An Invitation

           On November 11, 1918, the guns fell silent. It was the war to end all wars. It was a war fought with the tactics of two sides armed with rifles, where the odds of the solid wall of men charging the other were decent enough to promise victory. It was a war where that technology was hopefully out of date. It was the war of the machine gun, where one man on one machine gun spat out more death than a platoon of riflemen. It was the war of the most powerful artillery ever seen in history-to that point. It was the war that wiped out a generation.

          Six weeks later, a former military chaplain, now employed as the Dean (a religious office), at King’s College in Cambridge, introduced this service for the first time. It was to move forward the healing. It has a history all its own, and our adaptation of the service has shifted some things for our Lord’s Day Worship, but its history is not lost. It celebrates, once again, the giving of the greatest gift that humanity has ever received. It was a sign of healing after the most destructive war the world had ever seen.

          It is the service that we will be celebrating this Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at 10am in our Sanctuary. We are the First Presbyterian Church of Perth Amboy, located on the corner of Market and High Streets in Perth Amboy, across the street from City Hall on the Market Square. We are at 45 Market Street in Perth Amboy. We invite you to come worship with us.

          If you are unable to join us in person, we will be livestreaming the service on our YouTube Channel, “Considering The Faith”, @consideringthefaith7530 as well as on our Facebook page at “First Presbyterian Church of Perth Amboy”, Lord willing and tech able. We look forward to having you join us.

          Peace, Rev. Peter Hofstra

December 12, 2022 Service of Worship

Worship for December 4, 2022

Worship Service November 27, 2022

Readings for Isaiah: Our Biblical Focus for December, 2022

Reading 1: Isaiah 1: 1-31  Rebellion and Restoration

Reading 2: Isaiah 2: 1-4:6  Punishment from God will lead to Future Glory

Reading 3: Isaiah 5: 1-20  Judgement against Judah for her Sins

Reading 4: Isaiah 6: 1-13  The call of Isaiah as God’s prophet

 

Reading 5: Isaiah 7: 1-25

Reading 6: Isaiah 8: 1-9:7

Reading 7: Isaiah 9:8-10:4

Reading 8: Isaiah 10:5-34

Reading 9: Isaiah 11:1-12:6

Reading 10: Isaiah 13:1-22

Reading 11: Isaiah 14:1-32

Reading 12: Isaiah 15:1-9

Reading 13: Isaiah 16:1-14

Reading 14: Isaiah 17:1-14

Reading 15: Isaiah 18:1-7

Reading 16: Isaiah 19:1-20:6

Reading 17: Isaiah 21:1-17

Reading 18: Isaiah 22:1-25

Reading 19: Isaiah 23:1-18

Reading 20: Isaiah 24:1-23

Reading 21: Isaiah 25:1-12

Reading 22: Isaiah 26:1-27:1

Reading 23: Isaiah 27:2-13

Reading 24: Isaiah 28:1-29

Reading 25: Isaiah 29:1-24

Reading 26: Isaiah 30:1-33

Reading 27: Isaiah 31:1-32:20

Reading 28: Isaiah 33:1-24

Reading 29: Isaiah 34:1-17

Reading 30: Isaiah 35:1-10

Reading 31: Isaiah 36:1-22

Reading 32: Isaiah 37:1-38

Reading 33: Isaiah 38:1-39:8

Reading 34: Isaiah 40:1-31

Reading 35: Isaiah 41:1-29

Reading 36: Isaiah 42:1-25

Reading 37: Isaiah 43:1-44:5

Reading 38: Isaiah 44:6-28

Reading 39: Isaiah 45:1-25

Reading 40: Isaiah 46:1-13

Reading 41: Isaiah 47:1-15

Reading 42: Isaiah 48:1-22

Reading 43: Isaiah 49:1-26

Reading 44: Isaiah 50:1-11

Reading 45: Isaiah 51:1-23

Reading 46: Isaiah 52:1-12

Reading 47: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Reading 48: Isaiah 54:1-17

