Good morning.
I'd like to welcome all of you to
our worship service here at Rev United methodist
is church.
We welcome those who are joining with us.
In person we welcome those who are joining
with us online, and it's so good to
have
all of you with us this morning. My
name is Steven Coleman. I'm 1 of the
associate pastors here at Rev.
Our other associate pastor? The Reverend bio is
preaching this morning.
Today, we are finishing up our Sermon series
on at the table,
which Jesus and we're gonna celebrate a little
Christmas in July this morning. So merry Christmas
to everyone today.
Next, after this Sunday, we are starting a
new summer,
Sermon series,
based on the book of Philippians, and we're
gonna be talking a lot about, joy for
the remaining
weeks of this summer. So I hope you'll
will come and join us in the weeks
ahead.
A few other quick announcements to make.
We are doing our mission in the middle.
Projects
from 09:30 to 10:30,
every Sunday morning next week, we will be
packing
about 600,
bags of food for friends of the homeless.
So we invite you to come and join
us. We need all hands on deck to,
prepare all these lunches for friends of the
homeless. So if you can join us next
Sunday. At 09:30, we will have donuts and
packing foods. So please come and join us
then.
Also, this afternoon,
we will be having a meeting. Our welcome
inclusion team will be going over
the results of the survey that we did
a few months ago,
so we invite you to join us for
this meeting, we will be going over the
results. Of that survey,
as well as answering any questions
that you may have. So please join us
at 04:00 in the chapel this afternoon.
Also, Vacation Bible school begins in this week
ahead. So, please keep that in your prayers
as well. And, we also had 1 of
our
volunteers who who has Covid, who is not
able to serve on Monday or Tuesday of
this week. So if you can help out,
with vacation Bible school, we invite you to
please contact Karen Rios, our children's director.
Especially help out on Monday and Tuesday of
this week. All the other announcements you'll find
in Bulletin or on our website, and we
invite you to
take note of all that is happening in
the life of our church.
Let us now prepare our hearts and minds
for the worship of the living god, The
lord be with you.
As we come to this final week in
our Sermon series at the table with Jesus.
I invite you to receive this invitation that
all are welcome.
All are welcome at the table of Jesus.
Come
come.
Come to the table.
Come without
this table
Welcome
here to the table of
I'd invite you to stand now and body
or in spirit and join me for our
call to worship.
The past has gone, the future is yet
to come, but the present is here now.
The invitation from Jesus to the banquet is
here now.
Everything is ready
now.
Let us come and fill out the house
of the lord.
Us fill up the house of the Lord
with song as we sing together him number
2236
in the faith we sing, gather us ascend.
We have gathered here in the presence of
God. So let us now confess who we
are with our prayer of common confession, and
then our silent personal
confession. Let us pray.
Loving and patient god.
We confess that we have not put you
first in our lives.
We have become
preoccupied with our own concerns and worries.
We have made excuses to avoid the challenge.
That come with following you.
We have become complacent in our mission of
spreading the gospel.
We have taken your grace and our privilege
to have an
invitation for granted.
Forgive us oh god
and help us to focus on you.
Help us to extend the invitation of
salvation to our neighbors,
help us to stop making excuses
and to start making disciples
our we ask this in christ fully.
As we celebrate this day, Christmas in July.
We remember that the light shines in the
darkness
and the darkness cannot
overcome it. In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven.
Glory to god.
Amen. You may be seated.
Friends I invite you to flip into your
him into page 33 for our baptism covenant.
Brothers and sisters in Christ.
Through the sac of baptism, we are initiated
in to Christ holy church.
We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of
salvation and are given new birth through water
and spirit.
All this is God gift, offered to us
without price.
Today, I present Andrew Wesley Davis
for baptism.
Andrew,
on behalf of the whole church I ask
you.
Do you reno the spiritual forces of wicked?
