When the Gospel Becomes Social Activism: A Call to Return to Christ-Centered Preaching

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:06:33] Welcome to worship live from the sanctuary of North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church. For those of you who are here in the building, you are warm because it's cold and windy outside. And for those of you tuning in from home, we're glad that you are with us as well. It's good to be together this blustery day.
[00:06:50] Today is an important day in the life of the church. It is Baptism of the Lord Sunday, a day that we remember that Jesus himself was baptized, but it's also a day that we can remember our own baptisms, the reality that God has called us and claimed us and commissioned us in the waters of life.
[00:07:12] So let us remember that, this day especially.
[00:07:16] Several announcements for you this morning.
[00:07:18] First and foremost, as a bit of a public service, it is a germy, germy, germy world out there right now.
[00:07:26] There's all sorts of yuckies out there.
[00:07:30] Particularly flu is especially bad.
[00:07:33] So we will not be passing of the peace by getting all in each other's business and shaking hands and hugging.
[00:07:41] We just want to refrain from that so that we don't spread unnecessary germs.
[00:07:46] We'll do that in different ways today.
[00:07:51] Several events to let you know of.
[00:07:53] First and foremost, following worship today, our middle schoolers and high schoolers, our youth group, will be having a bit of an ice skating adventure.
[00:08:02] They'll meet in the fellowship hall for lunch before they depart, spend some time ice skating, and they'll return back here by 4.30 in the afternoon.
[00:08:10] So if you're a middle schooler or high schooler, or if you know a middle schooler or high schooler, send them our way for some good fun this afternoon.
[00:08:19] Our Peace and Justice Book Club meets this afternoon, 3 p.m. down in the North Wilkesboro Library, right down in our education building.
[00:08:28] You don't have to have read the book, just come and join the discussion, 3 p.m. down in our library.
[00:08:34] afterward stick around Catherine Steele will be leading a small group discussion on Marianne Buddy's book How We Learn to Be Brave we need a few folks of courage in our world especially now so join the discussion 4.30 this afternoon
[00:08:53] in the library downstairs you don't have to have read the book again just come and join the fellowship join the conversation tomorrow and every single Monday from 10 to 11, you are invited to our Second Cup. It is a part sermon discussion,
[00:09:13] part Bible study, part fellowship opportunity, and there's always coffee available. We meet every Monday in the library downstairs, or you can join via Zoom if you would like to. Simply click the link in the newsletter to register your desire to do so, and we'll make sure that you get that Zoom
[00:09:32] link for the second cup every Monday 10 to 11. Tomorrow at 11 15 Presbyterian Women is gathering in the library. Our library is a hopping place apparently. Join us if you are a woman of the
[00:09:48] church. If you are visiting and are a woman of the church come and join the conversation. 11 15 Presbyterian Women tomorrow morning. And finally this is our week to serve at St. Paul's Crisis assistance ministry. If you'd like to volunteer by giving a soup or a chili or some bread for
[00:10:09] sandwiches or a dessert, or if you'd like to register to volunteer your time to meet and greet and serve at St. Paul's this week, simply click the link in our weekly newsletter and sign up to join the fun. There's a lot going on, isn't there? A lot going on in the life of the
[00:10:30] church, in the life of our community, in our world. And so we take time this day to remember who we are, to remember that we were claimed in these waters of grace, to remember that God calls us
[00:10:44] part of the family, to remember that God gives us purpose, ministry to live out in the world.
[00:10:51] And so let us worship the God who has claimed us and called us by name. Let us call one another to praise. In the beginning, at creation, the Spirit hovered over the waters of the deep.
[00:11:07] In the waters of the flood, God cleansed the earth and humankind. God caused the waters to part so that Israel could cross from slavery to liberation. God formed Jesus in the waters of Mary's womb. Jesus taught us how to live by washing his disciples' feet in water.
[00:11:32] Drinking water from a well, Jesus met a Samaritan woman, the first person to recognize that he was the Christ. Today, we celebrate the baptism of Jesus the Christ. God meant for Jesus to be the

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:11:49] firstborn in a large family. Praise be to God. This day when we remember Jesus' own baptism,