Reading 49: Isaiah 55:1-13

Reading 50: Isaiah 56:1-12

Reading 51: Isaiah 57:1-21

Reading 52: Isaiah 58:1-14

Reading 53: Isaiah 59:1-21

Reading 54: Isaiah 60:1-22

Reading 55: Isaiah 61:1-11

Reading 56: Isaiah 62:1-12

Reading 57: Isaiah 63:1-17

Reading 58: Isaiah 64:1-12

Reading 59: Isaiah 65:1-25

Reading 60: Isaiah 66:1-24

 

Worship Service for Sunday, November 20, 2022

Worship Service November 13, 2022

Worship Service for Sunday, November 6, 2022

October 30, 2022 Service of Worship

October 23, 2022 Service of Worship

Worship Service for October 16, 2022

Oct. 9 2022 service of worship

Service of Worship Oct. 2, 2022

Sermon, Sept. 25, 2022

 Sermon       September 25,2022  Rev. Peter Hofstra

       Disciples sent out two by two to do the work of Jesus. Well, to multiply the work of Jesus. That was the heart of our gospel reading last week. Jesus preceded that work with a demonstration of what failure felt like, when he took them back to his home town. That was a town full of people who recognized what Jesus was doing, speaking with great wisdom, doing deeds of power, but they were not buying in, not with their hearts at any rate.

       Take nothing extra Jesus said, stay where you are welcome, and shake the dust off your sandals where you are not welcome. Our passage today has them gathering back together with Jesus. And it seems to be a gathering in triumph. As it says, the apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.

       So a couple of things to note before we go forward. The first is how the 12 are being referred to. They are not the disciples in this passage, but they are recognized as apostles. In the biblical story, in the gospel story, in the story of the development of the early church, this switch happens. The disciples, the followers of Jesus, become the apostles, those who serve Jesus. It is the way of things, perhaps even for ourselves. We begin as those who follow Jesus, graduating, if you will, to those who will serve Jesus.

       But there is something else of note here. It is the passage that we have passed over between the disciples being sent out and their return. That passage is something about sidebar. It begins with an acknowledgement by herod that the work of Jesus is coming to his attention. But then it takes a turn. Herod believes this is John the Baptist reincarnated. Or resurrected. This in turn leads to mark telling us the story of how John the Baptist was finally executed by herod. That's not where we are looking today.

       Rather, these disciples who have been dreaming of what they could do in Jesus, because I can imagine them chomping at the bit before Jesus sent them out two by two, they have gathered in triumph. And then Jesus continues to share his wisdom, on what someone should do once they have engaged in a season or a time of extended and intense ministry. His call is for them to retreat, there word deserted place, to rest for awhile. It is certainly what the Bible records that he does on a regular basis, retreating, oftentimes to spend prayer time with his father.

       Thus, considering that they had fishermen in their midst as disciples, they withdrew to a deserted place. Interestingly enough, mark introduces this time of rest by saying many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. It seems that the ministry conducted by the apostles was ongoing, perhaps they were coming and being sent out again by Jesus. But this particular observation that they had no leisure to eat, it foreshadows what comes next.

       Because they were seen.

       Such seems to be the fate of being famous. There are any number of celebrities who find it very difficult to be out in the public eye because they are known. Some of them are less than gracious, seeking privacy, which I can understand. Others, like Tom Hanks, is unfailingly gracious to his fans because it is by their support that he is famous.

       So what seems to be and opportunity for some rest and recreation is spoiled by the poparazzi. They were seen getting on the boat, and mark records that word spread quickly, that they hurried together from all the local towns, walking, maybe running along the seashore to arrive at the place where Jesus and his disciples landed even before their arrival.

       And Jesus had compassion on them, this great crowd, who were like sheep without a shepherd. Seems like a natural role for our Lord Jesus. But then comes the practicality of the moment. They have chosen deliberately to go out to a remote location, all of these people have followed them, there is no infrastructure to support this kind of a crowd here at this time of day. It's getting late say the disciples, because they're now referred to as disciples once again, they tell Jesus to send the people out to the local communities so they can get themselves something to eat.

