Theological Status: ACTIVE HERESY
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Thyatira
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: A sermon that attempts to make the Incarnation relatable by focusing on tangible presence, but ultimately undermines the core of the Christian faith by prioritizing human experience over divine revelation.
Pastoral Analysis: While the sermon effectively uses illustrations to highlight the need for tangible compassion, it critically fails by denying the clarity of Scripture, reducing the literal Incarnation to a metaphor, and elevating human moralism to the status of salvation. The message shifts from the Gospel of grace to a philosophy of self-sufficient activism.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Thyatira — The sermon exhibits active doctrinal deviation by rejecting the objective authority of Scripture and reducing the literal, ontological reality of the Incarnation to a metaphor for human love. This represents a fundamental departure from historic Christian orthodoxy, substituting subjective experience and moralism for the revealed truth of God's Word.
Big Idea: The doctrine of the Incarnation reveals God's nature through Jesus' humility and humanity, calling believers to 'put flesh on' God's presence by embodying that same love, service, and compassion in the world. [00:46:31 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Philippians 2:5-11
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
- Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The use of the term 'slob' to describe Jesus, while intended to emphasize humility, risks trivializing the dignity of the Incarnate Lord.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"Christ is presented primarily as a moral example of humility and presence to be imitated, rather than the Savior whose work secures redemption."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 25 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 3
📖 View 2 Passages Read Aloud
-
Philippians 2:5-11
[00:23:44 ▶️ 📄]
"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross and therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father."
-
John 1:1-18
[00:25:01 ▶️ 📄]
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. and what has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. He was in the world and the world came into being through him and yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him and the word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God. It is God, the only son, who is close to the father's heart, who has made him known."
Key References: Genesis 1:1, Philippians 2:5-11, John 1:1-18
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 2,411 words
📌 View 11 Key Topics Addressed
-
Faith vs. Belief
[00:32:44 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor distinguishes between intellectual belief ('believing something in our head') and deep soul trust, arguing that true faith requires trust beyond mere belief. -
Divine Presence
[00:31:34 ▶️ 📄]
> Using an illustration of a frightened child, the pastor highlights the human need for tangible, 'skin-on' presence and comfort in times of fear and darkness. -
Incarnation and Theology
[00:23:44 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor reads scripture passages (Philippians 2 and John 1) that describe Jesus as the 'Word made flesh' and the incarnation, setting the theological groundwork for the sermon's theme. -
Faith vs. Trust
[00:32:51 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor distinguishes between intellectual belief ('believing something in our head') and deep soul trust, using the anecdote of the girl who needed 'somebody with skin on' rather than just Jesus's spiritual presence. -
Essentials of Faith
[00:33:40 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor references John Wesley's maxim ('In essentials, unity...') to question what doctrines are truly essential versus those that are non-essential or paradoxical, suggesting that heart-state matters more than rigid dogma. -
The Incarnation
[00:34:40 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor explores the paradox of God becoming human (transcendent becoming mortal), contrasting complex Nicene Creed language with the simpler, poetic affirmation of 'God with skin on' found in the UCC Canada affirmation of faith. -
Interfaith Perspectives
[00:36:12 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor notes that the concept of the Incarnation is offensive or impossible to Jewish and Muslim traditions, highlighting the uniqueness and peculiarity of the Christian belief in God becoming human. -
[Philippians 2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2&version=KJV) Hymn
[00:43:22 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor analyzes the ancient hymn in Philippians 2, interpreting it not as an explanation of how Jesus became human, but as a celebration of God's humility and self-emptying love. -
Practical Application / Presence
[00:46:31 ▶️ 📄]
> Citing Kate Bowler and Lamont, the pastor argues that in times of pain, people desire presence over explanation, and calls the congregation to 'put skin on' God's presence through acts of service and compassion. -
Divine Action in Suffering
[00:47:33 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor discusses Lamont's approach to pain by 'lowering the bar' and acting as 'God with skin on' through practical acts like giving water and picking up litter, refusing to let pain have the last word. -
Incarnation and Christian Calling
[00:48:16 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor connects Jesus becoming flesh to the congregation's call to 'put a little skin in the game,' mirroring Jesus' love and action in the world.
🖼️ View 6 Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:31:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts a story by Anne Lamott about a frightened little girl who couldn't sleep. Her mother repeatedly told her 'Jesus is with you,' but the girl interrupted to say, 'Yeah that's great but i need somebody with skin on,' illustrating the need for tangible presence. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:31:43 ▶️ 📄]
> A story about a young girl in bed who, when told by her mother that Jesus is with her, replies, 'Yeah that's great but I need somebody with skin on,' illustrating the human need for tangible presence over abstract spiritual comfort. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:38:38 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts a debate with a church member named Norma Dalton regarding whether Jesus was more divine or more human, using it to illustrate the paradoxical nature of the incarnation and how both extremes miss the 'both/and' truth. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:37:42 ▶️ 📄]
> An anecdote about Alice in Wonderland and the White Queen, where the Queen claims to believe 'six impossible things before breakfast,' used to contextualize the difficulty of accepting the doctrine of the Incarnation. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:46:31 ▶️ 📄]
> A reference to author Kate Bowler and Lamont, describing how they cope with pain not through doctrine but through 'presence' and practical acts like giving water, picking up litter, and calling senators, embodying the concept of being 'God with skin on.' -
Sermon Illustration
[00:47:33 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts Lamont's method for dealing with pain: lowering expectations, acting as 'God with skin on' by giving water to the thirsty, picking up litter, calling senators, and donating to causes, thereby refusing to let pain have the last word.
🚀 View 4 Calls to Action
-
Pastoral Charge
[00:43:17 ▶️ 📄]
> Read Philippians 2 at home -
Pastoral Charge
[00:48:51 ▶️ 📄]
> Open themselves to God's word and love -
Pastoral Charge
[00:48:41 ▶️ 📄]
> Invitation to join in corporate prayer -
Pastoral Charge
[00:49:22 ▶️ 📄]
> Physical instruction to stand for the creed
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is compromised. The sermon replaces the finished work of Christ with a call to human moral action ('putting skin on' love) and social activism, failing to anchor obedience in the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. |
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon promotes a works-based righteousness where human activism and moral effort are presented as the solution to suffering, rather than reliance on Christ's atonement. |
| Bibliology | ❌ FAIL | The pastor explicitly denies the clarity and inerrancy of Scripture, calling it 'confusing' and 'contradictory,' which destroys the foundation of biblical authority. |
| Hermeneutic | ❌ FAIL | The hermeneutic is subjective, allowing personal religious experience and modern reality to override historic Christian doctrine and the literal text of Scripture. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | While the Christology is flawed, the general concept of God's love is present, though distorted by the reduction of the Incarnation to metaphor. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | No sacramental errors detected; no sacraments were observed or discussed in a way that generated error. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon avoids deep doctrinal engagement with the hypostatic union and biblical inerrancy, opting instead for emotional resonance and moralistic application. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ Active Obedience Of Christ:
"Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness being found in human form he humbled himself became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross" [00:44:10 ▶️ 📄]
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross" [00:24:15 ▶️ 📄]
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 Critical Denial of Biblical Clarity and Inerrancy
Root Cause: Modern Liberalism / Progressive Christianity
"God, your word sometimes is confusing and sometimes it contradicts itself, but God is powerful." [00:48:41 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: He states, 'God, your word sometimes is confusing and sometimes it contradicts itself.'
Why It's Dangerous: This directly denies the doctrine of biblical clarity and inerrancy, leading the congregation to distrust the Bible as a reliable guide for faith and practice.
Biblical Correction: Psalm 119:160 'Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.'
