Order
Sunday, February 6, 2022
- Pre Worship Audio (10:15am) – ‘Calming Acoustic Guitar’
- Music 1 (10:30am) Abbie
I Love To Tell The Story
Love Lifted Me
- Welcome/Prayer (Gallery View) Rick
- Music 2 Abbie
Grace Greater Than Our Sin
- Scripture (No slides just reader) Online – Kristen Young
- Music 3 Abbie
Amazing Grace
- Message Rick
- Music 4 (special/no slides) Goodness of God Abbie
- Benediction Peyton
- Community (Gallery View) Rick
- Closing Peace Rick
- Closing Audio – ‘Calming Acoustic Guitar’
Words & Voices
Music 1 (12 Slides)
I Love To Tell The Story
CCLI Song # 29413
Arabella Katherine Hankey | William Gustavus Fischer
Verse 1
I love to tell the story
Of unseen things above
Of Jesus and His glory
Of Jesus and His love
I love to tell the story
Because I know ’tis true
It satisfies my longings
As nothing else can do
Chorus
I love to tell the story
‘Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old old story
Of Jesus and His love
Verse 4
I love to tell the story
For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
To hear it like the rest
And when in scenes of glory
I sing the new new song
‘Twill be the old old story
That I have loved so long
Chorus
I love to tell the story
‘Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old old story
Of Jesus and His love
Love Lifted Me
CCLI Song # 66926
Howard E. Smith | James Rowe
Verse 1
I was sinking deep in sin
Far from the peaceful shore
Very deeply stained within
Sinking to rise no more
But the Master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry
From the waters lifted me
Now safe am I
Chorus
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Verse 2
All my heart to Him I give
Ever to Him I’ll cling
In His blessed presence live
Ever His praises sing
Love so mighty and so true
Merits my soul’s best songs
Faithful loving service too
To Him belongs
Chorus
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Welcome/Prayer (No Slides)
God you are the Father of all
Father of the poor, the unkept, the weak, the marginalized
Father of those we may not like, and don’t want to like
Father of those who don’t know you and those who love you
Forgive us when we exclude and dismiss others
Help us to understand your full heart and your generous table
To remember that your table has room for the unloveable, such as ourselves
May we learn to love all our brothers and sisters with the unimaginable love that you drenched us with before we ever knew you
Amen
Music 2 (8 Slides)
Grace Greater Than Our Sin
CCLI Song #31690
Daniel Brink Towner | Julia Harriette Johnston
Verse 1
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt
Chorus
Grace grace God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace grace God’s grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin
Verse 4
Marvelous infinite matchless grace
Freely bestowed on all who believe
You that are longing to see His face
Will you this moment His grace receive
Chorus
Grace grace God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace grace God’s grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin
Scripture (No Slides)
Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet Jesus could not escape notice, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Mark 7:24-30
Music 3 (8 Slides)
Amazing Grace
CCLI Song # 4755360
John Newton
Verse 1
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind but now I see
Verse 2
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Verse 3
Through many dangers toils and snares
I have already come
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home
Verse 4
When we’ve been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun
Message – Aggressive Advocate (19 Slides)
When our children were young, the mother of one of their peers was a loud, woman who often created an uncomfortably awkward environment just by appearing at an event. She often used words that did not need to used, and even more often used means to express herself that most people would deem inappropriate. She was quick to express her negative thoughts about her own children to those children and even about her own children to others, at the same time was an aggressive advocate for her children. While her actions and words were sometimes difficult to watch, Andrea and I loved to watch her in action. Even more, we often admitted to each other that we wished we felt the freedom to be her. Such is an aggressive advocate.
Our passage today takes place after Jesus fed 5,000 people, he walked on water, he performed multiple healings, he sent his disciples to be his hands and feet among the oppressed communities, and then, later, he fed 4,000 people, again with leftovers just before he made a very deliberate turn towards Jerusalem and the cross. In the middle of all of that, Jesus makes a very intentional trip to the city of Tyre, a city with a very shady past and as well as a very dismal prophetic future.
Maybe he went there because immediately before he had engaged with the religious leaders with the shocking news that no food that enters the body is actually holy or unholy, but, instead, it is what comes from us, out of our heart, our core. Maybe it was to reveal that God’s grace is for all people, not just the Jews. Probably, however, it was because he was exhausted by the crowds and thought he could get a bit of privacy in this gentile city.
We actually looked at this passage back on October 3 during which we examined the story from the perspective of Jesus. From Jesus’ perspective we not only are confronted with the question of ‘why did Jesus go to Tyre’, but also, ‘why does he use words that are so rude, and even possibly racist’. If you are interested you can view that video on our web site.
Today, however, we are going to view the story from another perspective, the perspective of a gentile mother who was a very, very, aggressive advocate for her daughter.
[slide] New Testament scholar, Matt Skinner, calls the gentile woman a ‘tenacious Syrophoenician theologian’ and he asks [slide] “Who says things like desperation and tenacity aren’t the same thing as faith, when that desperation and tenacity are brought to Jesus? [slide] Don’t lose track of the simplicity of her achievement. Her theology doesn’t originate in books and study; it’s an expression of painfully experienced need and fierce motherly love. [slide] The woman does exemplify faith. In doing so, she makes us consider what “faith” even means. Notice, especially, her persistent efforts (refusing to go away until she gets what she came for), [slide] her hopeful insight (refusing to believe even a tiny speck of grace isn’t out of reach and knowing just a scrap can make the difference for her), [slide] and — in the end — her trusting acceptance (her willingness to take Jesus at his word and journey home alone to confirm her daughter’s healing).”