       And Jesus response is you give them something to eat. They do a quick assessment, realizing that 200 denarii, the wages for 200 days of work, will not be enough to feed all these people. So when Jesus sends them out to inventory what they do have, it is familiar to us, I hope. They have 5 loaves and two fish. So, the people sit down in groups of 50s and of hundreds in the grassy area, the inventory is that there are 5000 men, not counting women and children. Then Jesus takes the loaves and the fish looks up to heaven blesses them breaks the loaves and gives it to the disciples to set before the people and he does the same with the fish, all to be set before the people. Once everyone is full, there's a dozen baskets of leftovers.

       Then, come verse 45, Jesus sends his disciples on ahead. Perhaps now he is going to allow them to get their quiet time, sending them forward to bethsaida as he dismisses the crowd. But no matter what his intention was for his disciples, he takes advantage of what the original plan was. They are in this place of remoteness, Jesus went up on the mountain after saying farewell and dismissing the crowds, to pray.

       I like how they were apostles going out to do the work of Jesus, and disciples once again when they needed Jesus to do the work they could not. So what exactly is Jesus doing when he challenges them to feed this crowd that has come along? I mean they've just been doing ministry, two by two, going out to the towns, preaching and healing and casting out demons. These are the needs of power of Jesus. But now things stall. There are any number of Jesus is deeds of power which are recorded as being carried out by the apostles. Here it speaks of healing and the casting out of demons, in the book of acts cripples are healed. There are even moments when the apostles would raise people from the dead. But here is a miracle that is not ever recorded as being reproduced.

          Between the feeding of the 5000, and the feeling of the 4000 which is also recorded in the gospels, there is no Apostolic parallel. At least not directly. Because in the book of acts, it does record that the early church made provision for the widows and orphans. And the daily distribution became such a ministry, that they set aside the first deacons to carry out that ministry. These godly men, because they still did not recognize the whole population of capable people that could have been doing this work, we're set aside to this ministry. I wonder if the apostles remembered what Jesus had done here when they began that work, recognizing the safety net they were creating to help people who did not have enough to eat.

       For the last few weeks, we have been considering what it means for us to dream into Christ to dream with God as to what can be accomplished in our Lord in our lives and in our ministry as a church. In this last sermon, we follow the disciples as they went out to actively pursue the ministry of Jesus, as their dreams of what it means to be a follower of Christ were carried out. And how does Jesus follow that up? They've been doing tremendous ministry, and Jesus takes it to the next level. Jesus acknowledged that they were out there during the ministry that Jesus was doing, but at this moment, it is like he points at them and says that's not enough, there is so much more yet to be done.

       And the disciples were found wanting. When Jesus asked them to feed those who are gathered, they put together a practical plan for how to accomplish it, realizing they did not have the funding. That sounds like so many ministries today,, so many positive endeavors today but things that we want to do we simply cannot afford.

       At least not yet. By the time that the deacons are ordained, there is a church large enough to support the daily needs of an underserved population.

       I will suggest to you that in the moment of the feeding of the 5000, the vision has shifted. In the ministry that has just been undertaken the disciples are dreaming of what they can do as apostles in the name of Jesus Christ. In this moment Jesus is dreaming of what these apostles are going to be able to do in his name. And that may be the most important part.

       God has a dream for us. God has a dream for our community. God has a dream for the dozen of us who come together to worship in person as well As for the numbers who worship with us through our online presence.

       For me, the biggest thing that stands in the way of dreaming in Christ, much less fulfilling those dreams in Christ, comes from every other voice that presumes to tell us what are faith should be, watch our faith should do, how are faith should be expressed in the lives of others. It's a powerful thing to be in the United states, nation that was deliberately set up to have no church in charge. Because when we compare ourselves to the nations of Europe, for example, that have their state churches. Countries where one particular church is in charge, or is the dominant Church of that nation, we see that our country which did not establish a church as the state church as far more Christian participation.

