"FROM FOOLISHNESS TO POWER"

A Sermon By

Philip A. C. Clarke

Park Avenue United Methodist Church lo6 East 86th Street New York, New York 10028 January 24, 1993

"FRCM FOOLISHNESS TO PQldER"

INTRODUCTION There it was in large print on the front page of the magazine tempting me to pick it up as I sat there in the dentist's

office waiting l'Jl.f tarn. "Why Is Japanese Baseball So Dull" it said. I read it in about five minutes. It wasn't about baseball at all. It was about business. The author was pointing out some differences between the Japanese and the American ~ay of doing business.

He told of interviewing a well-known Japanese political scientist who became very excited when he discussed American meetings. The source or his enthus iaam came out of the fact that n American meetings he could jump up and down and call out, "I disagreet I disagreet" But in Japan, it is considered rude to disagree with someone outright. Japanese: men must sit through meetings without expresaing positive or negative emotions for fear of offending someone.

DEVELOPMENT I think that St. Paul would have preferred a Japanese Church to the little Church that he was involved in at Corinth. The

Church at Corinth obviously had some people who didn't mind shouting, "I disagree! I disagree!" That little Church experienced same problems after Paul lett the scene. Cliques formed. Feelings were hurt. Some of them. in the church appare•t­ly thought of themselves as "super" Christians who had some special gift that made them better than others. Paul WUlted them to see the error of their ways and to work together as the body of Christ.

Thus, he sought to focus their attention once again on their primary mis· sion. He didn't want them. focusing on personalities but upon God's central plan for that Church. He wanted them to see the dangers of division and the desirability of unity and harmony'. The negativity was heavy. And it was bothering him.

PRIDE IS A CANCER In today's scripture, Paul is dealing, first of all, with the root cause of conflict in any church. And that

is pride. Pride is a cancer that can tear Christians from. one another.

A bit o£ background here. The Corinthians were a sophisticated group o£ people, or at least they thought they were. They were influenced by Greek thooght and philosophy which gave them an inflated view of wordly vision. 'lbe Corinthians thought they could "think" their way to God and here Paul is tell­;_ng them that they are mistaken. All the earthly wisdom they could obtain would not lead them. to God ar salvation. This wisdom that they held so dear had neither led people to Christ nor delivered them from their sins. According to Paul, what led people to Christ and salvation was the paver of the cross. Here is one of the "key" lines, memorable lines written by Paul.

"For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."

Paul is seeking to divert them from a faith based on knowledge to a faith based on the gracious love of God. He is seeking to divert their attention from their own accomplishments to what God has done in their behalt'. He is seeking to help them overcome the feelings of pride that are causing them to be alienated from one another. Thus, he puts the focus on God and not upon people.

! !

i i

- 2 - - -.. -. ~·;·

That's always a good idea, isn't it? I think that pride causes 11s to do some foolish things. I was reading a story recently about John Holliday, the founder of the Indianapolis News. It seems that John Holliday was qmite upset, quite irate one day to find that someone had misspelled a simple word in his newspaper. He questioned everyone in the office in order to find the fool who had spelled the word "height" - H E I G H T - as 11H I G H T" - omitting the letter "e". This interrogation revealed that Holliday himself had writtea and even proofread that particular article. Holliday said,

"I! that's the way I spelled lt ••• then that's correct1"

and for the next thirty years, the Indianapolis News spelled the word, "height" according to their founder's wishes -with no "e".

Pride can cause us to do some silly things. It can cause us to do some sad things, too - like divide a ,church. Paul proclaimed that the power of the cross of Christ leads people to God - not to human wisdom. None of us can boast in God's eyes, says Paul. We are all sinners saved by grace. He writes,

"For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdOA, God decided through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe."

Paul is dealing with the root cause of dividion whether in church or in other places - pride. It lurks there in all of us am can rear its ugly head and cause pain and discord. When I was first starting out in the ministry, an older brother .. colleague .. happened to remark,

"It really is amazing how much 'Kingdom building' you ean do if you don't have to always worry about who is going to get the credit for it."

THEIR SENSE OF INADEQUACY AND WEAKNESS Pride is a cancer in the body of Christ. Let's move on to a second

point. Notice, however, that he deals not with their sense of pride but with their sense of inadequacy and weakness.

I guess you could say that if there is anything more deadly than pride, it's that lew feeling that we just don't count. Paul says to thell,

"Consider your own call ••• not man.r of you were wise by human standards, not maqrwere power­ful, not many were of noble birth."