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:14:47] we remember our baptisms as well. We remember how God's voice claims us and calls us beloved and makes us children of the covenant. We also remember at this time that we sometimes live as people who
[00:15:04] are separated from God. We turn from God, from one another, and from the earth that God made.
[00:15:11] So let us take a moment to confess our sins, trusting in God's mercy. We'll first read our prayer printed in our bulletin, followed by a silent time of confession. So let's pray together.
[00:15:26] Merciful God, we confess that we are estranged from you and from one another.
[00:15:34] We treat others as strangers rather than as people created in your image and fellow children of God.
[00:15:42] We exploit the earth as though it were our possession rather than a gift entrusted to our care and a reflection of our image and glory.
[00:15:55] Forgive us our sins and transform us by your Spirit, that we might live as people who have been baptized as your own children.
[00:16:43] Let us remember our baptisms and trust in God's mercy.
[00:16:49] Through God's love, we are a new creation.
[00:16:58] So let's reassure one another.
[00:17:01] Friends, God forgives all our sins and promises to bring us to everlasting life.
[00:17:08] In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
[00:17:11] Thanks be to God. Amen.
[00:17:14] Indeed, we are forgiven and freed.
[00:17:17] And the gifts of our baptism, they're not just meant for us individually.
[00:17:22] We are pulled into a large family of faith and sent out to share the peace that we have found.
[00:17:28] and so let's turn to one another now we'll stay in our seats in our pews but you can turn to the people next to you and wave or give a peace sign and exchange the peace of Christ this way and we
[00:17:40] trust that God's spirit binds us together in peace even if we are not physically touching so may the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Let us raise our hearts and our voices together as we sing our prayer of illumination.
[00:19:37] Our first lesson for this morning is from Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17.
[00:20:48] So let's listen for what the Holy Spirit is telling God's people.
[00:20:53] Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized.
[00:21:00] John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?
[00:21:07] But Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:21:17] Then he consented.
[00:21:19] And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens opened to him and he saw God's spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.
[00:21:36] And a voice from the heavens said, this is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.
[00:21:47] Holy wisdom, holy word.
[00:21:50] Thanks be to God.

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[00:22:34] Great are feet, and there I find you in this tree, in oceans deep, my faith will stand.
[00:22:54] And indeed, our second scripture lesson for today comes from the book of the Psalms.