       And yet there is a cost.

       We live in a day and age where it feels like the work of Christ is so often hijacked as a political enterprise. Somehow being a republican or being a Democrat means that our faith dictates certain choices that we make, dictates certain party lines that we vote, dictates certain issues that we place above all, and, perhaps most disturbing to me, that the brand of God is stamped onto these bundles of political issues, these political beliefs, so that when someone dares to disagree, that we relegate them to hell.

       I would suggest to you, in the language of Ecclesiastes 3, Where it says that for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. Where there is a time to be born and a time to die, and I invite you to find that passage and read the rest of it, I would suggest to you in the language of Ecclesiastes three that there's time to be an American and there is time to be a Christian. There is a time to dream about our nation, and there is a time to dream about our faith.

       The dreams that Christ has for us, if we read his gospel as we have been, they're about feeding the hungry. They are about healing the sick. They are about bringing the good news of love and salvation to the hopeless. The dreams that Jesus has for us come through our love of our neighbor. May we, through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in which our dream of eternal life is accomplished by the mercy and forgiveness of our Lord, may we dream boldly as a community of faith. Amen.

Order of Worship, Sept. 25, 2022

 

First Presbyterian Church

September 25, 2022

10:00 AM

Order of Worship

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

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

I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long … who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the strangers; God upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked God brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

Let us worship the Living God.

 

*Hymn of Praise: “Lead On, O King Eternal”

1. Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come; henceforth in fields of conquest thy tents shall be our home. Through days of preparation thy grace has made us strong; and now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song.

 

2. Lead on, O King eternal, till sin's fierce war shall cease, and holiness shall whisper the sweet amen of peace. For not with swords loud clashing, nor roll of stirring drums; with deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom comes.

 

3. Lead on, O King eternal, we follow, not with fears, for gladness breaks like morning where'er thy face appears. Thy cross is lifted o'er us, we journey in its light; the crown awaits the conquest; lead on, O God of might.

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)

Holy God, giver of all that is good, we recognize that you are the source of all that is. The breath of life is a gift from your generous hand. The food we eat is grown in the world you sustain. The community that supports us is called into being by your saving activity. Everything we have is a gift from you. So why do we treat life as though you are parsimonious with us? Why do we believe we must hoard our blessings? It is our sin that makes us live as though we don’t trust your goodness. So forgive us, we pray. Teach us again what it is to rely upon you. Remind us that we are always in your loving care. Fill us with grace and goodwill, that our hearts might overflow from the fullness of your love. Amen.

 *SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one might boast.

For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand to be our way of life.

Believe the promise of the Gospel:

In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

 

*THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

INVITATION: “Dear Lord, I need You, please come into my life today.  Amen”

LESSON: Mark 6: 30-46

³⁰The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³²And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; ³⁶send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” ³⁷But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²And all ate and were filled; ⁴³and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

⁴⁵Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

 

 

Acts 6: 1-7

6Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. ²And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. ³Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, ⁴while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ ⁵What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

 SERMON:           “Up Dreaming In Christ”           Rev. Peter Hofstra

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (The Apostle’s Creed)

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

PASSING OF THE PEACE

 

 

THE OFFERING OF OUR TITHES & GIFTS

All that we have, all that we are is from God. Remembering the abundant life that God has offered us, let us dedicate a portion to return to God, the giver of all. The offering will now be received.