Reject the evil powers of this world
and repent of your sins if so if
they I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God
gives you to resist evil in injustice and
oppression in whatever forms they may present themselves
as so as they I do. Do
Do you can confess jesus Christ as your
savior?
Put your whole trust in his grace and
promise to serve him as your lord in
union with the church? Which Christ has opened
to people of all ages nations and races
if so, say, I do. I.
And now to you as christ the church,
reaffirm both your rejection of sin and your
commitment to Christ.
We're you nurture 1 another in the Christian
faith in life and include Andrew now before
you in your care.
With God's health,
we roll
good news
and live according to example of christ.
Who are sounds person
or beauty above
a grow his trust
found faithful in a service
will pray.
Do you believe in the holy spirit?
The lord be with you.
Also
Let us pray.
Eternal father when nothing existed, but chaos.
You flipped across the dark water than brought
forth light.
In the days of Noah, you saved those
on the arc water.
After of the flood you set in the
clouds of rainbow.
When you saw your people as slaves in
Egypt, you led them to freedom through the
sea.
Their are children you brought, through the Jordan
to the land which you promised.
In the fullness of time you sent Jesus,
nurtured in the water of a womb.
He was baptized by John and anointed by
your spirit.
He called his disciples to share and the
baptism of his death and resurrection
and to make disciples of all nations.
Pour out your holy spirit to bless his
gift of water and for Andy who will
receive it. To wash away his sin and
cloth him in righteousness,
throughout his life, that dying and being raised
with Christ that he may share in his
final victory.
Live in rain forever.
Amen.
Andy, I'd like to have you to Neil.
Andrew Wesley Davis,
I ba baptized you in the name of
the father.
I ba baptized you in the name of
the son.
And I ba baptized you in the name
of
the holy spirit.
Let us pray andy.
And everyone, I'd like to invite you all
to extend the hand to Andy at this
moment.
God, we thank you so much for this
day. We thank you for this opportunity
that Andrew Wesley Davis, your child, your son
has come to join us in this community
and in his family of the believers.
Please watch over him for... Throughout all the
days of his life.
Keep him safe. Keep him protected. Know that
he is loved. And in that same note,
watch over him and his family as Andy
steps into a new chapter of his life
as a member of this community of believers.
We thank you God for his day. We
celebrate this moment and we lift up our
prayers to you and the name of your
son Jesus Christ star Lord.
And the people of God all said.
Man.
So Andy, ordinarily, we would carry you around
on our shoulder.
And we would say child of blessing child
from.
Yeah Yeah. You're little too happy for that.
I know. So what we're going to do
because Andy still is a child of blessing
and a child of promise. I'd like to
invite you all to sing with me as
Andy now a member of this community,
shout of blessing and child of promise, and
he just stand right over here. Let everyone
think... Let everybody sing me to. You.
Through baptism, you are incorporated by the holy
spirit.
Into God's new creation and made to share
in Christ royal priest.
We are all 1 in Christ jesus
with joy and things given Andy, we welcome
you
into the member at a member into this
family of Christ.
You come
as you come and join the congregation. We
invite you to all you...
Respond to some questions says you come and
become a part of this congregation.
As a member of Christ's Universal Church, will
you be loyal to the United Methodist church
and do all in your power to strengthen
its ministries? I will.
And as a member of this congregation, will
you faithfully participate in his ministries by your
prayers, your presence, your gifts and your service.
I will.
And now members of the household of God,
I commend Andy to your love and care
do all in your power to increase his
faith.
Confirm his hope and perfect him in love.
We give thanks for all that God has
already given you
and we welcome you in Christian love
as members together with you in the body
of Christ,
and in this
congregation of the United Methodist church.
We renew our covenant,
faithfully to participate in the ministries of the
church.
By our prayers, our presence, our gifts and
our service
that in everything God may be glorified through
Jesus Christ.
And now the God of all grace who
has called us to eternal glory in Christ
established and strengthen you by the power of
the holy spirit. That you may live in
grace and peace. All god's people say. Oh,
man.
