FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

GATHERING FOR WORSHIP

As the bell sounds, may we quiet ourselves and allow the music of the prelude to lead us into a worshipful place in our hearts and minds.

*  Those who are able, please stand.

Prelude                                 Blessed Assurance 

Phoebe P. Knapp, arr. Victor Labenske

Welcome and Announcements

Choral Introit

Call to Worship (Isaiah 40:28 & 26)

Leader: Have you not known? Have you not heard? 

People: The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

Leader: He does not faint or grow weary; 

People: his understanding is unsearchable.

Leader: Lift up your eyes on high and see.

People: He who brings out their host and numbers them;

Leader: and, because he is great in strength, mighty in power - 

People: No one is left behind.

*Opening Hymn             Great Is Thy Faithfulness                  

Unison Prayer of Invocation 

   By your power, great God, our Lord Jesus healed the sick and gave new hope to the hopeless.  Though we cannot command or possess your power, we pray for those who want to be healed.  Mend their wounds, soothe fevered brows, and make broken people whole again. Help us to welcome every healing as a sign that, though death is against us, you are for us, and have promised renewed and risen life in Jesus Christ. Amen.

SHARING GOD’S WORD

Scripture Reading                Mark 1:29-39      

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.    

People:   Thanks be to God.

Musical Interlude    

THE COMMUNITY AT PRAYER

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

Call to Prayer (#593)               Lead Me, Lord

Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.

Pastoral Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.

*Hymn of Preparation         There Is a Balm in Gilead             

SERMON              Let’s Go to Simon’s House             Rev. Ritts

THE SERVICE OF OFFERING

Collection and Offertory     

*The Doxology (#46)

*Unison Prayer of Dedication   

    God of life, savior of the poor; receive, with this money, our gratitude for your goodness, penitence for our pride and dedication to your service in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.WE GO FORTH TO SERVE

*Hymn of Parting                  Be Still My Soul                                      

*Benediction (2 Corinthians 5)
    May the abundant grace of God, the compelling love of Christ and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit make of us new creatures, so that, as old things pass away, behold all things become new.

All: And now, may we bear fruit as we go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord, In the name of Christ. Amen.

Congregational Response     Go Now in Peace

Go now in peace. Never be afraid, God will go with you each hour of every day. Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in love, and show you believe. Reach out to others so all the world can see. God will be there, watching from above. Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.

Postlude                            Sent Forth by God's Blessing 

Welsh melody, arr. John Turne

Canadian poet, Ursula (Pankow) Delfs:

The tide recedes, but leaves behind bright seashells on the sand.

The sun goes down, but gentle warmth still lingers on the land.

The music stops, and yet it echoes in sweet refrains . . .

For every joy that passes, something beautiful remains.

As we continue, in this season of Epiphany, to study the life of Christ and his three year ministry here on earth, we notice his authority, which we looked at last Sunday and we notice his power to make things happen; both of which brought him a lot of notoriety.

What might bring us over to Simon's house?  What are we looking for in coming to church, or whenever we turn to God?  What fills our prayers these days?

  We humans have so many hopes, desires and yearnings: for ourselves, our children, our loved ones, our friends; our country, even strangers and the entire human race. And we are so often filled with a profound faith - God can do anything, “ask and ye shall receive.”

  Jesus has been traveling around the countryside healing people and casting out demons.  Still in the town of Capernaum, he's now arrived at the home of two of his disciples: Simon and Andrew, and is told that Simon's mother-in-law is sick.  He takes her by the hand, helps her up and she begins to feel better immediately.

Word spread and by that evening, anyone who needed anything was at the door.  Let's all go to Simon's house!

  We, too, know the feelings of being drawn toward something from time to time.  And we respond on various levels.

  I'm told the yearn to shop is big: Let's go over to the mall, there's a big 75% off sale.

  We're drawn to the arenas of sports contests and theaters of the performing arts or to catch a glimpse of the talented or famous.

  We're attracted to so-and-so's house because they throw great parties and we yearn for those social connections.

On and on the list could go . .

