Prayers for Rain

Asking God for the Blessing of Rain

Service of Worship

Beaver Dam Presbyterian Church

Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard, Pastor

June 26, 2011

“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and then they pray toward this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin, … teach them the good way in which they should walk; and grant rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.” (1 Kings 8:35-36)

Prelude

* Praise Song (Beaver Dam)

Welcome and Announcements

Call to Worship – Psalm 135: 5-7, Hosea 6: 1-3,

The Lord is great:our Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the Lord pleases he does:in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

It is our God who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth:God makes lightnings for the rain and brings out the wind from its storehouses.

Come, let us return to the Lord, for it is God who has torn, and God will heal us;God has struck down, and God will bind us up.

Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;God’s appearing is as sure as the dawn,

God will come to us like the showers,like the spring rains that water the earth.

Opening Prayer

O Lord our God, look down upon our dry lands and parched earth, and come quickly to save us. Send your clouds of water to rain down upon us as your righteousness and love rain down upon our hearts. Fill us with faith and trust in you that we may give you glory now and in your heavenly presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

* Hymn – All Creatures of Our God and King (verses 1-4) Blue Hymnal 455, Maroon Hymnal 100

First Lesson – Jeremiah 14: 1-9

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: Judah mourns and her gates languish; they lie in gloom on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up. Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns, they find no water, they return with their vessels empty. They are ashamed and dismayed and cover their heads, because the ground is cracked. Because there has been no rain on the land the farmers are dismayed; they cover their heads. Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn because there is no grass. The wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail because there is no herbage. Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name's sake; our apostasies indeed are many, and we have sinned against you. O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night? Why should you be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help? Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us!

Prayer for Rain - Rabbi Ronald H. Isaacs

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Shemini_AtzeretSimchat_Torah/In_the_Community/Morning_Service/Ashkenazi_Prayer_for_Rain.shtml

Our God and God of our ancestors:

Remember Abraham who flowed to You like water. You blessed him like a tree planted by streams of water. You rescued him from fire and water. He passed Your test by planting good deeds by every source of water.

For Abraham's sake, do not keep back water.

Remember Isaac, whose birth was foretold when Abraham offered the angels a little water. You asked his father to spill his blood like water. In the desert Isaac dug and found wells of water.

For Isaac's sake, do not keep back water.

Remember Jacob, who crossed the Jordan's water. He bravely rolled the stone off the mouth of the well of water. He wrestled with an angel made of fire and water, And therefore You promised to be with him through fire and water.

For Jacob's sake do not keep back water.

Remember Moses, who was drawn in a reed basket out of the Nile's water. Who helped Jethro's daughters: He drew water and gave the sheep water. He struck the rock and out came water.

For Moses' sake do not hold back water!

Remember Aaron, the High Priest, who, on Yom Kippur, washed himself five times with water, He prayed and was sprinkled with purifying water, He kept apart from a people who were as unstable as water.

For Aaron's sake do not hold back water.

Remember the Twelve Tribes whom You brought through the divided waters; For whom You sweetened bitter water; Their descendants' blood was spilled like water. Turn to us, God, who are surrounded by troubles like water.

For the Jewish people's sake, do not hold back water.

You are Adonai, our God Who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall. For blessing and not for curse. Amen. For life and not for death. Amen. For plenty and not for lack. Amen.

* Hymn - Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee - Blue Hymnal 464, Maroon Hymnal 21

Second Lesson – Psalm 65 (Responsive Reading)

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;and to you shall vows be performed,

O you who answer prayer!To you all flesh shall come.

When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,you forgive our transgressions.

Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts.We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation;you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.

By your strength you established the mountains;

you are girded with might.

You silence the roaring of the seas,the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.

Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it;the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain,

for so you have prepared it.

You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges,
softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.

You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.

The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,

the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain,
They shout and sing together for joy.

Prayer for Rain – adapted from the Novena in Honor of St. Isidore: Patron of Farmers

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=832

O God, in Whom we live and move, and have our being, grant us rain, in due abundance, that, being sufficiently helped with temporal, we may the more confidently seek after eternal gifts. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

* Hymn – This is my Father's World - Blue Hymnal 293, Maroon Hymnal 101

Third Lesson Revelation 21:5-6; 22:16-17

And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life... It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

Prayer for Rain - Peter Toon – Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer 1662

http://hillsofthenorth.blogspot.com/2007/12/prayer-for-rain.html

O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their bodily sustenance: Send us, we pray you, in this our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

Fourth Lesson: John 4: 5-14

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."