I'll get. You're good to go.
We'd like to invite our children and our
director of children's ministries Karen Rio up to
the front for a message.
Good morning, Revel United Methodist church. And all
of you visiting us online If there are
any children present,
Please move a little closer to your screen
because this message is for you as well.
Well, it is nice seeing all of you
guys
today.
You know,
I thought
that maybe
I'd bring my phone up because I'm waiting
for Olivia to text me a couple of
things. You think that's okay for me to
be up here
with a phone?
Why See some heads shaking,
that's actually the right answer.
This is time for god and
Olivia can wait.
Alrighty. If you guys know Olivia, that probably
is not the best thing for me to
say, but she can wait.
Today, you know, Buyer's is gonna talk about
Christmas in July.
What is 1 of the things that we
love about Christmas? What do we love about
Christmas?
Okay. Go for it Louise.
She said church.
And I think that is so sweet I
don't think that was what I was going
for, but it is okay that she said
that. Man, I love the fact that you
could teach this children's message for me today,
Male louise.
I think it's awesome.
Actually, but I will ask you who likes
sitting down to dinner, Christmas dinner? Anything special?
You love it. Okay. Great.
What about
giving gifts to other people?
Okay. Tell me 1 thing, leslie. What is
it?
Okay.
But you.
Okay. So on Christmas eve, you cannot open
the present, but you can shake it.
I love that. Thank you so much.
Who likes to get present? See Wesley Son.
Okay. You can raise your hand lap. You
go wanna raise it up, we we know
we love presence. As a matter of fact,
revel, don't we all love getting presents.
Awesome.
You know, this reminded me of a time
that I got to visit Central America.
And there were a group of children that
I got to go and spend time with.
And when I visited their classroom, they had
about 20 in a room, but they got
to share only 1 Crayon box. Can you
imagine
20 children sharing 1 crayon box.
And 1 pair of scissors.
And I remember leaving thinking about how blessed
we are in America that your parents have
now received supply list, and everybody's gonna go
out and purchase for the class or for
you personally your own.
We are truly so blessed.
And
I wanted to take a moment to just
think about that that 1 of the beautiful
things about Christmas and getting gifts and giving
gifts is the fact that we understand that
we are so blessed. That something people are
not getting gifts on Christmas.
Some people are having to do exactly what
it is when we don't have a lot
of things then we learned to cling to
Jesus, Christ.
And so I brought a special little something
for you guys that I'm a hand out,
and it's something for you to understand that
when we get given the many things that
God wants to give us
that we want to say thank you, and
it's a reminder that all of our good
things come from Jesus,
and we get so distracted that we don't
always... I'm gonna give you actually cross C.
All of the all of those things.
So
Alright. I'm gonna give this to you for
Mason.
Okay.
Can we pray?
Heavenly father,
thank you for the gift of Jesus.
Thank you for the gift of Jesus. And
for Christmas.
And for Christmas. Which reminds us.
Which reminds us? That you
and you are the give?
Of all good things.
Amen.
Alright. You guys can go back to your
seats.
Cling to that cross.
Be thankful.
Please join me in praying the prayer for
illumination.
Lord God
help us to open the doors in our
lives to greet you.
Open the homes in our hearts to receive
you
and open our tables to feast with you.
I'm amen.
Today's first scripture reading is from the book
of revelation.
Chapter 19
versus 5 through 9.
This may be found on page
1006
of your pew bible.
Heaven rejoice
over god's judgment
against
Rome.
And from the throne
came a voice
saying praise our god all gives you his
servants,
and all who fear him
small and great.
Than I heard.
What seemed to be the voice of a
great multitude
like the sound of many waters
and like the sound of mighty thunder appeals
crying out Hallelujah
for the Lord our God, the almighty.
Reign.
Let us rejoice
and ex and give him the glory
for the marriage of the lamb has come
and his bride
has made herself ready.
To her, it has been granted to be
cloth
with fine linen bright
and pure.