🔴 Critical Rejection of Doctrine Based on Personal Experience
Root Cause: Subjectivism / Experientialism
"I want to be honest with you. There are a lot of beliefs in the Christian tradition that I can do without. I can name a few for you. Some of mine, just reading, I was like going, why in the world are we supposed to believe that? There are some ideas that don't line up with my own religious experience or how I see reality around." [00:33:05 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: He admits, 'There are a lot of beliefs in the Christian tradition that I can do without... Some of mine... don't line up with my own religious experience.'
Why It's Dangerous: This elevates subjective human experience above objective divine revelation, allowing the congregation to discard essential doctrines based on personal preference.
Biblical Correction: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 'That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:'
🔴 Critical Reduction of the Incarnation to Metaphor
Root Cause: Docetism / Metaphorical Christology
"Jesus became a word that became flesh, and that word was love, and Jesus put skin on it." [00:48:16 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: He claims, 'Jesus became a word that became flesh, and that word was love, and Jesus put skin on it.'
Why It's Dangerous: This reduces the literal, ontological reality of the Word becoming flesh to an abstract metaphor for human love, denying the hypostatic union.
Biblical Correction: John 1:14 'And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.'
🟠 Major Misidentification of the Primary Purpose of the Incarnation
Root Cause: Moralism
"The primary purpose of the incarnation is not just to demonstrate power, but to reveal God through humility, compassion, and solidarity with the poor and suffering." [00:40:34 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: He states, 'The primary purpose of the incarnation is not just to demonstrate power, but to reveal God through humility, compassion, and solidarity with the poor and suffering.'
Why It's Dangerous: This denies the primary soteriological purpose of the Incarnation (saving sinners) in favor of a moralistic demonstration, leading to a works-based understanding of faith.
Biblical Correction: 1 Timothy 1:15 'This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.'
🟠 Major Elevation of Human Agency in Salvation
Root Cause: Therapeutic Deism / Moralism
"She says she tries to be God with skin on. She gets thirsty people water. She goes around and picks up litter. She calls her senators and gives them a piece of her mind. She donates to a cause that matters to her. It's not a permanent solution, she says, but it refuses to let the pain in the world have the last word." [00:47:40 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: He highlights a woman who 'tries to be God with skin on' by giving water, picking up litter, and calling senators, presenting this as the way to refuse pain's last word.
Why It's Dangerous: This elevates human social activism to a divine status, replacing reliance on Christ's atoning work with self-sufficient moralism.
Biblical Correction: Ephesians 2:8-9 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.'
🟠 Major Homiletical Imbalance (Moralism)
Root Cause: Moralism
The Belief/Behavior: The sermon reduces the Gospel to a moralistic call for human action ('put a little skin in the game') without anchoring the believer's ability or motivation in the Holy Spirit or the finished work of Christ.
Why It's Dangerous: The congregation is left with a burden of performance rather than the freedom of grace, leading to burnout and pride.
Biblical Correction: Galatians 5:22-23 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.'
🟡 Minor Social Gospel and Political Resistance Focus
Root Cause: Social Gospel
"We pray for our country that is so divided and for so many of the people who have not been able to use the voice that they have to call for a sense of justice in our world." [00:21:18 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: He prays for 'a sense of justice in our world' through political voice.
Why It's Dangerous: This distorts the church's primary mission of spiritual redemption and gospel proclamation into a focus on political resistance.
Biblical Correction: Matthew 28:19-20 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.'
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Sensitivity | Emphasis on Tangible Presence
The sermon effectively highlights the human need for tangible comfort and presence, using relatable illustrations to connect with the congregation's desire for God's nearness in suffering.
Illustrative Skill | Effective Use of Narrative
The use of the Anne Lamott anecdote and the Alice in Wonderland reference provides engaging narrative hooks that make the abstract concept of the Incarnation accessible to a lay audience.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:00:00] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:00:33] If you need something, try to get me.
[00:00:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:00:36] There really are more people here.
[00:00:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:00:44] Sing really loud, so maybe that'll bring it.
[00:00:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:00:46] Have you all had your snacks?
[00:00:47] There are snacks in there.
[00:00:49] And we won't be mad if you go, but we'll be sad.
[00:00:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:00:56] We'd invite you to stand as you're able and sing some with us.
[00:00:58] Thank you all for being here.
[00:00:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:59] Sometimes I've called your name Broken night He showed up and patched me up Like you do every time
[00:01:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:01:25] I get amnesia I forget that you keep coming around He's got
[00:02:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:06] That's your mind
[00:02:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:02:23] Love him in the morning Love him in the noon When the sun goes down Good morning Jesus in the noontime Jesus when the sun goes down Jesus in the morning Jesus in the noontime
[00:04:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:04:07] jesus when the sun goes down peace of christ be with y'all y'all take a moment to pass the peace
[00:04:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:04:13] we'll grab a seat worship today and if you're joining via live stream we welcome you as well
[00:09:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:09:54] if you're visiting in person welcome thank you for coming and then here in the seat back pocket there are some information cards if you want to fill out so we can get to know you more
[00:10:03] and then also there's a qr code that you can go online and learn more about us as well we want to remind everyone about our annual school supply drive this year we're going to be giving supplies to the forest park elementary school you can see the list of items that we are
[00:10:18] looking for in your bulletin or find it on the qr code as well you can grab a list at the of the boxes near the exits of the building i think they're maybe over there to the right yep okay
[00:10:28] and then this coming wednesday night we're going to host nara melkanian the executive director of project agape she's going to tell us about this mission that we support in armenia and then the united methodist men are going to provide us a meal and our gathering is going to be in the
[00:10:46] fellowship hall at 6 30 if you're planning on coming let pastor kelly know just by text or email this evening no later than five so we can get a head count for dinner and everyone in the
[00:10:57] in the church is welcome to attend so now we'll continue our worship with a time of community
[00:11:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:11:02] prayer so did we just cancel the rest of the service and go eat all of these sweets i mean I mean, they're just sitting there, you know.
[00:11:13] Some of you brought plates in to eat while I was preaching, so I appreciate that.
[00:11:17] So, yeah, that's good.
[00:11:19] It's great to see everybody.
[00:11:21] It's weird to be gone two weeks out of a whole month, and I don't know.
[00:11:25] And then everybody else was gone on those other weeks, so it's good to see everyone.
[00:11:30] In a couple weeks, when Mary Jo is not so overwhelmed with attention, she's going to come and give us a report about annual conference.
[00:11:40] We were there this past week, and it was different, and it was good.
[00:11:46] And it got into some really good stuff that was happening there.
[00:11:49] So anyway, I just wanted to share that with you.
[00:11:52] So that's a teaser.
[00:11:53] More is coming.
[00:11:56] As we go to prayer today, are there some concerns, some joys that you might have?
[00:12:08] The what family?
[00:12:09] Warren family.
[00:12:13] The Warren family, this is Dawn's daughter-in-law's father, right?
[00:12:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:12:20] uh who died and so yeah thank you who else yes so your friend's mom yeah all right that families had been through it huh others yeah the people of venezuela
[00:13:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:13:02] you know suffered a big earthquake and i don't know what the death count is yet i know that
[00:13:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:13:08] um last i checked that there's a whole lot of folks unfound yet right so very sad
[00:13:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:13:18] um let me tell you a few uh prayer concerns uh some of y'all may know betty mcbride and um betty herself has been through lots of bouts with cancer and she was pronounced cancer free but this past
[00:13:37] week she got pneumonia took her into the hospital but she has other things going on some drop in her hemoglobin and so they're trying to figure that out but they took two and a half cups of water
[00:13:47] off of one of her lungs and may do the other one. So once she gets stronger, they probably will do a couple procedures to see if there's a bleed going on. So she's got to like one. Betty Henderson
[00:13:59] is another homebound person in the church. Actually, I found out from her that she's not really homebound. She may want to come to this service. So we'll see if we can get her to come.
[00:14:10] The reason why she doesn't come to the 10 o'clock service is she doesn't quite like elevators. So So anyway, Betty Henderson, and she lives here in the neighborhood.
