Worship 10/9/2020
Worship for the week of October 9, 2020
Call to worship:
We come to you to worship, O God.
Clear our hearts and minds that we may hear your voice.
Wipe away our worries,
Calm our souls,
and speak to us through this time of Scripture and reflection.
Speak your words of peace to us once again and may we be strengthened by your grace.
Amen
Psalm 25
1To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
3Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
6Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!
8Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.
14The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.
15My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.
18Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
19Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
22Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.
Exodus 17:1-7
1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” 3But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” 4So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Reflection:
We can grow weary in the wilderness.
With weariness often comes short tempers, frustration and anger.
The people of Israel were not exempt from these emotions. They have endured many days in the wilderness and are far from the comforts of home. They have left behind all that they have ever known and now they are short tempered and testy. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are we and our children now just to die of thirst here in the wilderness?” they cry out in frustration. They are finding their new situation no better than the last. They are feeling alone, scared, and frustrated. But it is God who has lead them to this path, to this wilderness. And God has not forsaken them.
While they feel abandoned, God is still with them. God assures Moses that God will be before them and provide. God keeps the promises that God makes. With a simple striking of a rock by Moses’ staff God provides water from dry stone and shows once again that God was for them and not against them.
When we face our own wildernesses, we can grow weary as well.
Our tempers can flare. Our frustrations can make us difficult to get along with. Our anger can flare up at a moments notice.
Wildernesses pop up in life.
There will be times when the road seems too long or the burdens too heavy. There will be times when we don’t know what direction to take— in our personal lives, in our work lives, and even in our spiritual lives.
Wildernesses come along and we can all too often, like the Israelites, question where we are headed. We can feel abandoned, forsaken, and alone. We can find ourselves questioning God’s path for us. “How did I end up in this thankless job?” “Is there not something better out there for me?” “Is this really the life that I am supposed to be leading?”
But God has not forgotten us, even when we are in the deepest wilderness.
God never promised an easy road for us but God has proved faithful from generation to generation. God stands by those who trust put their trust in God.
When the people of Israel are feeling alone, scared, and weary in the wilderness, God intervenes. Moses walks into the wilderness with his staff, strikes a dry rock and water flows for God’s people. God does not forget the people with whom God is in relationship. God does not forget you. In the midst of the wilderness, God does provide all that we need. If you are feeling alone, scared, or weary, call out to God. God is with you. The promise is true.
May your water flow!
Questions
When is a time when God has provided for you in ways that you cannot explain?
I was headed to church camp one year as an adult. I am not the best with directions by any means. I come how got way lost. This was back before cell phones and cars had GPS. I also was so lost that I did not even know where I was, so calling my parents and asking for directions was out of the question. It was getting dark which only made the situation worse. They were expecting me at the camp and I was now considerably late. I was have never felt so lost and alone. At that moment I no clue what to do. With tears on the verge, I pulled over, took a few breaths, and prayed. Somehow by God’s grace and mercy I ended up finding my way to the camp through winding mountains. To this day I cannot explain to you how I did it except for to credit God. When I pulled into that camp I felt such joy and peace.
What was the longest ‘wilderness’ that you experienced? Was it professional, personal, or spiritual? What helped you through the wilderness?
There have been times in my life where I have felt distant from God, where I have felt in a wilderness. Those are always difficult times for me. I get a lot of my strength and my energy from my relationship with God and with God’s people, so when that connection is not there for me, I struggle. I am always aware in those times that it is me that has wandered away and not the other way around, but I can still become frustrated that the relationship is just not there for that season. Prayer normally helps me and mixing up my prayer practices. Often a prayer journal or prayer Bible helps me to draw back closer to God when I feel in the wilderness. I have tried meditation, but I am not so good with the quiet.
If someone you know is currently ‘lost in a wilderness’, what is some advice you would share?
My advice would be to reach out. Often times wildernesses come from a feeling of isolation, especially during this time. Sometimes it just helps to reach out and be in conversation with someone else. There is strength in numbers.
Activity
Go to a faucet in your house.
Let the water run for just a few seconds.
Have you ever thought about how amazing that is? Water right there at your fingertips.
Think about what all water at your fingertips means for your life. It keeps us hydrated. It helps us keep our bodies and our homes clean. It helps us cook. It helps our plants to grow. It keeps our pets well.
Think how often you come to the faucet in one day. To brush your teeth, to take a shower, to grab a drink. Water truly is a staple of our lives. Without water, we could not live. Yet we often take it for granted. God also is a staple of our lives and we can too often take God for granted. Each time you use water today, take a moment to thank God for the water which sustains our bodies and for God’s presence which sustains our souls.
Quick Prayer: Holy God, you are the sustainer of our lives. We thank you for all the life-giving things that you have provided us with: for water, food security, homes, and safety. We often take these things for granted. Today we pause and give you praise. Thank you Holy God, Amen.
Closing Prayer
All caring God,
You knit us together in our mother’s wombs and you care about our every need.
Help us to trust in you in moments of want and in our moments of fullness,
for all things come from your hand.
For those who are in a wilderness,
may they feel your comfort and your grace.
Wrap them in your love and grant them your deep peace.
May you feel even closer to them in their need.
Wrap them in your love.
Holy God,
You are our all in all.
Help us to trust more in you each day.
Amen and amen
Benediction
Now, go out into the world, trusting in God’s grace and resting in God’s care!
Let all God’s people say,
AMEN
