September 11, 2023 — Psalm 133

“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.”

There are few things as precious in this world as believers who worship together, who pray together, and who choose to live together in unity. And one of the marks of a great church is the sense of fellowship and unity we experience in the body of Christ. Have you ever gone on a road trip with your family? My family did so one year — and by my family I am speaking of my siblings, all of our collective children, plus my Aunt and my parents. It was a long, trying week. But this is how road trips are — they can be really, really good; or they can be really, really bad. Now imagine instead of just your family if you packed in all your relatives and all of your neighbors as well. I am not so sure anyone would want to sign up for that trip today. But that is what was happening with the annual feasts in Jerusalem. The people would travel to Jerusalem for the feasts along with their neighbors, family and relatives. And as they drew closer to Jerusalem more and more people would come together, people from different regions and different tribes, but all coming together for one common purpose – to worship the Lord at Jerusalem.

Psalm 133 celebrates the goodness of the life with which the Lord blesses those who are assembled together. Augustine claimed that the psalm gave birth to the monasteries; at the least, it was an important text for these brotherhoods assembled by the vocation of G-d. In services of Christian unity, the psalm is a witness that G-d is at work building a family – a family that survive and thrive in spite of the barriers that separate and diminish life.

Let us Pray:

Gracious God, you have poured into our hearts the precious oil of your Spirit. Make of us one heart and one will, that as members of the body of Christ, we may be united in the bonds of love; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Pastor Dave

September 10, 2023 — Pentecost +15A, Matthew 18:15-20

“[Jesus said to the disciples:] “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

EveryOne Matters !!!!  Here is the title of my sermon: Every ONE matters. We hear that repeated again and again….yet too many people in our country do not understand this phrase. Every ONE matters. Jesus makes it clear in our text today….everyBODY matters. You may have heard the story about the man who stopped attending church which was obviously noticed by all the members. It is interesting how one person missing from a group can make a noticeable difference — JUST LIKE THE SHEPHERD KNEW ONE OF HIS SHEEP HAD GONE MISSING. Now the reasons he stopped attending were not as important as the fact that he was absent. Finally, after many months had passed, the pastor called on the man in the dead of winter. Because it was so cold outside, the man reluctantly invited the pastor into his small living room. No words were spoken. Both men knew what this was about. As they sat there in silence, the pastor went over to the fireplace and pulled ONE single ember from the fire and placed it on the hearth. In a short amount of time, the ember began to fade, dim and grow cold. At that point the pastor walked back over to the fireplace and returned the charred piece of wood to the fire – and it was immediately lit up.

Recognizing the simple truth of the unspoken sermon, the man interrupted the silence, thanked the pastor for the visit and assured him that he would be in church on Sunday, and showed him to the door. You see, we can make the point even without using words….every ONE matters. But, and here I hope you are still listening to me, not every ONE gets along with ONE another.

Whether the sin is against you, or against the church, Jesus is interested in how we use our voice, our tongue, our anger, and our efforts to reconcile with one another. Because, every ONE matters.

Pastor Dave