[00:14:19] And then Polly Allspaugh, who used to live in the neighborhood.
[00:14:22] She has been in the hospital, I think, Wednesday.
[00:14:26] It'll be two weeks.
[00:14:27] So she's probably going home on Monday, but has really had a tough time.
[00:14:33] The last thing I wanted to mention to you, and you may have prayed for this last week, but I wanted to share it with you, the Dally family.
[00:14:41] Now, you all know Julia Ward sings in the choir.
[00:14:44] and Nick, Dally, and Jill.
[00:14:48] Jill plays violin, so just trying to give you guys clarity about who they are.
[00:14:54] Julia has a brother named Will, and Will and his father Nick, who's a member here, were in Austin leading a workshop together, and he had a heart attack that was a widow maker, which 99% of the people do not survive,
[00:15:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:15] And he survived it.
[00:15:18] And he was put into a coma for a day, but came out of it and is doing pretty well.
[00:15:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:15:22] He's now out of the hospital back in Arizona where his family in Flagstaff.
[00:15:27] So just a big, you know, they're still kind of traumatized by that whole experience.
[00:15:33] But it was really pretty miraculous.
[00:15:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:35] And so, anyways, just keep the dallies in your prayers.
[00:15:41] Any others?
[00:15:47] Yeah, sorry.
[00:15:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:15:48] People without homes.
[00:15:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:51] Yeah.
[00:15:52] people that are without homes we had someone in our service this morning who I know who his home was burned down and so he's without a home and is looking for one and hoping to land one
[00:16:07] today so many of the folks that are homeless yes yeah people with a voice that could use it any others
[00:16:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:16:34] well friends let's prepare our hearts and minds to go to prayer and we'll lift all of these up in in our prayers today lots of things going on both worldwide and close at home and um and a lot of concerns so can you help us out here
[00:16:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:16:53] casey thank you we should probably pray thanksgiving for all the sweets we can have after
[00:17:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:17:01] the service too so gracious god we have gathered here to be mindful of your presence we do not need you to be present to call on you to be present because you have been here waiting for us
[00:18:13] and you are wherever we are waiting for us we ask you to make us aware of our own lives and the miracle that that is and to be filled with gratitude not only for all of the riches and
[00:18:37] the goods that may be a part of our lives but also for your presence and the knowledge of your love God, we may still be struggling with figuring out what it is that we believe
[00:18:56] about you and even about ourselves, but we know that we can come here and ask big questions and explore the mysteries of faith.
[00:19:11] We also know that what it is that we believe is really secondary to the faith, the sense of trust that we need to have in you.
[00:19:22] And so we pray that as we wrestle with what it is that we believe and we seek a deeper sense of trust, that you will help us be more aware of your presence in our lives.
[00:19:34] We lift up to you the people that we know that are really hurting and are alone and are having struggles with their health.
[00:19:49] For Betty McBride, for Betty Henderson, for Polly Allspaugh.
[00:19:57] We pray for the Warren family and the death of a father and for Cindy's friend's mom, who is now struggling with health.
[00:20:13] We give thanks for the so very close call of death that Will Dalley had.
[00:20:24] Know that the entire family of the Dalleys are feeling the presence of a real sense of living in unpredictable times.
[00:20:38] God we know that there are places in our world where people are suffering where people are dodging bombs where people are made homeless by earthquakes where people's lives have been lost and people have been lost altogether
[00:21:01] because of those tragedies wherever we can help us be mindful to have a sense of ways in which we might contribute to the alleviation of that suffering in the world.
[00:21:18] We pray for our country that is so divided and for so many of the people who have not been able to use the voice that they have to call for a sense of justice in our world.
[00:21:33] We pray for those who are weakest in our society, those without work, without homes, without the ability to care for themselves.
[00:21:45] and we hope that you may share with us today more awareness of your love and how it has come to us but also call forth from us that same love so that we may present that to the world.
[00:22:06] God, this is our prayer and we make all of this in the name of Christ Jesus who taught us to pray together.
[00:22:14] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:22:18] 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
[00:22:35] temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen before you guys play i'm going to read this passage of scripture actually two passages of scripture. I'm reading you song lyrics because both of these passages, while they take place in
[00:22:56] one in a letter, one in the gospels, are actually break out into song. And I want to read those to you. I should probably get my... Paul has a letter to the Philippians where he's encouraging
[00:23:10] the church in Philippi to, you know, stand firm and in faith. And while he's writing this letter and he's going deep into it.
[00:23:21] He also does this crazy thing where he seems to break out in song.
[00:23:25] Maybe he's just quoting the song, but it's a powerful song.
[00:23:29] It's one that you've heard me read to you.
[00:23:31] I think it's required reading for any of us.
[00:23:35] This is Philippians chapter two, verse five through 11, an ancient song about the incarnation of Jesus.
[00:23:44] Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself taking the form of a slave
[00:23:59] being born in human likeness and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross and therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name
[00:24:15] that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
[00:24:29] The word of God for the people of God.
[00:24:33] A second reading, a second hymn.
[00:24:35] In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, John imitates the book of Genesis by starting all things with those famous words, in the beginning.
[00:24:45] But here, he names that all the way back in the beginning, in the creation of the world, there was a Word with a big capital W.
[00:24:54] We call this the hymn of the Logos.
[00:24:57] So, listen for the Word of God.
[00:25:01] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[00:25:06] He was in the beginning with God.
[00:25:07] All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.
[00:25:12] and what has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people.
[00:25:19] The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.
[00:25:23] He was in the world and the world came into being through him and yet the world did not know him.
[00:25:30] He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him and the word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
[00:25:44] No one has ever seen God.
[00:25:46] It is God, the only son, who is close to the father's heart, who has made him known.
[00:25:54] The word of God for the people of God.
[00:25:58] Here's a song.
[00:25:59] It's about the incarnation.
[00:26:01] And you may have recognized it by Joan Osborne.
[00:26:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:26:05] His face, if you were faced with him in all his glory, You asked if you had just Yeah, yeah, I did Yeah, the faith that you Old enough to do that, weren't you?
[00:30:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:30:53] Yeah.
[00:30:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:30:57] Tom couldn't believe that we were having a celebration for Mary Jo today.
[00:31:00] She goes, well, she's just a teenager.
[00:31:04] Friends, would you pray with me?
[00:31:12] God, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of the hearts of all of us be acceptable in thy sight.
[00:31:19] O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
[00:31:25] Anne Lamott, she tells a story of a frightened little girl who couldn't fall asleep.
[00:31:31] She kept coming out of her bedroom.
[00:31:34] Many attempts were made to leave her alone in the dark of her bed, but she continued to repeat her requests for company.
[00:31:43] This persisted for a while, and so her mother decided to assure her.
[00:31:48] so she spoke the language of faith she said honey jesus is with you and kept saying this to her and finally the girl interrupts and says yeah that's great but i need somebody with skin on
[00:32:02] we are not alone this is god's world we believe in jesus was the word made flesh we've been talking about the affirmation of faith that we often use it's in your bulletin If you look in there in the 10 o'clock service, we say that together.
[00:32:29] And we're going to say it in a little bit.
[00:32:33] The affirmation of faith that we use on Sunday morning is a reminder to us.
[00:32:37] We say it at times to say what it is that we're trying to believe.
[00:32:44] We've noted that this summer that believing something in our head is different from trusting it deep into your soul and your heart.
[00:32:51] And having faith in God, that God is with us in the lonely dark, takes more than just a belief.
[00:33:00] It takes some trust.
[00:33:03] I want to be honest with you.
[00:33:05] There are a lot of beliefs in the Christian tradition that I can do without.
[00:33:11] I can name a few for you.
[00:33:14] Some of mine, just reading, I was like going, why in the world are we supposed to believe that?
[00:33:18] There are some ideas that don't line up with my own religious experience or how I see reality around.