B,y tbe world's measure of success, the Corinthians congregation was not a pro!llising let, but God saw what the world could not see. Have you ever noticeci tbat some rather ordin~ people sometimes achieve extraordinary success? How do you account for it. What's that special ingredient that makes it happea.

As a child, Lawrence Welk, was fascinated by his rather's accordian, an heirloom which had been brought .f'roa Europe. The stUIIIIll!r after he had made it through fourth grade, Lawrence Welk suffered a ruptured appendix and nearl,y died. He spent seven weeks in the hospital and three months at home in bed. And during the time at home, his parents le• hilll play his father's precious accordian as much as he wanted. Within that time he taught himself many tunes.

- 3 -

In his teen Tears, he somehow managed to buy a "mail order" accordian for $ 15.00. One writer cOJ'Ilfteats that this purchase ••• "unequal to his enthusiasm, soon broke!" He then told his father that in return for the $ 400.00 he needed in order to b~ a good accardiaa he would work on the family farm until he waa twenty-one and give his father all the money he earned playing his prized musical instrument. He played at weddings, birthdays and dances while alwaT• keeping his promise to his father. More than once he returned from a playing date as day break just in time to attend to his chores on the farm.

The worst •oment of his life 1 he once said, occured after a dance 1n South Daketa when he overheard one of the other band members say,

"Did you get a load of that fella playing the accordion? If I had to pl.q evet7 night with him, I'd go back to jerking sodas • "

Measured by normal standards of success, Lawrence Welk seemed like a failure who would go nowhere. But Lawrence Welk never gave up. Soon he was playing on a couple of radio stations and building a small follewing. Before long his band bec8JIIe popular on radio stations across the country. '!ben 1n 1955, the Lawrence Welk Show came on to our television sets. Now most people would probably rate Lawrence Welk as a somewhat ordinary musician, yet forty million people were aoen watching his program every Saturday night and in 1957 - believe it or not - the Lawrence Welk Orchestra played at President Eisenhower's Inaugural Ball. Life magazine once called him the "most popular musician in the histar.r of the UnitedStates."

Perhaps Lawrence Welk wasn't a great musician, but he provided many people with an abundance of pleasure. I think he would have fit in well with the disciples of Jesus. If we had to pick disciples for Jesus, we would be tempted to choose "the brightest and the best." The sad thing is we would probab~ not even consider ordinary fishermen.

But fortunately - for the salvation of milliens of people - our way ef thinking is not God's way. Those fishermen turned the world "upside down" proclaiming and eTen dying for the Gospel message. Remember this: God is able to see potential in people that we so often miss! So, on the one hand, He keeps us from pride over our religious inclination, but on the other hand, He tells us that eTeryone last one of us is a "building bleck" for His Kingdom.

GOD IS INTERESTED IN CUR IEVEL OF COMMITMENT In essence, God is not interested in our level of

s~histication, but in ollr level. of coJ'IDilitlll!nt. Bishop Richard Wilkie of our United Methodist Church (whom Lynn and I met a couple of Sum111ers ago on our trip to Greece and Turkey) tells a story that is worth sharing. It caught ~ attention because it involved Bishop Wilkie.

Sang Kyoo Lee and his wife, Young GuM, visited Bishop Richard Wilkie in his office one day. Pastor Iee wanted to start a new church for Koreans and he said to Bishop Wilkie,

"We have been praying for one hundred nights ••• one, two three hours eYery night ••• asking God to give us power and victory". "Yes') added his wife, "every night, faith­fully for 100 nights before coming to see you."

- 4 -

"We believe God wants us to begin new work with Koreans in Arkansas" said Pastor Sang Kyoo IA!e. "And we need much power" •

Bishop Wilkie sensed their dedication and their commitment, but he also knew of their struggle to learn English as well as their financial problems in completing seminary. The Bishop asked them a question, "We don't have many Koreans in Central Arkansas, do we?" Sang Kyoo Lee replied,

"Oh, yes ••• we think as many as three or four huttdred. We can travel fifty miles in every direction and organize class meetings in different towns."

The Bishop then asked if these Arkansas Koreans were Christians? Both wife and husband a~red enthusiastically,

"No ••• not most ••• but we must lead them to Christ. We will hold Sunday a.f'ternoon worship in First Church, Jacksonville. Also Friday night prayers and Saturday Bible stu~."

"Let me know when you hold your first worship service" said the Bishop somewhat casual~.

"Our first service will be the day we mcwe into the par­sonage" said Sang Kyoo with a big smile. "My wife, Young Gum, our son, John and our daughter, Susan, and I will lmeel down and pray. We will have a congregation of four" he said, lifting up four fingers.

