Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

The Worship of God · April 25, 2010

Litany of Praise

From Psalm 23

[Sung:] My Shepherd, you supply my need and holy is your name.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;

For you are with me; your rod and your staff – they comfort me.

[Sung:] My Shepherd, you supply my need and holy is your name.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

[Sung:] My Shepherd, you supply my need and holy is your name.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

World without end. Amen. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

Jacob Thorne

Gracious and Loving God, you are the vine, and we are the branches. Your life flows through us. You nourish us, and you grant us the gifts of life – the gift of living among one another, the gift of our youth and children moving through their spiritual development.  We thank you for the many blessings you have given us. Remind us, when we are apart from you, we do not live the life that you intend. 

This morning, and every morning, we pray, O God, that you will draw us nearer to you. Lead us, once again, to the pathway through which your life-giving Spirit flows. Fill every part of us, O God. Guide our strength, our courage, and our commitment. Ease our pain, our sadness, and our discouragement. Wash away our fear, our shame, our doubt. Awaken our laughter. Awaken our hope. Awaken our sense of the new; because we know with you, O God, we can unleash a new vision of hope – a vision that is rooted in love and creativity. Let your life flow through us and touch every part of us, so that we may truly live as one. Let our lives be tales of love’s healing power. Let us reach out to one another, and draw us close, and open our hearts to you.

Hear us now as we say together the prayer your Son taught us.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory, forever. Amen.

Old Testament Lesson

Habakkuk 3:1-4

O Lord, I have heard of your renown,

   And I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.

In our own time revive it;

   In our own time make it known;

   In wrath may you remember mercy.

God came from Teman,    

   The Holy One from Mount Paran.

His glory covered the heavens,

   And the earth was full of his praise.

The brightness was like the sun;         

   Rays came forth from his hand,

   Where his power lay hidden.

New Testament Lesson

Luke 22:14-23

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

Message

It’s In His Hands

Glenn Carson

President, Disciples of Christ Historical Society

Good morning. I’m glad you are here. I’m glad to be here with you. 

At the Historical Society, we are in the memory business. Therefore, I started wondering what did those first disciples remember, and how did they remember it. We don’t know a whole lot about those first disciples, right after the time that Jesus died. We just know a few hints of what was going on. We know they were very frightened. We know they were confused. We know they were in hiding. They didn’t know what was coming next. This leader, in whom they had put all of their hopes and dreams, was suddenly gone. “Now what?” We don’t know what was going on.

They began to meet together, and to get together, and to talk together, and to pray together. At some point, they began to share with one another the stories from the road. 

“Remember when Jesus…”

“Remember that time…”

Then, at some point, Mary, or James, or John, or Peter – one of them – said, “Do you remember that last night at Passover? At the end of the meal, he passed the bread and the cup of wine around. He said something. What was it that he said?”

They began to try to remember. I wonder what triggered their memory.

In 1992, my only brother, Eben Carson, was killed in a car accident. He was just 41-years-old. He never regained consciousness. He spent the last week of his life on earth in I.C.U. in a coma. Finally, the end came, and the funeral directors came and got him. They did their thing. Right?

Then they finally said, “You can come in now for the viewing.”

We go in. (This will ring a bell with some of you.) I went in, and there was this body in a box. After the wreck, and after the trauma of the I.C.U., and after the funeral directors did whatever they do, I stood there at that casket. I looked down, and this looked absolutely nothing like my brother. Nothing. I just stood there for a few minutes, just looking and trying to make sense out of how is this connected to the person I loved so much. I had been standing there for three or four minutes, at least. Then my eyes drifted down to his hands. They were my brother’s hands.

So, I wonder is that what triggered the memory for those early disciples. Did they see, in their mind’s eye, the hands of Jesus reaching out across the table with the bread and the wine? It was the same hands that had reached down and picked up the little children and put them on his knee to teach them. It was the same hands that had reached down into the dirt and had drawn the symbols to say, “Which one of you wants to cast the first stone?” It was the same hands that had made mud, so the blind man could see. It was the same hands that had reached out to the little girl when everybody else said, “She’s dead.” But Jesus said, “No. She’s still alive.” It was the same hands that had reached out to calm the storm. It was the same hands that had reached out across to them so many times and touched them lovingly and with care. The hands of Jesus reaching out for them, and for you, and for me.

As I was thinking about that, I came across this prayer of Habakkuk. Were you listening? Some of you weren’t. I know. You drifted. Listen to what Habakkuk says in this prayer.

O Lord, I have heard about you, and I am afraid. O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In your wrath, remember mercy. God came from Tamen, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light, and he had rays flashing from his hand. There was the hiding place of his power.