 

*DOXOLOGY

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Eternal God, from the abundance of your creation we have all we need. You have blessed us richly. Bless us again by receiving these gifts, multiplying them and using them, that we might see your kingdom at work among us, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Holy God, you have invited us into your presence, calling us to prayer for ourselves and one another. In Jesus Christ, the great high priest, you have given us an intercessor. It is with the assurance that Christ himself gives us that we draw near to you, knowing we will be heard, knowing that you will listen, knowing that you want to hear our prayers. We pray for your world, believing that you who created it and sustain it by your spirit, love it still. Where there continues to be violence and bloodshed, year after year, we pray your presence and peace. We pray for all victims of violence, particularly gun violence. For leaders striving for peace and justice, we pray your blessing and your sustenance. We pray for those whom society has forgotten. We pray for those whom we have forgotten: for those experiencing homelessness, the sick, the outcast and marginalized, those who suffer from mental and emotional illness. Open our eyes week after week and disturb us to action in order that we might live lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Let us not be complacent. Stir our compassion. We pray for ourselves, merciful God. Where we harbor secret fears, we pray you will grant us relief. Where we are anxious over matters within our control and without, we ask for peace. Where we too are plagued by the same demons we identify in others, we ask for healing. Where we have allowed lesser gods to usurp your claim upon us and our lives, we pray for forgiveness. We pray for those whose troubles are known only to you, O God, that you would guide us to offer a hand of grace in your name to them. We pray for your church, O God. For the church universal, the Presbyterian church, and our congregation, we ask your blessing. Call us once more and give us a vision to be a light to all people. Make us the community of faith you would have us be. We make these and all of our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together,

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.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

 

*CLOSING HYMN “Lord, Speak to Me”

1. Lord, speak to me, that I may speak in living echoes of thy tone; as thou has sought, so let me seek thine erring children lost and lone.

2. O strengthen me, that while I stand firm on the rock, and strong in thee, I may stretch out a loving land to wrestlers with the troubled sea.

3. O teach me, Lord, that I may teach the precious things thou dost impart; and wing my words, that they may reach the hidden depths of many a heart.

4. O fill me with thy fullness, Lord, until my very heart o'erflow in kindling thought and glowing word, thy love to tell, thy praise to show.

5. O use me, Lord, use even me, just as thou wilt, and when, and where, until thy blessed face I see, thy rest, thy joy, thy glory share.

 *BENEDICTION

*THREE FOLD AMEN

SHARING OF JOYS AND CONCERNS

 

Elements of Order of Worship Liturgy written by Baron Mullis, courtesy of the Presbyterian Outlook 

September 25, 2022 Service of Worship

Sermon for Sept. 4, 2022

 2022, 0904           Sermon                 Mark 5: 21-43       Rev. Peter Hofstra

       Jairus saw Jesus come back in by boat from the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The people are beginning to gather around him once more but this official of the synagogue pushes through the crowd. He falls at Jesus’ feet and begs our Lord repeatedly to come, lay hands on his daughter and bring her back from the brink of death.

       I know that story. I have walked alongside a lot of people in this congregation and out who have been there. Death is approaching, that is certain, and there is only one more power that can turn things back from the brink.

       So Jesus goes with the man, and a large crowd followed, pressing in on him. I can only imagine the frustration that Jairus must be feeling, pushing through the crowd to get Jesus to his little girl. There are a lot of people who wish to be healed.

       One is a woman whose menstrual flow was unstopped for twelve years. We know a couple of other things. She has spent all her money on doctors. But it was not helpful. “She had endured much under many physicians.” She is broke, has only gotten worse, and has run out of options. And, unlike Jairus, her affliction is a taboo subject in polite company. The man can come out and beg Jesus to save his daughter. He can do that without embarrassment.

       But this is something different. According to the law of Moses, she is ceremonially unclean. And she has been for the last twelve years. There are elaborate laws concerning when a man may have relations with his wife when she is undergoing menstruation. But there is more.

       Everything she lies on or sits on is ceremonially unclean and needs special washing. She cannot participate in Temple activities or worship prayers because she is unclean. One online reference had the subtitle, “When you think unclean, don’t think ‘shame’. It simply may mean you need to wash.” In her circumstances, after twelve years, I would imagine there has been a lot of room for shaming her for what has happened.

       Irrespective, she is not going to come out and call upon the name of Jesus to heal her. She is not going public with what she is suffering. I bet there is a matter of personal shame, but there is the legal matter that if Jesus touches her, he is ceremonially unclean. And if we think that this might be a legal gray area, if he heals her, the Torah says she is ceremonially unclean for seven days.