Bishop Wilke went on to say that their spirit was contagious and that he kept thinking or practical things like a refrigerator and clothes for the children and automobile tires. He asked them "Is there anything at all that I can do to help yOR?" And back came the ansver,

"Oh yes there is ••• would you pray for us? We will need much power" And the three of them held hands and prayed together.

Several months later this young Korean couple once again knocked on the. door of the Bishop's office. Said Sang Kyoo Lee to Bishop Wilkie,

"We now have 20 converts. We have started three horne Bible study groups in three different towns. We are growing. People are coming from 50 miles away. God is answering our prayers".

The good Bishop concluded with this word of hope. "As they spoke I felt the hand ••• the mighty hand ••• or God at work in this endeaYor." It was not in their level of sophistication, but in their level of commitment that made hiJI feel the mighty hand or God. They were a liYing testilllony to the power of our faith, the power of the Cross, as Paul put it. Their enthusiasm would look like so much foolishness in the minds of most of us. NaiYe, we might say. But such consecrated naivete can move mouataiu. We need to remember that. Faith -the size or at~ mustard seed ••• is the way Jesus spoke of it.

- 5 -

CLOSING ILLUSTRATION AND WORD The Olympic Games of last Summer were filled with tragedies and triumphs. In

most of the games, there was a clear distinction between the tvo, but in one competition - the 400 Meter Race - the diatinction between tragedy and triumph became blurred. IA!t me reCall the moment with you.

At the start of the race, Englishman Derek Redmond popped his right ham­string. This is a seTere and excruciating injury that ends most runner's chances of finishing the race. But not Derek Redmond. Redmond got back up and started hopping tCIIard the finish line. The other ru~rs had all finished the race in a matter of seconds. Redmond - in tears - slowly and painfully kept hopping. It appeared as if he would fall down at ~ moment. But suddenly ••• remember what happened ••• a man appeared beside Derek. His father had run down from the stands and pushed his way through the security guards to reach his son. And Redmond's father put his arm around his son and let him cry on his shoulder for a second and then - with his father holding him up - he hobbled to the finish line and finished the race.

And therein, dear friend, is a word of hope for you and for me. We are not s•ved by our wisd011, nor are we saved by our good works. We are saved because we have a Father who is willing to come out of the stands and to carry us over the finish line.

Paul was struggling with the Church in Corinth that had people who were not afraid to say, "I disagree". They were in danger of coming apart at the seams. And so, first-off, he dealt with their pride, then on to their sense of inadequacy. What the Corinthians needed to see was that God was not that interested in who we are or where we've been or what we've done •••• that He ia interested only in one thing •••• our level of commitment.

Are we ready to Rtake up" the Cross of Christ ••• think about it and put the question to yourself. If so, there is ONE coming out of the stands ••• who though that road, that path grows hard ••• oNE who will not allow us to falter, fail or fall. And what a "blessed assurance" that can be to each of us. Remember that. And take that word out of here with you.

PRAYER

"FROM FOOLISHNESS TO POWER"

A Sermon By

Philip A. C. Clarke

Park Avenue United Methodist Church 106 East 86th Street New York, New York 10028 January 24, 1993

"FR<JII FOOLISHNESS TO POWER"

INTRODUCTION There it was in large print on the cover.: _ of the magazine tempting me to pick it up as I sat there in the dentist's

office waiting my turn. "Why Is Japanese Baseball So Dull" it said. I read it in about five minutes. It wasn't about baseball at all. It was about business. The author was pointing out some differences between the Japanese and the American way of doing business.

He told of interviewing a well-known Japanese political scientist who became very excited when he discussed American meetings. The source of his enthusiasm came out of the fact that in American meetings he could jump up and down and call out, "I disagree1 I disagreet" But in Japan, it is considered rude to disagree with someone outright. Japanese men must sit through meetings without expressing positive or negative emotions for fear of offending someone. In Japan, it's different.

DEVELOPMENT I think that St. Paul would have preferred a Japanese Church to the little Church that he was involved in at Corinth. The

Church at Corinth obviously had some people who didn't mind shouting, "I disagree! I disagree1" That little Church experienced s<111e problems after Paul left t.he scene. Factt.ona" formed. Feelings were hurt. Some of them .in the church appare•t­ly thought of themselves as "super" Christians who had some special gift that made them better than others. Paul wuted them to see the error of their ways and to work together as the body of Christ. Nothing wrong with that1

Thus, he sought to focus their attention once again on their primary mis­sion. He didn't want them focusing on personalities but upon God's central plan for that Church. He wanted them to see the dangers of division and the desirability of unity and harmony. The negativity was heavy. And it was bothering him. It was hurting the church, I'm sure.

