READING: Romans 6:12-23 and Matthew 10:40-42
SERMON : "Welcome In Christ's Name"
Rev. Richard J. Fairchild
a-or13sm 677000
The following is a more or less complete liturgy and sermon
for the upcoming Sunday. Hymn numbers, designated as VU are
found in the United Church of Canada Hymnal "Voices United".
SFPG is "Songs For A Gospel People", also available from the UCC.
The story within the sermon about the missionary came off the Net
some years back and has no attribution attached to it.
GATHERING AND MUSICAL PRELUDE (* = please stand)
* WORDS OF WELCOME
L The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
P And also with you.
SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS: ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SPECIAL MATTERS
- Welcome and Announcements
- Birthdays and Anniversaries
- Special Matters
- Sharing Joys and Concerns
The Service today features a great deal of special
music by a music team and is therefore arranged a bit
differently than usual. After the announcements we
will ask God's blessings on our worship time and
continue on as indicated in the bulletin. The hymns
will be projected on the large screen set up for today
so you will not need your hymn books and should be able
to join in on many of the songs with hands raised - or
clapping - or whatever the Spirit moves you to.
* HYMN: "Great is Thy Faithfulness" MUSIC TEAM
* OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray - Great indeed, O God, is your faithfulness. From generation
to generation you keep your promises. You invite us to the table of your
presence and feed us with the bread of heaven and the wine of eternal joy.
You welcome all who turn to you and seek out those who are lost. We praise
you and thank you for your gracious love and care. Bless, O God, this
time of worship and anoint us with your Holy Spirit so that we may be as
you are - so that we may be made like Jesus - and so bring eternal glory to
your most Holy Name. Amen
CONGREGATIONAL CHORUSES MUSIC TEAM
-- I Will Enter His Gates
-- I'm So Happy
A READING FROM ROMANS 6:12-23
(NIV) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you
obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as
those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of
your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not
be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone
to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey -
whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience,
which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you
used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of
teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin
and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves.
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to
impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in
slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to
sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit
did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free
from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to
holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
L This is the Word of the Lord
P Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN'S TIME: "Welcome"
Object: A "Welcome Mat" or Sign of the kind commonly found
Theme: Opening our hearts and homes to others
Source: Self
The story is meant to have the children come up with answers to
the questions....
Good morning.... Have you ever seen one of these? Where have you seen
something like this?
Usually we'd see a mat like this outside our homes and businesses. They
have two purposes. Can you tell me what their purpose is?
Well, if it's a mat, it's used to wipe the shoes off AND they are a sign to
let people know that they are welcome.
- What does "welcome" mean?
- Are people always welcome in our homes?
- Are they always welcome at businesses?
- Do you think that people are always welcome at our church home?
- How should we make people welcome?
Let us try to do that always.
PRAYER AND THE LORD'S PRAYER
Dear Lord God - thank you for welcoming us - for making us a part
of your family. - Help us to do those things that welcome others
- and to show your love to your world. Amen.
And in the words that Jesus taught us, let us pray:
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,
the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
SPECIAL MUSIC MUSIC TEAM
CONGREGATIONAL CHORUS: "Everyday With Jesus"
A READING FROM MATTHEW 10:40-42
(NIV) "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me
receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because
he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who
receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a
righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the
truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
L This is the Gospel of our Lord
P Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
SERMON: "Welcome In Christ's Name"
Five years ago you welcomed Richard and I into your midst. In the five
years that have passed you have welcomed us into your hearts, into your
homes, and at your weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms and
funerals.
You have gathered us in at Christmas and Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving
and a host of other times.
You have shared yourselves;
shared the fellowship of your table with us,
offered us the fruits of your gardens,
delighted us with the camaraderie of a good game of cards.
But more than this - much more - you have ministered to us, offered the cup
of cold water, and blessed and strengthened us when we had need.
Today's gospel speaks eloquently of welcome:
Jesus tells the disciples as he sends them out to announce the coming of
the kingdom with acts and deeds and speech. He tells them and he tells us
today:
Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me
also welcomes the one who sent me. Anyone who welcomes a
prophet, just because that person is a prophet, will be given the
same reward as a prophet. Anyone who welcomes a good person,
just because that person is good, will be given the same reward
as a good person. And anyone who gives one of my most humble
followers a cup of cool water, just because that person is my
follower, will surely be rewarded.
So - what does it mean to welcome?
How do we do that here in this place?
How do we make this House of God a home?
How do we make these congregations a community of love, a family?
These questions are questions that our faith community must wrestle with in
the coming months. Through the stirring of God's Spirit we have been led
to this time. It is an exciting time - a scary time - a time pregnant with
opportunity, a time pregnant with suspense. It is God's time. It is our
time.
We are called to give.
Called to give welcome.
Called to give to God.
And called to give as God gives.
In abundance, using God's economy, God's accounting
in faith, surrendering our wills to God's purpose.
And we know that already.
A poll conducted by Angus Reid for Southam News some time back now reported
that 87% of Canadians feel a personal responsibility to make the world a
better place. 87%!
87% of Canadians know that it is their responsibility to make the world a
better place, to give abundantly, to surrender of themselves.
So, we who worship and serve here, already know that the Lord calls us,
calls us to self-giving love,
calls us to welcome as a sign of that love.
However, that same Angus Reid poll found that only 53% of Canadians do
volunteer work on a regular basis, and more alarming, found that 42% of
Canadians believe that nice guys finish last.
Nice guys finish last! Jesus said,
And whoever ... gives to one of these little ones even a cup of
cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his
reward.
I once read about a woman whose church group bought Christmas gifts for a
missionary family.
