Sunday, October 24, 2004
Actions Speak Louder Than Words: 10-24-04
VALUES OF THE HEART was the topic of today's message at Tinney Chapel UMC's morning worship service. Delivered in our sanctuary (photo) by Senior Pastor Rev. Duncan Graham, today's sermon emphasized the contrast not only between words and deeds, but also between worldly values and spiritual values. Photo by David Stanton.
CHAPEL NEWS:
TINNEY CHAPEL LAY SPEAKER IN CUMBY PULPIT TODAY
Donna Futral, a Certified Lay Speaker, brought the message today at Cumby UMC: “Stepping Out On Faith,” based primarily on Hebrews 11. Donna is a popular preacher at Cumby, having been asked to fill the pulpit there numerous times. She will be continuing her education later this week at Cooper UMC, where Donna has registered for an Advanced Course, “Lay Speakers Are Servant Leaders.” Her textbook is titled, Faithful Leadership. Tinney Chapel has four Certified Lay Speakers: Roger Schneider, Angela Wylie, Joe Dan Boyd and Donna Futral.
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EMMALINE HALLMAN PLAYS PIANO AT TINNEY CHAPEL TODAY
In the absence of Pat Hollingsworth, Emmaline Hallman provided piano accompaniment for today’s congregational singing at the quintessential country church. Thanx, Emmaline, we appreciate you!
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SUNDAY WORSHIP TODAY:
MORNING SERVICE, 9:00 A.M.
Greeters: George Jordan & L. R. Kemp.
Soundman: Bob Deitering.
Ushers: George Jordan & L. R. Kemp.
MUSIC
Pianist: Emmaline Hallman substituting for Pat Hollingsworth.
Songleader for hymns: Pastor Duncan Graham & John Futral.
Songs: Victory In Jesus, In The Garden, Living For Jesus, I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go.
Morning Prayer & Lord’s Prayer: Pastor Duncan Graham
LITURGY BY ASSOCIATE PASTOR GENE MILLER:
Call To Worship
Offertory Prayer
Doxology
Gloria Patri
Apostles Creed
CHILDREN’S SERMON TODAY:
Senior Pastor Rev. Duncan Graham showed the children a picture of a church made entirely of legos. Even the people in the pews were made of legos. The pastor and the children admired the workmanship, but the pastor explained: “You can build the greatest cathedral in the world, but it’s meaningless without Jesus in the picture. What’s inside is more important than what’s on the outside.” In his closing prayer, Pastor Graham asked that Tinney Chapel be a church on the go and not just a plastic front: “Grant, Lord, that we may be of real service, and touch all these young lives today.”
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TODAY’S ADULT SERMON:
Today’s church bulletin listed Senior Pastor Duncan Graham’s sermon topic as “Are You Appearing Well?” He tweaked the Scripture reference slightly to become 1 Samuel 16:4-13:
16:4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"
16:5 And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
16:6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him."
16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
16:8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."
16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here."
16:12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!"
16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
---New King James Translation
Pastor Graham began his sermon with some recollections about his younger days when the culture put considerable emphasis on outward appearance in public: good grooming, clothes starched and ironed, etc. “Women of the era devoted a lot of time and effort in living up to the cultural imperative that outward appearance of the family reflected back directly on the women who did the washing and ironing,” he explained.
The pastor told a story about a real person named Sam Henry, who went to town a lot—more than was necessary—and always made sure he was well-groomed and well-dressed. He was going to town “to see and to be seen.” This attitude was governed by the standards of humans, not the standards of God.
In today’s Scripture, the contrast is sharply drawn between the superficial things which impress humans versus the values of the heart which may not be apparent to those people, most of us, who are able to see only outside appearances. And, while the pastor conceded that first impressions, usually based largely on outward appearances and formed rather quickly, are often difficult to dispel. Only those who spend a lot of time with us truly get to know us and understand our inner values: Those which are important to God.
“All this allows people to put on a false front to hide from the world what’s in the heart,” added Pastor Graham. “A tender-hearted man may strive to appear tough instead, for instance. But if our hearts and minds are full of Jesus Christ, we will be so transparent that people will see what’s really inside. Thus, the things we do and say become very important in creating the proper impression to the world. The bottom line is that it’s best to allow the world to see—from the outside—what the inward content actually is. In the case of David, in today’s Scripture, he spent time with the sheep, and he spent time in conversation, prayer, praise and communion with God. All this allowed David to write psalms, learn to play accompaniment, and develop a pure inner attitude toward God which also matched his outward attitude or appearance.”
The pastor’s point was that, even today, David is regarded as one of Israel’s best kings and best men of God in the history of the nation. Thus, Pastor Graham suggested that our goal should be similar: So that we are seen, both outwardly and inwardly, as part of the family of God, reflecting Jesus Christ in such a way that others see us and wonder what is responsible for our demeanor, attitude, inner content. “I want to live in such a way that people notice something different,” emphasized Pastor Graham. “Thomas Jefferson said it’s not our words, but the way we live—our actions and our deeds day by day--that truly speaks to what we really are.”