Sermon – Prayers for Rain

* Apostle’s Creed – Blue Hymnal p.14, Maroon Hymnal p.12

Exhortation and Prayers of the Church

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the beginning the Lord our God formed the earth and the heavens and all that exists. God separated the waters and formed the clouds. God marked the limits of the rivers and seas and placed the rain and snow in their storehouses. Throughout our lives, God has watered the earth and let the sun shine to bring forth harvests of abundance for the living. And God has blessed us with infinite love through this abundance.

The Bible tells us that in times of need, we should turn to the Lord who sustains us with the fruits of creation, bringing our petitions and concerns, asking forgiveness for our sins, and placing our needs trustfully and faithfully into God’s hands. As Jeremiah of old led the people of Israel in prayer to God during a time of drought, so let us now draw near to God with our prayers for our parched lands and loved ones in distress.

The Lord is gracious.The Lord’s understanding is beyond measure.

The Lord heals the brokenhearted.The Lord binds up all our wounds.(Psalm 147:1,5)

Gracious Lord, loving God, look down with mercy upon your people as we draw near to you. Fill our hearts with faith. Forgive our sins. Lead us to righteousness and peace. And hear our prayers of concern for our lands, for our people in distress, for our industries that suffer, for all who are affected by the lengthy dryness of this season. We look to you for help. Be our aide and our guide; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The people of Israel cried out in thirst.They cried aloud to the Lord most high.

The Lord came and commanded Moses.The Lord commanded, and water came forth from the rock.(Exodus 17:1-7)

Lord of the sun and of the rains, your faithful people thirst again in your sight. Our crops languish in the sun. Even your little creatures are stressed in the heat. As you answered the prayers of Israel of old, quench the thirst of your people, our lands, our crops, and all creatures. Bring forth the rains that sustain and foster growth in the seasons and cycles that you marked with your creative hand. In you alone we trust; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

God covers the heavens with clouds.God prepares rain for the earth.

God makes the grass to grow on the hillsGod gives to the animals their food.

The Lord’s delight is not in the strength of the horse or the speed of the runner.The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear God, in those who hope in God’s steadfast love.(Psalm 147:8-11)

God of hope, God of healing and blessing, God of refreshment and peace, shower down upon us with your infinite love and righteousness. Send your Holy Spirit to fill us with faith. Lead us to green pastures and make us to lie down by still waters, refreshing our souls and giving us peace; for you live and reign with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Prayers of the People

The Lord’s Prayer

Presentation of Tithes and Offerings

* Hymn – “As Those of Old Their Firstfruits Brought” Tune – Forest Green (PH414)

As those of old their firstfruits brought

Of vineyard, flock and field

To God. the giver of all good

The source of bounteous yield

So we today our firstfruits bring

The wealth of this good land

Of farm and market, shop and home

Of mind and heart and hand.

Offertory Prayer:

Let us pray. O God of creation,we bring before you the gifts of our lives, gifts first given to us by you: fruit of the vineyard, harvest of the field, products of our labor, thankfulness of our hearts. Accept these gifts and bless us by your creation for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Lord God of heaven and earth, we thank you for the gifts and blessings that you shower down upon us, most chiefly the gift of your Son. Bless us always and the creation you have made, nurturing the growth of all with food and drink from your heavenly hand. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

* Hymn – All Beautiful the March of Days – Blue Hymnal 292, Maroon Hymnal 96

* Blessings

The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,and you give them their food in due season.

You open wide your handand satisfy the needs of every living creature. (Psalm 145:16-17)

* The Blessing of the Parched Earth

Blessed are you, O God, king of the universe. You made the whole earth for your glory and nurture it with sun and rain and the passing seasons. We lift our voices in praise and sing with all creation to give you glory. Bless now our parched earth. Open your heavens wide and send forth the rains that nurture the earth, the fields and their crops, your people and all your creatures. Make the earth to break forth in abundance, so that the harvest from your hand may enrich our lives, and all people see the greatness of God. Bless also those who are in any distress from this hot dry season: the elderly, the poor, the homeless, the industries and people who depend upon the land. Save us all by your gracious hand. Heal us and bind us up in faith. To you be honor and glory and praise, with the Son and Holy Spirit, now and in all ages to come. Amen.