  But we would be attracted to Simon's house for a different, deeper, more profound reason: for a faith that could lead to healing - on some level.

We're attracted to certain sensitive, open, supportive, encouraging people or places and soon feel better just being there, talking with them or being in their presence.

God is close by - let's go over to Simon's!

  There are times when we go to Simon's house andl come away with what we came for.

  Scriptures talk about real faith healing, and miracles, yet we often write them off as psycho-somatic or simple attitude adjustments.  There are real results in these stories: a fever going away, various diseases cured, “demons" cast out.

  To be sure there is lots of evidence that faith can make a difference.  A big part of our physical health and emotional stability does come along with a strong sense of spiritual well-being.

Let’s go to Simon's house to see what all the fuss is about. Maybe God will help us, too.

  And yet, there will also be times when we come away from Simon's house confused or disheartened and perhaps disenchanted.  

  We pray for our loved ones, our friends; and still a parent dies of cancer, a child dies in a freak accident, or of a strange disease.  The questions come in all seasons - I pray all the time, I've been a faithful Christian all my life, why is this happening to someone I care about?  And if we've been raised in the retribution model, why is God punishing me?

Returning to the Scriptures:  Have you ever read something familiar, something you've read many times before, but then you discover something you hadn't picked up on before?  Listen again to this sentence from the passage in Mark:

And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.

I've always assumed the “many" referred to ”a large number;" but what if we read ”many" to also imply “but not all"?

Many diseases were cured, “but not all."

Many demons were cast out, “but not all."

There will be many times in all of our lives when we pray and pray and pray for something and it doesn't turn out like we expect or like the Bible promises.

We may not want to go back to Simon's house next time.

  The deeper answers to life's ultimate questions rest with God and our understanding of how that spiritual power plays out in the universe.  Perhaps we can still find some comfort at Simon's house . . .

  Given some new ways of thinking:

There are realities in our lives that are beyond our control.  We all know that and, for the most part, we accept it - when given a chance to think it over.  

But if we're having a bad day (attitude), then anything that goes awry will often be perceived as a personal a-front and bring up that ”why me" question again.

And among these things that are beyond our control are such things as genetic predisposition, weather patterns, the movement and behavior of physical objects.  There are some very profound and miraculous rules that govern this universe that God has created.

Ironically, this brings a strange source of comfort for me as I ponder the absolute perfection of all of creation.  It's absolutely perfect.  We can count on it!

If we mess up the ozone, sunburns will be more serious and melanoma will rise. The oceans will rise, the weather patterns will be affected.

If we don’t follow our prescribed diets, there will be consequences, especially the older we get!

  Total acceptance is the first step on the road to healing and recovery.

The line in the sand we will come to, that needs to be crossed is that of acceptance.  To go over to Simon's house is to accept that power that can change lives and will change and heal and free us, but not always as we may expect or desire.

To go over to Simon's house is to seek a new focus, a new perspective from the One who sees things differently.

To go over to Simon's house is to accept that we're not in charge and that we want to let go and share in the control of our lives.

  There is always a healing, there is always a casting off of that pressure, it's a matter of finding out, in those time-outs, what healing means on a much deeper level.

And it's more than “silver lining" or “always something good" stuff, it's about the very nature of existence, and striving to see the very threads of the fabric that holds it all together.  To view life as God created it - perfect.

And maybe, when we reach that higher level of spiritual maturity, we'll be able to leave Simon's house, not pondering whether or not we or a loved one has been healed, but rather, in what way HAS a healing taken place?   By assuming a successful outcome, we begin to discover the truth, God’s truth.

As we sometimes must trudge through the things life throws at us, not by God, just by life; we can find God walking along with us, helping us to have that spiritual perspective, on our way to Simon's house to meet Jesus and ask for some help.

Howard Thurman, 20th century African-American church leader:

I know I cannot enter all you feel,

Nor bear with you the burden of your pain.

I can but offer what my love does give -

The strength of caring and 

The warmth of one who seeks to understand -

This I will do in quiet ways,

That on your lonely path you may not walk alone.