Matt Skinner, New Testament professor
She is a bulldog for her daughter. Her advocacy is without limits. Her determination has feet. Her faith is aggressive, vulnerable, and desperate. The condition of her daughter has consumed this mother’s life, she was exhausted, there was nothing left that could be done. She was powerless, but not hopeless. She wasn’t giving up until giving up was the only remaining option- until she found the the right person to whom she could give up to – Jesus.
Without any religious practices this outsider woman, with one simple yet profound sentence, moves Jesus to action. Without any grand theatrics or voices from heaven Jesus credits her words
Genuine authentic words from our hearts are the words that God hears. These are the words that Jesus, as our aggressive advocate, takes to the Father. We see this in the sincere words, words that demonstrate the reality of the heart, polished words from a Roman Centurion and we see this here in the simple, yet profound, words from a mother at the end of her possibilities, these are the words that Jesus draw Jesus’ attention. Words that come from deep within without pretense. These are holy words.
She answered Jesus without offense, humbly without pride, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” The woman does not beg for an exception, does not argue her worth, or even the substance of Jesus words. She didn’t even attempt to argue against a God that excludes. She pointed out what the Spirit had revealed to her – children at a table are messy, there will be crumbs.
She went home without proof, she walked away from Jesus without any concrete evidence, she just accepted him at his words. There, at her home, she found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. She believed before she saw. ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’
‘She begged Jesus.’ Begging is humiliating, begging can be heard by anyone standing close by. What brought her to Jesus? Had she heard of the healings and acts of deliverance? Had she heard about the feeding of the 5,000 that ended with an overflow abundance of food? Had the overflow of food sparked a recognition within her that God is a God of abundance? Had she put 2 and 2 together and calculated that even those on the outskirts of the Jewish crowd were possibly given the leftovers? Had the Spirit been working in her mind and heart, revealing God’s abundance. Was Jesus looking for words that would indicate that her request was before the one true God, not a celebrity in the flesh?
[slide] Faith is revealed in humble sacrifice.
[slide] Faith is strengthen in our willingness to let the Spirit lead.
[slide] Faith is proven in our unsubstantiated trust in God’s actions
[slide] Faith is evidenced in,
[slide] Humility
[slide] Obedience
[slide] Trust
Faith is ‘desperation and tenacity brought to Jesus.’ Faith is seen in her insistence that the table cannot hold the abundance that God gives.
We know Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, as an instrumental figure of our faith, however in Genesis 32 we see a frightened man heading home to face the consequences of his younger days. He is returning home to a probable vengeance seeking brother, so fear is justifiable. His return is risky, he could lose everything, including his life. Much like the gentile woman, he is desperate, he has done everything he can to survive but doubts that even his groveling will lessen the blow.
[slide] Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. [slide] Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with the man. [slide] Then the man said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So the man said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” [slide] Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” [slide] Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But the man said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. [slide] So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Genesis 32:22-31
Sometimes faith leaves us broken, battered, and bruised. Sometimes it leaves us walking with a limp. Sometimes even death. Faith leads us to trust. To trust the generous God of abundance. That leads us to return home even before there is any assurance of health, deliverance, safety, knowing that we have already trusted whatever we will find when we open that door, and that we will survive whatever limp we may be left with.
Lets pray –
Lord, remind us that advocacy, justice, and transformation is not always agitated uprisings and nonstop activity, instead, it is usually through the calm and persistence commitment of small groups and individuals. May we be your tool of the advocacy, justice, and transformation you desire in our world. May your peace go with us, wherever you may send us. May your Spirit guide us through the wilderness, protect us in the storm, and bring us home rejoicing at the wonders you have shown us. Amen.
Music 4 (No Slides)
Goodness of God
CCLI Song # 7117726
Ben Fielding | Brian Johnson | Ed Cash | Jason Ingram | Jenn Johnson
Verse 1
I love You Lord
Oh Your mercy never fails me
All my days
I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God
Chorus
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
Verse 2
I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night
You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a father
I’ve known You as a friend
I have lived in the goodness of God
Chorus
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
Benediction (5 Slides) (Lily – give Peyton a nod when slides are ready)
Leader: We stand at God’s table as outsiders by birth but family through Jesus
Response: We stand at the table because of God’s grace
Leader: At the table we fully belong and are fully invited to partake
Response: At the table none are left begging for crumbs
Leader: We look around the table and see a multitude of labels, practices, and expressions of faith
Response: We see familiar and unfamiliar faces, all are family
Leader: We partake with the Father who responds with empathy, mercy, and compassion
Response: We partake with Jesus, our advocate and the Spirit, our voice
Leader: The table is a place of hope
Response: The table is a place of love
Community (No Slides)
- Winter Bible Studies late February waiting on covid numbers
- Afghan info luncheon February 20
- Next Sunday – Taking Care of God, Luke 10:38-42
Peace (3 Slides)
As you leave this place, may the peace of the Lord go with you.
And also with you.
We gather here because of God’s love for us, we go from here because of God’s love for everyone out there. Go in the peace of the Lord.
Order, Words, & Voices 