Welcome and Introductions
Good morning! On behalf of Jesus Christ I want to welcome you to the worship of The First Church of Squantum. Our church is one of the most loving groups of people I have ever had the chance to be with, so it’s no accident that our motto is “Love Kindness!” In case I haven’t had the chance to meet you yet, my name is Doug Gray and I have the great blessing of being pastor for this fellowship for the last seven years. I don’t know about you, but one of the things I am missing most while we are in lockdown for the coronavirus is just being together, but also the small rituals of getting ready for worship—flinging wide the doors of the church’s building on a glorious day like today, shaking people’s hands, giving someone a hug who needs it, running on the lawn with our kids, hearing all your voices join with mine in the hymns. We are all making sacrifices to save the lives of people we care about, but also people we have never met. I have to think that Jesus is honored as we sacrifice for others. And still—even with these restrictions—God is worthy of our worship. Still, even if we are wearing masks and growing out our hair—when we worship it helps bring our lives and God’s great plan into synch. I hope you wherever you are and whatever your weather, you are enjoying the day God has given you. Let us worship God!
Awesome Power
Call to Worship
One: I love the Lord. God hears my voice.
All: Gracious is our God.
One: When I was in despair, God saved me.
All: Gracious is our God.
One: I walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
All: Gracious is our God. Blessed are we, the children of God. Let us call upon God’s Name and give thanks!
Servant Song
Opening Prayer
We have made our journey to this moment, Holy God. Thank You for safe travels and the good company we find together. For those who have not found their way to You yet, we ask blessings for their journeys. We are all pilgrims on the path, God, on a journey that takes us into Your heart. Help us to know that though the road may be rough in spots, we are never left alone on the way. Today, may we feel Your Presence in all we do and all we are becoming. Hear us as we pray the prayer Jesus still teaches to pray, saying, “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, and forgive us our trespasses, as 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.”
I Could Sing of Your Love Forever
Stewardship Minute
As some of you know, we are in the midst of a capital campaign at the First Church of Squantum. Great timing, don’t you think? I was talking with our consultant for our project and asked him how other churches are doing right now around the country. He and his larger consulting consortium are in touch with hundreds if not thousands of churches that are in the midst of their own building and generosity projects. He says he and his buddies are finding that it breaks down by thirds. About a third are struggling financially for whatever reason. About another third are holding steady even in the midst of this crisis. And believe it or not, there’s a third who are doing better than they were before the crisis! Many of you have continued your giving as steady as it ever has, and for that the church and I thank you. Some of you have even stepped up your giving, knowing our fellowship’s need to keep moving forward in touching people’s lives for God, and for that I’m doing backflips in celebration. They’re not backflips on the lawn—that would get me into the ER—but I can’t tell you how amazing your generosity it. Thank you! Thank you! If you haven’t had the chance, would you take a moment to write a check to this mission-minded fellowship? If it’s easier for you, please feel free to use our church’s website, www.firstchurchsquantum.org, and click on the Donate button. God is at work especially in these challenging times. Somehow, God can even take what we are going through, and work it all to His glory. Thanks, friends!
I Love You, Lord
Old Testament Lesson Psalm 23
New Testament Lesson John 10:1–21
Devotion
Have you ever had a dog? In my family, we’ve had a number of dogs over the years. When I was a teenager we had a husky named, Judah, who had a mind of her own. Sometimes she would listen when we called, and sometimes not. She was much more likely to listen to my mom, because my mom was the one who fed her. If you were a stranger, even one of our neighbors, Judah was not even going to kind of listen to you. In our passage for today, Jesus uses two images to help us think about Christian leadership, and how God is calling us today.
First, Jesus says, “I’m the sheep gate.” When I first read that, I thought what the heck! What does that mean? How can a person be a gate? There’s a great scene at the end of the third Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. To get to the Holy Grail and save his father’s life, Indiana Jones must pass the first test, “the Breath of God, only the penitent man will pass.” “Penitent” is not a word we use often these days. It describes someone who is sorry for the ill they have done, and being humble before God. Indiana Jones, who it might be added is not a man of faith—quite rightly decides that the only way through is on one’s knees. In a similar way, when Jesus says, “I am the sheep gate,” he is telling us the only way through is to be like him, to live like him. But how does one live like Jesus?
The second image shows how Jesus lives, and hints at how we could live too. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” The good shepherd knows his sheep and calls them by name. Maxie Dunnam spent a year hanging out with a shepherd, learning the ways of sheepherding. He tells the story of coming upon the shepherd he was working with, standing out in the middle of the field. As Dunnam got closer, he realized that the shepherd was standing at the edge of a pit, and sure enough, down in the pit was a sheep, grazing on some fresh green grass. “Aren’t you going to get the sheep out?” asked Dunnam. “Not yet,” said the shepherd. “If I get her out now, she’ll just jump back in to get to the grass. I’ll wait until she’s done eating the grass, and then I’ll get her out.” I love that image! The good shepherd knows his sheep! Being the strong-willed, I-want-to-do-it-myself type, sometimes in my life, I have gone down blind alleys, pathways that weren’t going to take me anywhere. I suppose that God could have kept me from going down those blind alleys, but instead, God seems to have waited for me to notice that path isn’t going anywhere and turn around—turn towards him—asking for help before I could go in another direction. I think God knows each of us through and through. God knows how to shepherd each of us in the way that will actually work with us. So your way and my way may be different, but just right for each of us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, guiding us, loving us, helping us through our journey.
How do you tell the bad shepherds in our world from the Good Shepherd? Really it’s simple. The bad shepherds are in it for themselves, and when trouble comes, they will only do what helps them—cut and run. The Good Shepherd is Jesus and those who truly serve Jesus. They truly care for the sheep in their care, for the sake of the sheep first. They are even willing to lay down their lives for their sheep. When we are looking at leaders—others as well as ourselves—and testing them, we hold them up to the standard of Jesus, and measure them there. The leaders worth following will do it with the same personal attention and self-sacrifice Jesus does. We mattered enough to Jesus that He was willing to die on a cross for us, and every day, Jesus walks with us, not for his sake but for ours.
Which us back to my dog, Judah. Sometimes just calling Judah’s name didn’t seem to get her attention, but when my mom called and shook the box of Milk Bones, that always worked. In this time of great stress and anxiety, we may not want to listen to God calling us, even if Jesus is the Good Shepherd, even if we know He will guide us through to better times. Like my mom shaking the box of Milk Bones, God shows us blessings everyday, to remind us that when He calls, if we answer, we will often find treats J Of course, that’s for those of us who are wayward. What God is really hoping for, guiding us towards, is a love-relationship where Jesus, The Good Shepherd, doesn’t even have to call, only look this way or that, only point this way or that, only step out and know that we will follow.
He Leadeth Me
Benediction