Greetings Church Family! We welcome you to our service in the name of Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you listen for God’s word today in the service. Today we will be thinking about the flame of faith within each of us. Sometimes it feels like its growing and burning strong…other times it feels like a few embers. How do we keep the fire going? Today, we will read scripture, think, pray, and sing on that as we consider that in our faith journey. Thank you for being with us and welcome to worship!
Prelude - “I’ve Found a Friend” [by G. C. Stebbins] - Sarah Park
Welcome to Mantua Center Christian Church! We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms.
Scripture - 1 John 4:16-20
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
*Response - Weave
Weave, weave, weave us together, Weave us together, in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together, weave us together, together in love.
*Call to Worship - Allie Owen
ONE: We gather, as God's people, bringing our fears and pain,
ALL: trusting that when our spirits have grown cold, God rekindles the gift of faith in us.
ONE: We gather, as God's people, hanging our broken hearts on the branches of the tree of life.
ALL: knowing that while friends may turn against us, God transforms enemies into sisters and brothers.
ONE: We gather, as God's people, hungering for healing and hope,
ALL: knowing that even when life is no picnic, God prepares a feast for us.
~Written by Thom Shuman
Hymn - “I am the Light of the World” #469, v. 1-4
Refrain: I am the Light of the World. You people come and follow me.
If you follow and love, You'll learn the mystery Of what you were meant to do and be.
1. When the song of the angels is stilled. When the star in the sky is gone.
When the magi and the shepherds have found their way home. The work of Christmas is begun!
2. To find the lost and lonely one, To heal that broken soul with love,
To feed the hungry children with warmth and good food, To feel the earth below the sky above!
3. To free the prisoner from all chains, To make the powerful care,
To rebuild the nations with strength of goodwill, To see God’s children everywhere
4. To bring hope to every task you do, To dance at a baby's new birth,
To make music in an old one’s heart, And sing to the colors of the earth!
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation- Allie Owen
Offertory
The Doxology #46
Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below;
praise God above, ye heavenly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Offering Prayer - Allie Owen
Music: “Jesus is All the World to Me ” [by W. L. Thompson]
Children’s Moment - Rev. Chad Delaney
- Candle
- This Little Light of Mine
Pastoral Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
Time to lift up the names of those who are in need?
Mysterious God…power behind all we see, grace beyond all we know
You are not just bigger than we think, but bigger than we can think.
We marvel at all the works your hand has made and lift our lives to you in praise.
We thank you for loving us in the midst of our messy lives. We get caught-up in all the trivialities of everyday life. Yet, you mold us into your own image. Reflections of you imbued with your divine spark…your light within us. Help us to recognize that in each other. Sometimes we’d rather not see your image in those around us
crying out for love and companionship. We’d rather not see your majesty as our actions create groaning in the creation with our wanton waste and exploitation. We’d rather not see your wisdom as work through our own prejudice and misunderstandings. Help us to be open to your correcting and guiding word in our lives so that we might live more justly, mercifully, and filled with your loving kindness.
Pour mercy into our hearts and souls. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear your gift in every single person, every place, every moment; even when it is hard. We thank you for those who accompany us on our journey of faith to give us strength and encouragement. We thank you for this community to explore our faith and remember we aren’t alone in the world. We thank you for every single person, moment, experience that helps us keep the flame of our faith going.
For your greatness is seen in all the world: may our words and actions be our praise of you, and may our lights shine in your Name.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Communion
Meditation - Ally Bozeka
Communion Hymn - Take our Bread #413, v.1
Take our bread, we ask you; take our hearts, we love you.
Take our lives, O Father, we are yours, we are yours.
Yours as we stand at the table you set; Yours as we eat the bread, our hearts can't forget.
We are the signs of your life with us yet, we are yours, we are yours. (Refrain)
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer - Ally Bozeka
Words of Institution - Rev. Chad Delaney
Music: “I Hear the Saviour Say” [by W. L. Thompson]
Scripture - 2 Timothy 1:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-control.
Sermon - "Rekindling with Rocks & Oxygen"
I’ll never forget my first campout with the Scouts. CJ had just crossed over from Cub Scouts and I believe it was March. The Scouts did not fear the cold and surely CJ and I were up for it. We packed up, grabbed our sleeping bags, tent, and dressed warmly. I thought I did anyway. Nothing really prepared me for how cold it was that night. There I was at 2:00am wide awake in my tent. My phone said 17 degrees. Even after putting on every article of clothing I brought, I was freezing. On the spot, I shopped for a 0 degree rated sleeping bags because mine just wasn’t cutting it. And then, CJ, who was in another tent with a Scout, came knocking and said that his tent-mate had thrown up. This was our first night camping with the scouts.
The very next day, the older scouts took the new scouts and were teaching them how to build fires in the cold. It was hard. Hard to find that right spot. Hard to find dry enough wood and kindling. Plus, they only had flint and strikers. It was something watching them try to do this. In those moments I thought this is what my warmth this weekend is depending on. The cold sank into my bones and I stayed by the campfire as long as I could that night.
