Browbeat (verb): Intimidate someone into doing or accepting something; Bully

Transcription

1 ( Bullying used with permission from Danielle Lynn.) Browbeat (verb): Intimidate someone into doing or accepting something; Bully January 10, :15 a.m.

2 The Colonial Church in Prairie Village United Church of Christ Done with Browbeating Sunday Worship Service in the series I m Done 1 Please silence your electronic devices in preparation for worship. * Please rise in body or spirit We Gather as God s People Gathering Music Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort Walther Welcome and Announcements (Please sign and pass pew pads and fill out Prayer Request cards you may have. You can place the Prayer Request cards in the offering plates later in the service.) A Moment to Lay Your Burdens Down * Opening Hymn #164 Arise, Your Light Is Come * Call to Worship Based on Isaiah 55 Leader: Sabbath is the break that permits us to remember. Sabbath is the opportunity to recall Egypt and Pharaoh s Anxiety System. Sabbath is the great festival of freedom, when Pharaoh his browbeating expectations are dismissed and there is free bread and free water and free milk and free wine. People: All of you who are thirsty, come to the water! Whoever has no money, come, buy food and eat! Without money, at no cost, buy wine and milk! Leader: So why go back to what enslave us? People: Why spend money for what isn't food, and our earnings for what doesn't satisfy? Listen carefully to God and eat what is good; enjoy the richest of feasts. Now is our time to claim freedom!

3 * Song of Praise Gloria #759 adapted Glory to the Creator, and to the Christ, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen. Amen. 2 * Sharing God s Welcome (Greet everyone in the hope of peace and friendship.) Children s Conversation (Children of all ages are welcome to come forward to the chancel steps. Following the Conversation, children are welcome to remain to worship or to participate in our Sunday School.) This little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. We Hear a Word from God A Word in Music River in Judea A Word Proclaimed Pastor Aaron Roberts The Promise of God Given Through Moses Deuteronomy 6:3 Follow [God s commandments] carefully so that things will go well for you and so that you will continue to multiply exactly as the LORD, your ancestors' God, promised you, in a land full of milk and honey. The Problem Moses Foresaw in the Land of Milk and Honey Prosperity breeds amnesia. Can You Figure Out What Moses Saw As the Antidote to Amnesia? Deuteronomy 5:15 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, but the LORD your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That's why the LORD your God commands you to keep the Sabbath day. Deuteronomy 7:18 19 Remember, instead, what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: the great trials that you saw with your own eyes, the signs and wonders, and the strong hand and outstretched arm the LORD your God used to rescue you.

4 Deuteronomy 8:18 Remember the LORD your God! He's the one who gives you the strength to be prosperous. Deuteronomy 16:3 [During Passover,] you must not eat anything containing yeast along with it. Instead, for seven days you must eat unleavened bread, bread symbolizing misery, along with it because you fled Egypt in a great hurry. Do this so you remember the day you fled Egypt for as long as you live. Deuteronomy 24:18 Remember how you were a slave in Egypt but how the LORD your God saved you from that. Deuteronomy 24:22 Remember how you were a slave in Egypt. That's why I am commanding you to do this thing. The Memory of Slavery to Pharaoh is Yours Here and Now Deuteronomy 5:2 3 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Mount Horeb. The LORD didn't make this covenant with our ancestors but with us all of us who are here and alive right now. The Commandment that Breaks Pharaoh Anxiety System Deuteronomy 5:12 14 Keep the Sabbath day and treat it as holy, exactly as the LORD your God commanded: Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. Don't do any work on it not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your oxen or donkeys or any of your animals, or the immigrant who is living among you so that your male and female servants can rest just like you. The Good News Sabbath Breaks Browbeating You do not have to do more. You do not have to sell more. You do not have to control more. You do not have to know more. You do not have to have your kids in ballet or soccer. You do not have to be younger or more beautiful. You do not have to score more. Why go back to what enslaves you? You don t have to. Thank God. 3