* The Blessing of the People

Be steadfast in faith. Trust in the Lord. God’s love will sustain you through this season and always. And may almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you now and forever. Amen.

Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.

* Praise God for Whom All Blessings Flow – Blue Hymnal – Blue Hymnal 592, Maroon Hymnal 544

Postlude

Service adapted from The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

http://www.liturgybytlw.com/OccChs/Drought.html

* Please Stand

Congregational Response in Bold

Sermon Mark 6: 7-13 Marks of the Teaching Elder

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon Mark 6: 7-13 Marks of the Teaching Elder

Ordination of Grace Howard

June 19, 2011

Good afternoon. On behalf of the session and congregation of Beaver Dam Presbyterian Church I welcome New Castle Presbytery to our church home for this important event. We are honored to host this ordination for one of our members, Grace Howard. And we invite all of you to a reception following this service of worship in our social hall.

Recently the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. adopted a New Form of Government. In it more flexibility is given to presbyteries and sessions so that they may become more missional. Today I will be looking at this New Form of Government and scripture to discern how God may be calling us to change how we think of ordained ministry. According to our New Form of Government Grace's ministry, Crossroads International Fellowship, is to be understood as a gift from Jesus Christ to the whole Church (G-2.0101). So today we are celebrating this gift by worshiping the God who provided it. Please pray with me.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The New Form of Government defines the Teaching Elder or Minister of the Word and Sacrament. It says, in part, “Teaching Elders shall in all things be committed to teaching the faith and equipping the saints for the work of ministry.” (G-2.0501) This section goes on to say that Teaching Elders do this by preaching, administering the sacraments, pastoring the people, and participating in the responsibilities of governance.

This all sound similar to the Reformation Marks of the Church. Remember that Calvin said that a true church is one where the Word of God is proclaimed for the salvation of humankind, the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are properly administered, and ecclesiastical discipline is enforced. The church ordains Teaching Elders, Ministers of the Word and Sacrament, to make sure that each church is a true church in the Reformed sense.

And this leads us to a question. Would Jesus have been ordained by New Castle Presbytery as a Teaching Elder? He was a pretty good Bible scholar and was able to handle the Hebrew and Greek texts with ease. Jesus wrote the liturgy for communion and baptism, and he administered communion for 5000 people. And he taught us how to live our lives in a disciplined way that would be pleasing to God. I think Jesus would make a really good Minister of the Word and Sacrament.

The New Form of Government also teaches us that “Christ's ministry is the foundation and standard for all ministry.” (G-2.0101) We should pattern our ministries on Christ's own ministry. And the leads to another question. Was Christ's ministry limited to preaching the gospel, administering sacraments and enforcing discipline? To answer this question let's turn to the 6^th chapter of the Gospel of Mark.

Mark 6:7-13 ⁷ He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; ⁹ but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. ¹⁰ He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. ¹¹ If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." ¹² So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. ¹³ They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

According the Jesus, the marks of a disciple's ministry are to proclaim the good news of repentance to new life, cast out demons and cure the sick. Teaching Elders in the Presbyterian Church are trained and ordained to do the first one really well. We know how to preach. But don't we train and ordain elders to cast out demons and cure diseases? And what would our churches be like if we did?

Shortly after I received my first call as a Teaching Elder, Grace and I met with one of my Ruling Elders for lunch. It was a pleasant lunch and I looked forward to working with her. I talked with Grace after lunch and she warned me that this elder had an evil spirit. At that moment I didn't really believe in evil spirits. And I certainly did not want to begin my ministry with the thought in my head that one of my elders had a evil spirit. So I ignored Grace to my own detriment. Eventually I came to realize that this elder was determined to oppose my ministry any way she could. As the ministry grew she actively tried to stop it and eventually she was the key to my removal from the church. I am happy to report that ultimately she was not successful in stopping the growth of the ministry I started. It continues to grow and she has lost much of her power in the church. Had I listened to Grace I would have spent much more time in prayer asking Christ to cast out this spirit from the church. And I have come to realize that evil spirits do exist and that they are actively working to stop the growth and vitality of ministries.