For the fine linen,
Linen
is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me.
Write this,
blessed are those
who are invited to the married supper
of the lamb.
And he said to me
these are true words of god.
The word of God
for the people of God.
Thanks, be to God.
Our second reading for the morning comes from
the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14
birth 12 through 24.
Friends here again for the word of god.
Then Jesus is said to his host.
When you give a lunch or dinner,
do not invite your friends, your brothers,
your sisters, to relatives, or your rich neighbors.
If you do, they may invite you back
and so you will be repaid.
But when you give a banquet,
invite the poor
the crippled
the lame and the blind, and you will
be blessed.
Although they cannot repay you, you will be
repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
When 1 at a table with him heard
this,
he said to Jesus,
Blessed is the 1 who will eat at
the feast in the kingdom of God.
Jesus replied.
A certain man with preparing a great banquet
and invited many guests.
At the time of the banquet, he sent
his servant to tell those who had been
invited
come for everything is now ready,
but they all alike began to make excuses.
The first said,
I have just bought a field, and I
must go and see it.
Please excuse me.
Another said, I have Jeff bought 5 yoke
of oxen
and I'm on my way to try them
out.
Please excuse me.
Still another 1 said,
I just got married, so I can't come.
The servant came back and reported this to
his master.
Then the owner of the house became angry
and ordered his servants
go out quickly into the streets and alleys
of the town and bring in to pour
the crippled the blind and the lame.
Sir, the servant said,
what you ordered has been done, but there's
still room.
Then the master told his service,
go out to the roads and country lanes
and compel them to come in.
And so that my house will be full
who I tell you, not 1 of those
who were invited will get a taste of
my banquet.
Friends, this is the word of God for
us to people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray.
Lord Go, we thank you for yet another
day, but we can all gather it together
in Christian fellowship.
Lord, we ask for you to open our
eyes and open our ears, so we can
see in here what it is that you're
calling us to do and who you are
shaping us to be.
Lord to the speaker of the morning, I
asked you to let the words in my
mouth. An invitation of all of Our hearts
gathered here to be acceptable.
In your sight. Because Lord you are our
strength. You are our rock, and you are
our redeem.
We lived up our prayer to you and
the name of your son Jesus Christ, Our
Lord
and the people of god all said.
Well, friends, Stephen already said it. Merry Christmas.
Look, I don't know anything about all of
you, but 1 thing I love is a
good excuse to be in the christmas spirit
early.
I'm a firm believer that you can choose
to be in the Christmas spirit
anytime.
And 1 person I know that's always in
the Christmas spirit
if my good old fellow associate
Stephen Coleman.
I don't know you've had him in to
talk with him today, but Steve has got
on a Christmas tie. I'm telling you he
has channel his Christmas spirit for the day.
You should seen how many times, he'd been
singing Christmas songs under his breath.
So what thing I want is to do,
you know, in the spirit of Christmas for
crying out sake.
I figured let's all
sing together a familiar Christmas song,
in Jingle bells. How'd, that sound Daniel.
Jingle go all the way.
Here you are.
My man.
So friends,
I'm sure you all probably wondering.
Why I'm talking about Christmas right now, especially
in probably the hottest month of the year
and dear friends, I am glad you asked.
Let me briefly share.
How the term Christmas in July
originated.
And all began at a summer Christmas party
at Ohio f
And an all growth camp in North Carolina
held annually.
And later on, large retail company than businesses
hopped on the griffith in July trend by
giving summer discounts in all of their stores.
So slowly, you can see how it's snowball,
no pun intended.
Some of y'all got it.
However,
friends in the 19 forties,
Calvary baptist church, a mission focused church and
Washington Dc,
decided to take advantage of the summer retail
store discounts,
and used it as an opportunity to serve
other people.
They created a Christmas in July mission drive,
mission donation drive,
and encourage their members to buy discounted goods
and send them to under areas all around
the world.