[00:33:28] Some beliefs come down to us through scripture and tradition as an attempt to explain things that, well, things that I don't really find essential.
[00:33:40] John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist tradition, was fond of saying what our Moravian brothers and sisters print on all of their literature.
[00:33:49] In essentials, unity.
[00:33:51] In non-essentials, freedom.
[00:33:55] In all things, love.
[00:33:58] I guess the question is, what is essential?
[00:34:02] What is it that we are to believe?
[00:34:06] It depends on who's telling you, of course.
[00:34:08] When I tell it to you, then you should believe that, right?
[00:34:12] Unless you don't.
[00:34:13] But in all honesty, it really depends more about the state of your heart.
[00:34:20] What is essential for you to hold on to in the heart?
[00:34:26] Doctrine, the church teachings, sometimes it fails to speak to the heart.
[00:34:30] You know, doctrines also can be very paradoxical.
[00:34:35] They invite us to believe contradictory things at the same time.
[00:34:40] Such is the case with the doctrine of the incarnation.
[00:34:43] The idea is this, that Jesus, in Jesus, God became a human being, one of us.
[00:34:54] God who is transcendent, above and beyond the realm of the natural world, became a human being.
[00:35:02] A mortal, one that could hunger and sleep and laugh and weep.
[00:35:10] Come on in.
[00:35:10] Speaking of mortals, there they are.
[00:35:12] We're going to go eat all of your treats after this, too.
[00:35:21] We're going to eat all of your treats after we're done here.
[00:35:25] Oh, no.
[00:35:26] Then we'll go home with you.
[00:35:29] So, yeah, so this transcendent above and beyond realm, the God suddenly becomes mortal, one that can hunger and sleep, laughing, weeping, one that feels joy, feels the pain of grief.
[00:35:44] when a friend dies and even one who could die the divine became human the creator became part of the creation in case you haven't spent any time talking with people from other faith traditions you know multi-faith dialogue in case you haven't done that you should know that belief in god or
[00:36:12] gods, our Muslim, Jewish, Hindu siblings especially, you probably wouldn't realize that the incarnation is an idea that absolutely goes against the essential pillars of their belief system. When we talk about the way we talk about God coming into Jesus, we talk about that
[00:36:36] in a way that includes our that that they interpret as God being limited which they would say is not human and in some ways in some traditions especially that are monotheistic we're monotheists but especially in Judaism especially in the Muslim tradition it's offensive
[00:37:00] and I don't say that because I'm in disagreement with our Jewish and Muslim brothers we just have to understand how peculiar it is, that belief system that we have. In some ways, they would say it's kind of impossible. The idea of the incarnation is an idea that goes against those
[00:37:21] belief systems. God rises above and beyond it all, including, they would say, our comprehension, our ability to understand what God is talking about. To put it another way, the way that Lewis Carroll put it, when Alice in Wonderland talked to the white queen, she says, there's no
[00:37:42] use trying. One can't believe impossible things. That's what Alice said. And the queen responded, I dare say you haven't had much practice because when I was at your age, sometimes I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Now, you know, we usually reserve this kind of
[00:38:05] deep reflection about this incarnation, this idea of the divine becoming human, we usually center that around Christmastime. But let's face it, essential teachings of doctrine often kind of bounce off of us during the Christmas season. They get lost in the distractions
[00:38:26] of the holiday celebrations. And those of you that pay attention may remember I had told you all about a debate i had with a one of my church members years ago her name was norma
[00:38:38] dalton and we debated about the nature of the incarnation here was the question was jesus more divine than human or was jesus more human than divine that was our debate she would point out jesus's miracles walking on the water his knowledge of what people uh what people were thinking before
[00:39:02] they spoke and i would point out that jesus was angry and he turned over tables in the temple that he he wept at the grave of his friend lazarus i would point out his own suffering and his own
[00:39:17] crucifixion she would say look if jesus didn't have the power of god how could we receive salvation and i would say look if god if jesus didn't know what it was like to be human
[00:39:31] to be poor and suffer then how can jesus really say that we're being saved unless jesus had that experience too we were both right we were both wrong because we're emphasizing that too and of
[00:39:47] course the doctrine says that both both and for norma she thought that jesus had it all together and for me i kind of felt like jesus was still figuring it out like one of us now there's a lot
[00:40:04] of preachers out there that will remind you about how special and different and unique Jesus' divinity is. And I've always been more impressed, though, with how human Jesus looks.
[00:40:18] I can't explain how God becomes human in Jesus. But what is more perplexing and fascinating to me is how Jesus incarnates God.
[00:40:34] In other words, what do we know about God by the way Jesus embodies God?
[00:40:43] It's not with power over us, but instead it's with humility, compassion, living among the poor, loving the least and the last and the lost.
[00:40:56] Jesus is so very human.
[00:40:59] Is this paradoxical?
[00:41:00] Yeah.
[00:41:01] But don't miss the beauty of this.
[00:41:08] It's not just that Jesus showed up in human form.
[00:41:14] He was a slob like one of us.
[00:41:17] He didn't come as a king.
[00:41:23] You know, the traditional doctrines of the church, they kind of fail to speak, like I said, to the heart in their explanations.
[00:41:30] They were hammered out.
[00:41:31] And they were hammered out in these huge committees that fought for centuries and were trying to figure out who was a heretic and who was not.
[00:41:40] And, you know, there were politics involved with all of that.
[00:41:43] One of them, the Council of Nicaea, they came up with this creed.
[00:41:47] And here's the creed part of the Council of Nicaea and what they teach about the Incarnation.
[00:41:54] You ready for this?
[00:41:55] I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence as the Father.
[00:42:09] You getting all this?
[00:42:13] I mean, it's a little abstract, right?
[00:42:18] They're definitely nailing down some of these things.
[00:42:21] They're definitely pulling some of this from Scripture, some of the Scripture that we just read.
[00:42:25] But I prefer the affirmation of faith from the United Church of Canada that we use because it doesn't try to explain the incarnation, but it uses what I think are essential poetic language right out of Scripture.
[00:42:42] And it's straight to the point.
[00:42:44] We believe in God, who has come in Jesus, the word made flesh.
[00:42:49] That's what you get.
[00:42:50] That's it.
[00:42:53] It's like the creed writer was using this language about the incarnation to leave a little mystery on the bone.
[00:43:02] Incarnation comes from the Latin word carne, which means flesh.
[00:43:08] God with us in the flesh.
[00:43:11] God with skin on.
[00:43:17] So if you look up sometime, go home today, look up Philippians 2.
[00:43:22] And if you look it up in the NRSV Bible or one of the modern texts, you can tell when Paul stops preaching in his letter and he just starts singing.
[00:43:33] Because in newer translations, it's written out in verse.
[00:43:41] And in the Philippians passage, this ancient hymn, probably sung by the early Christians, was a song of praise for the incarnation.
[00:43:50] It wasn't explaining it.
[00:43:52] It was celebrating it.
[00:43:55] It's different.
[00:43:57] Not how Jesus became human, but telling us about God by the way in which God became human.
[00:44:06] What do we learn about God?
[00:44:09] Listen to these words.
[00:44:10] Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness being found in human form he humbled himself became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross when you
[00:44:29] read and you see the words of this hymn the music you can imagine what music might have gone to it we don't know what the music was but it probably went up and down probably went up and down just
[00:44:38] listen to how it goes down jesus empties himself into human likeness like a slave humble every knee bends even under the earth the knees bend obedient to the point of death and then it goes lower
[00:44:54] death on a cross and then the music starts to go up all through the hymn and so god highly exalted him gave him the name that is above every other name every tongue confesses that jesus
[00:45:09] Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. What the hymn is trying to tell you, though, is really important. And I just, I want you to get this. It's really important. It's not that the doctrine
[00:45:24] is true. I'm into it, but it's profound. It's trying to get you to see that Jesus was incarnated into humility. Could have had the power of God, humbled himself, emptied himself.