We know from scripture that certain people have the gift of discerning spirits. What if we identified these people in our churches and nurtured their gifts? What if we ordained Elders with the ability to identify evil spirits in our churches and whose prayers could cast them out? What if each church had one of these elders who could identify the spirits holding back the growth of vitality of their congregation and whose prayers would help them to regain these things? In Grace we now have a Teaching Elder with these gifts.

Just after arriving here in Pocomoke one of my Ruling Elders had a stroke. As soon as I heard about it I went to the hospital to pray with her. I prayed for healing. Several days later she was in a nursing home for rehabilitation and Grace and I visited her. Again I prayed for healing. Grace prayed by touching this elder and praying in tongues. If you ask this elder today when she was healed of her stroke she would point to that moment in the nursing home. The longer I am with Grace the more I am convinced that prayer, especially her prayers, does have the power to heal.

We know from scripture that certain people have the gift of healing. What if we identified people in our churches with this gift and nurtured it? What if we ordained elders with the gift of healing? What if each church had one of these elders who could through their touch and prayers heal someone? In Grace we now have a teaching elder with the gift of healing.

The New Form of Government says, “the presbytery shall determine whether a particular work may be helpful to the church in mission.” (G-2.0502) Therefore New Castle Presbytery has the power to ordain elders with the gifts of spiritual discernment and healing to validated ministries if we so choose. And I urge the presbytery to consider nurturing and ordaining elders with these gifts. Were we to do this we would revitalize our churches because everyone would know that we were doing the full ministry of Jesus Christ. Healing and casting out evil spirits should be added as options with preaching, administering sacraments and enforcing discipline as marks of a Teaching Elder. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 8 – God Knows Us

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 8 – God Knows Us

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

June 19, 2011

For several weeks now we have been praising God through the psalms. Praising God is what we were created to do. It helps us to see God in the world around us. It increases our faith so that we don't just believe things about Jesus, rather we believe in Jesus trusting Jesus with our lives. Meditating on the psalms is how we learn how to praise God. One thing we learn when we praise God is who we really are. So to learn who we really are let's pray and meditate on Psalm 8.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 8:1-9 ^NRS Psalm 8:1 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. ² Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. ³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; ⁴ what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? ⁵ Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. ⁶ You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, ⁷ all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, ⁸ the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. ⁹ O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8 is a prayer and a song written by King David. It starts, as many of the psalms do, by praising God. David is a king, so he knows something about glory and honor and majesty. And he is a believer and knows that God is really the king and therefore all glory, all honor, and all majesty belong to God. David also realized that God is not just the God of Israel. God is the God of all creation, and God has the power to defeat his enemies wherever they may be. And God blesses all creation with sunshine, rain, land, food to eat and water to drink.

As David praised God he began to think about himself. He realized that in comparison to God and God's kingdom, he and his kingdom were so small, insignificant. David looked at the stars of night and he saw a vast multitude and he wondered if the God who had created all of that actually had any regard for humans. Why would God be concerned with the welfare of men and women when God has the entire universe to care for?

Whenever we praise God for creation, for his majesty, for his glory, we also begin to think about ourselves. Like David when we compare ourselves with God we seem so small. Why would a teacher or a farmer or a retired person on the eastern shore matter to God at all. Does the creator of the universe even know our names?

I know a young Korean pastor who came to Los Angeles to study English. He arrived at the airport and was completely bewildered. He spoke little English and had no idea how to navigate the airport and get to where he was going. As his stress level grew he remembered a song he had sung with his youth group in Korea. It was a praise song called “He Knows My Name” by Tommy Walker.

Here is how it goes.

“I have a Maker. He formed my heart. Before even time began my life was in his hands. He calls me His own. He'll never leave me. No matter where I go. He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls. And He hears me when I call.”

By singing this song to himself this young pastor was assured that God was with him even in this strange land where no one seemed to speak Korean and no one would help him. Eventually his cousin found him at the airport and took him home.