5 We Respond with Thanksgiving and Prayer 4 * Hymn #552 From the Crush of Wealth and Power Call to Offering and Offertory In Thee is Joy Dupre (Our weekly offering includes food collected to help fill local pantries.) * Doxology (#780 adapted; tune Old Hundredth) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise God, all creatures here below; Praise God above, you heavenly host: Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One. Amen. * Prayer of Dedication Accept these gifts, we humbly pray O God. Let them give you honor and glory as we serve the needs of your people. And let those whom God has redeemed and freed say Amen! Time of Prayer Prayers of the People Believing that each joy and/or concern expressed is indeed a prayer, after each expression, the Pastor will say: Lord, in your mercy. And the people may respond: Hear our prayer. Praying in Silence Our Lord s Prayer ( Our Father is the traditional way this prayer begins. You are invited to use whatever name for God you find most meaningful (Father, Mother, Creator, God, etc.). These names for God create a beautiful chorus.) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

6 We Depart to Serve 5 We Have Pledged to Be the Wind! * Hymn #286 Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness (Original words onscreen) * Renew Our Covenant (Turn towards the center aisle as we bless one another with the promise of our covenant.) We covenant with the Lord and with one another and do bind ourselves in the presence of God to walk together in Christian Love. We seek to worship God in spirit and in truth and to love our neighbors as ourselves. With God s help we will honor Colonial Church in our conduct, support its program, and extend the influence of Christ throughout the world. * Congregational Song of Blessing #809 God Be With You God be with you, God be with you, God be with you till we meet again. O God be with you, God be with you, God be with you till we meet again. * Benediction and Postlude Dejlig er den Himmel blaa Wold Liturgist: Ken Werne Videographer: Geoff Robinson Worship Graphics Operator: Hayden Huggins Children s Conversation: Camille Breckenridge Greeters: Mary Baumgart and Judy Diamond Head Usher: Allan Flentie Ushers: Allan Flentie, Cindy Lafferty, Mary Pelton, Bill Yohn

7 6 Our 10:00am Thursday morning Bible Study is covering the Gospel of Mark. If you would like to take part in the study, simply come on Thursdays or signup for the group via infellowship from the church website. Keep the simple point in mind: our primary purpose is not simply learning information about the Bible. It is hearing God speak. Lesson 1 Fasten Your Seatbelts Homework Step 1: First Reading Mark 1:1 45 Find a comfortable place to sit, when you can be undisturbed for 15 minutes or so. Read the text slowly, prayerfully and meditatively. Savor the words. Pray them. Put yourself into the text with your senses. What do you hear, smell, or feel? Pay attention to words or phrases that speak to you or jump out at you. Consider reading it aloud. Step 2: Second Reading of the same text This may happen at the same time as your first reading or at a different time or on another day. For this second reading, note any questions you might have. Is the reading all one, or can you see subsections or parts? Who are the main characters? Is there a plot or story? Note additional information you need place names, monetary values, etc. to better understand what s going on. Step 3: Interpreting the Text and Homework Questions (if you are planning to come to class, give the church office a call so that we can mail a copy of the lesson to you.)

8 7 January 10, 2016 EPIPHANY MISSION MOMENT Persians invaded Palestine in 614 and destroyed many churches. They spared the Church of the Nativity when they saw a mosaic on an interior wall depicting the three wise men in Persian dress. They were the only non Jews and foreigners at the manger. All the legends and folklore around these suggest that they were called by the appearance of the star to leave their homes and discover the King of Creation, the hope of the world. When they found him they did not see a wonder worker or teacher or one wise beyond his years. Instead, they found a vulnerable baby in straw. It s that image that was sent into the world revealing Emmanuel (God with us). We, in the west, are probably heirs of those foreigners who brought the good news east. This good news would make its way east and north and eventually to the Americas. Perhaps there is some irony in the fact that we return to the Middle East with the same good news of what happened there 2000 years ago. The first Congregational and Disciples missionaries went to the Middle East in the 19 th century. Today, our presence there is felt in the partnerships we have made through Global Ministries, a joint mission of the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. We are actively engaged together with the Arab group for Christian Muslim Dialogue in a commitment to ongoing interfaith dialogue and cooperation in support for human rights. Other partners include the Middle East Council of Churches, as well as multiple organizations in Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Turkey. What would the three wise men of long ago think of our work today, spreading the good news born that day in a stable in Bethlehem?

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