PRIDE IS A CANCER In today's scripture, Paul is dealing, first of all, with the root cause of conflict in any church. And that

is pride. Pride is a cancer that can tear Christians from one anot~r.

A bit of background here. The Corinthians were a sophisticated group of people, or at least they thought they were. They were influen~d by Greek thought and philosophy which gave them an inflated view of wordly vision. The Corinthians thought they could "think'' their way to God and here Paul is tell­ing them that they are mistaken. All the earthly wisdom they could obtain would not lead them to God ar salvation. This wisdom that they held so dear had neither led people to Christ nor delivered them from their sins. According to Paul, what led people to Christ and salvation was the pow-er of the cross. Here ls one of the "key" lines, memorable lines written by Paul.

"For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."

Paul is seeking to divert them from a faith based on knowledge to a faith based on the gracious love of God. He is seeking to divert their attention from their own accomplishments to what God has done in their behalf. He is seeking to help them overcome the feelings of pride that are causlng them to be alienated from one another. Thus, he puts the focus on God and not upon people.

- 2 -.

That's always a good idea, isn't it? I think that pride causes 11s to do some foolish things. I was reading a story recently about John Holliday, the founder of the Indianapolis News. It seems that John Holliday was q~1te upset, quite irate one day to find that someone had misspelled a simple word in his newspaper. He questioned everyone in the office in order to find the fool who had spelled the word "height" - H E I G H T - as "H I G H T" - omitting the letter "e". This interrogation revealed that Holliday himself had writtea and even proofread that particular article. Holliday said,

"If that's the way I spelled lt ••• then that's correct1"

and for the next thirty years, the Indianapolis News spelled the word, "height" according to their founder's wishes - with no If elf. "H I G H T"

Pride can cause us to do some silljr things. It can cause us to do some sad things, too - like dlvide a ,church. Paul proclaimed that the power of the cross of Christ leads people to God - not to human wisdom. None of us can boast in God's eyes, says Paul. We are all sinners saved by grace. He writes,

"For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe."

Paul is dealing with the root cause of division whether in church or in other places - pride. It lurks there .in all of us am can rear its ugly head and cause pain and discord. When I was first starting out in the ministry, an older brother - colleague - happened to remark,

"It really is amazing how much 'Kingdom building' you can do if you don 1 t have to always worry about who is going to get the credit for it." (How true it is1)

THEIR SENSE OF INADEQUACY AND WEAKNESS Pride is a cancer in the body ot Christ. Let's move on to a second

point. Notice, however, that he deals not with their sense of pride but with their sense of inadequacy and weakness.

I guess you could say that if there is anything more deadly than pride, it's that lew feeling that we just don't count. Paul says to them,

"Consider your own call ••• not man,y of you were wise by human standards, not many were power­ful, not many were of noble birth."

~the world's measure of success, the Corinthians congregation was not a promising let, but God saw what the world could not see. Have you ever noticed that some rather ordinary people sometimes achieve extraordinary SQccess? How do you account for it. What's that special ingredlent that makes it happen.

As a child, Lawrence Welk, was fascinated by his father's accordian, an heirloom which had been brought from Europe. The swrimer after he had made it through fourth grade, Lawrence Welk suffered a ruptured appendix and nearly' died. He spent seven weeks in the hospital and three months at home in bed. And during the time at home, his parents lei1 him play his father's precious accordian as much as he wanted. Within that time he taught himself rna.ny tunes.

- 3 -

In his teen ,rears, he somehow managed to buy a "mail order" accordian for $ 15.00. One writer conmaents that this purchase ••• 11 unequal to his enthusiasm, soon broke£" He then told his father that in return for the $ 400.00 he needed in order to b~ a good accordiaa he would work on the family farm until he wa• twenty-one and give his father all the money he earned playing his prized mu.sieal instrument. He played at weddings, birthdays and dances while alwa,ra keeping his promise to his father. More than once he returned from a playing date as day break just in time to attend to his chores on the farm.

The worst moment of his life, he once said, occured after a dance in South Daketa when he overheard one of the other band members say,

"Did you get a load of that fella playing the accordion? If I had to play every night with him, I'd go back to jerking sodas."

Measured by normal standards of success, Lawrence Welk seemed like a failure who would go nowhere. But Lawrence Welk never gave up. Soon he was playing on a couple of radio stations and building a small follewing. Before long his band becB.llle popular on radio stations across the country. '!ben in :.1955, the Lawrence W'elk Show came on to our television sets. Now most people would probably rate Lawrence Welk as a somewhat ordinary musician, yet forty million people were sa.n watching his program every Saturday night and in 1957 - believe it or not - the Lawrence W'elk Orchestra played at President Eisenhower's Inaugural Ball. Life magazine once called him the "most popular musician in the history of the United States."