I very quickly realized how much I took warmth for granted. In my basement is a furnace with a constant flame fueled by natural gas and while it can and has broken down, it is quite reliable. I thought of those who have to choose between heating and eating or those who live out on the streets. How do you stay warm?
And its not just physically but a metaphor for how we can feel spiritually as well…What happens…when life is cold, when one bad thing after another comes knocking on your tent, when there seems to be no resources or fuel to keep going. How do you stay warm? How do you keep your faith fire going?
In this second letter from Paul to his mentee Timothy, we can sense some real vulnerability and fragility in Timothy’s faith life. Paul goes strong on the affection and encouragement. “To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace and Mercy and Peace be with you.” Paul tells him he is remembering him in his prayers day and night. He recalls Timothy’s tears when they were together and wants to remind Timothy of the sincere faith he once had. But something has happened.
Timothy is hurting--in some way, shape, or form. Was it self-doubt? Was it attacks from those he cared about? Was it mistakes that he made? Had tragedy struck in his family? Did he fail at something he tried?
We have no idea what it is, but something has happened that has hit his life and faith…and Timothy is struggling and afraid. And Paul senses it. He urges him to rekindle the gift of God within him. Somehow, the fire within Timothy has almost gone out, it is fading...how can he get it back going again?
Have you ever been there in your life? I know I have for sure…many times. When one thing after another goes wrong. When someone you care about deeply lets you down. When the world just doesn’t seem to care any more. When illness hits you or someone you love. When someone you care about is gone. When you just watch the news for 5 minutes.
We don’t know what Timothy has been through, but we do know what it is like to feel a bit of hopelessness, powerlessness, fearfulness, and discouragement. When what once was a burning, huge bonfire of faith and hope and love in our lives can feel like a couple embers at the bottom of the fire pit. What do we do when it feels like the fire is almost out?
Paul and the Scouts have a few ideas to consider.
First is remembering that because God loves us there is always a little spark or warmth to work with. The fire is never all the way out because we are created and loved by God who knows us and is always with us. God first loved us and we can always rely on that holy flame to keep us going.
Second, is that some rocks can help. Turns out there’s lots of methods that Scouts use to keep a fire burning through the rain and cold and night. One recommendation (that I thought was strange at first) is to put ROCKS in the fire. Rock will absorb and retain heat very well and can be used to keep the warmth of the fire going a little longer. To me, the ROCKS are the people around us who help strengthen our faith. Those who stand strongly by us through thick and thin and who are an example to us in the storms of life. In the passage, Paul tells Timothy to remember that his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois lives in him, are close to him always. They helped kindle the sincere faith that has driven him and sustained him. These women were rocks of faith who will help him rekindle.
Third, we need oxygen. The Greek word for Spirit is pneuma which means breath. You can have all the wood, fuel, rocks, in the world, but if you don’t have oxygen the fire can’t breathe and kick up. The Apostle Paul urges Timothy to remember that the Holy Spirit is with him to give him confidence, courage, power, self-control, and love. Leave space in your life for God’s Holy Breath to enter in. Where can we open a bit to let God’s Spirit in, because that is truly the fuel for our faith fire.
When life hits us in ways we don’t expect. When it feels like we are cold and alone sleeping on the ground out in the woods of life. When nothing seems to go right. Let us remember that the living flame of Christ remains with us always even if only an ember. Let’s find people of life and faith we trust and love and respect to remember and be around us--like rocks helping us keep warm. And may we make room in our crowded lives for the Holy Spirit to breath life and love into us and through us.
Hear Paul’s blessing up each of us today:
I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you….7for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-control.
*Closing Hymn - Pass It On #477
Ministry Leaders and congregants are welcome to come forward to the mic to give a mission update or share ways for people to get involved in mission and ministry
1. It only takes a spark to get a fire going
And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.
That's how it is with God's love Once you've experienced it,
you spread God’s love to everyone,
You want to pass it on
2. What a wondrous time is spring,
when all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming
That's how it is with God's love Once you've experienced it,
you want to sing It's fresh like spring,
you want to pass it on
3. I wish for you my friend,
this happiness that I've found
You can depend on God,
it matters not where you're bound
I'll shout it from the mountain top (Hey World!)
I want the world to know,
the Lord of love has come to me,
I want to pass it on
Benediction - Rev. Chad Delaney
- If you are in a Sunday Chat, invite someone to come with you today
- Wednesday Gatherings & Life Study coming on Jan 25
- Founder’s Day - Sunday, Jan 29 (196th Birthday Potluck)
We believe the story of faith comes alive in the communities we grow
Roddy Hamilton
We believe transformation is a gift from God which is never complete and longs to be set free in us.
We believe resurrection is heaven’s conspiracy to redeem all that is evil
and bring to life all that is good.
We believe justice is God’s unravelling of all that hurts, oppresses and dulls life in each other.
We believe that a spark lights a flame which kindles an idea that ignites a moment.
We all have God’s spark within us to live and love in the likeness of the Living Christ.
May God’s Light shine through those around us, warm us during the cold times, and be a lamp unto our feet as we leave this place. Amen.
POSTLUDE - “We are Bound for Cannan Land” [by P. P. Bilhorn] - Sarah Park