For Online Sermon Octber 25, 2020

Going Deeper

By Pat Russell

Considering the sermon by Rev. Bill Sanders (Ret.) on October 25, 2020

Matthew 22 ³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment.  ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Deuteronomy 34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, ³ the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. ⁴ The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” ⁵ Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. ⁶ He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. ⁷ Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. ⁸ The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.

You could not have listened to Bill Sanders yesterday without hearing his reminder to us all to be in prayer in these days of transition of our church.  As the newly re-formed community of the Israelites said farewell to Moses who led them from Egypt to the Promised land, we say goodbye to Bruce.  Of course, we are sad, just as the Israelites were sad… 

 …but we must move on into the “land” God has promised us as a church community.  We have work to do!  Work that is both inward and outward as we PRAY, have PATIENCE, DISCERN, and TRUST.  Perhaps the baseline is regular and heartfelt prayer. 

I offer you some ways that you might pray in the days ahead. Pray for:

·         the Elders of the church by name, for their wisdom and discernment in these days.

·         the Deacons as they care for our people during these days.

·         our upcoming “in-house” and “live-stream” services.

·         how to move our church into the future during the corona virus.

·         for our patience and trust to grow during these days.

·         for God to lead us to our interim pastor.

·         for the preparation of our new senior pastor wherever and whoever she/he may be.

Consider fasting regularly so that when you feel those hunger pains, you will be reminded to pray.

When you meet with someone else from the church, take a moment to pray together or call someone with whom you could pray.

Be still and allow God to bring to your mind for what or whom you to pray.

Put a “sticker” in an obvious place, like your car dashboard, or your mirror that reminds you to pray for our church.

Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.  We want to be your people in the midst of this transitional season in our church.  We are grateful that You have been so very faithful to us in the past.  You have led us through challenging times and peaceful times in these past 11 years with Bruce as our pastor.  You have continually led us more deeply into Christlikeness.  Now we are going into a new season and we need your continuing guidance, strength, and discernment as we prepare for what lies ahead.  We know that this time in our church life is not in any way wasted or meaningless.  It is Your time to work in us new ways of loving both You and each other.  We trust in Your steadfast, loving kindness that is given to all generations – this generation.  In Your name, Jesus, Amen.

For Online Sermon October 18, 2020

By Pat Russell

Considering the final sermon before his retirement from Pastor Bruce Spear, October 18, 2020

Scripture for the day: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

 ⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

As I write my reflections on Pastor Bruce’s final sermon, I am once again keenly aware of God’s word coming to us through our Pastor as he says goodbye. So today, I encourage you to take this passage and change it into a prayer for Bruce and Susan. After each verse, say a parallel thought for Bruce and Susan. For instance, with verse 6 I might say, “I thank you for how Bruce poured out Your Words to us in his sermons. And I am so grateful for Susan pouring out her heart in music and poetry.”

Include remembrances of how the Lord Jesus brought Bruce and Susan into our midst; how you have been blessed by them and their lives; how He kept them (and us) through difficult times; the things that make you say, “thank you.”  Be a testimony to God on their behalf. And then, pray for them as they step into this new season of life. 

And finally, lift up a prayer for our church fellowship in the days ahead.

If you care to write out that prayer and send it to me, I will be sure they get it.

Pat Russell

patannruss@gmail.com

For Online Sermon October 11, 2020

By Pat Russell 

October 11, 2020

Sermon from Pastor Bruce Spear

Scripture for the day: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

It's Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in My Hiding Place (aka she-shed). The weather is changing. The bright gold and yellows on the trees have moved to rust colors as the trees and bushes begin to draw their energy inward in preparation for colder days. The winds are blowing, and the leaves are falling. Even though we have gone out with a beautiful bang of color, we think about wrapping up our yard work and maybe even lighting a fire in the fireplace. We begin to draw inward. It is a time of transition.

And so, it was with Paul and Timothy’s relationship. As Bruce has pointed out, this was probably Paul’s last letter. Once again, we can draw the parallel between Paul and Bruce as he moves toward retirement and we press on without him. I appreciated what Richard Foster said in his interview with Bruce, “Bruce has prepared you for this time.” And the quote from Julian of Norwich when she heard God say to her, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Timothy could have been feeling timid or afraid about the future without Paul, and Paul wanted to encourage him to keep on keeping on. As you listened to Bruce’s sermon, what words of encouragement did you hear for you and for our church? What stood out in your mind and captured your heart? The rock cut out of the mountain from Daniel’s vision that established the Kingdom of God over all; the proclamation of the Word of God proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus; our church mission to “Help People Meet and Walk with Jesus” in words and action; to preach the Good News in and out of season; to keep a clear head in the days ahead; to endure hardship; to discharge your duties as a follower of Jesus; to “tell it” over and over!