The hands of God. This is the same image that Moses had the very last time he spoke to the people. He said, “I saw God descending from Mount Paran, and when I looked, I saw that, from his right hand, lightning bolts were flashing forth.

Here, Habakkuk sees a more gentle image of a glowing hand where God’s power is hidden away in his hand. It is glowing; it is a ball of light. That is power. And it is for you. 

The hands of Jesus. Wow! Think about that for just a minute. Just imagine that for a moment. The hands reaching out across that table to you.

One of the things I really love about this prayer… Did you catch it? He didn’t say, “Now, Lord, I’m going to get my life perfect. I’m going to get everything lined up. I’m going to work so hard that everything will be just like it is supposed to be. Everything will be in place. I will have no problems. There will be no worries. Everything will be just cozy. And in that moment, if you would remember me, I would appreciate it.”

No! He said, “In the midst of the years… In the middle of life, would you remember me? Right in the middle of everything going on.”

Now, I know… You probably don’t have any problems. Debby, here, is just fine. She’s perfect. Ask her later. She has no problems. We know the choir has no problems. But, I have some problems. In fact, most days, I am a wreck.

Now, maybe somebody here has a problem. I’m not going to ask anybody here to raise his or her hand and testify, but maybe you have a problem. If you are here with a husband, I know you have a problem.

I heard a woman talking on the radio about the fact that she was going to get married. She and her intended had decided they would buy one another rings. They would have something engraved inside the rings – a little engraved memento inside the ring. She took her sister with her to the jeweler. She was struggling, because she couldn’t decide what to have engraved inside the ring. She asked her sister, “What should I have engraved?”

Her sister said, “It’s simple; just four words: ‘Put it back on’.”

You might have a problem. I don’t know what it is. It could be financial. It could be health. It could be home. It could be work. It could be school. It could be career. It could be relationship. I don’t know what your problem is this morning, but I know that Jesus is reaching out that glowing hand to you and saying, “I have some power hidden away right here just for you. Just for you; right here in my hand is some power that will answer everything that you need. Everything. Everything.”

It is so hard to get our minds around that. It is so hard to get our minds around a generous God, a God who loves us, a God who is going to remember us. Even in the middle of God’s wrath, God is going to remember me. God is going to reach out a hand to me in power.

Sunday after Sunday, right at this table, it is why we do it. Some people probably wonder, “Why do you do that every Sunday? I mean… My goodness; once is enough. Isn’t it?”

Sunday after Sunday, we come to this table, because we know that we can experience the Lord Jesus Christ at this place, in this time, in a way that we cannot experience him any other time. He is here. He is waiting for us. He is reaching out to us, and he is inviting us. He is inviting us!

I have a hobby. As I travel across the United States and come to church on Sunday morning, I see what that congregation says about communion in their bulletin. I can tell you that among Disciples congregations, less than ten per cent get it right. The horror of that thought is if you extrapolate that out, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, far, far less than one per cent of the churches on planet Earth get the invitation to the table right. I was happy to see you get it right.

Don’t you remember? The invitation is clearly restated in Matthew’s gospel. You remember what Jesus said. “Come unto me if I like you.” 

Do you remember that one? You remember this; it is in Matthew.

“Come unto me if you are of a particular economic background.”

“Come unto me if you are pretty.”

“Come unto me if you have some really smart thoughts.”

And here is how we most often get it wrong. Do you remember the invitation that Jesus said, “Come unto me if you already believe.”

None of those would have been any good at all. I’m not sure how we mess this up. It is so simple. I’m just not sure how we mess it up. 

“Come unto me ALL who are weary, and I will give you rest. ALL!”

 

That, my friends, is the glorious news of the gospel, and it is proclaimed from this table, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. You see… This table doesn’t belong to Broadway Christian Church. It doesn’t belong to the elders. It doesn’t belong to the pastors. This table only belongs to Jesus Christ. We call it the Lord’s Table. Right? And the glorious news of the gospel is that he invites every person, every time. 

His hand is reaching out to you. I don’t know what is going on with you, but I know that in a crowd this size there is something going on. We have some problems here this morning. I don’t know what yours are. But they are here. And I know I have some. And the Lord Jesus Christ is ready this morning. He is ready this morning. 

As those trays are passed, just look very carefully this morning, because it might be that if you look at just the right angle, as these trays are passed today, you might just see a little glow in the hand that is passing the tray to you. Beause all the power you need is available. It’s in his hands. Yea. But he doesn’t keep it to himself.

Amen.

Benediction

And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.