In simple words, they recognized their own privilege.
And through their privilege, they invited others to
experience god's
unconditional love.
So hold on to that word privilege because
privilege is gonna frame just about everything single
thing I'm talking to you about this morning.
Before I continue my friends, I I wanna
a preface that I'm not here to add
a negative twist or put a negative connotation
on the word. Because I know sometimes when
you bring it up in church, everyone kinda
gets a little tight. Okay? I wanna make
sure I'm practicing this for you that I'm
not here to put it in a twist
on him. Privilege You know, in fact, in
some way, shape or form,
many of us have been the
beneficiaries of privilege.
For example,
some of us here have gone to the
best schools in a nation.
Some of us were born
in into generational wealth.
Some of us have had the opportunity to
ming with people of high societal status and
other privileges.
But on that same note. And recognizing that
privilege is often the exception and not the
norm.
There are also some of us who weren't
born into these same privileges and have had
to earn every single thing that they have.
Privilege isn't limited solely to material wealth and
status.
Geographic location and country of Origin are also
privileges that we can either benefit or suffer
from.
Just to give an example,
America, or other countries in the northern hemisphere
are experiencing summertime from June to August That's
that's what we're in the middle of right
now. Well, other countries in the southern hemisphere
like South America,
and, excuse south Africa and Australia
experienced winter during these same months. So right
now, in June to August, we're in lie
right now. Right now down there in a
southern hemisphere, it's cold winter weather. And in
fact, this is what prompted calvary ba as
to act in the first place.
See privilege
impacts many different facets
in our world.
So friend regardless of whether you find yourself
a 1 end of the or not regarding
privilege.
We all have places in our lives where
privilege has positively
or and and or negatively
impacted our quality from of life.
So what I want us to understand this
morning, because this where I'm near. I'm going
with with privilege
is that privilege is not the problem The
problem itself is not privilege. It's what we
do with privilege that really genuinely matters
the most.
So in the world of our text this
morning,
Jesus while having dinner at a Ph house,
share the parable about a certain man.
Who prepared a great banquet and invited many
people.
When the time came for the banquet when
he sent his servant to go and tell
the people who received the first invitation that
it was now time for the feast, and
it was just waiting for their arrival.
However, though,
1 by 1,
these people began to ex excused themselves from
the supper.
The first 1 shares that he just bought
land and they must go to it.
The second person shared that they just bought
5 yoke of Oxen, and they wanna go
try the out.
The third person shared that they were just
recently married. And as a result, they can
no longer come.
Before we continue on to the next part
of our passage.
Let's take a negative look. Let's take a
look at the negative
representation of privilege in both the host and
his invited guest.
So just based on the reading,
we can safely assume that the host is
someone who's privileged enough to have a home
large enough to accommodate many people
He also had a servant that he sends
out to do whatever y whenever he wants.
He invites people to his home for a
banquet and this particular group of people seemed
to be privileged enough to purchase land
and 5 yoke of oxen.
Just from this, we can also assume and
infer that the invited guests are people who
are within a specific tax bracket.
And social economic status and class that is
not open to all people. It's only open
to a select few.
I mean, we aren't told what the occasion
for this banquet was 4.
But this leaves us to speculate on whether
these people were actual friends of the host.
Or if the host viewed their attendance at
his banquet adam a mood to enhance his
status.
Either way,
these people begin to slowly drop out.
With each excuse Sounding much more ridiculous
than the last 1.
The first 1 shared that they just recently
bought land and you needed to go see
it.
I mean, let's be real for a second.
Who buys land without looking at it.
The second person shared that they bought 5
yoke of Oxen and you need to go
try them out.
Who buys Oxen without knowing if they're able
and capable to do the work.
The third person shares that they recently got
married and just couldn't come.
However, this third person excuse why it was
much more of a societal concern out opposed
to an economic 1, like the first q
people.
The fact remains that the host did send
2 invitations to all these people.