Perhaps Lawrence Welk wasn't a great musician, but he provided many people with an abundance of pleasure. I think he would have fit in well with the disciples of Jesus. If we had to pick disciples for Jesus, we would be tempted to choose "the brightest and the best." The sad thing is we would probao~ not even consider ordinary fishermen.

But fortunately - for the salvation of milliens of people - our way ef thinking is not God's way. Those fishermen turned the world "upside down" proclaiming and even dying for the Gospel message. Remember this: God is able to see potential in people that we so often miss! So, on the one hand, He keeps us from pride over our religious inclination, but on the other hand, He tells us that e-.er,yone last one of us is a "building bleck" for His Kingdom.

GOD IS INTERESTED IN OOR lEVEL OF COMMITMENT In essence, God is not interested in our level of

S:9J)histication, but in our lev~~. of commitnent. Bishop Richard Wilkie of our United Methodist Church (whom Lynn and I met a couple of Summers ago on our trip to Greece and Turkey) tells a story that is worth sharing. It caught Jfl1' attention because it involved Bishop Wilkie.

Sang Kyoo Lee and his wife, Young Gum, visited Bishop Richard W.ilkie in his office one day. Pastor Lee wanted to start a new church far Koreans and he said to Bishop Wilkie,

"We have been praying for one hundred nights ••• one, two three hours every night ••• asking God to give us power and victory". "Yes!J added his wife, "every night, faith­fully for 100 nights before coming to see you."

- 4 -

"We believe God wants us to begin new work with Koreans in Arkansas" said Pastor Sang Kyoo lee. "And we need mttch power".

Bishop Wilkie sensed their dedication and their commitment, but he also knew of their struggle to learn English as well as their financial problems in completing seminary. The Bishop asked them a question, '~e don't have many Koreans in Central Arkaneas, do we?" Sang Kyoo Lee replied,

"Oh, yes ••• we think as many as three or four hupdred. We can travel fifty miles in every direction and organ~e class meetings in different towns."

The Bishop then asked if these Arkansas Koreans were Christians? Both wife and husband a~red enthusiastically,

"No ••• not most ••• but we must lead them to Christ. We will hold Sunday afternoon worship in First Church, Jacksonville. Also Friday night prayers and Saturday Bible stu~."

"Let me know when you hold your first worship service" said the Bishop somewhat casual~.

"Our first service will be the day we moTe into the par­sonage" said Sang Kyoo with a big smile. 11My wife, Young Gmt, our son, John and our daughter, Susan, and I will kneel down and pray. We will have a congregation af four" he said, lifting up four fingers.

Bishop Wilke went on to say that their spirit was contagioas and that he kept thinking of praet~cal things like.a refrigerator and clothes for the children and automobile tires. He asked them "Is there anything at all that I can do to help you?" And back came the answer,

"Ob yes there is ••• would you pray for us? We will need much power" And the three of them held bands and prayecll together.

Several months later this young Korean couple once again knocked on the door of the Bishop's office. Said Sang ~oo Lee to Bishop Wilkie,

"We now have 20 converts. We have started three home Bible study groups in three different towns. We are growing. People are coming from 50 miles away. God is answering our prayers".

The good Bishop concluded with this word of hope. "As they spoke I felt the hand ••• the mighty hand ••• of God at work in this endeaYor." It was not in their level of sophistication, but .in the 1r level of cammitment that made hiM feel the mighty hand of God. They were a living testimony to the power of our faith, the power of the Cross, as Paul put it. Their enthusiasm would look like so much foolishness in the minds of most or us. Naive, we might say. But such consecrated naivete can move mow&tauc. We need to remember that. Faith -the size or a tiqr mustard seed ••• is thew~ Jesus spoke or it. Don't overlook it.

-, -CLOSING ILLUSTRATION AND WORD The Olympic Games of last Summer were

filled with tragedies and triumphs. In most of the games, there was a clear distinction between the tvo, but in one competition - the 400 Meter Race - the distinction between tragedy and triumph became blurred. Let me redall the moment with you.

At the start of the race, Englishman Derek Redmond popped his right ham­string. This is a severe and excruciating injury that ends most runner's chances of finishing the race. But not Derek Redmond. Redmond got back up and started hopping tCJiard the finish line. The other runners had all finished the race ill a matter of seconds. Redmond - in tears - slowly and painfully kept hopping. It appeared as if he would fall down at any moment. But suddenly ••• remember what happened ••• a man appeared beside Derek. His father had run down from the stands and pushed his way through the security guards to reach his son. And Redmond's rather put his arm around his son and let him cry on his shoulder for a second and then - with his father holding him up - he hobbled to the finish line and finished the race.