       In her heart, she comes to believe that if she but touches his cloak, the power of Jesus will heal her. “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” And she was right. Immediately her hemorrhage stopped, she felt her body healed, and Jesus turned around to look for her, because he felt the power go out from himself. How quickly did she try to hide in the crowd?

       So Jesus stops in his tracks and asks what must seem to be a bizarre question. “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples, who were probably trying to work to open a way for Jesus through the crowd essentially ask, “You see the crowd, who didn’t touch you?” Meanwhile, Mark does not record his reaction, but can you imagine Jairus spinning around in an anger borne of desperation, wondering at the delay?

       The woman, still embraced in belief, does not hide, but comes into Jesus’ presence, and, as Jairus does, falls at Jesus’ feet. The whole story comes tumbling out in her fear and trembling. Then two things happen at the same time. Jesus dismisses her in peace, her faith has made her well, she is healed while people came from Jairus’ house to tell him it was too late, his daughter was dead. “Why trouble the teacher any further?”

       I have always treated these passages separately in the past, for preaching and for personal study. But they are intimately related. Jairus watches Jesus’ power healing this woman who stumbled out of the crowd while losing what little hope he had that Jesus could heal his little girl.

       But Jesus is not done. “Do not fear, only believe,” he says as he plows on toward the house of Jairus. Now, he seems to shed the crowd. Only Peter, James, and John are permitted to follow him outside of Jairus. He gets to the house and there is weeping and a wailing for the death of this young woman. But how quickly the mood changes to the crowd laughing at Jesus when he dares to say she is only asleep.

       So Jesus throws them all out of the house except for his three disciples, his inner circle, and the girl’s mother and father. He takes her hand and says “Talitha cum”, which means “little girl, get up!” And she did, risen from the dead. Their reaction feels like an understatement, “they were overcome with amazement.” Then Jesus, as is his practice, swears them to secrecy and tells them to give her something to eat.

       In my life experience, I identify with Jairus. His is the little girl (although I think there is some irony in that statement. Historically, we are pretty certain that Mary was this age when she was to marry Joseph and become the mother of Jesus) and he will do anything he can to save her life. Who among us would not? I would walk through fire for my children.

       Taken together, the moral of this story seems to me that God’s power is sufficient. That the healing power of God, expressed in His Only Begotten Son, is sufficient for the healing of the woman whose bleeding went on for twelve years and was sufficient for the healing of the young woman whom even death claimed. That is the power we have celebrated in the last stories of Jesus, of his casting out the demon called Legion, of his stopping the storm with a word. This is the power of the one who I am calling upon our family of faith to dream into. But this story raises an interesting point.

       Where are we? How are we feeling? What is in our hearts and in our minds as we come to this call to dream in our Lord Jesus? Jairus is in a place of immediate desperation. It is all or nothing time. There is nothing left for him. Jesus will save her or she will die. To remind us of His divine power, she dies and Jesus saves her anyway. The woman is in a place of chronic desperation. She’s had this disease for twelve years. There is no indication that it is going to kill her, but that hardly matters.

       Another tenet of the law of Moses is that the life is in the blood. So this disease is literally taking her life blood, daily, for the last dozen years.

       In the stories of faith, these two circumstances are what might be seen as ‘typical’ reactions to Jesus. There is the danger of immediate death and the power of Jesus is what offers salvation. Or there is the life of sin and slow death, a life that seems without purpose or hope, and into that hopelessness steps our Lord Jesus.

       But what is constant is the power of Jesus. What is constant is the presence of Jesus, His love, His compassion, the gift of salvation we have in Him by His death and resurrection. The Son of God is, as our Father in heaven, never absent.

       Before his daughter was on the point of death, I wonder what Jairus’ opinion of Jesus was. He is called a leader of the synagogue. It very well may have been that Jesus came into his synagogue to teach and to heal, as we have already read in Mark. And I wonder how the woman would have felt about Jesus had she not suffered for those past twelve years? Would she have sought him out? Would they have been in the crowds that gathered around Jesus as he taught and healed and revealed the renewed covenant from their God?