Last week I struggled with drawing a Going Deeper out of the sermon because telling our flock to check for sin in our lives as we are in this transition is not particularly enjoyable. But it is so important for us to prepare our hearts when these times have produced critical spirits! We cannot take that critical spirit with us in these days of transition. We cannot draw in and “wait and see” if “they” do it right. We must listen carefully to what Paul encourages Timothy to be and do, and “go do likewise.”

So many good words! So many precious words of love spoken by a pastor to his “flock of one.” And Bruce has spoken to his flock through those very Words. The question remains, what will you and I do and be in the days ahead? God has the WHOLE world in His hands; He has EPC in his hands. How are you going to respond to that truth in the days ahead?

For Online Sermon October 4, 2020

Going Deeper

By Pat Russell

October 4, 2020

Sermon from Pastor Bruce Spear

Scripture for the Day: 1 Timothy 3:1-5 and 10-12

You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. ² For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!

¹⁰ Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 

As I listened to this sermon, this was my first reaction: “Oh, this is so true of our world today, especially the political climate out there. Whether a person is right, left, or in the middle, surely they can see how bad things are!” Yea, first reaction. Then God began a deeper work in me….

“How about YOU, Pat? Are any of these descriptions true of what has been deep in your heart in these months?” he asked with a gentle voice.

I began to think about the “weeds” in my life that are growing along with the “wheat.” We all have them if we are honest. We all have had them sprout up and grow like healthy plants as we water them with our thoughts and feelings. The weed seeds may have been planted long before the corona virus hit us. It is time for us to do some gardening of our souls.

As we enter into this time of transition in our faith community, we must prepare ourselves for a new work of God in our church by examining our particular soul – our will, our thoughts, and our intentions. We must come before God in confession and seek His forgiveness. He is waiting and ready to begin something new in these upcoming days. He will do HIS part. Will we do ours?

With those words in mind, take time to pray and meditate on the four words Pastor Bruce gave us yesterday. He gave us a deeper understanding of only 4 of the 18 weeds that Paul lists! Let’s start with these 4 and ask ourselves if ANY of the seeds of these weeds are growing in our lives. You may want to ask this self-examination question adapted from Larry Warner’s book Journey with Jesus:

How has the destructive nature of that particular sin impacted your life? (choices you made, interactions with others and so on)?

Pastor Bruce’s words:

After beginning by describing these people as being in love with themselves and in love with money, he uses the word translated “boaster.” The original meaning of this word is “a charlatan, an imposter.” “All hat and no cattle,” as they used to say.

Another word that Paul uses is “arrogant,” an elevated sense of one’s own value and importance. This is part of being in love with yourself as Paul says. William Barclay says, “People like this nourish an all-consuming, all-pervasive pride; and in their hearts there is a little altar where they bow down before their own images of self.”

A third word that Paul uses is “blasphemer.” This word is usually used of a person who blasphemes God, but in this case, Paul is talking about people who blaspheme other human beings made in God’s image. That is why it is translated “abusive,” someone who is verbally abusive of others.

I’ll just take one more word although all 18 words are full of meaning and are worth studying. Paul says these people are incapable of appreciating the good things in life. The word is translated “haters of good” but it literally means “unable to love the good.” The Greeks held up “the good, the true and the beautiful.” There is much in life and in the world and in the people around us to appreciate because it sparkles with the goodness with which God has filled it.

Paul was able to say, “imitate my life.” May we, in all humility, be able to say in the days ahead, “Imitate Elizabeth Presbyterian Church when your community faces the challenges of these days.”

Romans 8:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17

Now hear the good news!

Who is in a position to condemn?

Only Christ,

and Christ died for us,

Christ rose for us,

Christ reigns in power for us,

Christ prays for us.

Anyone who is in Christ

is a new creation.

The old life has gone;

a new life has begun.

Know that you are forgiven

and be at peace.

Amen.