- We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms, building community in a fragmented world.
- We want to welcome everyone who is in the house today and everyone online. We are grateful for all the many ways you can join us for worship on this Lord’s Day.
- Announcements will be on one sheet at the back of the sanctuary.
- Today, after Children’s Moment the kids can go outside with Ally and Avery.
- Chi-Rho/CYF Canoeing Kayaking at 1pm
- Our MCCC Exodus study begins after church!
- In worship today…we will stay in the Exodus story and explore the story of Manna coming down from heaven.
- Let’s prepare our hearts and minds for worship with our Opening Scripture Reading...
Opening Scripture John 6:35
35Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Let’s sing together Weave
*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
ONE: The ads online, on TV, and everywhere we look shout:“Buy me! You
deserve me! You’re only worthy with me!”
ALL: Some days we shout back: Enough!
ONE: And other days we let a theology and attitude of scarcity overtake us.
ALL: On those days we allow what we have to define us, control
us, and restrict us.
ONE: God provides enough. God created each of us as enough.
God creates a world of abundance.
ALL: But our certainty of scarcity, our idolatry of the shiny,
and our fears of others prevent us from gratitude,
graciousness, and sharing.
ONE: We live in an abundant world.
ALL: Our creator makes it so.
ONE: Move our hearts, lessen our fears in this hour.
ALL: There is enough for all of us.
ONE: Praise be to the God of Abundant Love!
ALL: Praise to the God of Enough!
“God of Enough” written by Tim Graves
*Opening Hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” #560
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
leaning on the everlasting arms;
what a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
leaning on the everlasting arms.
[Refrain:]
Leaning (leaning on Jesus), leaning (leaning on Jesus),
safe and secure from all alarms;
leaning (leaning on Jesus), leaning (leaning on Jesus),
leaning on the everlasting arms.
Offering of Praise Nora Brant
Children’s Moment Ally Bozeka
Pastoral Prayer Rev. Chad Delaney
God of Life….give us this day our daily bread.
God of life and love, you have called us to prayer and praise on this day and all days. God, in many ways we are like your people of ancient days wandering in the desert. We are looking for sustenance, for peace, for a place to settle and call home.
God of Life….give us this day our daily bread.
We thank you, Lord, for giving us the nutrients we need to remain close to you. You said that you are the vine and we are the branches. Draw us closer. You said that you Living Waters, help us to drink deeply. You said, you are the bread of life...move us to eat and drink to sustain our minds, our bodies, our souls.
God of Life….give us this day our daily bread.
Remind us, Holy God, that all life is created and nourished by you! We pray today that you might bring healing presence to those on our hearts and minds....as we lift them to you in silent prayer….
God of Life….give us this day our daily bread.
In the Name of Jesus, we pray….Amen.
Communion
Meditation Sue Wright
Communion Hymn Eat this Bread #414
Eat this Bread, Drink this Cup
Come to me and never be hungry
Eat this bread, Drink the Cup
Come to me and you will not thirst (2x)
Prayer & Lord’s Prayer Sue Wright
Words of Institution Rev. Chad Delaney
Distribution
Scripture Reading Exodus 16:1-18
The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instructions or not. 5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.’ 6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, ‘In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?’ 8And Moses said, ‘When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.’
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’ 10And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” ’
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ’
Sermon Flowers, Weeds and Manna Rev. Chad Delaney
What is it?? It’s a question that’s come up often over the last month as I’ve wrestled with my flower beds. I have told you already about some of my successes and failures in my email devotional. I have neglected the porch plants, had a volunteer sunflower, no snapdragons, and lots of beautiful zinnias. The flower beds have become--for me--a place of experimentation, surprise, and frustration. Many of you already know the trials and tribulations of gardening but it has been a learning experience for me. Who knew that a couple raised beds in the backyard could teach me so much about learning, life, and God.
I will say, however, there was a time a couple months ago that I wanted to give up.
One of the beds was going strong. Zinnias everywhere.