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:28:24] Psalm 29.
[00:28:26] So listen once more for the word of God.
[00:28:32] Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings.
[00:28:35] ascribe to the Lord glory and strength ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name worship the Lord in holy splendor the voice of the Lord is over the waters the God of glory thunders the Lord over mighty waters the voice of the Lord is
[00:28:58] powerful the voice of the Lord is full of majesty the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon he makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Syria like a young wild ox the voice of the Lord flashes forth flames
[00:29:20] of fire the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh the voice of the Lord causes the Oaks to whirl and strips the forest bear and in his temple all say glory the Lord sits enthroned over the flood the Lord sits
[00:29:45] enthroned as king forever may the Lord give strength to his people may the Lord bless his people with peace holy wisdom holy word thanks be to God well if you have um if you've never
[00:30:08] had the opportunity to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean, I have two things to say to you today. First, you are truly missing out, truly missing out on one of the simple yet great pleasures
[00:30:25] of life. And I know to watch the sun rise, it means that you got to wake up early. You got to wake up early, but it is worth getting up early to take it in. But second, you are missing out on this
[00:30:41] great pleasure of life because it's simply one of the most spectacular sights that you will ever see. I mean, I know that several here among us, several in our midst, you have these hearts that
[00:30:56] are kind of torn between mountains and beach. Like when you're here, you really are drawn and you dream to the sandy seas, and when you're at the beach there, you look forward to coming home
[00:31:09] to the beauty that is the mountains of Wilkes. But I beg you, the next time if you're on the coast, please consider waking up early at least once during your vacation to watch that marvelous
[00:31:22] red-orange ball of fire crest over the waters of the horizon. Dare I say that you will not regret it. There's just something that's very moving about it, something empowering about it.
[00:31:38] When we were up in Maine this past summer at Acadia National Park, we were too late to be able to get tickets to drive up to the top of Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunrise. Cadillac
[00:31:52] Mountain is the first spot in the United States that you can see the sun rise over the horizon.
[00:31:59] and it happens every day every day you can go up there and watch that sun creep up above the atlantic ocean from the top of that mountain timing just didn't work out for us when we were
[00:32:11] up there this past summer hopefully we'll be able to do that because now it's on my bucket list of things to do but i think even then even if we were able to to see the sunrise from the top of
[00:32:27] Cadillac Mountain, it just would have been different than what we were able to experience just a couple of weeks ago while on a cruise in the Caribbean with Gretchen's family.
[00:32:39] Several times while we were at sea, I woke up extra early. I grabbed a cup of coffee and I made my way to one of the upper decks and I snuggled in to watch the sun peek its head up
[00:32:54] above the horizon. It was almost always calm and quiet, not many people milling about.
[00:33:02] Almost everybody was sleeping away their shenanigans from the night before.
[00:33:08] I'll post a pic on the North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church Facebook page later today of one of those sunrises. You just need to know that what you see in a picture, it may be worth a thousand words, but it will never do justice to the real thing. But I'll post something so you
[00:33:26] can see at least what I'm speaking about. It's one thing to watch a sunrise with your firm planted firmly on a mountaintop, such as Cadillac Mountain, or with your toes tucked into the sands of the beachy towns near the Atlantic coast, or even from the comfort of your recliner as you
[00:33:50] lounge at home peering through your picture window, but it is an entirely, entirely, entirely different experience to watch the sun rise out of the waters of a seemingly endless ocean where all you can see around you in every direction is ocean upon ocean
[00:34:10] and only ocean, water upon water upon water, and only water in every direction.
[00:34:20] I mean, all of that is beautiful, whether it's on the top of a mountain or on the sands of a beach or from the comfort of your home or from a ship in the sea, all of it is beautiful. Don't get me
[00:34:30] wrong. If you have the opportunity in the next couple of weeks, I invite you to consider taking the time to watch a sunset. The opportunity is there. It's opportunities there each and every day if only you would take it, even if you can't watch the sunrise out of the Atlantic. But there
[00:34:52] was something different, something different for me watching that sun come up while bobbing on the billowing waves of the ocean with no land in sight in any direction. And you know, I was on an
[00:35:07] enormous ship, a ginormous ship, 6,700 people on this gigantic boat. And we were just minuscule on that sea. In those sunrise moments, I sat there on the deck staring out at this endless ocean, and I found myself just paralyzed with amazement. Amazement over the sheer beauty
[00:35:37] of the world around me and the sheer magnitude of the world around me. I was lost in the expanse of the water. It was both remarkably wondrous, but also absolutely terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
[00:35:57] Both of those at the same time. And I just can't help but to see those bounteous waters in my mind as I hear the psalmist sing her song of creation today, her song of praise for God's power, God's protection.
[00:36:17] Because like the psalmist, we know all too well, we recognize the power and the pain of water, both.
[00:36:25] I mean, water has tremendous power, tremendous power to bring life, life to the earth, to her plants and animals, to you and to me, to our very souls.
[00:36:37] we long for the waters of life we need the waters of life but we also know just how devastating water can be the pain it can bring when it falls too fast and furious when it finds its way into
[00:36:55] places where it shouldn't be and when it's all around you and you feel so tiny amid the terror of its sheer magnitude. But you know, as magnificent as the waters of the ocean may be,
[00:37:14] God's voice is more majestic, the psalmist says. As prolific as the waters may be, God's voice is more powerful. As bounteous as the waters may be, God's voice is without bound, boundless in every single way. In the beginning, when God first created the heavens and the earth, and the earth
[00:37:39] was void and vacuum, God's wind, God's spirit, God's very breath hovered over the mighty waters and God's voice rang out, bringing light into a darkened world, bringing order to a chaotic place, bringing calm to those crashing waters bringing bringing peace to a time of tumult and you know
[00:38:08] what god speaks still god is not done speaking god's wind god's spirit god's breath god's very voice continues to create among us even now bringing light bringing order bringing calm bringing peace if only we would listen if only we would hear God's voice and it seems to me that
[00:38:42] that is what we need these days my friends when we look outside we we may not be looking at the chaotic waters of creation those mighty waters crashing against themselves but the troubles of our times do indeed make us feel small and powerless nonetheless, just like those endless
[00:39:04] waters of the oceans upon which I was bobbing. So we need to listen. We need to listen for the voice of the still-speaking God, which continues to call us to solace in the power and might
[00:39:21] of the divine one. We need to listen for the voice of the still speaking God, which continues to call us to live with fuller faithfulness, even when the world around us seems so challenging. We need
[00:39:39] to listen for the still speaking God, which continues to call us to greater and greater strength and you know when we feel like we're too small and too insignificant to do much of anything or to make any kind of real impact when we feel like that and when we feel like we're
[00:40:00] overwhelmed by the magnitude of the waters or the troubles that rage all around us and when we feel isolated and alone like no one is in this fight with us we need to listen to the voice of the
[00:40:16] still speaking God who has claimed us in waters that are more abundant than the seas who has called us by grace the waters of grace that are more bounteous than the troubles of our world the voice of the God who has commissioned us by
[00:40:36] the waters of baptism to bring peace and justice to this world without end so this day I end with the words of the psalmist who says may the Lord give strength to this people may the Lord bless this people with peace and may
[00:41:02] this people continue to listen for the voice of the still speaking God this day and every day. Thanks be to God. Now with God's words still ringing in our ears and echoing in