In his closing prayer, the pastor called upon the Heavenly Father to do such a spiritually moving work in our lives that we are exposed to the world without fear of revelations of darkness. Rather, that our lights will shine so that we are a blessing to the world, and bring others to His Name. “Amen.”
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BIBLE READINGS TODAY:
Readings for twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost: Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14.
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CLASSES TODAY:
SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS TOPICS:
WISE ONES, Frankie Brewer: Looking For Hope Creation.
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LADIES BYKOTA, Peggy Boyd: Reaching For Real Life.
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Tinney Chapel Men, Bill Knoop: The Case For Christ, a study by Lee Strobel.
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OVERCOMERS: Jenna Nelson: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. (This is a multiple-week study.)
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YOUTH: Stephen Graham: Journey Through The Bible (Quiz) Continued.
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CHILDREN: Linda Hallman: In The Beginning (plants & trees of the Creation).
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PAIRS & SPARES, Joe Dan Boyd: Review of our 2-plus years of studying Paul in Scripture: Today's summary topic is “Perspective On Paul”
Congratulations to all Pairs & Spares Sunday School scholars who hung in there for our lo-o-o-n-g study of the Apostle Paul, beginning June 16, 2002, with Paul's appearance (as Saul) in the New Testament Book of Acts, moving into all of his Epistles and finally concluding TODAY with a “Perspective On Paul” discussion.
Today's Pairs & Spares handout is below:
SS102404
PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL
Both Stephen & Saul (Paul) made their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb.---John Wesley.
Paul may have witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus just as he witnessed the stoning of Stephen..
Paul may have been directly involved in the flogging & death of Jesus.
Paul’s conversion/call may have taken place only a couple of years after Jesus’s crucifixion.
Paul saw the light, but was at first blinded by it.
Saul/Paul of Tarsus, a learned man, studied in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, a respected rabbi who had the ear of the Sanhedrin.
Tarsus was made a free city by Mark Anthony and granted Roman citizenship to its inhabitants. This is, most likely, how Paul claimed to be Roman (Acts 22:27-28).
Paul & Barnabas redirect their mission primarily to the Gentiles at this point (Acts 13), quoting Isaiah 49:6.
Some scholars say that Paul did not view himself as founder of a new religion.
Christianity’s elevation of The Cross may be directly related to the fixation on it in Paul’s writings.
Paul is portrayed, in the apocryphal Paul & Thecla, as “bald, bowlegged, strongly built, small in stature, with large eyes & meeting eyebrows & longish nose; full of grace; sometimes looking like a man, sometimes having the face of an angel.”
Paul elevates suffering as one of the keys to the door of the Kingdom of God.
Paul clearly considers himself the equal of the traditional apostles.
Paul took his visions seriously, and was careful to search them for signs of divine revelation.
Paul was anxious to witness to the jailer who had just laid 39 lashes on his own bare back.
Paul’s friends were very protective of him.
Paul was the ultimate cosmopolitan Christian.
Paul believed that unrepentant sinners are cut off from the Church.
Paul believed it was impossible to overdo encouragement.
Paul took pains to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Paul raised Eutychus from the dead.
Paul is often regarded as the greatest preacher of the ages.
Paul preserves a quote from Jesus that is found nowhere else.
Paul appears to regard himself as a completed Jew who sometimes participates in Jewish festivals and ceremonies.
Paul never forgot that he had been a sinner, and that he had been forgiven.
Jesus appeared to Paul at least 4 times.
Paul may have spent much of his Caesarea prison time assisting Luke with his Gospel and Acts.
Paul’s Letter to Rome arrived long before he did.
Paul was under house arrest in Rome, where he was chained, but the Gospel was not. Paul continued to preach in Rome, where he was eventually martyred.
ASSIGNMENT FOR SUNDAY, OCT. 31
SUBJECT: Discuss “The 7 Universal Laws”
Resources:
Scripture: Study Genesis 1:29-30, Genesis 2:24, & Genesis 8:13 through Genesis 9:19.
(If you have access to The Apocrypha, also study Jubilees 7:20).
IN ADDITION TO SCRIPTURE, please access the following website:
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/in-depth.php
If you do NOT have Internet access, but are familiar with computer use, consider one of the computers available free at the public library. This website (above) has several sub-links and contains quite a bit of information that will be helpful in our discussion.
If time permits, feel free to browse the Internet for other sources, but this single website, with its sub-links is very adequate for the purposes of our class discussion.
It will be quickly obvious that next week's class will be a follow-up discussion about not only Jewish Christians of the early church which we have been studying for the past two-plus years, but also generally about The Path of The Righteous Gentile, which is also the title of a book that deals with the topics in this website and our lesson for this week.
If you are able to locate a copy of this book in a public library, it would be just as helpful as the Internet website information. Actually, I believe the website may contain most, if not all, the information in the book itself.
Best wishes, and I look forward to our discussion on Sunday, Oct. 31.
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