So this third person just like the rest
of them also accepted the first invitation,
So I accept the invitation if you knew
that you're wedding my conflict with the date.
And summary friends, what we're seeing here, is
how the privileges that we prioritize in our
lives can pre occupy us.
The first 3 people were pre preoccupied by
their own economic and societal, status and privileges.
The host
seemed to only invite people from his social
circles and clearly didn't listen to Jesus in
verse 12 when Jesus said, when you hold
a lunch or dinner. Do not invite your
friends, your brothers, your sisters, your relatives or
your rich neighbors.
If you do, they may invite you back
and you will be repaid.
In the host instance,
He was not invited back, and he was
only repaid by their absence.
When the host servant came back and informed
him that his guess, the he... That they
were no longer coming. He would have absolutely
live it. And understandably saw, I mean, he
probably spent a great amount of resources and
time, preparing for this banquet that he thought
that people are gonna be coming to.
While the host
was understandably angered. We get him.
By their last minute cancellation.
What he does in light of this inconvenience
show how 1 can use their privilege
for the greater good. So we just talked
a little bit about some negative representation of
privilege.
Now let us talk more about positive
representation, how we can use our privilege
for the greater good.
In verse 13 through 14, in verses 13
through 14, G encourages the ph around the
table to invite the poor the crippled, the
lame and the blind and they will be
blessed.
These people cannot repay them.
But G promises that they will be repaid
at the resurrection of the righteous.
Just to give this more context.
Ji sent all of this to a table
full of ph who in their own ways
were privileged to be highly educated and well
respected members of society.
Jesus have telling them not to invite their
friends
or to invite people of equal or higher
societal status and is instead,
encouraging them to invite those deemed
as less than.
For a ph,
this can be hard to comprehend.
As they were often consumed with their own
images and the privileges that came with being
high up on the social food chain.
I mean, to to invite someone whose society
deemed as less than others into their home
at the table.
Would undoubtedly, I mean, be damaging
to their reputation.
However,
the hosts after being slightly by his seemingly
privileged peers,
decides to listen to Jesus
and invites the poor.
Invites the crippled,
invites the blind and the lame from the
streets from the alley from the country lanes
and all the roads,
His servant even shared that there's still room
left for others to join them at banquet.
And the host sends him out again to
invite all people until his house.
Is full.
See the host sacrifice his status and youth
his privilege to give others the privilege
of experiencing,
god's
unconditional love.
I know what you all partly thinking.
I mean, I can't possibly imagine inviting complete
strangers into my home and commuting with them.
I mean, let's be real.
Similar to these ph, there's likely a part
of us that's struggles to see how realistic
g has been
in this parable.
If this is you, because I wanna share
it's okay. We're processing this all together. If
this is you, and if this is where
you find yourself, friends let me share a
quick story from my own life. From when
I was once complete stranger, and I was
welcomed,
and if someone's home.
Before I came to Rev,
I've spent several summers on multiple church internship
in different parts of Virginia to better discern
my call to vocational ministry.
In the summer of 20 22, I was
presenting you with an opportunity
intern and a church in Alexandria of Virginia,
known as the Wood faith united in Methodist
church.
While I was super stoked and super excited
to begin this internship, 2 challenges
immediately presented themselves?
First,
how am I gonna financially sustain myself?
And where in the world was I gonna
live.
As a full time seminary student with no
time to work because always in them books.
I was genuinely hard pressed to find the
money.
Fortunately, I was able to work with The
Virginia Annual Conference and they were able to
provide me with a s and live off
for for those 3 months.
While this s helped, the high living cost
of Northern Virginia still made it virtually impossible
to pay rent. And so I I started
praying. I started to turn I like God
helped me. I don't know how I'm gonna
be able to do it is I see
this opportunity, but how am I gonna... How
am I gonna get there?
Fortunately for me.
1 of my mentors would previously served an
appointment
in Ana,
reached out on my behalf the people he
knew in the area,
and it only took him 1 day
it took him 1 day
to find people who were willing to open
their doors
to a complete stranger.