[00:45:52] The reason we memorize scripture, the reason that we have an affirmation of faith that we say on Sundays is to remind ourselves of the mystery of God's love and to learn it by heart. You know,
[00:46:05] it gives us a resource that we can have and carry with us, especially when we need it. That is when our heart is broken and there is another reason there's another reason i we need to learn an
[00:46:20] affirmation of faith and why i think this one is so good because a good doctrine is not just a teaching us about god it's also teaching us what you and i are called to what is a faithful
[00:46:31] response to the incarnation could it be that you and i this word become flesh that you and i are called to put our flesh on the line for the divine word, to celebrate God's presence through love and
[00:46:47] service, that that's what it means to put flesh on God's presence. Kate Bowler says that, you know, when things are painful or frightening or unresolved, what we usually want is not an explanation, not a teaching, a doctrine. What we really want is a presence. We want the presence
[00:47:14] of someone close enough to sit beside, or to answer the phone for us, or to stay in the room without trying to bright side us, or to gaslight us about how the pain isn't really pain. And Lamont
[00:47:33] says that when she doesn't know what to do, what she does is she just lowers the bar considerably.
[00:47:40] And she says she tries to be God with skin on. She gets thirsty people water. She goes around and picks up litter. She calls her senators and gives them a piece of her mind. She donates to
[00:47:58] a cause that matters to her. It's not a permanent solution, she says, but it refuses to let the pain in the world have the last word. Jesus didn't let pain and suffering, even death itself,
[00:48:16] have the last word, but instead became a word that became flesh. And that word was love, and Jesus put skin on it. So you and I, friends, are called to put a little skin in the game.
[00:48:33] Would you pray with me?
[00:48:41] God, your word sometimes is confusing and sometimes it contradicts itself, but God is powerful.
[00:48:51] We can open ourselves up to that word and to see your love at work.
[00:49:00] Work through those words that we might say together so that we can celebrate your presence and acts of compassion and justice in the world.
[00:49:12] We pray this in your holy name.
[00:49:14] Amen.
[00:49:15] Hang on a second.
[00:49:16] Here's the affirmation of faith.
[00:49:18] Can you find it?
[00:49:18] There it is.
[00:49:20] Y'all, would you all stand up if you would?
[00:49:22] Let us say this together.
[00:49:24] And just to remind ourselves about what we are trying to believe.
[00:49:27] We've heard the word read and the word proclaimed.
[00:49:29] We're going to sing it together.
[00:49:31] But now, not this, we're going to sing something else.
[00:49:33] But we're going to say together what it is that we believe.
[00:49:36] We are not alone.
[00:49:38] We live in God's world.
[00:49:40] We believe in God, who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
[00:49:55] we trust in God we are called to be the church to celebrate God's presence to love and serve others to see justice and resist evil to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen our judge and our hope
[00:50:13] here's the kicker in life, in death in life, beyond death God is with us we are not alone thanks be to God Amen Stay standing.
[00:51:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:51:05] and strivings cease, my comforter, my all in all.
[00:51:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:51:13] Here at last I stand, I used to love, who took on flesh, the fullness of God in helpless faith, this gift of righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save.
[00:51:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:51:41] Till on that cross says Jesus, that was satisfied.
[00:54:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:54:40] Mary Jo, on the 4th of July.
[00:54:45] So, while we're celebrating 250 years of our country, on Saturday, we're also celebrating one-third of that, Mary Jo lived, right?
[00:54:56] And we know, we know that Tom Connelly Sr. over here thinks that she's just a teenager.
[00:55:03] She's a very young 80, but we wanted to celebrate her.
[00:55:06] But also, you all should have seen how many folks showed up for the service at 10, just because they knew they wanted to be here to honor Mary Jo.
[00:55:14] She is extremely loved by so many people in this congregation.
[00:55:18] Some of you all may be new to this church.
[00:55:20] Some of you all haven't seen her at work.
[00:55:22] But I'm telling you, Mary Jo knows not only all the people that are homebound, she also knows their children.
[00:55:31] and she is an amazing resource of care for this congregation and I'm just so glad I get to work with her and I would be lost without her and yesterday I visited three people in the hospital
[00:55:44] and all three of them didn't do anything but sing Mary Jo's praises they didn't even want to see me they said where's Mary Jo so the last thing I want to say is if anybody has understood how to put
[00:55:58] skin on the love of God is Mary Jo, by walking into the rooms and the homes of people who need, who are lonely, who are hurting, and they are receiving that love. And I want to say,
[00:56:15] you all may be wondering what your call is. She can hand you a little slip of paper with somebody's address and number, and all you have to do is call them and say, I'm coming to visit you,
[00:56:26] and Mary Jo sent me and they will welcome you, okay?
[00:56:30] They probably wouldn't welcome you if you just called otherwise, but if you say Mary Jo, they will.
[00:56:34] So, Mary Jo, thank you so much.
[00:56:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:56:37] Didn't start feeling old until I saw that word octogenarian.
[00:56:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:56:48] Yeah, yeah.
[00:56:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:56:49] That made me feel old.
[00:56:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:56:51] And we got you those big, beautiful, golden balloons that say 80.
[00:56:55] It was very European, so I thought you probably would enjoy that.
[00:56:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:56:58] Well, gold.
[00:56:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:56:59] Yeah.
[00:57:00] All right.
[00:57:01] So, friends, go from this place and figure out a way for you to put some skin on God's love, to embody that love for others, to really incarnate in humility the way God wants us to reach out and connect to one another.
[00:57:18] Go practice some love and some justice.
[00:57:21] We go with God who goes with us in the name of our creator, our sustainer, and our redeemer.
[00:57:26] Amen.
[00:57:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:57:27] What if God was one of us, just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way?
[00:00:00] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:00:33] If you need something, try to get me.
[00:00:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:00:36] There really are more people here.
[00:00:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:00:44] Sing really loud, so maybe that'll bring it.
[00:00:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:00:46] Have you all had your snacks?
[00:00:47] There are snacks in there.
[00:00:49] And we won't be mad if you go, but we'll be sad.
[00:00:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:00:56] We'd invite you to stand as you're able and sing some with us.
[00:00:58] Thank you all for being here.
[00:00:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:59] Sometimes I've called your name Broken night He showed up and patched me up Like you do every time
[00:01:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:01:25] I get amnesia I forget that you keep coming around He's got
[00:02:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:02:06] That's your mind
[00:02:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:02:23] Love him in the morning Love him in the noon When the sun goes down Good morning Jesus in the noontime Jesus when the sun goes down Jesus in the morning Jesus in the noontime
[00:04:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:04:07] jesus when the sun goes down peace of christ be with y'all y'all take a moment to pass the peace
[00:04:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:04:13] we'll grab a seat worship today and if you're joining via live stream we welcome you as well
[00:09:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:09:54] if you're visiting in person welcome thank you for coming and then here in the seat back pocket there are some information cards if you want to fill out so we can get to know you more
[00:10:03] and then also there's a qr code that you can go online and learn more about us as well we want to remind everyone about our annual school supply drive this year we're going to be giving supplies to the forest park elementary school you can see the list of items that we are
[00:10:18] looking for in your bulletin or find it on the qr code as well you can grab a list at the of the boxes near the exits of the building i think they're maybe over there to the right yep okay
[00:10:28] and then this coming wednesday night we're going to host nara melkanian the executive director of project agape she's going to tell us about this mission that we support in armenia and then the united methodist men are going to provide us a meal and our gathering is going to be in the
[00:10:46] fellowship hall at 6 30 if you're planning on coming let pastor kelly know just by text or email this evening no later than five so we can get a head count for dinner and everyone in the
[00:10:57] in the church is welcome to attend so now we'll continue our worship with a time of community
[00:11:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:11:02] prayer so did we just cancel the rest of the service and go eat all of these sweets i mean I mean, they're just sitting there, you know.
