Order, Words, & Voices
08.25.24, Lydia, Acts 16:11-15
Order
Pre Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
Songs Living Hope Lynn/Linda
Lord I Need You
Passage/Prayer Acts 16:11-15, 39 Pettys
Song Goodness of God Lynn/Linda
Message Lydia Rick
Music Living Hope Lynn/Linda
Community/Benediction Rick
Hope Moment & Closing Peace Rick
Closing Music Sweet Sweet, Spirit Lynn/Linda
Post Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
- Please record message on camera memory card.
- On the message Video Leave Room above Speaker’s head for the instagram post.
- Screen Share for entire message
Music (Slides) Billy/Linda
Living Hope CCLI Song # 7106807
Verse 1
How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished the end is written
Jesus Christ my living hope
Verse 2
Who could imagine so great a mercy
What heart could fathom such boundless grace
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ my living hope
Chorus
Hallelujah praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ my living hope
Verse 3
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
(REPEAT)
Jesus Yours is the victory
Ending
Jesus Christ my living hope
Oh God You are my living hope
Lord I Need You CCLI Song # 5925687
Verse 1
Lord I come I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
And without You I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart
Chorus 1
Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev’ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
Verse 2
Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Chorus 2
Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev’ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You
Passage (Slides) Acts 16:13-18 from the Complete Jewish Bible
On Shabbat, while Paul, Timothy, and Silas were in Philippi of Macedonia, the three went outside the city gate to the riverside, where they understood a minyan met.
They sat down and began speaking to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in fine purple cloth.
Lydia was already a “God-fearer,” and the Lord opened up her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.
After she and the members of her household had been immersed, she gave the three visitors this invitation: “If you consider me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she insisted till we went.
When Paul, Silas, andTimothy were going to the place where the minyan gathered, they were met by a slave girl who had in her a snake-spirit that enabled her to predict the future. Whe earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.
This girl followed behind Paul and the the others and kept screaming, “These men are servants of God Ha‘Elyon! They’re telling you how to be saved!”
She kept this up day after day, until Paul, greatly disturbed, turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, I order you to come out of her!” And the spirit did come out, at that very moment.
Join me in the prayer of Jesus,
Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be your 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
Music (Slides) Billy/Linda
Goodness Of God CCLI Song # 7117726
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
Message Rick (Slides)
[Title slide] As an adult, Jesus came on the scene in the narrative of his baptism, it is there that God declared ‘this is my son in whom I am well pleased.’ From that declaration Jesus went to the desert for prayer, then temptation. Then Jesus spent some time in his own home region where he recruited most of his disciples, introduced himself to the local religious leaders, and, along the way, ruffled some feathers. During this time Jesus chose his inner circle of disciples and, there were a series of healings which caused word about Jesus to spread.
Then he gave his first actual sermon to a huge public crowd most of whom did not know him, but, because of the healings he had already performed, and the word about Jesus that had already spread, most of the crowd knew OF Jesus. Which, quite honestly, is where many people then got stuck, and now we people get stuck, when then and now, people tend to stop at just knowing OF God.
It was in this moment that Jesus not only introduced himself, but, he also presented a basic syllabus of the truth that would motivate his actions and his ultimate sacrifice.
What is really interesting is the relational dynamic of Jesus and his disciples present at this sermon. In the gospel of Luke, we see that Jesus, with the crowd pressing in around him, intentionally aimed his eyes over the crowd to give him a face to face connection. In Matthew, we see the disciples push through the crowd in order to have face to face seats for what they probably expected to be a monumental, and illuminating, outline of their new teacher’s agenda.
Jesus, in choosing his disciples and others close followers, intentionally chose seekers, those looking for the promised Messiah, those not content to just know OF God, but rather, they were determined to know God.
This first sermon was intentionally focused on Jesus’ inner circle of followers who, eventually, would be the ones who would be leaders and teachers of this movement. In this sermon, the foundation of Jesus life and words would be named. The accepted core of the lives of the follower would be defined.
First, these followers had to recognize that Jesus’ empowerment was not going to be a simple continuation of the religion and practices of their upbringing. It was not always going to be in step where the faith practices and understanding of the promise to Abraham and Sarah.
For the disciples to fully understand this new season of their faith, they would have to understand the heart and mind of Jesus – this was the purpose of this sermon. They would be called to a new perception of truth change as well as a redefined life philosophy. This was not a new path, it was a new understanding and the same path.
This was going to be a transition from Knowing OF God and going through the practices of religion, to a vibrant and growing walk that immersed every aspect of life and reality. This new understanding would expand their vision, enlarge the width of their path, and engage a world that had been rejected by many people of faith.
It was going to stretch them, it was going to challenge them, it was going to empower them, it was going to change the world.
Jesus was saying to the listeners, ‘This is not an act of building a bigger table for a more diverse collection of people, this is going to have to be an entirely new table using the same legs for support.’
Grasp the architectural plan for this new table top as Jesus explains. Note that with each statement, Jesus names the present reality of each people group and then Jesus voices the future encouragement.