Does God know our names? Does the creator of the universe, who continually sustains all there is actually know us? Why should God know us? After all we are so small and insignificant when compared to his glory and majesty. Praising God expands our view of God and contracts our view of ourselves. Why would God pay any attention to us at all?

According to David the reason God knows our names is because God has chosen to bestow glory and honor on us. God has given his Spirit to us and in worship elevates our hearts to heaven. And so God hears our prayers and knows our names because God loves us so much.

David also tells us that God knows us because God has given us dominion over creation. We are not the creators. But we are the managers in charge of creation. We are to manage God's creation responsibly. For this task we have been given glory and honor and a position in the celestial hierarchy just beneath God and the heavenly beings.

Dominion over creation is gift from God. We are to use it responsibly. As managers we are to watch over creation, use it for God's purposes, and conserve it for future generations. Farmers have dominion over the land to grow the crops to feed God's people. Teachers have been given dominion over the young to mold their minds into responsible adults. All of us have dominion over something, our families, our pets, our homes, our church.

As with any gift dominion can be misused, twisted into sin. When dominion is twisted into sin it becomes exploitation. Exploitation means that you use your position in the celestial hierarchy and your gifts from God for your own purposes ignoring what God wants. Maybe you exploit workers for larger short term profits. Maybe you exploit the water or the land by making them unusable for future generations. Exploitation is a destructive way of using God's gifts and is therefore a sin.

We are given dominion over creation not for our exclusive benefit, but to use it for God's purposes. Remember we worship a God of justice and righteousness and that means whatever we do in managing creation must take into account the needs of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the aliens among us. So long as we use the people, the animals, the land, the water and the air that God has given us for the benefit of others dominion never becomes exploitation.

The psalmist claims that we have dominion over God's creation. Is this true, or does creation have dominion over us? If you are unemployed, lost your home in foreclosure, suffer from a chronic disease, or recently lost a loved one, it is very hard to think that you have dominion over anything. It is hard to feel in control when you are swept up in a flood and chaos is the order of your life. You begin to feel really small and insignificant without being able to control anything.

In the first century the early Christians had little control over their lives. They were persecuted, hunted, and fed to the lions. They had a difficult time keeping their heads about the flood waters. In the midst of this chaos one early Christian was meditating on Psalm 8. He must have thought that the psalmist was out of his mind telling believers that they held a position just below the angels with dominion over all creation. Certainly this couldn't be true. How could persecuted Christians have dominion when the Roman Empire controlled everything? The author of the Book of Hebrews said this:

Hebrews 2:6-8 ⁶ But someone has testified somewhere, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? ⁷ You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, ⁸ subjecting all things under their feet." Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,

Do we see in our day that everything is subject to our control? Ask someone whose home has been destroyed in a tornado, or damaged by a flood, or whose family has been swept away in tsunami if they are in control. Ask someone whose credit cards are maxed out, whose house is under water, whose job has been eliminated, whose fields are burning in the sun what they are in control of. Although some things are in our control, my wife gets to pick out the paint colors for the manse, most things are not. And so we have to conclude that either the David was wrong when he wrote Psalm 8 or at least the promise of the psalm has not yet been realized.

As the author of Hebrews meditated on the Psalm he began to realize that David was not talking about ordinary humans in the 8^th Psalm. We are not the ones made a little lower than the angels for a time with dominion over everything. In fact there is only one man who ever lived who meets this description, only one person who was God and yet humbled himself to become a man for a time, only one person who has been given dominion over all of creation. Here is what the author of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 2:9 ⁹ but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death,

So that's the answer. Jesus gave up his privileged status in heaven to become one of us on earth. This is called the incarnation. And for a period of time he was lower than the heavenly beings. But through his suffering and death Jesus received all the glory and honor that his ancestor David had talked about. Jesus Christ was and is the human who has dominion over all of creation.