       Or would their comfort in life. He was a synagogue leader. She had money (before she spent it all on doctors). Would their comfort in life have made less room for the need and the hope of the Lord? The dangers of affluence are made clear in the Old Testament. The people got comfortable, what did they need God for?

       Or maybe I judge them too harshly. Maybe, despite their relative affluence, despite the fixed patterns of legalism that the leadership was imposing on the practices of the Jewish faith, despite the political and religious merging that was going on, those very reasons that Jesus had come in that time and that place to renew the true worship of God, maybe they were waiting for something to happen. Maybe they were hoping that something more was going to happen in their religious experience.

       For the woman is healed of her disease that has caused her menstrual flow for twelve years, Jesus foreshadows the healing that we receive through God’s power. It is in the healing of our lives from the ravages of sin, from the miracles we receive in this life, to the healing we receive when we lose a loved one, the sure and certain knowledge that Jesus is our only comfort in life and in death. With the Daughter of Jairus, we come one step closer. The girl’s resurrection foreshadows our own resurrection through the salvation in Jesus Christ. Her death and resurrection point to the final death and resurrection of Jesus for our sakes, the death and resurrection we will remember in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, that very means of grace by which Jesus offers hope to the whole world.

       And it is the means of grace by which Jesus offers hope to we who gather to worship. Yes, there are a few of us here (fewer still with the holiday weekend), but Jesus is here. Jesus is with those who come in virtual reality and in actuality. Our dreams for this church, our hopes in the Lord, these rest upon the foundation of God’s promise of salvation.

       So when the crises come, and they will, the grace of God will carry us through. So when the church endures, and it will endure, the worship of the Lord will bring joy to our lips and hearts. The movement right now is not to picture something, not to envision a place into which our church will grow. That will come. The call right now is to take ourselves out of the world’s message of comfort and diversion and obfuscation, separating us from our Lord, and returning us into the true comfort of the Everlasting Arms of Jesus. It is coming fresh to the Rock of our Salvation, and on that Rock shall we build our church.

       In Jesus’ name we pray. In Jesus’ name we praise. In Jesus’ name we celebrate. In Jesus’ name we worship. Let all God’s people say together. Amen.

 

Order of Worship for Sept. 4, 2022

 First Presbyterian Church

September 4, 2022

10:00 AM

Order of Worship

 

CALL TO WORSHIP

From daily worries that distract and distort your life-giving path,

gather us, O God.

From suffering that overwhelms and weighs heavy on our hearts,

gather us, O God.

From temptations to escape through worldly addictions and comforts,

gather us, O God.

We choose you and Christ’s way. Help us attend to your presence with us in worship.

Let us worship the Living God.

 

*Hymn of Praise: “Leaning in the Everlasting Arms”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.       What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

 

2. O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain)

 

3. What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain)

 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)

Holy God, you formed us from the dust of the earth and breathed life into our bodies. Yet we take these lives for granted, choosing destructive paths and unhealthy habits. We turn to idols that addict and enslave, instead of the liberating resources Christ provides. Forgive our foolishness, God our Redeemer, and grant us the wisdom to follow you in faith. Amen.

 *SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Our God, who restores and resurrects, grants us new life in Jesus Christ. Know that you are forgiven and live fully in joyful freedom. Amen.

 

*THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

INVITATION: “Dear Lord, I need You, please come into my life today.  Amen”

LESSON: Mark 5: 21-43

²¹When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. ²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet ²³and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”

²⁴So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. ²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” ²⁹Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³

 

 

 

⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” ³¹And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³²He looked all around to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

³⁵While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. ⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

 SERMON:                               “Healing and Resurrection”                                       Rev. Peter Hofstra

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (from A Brief Statement of Faith)

We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In sovereign love God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God’s image, male and female, of every race and people, to live as one community. But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God’s commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still.