And therein, dear friend, is a word of hope for you and for me. We are not saved by our wisdom, nor are we saved by our good works. We are saved because we have a Father who is willing to come out of the stands and to carry us over the finish line.

Paul was struggling with the Church in Corinth that had people who were not afraid to say, "I disagree". They were in danger of coming apart at the seams. And so, first-off., he dealt with their pride, then on to their sense of inadequacy. What the Corinthians needed to see was that God was not that interested in who we are or where we've been or what we've done •••• that He ia interested only in one thing •••• our level of commitment.

Are we ready to "take up" the Cross of Christ ••• think about it and put the question to yourself. If so, there is ONE coming out of the stands ••• who though that road, that path grows hard ••• oNE who will not allow us to falter, fail or fall. And what a "blessed assurance" that ean be to each of us. Remember that. And take that word out of here with you.

PRAYER Move in our hearts, 0 God •••• strengthen that measure of faith that is now ottrs. Lift our level of cGmmitment to Him in whom we have

came to see life's highest hope as well as its deepest meaning. In the spirit or Christ, we pray. ~en.

-------------------------

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Sunday, January 24 1 1993

VISITORS / GREETING

A. A word of welcome to the visitors who have joined us in worship ••• pleased you're here and we hope we'll have op­portunity to greet you in •••••

B. Be free in the sharing of your name ••• .f'ill out ••• sign one of the Guest Books. Come, worship with us on other Sundays •••

c. Doing the Lord's work here since 1837 at this busy corner of God 1 s kingdom. Fourth building out of which this ministry has been carried on. Like to say that we minister here in the name of Christ ani it is in His loving spirit ••••

D. Members •• obe sure to wear your name tags ••• make a point of greeting some new friends in these moments we 1 re together.

PARISH CONCERNS

A. Our parish concerns are there in the bul1etin ••• review them on your awn, noting the spiritual growth and study opportunities offered as well as the meetings that have been called.

B. Review the flyers there.o.a new opportunity this Thursday evening for those of you who enjoy reading serious works of fiction and talking about them with others •••

C. Next Sunday is Bake Sale Number One • the "super bowl" bake sale for the benefit of the All Church Picnic of late June. Support it with a contribution as we 11 as a purchase. And let's all get involved with this Super Bowl benefit for the Yorkville Common Pantry and sign up to bring in cans of soup ••• again, we're having some fun with this driva ••• support it and score same points.

D. Winter RWI'IIIlage Sale. Saturday-, February 6th •••• less than two weeks away •••• be in touch with Dianne Keller if you can lend a hand. Note, too, the new DONATION bin in the west vestibule ••• we want to fill it m&n7 times over between now and February 6th.

E. The 1993 canvass is essentially over except for those late, late pledge girts •••• we're up and over 200 ••• and still have a ways to go to reach our goals of 250 pledges and $160,000. I'd like to see us up to 225 pledges by mid-March and I'll be calling some of you in the next few days to see if you can renew a pledge or perhaps help us with a new one. •tif you believe in something •••• • you put it into your ~dget ••• I'm sure you agree!

SECOND HYMN:: "Precious LOrd, Take My Hand" ( over )

. Humber 474. Com:poster, Thomas A. ~~-.~ - diecl last nigb.t ••• age 93.

... .,_,

- 2 -

SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

A. I know some of you are present this hour to receive the Annual Super Bowl prediction ... let me share it with you ..• listen care­fully .... spoken once but copies will be available ...

"I went to the 'mountain-top' one day of this week,

And the message I heard is that which I speak.

Super Bowl 27 has already begun ....

Who runs the ball better will have all of the fun!

'Are you ever going to win a Super Bowl?'

Is the question you'll hear up in Buffalo.

The HEART tips to this TWO TIME loser ..• (FOR

There's redemption for all is the 'kick' from the Lord!)

But the HEAD sends a signal that the heart cannot hear,

It's the COWBOYS by 10 - that's the message, I fear!

SO- 'go' with the BOYS ... and pray for the BILLS. Don't

Fumble this game with all DALLAS thrills!

You heard it first here. And those bets that you win,

A tithe to the Lord will be pleasing to HIM!"

(January 24, 1993)

(Maya Angelou and I worked on this together Wednesday afternoon and we th some of you would appreciate it.)