[00:41:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:41:33] our hearts, let us respond by saying what we believe together. Today our affirmation comes from a brief statement of faith, so let's rise in body or in spirit and affirm the faith of the Church. We trust in God, the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
[00:41:57] The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church.
[00:42:14] The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
[00:42:35] and calls women and men to all ministries of the Church.

[00:42:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:42:40] Friends, let us go to God in prayer,

[00:44:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:44:40] asking god to intervene in this world and listening for god's voice to call us to do the same let us pray blessing god you drowned evil in the waters of the flood and you promised a covenant of
[00:44:58] faithfulness with a rainbow in the sky in baptism you caused us to die to sin and in baptism you raised us to new life in christ so trusting in your promises for earth and for all people
[00:45:15] we bring to you our prayers for the world we pray for your church with her kaleidoscopic views of baptism we pray that it may meet the needs of all types of people in the world and may you empower
[00:45:33] us, those gathered here in this place. May you empower us to use our voice as you used yours to share your peace and justice, your grace and mercy with the world in need. God, we pray for
[00:45:50] that world, that all people and all creation may know that they are your beloved children.
[00:45:57] may we continue to reach out in love and in service to a community so that no one might fall through the cracks we pray oh god for those who suffer that they will know your love for them
[00:46:15] and that we may be bearers of comfort we pray for those in our community who need a little extra food, who are trying to make ends meet, those who find themselves without home, without meaningful
[00:46:32] work, without connections to others. We ask, O God, that you would use your people, those gathered here and those of our siblings in other congregations. Use us all to provide connection and care. And for those in our midst, those close to us who need your healing touch, we pray.
[00:46:54] We lift up to you Anna Jo, Karen, Chris, Susan, Martha, Angela, Harry, Camille, Cade, Richard, Richard, William, Betty, Kathy, Evelyn, Debbie, Joelle, Barbara, Cole, Leslie, and others, O God, others that we hold in our hearts and those around us that have no one to pray for them.
[00:47:34] We ask, O God, that you would make your love, your grace, and your presence known to them and that you would bring about your healing and wholeness.
[00:47:43] And God, use us, use all that we are to extend your healing grace.
[00:47:51] We pray, O God, for your creation, that it may stay healthy and that it might continue to nourish and nurture us.
[00:47:59] And we pray for our very wills, that we might seek to continue to take better care of her.
[00:48:11] so that she might continue to take care of us we remember those oh god who have gone before us and we pray for those who are nearing death this day we pray that they might be at peace in your
[00:48:26] love for them we pray that for each and every one of us gathered here that we might be at peace with your love for us in one baptism with christ and blessed by your holy spirit
[00:48:41] we praise and give thanks oh holy one for giving us spirit and breath and voice and it is with that voice and to that end that we cry out to you this day joining our voice with the voices of
[00:49:00] those gathered around the globe praying together the prayer that jesus has taught us all 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 debts as we forgive
[00:49:26] our debtors lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom

