2020-11-15 Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Worship Online or In-Person Resources

No one likes uncertainty. We all understand what we mean when we take risks. A risk is taken when we have little certainty of a decision’s hoped-for outcome. The risingCOVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations pose a risk to us as we struggle to overcome pandemic fatigue with its necessary mask-wearing, hand-washing, and physical distancing. Each of us evaluates our sense of risk. As we discovered in last week’s message, we need spiritual awareness when life is unpredictable. We need to prepare for the unexpected, not as strategic planners (the five bridesmaids without extra oil), thinking they know what was going to happen, but the five who in humility were strategic preparers. We live in a world where anything can happen.

This week, we will learn about three individuals who were given talents, financial resources, to hold. Upon the giver’s return, the person who was given 5, doubled it to 10. Likewise, the individual who was given 2 doubled it to 4. And the one who was given 1, didn’t cultivate the gift but instead preserved it by burying it in the ground, returning no growth. Find out what happened next in Pastor Kevin’s message, “Our Job To Be Done: More Cultivating, Less Preserving.” Which term best describes how you handle the talents, gifts, and blessings God has given to you? Do you cultivate them to grow? Or, hold them tightly to preserve them unchanged?

We will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving-themed hymn, We Plough the Fields and Scatter. God is thanked for the fruits of the earth, and in our pandemic experience, we also thank God for all our blessings – freedom, health, life, and our spiritual blessings in Christ. Just over 200 years ago, this hymn first appeared in German and was written by Matthias Claudius who was a Commissioner of Agriculture, newspaper editor, and bank auditor. After a very serious and life-threatening illness, he concluded that he was not the master of his destiny. and wrote this hymn when he was about 40 years old. Reflecting on his farming and finance background, he is grateful for God’s love as the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer of life, “And what Thou most desirest our humble thankful hearts.”

Our sending music is a beautiful and inspiring song by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty, Across the Lands, that begins with Paul’s great statements about Christ in Colossians, contrasting his humble humanity, death, resurrection, and humanity. We see the power of Jesus’ words when he lived on earth until we come to the unique moment in all of history when he offers up his life on the cross. With the ‘shout’ of the resurrection, and the continual intercession Jesus performs on our behalf before the Father. And throughout the whole of history, this ‘Word’ is being spoken out across the lands, through us as we cultivate the gifts we have all received.