These people, their names are mark and bradley,
2 of the most hospitable
and kindness people I know.
They welcomed me a complete stranger
into their home of nothing but grace compassion
and kindness.
Even after, Almost blew up their house, the
first night there because I didn't know the
difference between a gas stove and electric 1.
They embodied god's
unconditional love for me.
See to Bradley least,
these people... They were homeowners,
They were empty nest. I mean, they'd raised
up all of their children and now their
kids rolled out in the world,
and they were avid world travelers. I mean,
they had so many privileges. So many things
that could have blocked them and preoccupied them
from opening their doors
to a stranger like me.
But what God I believe wants us to
understand if people have put it in our
own way. Ka this Been getting that all
morning. I want you to hold on to
this 1.
Sometimes
we have to step out of our own
places of privilege,
so we can invite others and allow them
to have the privilege.
Of knowing and experiencing
god's
unconditional love.
I'm I'm a say I 1 again, Could
I like it?
So sometimes
we have to step out of our own
places of privilege,
so we can invite and allow others to
have the privilege
of knowing and experiencing
god's
unconditional love.
If jab Bride leaves then open their home
to meet 2 summers ago,
I don't think I'd be able to be
here as your pass through today.
If Calvary Baptist church didn't utilize Christmas in
July as a mission opportunity to share Christmas
joy with the world,
There might still be children who didn't receive
a Christmas present time.
And the Shu host didn't open his home
to these strangers to poured a mind, the
lame and a sick.
They may not have been able to experience
sitting at the table with Jesus
at the resurrection of the righteous.
Friends before I conclude my method for the
morning.
I want direct our attention back to 1
of the statements made in verse
which prompted Jesus to share the parable in
the first place.
It reads blessed is the 1 who will
eat at the table at the faith in
the kingdom of god.
See g shared this parable for the ph
and also for us as the church to
see that it's simply not enough to assume
that blessings will flow because we know of
the kingdom of God.
Inviting others to experience the kingdom of god
is where the blessings will truly
flow.
In the 20 fourth verse, the host shares
that those were invited will not have a
taste of his banquet. And for us,
this served as a warning
to realize that while we're all invited to
sit at the table by God's grace.
If we're not mindful of how we all
prioritize
our.
Our preoccupation with Him can call us to
miss out
on the troop privilege
of sitting with Jesus
and inviting our neighbors to have
the same opportunity.
Friends,
today,
We saw our brother in Christ,
andrew andrew
Davis,
get baptized and welcomed
into this community of believers.
What's also significant about this is that our
growing young adult community,
vibrant life came to witness this event.
Friends, our members of Vibrant life are not
all united a Methodist.
Not all of them are avid Sunday worshipers.
A number of them have experienced real church
herd,
and the only time they stepped into a
church is on our Wednesday night small group
gatherings.
What significant about them being here is that
once upon a time, we were all strangers.
But through the power of a simple invitation
and intentional relationship building with each other, they
all came here today to see their friend
Andy. Get baptized.
As the church,
we have to ask ourselves,
how can we use the faces of privilege
in our own lives to extend the table
and invite others to join us.
How can we
take the next step in the business of
being in ministry with the stranger
instead of only doing ministry for the stranger?
What's stopping us friends? What is stopping enough
from inviting people that we know are trying
to find their voice and in their way
in the church.
My friend fear the good news.
The promise of the resurrection is not only
for elect few.
It is for everyone who will chooses
to follow Jesus.
The real challenge for us lies and discerning
how we can use the areas of privilege
in our own life, because we don't all
have the same privilege. I don't know what
privilege you have in your life or in
comparison to mind, but we all have different
ones. The real challenge for us lies and
discern how we can use these areas of
privilege in our lives to help others experience
the privilege of sitting at the table of
the 1
who loves this all,
unconditionally.
