Epworth United Methodist Church

Oh Freedom: 07/02/06, Epworth Worship Celebration

4th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B)

Welcome. We continue in our celebration of the season after Pentecost, the time when the Holy Spirit works in each of us in a special way. This weekend we celebrate the appointments of Rev. Jack Abel, our Senior Pastor and Rev. Pat Loughlin, as well as the Baptism of Heather Cross. Our worship this morning includes Holy Communion. The elements we use are wheat bread and unfermented grape juice. All are welcome at the table of the Lord. Consider the gift of Freedom in your life as a Christian, and the need to share that gift with others. How does the spirit of Christian Freedom inspire you to love others in God's world?

Congregational Introit
America (verses 1 & 4)

My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.

Greeting
Psalm 130

From the depths I call to you, Yahweh, Lord, listen to my cry for help!
§       Listen compassionately to my pleadings!
If you never overlooked our sins, Yahweh, Lord, could anyone survive?
§       But you do forgive us: and for that we revere you
I wait for Yahweh, my soul waits, I rely on the promise,
§       My soul relies on the Lord more than a watchman on the coming of dawn,
§       for it is with Yahweh that mercy is to be found.

Gospel Lesson
Mark 5: 21-43

A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

³⁵

²¹When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. ²²Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet ²³and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." ²⁴So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ²⁵And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." ²⁹Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

³⁰At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

³¹"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

³²But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"

³⁶Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

³⁷He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." ⁴⁰But they laughed at him.

§       After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). ⁴²Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. ⁴³He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (via)

Sermon - O FREEDOM Rev. Pat Loughlin
Click the play button below to listen to the sermon.

powered by ODEO

Download the sermon: 2006-07-02-epworth-umc.mp3
Right click and "save as" to your computer
Total time: 14 minutes, 6.15 MB file

Bookmark this sermon: del.icio.us, digg, furl, technorati

Technorati tags: religion, church, bible, sermon, sermons, theology, beach, rehoboth, delaware, united, methodist, epworth (tag), epworth (blog), reconciling, ministries, network, community, open, heart, mind, podcast, sharing, spirit, sunday, joy, question, trinity, holy, calming, storm, sea, ocean, freedom

Father's Day: June 18, 2006, Epworth Worship Celebration

Father's Day, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Year B)

Welcome. The Season after Pentecost is a time for growth in faith under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Easter's celebration gives way to the hard work of Christian discipleship in grateful response to God's love. Our text today recounts the unlikely anointing of David, shepherd son of Jesse, as future king of Israel. Today we also reflect on our national observance of Fathers' Day. Our 11:00 a.m. worship adds the Baptism of Mary Kathryn Barnhart, daughter of Ryan and Liz. When you think of yourself as a child of God, is that rich in the sense of God as divine parent? How does God's divine parenting, made known especially in the gift of Jesus Christ, inspire your practice of love in God's world?

Welcome
Verses for Fathers' Day from Deuteronomy 32:1-7 (alt

Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 
§       May your teaching drop like the rain, your speech condense like the dew; 
        like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth.
For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; I will ascribe greatness to our God!
§       God is the Rock, whose work is perfect, and whose ways are just.
Is not God our father, who created us, who made us and established us?
§       Let us remember the days of old, consider the years long past; 
        ask our father, who will inform us, our elders, and they will tell us.   

Hebrew Bible Lesson
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

³⁴ Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 16

Samuel Anoints David

¹ The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

² But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me."
        The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."

⁴ Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"

⁵ Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." ¹¹ So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
        "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
        Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."

¹² So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.
        Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. (via)

Sermon - Fathers' Day Rev. Jack Abel
Click the play button below to listen to the sermon.

powered by ODEO

Download the sermon: 2006-06-18-epworth-umc.mp3
Right click and "save as" to your computer
Total time: 23 minutes, 10.4 MB file

Bookmark this sermon: del.icio.us, digg, furl, technorati

Technorati tags: religion, church, bible, sermon, sermons, theology, beach, rehoboth, delaware, united, methodist, epworth (tag), epworth (blog), reconciling, ministries, network, community, open, heart, mind, podcast, sharing, spirit, sunday, joy, question, trinity, holy, father, fathers, father's day

How Far Can You Travel on Sunday?: May 28, 2006, Epworth Worship Celebration

Ascension Sunday (Year B)

Welcome. Our focus in Easter is the presence of the risen Christ, through which we discover new life for ourselves. Today's keyword is "joy." We celebrate the joy made possible through Christ's ascension to God in heaven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit among us. Rev. Leonard Hatch is our guest preacher. Rev. Jack returns from vacation on Tuesday morning. How does Christ's Spirit manifest itself along the journey of your life? How are we called to joy in God's world?

Welcome
Psalm 47:1, 5-9

"Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
        God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
        For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations; God sits on a holy throne.
        The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham.
        For the shields of the earth belong to God, who is highly exalted.

New Testament Lesson
Acts 1: 1-12

¹In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

⁶So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

⁷He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.

(via)

Sermon - How Far Can You Travel on Sunday? Rev. Leonard Hatch
Click the play button below to listen to the sermon.

powered by ODEO

Download the sermon: 2006-05-28-epworth-umc.mp3
Right click and "save as" to your computer
Total time: 18 minutes, 7.96 MB file

Bookmark this sermon: del.icio.us, digg, furl, technorati

Technorati tags: religion, church, bible, sermon, sermons, theology, beach, rehoboth, delaware, united, methodist, epworth (tag), epworth (blog), reconciling, ministries, network, community, open, heart, mind, podcast, sharing, spirit, joy, ascension, sunday, leonard, hatch