September 3rd Virtual Worship
| The Order of Worship |
|---|
| The Bells Call Us To Worship |
| Prelude |
| Call to Worship |
| Hymn of Adoration |
| Confession of Sin |
| Kyrie |
| Assurance of Pardon |
| Greeting of Peace |
| Gloria |
| Scripture Reading: Mathew 16:21-28 |
| A Message to Children |
| Worship in Music |
| Pastoral Prayer & The Lord's Prayer |
| Hymn of Reflection: |
| Sermon: Take Up Your Cross |
| Communion Hymn |
| The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper |
| Hymn of Parting |
| Benediction |
| On Eagle's Wings |
| Postlude |
Music Ministry Team: Kristin Petty, Dwight Huntley, Matthew Leone, Rene Vazquez
Worship Team: Sarah Haas, Marc Hayden
Technology Team: Michael Kendall, Mark Raker, Jerry Weissinger
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Key Notes from the reading & sermon:
Take Up Your Cross
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
[Reading Above - Matthew 16:21-28]
As we discussed in the sermon last Sunday, at the time of Jesus there was a growing expectation that the Messiah would come soon to vindicate the martyrs and establish once and for all God’s blessed reign on earth. Peter identified Jesus in that role and Jesus affirms it in Mathew 16:15-17. This affirmation begs the question: how will this happen? The assumption was by victory. Those who stand in the way of the reign of God (like imperial leaders and armies) would be vanquished and the Messiah would reign supreme. This assumption was wrong. Jesus speaks a paradoxical truth: the path to the everlasting, blessed reign of God is by vulnerability, suffering and death. As New Testament professor Edith Humphrey puts it: followers of the way of Jesus must put to death everything that impedes the new life of God, this is the meaning of taking up one’s cross (Feasting on the Word, Mathew volume 2, page 59). In other words, we must surrender the whole of ourselves to receive and take our place in the blessed life and community of God.
Questions for Reflection:
It is shocking that Jesus willingly follows a path that leads to a cross. It is surprising that this path leads to the blessed life with God. How have your own experiences with vulnerability and suffering lead you to a more meaningful and purposeful life?
Jesus seems to blend two images from the ancient Hebrew prophets to understand his role as the Messiah, the Suffering Servant and the Son of Man. Read Isaiah 53:4-12, a song of the Suffering Servant, and note the way brokenness is the path to reconciliation. Read Daniel 7, and note the way one like a human being, a son of man, is given everlasting dominion over the bestial figures representing human kings who rule by intimidation and violence. How do these passages and ideas add to your understanding of Jesus as the Messiah/Christ?
A Spiritual Practice to Try:
Find a quiet place and time to reflect on and confess the impediments you put in the way of fully trusting God and living in God’s blessed community of grace and peace. Surrender those impediments to God and ask God to show you how to begin to dismantle them. Share your plan to take up your cross with an accountability partner.
A Practice to Focus on Discipleship:
Incorporate a faith journal in your spiritual practice. Use the journal as a way to:
jot down needs and blessings with words or drawings or pictures, respond to the questions for reflection in the sermon notes, make notes about the weekly scripture lessons and sermons, create a to-do list of discipleship actions, list questions you want to explore, write prayers, stories, poems, or letters, be creative!
If you need some guidance or support, you may reach me at pastormarc.friedensucc@outlook.com.
