Order, Words, & Voices
10.29.23, Royal Disregard, 1 Kings 12:1-17, 25-29
Order
Pre Worship Music
Call to Worship – Song Billy & Team
Lord Reign In Me
Thank You Lord
Call to Worship – Spoken Word Linda/Segun
Following Jesus’ Example/Worship Response Rick
Songs Billy & Team
Draw Me Close
Change My Heart
Prayers for our World Rick
Message Royal Disregard Rick
Music Billy and Team
Change My Heart
Community/Peace Rick
Benediction/Closing Peace Rick
Post Worship Music
Music (slides) Billy and Team
Lord Reign In Me
Verse 1
Over all the earth You reign on high
Every mountain stream
every sunset sky
But my one request
Lord my only aim
Is that You’d reign in me again
Chorus
Lord reign in me reign in Your pow’r
Over all my dreams
in my darkest hour
You are the Lord of all I am
So won’t You reign in me again
Verse 2
Over every thought over every word
May my life reflect
the beauty of my Lord
‘Cause You mean more to me
Than any earthly thing
So won’t You reign in me again
Chorus
Lord reign in me reign in Your pow’r
Over all my dreams
in my darkest hour
You are the Lord of all I am
So won’t You reign in me again
Thank You Lord
Verse
For all that You’ve done
I will thank You
For all that You’re going to do
For all that You’ve promised
And all that You are
Is all that has carried me through
Jesus I thank You
Pre-Chorus
And I thank You thank You Lord
(And I thank You thank You Lord)
Thank You thank You Lord
(Thank You thank You)
Chorus
Thank You for loving
and setting me free
Thank You for giving
Your life just for me
How I thank You Jesus I thank You
Gratefully thank You thank You
Call to Worship – Spoken Words (Slides) Linda/Segun
We gather for a shared moment before God. We gather with countless others in our community, our nation, and around our world on our common path of Becoming. We gather with those who are in struggles we cannot imagine and in places where suffering permeates to a depth we will never understand. We gather with those who have rejoiced in victories as well as those whose pain is guarded with a vigilance that is excruciating.
We gather for a moment of rest in our struggles, a moment of refreshment before God, and a moment to remember the hope found in the empty tomb. We travel a called and yet chosen path. A path of grace and a path of works. May we continue to move forward on our path of becoming as we gather before the God who is God.
Prayer – Following Jesus’ Example (Slides) Rick
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. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Call to Worship – Responsive Reading (Slides) Rick
Leader: You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession.
Response: We have become a people called out of darkness into God’s amazing light.
Leader: Once you were not a people.
Response: Now we are God’s people.
Leader: The gifts God gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers.
Laity: Called to equip us for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
Leader: We do this work together until we all come to the unity of the faith. Response: We do this work together until we all come to the full knowledge of Jesus.
1 Peter 2:9-10a & Ephesians 4:11-13a (CEB)
Music (Slides) Billy and Team
Draw Me Close
Verse
Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I’m Your friend
You are my desire no one else will do
‘Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way bring me back to You
Chorus
You’re all I want
You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re all I want
Help me know You are near
Change My Heart Oh God
Chorus
Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You
Verse
You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray
Prayer for our World (Keep call to first passage up through prayer) Rick
[Slide] Prayer introduction
[Slide] Call to Prayer – ‘First of all, I ask that you pray for all people. Ask God to bless them and give them what they need. And give thanks. You should pray for rulers and for all who have authority. Pray for these leaders so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of devotion to God and respect for him. This is good and pleases God our Savior.’ 1 Tim 2:1-3 (ERV)
Prayer– To you O God, the God whose holy anger heals; To you O God, the Messiah whose righteous anger overcomes evil; To you O God, the Spirit who keeps our angers from turning destructive: Receive our wounded hearts; Take our burning words; Protect us from our desires for revenge. May our righteous angers become fuel for justice in our fractured world and for the mending of broken relations in our neighborhoods and homes.
For God’s sake—and ours—we pray.
Amen.
Prayer penned by W. David O. Taylor
Message (Slides) Rick
Introduction
Listening to part of Pastor Sharon Riley’s Wednesday night black history taught at her Church in Orlando, Florida, Perfecting Praise & Worship Center. Need to know history.
History
- [Slide] 1st King, King Saul, sat on throne for approximately 40 years. After Saul’s death there was not agreement over who would be the next King over Israel,
- [Slide] Southern Kingdom, Judah chose David, who had been anointed next King by God, through Samuel, over two decades earlier, was named King over the Southern Kingdom, Judah. 2 plus tribes.
- [Slide] The Northern Kingdom – Israel, consisting of 9 plus tribes, chose Saul’s son Ishbosheth to rule Israel
- [Slide] Both men ruled their respective Kingdoms for approximately 7 years, frequently battling to reunite Israel and to have their respective king rule.
- [Slide] As Israel began to fail in battle to Judah and surrounding nations, Ishbosheth, was assassinated by own men.
- [Slide] Leaders of Israel made a covenant with David to reunite Judah and Israel, with David as King. David then ruled united Israel for 37 years for total of 40 years on the throne total.
- [Slide] David declared that Jerusalem would be united capital and conquered the Canaanite city.
- [Slide] David moved ‘God’, Ark/Chest, to Jerusalem, learning brutal lesson of God’s power in the first failed, and then second successful move.