 

PASSING OF THE PEACE

 

THE OFFERING OF OUR TITHES & GIFTS

We have more to offer than we recognize or realize. God has given us abundant gifts. Let us faithfully respond to our generous God by presenting our tithes and offerings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*DOXOLOGY

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

Holy God, take these gifts and bless them for good use to your glory. May these tokens of our gratitude be of service in blessing the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing and sheltering those struggling to survive. Use these gifts to further Christ’s mission and ministry in a hurting world. Amen.

 

INVITATION

All are welcome at God's table - at Christ's table - at this table. People from near and far. Neighbors and strangers. Young and old. Rich and poor. In whatever way you know the Christ, know you are invited to eat and drink with him... and with us. Alleluia! 

God be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to God.

Let us give thanks to God, our God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

We do say thank you, loving God. We thank you for creating the heavens and the earth. We thank you for being the source of all life and all creation - for sharing with us the tiniest seed and the grandest stars... for creating us - with our tears and our laughter, with our joy and our sorrow, with our curiosity and our thinking... with our life. We thank you for Jesus, the Christ - for all that he learned from you and in you, for all that he taught, for all that he shared with the disciples, and all that he shares with us. Thank you, loving God!

Therefore, we praise you, wonderful God, joining our voices to sing out the glory of your name!

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Power, God of Might.

Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory!

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest!  Hosanna in the highest!

 

 

 

 

 

THANKSGIVING

We rejoice that, through Eve and Adam and all of their children, You entered into relationship with us. We rejoice that, through Sarah and Abraham and all of their children, You entered into covenant with us.   But we also remember that the covenant and relationship with You has been broken, many times by our ancestors - and by us.

Each time the covenant was broken, You invited us back! Through prophets and pastors and wise ones, You invited us back! And still we broke faith with You. But, at the right time, You sent Jesus to live with us.

Given life by the Holy Spirit, given life by the decision and action of your favored one, Mary, He came to share our life - to bring us back to each other and to our covenant with you! At the Jordan River Your Spirit came upon him, calling Him to tell the world the good news of your love. He healed people who were sick and fed people who were hungry. He cried with those who mourned and danced with those who celebrated. He looked for people who were lost and alone... and helped them to understand that they were welcome at your table! He lived out the fullness of your grace. We saw his holy love.

 

INSTITUTION

On the night before he was put to death, Jesus gathered with his friends for a special meal. He took bread and gave thanks to you, O Lord. He broke the bread and offered it to those gathered around him, saying, "Take this and eat; this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me."

Taking a cup, he once again gave thanks to you, and shared the cup with those gathered, saying: "This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Drink from this, all of you. This is poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins."

After the meal, Jesus was arrested. His disciples and friends ran away. He was beaten for what people thought he had said. He stood trial... and was put to death on a cross. He gave all of himself to your people, O God. His life and his death. Then you raised him from that death, holy God - that he might be one with you, now and forevermore!

As we remember his death, proclaim his resurrection, and look for His coming again, we offer to you, O God, this bread and this cup. Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts, so that everyone who eats and drinks at this table might be one in Christ's body... your holy people.

Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, God most holy, now and forever more!

 

 

 

 

LORD’S PRAYER

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.  Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 Jesus Christ, the bread of life. Jesus Christ, the true vine. The gifts of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God! Come, for the table is prepared and our cup is overflowing.

SHARING THE BREAD AND THE CUP

*CLOSING HYMN “Become To Us the Living Bread”

1. Become to us the living bread by which the Christian life is fed, renewed, and greatly comforted. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

2. Become the never-failing wine, the spring of joy that shall incline our hearts to bear the covenant sign. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

3. May Christians all with one accord unite around the sacred board to praise your holy name, O Lord. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

*BENEDICTION

*THREE FOLD AMEN

SHARING OF JOYS AND CONCERNS

Elements of Order of Worship Liturgy written by Brian Christopher Coulter, courtesy of the Presbyterian Outlook