Today is Trinity Sunday. This is the day each year when we celebrate our triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because of the incarnation of the Son, God knows us. God knows what we feel because Jesus felt it. God knows what we think because Jesus thought it. God knows us because the Holy Spirit is in us carrying our prayers to God. And so God knows our names.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon – Psalm 104 – Send Forth Your Spirit

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 104:24-35 – Send Forth Your Spirit

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

June 12, 2011

We have been looking at what it means to believe in the Jesus. This is an important task because believing in Jesus Christ leads us to eternal life. To believe in Jesus means more than believing statements about Jesus. Rather we must believe in, have faith in, Jesus trusting him with our lives. This comes about through prayer and meditation on scripture. And by meditating on the psalms we learn that the heart of Christian prayer is praising God. Today we will see that by praising God we come to understand the world we live in as God's creation. Let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Psalm 104

1Bless the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent 3you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, 4you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.

5You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. 6You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 8They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them. 9You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

10You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. 12By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 13From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, 15and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. 16The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. 18The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

19You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 21The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. 23People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.

24O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 27These all look to you to give them their food in due season; 28when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

30When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—32who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 104 is a hymn meant to be sung by people thousands of years ago. It is also a prayer of someone who had learned how to praise God. This author has looked into the vastness of the world, the blue sky, the deep seas, clouds, wind, fire and has found God. This is what happens when we begin praising God in prayer: we begin to see God all around us. We become aware of God's presence with us and God's continuing care of us. The reason for this is that by praising God we acknowledge God as the creator and the world as God's creation.

According to the psalmist, before God's creation of the world all was covered by water. The valleys were filled up and the water rose to cover the top of the mountains. Our blue planet was entirely blue. Remember that the word “flood” is often used in the Bible as a metaphor for chaos. So chaos was the state of the world before creation. The world was disordered, unbounded, not limited in any way. God's creative force was to place limits, boundaries, and order on the world. God placed limits on the sun ordering its rise and fall setting the cycle of day and night. God set the boundaries for temperature setting the cycle of seasons. God ordered the waters to live within limits setting the cycle of tides and rainfall. And so by setting limits and boundaries God ordered the world.

We all know about limits and boundaries. The Session at Beaver Dam has set a limit on how much mildew can accumulate on the outside of the church. With the church located near a swamp mildew is a big problem. So when it gets too bad a contractor is called and the mildew is removed restoring the outside of the church. Regular maintenance is required to maintain things like the church and even the created world. Rain and wind can cause rivers to overflow in floods, and giant storms with destroying winds. Droughts parch the land and the crops burn in the field. The ground can violate a boundary causing an earthquake or tsunami. But whenever a boundary is passed or a limit exceeded God's creative spirit is always there working to restore the created order. This is how we know that God is always with us because whatever happens to violate the limits God has imposed the Holy Spirit is there to restore it.

Today we are experiencing a drought on the eastern shore. This is the second year of high heat and little rain. Limits established by God for annual rainfall are not being met. It would be tempting to curse God when this happens. But as Christian we have learned to praise God for creation and so we have faith that God's spirit will come and restore the normal rainfall amounts we need. What we need to do is to pray, praising God for creation and requesting that the Spirit restore the limits of creation by sending rain to our fields.

The limits and boundaries God has established for creation makes life possible. It provides us with food to eat, fresh water to drink, and air to breath. And so it is important to praise God continually for all of these blessings.

Were it not for the ongoing work of God's spirit we would surely die. One question the psalmist asked was why do the great predators not eat humans. If the lions, tigers, and bears wanted they could feast on people fairly easily. Unless we have a knife or a firearm we a pretty defenseless. So why are the Great White sharks not lining up off the coast of Ocean City for a Fourth of July people feast? The answer, according to the psalmist, is that this would violate the order God has established in creation. The predators have been given by God the night to hunt while we are safely sleeping in our homes. And the predators sleep when we rise in the morning.

So what should be our response to all these blessings we receive from God: air to breath, water to drink, food to eat, clothes to wear, homes to live in, protection from the predators. The psalmist says that the only response is to sing praises to God. And that is why we are in worship today. All week long we have experienced God's good creation and we come here on Sunday to praise God in song and pray. We do this because the seven day cycle with a sabbath rest is one of the limits God has establish for our happiness.

Of course not everyone wants to live with limits. Some people ignore God's boundaries. They see God as a limit to their freedom. They want to be free from God and God's ordering of the world. They ignore the limits God has established. So they curse God and go about their own lives. But whenever someone ignores the limits of creation consequences result. If you drive above the speed limit you will get a ticket. If you send lewd pictures of yourself to young women on the internet you will get caught and possibly lose your job. The Bible calls those who ignore God's limits wicked. The wicked will perish because without God's creative limits all that remains that remains is chaos, the flood. So the wicked ignore the boundaries God has established to their own peril.

