PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 59:16-17 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
Here I Am to Worship
GRACE & ASSURANCE — James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
This past weekend I made a trip to the Columbus area. Coming back north on I-71, I decided to make a stop at Skyline Chili, which is in the town of Ontario near Mansfield. I have stopped there 5 or 6 times over the past few years when the mood for Skyline struck me. The only other Skyline in northern Ohio is in Lyndhurst, and I have been there several times, but I am not often in the neighborhood.
At the time I was there the restaurant was not crowded. In the main dining section there was only one other couple, around my age I would guess, sitting across the restaurant from where I sat. My server chatted with me a bit and we talked about Skyline in general. She is going to college in Cincinnati in the fall, and is excited to see all of the Skylines down there. After she brought me my two Skyliners (cheese coneys, always with no onion for me) and side of shredded cheese to eat with my oyster crackers, I sat quietly and read a magazine as I ate. While I was eating the other couple in the dining area finished their meals and left.
As I was finishing my meal my server stopped by to check on me and informed me that the other couple had paid for my meal. I was surprised to say the least. I thanked God for their generosity and asked Him to bless them. I immediately started wondering what motivated them to do that. Am I dressed down a little or messy? No. Did I look particularly sad or bothered by something? No, I don’t think so. Were these people believers, and motivated by their faith? I would like to think so, but I don’t know that. They may have been kind-hearted, considerate unbelievers.
“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12)
Thanks to Jesus I am righteous and surrounded with God’s favor. Did God influence these people to do what they did? Very likely, yes, although I can’t explain how. The Holy Spirit works in believers to influence their thoughts and behavior. There are many instances of God’s purposes also being accomplished by those who weren’t originally His followers, like Rahab or Cyrus.
If you are like me you tend to focus on God’s greater gifts. First of all I think of His gift of His Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins in order that we can spend eternity with Him. There simply is nothing greater. All of the other great gifts He gives us are dependent on Christ. His offer of Christ to us through grace, the forgiveness of our sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of individual abilities, and our assurance of eternity with Him are all directly dependent on our relationship with Jesus.
By now you are probably thinking, “Gee, the gift of a free meal from strangers is pretty far down the list in importance from God’s greater gifts.” Yes, it is. Jesus taught that God watches over us and provides for our physical needs and lives. My unexpected gift meal did provide for my sustenance, although I could have afforded to pay for it (and had planned to do so). The fact that I have money to pay for food also comes through the grace of God.
I think that the greater gift in my Skyline experience was a mental and spiritual one. It reminded me that there are still people motivated by their faith, or at least kindness and consideration for others. In day to day activities in the world in general (and away from your physical or church family) it seems that people have grown more distant and disconnected. Sometimes relatively small actions or interactions remind us that God works with individuals, and that good things can happen when we least expect it. Smaller gifts matter.
“How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.” (Psalm 31:19)
Lord, thank for the big gifts You have given us. We didn’t deserve Jesus, but you sent Him for us anyway. Thank you for the Spirit, and for watching over us and providing for our physical needs. And thank you for all of the smaller things that encourage us and simply brighten our day and our attitude. We really appreciate those too!
A couple evenings ago I was walking toward Target from the parking lot. As I neared the front of the store, a man came out carrying his purchases whistling. He wasn’t just a rank, basic whistler like I might attempt to be. He was one of those guys who had mastered whistling by pressing his tongue against the back of his teeth, blowing air out around the edges of his teeth as he changed the position of his tongue. His whistling had a bouncing, jazzy tone to it. After a few seconds I recognized the song he was performing—Mary Had a Little Lamb. It struck me as an odd choice for an age 40-something man.
I’m not sure when I first heard or learned Mary Had a Little Lamb. Possibly on a record (old fashioned vinyl record, in my case) of nursery rhyme songs. I think it was in third grade when our class got recorders and learned to play that as a first music instrument. The first song we learned was Hot Cross Buns. I believe the second was Three Blind Mice. It wasn’t really a new song at all—just the same notes with different words (which, cruelly, is totally lost when playing it on a recorder). After that we learned Mary Had a Little Lamb. I don’t remember making any particular effort to learn it. Hearing it relatively often from an early point in my life embedded it in my memory. When I heard it being whistled I had no problem recognizing it.