[Slide] Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[Slide] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[Slide] Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
[Slide] Blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-10, NRSV
[Slide] I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
[Slide] To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
Luke 6:27-2, RSV
[Title Slide] Jesus is calling his new followers to stay on the same path they have been on – the path of the promise to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. However, now they would look and perceive it in a different way. God was calling them/is calling us to look at the other travelers on this path, as well as those stepping onto this path, in a welcoming and embracing manner. While the existing institution of religion of that time had become jaded, like much of the Christian Institution today, Jesus was calling these followers, and us, to see God’s creation, and God’s created, through new eyes and a new filter.
Jesus begins with these rookie disciples where they were, but now Jesus is revealing to them where they will be. This is their reality and ahead is their destination. He is NOT changing their path, he IS altering the way they see, interpret, and travel their path.
Mary Magdalene and the other women, following the crucifixion, did not know what they were to do except for what they had done up to now, so they remained on the path with their legitimate questions. This was the path they had been on for much of their lives. Now they were going beyond merely knowing OF God and moved to KNOWING God. They had met God in and through the person of Jesus.
That brings us to another God seeker, a woman named Lydia. Long after the crucifixion and resurrection. Long after the the arrival of God the Spirit, a woman, a very rational and devoted woman was looking for God. She was on the path, she wanted to more than to know OF God, she wanted to know God.
[Slide] She was a business woman whose clientele was high end.
[Slide] She was probably a single mother.
[Slide] She was a Gentile who was disillusioned with the false gods of the Romans
[Slide] She was a Seeker who had stepped onto the Abrahamic path, striving to know more than just Knowing OF God.
[Slide] She embraced the faith practices of the Jews even though she was not a Jew.
[Slide] She faithfully followed the practice of the Shabbat and respected the rules of Minyan – even though she really didn’t have to
[Slide] She was a dedicated to following Ha‘Elyon, wanting to know God
[Title Slide] Paul, Silas, Timothy, made a brief stop in Philippi where they met Lydia. On the Shabbat (the Sabbath), since there was not a Synagogue in the city due to an insufficient number of men to hold a legal minyan (a gathering), the apostles joined a group of women who worshiped and prayed just outside of the city gates to maintain the religious laws. Paul was invited to speak and he did. Lydia, a Gentile who was devoted to the Jewish practice of worship but was not a Jew listens intently to the words of Good News, her heart expanded with every word, and after, she chose to fully commit to this God – to the Messiah Jesus. She, along with her family were baptized and she invited the apostles to stay in her house which later became the gathering place for a growing Christian community in Philippi.
The Reverend Lisle Garrity
Lydia moved from Knowing OF God to a life time pursuit of Knowing God. This is our calling as well, to go beyond knowing OF to Knowing.
Impact on Others when we are on Lifelong path of Knowing God
Lydia
Slave Girl
We see the hand of God, We build our own faith
Richard Dawkins vs beauty of a shell
Closing Challenge to walk on path of knowing God
Music (Slides) Lynn/Linda
Living Hope CCLI Song # 7106807
Verse 1
How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished the end is written
Jesus Christ my living hope
Verse 2
Who could imagine so great a mercy
What heart could fathom such boundless grace
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ my living hope
Chorus
Hallelujah praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ my living hope
Verse 3
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
(REPEAT)
Jesus Yours is the victory whoa
Ending
Jesus Christ my living hope
Oh God You are my living hope
Community (Slides) Rick
- 09.01.24, Eutychus, Acts 20:1-12 (Link on webpage)
- Welcome Back Students
- Fall-Advent Sermon Series, ‘My Eyes Have Seen”, seeing God through the Works and Actions of God – will go through Advent, beginning September 8, passage on web site, ‘passages’
- CC Crop Walk, Sunday, October 20, 2:00pm, Ruby Grant Park (register for team Grace Fellowship on Web page)
- Instagram, GF link on website (follow @gracefellowshipnorman)
- SF Refugees Backpack Impact, Impact Partners Rick and Lita Sample
Hope On (Slides) Prayer – Rick
Father God, with gratitude for our lives we praise you for your abundant mercy and grace extended to all who choose to receive. We thank you for your persistent faithfulness towards us even as our faithfulness consistently pales.
Jesus, although we are undeserving, we ask for the presence of your peace in our mind, body, soul and spirit. We ask you to give us loving strength to face those persons or moments that are causing stress, grief, and sorrow in our lives.
Spirit, please guide us on your path through life while, at the same time, we timidly and hesitantly, pray that same peace for those who stand against us.
God, may we walk with you as we seek to clear the path so that all people have a clear view of you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
Leader: May the peace of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Closing Music Billy/Linda
Sweet Sweet Spirit CCLI Song # 18204
Verse 1
There’s a sweet sweet Spirit
in this place
And I know that it’s the
Spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions
on each face
And I know they feel
the presence of the Lord
Chorus
Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly Dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with Your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we’ll know
That we have been revived
When we shall leave this place
Order, Words, & Voices 