Lest anyone doubt the consequences of ignoring the limits God has imposed lets look at some headlines of the chaos in the world from this week's Drudge Report: “SWAT TEAM BREAKS DOWN DOOR OVER STUDENT LOANS, US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUYS 27 SHOTGUNS, RANDOM MOB ATTACKS CAUSE CONCERN IN CHICAGO, NEARLY HALF OF ALL AMERICANS FEAR ANOTHER GREAT DEPRESSION, TWO ELEPHANTs GO ON A RAMPAGE GORE A MAN TO DEATH, CITY SHUTS DOWN AN $11 MILLION FOUNTAIN BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE USING IT AS A TOILET. I could keep going with this list. In every instance God's boundaries and limits are being ignored and chaos, the flood, is returning to the earth.

Our only hope is what we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday, the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was present with God at creation and was the creative force God used to set boundaries and limit the world. Our hope is the that Holy Spirit will come and restore God's created order removing the chaos of the world, lifting us up from the flood. We have this hope because we believe in Jesus, trusting Jesus with our lives. This hope comes to us as we praise God and see God at work in the world. When we know that God is with us then we can live our lives within the limits and boundaries God has created for us, and we can have the confidence that whenever floods arise and chaos abounds our prayers will be heard and the Holy Spirit will come to restore the created order.

Today our drought continues. It is very hot. The limits God has imposed for rainfall have been violated. We need the Holy Spirit to come and restore the created order. We need the Holy Spirit to bring the rain. So we need to pray.

“O God, in Whom we live and move, and have our being, grant us rain, in due abundance, that, being sufficiently helped with temporal, we may the more confidently seek after eternal gifts. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (Novena in Honor of St. Isidore: Patron of Farmers by National Catholic Rural Life Conference, National Catholic Rural Life Conference) http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=832

“O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their bodily sustenance: Send us, we pray you, in this our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” (Peter Toon – Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer 1662)

http://pbs1928.blogspot.com/2007/11/praying-for-rainin-georgia-alabama-and.html

Sermon – Psalm 93 – God is King

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Psalm 93 – God is King
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
June 5, 2011


We have been looking at what it means to believe in Jesus, not just believe statements about Jesus, but to trust Jesus with our lives.  Last week we saw the importance of prayer, especially the daily meditation on scripture, as a means of knowing Christ deeply.  And we saw that meditation on the Psalms, especially, help us to believe in Christ because they direct us to praise God in our prayers and remember how much God has richly blessed us.  Today we will be looking closer at the  Book of Psalms to see how the help us to pray and believe in Christ. 

The psalms teach us that God is king.  Today we celebrate Ascension Day, the day when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father in Heaven.  From this position Christ is our sovereign Lord ruling over heaven and earth.  By believing in Jesus we trust that his power and might will protect us and save us from the floods that overwhelm us. Lets pray.  

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)


NRS Psalm 93:1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;  2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.  3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.  4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!  5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. 


Just before hurricane Katrina hit a family was sailing near the Florida keys.  Friends were concerned for their safety and called the Coast Guard.  Search was made, but the family could not be found.  The search was called off as the weather worsened.  The next day the searched resumed and miraculously the family was found on a mangrove island fifteen miles off shore near their overturned boat.  They were rescued and brought to safety.  A family friend commented on what happen by saying, “Sometimes there is a thing called divine intervention.”

Psalm 93 is a prayer of people who have been rescued from a flood.  This could have been a literal flood, but the Bible often used the word “flood” as a metaphor for chaos in our lives.  Chaos can be external like when a tornado rips your house apart and everything you have is destroyed in an instant.  Or it can be internal like when a spouse leaves you, a boss fires you, or a loved one dies. Chaos, the flood, overwhelms you unless, of course, you believe in Jesus trusting him to save you.  If we meditate on Psalm 93 and prayerfully consider the Kingship of God our confidence in Christ to protect us from the flood is built and strengthened.  