Learning about God and His teaching should also be embedded within us from an early age.
“Direct your children onto the right path. And when they are older, they will not leave it.” (Proverbs 22:6, NLT)
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7, NLT)
From these two Scriptures we learn a few basic principles about learning and teaching. First, learning is most effective when we are at a young age. Second, you must fully know and understand what you are teaching. Third, repetition and regularity is extremely important. What is the “right path” that Solomon mentions in Proverbs 22? He may have had Deuteronomy 6 in mind when he wrote it. Why did Solomon have the love and respect for God that he did? I have no doubt it was because his father David loved God with all his heart, soul, and strength, and committed himself wholeheartedly to following God. Then, he shared the teachings of God with Solomon as a regular part of daily life. As a result the most important legacies Solomon left us were the books of wisdom he wrote about God.
It is heartwarming and encouraging to hear the comments that Paul Yackee shares from Hope and Uriah during our announcement time at church. They show that even at their young ages they have an understanding of who God and Jesus are, and that they need to be like them. That doesn’t happen because of some strange magic. It happens because Paul and Brandi, and grandpa Paul have made it a priority to teach them about God and how they can please Him. I still remember things my own father taught us about God. I have learned many, many things about God and His ways through the Bible, but I can still hear my father saying God loves me just the way I am, and that He sent Jesus for me. And at times I hear another saying that he reminded me of when I was down on myself about something– “Joel, God doesn’t make junk!”
I don’t think I could forget Mary Had a Little Lamb even if I wanted to. I don’t think I could ever forget God and His love for me, which is a lot more important. I also can’t forget the love of my parents in teaching me.
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Revelation 4:11, 5:11-13 Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!
GRACE & ASSURANCE — Psalm 145:17-19
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
I saw this red-tailed hawk while I was walking at the edge of the woods next to the Lake Erie Science and Nature Center in Bay Village. I noticed it first through a few small trees when I was about 50 feet away. I took several calm, quiet steps toward it. I took a few pictures. I took a few more steps, then a couple more pictures. I finally got to about 15-20 feet away and decided that was close enough. That is approximately my distance when this picture was taken (and then I cropped in a small amount with the computer).
Was I hidden from the hawk? Of course not. My light blue shirt probably didn’t help in that regard, but it wouldn’t have mattered to the hawk. As soon as I started stepping closer, I saw its head tilt toward me a bit. As I moved it looked directly at me several times. It didn’t lose its composure. It must have decided I wasn’t a threat, or it would have flown away. As I looked at the pictures and thought about the experience the expression “watched me like a hawk” came to mind.
For a hawk, watching doesn’t mean intently staring. There are a few important factors that help a hawk’s vision. First, they have binocular vision, which means they can see the same thing from both eyes at the same time, like a human. This gives them better depth perception. All birds cannot do this. Second, they can see more wavelengths of light than humans can see. They can see not only visible light like we can, but also ultraviolet light. Third, they have sharp vision at long distances. They can see something as small as a vole on the ground from 100 feet in the air, and larger animals like squirrels from farther distances. Fourth, scientists estimate that when looking straight ahead, their field of vision is around 280 degrees. So they can literally see something partially behind their head with it pointed straight. Not exactly “eyes in the back of their head,” but not far off. A couple verses from this past Sunday’s sermon came to mind:
“The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8; NIV)
The Lord can and does watch us even better than a hawk could. There is nothing outside of his scope of vision. He can see all things. Nothing is hidden. We are never too far away; He can see us no matter where we are. What He sees never causes Him to lose His composure. And most impressively, He can see all of us at the same time! How? Simply—He is God!
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — from Psalm 33 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright. He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
GRACE & ASSURANCE — Psalm 33:20-22 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
PRAYER & CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 150
Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
GRACE & ASSURANCE — Philippians 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness,
and being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
COMMUNION
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, or this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
~ Matthew 26:26-28
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