[00:11:13] Some of you brought plates in to eat while I was preaching, so I appreciate that.
[00:11:17] So, yeah, that's good.
[00:11:19] It's great to see everybody.
[00:11:21] It's weird to be gone two weeks out of a whole month, and I don't know.
[00:11:25] And then everybody else was gone on those other weeks, so it's good to see everyone.
[00:11:30] In a couple weeks, when Mary Jo is not so overwhelmed with attention, she's going to come and give us a report about annual conference.
[00:11:40] We were there this past week, and it was different, and it was good.
[00:11:46] And it got into some really good stuff that was happening there.
[00:11:49] So anyway, I just wanted to share that with you.
[00:11:52] So that's a teaser.
[00:11:53] More is coming.
[00:11:56] As we go to prayer today, are there some concerns, some joys that you might have?
[00:12:08] The what family?
[00:12:09] Warren family.
[00:12:13] The Warren family, this is Dawn's daughter-in-law's father, right?
[00:12:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:12:20] uh who died and so yeah thank you who else yes so your friend's mom yeah all right that families had been through it huh others yeah the people of venezuela
[00:13:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:13:02] you know suffered a big earthquake and i don't know what the death count is yet i know that
[00:13:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:13:08] um last i checked that there's a whole lot of folks unfound yet right so very sad
[00:13:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:13:18] um let me tell you a few uh prayer concerns uh some of y'all may know betty mcbride and um betty herself has been through lots of bouts with cancer and she was pronounced cancer free but this past
[00:13:37] week she got pneumonia took her into the hospital but she has other things going on some drop in her hemoglobin and so they're trying to figure that out but they took two and a half cups of water
[00:13:47] off of one of her lungs and may do the other one. So once she gets stronger, they probably will do a couple procedures to see if there's a bleed going on. So she's got to like one. Betty Henderson
[00:13:59] is another homebound person in the church. Actually, I found out from her that she's not really homebound. She may want to come to this service. So we'll see if we can get her to come.
[00:14:10] The reason why she doesn't come to the 10 o'clock service is she doesn't quite like elevators. So So anyway, Betty Henderson, and she lives here in the neighborhood.
[00:14:19] And then Polly Allspaugh, who used to live in the neighborhood.
[00:14:22] She has been in the hospital, I think, Wednesday.
[00:14:26] It'll be two weeks.
[00:14:27] So she's probably going home on Monday, but has really had a tough time.
[00:14:33] The last thing I wanted to mention to you, and you may have prayed for this last week, but I wanted to share it with you, the Dally family.
[00:14:41] Now, you all know Julia Ward sings in the choir.
[00:14:44] and Nick, Dally, and Jill.
[00:14:48] Jill plays violin, so just trying to give you guys clarity about who they are.
[00:14:54] Julia has a brother named Will, and Will and his father Nick, who's a member here, were in Austin leading a workshop together, and he had a heart attack that was a widow maker, which 99% of the people do not survive,
[00:15:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:15] And he survived it.
[00:15:18] And he was put into a coma for a day, but came out of it and is doing pretty well.
[00:15:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:15:22] He's now out of the hospital back in Arizona where his family in Flagstaff.
[00:15:27] So just a big, you know, they're still kind of traumatized by that whole experience.
[00:15:33] But it was really pretty miraculous.
[00:15:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:35] And so, anyways, just keep the dallies in your prayers.
[00:15:41] Any others?
[00:15:47] Yeah, sorry.
[00:15:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:15:48] People without homes.
[00:15:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:15:51] Yeah.
[00:15:52] people that are without homes we had someone in our service this morning who I know who his home was burned down and so he's without a home and is looking for one and hoping to land one
[00:16:07] today so many of the folks that are homeless yes yeah people with a voice that could use it any others
[00:16:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:16:34] well friends let's prepare our hearts and minds to go to prayer and we'll lift all of these up in in our prayers today lots of things going on both worldwide and close at home and um and a lot of concerns so can you help us out here
[00:16:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:16:53] casey thank you we should probably pray thanksgiving for all the sweets we can have after
[00:17:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:17:01] the service too so gracious god we have gathered here to be mindful of your presence we do not need you to be present to call on you to be present because you have been here waiting for us
[00:18:13] and you are wherever we are waiting for us we ask you to make us aware of our own lives and the miracle that that is and to be filled with gratitude not only for all of the riches and
[00:18:37] the goods that may be a part of our lives but also for your presence and the knowledge of your love God, we may still be struggling with figuring out what it is that we believe
[00:18:56] about you and even about ourselves, but we know that we can come here and ask big questions and explore the mysteries of faith.
[00:19:11] We also know that what it is that we believe is really secondary to the faith, the sense of trust that we need to have in you.
[00:19:22] And so we pray that as we wrestle with what it is that we believe and we seek a deeper sense of trust, that you will help us be more aware of your presence in our lives.
[00:19:34] We lift up to you the people that we know that are really hurting and are alone and are having struggles with their health.
[00:19:49] For Betty McBride, for Betty Henderson, for Polly Allspaugh.
[00:19:57] We pray for the Warren family and the death of a father and for Cindy's friend's mom, who is now struggling with health.
[00:20:13] We give thanks for the so very close call of death that Will Dalley had.
[00:20:24] Know that the entire family of the Dalleys are feeling the presence of a real sense of living in unpredictable times.
[00:20:38] God we know that there are places in our world where people are suffering where people are dodging bombs where people are made homeless by earthquakes where people's lives have been lost and people have been lost altogether
[00:21:01] because of those tragedies wherever we can help us be mindful to have a sense of ways in which we might contribute to the alleviation of that suffering in the world.
[00:21:18] We pray for our country that is so divided and for so many of the people who have not been able to use the voice that they have to call for a sense of justice in our world.
[00:21:33] We pray for those who are weakest in our society, those without work, without homes, without the ability to care for themselves.
[00:21:45] and we hope that you may share with us today more awareness of your love and how it has come to us but also call forth from us that same love so that we may present that to the world.
[00:22:06] God, this is our prayer and we make all of this in the name of Christ Jesus who taught us to pray together.
[00:22:14] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:22:18] 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
[00:22:35] temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen before you guys play i'm going to read this passage of scripture actually two passages of scripture. I'm reading you song lyrics because both of these passages, while they take place in
[00:22:56] one in a letter, one in the gospels, are actually break out into song. And I want to read those to you. I should probably get my... Paul has a letter to the Philippians where he's encouraging
[00:23:10] the church in Philippi to, you know, stand firm and in faith. And while he's writing this letter and he's going deep into it.
[00:23:21] He also does this crazy thing where he seems to break out in song.
[00:23:25] Maybe he's just quoting the song, but it's a powerful song.
[00:23:29] It's one that you've heard me read to you.
[00:23:31] I think it's required reading for any of us.
[00:23:35] This is Philippians chapter two, verse five through 11, an ancient song about the incarnation of Jesus.
[00:23:44] Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself taking the form of a slave
[00:23:59] being born in human likeness and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross and therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name
[00:24:15] that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.
[00:24:29] The word of God for the people of God.
[00:24:33] A second reading, a second hymn.
[00:24:35] In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, John imitates the book of Genesis by starting all things with those famous words, in the beginning.
[00:24:45] But here, he names that all the way back in the beginning, in the creation of the world, there was a Word with a big capital W.
[00:24:54] We call this the hymn of the Logos.
[00:24:57] So, listen for the Word of God.
[00:25:01] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[00:25:06] He was in the beginning with God.
[00:25:07] All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.
[00:25:12] and what has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people.
[00:25:19] The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.
[00:25:23] He was in the world and the world came into being through him and yet the world did not know him.
[00:25:30] He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him and the word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
[00:25:44] No one has ever seen God.
[00:25:46] It is God, the only son, who is close to the father's heart, who has made him known.
[00:25:54] The word of God for the people of God.