[00:49:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:49:34] and the power and the glory forever. Amen. I have always liked watching the baptism of other people.
[00:49:52] In my home church growing up, we didn't have the font out regularly, and so whenever it came out and the sort of lid was taken off, we knew there was a baptism, and I was always so excited looking
[00:50:06] around for where the baby was. Usually in my church and in most Presbyterian churches, people are baptized as babies. It's not always true, but it is often true. I can remember in that same home church when I was older, there was a child who came forward for baptism. She was about five
[00:50:26] years old, and it was delightful to watch her because she was so filled with wonder and curiosity.
[00:50:34] The pastor let her touch the water and sort of explain how it felt for people. And then he said, how's the temperature is it okay immediately after there was a nervous look on his face as
[00:50:48] he realized that if she didn't like the temperature he had no way to change it luckily she said it was just fine and we proceeded with the baptism i don't know if this little girl will remember that moment in her baptism i don't know how much
[00:51:06] of her baptism she will remember at all. I certainly remember it. We are told often as Christians that we should remember our baptism. Some of us in this room were baptized as adults and maybe you have a clear picture of that day. Some of us were baptized as babies and so what
[00:51:26] we know we learn from stories. That's how our memory is built. Maybe we piece things together when we witness other people's baptism.
[00:51:35] And what I remember as well is that when we see other people baptized, we as a community of God's people make promises to this newly baptized sibling in Christ to encourage and to support them.
[00:51:50] But you know, when we are told that we should remember our baptisms, we're not just supposed to pull up a mental picture.
[00:52:00] When we remember our baptisms, we remember that we have been called God's beloved, that God claims us, and that God sends us out with a purpose to share God's love and peace and justice in the world.
[00:52:17] So when we share our gifts, when we offer our time and our talent and our treasure, that is a part of remembering our baptism.
[00:52:26] It is remembering who we are and living it out, making it a living memory.
[00:52:33] And so now we are given the opportunity today to give of the gifts of our lives so that we can remember our baptism.
[00:52:42] You can do that by placing a gift in the offering plate or in the little white church in the narthex or giving online or dropping something off to the church office.
[00:52:52] but you have been claimed in everything that you are and so the gifts that you have they're not just in your bank account maybe you want to give the gift of your time to support our faith formation work join the nursery workers
[00:53:08] or Sunday school teachers Kingdom kids leaders maybe you want to join another committee of the church our committees are are the places where the planning for our work here and our shared life of faith happens. Maybe you want to share help in sharing
[00:53:26] the meal at St. Paul's this week, and if you can't give your time in person, you can still bring in food, soup, or chili, bread, or cheese for sandwiches, desserts. There are so many ways that we can give
[00:53:38] of the gift of our lives as an act of remembrance of our baptism and who God calls us to be.
[00:53:44] In this moment of musical reflection, let us commit our gifts to God,

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[00:53:49] and then we will pray and offer them all, offer the gifts of our lives to God.

[00:57:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:57:28] O God, in our baptisms, we have been named and claimed as your covenant people, connected deeply with you, with one another, and with the earth.
[00:57:41] May these gifts be used as a witness to your love, peace, and justice at work in the world, renewing the face of the earth. Amen.

[00:57:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:57:53] My brothers and sisters, my siblings in Christ, now we go.

[01:00:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:00:27] We go out into the world that God so dearly and deeply loves.
[01:00:31] We go as people who know that as tumultuous as our times are, God's voice is still more powerful.
[01:00:41] As crazy as things get and as chaotic as our world might be, God's grace abounds nonetheless.
[01:00:52] As large and magnificent and as terrifying as those waters are out there, God's grace abounds even more.
[01:01:01] So go.
[01:01:02] Go and be the light of Christ in a world that needs you to be the light of Christ.
[01:01:08] And let us all go with this blessing.
[01:01:10] May the grace of our Lord Jesus the Christ, may the love of God our creator, and may the partnership of the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, may that God go with you and with me
[01:01:24] and with us together this day and forevermore.
[01:01:30] Alleluia.
[01:01:31] Amen.