After meticulously selecting the presents based on the family's
needs, sizes and ages, the group gathered to pack them.
That's when another member whisked in and plopped an almost new
man's coat on the table. Her husband didn't like the style. As
she turned to go, she suggested that maybe one of the
missionaries could use it.
Several people were offended.
The coat wouldn't fit anyone in the missionary family.
Obviously, the woman hadn't given much thought or time to the
project.
But the other presents didn't completely fill the barrel they
were packing. So someone folded the coat and stuck it in. It
made perfect packing material
After Christmas, a thank you letter arrived from the missionary
family. They thanked the church for their many gifts - and
especially for the "miracle" gift.
It seems that, during a storm, a destitute man knocked on their
door. He was so ill-dressed for the cold, they invited him to
stay until the storm had passed. Even though their visitor would
have no gifts in the barrel, they decided to open it.
That's when they discovered the coat.
It fit the man perfectly.
Do such things really happen in this world? You betcha - all the time!
You never know when you give that cup of cold water - that unneeded coat -
how that gift may be used by God.
NO GIFT GIVEN - NO WELCOME - IS EVER GIVEN IN VAIN.
Jesus said,
And whoever ... gives to one of these little ones even a cup of
cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his
reward.
Some people are afraid to give their money, their time, their talent, their
life to God because they think they will lose what they give.
Unfortunately they do not understand God's economy!
They do not understand that God works differently,
that God's ways are not our ways.
Are you afraid to give?
Do you think nice guys finish last?
If you are and if you do perhaps God is working on your heart this morning,
perhaps God is telling you to make room in your heart and mind for
God's vision for you.
Pray that it is so.
Go ahead and answer God's call.
Are we as a Christian community afraid to give?
Do we think that there's no use
- people aren't interested in what we have to give?
Are we hiding in the shadows of a mean, inhospitable post-Christian world,
huddled fearfully together with our little candles afraid to hold them
high?
Have we chosen to avoid the risks of discipleship, the risks of welcoming?
These are good questions to ask ourselves.
The practice of self-examination is an ancient and honourable one.
The willingness to do an examination like this is a sign of spiritual
maturity and bodes well for the future of our faith community.
So - back to my original three questions.
What does it mean to welcome?
How do we do that here in this place?
How do we make this House of God a home?
How do we make these congregations a community of love, a family?
If you're really swift this morning you will notice that there are really
four questions. I ask you to remember them and take them home with you to
reflect on.
But I have a few suggestions before you do.
FIRST, start thinking of the House of God in this place as HOME, as FAMILY.
In the wedding services I'm privileged to attend, it is emphasized that a
new family has been formed in the sight of God. This new family is called
in covenant to a commitment of the will to love, honour, cherish and serve
with faithfulness.
"I WILL." say the bride and groom.
Similarly in our baptisms and confirmations we are called in covenant to a
commitment of the will.
By our vows we have been formed into family.
"I WILL." we say as we profess our faith.
"WE WILL." we say as a family of faith at each new covenanting.
We are a covenant people. It is time to live that covenant.
SECOND, practice on each other the welcome and the hospitality that you
offer from your own homes and families. Be genuinely concerned about each
other's welfare. Soon you will find yourselves welcoming Christ in
newcomers and strangers as well. For the word will spread that - in this
place - a home, a family, God's people are to be found.
THIRD, remember that you are needy too.
Remember the need of God's grace, the need of forgiveness,
the need of compassion, the need of loneliness that you have experienced.
Remember how God, through this community,
through this family, has met those needs.
Receive these gifts, this hospitality, this welcome. They are signs of
God's favour and bring healing and wholeness.
Let yourself occasionally be the cherished guest, for Christ's sake
and in his name.
FOURTH and last, make a conscious effort to invite Jesus into your life and
put him first. Make a conscious decision to reach out to those in want, to
get involved.
Yes, it costs. Our lives will be interrupted. Our privacy occasionally
invaded. Our nerves frayed. Our patience tried. Yet, what we give up -
our self-interested agendas - we will discover to have been really heavy
burdens that we have been dragging around.
The world is sore in need of smiles,
is crying out for small acts of kindness,
desperately longs for cups of cold water.
WILL YOU? Will you, as Saint Paul said in our Romans reading this morning,
give yourselves to God, as people who have been raised from death to life
... making every part of your body serve God, so that you will belong
completely to him.
Will you make God's House a Home?
Will you give yourself to God in Christ's name?
God longs to hear our answer.
LET US PRAY (free form) (Rx - And in your Love Answer)
Self Giving Love
Welcoming others
hospitable church
reaching out church
Blessings on those being married next week
Prayers of the People
Prayers for Canada
* SHARING GOD'S BLESSINGS: As the Offering is presented all stand for the
Doxology (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow - VU 541) and Prayer of
Dedication
O God - unto you we offer these gifts - bless them and use them
and us in your service that this church might be a light leading
the way to you and the salvation you offer freely to all. We ask
it in Jesus' name.
* HYMNS: "How Great Thou Art" and "He Is Lord" MUSIC TEAM
* COMMISSIONING (unison): In the power of the Holy Spirit, we now go
forth into the world, to fulfil our calling
as the people of God, the body of Christ.
* BENEDICTION AND THREEFOLD AMEN
Go in peace - love and care for one another in the name of Jesus,
- and may the holy God provide for you in mercy,
- may Christ Jesus greet you as you welcome the stranger,
- and may the Holy Spirit lead you in the ways of eternal life
this now and for ever and ever. Amen
* CHORAL BLESSING: "Go Now In Peace" - VU 964
copyright - Rev. Richard J. Fairchild 2002 - 2005
please acknowledge the appropriate author if citing these sermons.
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