[00:25:58] Here's a song.
[00:25:59] It's about the incarnation.
[00:26:01] And you may have recognized it by Joan Osborne.
[00:26:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:26:05] His face, if you were faced with him in all his glory, You asked if you had just Yeah, yeah, I did Yeah, the faith that you Old enough to do that, weren't you?
[00:30:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:30:53] Yeah.
[00:30:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:30:57] Tom couldn't believe that we were having a celebration for Mary Jo today.
[00:31:00] She goes, well, she's just a teenager.
[00:31:04] Friends, would you pray with me?
[00:31:12] God, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of the hearts of all of us be acceptable in thy sight.
[00:31:19] O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
[00:31:25] Anne Lamott, she tells a story of a frightened little girl who couldn't fall asleep.
[00:31:31] She kept coming out of her bedroom.
[00:31:34] Many attempts were made to leave her alone in the dark of her bed, but she continued to repeat her requests for company.
[00:31:43] This persisted for a while, and so her mother decided to assure her.
[00:31:48] so she spoke the language of faith she said honey jesus is with you and kept saying this to her and finally the girl interrupts and says yeah that's great but i need somebody with skin on
[00:32:02] we are not alone this is god's world we believe in jesus was the word made flesh we've been talking about the affirmation of faith that we often use it's in your bulletin If you look in there in the 10 o'clock service, we say that together.
[00:32:29] And we're going to say it in a little bit.
[00:32:33] The affirmation of faith that we use on Sunday morning is a reminder to us.
[00:32:37] We say it at times to say what it is that we're trying to believe.
[00:32:44] We've noted that this summer that believing something in our head is different from trusting it deep into your soul and your heart.
[00:32:51] And having faith in God, that God is with us in the lonely dark, takes more than just a belief.
[00:33:00] It takes some trust.
[00:33:03] I want to be honest with you.
[00:33:05] There are a lot of beliefs in the Christian tradition that I can do without.
[00:33:11] I can name a few for you.
[00:33:14] Some of mine, just reading, I was like going, why in the world are we supposed to believe that?
[00:33:18] There are some ideas that don't line up with my own religious experience or how I see reality around.
[00:33:28] Some beliefs come down to us through scripture and tradition as an attempt to explain things that, well, things that I don't really find essential.
[00:33:40] John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist tradition, was fond of saying what our Moravian brothers and sisters print on all of their literature.
[00:33:49] In essentials, unity.
[00:33:51] In non-essentials, freedom.
[00:33:55] In all things, love.
[00:33:58] I guess the question is, what is essential?
[00:34:02] What is it that we are to believe?
[00:34:06] It depends on who's telling you, of course.
[00:34:08] When I tell it to you, then you should believe that, right?
[00:34:12] Unless you don't.
[00:34:13] But in all honesty, it really depends more about the state of your heart.
[00:34:20] What is essential for you to hold on to in the heart?
[00:34:26] Doctrine, the church teachings, sometimes it fails to speak to the heart.
[00:34:30] You know, doctrines also can be very paradoxical.
[00:34:35] They invite us to believe contradictory things at the same time.
[00:34:40] Such is the case with the doctrine of the incarnation.
[00:34:43] The idea is this, that Jesus, in Jesus, God became a human being, one of us.
[00:34:54] God who is transcendent, above and beyond the realm of the natural world, became a human being.
[00:35:02] A mortal, one that could hunger and sleep and laugh and weep.
[00:35:10] Come on in.
[00:35:10] Speaking of mortals, there they are.
[00:35:12] We're going to go eat all of your treats after this, too.
[00:35:21] We're going to eat all of your treats after we're done here.
[00:35:25] Oh, no.
[00:35:26] Then we'll go home with you.
[00:35:29] So, yeah, so this transcendent above and beyond realm, the God suddenly becomes mortal, one that can hunger and sleep, laughing, weeping, one that feels joy, feels the pain of grief.
[00:35:44] when a friend dies and even one who could die the divine became human the creator became part of the creation in case you haven't spent any time talking with people from other faith traditions you know multi-faith dialogue in case you haven't done that you should know that belief in god or
[00:36:12] gods, our Muslim, Jewish, Hindu siblings especially, you probably wouldn't realize that the incarnation is an idea that absolutely goes against the essential pillars of their belief system. When we talk about the way we talk about God coming into Jesus, we talk about that
[00:36:36] in a way that includes our that that they interpret as God being limited which they would say is not human and in some ways in some traditions especially that are monotheistic we're monotheists but especially in Judaism especially in the Muslim tradition it's offensive
[00:37:00] and I don't say that because I'm in disagreement with our Jewish and Muslim brothers we just have to understand how peculiar it is, that belief system that we have. In some ways, they would say it's kind of impossible. The idea of the incarnation is an idea that goes against those
[00:37:21] belief systems. God rises above and beyond it all, including, they would say, our comprehension, our ability to understand what God is talking about. To put it another way, the way that Lewis Carroll put it, when Alice in Wonderland talked to the white queen, she says, there's no
[00:37:42] use trying. One can't believe impossible things. That's what Alice said. And the queen responded, I dare say you haven't had much practice because when I was at your age, sometimes I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Now, you know, we usually reserve this kind of
[00:38:05] deep reflection about this incarnation, this idea of the divine becoming human, we usually center that around Christmastime. But let's face it, essential teachings of doctrine often kind of bounce off of us during the Christmas season. They get lost in the distractions
[00:38:26] of the holiday celebrations. And those of you that pay attention may remember I had told you all about a debate i had with a one of my church members years ago her name was norma
[00:38:38] dalton and we debated about the nature of the incarnation here was the question was jesus more divine than human or was jesus more human than divine that was our debate she would point out jesus's miracles walking on the water his knowledge of what people uh what people were thinking before
[00:39:02] they spoke and i would point out that jesus was angry and he turned over tables in the temple that he he wept at the grave of his friend lazarus i would point out his own suffering and his own
[00:39:17] crucifixion she would say look if jesus didn't have the power of god how could we receive salvation and i would say look if god if jesus didn't know what it was like to be human
[00:39:31] to be poor and suffer then how can jesus really say that we're being saved unless jesus had that experience too we were both right we were both wrong because we're emphasizing that too and of
[00:39:47] course the doctrine says that both both and for norma she thought that jesus had it all together and for me i kind of felt like jesus was still figuring it out like one of us now there's a lot
[00:40:04] of preachers out there that will remind you about how special and different and unique Jesus' divinity is. And I've always been more impressed, though, with how human Jesus looks.
[00:40:18] I can't explain how God becomes human in Jesus. But what is more perplexing and fascinating to me is how Jesus incarnates God.
[00:40:34] In other words, what do we know about God by the way Jesus embodies God?
[00:40:43] It's not with power over us, but instead it's with humility, compassion, living among the poor, loving the least and the last and the lost.
[00:40:56] Jesus is so very human.
[00:40:59] Is this paradoxical?
[00:41:00] Yeah.
[00:41:01] But don't miss the beauty of this.
[00:41:08] It's not just that Jesus showed up in human form.
[00:41:14] He was a slob like one of us.
[00:41:17] He didn't come as a king.
[00:41:23] You know, the traditional doctrines of the church, they kind of fail to speak, like I said, to the heart in their explanations.
[00:41:30] They were hammered out.
[00:41:31] And they were hammered out in these huge committees that fought for centuries and were trying to figure out who was a heretic and who was not.
[00:41:40] And, you know, there were politics involved with all of that.
[00:41:43] One of them, the Council of Nicaea, they came up with this creed.
[00:41:47] And here's the creed part of the Council of Nicaea and what they teach about the Incarnation.
[00:41:54] You ready for this?
[00:41:55] I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence as the Father.
[00:42:09] You getting all this?
[00:42:13] I mean, it's a little abstract, right?
[00:42:18] They're definitely nailing down some of these things.
