Worship November 13, 2020
Calling us to worship
This is the day that the Lord has made,
With good and bad parts, hard and difficult parts, with both joy and sorrow.
God has made this day, and God stands by us through it all.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Even when it is hard to rejoice.
Even when our voice is faint.
Even when hearts are heavy.
May we find hope , love and faith that help us rejoice.
Psalm 90
Verses 1 and 2, 12-17, from The Message
90 1-2 God, it seems you’ve been our home forever;
long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.
Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at—
the ways you rule and bless your children.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
5Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.
6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.
11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Reflection:
Early last week when someone reminded me that Halloween had only been the week before, I almost didn’t believe them. It felt like months ago. Truth be told, throughout this whole past year, the passage of time has been hard to measure. It has all felt out of rhythm from the normal passing of time. Days and months drag on with the monotony of sameness and isolation. The stress and strain of the unknowns seem to drag the weeks into feeling like months and months into what feels like years.
Many of the regular markers of time are not with us. Sundays, which often mark the beginning of our week, look and feel different, making it hard to get the sense that the new week has really begun. Work and school look different too. For many, the Monday through Friday regular schedule has been altered for many due to safety concerns. Not to mention the changes to other measures we use for the passage of time. Most of my family has turned a year older with little to no fan fair, including my 40th and my niece’s 16th birthdays, celebrated with only a handful of family members. The celebrating of holidays over the next few months is going to be different for most of us, as well. For many, our big Thanksgiving family gatherings have been put on hold or atleast downsized. Church are beginning to struggle to figure out what Advent celebrations will look like this year, and Christmas…well… who knows what that will look like. We are stuck in this time that feels like it is suspended. Waiting for safety and security to return. Suspended in a time, hoping to return to normalcy. We are stuck in a time of unknowing, of waiting and hoping.
The people in Thessalonia have been waiting and hoping too. They had been awaiting Christ’s return and the completion of their salvation. They had expected that Jesus would return within their own lifetime. As time past and as loved ones began to die there was growing angst about the end times. There was also concern over the salvation of those who had already died who had kept the faith as well as their own. They had begun to want answers to when Christ would return, desiring a precise date and time.
Paul reminds them that time is not in our own hands, as much as we would like it to be. Time is in God’s hands. We are not to know the hour or the day of Christ’s return. Instead we are to prepare for that moment at all times. We are to surround ourselves with faith, love and hope.
It is easy in times that feel like darkness to give into that darkness. When the times and circumstances seem overwhelming and we feel abandoned, it is easy to give in and let go of faith, love and hope. The people of Thessalonia had been waiting and hoping their whole lives, but the pains of the earthly world continued to grow and overwhelm. They were losing hope in the promised second coming. They were wanting the world to change on their time line. They struggled to settle into leaving the times and seasons to God alone. They are about to lose heart and lose hope.
We can grow weary as we face the perils of this world. This past 8 months has shown the truth of this like no other time for our generation. We grow weary in our waiting, wearing in our hoping, weary in our caring. It is hard to trust in God’s times and seasons. We struggle with continued energies to make things better, to find the joy in the situation and to do the things that could help move us forward—wear masks, wash our hands faithfully, and isolate.
But we are children not of darkness but of light. We must stand together to bring Christ’s light to this world. We must stand together to encourage one another -- to build each other up. We all are growing weary through out these times of prolonged unknowing and unrest. As the numbers continue to rise around us, as hospital beds become more scares, as more people are getting contact calls our fears can rise…our trust can dwindle…we can give into darkness. Or we can be of light. We can reach out and care for one. We can stay in touch with friends and families through technology. We can gather around a digital Thanksgiving table. We can get Christmas shopping done online. We can encourage one another and lift each other up when we feel the pressures of the time and season seem too burdensome. We can pray for one another.
We are indeed Children of the light and of the day…Let us not fall asleep, but keep awake. Let us put on the breastplate of faith and love that we maybe stronger through out these days. Let us put on our helmet of our hope of salvation, that we do not lose hope. Let us live fully in Christ, trusting in God’s unbounding mercy and loving our neighbors through this difficult season. Let us continue to encourage one another and build up the body of Christ, that we may be stronger each day for God’s glory. Amen
Questions
What makes up your breast plate of faith and love?
Prayer, community, family, friends?
What gives you hope for salvation?
New babies, love, sunrises, old couples holding hands?
Activity
Draw your armor.
You can do this however you want (of course). You can print off a picture of armor (here is a link) to one. Our you can just draw a stick figure, or just put words where you imagine they belong. Whichever fits within your artistic abilities.
Now fill in your armor with the things that protect you or build you up.
What gives you hope, faith and love? What has strengthened you during these difficult months?
Look at your armor.
Look at how God has provided for you during these difficult times.
Which of these things do you think someone else might find strength from?
How can you encourage some else this week?
What can you do to build up someone else armor?
Jot it down on your paper!
With specifics. (who, what, when, how)
Now just do it!
Benediction
May you go out in the world fully clothed with the breastplate of faith and love.
May the Helmet of the hope of salvation cover you
and may you encourage others through these difficult days with the knowledge of God’s unending love..
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever more.
AMEN