Most us believe that the psalms are the divinely inspired Word of God.  We also know that psalms were how ancient believers prayed.  But it is difficult for us to use psalms for our own prayers.  We read the psalms for their poetic beauty or we recite the psalms when the pastor tells us to in worship, but we rarely pray the psalms letting them guide our conversation with God.

One reason for this is that the Psalms are filled with praises for God.  But we find it difficult to give genuine praise.  Today praise is cheap.  Advertising tells us to praise everything from shampoo to motor oil.  Movies stars and professional athletes are our normal objects of praise.  When everything is praised then nothing is praised.  So it is with great difficulty that we praise God.  And if we can't praise God then the psalms become unintelligible.  By meditating on the psalms we can learn how to praise God.  We begin to experience that the psalms are the perfect prayers that unite our souls with God.  And when we are one with God we learn how to trust God completely and shower God with praise.  So how do we come to experience psalms in this way?

One way to experience union with God is by praying the psalms saying them aloud, slowly and with care.  It would be helpful to memorize a psalm and repeatedly throughout the day pray it, savoring the time you have with God.  Or pick a time of day, maybe early morning or just before bed and meditate on a psalm, praying slowly considering each phrase as a word of God for you.  Don't worry that you won't  understand the meaning of a psalm.  Don't spend time with a commentary.  Just pray the psalm, let words fall off your tongue and travel to God.  Let God respond.  

Just use a good English translation when you pray the psalms.  Peter Gomes, the former chaplain at Harvard, suggested that you use the King James version because its soaring Elizabethan vocabulary will help you experience the otherness of God. Listen to Psalm 93 again from the King James Version.  1The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. 2Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.  3The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 5Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever. (Psalm 93 KJV)

Or you could use the translation of the psalms by Eugene Peterson in the Message for an earthly incarnate experience of a God with us. God is King, robed and ruling,  God is robed and surging with strength. And yes, the world is firm, immovable, Your throne ever firm—you're Eternal! 3-4 Sea storms are up,God, Sea storms wild and roaring, Sea storms with thunderous breakers. Stronger than wild sea storms, Mightier than sea-storm breakers, Mighty God rules from High Heaven.  5 What you say goes—it always has. "Beauty" and "Holy" mark your palace rule, God, to the very end of time. (Psalm 93 Message) 

The reason the psalms can deepen our belief in Christ is because they are both poetic and religious.  As poems they can tells us things about God that prose cannot.  As poetry, our imaginations are engaged and we go beyond a literal meaning of the words.  As religious literature, psalms are the Word of God and through them the Holy Spirit comes upon us to plant and nurture our belief.  And so meditation on the psalms leads us into not a new religious experience but a realization that our experiences live out and are directed to God.  Our joys become God's joys; our concerns become God's concerns.  When we pray the psalms we are carried to heaven to the throne of God.  There we worship God as our King.  We subject ourselves to God's authority.  We become people who obey God's commands.  Once we experience union with God we place ourselves under God discipline.   By meditating on the psalms we are finally at the point when we trust God with our whole lives and we believe in Jesus Christ, a belief that leads to eternal life.

Some of the psalms are beautiful and joyful. They are full of life.  They seem to bring God very close to us.  They open our hearts to receive God's grace. consider Psalm 121:  1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;  4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (NIV)

Other psalms are appropriate for our times of suffering.   Like people of ancient times our lives are not always smooth.  Our souls must bear conflict and injustice.  So we turn to God for help.  Listen to Psalm 12.    1Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. 2 Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. 3 May the LORD silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue - those who say,“By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” 5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” 6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. 7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, 8 Who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race. (NIV)

Sometimes our sins are so great that we have to turn to God.  But we don't know what to say.  Psalms like 130 can help us find the words we need to speak to God.  1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. 5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

A sometime we are just joyful.  And we can express our joy to God through the psalms.  The most joyful of all the psalms are those that praise God.  As we have seen praising God is the essence of Christian prayer.  Through psalms of praise we submit to God's rule.  We are happy to serve a God who is so good.  Praising God's goodness is our greatest joy.  Listen again to the 93rd Psalm.


NRS Psalm 93:1 The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;  2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.  3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.  4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!  5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. 


Amen.


Adapted from Praying the Psalms by Thomas Merton