[00:42:21] They're definitely pulling some of this from Scripture, some of the Scripture that we just read.
[00:42:25] But I prefer the affirmation of faith from the United Church of Canada that we use because it doesn't try to explain the incarnation, but it uses what I think are essential poetic language right out of Scripture.
[00:42:42] And it's straight to the point.
[00:42:44] We believe in God, who has come in Jesus, the word made flesh.
[00:42:49] That's what you get.
[00:42:50] That's it.
[00:42:53] It's like the creed writer was using this language about the incarnation to leave a little mystery on the bone.
[00:43:02] Incarnation comes from the Latin word carne, which means flesh.
[00:43:08] God with us in the flesh.
[00:43:11] God with skin on.
[00:43:17] So if you look up sometime, go home today, look up Philippians 2.
[00:43:22] And if you look it up in the NRSV Bible or one of the modern texts, you can tell when Paul stops preaching in his letter and he just starts singing.
[00:43:33] Because in newer translations, it's written out in verse.
[00:43:41] And in the Philippians passage, this ancient hymn, probably sung by the early Christians, was a song of praise for the incarnation.
[00:43:50] It wasn't explaining it.
[00:43:52] It was celebrating it.
[00:43:55] It's different.
[00:43:57] Not how Jesus became human, but telling us about God by the way in which God became human.
[00:44:06] What do we learn about God?
[00:44:09] Listen to these words.
[00:44:10] Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness being found in human form he humbled himself became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross when you
[00:44:29] read and you see the words of this hymn the music you can imagine what music might have gone to it we don't know what the music was but it probably went up and down probably went up and down just
[00:44:38] listen to how it goes down jesus empties himself into human likeness like a slave humble every knee bends even under the earth the knees bend obedient to the point of death and then it goes lower
[00:44:54] death on a cross and then the music starts to go up all through the hymn and so god highly exalted him gave him the name that is above every other name every tongue confesses that jesus
[00:45:09] Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. What the hymn is trying to tell you, though, is really important. And I just, I want you to get this. It's really important. It's not that the doctrine
[00:45:24] is true. I'm into it, but it's profound. It's trying to get you to see that Jesus was incarnated into humility. Could have had the power of God, humbled himself, emptied himself.
[00:45:52] The reason we memorize scripture, the reason that we have an affirmation of faith that we say on Sundays is to remind ourselves of the mystery of God's love and to learn it by heart. You know,
[00:46:05] it gives us a resource that we can have and carry with us, especially when we need it. That is when our heart is broken and there is another reason there's another reason i we need to learn an
[00:46:20] affirmation of faith and why i think this one is so good because a good doctrine is not just a teaching us about god it's also teaching us what you and i are called to what is a faithful
[00:46:31] response to the incarnation could it be that you and i this word become flesh that you and i are called to put our flesh on the line for the divine word, to celebrate God's presence through love and
[00:46:47] service, that that's what it means to put flesh on God's presence. Kate Bowler says that, you know, when things are painful or frightening or unresolved, what we usually want is not an explanation, not a teaching, a doctrine. What we really want is a presence. We want the presence
[00:47:14] of someone close enough to sit beside, or to answer the phone for us, or to stay in the room without trying to bright side us, or to gaslight us about how the pain isn't really pain. And Lamont
[00:47:33] says that when she doesn't know what to do, what she does is she just lowers the bar considerably.
[00:47:40] And she says she tries to be God with skin on. She gets thirsty people water. She goes around and picks up litter. She calls her senators and gives them a piece of her mind. She donates to
[00:47:58] a cause that matters to her. It's not a permanent solution, she says, but it refuses to let the pain in the world have the last word. Jesus didn't let pain and suffering, even death itself,
[00:48:16] have the last word, but instead became a word that became flesh. And that word was love, and Jesus put skin on it. So you and I, friends, are called to put a little skin in the game.
[00:48:33] Would you pray with me?
[00:48:41] God, your word sometimes is confusing and sometimes it contradicts itself, but God is powerful.
[00:48:51] We can open ourselves up to that word and to see your love at work.
[00:49:00] Work through those words that we might say together so that we can celebrate your presence and acts of compassion and justice in the world.
[00:49:12] We pray this in your holy name.
[00:49:14] Amen.
[00:49:15] Hang on a second.
[00:49:16] Here's the affirmation of faith.
[00:49:18] Can you find it?
[00:49:18] There it is.
[00:49:20] Y'all, would you all stand up if you would?
[00:49:22] Let us say this together.
[00:49:24] And just to remind ourselves about what we are trying to believe.
[00:49:27] We've heard the word read and the word proclaimed.
[00:49:29] We're going to sing it together.
[00:49:31] But now, not this, we're going to sing something else.
[00:49:33] But we're going to say together what it is that we believe.
[00:49:36] We are not alone.
[00:49:38] We live in God's world.
[00:49:40] We believe in God, who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
[00:49:55] we trust in God we are called to be the church to celebrate God's presence to love and serve others to see justice and resist evil to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen our judge and our hope
[00:50:13] here's the kicker in life, in death in life, beyond death God is with us we are not alone thanks be to God Amen Stay standing.
[00:51:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:51:05] and strivings cease, my comforter, my all in all.
[00:51:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:51:13] Here at last I stand, I used to love, who took on flesh, the fullness of God in helpless faith, this gift of righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save.
[00:51:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:51:41] Till on that cross says Jesus, that was satisfied.
[00:54:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:54:40] Mary Jo, on the 4th of July.
[00:54:45] So, while we're celebrating 250 years of our country, on Saturday, we're also celebrating one-third of that, Mary Jo lived, right?
[00:54:56] And we know, we know that Tom Connelly Sr. over here thinks that she's just a teenager.
[00:55:03] She's a very young 80, but we wanted to celebrate her.
[00:55:06] But also, you all should have seen how many folks showed up for the service at 10, just because they knew they wanted to be here to honor Mary Jo.
[00:55:14] She is extremely loved by so many people in this congregation.
[00:55:18] Some of you all may be new to this church.
[00:55:20] Some of you all haven't seen her at work.
[00:55:22] But I'm telling you, Mary Jo knows not only all the people that are homebound, she also knows their children.
[00:55:31] and she is an amazing resource of care for this congregation and I'm just so glad I get to work with her and I would be lost without her and yesterday I visited three people in the hospital
[00:55:44] and all three of them didn't do anything but sing Mary Jo's praises they didn't even want to see me they said where's Mary Jo so the last thing I want to say is if anybody has understood how to put
[00:55:58] skin on the love of God is Mary Jo, by walking into the rooms and the homes of people who need, who are lonely, who are hurting, and they are receiving that love. And I want to say,
[00:56:15] you all may be wondering what your call is. She can hand you a little slip of paper with somebody's address and number, and all you have to do is call them and say, I'm coming to visit you,
[00:56:26] and Mary Jo sent me and they will welcome you, okay?
[00:56:30] They probably wouldn't welcome you if you just called otherwise, but if you say Mary Jo, they will.
[00:56:34] So, Mary Jo, thank you so much.
[00:56:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:56:37] Didn't start feeling old until I saw that word octogenarian.
[00:56:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:56:48] Yeah, yeah.
[00:56:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:56:49] That made me feel old.
[00:56:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:56:51] And we got you those big, beautiful, golden balloons that say 80.
[00:56:55] It was very European, so I thought you probably would enjoy that.
[00:56:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:56:58] Well, gold.
[00:56:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:56:59] Yeah.
[00:57:00] All right.
[00:57:01] So, friends, go from this place and figure out a way for you to put some skin on God's love, to embody that love for others, to really incarnate in humility the way God wants us to reach out and connect to one another.
[00:57:18] Go practice some love and some justice.
[00:57:21] We go with God who goes with us in the name of our creator, our sustainer, and our redeemer.
[00:57:26] Amen.
[00:57:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:57:27] What if God was one of us, just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way?