OFFERING Jesus said,

"It is more blessed to give than it is to receive ..•• "

,,,'('

I ' II

'1

SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

"I went to the 'mountain-top' one day of this week,

And the message I heard is that which I speak.

Super Bowl 27 has already begun ••••

Who runs the ball better will have most of the fun\"

"'Are you ever going to win a Super Bowl?' they say •••

That's the big question up Buffalo way.

The HEART tips to this TWO TIME loser •••• ror

(There's redemption for all is the 1 kick' from the Lord 1)

But the HEAD calls a play that the HEART cannot hear •••

'It's the COWBOYS by 10' -that's the message, I !'ear1"

"SO - 'go' with the BOYS ••• and pray for the BILLS.

Then tackle this game with all or yom- skills.

You heard it first hera and froa those bets that you win,

A TITHE to the Lord will be pleasing to HIMl"

(Jannary 24, 1993)

PASTCRAL PRAYER: January 24, l99J

ETERNAL SPffi.IT - WHO ••• whether we walk through green pastures, beside life's still waters, or through the valley of the shad~ of death, canst be our guide and our helper -

EEHOUl US NGT - here in this sacred place of '..rorship, seeking in a common prayer, light upon our separate ~-1ays , and strength and tllumin.a t ion within our individual lives.

SEEK US OUT - one b!T one - in those special circumstances of indtvidual need that have drawn us here to this sanctuary on this cold January sungfh :o~~~oaght by prayer than Remind us once again: that more t g this world has ever

dreamed. AND HERE - lift up the unhappy souls into joy ••• the discouraged souls L"lto

encouragement ••• the defeated souls into victory -and thus enable each of us:

"To fight the good fi.sht, To keep the faith, To finish the course".

BREATHE into our hearts, dear God, goodwill and generosity. ciREAKD0NN our stubborn prejudices. SAVE US from let~ing un-Christlike attitudes and actions take

hold W"ithin r1s. FCRGIVE US that at times ~~e can be such a part of the problems of

this world and such a small fraction of its solutions. CCNFCRT US, Lam, '..;here we are hurt.Iiilg.

GUIDE AND UPHOLD US through the days of this week that is ahead that ·..re may be more than conquerors in the tnner struggle against all that is cheap, hurtful, degrading in oarselves and in society.

HELP THOSE GAA.THE?.ED HERE IN ',vQRSHIP and who take Jesus seriouslY' and who tr7 to follow in His footsteps al~ars to be:

Agents of His love •••• pure in thought, and gracious in speech, lcind, charitable and courageous tn judgements of others and 1&\ rdena of others. their own actions .... willing to bear t.ne 111

AND FIAA.LLY, DEAR GOO, FATHER OF liS ALL •••

"Grant us the SERENITl to accept the things we cannot change; the COUR.~GE to change the things we can; and the WISDCM to lmow the difference. tt

In the name and spirit of Christ, we pray.

e---- ~-

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Sunday, January 241 1993

VISITORS / GREETING

A. A word of welcome to the visitors who have joined us in worship ••• pleased you're here and we hope we'll have op­portunity to greet you in •••••

B. Be free in the sharL"'lg of your name ••• .f'ill out ••• sign one of the Guest Books. Come, warship with us on other Sundays •••

C. Doing the Lord's work here since 1837 at this busy corner of God's kingdom. Fourth building out of which this ministry has been carried on. Like to say that we minister here in the name of Christ am it is in His loving spirit ••• •

D. Members •• obe sure to wear your name tags ••• make a point of greeting some new friend! in these moments we're together.

PARISH CONCERNS

A. Our parish concerns are there in the bulletin ••• review them on your own, noting the spiritual growth and study opportunities offered as well as the meetings that have been called.

B. Review the flyers there ••• a new opportunity this Thursday evening for those of you who enjoy reading serious works or fiction and talking about them with others •••

c. Next Sunday is Bake Sale Number One - the "super bowl" bake sale for the benefit of the All Church Picnic of late June. Support it with a contribution as well as a purchase. And let's all get involved with this Super Bowl benefit far the Yorkville Common Pantry and sign up to bring in cans of soup ••• again, we're having some fun with this drive ••• support it and score same points.

D. Winter Rummage Sale. Saturday, Februa.zy 6th •••• less than two weeks away •••• be in touch with Dianne Keller if you can lend a hand. Note 1 too 1 the new DONATION bin in the west vestibule ••• we want to fill it many times over between now and February 6th.

E. The 1993 canvass is essentially over except far those late, late pledge gifts •••• we're up and over 200 ••• and still have a ways to go to reach our goals of 250 pledges and $160,000. I'd like to see us up to 225 pledges by mid-March and I' 11 be calling some ot you in the next few days to see it you can renew a pledge or perhaps help us with a new one. "If you believe in something •••• • you put it into your budget ••• I 1m sure you agree!

