We're On A Mission From God

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

Lakeview UMC (St. Albans WV)
and Humphreys Memorial UMC (Tornado WV)

Scripture Reading    

Romans 8:18-25   CEB

¹⁸ I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory
that is going to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God’s sons and daughters. ²⁰ Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice—it was the choice of the one who subjected it—but in the hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children. ²² We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. ²³ And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. ²⁴ We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. ò

Sermon title: “We’re On A Mission From God”

This sermon outline was used for the worship service at each church.

Each church’s worship service was live cast on Facebook:

Lakeview UMC: https://www.facebook.com/LUMCWV/videos/556971758306051/?t=168

Humphrey’s Memorial UMC: https://www.facebook.com/humphreysmemorialunitedmethodistchurch/videos/803876540016333/?t=420

•  There were five planets visible this morning!

Three years ago on a visit to my hometown I was having breakfast with my father, who had turned 75 a few months earlier. He told me he’d ridden his bicycle at least twenty miles in every state he’d been in, and he just didn’t think he was ever going to get to Alaska. He had a route planned, though, if he were ever to make the trip: Anchorage’s Coastal Trail.

Well I conspired with my brothers and several months later, we four were riding on Anchorage’s Coastal Trail.

The Coastal Trail also hosts the Anchorage Light Speed Planetary Trail, which mimics a scale model of the solar system, with a leisurely walk being equivalent to the speed of light. It takes 8 min for sunlight to reach earth, therefore the model of earth was an 8 min walk from the model of the sun. Four blocks away.

Jupiter was 45 minutes away. Saturn 80 minutes. Uranus 160 minutes.
At a leisurely light-speed pace, it would take 5½ hrs to walk to Pluto. 10.3 miles. This was our bike ride.

• Interesting but why?
Paul writes the suffering we know now does not compare to the glory to come.
20000 seconds (5 and a half hours) for light to get from sun to Pluto.

• Creation groans, frustrated, awaiting the revelation of God’s kids.

Aspects of our world are broken.
Some things we can fix. Some we can’t.
But God who makes all things new, who made it all to begin with,
CAN fix, WANTS to fix, CHOOSES to fix. And INVITES us to participate.

• 1995 Toy Story Buzz Lightyear. On a secret mission in uncharted space.
defend the galaxy against the evil emperor zurg, sworn enemy of the galactic alliance.

Identified problem, commissioned address.

• Same. Again, we can’t fix, but God can, and God invites us to participate
God is more interested in our response (willingness) than our ability to fix.

• The response that glorifies God: Trust. Hope. Bear.
Scatter the seed.

• Hymn 382 (Lakeview) Have Thine Own Way
Hymn 421 (Humphreys) Make Me A Captive