Just like Calvary Baptist church,
shared God's love through Christmas joy around the
world with the given of Christmas gifts.
We as the church must discern how we
can share the good news everywhere. With our
own god given gifts.
When we
extend our tables,
open our homes,
and invite others to be a part of
building up the kingdom.
That is how we can be a part
of bringing forth the feast of the Lord
here on Earth.
As it is in heaven.
It all just began
with stepping out of our areas of preoccupation
with privileges, whatever those may be for us,
and extending an invitation
to the stranger.
Now I'd like to extend an invitation to
you.
Friends come to the table,
all who are faithful.
Come to the table
and behold the king of angels.
Come to the table
and let us the door,
Christ our lord.
I'm amen.
In that same spirit, let us stand together
it's those words, Come all y faithful. Using
him number 02:34
stance as 1 3 and 4.
Here, I'd like to name just a few
concerns for us this day. I,
I would like to invite us today and
in the weeks in the week to come
to be in prayer for pastor Keith Edmunds.
Many of you may know that he is
the former pastor of our partner, church, Koi
Christian church,
and
or community church. And he is in his
last day or so. He has entered into
hospice,
and is in under hospice care. I met
with him yesterday along with his wife, Michelle
and assured them that you and I that
we together would be in prayer for him
this day.
We also want to be in prayer for
our nation given the attempted
assassination yesterday or former president Trump and pray
for him for all those who are
struggling with this including our nation today. And
to do that, I would like to incorporate
a prayer
that I have found from S saint. Do
Catholic church that I think is helpful for
all of us this day.
Let us pray together.
Lord we pray this day in the face
of political violence in our country.
In your mercy, will you comfort, heal and
bless all those injured,
receive into your mercy, those who have lost
their lives.
And comfort those grieving the loss of loved
ones.
We ask that you protect all people from
the evil of violence
and for life changing
conversion
from political in all forms of violence.
We pray also for the grace to purge
ourselves of all violence and our own thoughts
and actions
in our family life,
in our friendships,
in relationships with others
in our national life as we commit our
cells to refrain from these violent acts or
words and teach others to do the same.
Lord, as your church we gathered this day
also in prayer for, our
friend, our brother, pastor Keith Edmonds.
And we ask you Lord to your hand
upon him as he makes this transition from
this life to your eternity.
Watch over his wife, Michelle watch over his
family watch over his church.
And may your grace abide in all things.
We also take this out time in prayer
today, Lord to recognize that we have received
the gift of privilege.
We have
so much of lord,
and so much opportunity to do so much
for your kingdom.
And it is our prayer this day that
you would humble us
and enable us to be great stewards
of this
invitation you have given to us into this
gospel feast,
and not only to us Lord, but all
those who are around us.
As you have invited us a lord,
enable us to invite others
as we encounter as we meet and may
every word that we offer, be,
embracing of your
invitation to hope, your invitation to love and
to your invitation and possibility.
In a world that is struggling
to find that hope of which we confess
we take for granted.
For these prayers and others, O Lord, we
lift up for our nation for ourselves for
our church and for our community.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
who taught us to pray together saying,
our father,
who arts in heaven.
Hall would be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy I will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this stay, our daily bread
and forgive us our tres.
As we forgive those who tres paths against
us
and lead us sn into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thin is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory forever.
Amen.
This time we invite our Usher come forward
now as we receive our morning offering.
So
Lord god, you have been so very good
to us. You have poured gift upon gift
grace upon Grace upon us, it is our
prayer this day that you would use these
gifts and also use our lives.
To be an open invitation to all who
are around that we may be a living
testimony to the love and the invitation which
you have given to us. For we give
you thanks for all things as we commit
these gifts to you through Christ Jesus our
Lord.
I'm amen.
As remained standing as we offer final him
together number 733
marching design versus 1 3 and 4.
My friends, let us leave this place knowing
of our privilege.
But in that way, knowing that we can
use our privilege for god's, greater good.
I'm amen.
Merry Christmas.