( over )

SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

"I went to the 'mountain-top' one day of this week,

And the message I heard is that which I speak.

Super Bowl 27 has already beguno •••

Who runs the ball better will have most of the fun1"

"'Are you ever going to win a Super Bowl?' they say. ••

That's the big question up Buffalo way.

The HEART tips to this TWO TIME loser •••• ror

(There 's redemption for all is the 1 kick' from the Lord 1)

But the HEAD calls a play that the HEART cannot hear •••

'It's the COWBOYS by 10' -that's the message, I fearl"

"SO ~ 'go' with the BOYS ••• and pray for the BILLS.

Then tackle this game with all or your skills.

You heard it first here and from those bets that you win,

A TITHE to the Lord will be pleasing to HIM1"

\

(Jarmary 24, 1993)

(. ~·'

PASTCRAL PRAYER: January 24,.1993

ETERNAL SPmiT - ~.mo ••• whether we walk through green pastures, beside life's still waters, or through the vallev of the shad~ of death, canst be our guide and our helper -

BEHOLD US NCHT - here in this sacred place of '"'orship, seeking in a common prayer, light upon our separate tiays, and strength and illumination within our individual lives.

SEEK US OUT - one bY" one - tn those special circumstances of individual need that have drawn us here to this sanctuarv on this cold January Sunday morning,

AND HERE - lift up the unhappy souls into joy ••• the discouraged souls into encouragement ••• the defeated souls into victory -and thus enable each of us:

"To fight the good fi~ht, To keep the faith, To finish the course" •

.aREA THE into our hearts, dear God, goodwill and generosity. clREAKD0NN our stubborn prejudices. SAVE US from leeting un-Christllke attitudes and actions take

hold within rls. FCRGIVE US that at times :re can be such a part of the problems of

this world and such a small fraction of its solutions. CCNFCRT US, LCRD, where we are hurtling.

GUIDE AND UPHOID US through the days of this week that i.s ahead that ·..re may be more than conquerors in the inner struggle against all that is cheap, hurtful, degrading in ourselves and 1.n society.

HELP THOSE GAATHE?.ED HERE IN ~,.J'QRSHIP and ..-ho take Jesus seriously and who try to follow in H ts footsteps al-..rays to be:

Agents of His love •••• pure in thought, and gracious 1.n speech, kind, charitable and courageous l.n judgements of others and in their own actions.

AND FINALLY, DEAR GClD, FATHER OF US ALL •••

"Grant us the SERENIT! to accept the things we cannot change; the COUR.o\GE to change the things we can; and the WISDCM to know the difference."

In the na.me and spirit of Christ, we pray.

PASTCRAL PRAYER: January 2h •. 1993

ETERNAL SPTIUT - WHO ••• whether we walk through green pastures, beside life 1 s still waters, or through the vallev of the shada. of death, canst be our guide and our helper -

BEHOID US NO,.T - here in this sacred place of worship, seeking in a common prayer, light upon our separate t.,.ays, and strength and illumination within our 1.ndividual lives.

SEEK US OUT - one by- one - in those special circumstances of individual need that have drawn us here to this sanctuary on this cold January Sunday morning,

AND HERE - lift up the unhappy souls lnto joy ••• the discouraged souls into encouragement ••• the defeated souls into •tictory- .. and thus enable each of us:

"To fight the good fight, To keep the faith, To finish the course".

?.REATHE into our hearts, dear God, goodwill and generosity. dREAKDaNN our stubborn prejudices. SAVE US from leeting un-Christlike attitudes and actions take

hold within 11s.

FCRGIVE US that at times :.;e can be such a part of the problems of this world and such a small fraction of its solutions.

CCNFCRT US, LCRD, where we are hur:biil.g.

GUIDE AND UPHOW US through the days of this week that is ahead tilat •..re may be more than conquerors in the tnner struggle against all that is cheap, hurtful, degrading in ourselves and in society.

HELP THOSE GAA.THE?.ED HERE IN ~iORSHIP and who take Jesus seriously and who try to follow in His footsteps al-..rays to be:

Agents of His love •••• pure in thought, and gracious i.n speech, kind, charitable and courageous 1n judgements of others and in their own actions.

AND F!AALLY, DEAR GOD, FATHER OF US ALL •••

"Grant us the SERENITl to accept the things we cannot. change; the COUR.\GE to change the things we can; and the W!SDCM to know the difference."

In the name and spirit or Christ 1 we pray.