The other one was pathetic. I had two flower clusters hanging on by a thread, a volunteer corn stalk planted by the birds bit in half by our dog Annie, and a sea of random green stuff. CJ and I had planted a number of plants in the other half of the bed….but I had no clue what I was looking at.
That was the moment I had to decide what to do. I’d been down this road before and last time I just dug everything up and tried again. I can’t tell the difference between the weeds and the real thing. I got the apps that try to identify weeds and I took some pictures and tried to compare them online. I started to wonder if it would have been better if I had never planted them at all. A lot of work for nothing. Now I had to decide again. Should I keep going?
In our story today the people of God have had reality set in after the jubilation of being freed from slavery. Imagine the trauma of escape, the exhilaration of the parting of the Red Sea. The experience of complete and utter devastation….to absolute freedom.
But then they come into the wilderness and the reality of hunger, thirst, and danger harshly comes upon them. Adversity to the extreme. And in the face of it, what will be their response? Well...they are human beings right? It begins with complaining. They complain against Moses, but really it's against God. ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ The people are frustrated, angry, disappointed, and now they are desperate.
God hears their cries and responds...as God always does. Maybe not in the timing we want, but nevertheless. God tells them that they would have meat that evening and sends them flocks of Quail. The quail was an absolutely obvious and certain sign of God’s blessing upon them. They would eat well that night. However, the morning would bring something strange. This time God’s blessing wouldn’t be so obvious. The people would come outside and see a fine, flaky substance. And they literally said, “What is it?” This phrase in Hebrew is “Manna.” “What is it?” They didn’t know what it was.
In these moments of confusion, the people had a choice. the people could have turned back around and said “Forget it”...sick of all the mystery and uncertainty. Let’s go back to Egypt.” Certainty (even if its cruddy is much more satisfying.) They could have thrown away the freedom experiment and turned back. What is the world is this stuff all over the ground? What is it?
Well they found out and we find out all the time...sometimes God’s blessings really aren’t always that obvious. Sometimes they are hidden amongst piles of other things...hidden right under our nose. Sometimes they look like weeds at first but at closer glance, it is something more. Sometimes we just have to live in the wildness to see what happens next. What is God up to? In those moments do we want to turn and run? Look for certainty? Or stick around long enough to see what God is up to? Will we still trust in God who has brought us this far?
God’s people had a choice looking at that stuff on the ground...and they decided to keep on keeping on. Despite their confusion, God had brought them safe thus far...why not keep trusting in God? So….they ate and were fed. Turned out the manna was a blessing indeed. It may have been bland and strange...but it would sustain them as God had promised.
I realize that my flower beds tell me a lot about God’s blessings. The zinnia bed was easy, simple. I planted the seeds and they came up. They are easy to identify and they just go like crazy for me. Like the quails they are obvious. But most of life is more like the other bed -- a tangled mess and you can’t always tell what are the blessings and what are the weeds. When the weeds are obvious, of course, rip ‘em out and move on. But sometimes we think “What is it?” and have to give it some time and patience to see. To trust in God.
Family of God, our passage today reminds us that in the midst of complaining and whining... God will be closeby. In the midst of our uncertainty and confusion...God will be closeby.
This is the God of our ancestors who has heard our cries and who has great power to redeem. When we look around at the tangled mess of life and wonder “What is it?”---let’s remember it may well be bread from heaven sent to fill us and sustain us. Let’s look closely for God’s blessings all around us and to trust God each step we take. May it be so. Amen.
Closing Hymn I Need Thee Every Hour #578
I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine can peace afford.
[Refrain:]
I need thee, oh, I need thee;
every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to thee.
*Benediction Rev. Chad Delaney
Hear now this Benediction from Rev. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi
Let us go forth in faith in our Nonperishable God,
who gives us daily what we need to feed our bodies and spirits.
Our common need for nourishment
unites us together as the body of Christ.
May the holy Bread of Life create
sustenance for the journey,
calm for troubled stomachs,
grace-filled movement for aching limbs,
and joyful activity for all bodies
as we seek to live in sacred community. Amen.
Departing Music Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him Jan Green
[Richard Blake]