- [Slide] Because David was human, a human mess, his family suffered many consequences, much trauma and chaos. David had a heart for God even though he was a mess/humble and repentant. In the end his third son, Absalom, rebelled against his father David and died in battle. David’s first son, Adonijah, attempted to seize the throne even though David chose third son Solomon. David failed in many ways, and failures impacted family, but David was sincere in his passion for God.
- [Slide] Solomon named King. David saw sin as an abomination to God while Solomon saw sin simply breaking a/the law. Solomon was wise but heart was easily turned from God – Politically successful, but relationship with God was a disaster. Solomon rules forty years.
- [Slide] Although Solomon was a great King on paper, in reality, for the people of Israel, life became increasingly difficult, especially for marginalized people such as women. The work of Solomon’s looking like a great King, came at the expense and pain of the people. Solomon abused his own people in order to make himself look good to the outside royalty.
- [Slide] God, through prophet Ahijah, anoints Jeroboam to lead the northern kingdom even before Solomon dies – signaling God’s rejection of Solomon (Remember Samuel’s anointing of David while Saul was still king even though would continue for a couple of decades) while still keeping his Davidic promise. 9 tribes will be in the Israeli (Northern Kingdom) with tribe of Levi eventually being scattered between both nations. Solomon is unhappy with this and sets out to kill Jeroboam. God allowed Southern Kingdom to remain with tribes of Benjamin and Judah (tribe of David) in accordance with his promise to maintain a David line on Throne. Levites were mainly in Judah at first since they maintained the temple and all religious training.
- [Slide] Solomon died and turmoil increased. Division rose again and the northern and southern Kingdoms battled from prominence and for their chosen King –
- Israel continued with Jeroboam as King).
- Judah went with Solomon’s third son Rehoboam who had grown up in an atmosphere even more messy than David’s household.
Passage – Read and Comment
[Slide] Rehoboam, and all of Israel, the Northern Kingdom went to Shechem to make Rehoboam King of the united Israel (significant because it was the first city all tribes entered when first coming into Promised land, it was also the site where Abraham and Jacob built an altar earlier to remind themselves of God’s promise).
[Slide] When Jeroboam, the current King of the Northern Kingdom, who was hiding from Solomon in Egypt, heard that this gathering with Rehoboam was going to take place he returned to Israel to speak with Rehoboam with the other Israelite leaders.
[Slide] Once they all arrived, they said to Rehoboam, “Your father Solomon made our yoke heavy. Now, therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you.” Rehoboam said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away. (The people are explaining from their own personal experience that Rheoboam’s father, the past King, Solomon abusive actions were the reason they had revolted against Solomon and why God had replaced him with Jeroboam)
[Slide] King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” They answered him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”
[Slide] But Rehoboam disregarded the advice that the older men gave him and consulted with the young men who he had grown up with and now were his inner circle. Rehoboam asked them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?”
[Slide] The young men who had grown up with Rehoboam said to him, “You should say to tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ ” (this is basic ‘locker room’ talk/boasting – it comes out of arrogance and insecurity, attempting to proves one’s manliness while completely missing what manliness is. They are trying to impress each other instead of giving their friend and King the best advice).
[Slide] Rehoboam then answered the Northern Kingdom, Israel, harshly. He disregarded the advice that the older men had given him and instead followed the advice of his young and immature friends saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” (Rehoboam chose to listen to the voices of arrogance, insecurity, inexperience, and unwise. He chose to not only repeat the mistakes of his father but to exaggerate it.)
[Slide] When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the promise to our ancestor, and your ancestor, Abraham and Jacob.
[Slide] To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David.” They rejected Rehoboam as their King, the two Kingdoms were not reunited. But Rehoboam reigned over the Southern Kingdom, Judah, and over any Israelites who happened to live in the towns of Judah.
1 Kings 12:1-17
[Slide] Jeroboam remained the King of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, but feared that the Israelites of Israel would revert their loyalty to the house of David, to Rehoboam if they continued to go to Jerusalem to make their sacrifices. He was even more afraid that if this happened and the people turned to Rehoboam that they would ultimately kill him (Jeroboam).
[Slide] So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1 Kings 12:25-29
Application
Who are you listening to?
What is your filter when you are listening?
Music (Slides) Billy and Team
Change My Heart Oh God
Chorus
Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You
Verse
You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray
Community (Slides) Rick
- Next Saturday Night – Move clocks back an hour before bed
- Next Sunday, Oblation, 1 Kings 18:17- 39
Benediction (Slides) Rick
We leave this place dependent on the hope proven through the resurrection. We have embraced this path because of God’s extravagant grace. This path connects us to creation as well as the pursuit of becoming the righteousness of the Holy God. We will face the struggles because that is the reality of faith.
We move forward even when we cannot see, we dive in even when the waters appear difficult, we hope even when our despair threatens to consume us, we love because that is the path laid before us. We continue through even when our body, and every muscle within us, is exhausted.
And, when our faith seems worthless, when hopelessness rules our reality, and when hatred seems to consume our world, we still choose to move forward in trust, to hope in the empty grave, and to love because that is our path, that is our call.
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
Leader: May the Peace and Hope of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Leader: Go in the Peace and Hope of the Lord.
Order, Words, & Voices 