus commits to going to Jerusalem, knowing what awaits him there. On his way he passes through a Samaritan village that rejects him. His disciples want to retaliate, But Jesus won’t have it. He warns people who would follow him that to live a life of radical obedience you may have to sacrifice your security, social status and belonging, or maybe even a place to sleep. To follow Jesus you have to let go of everything.]
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
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SERMON
SONG Breathe on Me, Breath of God Blue hymnal # 420
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
PASSING THE PEACE
______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
REFLECTING ON ANNUAL CONFERENCE
OFFERING OUR GIFTS I’ve Got Peace Like A River Traditional, arr: Mark Hayes
* OFFERING SONG Spirit of the Living God Blue hymnal #393
* PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Send us out as vessels of your Spirit for the sake of the healing of the world. May we bear the fruit of your Spirit in the name and the power and the beauty of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG Lord, Be Glorified Black hymnal #2150
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
* RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
POSTLUDE Ein’ Feste Burg Max Reger
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]